Riften. That place was just a mess. Merchants in the market stalls were not nice, and could be violent. If they found a valuable item they wanted, but someone else wanted it, they would often kill for it. It happened so often that the guards stopped arresting the killer.
The city was not new to thievery either. The Thieves' Guild operated below the city, and they stole very often, especially in Riften. Thieves were killed by the guards if caught, but they were often too sly. And with their connection to the Dark Brotherhood, assassinations happened too. Just not as much as thievery though.
The place was such a disaster that not even the Jarl could make a public speech in her own city. She had two highly trained bodyguards, plus her sons who were also trained in battle. She was never allowed to go outside, not even with them.
It made Mjoll the Lioness upset to think about it. This place is where she was born, even though she's been all around Tamriel. The city really got to her.
"Mjoll, are you okay?" Aerin, her best friend asked her. She forgot they were eating dinner at the Bee and the Barb. She nodded in her happy mask. Just the thought of this city made her depressed.
Aerin was keen though, and saw right through her. "It's the Thieves Guild, isn't it? I've never seen you this upset about anything else."
She sighed with frustration. "Why do you always do that, Aerin?" she asked in her thick Nordic accent. "I'm upset, and you somehow know all the time? Why?"
"You're always upset. It worries me because I care about you. And it's always the Thieves Guild, all the time. Every time you think about it…"
"Shh!" she shushed him. Aerin was about to speak again, a bit louder this time, until he noticed the woman in the corner. She was eyeing them like prey, and sipped from a tankard. That was no doubt Sapphire.
She wasn't the pretty jewel she was named after. She was a thief of the guild in fact. She knew about Mjoll's ring with the inscription of her long gone parents. That ring was irreplaceable, and it could be sold for thousands of gold. Mjoll checked her finger to make sure it was still there, and it thankfully was.
"Do you want to leave?" He leaned over the table to whisper to her. But Mjoll could not stop staring at Sapphire. She firmly gripped the hilt of her sword, ready to attack if she got to close.
"Mjoll?" Aerin gently tapped her shoulder. For once she turned to him and looked at his steel gray eyes. He silently pointed at someone else, and Mjoll noticed he was anxious, or even a bit frightened by this person.
When she averted her blue eyes to the person he was pointing at, they widened. Another thief, but this one had to be worse than Sapphire. In Mjoll's opinion, she was even worse than the Guild Master. Ellaria! Her mind shouted at her.
That was no doubt Ellaria. She was an Altmer, with pointy ears poking out of light brown hair. Her eyes were facing away from her, but she could tell they were a shade of dark yellow-green. She was oddly short and pale for a High Elf, but still had a master skill in magic.
Mjoll had once trusted her. She nearly became a friend by volunteering to go retrieve her lost sword, Grimsever. She did get that sword. She had risked her life, and Mjoll didn't know how she was strong enough to escape. Then the worst part happened. Ellaria had betrayed Mjoll.
Unbeknownst to her, she had been the newest member of the Thieves' Guild, yet had quite some experience. Instead of giving her the sword, she snuck it into the Ragged Flagon and sold it, making a large profit.
Mjoll would never forgive her for that.
"Aerin," she started, and their eyes locked again. "It's best we should leave."
He nodded, still anxious. "Now," he added on.
Aerin was obviously too nervous to stay there any longer, but they still had to pay. Mjoll got up out of her seat, although she had barely touched her salmon steak. She approached the counter and took out a small bag of coins, but as she placed it on the counter, she took a glance at her hand.
Keerava started to count them, but Mjoll gasped upon seeing her hand. Aerin was behind her, and he stared with shock too.
"MY RING!" she shouted out loud. It was gone.
They turned around. Ellaria and Sapphire were, at first, walking casually out the exit. As soon as Mjoll yelled though, they broke out into running. Mjoll glared at them, having already caught them. She started running too, chasing after them into the cold night. She didn't know if Aerin was close behind or not, but that didn't matter. She needed her ring back.
After exiting, she barely saw them swerve right. She continued to run, ready to tackle them and forcefully take the ring back. Ellaria kept running, and Mjoll was catching up fast. The Elf kept looking anxiously back, and a few seconds later, Mjoll did jump on her. She didn't feel the thin body under her though, instead she hit the wooden ground, and Ellaria turned to fog.
Magic, she thought and got back up. I should've known better from an Elf!
Sapphire wasn't there, so she looked around for the real thieves. Just as she turned around, an arrow hit her pauldron and bounced off. It was a good thing she wore her heavy armor. Sapphire was on the roof, shooting arrows down at her. She dodged them quickly into an alley.
"Psst!" she heard someone loudly whisper and whipped her head around. Her eyes widened as she saw Ellaria, showing her the ring. She was obviously taunting her, but Mjoll was foolhardy enough to sprint at her. Ellaria didn't move, and just held the ring out at the perfect angle for her to reach. Mjoll ran faster, gritting her teeth and reaching an arm out.
Then, at the last second, she raised it up and tripped her. There was no railing to stop her, so she fell into the docks below. She was skilled enough to grab the ladder and climb before her armor could drown her. She came out of the docks just in time to see Ellaria throw the ring at Sapphire. To her surprise though, she caught the small ring, and ran along the roofs.
The Elf joined her, finding a way on the roof with barrels and crates, then running and jumping on the roofs. Mjoll could not go on there, knowing she was not as agile as them. Plus her armor would probably cause her to fall through and into someone's house. Instead she took out her bow and notched an arrow. She pulled back and aimed for Sapphire, and shot her perfectly. The arrow went into her knee, and she fell and stumbled off the low roof, landing on her side.
Mjoll ran up to her, but before she could reach her, Ellaria jumped off in front of her. She landed in a perfect side lunge, and unsheathed her magic sword, enchanted with fire magic. Mjoll got out her battleaxe just as Ellaria made the first swing. She dodged the swing and made a heavy blow at her.
Ellaria blocked it, although she fell down. Then Mjoll felt her hands burn and dropped the axe, remembering the sword had fire magic and the hilt of her axe was wooden. She kicked it into the docks before it could cause a large fire, and then noticed another light shining.
No! She thought. Ellaria had applied healing magic to Sapphire, and it was now two against one again. Sapphire pulled the arrow out of her knee and got up perfectly. Then she pulled out the ring, and Mjoll fell to the taunting again. This time, though, Ellaria swung around a mast and kicked her in the head. While she was still down, Ellaria put a green spell on her.
Mjoll screamed at the painful spell. It felt like she had ran across Tamriel and swam across the ocean. It was sucking the stamina out of her. After about 20 seconds, she finally let it go, leaving Mjoll to lay and groan there.
Sapphire laughed and put the ring in her pouch. Ellaria joined her as they walked away.
Just then, Aerin's voice came out, yelling her name. He was looking for her. She couldn't say anything back, but she just smiled. He had been the most careful and kind person she had ever met.
Aerin, she thought his name. Then the world went black.
"Huh?" Mjoll asked, and then realized she was somewhere else. The floor and walls were wooden, and there was a small window with green curtains covering it. The bedding on the bed was the same color. There wasn't much to look around, and the room was small.
Mjoll sat up slowly, feeling much better after her sleep. She was no longer in her armor, but clad in simple cloth clothing. Her blonde hair was out of its braids, tangled and greasy. She would have to wash and brush it soon, and take a bath from smelling like sweat and seawater.
She moved slowly and carefully in case she wasn't fully healthy. After sitting up for a while, she swung her legs over the side and stood up. Wondering where she was, she opened the curtain and looked out the window.
It was gray, cloudy, and rainy this morning, so mostly everyone stayed in their houses. Even the merchants, who needed to survive on their business, took the day off. A clap of thunder rolled by, and it was obviously a thunderstorm. She sighed, and honestly didn't want to go out either.
Just as she turned around, someone came into the doorway. He was an Imperial man whom she quickly recognized. "Aerin?"
He turned to her, and his face flushed. "Oh, Mjoll…I was just…checking on you." He obviously felt like he was doing something stupid, but she didn't know what or why. Maybe it was just her being upset and wanting alone time. After all, her ring was gone.
"Yes, that's fine," she nodded, smiling to try and relax him. He forced a smile too. They stood there in silence. It wasn't necessarily awkward, but peaceful instead.
This went on for 30 seconds, and finally Aerin decided to break it. "You look dirty. I should go draw you a bath."
He started leaving before she could protest, so she just answered, "Thank you."
The next hour was just as rainy and gloomy as she was. She tried to stay optimistic, glad that the thieves only took her ring and not her life. Still, that ring was the only possession of her parents she had left. She was used to wearing it through her lone journeys around Tamriel. Now her finger felt strange, as if it had been replaced.
Mjoll went on with her day though. She washed herself thoroughly until she was fully clean and smelled like soap. Aerin washed and polished her sword and armor, then cooked her eggs and bacon for breakfast. She ate them, still happy about him.
He was the kindest person in this city. One day, she was slowly crawling out of a Dwemer ruin, staining the snow red with her blood. She was on the brink of death, and was sure it would come. Then she felt a horse breathe on her, and she looked up. Aerin was on his horse, riding somewhere. She couldn't speak, and fell back down. She thought this was just a normal person, who would watch her die and ride off. He didn't do that. He dismounted and helped her up. Then he quickly took her to the nearest inn, where she was able to recover before they went to his home in Riften.
She would never know how to fully repay him for that. The closest she could get was to help rid the Thieves' Guild from the city.
"We have mail," he came by and set it on the table. His voice drew her from her thoughts. Then she looked at the small paper envelope.
"What is it?" she picked it up and examined it, turning it in all directions. He shrugged, gesturing that he didn't know what it was.
So she broke the seal and opened the flap. At that moment, she felt the shape of the small object, and hesitated. Aerin looked at her, and then took a seat across from her. He was just as curious to what it was. She continued to open it, and then spilled into her hand. Mjoll gasped with excitement. Aerin looked over, and he too gasped. It was the ring!
"Thank the Divines!" she exclaimed and slipped it on her finger, admiring it on her hand.
"Who found that?! Where did they find that?!" Aerin added on loudly. She turned to him and shrugged.
"That doesn't matter," she turned back to her beautiful ring. "What matters is that someone caught them and brought the ring back."
Aerin didn't know what else to say, so he turned away. "I'm happy for you," he sighed. He had always wanted to see her happy, but know she seemed…different. Plenty of things have been stolen from him in the past, but he never saw them again.
She faced him, and before she knew it, had pulled him into a hug. He froze. They had been friends for a long time, but they never bothered to touch each other like this. He ended up hugging her back, and found the courage to finally admit his undying love for her.
"Mjoll?" he asked, flushed. She pulled away, yet kept him in her arms, awaiting an answer.
He didn't know what to say now. Just seconds ago, he felt like a courageous man determined to admit his feelings. But now he was awkward and speechless.
She must've seen the look on his face, and giggled. "You love me, don't you?"
"Ahh!" he shouted, then stuttered uncontrollably. "No! Uh…I mean yes! YES! Well…um…"
He didn't get the chance to say anything else, and she pulled his lips into her's. He didn't think for a moment, then closed his eyes and held her. They lost themselves for each other as they kissed.
It seemed like an eternity before they pulled away, but they finally did. "I love you," she smiled.
He smiled too. He was glad they could be happy, even if it was just this one, small moment. "I love you too."