Hey so remember I was making a Big Bang fanfic? This is it! It's heavily based on dashingicecream's Skyrim!AU on her tumblr (DEFINITELY check it out for any checkmating needs!) I'm not really sure what to write here, so I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

A heavy fog settled in over Riften, filling every nook and cranny, hovering over the waters of Lake Honrich and shrouding the boats that gently rocked on the water in mist. Despite this, people still quietly bustled around the city streets. Children laughed and played, running throughout the tight alleyways. Chatter commenced in the market square as business was conducted between merchants and their usual customers.

Silently, perched atop a nearby rooftop overlooking the square, a figure smirked slightly, hood drawn around her dark hair as her amber eyes watched the shops closely. So far they'd been doing well, and the owners had been paying their protection fees on time and in full. Still, it never hurt to keep watch; plus, it never hurt if someone looked over and saw her - she was trying to represent the Guild's omnipresence, after all.

"Blake? You up here?" A voice suddenly cracked out through the afternoon haze. Glancing over her leather-padded shoulder, she smiled softly as another figure strode towards her in similar armor, carefully balancing on the centerbeam of the rooftop. His hood was pulled back as he beamed, light glinting in his eyes.

"Sun. I thought you were on a job in Solitude." The monkey-faunus chuckled, dangling his legs over the edge of the rooftop casually as he leaned back.

"Just finished a couple days ago. I managed to hitch a ride with a Khajiit caravan, and that definitely shortened the trip a bit."

"Well it's certainly good to see you're back in one piece." She smiled at him, turning back to face the booths down below. The two sat beside each other in silence, listening to the occasional bark of a guard, or cries from some of the sailors, working on their boats. Suddenly Sun jerked upright, realization hitting him like a brick wall.

"Oh! Right! I was supposed to get you. Adam needs to talk to you about something." Blake's ears twitched under her hood as she flicked her eyes over to stare intensely.

"What is it? Did he say?" Sun frowned and shrugged slightly.

"I couldn't tell you. Of course, it's Adam. He doesn't really talk to people if he doesn't have to." Blake couldn't help but agree as she stood up, hearing a satisfying 'crack' from her legs as she straightened up into a more comfortable position.

"Well, no use in keeping him waiting, then." With a nod, Sun got up to follow her, the two making their way down from the rooftop and hitting the ground, their boots giving off a satisfyingly subtle noise.

"So what was the job you were working on?" Blake asked with a smile, pulling her hood back and letting her hair flow down her back, no longer confined to their enclosed prison. Sun beamed, excitement bubbling over.

"Oh man, it was so awesome! It all started when I threw open the doors to the Winking Skeever…"

-oo00oo-

"...and with at least a dozen thugs on my tail, I made it out of there with all of my limbs, and the gems in hand!" The young man was just finishing his story as they walked into the Ragged Flagon, the members of the Guild mulling about quietly, only a few looking up at the pair. They had heard most of his tale on his way over, after all.

"That's quite a story." Blake smirked slightly. She had no doubt that he had blown at least a few parts of it out of proportion, but it was still amusing to listen to the excited thief as he told ever bit in vivid detail.

"And it paid well, too!" Sun beamed.

"Mind buying us a round, then?" A voice hollered from one of the Flagon's table, causing Blake to look over. Coco Adel and Velvet Scarlatina were in one corner, Coco being the source of the voice. Sun grinned and waved them off.

"As soon as you pay me back for last week's bet!" Coco beamed back, raising her mug of Honningbrew to the blonde thief and yelling back her retort. As the two bantered, Velvet glanced over at Blake, smiling.

"All's well in the square?" She perked up cheerily. Blake gave a gentle half-smile towards the girl, her chestnut rabbit ears twitching slightly.

"As usual. It seems they've finally accepted their situation with the Guild."

"I'll drink to that, if you'll join us." The girl grinned, patting the chair next to her. The raven-haired girl almost sat down until she remembered why she was even back in the Flagon.

"I'm sorry, Velvet, but I have to go speak with Adam. Apparently he wants something with me." Velvet waved the girl off nonchalantly.

"Of course, it's no problem! I still have Coco!"

"Now and forever." The young woman grinned, slinging an arm around the Faunus's shoulders and giving her girlfriend a light peck on the cheek. Blake smiled at the couple as Velvet practically melted under Coco's adoration. Digging into her pouch, she pulled out a few septims and set them on the table.

"Buy me a round for when I come back." With that she turned on her heel, heading towards the door to the cistern. As the laughs and jesting of her fellow Guild members faded away from her, she let out a shiver. She never minded Adam's briefings when she had a partner with her, but whenever he requested for her on her own, it was as if a pit began forming in the bottom of her stomach. Nonetheless, she held up her chin, took a deep breath, and pushed open the wooden doors.

The room was unusually empty, as she had feared. The tavern just behind her had definitely been fuller than normal. Was it a coincidence, or had he specifically asked for the cistern to be emptied?

Carefully crossing the arching center platform, the sound of water gently rippling beneath her feet, she found the man himself sitting behind a desk near the back faintly illuminated by a lantern resting on the hard wood. Adam Taurus. The Guild Master.

His fingers combed through his two-toned hair, focusing hard on the book before him. His gloved hand scrawled numbers, names, and assorted information across the tinted pages, filling in line after line in the records. Blake stopped a few feet away from him, hands respectfully clasped in front of her.

She stood like that a full few minutes before the man spoke, his voice deep and rumbling.

"Aren't you going to say hello?"

"Apologies, Adam. You seemed… focused."

"It's just numbers, Blake. It's not like a distraction isn't welcome here and there." He glanced up, deep brown eyes locking with her amber ones, glinting in the reflected candlelight. Blake forced herself to hold his gaze and smile.

"Sun said you needed me."

"I did." He smirked, standing up, rising to his full, almost towering height. "We got a client today asking for a very particular job to be carried out. I think your skills would be perfect."

"What do they need?"

"They wouldn't say. Truthfully, I haven't even met them, as they sent a letter with Fox, and even that was slipped into his pocket without his noticing. The only other detail they informed us of was that they'd wait for two days in The Bee and Barb for whoever we chose to send on the job."

Blake nodded slightly, rolling the thought around her head. It wasn't uncommon for their clients to attempt to hide their involvement with the Guild, but this much secrecy was… suspicious, to say the least

"So I'm to meet with them, then?"

"If you want the job. Otherwise I'll send someone else - you were just the first person to come to mind." Adam paused as he made his way around the desk. Blake felt her shoulders tensing up as he moved behind her, his hands placed firmly on her shoulders as he murmured in her ear.

"You know… maybe when you get back from the job, we can use some of that gold and go out for the night, maybe buy some mead and rent a room at the inn…?" It took the woman every ounce of strength not to flinch, forcing her breath to stay calm as she gently pushed his hands off.

"I'll… think about it." Adam smirked and backed away, sitting back down behind his desk and picking up his quill once more.

"That's all I ask, darling."

She stood there, watching him for a moment longer, making sure there wasn't anything else he wanted to say. There was not, and the cistern was filled again with the quiet dripping of water droplets hitting the rippling pool below, and the scratching of his tip against the parchment. Without a word, she turned on her heel and walked out of the chamber. She didn't allow herself to run, even if that was all she really wanted to do.

-oo00oo-

The Bee and Barb was just as it always was - silent, save for the muttering of conversation that swept through. Most newcomers to Riften always seemed to find it odd that their local tavern was lacking of a bard, but Keerava seemed to prefer it that way. Blake was no regular patron to such establishments, even in the hold she usually called home, but it always felt warm and welcoming when she stepped through the entrance.

"Blake. Good to see you're keeping in good health." A gravelly voice greeted her. The faunus turned, meeting the shifting eyes of Talen-Jei. She smiled slightly at the Argonian.

"Good to see you too, Talen." He chuckled slightly, definitely anxious by the look of his rapidly shifting eyes. She suddenly realized that usually there was only one reason for the presence of a Thieves Guild member, probably the cause of his nervousness.

"Don't worry, I'm not here about your money. You've made your payments on time, so we have no quarrel." She could almost hear the sigh of relief as his shoulders relaxed considerably before she continued. "Actually, I'm here looking for a client. I haven't a clue what they look like, so maybe you could help me?"

"Now that you mention it," he perked up, glancing at the stairs and gesturing with a thumb, "there is a strange newcomer who just stopped in. She's upstairs, first door from the top. Just knock before you go in."

"Of course. Thanks for your help." The lizard-like shopkeep gave a toothy grin before returning to his duties, moving on to a boisterous Nord shouting for more mead.

Gently, she made her way up the stairs, the wood creaking gently under each footfall as she reached the second floor of the inn. The door in question was right in front of her, silent. She almost thought it was empty, if it weren't for the light shining under the door. Moving up close, she rapped her knuckles against the wood.

"Come in!" The occupant said. The thief noted that her client was in fact a woman. Taking the invitation, she pushed the wood inwards, allowing herself to finally see who this mystery woman was.

The room itself was lightly furnished, the only added items that weren't usually there being an odd-looking dagger resting on the table, next to a variety of gems and crystals. She thought she even spied a Dwemer relic, though it was so beat up that she couldn't really tell. Sitting behind the table, smiling warmly at the newcomer, was the client herself.

She was Redguard, noted by her definitively darker skin tone and silky-black hair. A single braid looped across her forehead, winding itself into the rest of her bun that was tied off-center to her right, suspending what seemed to be a good few feet of the deep-colored locks. Blake also took note of the swirling pattern tattooed on her jaw, seemingly in golden ink. She put it in the back of her mind as the woman extended a hand to her.

"Good evening. You must be the Thieves Guild representative."

"I am." Blake gave a half-smile, taking the hand. "And you must be our mysterious client."

"I suppose I am, though it may be easier to just call me Saja." She laughed, the noise sounding silky and rich. She gestured to the chair across the table from her. "Please, sit. We have much to discuss, my young thief."

Blake nodded and sat down, relaxing as she took on a professional posture.

"My name is Blake, and I was informed that this job needs a particular… skill set?"

"That's correct." Saja smiled, ruffling around in a satchel on her bed and pulling out a rolled up parchment. Carefully, she spread it out on the tabletop, revealing an intricately drawn design of a book. Blake leaned forward, inspecting the inked-in drawings of a leather-bound tome, covered in etched gold and what seemed to be an complex locking mechanism.

"What am I looking at?" She asked aloud. Saja smirked.

"This book is of great value to me and my investigations I've been conducting. All I know for certain is that there is a great deal of information which I don't know yet, and that this tome is quite possibly the breakthrough I've been looking for." Blake stared at it for a moment longer before nodding, leaning back.

"Alright then. Where is this miracle book being kept?"

"That's the thing." The woman frowned slightly. "As far as I know, it's being held deep within the College of Winterhold." Blake frowned as well. She had only seen the Guild get a few jobs to Winterhold, and both had ended in members being treated to a lengthy visit to the prisons - or worse. Velvet was the only one to get out unscathed, and her reports were not encouraging.

"I… I see." She nodded, her ears flattening against her hair. It made sense now that Adam had sent her on this job, since she did have the skills to carry it out, but it also put her in a much more dangerous situation than she had expected. Saja seemed to pick up on Blake's sudden change in energy, reaching down to her waist.

"I'm more than willing to buy your confidence, if that would help" She stated, pulling up a heavy coin purse. The clinking of septims when it was set on the table was definitely loud enough to catch the faunus's attention. The woman smiled at Blake.

"I will give you everything in this purse, and a map which will lead you to your query - on the condition that you will do this job to completion." The faunus nodded again, one of her ears twitching as she thought it over. Finally, she extended her hand to Saja, smiling.

"Consider it done."

"Excellent!" The woman pulled out a folded sheet of parchment, gently placing it in Blake's hand. "Unfortunately, I haven't a clue where it's being stored in the Arcanaeum, but I'm sure you can find it yourself. Also, I'd prefer if no blood was spilled while there - I merely want their book, not their lives."

"Bloodshed isn't exactly how the Guild works." Blake said reassuringly. "I promise I'll complete the job to your liking." Saja smiled, letting out a gasp of relief and sitting back in her chair.

"Good. Thank you." She cracked an eye open and smirked at the faunus. "I promise that you will soon see this task to be well worth it." Blake held her one-eyed gaze, nodding again as she kept her true thoughts to herself.

I hope I even make it that far.

-oo00oo-

It was late when she finally got back to the Flagon. Saja had briefed her on entry points, and what to expect in terms of the College's defenses, which had gone on much longer than Blake would have liked. Apart from a few restless souls who muttered amongst themselves over frothy pints of mead, the hideout was quiet as a tomb. She gave a slight wave as greeting to her comrades, who murmured something back and raised their mugs lazily. The raven-haired girl continued to the back, hands brushing against the hard, cool wood of the Cistern doors.

"I take it your little job is all set?" A voice purred from her side, causing Blake to jump. Glancing over, she saw ginger locks and a wide grin, a lone, green eye staring back at her. The girl shot him a dirty look, crossing her arms.

"That's none of your concern, Torchwick." She scowled. "And how did you even know about that?"

"Oh puh-lease. You think there's something Adam doesn't confide in me?" He smirked, walking around her with his ever-present cane twirling slightly. "I'm his closest business partner, after all."

"I still wonder why he even let you into the Guild in the first place." Roman chuckled, moving to pinch her cheek jokingly, only to have his gloved hand sharply smacked away. His smile didn't change.

"Well, I won't keep you, pussycat. I have some business to attend to, and I'm sure you want to talk over your new client with the boss." He took a started walking away from the cat faunus before pausing and turning back.

"Oh, and before I forget - Wukong is on another midnight stroll on the rooftops. He told me to send you his way if you wanted to talk about whatever your top secret client wanted."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Good. Loverboy would be devastated if you ignored him." The words caused Blake to stiffen, but she said nothing. Partially because she wouldn't give Roman the satisfaction of a reaction, and partially because she didn't know if she could tone herself down in the event of her emotions getting the better of her. He smirked playfully before waving a gloved hand, giving a mock bow.

"Until next time." He grinned, picking up his cane and whistling softly to himself as he strolled out of the Flagon.

"I hope there won't even be a next time." She muttered angrily, just out of earshot of the ginger thief. Sighing in relief as he exited the Flagon, she turned once more and pushed the doors open slowly.

Unlike earlier, the chamber was filled with a much warmer glow than it had been when she had seen Adam the first time. Most of the beds were occupied, candles flickering as members quietly read, or whispered to each other in hushed tones. She couldn't help but smile when she saw Velvet and Coco huddled next to each other in one of the beds, giggling softly as they caressed each other.

Adam glanced up from his desk, seemingly in the exact same position he had been in hours earlier, and gestured her over. She nodded and lightly made her way past the resting thieves all around her, stopping next to the desk.

"How did it go?" He asked in a hushed tone.

"Just a Redguard woman who wants me to steal her a book."

"Easy. Where from?"

"The College of Winterhold." Adam glanced up again, his eyes staring intensely at the younger woman.

"You declined, right?"
"I'm leaving in the morning, actually." He stood up suddenly, causing Blake to jump back. His gaze locked with hers as his face set itself in stone.

"You can't take that job."

"I already have."

"Then I forbid it."

"You're the Guild Master, Adam, but I'm still allowed to choose my jobs." She hissed angrily back at him, letting a dose of fire into her speech. They stood like that, huffing softly, ignoring the stares focusing on them from a few of the beds.

For a few tense moments, Blake felt a dark wave of fear swamping over her. Adam's eyes, cold and brooding, remained locked with hers, never even blinking. She had seen that gaze before, on the rare occasions that they had fought in the past. Thinking back to then caused the wave to rise higher, and she felt herself wavering in her stance.

And just like that, it was over.

Adam huffed and sat firmly back down in his chair, averting his eyes and attempting to burn through the thick ledger before him with his gaze alone. She could still sense the displeasure that radiated off of his hunched up form, but it had trickled to annoyance at the most.

"Fine. Do what you want, just try to be careful. You'd be hard to replace." He muttered before burying himself back in the book. She waited a moment before giving a stiff nod, retreating to her bed, right next to the one Coco and Velvet were lying in. Only when she felt her body sinking into the furniture did she let out a built up sigh of relief. Velvet's head popped up, looking admirably at the raven-haired girl.

"You're either the bravest thief in the Guild, or the most stubborn."

"Probably both." She grinned back tiredly, pulling the thin blanket over her body and rolling onto her side. It had been a long day, and tomorrow would be longer. As she drifted off, however, she couldn't help but worry about Adam's current attitude.

Oh well. She thought lazily, slipping closer to unconsciousness. It's just one job. It's not the first time we've clashed over this, and it certainly won't be the last. Satisfied with the logic, she slowed her breathing and quieted her mind, finally drifting into a deep, dark sleep.

Let me know what you guys think! I'm super excited for how this one turns out!