Wild Souls (A Skyrim Romance Bishop/OC Fanfiction)

36: Taken

I kept a quick pace in the hopes of not only reaching Ustengrav sooner but also avoiding conversation. Now that we'd broken the wall between us, my own feelings were in a jumble. I could barely look at Bishop now or my face would flare up. The first time the ranger had caught on to this, he'd flashed me a smirk that made me want to smack it off.

"Whatcha thinking about, princess?" I was startled out of my thoughts by said ranger, and I kept my eyes firmly ahead before I carefully responded.

"I'm just wondering what we'll deal with in Ustengrav."

Bishop sounded amused when he replied. "Really? It's obvious the place is a Nordic ruin, so if I had to take a wild guess, I'd say... Draugr, draugr, and-- ooh! More draugr!" I finally looked at the ranger with a scowl and whacked his chest with the back of my hand.

"You don't need to be an ass about it," I grumbled.

"Now ladyship, you know that's not true." He tied his hands behind his back and stretched while whistling.

I sighed, knowing it was futile. "Whatever." He started laughing lowly, and I pulled down at my face. "Bishop, can you please--" My speech was stopped all too suddenly by a pair of warm lips pressed up against mine while a hand caressed my cheek. I was too surprised to react, but when Bishop pulled away with a highly triumphant face, I had to look away again.

"What, are you getting squeamish on me now?"

My head snapped up, and I stared at him with wide eyes. He seemed confused by my reaction and waited for me to speak. "What did you just say?"

"I just asked if you were getting squeamish." His brow swooped up. I blinked several times, my feet slowing. "Ladyship? Are you okay?"

Shaking off the cobwebs of my past, I wiped my eyes and nodded. "Y-yeah, just-- I'm just tired," I lied. "Misheard you."

"What did you think I said?" he asked. There was no hint of malice in his voice, only curiosity. However, I couldn't help but respond with hostility.

"Why the hell does it matter?" I snapped, instantly feeling bad when Bishop's golden eyes widened a bit. They reflected the setting sunlight as his expression darkened.

"Gods, ladyship. What's your problem?" the ranger growled. Barely half a second passed before Bishop whistled for Karnwyr and whirled around, storming toward the towers we'd cleared out on our first journey to Ivarstead. Almost immediately, Karmwyr appeared while carrying a dead rabbit in his jaws.

"What's yours?" I shouted behind him, jogging to catch up. "What are you doing? Why are you setting up camp?"

"Because I'm tired," he said in falsetto, obviously mocking me by throwing my words back in my face. "Why the hell does it matter?"

"Very funny," I grumbled. "Get your ass back up."

"No." A few strikes of stones and Bishop had a fire going. "Try again."

I frowned. "Please get your ass back up?"

"No. Try again." Throwing my arms into the air, I walked over and plopped down beside Karnwyr. While I scratched the furry canine's neck, I glowered at the ranger skinning the rabbit. He didn't look up, but a ghost of a smile hinted at his handsome face. "Got something to say, ladyship?"

"...You'd better share that."

...

"I don't know, Nade," I say nervously, staring at the dark red stone in my lover's hands. "This seems like a bad idea."

"This'll set us up for life," the Breton insists, fixing me with a gleeful smile. "No more delving into Ayleid ruins or fighting off cat-zombies. These kinds of treasures are priceless!"