Trigger Warning: Graphic depictions of violence and death.

Chapter 86

Rising In The Ranks

(Background music is Corn Yairds by Erutan)

Rona ducked as a very nice and expensive white and blue vase flew past her head and shattered in the hallway. She watched anxiously as an entire room of angry blonde breton women fought with one another. It was a few of the cousins and the aunts against Roxlin, her sisters and thankfully most of the other cousins who had sided with her.

It was complete chaos in the room, dresses were ripped to shreds, a couch was overturned, the blue bedspread, from the full size bed was sprawled on the floor and someone had even taken a down pillow, ripped it open and there were feathers everywhere. All the women were snarling and shrieking at one another, clawing and grabbing hair and ripping each other's clothes. A few of them looked like they were just doing it for fun too, almost laughing as they shoved one another.

Lorrie stood next to Rona in the doorway snickering to herself and Richelle pulled herself free from one of the older cousin's grasp on her hair and ran by them shouting, "I'm out! I got enough of this shit at my own wedding!"

She was only gone for a minute or two when Charissa appeared at the door with Mimi at her heels. They all just gaped at the scene while Roxlin fought off her aunts Mina, Marigold and Miriam, trying to find the white dress by throwing open every dresser drawer and cabinet she could get her hands on while cackling madly. She may as well have been fighting off three goblins all wide-eyed and wild looking like she was.

Mimi clutched a delicate hand to her pearls and cried even more delicately, "Oh! Please stop girls! Daughters! Sissies! You mustn't! We're family! Please don't fight!"

Mimi was always too sweet. She did not know how to command a room. Rona decided it was time to prove her loyalty to her best friend and live up to her title as maid of honor. She looked at Mimi and said, "I'm really sorry about your windows, Mimi."

The woman just looked at her perplexed. Rona stepped into the room and the second her way was clear of brawling bretons she faced the beautiful large, arched windows and shouted, "FUS!"

The word reverberated throughout the entire room and shattered the windows. Everyone had stopped to cover their ears from the pain of the noise.

Rona stood in front of everyone, hands to her hips and looked dragon's fire at all of them. She shouted, "WHO'S WEDDING IS THIS!?"

No reply. They were all too stunned by the tiny elf woman and her sudden bravado, not to mention the power of her voice. She shunted a finger at each aunt and roared, "IS IT YOUR WEDDING!? YOURS!? OR YOURS!?"

All three of the aunts looked bewildered and even a bit frightened. "WELL!?" Rona demanded. They all slowly shook their heads. Rona calmed her voice a little, but stayed firm when she said, "Then you all need to stop this nonsense! This is Roxlin's wedding and all you've done is make her cry every single night over it," Roxlin immediately raised a brow and nearly scoffed at the idea that she would do such a thing when Rona gave her a quick reassuring glance and continued, "You should all be ashamed of yourselves! She's the last of Mimi's girls to be married and it should be a beautiful and wonderful day for her and Magrob and for us to share in! It's time you all started respecting her wishes and back off! And if you don't," she growled, her voice getting low and threatening, "I will not hesitate to shout you all across Lake Rumare myself. Are we clear!?"

All of the women nodded, the cousins and sisters and the aunts. All except Aunt Mina, who just looked livid. She got up and stormed out of the room in a huff, pushing sharply past Rona's shoulder, nearly knocking her over.

All of a sudden the other two aunts burst into tears and hugged on Roxlin who was just stunned on the ground as they moaned and cried about how they never meant to make her cry and how sorry they were. The cousins and a few of the sisters started to do the same, all hugging each other and sobbing. Even Mimi got teary eyed and ran in to pile onto her poor daughter.

Lorrie was just outside in the hallway, holding her stomach and laughing herself into tears over the whole thing. Charissa just sighed and said, "Well... good job Lightfoot. Too bad about the windows though."

With all the women finally calmed down, they all went downstairs to start preparing lunches for all their hardworking men, who had all wisely stayed outside and away from the estrogen induced chaos in the manor. When finally the four of them were alone again, Roxlin was still sitting on the floor, legs sprawled out and hands on the carpet looking bewildered. Her short bobbed hair was sticking out in places and her tunic was half off her shoulder. She was a real mess. Rona held a hand out to her and she took it standing up and started fixing her tunic and trousers.

"Thanks Rona," Roxlin said grinning, "But did you really have to tell them I cried every night? Ugh, puh-lease."

Rona laughed and said, "Well it worked didn't it?"

She shrugged and then gave her a big hug, "Knew I chose the best maid of honor!"

Lorrie cleared her throat and said, "I would have gladly shouted them all out the window if I could have!"

Roxlin smirked at her and Charissa asked, "What's with your aunts anyways? Why are they trying to hijack your wedding?"

"It's not just my wedding. They did it to all of us, starting with Richelle, way back when. I honestly think it's mostly Auntie Mina, that fucking bitch," Roxlin snarled, "She's always hated Mama because she was the favorite growing up. She married into a wealthy family, her marriage has actually lasted and they didn't lose all their money gambling like Mina did with her last three husbands. Oh and Papa's still got all his hair," she snickered and then sighed, "So she takes it out on all of Mama's kids. She's nuts and always knows how to wind up Marigold and Miriam and get them in on her schemes."

"I meant it you know," Rona said smiling at her, "I will shout them all across the lake if they keep it up."

Roxlin gave her the biggest grin and squeezed on Rona's shoulders, "You're the best! You all are! I don't know how I'd have survived this madness without you guys. Now let's go get the boys and get some lunch. I want to go to this cute café over in the Temple District."

Roxlin and Lorrie headed out into the hall and Rona called at Charissa's back, "Hey."

She stopped but didn't turn around.

Rona asked, "We gonna talk about what happened last night?"

Charissa scratched the back of her head and gave a very nervous laugh, "Ha, uh what? I don't remember. Got really, really drunk you know. The whole room was spinning."

Rona rolled her eyes and stepped forward, grasping Charissa's hand before she had a chance to run off. The redguard woman turned around and was full on blushing as red as a dark skinned woman could. Rona let her hand go and Charissa said quickly, "Look... not here. We'll talk later though, okay?"

She hurried off then and Rona just felt so weird and awkward. She didn't know how to approach the subject at all. If Charissa had feelings for her she certainly couldn't return them. She loved Bishop and she just didn't swing that way. She put it in the back of her mind then, letting it go for the time being.

She met with the girls in the foyer and Richelle came out from the other side of the hall with her baby boy on her hip. She walked up to Roxlin and started fussing with her sister's tunic fixing it more and asked, "Is it over?"

"Yeah, Rona broke all the windows in Mina's room," Roxlin laughed.

Richelle leaned around her sister and just gaped at Rona, "You what?"

"I shouted," she said sheepishly.

"Right," Richelle said slowly twirling a finger, "That Dragonborn thing."

"Did you see where Magrob or Bishop went?" Roxlin asked her.

Rahdex was coming up the stairs then and thumbed back saying, "I just saw them both leave the grounds about ten minutes ago."

"What?" Roxlin barked, "Well did they say where they were going?"

"No," Rahdex shook his head, "They didn't say anything to anybody."

Richelle waved a hand and said, "You know men! They probably couldn't handle all the crazy in here and decided to take a break. Bishop's been getting along so well with Magrob he probably offered to take him out for a drink."

"Hmm..." Rona mumbled, feeling suspicious.

"Well whatever," Roxlin said, "I'm hungry, let's go get lunch!"

The girls all headed down the stairs but Richelle stopped Rona and said, "Oh hey, wait. I've got a surprise for you Rona."

"What is it?"

Richelle motioned a hand towards herself and said, "Come on follow me!"

Rona went along with her to the sounds of Roxlin barking up the stairs, "Don't take too long!"

"We won't!" Her eldest sister snapped right back.

Richelle led her into her sewing room and said, "Mind holding Quinn?"

Rona took the sweet little blonde baby and cradled him in her arms. Richelle started rifling through her drawers and Rona started making faces at him, getting him to smile. She laughed and then he laughed and she couldn't help herself because his laugh was so cute and contagious. They both started giggling together, feeding off each other's laughter. "He's such a good baby," Rona said smiling wider than ever.

"Yeah," Richelle said with a smirk, "He's a real charmer that little stinker. You'll get to meet my other boy Dameon when my husband finally gets back from visiting his parents out in Leyawiin. They'll be here for the rehearsal dinner - Ah hah! Here they are!" She yanked a set of white, brown and dark red leather armor from a drawer and laid it out on the table.

Rona stepped over to look at it, still cradling the baby who was reaching his tiny hands out to her and she said, "Wow, that's beautiful. You're such a talented tailor Richelle."

"Aw thanks!" She grasped Quinn under the arms taking him and said, "Go ahead! Try it on!"

Rona looked at her stunned, "Uh, what?"

"I made it for you! Give them a go!"

"Are you serious?" Rona asked her stunned.

Richelle picked up the leathers and pressed them into Rona's arms then grasped her shoulder and pushed her off towards the changing divider, "I want to see you in them!"

Rona went around the divider and undressed and then started pulling on the snug armor. The trousers were a thick light grey leather that fit perfectly around her hips and thighs. The cuirass was white, with beige pinstripes going all around it. The collar was a large thick piece of brown and black leather that hugged her shoulders nicely and the whole thing laced up in the front. There were long dark red leather gloves, fingerless which she preferred. It even came with a nice belt that had an assortment of holsters, pouches and pockets. It was really nice overall and fit great too.

Rona came around and Richelle looked thrilled, "Yes! Yes! It fits perfect! Looks like my sisters got your measurements just right!"

Rona smirked and asked, "But why did you make me this?"

Richelle shrugged, "Hey you never know when you might need something more durable than a dress right? Especially fighting dragons. When I was making Bishop's armor I was struck with the notion that I should make you some too. Enchanted it myself as well! Resistance to fire and ice."

"This is amazing! Thank you so much Richelle, I really don't know how to repay you."

"Don't worry about it girl. Just do whatever it is your dragon slaying self has to. Roxie tells me you're saving the world or something right? So I figured, hell! Why doesn't she do it in style in one of my own pieces?" Richelle smirked at her and said jokingly, "When you do finally save the world and they ask you who made it, be sure to tell them you got it at Divine Elegance here in Cyrodiil! I call it my Triss Armor set." She winked at Rona who gave a light laugh. Then Richelle said, "Oh yeah, I'm having a friend make the boots for it too. Haven't got them in just yet, but they will match perfectly."

Rona thanked her again and got changed back. She left the armor there and rejoined her friends in the foyer. She was having a good time with them all but was missing Bishop and wondering where he'd gone off to.

(Music is Battleborn Instrumental by Two Steps From Hell)

His sword clashed fiercely with his opponent's, a bosmer, he was facing off against. The damn elf was fucking fast, Bishop had a feeling he was using magic to make himself move quicker, which he felt was unfair, but then again, hardly any of his matches that day had been fair.

Everyone fought dirty in the pit and he learned quick to do just the same. As their swords scraped sharply against one another Bishop snarled into the face of the damn elf and decided to use his shield as a weapon. He threw off the bosmer and immediately lunged with his shield out, cracking the elf hard in the skull with it. He hoped he hadn't killed the fucker, because the last thing he wanted was to get disqualified after the twelve matches he'd already had. The first few were pretty easy for him, but as the day wore on he'd started to wear down. He was playing catch up though, so it was no surprise.

He dared a glance at the bosmer on the ground while still holding his shield at the ready on the off chance the bastard tried to throw a spell at him out of revenge like a few of the assholes he'd fought earlier did. But the elf didn't budge. He'd knocked him out cold.

Bishop took a deep breath and pressed a hand to his knee. He was filthy, covered in a thick layer of sweat and dirt. He had a few nicks and scrapes which had bled a bit.

There was plenty of blood on him that wasn't his too, after he'd managed to get in some fierce and seriously worrisome blows on an orc and an argonian earlier that day. Luckily they'd both lived.

Bishop looked up at the stands where Magrob was sitting. The orc thumbed to the sky. That's when Bishop realized how late it was getting, as the sun had already started to set. It was time to call it a day. He turned around and headed back to the gates where Jedrek was standing by, arms crossed watching him and scowling.

The Imperial hadn't said much at all to him after his first fight and went absolutely silent after the second one. He was surprised when the man actually complimented him, "Good work out there today, Pit Dog."

"Er...thanks," Bishop said awkwardly.

Jedrek's expression hadn't changed in the slightest though and he finally asked him, "What's your name, maggot?"

Bishop had already prepared for this question, "Arrow."

Jedrek's scowl just deepened, "The fuck kind of name is that?"

"Pa was an uncreative fletcher," Bishop said curtly.

The Imperial spat on the ground and just shook his head, walking back into the Bloodworks, "Goddamned idiots every one of yah. Think you can come up with a fancy fucking stage name like you're putting on a prissy little drama for a bunch of puffed up, snotty nobles..."

Bishop decided to go with an alias because if he made it to the finals like he hoped he would, the last thing he wanted was to have his actual name in bold lettering on leaflets and posters all over the city advertising him and whoever else he was facing off against just for Rona find out what he'd been up to.

He met up with Magrob in the Bloodworks and the orc was grinning ear to ear, "Damn, I gotta admit, you're an impressive warrior, although I guess that comes with the territory, slaying dragons and all that."

Jedrek looked over and barked at them, "The fuck you talking about, Bashurn?"

Magrob grinned at the grumpy Imperial, "Oh, you didn't know Jedrek? You've got yourself your very own dragon slayer here."

"You're shitting me," he said unconvinced.

"Not in the slightest. It's how I lost the eye you know," he pointed at the white scarred mess where his left eye used to rest, "Would have lost more than that if the nord here hadn't pulled me out of there. Owe him my life."

Bishop just smirked at Jedrek's skeptical scowl. He looked Bishop up and down again and said, "Guess we'll see if you've got what it takes tomorrow. I'm moving you up from Pit Dog to Bloodletter."

Magrob raised his brows and said, "Skipping him right over Brawler? Damn... Jedrek never does that, you must have really impressed."

"Don't push it," Jedrek growled. Then he looked at Bishop and said, "You're aiming for the finals right Pit Meat? Best get here bright and early then. I expect to see you at the ass-crack of drawn. You'll be doing twice as many battles tomorrow if you even want a chance of getting in."

The Imperial turned away and went back to barking out slurs and criticisms to the other combatants while they trained. Bishop exhaled slowly. He was already feeling absolutely exhausted from the thirteen battles he'd finished that day. He knew he was going to be sore tomorrow.

"Better get changed and we'll get you cleaned up," Magrob said.

"We'll want to get our story straight too, "Bishop said, "Oh and call me Arrow around here."

Magrob snorted a laugh, "That's the name you picked?"

"I'm way too fucking tired to get creative. Also starting to miss my bow."

"No bows," Magrob said, "Too easy to accidentally kill a combatant."

Bishop scoffed, "And yet they allow battle mages to fight."

Bishop got cleaned up in the infirmary where a few kindly mage women, two bretons and an altmer healed all his cuts and scrapes. He used the Arena washroom to clean the filth and grime off of himself, making sure he looked relatively the same as when he left earlier that day.

He returned to their shared suite, wondering if Rona would be back yet and to his surprise she had not returned. He was almost grateful because all he wanted to do was sleep. He ate a quick supper, a sandwich he threw together, drank a bottle of mead and went and passed out on that amazing giant bed of theirs.

He wasn't sure how long he slept for when she finally came in, but he woke up to her straddling him and leaning over his face. He moaned, "Mmm, hey Sweetness."

He could smell the wine on her breath as she slurred playfully, "Wheeere you been all day?"

"Helping Magrob with a surprise for Roxlin," he said promptly. It was all bullshit, but it's what the two had decided to go with, "You know, for their wedding. It's a big deal Princess, and we want to get it just right. Gonna be gone all day tomorrow and the next few days after."

She sat upright and pouted, "Aw... I wanted to spend some time with you though. You sure he needs you tomorrow?"

"Oh definitely," Bishop lied again. He felt awful lying to her face like that, but really didn't want her to worry, especially since he was risking his health just by fighting back to back matches in the Arena, not to mention there was always a risk of death too, even if it was just from a mortal wound or even an accidental killing in the pit itself.

She pursed her lips, making a pathetic, sad face and then leaned in again and smirked, "I have you all to myself now though, right?"

He groaned a little, but not in an eager, 'yes, let's get to fucking', way. It was more of a reluctant, 'oh gods I'm exhausted and I'm going to regret every second of this' way. In her drunken stupor she did not seem to hear the difference and immediately started making the motions to try and get him hard, kissing him and humping him. In all fairness she was doing an alright job of it, plastered as she was, until she stopped suddenly and fell asleep snoring on his chest.

He muttered, "Oh thank the fucking gods." He never thought there'd be a day when he'd be so relieved to not be having sex.

He gently rolled her over onto the bed next to him and curled up behind her, spooning her and resting his arm over her waist. He breathed in the soft scent of her hair and whispered, "I'm sorry Rona... I'll tell you everything after, I promise. Just... keep being happy..."

He was grateful when sleep claimed him, but disgruntled as the first morning light stirred him from his slumber. Rona was in the same exact spot in his arms from the evening before. He pecked her on the cheek, rolled out of bed, got dressed, ate a quick breakfast and was on his way again. He left a brief note for her and hoped she wouldn't be too mad at his sudden disappearance again.

For the next five days Bishop fought match after match, working himself to death. Jedrek was so impressed, or at least, he assumed he must have been, because he started pushing Bishop through the ranks very quickly. From Bloodletter, to Myrmidon, to Warrior, to Gladiator, and finally up to Hero, he was rising fast and the fights were only getting more violent and dangerous.

The challengers were mostly men, although he did face off against a few women. Every single one of them played dirty too, so he made sure to play dirtier. No one seemed to care either, so long as they didn't kill each other in the pit. Bishop was almost positive he'd killed a few combatants, that they'd died in the infirmary from the mortal wounds he'd left on them. He didn't care though. Everyone there just pissed him off and he'd have gladly killed everyone of them if given the opportunity.

Every day he fought in twenty or more battles and every night he'd get all fixed up by the healers in the infirmary and washed clean like it never happened before returning to their suite. His muscles were on fire every evening from pushing himself the way he was. And then he had to entertain Rona and her pestering questions as well.

She was highly suspicious of what he was up to, but he kept telling her that he'd swore up and down to Magrob that he wouldn't say a word to anyone about it. Whatever 'it' was, even he hadn't figured it out. It was nothing but lies. He almost told her everything he was doing one evening just to get her to stop asking, but instead he passed right out from exhaustion.

His absence the last five days was starting to strain their relationship. She was getting angry at him leaving so early and returning so late. Magrob said Roxlin was drilling him the same way every night, but he'd promised to stick with Bishop and see him through it all. Bishop felt like the orc had become a true friend to him which he couldn't have been more grateful for.

Finally on the sixth day of battles, he'd made it. Jedrek moved Bishop up to the rank of Champion and he finished with his twenty-second match of the day. It had been the qualifying matches, meant to thin out the herd. They were allowed to wear their own armor and use any weapons they wanted. The qualifying matches were a free for all, matches to the death, unless their opponent pleaded 'Mercy'. Bishop did not hold back at all. He wore his nice new leathers and used every weapon in his arsenal, including his dragon-bone dagger, his bow and a slew of fire, frost and shock enchanted arrows he'd had made. And of course he had his sword as well as a brand new ebony shield he'd commissioned by a local shield-smith to be enchanted with a spellbreaker for all the battle mages he knew he'd go up against.

His last battle of the day was against another nord. He was a really tough opponent too. He'd almost gotten Bishop a few times, nearly maiming him in his sword arm and his left shoulder, but he'd been getting a lot better with the shield and used it as a weapon itself. He'd deftly evaded the nord's next blow and slammed his shield right into the man's gut, knocking the wind out of him. Bishop got a sharp, deep swipe across the man's chest and quickly pinned him down with his shield.

As he aimed the tip of his blade for the man's face, the nord called 'Mercy!' and it was over. He'd finally done it. He'd made it to the Championship. He would only need to fight in a few more battles, including the one against his own brother tomorrow and then he was supposed to go up against some mystery monster and he was done. Bishop went back towards the gates and Jedrek said, "Got someone here to see you."

Bishop raised a brow at him and Jedrek led the way up into the Bloodworks. His quick rise in the ranks had drawn the attention of quite a few onlookers lately. Plenty of people had filled the stands to watch the qualifiers and he'd heard his alias being spoken about a lot by the locals whenever he walked through the city and occasionally stopped by the Waterfront to check in on Duful and Rook. He was hearing a lot of 'Arrow this and Arrow that,' which just made him glad that he'd used an alias in the first place. But he had also drawn the attention of someone else in particular and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

They went up into the filthy training room where a clean-cut Imperial man dressed in fine clothing stood. He wasn't overdressed though, as he wore sleek black trousers, a white under shirt and a black pin-striped waistcoat. His black boots were absolutely spotless, in fact they looked like they'd been shined that very morning. He had on a single silver ring on his left hand with a family crest on it and his thick black hair was parted on the side and curled over his forehead slightly. He was actually very handsome for an Imperial.

He was also flanked by two very burly, stone-faced breton men. They reminded him of the orcs Biggs and Wedge, as large and muscular as they were. They were no doubt the man's personal protection.

The Imperial looked Bishop over with dark hooded eyes, before he stepped forward, holding out a hand in greeting and gave a gentle smile. His voice was strong and clear, "You must be Arrow. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Bishop thought it wise to take the man's hand instead of reject it. He also thought it wise to put on his friendliest demeanor, "Nice to meet you too... er?"

"Lucias Medici. I am, as I'm sure you already know, the proprietor of the Arena."

"Right," Bishop said nodding slowly, "Good to meet you."

Lucias pulled his hand back and said, "I've heard quite a bit about you. Saw your last three matches as well. You're an incredible warrior, the likes of which I haven't seen here in a long time. You know, there's already people placing bets in your favor for the Grand Champion title match."

Bishop didn't know what to say to the man. He was actually feeling a bit nervous meeting him. He could sense the danger in this person and knew he was getting himself into some real deep shit. Lucias might not be a sadistic fuck like Thorn was, but he could tell the man was not opposed to killing and removing anyone who got in his way.

When Bishop made no reply Lucias smirked a little and asked, "So, what brings you so suddenly to our Arena, if I may ask? Why do you fight? For the septims? Or perhaps for the glory?"

Bishop decided to keep it simple. "For the money," he said, "That's a hell of a lot of gold you're offering and I wanted to try my hand at winning it."

Lucias nodded his head slowly, still studying Bishop, predatorily, sizing him up. Then he said, "I heard you're a dragon-slayer. You come from Skyrim then? Well, obviously, seeing as you're a nord and all."

"Yeah," Bishop said.

"Dragon-slaying not paying well enough these days?"

"Pays fine," Bishop replied, narrowing his eyes a little to meet Lucias' threatening gaze, "But this is easier and the pot is sweeter too."

"Hmm," Lucias hummed and smirked again, "I suppose you must also be looking forward to fighting our Grand Champion. It's a fight to the death you know."

Of course. Being the Grand Champion, Ost was very close to Lucias and so naturally he'd have told him all about his brother. They'd already seen each other a few times in the Arena from a distance.

Bishop just narrowed his eyes further and said slowly, "Can't wait."

Lucias just kept smiling, almost viciously so, "Well take care out there. Our Grand Champion has never lost a fight yet. Although if you do win, I'd love to see how you fair against our mystery monster. Best of luck to you, Arrow."

Lucias left then with his two guards and Bishop watched them go. He made to leave himself, feeling irritated from the conversation when Jedrek stopped him.

"Hey, Pit Meat, matches start at seven in the evening tomorrow. If you manage to beat the Grand Champion you'll have to face some kind of beast, so be ready for that."

Bishop met Jedrek's gaze and asked, "What is it? Do you know?"

"Not a damn clue," Jedrek said, "Lucias has been cooking this one up for a while though. Said it's to bring in more coin from the folks getting disinterested in the Arena battles. But I think he's got another motive."

"Like what?"

Jedrek averted his gaze and shook his head, "Not for me to say. Anyhow," he cleared his throat, "You're doing well out there, so try not to get yourself killed."

The Imperial turned and left, leaving Bishop more bemused than ever. He was starting to think the man actually liked him or something. He'd even let up on the nasty comments and slurs over the past few days.

He hurried along and met with Magrob for a minute to update him on the event tomorrow. They parted ways and he decided to pay a visit to his brother and little sister out on the Waterfront before going back to the Palace. He stopped by a local cafe to pick up some food for them. He wove his way around the Imperial Palace and through the Temple District and out to the Waterfront. He made sure to stay on guard though, on the off chance Ost happened to be around.

He hadn't seen Kari since the night they went to the Bloated Float Inn and he definitely still hadn't seen his own mother. He didn't feel quite ready to meet with the old hagraven after a decade apart. He still felt angry and resentful towards her for everything she ever did, or rather, didn't do, when he was young. Even knowing how far gone she was in her own mental state he couldn't let those feelings go.

There was no sign of any of them around, but he stood in the shadows between the buildings and the wall, waiting on the off chance any of them decided to show up. It was the meeting spot they'd decided on because it was easy to hide in and still see the people coming and going.

He kept his eyes on the small shack in the distance, the one he'd seen Kari go into once before and that Duful pointed out as their current home. The sound of a young man's voice startled him, "Yo."

Bishop practically jumped out of his skin, spinning around and snarled, "Don't fucking do that!"

Duful stood by with their little sister Rook. He laughed and said, "Sorry bro," then he eyed the bag in his brother's hand and said, "Oh yeah! What'd you bring us?"

"Dinner," Bishop said promptly handing him the bag of Cyrodiil sandwiches.

"Aw sweet! These are the best!" Duful stuffed his hand into the bag and pulled the food out, passing one of the sandwiches off to Rook who looked just as excited to be eating so well.

Bishop sat down with his back against the wall and the other two joined him, tucking into their food. He smiled at Rook, she didn't shy away in the slightest though. She was actually quite bold once she got used to new people. In fact she was a real chatterbox now that she knew Bishop was her older brother. She seemed to enjoy talking to him. He liked it too and she reminded him so much of Jules. She was only two years older than her own niece, Holly, and he wondered if the two would ever get to meet and if they would get along.

He'd started hoping that after it was all over, he might be able to bring his family back together. It was a faint and optimistic thought he held and however improbable it was, he clung to it. At the very least he was glad to have the two of them in his life again.

Duful asked through a mouthful, "So you said you're using the name Arrow in the Arena right?"

"Yeah," Bishop said, "That's right."

"Why?" He took another big bite of his sandwich.

"Because I don't want my woman to know the kind of trouble I'm getting myself into."

Duful grinned with a mouthful of bread, "You men da Dragahborm wight?"

Bishop chuckled, "Would you swallow your damn food before you talk?"

Duful swallowed and said, "The Dragonborn right?"

Bishop sighed, "Yeah, the Dragonborn."

"Is she hot?" Duful asked jokingly, "You know, cuz she's a dragon or something?"

"You're an idiot," Bishop laughed at him, "She's definitely hot though, not because of the dragon thing, but for plenty of other reasons. Been getting pissed at me lately though."

"Damn bro, I wouldn't mess with a girl like that. She breathes fire right?"

"And ice," Bishop added, smirking.

"Shit..." Duful tore into another bite of food.

Rook said, "Ost's been getting mad."

Bishop looked down at her, "Mad how?"

"He keeps coming in and breaking things. He hit Kari really bad yesterday."

Bishop looked seriously at Duful who was averting his gaze. "What the fuck Duful? Talk to me."

Duful frowned, "Look, I didn't want to worry you, alright? But with you rising in the ranks so quick... Ost is starting to lose it. I think he's actually afraid of you."

Bishop paused, mulling over that for a minute. If his getting that much closer to facing his brother in the Pit was scaring him enough to lash out at the family, Bishop couldn't risk leaving them there.

"I'm going to give you some gold," Bishop said.

"If Ost finds it, he'll just take it," Duful objected.

"He's not going to find it," Bishop said, "You two are going to stay at an inn nearby."

Duful knit his brows together, "We can't leave. He'll know! All the guards know what we look like. They'll tell him, he'll find us and then do gods know what to us. Beat the living shit out of me and then Rook..." He looked down at the little girl, mortified. Then he added, "Can't leave Kari and Ma either."

"She's not even your real mother!" Bishop barked.

Duful shrugged, "Closest I ever had to one. But, really, I can't leave Kari. Ost will fucking destroy her if he finds out we left."

"I can't lose you two," Bishop said gritting his teeth, "I already lost Jules. I can't lose what's left of my family. You're everything to me, you know?"

Duful looked at him, taken aback by his declaration, then he smiled and said, "Look, we'll be fine, Bishop. I'll high tail it out of here with Rook to someplace safe if Ost starts to lose his shit again, I swear. Just keep doing what you're doing. It'll be okay. 'Sides, I run way faster than that potato anyhow."

Bishop looked mournfully at his younger brother and Duful just pat him on the arm and said, "Quit looking so sad bro! You're actually doing it! You're almost there. After tomorrow Ost will be dead and we'll be free, all thanks to you."

Bishop nodded slowly, "I swear to you both, I will get you the hell out of this place. I take care of my own."

He left them shortly thereafter, feeling tired and wanting to get as much sleep in as he could. When he got back to their suite late that evening he found it completely empty. Rona was nowhere to be found. He did, however, find an angrily scrawled note on the kitchen counter and read it over.

Bishop,

I'm spending the night at the estate with the girls. I would like to see you again soon, but since you'd rather spend all your time doing whatever it is you're doing I'll just leave you to it. See you whenever!

Rona

He frowned at the angry letter. She was definitely still pissed with him. He'd been blowing her off for five days straight, disappearing very early and then coming back incredibly late. The night before she'd even tried to fool around with him but he was just too tired and fell asleep on her halfway through. She threw him off of her, livid, demanding to know what he was really doing. He wouldn't say though. He couldn't. This was his problem now and he intended to finish what he'd started without involving her. He felt, even as angry as she was with him, it was better than her worrying over his safety or trying to talk him out of it, and he knew she'd try to talk him out of it. Try to convince him that whatever money he'd needed could come from her.

But he couldn't take it. He'd already sworn to himself that her engagement ring would come from all his efforts and he was going to do just that. He'd kill his brother, beat the monster, collect his money and confess everything to her after the fact, at least, everything but the ring.

He undressed and face planted right into the bed, rolling over on those nice sheets and fell into a very deep sleep. If he had his way, he was going to sleep forever.

The girls were sitting around a pretty white, iron-wrought, table with matching chairs in the atrium which had an amazing view of the garden through large shining bay windows. The garden was covered and fenced in with crisscrossing white trellis which had a magnificent array of vines and flowers weaving up and over it. Plenty of flowery bushes were scattered throughout and arranged in neat patterns around several fountains. Butterflies and bees fluttered and buzzed around, dotting the blooming flora all around.

Roxlin grumbled through her bite of pastry, "Magrob took off early this morning again. He still won't tell me what he's up to!"

Rona sighed, twirling a spoon in her teacup and asked, "Has he been really tired lately?"

Roxlin raised a brow at her, "No. Not at all, why do you ask?"

"Because Bishop comes back late and then just passes out. Every night, he's completely exhausted and he still won't tell me a thing."

"Well this better be one fucking amazing surprise," Roxlin growled.

Charissa looked between them both, looking like she wanted to say something but Lorrie spoke up first, "You don't think they're fooling around do you?"

Charissa snickered under her breath and Roxlin and Rona both gaped at her and Lorrie quickly clarified, "Not with each other! Oh my gods, honestly! But I just mean like with... other women."

Rona highly doubted that, Bishop was not the disloyal type and there was nothing that really led up to this sudden change in his behavior that would make her suspect that. At least there was certainly nothing she did that she could think of that would push him into the arms of another woman.

"No," Rona said, "They're up to something, but I don't think they'd do that. I just can't figure out what it really is though. I mean, what could possibly be leaving Bishop absolutely dead tired every night but not Magrob?"

"You got me," Roxlin said shrugging her shoulders and taking a sip of her tea.

"Forget those two," Charissa said, "Let's just keep having fun without them. The wedding is in another three days and maybe they really are working on some big surprise or whatever. Either way, we'll find out then."

Rona was almost disappointed that the wedding was so close. She'd been enjoying her time in Cyrodiil a lot and didn't want it to be over, because when it was she was due back to the pressing destiny that plagued her life up in Skyrim.

Charissa said, "So, Roxlin, I have a surprise of my own for you." She fished through a pouch on her belt and pulled out four tickets and put them in the middle of the table.

Roxlin took one and then squealed, "WOW! Really!? This is so awesome Charissa!"

"What is it?" Rona leaned over her shoulder, trying to look at the ticket.

"They're front row seats to the Arena tonight!" Roxlin shouted, "I thought I'd have to miss the big event because we didn't buy any tickets on time, but oh my gods! How did you get these!?"

Charissa grinned at her and said, "I have my ways and I know how much you love a good, bloody, battle to the death. Figured we could all go together, girl's night out."

"Oh this is so exciting!" Roxlin practically squeaked with glee, then threw her hands on the table, "You know the Grand Champion is supposed to fight some mystery monster too? I can't wait to see this! Thank you Charissa!" She hopped up running over to give her a big hug.

Rona was still feeling down, but tried to get excited for their day out. She had a nagging feeling that Bishop had been lying to her for the last five days about what he was up to. Things had changed so abruptly after their night partying at the inn on the Waterfront. It was right after he'd disappeared to go get a hat he didn't even care about. Something had happened, she just knew it. But she didn't know what yet. She kept thinking about the bruise on his neck and wondering what that had really been all about too.

She let it go though, trying her damndest not to let it fester in her mind and instead focused on enjoying her time with her friends. Things with Charissa had been okay too, although they continued to avoid the topic of their brief and drunk kiss as both seemed to not want to broach that subject.

The manor had quieted down a lot too, with all the women getting along, especially now with all the men around to distract them and keep them busy. Rona had plenty of fun nights partying with Roxlin's family and singing with all her sisters and cousins the last five days too. The only person who'd made themselves scarce was Aunt Mina and Roxlin highly suspected that the woman had one last scheme up her sleeve, especially since it was her room Rona blew the windows out of and boy did that woman know how to hold a grudge.

They spent the whole day in, visiting with Roxlin's family before they got dressed to go out that evening. Rona wore her usual red dress and the others put on their own Fighter's Guild armor, save for Lorrie who instead wore her green mages robes. They figured since it was an event for warriors they might as well dress as they usually did. Like warriors.

Rona was amazed when they arrived at the Arena, a huge Coliseum of a building. It wasn't the first time she'd seen it of course, but she'd never actually been inside. What amazed her though was not the building itself, but the sheer number of people that had come to see the matches. Although she suspected the headlining monster was the main reason people had arrived.

"Bet it's the biggest ogre we've ever seen!" Roxlin shouted over the loud crowds as they pushed their way into the seating area of the Arena.

"Maybe it's a Daedroth," Lorrie suggested.

"I'm thinking a minotaur lord," Charissa tossed.

Rona laughed, "What are the chances they caught a dragon from Skyrim and dragged it all the way here?"

Roxlin looked at her wide-eyed and Charissa scoffed, "Uh, yeah, I don't think so."

They found their seats at the edge of the Arena walls. It was a perfect view of the pit down below. The stands were absolutely packed, wall to wall with people and they could hardly hear each other over all the other chatter and speculations people were making about the mystery monster.

As it got darker there were mages at the top of the structure that cast bright candlelight spells to illuminate the entire Arena. There was a single spectators box set in the center of the south side of the Coliseum where a finely dressed Imperial man was seated with several other high ranking nobles. One of them Rona realized was the Emperor himself. She was surprised to see Titus Mede present at such a bloody event.

The Imperial man stood up then, approaching the edge of the box and the chattering died down to complete silence. He spoke loudly and with profound strength in his voice.

"Welcome citizens of Cyrodiil! And welcome to those of you who have traveled great distances from other lands to join us in our glorious Imperial City! I cannot thank you enough for your patronage to our humble Arena! Even our great Emperor Titus Mede the Second has agreed to join us and represent our own at the head of the King's Podium! Now, let us get on with the games! For our first match this evening, I present to you, all the way from the lands of Morrowind, a deadly assassin, who lays claim as a former member of the Morag Tong, Drohdis the Dark!"

The gate to their far right creaked open and a formidable looking dunmer man stepped out into the pit. He was dressed head to toe in actual Morag Tong assassin armor with his head and face covered in the bone chitin armor, except for his vicious red eyes. His weapons consisted of a pair of short swords and what appeared to be twenty or more throwing knives, glinting on his belt.

"And for our second Champion, one of our newest combatants in the Arena, who rose very quickly in the ranks, proving himself an unbeatable and highly formidable foe in every match thus far, I present to you the dragon-slayer extraordinaire, Arrow!"

Rona's heart nearly stopped at those words. Dragon-slayer. Dragon-slayer!? The gate to the left creaked open and all her mounting suspicions were confirmed in an instant because Bishop stepped out, wearing his new leather armor, with his brother's sword in hand, and she was surprised to see a shield in the other.

She felt her blood absolutely boiling in anger.

"You can't be fucking serious," Charissa blurted.

"Oh. My. Gods." Roxlin muttered beside her.

Rona just stared at him. This is what he was doing? But why? Why had he lied about this? She didn't understand. Did he honestly think she wouldn't have approved of him fighting matches in the Arena? Well... to be honest, she wouldn't have. Not with the wedding coming up and certainly not when he was meant to face off against people as deadly as former assassins in fights to the death. But why did he want to do it anyways? He was the one who was constantly moaning about needing to take a real vacation and this was far from that.

"I'M GONNA WRING HIS NECK!" Roxlin roared and stood up, looking around the stands. She spotted Magrob several stands up and pushed her way through the boisterous crowds. The orc was cheering Bishop on, right up until Roxlin appeared right in front of him and then he made a face like he'd just been caught in bed with another woman.

They watched for a moment as Roxlin lit into him, though they couldn't hear a damn thing over the roars of the crowd. Rona quickly turned her attention back to Bishop though, feeling absolutely terrified for him.

He hadn't noticed her at all, probably because the stands were a bit darker than the pit itself and he was wise not to take his eyes off his current opponent.

Then they heard someone shout, "LET THE MATCH - BEGIN!"

(The Music is The Last Stand by Two Steps From Hell)

Bishop was ready. He'd gotten a full nights rest and more. He'd trained for a bit beforehand, getting himself properly stretched and pumped up for this. He was going to finish off each opponent as quickly as possible. There were only five matches, which meant he'd only have to face off against three total combatants that evening, including his brother.

He got into a fighting stance, spreading his legs out and holding his shield up and held his sword at the ready. The dunmer opponent paced back and forth in the Arena, sizing him up or perhaps waiting for him to make the first move. Bishop kept his eyes trained on the man and noticed when he turned just enough so that his left hand and left hip were out of sight, in that split second the dunmer twisted swiftly launching a glittering throwing knife at him.

Bishop was quick to react though, blocking with his shield. But when he moved the shield away the dunmer was gone from his spot. Bishop grit his teeth, pissed at himself for falling for that one.

He quickly backed himself up to the edge of the Coliseum walls to make sure that his back was at least protected while he searched for any sign of a thin outline of an invisible man. Then he saw it, another knife splintering his way, he blocked again with his shield, but then felt something sharp hit him in his sword arm. He looked over at it, another knife. The dunmer had moved fast, throwing the first one to distract him and then the second to hit him.

He made the quick decision to sheath his sword and snagged a potion from his pocket, drinking it quickly to ward off whatever poison had been stuck to the knife in his arm. He yanked it out of his arm and slid it into his belt. Something caught his eye then, the faint outline of an invisible man, just barely gleaming with the way the mage's candlelight touched him. He averted his gaze, not wanting the dunmer to know he'd seen.

He undid the straps on his shield then and held it like a discus, then he spun swiftly on toe, putting his weight into the move and flung it right where the dunmer was standing. As the elf made to block the incoming shield, in his distraction, he hadn't noticed Bishop swiftly draw his bow because in less than a second he was pelted with three shock arrows which broke his invisibility and stunned him. Bishop did not hesitate to start firing arrows rapidly, one after the other right into the chest of the man.

He got him at least a dozen times in the body and twice in the arm. The dunmer's eyes started to roll and Bishop snatched his dragon-bone dagger from his belt and snarled, "This is how you throw a fucking knife!"

He threw the blade sharply at the dunmer, getting him square in the eye, killing him. He was glad it was over because whatever poison had been on the dunmer's throwing knife was a lot stronger than he expected. He looked up at the roaring crowd for just a moment as everything started to slowly spin around him. He thought that for just a second he saw Rona in the stands, but that wasn't possible. She had no idea he was there. He quickly retreated to the gates where Jedrek caught him under the arm as he was about to topple over and gave him a few choice words, "Fucking shit-head. Letting a little poison get to you. Come on, let's get you down to the infirmary. The ladies will get you all fixed up. You'll get a break between the matches and it looks like you'll need it since you're such a goddamn pussy."

"Fuck you," Bishop mumbled and Jedrek laughed.

The Imperial got him down into the infirmary quickly and the women went right to work on him, but moved a little faster when Jedrek said, "Got him with poison."

Bishop yanked the throwing knife from his belt and passed it off to the altmer woman. She took it over to her alchemy table and quickly tested it. He heard her muttering something before she quickly threw together some sort of mixture and passed it to him, "Hold your nose and drink it all. Should be the right antidote. Good thing you brought that knife. That poison was made with Jarrin Root, really potent and deadly stuff. You'll be good to go again in another hour."

He downed the nasty mixture while one of the breton women healed the cut in his forearm where the knife had got him.

"You got damn lucky out there Pit Meat," Jedrek said, "Barely a scratch on you. You sure managed to fuck over that grey-skin real quick though."

"Trying to get through this fast," Bishop muttered as one of the ladies made him lay down on the bed.

"Smart," Jedrek said, "I'll keep an eye out to see who you're up against next."

Bishop lay there staring at the ceiling and thought back to what he'd seen through his blurring vision. It really did look like Rona, absolutely mortified to see him out there. In fact, it looked like she was with all her friends. He tried to shake it off. Maybe the poison was making him hallucinate. It had to be, he told himself.

It was barely forty minutes when Jedrek came back and said, "You're up nord."

The altmer woman said, "He needs more time!"

"You know how it is Cecilia. He fights as is. Come on Pit Meat."

Bishop sat up and stumbled to get his bearings for a minute. It wasn't good, he was still feeling a little off from the effects of the poison. But he forced himself to move anyhow. Jedrek led him back down to the gates where his shield and dagger were. He collected them and waited for the next match to start.

"Going up against one of the most nasty she-cats I've ever seen. Watch out for her claws, oh and she will not hesitate to use her teeth either. Not a magic user, thankfully, but she's got one damn nasty scythe."

"A scythe?" Bishop gaped at him.

"Free for all Pit Meat, now go."

(The Music is Cry by Two Steps From Hell)

The gate rumbled and rose up then. Bishop stepped out, this time he decided on starting with his bow. He got a good look at the khajiit woman, all dressed in blue leather armor, with a dark hood covering her ears. She was holding the biggest scythe he'd ever seen too. He'd never fought someone with a weapon like that before. In fact, he'd never considered something like that as a weapon since farmers typically used scythes to cut wheat or grass.

She was quite beautiful for a khajiit, white fur, speckled with dark grey ring shapes. Her eyes were a dark blue and her smile was almost sweet. But he could see the deadliness in her movements alone. It was no wonder she'd made it that far. No one would suspect a sweet smiling khajiit woman to brutally maim or murder them.

He didn't let his guard down for a second, at least he tried not to, but he was still feeling woozy from the poison. Her tail flicked back and forth predatorily while she held that grin on her black lips and scanned him over with her big eyes.

The second they heard the words, "LET THE MATCH - BEGIN!" Bishop was already yanking arrows from his quiver and firing them at her. She actually took the handle of the scythe, into her mouth and started pelting off the ground on all fours, running right for him. He tried to keep his aim steady on her, but the combination of her weaving back and forth and his fog-headedness was making getting a hit in really difficult.

She was getting way too close for comfort too, especially when she pounced off the ground, high into the air, and yanked her scythe from her mouth with her hands, bearing down on him with it. He shunted out of the way, but felt as she cut a deep swath across his right calf. He tumbled and rolled then, yanking his sword from its sheath as he went and spun around just in time for the dragon-bone edge of his blade to clash with her curved blade.

She hissed at him and he caught his breath, trying to ignore the stinging pain in his calf. Then she leapt backwards, like Rona could do, somersaulting swiftly, still holding that insane weapon. She landed on her feet and looked him over again, smirking viciously as she caught sight of his wounded leg. Her tail was practically snapping back and forth with delight at his predicament.

He started to wonder if she won, if Ost would be able to beat her. But then again, he didn't want to lose because he definitely didn't want to die there and you couldn't call 'Mercy' in the final matches. They were absolute, no holds barred, fights to the death.

This was bad. He wasn't sure if he could move with his leg the way it was. But he sure as hell forced himself to try, using his sword for leverage, he pushed himself off the ground and stood upright only to sink immediately to his knee, as his leg caved with the pain. She laughed at him then, derisively. She was taunting him, just standing there, making no move against him, yet.

He had to get that fucking scythe away from her somehow. Although he wasn't sure how keen he was on taking her claws and teeth over that weapon either. He had an idea then, bold and stupid as it was, it was something.

He smirked at her and barked, "What are you so afraid kitten? Worried the big bad wolf will bite?"

Her sneer was wiped right from her face then. He laughed at her, loudly, purposefully provoking her. She did not like that it seemed and he snarled, "Come get some kitty-cat."

She hissed, "Fine. You want to die, nord? Then let me bring you sweet release!"

She pelted off the ground, spinning her scythe in wide circles and he watched carefully, waiting for just the right moment. As she drew nearer to him he pulled his dagger from its sheath and threw it right at her. It was enough to distract her, to force her to block it and then he made his move, gritting his teeth through the pain in his leg, pushing himself off the ground, he deftly evaded her spinning scythe, only getting a few grazes on the shoulders and leaving her utterly stunned as he full body slammed right into her, knocking the wind right out of her.

Her weapon went spinning across the arena and while still sitting on top of her, holding her throat with his knee, he raised his sword with both hands, making to come down directly into her face. But she dug her claws up into his ribs, making him howl in pain. It was her last move and he had to end it quickly. He endured that pain like he'd always endured every kind of pain inflicted on him his entire life and slammed his sword right between her eyes with a loud crunching, squelch.

She went limp, but her claws remained in his sides and he released the grip on his sword to yank them from his body, painfully so. He was completely ignoring the roaring cheers from the crowd above, chanting, "Arrow! Arrow! Arrow!"

He just grumbled, "Fucking idiots."

But then he heard one voice that stood out among the rest. One that knew his real name.

"BISHOP!"

He looked up at the sound of it and saw her staring right at him, brows knit tightly together, hands clutching the edge of the wall separating her from him and his heart sank.