Haven't been in the happiest of moods lately. Usually that makes for my best writing, but…pesky writer's block is still kicking my arse. But the best cure for writer's block is a good prompt. Since I want to write for The Girl with the Voice, I wasn't sure how I could do that with a prompt fest. Then it hit me…start a side project. I've been using Cherith's Dragon Age Prompt Generator for my 'Prompted' series of Dragon Age bits and bobs…so why not continue using it for Skyrim?

Since the story itself is told by everyone else, I figured this might be as good a place as any to give Marieka a bit of her own voice. I hope to continue to give her a common touch. Perhaps some of these stories might even tell a little about me. But not this one. I've never done anything like what Marieka's done here... *shifty eyes*

Thanks to zevgirl for the brilliant idea of ignoring the pairings and simply using the prompts.

So…here goes nothing.

As with all my Skyrim writing, Bethesda owns...I just borrow...

Locked Out

"Damn."

The Breton groaned as she dug through her pack, desperately trying to find the collection of keys she had amassed through her travels. Most were random – used once and forgotten. Some were simply found with no knowledge of what they could be used for. Still, Marieka had no desire to toss such things aside – there could be a use for them yet. But two of them were of import to her because she had earned them. Two keys represented months and months of hard work, fighting for coin and earning the right to purchase homes in the respective cities she now represented as Thane. Both Whiterun and Riften had become her home in their own right.

But as she stood at the front door of Honeyside, rifling through her pack, she realized the only way she would be entering her home this evening would be like a common criminal.

"Gods damned sabre cat," she muttered. She thought back to just how painfully unaware of her surroundings she was as she made her way home to Riften from Windhelm. The bloody cat came out of nowhere, swiping at her with its immense paw and knocking her clean off her feet. While she quickly regained her stance and managed to take the animal down, albeit with some considerable effort, it took much longer to retrieve her pack. The snow had been blowing and covered her pack as it lay on the ground while she tussled with the beast. When she finally managed to find the pack, she hadn't realized the items had – as she now discovered – fallen out of it.

Her keys, for one.

Her lockpicks, for another.

She shook her head angrily, looking around to ensure no guards would bear witness to what she conceded she would have to do. She raised her hand up, palm facing the lock of the door and began to summon an icy energy.

"Just what do you think you're doing there?"

The voice from behind her made her lose focus, as she jumped and she spun around quickly to see one of the city guards on patrol in the area.

"Oh!" she cried out. "I…I'm trying to get into—"

"Yes, I can see you're trying to get into that house," he said. "And now you're coming with me for trying to break into it."

"No," Marieka protested. "It's not what you think. This is…my home."

"Ha! Trying to break into the Thane's house and claiming it to be—wait, a minute," he said. "By the gods, it is you. My apologies, Thane. I did not recognize you."

She hung her head, considering just how tremendously unkempt she must have looked for the guard to have mistaken her for a…thief. Or, at least a common thief.

"I seem to have…lost the key to my home in my journeys," she admitted. "How embarrassing."

The guard smiled and told her he would retrieve the blacksmith – who somehow found the time to double as a locksmith for the city. When the two men returned, Balimund looked at Marieka and shook his head as she avoided his eyes. It was not the first time he had encountered her in this manner. He pulled out his tools and began to work at the lock.

"I suppose you'll be needing me to craft a new set of keys for your home," he grumbled.

Just as it seemed that the lock was ready to bend to his will, the handle of the door began to turn and the door slid open. A shadowed figure stood in the doorway.

"Brynjolf!"

The Nord stepped out and looked at Balimund…then at the guard…then at Marieka.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I…uh…" she stuttered.

"Our dear Thane seems to have locked herself out of her home," Balimund snorted. "And apparently did not think to do anything so complicated as knock to see if anyone might be home."

She buried her face in her palms and peered out between her fingers. "How much do I owe you for your assistance, Balimund?"

He packed up his tools and stood, turning to face her. "Ah Marieka. Your embarrassment is enough payment for me." The interest alone on such a payment was well worth it – he'd not let her forget this moment so readily.