Alianna Frost-mir, the leader of Riften's Thieves Guild and a member of the Nightingales who did the bidding of the Goddess Nocturnal was bored.
She sighed and laid her head down on the table in the bar of the Ratway, The Ragged Flagon, with a heavy sigh.
Vekel the Man cast her an amused look and continued to clean the bartop, "What's the matter with you, Lassie?"
Alianna huffed out a breath and pushed her waist length, wavy blond locks out of her face. Her icy blue eyes flashed over to the barkeep with a pout on her lips, "I'm sooooo bored."
Vekel chuckled, "Why don't you try asking Delvin or Vex for some work. That might relieve the boredom."
She groaned and stretched her arms out across the table and settled her chin on the hard surface, "They're both out doing some other jobs. Plus, I'm a little bored with
stealing and framing people. I need excitement!"
Ah, Vekel thought, the girl was in need of a change of scenery. Their leader wasn't the type to just settle for petty thievery. she was a warrior and liked to be in the heart of battle. More importantly, she wasn't the type of woman to stay in one place for long. She was a drifter, and he didn't think anything or any man could make her stay.
Alianna was the type of woman who possessed the looks to turn every man's head. She had the face of an angel and the body of a temptress. Her husky voice was usually filled with confidence and sometimes sarcasm. She was a natural-born leader, partly because she hated authority. The fiery Nord didn't obey anyone's word unless she respected the hell out of that person.
There weren't many she so readily respected.
When the stubborn lass started to bang her forehead on the table in irritation, Vekel decided the girl needed a drink. Filling up a tankard of her favorite mead, he stepped around the bar and set the cup in front of her, "Drink this and stop abusing that pretty skin of yours." He turned away with a chuckle, "Some of your admirers might be upset at the flaw in your beauty."
Alianna let out an unladylike snort, but she stopped the onslaught to her head and picked up her tankard.
Speaking of admirers, Vekel thought to himself tongue-in-cheek as he watched Rune walk into the Flaggon. The young man's eyes flashed to Alianna's back before quickly looking away.
Vekel inwardly shook his head, the poor fool had is eye on Alianna since she'd first joined the Guild. His eyes would roam over her when he thought she wasn't looking.
The man didn't know that Alianna was well aware of the crush he had on her.
And made it a mission of hers to tease him at every given moment over it.
As if she'd read the barkeep's mind, Alianna pushed her chair back and stretched her arms over her head. The motion pushed her plump breasts out and arched her back enticingly.
Vekel rolled his eyes when Rune's eyes immediately fastened on her body.
Completely aware of what she was doing, Alianna sauntered over to the bar and took the stool next to Rune. Propping her cheek on her fist she fixed those big eyes on Rune as if he was the only man in the world, "So, Rune. How did your last assignment go?"
He took a swallow of mead before he answered, "Ah, it went very well. Got me quite a bit of coin out of the process."
She flashed him a blinding smile, "That's good. I bet it helped the Guild's funds and reputation as well. Are you going to rest for a bit before taking another job?"
He nodded with averted eyes, "Yeah, I, ah, I haven't been feeling too well lately. Been thinking I should take it easy for a few days."
Knowing the real reason he wanted to stay in The Ratway, Alianna suppressed a cocky smile.
Taking Rune's tankard out of his fingers, she took a gulp from his cup and slid it back to him, "Take it easy then. Oh, and make sure that you record your funds in the log book."
His cheeks a bit red, Rune nodded and stood, "I'll go do that, Mistress."
Vekel and Alianna watched the younger man hurry away with amusement in their gazes.
"You're horrible, you know that?"
Laughing, she sent him a smile. This one was totally different from the one she'd given Rune; her mouth curved in a sly smile, the beauty mark near the corner of her mouth twitched when her dimples flashed. Alianna knew Vekel could always see right through her and she didn't bother to hide her true nature around him. She wasn't an easy woman, in fact she'd taken very few lovers, but she was comfortable around men. More so, sometimes, than other females. She could read a man's facial expressions and sometimes she liked to tease them, not out of malice, but for pure fun. "I'm just teasing him, Vek."
"You're probably a good few years older than the lad," he pointed out to her.
She let out a hoot of laughter, slapping her palms on the counter in progress, "Rune is two and twenty. Jeez, Vek! How old do you think I am?!"
The older Nord studied her and shrugged, "I guessed you to be almost thirty."
Alianna's eyes narrowed with warning, "I'm three and twenty."
"You just act older than your years, lass," he said to soothe her fiery temper. He raised a brow at her, "You know quite well that you are a magnificent beauty."
Alianna sniffed and turned up her nose, "I still like to hear it every now and then." Turning her head, she looked at the doorway where Rune had scurried away and smiled once again, "He's cute, don't you think?"
Shaking his head, Vekel the Man let out a sigh, "If you say so, he must be. But I wouldn't let Brynjolf hear you say that if I were you."
With raised eyebrows, she turned back to him with a bit of confusion in her icy gaze, "Brynjolf?"
Ah-ha, Vekel thought with more than a little amusement. Their leader wasn't as insightful as she thought herself to be. He remained silent despite her questioning stare.
Her blue eyes narrowed and she said, "Not talking, huh? Well, then I'll just find out for myself then." Pushing away from the bar, she stalked away, heading, he suspected, to the Cistren to look for her second-in-command.
Chuckling, Vekel turned away from the bar to pour himself something to drink. If things turned out well, then Brynjolf would get what he wanted: which would be Alianna. Patting himself on the back for his matchmaking skills, Vekel the Man decided to pour himself another drink.