Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter LXXXII - All Aboard

The day had come soon enough.

After the meeting with Casavir and another night spent at the Skeever, the time of the ceremony had arrived. It had been surprisingly uneventful. There was no pomp, no commotion. Aeyrin was simply called to court and made to stand in front of the throne while Elisif proclaimed her a thane in front of the nobles and guards gathered around.

Some of those nobles looked a little disgruntled. She noticed that Bryling woman in particular scowling fiercely through the whole thing. It wasn't surprising. She was part of that... group. And they wanted Gisli to take the title instead. At least that was what she had gathered from all of this. It was still a little confusing.

But she didn't want to think about that. Casavir was on the case and she only needed to concern herself with it if Azshan contacted her again. Which he might not, considering the fact that his cohorts weren't exactly thrilled with him involving Aeyrin. It was for the best. She had no idea if she would be able to treat him like she used to. She felt an uncomfortable clench in her stomach and burning sensation at the back of her neck whenever she even thought about him.

She was done thinking about him. She was done playing noble games and getting tangled up into conspiracies and plots. If Casavir needed her help, she was happy to oblige, but until then, she would only make things worse. She didn't know how these games worked and she was far from subtle and suave. She would blab something out accidentally for sure.

Just like she had blabbed about her thaneship. But fortunately, nothing bad came from that. The ceremony concluded without a hitch and then she received her deed to the house at last. And she was allowed to write in Bishop's name on the deed too, making him an official citizen of Haafingar. That was probably the last Hold that he wanted to be associated with, but desperate times called for desperate measures. They needed to keep the barking dog Tullius on a leash before he would bite them.

After the ceremony, Bishop and Aeyrin made their way back to the already familiar mansion.

It looked even grander in daylight, but there was still this lingering sensation as if it weren't theirs to begin with. It was understandable. They knew that very soon, they wouldn't be alone there.

But until that time came, they were determined to enjoy the place as much as they could.

They got to the place by noon and, after enjoying the bed one more time, they decided to make use of the rest of the house as well.

Aeyrin couldn't resist the large bath in the basement. It even had a curtain for privacy – that was new. It wasn't something that could be found even in taverns. It was much more comfortable than washing in the small tub under the stairs in Breezehome.

In the meantime, Bishop made full use of the kitchen. He wanted to test out the new spices that Aeyrin cajoled from that drunken idiot Jack anyway and he didn't get many chances to cook for her in an actual kitchen. Although he was kind of more comfortable with the usual campfire, having more space to maneuver was definitely helpful. Still, through all that, he felt like he was in some borrowed place. He couldn't wait to do that in a kitchen that was actually all theirs.

Soon, he would find a way to fix up that cottage and get it ready. He just had to wait for an opportunity.

He was almost done with his meal while Aeyrin was still bathing. The kitchen was actually even stocked so he made good use of that. He hadn't had mudcrab legs in ages and he wasn't sure if Aeyrin had ever had them. There were mudcrabs in Cyrodiil, and basically everywhere else, but maybe she didn't try that particular treat yet. He was sure she would love it and while they've killed their fair share of mudcrabs before, it wasn't really something to do by the open fire easily. And they took way too long to steam. So he took the opportunity now.