Chapter XXXIII – Secrets, Rumors and Slander

"I need to speak to Sabjorn."

Karliah got up from the table with a weary sigh. She gave an uncertain look towards Raven, who was back on the floor, sifting through his piles of papers, then another look at Bishop who had been sitting on Raven's bed while eating some of the remaining rations they had instead of a proper dinner. Karliah and Raven had eaten a long time ago and he was not exactly allowed into Sabjorn's living area to cook a proper meal. Besides, he was still so tired. He couldn't wait to finally clean himself off from the sweat and grime and just fall into the bed.

"Behave yourselves, please. I better not come back to two corpses," Karliah smirked before she walked out of the room. It was a… fair concern – Bishop and Raven have not been exactly left alone in a room ever since Falkreath. They would start arguing right away, especially if someone didn't rein them in – about Falkreath, about the caravan missions, about the past… and now about Aeyrin. Bishop wanted Raven to know that he knew about their kiss. He was not thrilled at the idea of having it thrown in his face as a taunt. No… he needed to be the one on the offensive. Raven had always spouted at him from his high horse, how he had endangered Aeyrin in Falkreath, how everything was his fault, even though Raven was the one risking her life consciously after that with those fucking caravans! But Raven still acted like he had some fucking moral high ground about everything. Well… not anymore he would. Now Bishop had the upper hand, and he made sure that Raven knew.

And with Aeyrin currently in the bathing room, another confrontation was definitely inevitable.

"What?" Bishop smirked at Raven when he noticed his covert looks.

Raven only averted his head with a detached scoff. It spoke volumes, but nothing that Bishop hadn't heard from him before. Whenever he was present when Bishop met with Karliah, he would let him know just how much better he thought himself to be for Aeyrin. Bishop would laugh at him, dismiss him, but the truth was, he did not know about anything that had been going on between them when he and Aeyrin were apart. He knew that she met with Raven a lot, that they talked a lot and… now he knew the extent of how far they have gone physically, but it still bothered him to think that there may have been something more to their relationship during that time. Some… feelings.

He would not let Raven know that it bothered him though. Ever.

"Go on then, Raven. Spew the same shit again if it'll make you feel any better," Bishop snorted contemptfully before he pointedly focused back on his food.

Raven looked as if he was not going to respond in any way for a while but, a moment later, he started scribbling something again.

.

What's the point? Not like it would change anything. You're not gonna leave her alone and sooner or later you're gonna betray her trust again and get her hurt like you do with everyone else.

.

Bishop scowled at him, but he didn't let his face show any sort of reaction for long. Raven was wrong anyway. He would not betray her trust again, he knew better now. And what did he mean 'everyone else'? Jules? Raven didn't know what happened when Jules died, he didn't know about the paladins and the ambush. He was only referring to that fucking mutiny at the Guild again. Like he always did.

"You're a fucking idiot, Raven," Bishop scoffed. "You think that Jules didn't know? You think he was oblivious to what I was doing with all the information he told me after you ran your mouth? He wanted Mercer taken down just like I did. Just like you did. So don't spew shit at me about 'betraying everyone's trust'," he gritted his teeth. He was silently kicking himself for even addressing this, for even mentioning Jules. He hated when he and Raven talked about him. They refrained from it whenever Karliah was there, fortunately, but Bishop knew that Raven had all too many questions and that he would be eager to take the opportunity to ask them. He had done so many times before, but he never got an answer.

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You're lying. He didn't know what you were planning and he got punished for it regardless.

.

"Of course you'd think that. Jules made you think that. You all thought him so innocent, so clueless. He knew how to play people better than anyone. Better than you," Bishop gave Raven a challenging look. Jules was much smarter than anyone knew. All he needed to do was to put on a charming smile and feign ignorance and everyone was wrapped around his finger. It has always been impressive. Too bad it didn't work on Thorn. "He knew what he was doing. What I was doing. He wasn't stupid," Bishop scoffed before he looked down onto the floor morosely. "But you're right… he shouldn't have been punished."

There was a moment of silence. Bishop knew that Raven was seething in his own memories, blaming him for Jules's death. It was no wonder. He did cause it, in a way, even if Raven didn't really know that. He just knew that Bishop's actions in the Guild resulted in Jules being sent back to Thorn where he eventually died. But what was there to do now about any of it anyway?

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Tell me how Thorn killed him.

.

"No." It was the only answer that Bishop was willing to give. All that the people at the Guild knew was that Thorn took out his vengeance on Jules and that he died. They knew nothing of the deal with the paladins and they knew nothing of the fact that Thorn wasn't actually the one to kill Jules. But what did it matter? None of it mattered. He was dead and it was Thorn's fault. And Mercer's fault. And Bishop's…

"Knowing that won't help anything, believe me. You won't find any peace or any closure in the answer. Maybe if you concentrated on moving on, you would stop agonizing over it. With someone other than Aeyrin," Bishop scowled at him. He didn't get why Raven was so obsessed with learning the truth. It would only bring him more pain. And it would only make him hate Bishop even more than he did now. That wouldn't be helpful for their mission. It was a miracle that they were even talking without yelling now. Well… in whatever manner that was possible with Raven's condition. Bishop did not want to imagine how things would escalate if he had ever learnt the truth.

They would fight. Raven would die. And both Aeyrin and Karliah would have been heartbroken. They would possibly hate Bishop for that, regardless of any excuses he would make about 'self-defense'.

.

I can't move on when I don't even know what I'm moving on from. I don't even know what happened to him since he was taken from the Guild.

.

Raven scowled fiercely, but he did not get another word out of Bishop. So, with an angry frown, he got up from the floor and turned towards the cupboards behind him. He fished out his leather armor and rummaged in one of the inside pockets for some reason.

Then, he pulled out a slightly crumpled piece of paper.

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Who's Elisie?

.

Bishop's eyes went wide at the question.

Where has he even heard the name? How did he know about her? Not from Jules – his brother was too wary of dragging someone else into their shit with Thorn. He never contacted anyone from the Guild, especially not Raven, no matter how much he may have wanted to.

Raven didn't write that note now… he had it in his armor. From before. And he wanted Bishop to know that he had it. It would have been so much faster to write a new one, after all. What the fuck was this?

"Where did you hear that name?"

Before Raven answered, the door swung open and Aeyrin walked in. She was barefoot and had her white fur cloak draped over her form tightly, hiding her entire body except for her calves and feet. Her hair was wet and she was clasping the handle of her pack unceremoniously in her hand under the cloak, letting the heavy backpack protrude from the folds of the fur.

She quickly walked to the bed and threw her pack beside it before she hurled herself under the covers and took off the cloak, leaving herself only in Bishop's black shirt. She threw the cloak onto her pack on the floor with a wry smile. "I didn't even notice that my clothes were so filthy. I had to leave them to dry in the bathing… what's going on?" she narrowed her eyes when she noticed their tense expressions.

Raven gave Bishop a challenging look as his eyes darted towards Aeyrin without even a hint of subtlety.

It was clear where he had heard that name from now.

Bishop had his doubts that Aeyrin would divulge anything to Raven though. She had always been somewhat adamant about not discussing the things he had told her with the people that he had a strained relationship with. He did appreciate that, but why was Raven trying to make him think that she told him?

"What are you trying to do, Raven? Is that supposed to be some petty scheme to get us to fight?" he scoffed at him. As if he would ever let Raven get between them.

Raven just shrugged noncommittally. His message was clear – he was telling the truth.

Bishop did not want him to know that Elisie even existed. That fucker would pry, he would try to find out what happened and he would find out what Bishop did to Jules and this whole 'alliance' would be compromised. Bishop didn't need the drama, not when they were getting so close to reaching their goal and getting rid of Mercer. Besides, this was none of his fucking business. This was Jules's family, Bishop's family, technically. Raven had nothing to do with it, and yet Bishop was sure that he would try to involve himself in some way, just because he thought that whatever relationship he had with Jules entitled him to knowing everything about his life. He did that with everyone that he ever got obsessed with. Maybe it was a spy thing.

But nothing good could come from him knowing about Elisie. He would do something stupid like try to track her down and learn the truth about what happened to Jules, since he couldn't pry it from Bishop.

Or he would get obsessed with Elisie in turn, making this whole messy shit even more disturbing.

"Sweetheart, what did you tell him about Elisie?" Bishop turned to Aeyrin, trying to convey as little frustration as he could. If nothing else, he would not give Raven the satisfaction of letting him get under his skin.

"Oh…" Aeyrin's eyes went wide in brief panic as she found out why the atmosphere was so tense. This seemed especially precarious since Bishop had mentioned that thing about 'getting them to fight'. But surely he wouldn't be mad at her for blabbing her name out, would he? He was probably just worried that she had told Raven everything. But she didn't. She wouldn't. "Nothing. I mean… I just said her name. I thought he knew her. But he didn't and I didn't say anything more."

Bishop nodded in relief. Thank the Divines for her reservations about this. He knew that she talked with Raven often, but he still hoped that she didn't exactly discuss him and his past. She knew that he didn't want that. Even though he may not had been this understanding with her past when he confided in Lydia. But at least Lydia was both of theirs friend, unlike Raven. At least she didn't have it in for either of them and she was detached from all this Guild mess. Besides, he needed to talk to someone, for some reason. He wasn't sure what happened to make him need that when he never did before, but it was different this time. There was nothing about Elisie or Jules that Aeyrin would need to talk about with anyone.

Bishop leaned forward and placed a grateful kiss at Aeyrin's temple. He could practically feel Raven's scowl. "Good. Let's keep it that way. He snoops too much," he smirked, before he turned to Raven with a mocking smirk.

He would not find his answers this way.

A few moments later, Bishop got up from the bed and grabbed his pack while murmuring something about bathing. He walked out of the room, leaving only Aeyrin and Raven there alone.

"Raven, what are you doing? Why are you constantly provoking him? I thought that we talked about everything. I thought that we… that we were… good with how things were," Aeyrin sighed, shaking her head at him lightly.

Raven gave her a regretful sigh before he started to scribble something.

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We are. But he's still an asshole.

.

"Yeah? Well, so are you when you're like this," she scoffed at him. She hated how those two behaved with each other. She was trying to get closure for the both of them and they still made her one of the centers of their stupid spats.

Raven gave her a slow nod with a hint of shame in his eyes. He quickly mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' before he sat back on the ground and returned to his piles of parchments, keeping his eyes averted.

She only sighed and huddled herself into the covers.

At least that particular topic was over with for now.

…

Bishop slowly raked his hand through Aeyrin's hair, occasionally brushing at the long edge of her pointed ear.

Every light in the two adjacent rooms was already extinguished and Karliah and Raven were both in the smaller room, behind the closed doors, sleeping.

Despite their exhaustion from the day that they've had, Bishop and Aeyrin still weren't asleep. They lay on their sides, facing each other, huddled under the blankets in a lazy embrace. It was enough at that moment to just be somewhere safe where they could relax. The encounter with Alduin had left them somewhat rattled – if it weren't for that convenient cave, they would have been done for. There was nothing they could have done to even defend themselves from the onslaught. Camping outside sounded more than unpleasant just then, and it would likely take them some time before they could go back to their pleasant routine in the wilderness. They already knew that their next rest before they got to Riften would either be in Ivarstead, or in some convenient hidden cave.

Although… Alduin could even attack a settlement… even a city.

Why didn't he?

Maybe after their missions in Riften, they could stop by Sky Haven Temple and recount the fight to Esbern to see what he thought and whether he had made any progress with the wall. If not, maybe some progress would have come in handy. As unsettling and uncertain as Bishop's lead on the Elder Scroll was, it was the only thing that they had just then. They could just get rid of some bandit scum and fill that strange contraption… after getting a soul trapping enchantment. That could be useful for their enchanted weapons too, come to think of it. They could use all those empty soul gems that they were always looting somewhere.

"I think I need to stop by Whiterun tomorrow," Aeyrin sighed while Bishop ran his fingers gently over her cheek, then her lower lip.

"We don't have enough supplies to hold out until Riften?" Bishop scowled.

"Maybe… but better safe than sorry, in case we get… well… in case we get stuck somewhere again. I… ate all my rations," she giggled a bit with a slight blush coloring her face. She was so hungry. She was really counting on arriving at the meadery much sooner and either eating a proper meal with Raven and Karliah, or camping out with Bishop and his cooking. She tried to eat her disappointment away, but it hardly worked. And now she was out of emergency food too.

Bishop chuckled briefly before his hand moved down her arm, under the covers, to rest on her hip. "Well… I can't sneak in there in daylight."

"I know. I'll be quick, I promise," she smiled at him.

"You don't want to finally see Aela?" he raised his brow at her. After they had talked about Vilkas's strange behavior, she seemed determined to see what that was about.

"Yeah… but who knows what she wants or whether she's even in the city? We should really get to Riften and I don't want to keep you waiting for me here until the evening. Or even Divines-know-how-long."

He leaned closer to catch her lips in a gentle kiss instead of answering. He was kind of glad to hear that. He was definitely not eager to part from her now when they were finally together again. He prolonged the kiss and brushed his tongue over her lower lip teasingly before he slid it slowly into her mouth.

She let out a light muffled moan against him before his hand slid down to her buttocks and squeezed her tightly. After some time spent kissing and groping her hungrily, he moved his hand to her front, under the hem of his old shirt, but she stopped him abruptly by gripping him by the wrist.

"Stop," she giggled, sending a hot breath against his lips. "They're right behind the door."

"They're asleep. Come on, we'll be quiet." He ignored her grip on his wrist – she wasn't exactly holding him back too hard anyway – and he moved his fingers close to her undergarments again.

"You just want to do this because we're on Raven's bed," she smirked at him. She remembered that he had similar inclinations when they were in Casavir's bed. What was up with that? His fingers softly brushed against the thin fabric of her underwear and she squirmed instantly with a barely-subdued giggle.

"Not 'just' because of that. It's a bonus though," Bishop smirked, but his hand was pushed away again suddenly.

"I think you've tortured him enough for one day, don't you?" she chuckled quietly.

"I'm pretty sure that it's a brand new day already, ladyship," he promptly nipped at her lower lip, eliciting a short groan from her. But instead of responding with eagerness, she took his hand and placed it back onto her hips, nuzzling herself closer into his embrace.

"Then we have plenty of time for that later in the day," she ended the exchange with a brief peck on his lips before she pressed her head firmly to his neck, signaling her intent on sleeping.

Not that she wasn't tempted to do other things, but… it was probably not a good idea with two keen and alert rogues only separated from them by a thin wooden wall.

…

Somehow, it seemed even worse than the last time.

Aeyrin felt everyone's eyes on her ever since she came near the markets by the city approach. The constant not-so-subtle looks, the whispers and giggles, they all carried through the air along her path as she traipsed towards Belethor's shop.

She didn't even stop by Breezehome. She didn't want to spend one more second in Whiterun than she had to. Not just because she had left Bishop waiting at the meadery, but the constant stares rattled her. At times, she told herself that she was merely paranoid, but at other times, she was certain that everyone was talking about her. Sabjorn's remarks about getting 'duped by the bandit' did not help her one bit.

She quickly slipped inside the store, leaving the gossipmongers behind the closed doors.

Belethor's eyes fell on her instantly.

"Well… look who's here," he scowled.

She didn't ponder on his expression as she walked towards the counter. She felt like letting out a deep sigh of relief at the sudden quiet all around her, but that would have surely been strange.

"Hello, Belethor. I need…"

"I don't sell to your kind. Now, leave my shop," Belethor's scowl got even fiercer as his eyes bore into her.

What? 'Your kind'?

Did Belethor suddenly join the Stormcloaks or something? Why would he not sell to 'her kind'? He sold things to her the last time she was there, when she was trying to avoid that Ysolda woman. What was going on?

"W-what do you mean?" she stammered at him uncertainly.

"I don't usually pay much mind to people's rumors, girl, but recently I've learned plenty about what you've done. Harboring a vicious criminal like that under all our noses. I bet you knew all along, now, didn't you? Trying to glide on the attention for the Dragonborn, while he can freely run around and steal from decent folk. I won't have you at my shop. Go!"

Aeyrin's eyes went wide at him, but she did not even try to refute his claims. She really didn't want to be there anymore.

They would have to make do with the supplies that they've already had. She couldn't look at that hateful sneer anymore.

She rushed out of the shop and quickly turned back towards the gates, accompanied by more hushed whispers along the way.

Why would he think that Bishop stole from people now? The crimes that he was accused of were over twenty years old. She knew that some people, the powerful families, were still angry about the fortunes that they had lost to the Thrice-Banished, but why would someone like Belethor care? He was always so adamant about taking any business he could – would some old grudge really matter to him?

"Hey! Wait a second!" a woman's voice stopped her in her strides.

She turned around to come face to face with an Imperial woman with long dark hair. It took her a bit, but she managed to place her eventually – it was that woman who was being harassed by the bard Mikael. She had asked Bishop to help her a long time ago and Bishop had threatened the man, or maybe he did more than that. Aeyrin never learned what really happened there.

"Hi. I don't know if you remember me. It's Carlotta. You and your… friend… helped me with a problem once," the Imperial shuffled on her feet a bit.

Gods, was Aeyrin going to be exposed to more hateful speeches? Was this woman now upset that she had ever accepted help from the dreaded bandit?

"I saw you leave Belethor's shop. He didn't sell to you, right?" Carlotta scowled. What was her stake in this? Did she put Belethor up to this? Why?

"Yes," Aeyrin gritted her teeth, bracing herself for whatever was to come.

"I saw this happen to that barmaid, Saadia, is it? She left the shop angry, yelling slurs at Belethor for not selling to her. I think it's because she's close with your housecarl. See, Belethor has recently started seeing Alfhild Battle-Born, and their family is always spreading these rumors, saying nasty things about your friend. I even overheard someone saying that he has been stealing from everyone since you two came here, even though thefts happened before too, they were adamant to pin it on him," Carlotta shook her head with an incredulous scoff.

This was… disturbing. Even Saadia and Lydia were caught up in this? And they had to live in this place! But Carlotta at least seemed to be surprisingly sympathetic.

"Look, I don't care what someone's family lost, or what someone's family's done. This is all ridiculous. Your friend helped me. So… what do you need? I'll buy it for you," Carlotta smiled at her warmly.

"Really?" Aeyrin gaped at her. Honestly, after the feeling she had from just walking down the street, she didn't expect any kindness from anyone.

"Of course. I already did that once or twice for your barmaid friend. Besides, I don't like to see anyone get treated like this because of stupid rumors. Believe me, I've been there," the Imperial rolled her eyes.

Aeyrin gave her a questioning look, upon which Carlotta sighed deeply.

"One day, after your friend helped me, when you two weren't around, Mikael decided to get some revenge. He started to spread rumors about me all around town, about how many men I have been with. People here can get so judgmental. And none of it was even true! People started to get nasty. He spread rumors about me and someone's husband or someone's lover!" Carlotta looked ready to spit at the ground in disgust at the events.

"I… gotta say… I got kind of lucky. I only got a few weeks of this before a more interesting rumor came around and everyone forgot about it," she looked pointedly at Aeyrin. It was clear which rumor she was referring to – the feared Thrice-Banished in their midst. "Some of the people here still hate me… like Olfina, because Mikael said that I've slept with Jon while they were together. They even broke up because of that nasty rumor," she threw her hands up exasperatedly.

Aeyrin gave her a sympathetic look. That sounded awful, but at least most of the people moved on. Now she was much more worried about Lydia and Saadia.

"Anyway… sorry about the rant. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame your friend for Mikael's revenge. He's just a scum, it's hardly anyone else's fault. Your friend helped me a lot. I'd rather suffer rumors than that man's advances," she scoffed. "I just… hope that the people here get tired of these rumors soon enough too. But… in the meantime… just tell me what you need to buy and I'll get it for you."

Aeyrin passed her the list of her lacking items along with a pouch of gold and a grateful smile. She wondered for a while if Belethor would realize what Carlotta was doing when she asked for rations and tent pegs and a bedroll, but… he would hopefully be too preoccupied with making a sale to pay any attention to it.

She waited in the street for Carlotta to return. She did not want to prolong her stay, but now she needed to stop by Breezehome.

All of this could not have been easy on her friends.

…

"Aeyrin!" Lydia beamed at her with a wide smile when she entered the house.

"Good to see you here. Lydia was just making something for lunch," Saadia smirked with a pleased look in her eyes.

"Oh. I'm not… I was just coming to see how you were," Aeyrin smiled wryly. They seemed like nothing was wrong, but that was hardly indicative of anything. They surely wouldn't spend their days moping away.

"Everything is alright. Your friend did a good job, I think. There has been no word of the Alik'r death," Saadia nodded at her.

Aeyrin had almost forgotten about all that after the commotion in town, but it was still good to hear. At least that was hopefully resolved.

"That's good," she walked towards the table to sit down, but she didn't even bother taking off her armor. She would need to head out soon enough again. "I was actually stopping by for some supplies and… I had a… problem… with Belethor."

"Oh, that piece of shit," Saadia scoffed hatefully. "Yeah, he's been a pain. He won't sell to either of us. I need to get Hulda or one of the traders at the market to get me something from him whenever I need."

"Yeah… I heard. Carlotta – the trader from the market told me. I… I am so sorry you two have to deal with this," Aeyrin let out a regretful sigh.

"It's not your fault, Aeyrin," Lydia gave her a kind smile in response.

"I told the Jarl."

"You said that the General would have told him anyway. It would have come out sooner or later. And it's not like it's Bishop's fault either. Charging a child like that is just… ugh," Lydia sneered.

"What would you expect from idiotic Nords," Saadia snorted in disgust.

Lydia instantly raised her brow at her, but the Redguard only approached her and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. "There are exceptions though."

"Gods, it's got to be awful to live here like this," Aeyrin lamented.

"It's fine, Aeyrin. We can handle some rumors. Believe me, I have practice. And Lydia hardly lets the people bother her," Saadia gave her a reassuring smile.

"Come on, don't worry about it. I'm sure a good lunch will put your mind in a better place," Lydia smirked. Gods, that sounded tempting. But she should really be going to pick up Bishop from the meadery.

"I'd love to, but I have to run. I just wanted to see how you were doing… considering. But Bishop's waiting for me." Aeyrin stood up from the seat determinedly.

Both of them shot her a surprised look.

"Bishop's waiting for you?" Lydia raised her brow. Her eyes seemed rather hopeful. It was kind of sweet. She obviously cared a lot about him. It was clear from how she had tried to defend him before and how she lamented his somber state when she saw him.

"Yeah…" Aeyrin couldn't help but blush in response. It was telling enough.

"You two are back together?" Saadia smirked, eliciting a brief nod from Aeyrin.

"Finally! Shor, at least some things are going well," Lydia beamed. "I wish we could all see each other though." Her expression turned somber within a second.

"Well… he can probably sneak in sometimes. And… maybe… with the bandits and the Alik'r taken care of, maybe we can meet somewhere else even," Aeyrin shot her a smile. It wasn't a bad idea, right? They could go to another city, or even camp out in the wilderness together for some time.

"That's a great idea! A trip out of this city sounds really good right now," Saadia chuckled briefly.

It would probably do them some good to get out of there too.

…

Bishop became decidedly morose since Aeyrin told him about what had transpired in Whiterun after they met up further from the meadery.

Was there any wonder? All of this was because of a stupid bounty that he never should have been a part of. And now it was making both his, hers, and their friends' lives miserable. He did smirk a bit when she told him about Carlotta though.

"See? It just goes to show you. You put some good in the world, it always comes back," Aeyrin smiled, although she had to wonder if she should really call threatening some random bard 'good'.

"Yeah… sure. And then your shitty past follows you around like guar shit on your boot wherever you step," he grumbled.

Aeyrin squeezed his hand briefly as they walked forth. She had no consoling words for him. He was right after all.

They stopped in the middle of the road when they could see the large area in front of them, charred beyond recognition with a patch of grass burned off by acid and persistent frost all over the blackened ground, right by the Standing Stone above the gorge.

Bishop let his eyes roam over the decimated land before he let out a heavy sigh.

"But… I guess the two of us have worse shit to worry about."