Chapter summary: Miranja does her prerequisite work for Jarl Siddgeir, then goes back to Riften to purchase Honeyside and receive her title. To celebrate, she and Faendal have a little housewarming party for two.
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The next day Faendal and Miranja awoke late and scarfed some breakfast before hitting the road back to Whiterun to sell all their excess weapons and armor, and to stow the things Miranja wanted to keep at Breezehome. Faendal joked that they should start traveling with a horse and wagon, as much stuff as they accumulated.
The next week was spent exploring around Whiterun and Falkreath Holds, and Miranja found two more Shout words and another mysterious gem in the process. Miranja got familiar with the merchants and residents of Falkreath and did some little favors for a few people. By the time she reported to Jarl Siddgeir, it had been a little over three weeks since she'd received his letter.
Siddgeir was surprisingly young for a jarl, but she'd already learned from Dengeir, the former Jarl, that he was Dengeir's nephew and was put into his position after Dengeir was "conveniently" determined to be no longer competent. Siddgeir was quite handsome, but he was also a lazy, vain, and unscrupulous man, and Miranja felt his oiliness rubbing off on her just talking to him. Even though he was the one who sent her a letter acknowledging her reputation and requesting her presence, he insisted on a bottle of Black-Briar mead as tribute before he would even grant her any proper work. Miranja just happened to be carrying one, so she gave it to him, received a few potions she didn't need as payment, and asked again for work.
His first real task for her was to take out a gang of bandits at Knifepoint Ridge. He had allowed them to continue terrorizing innocent travelers and merchants as long as they gave him a percentage of their spoils, and they had broken their end of the bargain. Miranja was glad to rid the world of more barbaric bandit scum, but she was also greatly concerned that Siddgeir was putting a bad taste in many of the hold residents' mouths regarding the Empire with his shady dealings and shiftless behavior.
On the way to Knifepoint Ridge, they ran into a talking Daedric dog who said he needed their help getting his Daedric master to take him back. The dog was really annoying, and Miranja had no real desire to help him or get involved with a Daedra, at least not yet. As it was, she was still carrying around Meridia's beacon and procrastinating on that errand, so she told him she was kind of busy right now, and he said he'd be waiting at some place called Haemar's Shame when she was ready. Arrow temporarily dodged.
Taking out the bandits was easier than Miranja had thought it would be. By the time they finished, however, it was after dark, so they spent the night at the camp and took advantage of the bandits' food stores and bedrolls. The next morning, they took their time returning to Falkreath, enjoying the fair weather and the cool pine forest with its damp and earthy scents. Of course, they ran into a few hungry predators along the way, but that was part of the experience when spending time out in nature, especially when Miranja's menses were upon her, as they were now. She was always prepared to use her Kyne's Peace Shout if Faendal didn't use his Bosmer ability to command animals first.
Jarl Siddgeir was pleased to see her back so soon, and rewarded her well for her trouble. She was still in her leather scout armor, nothing pretty and feminine, but Siddgeir's eyes scanned her from top to bottom regardless, making her feel slimy. She ignored it as best she could and stuck to business.
"Is there anything else I can do for you, my jarl?"
Siddgeir told her about the thane position as if he hadn't already mentioned it in his letter. Of course, as in the Rift, she was required to own property first. He told her the parcel of land he'd offered was still available. Miranja's reward money had brought her accumulated wealth high enough to purchase Honeyside in Riften, and that was her first priority, so she held off.
They spent the rest of the day hanging out in Falkreath. Miranja and Narri made friends, and Narri expressed an interest in Dibella's teachings. Miranja promised her that if she ever wanted to go to the Temple of Dibella in Markarth for instruction, she would help her get there.
Miranja and Faendal spent the evening enjoying the Loredas night festivity at Dead Man's Drink; the next day they would return to Riften so Miranja could finally buy Honeyside.
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Late Sundas evening, Miranja and Faendal reached Riften. They caught Keerava just as she was heading to the stairs to go to bed. They declined the cold meal Keerava offered; they had eaten on the road and Miranja knew that Keerava just wanted to sleep. If they were peckish, they still had some fruit and nuts in their packs to tide them over until breakfast. Tonight they would sleep well after a long day of traveling. Keerava accepted Miranja's coin and led them upstairs. She pointed them to their usual room, then bid them goodnight and went to her own room.
"Ugh, what a long day," Miranja groaned as she stripped off the sweaty armor and laid it out on the floor to dry and air out.
"Would be nice if there was a carriage in Falkreath," Faendal commiserated. "My feet are killing me."
"I'd be glad to rub your feet, darlin'," Miranja offered.
"It's okay, you're just as tired as me."
"I don't mind, really. I like making you feel good."
Faendal grinned, that naughty glint in his eye. "Well, you're pretty good at it. You sure my feet aren't all you want to rub?"
Miranja had started washing off the sweat, and she thwacked Faendal in the arm with her damp washcloth. Faendal laughed; he enjoyed giving her a hard time, but she loved to dish it right back to him.
Once they were freshened up, Miranja sat at the foot of the bed while Faendal stretched out with his feet in her lap. She'd gotten out her lavender oil and applied it to her hands, and she deftly massaged his long feet. There was something about seeing Faendal's bare feet that appealed to her; it was intimate and cozy, and somehow vulnerable. Faendal's appreciative groans and gratified expression filled her with a pleasant warmth.
After the massage, they snuggled together under the fur. They'd been traveling together again for about three weeks now, and having sex for two of those weeks, and Miranja still felt a thrill of wonder when Faendal enveloped her in his arms. Even when they were already lying skin-to-skin, her head on his perfectly hairy chest, she still felt an intense yearning for him. She wanted to be able to rest in the knowledge that she occupied a piece his heart, but she knew that Camilla occupied the lion's share, and if she dwelt on that too much, she felt pain in her own heart. She focused on the physical sensations – the heat of his body, his strong yet gentle arm around her, the sounds of his heartbeat and his breath, and his warm, humid exhalations on the top of her head – and fell asleep in mere moments, a faint smile on her lips.
Awakening later than planned the morning, Miranja found herself facing the wall with Faendal pressed against her back. It was no surprise that he already had an erection, and when she moved to try to turn over and face him, he gripped her hip firmly and pulled her ass against his randy cock, already making little sensuous thrusting movements and moaning quietly.
"Faendal, love," she said over her shoulder, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach and the ache in her crotch, "You know I'm on my menses. I just gave you head – twice – on Loredas night."
His sexy murmur was close to her ear, warming her hair, weakening her will. "I've told you before, Miranja: I'm a hunter, and I'm a Bosmer. Blood doesn't bother me. I've butchered animals and literally eaten people. You don't need to be so uptight about this."
"Well, if you're that bent on making love, then save that passion for later. This morning I'm buying a home and a bed of my own here, and then you can help the new Thane of Riften break in her new bed."
"Mmm," Faendal hummed, releasing her so that she could finally turn toward him. "It would be my great honor, Lady Dragonborn and Thane of two holds." He squeezed her, pressing her face into his chest and kissing the top of her head.
Miranja inhaled the scent of him. Did he know how much her heart swelled with love and joy when he made such gestures? Miranja assumed not, given the stance he'd already attested to the day after they'd first made love. Although he had expressed his admiration of and desire for her, she knew he didn't love her quite the same way that she loved him. How long would she be content with that?
Miranja reluctantly freed herself from his grasp and climbed over him to get out of bed and begin grooming and dressing. Faendal followed suit. Normal clothes today. A quick breakfast in the taproom, then off to the Keep.
The Jarl's household had just finished their own breakfast when Miranja entered the hall. She hung back and waited respectfully until Jarl Laila had gotten comfortable in her throne, then she approached Anuriel.
"Morning, Anuriel. Pleasure seeing you again."
"Yes, likewise, Miranja. What brings you to the Keep bright and early on a Morndas morning?"
"I've finally saved enough to buy Honeyside. I'd like to proceed."
"Excellent! I've already prepared the sales contract. Let me just fill in the blanks, then we can both sign it before the Jarl, and the key will be yours."
A few minutes later, having requested the bedroom and kitchen be furnished first, and feeling the satisfying weight of the key in her pocket, Miranja knelt before Jarl Laila and received her new title.
"Like Mjoll," Jarl Laila told her as she rose, "you have become our city's – our hold's – heroine, and I can't thank you enough for all you've done so far. I'm proud to welcome you to my court."
"I'm very honored, my Jarl. You can believe that I'm going to continue doing whatever I can to help make Riften and the Rift a better, safer place to live. I love the people here. My grandparents once had a farm here, you know."
"Really? Would I know them?"
"I'm not sure. They've been gone about twenty years. Dalmar Lamb-Shearer and Gitte the Healer."
"Yes… your grandmother was well-known for her healing spells and potions. I remember that my own parents went to her from time to time. Some say that she was once courted by our own Elgrim, but they ended up parting as friends."
"Now you're telling me things I didn't even know about my own grandmother," Miranja grinned. "But I suppose that tidbit didn't really matter much to my mother. She was just as much a daddy's girl to my grandfather as I am to my own father. He was her hero, even if he was a simple sheep farmer."
"And you, Miranja – are you a healer, too?"
"My mother is, and I'm still working on it. Seems to be what the women in my family have a gift for. I came here to attend the College of Winterhold, but my plans have been put on hold."
"Between you and me," Laila said, lowering her voice, "I hope you'll settle in Riften once you've completed your schooling. Elgrim won't be around forever, and I'm a little concerned about Ingun taking his place. I've heard that her area of study is… the opposite of healing."
Miranja knew this to be true, but didn't want to gossip without having all the facts. "I don't know Ingun well enough to know precisely what her ambitions are, but even if I don't settle in Riften full-time, you would always be welcome to call upon me for anything I can provide for you, my Jarl."
"I appreciate that. And I'm sure your grandparents would be proud to see their granddaughter returning to Riften and earning the title of thane. Now, please, go on and have a look at your new home. I'm sure you'll find it quite cozy."
"Yes, milady," Miranja said with a movement that was part nod, part bow.
Anuriel added, "The furnishings you requested will be in place before bedtime. Please let me know if there's anything else you require."
"Thank you so much, Anuriel."
Miranja and Faendal went and took a quick look at the house. It was dusty, and there were a couple of basic furniture items already in place, presumably left behind by the previous residents: a table and two chairs, a bedframe, and a bookcase. There were also some swords and shields hung on the walls. They just needed to wait for someone to put fresh straw, furs, and pillows on the bed.
To kill some time, they rented a couple of horses from Hofgrir and spent the next couple of hours riding through the surrounding forests, enjoying one another's company. Miranja teased Faendal about how cute Anuriel was, but Faendal shook his head.
"I suppose she's cute enough for a Bosmer woman, but I seem to have become more enamored of Imperial women, especially brunettes."
Miranja moved her horse closer to Faendal's, reaching out and grabbing his horse's rein and halting both their horses. "Is that so?" she asked with a sultry smile, looking him in the eye. She leaned on the back of her saddle with the hand closest to him, and reached across with her other hand to stroke slowly up the inside of his thigh, lightly tickling his package with her fingertips. Just touching him intimately through his clothes was already turning her insides to hot lava. She squirmed in her saddle, trying to put pressure on her aching clit. It helped that she was extra sensitive during her menses.
Faendal returned her smoldering look. Without taking his eyes off of hers, he clasped her wrist and moved her hand firmly to his growing, stiffening member, and she started rubbing him up and down as he released her. Faendal mirrored her position, holding onto the back of his saddle as he reached over and pulled her head toward him to kiss her passionately.
The horses shifted and huffed impatiently, and Miranja, breathless, pulled reluctantly away from Faendal. In the half second before he opened his eyes, as he continued to stretch his neck toward her, she caught a glimpse of his yearning expression and reveled in that brief moment of unconscious candor.
"Think they might have your bed ready yet?" Faendal asked with a lecherous stare.
"You only want me for sex," Miranja teased.
"What if I do?"
Then I'm a lovesick fool, Miranja thought to herself a bit ruefully. Out loud, for better or worse, she told him, "Then I'm happy to provide you pleasure, and I hope you'll repay me in kind." I treasure you, Faendal. I just want you to be happy, whether that ends up involving me or not.
"Count on it, sweetheart. Nothing turns me on more than watching, feeling, and listening to you come."
Miranja was pretty sure that the butterflies she usually felt at Faendal's lewd words had been replaced by actual dragons. They were trying to burst free of her skin and were certainly breathing fire inside her. Heart in throat, she rasped, "Doesn't hurt to go check, does it?"
One more long, lustful kiss with roaming, groping hands, while the horses shifted impatiently again, then they headed back to town.
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"… know when the new thane will –" The woman with the short red locks and piercing blue eyes, who Miranja assumed to be her new housecarl based on the steel armor, was speaking hurriedly to a tall, curvy, blonde woman in a Riften guard uniform near the little dining table when Miranja and Faendal entered Honeyside. Her eyes flicked guiltily in Miranja's direction, and the other woman, whose back was mostly toward the door, turned to see who had come in.
"I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" Miranja asked, one brow lifted and a faint smile playing around her lips.
"Honored to meet you, my thane," the redhead stated in a strong, firm voice, unsmilimg, as she stood at attention.
Miranja smiled wider. "My name is Miranja. I prefer to just be called by name. We seem to be very close in age, and besides, bowing and scraping makes me uncomfortable."
"Yes, tha – Miranja," the redhead said with a nod, still stiff and formal.
"And you are…?"
"I am Iona. As you've already figured out, I'll be your housecarl from now on."
"Pleasure to meet you, Iona. I hope we get on well." Miranja approached Iona and took her hand in both of hers with an earnest smile. She then turned her focus toward the other woman, who spoke before she could ask any questions.
"I'm Astrid, and I was just on my way out." Astrid spoke in a heavy Nord accent. She lifted the helmet she'd been holding under her arm and started to put it on. Miranja reached out and stopped her.
"It's okay, Astrid. My housecarl's friends are welcome here, too. I don't plan to be here very frequently, and, Iona, you are welcome to have company over as if this was your own home, which it kind of will be from now on." She smiled expectantly at each woman in turn, waiting for them to realize that they weren't in any trouble and relax.
"Aye, Miss Miranja," Astrid nodded. "I understand. I appreciate your hospitality. But I suppose I really should get back to my duties. I just stopped in to congratulate Iona on her new posting."
Miranja saw the look that passed between the women as Astrid turned toward the door, and she realized that they were most likely more than mere friends.
"Just a moment, Astrid," Miranja said, putting her hand on Astrid's arm. A quick glance around told her that her furnishings were already in place, and she was anxious to get Faendal into that bedroom. She was a little surprised and dismayed that the bedroom was so open to the kitchen and the front door, but she'd just have to deal with it. "I just came to see if my rooms were furnished yet, and I see that they are, so…" She glanced quickly sideways at Faendal, then back at Iona. "I'd like to have an hour to get settled in. If you two haven't already had lunch, and you'd like to eat at the inn, I'd be happy to buy both of your meals."
"Understood, tha – Miranja," Iona replied with a knowing look in those ice blue eyes. "We'll just be on our way, then, and I'll see you again in about an hour."
"Enjoy, and tell Keerava to put it on my tab. I'll square up with her later." She smiled at Iona again, trying to get her to smile back, but Iona was still determined to maintain her professionalism. She watched as Iona rushed Astrid out the door and closed it behind herself.
Miranja turned to Faendal with a frown. "I hope I didn't come across wrong," she fretted.
"Eh, you were fine," Faendal assured her, but rather dismissively. He caught her up in his arms and went for her neck, biting and sucking all at once.
"Ow, Faendal, that hurts, and you're going to leave a mark!" Miranja pulled away and held him at arm's length.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Well, I mean, I don't have a husband or boyfriend to hide it from, but still, don't you think people would think less of the illustrious Dragonborn if she went around with love bites all over her neck?"
"I dunno, maybe? Or maybe they'd think she's a woman who loves and gets loved passionately, and they might like to have a go themselves."
"Either way would be bad, to me. I don't want people to think I'm sleazy, and while I'm open to new lovers, I don't want every Sven, Mikael, and Marcurio trying to put the moves on me."
"You had to bring up Sven, didn't you?"
"Trust me, love, I only use his name with a negative connotation. There is no comparison between him and you. And I bet he's lousy in bed, anyway. You, on the other hand, my filthy, filthy elf…"
Faendal grinned wickedly and pulled her back into his arms. "I love it when you call me filthy," he murmured, going more gently for her neck and then nibbling on her earlobe. "It just makes me want to fuck you that much more."
Miranja shivered at his breath on her damp skin and his voice growling next to her ear. Those dragons in her belly roared to life, and the lustful ache began in her crotch. "That's what we're here for, isn't it?"
"Oh, yeah," Faendal agreed, sliding his hands down to her ass. He grabbed her firm buttocks and pressed her hips against his, grinding and telling her most indecently what he wanted to do to her.
Miranja was beside herself with lust, breathing raggedly, but she had to check herself due to her current circumstances.
"Go ahead and get undressed and get in bed. I need to make sure we have everything here that I need to wash up first."
Faendal turned his back to afford her some privacy, but he undressed slowly, knowing that she was watching him partly to make sure he didn't peek and partly because she enjoyed seeing him slowly bare his body to her.
Miranja was relieved to see that her flow had more or less come to an end. She still wasn't going to let Faendal put his face anywhere near that area, but at least she didn't have so much to be embarrassed about. This was the first time she'd ever made love during her menses, and she was still very self-conscious in spite of Faendal's reassurances and the fact that it was nearly over. However, she felt like their relationship was becoming even more intimate, and this would be crossing yet another boundary with him. She was hoping that it could be a thing, having Faendal with her to break in the new bed every time she obtained a new property and earned a title.
When she was ready, she told Faendal he could look at her again, smiling in amusement at the sight of him lying nude on the bed with a raging boner, stroking himself with one hand and covering his eyes with the other. He uncovered his eyes, and the way his hunger gleamed in those honey-colored pools made her heart swell with love and desire.
She stood next to his side of the bed, holding his gaze with an expression that wavered between shyness and lust.
He took her hand and pulled her down on top of him, rolling with her until she was pinned beneath him, wasting no time with foreplay. He didn't have to. She was ready.