"Stop looking at me like that."
Bishop growled at the wolf by his feet, eliciting a questioning whine from him.
"It's a necessary evil, alright?" he gestured defensively while he walked back towards the Blue Palace.
Karnwyr sniffed curiously at the top of the black boot where the irritatingly soft trousers met the leather.
"Yeah, I get it, it's weird. Now scram, you'll blow my cover," he scratched the wolf behind his ear briefly and waited until Karnwyr left him alone in front of the viaduct leading to the Palace gardens.
The crowd has diminished there considerably, but there was still that woman with her guard by the door.
He needed to get past them.
Fuck, the clothes were weirdly itchy... and too tight. Although, it was pretty funny that the pompous fops had to wear this shit all the time. He was sure that the tailors made it uncomfortable on purpose, just to spite the nobles.
He set out, sneaking along the dark stone wall towards the Palace's main entrance. It was time for action. Luckily, he came prepared. Gulum-Ei's stuff was expensive, but always reliable.
He crept right by the entrance to the Palace – a safe distance from the small crowd by the side doors. He pulled out the contraption from the pocket of his new long black doublet and looked it over once again. Who even thought to invent stuff like this? But somehow, it was perfect for what he needed to do.
He looked around until he spotted a large ceramic vase with some flowers by the wall. He threw the plants away and placed the oil lamp inside the vase, careful not to make a noise. The string attached to the contraption dangled from over the edge of the pot and he traced it along the wall, making sure that any view of it was obstructed by the surrounding viaducts. After all that was done, he crouched down and took out the flint from his pocket.
This was gonna be kinda fun.
As soon as he saw the first spark ignite the oil-soaked string, he quietly crept back towards the side entrance to the ballroom, waiting for his moment to come.
It didn't even take a minute.
A loud noise of shattering pottery and the sound of an oil explosion echoed through the gardens as everyone turned their heads towards the Palace entrance in shock. The guard, predictably, rushed towards the scene of the commotion.
Everyone clamored closer to see what happened.
This was his chance.
He ran towards the ballroom doors and slipped in as silently as possible.
"Sir... !" a man by the door started announcing him before he stopped abruptly. He looked Bishop over with an uncertain expression. "Who are you?" he asked after a while of hesitating.
"The fuck do you care?" Bishop scoffed at him. He walked away from the man immediately, scanning the ballroom for any signs of her.
He scoured the top floor, searching through the nobles there. He did hear them whisper something about her occasionally, but he was moving fast and he never really caught what they were saying – only the mention of 'the Dragonborn'.
She wasn't there.
He headed down the stairs until he finally spotted the pink dress through the crowd.
She was standing by the wall with Casavir. It looked like... he was comforting her.
Fuck. What did that mean? Did he tell her?
Suddenly Bishop's legs felt heavy. This was a bad idea. Then again, if she knew, it would be just as bad when she returned. If she returned.
Fuck, he was paranoid. Their stay in Solitude was so grating to him. The moments that they spent completely alone were the only time he could actually relax.
But what other reason would there be for her looking so upset? She's been acting strange before too. Maybe she's already decided that she wanted to know the truth, despite her assurances to wait for Bishop to tell her himself.
But it wasn't the truth! Whatever version the paladin wanted to feed her, it was definitely worse than the truth.
His feet carried him forward reluctantly until the paladin noticed him.
A deep scowl appeared on his face immediately.
...
She turned around with curiosity and a doubtful expression on her face as she wondered what Casavir's scowl could mean.
"Bishop?!"
It's not that it didn't cross her mind when she saw the paladin's frown, but it was still so shocking to see him there.
And what was he wearing?!
Did he actually buy fancy clothes? They were almost all black, of course, with only some white embroidery on the sides of the neckline and a few visible parts of white undershirt. He did look kind of good in them though, his rugged looks created a strangely alluring contrast to the neat garment.
She gave him a half-shocked and half-amused smile.
Something like relief seemed to flash across his face, before it was all too soon replaced by the familiar smug smirk.
"You don't mind if I cut in, do you sweetness?"
Casavir suddenly seemed somehow even taller than before as he straightened his shoulders exaggeratedly and placed himself right in front of Bishop. "What are you doing here?!" he growled at him from behind gritted teeth furiously.
"I'm here to rescue a flustered paladin from temptation," Bishop smirked mockingly before his eyes darted to Aeyrin who gave him an admonishing look in turn.
"What are you doing here? And your clothes..." she looked him over again. It made her feel somewhat better about her previous insecurity back at the store. It definitely didn't look like him either, but there was something strangely attractive about him in that get-up.
"Ugh. Don't remind me, princess. They got prissy with me at the entrance, stupid nobles..." Bishop grumbled in annoyance, rolling his eyes.
"They don't allow your kind in," Casavir growled again while his scowl deepened, as if it were even possible.
"Aww... but you invited me, tin-head," Bishop chuckled at him maliciously.
There was a crowd forming around them again, although the people tried to seem casual and inconspicuous. Apparently the men's tense stance and occasional raised voice attracted attention from the curious nobles.
"Alright, that's enough, you two," Aeyrin forced herself between the two men, trying to diffuse the situation. With her back to Bishop, her arms gestured soothingly at the fuming paladin. Now he must have definitely been regretting inviting her.
She felt Bishop's arm snake around her waist before he yanked her back onto his chest with another smirk escaping his lips.
"Yeah, I've had about enough too. Let's go have some fun at this thing, ladyship."
As if there was any fun to be had in this uncomfortable scrutiny...
"Keep your hands off her!" Casavir yelled at him suddenly, eliciting a surprised expression from Aeyrin and excited gasps from some of the onlookers. He was taking this whole protectiveness from Bishop a bit too far. It was not as if she wouldn't be able to defend herself if she minded him touching her. It was really awkward in front of all the people though.
"You think you impress her with defending her honor or some shit like that?" Bishop laughed at him again, pointedly squeezing her closer to him.
Alright, now both of them were acting like idiots.
"I told you to unhand her!" Casavir clenched his fists angrily before Aeyrin interfered again.
"Enough already!" She disentangled herself from Bishop's clutch. "Casavir, thank you, but I really don't need you to defend me. And you..." she punched Bishop in the chest firmly, "stop being an ass!"
Bishop chuckled at her lightly while Casavir tried to compose himself. The crowd around them kept incessantly whispering with interest.
"I'll go get a drink," Bishop just shrugged before he turned on his heel and walked towards the table nearby to look over the selection.
Aeyrin turned over to Casavir, although her eyes kept darting towards the curious nobles around them occasionally.
"I'm so sorry about the scene, Casavir," she sighed, shaking her head.
"It's not your fault, my lady. And as I've said before, the people's stares hardly concern me. I am more concerned about what that scoundrel's doing here," he furrowed his brows again while he kept watching Bishop over her shoulder warily.
She knew that Bishop was insecure about her spending time with Casavir. It was not surprising, after what happened between them. She never thought he would go this far to interfere, however. Why was it even kind of endearing? Maybe because she could now see the uncertainty behind those smug smirks and taunts.
Besides, it was kind of perfect this way – Casavir could enjoy the party without having to worry about her discomfort, and Bishop's attitude would definitely keep the crowds away.
"I think he's just here to see me, there's really no need to worry about him," she gave the paladin a reassuring smile and he only sighed in response.
"It is somewhat admirable that you can see the good even in someone like him. I hope you don't come to regret it, my lady."
She shook her head at him wryly. His suspicions were starting to get a bit tiresome.
"I should probably go talk to him. At least you can enjoy the company without having to worry about me for a while," she smiled at him demurely. He nodded, but his brows were still furrowed and his eyes kept darting towards Bishop every now and then.
She made her way towards Bishop and the table with the drinks.
"Here. Found you some spiced wine," he nodded at her and handed her a goblet.
Well... whatever. She needed to relax already and it was not as if she could cause even more commotion... right? She took the goblet from him and sipped the wine before she eyed him admonishingly: "Bishop, what are you doing here?"
"I was getting bored. Why do you get to have all the fun?" he smirked while he grabbed a goblet of some unidentifiable liquid for himself and took a deep swig. If it weren't for her private conversation with Casavir, this could hardly be considered 'fun'. But she knew that it wasn't the real reason for why he came.
"Bishop, you know I'm not listening to his opinions of you," she gently took his hand in hers and started stroking her thumb over the back of it reassuringly.
He frowned for a while and looked down at their joined hands, before he gave her a small smile. He looked back into her eyes and the crease between his brows returned: "You looked upset when you left..."
"Oh... I... it's nothing. It was stupid," she flushed in embarrassment at letting the shopkeeper's words get to her. It seemed so ridiculous now.
He smiled a little uncertainly, as if he was wondering whether he should say what he wanted to say.
What the fuck, she already saw through him once; he might as well go all out.
"I thought you might have gotten caught up in your new role. Who'd want to go sleep in the cold and dirt and covered in blood after all this?" he gestured around the gilded halls.
"Are you kidding?! I would! This place is..." her eyes darted around nervously, looking over the people around the dancefloor. Some seemed to be even pointing at them.
Bishop raised his brow at her embarrassed blush as she scanned her surroundings. He didn't really pay attention to anyone else when he finally found her among the crowds; he didn't even realize they were being watched. Well, it was not like he cared what the pompous fops thought, and it was even pretty amusing to outrage them.
"Well, unless you plan on making this a regular thing, you really don't need to care. You're never gonna see these people again," he shrugged and, draping his arm across her waist, he pulled her closer to him, in a comforting half-hug.
"They all know who I am... I feel like everyone's just so disappointed with 'the Dragonborn'. And... I've been embarrassing Casavir..." she muttered and bit her lip nervously.
"Really?" Bishop chuckled. There was a hint of unbridled joy in his eyes. He really liked it when the paladin got wound up. "Stop worrying about it. Believe me, they'll find another scandal in five minutes. Nobody cares about these vultures. And the tin-head could use some humbling," he laughed again before he looked over at the paladin who had been discussing something somberly with a crowd of people.
"Now, what's good here?" Bishop turned his attention to the large banquet table filled with fancy dishes and desserts.
"I haven't seen a single person even near those tables. I'm starting to think that they suspect the food is poisoned," Aeyrin gave him a tentative look and eyed the food for a while. She was starving already, but it seemed so strange that no one else was eating anything. Was it not proper enough to eat at a party? Someone should have told her she was supposed to eat beforehand. Then again, the tight bustier might have squeezed the food right out of her.
"I'll risk it. Come on, you can't let all this go to waste! That's against your religion," he laughed cheekily and dragged her with him towards the table.
Bishop started to stuff his face immediately, picking into every serving, as if he was trying to taste everything as quickly as possible. Aeyrin looked around even subconsciously now, checking the surrounding crowds again. It almost became a habit.
"Here. You'll like this," he practically shoved a small dessert at her face, making her open her mouth instinctively. He stopped at that sight and watched her with a pleased smirk. He slowed the pace, laying something on her tongue gently, his hand lingered after she closed her mouth and his thumb strummed briefly over her lower lip.
The sweet taste assaulted her senses with a strangely sour sting following it. Her brows shot up as the small dessert melted on her tongue swiftly and the pleasant taste spread through her mouth. "Gods, that's good! Why is no one eating this?!"
"Who cares? More for us!" Bishop chuckled again while she joined his feast tentatively.
She was really starving, and it would be a shame to let the food go to waste.
...
As the evening went on, Bishop kept adamantly distracting Aeyrin from the gossiping nobles, making it blatantly obvious that he didn't give two shits about any of them.
Some of the nobles even approached them again with curious questions, but despite Aeyrin's attempts to remain polite, Bishop enjoyed openly mocking them or telling them to leave in the rudest ways possible. However, with the gradually increasing intake of spiced wine, she found herself caring less and less and she even found him amusing.
It was getting pretty late and half of the guests seemed to be gone already.
They sat at the small table, which she previously shared with Casavir, with empty goblets and plates splattered all around while everyone else's table stayed neatly clean.
Casavir was still mingling. He did approach her a few times with a worried expression, asking her if she was really alright. It was a little annoying. But he did seem more comfortable without her around when he wasn't watching Bishop hatefully.
"Your tits look smaller in this..." Bishop grumbled suddenly, making her almost sputter the sip of wine she just took. "I don't like it..." he smirked and eyed her cleavage pointedly while she turned beet red.
"Y-yeah... well... the woman made me wear a... thing," she stuttered and turned her torso a bit to the side as if to escape his gaze.
"A 'thing'?" he raised his brows at her with curiosity. Now he was studying her breasts even more blatantly.
"She said my figure wasn't presentable enough..." Aeyrin pouted. She was already too inebriated to care how silly her insecurities were and she let the words out with no more regard for hiding her self-conscious tendencies.
"Yeah right! The wench was probably just spiteful. Or she was worried that the tin-head's eyes would pop out of their sockets if you kept your figure in that dress," Bishop laughed merrily before he gave her a sly wink.
She blushed even further, but she couldn't help but smile.
He leaned over the table and his voice lowered as he almost groaned in her ear: "I for one can't wait to rip that 'thing' off of you..."
Her face was burning while she looked him over with equal interest. He really did look good in that outfit. It was simpler than Casavir's and less decorated, but she liked that better. Maybe because he went through the trouble of getting it to be with her, to prevent losing her, however unfounded his fears were.
"Come on, let's dance," he gave her a wink, extending his arm to her.
"Wh-what? I can't dance! And... do you know how to dance?" she gave him a dubious look and inclined her head towards the synchronized dancers in the center of the room. There was no way in Oblivion that he would know how to do that.
"No," he laughed, but he didn't wait any longer. He grabbed her hand as he stood up, pulling her off her chair and twirling her into a close embrace, his other hand snaked around her waist snugly only a second later.
They didn't move towards the dancefloor, but stayed by their table as Bishop led her through a strange, clearly improvised dance, twirling her around, pressing her close to him and swaying regardless of the rhythm. Keeping up was decidedly easier when she wasn't worried about being too uncoordinated. She still stomped on his foot a few times though and she occasionally crashed into their table when her head spun from the twirling.
"Ow. Fuck. Is that revenge for something? Because I'm sure we can come up with better forms of punishment," he laughed after her heel dug into his boot. It made her way more at ease than Casavir's constant insistence that she was an acceptable dance partner.
Bishop spun her around again until he ended up pinning her back to his chest. They were still swaying on their feet while his hand roamed around her compressed stomach with his other one stroking over her flank, up and down methodically. She arched back and laid her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes. This way she could pretend that they were anywhere else... alone. She felt his tongue brush over the edge of her pointed ear teasingly before his mouth moved to the side of her neck, kissing her there languidly.
She let out a pleased sigh when she felt him nip gently and tighten her grip on her.
"Ehm..." an uncomfortable cough made her eyes snap open.
"Get lost, she's mine," Bishop growled, half-muffled by her skin under his lips.
She tore herself away from him with a fierce blush and gave Casavir an embarrassed look, tightening her lips into a thin line. She got so lost in Bishop's touch that she's almost forgotten where they were. And how inappropriate this likely was...
"Apologies, my lady," the paladin threw Bishop a brief contemptful glare again before he turned his gaze back to her. "I am afraid that a messenger just appeared, calling me back to Castle Dour."
"Oh. Is everything alright?
"I am uncertain of the nature of the problem... and with my contingent still gone, I will need to take care of things myself. That is not your concern, however, I merely wished to thank you for a lovely evening," he bowed to her with a kind smile.
Spending time with him was pleasant, but she would have much preferred it somewhere where she didn't need to worry about her demeanor all the time.
"Thank you for a lovely evening as well, Casavir. And... I'm sorry for... well... everything," she flushed again, looking down at the floor to avoid his gaze. She didn't even want to imagine what kind of talk he had to listen to from the mocking nobles after she had distanced herself with Bishop.
"My lady, please, there is really no need for apologies. I had a wonderful time talking with you. And I hope it was not for the last time," he nodded with a gentle expression on his face before he took her hand courtly and ghosted a kiss at the back of it.
"I hope so too. Maybe we'll see each other soon again."
Bishop rolled his eyes as the paladin started to make some rounds, saying goodbye to other people.
"How about we get out of here too?" he draped his arm back around her and pulled her closer with a suggestive wink. A second later, something caught his attention behind her and he narrowed his eyes in contemplation, only to eventually throw her a conspiratorial look.
"But first... we really need to smuggle out someof this food."