Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter LXXVII - Preparations

Bishop and Aeyrin spent the next two days in blissful idleness.

Their stay in Solitude had been surprisingly calm – no assassins, no looming imminent dangers, no dragons. Aside from their adventure in the catacombs, they haven't even seen any combat. It was quite relaxing for a change.

They probably should have been more on edge in the large city. It was not as if the Brotherhood couldn't strike there. They were obviously determined to drag Bishop somewhere for some reason. They still didn't really know what the Brotherhood wanted from him. Why would they want to still recruit someone who had given them so much trouble? Did they have to force all of their members to join this way?

Despite the looming concerns, however, Aeyrin and Bishop did everything to distract themselves and to actually enjoy their time in Solitude just like they had planned. And for now, they have been quite successful. But that could change any minute.

Especially since the day of the ball had come.

Neither of them was very excited about that prospect. And Aeyrin was even less excited since she had spent some time with that Gisli woman. But they hoped that they could just pass the time there together, distracting each other from the snooping and snobby nobles. Azshan would get his wish and arrive with Aeyrin at his side and hopefully that would be enough for him.

He had already sent them instructions for the day – he asked to meet at that Radiant Raiment store again only two hours after noon. That could mean only one thing – the preparations were going to take way too long. The ball would start in the evening for sure.

Aeyrin already knew what it could all entail. It took so long last time and it would surely be even worse now with the tailored dress. She had heard about people being sawn into a dress before. Was that a real thing? Was someone going to do that to her?

Bishop decided to go with her to the meeting. He could just pick up his clothes right then and there, hopefully, and then meet up with Aeyrin once she was done with the preparations. It took so long last time – there was no reason for him to wait around the shop for her again when he could be doing anything else.

She would have to suffer through that torment alone anyway. She knew what she was getting into when she had agreed to accompany Azshan.

When they made their way to the shop once more, Azshan and Gisli were already waiting there again. Gisli looked as excited about their presence as ever and Aeyrin could already tell that this was going to be torture. She was undoubtedly going to be going through the preparations alongside that woman too.

Or maybe this part would be done separately? She could only hope.

"Hey, there you are," Azshan beamed at them when they approached. "Excited for tonight?"

"No," Bishop rolled his eyes without hesitation while Aeyrin just shrugged nervously. Why pretend? Azshan knew from the start that they weren't exactly thrilled about the ball.

Azshan's response was a brief hearty chuckle before he gave them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. It's gonna be fun, I'm sure of it."

Bishop only rolled his eyes again while Aeyrin nodded at Azshan with a wry smile. She wasn't so sure about that, but at least Bishop was going. She just hoped that Azshan wouldn't actually want to parade her around the nobles.

"We're here really early," she gave him an uncomfortable look a second later. Were the preparations really going to take this long?

"Of course. There's a lot to do," Azshan smirked. "It's gonna take some time, but it's gonna be worth it."

"Can I just get my clothes already?" Bishop sighed. He felt kind of bad for Aeyrin being stuck in those preparations for the whole day, but it looked like there was no getting out of it.