Mirabelle Monet, Proprietess of the Fo'c's'le
It was all over except for the cleanup. The khajiit Tsarrina was very cooperative with the Anvil City Watch, and back in Anvil, Gogen's testimony combined with her own statements cleared her: Faustina and Signy had forced her into their blackmail scheme, making her their unwilling accomplice. That she had immediately surrendered counted in her favor, and the Watch Captain decided to let her go with a fine and keep her under light surveillance.
The Chapel of Dibella gave Faustina and Signy their final rites, and I paid for a burial at sea. Overall this seemed the best way, as no one wanted graves defiled in retribution. The modest reward offered by the City Watch went straight toward funeral expenses, and I made up the shortfall myself. I'd have to spend a day or two gathering herbs and brewing potions for the Mages Guild to build up my funds again, but that seemed far away right now.
Something didn't add up for me about Gogen's story, and I approached him about it: "If you were undercover all this time, and you let yourself be taken in by Faustina's scheme... why didn't the City Watch arrest the two of them right after?"
"No one was hurt or killed yet, and the Captain wanted to find out who was helping them by fencing the extorted goods. I picked the short straw, so I had to get naked and humiliated to plant the ring with them. We hoped it would turn up in a store somewhere."
"But the ring was too cheap and no one would take it," I concluded, remembering what Faustina had said.
"Well, we didn't think of that, actually. Yes, it was a cheap ring: We were worried we'd actually lose a real ring and couldn't recover it, so we got a disposable one. When the ring didn't turn up locally, we thought they might have some outside help. A travelling merchant, maybe. We'd given up that angle."
"Then we're back to my original question: Why didn't you arrest them? And why'd you let me go up alone?"
"We were keeping them under observation because we didn't know where the khajiit was. Because everyone thought I'd been suckered, it was easier for me to question previous victims. Some saw her, some didn't. We wanted to grab all three at the same time. I spelled out their game to you, but you still wanted to go, so we had to move.
"Luckily, when Faustina couldn't find Signy in town, she went to get Tsarrina before heading to Gweden. I think she was worried something was up and wanted backup, even if Tsarrina wasn't entirely willing.
"All three were going to be at the farm, so I rounded up some of the Watch and we went up too."
"And if Faustina hadn't gotten Tsarrina?"
"Well, like I said, we wanted to grab all three. And you're a stranger, so you could always leave town."
"Uh huh."
"Hey, it's not so bad. Look at me: I'm still undercover, so I can't tell the real story. No one in town will let me live it down, and my partner Maelona gets to use this embarrassing episode against me from now on. At least you got to play hero.
"Now here's a question for you: Why did YOU go up there? You didn't have to. You just like playing hero a lot, like at Brina Cross?"
"You heard of that?"
"Of course."
"Well, now that you've brought it up... Yes, I thought I might break up the gang and call it another good deed by the Mages Guild. Hoped it wouldn't end up this way, though. I thought I might get Signy to defect--I'd heard she might not have been the ruthless brigand type.
"Could you do me a favour? In the Captain's report, could you nudge him to mention this as being a joint operation with mild assistance from the Mages Guild or something like that?"
"I think I can do that. You did help us out by dispelling Faustina's invisibility spell. I must say she caught me by surprise with that."
*
The paperwork was complete and I finally stepped out of the City Watch offices. It was halfway to dawn now, and it had been really long day.
Tsarrina and Mirabelle, who had come to attend the funeral, were together. Mirabelle had one arm over the khajiit in consolation and support. It had been several stressful months for the blackmailed khajiit and finally she could go home. But her house was a place of death, yet she didn't have anywhere else to go.
"Please, brave hero, will you escort this one home?" she asked. "It is late, and the roads are dark. This one would like nothing else to happen tonight. You would be welcome to stay the night at Gweden farm."
"Certainly," I said, and grasped her hand/paw firmly. "It'll all over now. We'll have you home safely soon."
I gave her a long, warm embrace.
"I'll come with her," Mirabelle offered. "Help her tidy up over the next couple of days until she can get things in order again."
She'd asked the proprietor brothers of The Flowing Bowl to keep an eye on her place, and was free to be away a few days.
We walked to Gweden Farm in silence. Tsarrina averted her eyes from the blood in the living room and quietly excused herself to retreat into the basement instead of sleeping on the luxurious bed on the main floor. Mirabelle and I cleaned up the bloodstains from the hardwood floor. The stained carpet we rolled up and put outside.
"You could use a bath," she grinned.
Without waiting for an answer, she took my hand and led me out the door. We walked quietly, very close to each other, holding hands. At the river, she patiently undressed me. If she saw I was excited by her company, she show any reaction.
When she had me naked and in the water, she undid her own dress. I watched, mesmerized, as she revealed her perfect body slowly, one piece of clothing at a time. Her pale skin and curvy figure glowed in the moonlight like some enchanted nymph or shining goddess. When she joined me in the water and slid into an intimate embrace, her body was soft and firm in all the right places. She pressed hard against me and kissed me deeply and over and over again and we ran our hands slowly over each other's body.
When we had bathed we came out of the water we wrap ourselves in towels and sat awhile in each other's arms, happy and refreshed.
"I heard how sweet you were to Signy. And it was very kind of you to pay for the funeral," said Mirabelle.
She put one finger on my lips to hush me. She moved between my legs and slid me into her mouth with practiced, agonizing slowness and a skillfully perfect blend of tightness, tongue, and teeth.
The pleasure was excruciating.
The Chapel of Dibella gave Faustina and Signy their final rites, and I paid for a burial at sea. Overall this seemed the best way, as no one wanted graves defiled in retribution. The modest reward offered by the City Watch went straight toward funeral expenses, and I made up the shortfall myself. I'd have to spend a day or two gathering herbs and brewing potions for the Mages Guild to build up my funds again, but that seemed far away right now.
Something didn't add up for me about Gogen's story, and I approached him about it: "If you were undercover all this time, and you let yourself be taken in by Faustina's scheme... why didn't the City Watch arrest the two of them right after?"
"No one was hurt or killed yet, and the Captain wanted to find out who was helping them by fencing the extorted goods. I picked the short straw, so I had to get naked and humiliated to plant the ring with them. We hoped it would turn up in a store somewhere."
"But the ring was too cheap and no one would take it," I concluded, remembering what Faustina had said.
"Well, we didn't think of that, actually. Yes, it was a cheap ring: We were worried we'd actually lose a real ring and couldn't recover it, so we got a disposable one. When the ring didn't turn up locally, we thought they might have some outside help. A travelling merchant, maybe. We'd given up that angle."
"Then we're back to my original question: Why didn't you arrest them? And why'd you let me go up alone?"
"We were keeping them under observation because we didn't know where the khajiit was. Because everyone thought I'd been suckered, it was easier for me to question previous victims. Some saw her, some didn't. We wanted to grab all three at the same time. I spelled out their game to you, but you still wanted to go, so we had to move.
"Luckily, when Faustina couldn't find Signy in town, she went to get Tsarrina before heading to Gweden. I think she was worried something was up and wanted backup, even if Tsarrina wasn't entirely willing.
"All three were going to be at the farm, so I rounded up some of the Watch and we went up too."
"And if Faustina hadn't gotten Tsarrina?"
"Well, like I said, we wanted to grab all three. And you're a stranger, so you could always leave town."
"Uh huh."
"Hey, it's not so bad. Look at me: I'm still undercover, so I can't tell the real story. No one in town will let me live it down, and my partner Maelona gets to use this embarrassing episode against me from now on. At least you got to play hero.
"Now here's a question for you: Why did YOU go up there? You didn't have to. You just like playing hero a lot, like at Brina Cross?"
"You heard of that?"
"Of course."
"Well, now that you've brought it up... Yes, I thought I might break up the gang and call it another good deed by the Mages Guild. Hoped it wouldn't end up this way, though. I thought I might get Signy to defect--I'd heard she might not have been the ruthless brigand type.
"Could you do me a favour? In the Captain's report, could you nudge him to mention this as being a joint operation with mild assistance from the Mages Guild or something like that?"
"I think I can do that. You did help us out by dispelling Faustina's invisibility spell. I must say she caught me by surprise with that."
*
The paperwork was complete and I finally stepped out of the City Watch offices. It was halfway to dawn now, and it had been really long day.
Tsarrina and Mirabelle, who had come to attend the funeral, were together. Mirabelle had one arm over the khajiit in consolation and support. It had been several stressful months for the blackmailed khajiit and finally she could go home. But her house was a place of death, yet she didn't have anywhere else to go.
"Please, brave hero, will you escort this one home?" she asked. "It is late, and the roads are dark. This one would like nothing else to happen tonight. You would be welcome to stay the night at Gweden farm."
"Certainly," I said, and grasped her hand/paw firmly. "It'll all over now. We'll have you home safely soon."
I gave her a long, warm embrace.
"I'll come with her," Mirabelle offered. "Help her tidy up over the next couple of days until she can get things in order again."
She'd asked the proprietor brothers of The Flowing Bowl to keep an eye on her place, and was free to be away a few days.
We walked to Gweden Farm in silence. Tsarrina averted her eyes from the blood in the living room and quietly excused herself to retreat into the basement instead of sleeping on the luxurious bed on the main floor. Mirabelle and I cleaned up the bloodstains from the hardwood floor. The stained carpet we rolled up and put outside.
"You could use a bath," she grinned.
Without waiting for an answer, she took my hand and led me out the door. We walked quietly, very close to each other, holding hands. At the river, she patiently undressed me. If she saw I was excited by her company, she show any reaction.
When she had me naked and in the water, she undid her own dress. I watched, mesmerized, as she revealed her perfect body slowly, one piece of clothing at a time. Her pale skin and curvy figure glowed in the moonlight like some enchanted nymph or shining goddess. When she joined me in the water and slid into an intimate embrace, her body was soft and firm in all the right places. She pressed hard against me and kissed me deeply and over and over again and we ran our hands slowly over each other's body.
When we had bathed we came out of the water we wrap ourselves in towels and sat awhile in each other's arms, happy and refreshed.
"I heard how sweet you were to Signy. And it was very kind of you to pay for the funeral," said Mirabelle.
She put one finger on my lips to hush me. She moved between my legs and slid me into her mouth with practiced, agonizing slowness and a skillfully perfect blend of tightness, tongue, and teeth.
The pleasure was excruciating.
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