All Roads Lead To You (A Skyrim Romance Mod fanfic)

Chapter Fourteen

A/N: Sorry for the wait...needed to build up a buffer again. Thank you so much for being here!

By the time they reached Dragon Bridge, it was nearly the next morning. The decision to walk throughout the night had been mutual and wordless between them; neither wanted to give the other the satisfaction of being the last to break the icy silence. Bishop immediately headed for the tavern when they entered the town, and Karnwyr loped off into the surrounding trees to do whatever wolves did in the woods. Aruna lagged behind, tired and irritable. She considered continuing on without Bishop; the thought of leaving the aggravating ranger behind was a tempting one. However, her weary body made a good argument against it. She trudged up the steps to the tavern and went inside.

The heat from the hearth fire was a blessed relief from the cold, and warm smells of freshly baked bread and seared meat greeted her and made her feel instantly better. She looked around and saw Bishop perched on a stool at the counter, already hunkered over a tankard of what was likely ale. The innkeeper, a plain woman with brown hair, was busy at the ovens. Aruna approached the counter, keeping a casual distance from Bishop. The overnight trek had only worsened her temper, and she had spent most of those hours devising various methods of torture for him. Now she was too tired to be very imaginative but shoving him off his stool and pouring his ale down his pants didn't seem like a bad idea.

As she waited for the innkeeper to finish her task, Aruna was uncomfortably aware that Bishop was watching her. She tried to ignore him, but her patience was short. Finally, she turned to glare at him.

"What?" she snapped.

"If you want her attention," he said, nodding toward the innkeeper, "call her over. She can't read your mind from way over there."

"She's busy," Aruna said, "and I can wait."

"Suit yourself," he shrugged, "it's your time to waste."

"Would you kindly shut up?" Aruna hissed.

"Oh-ho," Bishop snorted, "someone's cranky. What's wrong, sweetness? Didn't get your beauty rest last night?"

"Say one more thing," she replied, "and I'll shout you to Oblivion."

He gave her an infuriating grin, "and what would the Greybeards say about you abusing your powers like that, I wonder?"

"If they met you, they'd understand," she said with a scowl.

He opened his mouth to say something else- no doubt something even more obnoxious- when the innkeeper noticed Aruna and came over.

"Welcome to the Four Shields," the innkeeper said in a businesslike manner, "name's Faida. What can I do for you?"

"Do you have a room for rent?" Aruna asked.

"Sure do. Ten gold a night," Faida replied.

"I'll take it," Aruna finished her transaction and headed for the room to which Faida directed her, all without giving Bishop a second glance. She slammed the door behind her with a satisfying finality, feeling like she got the last word. She sat down in a little chair in the corner, beside a scarred and chipped wooden table. The bed was small but looked comfortable enough, and she hoped it was light on mites. She pulled off her boots and took off her armor, stripping down to her leather greaves and linen shirt. She sniffed under the neckline of her shirt and made a face. Too bad this tavern didn't have baths because she really needed one. She hoped there were baths in Solitude's inns, or else she was going to be warding people off with her scent alone.

Aruna's stomach growled. Damn. She'd been so distracted by her annoyance at Bishop she'd forgotten to order any food. She sighed and pulled her boots back on and stepped out of the room. Bishop was no longer sitting at the counter. Relieved, Aruna went up and ordered a meal and wine from Faida. As she waited for her food, Aruna looked around the tavern. She frowned when she spotted Bishop, sitting in a dark corner with a woman whose honey blonde hair cascaded down her back and who wore a revealing corseted dress. The woman whispered something into Bishop's ear and his laugh carried across the room. Aruna rolled her eyes in disgust as she turned away.