Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from the game, but I do claim my storyline and Jun.


The next day couldn't come any quicker for Brynjolf, for he was up at the crack of dawn ready to await his sponsored guest's arrival. However, he was met with a feeling of increasing discontent as the day slowly meandered on by and the woman was nowhere to be seen. It was mid afternoon when the very restless Nord's waiting game was interrupted by a familiar grinding sound from the Thieves Guild secret entrance. Brynjolf jumped to his feet, but was letdown when he saw it was just a fellow Guild member, Thrynn.

"Good afternoon Brynjolf." He greeted with a nod.

"Hey lad." The Nord replied, not hiding his disappointment very well.

"Huh, must be real bad if it's got you down. Wanna talk about it?"

"Maybe later. Was your job was successful?"

"Yup, there's no problem that a few broken bones can't fix." The thief confirmed casually.

"Mmhmm."

"Oh hey, what happened with that girl?" He asked when he noticed she was gone.

"Not sure. She's supposed to come today, but she hasn't shown." Brynjolf explained.

"Well, the day's not over yet. Give her a few more hours, she'll show." Thrynn comforted with a smile.

"You think so?"

"Of course. What woman can resist your roguish charm and that silly accent?" Brynjolf was about to argue, but he stopped when he heard that terrible scratching sound. The thieves attentively watched the entrance as the encumbered woman made her way down the ladder. Brynjolf quickly went over to her and gave her a warm greeting.

"Jun! Welcome, I was beginning to worry you weren't coming."

"Puh, starting too?" Thrynn teased. Brynjolf ignored that remark and brought her over to him.

"May I ask what kept you?" Brynjolf wondered. But was interrupted by the Guild Master's barking voice,

"Brynjolf! My desk! Now!" The red-head Nord looked nervous, but quickly gave one last order before he left.

"Go find Cynric, he'll know what to do. I'll be back in a second." Then he walked over to Mercer's desk. The former bandit looked at the dark haired woman and offered to take her things.

"Hey let me take those off your hands, I'll set them by my bed. Name's Thrynn by the way." The dark haired woman handed over her things and followed him.

"Thanks. I'm Jun." The thief was going to ask her why she was late, but Mercer had started to yell at Brynjolf.

"Uh, let's take this somewhere else. You don't want to hear this." Thrynn advised, guiding the guest through the Ragged Flagon's door. He lead her over to the bar, and sat down.

"Vekel, two meads, please." The blond Nord requested as he set a few coins on the counter. The bartender gave a nod, opened two bottles and set them on the table within reach.

"Is this your new lady?" He inquired.

"Nah. Brynjolf's. This here is Jun. Jun Vekel, Vekel Jun," Thrynn corrected before taking a drink. Jun remained quiet, and turned around on her seat to take in the atmosphere. The poorly lit, dreary environment reminded her of the mine. That made her feel uneasy. While she was busy contemplating what she had gotten herself into, a hooded thief came up to her.

"You're the one Bryn has been raving about?" He asked as he looked her over.

"I believe so." The woman answered. He pulled down his hood and put a hand out towards her.

"I'm Cynric."

She gently shook it and replied, "Jun." He then turned around and gave a shout to his fellow brethren,

"Hey! Get off your asses and line up! I only want to do this once." Quickly a small crowd of men and one woman congregated before her. She gave them an awkward smile, and the Bosmer was the first to speak.

"So, this is Brynjolf's pet-Ow! Er, friend?" Niruin started to say, but Cynric sharply elbowed some sense into him.

"Manners. We have a guest present," Cynric scorned him, "Everyone this is Jun." He then pointed to the rest of them as he gave short and sweet introductions for them, "The man older than a draugr is Delvin. The kid is Rune. Niruin's the elf. Tonilia is the girl. The stupid mean one is Dirge, and the stupid stupid one is Vipir." Everyone gave a nod or a wave and then returned to their posts. Jun just smiled, that was a lot of names and faces she needed to remember.

"As you were then." Cynric gave a slight bow before returning to his own seat. Thrynn had finished his bottle and turned to her.

"So you one of us eh? That's nice. We could probably use the help." He socialized.

"Well, I'm not officially one of you guys. I have a deal with Brynjolf." She admitted nudging her bottle of mead towards him.

"Ha, he is like the unofficial recruiter. How'd he convince you?" He picked the bottle up and took a swig.

"I help him, and he helps me find me knife."

"Your knife? What does it look–?"

"Thrynn! Get over here now!" Brynjolf yelled as he stood near the 'cabinet door'. Thrynn plopped off his seat and wandered over to his superior. As he got up, Cynric sat next to the new recruit and started to chat her up.

"Geez. You startled me. Are you okay?" Thrynn asked rather confused.

"You can't tell her about her dagger! We need her and that's our only leverage!" Brynjolf rushed in a very subdued voice.

"Huh, slow down Bryn, start at the beginning. What dagger?"

"The one we found on her that night we met."

"You mean the one in her?" Thrynn corrected.

"Yes. I accidentally took it, but she doesn't know that. So we made a deal were she aids us with our work, and in return, I'll help her find her lost dagger." The devious Nord explained.

"Uh, no disrespect, but this has to be the worst cons you've ever pulled."

"I know it's bad, but I know she can be of great use to us, but without anything to keep her here, she would just leave."

"How much did I miss when I was gone? Why do you want her? Is she a thief?" The former bandit asked trying to keep up with Brynjolf's crazy scheme.

"No. But she was able to escape Rune and Vipir."

"That's because they're idiots."

"Just trust me lad, she's the one who came bring us out of our slump."

"Okay. So, how are you going to keep this a secret? You'll have to tell everyone except her." Thrynn pointed out.

"I'm aware. I'll do that later. But for now, promise me that you'll keep silent about this."

"Alright. But, you'll tell her the truth eventually, right?" Brynjolf nodded,

"Yes, I just need to take one thing at a time."


While that conversation took place, another one was also in the works. This one happening between the seasoned lockpicker and the newest unofficial member. Cynric had even asked Vekel to give them some privacy before he made his move.

"So, how long were you in for?" Cynric casually said once the barkeep was gone.

"What?" Jun was surprised by the accusation.

"Don't try to hide it. I know an ex-prisoner when I see one."

"You're out of your mind, and being somewhat offensive." Jun responded.

"I don't think so. From the things I heard from Brynjolf say about you, I'd say I'm quite correct. Especially now since I've seen you. Were you incarcerated up in High Rock, or Skyrim? Or perhaps somewhere else...?" Cynric kept trying to get an honest answer from her.

"What makes you such an expert on inmates and jails?"

"If I tell you, will you tell me where you were locked up?" The thief offered the fair deal.

"Hmm, I'm not sure if that's a good idea." She reluctantly said.

"Why are you worried we'll kick you out or something? Half of us have been in the slammer. And nothing is below us, well, except murdering our marks. That's still off limits." He smirked.

"How do I know you're not just pulling this out of your ass?" The woman sensibly wondered. These were thieves after all.

"Me? A con-man? No, that would be Brynjolf. I'm more of 'behind the scenes' kind of criminal." The black haired Breton said without shame.

"Alright. You first though," she said cautiously. He nodded and revealed the source of his odd intuition.

"I used to be a jailbreaker. So I've seen many cells, and you my girl, have been stuck in one. Where'd they have you holed up?" Jun fidgeted around for a second, but then leaned into his ear and quietly answered,

"...Cidhna Mine."

"Damn, no joke?" Cynric sounded impressed and horrified at the same time.

"No. Please don't tell anyone though." She said docilely.

"Not my place to tell them. How long were you in for?"

"Much too long."

"Ha, I bet. What were you in for?"

"Rather not say."

"Hmm, alright. You can save that for a later date."

"Or never."

"If that's what you want." Cynric replied making sure to hide his disappointment.

"It is." They then spent a few moments staring at each other until Brynjolf came back and broke the tension.

"Ah, I knew I could count on you. Thanks Cynric. Hopefully you kept the others in line?"

"Yep. Vipir didn't even get the chance to hit on her." The Breton proudly stated.

"Good," Brynjolf smiled, he then turned his attention to Jun, "Lass, Mercer would like to speak to you."

"That doesn't sound good," Jun picked up on his uneasiness.

"Well, he's a, um, he's just difficult to get along with at first. But he'll get better once he gets to know you. Just watch your

tongue. And no shenanigans. Oh, and tell the truth. Do that and you'll be fine." Brynjolf advocated.

"He's your boss, right?"

"Mercer Frey is the boss. And he may or may not have a mudcrab stuck in his pants." Cynric dryly added.

"No. None of that," Brynjolf warned, "We're leaving." She got up but said her good byes to the mysterious man.

"Nice meeting you."

"Likewise." the former jailbreaker nodded. She then followed Brynjolf back into the Cistern.

When they entered, a very annoyed man was standing in the middle of the room. Brynjolf walked up to him and announced their arrival.

"Mercer, this is Jun. The one I want to bring into the Guild." Brynjolf said confidently. The shorter man walked around Jun as he sized her up, and then returned to his original spot.

"So, you are the one who Brynjolf has put all his last hopes and credibility into?" The man asserted in a very rough voice.

"Um, yes?" Jun wasn't exactly sure what 'the boss' was talking about.

"Do I sense doubt? I am not impressed...Tell me. What skills can you contribute to my organization?" Mercer's demeanor made Jun very nervous, she wanted to give him a proper answer as soon as possible. So she blurt out the first things that came to mind.

"I'm good at mining," she revealed, "and I can make some mean potions. I'm also a decent liar which is strange because I'm a terrible gambler. Oh, which brings me back to the whole alchemy thing. I recently lost all my ingredients in a card game, I did get some gold in return but that it a total rip-off...anyway, that's also why I was late today." The older man gave her a blank stare of disbelief.

"Brynjolf, why did you bring this disappointment to me?" The Nord stepped closer and came to her defense by alluding to the conversation they had last night.

"That wasn't our agreement. Remember that talk we had about giving her a fair chance?" Mercer scowled and smoothly continued with his negative remarks,

"My subordinate here forgot that he does not have the authority to let people into the Guild. That would be me. And I have no interest in letting you into my association without proof that you deserve a place. In order to prove your self worthy, I will give you this extremely simple entry level task. Complete it and return to me with the spoils. I shall then reevaluate my already low opinion of you. Do you accept my offer?"

"Sure–"

"You mean 'yes'?" The more proper man corrected.

"Yes." Jun agreed, making a mental note of his mannerisms.

"Very well then. Here is your assignment: Go to Whiterun. Ransack Breezehome–"

"Mercer! You–" Brynjolf protested. The Guild Master shot daggers at him and gave a sharp reply.

"Be quiet. I will deal with you later. As I was saying. Go to Whiterun, ransack Breezehome, and return to me with something interesting. Understand?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"Good. Leave now. I need to speak with my 'second in command' in private." Jun quickly gathered up her things and awkwardly left the two men alone to fix their dispute.


Jun exited the city and went over to the stables, but stopped for a moment to think of how she was supposed to complete her mission. Although she preferred to walk, she figured the Guild Master was not the sort of person to keep waiting. So, she hurried towards the carriage and was immediately greeted by the driver.

"Hey little lady. Need a ride?"

"Yes please. Can you take me to Whiterun?" She asked digging around for her light coin purse.

"For twenty coins I sure can." She paid him, and climbed into the back. There was also a half asleep man dressed in fine clothing with several empty wine bottle near his feet. Jun gave a face of discontent, but figured she could easily ignore him for the rest of the ride. They then set off on the few hour ride to the major capitol.


A/N: Another title that suits this chapter would be 'Secrets Don't Make Friends'. But who knows, they might work it out... or not.

And like always, thanks to all my readers and my awesome beta.