Chapter Summary: Miranja gets to know Haelga better and they make a date to practice their Dibellan arts together.
Note: This story is also published on AO3, with illustrations. Search for LadyTanithia (no space). All my art is also on Deviant Art, also under LadyTanithia.
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Faendal and Miranja had gotten some water to bathe and gone upstairs to their rented room. Once they were freshened up, they snuggled naked under the furs, feeling temporarily revitalized. Faendal helped himself to a taste of her succulent melons, then came back up to kiss her with sensuous languor as his hands continued to roam and seek out her most private part. She returned the favor, stroking his rigid staff and closing her eyes to focus on the delicious sensations Faendal's fingers were giving her.
Unfortunately, all the activity of the last couple of days and the lack of sleep had caught up to her. In spite of the stimulation, just lying in bed with her eyes closed prompted her body to want to shut down and rest.
"I'm sorry, Faendal," she told him mournfully. "I just can't keep my eyes open or my mind focused. Your attentions are definitely pleasant, but I'm exhausted."
"To be honest, I'm pretty tired myself," Faendal replied. "But I can't get naked with you now without wanting to take advantage of our new… intimacy. It's so good to touch a woman this way after so long. It's been nine years since I came to Skyrim, and I hadn't made love with a woman for at least six months before that. When I settled in Riverwood, all the women were married, except the innkeeper, and she just isn't my type at all. But when Camilla came to live with her brother, I was amazed at my good luck. She was just my type – and single."
Miranja jolted suddenly, startling him.
"Are you okay?" he asked with concern.
"Nodded off," she murmured. "Falling feeling. So sorry, my love."
"Gotcha," Faendal replied, nodding more to himself than to her. "Here, turn over and I'll snuggle in behind you."
Miranja scooted herself onto her right side, facing the wall, and Faendal glued himself to her back, pulling the furs up to their necks before settling into place with his arm around her and his hand cupping her topmost breast.
^O^O^O^O^O^
They slept until around eight the next morning, made love slowly and tenderly, washed up again, then went downstairs for a late breakfast. The rest of the day was spent finding Cragslane Cavern, finding out it was not only a skooma operation but a pit wolf fighting ring and was run by some very strong outlaws, and returning to Riften at a much slower pace. They had to tag team the big, strong Dunmer the others called the Butcher; Miranja lost her mind on him when he downed Faendal. She used Unrelenting Force to throw him away from Faendal so she could check on her beloved Bosmer quickly, but the bastard came right back at her, swinging that giant warhammer. She ducked and parried, and her shield took a beating when he sent her staggering, but she managed to distract him long enough for Faendal to recover and shoot him in the head with that awe-inspiring archer's eye of his. Afterwards, they freed the wolves with the help of Miranja's Kyne's Peace Shout, then got out of there quickly before the Shout wore off.
A safe distance away, they stopped and assessed themselves and each other. Miranja's shield arm was numb, so she used her healing spell to quickly take care of that before tending to Faendal. The shoulder of his Elven armor was deeply dented, and they had a difficult time getting it off so Miranja could inspect him. He already had a big, ugly bruise on his shoulder, and now that the adrenaline rush had worn off, he was wincing and clenching his teeth in pain. Fortunately, although the muscle was deeply injured, the bones in and around the shoulder seemed to be intact.
"Gods, Faendal," Miranja said, a little choked up. "If he'd swung just a little higher, he would have smashed your handsome head. I thank the gods that you're still breathing." She used a healing spell on him, as well, but couldn't resist kissing it, anyway, to "make it better." Faendal rolled his eyes with a wry smile, the pain gone now, but he didn't truly mind, of course.
"Now that I think of it, my lips are pretty sore, too," he lied. "I don't remember getting hit in the mouth…" He pretended to be thinking back on the battle.
"That's because you didn't, and we both know it, you rotten shit," she teased, punching him in the same shoulder she'd just healed and making him laugh, but she didn't pass up the opportunity to kiss him, anyway. Reveling in the softness of his lips stirred her libido.
"Better now?" she asked softly, pressing her forehead against his.
"For now," Faendal replied impishly. "I might need another dose of that medicine later."
"For you, there's an unlimited supply.
"Come on, let's get back to the inn. The sun's already getting low."
It was already close to suppertime when they reached town, and they just made it to the Scorched Hammer to see if Balimund could hammer out the dent in Faendal's cuirass. They left it with him overnight, then returned to the Bee and Barb. Talsgar the Wanderer was in town tonight, playing for the dinner crowd that was beginning to fill up the room. It was pleasant to see him there; a bard really livened the place up, and Miranja wished they had a full-time bard here. She and Faendal obtained a kettle of hot water from Keerava and went upstairs to bathe quickly and change into normal clothes, so they could come back down and enjoy the festive mood.
Back in the taproom, Haelga was sitting alone, presumably waiting for Bolli to come join her. Miranja leaned in to Faendal and whispered, "Grab us a table and I'll join you in a minute. I'm taking this opportunity to speak to Haelga alone."
Faendal smirked at her and headed for the open table next to Mjoll and Aerin.
Miranja approached Haelga with a friendly smile. It was fortunate that Talsgar was here tonight; his music would help mask their conversation from eavesdroppers.
"Hello, Haelga, my sister in Dibella. I haven't gotten to speak to you yet, except in passing. I don't think I've ever told you my name. I'm Miranja. Do you mind if I sit and talk to you for a few minutes while you wait for your… friend?" Miranja's look told Haelga that she knew about Bolli but she wasn't going to tell the world. The world probably already knew, anyway. It was a poorly hidden secret.
Haelga looked at her suspiciously, nonetheless. "What's your game, stranger? I've seen you hobnobbing around town, and of course, there were the Temple missives you were handing out, but you don't live here."
"Yet," Miranja said, taking Haelga's lack of a direct answer as a yes. She sat down perpendicular to Haelga and leaned on the table with one elbow, leaning her cheek against her fist as she held Haelga's gaze. "I'm hoping to become your next-door neighbor, so we'll be seeing more of each other in the near future."
"Without a temple of Dibella, I don't think Riften is big enough for two practicing Dibellans," Haelga sniffed, rather coldly.
"Well, see, I beg to differ," Miranja smiled, a gleam in her eye. "First of all, I may buy a house here, but I'll hardly ever spend more than a day or two at a time in Riften. My primary residence, for now, is in Whiterun. Second, I'm not interested in stealing your men away, I'm interested in you, and I wanted to ask you if you'd like to compare notes. I'm going to be around for a few days doing things around the Rift and staying here at the B and B, at least until I can curry enough favor with Jarl Laila to be able to buy that house – and come up with the money, of course. Jarl Balgruuf made me Thane of Whiterun the very day I met him, and I've gotten a letter from Jarl Siddgeir in Falkreath expressing an interest in employing my services, and I just got this wild idea I'd try to become a Thane in every hold. Mara knows I'm constantly running all over Skyrim, so I'm everywhere. My life is already so off-track, I might as well go along with what the gods have handed me, you know?"
Haelga looked at her as if she had just told her that she enjoyed swimming with slaughterfish. "Whatever makes you happy, I guess. That's far too ambitious for me."
"I'm sorry," Miranja apologized, realizing that she'd just yammered on about herself as though Haelga had begged her for her life story. "I have a terrible tendency to overshare. Can we talk about you?"
"What do you want to know?" Haelga asked guardedly.
"Oh, the usual stuff, for starters. Have you lived in Riften all your life? Did you start the bunkhouse business yourself? Have you ever been married?" Miranja paused, glancing around before speaking in a much quieter voice. "Do you… have any interest in playing around with women?" She arched an eyebrow and smiled a small, teasing smile.
"That's hardly what I'd call 'the usual stuff,'" Haelga protested, looking indignant.
"Well, for what it's worth, I just want you to know that I think you're very pretty, and I'm intrigued by the rumors I've heard. I'm sorry if I offended you." Before Haelga could ask what rumors Miranja had heard, Miranja saw Bolli enter the inn and spoke again. "Your friend has arrived anyway, so I'll take my leave. I hope you'll think about getting together, and I hope we talk again soon!" She favored Haelga with a mischievous smile before getting up and going back to Faendal, giving Bolli a coy look as she passed him.
Faendal had ordered a couple of White-Gold Towers from Talen-Jei and sat monitoring the exchange out of the corner of his eye as he sipped his drink. He didn't look at Miranja as she approached their table, but waited until she sat down across from him. When she hooked her foot around his ankle under the table, he pressed back against her and gave her an intense stare, cocking an eyebrow at her as she had just done with Haelga.
"That went a little awkwardly," Miranja told him with mild embarrassment. "I got a little nervous and started blathering. She must have thought I was conceited, crazy, or both."
"You mean you're not?" Faendal teased, then laughed and winced as Miranja retracted her foot and kicked him in the shin with a smirk.
Miranja's expression softened as she looked at him with adoring eyes. "I love to hear you laugh," she said, her voice dripping with affection. "And see you smile. You're so beautiful."
Faendal sobered a bit but there was still a twinkle in his dark amber eyes. "I prefer the term 'handsome,' if you please."
"Fine, you're handsome," Miranja conceded. An impish glint filled her eyes. "So handsome you're beautiful."
Faendal smiled, feeling a little embarrassed by her praise, even though he knew he was a pretty attractive Bosmer. He used his foot to pull her leg back toward him and deflected the conversation back to her. "Well, for what it's worth, I don't get to see you this way very often, and you look amazing with your hair down and a dress on."
Miranja beamed at him. "It's worth a lot, coming from you, Faendal." It was all she could do to refrain from using those three little words. She didn't know how he would react, and she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.
Talen-Jei appeared to recite the evening's fare and take their supper requests. Shortly after their food was served, Mjoll and Aerin stopped at their table to say hello and chat a bit before heading home. During supper, Miranja briefly told Faendal the few details of her conversation with Haelga, then the conversation turned to what they were going to do the next day. All they REALLY needed to do was report to the Jarl that the skooma producers at Cragslane were eliminated. After that, the day was open. Miranja thought it would be good to do a little more exploring and find some more of the places on her map that she hadn't marked off yet. Faendal was game.
Bolli and Haelga finished their supper shortly before Faendal and Miranja did, and Miranja caught Haelga's inquisitive eye as Haelga moved toward the door behind Bolli. She smiled flirtatiously, casting her gaze downward for a moment and looking back up at Haelga with parted lips, suggestively touching the tip of her tongue to the bottom edge of her top front teeth, jutting her jaw forward slightly. It happened in only a second, and Haelga reddened a bit, looked away, and hurried on.
Faendal didn't miss the exchange. "I'll wager you've got her thinking," he smirked.
"I hope so," Miranja agreed.
"I know that look is hard to resist when it's directed at me." Their ankles were still intertwined, and he ran his foot up and down her calf, arousing both of them.
They finished their meal and stepped out of the buzzing conversation, music, and excessive warmth of the taproom into the cool, quiet, night air of the market center to take a little walk before bed. Near the Scorched Hammer, Romlyn Dreth approached them.
"Can I interest you in some good mead for cheap?"
Within a couple of minutes, Miranja and Faendal had an errand to complete tomorrow: delivering a cask of under-the-counter Black-Briar mead to Wilhelm in Ivarstead. Normally, Miranja wouldn't like to get involved with anything too shady, but she had had run-ins with Maven and spoken to her employees and already deeply disliked and distrusted the woman, so she felt a perverse glee at helping Romlyn stick it to the bitch however she could.
They took a walk down to the fishery to lean against the railing and look out over the lake. The warm yellow lights of Goldenglow Estate reflected on the rippling water, and Masser dominated the clear, starry sky. The faint aurora was just beginning to build intensity.
"What a beautiful night," Miranja sighed, breathing deeply of the moist air. "Some people don't like the smell of fish and algae and mud, but I rather enjoy it. It's earthy and organic and natural."
"I enjoy it, too," Faendal concurred. "Reminds me of the shaded lakes of Valenwood. Kinda makes me homesick, though."
Miranja glanced at him to see if he looked sad, but he simply looked pensive.
"What are you thinking of?"
"My parents, actually. They were very much in love. My father was much older than my mother, and he died a couple years before I came to Skyrim. My mother, even though she was still relatively young, died less than a year later. She was so distraught over father's death, she didn't care well for herself. I tried to get her to eat, to get out and spend time in the forest or among friends, to boost her spirits, but she had just lost her will to live without him at her side. I was already an adult; I suppose her thought was that I could take care of myself without her. She disappeared one day while I was out hunting, and we – some neighbors and I – later found her body down near the lake. From the vial in her hand, we deduced that she had taken poison. I would have been more upset, but she died smiling, so I took comfort in the thought that my father met her and they're happily together again in Aetherius. But it was still sad hanging around the family home alone, so I came here."
"I'm pretty glad you did, Faendal. I wouldn't have the pleasure of having you in my life if you hadn't. But I'm sorry you lost your parents. I hope they're happy and at peace."
Faendal put his arm around Miranja and pulled her close, and they stood in silence for a while, taking in the serene nighttime view of Lake Honrich.
Eventually, Miranja shivered a little, and Faendal looked down at her and kissed her hair. "Come on, let's get back to the inn. I'll warm you up." His eyes told her that he was planning to get her very warm indeed.
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The next day, they rose at dawn, prepared their packs, had breakfast, and purchased some pre-cooked foodstuffs from Keerava to take for lunch. They ran into Svana as they left the inn.
"Svana!" Miranja exclaimed in mild surprise, "What brings you out and about so early?"
"Aunt Haelga was out late again last night. She has a lovebite on her neck this morning. It was better for me to just bite my tongue and leave than to start another argument. But sometimes I just wish someone would expose her immodest behavior and knock her down a peg or two." She eyed Miranja appraisingly. "I know who the three men are she's been with lately. She gives her lovers something called a Mark of Dibella after each time. Do you think you could get those back from those men and wave them in her face? Embarrassing her and watching her squirm would be so gratifying."
Miranja covered her anger over Svana's slut-shaming, trying to keep in mind that Svana had simply been raised to believe that good girls only had sex if they were married. Besides, she was curious to know what type of men interested Haelga and whether she might find them appealing, as well. And, of course, whether they might be interested in playing with her, too.
"Sure," she agreed. "I'll give it a shot, anyway. I'm not the best pickpocket, but I can be pretty persuasive if I need to be."
Svana was very excited by this, and gave her the names, telling her not to get anyone killed over it. Miranja decided to try to collect them right away, since she didn't know how long the trip to Ivarstead and back might take or how tired she'd be when she got back to Riften.
Hofgrir was first.
"Good morning, friend," he said amiably as she approached. Faendal waited near the city gate to give them space and hopefully make Hofgrir more forthcoming.
"Heya, handsome," Miranja smiled. "Got a question for you."
"Yeah, what is it? You ready to buy a horse?"
"Not yet," Miranja declined with a slightly apologetic smile. "This actually has nothing to do with horses. Or maybe it does… I don't know! I wasn't there!" She laughed as Hofgrir screwed up his face into a bemused expression.
"Actually – wait, where's Shadr?"
"Inside, cleaning up after breakfast. You're acting kinda strange. Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Miranja said with a decisive nod. "It's just that, well, a little birdie told me that Haelga gave you something called a Mark of Dibella, and I'd like to see it."
"I don't know who told you that, but they don't know what they're talking about," Hofgrir denied, looking her dead in the eye. "What even is a Mark of Dibella, anyway?"
"Come on, Hofgrir, you can tell me. I'm not judging. If you want to know the truth, I'm interested in Haelga myself and I want to use that Mark as a way to gain her favor. Someone wants me to humiliate her, and I want to gain her trust by giving it back to her discreetly and letting her know that her secret is safe with me. Please, Hof?" She gave him her most imploring look and leaned in very close to him, but not quite close enough to be touching him. She could feel his body heat and smell his hair and skin, and she knew it was the same for him. She saw his nostrils flare as he inhaled.
Hofgrir's expression turned sly. "You and Haelga?" Miranja nodded, and Hofgrir looked to the side with a distant, pensive expression. "You know I can actually picture that in my mind, don't you?" He turned his gaze back to her, and there was a hunger in his expression.
Miranja gave him a wicked smile. "Good," she purred. "If I can convince her, maybe we can all get together sometime. Now, what do you say?"
Hofgrir looked for a moment as if he was about to put his hands on her body, but he glanced over at Faendal – and the guards – and dropped his arms. "Little lady, if you can do that, I certainly won't complain. Okay, yes, Haelga wanted to get down and dirty in the stable with me, and I agreed to it. She's out of control, but in all the best ways. She might be more than I can handle, but it'd be fun to see how much I can take. Thinking about trying to take on the two of you at once kinda worries me. I have a feeling you'd be just as much of a handful." He chuckled as he handed over the gleaming sapphire.
"Sweetheart, I'm two handfuls," Miranja winked. "Thanks for this, Hof. And don't worry; I won't tell anyone about you and Haelga." She crossed her heart with her finger, then kissed her fingertip and placed it on his lips. He kissed it then grinned, nodding.
Faendal followed her back into the city, bursting with curiosity but holding his peace. He knew she'd fill him in once the mission was complete.
They found Bolli in the marketplace, giving Marise a fresh supply of salmon to sell at her stand that day. Miranja waited patiently for him to finish, then pulled him aside for a private conversation. She used a similar tactic with Bolli, promising to keep his relationship with Haelga a "secret."
She had saved the most unsavory one for last. As much as she loved Dunmer, she found Indaryn and his permanent scowl and pissy attitude repulsive. She honestly had no idea why on earth Haelga would mess around with this vile man. Maybe he just had a really big dick. She found him overlooking the vats at the meadery. There was no good way to sneak up on him and try to pickpocket him, so she had to obtain the stone face-to-face with him. When asking him nicely only resulted in a denial, she had to draw herself up to her full height and give him a menacing glare while giving him an ultimatum. He finally conceded that he had slept with Haelga and handed over the Mark, asking her to keep it quiet.
"If word gets around that I bedded her, they'll lose all respect for me at the meadery."
"Wait – you mean someone at the meadery respects you? Who knew?" She challenged him with a smirk, and he scowled back at her but made no move to retaliate. Instead, he set his jaw and turned and walked away.
"Mission accomplished," Miranja gloated, heading back to the front of the meadery with Faendal in tow. Coming out of the doorway behind the front counter, she stopped for a moment to speak to Ungrien.
"Ungrien, sweetheart, I have to warn you: Indaryn may be in a particularly foul temper today, and I apologize for that. It's my fault. Stay on your best behavior today, and I think you'll be all right. If he's particularly abusive to you, let me know. I'll make it up to you somehow."
"That's not very encouraging," Ungrien replied with a mildly resentful look. "What did you do?"
"Called him on some shady dealings," Miranja said vaguely. She may not like Indaryn, and she wouldn't care if word got out about any other dirty deed he may have done, but she didn't want to out Haelga.
"Ohh," Ungrien replied, understanding lighting his eyes. He cast a glance toward the door to the factory area. "In that case, I'd be more worried about you than us employees. Indaryn can be spiteful, and if Lady Maven's involved, you'll have her to watch out for, too, and that's no joke. Bigger people than you have disappeared."
"No, Maven has nothing to do with this," Miranja assured him, and he relaxed a little, but not much. She turned to Faendal.
"Time's a-wastin'. We'd better get on the road."
The road to Ivarstead was fraught with obstacles. They'd just gotten to Snow-Shod Farm when a shadow fell over them, and then they heard the roar. The dragons seemed to be getting stealthier. Miranja, Faendal, the guards watching over the farm, and Addvild the steward combined forces to kill it, then the pair moved on. They came upon numerous wolves, bears, frostbite spiders, and one cave troll, but Miranja used Kyne's Peace on them and they continued. They were attacked by a Dark Brotherhood assassin but killed kim in no time. They found a few new locations by going a little bit out of their way – including Nilheim, where an asshole posing as a robbed, wounded merchant tried to kill them – and it was mid-afternoon by the time they reached Ivarstead. They delivered the mead, then ate quickly. Miranja made sure to say hello to Gwilin and Temba before she and Faendal headed back the way they had come. Returning to Riften was quicker, since they'd taken out most of the dangers when they'd come this way the first time.
This time, they detoured a bit to check out Sarethi Farm, where there was an amazing amount of nirnroot they could see and hear from a bit of a distance. Miranja expressed concern that the owner, Avrusa, seemed very tired. Avrusa agreed that yes, running a farm and keeping track of her rambunctious sister took all the energy she had. Miranja offered whatever assistance she could, thinking that perhaps she could help weed or harvest crops, but Avrusa mentioned that what she really needed help with was collecting jazbay grapes so she could infuse the soil around her nirnroot with the acidic juice. Miranja already had a hefty supply of jazbay grapes she'd gathered while exploring the hot springs in Eastmarch – more than enough to give Avrusa the number she'd requested. Avrusa was thrilled and repaid her with a couple of potions.
Miranja caught up with Aduri as she ran past burning off her seemingly endless energy, and learned that Aduri desperately wanted to become a painter of art, but there was too much to be done on the farm and Avrusa wouldn't let her to go Solitude to find a teacher. Miranja said she'd see what she could do to help, but for now she had to get back to Riften before dark. She made a mental vow to help this girl realize her dream when she had enough money to help both her and Avrusa.
Once again, they made it back just before the Scorched Hammer closed, and Balimund had Faendal's armor back in shape – literally. Very pleased with his work, Miranja repaid him with the required number of septims, a hug, and a kiss on the cheek. Balimund's already red face turned even redder, and he smiled as Miranja and Faendal bid him a good evening and returned to the inn.
Tonight was more or less a replay of the night before, minus Talsgar. They bathed and changed, and while Miranja didn't speak directly to Haelga, she caught Haelga's eye a couple of times during supper. Miranja was waiting until Haelga returned to the bunkhouse after supper to spring the Marks on her in relative privacy.
"Faendal, I think it would be better if you stayed here when I go see Haelga. I don't want her to feel ganged up on."
"It's okay, I was already thinking the same thing. But I want all the details when you get back."
"Of course, my friend. Here's hoping it goes well." She raised her mug, and Faendal clunked his own mug against hers in a toast for luck.
^O^O^O^O^O^
"Someone told me about your 'scandalous' activities and asked me to collect these to shame you," Miranja said in a low voice, depositing the Marks of Dibella onto Haelga's counter. The residents of the bunkhouse were still in the dining room and there was a steady buzz of conversation, so she hoped that this was private enough.
Haelga's eyes went wide only for a moment before she swept them off the counter and hid them in the pocket of her apron. "Where did you get these? No, don't tell me. I don't want to know. Just please, keep this quiet – just between us. If word got out around Riften that I'm practicing my Dibellan arts, they'd run me out of town. And whatever you do, don't tell Svana." She reached under the counter and brought out a spell scroll, holding it out to Miranja as a way of sealing the deal.
Miranja waved it away. "You've got me all wrong, Haelga. I didn't collect these to shame you, but to let you know that I'm on your side and I'd like to get in on some of that action. As far as Svana goes, she already knows, but even though she's a bit of a prude and doesn't understand, she's at least keeping quiet about it." Except to me, she added in her mind. "And I'm not going to go spreading any rumors, either. I may not wear the amulet as you do, but I'm your sister in Dibella. Granted, the temple I went to didn't teach the arts that yours obviously did, but I've picked up some things on my own along the way, and I'd love to compare notes. And I wonder if you'd like to, maybe, practice techniques on each other...? I bet you could teach me some things."
Haelga regarded her appraisingly, considering the offer. Finally, she spoke. "You may not believe this, but I've never been with a woman. I have had my thoughts, though. That Ingun Black-Briar is very attractive, but Maven's already chewed me out for using my arts on Hemming. She'd probably have me killed and make it look like an accident if she also caught me spending time with Ingun. And I don't know how Ingun is inclined, anyway, if you take my meaning.
"I agree with you there," Miranja conceded. "She is lovely, and not much younger than me. And Svana is maybe a little younger than Ingun, am I right?"
"I don't really know how old Ingun is, but Svana is nineteen and 'saving herself' for, presumably, marriage, although Sibbi Black-Briar may yet convince her he's devoted only to her and coax her into bed without marrying her. Personally, I don't mind the idea of it, but my sister and her husband raised her to believe that you're a dirty whore if you have sex with anyone outside of marriage. Load of mammoth dung, if you ask me."
"As I understand it, Sibbi's already cheated on his fiancée, and she sent her brother to teach him a lesson that backfired in the worst way. Now he wants to kill her, and she's in hiding somewhere. I'd be very afraid for Svana – partly because he seems too hot-tempered and full of himself, and partly because if he's cheated before, he'll certainly do it again, and that would break Svana's heart. She's prudish, but she's a good girl. I don't want to see her get hurt. Hell, Sibbi even tried to flirt with me when I went exploring and checked out the jail. I like a confident man, but I don't like an arrogant one."
"Agreed," Haelga concurred. "But Svana is convinced that he really loves her, and she won't be swayed. She's just going to have to learn the hard way about him."
"So," Miranja began, turning the conversation back to the previous subject, "you've at least had thoughts about women. Would you like to actually experience it? Have you thought about my question? I've been with a couple of women, and they didn't complain." Miranja stated this simply; she wasn't trying to boast, but it was a fact that both Lydia and her best friend back in Bruma had enjoyed their time with her, and she with them.
"I'll just bet," Haelga said with a suggestive smile. "Yes, I've thought about little else for the last day, and if I didn't have another visitor coming later tonight, I'd invite you to stay. I'm open tomorrow night, if you'll still be in town."
"I'd be happy to stick around Riften for another day to share some pleasure with you, my lovely."
"It's a date, then."