Fire around me, aches and pains in my limbs as whips came down, hotter than fire with teeth sharper than the thinnest razorblades.

...

I bolted up with a sharp intake of breath, panting heavily to the point where it was nearly uncontrollable. While my brain put itself back together after my nightmare, I put my head in my hands and tried to focus on the present. I'm here in Skyrim, I told myself. I'm not in the Deadlands. I'm halfway to Dawnstar and Karnwyr is beside me. I started petting the red wolf to calm myself and took a look at my surroundings to continue to ground myself. The sky is clear, the stars are out. The forest is quiet. Bishop is-

What is he doing?

It was one of those extremely rare moments where Bishop's guard was down. He was gazing off into the distance, seemingly unaware of me and my nightmare. I could barely see shadows moving in the depths of his eyes while a flicker of some strong emotion played over his face. His hands were twitching, and I felt the urge to still them. Suddenly, without warning, he snapped out of it. His usual gruff expression was firmly back in place, and his concerns were now closed off to me.

His first move after returning to reality was to look my way. Upon seeing that I was wide awake, a smirk fitted itself over his lip. "Ha, look at you." He reached around into his pack and pulled out a sack of dried elk meat. Popping a few pieces into his mouth like candy, the ranger licked his lips and closed up the bag. "You look like a doe lost in the woods. Big, beautiful, frightened eyes." While I grew sour, he merely became curious. "Why is that? Another nightmare waking you up in the early hours of the morning?" He pointed to the distant horizon where the faintest glow alerted me to the rising sun.

"...Yeah," I admitted, averting my eyes. "That happens. I'm sorry."

He waved it off. "Don't apologize, princess. At least you weren't screaming this time." He scratched his chin and approached a nearby apple tree, inspecting the hanging fruits before plucking a few and tossing one my way. "And you shouldn't feel bad for ignoring the Greybeards for a while. You can't be expected to drop your own goals for a couple of old men who sit talking to the sky." Drawing his knife, the ranger cut a chunk of the apple out and ate it from the blade while circling the campfire. "You know, I'm starting to appreciate this merry band we have." He pointed north to the icy sea, miles in the distance. "I say we relax, go to a hidden cave, maybe... spend the night, just you and me." Mischief twinkled in his golden eyes, and I gave a heavy sigh. His smile faded. "Hey, I wasn't being serious. Mostly."

"It's not you." I hugged my knees closer to my chest and stared at the fruit in my hands. Bright scarlet with streaks of gold, the honeycrisp apple smelled extra sweet in the autumn air. I accepted the gift and took a bite, sweetness rushing over my tongue. "Thanks for the apple, though."

Bishop finally stopped pacing, instead deciding to sit on the log again. He gestured to the apple, then to me. "Well, you didn't eat one last night." He eyed me. "In fact, if I'm not mistaken, you didn't eat at all yesterday."

I chewed slowly, unwilling to reply. Still, I had no choice but to do so eventually. I swallowed my bite and faced the ranger, unsure if he was actually concerned or just making an observation. "I just wasn't very hungry."

"Yeah, except you didn't eat dinner the day before that, either." He rolled his eyes. "You do you, ladyship, but if you're gonna start doing acrobatics in the ice fields of Dawnstar and jumping on the backs of dragons, then you'll have to start eating." He pointed the knife at me. "And I'll be here watching your ass." The corner of his mouth quirked up. "In every sense of the word."

I sighed and put my cheek in my hand. The apple looked far less appetizing. "Of course." I forced myself to take another bite. "But it's not like anything's wrong," I insisted. "I'm just not..."

"I'm not your counselor, sweetness. You don't have to explain yourself to anyone, much less me." Bishop started rolling up his bedroll. "But I do want you to have enough energy to get to Ivarstead. The mead at that inn- mm! That would be worth a trip all on its own." If he expected a laugh out of me, then he'd be sorely disappointed. "C'mon. Out of that bedroll, darling. We're less than a day's walk away."

"Whatever." The second I put pressure on my back, a shooting pain traveled up from the small and paralyzed the rest of me. "Augh!"

"What? What's the matter?" Bishop was instantly at attention. "What's wrong?"

A whimper escaped my lips as I forced myself up. "Just a bad back," I choked out. "I must've slept on it wrong- ouch!" With a groan, I rubbed my eyes. A wet canine nose pushed at my cheek, and I couldn't help but smile. "Good boy, Karnwyr. My good boy." His head was cocked to the side while his tongue lolled out of his mouth, coming together to paint a very goofy canine.

"Move aside and let me behind you."

"What?!"

"I said, move aside and let me behind you," Bishop repeated patiently, stepping over the smoldering campfire. I watched him warily, and the ranger sighed irritably. "Trust me, ladyship. Please?" While his words seemed weighted, I took them at face value.

Growling, I shifted my position and allowed him to sit behind me. "To be fair," I began, "you make enough comments about my ass that that letting you back there seems like a bad decision." Bishop snorted at the remark. "What are you doing, anyway?"

"Your back is sore," he said simply, "so I'm helping with that." I opened my mouth to protest, but the second the ranger's hands touched my sensitive back, all fight left my body. I felt him laugh again, but he didn't comment this time. He adjusted himself again and settled his warm hands on my shoulders, the slight pressure sending a shooting ache through my muscles. Seemingly aware of where the pain was centralized, the ranger ran his thumbs up and down the back of my neck, pressing lightly at first, then a bit harder. All too relieved that the pain was disappearing, I let my head fall to my chest. While he didn't stop, he did chuckle a bit.

Several minutes passed, and the only sounds were the nearby river, the birds just waking up, and Bishop's slow breathing. When his hands slowed, I waited for the upcoming question. "...I've got to ask you something, sweetness," he finally said, just as I'd suspected.

"Is it about that damn cave again?" I challenged, straightening up now that the stress on my back was lightened. "Because if it is, you can save it."

Bishop scoffed in mock offense. "What? And after I've been such a gentleman?" He started to knead the knots out again, and I caught my breath before it could turn into a relieved moan. He laughed under his breath. "I was going to make an observation, which then connected into a question."

I lifted a brow. "Okay, fine."

His mouth opened and closed a few times, and he ended up shaking his head. "Nah, never mind." He let his hands fall from my back. "I don't want to get slapped." Standing and stretching out, Bishop cracked his own back. "Hope I helped, because that's not gonna become a regular thing."

"Shame." I twisted and turned, amazed that he'd managed to massage out almost all of the pain. "You're good at this."

"I know." He crossed his arms. "Am I going to get any show of appreciation, or am I just your portable masseuse?"

Cracking a smile, I gave in to the intrusive thoughts and pulled him down to kiss his cheek. "Sure. Thank you, Bishop." He stared at me for a few moments, then shrugged.

"You know what? Better than nothing." The ranger turned to leave, muttering something under his breath.

"What was that?" I asked, too curious to let something simple like that go.

Bishop hesitated, looking as though he didn't know whether or not to reveal his thoughts, but with a sigh followed by a smirk, he let me know what was on his mind. "It's getting awful cold, ladyship. Are you sure you don't want to share my bedroll, maybe help me polish my spear?"

My retort was quick and to the point. "Where'd you get that line, The Lusty Argonian Maid?. Besides, I'm sure the cold's made your weapon smaller than ever." While the ranger sat stunned, I gloated over my victory and stood, cracking my now-painless back. "Well, I don't know about you, but I feel rather invigorated. Feel like a jog?" I twisted back and forth. "Maybe a friendly tussle?"

"I'm always up for a friendly tussle," Bishop remarked mirthfully, "but you definitely have better things to do than practice poor flirtations on me."

I frowned. "I wasn't flirting, and if I was, it wouldn't be poor."

"Oh yeah? Prove it."

"You just want me to seduce you."

Bishop grinned. "Oh, absolutely, but you never seem to want to participate."

"Why would I?"

"Why? Sweetness, I'm a perfect male specimen. I don't chase."

"So that makes me the exception?" I clarified. Bishop refused to speak, simply turned his head away and scoffed to himself. "As for perfection, handsome, you've got a ways to go." I glimpsed something on the back of his scalp and crinkled my brows, getting to my feet to inspect his tousled hair. Just as I'd thought, a twig had wedged itself into his brown-blond strands. I muttered a "stay still" as he fidgeted, but he still twitched every now and then. I tried for an easy removal despite that it was stubbornly nestled within. "Although I'll admit, you're not half bad for a ranger."

My attempt to lift Bishop's spirits seemed to have worked. "Yeah? Well, you're not half bad... for a wench." I laughed aloud and continued trying to take out the tiny stick.

"You wish I was a wench, then maybe you could get your hands on me, little ranger."

"Bah! Little?" He shifted underneath my hands and clicked his tongue in a reprimanding fashion. "The things that come out of your mouth sometimes... makes me wonder what's going on in that pretty head of yours." He chuckled to himself in a way that was almost malicious. "Just you wait, you minx." I suppressed a shiver at the deep tone and rumble in his voice.

Instead of replying, I focused on extricating the twig. I tugged at it a bit, but the ranger's instinctive movement was to smack my hands away, and I huffed in irritation. I pulled Bishop's knife from its sheath and carefully cut at the trapped twig, finally succeeding with little damage to his already-short hair. "There," I announced. "Got it out."

"That hurt," he complained, sticking out his lower lip in an overexaggerated pout. Rolling my eyes, I pressed my lips down to the extremely minor wound and kissed it.

"Better?"

The corner of Bishop's mouth quirked up into that mischievous grin of his. "Yes, milady." He lifted my hand and kissed the back of it, gauging my reaction as he did so. The corner of Bishop's mouth quirked up. "Much better."

...

"Welcome to Dawnstar, princess." Bishop gestured grandly to the snow-covered city, the icy wind from the sea adding an extra layer of frost to my already-freezing face.

I opened and closed my mouth, trying to find my words without losing my tongue to the cold. "Th-that's g-great," I stammered, rubbing my hands together, "b-but I'd l-l-like to g-get into t-t-the in before I f-f-freeze." I looked around. "W-where is it?"

Bishop laughed aloud, hands on his hips. "Whyever would we go inside?" he queried. "It's perfect weather out here."

"F-for a N-Nord," I grumbled. Seeing someone pass to my right, I tapped them on the shoulder. "E-excuse m-me?"

He stared at me with thinly veiled amusement. "I take it you want the inn?" All I could do was nod. "Over there, to the right." He pointed at the upper layer of Dawnstar. "It's right in the front for cold travelers like yourself."

"Th-thank y-you." I stumbled over my words and forced my near-paralyzed legs to move, desperate for the hot fire, warm food, and boiling tea inside.

"I could've told you that, ladyship," Bishop called out, trotting after me with no difficulty. Beside him was Karnwyr, and despite the icy snow stuck to his whiskers, the wolf seemed unaffected by the cold weather.

"I a-asked y-you," I reminded the ranger. "A-and you r-refused b-because you th-thought it w-was f-funny."

"To be totally fair," he stated, "it kind of is." He booped my nose as I held the doorknob to the Windpeak Inn. Rolling my eyes, I swung the door open, moaning aloud at the rush of hot air washing over my frigid body. Without wasting another second, I slipped inside, rubbing my hands along myself. The warmth was both relieving and exhausting.

With a deep breath, I approached the fire, rubbing my hands and closing my eyes. Ever so slowly, the heat chased the cold in my limbs away, the prickling feeling fading away. Somewhere, a hot chocolate was shoved into my hand, and I sipped at it gratefully.

Once I fully came to, I realized that Bishop had given me the hot chocolate while Karnwyr had faithfully stayed by my side. I muttered a 'thank you' to the ranger and faced the bar, sipping at the steaming chocolate slowly. When Bishop sidled back up to me with that dumb-yet-cute smirk on his face, I had to roll my eyes. I opened my mouth to ask whether or not we should get a room just yet, but I was cut short by a man. He was quite short compared to my companion, an Imperial with long, messy black hair and a gleam in his eye.

"You... you're the Dragonborn, aren't you?" he said excitedly.

"What?" I glanced at Bishop with wide eyes, but the ranger kept an emotionless face. "No, I-"

"Don't deny it, Dragonborn," the Imperial continued. "We've all heard the news by now. A lovely Imperial- like me, madam- lady with enchanting violet eyes and hair black as night." He reached out for my hand, but Bishop slapped him away before the strange man even touched me. The man glared at Bishop, then returned to me. "If you please, ma'am, I have a quest I'd like your help with."

I shook my head. "I'm not helping with any quest," I told him. It was then I noticed his garb, a brilliant crimson with yellow accents. It was oddly familiar and sent a shock of fear through my veins. Unwilling to allow the man to see whatever it was that terrified me, I turned my head away. "I'm quite busy."

The man refused to accept my denial. "Please, Dragonborn! I beg of you!" He placed his right hand on his chest. "Forgive me for my rudeness. My name is Silus Vesuvius," he introduced. "May I have the pleasure of your name?"

Bishop cleared his throat. "No, you may not," he answered hotly, stepping into Silus' personal space to where the Imperial had to back up. Despite the ranger obviously frightening Vesuvius, the man continued to beg the quest of me.

"I have a museum," he said, "and I'm missing an artifact."

"A museum?" Realization lit up from a vague memory. "Ah, you're the one who sent out those flyers, aren't you?" Silus bobbed his head up and down, visibly happy that I was at least somewhat aware of his existence.

"Indeed! Goodness, does that ever soothe my heart!" He reached into his pocket, sidestepping Bishop as he did so. He passed a paper off to me, on which a deadly-looking dagger was drawn. Once again, the familiar feeling returned. I sensed Bishop's sharp golden eyes on me, along with Karnwyr growing wary. "Dragonborn, I'm missing a single artifact from my collection, and I'm far too weak to find it myself. Or rather, its pieces. You see, that is a piece from the Mythic Dawn's collection, given by Mehrunes Da-"

"Hell no." I whirled around on my heel and crossed my arms, angry with myself that I hadn't instantly recognized the signs. "Absolutely not. Please leave." My heart pounded faster and faster.

Silus' voice was full of shock. "What? But Dragonborn-"

"Can't you take no for an answer?" Bishop snarled. I looked back to see the ranger with his face in Silus', furious and aggressive. "Now, fuck off, or answer to me."

Back and forth, Silus' gaze flicked to me and the ranger. In addition to Bishop's reaction, Karnwyr had his red ears back and teeth bared in warning. Unable to make it past Bishop, Silus sighed helplessly and walked away, pausing just before opening the door. "If you change your mind and feel like helping the common man, you'll find me on the other side of Dawnstar in my museum!" With that, the Imperial left the inn.

In the meantime, I was chewing on my nails nervously, not having expected a reminder of my fiery prison and torturers on my journey to find Nade. While I tried pushing back the panic, a calloused hand took my own and slowly pulled it down from my mouth. Without permission yet not unwelcome, Bishop's arms wrapped around my body in comfort. "You're okay, princess." My cheek against his chest, I felt each rise and fall while the movement slowly grounded me. "You're all right."

I wriggled my nose, relieved that I hadn't disappeared into the dark confines of my mind. "Do you even know what you're doing?" I whispered. "Or why you're doing it?"

"Nope," the ranger admitted, "but you need it, and so here I am." He tightened his embrace. "And you don't need to tell me. Remember what I told you in Whiterun? Our pasts are our pasts, and we're not going to make the future any better by dwelling on them." He released me, and I saw fervor in his amber eyes. "But I'll be right here to make a better future."

For the briefest of moments, for some unknown reason, I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to thank him and let my pent-up feelings loose. Before I could, my inner fear took hold, and I turned my head away. "Thank you, Bishop," I murmured, stare focused on the ground. "Really... thank you." My eyes flicked up to meet his, and an unknown emotion was swirling within.

"Of course, princess." He backed away, ready to make for his own room. "I'll be next door if you need me."

My heart beat a little faster. "Bishop?" He didn't turn around, but he did stop in the doorway. My mind raced as I tried to figure out what to ask. Even I didn't know why I'd said his name. "Um... can Karnwyr stay with me tonight?"

I'd swear he'd smiled when he nodded his head ever so slowly. "As you wish, ladyship. As you wish."