CHAPTER II COMING SOON!
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The sun was setting over the barren city of Riften, there weren't near as many travelers in the city as there was in it's glory days. Some believed that the Thieves Guild was to blame for this. Ava, however, knew better.
The door to The Flagon flew open, a leather clad woman appeared out of the darkness. Her face was shadowed by a hood, her identity hidden. As the woman approached the bar she removed her hood, revealing her pale grey face. "Ava, it's good to see you've returned. Steal anything good?" An older Breton man sitting at the bar said to her. A smirk grew on her face. "How does this look, ol' Delvin?" Ava asked pulling a gemstone out of her satchel. The mans face lit up with astonishment. "By Ysmir, you best show that to Vex if that's what I believe it is."
Ava's never seen Delvin so excited about and old gemstone and she's known the man her whole life. Ava was raised by the Guild, been there since she was a small child. Her sister, Karliah, was a member. But one day Mercer Frey returned to the Guild barely living, he was beaten beyond Oblivion. Gallus and Karliah had gone on the heist with him, but they had not returned.
It was late at night and Ava was asleep in the Flagon. Mercer told the guild of Karliah's treachery, how she murdered Gallus in cold blood and tried to do the same to him. The Guild decided to keep it a secret from Ava, they told her Gallus and her sister were killed by bandits. Delvin took her in, treated her as his own and saved her from going to Honorhall Orphanage.
Ava was a Nord, unlike her sister. Her mother was a Nord and Karliah's mother was a Dunmer. Ava's mother died during childbirth and her father died when she was young, Karliah took over the mothering role and moved them to the Guild. 25 years later, Mercer was Guild Master and new thieves flooded The Flagon calling it home.
Ava smiled at her caretaker and walked over to Vex. "Hey, can you look at this for me? Delvin seems to think its something of importance." She showed the gem to Vex, shining it with her sleeve. Vex took the gem from her hand and examined it. "Been a while since I've seen one of those. What you've got there is a Stone of Barenziah." Ava heard about the stones. She didn't know much, only that they were worth a sum of coin. "So is it worth anything to you?" Ava asked Vex. "Not like that it isn't. The stone was pried off of Barenziah's ceremonial crown by a thief in order to cover his tracks."
It didn't make much sense to Ava. She thought that even one of them would be worth something. "Are you sure you won't buy it?" Ava asked, pouting her lip. "Look, you know I only buy things I can turn around quickly for a profit. And no one wants those stones unless they have the whole set. Tell you what, if you find the rest of them, talk to me again. Otherwise, keep it and maybe it'll bring you luck." Vex smiled and roughed up her hair. She didn't take kindly to new recruits, claiming Mercer brought them in to replace her. Everyone thought it was unusual that Vex and Ava were friends, it didn't match Vex's personality.
"Here he is, the man himself!" Ava heard a voice call from behind the bar. She knew exactly who it was, Brynjolf. She moved away from Vex and toward the two men speaking. "Ava I think you need to get a bigger pair of pants from Tonilia, I don't believe the leather could hug you're backside any tighter." Vekel chuckled, he clearly consumed too many tankards of Black Briar Mead. Ava's cheeks turned red, hot with anger and embarrassment. She turned to walk away when a familiar hand landed on her arm and held her back.
"Lass, you know he's drunk. Why are you walking away?" Brynjolf looked down at her, disappointed at her vulnerability. Ava rolled her eyes at him and yanked her arm from Brynjolf's grasp. "A drunk mans words are a sober mans thoughts. He said it as if it were an insult, so what if my armor is tight on my ass? Isn't that what men of his standards like?" Ava's voice grew louder. The others in The Flagon looked at the two astonished by Ava's bluntness. Brynjolf hushed her. "It's what all men like lass." He chuckled. Ava smiled and looked into Brynjolf's eyes. "Even you?" Her voice was quiet and sultry. She placed a kiss on his cheek before he could answer and slipped off into the darkness if the cistern.
Brynjolf was only a few years her senior. He joined the Guild a year before Ava was old enough to start doing jobs for Delvin and Mercer. He helped her out on most of her jobs and they quickly fell for each other. Though neither of them acted on their feelings, the members of the Guild seen them as a couple.
Ava walked over to her bed in the cistern and fell in it. She heard someone fussing about and cursing. She looked up from her bed and seen Mercer Frey reviewing evidence from the latest job. Aringoth sold Goldenglow Estate to an unknown person. This prevented Maven Black Briar from easily obtaining honey, her competitor Sabjorn was benefiting from this so Maven hired Ava to take care of him. During the job Ava discovered a note revealing that the person that bought Goldenglow was assisting Sabjorn. The mystery person used a strange symbol instead of their name. Ava assumed Mercer had figured it out, he just returned from Solitude.
"Damn her to Oblivion." Mercer said to himself. He didn't notice Ava enter the cistern so she remained hidden in her bed and listened. "I thought I heard the last of Karliah years ago." Tears brewed in Ava's eyes. It couldn't be the Karliah she knew as her sister, could it? She jumped out of bed and walked up to Mercer, tears streaming down her hot cheeks. "Mercer, yo..you said Karliah was murdered by bandits.." Ava could barely stand, she used Mercer's desk as support. She felt a burning sensation deep within her gut. She felt so betrayed. "Ava..I..uh..I didn't know you were in here." Mercer knew he was busted, he couldn't hide the truth from her any longer. Before he could continue on Brynjolf erupted through the door, Ava's sobs were loud enough that the guards above them patrolling Riften probably heard.
"What's going on in here?" Brynjolf asked sternly, pulling Ava close to him. "She knows that her sister isn't dead. I was about to tell her the truth." Mercer answered. Ava pulled away from Brynjolf as the rest of the Guild walked in. "You knew about this?" She asked him coldly. He reached out to her but she slapped his hand. "Don't touch me." She looked towards the others who were silent. "Vex. Sapphire. Vipir. You all knew about this?" Her gaze turned to Delvin. She looked down and shook her head. "I don't even know what to say. I trusted you with my life Delvin. You raised me after my sister "died". You knew how much she meant to me, she was the only Talos damned family I had left! How could you keep such a secret from me?" The tears consumed her face, her appearance didn't even come close to the beauty she was minutes before this happened. She looked cheated, empty inside, truly heart-broken.
"Where is she? I need to see her!" She looked up at Mercer as if she was ready to pounce on him. "Where in Oblivion is my sister?!" Everyone just looked at her in silence. Brynjolf tried to hold her once more, this time she accepted nuzzling her face into his chest. "Lass I believe Mercer has something to tell you." Brynjolf cupped her chin and wiped the tears from her face. Ava turned to Mercer and apologized for her behavior. "Go on." Mercer caressed her cheek and pulled out a chair for her. He looked towards Vekel and signaled him to fetch some mead. Whatever he was about to tell Ava wasn't going to be easy. "Ava, that night at Snow Veil Sanctum Gallus and Karliah weren't murdered by bandits." She nodded her head hanging on every word he said. "Karliah murdered Gallus.." He started to say something else but Ava cut him off. "You're lying my sister loved him! She might not have been the nicest person but she was no murderer!" She stood up in Mercer's face, her eyes turning more sinister. "I wasn't finished woman, I suggest you sit down before you do something you regret." Mercer scoffed and stepped back. Ava lunged toward him but Brynjolf pulled her back and gently pushed her down on the chair.
"If you're so sure of your sisters innocence. Why haven't you seen her in 20 years?" He had a point, Ava hadn't seen or heard from Karliah since the night they left. "Karliah destroyed everything the Guild stood for. She murdered Gallus in cold blood and betrayed the Guild. After we discovered what she'd done, we spent months trying to track her down, but she just vanished. We told you we were searching for the bandit group. I'm sorry that we've lied to you." Ava's eyes were puffy from the sobbing she looked a mess. "Why has she returned?" Her voice was sullen. "Your sister and I were like partners. I went with her on every heist. We watched each other's backs. I know her techniques, her skills. If she kills me, there'll be no one left that could possibly catch her. She's where 'The end began' Snow Veil Sanctum. We have to go out there before she disappears again." This was happening too fast for Ava. After 20 years of mourning her dead sister, Mercer tells her that Karliah is alive and well. And now he wants to hunt her down and catch her. Ava started to feel nauseous and the cistern began to spin. She stood up and grabbed Brynjolf's shoulder. "Lass are you alright?" She opened her mouth to speak to Brynjolf put she passed out.
She awoke a short time later. Mercer, Brynjolf, Vex, and Delvin were sitting around her bed. "I'm sorry I just couldn't handle all the heart ache at once." Brynjolf grabbed her hand. "Just take it one step at a time, lass." Mercer became agitated. "We can't let her slip through our fingers. We are going together and we're going to kill her. Prepare yourself and meet me at the ruins as soon as you can. "No, I can't. I won't kill my sister." Tears were welling in her eyes again. "If you don't help me I will banish you from the Guild! Mercer threatened. Brynjolf and Vex just looked. "You can't do that Mercer! She's been here since she was a pup. If you banish her, you'll have to banish me as well. After Karliah disappeared I vowed that I would protect her." Delvin spoke up causing the others to speak up as well. "Mercer you're overreacting are you even sure that it is Karliah? Vex asked. Brynjolf stood up and grabbed Ava's hand. "We're going for a walk. When you've decided the best way to handle this, come find us. Until then there will be no talk of banishment." Mercer was insulted by Brynjolf's sudden rise of authority. "I'm the Guild Master here Bryn, not you. What I say goes." Brynjolf picked Ava up and threw her over his shoulder. "That may be so, but without a Guild you're nothing. If you banish Ava, the Guild is going to walk out on you. So think about this would ya?" With that said Brynjolf left Mercer silent and proceeded out of the secret passageway with Ava in tow.
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