Note:
I bought Skyrim at the start of the year and, honestly, I'm obsessed with it. It's quite bad. Anyway, I thought I'd try to write a Skyrim based fanfic and this idea came into my head during an English exam. Yes, I probably spent more time planning this out and daydreaming about our favourite Scottish thief than actually finishing my coursework. Oh well- enjoy!
Suggestions/criticism are always welcome.
The Shadows That Guide Us
Mercer knew it was a suicide mission. Hell, we all did. He knew Karliah was dangerous and yet he went ahead with his foolish plan regardless and dragged her down with him. Her. The new lass. I saw potential, and all he saw was a pawn in his game to extract revenge. She deserved more than this- she didn't deserve to die at the hand of an old friend.
Or that's what Mercer said.
"She put up a fight, but it wasn't enough" he had declared when he returned from Snow Veil Sanctum alone. It was at that moment that any joy in the shadows of the cistern dissolved into darkness and loss. The Guild had never been a group of cheery, well-mannered people- we were thieves, to put it bluntly. I had always believed that this group only cared about the septims we stole from unsuspecting targets, and yet when she had entered the Ragged Flagon for the first time, I knew she was different. She brought us together right before Mercer ripped us apart once again.
The lass met her death at the tip of one of Karliah's arrows, and a blade to the chest ensured her fate. Mercer's forced condolences were lost on me and I retreated back into the shadows I had come from, still clutching the tankard of mead I had acquired to celebrate their expected return and success. I never intended to develop a friendship with the lass- in this profession, it's wiser to keep things to yourself, but something about her changed my mind. And right now, I can see exactly why I was hesitant to begin with.
From my position on the stone floor I can see Mercer pacing with a look of what I sincerely hope is guilt and regret upon his face. There was no denying the fact that the lass was talented, and Mercer knew that too. All that potential I had seen in her the day we met at the market was gone. Wasted on a fool's errand. A feeling close to resentment bubbles to the surface when I think of our current Guild master, but I push it away. There is truth in Mercer's words, and no matter how hard the part of my mind that has its doubts about what really happened in the sanctum tries to get out, I know I'll have to push it away.
She found her peace, and for that I am glad. She's free from the corruption within the cause of Riften's corruption itself, and the dangers of this world can no longer reach her.
The lass is with Gallus now; forever in the shadows, watching out for the Guild and guiding our every move.