"Mortals cannot enter."
Serana's words echoed through the room as they both stared into the swirling mass below them. Some stone slabs began to float around in there. It almost looked like they formed steps, beckoning anyone to venture inside.
"There are… ways in which one can, but… that is complicated. I wouldn't expect you to follow. You have your invisibility potions, correct? It might be a bit risky, taking the boat, but…"
"Wait, wait, wait, hang the fuck on," Bishop interrupted her promptly. What the fuck was she saying just now? What was even happening right now?
"My mother is in there. With the Scroll," Serana announced that as if Bishop didn't get that. He did get that.
"Just… wait. She's been there for centuries, she's not gonna disappear this second. Slow the fuck down, alright?" Bishop sighed.
"If you wish," Serana nodded, though her eyes were clearly still drawn to that portal. So were Bishop's, for that matter.
"When does it close?" He had so many questions. So fucking many. But he started with the easy one.
"The notebook said the ingredients were a conduit. So… I assume only once one empties the basin," she shrugged.
"Alright. Good. We got time then," he let out a relieved sigh. This all seemed so hectic. He needed a moment. "So… this… Soul Cairn. What exactly is in there? Daedra?"
"I only read about the place before. Mother actually gave me some books…" Serana pondered. "Perhaps in preparation, now that I think of it. There are many dangers inside. Daedra, for one, but since they do not serve a Prince, they are not the ones most people would be familiar with. I do not know what that means."
"Right. Sounds fun," Bishop rolled his eyes. "What else?"
"There are also the Ideal Masters. I… do not know for certain who or what they are. They rule over Soul Cairn, in a way, and wield unimaginable power. The book said they can drain the life of any mortal that approaches."
What the fuck? This was just… insane.
"That's why mortals can't enter?" Bishop scowled.
"Possibly. Or perhaps the portal itself would not allow a mortal soul to enter. I could read the details in mother's notebook more," Serana explained. She didn't even finish it before wanting to enter that fucking portal? "There were notes on how one might enter, but I assumed you wouldn't want to…"
"You assumed right," Bishop scoffed. No way in the fucking Oblivion. Literally. "You said there are… souls?"
"Yes. Black souls. They are trapped there when they are… well… soul trapped," Serana nodded.
"Right. Until the gem is depleted," Bishop shuddered a bit. That was a shitty place to be trapped in while in that gem, that was for sure.
"What? No," Serana shook her head. "The Ideal Masters do not release the souls. They are there forever."
Wait… what? People from black soul gems were stuck in that place forever?
Holy fucking shit.
He knew it was bandits and killers, but he suddenly felt really crappy about trapping people for that madman hermit and for the Blackreach key. Fucking Void. He should definitely not tell Aeyrin about that bit.
"So… let me get this straight. You were wary of entering these wings of your Castle because there might be too many gargoyles and undead. But you're all ready to go alone in there with the weird Daedra, the pissed off souls and some… things with 'unimaginable power'?" Bishop shook his head at her.
"What choice do I have?" Serana scowled at him. "I need to speak to mother and get the Scroll, you know this. What allies do I have? You just said you won't come with me! And I don't blame you. I don't want you to. Nobody would agree to come with me."
"Not even Isran?" Bishop raised his brow. "Not if it got him the Scroll?"
"I… I don't know. The ways in which he could… it's too much to ask," Serana sighed. "And I wasn't willing to take him here before and…"
"Serana, just… don't make decisions now. The portal will be here. We'll close this place, put the crests back in and you can talk to Isran," he tried to convince her. He really didn't want her to go in there alone. She was very capable, sure, but for fuck's sake, this place was insane. She should have some backup. Fuck, he kinda warmed up to her. The worries about her having some ulterior motives were long gone.
"But… I can't bring him here," Serana sighed. "And he would never agree to…"
"Give him a fucking chance," he interrupted her. Isran was intent on helping her, right? He had backup for her here, he was ready to risk his men against the vampires and not just for the Scroll. In case she got in trouble. That counted for something, right? Bishop was definitely not going in, even though he felt kinda bad for Serana. But he was just not. But Isran might. "There's no harm in trying. Tell him. And give him a fucking invisibility potion to sneak him here. It's not that hard. We cleared everything out and made sure this place is safe to enter now and none of your vampire friends lurk inside to rat you out. You don't need anything more to be able to get him here safely."
"Hmm… I suppose," she nodded thoughtfully.
Good. Fuck, he worried he would have to talk her out of it more. But she wasn't the overly brash type, fortunately.
He just hoped she was wrong about Isran and his brashness.
That might complicate their mission.
…
Gods, what was happening?
Why was this happening? It hurt so much. And the ringing wouldn't stop. Aeyrin was sure it wasn't real, but it was deafening. She felt warmth rush all over the side of her face and shoulder and the tears of pain flowing from her eyes.
She couldn't see anything anymore.
The pain didn't stop. Not even a little. And the warmth was getting cold and then there was more warmth on top of it, gushing down from her.
She just wanted the pain to stop.
The ringing did ease a little and she was able to hear the sounds around. She wished she didn't though.
"Perfection. The other one is flawed," the woman scoffed.
Gods. Did she really just…? Gods.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to punch that woman. But she couldn't move. Couldn't make a sound.
But then, there was another noise. A strange rattle. Like a chain.
It was followed soon by something else. Gurgling and sputtering. Choking. Aeyrin wasn't sure what was happening. Divines, what was happening? Everything was so confusing and she didn't even know if the darkness all around was really there or if her eyes were closed shut.
There were more sounds. Everything sounded a little strange. Not like it was supposed to. But she heard it. More gurgling, then nothing. Then some shuffling and a loud thud.
"Come on!" A voice right in front of her growled at her. A man.
What? More? No more. Please, no more.
Someone's hand grabbed hers roughly and she was yanked up a bit, but then she felt herself fall again, heavily on the ground. She hit her head again, but she felt no pain. Nothing could surpass the pain on the side of her face.
"Fuck. Shit," someone growled. That man. Was it another Thalmor? He didn't sound like… "Sorry."
He suddenly grabbed her stiff leg and began to drag her, over the ground and somewhere else. It probably hurt too. She didn't know anymore. She just… let him. She wasn't sure what she could do. She couldn't move. She couldn't speak. She just felt herself slide across the stone. Her shirt on her back rolled up and she could feel the rough ground graze her and scratch her. She couldn't do a thing. There was just the sound of huffing and rattling of chains.
She knew now that her eyes were not closed though. She could see strange orange smudges in front of them, but everything was dark and blurry.
A jolt suddenly went through her leg and she felt it kick. The touch left her immediately. Her arms moved frantically and her whole body began to tremble uncontrollably. One of her hands went to her head, shaking, but she couldn't control it. She almost touched it.
But before she could, the man grabbed her by the arm and yanked her upwards again. This time much more forcefully. She felt herself standing up on her feet, no matter how much they were shaking. And then he spoke again.
"You can move. Come on. We have to get out of here. Now," he hissed. She didn't know the voice. It was not Isran. Was he a prisoner?
She couldn't really process any of it. He still held her hand and began to move. She just… followed. Her legs worked, though she could barely feel them. She could barely feel anything. She felt herself blink rapidly, but it didn't stop the tears. And nothing stopped the pain.
She just moved. Her foot collided with something hard and she recognized a step. Then there was a sudden bright light.
"Up. Come on. I can't carry you," the man spoke to her again.
Right. Up.
She started to walk up the steps somewhat blindly, but shapes were beginning to take form. Green trees, distant water. She felt the bramble around trap her, but the man still held her and yanked her forth. She just followed.
As her vision slightly cleared, she finally saw him. He was completely naked, with chains and cuffs on his hands. A Nord with light blonde hair. He was running in front of her, dragging her along. Until they reached some cover of more trees and stopped for a spell. He finally turned to her.
She had never seen him in her life, but that was probably to be expected. When he let go of her hand, she did reach out for her face again. And the moment she got close to that spot, she flinched as more stinging pain shot through her and made her eyes water.
"Don't," he whispered. "Fuck. That sick bitch. She does that to everyone she 'catches'. Her fucking trophies. She has them pinned in a glass cabinet. Psycho," he growled hatefully.
What? Did that… did that really all just happen?
"I… I have no idea why you… I didn't think someone like you would ever… the things I heard about you back home," the man shook his head incredulously.
What did that mean? What was he talking about?
"We… probably need to move. I don't know where to go, but we need to move," he sighed. He looked exhausted. His body was covered in burns and cuts, all fresh, likely only from a few hours ago. He didn't look like he'd been there a long time, but he clearly got some nasty treatment regardless.
"Y-yes," she wasn't sure if she spoke first, but she did try to point with her shaky hand. She hoped it was the right direction.
"Come," he grabbed that hand promptly and dragged her forth, through the shade of the trees and the snow around. The cold wind was slashing against her face and it was so painful. Every caress of the wind felt like a cut of a knife.
But they only ran for a while. Then the man suddenly stopped. She collided with him right away, but that didn't make him move either. He just let out an astonished gasp.
"Isran?"
"Thorald," Isran's voice echoed through the area. "I am so relieved that… Aeyrin?"
She could barely see again with the fresh tears blurring her vision. She just saw a familiar shape enter her sights and approach her. His hand touched the side of her face and she instantly flinched in pain. He held his other hand to the other side to steady her though.
A new warmth spread through her, this time the comforting warmth of healing magic. The pain still lingered though. It felt like it wouldn't go away, no matter what.
"Isran… what is going on?" The Nord, Thorald, asked in confusion.
"I saw you getting dragged in. Just… go. Follow that direction. Durak will take you somewhere safe. He'll explain," Isran sighed. "Aeyrin, can you hear me?"
She nodded. She could, but it all still sounded strange. The pain still didn't ease, but she didn't feel more warmth flowing from her. She felt… light-headed.
"Come on, let's go back to the camp. We need to get away from here a bit."
She couldn't agree more. She just wanted to be away from this place. Everything happened so fast. She still couldn't process it.
She just needed to rest for a while. To stop running.
She just needed to make the pain stop.
…
"Here, put more on it," Isran reached out to her with his hand filled with snow again.
She shook her head at him. The pain was gone – she couldn't feel it anymore. But she somehow felt the… empty space there where her ear used to be. It was completely gone. Isran healed the bloody wound, but there was nothing else he or anyone could do. It was gone.
All that remained was everything just sounding a little strange. It wasn't that she couldn't hear, just… it was different. She wouldn't even know how to begin to describe it. And she kept brushing around that spot, feeling the strange… contorted skin there. She wanted to see her reflection, but Isran told her not to. To just wait a bit before it was less… fresh. She had the urge to disobey him when he disappeared for a bit to talk to his men again, but she held herself back. And he was back soon.
Right now, she was still a bit in shock from all that. Isran gave her healing potions to numb the lingering pain and he helped her clean off the blood. It still stained half of her shirt and her hair on the side. And she didn't even tell him about the scratches on her back she got when Thorald dragged her. She understood he was probably too weakened to carry her and he couldn't just wait for her to start moving, but it did sting a bit.
And there were other concerns now, surely. The ring on Isran's hand was still shining, thank the Gods. But it's been so long. She was really starting to worry. And there was another issue.
"Isran, the Thalmor will find out," she looked at him nervously. They just freed all their prisoners! The Thalmor would be looking for them, surely.
"Here, take the snow, you need to keep it cool for a bit," he offered her the snow again.
"I don't like the cold," she mumbled. It made her face feel numb.
"Just one more batch. It will help," he urged her and she reluctantly took it into her already freezing hand and pressed it gently against the left side of her face. Then he finally answered her. "Durak is watching them. They are not doing anything out of the ordinary yet. Sorine and Thorald, I guess, killed all those in the prison. I don't think they will find out until they're supposed to switch shifts. Nobody noticed the prisoners when me and Durak led them in the right direction and my men kept up the distraction in front of the fort. And Sorine went back into the prison to… get rid of any evidence of you being there. Well… not the blood, but that could be anyone's. If they found your ear there and then someone noticed you missing it… well, I didn't want to risk you being tied to it."
"Thank you," she sighed. She wasn't sure how to feel about someone getting rid of her detached ear. How was anyone supposed to react to that? "But they could switch shifts anytime."
"Yes. And we will all move soon," he nodded. "If Serana and Bishop aren't back by then, we'll leave them some sort of a message and hide somewhere else for now. But I will send my men with the prisoners back to safety soon. Right now they're still taking care of their wounds."
It hasn't been that long since they escaped that prison, true. And their own camp was far enough from the fort. But if the Thalmor began to search the area, they would definitely find them all eventually.
"I'm sorry, Aeyrin," Isran sighed.
"What are you sorry about? It wasn't your fault," she shook her head. He had a great plan, in fact. Though she did feel a little left in the dark. Literally. But it was not as if he had done anything wrong. He gave her a choice and she agreed to help. He didn't force her. And she was the one who didn't notice the Thalmor mage.
"I didn't mean for you to feel pressed to take part in this. It was my plan, my idea," he gave her a regretful look.
"I wanted to help them too," she sighed. She did wish they waited for Bishop and Serana though. She wanted to. Everything was just… so fast.
"I know. And I really value your help. It could have gone much worse without your distractions," he moved beside her and put his hand on her back comfortingly, patting her a bit.
She almost forgot about the stinging there before he touched her. She couldn't help but flinch a bit.
"What is it?" He scowled, a suspicious look forming on his face.
Well… there was probably no reason to keep it from him. She couldn't heal those scratches herself after all, not on her back.
"I was paralyzed. Thorald… I don't think he had the strength to carry me so he… dragged me a bit before the spell passed," she sighed.
"Let me see. Lean forward," he urged her. It was lucky he used to be a paladin and had healing training. She did as he instructed, stopped cooling her face with the almost melted snow and leaned forth. It was… kind of comfortable. She leaned all the way forward, resting her body on her crossed legs and stretching a bit. She soon felt him roll up her shirt in the back, letting the cold hit her skin.
She was sick of all the cold. She wanted Bishop back, warming her up.
Fortunately, soon, she felt more warmth spread over her back and the soft stinging instantly eased. That was hardly anything painful before, especially after what she'd just been through, but it was still nice to be rid of it.
She stayed like that for a while, until soft crackling of snow disturbed the silence.
She didn't manage to straighten up yet before she heard the voice she hoped she would hear for so long. Though much more angry than she expected.
"What the fuck are you doing to her?!"
Isran promptly stopped, though he was likely done already, and he stood up. Aeyrin could straighten up too.
"Healing her," Isran answered, but Bishop didn't seem interested in the answer as he just stared at Aeyrin in shock. Well… she kind of expected this. She was covered in a lot of blood. Isran still spoke though. "You're back. I'm relieved to see you two alright."
"Yes. We found…" Serana began to speak, though she was watching Aeyrin with a somewhat concerned expression. But she was quickly interrupted by Bishop.
"Unlike you. What the fuck happened?" Bishop instantly dropped to his knees to look at Aeyrin properly. She knew she would have to, but she really didn't want to explain and get into that. Not like this. She wanted to just take Bishop away from here, especially far away from the Thalmor, and then just let him comfort her somewhere alone.
"There was a… situation," Isran sighed. "There's a fort nearby. The Thalmor had been dragging people in there for a while. I saw them take in one of my former men."
"You fucking assaulted a Thalmor fort?!" Bishop snapped at Isran instantly. What the fuck?! Why the fuck would they think that's a good idea? He immediately focused on Aeyrin again and on all the blood on her shirt. Why was there so much blood on her shirt? How did it get under her chain so much? "What happened, love?" He took her by the shoulders and looked at her intently, but she only seemed to flinch away. What the fuck did that mean? Why was it taking so long for them to explain?! There was so much blood in her hair.
"We did not assault the fort. We created distractions to free the prisoners," Isran continued to explain instead. He was so fucking calm, it was pissing Bishop off. Something clearly went fucking wrong when Aeyrin needed healing! And what did he mean 'distractions'? Did he use Aeyrin and her Shouts for those fucking distractions after she mentioned that?
The blood was really bothering him. Bishop reached out to brush the strands of hair stuck together from it, but Aeyrin flinched again. Even more than before.
What the fuck?
He didn't give her a chance to pull back anymore. He squeezed her shoulder to keep her still and quickly brushed her hair back.
He wasn't sure how to react for a while, he just stared at her in shock. She was clearly healed alright, but…
"There was a mage… I didn't hear her coming," Aeyrin admitted regretfully, but it felt like those words just passed by Bishop. He only felt the rage filling him.
"I'm sorry this happened," Isran sighed. Every fucking word out of his mouth was making Bishop seethe more. Especially the ones he said next. "But we were successful. The prisoners were freed and the Thalmor are none the wiser for now."
Bishop let go of Aeyrin and stood up on his feet again. She stared at him with so much uncertainty. Even he wasn't sure what was going on at that moment. The rage just took over everything. And the next thing he knew, he turned around sharply and delivered a swift punch right into Isran's nose.
"Bishop!" Aeyrin gasped in shock. She did not expect him to do that. She expected him either to comfort her or berate her for taking stupid risks, but she did not expect this. But he didn't pay any attention to her right then.
"What the fuck is the matter with you?!" He snarled at Isran angrily while the man clutched his nose. "What the fuck were you thinking? Why the fuck would you rope her into something like that?"
"Bishop, he didn't force me into helping him," Aeyrin scoffed as she finally stood up too. He didn't. She may have wanted to do things a little differently, but she agreed to help.
Right. Like fuck he didn't. Bishop could imagine vividly how this shit went down. How easy it would have been to play on her conscience with 'Thalmor prisoners'.
"Sure. He just came up with the stupidest fucking idea under the sun," Bishop snarled at Isran again. And he still looked so fucking calm! It pissed him off even more.
"It wasn't stupid," Aeyrin sighed. Just a little too fast and confusing for her.
Isran wiped the blood under his nose with his gloved hand before he spoke again. "We spared many people a lot of pain by acting when we did. Aeyrin wanted to wait for you to return, but by freeing the prisoners right away…"
Bishop's eyes widened at him and the anger got overwhelming all over again. Aeyrin wanted to wait. And he fucking thought that was a bad idea?! He felt his hand move on his own, all ready to punch him again, but both Aeyrin and Serana grabbed him by his elbows to stop him.
He lashed out instantly, yanking his arms free once more and he grabbed Isran by the shoulders and roughly pushed him against a nearby tree.
"You fucking spared a few fuckers a couple of hours torture they'd been taking for weeks anyway to make yourself feel like a fucking hero, huh?" He growled. "What a fucking tradeoff for her ear!" Why the fuck would he not listen to her?! He roped her into a clearly stealthy mission without any fucking forethought! Without knowing she was not good at this shit. No, scratch that. He should have fucking known she was no good at this shit when she herself didn't volunteer to go to the Castle.
"Calm down, Bishop," Isran sighed. He didn't even try to push him off and that fucking calm expression was just getting more and more frustrating. "It doesn't hinder her hearing or balance and…"
That was fucking it.
Bishop delivered another quick punch to his face and this time Isran pushed him back forcefully. The moment he did, Aeyrin and Serana grabbed Bishop by his arms again.
"Bishop, stop, please. It's not his fault," Aeyrin pleaded with him. Gods, he got so angry. Was it… really looking that awful? She hasn't seen herself yet, but this made her think it was really bad.
"It is his fucking fault! Why the fuck wouldn't you wait for us?!" Bishop yelled. Fuck, and he even tried to get Serana to give him a chance on her mission. She was clearly right about him. Fuck, she even fucking downplayed that impulsiveness. Bishop didn't know what his idiotic 'plan' was, but it was clearly not well thought out when it got Aeyrin hurt.
"Every moment those people were in there, they were…" Isran started to justify himself again and Bishop thrashed in Serana's and Aeyrin's grip in anger. They managed to hold him this time, but Aeyrin quickly interrupted. It was probably not a good idea to keep letting Isran talk.
"Enough, please!"
"Yes… I… I should go tell my men to go before the Thalmor catch on," Isran sighed, wiping his nose again. It looked broken, but that was probably nothing problematic for him.
You fucking better go, asshole.
Bishop let out another angry growl, but he didn't make a move to punch him again. The sooner this fucker was out of his sight, the better.
"I will wait for you here. We need to talk," Serana nodded.
"I will be back soon. And we'll need to move as well, just in case," Isran confirmed.
He turned to leave, but Aeyrin was still thinking about something she couldn't get out of her head. What would happen to the prisoners exactly? She knew that many of them were likely just Talos worshippers. They could find sanctuary at the secret chapel. But… what if some were dangerous? They could be Stormcloaks who would reveal the chapel to Ulfric. Or even Imperial spies. Who knew? She wanted to provide them that sanctuary, but they needed to be careful. She couldn't put this on her conscience.
Maybe it was for the best to give someone else the responsibility. She would be no good at judging any of this.
"Isran," she called out to him and let go of Bishop. He already walked a few steps away, but she quickly caught up to him. "If… if those people have nowhere to go, if they're just Talos worshippers caught in the middle of this… you can tell them to talk to Brunwulf Free-Winter in Windhelm. He might be able to help some of them."
"I appreciate that," Isran nodded at her with a small smile. His nose still looked broken, but he didn't seem to be angry about the confrontation at all. Unlike Bishop. Maybe it was because he himself had taken the blame upon himself before. Maybe he kind of agreed with Bishop now. "And again… I'm sorry."
Aeyrin could practically sense Bishop's glare, but she tried to ignore the unpleasant feeling and just gave Isran a reassuring nod. She was not angry at him. Now she was just self-conscious about how angry Bishop got. It must have looked really bad when he flipped out like that.
Isran turned around and started to walk away again. By the time Aeyrin got back to Bishop and Serana, the vampire already let go of him. Fortunately Bishop didn't decide to run after Isran to punch him again.
Aeyrin stepped towards him with a nervous look on her face. She felt like he was angry with her too. But when she did, he instantly enveloped her in a tight embrace.
Gods, she needed that. She quickly wrapped her arms around him and melted into his hug. Bishop leaned down to plant a comforting kiss at the top of her head. It all got a little strange when Aeyrin realized that Serana was still standing there though.
Aeyrin pulled back and looked Bishop over. He seemed alright. There were still the puncture wounds on his neck and Serana's lipstick. She couldn't wait to get rid of that as much as possible.
"I was so worried," she sighed. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Bishop nodded. "There were some hiccups, but… we're fine. I'll tell you about it later."
"Right. We should get out of here before the Thalmor start searching the area," Aeyrin looked around a bit nervously. It still all seemed calm. Hopefully they hadn't ventured into the prison yet.
"Very well," Serana nodded. "I'm not entirely sure what happened, but… well, thank you, Bishop. For your help. I will try to talk to Isran about the next step."
"Yeah, maybe don't," Bishop growled. "You were right, he clearly can't fucking think and control himself."
"I… didn't say that," Serana scowled a bit.
"After all this, I'm pretty sure he can't fucking be smart about it if you run into a vampire," Bishop scoffed.
"We should just… use the invisibility potions like you suggested," she noted. Aeyrin had no idea what was going on. Were they going to go back to the Castle? Why?
"Or charm him to keep him straight," Bishop sneered. That was probably the only thing that could keep Isran on a fucking leash. He was kinda worried about Serana now if Isran acted like this while he was just supposed to fucking sit and wait for them to come back. How fucking hard was that?
It may have been shitty to be charmed but whatever. That fucker needed to be curbed properly.
"I'm… not sure I want to do that," Serana's frown deepened.
What the fuck? Did she not see what he caused? Now she was concerned about charming?
"Seriously? You were all too eager to have me charmed and you think it's too fucking much for him?" He growled. After this? Really?
"I wasn't sure you were up to this. You proved me wrong," Serana tried to smile at him. But that just made him more angry.
"And he just proved you right about him!"
"Bishop, come on," Aeyrin looked at him pleadingly. She knew he blamed Isran for what happened, but this was too much. Nobody deserved to be brainwashed like that. And Isran didn't mean for her to get hurt.
"I will… discuss all the options with him," Serana sighed. Bishop wasn't sure if he believed her, if she would ever even suggest this to Isran.
But Aeyrin's look was kind of deterring him from arguing this further. He knew that look all too well. She was exhausted and hurt. They should just… get away from here already. He was so glad their mission went smoothly now only to come back to this… fuck, he wanted to punch Isran again. And again. He wanted to fucking knock his teeth out.
But Aeyrin clearly needed to be away from all this.
"Just… be careful. And think about it," he sighed as he addressed Serana. He could only hope she'd seen enough to consider more options than trusting that asshole to be rational.
"I will. And thank you again. For everything," this time Serana smiled a bit more genuinely.
It was a good time to leave. If Isran pissed off the Thalmor, he should be the one to fucking deal with this. They were out of here. Bishop promptly tossed that stupid hammer near the fire and grabbed his pack again.
He still worried a bit about Serana, but he hoped that after what he'd seen of her abilities, she'd be able to disappear quickly if things got dicey.
For now, the most important thing was to just get away from here.
…
Bishop and Aeyrin agreed to try and make it to Dragon Bridge for the night. It was quite late already, but with some luck, they could get there shortly past midnight. And they just wanted to go somewhere they didn't have to worry so much. Maro and his spies hopefully had that town under control.
Although they did lose both Cicero and the Night Mother, but it was best not to think about that.
The journey there was strange. Bishop still felt so angry and he knew Aeyrin could tell. She seemed reluctant to talk about what happened and he wasn't sure why the fuck she still wanted to protect Isran. It was not like he would come back to the shore and beat him up. When he asked, she just said that 'Isran already explained'.
But he decided not to press her right away. Maybe he did need to cool off a bit. He knew he would just get more mad and there was no one to be mad at around anymore. The last thing Aeyrin needed right now was him making shit tense.
So instead, he started to tell her about his mission, about how they immediately ran into a vampire and Serana had to take him through the Castle. He told her all about the 'cattle' there, about Harkon and what he advised Serana to tell him. And of course, about Serana turning into a fucking clump of bats. He told her about the gargoyles and those hounds, which she confirmed were the same things that she was thrown at in that fucked up arena in that vampire fort in Falkreath. It was understandably all kinds of disturbing to her, but none of it more than the place where Serana's mother actually hid.
"So… they're really going to go to a plane of Oblivion?" Aeyrin scowled as they finally reached the city in the dead of night.
"Yeah, this whole shit is insane," Bishop sighed. "But I guess… where else would you expect a thousand year old vampire with an Elder Scroll hiding from another thousand year old vampire? Everything about this prophecy and Serana's family is insane."
"I can't believe she's willing to go there," she shook her head incredulously. "I can't believe anyone would be willing to go there."
"Yeah, can't even imagine how careful you'd have to be in a place like that," Bishop nodded and a pang of anger shot through him again when he thought of the fact that he urged her to consider Isran as her backup for this. This was gonna be a fucking mess.
"You know… I've been wondering…" Aeyrin asked idly as she ran her wet hand through her bloodied strands of hair. She'd been doing that before they got to the town. Bishop offered to stop on the way by the river, but she didn't want to stop. She just wanted to get to the inn and not risk camping in the wilderness. She couldn't help it. She still worried about the Thalmor and how far they might search. They needed some relative safety of civilization and then some larger distance between them and the Thalmor.
But she really didn't want to think about that. She was already dreading having to talk about it to Bishop eventually. He would think she'd been so stupid. Right now though, it was enough to just try to clean off the hair and have the cover of her armor hide her blood-soaked shirt.
And the talk about Serana was distracting her from what happened and the talks she dreaded.
"What do you think happened? Both her parents are vampires," she pondered. "She almost made it sound like they're some royal dynasty. But… I guess it's just the three of them related and then those they turned. Or maybe they're not related at all…"
"I think they are. There was some resemblance when I saw Harkon," Bishop noted.
"Gods, I still can't believe you saw him," Aeyrin shook her head.
"Yeah. I kept thinking… why don't I just stab him right then? But I guess it's not that easy," he chuckled. "He would probably turn into bats or shit. Or, if I actually killed him, some other insane vampire would just take over. He's getting them all involved, from what I've seen."
"Yeah. I guess that's possible. And… attacking him would definitely not end well. I don't know why or how, but it would not end well," she nodded. "But... Serana is really their daughter, presumably. They surely weren't already vampires and had a vampire child. So… this was either some horrible tragedy caused by another vampire. Or… some very strange family activity."
"Her father wants to darken the sun and her mother is hiding in a plane of Oblivion. I think the second one is a safe assumption," he scoffed. That was one insane family. And that was saying something, considering his own.
They reached the inn at last and went inside. They weren't going to leave their room at all. Or almost. They still needed to wash, but they were not going to stay there in the common room filled with soldiers. This place was always filled with soldiers lately. Not even Penitus Oculatus agents – at least not always. But with the reinforcements from Cyrodiil, they were all over Haafingar. And Falkreath of course.
Bishop promptly paid for their room and they disappeared inside it to get rid of their equipment. Bishop had been in his the entire day without pause and he was really looking forward to getting that leather off. When Aeyrin took off her plates and chain though, they were both promptly reminded again about what transpired on the shore.
"I… should probably go wash up," Aeyrin sighed, looking down on herself. Practically half of her shirt was covered in blood. And maybe there was some on the back from the scratches too. She wasn't sure. And she still felt it in her hair.
She promptly fished out her, or rather Bishop's, shirt from her pack and draped it over her current one. She didn't want people to see the blood and wonder. Or worse, start talking to the point some investigating Thalmor found out. She couldn't help still worrying. The last time they did this… the whole outpost eventually died. There were no witnesses to anything. But here… it felt more sloppy. Like there could be connections everywhere. Like someone could have seen something. They did not have a man on the inside to cover their tracks. It was all too fast.
"Leave the door unstopped, I'll come join you soon," Bishop squeezed her around her hip briefly and planted another kiss on the top of her head.
She wasn't sure if she wanted him to. She usually would, but for some reason, she was really dreading the talks. It just felt like the longer she didn't talk about it, the worse it got, but she also felt so deterred. The longer she thought about it, the more regrets piled up. She had so many doubts, but… why did she dismiss them again in the end?
She merely nodded and left the room. She just felt so stupid. All the things Bishop blamed Isran for, she just kept thinking… she knew all that. She thought all that. Why did she go along with it?
Once she got into the bathing room, she quickly took off all her clothes and tossed them all into the washing basin, all save for Bishop's shirt. She would just use it as cover to quickly run to their room after. She didn't feel like scrubbing her clothes right now so that they could dry quickly. She just let them soak in the soapy water for a while and turned towards the tub.
She sunk into the warm water, letting it wash over her skin. Gods, that felt good. There was really no more pain after Isran healed her and she had the potion to numb any lingering jolts, but it still felt like she needed this for a very long time. Like she'd been tense ever since she saw Bishop leave on that boat.
She finally relaxed a bit, but that didn't take long. Soon, her eyes drifted to the mirror standing in the corner of the bathing room.
She still hasn't seen it.
She wanted to. But she also didn't want to. She knew it was bad. She could feel it with her fingers. Everything was gone, the tip, the lobe, there was just strangely shaped skin left and the hole to the inner organ. It didn't really change that much for its… working. She even tried to plug her other ear, the mangled one that she was left with, with her finger, just to see if anything changed, but she still heard the sloshing of water around her. It just sounded different. Quieter. She wouldn't have really noticed if she hadn't plugged the other one. She noticed that sounds were different, but it only felt actually quieter when she blocked the 'healthy' one.
Would she get used to it? Would it just sound strange whenever Bishop whispered something sweet to her. Would he even do that now when there was this… likely hideous thing to look at?
She didn't want to look. But she had to.
But just as she was getting ready to stand up from the warm water, the door behind her back opened. She quickly sat back down, as if she'd been doing something wrong.
Then she only quickly looked behind her shoulder to confirm it was Bishop. He was already pushing the stopper beneath the door while simultaneously draping his shirt over his head. When he kicked off his shoes, took off his pants and approached the washing basin, he just raised his brow at her when he saw her clothes there. But soon enough, he added his own and began to scrub all of them.
"You don't have to do that," Aeyrin smiled wryly. "I was just being lazy and wanted to get into the water. Just leave the shirt in, I'll do it later." Getting the blood out would not be that quick after all.
Bishop looked at the clothes critically and in the end, he did just wash his clothes along with her trousers and undergarments. He let the bloodied shirt soak there in the soap. He didn't want to take that long before he could join her in the water.
He finished the washing quickly and spread out their clothes in front of the fire. Then he could finally join her in the tub.
He sat himself beside her right away and wrapped his arm around her shoulder to press her close. She hasn't washed her hair yet. He kind of suspected she was avoiding it just to keep letting it cover her ear. Well… the side of her face at least. Shit, he was still so fucking pissed. He kinda managed to calm down in general, but whenever he thought about what Isran's recklessness caused, he couldn't help it. And when he thought about the fact that it could have undoubtedly gone much worse too. He still didn't know what happened though. Not exactly.
"So… tell me more about this Soul Cairn," Aeyrin promptly asked as she snuggled close to him.
"I don't know anything more than I already told you," Bishop shook his head. Except for that part about the souls being stuck there forever. But she definitely didn't need to know that. And besides, they'd talked about all this so much. He wanted to know what happened to her.
"Hmm," Aeyrin nodded thoughtfully, ending the conversation there. There was not much more to learn anyway.
She was relieved when there was a moment of quiet and Bishop didn't start asking her things right away. She managed to relax a bit again and she leaned against him more, placing her head on his shoulder.
She didn't even think about it much, but the moment her face touched his shoulder, she realized the distinct lack there and the unpleasantly swirled skin.
She flinched away from him rapidly.
"Shit, does it still hurt?" Bishop looked at her with concern.
It didn't. She… wasn't even sure why she did it. She felt uncomfortable with him feeling that press against him.
She lowered her head and shook it. She wasn't gonna pretend like it hurt, even though that may have been a less stupid reason to flinch like that.
"Come here, love," he let out a sigh and urged her closer, pulling her onto his lap.
She let him and then she curled into his embrace a bit more. It was easier to lean against him when it was with her other side, but after a moment, he slowly moved his hand over the side of her neck and towards where her left ear used to be.
She flinched again, but Bishop was prepared for it. He kept his hand there gently, as if he was waiting for her to calm down. Or realize there was no point in avoiding any of it.
She stayed still for a while, letting him softly stroke the side of her face. It felt uncomfortable. She almost flinched every time the back of his fingers ran over the spot.
"Feels awful, doesn't it?" She mumbled a little. It was just strange and disturbing to touch that spot.
"No, princess." Bishop stroked over the spot gently again as if to punctuate the point. "Listen, I fucking hate that you got hurt like that. I can't even imagine how awful that must have been. But… you know that whatever scars and wounds you get, I don't care. I told you before, didn't I?"
He moved a little, silently urging her to stop leaning against him. He put his arms around her waist under the water for a moment and shifted her on his lap to make her face him. Then, his wet hand moved back to her face, both of them to the sides, one running over her mangled ear, the other over the other side that was now lacking the detached one. "It used to remind me of what happened to you when Thorn captured you. But now, fuck I think I love it even more than your cute pointed ear."
He leaned forward and caught her earlobe between his teeth, nibbling on it for a second, sending a shiver down her spine, despite the warm water enveloping her.
"I love that you used to always get flustered over it and now you don't. Whatever the fucker did, whatever marks he left, they can't keep their hold on you. And this," he ran his thumb over the strange skin on the left side of her face. "This will be the same in time. I promise."
She tried to smile for him, though it was still difficult. She knew he wouldn't exactly love her any less, but still… it was just going to remain a hideous reminder of her stupidity. And the mangled right ear… that still sometimes made her feel bitter or self-conscious. It still made her remember Thorn from time to time. Not so constantly anymore, but… would it ever really fade?
Bishop softly pushed her hair back to uncover the spot and she flinched again. She did try her best to keep still though.
Bishop didn't look disgusted when he looked at her at least. But he did frown. Maybe it would always make him angry just like it would likely always make her feel stupid.
He did lean in again for reassurance though and planted a kiss on that spot, above her earhole. It felt strange and she felt a jolt inside her again that made her feel like flinching. But it was a little comforting that he was willing to do that at all.
"Tell me what happened, love," he looked at her somewhat pleadingly.
She wasn't even sure where to start. He would just keep asking though. And maybe she did want to talk about it. She just hoped he wouldn't be angry with her recklessness too.
"It… it was all so fast," she lowered her eyes, trying to avoid his probing look while he continued to stroke her around the sides of her face somewhat soothingly. "Isran kept looking at that place with his spyglass all the time. And then he suddenly wanted to go in. He saw that man he knew getting dragged there."
Bishop's frown instantly deepened at those words, but he just waited until she continued.
"He… he didn't want us to just charge in there," she sighed. She still didn't feel like this was Isran's fault. She told him she could make distractions. Why would he just assume she'd be incompetent in a situation like that? It was her own fault for not noticing that mage. "He talked to his people, scouted the place, found an escape route leading right into the prison. Even checked it out on the inside. I wanted to wait, but… you know, he was right. We had a chance to help those people."
"A few more hours wouldn't have made a difference. Not for them," Bishop growled. "They would have made a difference for you."
"I know," she lowered her gaze again. "They were going in there though and I wanted to help. So I told him about my Shout and he came up with a plan. He sent me there with this woman who was going to sneak around, kill the guards in the prison and unlock the cells. I was just supposed to hide and Shout."
"What if that Shout attracted more than just the prison guards? There was a whole fort full of them," Bishop shook his head. "And they didn't see the prisoners running away?"
"There… was a distraction. His men did something. I don't know what," she mumbled. She was realizing more and more just how little she knew about the plan.
"Where did you hide that the mage found you?" Bishop was obviously getting tense with anger again. She wasn't sure if any more information was going to help. It was likely gonna get worse.
"Some… alcove. I'm not sure. It was too dark to see much but some faint lights by the cells," she mumbled. She should have checked it out more. The mage had to come from another direction, but she didn't know where from. She didn't know what was around her.
"Did they fucking even tell you how dark it was there? Didn't they find you a safe spot? What kind of fucking scouting were they doing?" He growled.
She knew it was gonna get worse. And she could do nothing but shrug. She had no answer for him. And she just felt like a child being chastised for doing something stupid. She did do something stupid.
"I'm gonna fucking kill Isran if I ever see him again." The gentle movements of his hands were long gone. Now he was just keeping his arms on her shoulders, but she felt the tense grip of his fists.
"It's not his fault," she sighed. She agreed to this.
"It is his fucking fault! He fucking made you think he had some plan, that he had things under control! He didn't have shit!" Bishop fumed.
That wasn't true. It was a plan. It just didn't count on her being so careless and inattentive.
She lowered her head and leaned in. She wasn't sure if she could argue right now when he was angry like that, and even though she knew he actually wasn't, she felt like he was angry at her. He should be. She was the one at fault. But she had an uncontrollable urge to hide in his arms and just… feel the warmth of him instead of seeing his angry face. She nuzzled her head under his neck tentatively, but fortunately, he soon wrapped his arms around her firmly, squeezing her in a warm hug.
"You know, sweetness," Bishop sighed as he began to stroke over her back soothingly. "It was a fucking shitty feeling. The entire time Serana dragged me around the Castle, it felt so fucking wrong. It was so dangerous to just go along when I had no idea what was going on. I just worried that not going along would make shit worse."
She nodded against his skin. He was kind of going in blind too, from what he said.
"I just got fucking lucky. You didn't," he stroked over her hair soothingly. He felt the anger ease again when she nuzzled him like that. He knew it was doing nothing to make her feel better. And they were both thrust into this shit with barely enough information to go by.
If Serana ever needed help again, she was going to fucking spill every little detail. And Isran better not be involved.
"Why was that fucker healing your back?" Bishop asked after a moment. "What did the mage do to you?"
"I… I was just there hiding and Shouting. And then I got silenced and paralyzed. The mage… she said she wanted her trophy before she would tell the other Thalmor I snuck into the prison. She did… that," Aeyrin didn't really point at anything. She kept holding her arms around Bishop. He knew what she meant. "Then one of the prisoners, Isran's friend, I think, he must have choked her with his chains. That's what it sounded like. He wanted to help me on my feet, but I was still paralyzed and I don't think he had the strength to carry me. So he just… dragged me away until I regained my mobility."
That didn't help Bishop much with staving off the anger. But what was done was done, unfortunately. At least that fucking asshole had the decency to heal her after what he caused. But there was no fixing the permanent damage.
Bishop was glad that the mage was dead though. And he really fucking hoped that none of the Thalmor would ever find out that Aeyrin was involved. If they went after Isran and his men, though, Bishop didn't give a flying fuck. It would serve him right for springing this dumbass mission on everyone.
"Are you still hurt anywhere?" He asked as he softly ran his hand across her back. He kind of interrupted the healing back there when they returned from the Castle.
Aeyrin only shook her head against him in response. Nothing really hurt, but she still felt like crap. She still felt so stupid and she still kept noticing the little difference in the sounds. And when Bishop moved his hand stroke over her hair near that spot, she couldn't stop herself from flinching a little again.
Bishop let out a sigh at the flinch he felt and he proceeded to stroke her hair regardless. It was shitty that she had to, but she would get past this. And she also needed to know that he wasn't put off by it. He did love her ears though, the damaged one or the other, it didn't matter, and he knew it would stop making him angry eventually too, but right now, it was just such a fucking shame. And it kept making him pissed off at Isran.
Aeyrin was so silent. So weirdly distant even when she was seeking the comfort of his embrace. This was going to be an unpleasant reminder for a long time yet, he knew. He did wonder if it was just what it looked like though. He had no idea what the effect was. That dickwad said it didn't affect her hearing or balance. Why balance? And did it really not affect her hearing?
"What… does it feel like?" He asked carefully. He wasn't sure if it was something he should ask. But they talked about everything, right? It might help her to talk about it.
Aeyrin stayed silent for a while longer. Maybe he shouldn't have asked.
"I don't know," she mumbled against his skin after a spell. "Weird. I hear a little different. A little quieter, I guess, on that side. But I can still hear everything. And… I can feel it not being there."
So it did affect her hearing. Fucking Isran. Bishop had the urge to come back to the Castle and point out to everyone that the illustrious leader of Dawnguard was currently possibly in a secret portal in their own home. And if he was in there, maybe all the vampires would just jump in and get all killed in Oblivion, along with Isran. If only Serana made it out, he would have no complaints. Even through the uncomfortable parts of the mission, surprisingly enough, he wasn't pissed at her.
Fuck, he hoped she didn't bring him with. But he also hoped she didn't go in alone.
Ugh. This was frustrating. And he really just needed to focus on being here with Aeyrin. Let the vampires and the hunters deal with their own fucking prophecy.
"So… do you need to do something with it? Like cover it or something?" He really didn't know how this shit worked, but wasn't her actual ear that heard things now more exposed to infections and some dirt or stuff getting in or something?
"Do you think I should?" She pulled back a bit and looked up at him nervously. She wasn't sure how to cover it. Were ear-patches a thing? Maybe she should though, so nobody would have to see it. She hoped her hair would do that job, but maybe it wasn't enough.
"No. I meant… like… I don't know how it works. I thought your ear might be more vulnerable or something," he sighed. He really didn't mean it that way.
"Oh… you mean the organ? No… that's even deeper in," she shook her head. "It just feels weird and looks… well…" She still hasn't seen it, but she knew it must have looked awful.
"It looks fine," Bishop promptly reassured her. It didn't really look like anything. Had she not seen it? It wasn't as if it looked off-putting or anything. "You didn't look?"
Aeyrin just shook her head briskly. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to see.
"I promise you, it doesn't look nearly as bad as you imagine it," he planted a reassuring kiss at the top of her head. "It doesn't look bad at all, it just pisses me off that you were hurt like that." He moved his hand to stroke over that spot again.
She nodded, though she hardly looked convinced. He kind of expected that to be honest. It was not something he could help just then.
"I don't wanna talk about it anymore," she sighed. She told him everything. She wasn't sure if it did any good. At least she wasn't just worried about having to talk about it. She just wanted to focus on anything else right now.
And possibly finally get the blood off her hair properly.
"Alright, love," Bishop pressed another kiss into her hair. They should probably just finally get washed and go back to their room to get some food.
After all this, it felt like they should have never left their home in the Rift, whether it helped Serana on her mission or not. And no matter how many people were freed from a Thalmor prison.
Right now, it just didn't seem worth it to him.