Adventures in the Rim: Athene Ch. 02

Chapter 2: Chains

Rain pelted Athene as she ushered her horse forward. The animal was as drenched as she, but continued through the blinding rain and lightning. By her calculations Riften was only another hour or so ahead. She had been riding for two days now, resting only long enough to let the horse graze and drink; she had hardly slept since she left Whiterun.

Kodlak's funeral had been a glorious, but somber event. She had been entrusted to gather the remaining piece of Whunthruud from Kodlak's personal quarters, and there she had stumbled upon his personal writings. A certain personal sense of pride had filled her as she realized that the last passage in his journal was reflecting on his love for her.

The funeral ended and the members of the Circle had conjoined in the Underforge. Aela the Huntress had carried on with quite a row and demanded that they all meet at Ysgramor to send Kodlak to Sovngarde and not to Hercine's dominion, as Kodlak would have wished; and while Athene was filled with a sense of duty, she needed to find Mercurio. She told the Companions that she was more than ready to send Kodlak off, but she needed some time to figure out what had happened to Mercurio.

"Besides," She had confided, "He's got some rare equipment of mine. I need that if nothing else."

At this they had acknowledged the need for Athene to find her apprentice mage. They gave her a fortnight and told her to meet them at Ysgramor, with or without Mercurio, or they would save Kodlak themselves. Athene agreed and had set off that very night.

Athene wasn't sure if she was going to find Mercurio in Riften, but she had to at least try. After her Blood Ritual, she realized the olive skinned man had disappeared, but she had found no trace of him in the jail, the Hall of the Dead, nor anywhere else in Whiterun. It had not necessarily settled her any to know he wasn't dead or incarcerated.

She started to feel as if she could ride no longer in this piercing rain, and was thinking of pulling the horse to shelter, when she first saw the glow of the fires of Riften. Filled with a second wind, Athene pushed the horse forward, praying to any God, Daedra, or Hero that would listen to imbibe the animal with just a few more feet of strength.

Somebody was listening that night, and the two arrived in one piece at the gates of Riften, heaving and sopping wet. She set her horse up at the stable, paid the extra fee for him to be fed, dried, and have his shoes checked, and went on inside Riften. Her first place was the Bee and Barb, where she had originally met Mercurio. If anything, she figured, she could go ahead and rent a room if there was no trace of him. That is, if Talen-Jei wouldn't throw too big of a fit about it.

Sure enough, as she flung open the doors of the inn, the Argonian man's eyes sliced right through her and he begrudgingly approached her.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed.

"I just need a room Talen-Jei."

"Just get out of here." He growled menacingly.

Athene wasn't usually one to bring up past good deeds, but she desperately needed a room and dry clothing.

"I want you to remember the beautiful stones I nearly killed myself over for your wedding band, and ask yourself if you can really spare the gold to throw me to the streets for simply upholding your end of the Guild's transaction."

The Argonian huffed and took her gold. Athene smiled at him and headed up to her usual room. She shed her water-logged clothing and slipped into her white tunic and black trousers. She never had been one for fancy dresses and flats. After she laid her soaked gear in front of the fire to dry she headed down stairs.

Athene scanned the front room, but only found the scatterings of the late night crew. A fisherman warming himself with some mead, the local drunk doing the same, a couple of women talking quietly in the corner over some wine, and of course Talen-Jei's fiancé, glaring at her menacingly from behind the counter. Athene liked the Argonian couple, but she wasn't going to beg the lizard woman for forgiveness, so she forsook a pint and headed into the main corridor of the building, hoping to see her mage.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in." She heard a voice chiding from behind.

She spun around and beamed brightly. Mercurio looked surprised at her reaction as she jumped at him and gave him a warm hug.

"Well...I can't really stay mad at you when you do that, now can I?" He asked with a chuckle.

Athene looked up at him. "What happened to you?" She asked, furrowing her brows.

Mercurio shoved his hand through his hair. "Let's not talk about it out here. I don't think these town folk would take too kindly to it."

"I've got a room already." Athene mentioned, and headed that way.

Once they were upstairs Mercurio shut the door behind him and sat in one of the cushioned chairs and sighed. Athene sat on the bed and kicked off her boots contentedly.

"So. After you completed your...ritual...with the Companions," The Cyrodill native met her eyes intensely. "You...weren't the same. The guards immediately started attacking. I don't even know where they all came from, but there must have been dozens. They clearly didn't recognize you or I doubt they would have attacked..." He leaned back, waving his hand dismissively. "Or maybe they would have, under the circumstances. Anyway. I defended you the best I could, but there were so many of them, and then you...Well, you just disappeared."

Athene licked her dry lips and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Mercurio. I didn't mean to desert you. I was disoriented and had no clue what had just happened. I saw you fending the guards off out of the corner of my eye, but...it was like I was...consumed." Her mind drifted back to that night. She had become a Beast, full of panic and fury. Since that night she hadn't bothered transforming, but she wasn't sure what would come of her new...infliction.

"You were, certainly." He said gently. "But our bounty was raising with each wounded guard, and when you disappeared without a trace...Well, I'm ashamed to say that I took off. I'm not a man that takes kindly to shackles, and I assumed the Companions would finish whatever they started with you."

Athene heaved a great sigh and flopped back on the bed.

"It's alright, Mercurio. I can't blame you for leaving; I just didn't know what had happened to you. When I awoke from that...ritual...I searched the jail and the morgue and Jarvasskr. You weren't anywhere. I only found solace in knowing you weren't dead."

She peered down at him and he smiled back.

"Certainly not, lady. And here we are. You came back to find me."

"Indeed." She replied, returning his smile.

"But what took so long? What happened after the battle in Whiterun?"

"The Silverhands killed Kodlak, Mercurio." She laid her arm over her eyes. "Vilkas and I took off to avenge his death. We killed the leader of the Silverhands and retrieved the pieces of Whunthruud. I must return at once to assist in sending Kodlak to Sovngarde, where he wanted to remain, peacefully, in the death."

"Nords and their death fantasies." She heard him mumble. They were silent for a few minutes. "So...Just you and Vilkas defeated the Silverhands?"

She detected some jealousy and sat up, cocking a brow at him.

"Well...Yes. The rest of the Companions were busy, and Vilkas felt it was only right since he and I had essentially brought that wrath down on Jarrvaskr."

Mercurio's face was a puzzle. "So...Is he better than me?"

Athene blushed furiously, remembering their celebratory evening spent together, and then realized that had not been what Mercurio was questioning. This made her blush deeper, and then deeper still once she reminded herself that she was a bloody fucking warrior and not a smitten schoolchild.

"He certainly doesn't have your aptitude for magic." She suggested, hoping her voice hadn't faltered.

Mercurio stared at her for a long minute.

"So have you come back to retrieve me, or is Vilkas going to be your new...Companion...from now on?"

Athene rolled her eyes and gave a slight smile.

"I came back for you, Mercurio. I need you by my side. We've done so much together."

"Perhaps not nearly as much as you and Vilkas." He said a bit icily.

Athene was taken back. Mercurio had never behaved in this way.

"What are you getting at, mage?" She asked with venom.

"The way you blushed just then. I've never seen you flustered, ever. Not when a DeathLord is screaming down your neck, not when a guard accuses you of thievery, and certainly not after a battle. Something more happened there, didn't it?" Athene didn't respond, merely kept her gaze steady with his. He narrowed his eyes. "Might I remind you that you have a wife?" He stood with a huff and made for the door.

Athene stood swiftly and Mercurio turned. They were two deadly and powerful people and neither wanted to turn their back to the other.

"And may I remind you of your place, apprentice Mage?" She glared at him and crossed her arms. "My personal life need not be any of your business if you wish to question my integrity. I thought we were closer than that after all we've been through. I traveled night and day in pouring rain to retrieve you and this is how you behave?"

Mercurio remained silent, still looking at her. Athene heaved a great sigh and flopped on the bed again, a clear sign that she was not intimidated by his words or his power. Mercurio knew that while he was excellently skilled in magic, he was ultimately no great challenge to the Dragonborne.

"Faendall." She said as he had turned to leave. He turned back questioningly. "I've seen Faendall leaving my home in Solitude no fewer than three times."

"What?..."

Athene linked her arms behind her head and Mercurio came to sit beside her.

"I met Faendall in Riverwood when I first came to Skyrim. He was desperately in love with Camilla, and asked me to help implicate a fellow, Sven, in a bad way to ruin her adoration for the bard." She looked up at Mercurio who was listening intently. "It was amusing enough, at first, but I came myself to quite like the girl, and asked her to marry me, much to the chagrin of both men. She agreed, naturally, after seeing their true colors. Her oh-so-loving brother also reminded her that I was quite wealthy and powerful." She shook her head and rolled her eyes with a light chuckle. "But on my last few visits home I've seen that damned elf leave my house. I'm ashamed that we are of the same blood."

Both Faendall and Athene were Bosmer, one fact that had originally made the two like each other. That was no longer the case.

"So you figure..."

"So I figure," Athene cut him off. "If she's seeing Faendall behind my back, can't even tell me what's what...I figure I can...take my own liberties. It isn't as if I'm a common tavern wench taking in gold for..." She sighed gruffly and sat up pointing to the door. "But why the hell am I defending myself? Just go."

He didn't go. She turned to him and they locked eyes. He reached out and brushed a strand of her snow white hair from her face, revealing a hateful scar across her eye. His touch was gentle and made her shiver.

"You're much too beautiful to be running around vanquishing bandits and dragons." He said with great affection. She reached up to pull his hand away, but he didn't allow it. "But I admire that greatly about you. If I had my way I'd have you in a grand home full of children and stewing food, but I also know that that life would suck every bit of light out of you. It would kill your soul...And a dead soul is a terrifying thing."

Athene was taken aback by his words. Out of all the adventures they had had together, all the snide comments on her looting ways and bloody battles, all his persnickety babbling of his superior knowledge of things...Never had she known or even had inkling that this mage may have felt the way he was telling her now.

Then, Mercurio bent toward her and brushed his lips against hers. It wasn't unpleasant. They broke apart and she looked up at him.

"So...Does that mean you'll come with me?" She asked softly, with a smile.

His reply was deeper kiss. She moaned against his lips. His hand filtered through her long ice tinted hair and to the back of her neck. He moved his lips from hers to her jaw line and slender pointed ear. He could hear her racing pulse as he trailed from her ear down her neck to her clavicle. She leaned back slightly as he tugged open her white tunic, revealing the sides of her petite, but shapely breasts. He laid her down all the way on the bed and his hands began to roam. As a mage he was as skilled with his fingers and hands as he was deadly.

They trickled down her neck and clavicle, brushed the sides of her breasts and ribcage. He furrowed his brow slightly as his fingers roamed over a healed arrow scar. Mercurio bent to the bottom of her ribcage and placed a gentle kiss over the wretched flesh before grazing lazily back to her breasts. He took one stiff peak in his mouth and teased it with his warm breath and tongue before meandering to the other. Athene writhed softly on the bed, breathing deeply.

Mercurio looked up at her and lifted a hand. "I've been practicing some new magic..." He said coyly, and his hand began glowing a bright blue. Athene was well adept at magic also (although nowhere near his prowess), and recognized an ice spell.

"What?..." She breathed.

He grinned demurely at her and blew on his fingers as if he were blowing out the light of a candle. The blue tint grew brighter momentarily and then began to fade from his palm and most of his fingers. Gingerly he touched her face. His fingers were ice cold, but not unpleasant. He trailed them down her neck, following the same pilgrimage his lips had made.

When his chilly fingers reached her nipples, she gasped with pleasant surprise and arched her back. He teased her for mere seconds and began his journey again, down her ribcage and stomach and slid with precision beneath the trousers she was wearing. Athene moaned loudly at the feeling of his hand gliding across her hip and pubis, and then gasped as the icy fingers found their target in her moist womanhood.

The cold sensation was something she had never felt before. At first it was surprising and she pulled away, but Mercurio was adept with the use of his hands and he staggered his maneuvers. He slid down the length of her chasm, nearly to her rear, and then back up, pecking gently at the sensitive nubbin. Gradually she began moaning and writhing with the pleasure and sensation. Suddenly, he stopped and Athene's eyes creaked open.

Mercurio was smiling at her, a large, bright smile and he pulled his hand out. It glistened with her moisture. He licked his finger and moaned.

"Sweet nectar..."

Then his hand began change colors. Athene knew also that this was some variation of a fire spell, but after his last experiment, she was excited to see what he would do. He touched her with his fingers and she felt the warmth. He trailed his fingers down her stomach and into her pants, again sliding down the length of her wetness. She moaned loudly, bucking her hips into his hand. He plunged his fingers inside of her, and she gasped, grasping the blankets of the bed in ecstasy.

Then he pulled out of her and began to rub her swollen clitoris which was slippery from her excitement. Mercurio was clearly excited as well, as his mahood strained against the fabric of his pants and he was breathing heavily. He bent his head to her nipple to suck and she grabbed a section of his long black hair, urging him on.

The feeling was intense. She moaned loudly, riding on this building ecstasy. Oh, but how talented this man was!

"Nnnnh..." She groaned, biting her lip and pressing him further into her breasts. "Ohhh...mmmm...nnnn...Ohhh...AH! Ah! AI!" She hollered, the wave broken and jolted upright, smacking his hand out of her pants.

Mercurio was bewildered and taken by surprise. He leapt out of the bed and looked at his hand which was blazing red. He gasped, shook the spell out of his hand and immediately dropped back to her.

"Oh my gods, are you alright?!" He asked frantically as the woman held her crotch painfully.

"What the fuck!" She grunted at him from behind clenched teeth.

"It...I don't know...I got...too excited, I guess." He placed his hand between her knees and forced his way up to the bridge in her pants. She watched him behind a scowl, and he couldn't help but chuckle that she was still beautiful despite her grumpy disposition.

His hand glowed brightly as he sent a powerful healing force toward the home of her femininity. She sighed with relief and relaxed as the pain of her private burn started to subside.

Mercurio looked at her apologetically; his eyes big and shining like a scolded puppy dog. She couldn't help but laugh and then leaned forward toward him.

"Since there wasn't any permanent damage...let me forgive you with something that doesn't require any magic."

Athene stood and leaned over him, placing her hands in his lap. She pressed her lips against his, guiding his back down to the bed while placating his mouth with her tongue. She gave him one final kiss, grazing her teeth against his lip as she pulled away to begin a wisp-like trail of affection down his jaw line and neck. She lifted his tunic to her, baring his broad café colored chest. Athene teased his nipples, humming against them as she grazed. She admired the flawlessness of his body, trickling her tongue down the sculpted mounds of his abdomen. He gritted his teeth and moaned, arching into her as she neared his hips.

Athene toyed with his trousers, inching them down ever so slowly, dotting the cut lines of his fine hip bones. A trail of elegant hair from his manhood began to peek out from behind the clothing, exciting her greatly. Finally, with seemingly great effort, his proud member stood curved and erect, bouncing from its clothed prison. Athene cupped his balls in her hand, rubbing her thumb over the smooth curvature below the base of his shaft. Mercurio let out a loud, moaning sigh.

The elf glanced up at his face. He met her gaze intensely. Eyes still locked with his, her tongue flicked out, running from the base of his shaft, to the plump head. He groaned again loudly and his head dropped back to the bed. Amused with both herself and the activity, Athene swept her tongue over the top of his cock, paying special attention to the rim of his helmet, then down the shaft of his cock, opening her mouth and sucking and flicking with her tongue all down the underside.

Mercurio was panting as she grasped his member with her free hand, her other hand still caressing his hefty ball sacs. She moaned onto the tip of his dick as she took it in her mouth, enjoying the fullness of his head. Her tongue swirled madly around it and she began to inch his member further and further into her mouth.

She continued making her way down his manhood, leaning forward so that she could open her throat and took him as far into her as she could. Mercurio was hissing as she pulled back up, licked his tip clean, and then plunged back onto him, again and again, sucking the quivering member into the depths of her throat.

He grabbed her hair, twisting his fingers into it and gently began guiding her head up and down on his throbbing cock. His hips began to rise to meet her mouth and she herself arose to the occasion.

"Mmmm..." She moaned between mouthfuls, dipping down for some air and to lap at his balls.

"I'm...we've got to stop." Mercurio groaned, sitting up.

Athene sat up on her knees from the floor, wiping her mouth. Mercurio reached out to her and she took his hands. He pulled her forward, but instead of impaling her on his cock, he guided her so that her womanhood was just above his face.