Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter C - After Dusk

Author's Note:

Woohoo one hundredth chapter! And fifty more to go before we delve into the third book. It's well on its way ;)

I hope you will enjoy the plotline that is coming. I think it's going to be an exciting one ;)

Thank you all for still reading and hopefully still liking my story. I can't wait to share even more of it with you. Hopefully you'll like what's in store yet :)

That's it, enjoy the chapter and all those that will follow <3

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Bishop came back into the room as fast as he could.

It was eerily dark, only one candle was left lit there, but it was enough.

He stepped towards the bed and placed the warmed mulled wine on the nightstand. Aeyrin was dozing off, but he knew that she wasn't completely asleep yet. She looked so tired though. And so pale. He remembered that. She looked exactly like she had when she was sick, after she almost froze when she passed out in a snowbank near Windhelm over a year ago. He had been running around everywhere, trying to get the ingredients for her cure. He really hoped that it wasn't the same shit again. She had been cold, but nowhere near that level. It must have been something else, right?

Last night, they rested in the ruins of Fort Fellhammer again. The place was still a charred mess and still abandoned. Everything inside was ruined except for that one room that used to belong to the Altmer dealer, so they spent another night in that place. They sobered up in there and slept off their hangover as much as they could before they headed out towards Dawnstar the next day. That one had been spent doing some supply shopping for their adventures and they weren't exactly planning on sleeping in Dawnstar to avoid the nightmares, but Aeyrin looked so tired.

It was best to call it an early night and get to the inn. They were just nightmares, right? And they didn't even remember them after. It couldn't have been as bad as their hazy recollections made it sound in their mind.

Bishop yanked off his shoes and shirt and joined Aeyrin under the furs. She was still shivering and he quickly grabbed the wine from the nightstand again and presented it to her, nudging her slightly with his other hand to wake her up fully.

"Wake up, sweetness. This should help," he murmured at her. He wasn't sure why she was still so cold. He really hoped it wasn't that nasty sickness again.

"Oh," Aeyrin's eyes fluttered open and she tried to sit up a bit. In the end, Bishop had to help her and they ended up half-propped against the wall with Bishop's arm wrapped around her shoulders as she drank the heated beverage tentatively.

She drank the wine in one go, although it was just a small cup. She let out a satisfied sigh after that and rested herself on Bishop's chest with one hand stroking over his pecs affectionately.

"My hero," she chuckled lightly.

Bishop pressed a kiss at the top of her head, but he couldn't help but scoff at that word. 'Hero.' Right.

"I don't think anyone has ever called me that," he snorted. "I don't think anyone should."

"Hmm..." Aeyrin hummed idly as she continued stroking over his chest. She looked like she was deep in thought and it felt like an eternity before she spoke again. "I guess you're right."

That was... odd. He was right. He knew that. But it still kind of stung when she said it.

"I mean... what else would you expect?" she scoffed. "After everything you've done. To strangers, to the people you care about. It doesn't just go away."