Trigger Warning: Graphic depictions of violence and death.
Chapter 87
GRAND CHAMPION VS THE BEAST
She looked at him with those beautiful green eyes, pleading with him and asking, why?
All he could do was mouth, I'm sorry, because everything else would be lost in translation. The pain in his leg reminded him of what he needed to do then. He had to go get healed as soon as he could in the infirmary before shortly returning to finally face his brother.
He turned away from her and limped back into the gates where Jedrek helped carry him down to the healers. They fixed him up as well as they could in the time they had. Bishop made them focus on his leg, because the deep gash in it had split his muscle wide open and hurt like hell and he really needed both legs working for this battle.
"Time to get out there," Jedrek said after only ten short minutes.
The altmer woman bristled at him, "We're not finished yet!"
"Already told you Cecilia-"
"It's fine," Bishop said quickly. He pulled a bottle of Qetesh's Best he'd mixed up himself and downed it. It helped dull the pain definitely, but didn't heal him the way he'd hoped because he still wasn't very good at making them as potent as Qetesh could.
He hurried along with Jedrek and they stopped at the gates, listening as Lucias Medici started introducing the Grand Champion.
Jedrek was staring at the gate when he said, "I know your focus is on this match, on killing your brother-"
Bishop was stunned by his remark and stared right at him. Jedrek met his gaze looking serious when he said, "But after you kill him, do me a favor and keep an eye out for the Emperor. Whatever this mystery monster is, we have no doubt that Lucias is planning to use it to assassinate Emperor Titus."
Bishop looked at him with dawning realization, "You're-"
"An undercover agent for the Palace," Jedrek actually cracked a smile, which Bishop honestly didn't think he could physically do considering his permanent scowl over the last seven days, "Been doing this for years now, trying to crack open this place and expose it for what it is. Lucias never trusted me as much as I'd hoped though. Oh and uh, sorry for all the racist shit," he smirked, "It was part of my undercover identity. But I will admit, it was kind of fun pissing you off like that."
Bishop returned the smirk and laughed, "You damn dirty bastard."
"You really are kind of skinny for a nord though," he chuckled as the gate creaked open, "Good luck out there, Bishop. Don't fucking die."
"I don't plan to, not while my woman's watching."
(Background music is No Honor In Blood by Two Steps From Hell)
Bishop stepped into the Arena once more to the roaring cheers of the crowd. Across the way was Ost, looking as smug as ever, holding his Daedric helmet under his arm.
Bishop chanced a glance back at Rona, who was still watching him with worry etched all over her face. All her friends were there too, including Magrob who was standing by looking like he was in deep shit. Which he was since Roxlin was lighting into him and punching him in the arm. She was absolutely tiny compared to the orc, but damn was she feisty.
Bishop turned his focus back onto the task at hand though. He'd seen his brother fight a few times over the last week. He specialized with a huge and formidable Daedric greatsword. He was definitely going to be a challenge. Ost was all muscle and brute strength. He also wore a set of heavy duty, black Daedric armor, definitely chosen because it made him appear more threatening and because of how hard it was to pierce. Bishop figured it must have been a gift from his generous benefactor, Lucias Medici, because there was no way in Oblivion that Ost managed to get the materials to have something like that forged.
Ost gave him one last nasty smirk before putting his pointed helmet on. He was completely suited up. Bishop knew this was going to be a real challenge, getting through that hard shell he'd put around himself. But he had plenty of enchanted arrows and his own sword and shield.
His heart was pounding in his chest as he waited for the match to start. And then something happened which he was not expecting. Ost raised a hand and thumbed back behind him. Bishop looked at him confused for a minute, as there was nothing behind the man but wall. But then he looked up into the stands and was horrified to see all of this siblings, Kari, Duful and Rook staring down at him with three very threatening nord men standing at their backs.
Bishop felt a vein pulse hard in his head as Duful gave him the most terrified pleading look he'd ever seen. Kari just stared vacantly out at the pit, not looking at any of them and Rook looked like she'd been crying.
Ost was using them as leverage. He was trying to use them to get Bishop to throw the match in order to save them. His blood was absolutely boiling then, his desire to kill stronger than ever.
Then they heard the call, "LET THE MATCH - BEGIN!"
(Background music is Preliator and then Doomsday by Globus)
Bishop pelted off the ground, blinded by pure rage. Shield at the ready, sword in hand he was going to gut Ost for this. He was going to hack that ugly head from his shoulders and throw it to the monster as a gift.
Ost had his own sword at the ready and Bishop made sure his dragon-bone edge met with Ost's Daedric blade. They hit with a resounding clash and then Bishop threw his shield out, under the greatsword, flinging it upward and throwing Ost off balance for just a moment. He leapt in with his new opening, jabbing swiftly at his chest plate. The armor cracked from the hardness of the dragon bone but did not break. Then Ost regained his footing and kicked Bishop in the gut, throwing him down onto his back a few paces. He rolled out of the way just as Ost came lumbering down with the sharp edge of his blade, sinking it into the earth instead.
Bishop came up behind him, getting a few more swings in against that armor, cracking it more. Ost was definitely slow compared to him, but he knew if the man got even one hit in, he'd easily lose an arm, a leg or even his head. Ost spun around, bringing that huge blade with him and Bishop leapt back just in time for it to barely slice across his midriff, cutting a swath into his new armor, and only grazed his skin underneath. That only served to piss him off even more though.
Ost lumbered forward and brought his blade swinging down hard. Bishop blocked with his shield and it felt like the bones in his arm were going to snap just from the sheer force of the blow alone. His brother was incredibly strong, however as he kept putting the pressure on the shield, Bishop used the opening to jab more at that damn armor, getting him in the chest plate some more. Ost pulled his blade back, giving Bishop a chance to breathe, before he slammed it back against his shield again, throwing him right off his feet and sending him careening across the pit, kicking up dust as he rolled.
He hurried to push himself off the ground just as Ost came bull-rushing forward again, swinging that damn blade. Just as he got up, he felt it swipe hard against his back, carving deeply into his flesh and tearing up his poor armor.
He fell forward again in pain and scrambled to move and that huge blade sunk into the ground right next to his head, narrowly missing him. Ost was still just too slow with that hindering armor and he figured it was probably hard to see out of that stupid helmet too. He quickly rolled out of the way, just as Ost yanked his blade from the earth and slammed it back down, another few inches from where Bishop's leg just was. He got to his feet and ran over towards one of the walls, gritting his teeth with the stinging pain in his back and the light one in his midriff. He turned around and watched Ost warily.
Ost pulled his blade from the ground again and held it out with one hand. He started laughing and said, "You realize what's going to happen if you try to win, right? Might as well give up now Bishop."
"Never," Bishop snarled back.
"Then they'll die," Ost muttered angrily, trying to be threatening.
Bishop just smirked at him, "What? In front of all these people? In front of the Emperor himself? Yeah I doubt even you'd be that stupid."
"I'll fucking do it Bishop!" He pointed his enormous blade at him, "Go ahead and mock me one more time. Just say the word and I'll have them gutted right in front of you, right here, right now!"
He was like a child throwing a tantrum for not getting his way. Bishop hesitated realizing that maybe Ost really was just that stupid. He glanced up at his siblings for just a second. The men holding them probably had concealed knives at their backs. They could quickly and easily stab an artery or other vital organ and leave them to die right there in the stands, in the darkness and no one would be the wiser.
Rona was covering her eyes and moaned, "Oooh, I can't look. Tell me when it's over!"
"Rona..." Charissa touched her arm, "It's going to be okay. He's doing fine."
"They're just talking to each other," Roxlin said.
Rona uncovered her eyes and saw Bishop and his brother conversing for a moment. And then he looked up into the stands again. He kept looking there for some reason. But in that moment Ost started charging forward, with his blade swinging and Bishop didn't seem to notice. Rona felt all her nerves leap with fear and she screamed, "BISHOP!"
He jolted at the sound of her voice and ducked just as Ost's greatsword swung over his head, narrowly missing him. He took that opportunity to lunge himself forward, barreling right into his brother's sharp armor with his shield. Some of the sharp points on the armor punctured parts of his unprotected arms and his legs, but he did manage to knock that damn brick wall of a man over.
They all watched as Ost toppled to the ground hard and Bishop cast his shield and sword aside, snatching his dagger from his belt and pounced on him, starting to hack away at the crevices of his armor, snapping the leather bindings holding it all in place. He managed to tear apart the bits holding the arm pieces on and then he aimed for an opening under the helmet going for his brother's neck when Ost roared, "DO IT!"
Rona did not understand why, but Bishop leapt back off of him and ran to the outer wall, he looked up at that same spot in the stands again and Rona squinted her eyes through the darkness, trying to see what he was seeing. That's when she noticed them. Three people held at the front of the Arena stands, two adults and a child, with three very malicious looking nords at their backs.
She acted immediately, shoving Roxlin and Lorrie out of the way and barreling past Magrob as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her through the crowds. She rounded right around the King's Podium, catching the eye of the Emperor for just a moment before continuing her race to help these strangers.
Strangers that obviously meant something to Bishop because he'd given up the opportunity to kill his opponent for them. She watched as one of the nord men forced a young redguard forward, towards the edge of the wall, overlooking the pit. She saw the dagger pressed to the lad's back and she lit her hands with crackling electrical magic and shouted, "WULD NAH KEST!" She bound off the ground, throwing herself forward, over the crowd who was so entranced by the battle below that they hardly noticed her, or her shout.
She landed right behind the nord and threw her hands onto him and released a powerful shockwave right into his body, making him shudder painfully. He released the redguard and collapsed onto the ground. Then she lit her hands with golden flames and looked at the other two murderously. They immediately released their captives and ran for it.
The redguard looked at her and said, "Whoa! You must be his girl... right? The Dragonborn?"
Rona was stunned when she looked at the redguard. He was the spitting image of Bishop if he'd had dark skin, curly hair and dark eyes. Their facial features were so alike though, it was uncanny. She realized then, that this must have been one of his brothers and she glanced at the other two. The full blooded nord woman with honey-brown hair and golden eyes was enough to convince her as much that they were his other siblings. Things were slowly starting to click into place then. She brushed past the redguard lad, gripped the edge of the wall, looked right at Bishop and shouted furiously, "FUCKING KILL HIM BISHOP!"
He felt heartened at her support for him. He drew his bow then and looked on at Ost, who'd stood up holding his greatsword at the ready again, but he was now missing the pauldrons and gauntlets of his armor since Bishop had snapped the bindings holding them together. He roared something nonsensical out of anger, throwing another tantrum perhaps because he was so used to getting his way, being at the top and controlling others beneath him. Bishop couldn't see his face, but he knew that Ost was outraged and probably worried now that his dirty trick had been foiled and he no longer had any leverage to stop Bishop from absolutely murdering him in front of all those people.
Bishop gave him the nastiest, smug look he could muster which only served to enrage his brother even more. It was definitely something they shared, being easily thrown into a blind rage, something they'd inherited from their father no doubt, but Bishop had learned to control his anger over the last year. He was pissed now, but he had people who cared about him there supporting him, especially her. He knew when it was all over, he'd get the tongue lashing of a lifetime, but he was so glad she was there.
Ost barreled forward then, running in his fury and Bishop started nocking frigid, frost arrows and going for the only open spots on his brother, his arms. Even with hit after hit into his flesh, Ost didn't stop his momentum. However, as he tried to raise his greatsword, his arms would not move. Bishop had frozen the muscle tissue within and even if he could move them, his arms would probably shatter.
Bishop belted out of the way as Ost roared past him and he started pulling out his shock arrows and firing them at the cracks in his brother's armor. Ost spun around, still gripping his greatsword and Bishop started to pelt the front of his armor. With each hard shock the cracks started to splinter more and more until finally he managed to burst a hole in that ugly black armor. With the new opening, he quickly nocked his fire arrows and landed two shots directly dead center into Ost's chest.
His brother lurched to a stop and Bishop stowed his bow away as he watched Ost fall to his knees. He walked over picking up his sword and he carefully approached Ost, who was wobbling a bit, finally feeling the effects of all the enchanted arrows penetrating his flesh. He was also gurgling and struggling to breathe.
Bishop stood over his brother's kneeling position and looked at the Daedric greatsword clutched in his grasp in front of him. Bishop did not hesitate when he brought his sword up and then slammed it down, right through Ost's wrists. Being frozen though, they just exploded apart, leaving disgusting splintered pieces of icy cold meat where his hands once were.
Bishop knelt down then and yanked his brother's helmet off his head, casting it aside. He looked Ost right in the eyes narrowing his own into the fiercest scowling slits he could muster and said, "How's it feel to have my arrows fucking you when you don't want it? Hurts, doesn't it?" He flicked one of the fletchings on the arrows and uttered,"These are for my sisters and every sick thing you ever did to them you vile shit."
Ost just gasped, choking up blood, because one of his arrows stuck in his lung. He looked like he was in a lot of pain too, which was exactly what Bishop wanted. Payback for all the pain he'd inflicted on his brothers and sisters. Then he stood up again and used a foot to kick his brother over onto his back. He gasped for air and his eyes were pleading with him. But Bishop had no mercy to give to Torban's cruelest spawn and he snarled at him, "TASTE MY BLADE!" And slammed his sword straight through the opening in Daedric armor, right where his heart lay, killing him. The light from Ost's eyes faded and it was finally over.
He'd done it. He'd killed his brother in mortal combat and legally too, in the Arena. He couldn't be arrested for it. He sighed, taking a deep breath and looked back up at Rona who didn't look angry, just worried still. He hated seeing her like that, but then he remembered he still had one final battle, which may have explained her trepidation.
He heard Lucias Medici's voice and looked up at the King's Podium where he stood, getting the cheering crowd to quiet with just his standing presence alone.
When the Arena was silent he said, "Today we have seen incredible skill and courage from our warriors and today I have the honor of crowning our new Grand Champion - Arrow!"
The crowd roared cheering again, though there were some jeers as well. Bishop assumed the few people booing must have lost their bets on the fight.
Some Arena attendants came out and he was quickly ushered towards the gates. They grabbed his weapons, returning them to him and immediately disposed of Ost's body, somewhere down below. All of a sudden, incredibly thick, iron-wrought fencing started to rise from the upper walls where the crowd stood, blocking them out from the Arena entirely.
The fencing moved up and arched together at the top, creating a sort of caged in bubble. There were wide openings between the bars, allowing the crowd to see inside still, but it was clearly a protective measure for them. Bishop started to wonder just what the hell he was fighting that the crowd needed this kind of protection for. Then he saw twenty or more battle mages gathering around in places along the walls and they all cast out wards which melded together and morphed over the bars, filling the open spaces with a clear protective barrier.
He was fighting something that required defensive with wards. Something which could cast magic? He thought of a dragon priest. He'd fought those before so that wouldn't be too difficult and he at least had a spellbreaker on his shield.
But then the ground under his feet rumbled and the floor of the Arena started to open up. In seconds the enormous beast below was forced to rise up, on a large steel surface.
"You can't be fucking serious," Bishop gaped at the sight of the thing.
(Background music is Archangel and then Unforgiven by Two Steps From Hell)
A very large red backed and white chested dragon sat crouched on the steel plate. The damn thing already looked pretty beat up too with rips and tears in its wings, making it impossible to fly. Its flesh had been flayed in places, most likely in attempts to control it. It was chained with thick steel shackles around its legs and even thicker chains coming off of those. Its snout had been clamped shut with a wrought-iron muzzle giving it no way to shout. It also looked a bit sickly, like it had been starved.
Even Bishop felt almost sorry for the thing, especially because it just looked like a frightened animal, not wanting to be there at all. The dragon stood up then, as best it could and looked around at the astonished crowd. Some people were roaring excited while others were backing away fearfully.
Rona just stared at it, her pulse quickening. She tried to tell herself it would be okay. They'd fought plenty of dragons before and Bishop knew exactly what to do, but the Arena had just become that much smaller and more cramped with the immense beast in it.
"Holy shit," the young redguard said next to her, gaping at the beast, "Is that a dragon?"
"Yes," Rona said still staring at it.
He looked over at her and asked tentatively, "Is Bishop going to be alright? Maybe you can help him?"
"Yeah," she said still thinking hard, "I... I'm going to help him," she turned away from him then and started racing through the stands again, searching for an opening that led down into the pit. The young man called at her back, "Um, hey! Thanks for before! Aaand she's gone..."
Something wasn't right about this dragon. It wasn't giving her that blood boiling feeling she always got when in their presence. In fact, she sensed its fear and its burning desire for freedom. She felt compelled to... help it. She tried to tell herself that was just stupid. Why should she ever help a dragon? Well... she would have helped Paarthurnax. He was one of the good ones though, in fact the only good one she could think of.
Maybe it didn't want to kill her yet because it didn't know she was there. She had to find out. She suddenly found her way into the Bloodworks and started shouting down several battle mages that stood in her way.
As soon as the audience silenced again Lucias said, "And now, I present to you our final match of the night! The Grand Champion versus a legendary and ferocious Dragon!"
The shackles on the dragon suddenly snapped open, releasing it and the muzzle on its jaw broke away and fell as well. He was free and his first move was to try and escape. He scrambled up to the protective walls and was thrown back immediately as his body was hit with a violent shockwave by several battle mages standing at the edges of the stands. He shuddered on the ground and shook his head, then looked up at the King's Podium and Bishop could tell he was glaring at the proprietor of the Arena, Lucias Medici, the man who'd imprisoned him.
Bishop had yet to make a move on the beast either, simply stunned by its lack of interest in killing him. But then the dragon turned its gaze right at him and roared, "YOL TOOR SHUL!"
Bishop quickly held his shield out, protecting himself from the inferno coming his way. It splashed against his shield, heating it to extreme temperatures that nearly burned his arm as he held it. Luckily he had a spellbreaker enchantment and resist fire on his leather armor which seemed to insulate and protect him from the heat well enough. When it stopped he looked up at the dragon, who'd turned its attentions back to the Podium.
The dragon roared ice at the walls right where Lucias and the Emperor were and managed to shatter the ward there. Bishop saw the Emperor turn to run when someone, that looked a lot like one of Lucias' bodyguards, threw him back, forcing him towards the dragon. A scuffle seemed to break out there, between the Emperor's personal dunmer guard and Lucias' bodyguards. The dragon made to shout again when an unrelenting force flew right past Bishop and crashed into the dragon, forcing it to slam back against the wall.
Rona stood by his side then, weaponless. All she had was her magic and her voice. The dragon hissed and scrambled to its feet and made to attack them. Her golden fire burst from her entire being, engulfing the both of them, protecting them as the dragon recoiled from the flames.
He cried out at her in dragon's tongue, "[No Dragonborn! Stop! I do not wish to fight you! I have no desire to lose my soul to you today!]"
He pressed himself to the edge of the Arena walls, almost cowering. She stared hard at the creature, waiting for that feeling of murderousness to seep into her blood, but it did not come.
Then the dragon looked back up at the Podium where the Emperor had been quickly removed by his personal guard and possibly several others as the scuffle had ended. The proprietor of the Arena still stood there, looking absolutely livid. The dragon growled, "[So the mortal lied. He does intend to kill me... permanently it seems.]"
"[Who's trying to kill you?]" Rona asked quickly, drawing her fires in closer to the two of them and away from the dragon.
The dragon motioned his head towards the Imperial on the Podium, "[He promised me my freedom if I was to kill your Emperor. Although I never did trust him to hold to his word. Mortals are deceitful and treacherous like that.]"
"[Not all of us]," Rona said, taking a tentative step forward, "[I want to help you.]"
She watched as one of the dragon's enormous yellow eyes closed over and opened again as he studied her closely and curiously.
"[You remind me of her]," he said.
"[Who?]"
"[One of your predecessors. Aleile Auryne... I believe your kind called her a breton? She was a... friend of mine.]"
"[You were friends with one of the Maidens of Dragon Flame?]" Rona asked astonished.
"[Yes]," his jowls curled into a smile, "[She taught me how to sing.]"
Rona just gaped at him then. She'd always thought it odd enough for there to be a woman who fell in love with a dragon, but for a dragon to actually be able to sing?
"[Let me help you!]" She cried.
He made to speak when suddenly he was shocked fiercely by one of many battle mages peering out of one of the champion's gates, clearly trying to provoke him into fighting. He hissed and roared at the ground as they all started shocking him. "YOL TOOR SHUL!" They scattered away from the flames and he said quickly, "[Sing a song of power Dragonborn and I shall join you! Free me from my prison and my allegiance is yours!]"
She looked right at Bishop and said, "We're helping him out of here!" He looked at her incredulous and she said furiously, "Don't you dare give me that look! You have to trust me this time. After all this, I deserve that much." He did not argue, only nodded quickly and followed her lead. They both ran forward towards the dragon and she said, "I'm going to heal your wings!"
(The Song is Dangerous by Within Temptation)
The dragon brought himself closer to the ground, allowing her to cast a powerful grand healing over him. Battle mages started to pour into the Arena then from both gates and Bishop began picking them off with his bow. Her music filled the entire Coliseum and people all around watched in amazement as she sang loud and proud and then the dragon joined her.
"I know I won't change, I have tried
Was feeling so caged, hands tied
I can't find anything feeling so right,
it's blinding hope
The reaper is close, seen his smile
A matter of time, can't deny
I won't turn around, around, around
This destiny's mine
The countdown has begun
The walls are falling down
My life is on the line
The freedom is mine
It's dangerous to sacrifice
It makes your blood run to throw the dice
It's dangerous, it's what you like
It's what you'll die for to live this life
We're going on and we'll never stop
We're going on 'til worlds collide
It's dangerous
So dangerous
Dangerous"
When he was healed she shouted and pointed up, "Let's aim for the ceiling! It's the weakest spot!"
The dragon lowered his head to the ground and said, "Come along then dovahkiin!"
She climbed up onto the head of the beast, grasping his horns and Bishop looked dismayed but she motioned for him to join her. He took a deep breath and quickly climbed up beside her. The dragon raised his head up high and they both started shouting powerful waves of frost against the top of the cage, a combination of her, "FO KRAH DIIN!"
And his "IIZ SLEN NUS!"
They threw the power of their voices together, blasting wave after wave of ice with the words, "Dangerous! It's dangerous!" Using the force of the song to enhance the strength of their thu'ums. Finally, the bars seemed to be frozen over enough that they started to crack.
Bishop continued to fire arrows into their new enemies and the dragon spread his wings, sensing his nearing freedom and he roared, "Hold on mortals!"
Bishop and Rona both gripped his horns tightly as he shouted, "FUS RO DAH!" With so much force that it absolutely destroyed the bars above and shattered the wards. Suddenly they were swept up into the air, as the dragon took off into the sky, roaring their song into the night. She could sense his elation and she didn't feel afraid at all, in fact she was feeling a high of excitement being swept off into the sky like that. It almost felt natural to fly, if only she had wings of her own...
"Nothing matters anyhow
It's like I'm floating off the ground
Into the hands of air I dive
Rays of light flashing by
Like the time is slowing down
When the world is out of sight
All the memories in my mind
Won't leave me behind
It's dangerous (dangerous)
It's dangerous (dangerous)
It's dangerous!"
She noticed Bishop clinging desperately to one of the horns and scrunching his eyes together. He always did hate heights. She grabbed his hand and he looked at her brows knit together. She let go of the horn she was clinging to and wrapped an arm around his waist and clutched the other horn with her free hand,trying to reassure him. They flew past the enormous tower of the Imperial Palace and over the entire city. She let the feelings of the song wash over her and sang strongly with a broad smile sprawled across her face,
"It's dangerous to sacrifice
It makes your blood run to throw the dice
It's dangerous, it's what you like
It's what you'll die for to live this life
We're going on and we'll never stop
We're going on 'til worlds collide
It's dangerous
So dangerous
Dangerous"
(When the song ends, background music Braska's Daughter from the FFX Soundtrack)
The dragon landed just outside the Imperial City on the edge of Lake Rumare to the north. He let them both down and was grinning as dragons do, jowls curled up. She returned the smile and said, "Thank you for not uh... killing my companion or the Emperor."
"Thank you dovahkiin, for trusting me and for living up to your word. As promised, my allegiance is now yours. Fun zu'u... Tell me, what do they call you young one?"
"My name is Rona."
"Geh, I've heard that name. Rona of Dragon Fangs," he laughed a bit, "Such a small mortal to strike so much fear into the great Lord Alduin."
She raised her brows at him and he said, "Dreh ni faas. Do not fear dovahkiin. I was there when Alduin cowered behind the wings of the others as you crushed and dominated them with the strength of your thu'um. Many of us have started to question Alduin's lordship, whether his thu'um is truly the strongest. Among ourselves of course. Mu ni meyye. None are yet ready to openly defy him. But your thu'um is strong, like many of the dovahkiin before you. Here... take my name for yourself. Should you ever need my aid, cry it to the skies and I shall come."
He turned to the ground and shouted, "OD AH VIING!"
The words etched themselves into glowing strikes on the ground and she stepped forward taking them in. She blinked as the words embedded themselves into her mind. She looked up at him, "Odahviing? That's your name?"
"Geh," he uttered. Then he looked back at the peaks of the Jerall Mountains in the far off distance, "I will return to Skyrim. I do not care for this place. Not enough mountains and too many cruel little mortals." Then he looked back at her, smiling still and said his farewells in dragon's tongue, "Tiid bo viing. Vah su'um ven dovahkiin."
He took flight then, roaring loudly over the plains as he swept off into the far north. Rona watched him disappear before letting her anger slowly return to her. Bishop was standing nearby, bloodied and beaten up from all his battles and she just glared at him.
He looked ashamedly at her and immediately said, "I swear I was going to tell you-"
She put a hand up and snapped, "I don't want to hear it Bishop."
He looked angry and said, "You won't even let me explain myself? Let's talk about this."
"NO!" She roared throwing her hands out, "You LIED to me. Over and over again, day after day, all so you could go fight in the Arena? So you could fight your brother?"
He sighed, "Rona please-"
"NO!" She knelt down and cast a spell over her boots and immediately stepped onto the lake and started storming away. She realized that she was far too angry to speak with him. He'd lied to her all week long and put himself at risk all for what? So he could challenge and kill his brother? She was fuming.
He was running along the shore towards the bridge leading over the lake as he called at her back, "That's not fair! You lied to me too! Remember the Companions!? You lied about that!"
She spun around and shouted, "Are you seriously going to throw that in my face!? After all this time!? It's not the same thing and you know it! I made a promise to Kodlak! It was a mistake! But this..." She shook her head and started walking away again, right across the lake.
"RONA STOP! We need to talk about this! I have to tell you why! Will you just listen to me!?"
She felt her rage boiling over as she stomped across the lake, leaving him behind her. She saw him out of the corner of her eye, racing along the bridge, trying to catch up with her. She was already at the other side of the lake when Bishop came around, breathlessly meeting her at the other edge of the shore and she just seethed at him throwing a hand to her chest, "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO TRUST ME BISHOP!"
"Okay!" He roared back, "Yes! I lied! But do you want to know why Rona!?"
"No!" She snapped again, curling her fists and started walking along the edge of the water, staying at a distance where he couldn't reach her.
He followed along the shore and snarled, "Oh come on. Stop being so melodramatic about it."
She stopped and glared at him, "Melodramatic!? Really!? You almost died Bishop! More than once!"
"Yeah! And you do the same thing, all the time! Now you know how I fucking feel!"
She looked daggers at him and stormed off again, staying on top of the water. He ran along the shore and snarled, "That's it!" He dove right into the lake and started to swim towards her and she shouted, "No! Stop it Bishop! There are slaughterfish in this lake!"
"I don't fucking care!" He barked. She took several steps back from him and he quickly splashed at her feet breaking the water walking spell. She fell in with a yelp and he grasped her around the waist and she struggled, splashing water, shoving at him and he shouted, "Hold still and listen to me damn it!"
"FINE!" She shouted back, "Let's just get out of this lake before we get bit!"
He let her go and they both swam to shore, climbing up, soaking wet. Bishop sat back, catching his breath while she stood up and he flashed her an irritated look and she said, "I'm not going anywhere! I'm just drying off..."
She cast a quick dry spell over herself, purposely ignoring him and leaving him soaking wet. He took a deep breath and leaned forward, elbows to his knees and said firmly, "I did it for my family."
She sat back down next to him, pulling her knees up to her face and clasping her arms around them, keeping the space between them both. She stared hard at the lake, her lips pressed tightly together to keep from snapping angrily at him while he spoke.
"Ost was abusing them, okay? Beating them, stealing from them and he... he touched my sisters."
Rona gave him a side-eye glance, which gave her feelings away, but she tried to stay stony faced and returned her gaze back to the water.
"I knew I couldn't get away with killing him in some dark alley somewhere, because he had too much power. Everyone knew him and the owner of the Arena was backing him. Shit, you saw what he was trying to do to my brother and sisters back in the Arena. He tried to kill them to get to me," he paused and said, "Thanks for that by the way. For saving them."
She said nothing. She just waited for more of an explanation on why he didn't tell her what he was planning. He was quiet for a moment and she finally asked, "Why? Why did you lie about it?"
"Because Rona! You already have a million things going on in your life. The dragons, your insane destiny, finding the Elder Scroll, this crazy wedding and even the Dark Brotherhood now. I didn't want to dump all my problems on your shoulders on top of it all, okay? I just wanted you to be happy for once."
"You're supposed to trust me!" She shouted back, "Even with all that, I still would have wanted to know! I could have helped you!"
"You would have just tried to talk me out of it," he said, meeting her gaze.
She huffed a little and turned to look back at the water, pursing her lips. He was right about that.
He grasped her hand, tightly, so she couldn't snatch it away and he said, "I care about your happiness Rona. All I wanted was for you to have this time to yourself for once, to think about you and no one else. Not me and my problems, not the fate of the world… to just do what you wanted to do, to be happy," he looked mournfully at her, "Because I know the minute we get back to Skyrim, it's all going to be swept away again and you're going to go right back to being... miserable."
She knit her brows together and mumbled, "Is that how I really am? Am I just miserable all the time?"
"A lot of the time," he said, "Yeah... But that night at the inn, when you were dancing, singing and playing that violin, that was the most beautiful I've ever seen you. I wanted to hold onto it somehow. I just want you to be happy."
She softened completely, but turned her face from him, trying to stay angry, when she simply couldn't anymore. He said, "I'm sorry I lied to you. I love you Rona and I would have never have done it if I didn't feel like it was the right thing. You count on me to make the hard decisions and I did just that. It's over now though… my family is safe and, well, I'm glad you found out. If you hadn't have been there, who knows what would have happened."
She looked at him teary eyed, although she was trying hard to hold it all back. He smiled warmly at her and said, "Not the waterworks, please Ladyship." Then he moved closer to her and wrapped his still soaking wet arms tightly around her and she buried her face in his chest and mumbled, "I don't want to fight Bishop. I hate fighting with you. But you just make me so mad sometimes..."
He chuckled softly into her hair, "Yeah, well, you piss me off pretty regularly too, Princess. But I'm still here and I'm always going to be... for as long as you'll have me."
She sniffled and leaned back, looking up into his face with her own pathetic teary eyed one. She hit him in the arm and said, "Don't do it again! Promise me… Even with all my problems, we're in this together. Your burdens are mine to bear too. I love you Bishop and I'm here for you, just like you've always been there for me..."
He sighed and pulled her in again and said, "I promise. I'll always be honest. No more secrets and no more lies," then he said, "And do me a favor Lightfoot and don't go freeing strange dragons from their imprisonment."
She grumbled into his chest, "You're not allowed to be mad about that."
He laughed, "Fine. You get one freebie, but that's it. No more rescuing strange dragons."
She wrapped her arms tightly around him and he just held her there for a while, enjoying the peace of the night and having her close to him again.
They heard Roxlin shout out, "There you are!"
Karnwyr came racing over to them and nestled himself right between them as he started whining and licking at their faces and arms.
Roxlin and Magrob had Bear and Boomer with them too and they walked over to them. Magrob said, "Was getting worried that we'd lost you both to that dragon."
"Yeah!" Roxlin said sniffling and her lip curled, "What were you even thinking Rona!?"
Rona got up, leaving Karnwyr to lick on Bishop and she hugged her best friend, "Aw I'm so sorry Roxie. Were you really that worried about me?"
Roxlin hugged her tightly and cried, "Of course I was! You're my best friend woman! And I thought... uwah!" Then she burst into tears and cried like a baby and Rona just gently stroked her hair, laughing a little at her friend's pathetic sobs.
Magrob offered Bishop a hand, pulling him off the ground and said, "The Emperor was looking for you both too. Said he wanted to personally thank you for rescuing him and well, the entire city from that dragon."
"Ohdaviing wasn't going to hurt anyone," Rona said immediately.
"Odah-who?" Magrob asked raising a brow at her.
"That's his name," she said, "The proprietor of the Arena was trying to use that dragon to kill the Emperor."
Magrob's one good eye widened and Roxlin stared at her, stunned.
"We should head to the Palace and talk to the Emperor straight away," Bishop suggested, "Tell him what Lucias Medici was up to."
Rona nodded in agreement and the group left, bringing the dogs and Karnwyr with them.
They caught up with Lorrie and Charissa along the way who were both absolutely relieved that they were okay. They returned to the Palace, only to find it buzzing with people, even being as late as it was. It was mostly people from the Elder Council, some of them still dressed in their nightgowns but plenty of Palace guards were running around as well. Rona caught sight of her father speaking with the Emperor while several formidable looking guards stood nearby, keeping an eye out for any potential assassins.
The minute her father noticed her, he cried, "Velvyn! Thank the gods!" The group went over to them and the Emperor smiled at kindly at them all. Serlas embraced Rona and said, "Emperor Titus told me everything that happened. You really flew off on a dragon velvyn? By choice this time?"
She smiled up at him, "It's fine Ata, I promise... well mostly fine," she added looking more serious.
Emperor Titus approached her and she, and all the others, except for Bishop gave cordial bows to him. Bishop looked perplexed, until Magrob pushed on his shoulders with a large hand and he mumbled, "Oh..." as he too bent a knee.
Then they rose again and Titus Mede said, "Please Lady Rona, it is I who should be bowing to you. What you did today in the Arena was incredible to say the least. I can't help but think that you saved many lives today."
"Just yours," she said, knitting her brows together. He looked on at her, perplexed and she explained, "Emperor Titus, I spoke with that dragon."
"Yes I heard, in a fascinating language I've never had the pleasure of hearing before."
"Sir, the proprietor of the Arena-"
"Lucias Medici," Bishop interjected.
"Right, Lucias Medici," Rona acknowledged, "he promised the dragon, Odahviing, his freedom in exchange for killing you."
Several of the members of the Elder Council who were nearer to them gasped in horror and a few started muttering and whispering to one another.
"I see," the Emperor said thoughtfully. He glanced around the room and said, "If you will all come with me, to my private quarters, we can discuss more there. You and your friends and, " he glanced down at Karnwyr who was happily pawing at his robes and chuckled, "And your dogs are all welcome as well. Please, follow me."
They all followed the Emperor and his personal guard to the mage lifts. They were swept upwards, what felt like a hundred stories high, although everyone landed fine, save for Bishop who looked like he was suffering from a bad case of vertigo. Magrob helped carry him along as their one wolf and two dogs ran through the corridors, barking up a storm.
A pair of guards stationed at the doors to the Emperor's private quarters stared at the animals stunned. Emperor Titus smiled at them and said, "They are all my guests, even the wild ones."
The men cast a spell, unlocking the doors and allowed the Emperor and the rest of them to enter into the most incredible room in the building. A beautifully furnished sitting room, sat sunken into the floor near some incredibly large windows that overlooked the city and the landscape outside. A large marble fireplace sat against the wall, with a soft blaze already going. Everything was decorated in shades of gold and red, the colors of the Empire and of royalty. They didn't see much else of the enormous suite, because every room was behind a corridor, or a door, but Rona assumed there must have been enough space for a kitchen, a dining area and even servants quarters, as they were greeted by several serfs busting about, tidying up, taking the Emperor's cloak from him and serving drinks on the coffee table.
Emperor Titus motioned a hand to the sitting room and said, "Please, everyone have a seat. You are all my guests, do not be concerned with breaking or ruining anything."
Rona remembered that Bishop was still a little damp from their dip in the lake and she quickly dried him off with her quick dry spell. They all took seats, except for Bishop who walked over to the windows and looked down. He immediately stepped back and said, "Whoa... we're really high up."
The Emperor took a place in a tall backed, gold and red patterned chair and smiled, "Yes, we are at the very top of the Imperial Palace you know," he turned his attentions back to Rona then and said, "So, what is this about your dragon friend trying to assassinate me?"
"It's just like I said," she explained again, "He told me that Lucias Medici made promises to free him if he killed you."
Emperor Titus stroked at his short beard and said, "Yes... that does confirm our suspicions."
"What?" She asked perplexed.
Emperor Titus explained, "We'd already expected something like this to happen."
"Then why did you go?" Bishop turned around, "Why put yourself in danger if you suspected he was going to try and kill you?"
The Emperor just smiled at him and glanced over at his personal dunmer guard, who stood stony faced with his hands behind his back, "Well, many did try to talk me out of it, but I was determined to expose Lucias once and for all. I made a grave mistake in doing so as you may have seen what happened. His own men tried to throw me back in the face of the dragon and poor Granis here had to take several lives this evening."
"What happens now?" Rona asked.
Serlas said, "They took Lucias Medici into custody. However we suspect he may find a way to wriggle out of this one. He's trying to claim that it was you, velvyn, who pushed the dragon into attacking the Emperor."
"ME!?" She gaped at him.
"The fuck?" Bishop uttered.
Serlas sighed nodding his head.
Emperor Titus clasped his hands together and said, "It is because you spoke with it and then you freed it. You needn't worry my lady. I promise you, nothing will come of it. However he will most likely go free as we don't have much evidence against him and his two bodyguards are dead and their bodies completely vanished," the Emperor sighed, "Just more lack of evidence..."
"What about Jedrek?" Bishop asked quickly, "Is he safe?"
Magrob raised a brow at Bishop, surprised he'd give a damn about the old Imperial.
"Jedrek has been safely removed the Arena and he will be stationed with the Imperial Legion in Skyrim. I will have him working closely with Commander Tullius."
"Wait," Magrob said, "You telling me Jedrek's-?"
"One of the Emperor's," Bishop said.
"Wow," Magrob said, "Well that asshole owes me an apology!"
Bishop smirked and chuckled, as did the Emperor.
Roxlin rubbed her head and said, "I'm so confused. What is going on?"
Emperor Titus smiled at her and said, "Please, Miss LaRoues, do not concern yourself with our troubles. I assure you it is all under control and if not for your fiancé here, as well as his friend's," he nodded to Bishop, "then I probably would have lost my life this evening. It seems that Talos truly is keeping a watchful over us all and has ensured that every piece was set perfectly into place so that the events happened as they did."
They all widened their eyes at his mention of Talos, except for Bishop and Serlas who both grinned to themselves.
Emperor Titus said, "I do hope that your wedding is a most beautiful and perfect day for you both."
They all stood then and made to leave, the Emperor saw them off with kind farewells and even gave Roxlin and Magrob a finely wrapped gift for their wedding.
Serlas, Bishop and Rona were the last to leave and Emperor Titus said, "If I may have one quick word with you Bishop, in private?"
Serlas and Rona looked back at them and Bishop said, "Uh sure... your... majesty," he looked at them both and said, "I'll catch up in a minute."
Rona nodded and she and her father left with Karnwyr at their heels, disappearing around the winding corridor.
Emperor Titus led Bishop out to a private balcony across the way which gave an incredible view of Cyrodiil. The landscape could be seen for miles and miles, even up to the borders of other lands.
Bishop scoffed and said, "I think you were lying about that other balcony having the best views of Cyrodiil."
The Emperor chuckled and said, "Yes. I did fib a little then. I was just very interested in speaking with you and it's always fun to see the startled expression of those who don't realize they're speaking with me, so rudely, in fact."
Bishop gave a light laugh and said, "Yeah, sorry about that."
"It's fine," he replied, "I sometimes miss the days when people treated me like any other man. Now, as for why I called you here," he reached into his robe pocket and pulled out several pieces of folded parchment and passed them to Bishop.
He opened the first one and looked it over. It was a line of credit for one hundred thousand septims. He gaped at it and said, "I... I can't accept this."
"Oh yes you can," Emperor Titus said, "You can and you will, because that is the gold you won this evening. Lucias Medici will not pay you what is rightly yours after everything that happened, I can promise you that. So I wanted to make sure you received what you earned and I assure you, every septim was earned."
Bishop just stared at it, smiling a little.
"It will be placed into an account that you will have easy access to from anywhere in Tamriel, well, except for the Shimmering Isles, though I doubt you have any desire to travel abroad there."
They both laughed at that notion. Then Bishop opened the second piece of parchment. It was several pages long and appeared to be a formal document of citizenship in Cyrodiil as well as a full pardon for him and his entire family for the crimes Torban committed.
"That is for you and your entire family," Emperor Titus said, "You are all official citizens now and are free to live and work in Cyrodiil. I am also going to offer the city's services to your family, to help them. We have trauma counselors that your sister, Kari, can speak with to recover from her abuses and brainwashing. It will be a long road of recovery for her, but I wanted to assure you that we will take care of her while you continue your journey with the Dragonborn. As for your brother and youngest sister, I already have a job lined up for him and an open seat in a classroom for her to start her studies."
Bishop couldn't believe everything he was hearing and found himself asking, even surprising himself, "And my mother?"
"As for Rina," the Emperor said, stepping towards the balustrade, "There is a home for her with nurses who are formally trained to care for her in her dying years," he met Bishop's gaze and said, "However, you may have to convince your sister to let her go. It will be difficult for her, I'm sure, but everything is taken care of."
Bishop actually felt tears welling in his eyes, pathetic as that seemed, but he was absolutely overwhelmed with emotions over the Emperor's generosity.
Emperor Titus smiled at him and said, "Now, there is a certain jeweler in the Market District who is looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. It seems he has a very special set of rings ready for you and I expect that the gold should cover the cost and leave you with a nice sum to live comfortably off of for the rest of your life."
Bishop choked his tears back and whispered, "Thank you."