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

Chapter Fifty-Eight

No joke, the week after I posted that last "update", things decided to go bad again. My brother had to be hospitalized for a few days and then a relative (who I hadn't seen in a very long time) passed away. Tomorrow, I'm taking one of my dogs to the vet and I'm hoping his prognosis will be good. In the meantime, working on this story again has been a nice break from all the stress. Listening to music and getting lost in another world is just what I need right now! I'm sorry this chapter is later than I intended, and I hope to get back to my old updating schedule (every Monday morning, PST) very soon. I love all of you and I hope things are going well for you! I also hope you enjoy this chapter! 

      Aruna considered attempting to find some formal wear for the evening, but decided against it; even if she could find a shop that sold such things, they were low on coin, and the last thing she wanted was to waste money on something she would only use once. As she changed into the embroidered linen tunic she found at the bottom of her bag and a pair of laced leather pants, she thought of the gown she'd worn for Vittoria Vici's ball back in Solitude and wished she'd had the space to bring it with her. Bishop's reaction to the dress made it worth wearing. She opened the door just in time to see Bishop heading towards the room.

"Good, you're ready," he said, "let's get this over with."

Aruna looked him over, "you aren't going to change?"

He looked down at himself and spread his arms, "what for?"

"It's a concert."

"Yeah?"

She made an exasperated sound, "they're somewhat formal, aren't they? You're still in the clothes you arrived in."

He crossed his arms, "I'm not dressing up for some prissy bard, Ladyship."

Aruna smiled, "you dressed up for the ball in Solitude."

"Oh no," he reached out and tugged her close to him, "I did that for you. You seemed to like it."

"I did. You looked so handsome."

He raised an eyebrow, "and now?"

She kissed him in reply.

   The concert hall was already teeming with finely dressed guests by the time Aruna and Bishop arrived. Aruna wondered where all these people had been when they'd first arrived; Windhelm seemed to be less affluent than Solitude and there didn't seem to be many wealthy citizens on the streets. She figured most of these people had traveled from elsewhere to see Alec perform—he certainly seemed to be famous among certain groups of people.

A servant dressed all in black approached them and bowed. "Lady Dragonborn, seats have been reserved for you and your companion. Please follow me."

Aruna and Bishop exchanged looks and followed the woman to the front of the theater, where an ornate, gilded chair sat, close to the stage. Beside it, was a cracked wooden chair that looked as if it had been salvaged from storage at the last minute.

Bishop snorted, "Guess I know which seat is mine."

"If you want to sit on the ridiculous throne, then be my guest," Aruna whispered.

"It's all yours, milady."

She glared at him, "don't start."

He laughed, "regretting your decision to come to this thing, sweetness?"

Aruna sighed and sat down on the ornate chair, ignoring murmurs of "Dragonborn" from the whispering nobles behind her. Bishop sat down beside her, crossing his arms over his chest and stretching his long legs out in front of him.