A statue of a quite menacing wolf greeted them, perched atop the front gates of Kvatch.
It was a symbol of perseverance, a vicious protector against anything that would threaten the city. After the Oblivion Crisis, they rebuilt and they were ready to defend their territory to the death before any other invader.
But the wolf did not protect them from all dangers.
There were some, hiding in the shadow of the grand city, waiting to pounce and prey on the weak.
Ri'zhassa was there somewhere, waiting. It was finally time to face him after all these years.
Almost.
"Alright. I'm gonna go get our 'supplies'," Bishop gave Aeyrin a meaningful look. They had it all planned out. They just needed to acquire some special items. "You go get us a room."
Aeyrin nodded at him curtly. He was going to head to one of the local shops she had recommended to him. She had never bought stuff like this, but she knew the city and she suspected that they might have something like this. They needed to remain inconspicuous. Ri'zhassa couldn't know that they were conspiring against him. He needed to think that Bishop was tricking Aeyrin. Otherwise he might not even show. Or he might have people in the city watching them and he might be ready for it.
For the purposes of playing the roles they had established, the second she turned around, Bishop smacked her ass in parting with a teasing smirk. He was definitely enjoying this a little too much. She let out a brief yelp, followed by a weak giggle. She wasn't exactly in the mood to laugh, but she still had to act like a love-struck girl that was just following him blindly. It shouldn't have been that hard. It was kind of true, especially when it came to this chase after his family, but it was hard to just act happy and oblivious to what awaited her.
She was excited, in a way. In anticipation of the chance to get her victory at last. But she was also so anxious. Anything could go wrong. Their plan was really built on nothing but assumptions.
For one, she knew that Ri'zhassa would probably not even bother to show up if Bishop and she came in armed and armored. He may have underestimated her before, but now he had a better idea of what she could do. He knew she was the Dragonborn and he would likely be ready for that. It was very likely that he wouldn't even show his face until he knew she was subdued and he was in no danger of being Shouted at.
They needed to keep up this act until Ri'zhassa showed himself and gave them an opening.
For that, it was really unfortunate that she could not Shout. But Bishop was going to handle that with the 'supplies' he was getting. It was just all based on all that they presumed. The truth was, she hadn't seen Ri'zhassa in ages. She had no idea what he was planning, why he was trusting Bishop with delivering her at all. Maybe he really did believe that he can buy anyone.
But there was not much to be done now. The deal was made and time drew near.
Soon she would have the chance to end him. She just needed to play this right.
She couldn't let him escape again.
…
Aeyrin opened the door slowly, uncertainly, as Bishop ushered her inside.
She wasn't looking at where she was going yet. She turned her head towards Bishop and gave him a worried, questioning look as she stepped into the small wooden shack.
"I don't understand, where are we going?"
Bishop did not answer. Gods, he actually looked so grimly determined that he was quite intimidating. Or maybe it was just the situation that still made her queasy.
She finally looked into the room. Ri'zhassa wasn't there, as predicted, but two men were there instead, looking at her warily. She let out a gasp of surprise at seeing them, and that was when she heard the door shut behind her and Bishop finally struck.
She felt the caring in his touch. Bishop grabbed her wrists, twisted them and yanked her arms behind her back. He held her like that, only keeping one of his hands wrapped around both her wrists while his other one instantly darted towards her neck. He pressed his thumb into her throat and she quickly let out a shocked croak. But all of that was barely painful. The sound she made was fake. He was pressing into her skin just enough to make some pressure apparent, but she could breathe and talk just fine, she just pretended not to. And his hand was gentle behind her back, as if he was holding her more than restraining her. She was the one pretending that her body was tense and bound.
"Sorry, sweetheart," he sighed grimly. "You've been fun."
Her eyes went wide with fear and she pretended to struggle to speak, but only let out another croaking sound. She yanked herself a bit in Bishop's hold, but no matter how gentle, he still held her firmly when she moved.
"Where is he?" He barked at the two men. They were watching the scene with wary interest.
"I'll get him," one of the men finally nodded. This was it. Ri'zhassa would show himself soon. There was one door in that small house, clearly leading downstairs into some basement, as there was no chance this place could be bigger on the surface, from what they'd seen outside.
And in a second, the man opened the door, revealing only a few steps and darkness below. He called out into nothing: "They're here, boss!"
The other man watched Aeyrin constantly and she kept pretending to struggle against Bishop's grip. She couldn't make herself seem calm even for a second. That wasn't so hard. She wasn't calm. But Bishop's touch was always so comforting, it was a bit difficult to pretend to try to get away from it.
Aeyrin did her best to look afraid. It wasn't far from the truth at all though, she was still terrified of that man. And it got worse when she finally saw him emerge from the basement. It's been years, but she had never forgotten that face even for a second. He gave her a terrifying grin, showing off his half-chipped fang along with the other. And his good eye had nothing but malice in it. Or at least she liked to imagine that.
Cold enveloped her spine while the back of her head began burning intensely. It was an unsettling contrast. She didn't even have to try to pretend the fright. Nor did she have to pretend the hatred in her eyes. She began to thrash in Bishop's grip wildly, and now, he really did have to tighten his hold on her so that she wouldn't get away from him by accident.
"Would you look at that?" Ri'zhassa smirked maliciously. "How nice to see you again, my little rabbit."
She let out another pained croak, but it was very hard not to spew a string of insults at him instead.
"Well, here she is," Bishop growled. "You better make this fucking worth it. I liked this one. Where's my money?"
Aeyrin threw Bishop a frightened and hopefully heartbroken look. She couldn't really see him, but she tried. It was all for show anyway. She let out another croak, but stopped sooner than intended. Those sounds made her throat hurt. Well… much like the chokehold would anyway.
"So… your clan was where I said?" Ri'zhassa looked at him curiously, eliciting a shocked and baffled look from Aeyrin and another half-croak.
"None of your business," Bishop narrowed his eyes. If he had found the clan, they wouldn't have him spread their location like this, not unless they trusted him. Maybe Ri'zhassa would know that. And maybe he would know that even a brother wouldn't be trusted after being gone a long time. No risk with this ruse. It all needed to play right. "I just want the drakes."
"I have your money, wafiit," Ri'zhassa nodded at one of his goons and the man produced several heavy pouches from his belt, placing them upon a small wooden table that was in the middle of the room with playing cards splayed all over it. The fact that they did have the money was a good sign.
"Good. Here's your 'payment'," Bishop scoffed. This was it. He let his hand fall from her neck and he shoved her roughly away, into Ri'zhassa's arms. But he knew that she was ready for this. That was the plan. Quick and easy.
Aeyrin stumbled, letting out a shocked gasp, as she practically fell into the Khajiit's instinctively-ready arms. She outstretched her own to embrace him around the neck in the fall. Well, almost. She did have her new bracers after all. They looked somewhat fashionable – nothing unordinary to wear with her pretty outfit. She was only walking around the city – there was no need for anything but her shirt, trousers and boots.
But the new bracers Bishop bought for her that very day were very fetching. And especially useful with the hidden blades in them.
Aeyrin aimed her wrist right at the man's neck in her fall. This was it. She would kill him with one stab. The blade would spring forth the second she put some pressure on the trigger with her fingers.
But suddenly, instead of catching her in his embrace, Ri'zhassa grabbed both her wrists. Before she even managed to do anything, he twisted her, spun her around, forced her arms behind her back and continued to twist her wrists. The blades sprung forth, but they only scratched her in this position. His mean chuckle emphasized that fact. And soon, she felt an unbearable pain in one of her hands, followed by a very disturbingly audible cracking of bones. She let out an ear-piercing scream that echoed through the room and tears of pain instantly sprung to her eyes.
He broke her wrist! How did he see this coming?
But the answer was becoming disturbingly obvious soon. Ri'zhassa didn't even need to say anything. He didn't even give a signal and his men couldn't see what actually happened. But both of them reached for the crossbows on their backs instantly and trained them at Bishop.
"One move and you're dead," one of them smirked and Bishop was only left staring at what happened in shock. Was Ri'zhassa just planning on killing him so that he wouldn't have to give him the money? Or… did he see a betrayal coming from miles away.
"You do that and the clan will hunt you down like rabid dogs!" Bishop spat at them. It was what he could think of right then. Ri'zhassa knew the clan, he must have known by now how vicious they could be.
"Ha! Good one, jetwijijri!" the Khajiit only laughed. "If you really claim to know them, you would know that they would almost sooner sell out one of their own than a stranger."
He was right, unfortunately. Nobody looked out for anyone in the clan. You fuck up, you deal with shit on your own, that was how it went. It was disturbing that he knew that, but perhaps the reputation of the Thrice-Banished was more renowned than Bishop knew.
"And besides, do they even know you're here?" Ri'zhassa laughed again. "It's not surprising at all to see you still so naïve, little rabbit. Why would I not have you watched at the farm? And… on your way. I needed to make sure you stopped by, didn't I?"
Bishop's eyes went wide at the man. He didn't notice anything! Nobody followed them here, all the way from Anvil. Right…?
"Let me go! I'll Shout," she hissed. She still had that card to play. He knew that she was the Dragonborn. He didn't know anything else.
But her threat was only met with malicious laughter again, this time from all three men.
"Go ahead, you fearsome dragon. Shout all you like," Ri'zhassa cackled. What? He wasn't even trying to stop her. Did he… did he know?
"You really shouldn't discuss all your plans and issues in an open camp," one of the goons snickered.
Dammit. They got so complacent here in Cyrodiil, so sure that their camping was a time of peace and solitude again after the ordeals in Skyrim. They were never worried about being followed, being spied on. And of course, they discussed it all. Aeyrin lamented that she didn't have her Shouts to her disposal, Bishop came up with the suggestion of some hidden arms to catch the Khajiit off guard and Aeyrin suspected that Ri'zhassa wouldn't be there outright, that he would probably not meet them head-on in case it was an ambush. That Bishop needed to make it seem like he was really 'delivering' her, not just out in the city but in that house too.
They knew everything. Ri'zhassa had anticipated all their tricks and all their steps.
They were completely outplayed.
Bishop couldn't move. Two crossbows were aiming at him and they would surely kill him the second he even made a step. And Aeyrin was caught in Ri'zhassa's grasp, pinned to his back with her wrist aching like someone was stabbing it continuously. She hated that tears were staining her cheeks, but they were involuntary from the pain. She always hated it when Ri'zhassa saw how much he could hurt her, physically or otherwise.
"Well, little rabbit. It's time to finish what we started, don't you think? I do hate delays and this one was significant," the Khajiit snarled and he pulled on her broken wrist, making her cry out in pain again despite herself. Bishop could only growl in anger at the scene.
"Leave her alone!" He barked at the man. He knew it would have no effect, but he couldn't help himself. Fuck, she looked so terrified. Not just for show now.
"Oh, now you care?" Ri'zhassa chuckled. "But of course, I knew that. Did you really think I wouldn't make sure that you were going to be malleable? My scout told me everything. Though I have to admit, you did almost convince me back in Chorrol. Almost."
Fuck. Asshole.
"Go ahead," the Khajiit nodded at one of his men. He lowered the crossbow, much to Bishop's and Aeyrin's relief, but the second one was still ready. And no matter how hard she tried, Ri'zhassa had a firm hold on Aeyrin. And whenever she tried to overpower him, he promptly aggravated her broken wrist again, making her cry out and whimper over and over again.
The man who had disposed of his crossbow fished around for something in his belt pouch. He soon produced a small root. He approached Aeyrin as she continued to try to struggle and he placed the root right under her nose.
"What are… aaaah!" She tried to question what was happening, but she was only rewarded with another pull on her wrist. Gods, that hurt so much.
Soon, the man snapped the root in half and she inhaled a strange scent. She had never smelled anything like that before, but her head was starting to spin rapidly and she suddenly felt awfully woozy and sick to her stomach. She could see everything, but shapes were becoming blurred. She could hear, but sounds were getting muffled. And it was suddenly very hard to think. Even to stand.
She sank a bit, but Ri'zhassa was there to catch her. He finally let go of her wrists, but somehow, she had no energy to try and escape. She didn't even realize that she should. There were no thoughts in her head at all.
"What the fuck did you do to her?!" Bishop yelled at the man as he watched her slump limply right into the Khajiit's embrace. Her eyes suddenly looked so empty, like the Void itself. Like they looked whenever she saw one of those Word Walls.
"This," the goon smirked as he approached Bishop as well, fishing out another root from his pouch. Bishop instinctively tried to take a step back, but the other man 'tsk'd him promptly, reminding him of the crossbow.
Fuck. Well… better this than to be dead. Ri'zhassa would surely have no qualms about killing Bishop if it came to that.
He tried not to inhale for a moment as the man snapped the root in half, but it proved to be impossible. A strange smell entered his nostrils, followed by a number of odd and unsettling feelings. But he didn't really seem to mind any of it at all.
He wasn't even sure what was happening around him anymore.
…
"Fuck, please, can you hear me? Princess?"
The words entered her mind almost suddenly. As if there was no sound at all before but now they were quite clear. Even the scenery around her. She felt like she had been… blank, but she wasn't sleeping or passed out. She didn't need to open her eyes or rouse herself from sleep. She was sitting somewhere with cold stone pressed to her back, cold stone below her, and iron bars in front of her. Judging by the size of this place and the small set of steps leading upstairs towards a wooden door and wall, they were in the basement of that house.
She was stripped, only in her undergarments, and all her necklaces and her soul gem and engagement rings were gone. That raised her panic even more. Granted, they were just things, but they were things she really cared about. But it was important to focus on their lives right now, instead of trinkets.
Her head hurt a bit, but it wasn't anything too bad. Much worse was the stabbing pain in her wrist. And it was only exacerbated by something heavy and metallic around them, as well as tight and scratchy rope above the metal, going all the way up to her elbows. Her arms were tied behind her back like this, clearly with both metal and rope, perhaps for extra security.
Her eyes went towards the voice. Bishop was sitting next to her, in the same cell, by the same stone wall. His arms were behind his back too, likely tied just like hers, and he was stripped down to some loincloth that definitely wasn't his. Did someone dress him after they undressed him? And why did that feel so creepy?
"Can you hear me?" Bishop repeated, though he did notice her eyes gleaming a bit again, like they always did with that familiar light he loved so much.
"I… yes… what happened?" She mumbled, still feeling a little confused.
"I don't know. I came to a little while ago. I have no idea what happened. He snapped that root and… I don't remember anything after that. All my shit is gone. And I'm tied up," he sighed.
"Me too," Aeyrin nodded at him in defeat. She shuffled away from the stone wall for a bit and turned her back to him as if to demonstrate her state.
"What's on your wrists? Some cuffs," he scowled as he examined the intricacies of the binding. "They're not even chained together though."
"Oh. I… I think I know," she grumbled. "The vampires in Falkreath used them on me too."
"Right. The anti-magic thing," Bishop nodded when he recalled her recounting of her ordeal in Falkreath. "Shit. Well… that sucks. I don't have them, but they probably already know I can't do magic. Like they knew everything. Fuck!"
"I should have known," Aeyrin scowled at herself. "I always underestimate him. I should have…"
"This isn't your fault, sweetness," Bishop interjected her self-flagellation promptly. "We didn't see this coming, it… anything could have happened. But we're still alive. We'll get out of this shit. Whatever it takes."
She nodded at him uncertainly. What even was 'this shit'? What was going to happen to them? She had no idea what Ri'zhassa was planning, but he did say that they would 'finish what they started'. Did he want revenge? Or profit from her again? She had no idea which one terrified her more.
"How's your hand?" Bishop gave her a concerned look.
"Bad," she sighed. "And I can't even try to heal it." She did try regardless, but when she attempted to cast her magic, nothing happened, as predicted. The cuffs were suppressing it.
He could only offer a sympathetic look in return. He was trying to get out of his ropes constantly, but it was hopeless. Besides, even out of those ropes, there was still that cage. It looked sturdy. Sturdier even than Aeyrin's chains for her transformations, so not even her werewolf strength could bend them. Not that she would ever agree to even try. There was no way they could get out of this. Not that he saw so far. But there was always hope. There were always opportunities.
"Any idea what he plans?" Bishop scowled a bit. Aeyrin knew him best.
"I… I don't know," she shivered involuntarily. "He… he said that we have unfinished business… I don't know if he means to kill us or…" she wasn't sure which alternative seemed worse. He definitely would torment them in some manner before he got to any unfinished business. She was sure of that.
"What happened? You said your last encounter didn't go well, but nothing else," Bishop prodded her gently. She rarely spoke of Ri'zhassa. It was very understandable, but it would help him to know what the man was capable of.
Aeyrin took a deep breath. She knew that she should tell him, but the situation they were in now only made talking about this harder. To be fair, she had been through much worse than that encounter with him. But somehow it never felt like it. He had always felt to her like the worst person she could tangle with, despite her knowing that there had been far worse.
She started to recount the tale with trepidation while Bishop only listened silently. He did nudge her a little so that she would shuffle towards him and lean against his shoulder as if it would make speaking easier. Well… it kind of did. No matter the situation, it always felt a little better to feel him near.
It wasn't a very long tale and when she was done, Bishop only pressed a gentle kiss into her hair before he nodded. So he would want… what? Revenge for his tail? For having his warehouse ratted out? Or would he want more profit from her, in whatever sick way he could concoct?
None of that sounded well.
They had to find a way out of this. But how? He needed to check the cage properly. Check the door and the lock. He didn't have his lockpicks here, of course, they took every single thing off them. Except they gave him that loincloth for some reason. Creepy fucks. But they needed to figure something out. Ri'zhassa would surely come into the cell at some point. He would probably want to hurt Aeyrin. They could overpower him together.
Aeyrin let out a soft whimper of pain when she shuffled a bit against him, likely from moving with her broken wrist. It quickly brought him back from the planning in his head. He was never really sure if she really needed it – she was probably reassuring herself in her head too. But it was almost a compulsion by now to comfort her anyway.
"We're gonna get out of this, princess. No matter what he has planned," he kissed her hair again. "And hey, at least this time we're actually captured together. And in the same cell too," he let out a weak chuckle. It was a small comfort, but at least they could be there with each other, without having to be plagued by the wondering whether the other was alright.
Aeyrin gave him a weak smile, but she wasn't so optimistic. How would they even get out of this mess? At least when only one of them was captured, the other always worked on getting them out. Now they had no one to help. Nobody even knew they were here.
Before either of them could say anything else, the sound of the door opening alerted them. Aeyrin almost instantly moved away from Bishop. She didn't want to look like she needed the comfort. She hated looking weak in front of Ri'zhassa.
It wasn't Ri'zhassa who came in though. It was one of his men. He only peeked from the top of the stairs for a second before he called out back into the room behind him. "Boss!"
Aeyrin tried to straighten up in defiance when she knew he was going to be there soon, but it was no use. How could it be? It was humiliating and degrading no matter what to be bound here, barely dressed in anything, and at his mercy. She didn't want to appear weak, but a thought briefly entered her mind about whether she shouldn't try to beg him for Bishop's release. He wanted to finish his business with her after all. That was probably the only thing she was willing to degrade herself for in front of that horrible man. But… she knew it was pointless. Why would he do her any favors? She had no power here at all.
It only took a second for Ri'zhassa to appear at the door and step down into the basement. The lighting was very meager – only one torch by the back wall – but Aeyrin still recognized that infuriating smug smirk of his.
"Hope you had a nice little rest," he chuckled nastily. "That was really pathetic of you, little rabbit. This ridiculous 'ruse'. I expected much better of you by now, but… I was clearly too optimistic. Like father, like daughter. Useless," he smirked again.
Aeyrin's hale fist clenched in anger. Her whole body felt like it was fighting with itself. She wanted to hide herself from him more than anything. She just wanted to be anywhere but here, exposed and humiliated in front of him of all people. But she also wanted to show him that he was wrong. She wanted nothing more than to prove to him that he didn't have the upper hand. That she would get the best of him and that she wouldn't cower in front of him like she used to when she was a child.
If only that were true.
"You're the pathetic one," she spat angrily. "Chasing your grudge after all these years."
"Yes, unlike you, of course," Ri'zhassa laughed. "Or why did you come here at all?"
Well… he had a point. She held onto that animosity as much as he did. They both wanted to be finished with each other, but neither of them could just… move on. Ri'zhassa deserved to be wiped off the face of Nirn.
"To rid the world of scum like you," she snarled.
"How touchingly 'noble'. Murder for the greater good. The zealots taught you well, rabbit," he scoffed. "Pointless, in the end. You owe me. And you're going to pay. The question still is… how?"
So… Ri'zhassa didn't have a plan. Or maybe he had multiple plans and hadn't decided on one yet. Or maybe he had one and he just wanted to keep her in torturous suspense. Any of these options could be true. Aeyrin shuffled on the ground nervously as he kept staring at her, rubbing his chin in contemplation. She hated being scrutinized like this, but when she squirmed, a sharp pain shot through her wrist again and she couldn't stop the gasp of pain escaping her lips. That made Ri'zhassa smirk in satisfaction once more.
"Stop fucking staring, fucker and get on with it," Bishop growled at the man. He seemed to be beneath the Khajiit's notice up until now, but now the man turned his attention to him. It didn't matter who it was, Bishop hated anyone looking at her this exposed, but it only exacerbated his anger that he wasn't exactly sure in what way the Khajiit used to hurt her. Though he did seem to be looking at her more as he would on some loot he had acquired more than some object of desire. At least Bishop hoped as much. Though was that better?
"Hmm," Ri'zhassa turned his haze to Bishop thoughtfully. "What is the saying, rabbit? Eye for an eye, tail for a tail? No? That's not it?" He chuckled meanly. "Never mind. I wish it applied," he looked back at her only briefly with a scowl, and then down as if on the missing tip of the tail that was swinging around his legs. "Maybe I can cut off hit 'tail' though," he laughed as he inclined his head back to Bishop.
Bishop couldn't help but squirm uncomfortably on the ground. And Aeyrin held herself back from reacting as much as she could. The moment he got anywhere near either of them, she would find a way to overpower him.
"It wouldn't matter much though," Ri'zhassa sighed in disappointment. "You won't get to see each other for long now anyway."
As if on command, the basement door opened once more and one of Ri'zhassa's men entered again. He had a piece of charcoal in one hand and a thin wooden board with some parchments on it in the other.
"Found your forms, boss," the man nodded.
"Good. Sit down. You'll fill them in," Ri'zhassa smiled with a disturbing glint in his eye and he inclined his head towards a small desk that was in the corner of the room with one chair by it. That was really all there was – their cell, the table and the chair and one torch on the wall.
"So, lucky for you," he turned his head towards them in the cell again. "You've cost me a fortune by ratting out my warehouse. And I had to bribe those wafiits to let me go too. Not to mention other harm you caused me," he looked at his tail once more. "And all you owed me for running off to those zealots."
Aeyrin scoffed at him hatefully. Right. As if he was the one being wronged here. She wanted to wring his neck.
"No wonder you ran off north," Ri'zhassa frowned.
"Don't flatter yourself! I didn't run," Aeyrin spat hatefully. He had nothing to do with her journey.
"If you say so," he scoffed. "But then again, you did provide a nice little opportunity to pay me back when you were there. What a bounty you accumulated. Seems like you can't help but fuck with people, can you?"
Aeyrin only snarled again. That bounty was just as unfair as his own accusations were. How did all these scum really think that they were in the right to chase her and capture her for their own profits?
"But you fucked that up for me too. Tsk, tsk," he glared at her.
"What did you do with him anyway?" She gave him an uncertain look. She had no idea what happened to her father after she and Bishop left him to be found by Ri'zhassa again.
"I think I prefer you not knowing. You might pretend not to care anymore, but you just proved that you do," he smirked at her meanly. "Whatever brings you even a little pain, rabbit, it's all worth it."
"Keep that to yourself," Aeyrin scoffed. She honestly just hoped that Faldaen was out of her life for good. "I'm sure I don't need to know what sick payback you concocted for him failing you."
"True. You only need to know what payback I concocted for you," he grinned at her. "Fortunately, you can still make all that shit up to me. You can still pay me back."
"I don't 'owe' you anything!" She growled. "You're the one who will pay for everything you've done!"
"Yes, yes," Ri'zhassa waved his hand dismissively. "Make all the threats you like. They're particularly amusing from you when you're crouched on the ground of the fucking cell like this," he smirked. "Anyway, I have plans for you. You already know what happens to long-time debtors. I suspect my contacts will pay well for you two. I wonder where you'll end up," he gave her a mockingly contemplative look again.
Of course. His slavers. Ri'zhassa always sold those who were too troublesome for him. He wanted to sell her during their last encounter. She kind of saw this coming. But then again, when he insinuated it, her stomach still clenched in fear. She had no idea how slavery actually worked in Cyrodiil. It was highly illegal. But… that only meant that wherever the slaves ended up would be far and far from anyone even remotely scrupulous.
"You could go to a cheap brothel. That's always an option," Ri'zhassa smirked. "You would love that place, little rabbit."
She only snarled again, and she could swear she heard Bishop snarl under his breath too.
"Or… sometimes it's necromancers that buy out the merchandise for their experiments. Sometimes it's vampires that buy it for food. There are so many options. I just give you to my contacts, but I'll be spending my nights fantasizing about what shit-hole you end up in."
"Hey, boss," the man in the corner of the room suddenly piped up. "If you're sellin' them anyways, you think we can have some fun before?" His eyes went to Aeyrin on the ground there and this time she really needed to squirm in discomfort. She was just glad she managed to suppress the terrified whimper. But maybe she could overpower that goon even more easily…
"What did I say?!" Ri'zhassa barked at him angrily suddenly. "Street filth's for selling, not for playing! It's beneath us to even touch it."
Aeyrin let out an incredulous scoff at that. 'Beneath' him? Beneath a horrible scum like this?!
"But she doesn't look too…" the man in the corner tried to convince his boss again, but he was promptly interrupted.
"Once a street rat, always a street rat. Remember that. Useless filthy wretches the lot of them. All you need them for is to squeeze as much profit off them you can." Ri'zhassa spoke to his 'friend', but his eyes were trained on Aeyrin the entire time with a disdainful expression on his face. He looked so hateful, so contemptuous.
She hated that. As if he was the one who should feel superior. As if he was the one who should feel like the better person here. He was nothing but a common low-life that preyed on the weakest possible – addicts and beggars. He was pathetic.
"Just start going through the forms already," Ri'zhassa ordered his man again before he turned back to Aeyrin with a brief explanation. "You see, I decided to streamline my process a bit. It's been exhausting to write all the reports on the merchandise to my contacts, so I made… templates. It's been very useful," he chuckled.
Templates? For handing out people into slavery? And he called her a filthy wretch?!
"Sure, boss," the man in the corner nodded. "So… uhm… race?"
"You can see that, can't you?" Ri'zhassa scoffed. "She's not mixed. I don't know about the Thrice-Banished mongrel, but he doesn't look it. Then again… with the way those fuckers are going around… but he looks like those two from that father of theirs. Go with not mixed there too."
"Alright," the man nodded as he began to scribble something into the parchments on his wooden board. Bishop and Aeyrin only shared a disturbed look amongst each other. Ri'zhassa clearly had no intention of going inside the cell now and they had no way of doing anything to him, trying anything. Their insults and yelling wouldn't achieve anything. What else could they do but sit there and listen to him treat them like merchandise?
"Height?" the man in the corner continued.
"She's around twenty handbreadths. He's… hmm… around twenty-five," Ri'zhassa estimated thoughtfully. He was clearly doing this all in front of them to seem even more intimidating.
It kind of worked…
"Weight?"
"Ten stones for her maybe. Fourteen for him," he nodded in self-reassurance, as if he had done this so many times he had an eye for this. He probably did.
"Hair color, eye color…" the man in the corner murmured mostly to himself as he scribbled. He was probably filling in the information himself. "Age?"
"She's twenty two. What of you, Thrice-Banished mongrel?" Ri'zhassa nodded at Bishop.
"I'm not fucking helping you!" Bishop spat at him.
"Fine. He looks something over thirty," Ri'zhassa shrugged noncommittally.
What? 'Over thirty'?! Fuck that guy! He did not look that old. He wasn't that old.
"Just stop with this performance!" Aeyrin barked angrily. She knew he was only doing this in front of them to rattle them more.
"But why, little rabbit? You look so terrified," he chuckled.
She didn't. She… she tried not to, even though she was scared a lot. She didn't want him to know and she scowled again, but now she was insecure – maybe she wasn't controlling her face as much as she hoped.
"You should be the one who's terrified," Bishop snarled at him, though it did sound hollow just now.
"Of course, jetwijijri. I'm shaking in my boots," Ri'zhassa smirked. Granted, that threat was really ineffective from their position. They needed to figure out how to get out of this shit. They might have more opportunities whenever Ri'zhassa would sell them or try to transport them, but it would be much better not to have to rely on that. Preventing him from even contacting his slaver friends would be ideal.
"So… uhm…" the man in the corner interrupted uncertainly. "Special skills?"
"A dragon with no powers?" Ri'zhassa laughed meanly. "None."
"Can't they like… fight?" The man cocked his head at the Khajiit in confusion.
"Haven't seen it," Ri'zhassa smirked before he threw an exasperated look at his goon. "Are you daft or something, wafiit? You think they'll rank up the price for merchandise that fights back? No special skills."
"Right, boss," the man started to scribble hastily again.
"Whoever comes for us is gonna end up dead," Bishop growled.
"You keep telling yourself, jetwijijri," Ri'zhassa scoffed.
Of course he wouldn't believe that, but that was alright. They still had one card up their sleeve that Ri'zhassa didn't know about. Even if Aeyrin wouldn't like it, there was still a vicious wolf ready to protect them if things were too dire.
"Body disfigurements?" the man in the corner asked another question.
"Mangled ear and minor scars on her," Ri'zhassa promptly answered, but Aeyrin didn't miss the smug smirk he gave her as his eyes went right towards the claw-marks on her left thigh, left there by him years ago. And renewed by Thorn. "Moderate amount of scars on him. Also branding… hmm… don't mention that one. Might make the buyers less interested."
Bishop only rolled his eyes at the comment. As if he cared if the slavers found him less profitable.
"Uhm… alright," the man in the corner nodded. He seemed somewhat uncomfortable with doing this in front of the merchandise, unlike Ri'zhassa. Maybe he was afraid of them. Maybe that could be used. "Next one…" his eyes roamed over the 'templates'. "Virgins?"
"Seriously?" Aeyrin snarled at Ri'zhassa in disgust. This again? He was hoping to get a better price for someone 'unused' from the temple before too.
"Interesting question," the Khajiit laughed. "So, Thrice-Banished, was that a ruse too? Or did you actually talk an uptight zealot into it?"
"Fuck off," Bishop spat back at him. As if the answer even mattered. Ri'zhassa was clearly just enjoying his position of power. For now. They would figure out a way out of this though. Then he'll see.
Ri'zhassa only chuckled for a while, clearly amused by his own interrogations. He did let out a long sigh and shrugged his shoulders after a while though.
"Alright. You can do the rest on your own. I have some friends to contact," he nodded at his goon with determination before he looked back at Aeyrin and Bishop with a satisfied smirk. "I'll be back later. You two enjoy your stay for now. And don't worry. I'll be sure to make it… interesting before you're shipped off."
"Sure, boss," the man only answered rapidly. He was completely absorbed in filling out the forms quickly now, as it seemed. Maybe he really did want to just get away from them. That kind of boded well.
Ri'zhassa turned on his heel and stomped off, his cut-off tail swinging behind him. He didn't look back once as he made his way up the small stairs and into the main room. His henchman still sat silently, scribbling away and occasionally throwing glances at the two of them.
"If you unlock the cell, you might actually make it out of here alive," Bishop growled at him menacingly.
The man looked caught off guard. Bishop almost thought that he looked frightened, but a second later, he let out a hearty, mocking laugh. It became clearer soon. He hadn't been afraid of them. He was afraid of Ri'zhassa.
"Nice try. You're not getting out of here for a while. Days likely. Not until the buyers come," he smirked.
"Days? Our hands are tied! How are we even supposed to drink or eat and… everything. We won't survive!" Aeyrin scoffed at him. If their hands were only tied, it would be possible, but they were behind their backs. And one of hers was broken too!
"Pfft, what do I care? Boss's orders," the man shrugged. "Besides, there's two of you. You can help each other out, right?" he chuckled meanly.
Ugh. That was disturbing to say the least. But for now, they didn't even have anything to drink or eat. There was nothing at all in their cell save for a bucket, one filthy blanket, presumably to sleep atop, and a few cobwebs. Nothing else at all. Definitely not anything they could use to escape.
It was doubly frustrating that they were stripped to the bare minimum too. Bishop often hid his lockpicks in his boots or deep in his pockets. There was a chance some would make it through. But unfortunately, Ri'zhassa was thorough.
"Did you dress me?" Bishop raised his brow at the man with a disturbed tone in his voice.
"Nobody wants to look at you," the man scoffed. "Besides, it's to prevent infections. From the ground, you know. The buyers wouldn't be happy."
"You creeps have a whole fucking system for this," Bishop only mumbled beneath his breath. He knew that Ri'zhassa was a sick fuck, with his skooma smuggling and dealing. He knew that it often involved many other shady dealings – thievery, extortion, threats, even murder or shit like burning someone's house. He had never really met someone who dealt with slavers though. Not like this. There was talk sometimes in Skyrim about people that displeased someone disappearing. Bishop had always assumed they were given to bandit clans, like Thorn's. It was kind of the same thing, true. But nobody actually called it 'business'. It was a punishment. Ri'zhassa was surely eager for his own punishments, but he clearly preferred the profit of selling those that wronged him. To whatever fate awaited them.
But he would not get to enjoy that for long.
The man in the corner scribbled for a while longer before he finally put the charcoal into his pocket and stood up. He didn't say another word as he marched towards the steps leading upstairs again, but before he disappeared once more, he did throw them a brief glance.
"Don't make noise or you'll regret it. Nobody but us will hear you anyway, so don't even try."
He left with palpable disinterest after that. The door shut behind him and they could hear the rattling of keys on the other side.
There was silence for a while. Suffocating silence. As if they were both waiting for someone to come back, even though they knew that no one would. Not anytime soon anyway. The quiet only broke when Aeyrin finally let out a shuddering breath.
"Oh Gods," she gasped, squirming in her binds until another jolt of pain went through her wrist and she cried out softly. Every motion made it so much worse. "This is bad. We're not getting out of here. He's… he's too careful to make mistakes. We'll be sold to Gods-know-who and…"
"Breathe," Bishop interrupted her promptly, trying to calm her down. "We will get out of this. We've gotten out of worse. If the slavers really come, we'll overpower them somehow." He knew how. The wolf was just waiting to tear into any threat. But it would not calm Aeyrin down right now if he mentioned it. "We'll probably figure out a way out of here even before that. Hang on."
He rose to his knees and crawled towards the cell door. He started to study the lock carefully. There had to be some weakness he could exploit, some way to get the door open. Or maybe the bars would be breakable somewhere. He barely had time to study the cell. Not all was lost yet by far.
Aeyrin watched him with trepidation. She had no idea what she could do to help. Her mind was only filled with fear and tragic scenarios.
She couldn't think of anything to do. Definitely not better than Bishop. She felt so useless. So weak. Without her Shouts, she couldn't help them out of this mess.
She tried to curl onto the ground as carefully as possible, but it was no use. The wrist hurt so much anyway, no matter how careful she was.
She noticed Bishop looking back at her with concern at the pained sounds she made, but she tried to give him a small reassuring smile.
She wanted nothing more than to believe that he was right.
…
They had no idea how much time had passed.
Nobody came into the dark basement for a long time. Bishop had spent most of it studying their cell for any weaknesses and any entrance points. He fiddled with the lock with nothing but his hands, turned with his back to it so that he couldn't even see. It was kind of moot that way. After careful observation and some tinkering though, he did suspect that the lock wasn't exactly high quality. But he would need to observe it carefully while the door was open too, and while it closed. He was pretty sure that there was only one bolt and if by any chance he would be able to lodge something into the hole, he might stop the bolt from going all the way in.
That was of course useless for now though. The door wouldn't budge like this by force.
Aeyrin wanted to help him. She wanted to do something not to feel so useless, but she had no idea what. She couldn't help him with this well and she had no other ideas.
Bishop suggested to her at one point that if someone was to enter the cell, she should do whatever she needed to in order to turn into a werewolf and kill them.
That was a horrible idea! For one, she had no idea how to turn at will. And she refused to even try. She would kill Bishop without a doubt. That was out of the question. She was not even going to listen to that crazy plan and, eventually, Bishop only sighed in defeat and dropped this line of thought, fortunately.
They weren't exactly sure if night had passed already. After Bishop was sure he couldn't observe anything more from their surroundings, he concentrated the rest of his energy to try and console Aeyrin. It was another moot task, however, and he couldn't really blame her. Being captured by the man who had caused her so much pain in her life was not easy.
After what felt like hours, the door to the house above finally opened again and Ri'zhassa entered. He had a smug grin on his face, clearly still giddy about his catch.
"You'll be pleased to hear that my friends are on their way," he grinned at them meanly. "They'll be here to collect their merchandise in a few days. They were responsive to my offer. At least now you'll be able to pay me back a little bit of what you owe me, little rabbit."
Still with this imaginary debt! That man was insane. He had been using and abusing her all her childhood and he seriously still dared to claim that she was the one who did him any harm. She hadn't done nearly enough for what he deserved.
"Now, it still won't cover all the damage you've caused, of course," he scowled. "All the years you've evaded me. All the profit I have lost because of your selfishness. But fortunately for you, little rabbit, I thought of a way to make you pay for that too."
Aeyrin squirmed in spot nervously. She didn't feel like she had it in her to argue with him anymore. And what was the point anyway? He wouldn't listen. Why would he? She wanted him dead or jailed anyway, it was not as if he would volunteer for that.
"I was thinking a lot," Ri'zhassa sighed almost wistfully. "There's so much I could do to you, rabbit. So many ways I could make you hurt, make you pay. But… I don't exactly want to damage the merchandise too much, you know? My friends might get mistrustful over next purchases. It's… an unfortunate situation."
That was kind of a relief. No hurting her, no mutilation. She was worried that he would 'make her pay' physically quite brutally just for his pleasure alone. He always enjoyed leveraging pain. But still, even though she was safe from that particular threat, dread was still enveloping her. He did seem like he had thought of something regardless. She just hoped that her supposed 'purity' that he had never really found an answer to, was valuable for him too. And she hoped even more that he wouldn't consider Bishop a good casualty for his schemes. Anything but that.
"But then I got an idea," he grinned evilly. "One that no one will really mind. No one but you. After all, it's something whoever buys you would do to you anyway. It's… common practice."
Her body stiffened in fear and she had to make herself stifle the gasp of pain from her wrist again. That didn't sound good. Maybe she was wrong about the value of her not being 'too used'. But Ri'zhassa called her a 'street filth', 'not for playing'. That applied to him too, right?
"You touch her, I'll beat you to death, no matter what," Bishop growled at him angrily.
"Ha! How novel to see a Thrice-Banished fighting for something else than their own life," Ri'zhassa smirked. "But you're worrying about something you need not worry about, wafiit. I don't 'touch' street rats. Not like that."
Why was none of that still comforting to either of them?
"Now, I have something for you, little rabbit. I assure you my buyers even… expect it. You'll be the only one to mind this sort of… damage. Well you would think of it that way, I guess. For me it's an advantage. Come here!" He called out suddenly and the door opened again. One of his men came down once more, holding a crossbow in his hands. He aimed it at Bishop the entire time.
Oh no!
Aeyrin was ready to crawl in front of him to protect him from any bolts by any means necessary, but the man didn't shoot.
"A precaution. If you move, jetwijijri, you die. I don't care that I lose the profits. You are… an acceptable loss. Understood?" Ri'zhassa narrowed his eyes at Bishop.
Bishop didn't answer, but Aeyrin started to nod vehemently. Whatever he wanted to do to her, fine. As long as Bishop was alive.
Seeing her expression, Bishop let out a frustrated growl, but he nodded as well. She was right. Survival above defiance. Ri'zhassa didn't want Aeyrin dead and as long as Bishop was alive, he could get them out.
"Rabbit, move into the corner. You, wafiit, stay by the other wall," Ri'zhassa ordered and they reluctantly obeyed.
Aeyrin crawled into the corner of the cell with soft noises of pain escaping her lips whenever her hand moved. Bishop in the meantime pressed himself to the bars. He picked his position carefully. He had to be close to the door to see it – Ri'zhassa likely wanted to go inside – but not so close for the man to make him move again.
He knew that the goon was aiming right at the back of his head. He could feel it. But for now, he had to stay still.
He watched intently as Ri'zhassa stepped closer to the cell and started to fiddle with keys. He began opening the cell door and Bishop was carefully observing the lock in action. But once it was closed again when the man was inside, he saw that it clicked itself locked. It was only punctuated by Ri'zhassa yanking on the door to make sure. Interesting. He didn't need to lock it again.
But now there was something worse Bishop needed to focus on. What exactly was he planning on doing to Aeyrin?
Ri'zhassa approached her as she squirmed in the corner. She didn't want him anywhere near her, but what was she supposed to do? She was worried that fighting him off would make him do something brash to Bishop.
Soon enough, Ri'zhassa was crouching in front of her, his face right there, grinning at her with infuriating glee. Gods, she did not want to know what was going to happen next. She had no idea. Not until she saw him fish around in his belt and take out a small vial.
Divines! No! No! He couldn't be serious!
"Open up, rabbit," he smirked.
She recognized the small vial instantly. Purple, and as he opened it, no odor came out, but she knew all too well what was inside. He knew what would hurt her the most without him inflicting any wounds on her. This was worse than anything. This was something that terrified her all her life. He couldn't force her to do this!
She kept her lips sealed shut and she shook her head vehemently. She wasn't even going to scream or yell at him. No chance for him to make her open her mouth. She would never!
"Don't move!" A voice interrupted the tense scene, coming from back in the basement – the henchman was yelling at Bishop. And Aeyrin couldn't help but take a peek behind Ri'zhassa's menacing form at him. Bishop looked shocked and conflicted. His body flinched visibly, but a growl left the goons lips at the motion.
She couldn't let him die to protect her from this.
She shook her head at him in warning. He couldn't move. He had to obey. Even if every inch of her body screamed for her not to obey Ri'zhassa in turn.
Apparently, the time it took for them to exchange brief expressions was a bit too much for Ri'zhassa. He let out a resigned sigh, but somehow, she knew that he was actually happy about this development.
"As you wish, rabbit," he sneered.
Before she could realize what was happening, his hand was on her neck, digging its claws into her flesh. She instantly let out a shocked and pained gasp.
Her eyes widened in shock, but she felt like she couldn't actually see anything. She just felt liquid pouring inside her mouth. She didn't feel any taste, she didn't feel anything, but she knew she couldn't swallow. She felt some of the liquid drip down her chin, but soon, she heard clattering of glass on stone and Ri'zhassa's other hand covered her mouth and nose. She still felt the liquid sloshing in there as she tried hard not to swallow, but she was steadily running out of breath. She felt like she was drowning.
She shook her head, but Ri'zhassa's grip was too strong. She could barely perceive what was happening. She barely heard Bishop's voice call out to her, something about 'do it now', but her mind didn't seem to work. Then there was a scream. She had no idea what was happening. Everything was going dark. Someone was whispering near her, urging her to swallow. As if she had any choice.
She couldn't keep fighting this, not with all the air leaving her and the liquid getting into her mouth regardless.
The liquid felt warm as it traveled down her throat, but that was all she felt. Her mind was blank. Well… it wasn't. She wasn't sure. There was only one line of thought going over and over in her head – is it skooma making it hard to think? Is it working already? Is this what it feels like?
Soon the world began to return to her. She had no idea what happened.
Bishop was still leaning on the bars, but there was a pained expression on his face. She saw someone behind him, yanking something from his shoulder. Did he get shot?
A loud sound of clanking metal alerted her to the door. Ri'zhassa was already standing behind it, closing them again in their cell. He had a very disturbing grin on his face.
"Congratulations, little rabbit," he laughed. It felt like the sound echoed all around with no reprieve. "You've just become one of the useless wretches. Let's see how you enjoy yourself."
It was difficult for it to sink in. He really just force-fed her skooma? He would do that to his 'merchandise'? Wasn't it 'devaluing' her?
Then again, he usually sold skooma addicts. Maybe the slavers already thought she was one. Maybe they would make her one too to ensure she would never escape from whatever master would feed her more of the poison.
She wasn't sure if she felt any effects. It was so hard to tell. Every strange sensation in her body sent her into full-blown panic, which only brought about more disturbing sensation. Time was starting to feel funny.
The next thing she knew, someone was talking again, but she couldn't see Ri'zhassa or his goon anywhere near. What was happening? Was this is? Was this how it felt? So… confusing? Or was it just her panicked state?
Maybe he was bluffing! Maybe he just fed her water. It didn't feel like anything. It didn't taste like anything. He wasn't above playing mind-games. It was… possible.
Yeah. It was surely a trick. That was… comforting. It almost made her want to chuckle. She figured it out. She figured out his trick. He was harmless, really. He wouldn't dare do something so horrible to her.
Nothing bad was happening to her. Why was she panicking so much? Weird sensations were normal, right? She was fine. She couldn't feel anything bad happening to her. She remembered her father's deliriums. He always talked about colors and strange fantastical stories that made no sense. She didn't feel like that.
She knew it. Ri'zhassa was just a harmless kitty that liked to play the big cat. He wouldn't dare to do anything to her. He probably didn't even have any slaver friends. He was definitely making that up. Where would anyone even get slavers in Cyrodiil? This was all just a bunch of lies meant to terrify her.
Maybe all of this was just a trick. Maybe it was illusion magic. Maybe it was finally dissipating. Her hand didn't even hurt now. She began to move it, shake it in her binds, but there was no pain. She let out a chuckle.
She fell for it all. Oh well. It was a valiant effort on Ri'zhassa's part, but she had wizened up to him. He could do nothing to hurt her. Nobody could do anything to hurt her here. Were the bars even real? Maybe this was all just some kind of strange joke.
She moved towards the bars and leaned her head on them. They didn't even feel like metal. More like there was fur on them. Soft, cushy fur. She hadn't felt something so soft in such a long time. She started to rub her cheek up and down on it gently, trying to enjoy the sensation, but then something else distracted her.
There was a warm body next to her. Nudging her. It felt even better than the bars and she began to press her head into it instead. She felt like she heard someone talk but she didn't know what they were talking about. It sounded more like a song maybe? A pleasant tune.
This place was all just an illusion, she knew that now. It was no dark basement. It was a very nice and colorful room. All those colors. She missed colors before in the cell, but now she could see them all.
She felt… safe. Warm. Relieved. All those panicked thoughts disappeared completely now that she knew what was going on. Now that she knew nothing bad was going on.
She felt herself lying down on a pile of soft blankets, staring into the beautiful ceiling. The colors there made odd murals. Fascinating murals. She held her breath. When she held her breath, the colors stopped swirling and formed pictures.
She wanted to see it all.
…
"Fuck, what are you doing? Why aren't you breathing?" Bishop shook her in panic by trying to shake his entire body.
He had no idea what to do. He couldn't stop that fucker from doing this to her. He realized what Ri'zhassa was doing all too late as he couldn't really see, but still, even if he realized that sooner, there was nothing he would be able to do. His body moved instinctively to stop him, but he got shot in the shoulder right away. By the time the goon yanked the bolt out of his shoulder, Ri'zhassa was already gone from the cell and Aeyrin was just sitting there with a blank expression on her face.
He had no idea how long it took for skooma to take effect. He hardly had any experience with this, not even to the extent that she had. He wasn't sure at first – maybe she was still just shocked. But after the men left the basement, she began doing things.
First was the eyes. Her eyes went completely empty. He had seen that a few times before, mostly around those Walls, but it scared him so much every time. Now it was even scarier.
Then there was the smile that spread on her face. She even chuckled for a moment. And then she began to press herself into the bars of the cell and rubbing her cheek onto them.
He had no idea what to do to help her. He wanted to, but he didn't know how. He crawled closer to her, completely ignoring the pain in his shoulder, and he nudged her to at least lean on him. She did. But the same disturbingly out-of-it expression was still on her face. Eventually she laid herself down onto his lap and began to watch the ceiling. And now she kept holding her breath in an exaggerated manner every now and then. Why the fuck was she doing that? Could she even hear him?
"Princess! Breathe, for fuck's sake," Bishop nudged her and she finally let out a deep breath. But she took one again and held it in once more. Why? Did he need to tell her to breathe? Wouldn't her body know when it was suffocating? Would her body listen now?
Fuck, this he did not expect. And what did this mean? People always said that skooma was highly addictive. That even after one dose people couldn't resist another. Fuck. Ri'zhassa knew that. He knew how to hurt her the most, how to break her.
There was no chance in Oblivion that Bishop would let her fall into this hole. Never. She despised this shit so much, rightfully so.
Whatever happened next, if that fucker tried to feed it to her again, Bishop would stop him. No matter what.
She would come down from this state and then she'd probably feel really crappy, but he would not let her get that stuff into her again, not at any cost.
Fuck, he had no idea what he was in for.
And why was she still not breathing?! He needed his hands to help her. He felt so fucking useless like this.
"Look! Look! There!" Aeyrin suddenly exclaimed. At least she was breathing. But she seemed like she was trying to point at something, yanking her arms in her binds. She didn't even make a noise at the pain. Did her wrist not hurt anymore?
He looked where she was looking, but there was only a cobweb there. Fuck, this was so fucking disturbing.
Aeyrin rolled off him next and he could clearly see that she hit her head on the ground as she did, but she didn't seem to notice at all. She started to rub her body against the filthy ground, no doubt scratching herself unpleasantly, but she only let out a pleased sigh.
"It's so soft," she murmured. "The best bed in all of Skyrim. But I don't wanna sleep. I wanna see more colors."
Shivers went down his spine at her words. She had told him a few tales of her father's deliriums. This sounded so much like what she had described. He kind of hoped it wouldn't have that euphoric effect on her for some reason. He hoped she would somehow, by some miracle, hate the feelings and not feel the urge for another dose.
But she was still her, right? When the high subsided, she would have her own thoughts again, right? She would know she despises this drug more than anything.
"Hmm… tell me another story," Aeyrin smiled as she flipped onto her back on the ground, her eyes turning to him. Even now, he felt like she couldn't see him at all. Her eyes were so empty.
"Shit. I don't know what to do," he lamented desperately. He really didn't. He wanted to take care of her somehow, but he couldn't even pick her up off the filthy ground and hold her. He didn't have hands, he didn't have anything at his disposal. "Princess, can you even hear me? Would you get up for me?"
"That was a nice one," she giggled. "Another!"
What did she think he was saying? Fuck. Shit. He was completely helpless here.
"Come on, love. Please. Snap out of it."
"Thank you! Look at the colors with me, Bish," she smiled at him again. Her smile felt so bright, so gleeful, but with those empty eyes, it just made him feel more disturbed.
"Pleeeease," she whined. He wasn't sure if she was referring to the same thing. He didn't know anything anymore.
"Alright," he sighed in defeat. "I'll… I'll look at the colors with you."
What else was there to do but wait for this to pass?
…
Darkness enveloped her all around.
It wasn't just the darkness of the room. She could see that it was dark. She knew that it was dark. But it was something else. Something she had felt before, but not like this.
She remembered the feeling. It was the darkness that she felt at every step after she had left Bishop in that cabin in Falkreath, after her ordeal with Thorn. And it was following her for a long time. Her days, her nights, all were filled with that same darkness. Sometimes it overwhelmed her, bringing back only painful memories. Sometimes it was just… there. Whatever she did, she knew it was there, even if it wasn't doing anything to her. Like a shadow, a stranger's shadow, always at her back.
She hadn't felt that darkness for a long time now. Not even when things were really dire. There was fear, anxiety, but not that darkness.
But now it was back.
No, it wasn't just back. It was all around her. It was different. It felt similar, but it was much worse. It was overpowering. It was all-consuming. And it was painful to think of it when all she could feel before was… relief. What she wouldn't give to feel that relief again.
Her mind was telling her that the relief was a lie. She knew that, rationally. She knew that it was supposed to work like this. She knew that she couldn't give into the darkness. But it made her weak. And thoughts invaded her brain – she had no idea if they were true. They told her that maybe it wouldn't be too bad to give into the relief once more. They told her that something that felt like that in this dreary place was not something bad. Even if her rational mind told her the opposite.
It took her a while to realize what was happening. She still felt strange, as if everything was happening in a dream. She wasn't able to think straight, to concentrate on the real sensations and things around her. She tried. It was hard. She managed to notice that she was leaning on Bishop's warm body, but very soon, her efforts got interrupted by an intense feeling.
She straightened up abruptly. Her whole body ached so much. Especially her wrist. It was like someone was stabbing her with thousands of knives. She tried to hold herself upright while her throat burned and she was feeling overwhelmed. She felt like throwing up.
She barely even registered the motions around her. Soon she noticed Bishop standing with his back to her, lowering himself to the ground with a bucket in his hand. It was fortunate that they hadn't needed to use it much yet, but she wasn't really in the position to care. The second the bucket was on the ground in front of her, she bent over and threw up inside.
It was unpleasant with her hands bound. Her hair was falling along her cheeks and she didn't really want to think about how messy it was going to get. Then again, was it really something to care about at this point?
It felt like so long before she was done heaving and gasping without anything more to get out of her system. Her stomach was twisting onto itself and her whole buddy buzzed oddly. She felt so tired. So weak. She just wanted to feel alright again. Why was this happening to her?
"Princess?"
His voice was muffled, but she could make it out faintly. She wasn't even sure if he really addressed her or not. Why did everything feel so fuzzy? Really, she was half-convinced that she was dreaming. That this was a nightmare.
"Are you feeling better?"
Again, his voice was so strange. It used to bring her comfort. Why didn't it work now?
"N-no," she stammered. Did she say that out loud?
"I'm so sorry I couldn't stop him," Bishop sighed. "I know you must feel like crap. But we'll get out of here. I swear to you, we will. And this… it will pass."
That sounded… so nice. If only she could believe it, but the darkness didn't let her, even if her rational mind wanted it to be true more than anything. But that part of her mind just felt… exhausted.
She just slumped down onto Bishop's lap, letting soft cries escape her lips.
She didn't know what else to do.
Everything hurt so much.
…
There was a noise.
She had no idea how long she had just been lying there, sobbing, trying to get the familiar comfort from Bishop that somehow just eluded her now.
She had to throw up several more times. She felt like her heart stopped several times. She felt like she was choking and couldn't breathe several times too. It was one unpleasant feeling after another, all enveloped in that horrible darkness. She just wanted those feelings to stop.
Bishop was with her all the time. Well… where would he go? But he tried to be with her as much as possible. Always nudging her back into his lap, always comforting her with words. It usually worked better. But she tried to believe him. Tried to believe that she would feel better, even without that horrible thing. Even if it felt right now that the skooma was the only thing that could make her feel better again.
The noise felt loud this time, like it was ringing through her head unpleasantly. Not ringing. Booming. It was the door closing. And soon, her eyes focused on the new arrival.
Ri'zhassa. He did this to her. She wanted to rip him to shreds for this. She wanted him to feel so much pain that he couldn't even begin to imagine it. For once, she found an actual person that would deserve to be killed by that vicious wolf she was. If only it wouldn't mean Bishop's death as well. And if only that wolf wasn't now weak and incapacitated.
"How are we feeling, little rabbit?" He laughed at her meanly. That disgusting man. How could he live with himself?
He shouldn't live.
"Don't worry," he gave her a mockingly sympathetic look. "You'll feel better soon. It's time for another dose."