Lily's smile faded and she didn't bother to move as Baran whirled around, yanking a dagger from his boot. "Jake," she said flatly.

There were sounds of struggle and very male grunts behind her, but she continued to stare in front of her. Finally, they stopped and Baran resurfaced from the bushes behind him, and she finally looked over. He had Jacob's head locked in one powerful armoured arm. "You know this guy?" he demanded, gawking at her.

"Unfortunately."

"Hey!" the trapped Imperial squawked indignantly. "You can't say that! You smiled when you saw me today!"

"I'm sure you imagined that," Lily lied, turning to glower at the thief. "What do you want?"

As if to emphasize her words, Baran tightened his grip around Bercarius' neck, but this didn't seem to go over well. Something moved behind Lily, and a razor-sharp claw suddenly poked her neck, near where the dremora had cut her.

"Touch him, Blade scum," growled the thing behind her. "I want you to."

Baran clearly knew a threat when he heard one. Lily stared, wide-eyed, as the knight slowly and reluctantly removed Jacob from his clutches. As soon as he was free, Bercarius shoved away and rubbed his neck.

"Thanks, Dar'vaba," he said gratefully, "but you know I'd be pretty pissed if you killed Lil."

The Khajiit released her and slunk over to Jacob's side. Once he was gone, Lily glowered at Jake. "I thought I told you to stop calling me Lil," she demanded, just as Baran asked curiously, "Why would you be pissed if she died?"

Jacob's dark brows arched upwards, obscured by a few locks of fallen brown hair. "She's fun," he said, grinning between Baran and Lily. "I'd be one sad little boy."

"What do you want?" Lily asked again, feeling her irritation slip away. "Did you follow me here just to bother me?"

"No, actually. Well, yeah, we followed you, but that was only part of the reason. I actually have some business on the waterfront I need to do tonight," Jake admitted, shrugging one shoulder. "So, Uriel had another son, huh?"

Baran's eyes flashed dangerously and his lips pressed together, but he didn't answer. At the knight's silence, Jake nodded and said, "Hm, figured as much. Emperors never know boundaries. They've all got a few illegitimate kids, I bet. Hey!" He slapped Baran's arm, and Lily winced; it had to have hurt to hit solid muscle underneath mithril. "I've heard of a lot more Oblivion Gates opening up around Cyrodiil. Knowing anything about that, Hero of Kvatch?" It would have been impossible to miss the mockery in his voice.

Lily was a little surprised by this. There was no way to tell if he was lying, but he seemed sincere enough. More Oblivion Gates in the province? That was bad news. She silently thanked this Jauffre fellow for thinking to bring Martin to Cloud Ruler Temple.

"That doesn't concern you," Baran retorted. "Excuse me. I have things to do." He stood and scowled at Jacob. "Sister, would you like to join me? I can't say it'll be fun, but…" He trailed off, and she knew what he was trying to say: want to get away from this creep?

Lily reluctantly shook her head. "I don't want to get in the way." Of business with Baurus, she let her eyes finish for her. "But it was sweet for asking."

Baran nodded and rested his hand on the hilt of his sword—which she guessed was a katana. "All right. Remember, if you ever need anything, Sister, I'll probably be in the City for a while yet."

Lily hopped to her feet. "Thank you." She glanced back at Jake and Dar'vaba, who were both watching with mild interest, before leaning in close to Baran and whispering, "How many Oblivion Gates have you closed?"

A small smile formed on his face. "Four, including Kvatch," he admitted, just as softly. "I've still got burns from the last one." Lily gasped, and he chuckled. "Have you ever been to Oblivion? It's hot, and I wear metal. I should go before Baurus kills me. See you later, Sister."

"Bye." Lily watched him leave in silence. Once he was around a corner up ahead, she turned back to Jacob and his housecat.

"Oh, man," Jake said as if in disbelief. "He was totally flirting with you."

Her face suddenly grew hot. "No, he wasn't."

Dar'vaba growled quietly, and Jake said, "Well, not the whole time. But he was so friendly, all cuddly and close. Wonder where his burns are? It's hot, and I wear metal," he cooed. The cat growled again. "I'll bet he wears a manly metal codpiece."

Just because he was quickly embarrassing her and she desperately needed something to say, she snapped, "You sound jealous!"

Jake's expression immediately dropped, and Dar'vaba's ears flattened. "Jealous?" the Imperial choked. "Of that? Because I definitely want to be the poor shit who has to take orders from an old Blade git just to get some new fool on the throne."

Rage built up inside Lily, and she didn't even notice as her hands grew warm with magic. "Don't talk about him that way."

"Who? Your precious hero, a Blade Grandmaster or Marty?"

"All of them! You are quite possibly the most infuriating man on the planet, Jacob," Lily muttered, rubbing her palms against her legs.

He stood up, and was followed immediately by Dar'vaba. Lily cringed and wished they had remained seated on the ground; both were so much taller than her, and so much more intimidating when standing. To her surprise, he smiled. Well, smirked, but the idea was the same. "Jacob? Since when have we been on first-name terms? I guess you don't hate me. Stop proving my point, Lil."

"Cub." Lily and Jacob both stopped glaring at each other and turned to look at Dar'vaba. He was gazing impassively at the sky. "Night settles. The Garden will not wait."

Jake waved a dismissive hand. "I've got 'til midnight, and the waterfront isn't far. And he's not about to kick me out for being late." The Khajiit merely glowered at him, and Bercarius sighed heavily. "All right, fine, let's go. He's not going to be happy to see you again, you know, so you'll going to have to hang out at the Bloated Float or something."

"I know."

Lily watched silently until Jake turned back on her. "Well, I guess we're taking our leave of you, Lil. For now."

"For now," she repeatedly stiffly.

Jacob smirked and winked once, which made her blood run cold. "Come on, we should go, cat," he said to his friend, and the two slunk past her. They made absolutely no noise as they strode south to the waterfront of the Imperial City.

As she watched them disappear into the growing night, she made a quick decision. She would go to an inn, and once she was sure they had left the district, she would go to the waterfront.

And she would finally know who Jake Bercarius really was.

—

She was surprised to learn that the inn she chose at random was the same that Baran and his Blade informant were meeting at. Baran grinned at her when she stepped inside, and his Redguard companion merely muttered something under his breath and continued staring at the counter.

Lily ignored them and sat in the corner for a few hours, forming little balls of fire between her palms before wishing them away with the same power that summoned them. A few other patrons glowered at her and she heard one mumble, "That sort of thing should be left for the Archmage and his puppets," but she ignored them too and waited another hour and a half before leaving.

It wasn't hard to find the waterfront. She simply travelled south through the city until she came to a gate that reeked of water and bird droppings. The guards let her through without question, and she found herself staring at a large lighthouse attached by bridge to a half-circle of stone wall. Two ships were docked in the harbour; one was menacingly dark, and the other was brightly lit, and she could hear people shouting and laughing from inside. It actually sounded like an inn, but that was ridiculous. It was a ship.

She hurried down the bridge to the stone walkway by the ships. She didn't know what time it was, but it was certainly nearing midnight, and she wanted to know what Jacob was up to.

All along the semi-circle wall were doors and archways, but none led anywhere that seemed important until she reached the dark, quiet ship. She glanced through an arch and spotted old, derelict shacks squatted by the shores of Lake Rumare. This seemed to be the only place with any life, other than the floating tavern, so she crept down the stairs and peered around. The houses were all dim and silent, and in the darkness she couldn't see. She hid quickly behind a wall and cast a simple night-eye spell over herself, and everything suddenly became brighter.

From her simple hiding place, she found she could see most of the sad little neighbourhood. Next to the wall leading to the boardwalk was a little patch of grass behind a few houses, and besides another couple dilapidated buildings, it was a fairly small, grimy place.

Just as she was about to give up and maybe ask nonchalantly around the lit up ship, she spotted something moving far ahead, in the plots of lawn behind the houses. It was a person, someone tall with shoulder-length waves and an obviously masculine build. She couldn't see his face, but if she had to place a guess, then this was Jacob himself.

She hid a little better to recast the spell before creeping out again. He was leaning against a little stone wall behind the last house in the row, and everything about his body language made him seem tired and bored.

Finally, after an aeon, another figure crept out of the shadows near him. Jacob didn't seem to notice, but he wasn't at all surprised when the man spoke. She couldn't hear their words, they were too far away, but she caught the low rumble of male voices; Imperial male voices. Whoever he was with was a countryman, evidently.

From what she could see, the newcomer was your average man, though he was wearing a dark grey cowl over his head and the armour he wore wasn't like any she recognized. Every so often she heard him exclaim, "Capital!" as if he was delighted about something, but Jake kept his voice low.

And then it was over. Lily didn't know what she expected when their meeting finished, but it was certainly more than the final "Capital!" and the hooded stranger slinking back into the darkness without another word. It was a bit anticlimactic, actually.

But there was something about that man. She felt as though she had seen him before, but she wasn't entirely sure where. That grey hood of his seemed very familiar somehow…

Realization slapped her across the face. The Black Horse Courier and wanted posters all over the City—that was where she had seen him!

He was the Gray Fox: the leader of the infamous Thieves Guild.

By the gods, Jacob Bercarius was a professional thief.

Panic washed over her and she knew she had to run, had to leave, had to do something other than stand there like a dolt beside the stairs that led to the rest of the waterfront! But she couldn't move. Her feet were rooted to the old dirt below her, and she was simply gawking in his direction as the night-eye faded away and his dark shadow was heading in her direction.

Her hearted was thudding crazily in her chest, threatening to break free of her ribcage. Her eyes were locked on him as he meandered idly toward her, but she couldn't do more than stare. Her vocal chords were frozen.

She had just seen the Gray Fox. She had just seen one of the most dangerous men of history with her very eyes.

It looked like Jake was going to wander right past her, back up to the main part of the waterfront. Just as he turned to head for the stairs, he paused and said softly, "You won't tell."

Her breath came back to her in one sudden, painful gulp. As soon as she regained control of her movements, her fingers began to tremble and she felt on the verge of an anxiety attack. "Wh-Wh-What?" she stammered pitifully.

It was too dark to really see him clearly until he came right up close to her. Rather than a smirk or a leer or a grin as she expected, his face was utterly serious. "You won't tell," he said again, just as quietly as before. "That you've seen the Gray Fox. That I'm in the Thieves Guild. I'd figured you'd known already that me and Dar'vaba aren't your regular scoundrels."

"Y-Yes…"

She didn't like him when he was being serious. It was terrifying.

"Yeah. Figured. So you won't tell. And if you do, I'll find out and I won't be happy. And Dar'vaba won't be happy. And don't worry—he knows people that could take good care of you if you told."

The menace in his voice slashed her like a blade.

Lily simply stared at him in frozen horror. "What…?" she whispered breathlessly.

Jake cocked his head to the side like a puppy. It almost made him look innocent—and that was a terrifying thought. "Dar'vaba? He's not in my guild. I'm the only thief he can stand. If you tell anyone—whether it's your precious Hero of Kvatch or the newest Septim—what you've just seen, my housecat's friends will take care of you. Sithis. The Night Mother. Lucien Lachance. The Black Hand. Ring any bells?"

Her throat closed up again and she barely choked, "The D-Dark Brotherhood."

An icy smile formed on his lips. "Smart girl. So you won't tell."

Lily hastily shook her head. "I w-won't tell."

Jake reached up and gently patted her cheek, and his customary smile was back. "You suck at hiding," he said much more cheerfully. "Take some lessons next time you want to hide from the best thieves in Tamriel. The Gray Fox wasn't at all pleased that someone was out here."

Stunned at his sudden change in mood from positively murderous to happy with all in the world, Lily could do little more than stare at him. Jake sighed and rolled his eyes, taking control of the situation. He hooked an arm around hers and forced her to walk with him. She stumbled ungracefully along beside him, still trying to wrap her head around what he said.

He was a thief.

Dar'vaba was an assassin.

Thieves Guild.

Dark Brotherhood.

Dear gods, she knew how to pick them.

Lily looked up at the dark black sky and thought, Sorry, Akatosh. I guess Martin, Ilav and Oleta were the only things keeping me in line. Look who I keep company with now.

For some reason, she pictured the old god smiling and laughing. It comforted her a bit, which she needed, especially when she heard Jake say, "C'mon, let's go to the Bloated Float. Dar'vaba's waiting, and I can buy you a drink." He must a have caught her expression, for he added quickly, "Uh, not like that. I'm being friendly. Not like that!" he added again and swore softly.

Lily's smile was wavering, but still genuine. "I forgive you, Jake. If you've gone all this time without really robbing me and without Dar'vaba killing me, I think I can trust you… a little."

He grinned; she could see his teeth in the torchlight above them. "A little's better than nothing. Don't expect a warm welcome from Dar'vaba though. He doesn't like anyone but me. And Lucien. And the Brotherhood. But still, he hates you. And don't tell him you know that he's an assassin, okay? It's really supposed to be a secret thing."

"He doesn't… hide it well," Lily mentioned, warming up a little in body and mind; Jacob was standing close to her, arm in arm, and the night was chilly.

"Eh, it's all he's known. Do you know what I think?"

"I probably don't want to know," she muttered.

Jake chuckled and nudged her with one elbow. "Just when you were warming up to me… tsk," he clucked, shaking his head. "Seriously though, I think, since I really am such a major factor in your life, you should tell me what it was like to be a priestess."

Lily nearly hurt her neck when she glanced over at him. "What?" she said stupidly. He watched her with a look that seemed to say that he was completely serious about it. "Oh… uh… like what?"

"What did you do? I mean, I really have no clue. I've only ever really met Daedra worshippers, and they aren't the friendliest bunch."

Lily's mouth twisted when he spoke, and she thought of the poor people at the shrine of Clavicus Vile. "Well… in the morning, we have a service. We preach. Well, I didn't, or at least I didn't very often. My friend did. And we healed those who were sick, and gave advice to those who needed it. And if we weren't busy, my friends would teach me about other magic than Restoration, even though the primate of the chapel didn't like it…" She swallowed a particularly nasty lump in her throat. "And what's it like being a thief?"

"Scary. But that good kind of scary where you think you'll get caught, you know there's a chance, but you really just don't give a shit because you're good at what you do," he said softly, as if in a dream. Lily smiled somewhat. While she didn't approve of his choice in careers, she was always happy when she saw someone who loved what they did. "Your heart is beating like crazy, and you can hear everything around you, almost like, just for those moments when you had to steal something, the gods gave you superhuman senses. And once you have what you came for it's like…" A sudden grin split his face. "Hell, it's like the best damn skooma in the Empire, before you crash and the lows kick in."

Lily snorted with laughter and they stopped walking, not far from the floating inn, the name of which appeared to be the Bloated Float. "I'm afraid I've never had skooma."

"Don't start. Really hard to quit," he advised, letting go of her arm. A gust of cold air suddenly hit her side, and she was almost sad that he wasn't beside her anymore. Almost. After all, he was still a man of ill repute.

Jacob tilted his head to the side again and contemplated her. Uncomfortable with his gaze, Lily looked out at the water surrounding them. The glassy black surface made fear trickle to her bones. After her brief, watery adventure in Anvil, she had gained a sudden terror of such an innocent-looking thing.

"Kvatch, right?" Jake's voice distracted her from one fear, only to push her towards an agonizing memory. "You were there when it burned?"

Lily shut her eyes. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You know, you mutter 'Akatosh' under your breath a lot," he mentioned, striding towards the entrance to the Bloated Float. Lily frowned and followed him. "Or when you don't actually say it, you mouth it. You don't come across as the really religious sort, but I guess it's stuck to you, huh?"

She nodded and brushed her hair from her face. The tavern was rowdy and loud, and seemed like an interesting place, and the light from the windows caught in Jake's dark hair, lighting up strands of gold and red hidden in the browns. "I haven't set foot in a chapel since… that day," she murmured, "but I'll always be a priestess."

Jake strode across the gangplank and rested a hand on the door. "Yeah. One day, when I'm in the Imperial Prison for robbing the clothes off the Emperor while he slept, I'll still be a thief. Oh, right, the future emperor's your friend," he added, grinning at her.

Lily blinked in confusion. "Did I do something?"

"Do all redheads blush like that? Gods, you'd be better than the lighthouse."

She scowled and rubbed her cheeks, though that probably only made them redder. Why would she be blushing?

Jacob seemed to read her expression and his grin widened. "Stop imagining him naked, Lil. Come on, Dar'vaba doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Lily gawked at after him as he pushed open the door to the Float and held it for her, and she followed after firmly implanting into her mind an image of a mud crab dancing on the Gray Fox's head.

Needless to say it worked, and made her snort when she stifled a laugh.

Jake eyed her warily, but didn't question why she made the sound as she slid down the gangplank and stepped into the Bloated Float. Inside, there were some Bosmer and Nords, Altmer and Imperials, a couple of Orcs and even a man who was dressed in extremely fancy Legion gear. In a corner table of the cramped ship-turned-inn was Dar'vaba.

Lily saw Jacob wink at him after glancing at the Legion soldier when he stepped into the inn. She had no clue what that was about, but she thought better than to ask as she followed him through the chatty crowd to where the Khajiit sat.

The bright green eyes narrowed considerably when she and Jake arrived. "Why is this one here? And why is she so red?"

Those simple words immediately made the flush worsen. Mud crab dancing on the Gray Fox's head, mud crab dancing on the Gray Fox's head…

Dar'vaba glanced over at Jake. "Cub, why does she mutter about the Gray Fox?"

There was an indignant grunt from the middle of the room, and Lily turned just in time to see the white-and-gold armoured soldier push toward them. "Why are you talking about the Gray Fox?" he demanded harshly.

Lily flinched and retreated a few steps. Dar'vaba remained silent and simply glowered at this newcomer. Jake snickered and said, "Oh hello again, Lex."

The Imperial glared daggers at him. "Jacob Bercarius. I thought you were scared out of town."

"Hell no. I'll always be here somewhere."

The soldier shoved past Lily, making her tumble with absurd grace toward a slightly inebriated Nord man. He caught her and helped her on her feet without making any drunken advances; everyone nearby the corner table was staring at the hushed scene.

"I know you're in the Thieves Guild, Bercarius," this man, Lex, snarled as he leaned in close to Jake. "Just you wait. Soon I'll have enough to prove it, and you'll be behind bars for a good long time."

Jacob merely smirked in response, and glanced over the soldier's shoulder to meet Lily's gaze. She squeaked and clapped her hands to her mouth. Mud crab dancing on the Gray Fox's head…

"I'll be waiting, Lex," Jake replied smoothly. "But the Gray Fox isn't here. Go search somewhere else."

The soldier snorted and turned, leaving them alone. As soon as he was gone, Lily hurriedly plopped down on a chair opposite Jake. "Who was that?" she asked nervously, watching him speak with an Orc on the other side of the tavern.

"Hieronymus Lex. He's hell-bent on taking the Thieves Guild down in time for tea." Jake's dark eyes followed the soldier for a few minutes before he shook his head and returned to his company at the table. "Dar'vaba, Lil saw me with the Fox today."

She couldn't believe he was speaking so freely about that when crazy Hieronymus Lex was only metres away.

The cat growled softly in his throat. "And she knows? You do not care?"

"She won't tell."

Dar'vaba nodded stiffly. He didn't believe his friend. "You never said why she mutters of him."

"Well, I can't say I know." Jake gave Lily an expectant look. "Why are you muttering about the Gray Fox?"

Too mortified to explain, Lily said blankly, "Mud crab dancing on the Gray Fox's head."

Bercarius laughed and Dar'vaba merely watched her with that same expression—slightly scowling, but mostly deadpan.

"Never tell your friend that you pictured him in the buff, Lil," Jake advised wisely. "I don't think he'd appreciate it."

"No, I can't imagine he would," she said squeakily. The thought of Martin finding out… she felt her face grow even hotter.

She was vaguely aware that Jacob was laughing, and that Dar'vaba was making a noise that could be interpreted as laughter. "Look! Her face is as red as her hair!"

Lily groaned and dropped her head on the table, burying it with her arms.

Her first day in the Imperial City had gone a lot differently than she imagined.

Ugh, imagined. She moaned again, which only brought more laughter from her dark companions.

Mud crab dancing on the Gray—

Oh, to hell with it.

—

The next day, after being persuaded to stay overnight at the Bloated Float by Jake and Dar'vaba—well, the Khajiit had just grunted when Jake suggested it—Lily went to explore the waterfront in the daytime. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the water didn't look so evil now, but she still wasn't keen on hopping in like she had in Anvil.

Still, the gentle lapping waves were a pretty grey-blue, and she couldn't help the wave of giddy childishness that washed over her. She made herself comfortable on the end of the walkway near the shabby neighbourhood and pulled off her boots, sticking her feet into the water. For all that she knew, Jake and Dar'vaba were still inside the Bloated Float, and she was one of the few people outside enjoying the day.

The water was pleasantly cold on her feet, contrasting with the warmth of the morning. She kicked her feet in lazy circles, thinking of the night before. Jake had been good to his word and he had bought her a drink—with no funny business attached, too. She was careful not to drink anymore, though, just in case. She quickly learned as the night went on that Dar'vaba, like many Khajiit, had a bit of a weak spot for sugary things, including certain alcohols, and he was under the table in no time flat. Jacob last a bit longer before leaping to his feet and declaring that he was going to stop the Daedra by kicking their Prince's sorry ass. That was when he fell on the table, and everyone glared at Lily like she was supposed to take care of them. The bouncer did the work for her.

She also learned that the almighty Daedra-kicker recovered quickly from drinking. While in her room, the thought of Martin on their last day together in Kvatch kept coming back to her, and she spent an hour or more sobbing into her pillow before Jake wandered into her room and simply sat there beside her. He didn't speak once.

To her surprise, she felt better with someone at her side.

That brief recovery didn't last, however. Her companions probably had wicked hangovers, and would no doubt spend the morning in the Float.

"Hm, can't say I expected to see you here," a friendly voice said behind her. "Having fun?"

Lily shielded her eyes from the sun with one hand and turned awkwardly to see Baran standing there, decked out in mithril with his katana at his hip. "So much fun," she confirmed. "How was business with Baurus?"

"Oh, about as fine as it can be. I've got to head back to Cloud Ruler Temple soon, but I really don't want to." He sighed and crouched beside her. "Jauffre can be pretty demanding, but he's a nice old guy. And Martin seems like he'd be great too, but he's always chest-deep in books about the Mythic Dawn and Daedric Princes. The other Blades are busy too. It's a pretty miserable place."

Lily pulled her feet from the water and sat parallel to the gently sighing waves. "Martin is a great person," she assured him, still holding her hand over her face. The morning sunlight was comfortably warm, but surprisingly bright. "I knew him for three years before you stole him. He's probably just got a lot on his mind."

"I can imagine. You still wandering the City on your own?"

"Would you believe that I'm with those two jerks who snuck up on us yesterday?"

"Oh, gods."

Lily laughed and rolled her eyes. "Well… they're not that bad," she admitted, to herself and to him. "One isn't, at least. The other really hates me."

She felt his eyes on her for some time, so she let her gaze drift over the lake around them. This was an extremely beautiful part of the province. Cleaner than Anvil, richer than Skingrad… but she still needed to explore the other counties before saying this was the best.

A few minutes of peaceful silence passed. Finally, Baran mentioned, "Your eyes are red. Have you been crying?"

Lily felt herself frown, and he immediately added, "I'm sorry, it just seemed like it. I don't want to be rude."

"No… it's all right. I have been, actually. About Martin, if you can believe it," she mumbled, feeling her frown deepen.

"I can."

She nodded awkwardly. "Okay, so it's more believable than I thought."

Baran sighed softly and stood up, holding a hand to her. She grabbed it and thought distractedly how weird it was to feel leather and mithril instead of human flesh. He pulled her to her feet and handed her the boots she had discarded. "I've got an idea," he said slowly. "It's probably a bad idea. In fact, I know it's a bad idea. I think Jauffre might kill me, find a necromancer to resurrect me, then kill me again. But I'll score some brownie points with the future emperor…"

"Baran," Lily interrupted after tugging her boots back on. "What are you talking about?"

He grinned suddenly and grabbed her hands. "Stop exploring the country for a few days. Surely you can leave those scoundrels you were with." His grin widened and small tendrils of excitement and anticipation grew inside her. "Come with me to Cloud Ruler Temple."