Author's Note:
So, this chapter must be my record or something. Not for length or depth or anything impressive like that. It's probably a record on how many times I wrote the F-word in one chapter :D :D :D
Don't blame me, I am at the mercy of the characters.
Enjoy <3
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The panic set in instantly.
Bishop recognized that dark-haired woman. He had seen her before a few times. At Lost Knife.
One of Thorn's.
What the fuck was she doing here? Bishop knew most of the runners, he had made sure to know them. He didn't remember her being one, but it has been years since he left. Maybe she was new but... then he wouldn't really remember her, would he? She was no runner. She was a bandit, a raider, a highwaywoman.
What the fuck did she want from him?
"Come here!" she scowled at him and, instead of approaching him directly, she rushed through the hallway where the rooms were towards the very end of it. When she reached the last door there, she dropped to her knees to fiddle with its locks. Bishop looked back into the common room instinctively, but nobody seemed to be looking in their direction.
Fuck, he just barely managed to relax and stop thinking about Thorn and Mercer. He did not want to deal with this shit again. But what else was he supposed to do? He needed to find out what she wanted.
He followed the woman with a fierce scowl on his face, waiting for her to finish picking the lock.
For fuck's sake, he could have been done with that lock ten times already! What was taking her so fucking long?!
Alright... maybe he was overreacting a bit. But this was making him so fucking nervous. Why would she even approach him? The runners wouldn't care about him! They wouldn't even know him, most likely. The only reason why Neeshka had approached him was because of their history... and because of how insane and vengeful she was. But this woman wasn't even a runner! Not from what he remembered.
He could not do a repeat of the last time with Neeshka. How even? Was this woman taking him to some stranger's room? He couldn't just leave a corpse in someone's room! There would be a shitstorm coming his way after that. He could never get away with that. He could never keep this from Aeyrin. There would be a commotion and she'd probably even offer to help investigate.
Stop! None of this has happened, ice-brain! Stop getting ahead of yourself!
Finally the woman was done with the lock and she slipped inside the room, waiting for Bishop expectantly. He followed her readily and closed the door behind him, before he gave her another fierce scowl. Why couldn't Thorn just leave him the fuck alone already?! Like he hasn't done enough to him!
"What the fuck do you want from me?! Tell Thorn to leave me the fuck alone!" he snapped at the woman instantly. He was tired and in no mood to go through hiding his relationship with Aeyrin again. Not to mention the questions that it would inevitably raise. And who's to say that this woman hadn't already seen them together? He should just kill her right away...
Snap out of it, for fuck's sake!
"What? Thorn? You don't recognize me, you dumb fuck?" the woman sneered at him hatefully, shaking her head with palpable disgust at the insinuation. What was she talking about? He remembered her from Lost Knife! He was sure of it!
"Of course I recognize you, that's why I fucking said it!" Bishop threw up his hands up in exasperation. Why would she even try to deny this? He did remember her!
"I'm Sapphire! I'm with the Guild, dipshit!"
What? 'The Guild'? Bishop was sure that he had seen her at Lost Knife before. Was she another runaway now, under Mercer's protection?
"Since when?!" he snapped at her, scoffing. Maybe she just said it to gain his trust.
"Since I pissed off Thorn and got tired of taking his punishments, fucktard! Do you need me to spell it out?!" Sapphire spat out with palpable hatred in her eyes.
Bishop cringed in response with a disgruntled groan. That was more than believable. After all, he was in the same situation before he decided to try his luck with the Guild. Besides, Thorn was fucked up enough back when Bishop had been working for him and everyone could see that he was getting worse by the day. He didn't even want to imagine what exactly had happened to Sapphire. He still wasn't sure how he himself got out of all that alive and whole. It was no wonder that this woman ran from Thorn to the Guild the first chance she got.
A brief wave of relief washed over him when he finally believed her words, but it was very short-lived. At this point, someone working for the Guild wasn't necessarily the better option.
"Well... what the fuck do you want from me?" he shrugged at her in irritation while he tried to hide his uneasiness. She shouldn't think that he was nervous about the Guild. He was officially still under their protection after all.
"Oh, nothing... nothing," she shrugged in a sarcastic manner, rolling her eyes. "Oh, just this... ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?!" she yelled suddenly and threw her arms up in exasperation.
Bishop didn't even manage to answer. He just stared at her in utter shock at that outburst.
"Was that from your fucking brilliant head to help that fucking Karliah or whatever her name is? Was it from your fucking brilliant head to get the fucking Dragonborn involved? Mercer is furious, you shit!"
Bishop's blood turned cold at her words instantly. With his eyes wide, he stood there, stiff with tension and slack-jawed in shock.
Mercer knew? How the fuck did Mercer know?! This was impossible! And how did this Sapphire woman know that Bishop was here? How did she know this fast after the heist?! He made no mistakes! He was always careful! Karliah was careful! What the fuck?!
He tried to speak but nothing came out.
"That fucking elf..." Sapphire growled. "The one in charge of the drugs shit, I overheard him talking to Mercer. Talking about how the fucking Dragonborn and her lapdog decimated his operation, how he barely got away with his life. A little tip, ice-brain, the next time you decide to kill off Mercer's people, you better make sure that there are no witnesses! See, the dragons? Not that great for business! Brynjolf and Delvin are fucking beside themselves and they are planning some shit to stop this, to get rid of Mercer and get rid of the fucking bounty! And Mercer will fucking kill them with his little army of bandits! And what do you think happens to me then? I don't want to help that sick fuck! He's almost as bad as Thorn! But you made fucking sure that I have no choice in this if I don't want to go back there!" she yelled at him in unbridled fury with her fists balled tightly. Her anger was overwhelming, but it was the least of Bishop's worries right now.
"'Bounty'...?" he mumbled, trying to wrap his head around what was happening. The sudden hurl of information didn't help him one bit.
"Yeah, bounty! What the fuck do you think that Mercer does when someone pisses in his pot?!" Sapphire gritted her teeth at him.
"Bounty... on me?" Bishop gave her an uncertain and somewhat hopeful look. He knew that the bounty wasn't on him. It would be too merciful it if was him. He wasn't sure why he even asked. Maybe to cling to the last vestiges of hope that he had.
"Guess again, dumb fuck!"
Fuck! Shit!
This could hardly get any worse. Bounty by Mercer meant that all his associates would be after this person. Nobody got away from his grasp. If he needed something from his target, they'd be tortured until he got what he wanted. If he just wanted revenge... he disposed of his enemies in the worst way possible. He sent them straight to Thorn.
And now Aeyrin was the target of one of these bounties.
And Bishop didn't even know who Mercer's associates were now! It's been so long since he's been with the Guild. Things may have changed. He had no idea where people could strike from now.
"So, Mercer knows that this Karliah's after him," Sapphire continued with an audible snarl behind her voice. "He loses his gang in Solitude, he loses Maven's support completely and now he loses his refinery. He's going after everyone that is associated with that bitch. And everyone is pissed off now because the dragons are picking out our fucking caravans and ships and everyone needs the damn Dragonborn around to kill them! But guess what? Mercer doesn't give a flying fuck about business when he wants revenge. And by the way..."
Sapphire suddenly gave him a vicious sneer and her fist flew up in lightning speed, hitting Bishop square in the nose. "That's for dragging anyone into this fucking mess! How fucking dumb are you?! Don't fucking provoke Mercer and don't fucking provoke Thorn! Is it that so fucking hard to understand?!"
Bishop clutched his nose instinctively. He could feel the blood soak his gloves, but this hardly mattered now. That woman was right. He did this. He deserved so much worse for what he's done.
He knew. He always knew that he shouldn't drag Aeyrin into this mess. And he did it anyway. Just because when he was with her, he felt like they could overcome anything, like they could deal with anything. He felt like he could escape all this just by being near her.
But there was no escaping this.
And now, his own selfishness brought this shitstorm upon the one person in the world who actually cared about him. Who actually loved him, despite every stupid mistake he had made, despite all the secrets he had kept from her.
This was all his doing.
And he needed to do everything to end this.
He needed to prevent Mercer or Thorn from getting their hands on Aeyrin, whatever it took. He needed to keep her safe. He needed to find her and never let her out of his sight.
He would never let them hurt her.
His hands fell from his nose with a haphazard wiping notion, but he could still taste the blood on his lips.
Sapphire's angry stare faltered, for a brief second. She tilted her head to the side and looked at him with a very slight hint of worry on her face.
Fuck, he must have looked pathetically terrified and desperate.
Well... why wouldn't he? That's how he felt.
But Sapphire snapped herself out of it a second later and she shook her head briskly before she fixed him with that furious look once again. "If anything goes tits up, if your and that idiot whore's ideas get anyone killed or worse, I swear I will drag you by the balls until I fucking rip them off! And you better make fucking sure that Thorn doesn't kill everyone's only chance to survive this whole dragon clusterfuck!"
Bishop wasn't listening anymore.
He turned towards the door and he practically shot out of the room and rushed towards the one that he had rented with Aeyrin.
It was over. There was no other choice.
He had to come clean. He had to tell her what happened. He had to warn her, to make her understand what could happen, what... he couldn't allow to happen.
Fuck, just the thought of it made him sick.
But it didn't matter anymore. The lies, the secrets, none of it was as important as keeping her safe.
He opened the door to the room with a defeated sigh. It didn't matter if she hated him for his past or his lies. He wouldn't let her face this alone. Even if she wanted him gone from her life, he would not allow it. This was his fault and he needed to make it right. He needed to keep her safe from this.
But the room was empty.
Bishop's own pack, that he had left her for safekeeping before the heist, was thrown haphazardly on the stone bed, along with the black tunic that she had kept for herself. Her old armor was in a pile by the door, right next to her old weapon and myriad of books and travelling equipment.
It looked like she went out, armed and armored, but she definitely didn't go for long. She left most of her things in the room for convenience.
This was not like her.
Where would she go all of the sudden? And why?
Was this the Guild's doing? Maybe that was why Sapphire was here! Maybe there were more Guild members around, and maybe they tricked or captured Aeyrin to bring her to Mercer. Maybe Sapphire ran off to warn Bishop instead, after what she herself had been through with Thorn.
Bishop's head snapped back to look into the hallway again. Sapphire was still there, kneeling on the ground and fiddling with the lock of the room that they had just left. Good. She was going to tell him everything right now!
"Where is she?!" he yelled at Sapphire furiously.
"The fuck are you talking about?! How would I know?" she gave him a disgruntled look before she straightened herself up and rushed towards him in order to peer into the room.
"Why are you even here?!" Bishop snapped at her in turn. He was still racking his brain on where Aeyrin could have possibly gone. He needed to find her instantly.
"I'm just here on a regular job, you dumb fuck. I didn't know that I'd run into you! I haven't even seen the Dragonborn, ever. Mercer doesn't know that you're here," she shook her head at him before she pointed inside the room. "Her armor's here. She's probably in the city somewhere,"
"That's her old one. Fuck!" Bishop swore. Sapphire apparently knew nothing. He needed to find out where Aeyrin went. He rushed out of the room as quickly as he could and Sapphire was left behind in confusion. She jerked her head back towards him a few seconds later, before she followed him out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Bishop approached the innkeeper with an anxious look on his face while his fingers fidgeted nervously. He may have still had some blood on his face from Sapphire's punch, but he only realized that when the barkeep gave him a bit of a shocked expression. Not that it mattered. He had more important things on his mind. "Hey. Did you see the girl I came here with? Bosmer, blond."
"Yeah... she was here... sorry, mate. It happens, you know. The rich and powerful, whaddya gonna do..." the innkeeper shrugged at him rather disinterestedly. What the fuck did that mean? Why was nothing making any sense anymore?!
"What? What are you talking about?!" Bishop snapped at him impatiently.
"She was here with Thongvor Silver-Blood, mate. Having a drink. Then they left together," the innkeeper gave him a mean smirk and he inclined his head towards the front door.
What?! What would Aeyrin be doing having a drink with a Silver-Blood?
The Silver-Bloods didn't know who she was, right? No one here knew, right? The only thing that Bishop could think of was that this Thongvor was trying to use her in some political schemes. Why else would he want to talk to her if he didn't know? Why have a drink with a random traveler? He was pretty sure that a Silver-Blood wouldn't go out in the streets to pick up random women either.
"Shit..." A quiet whisper echoed around the room. Bishop would have almost ignored it entirely if the voice hadn't been so familiar after all that yelling just a few minutes ago. Bishop snapped his head back towards the hallway with the rooms again and he gave Sapphire an impatient questioning look. She gave him a deep frown in turn and she quickly retreated back into the hallway to slip into Bishop and Aeyrin's rented room.
He hurried after her without a second's hesitation. What the fuck was going on now?!
"What?!" he barked at her in the exact moment when the door of the room shut behind him.
"Silver-Bloods. You don't know?" Sapphire scowled at him and he only shrugged at her with an exaggerated motion. Why the fuck was everyone taking so long to explain shit?! This was so fucking infuriating! He had no time to lose!
"They've been in business with Mercer for like a year now," Sapphire explained. "He sends Thorn's bandits to guard their mines from the fucking Forsworn and he gets a cut from the sales," she shook her head and rolled her eyes in derision. He noticed the tone that her voice caught whenever she spoke Thorn's name. There was so much hate in it... and so much fear. He creased his brows at her, but before he could fully realize what she had just said, she snapped at him: "Silver-Bloods are associates! They know about the bounty, you shithead!"
It was as if lightning had struck him.
He stood for a while, dumbstruck, while his thoughts swirled in an unidentifiable mess. He could have sworn that his hands were shaking, but he was sure that he didn't move an inch of his body.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! FIND HER!
He forced himself to snap out of it and he quickly grabbed his pack from the bed. There was no time to waste any longer.
He ran out of the door with Sapphire at his heel and her face creased in both anger and concern. She closed the door to his room and she gave him a wide-eyed look when he stopped, waiting for her impatiently.
"What the fuck are you doing? Go! I can't be seen with you!" she hissed at him.
Fuck... right... what was he doing? He didn't need her! He just needed to find Aeyrin. And he needed to find her now!
Bishop rushed out of the tavern without looking back and without giving any notice to the people that he bumped into along the way. When he was finally out of the front door, he didn't waste a second before he whistled loudly enough to have it carry across the stone streets of Markarth.
Luckily, it worked and he didn't have to wait long. Karnwyr rushed to him within an instant, barking at him excitedly. He must have been hiding somewhere in the side alleys before, likely chasing skeevers. Bishop hadn't seen him on his way back from the Keep.
"We need to find Aeyrin," Bishop didn't even stop to ruffle his fur as the determined nod of his head attempted to mask his fear and despair.
Karnwyr barked back at him in response and he promptly started leading him towards the city gates.
No matter what, he had to stop this.
If the Silver-Blood knew about the bounty, he was without a doubt luring Aeyrin somewhere into an ambush. Then she'd be captured and brought to either Mercer, or straight to Thorn's hideout.
He had to stop this.
...
They have walked for almost half an hour already.
Where was she? Where did that Silver-Blood fucker lead her?
Karnwyr had his nose planted firmly to the rain-soaked ground the entire time, following her trail steadily in the dark. But they've seen no other sign of her passing yet, no hints of battle and definitely no scorched earth from her Shouts.
Maybe she'd manage to take care of the inevitable ambush. She was damn capable after all. But for some reason, every time Bishop thought about anyone going against Thorn's men, it didn't end well.
He did know from experience after all.
But maybe... just maybe, the Silver-Blood would lead her to some incompetent henchmen and he would get himself and them both killed easily. Maybe Aeyrin was already heading back towards the city.
Fuck, he should have asked the innkeeper about when she actually left.
His head was a mess of 'what ifs' and 'should haves'. He should have hurried back to her from the Keep, rather than wasting time drying out. It was pointless anyway – Mercer already knew about their involvement. If Bishop had known that, he could have... well... if he known that, he'd hardly be leaving Aeyrin alone at all!
A fucking bounty from Mercer.
The whole underworld would be after her. Every dim-witted bounty hunter, every fucking runner and every thief. And apparently, the influential shits too.
Fuck, he should have asked Sapphire about the associates.
He needed to know who to avoid in the future, once they got out of this particular mess. At least he didn't have to worry about the Black-Briars, and Solitude was probably somewhat safe too, with Karliah's operation in charge of the black market there. Then again... it wasn't really safe with that fucking tin-head scheming, without a doubt.
It felt like there was nowhere to go from here.
The truth was that he'd hardly feel safe anywhere now.
Things needed to progress, plans needed to be made to deal with this bounty. But... now that Bishop had so much time to think, he started to reconsider telling Aeyrin the truth again. His concerns were still valid! Now more than ever. If she knew that Thorn was practically called upon to torture her to death, she'd hardly sit idle until it happened.
Fuck, why couldn't Mercer just go after him?
A stupid question. Bishop knew why. Because it would hurt him so much more to lose Aeyrin. It was why Thorn let him go back then, it was why Mercer sent Jules back to the bandits. They knew exactly how to torment him. Whenever he cared about someone, whenever he let his guard down and let someone in his life, that was when they struck.
And all because he was unwilling to shut up and toe the line.
But then again... if he did that, what kind of person would he be now? Probably not the kind of person that Aeyrin could ever love.
He wasn't even sure whether he'd be able to live with himself.
Maybe he'd get used to that life eventually. He had tried before. Maybe if Jules wasn't around back then, with his constantly infuriatingly upbeat attitude, Bishop would have gotten just as jaded and numb to all that shit as the others were. Maybe he'd be happier for it.
Until someone like Aeyrin came along and wiped the fucking floor with a scum like him without a second of hesitation.
He wasn't sure which one was worse – being that person, or being the person who dragged her into all of this. There didn't seem to be a good alternative to any of it. No matter what he did, he'd end up hating himself for it.
Maybe he should tell her everything...
It was not like his own judgement was anything to go by so far anyway.
He should have never helped Karliah. They'd still be under Mercer's protection then. Aeyrin would be safe from Thorn. Until... until Karliah would manage to dismantle the Guild without them. Then they would be left alone without protection and, eventually, Thorn would surely take an interest in the Dragonborn all on his own.
And they'd be right back to it.
Why did he even think about this? Thorn didn't care about the Guild protection anyway. He let Mercer use his people, only because he knew that they'd be back. Only because he knew that they would realize sooner or later that they escaped one shithead only to work for another. And then they'd try to escape again. And that was when Mercer sent them right back.
But if Thorn really wanted to torment someone, he wouldn't care about Mercer's protection. He definitely wouldn't care about the dragons and about the fucking end of the world. All he ever cared about was showing the people he hated, that he could make their lives miserable. All he ever cared about was revenge and his sick perversions.
It was all so pointless.
No matter how Bishop looked at it, it was inevitable.
His whole life, it was one disaster after another. Why should this time be any different? Why should he get any affection, any happiness? What the fuck did he even expect?
He just... couldn't stand the thought of Aeyrin suffering for it.
She deserved so much better in her life.
She deserved to be happy, to be free of all that shit that was threatening her – of the bounty, of that fucking prophecy.
She deserved so much more than the crappy life she was given.
And he was only making it worse.
There was finally something vaguely visible in the distance besides an empty road.
It looked like a small settlement.
...
Thongvor led Aeyrin across the small bridge and around the three houses, up a small hill towards the entrance to the mine.
It was just starting to rain and the slowly setting sun was often obscured by the dark clouds on the horizon, making the abandoned scene all the more ominous. The rainfall was getting stronger already, soaking the ground and it didn't help one bit that, yet again, Aeyrin felt like she was being watched.
"It's odd that the Forsworn don't guard the settlement..." she whispered, wary to alert anyone possibly lurking around.
"They're likely planning their next move somewhere. I'm sure that they're in the mine," Thongvor shrugged noncommittally, making his large armor clank with the movement. He was completely unconcerned with making a noise, unlike her.
It was odd. The Forsworn had killed two entire mercenary groups. Wasn't he a little wary?
They continued up the narrow path while Thongvor's massive armored frame clung to Aeyrin's side rather closely on the way. She felt a little oppressed like that. She tried to step away from him, but he adamantly kept up the pace with her. She tried to step to the side, but the pathway was too narrow and her foot sank a bit in the forming mud on it, making her stumble briefly.
Upon seeing that, Thongvor didn't hesitate to drape his arm to press on her upper back as if to support her. She couldn't really feel it, with both their armors in the way, but she knew that it was there by the pressure and the clanking sound.
It was so strangely uncomfortable.
There was nothing wrong with what he did. It was a rather nice gesture, in fact.
Why was there this weird tension in the air?
They finally made it up the platform with the mine entrance, but Thongvor didn't drop his hand from her back, not even for a second. And in an instant, two men rushed out of the closed doors leading to the mine, as if they had heard them approach.
Well... Thongvor's armor was damn loud. Too loud for Aeyrin's liking. She was not used to this.
The men didn't have their weapons brandished, however, and they certainly didn't look like Forsworn. They looked a little like... bandits. Perhaps Thongvor's information was wrong.
When she reached for her mace preemptively, she felt Thongvor's arm move to her bicep, squeezing her arm to her side. He stopped her movement that way with a brief shake of his head.
Did he know these men?
She gave him a confused, questioning look, but he didn't pay any more attention to her. Instead, he only continued looking at the men determinedly.
"Did you get my message?" Thongvor asked after a while.
What?! 'Message'? What was this? Where were the Forsworn? And why didn't Thongvor look even a little surprised?!
"Everything's ready, and we sent someone to notify the boss," one of the men nodded at him.
Uhh... this made her feel really uncomfortable. Something was wrong... none of this made any sense.
"Good," Thongvor's voice rang by her ear and, before she could react, the heavily armored hand moved swiftly from her arm up to her mouth. The force of his grip pinned her to his chest roughly and his large hand firmly silenced her yelp of shock.
What?! What was he doing?!
She had no time to ponder this. She was pretty sure that, with her throat unobstructed, that damned hand wouldn't stop her.
Her instinct took over and she felt the buildup in her throat.
But again, he was faster.
As if he had anticipated her move, his other hand flew to her neck. His thumb lodged under her chin firmly, choking her, preventing any sound from escaping her whatsoever.
He knew who she was!
She started to thrash wildly while the other two men approached her and tried to restrain her flailing arms. Her armored boot stomped on one of their legs instantly, making him yell out in pain.
She took advantage of the element of surprise to make an opportune attack and she kicked the second man forcefully, right where it hurt the most. The man bent over in an instant, clutching his groin and wailing out in pain .Thank the Gods for their meager leather armors!
But she had a bigger problem now.
Thongvor still gripped her firmly around her throat and her breath was steadily leaving her while she flailed helplessly. He would choke her to death! She needed to do something!
She fisted her hand and threw it upwards until it landed right in Thongvor's face with force. Her chainmail helped a lot there. She was pretty sure that without it, he would barely register the punch. But now, his grip on her finally let up as he groaned in shock and pain.
She turned to face him instantly with fury in her eyes. Her breathing was ragged, barely manageable, but she could still do this.
"FUS RO DAH!"
Thongvor flew against the cliffside and crashed into it heavily. The clanks of his armor echoed through the entire valley as he crumbled to the ground.
Before Aeyrin could bask in her victory, however, someone grabbed her ponytail from behind, yanking her back hard. She fell over instantly, caught off guard by the assault and unable to stand on her feet while she was still weakened and shaken from Thongvor's previous treatment of her. She fell straight into the mud beneath her and although she tried quickly to scramble back up, she slipped again instantly.
She never got the chance to collect herself – her assailant was already upon her. He grabbed her with one hand on the back of her thigh and lodged his other hand under her breastplate. He flipped her over onto her stomach instantly, before he gripped her hair again and pushed her face into the mud forcefully.
She couldn't stop the gasp of shock and her mouth swiftly filled with mud and dirt. She felt the man press his knee on her back as she flailed her arms and legs pitiably, unable to get up or to Shout as he rubbed her face in the mud, at times pressing his free hand below her to push more dirt in her mouth forcefully. Whenever she wasn't fighting for her breath, she was caught in a horrid fit of coughing and gagging.
"That's a good whore! Don't worry, the boss likes them feisty!" he laughed at her maliciously while his two filthy fingers forced their way into her mouth, making her gag and heave even more.
What was he talking about?! What 'boss'? Why was this happening?!
She didn't let up. Her arms and legs still continued thrashing. She tried to pull herself up several times, but his knee pressed her down firmly and her hands slipped instantly in the mud whenever she tried to put pressure on them.
That awful laugh echoed in her ears and she could see a shape at the corner of her eye whenever she dared to open it. It must have been the other man, now recovered from her kick.
She gagged again. She felt like she was going to throw up and a horrible thought entered her mind. She would drown on her own vomit if he didn't let her breathe!
Suddenly, the laugh stopped and the grip on her hair and the pressure on her back eased, as if her assailant fell from her. She opened her eyes and she spotted the now very dead man lying right by her side, slumped down from his position on her.
She scrambled up as fast as she could, heaving and trying to regain her breath, while she continued to cough up disgusting chunks of mud. Her vision was blurry with tears, but she could have sworn that she saw an arrow protruding from the corpse's head.
Bishop? He came for me!
She couldn't hold back anymore and she bent over to empty the contents of her stomach, likely on the corpse by her side. Not like he didn't deserve it.
She could vaguely hear another arrow swish through the air, followed by a heavy 'thud', and she could have sworn that she heard the clanking of Thongvor's armor in the distance.
She couldn't see a thing though, her breathing was still unsteady and her eyes were filled with tears.
She couldn't regain her breath. She felt so dizzy.
Her eyes shut firmly, but she could still see her world spinning, as if the strange lights behind her eyelids spun around just to make her sicker. She was sure that there was something lodged in her throat, preventing her recovery.
She couldn't hear a thing anymore.
Did she just fall to the ground?
She felt someone approach behind her.