Author's Note:

This chapter coincides time-wise with one of the side stories for the second book. If you want a little peek into another POV for this chapter and some hints about potential future problems Aeyrin and Bishop might encounter, and if you haven't done so already, check out the story 'For All the Riches' in Second Book Extras. Specifically the third chapter ;)

Other than that, enjoy this chapter :) Thank you all for reading.

Chapter XXXVI – What's Hiding in the Sea

The shore was always so windy.

The icy waters made it very cold. It didn't matter that summer was almost upon them. It didn't matter that Solitude was usually much more temperate than the northeastern edges of the Province. The Sea of Ghosts was always cruelly freezing.

Aeyrin promised herself that her next underchain was going to have warm fur on the inside. The cold metal rings were really not comfortable and her cloak hardly helped when she was armored like that. The wind never let her get properly warm in her equipment.

But it was definitely better than paying two hundred septims for a single pearl.

She and Bishop headed out here the next day after lunch. The mid-day sun would surely make the trip more tolerable, but Aeyrin didn't feel like it made much of a difference.

They paid the pearl salesman to tell them the location of a few more pearls. The problem was that the clams would be closed firmly and they would need to be pried open. The small Breton salesman clearly didn't bother exerting himself.

There was also the possibility of it all being a scam. But they were determined to try.

Their destination was near the Solitude lighthouse in a tiny bay right next to it. There was some ship anchored on the other side of the outcropping they reached. There were some sailors on the upper deck, but they didn't pay any attention to Bishop and Aeyrin as they began to remove their armors on the rocks above the freezing waters.

"What are you doing? Are you going in?" Bishop chuckled when he noticed Aeyrin take off her armor as well. They rarely went into the waters of the Sea of Ghosts. Not voluntarily. Even when they camped nearby, they barely went in deep and mostly washed themselves with washcloths while barely keeping their feet in. There were places where the water was much more tolerable – like at the Solitude docks. It was the same sea, but it was a staggering difference. Maybe because of the lack of wind and waves. But here, out in the open like this, even Bishop found the water too cold. And that was saying something.

"No! You're volunteering, right?" She gave him a meaningful look. "But it's so cold and so open. If a dreugh grabs you, I need to be ready."

"Dreugh? There are no dreugh here," Bishop smirked. The water was much deeper than anything they had been in in the sea. There was no steady slope, it was just straight down. It was understandable that Aeyrin worried about dreugh here, but the water was way too cold for those too. Even for slaughterfish. This was only tolerable for horkers.

"So… there's nothing in there?" Aeyrin cocked her head to the side. Really? No beasties in the water?

"Not as far as I know, but it's not like I go for a freezing dip too often," Bishop shrugged. "There's supposed to be whales out in the sea, but I suspect if they were somewhere, it would be way in the distance."

"Whales. Right," Aeyrin nodded. There were all manner of legends about Skyrim whales one could encounter in books. But it was not like there was any evidence of their existence. There was no whale meat to be seen in the markets, no drawings of them, no sailor stories. Not in Skyrim. Maybe they really were in the distance. Or maybe they didn't exist at all. But there were more accounts on them from Hammerfell. Maybe nobody just wanted to hunt them in the freezing water.

It made her curious about other similar legends and tales. "What about snow whales? Are those real?"

"The flying whales that sing in the skies and create snow?" Bishop scoffed. "Yeah, never seen one and I'm pretty sure whoever thought of that just saw a dragon from far away. Or was really fucking high on something weird."

Aaw, that was a shame. Aeyrin liked that legend. She really hoped to see one someday.

"Well, I'm still gonna be alert," she nodded with determination as she removed the last heavy bit of her equipment. She settled herself on one of the cold rocks above the water and huddled her entire body under her soft white cloak. They could never be sure about the sea and Bishop was going to dive deep. Their last struggle at sea on Jack's boat was enough for a lifetime. They needed to be wary. Especially about something so trivial.

She would watch the water from here.

Bishop was soon done undressing entirely and he stepped onto the rock as well. Aeyrin couldn't help but look towards the nearby ship to see if the soldiers were watching the 'performance', but nobody seemed to care about their escapades. Not about the naked man clearly intent on jumping into the freezing deep sea.

"Don't freeze on me," Aeyrin gave him a soft smile while she continued to hold the cloak around herself.

"Wouldn't do that to you, love," Bishop smirked. "I'm more worried about you doing that though." He looked down on her there, like a fuzzy ball of cold, trying to warm herself. Hopefully the search for the pearl would not take that long. And if it was a scam, Bishop was personally gonna throw that salesman into the sea himself. Maybe all the way from Solitude. That would be a neat drop.

"I'll try not to," Aeyrin chuckled softly.

Bishop soon took the plunge, jumping into the water surprisingly gracefully. Some of it splashed Aeyrin's cloak in the impact, but not too much to soak her. That was it. He was in and she saw him dive deeper into the water. Now she just had to watch intently to see that he was alone in there.

It was also a good opportunity for her to concentrate on her senses like she was supposed to.

She watched Bishop for a spell, but she couldn't see much the deeper he dived. Though it was a little easier since he was naked and not in his usual dark clothes or armor.

So instead, she began concentrating on the beautiful shimmering sea. It was overcast today and the wind was strong, but there was still some sunlight reflecting on the surface of the wild water. She hoped the currents wouldn't become too much for Bishop.

She tried to see below the surface as best as she could. At some point, she spotted something dark swimming there, but it was hard to see. It was quick and it had a tail, but that's all she could notice. It was far from Bishop and it wasn't swimming towards him. And a moment later she couldn't see anything at all. But it made her nervous.

Fortunately, a second later, Bishop resurfaced again. He took deep gasping breaths, which were clearly not just from the lack of air but also from the intense cold. When she moved to get up and help him out of the water though, he shook his head.

"Saw… saw a clam," he gasped again. "Needed… air."

"Bish, if it's too cold, just forget it," she sighed. No need for him to go through all this like that.

"Nah… 's fine," he gave her a determined nod and he looked like he would dive in again, but she promptly stopped him.

"Wait! I saw something swimming around. Dark and it had a tail," she scowled. It was worrisome that she couldn't see it anymore.

"Spotted it too," Bishop panted. "Don't know… what… it swam away. It's… fine."

Alright. That was a good thing. He noticed it and it wasn't swimming towards him. He was safe in the water, hopefully. She would watch out for the thing's return.

Bishop dove into the water again promptly and Aeyrin was left alone waiting on the rocks once more.

She kept looking around, across the water, but she didn't notice the creature anymore. Or whatever it was. Her eyes drifted towards Bishop, though she couldn't see what he was doing down there, so her eyes wandered elsewhere. The lighthouse was a prominent thing to look at. But there was not much to see. Just the light on the top. She wondered if it had a light-keeper. It had to, right? But what poor soul had to live in this cold?

Bishop resurfaced again, but this time he didn't say a thing. He took a deep breath and dove right back in, clearly determined to get a pearl no matter what. He would be so pissed if this didn't work out. Aeyrin worried about what he would do to the poor Breton salesman.

There was still nothing but Bishop in the water, so then her gaze moved towards the other point of interest. The ship.

Strange, the sailors were no longer there. They must have gone inside. Maybe for lunch or such. Or maybe whatever work they were doing on the deck was done already.

Ugh. Ships. She didn't want to think about ships anymore. She was still traumatized from their last voyage. She was very happy they got to avoid ship-travel in Cyrodiil. Sometimes it was the most expedient way to get to various places. Like to Leyawiin. Or the City Isle. But thankfully they were never in such a rush that they would need to do that.

The sound of sloshing water and deep gasping breaths tore her attention back to the water. Up until now, the whole area had been eerily silent again with the sailors gone.

This time, Bishop began to swim closer to the rocks. He was clearly finally getting out.

Aeyrin promptly got up on her feet and took off her warm cloak. She outstretched her hand to Bishop to help him scale the wet stones and get back up there. It was surprisingly easy for him, though his hand was freezing so much. And he was actually shivering and chattering his teeth.

The moment he got back up on the solid rock, Aeyrin grabbed her cloak again from the stony surface and she quickly draped it over Bishop's shoulders, rubbing along the fabric to warm him up. She even dared herself to press against him and warm him with her body. After going through this, he definitely deserved her putting herself through cold and discomfort just to make him a little warmer.

Bishop wrapped his shaking arm around her promptly, but the other one nudged her shoulder instead. Only then she looked. He carefully opened up his clenched fist to present her with a beautiful shiny pearl.

"Your pearl, princess," he chuckled, as if he was some knight presenting a favor to an actual princess.

"It's beautiful, Bish," she stood up on her tiptoes to press her lips on his. Gods, even his lips were freezing. But that was alright. She would be the one to warm him up this time. He needed to dry up before they could go back, but she was intent on spoiling him by continuously rubbing her hands rapidly against the fur of the cloak, pressing against his body, and by cuddling herself up to him, no matter how wet and cold she got in turn.

"Yeah. The clam really didn't want me to have it though," Bishop laughed as he pressed himself closer to her. He won against the pesky clam in the end though.

Now he just needed to unfreeze.

…

Aeyrin couldn't help but admire the beautiful pearl.

It was even better than if they had paid for it. And the way Bishop 'won' it in the dangerous dive made it so special. Nobody had a pearl that hard-won. It was just a clam in a freezing sea, but still. She appreciated it more this way.

They did only this one small thing, but it still felt like a successful day. Or a successful trip. They had done everything they came to Solitude for. But there was still one thing to do now. Aeyrin couldn't help it. She wanted to prod. She wanted to see if she could help.

She wanted to go see Azshan, no matter how uncomfortable it made her.

But that was the plan for tomorrow. Bishop did thaw out soon enough, but Aeyrin insisted on staying in for the rest of the day, near the warm fires in the mansion's kitchen. And in the warm covers of the upstairs master bed.

And besides, spending time with Jordis was fun. Aeyrin was enjoying her very informal company and so was Bishop. They seemed to have a lot in common. They often talked about their wild adventures. Not like the ones he and Aeyrin talked about with other people. Not the battles and treasures and mysteries. Jordis was more interested in… personal stories. Drunken escapades, unfortunate nights with strangers or bad choices when an hour got too late to think rationally. Aeyrin didn't have as much to contribute to these discussions, but she enjoyed listening to them. Even if some embarrassed her endlessly, only by hearing them. And she was glad Jordis and Bishop were getting along so well. It definitely made Solitude much more tolerable for him.

Aeyrin just got out of the bath when a strong enticing smell of spiced meat lured her back to the kitchen. What was it? It smelled like horker. Gods, she loved horker. She hoped that was what Bishop was making.

She practically rushed up the stairs to check. She walked in on a familiar scene. Jordis with her canvas and a bottle of mead in her hands, sitting by the table, and Bishop standing by the kitchen fires, tending to the meat. It was horker.

"Hey, princess. Dinner's gonna be ready soon," Bishop smiled when he spotted her. Especially when he spotted that adorable excited expression she got when she checked out the food choice for tonight.

"Come on, sit," Jordis gestured to a chair opposite her. "We're talking old flames."

Oh. That was another topic she couldn't really join in on. Although for this one she wasn't really that eager to listen either. She didn't like hearing about Bishop's old 'acquaintances'. She hesitated instead of taking the seat.

"She's talking old flames. I'm ignoring her," Bishop scoffed. He did not want to get into this topic. Not with anyone. Not even with Aeyrin, though she had heard it all before, there was nothing good in reiterating this shit.

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Jordis shook her head at him. "Come on then, Aeyrin, indulge me. Any horror stories?"

"Uhm… no… not really. I don't… have any 'old flames'. Just a current one," she chuckled a bit.

"What?" Jordis's eyes went wide. "Oh you poor girl, you gotta experiment a little!"

"Fuck off!" Bishop snarled at her promptly. "She does not. We're doing plenty of experimenting on our own."

"Bish," Aeyrin bit her lower lip nervously. This conversation was starting to make her really uncomfortable. And she didn't need him to outline their own 'experiments' to Jordis. That was definitely not something she wanted to be talked about.

"Fine, fine," Jordis sighed. "Tell me about his then, when he's so tight-lipped. You gotta know, right?" She smirked at Aeyrin.

"I… do… but I'm not gonna…" Aeyrin shook her head briskly. She was not going to tell her about Bishop's former lovers. Especially not when he clearly didn't want to talk about this. And she knew all too well why. Ysolda was clearly still a painful subject to him, no wonder that, and talking about Neeshka was not exactly… ideal. The only others Aeyrin knew about were Susanna, whom Aeyrin still sometimes missed as a dear friend, and Gabriella, which was a topic best left alone altogether. There was nothing to talk about. Not casually.

"Come on! Any fun heart-breaks? Any embarrassing reunions?" Jordis grinned.

"Uhm… I really don't want to…" Aeyrin shook her head vehemently. Couldn't Jordis see how uncomfortable this was for the both of them?

Fortunately, right then, a loud knock on the front door echoed through the room. Thank the Gods. Aeyrin promptly started to walk towards the door.

"Pfft, spoilsports!" Jordis called out after her, but Aeyrin was already opening the door by that time.

Though her breath hitched in her throat the second she did. First she thought for a brief moment that it was a legionnaire standing there. That wasn't the upsetting part – it could have been one of Jordis's new friends. The shock and worry came when she noticed the emblem on his armor properly.

A Penitus Oculatus symbol.

What was an agent doing, knocking on their door? It could mean only one thing. Something was going on.

"Y-yes?" Aeyrin stammered a bit.

"I need a word with you and your companion. In private, please," the man nodded at her somewhat somberly.

"Of… course," Aeyrin retorted. Gods, what was happening? She promptly opened the door wider to usher the man inside and she walked over to the kitchen with him in tow. "Bishop," she called out to him to get his attention. In the meantime, Jordis looked curiously at the visitor. Aeyrin wasn't sure if she knew who the man was.

Bishop turned away from the food and Aeyrin could see the same shock and nervousness on his face right away. She could even see how his throat moved when he swallowed deeply.

"He needs to talk to both of us," she inclined her head towards the stairs. This wasn't like last night with Casavir. They couldn't have anyone hearing this and there was nobody to distract Jordis from eavesdropping. Especially with the curious expression on her face.

"Sure," Bishop nodded slowly before he turned to Jordis. "Watch the meat. Don't fuck it up and let it burn."

"Fine," Jordis huffed. She was clearly disappointed about being out of the loop, but that hardly mattered.

They walked upstairs together and led the agent into their bedroom. It was a safe place. And hopefully the sound wouldn't carry. Jordis never said anything about… hearing things. And she wasn't one to pass on teasing them for it.

"Is it safe to talk here?" The agent gave them an unsure expression.

"As far as we know," Bishop nodded. "Did something happen?" There was still a chance that this was good news, right? Maybe the Brotherhood was wiped out. Fuck, how he wished it was true.

"I have to ask, were the two of you in the vicinity of the Solitude lighthouse today?" The man prodded.

What? That was… disturbing.

"Yes. We were there after lunch," Aeyrin answered, still looking at the man with worry in her eyes.

"What was the purpose, if I might know?" The agent asked again.

"This," Bishop pointed to the pearl currently sitting on Aeyrin's nightstand.

"We're… we're getting married. And there's this Nordic tradition to have a pearl from the Sea of Ghosts. And other things. But… a merchant tipped us off on the location to go dive for one. His were too expensive," Aeyrin quickly explained everything. Keeping this a secret was not a good idea in front of this man, surely.

"Hmm… that checks out," the agent nodded.

"'Checks out'? What does that mean?" Bishop scowled.

"A witness places you in the area. Said a Nord was diving into the water while a Bosmer waited on the shore."

Bishop and Aeyrin shared an uncertain look. It did 'check out'. But what was all this about?

"A witness to what?" Bishop prodded. To them being there? Why would anyone report that to anyone?

"Well… a survivor. Please, tell me what you saw when you were there. Anything strange?" The man pondered.

"'Survivor'? What would they survive? There were no… wait… the ship?" Aeyrin cocked her head to the side. What happened on the ship? "We just saw some sailors on the deck. The next time I looked when Bishop was diving, there were none. And I didn't see any when we left either."

"Yes… the sailors. The witness was the only one to survive the massacre. And he saw the assassin," the agent nodded somberly.

"An assassin? Slaughtered everyone on the ship?" Bishop's eyes went wide. "We didn't even hear anything! Or… did you hear anything?" He turned to Aeyrin. He was probably underwater at that time.

"No. I didn't hear or see…" Suddenly she placed her hands in front of her mouth to stifle the gasp. She did see! A black something with a tail, swimming very fast under the surface. It made sense now. "An Argonian!"

"What? That thing in the water?" Bishop caught up quickly.

"Yes. It was an Argonian. You saw the assassin too, then?" The agent quickly questioned them.

"We didn't know what it was," Aeyrin shook her head. "We were talking before about beasts in the water. And I saw something dark and with a tail swim in the distance. Very fast. I worried it would attack Bishop. But he said he saw it underwater too, but it was swimming away."

"Where?" The man scowled.

"Towards the ship," Bishop sighed. "I didn't see it properly, just saw… something, you know? I thought it was nothing important."

"I understand," the agent gave them a weak reassuring smile. "The survivor came to report the slaughter to the guards and they promptly summoned us. The sailor reported an Argonian man in black armor with red accents, sneaking through the ship. He only saw him briefly. He was currently intent on taking a nap behind some crates. When he dared to get out, he only saw a few of his mates on the ground with their throats slit and others just dead. Right where he left them. They didn't see the assassin coming at all."

That was chilling. They had no idea. And the assassin was here. Close.

"The man reported you two as well," the agent continued. "Said you were the only two people he saw out there before he went below deck to take his nap. But then he saw the assassin. When he made his getaway, you two were still there."

Everything must have happened so staggeringly fast.

"Argonian assassin," Bishop sighed. "Green one?"

"Yes. We connected him to your Dawnstar report immediately," the man confirmed. "We knew you were unlikely to have been… involved in this incident, but I had to check. You understand. More importantly though, there is an assassin in the area. And it is possible that he had seen you two on the shore. Or in the city. We cannot be certain. You need to be careful and report anything suspicious. No matter how small and irrelevant it may seem, understood?"

"Of course," Aeyrin nodded immediately. Divines, their stay here just got much more nerve-wracking.

"We should just get the fuck out of here," Bishop growled. This was getting messy again. He did not want to deal with the Brotherhood again. Did they really still want him dead? Couldn't it have been just that old guy that attacked them in the Rift? Maybe the Argonian didn't care about killing Bishop.

"That's ill advised," the agent shook his head. "There are many of us here, trained to spot the clues of their activities. You'll be an easy prey in the wilderness. Especially if the assassin saw you and wants to follow you out there. They are more careful in the cities, believe it or not. And their skills make them very experienced with hunts out in the open. You may think yourselves capable of defending yourselves out there, but… not against them."

He was unfortunately right. They'd seen it with the old man who attacked them in the middle of the night. If it weren't for Karnwyr watching over them, they'd be dead by now. They had no idea.

Bishop only grumbled in response. He knew the man was right. It was best to wait and see if the Argonian would strike here. And after some time, it would be safer to assume he just moved on. Why wouldn't he? The ship was surely there for a reason. People would come there eventually. Or to the lighthouse. They would know. And the agents would go after the Brotherhood. He needed to disappear soon, right? Even if he didn't know about that survivor.

"We'll stay a while. And we'll be very careful," Aeyrin gave the man a defeated look. What else was there? Now she didn't feel so confident about tackling Azshan and whatever was going on there, but they couldn't just keep themselves holed up here. It might just make things worse. She didn't know anymore. They should just… be wary, but continue to do what they intended.

"Good. I'm sorry to bear such news," the man spoke regretfully. "But… congratulations on your engagement. I… I hope your wedding is not a very public event. Or… if so, we might need to deploy some agents to keep it from turning into a tragedy."

"It's not public at all," Bishop shook his head. "And hey, maybe the fuckers will finally all die by then."

"We can only hope, sir," the agent gave him a weak smile.

That was the only thing they could do.