Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter LXXIII - Suspicions

The private meeting with Queen Elisif was surprisingly quick.

She wasn't very concerned about them disappearing for the entire night – it turned out that some guards had already reported seeing them at the docks. Though fortunately not at the mill.

Elisif was quite horrified by their report though. She had suspected a simple rogue necromancer wreaking havoc in the catacombs, just like they had. The news of Potema disturbed her a fair amount. She instantly sent a few men to accompany the priests into the depths of the tombs to ensure that no traces of the vile spirit could be found there anymore.

She did however reassure Aeyrin and Bishop that feat such as this certainly warranted the title. But apparently, that was not as simple in Solitude as it was in Whiterun or Riften. Elisif was determined to hold a proper ceremony with the entire court present – likely for the sake of her own reputation. And maybe a bit because of the obsession with opulence that everyone in Solitude seemed to have.

Luckily, all that would take time. Elisif merely promised that she would order her steward to begin preparing the mansion to make it livable. The fact that Aeyrin would be the recipient of this title and the house was still to remain a secret, just to be safe when it came to General Tullius. The conscription order was not in effect yet, but Elisif didn't want him plotting anything to ruin this plan if he were to find out too soon.

The ceremony was apparently going to be held a couple of days after the ball, giving Bishop and Aeyrin a lot of free time in Solitude in the meantime. And forcing them to rent out a room at the Skeever for now.

Then again, warm, delicious food, a proper bath and a soft bed was hardly anything to scoff at after the day and the night they had.

They headed into the inn right after their meeting at the Palace. They briefly stopped by their new mansion to at least look at it. The place was ridiculously enormous and on par with any other noble mansion in the city. They didn't go inside yet, they didn't even have the keys for now and it was probably still empty anyway, but just seeing it from the outside was enough to know that it would be beyond anything they would ever even hope to live in. Or want to live in, probably. It just seemed excessive.

After examining the place, they finally made their way to the Skeever to recuperate for a while before they would decide the best course of action for their stay. They still had to discuss the issue with the Thalmor agent properly, as well as settling on the best way to get in contact with Casavir. Privately.

One thing was for certain, no matter how much time they would have to waste in Solitude, it was going to be far from boring.

...

"Oh Gods!"

Aeyrin groaned almost lustfully as she fell on the large soft bed and buried her face in the fluffy pillows. She really missed a proper bed and nothing could compare to those at the Skeever. Well... not nothing. She still remembered how incredibly comfortable Casavir's bed was. And the large bed in the attic room at the meadery was nothing to scoff at either.

Their first stop was the baths to get rid of the last remnants of ash and straw from their clothes and bodies, then the common room for a big lunch and a glass or two of spiced wine, and now they were finally able to sprawl themselves on the bed.

The mattress dipped a bit under Bishop only a second after she threw herself into the sheets and he stretched himself by her side with a satisfied groan. He laid his hand idly on her back and started to stroke up and down her body with lazy motions.

Aeyrin almost felt like purring at the contact. Everything felt so warm and soft, the silky blankets, her freshly washed clothes dried by the fire and now the feel of Bishop's hand gently running over her while she still lay on her stomach with her face buried in the pillows. It felt like all her sore muscles dissolved into a puddle.