The Thief That Stole His Heart
Summary: Since the Dovahkiin restored the Guild to its full strength, the thieves have enjoyed their luck and filled their coin purses to the brim; but their luck will become even stronger when a foe becomes an ally. But what ties to the Guild does this thief have and why is Brynjolf so drawn to her?
VII: Secrets
She placed her armour onto her body and caught Brynjolf staring at her, she smiled to herself and fixed her chainmail around her chest. She felt his arms wrap around her waist once more as he placed a kiss on the top of her head. Elsie melted into his embrace, feeling whole in herself for the first time in her life. She wanted things to work between her and Brynjolf, but she feared that her mother and father's history would play out between the two of them.
"Are we going to tell anyone about us?" he said as she turned in his arms.
"Not just yet, I want this to be between only us, for a little while at least." She placed her hands on his chest and shook her head. "Are things even official between us?"
"They seem official to me, lass."
"Then there's a better reason to keep it from the rest of the Guild. I don't want to cause too much attention to myself, people are going to slowly find out about my ties to Mercer and I don't want you pulled into the backlash."
"I'm always going to defend you, I've been doing that since the day you stepped into our family."
"But I know how the Guild feels about Mercer and I can guarantee that people won't be enthusiastic about rubbing elbows with his daughter." She stepped away from him and placed her hands on her hips. "I think I should tell people before it slips out. It would be better if it came from my mouth instead of someone else's."
"It's up to you, I'll support whatever you decide."
She took his hand, filling the space between his fingers with her own. "We should head back before someone comes looking for us."
He kissed her one last time, it could be their last kiss for a while. Their relationship was going to be a secret for as long as fate would allow it. Brynjolf was going to have to follow her lead.
When she stepped into the cistern, she was surprised to have such a warm welcome. Word of her jail time had obviously gotten out, probably through Cynric but she didn't mind too much; the welcome home was a perfect example of everything that Brynjolf had been preaching to her. This was a family, it was dysfunctional at times, but it was still a family. She was greeted by members that she had avoided and even Vex gave her the faintest smile. Odin waited until everyone had gave her breathing room before approaching her.
"I hope you aren't roughed up too badly. Cynric told me how the guards treated you."
She felt Brynjolf's eyes of concern on her as she folded her arms across her chest. "It wasn't pleasant, and I hope to never spend time in a jail cell again." She looked away from Odin and bit her bottom lip. "I know that my past has come to your attention and in case it hasn't been made clear, I still want to bring this Guild back to its former glory."
"Given what you've been through over the past week, I want to send you on a couple of smaller, solo jobs. I'm going to send you in Delvin's direction, you'll be answering to him for a few weeks." Odin looked to Brynjolf. "I need to speak to you about that job I mentioned earlier."
"I almost forgot about that, I'm sorry lad." He had been so distracted with Elsie that Odin's request completely slipped his mind.
"It's fine, let's speak about it now. Elsie, I want you to get some food and a decent night's sleep, you'll be back in action tomorrow morning. And, I'm glad you made it out of Castle Dour intact."
"Thank you, Odin." She glanced at Brynjolf and nodded at him. "Brynjolf."
"We'll catch up another time, lass." He gave her a quick smile and followed Odin into his quarters and closed the door behind them.
"I hope you told her about what happened between us and Karliah in as little detail as possible." Odin said as he took a seat behind his desk.
"I didn't reveal the secret of the Nightingales if that's what you're worried about."
"Good, does she resent me for my decision?"
Brynjolf shook his head and took a seat in front of his leader. "No, she said that she respected your decision. The lass has her head screwed on. All she wants is to make some coin."
"I just don't want to lose a valuable asset over a misunderstanding, but enough of that unpleasantness… I need your help with something."
"Anything."
"I want this to remain between us for the meantime, but I need you to acquire a house in Riften for my wife and me without going through all of that hassle. I'll be relocating here permanently."
Brynjolf tilted his head and raised his brow. "Is there something you're not telling me, lad?" a smile crept onto his face.
Odin grinned at him and leaned back into his chair. "Ysolda and I are going to have a child, I don't want to be leaving the Guild every couple of days and making the trips back and forth to look after both, so we agreed to move into Riften. Besides, Riften is a good place for her skooma business to take off."
"Congratulations, I'm pleased for you and I'll get on it right away." Odin's news genuinely made Brynjolf happy. He always liked kids, perhaps it was because he acted like a big kid himself at times.
"Thanks, Brynjolf, keep this to yourself for a few weeks. It's still early days."
"I'll let you be the one to tell everyone, it's not my place." Brynjolf got out of his chair and flashed one last smile at Odin. "I can't wait to teach him or her a couple of skills."
"We've got to find a place to live first."
"I'll have a word with Maven, see what strings we can pull."
"She always did like you better, must have a soft spot for you."
Brynjolf laughed a little and shook his head as he stepped out of the room. "I'll speak with her in the morning."
He stepped into the Ragged Flagon and took the seat across from Elsie, she had her head down and was shovelling her bowl of stew into her like it was going to be snatched off her any second. She glanced up at him and wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve. She glanced around to see if anyone was looking before she placed her hand on his briefly.
"Can I help you, Brynjolf?"
"I need to speak with you."
She smirked and raised a brow. "We're speaking right now." She leaned back into her chair and crossed her arms.
"Very funny, using my words against me. I'm being serious."
She rolled her eyes and got onto her feet. "Mercer's home, ten minutes." Elsie got out of her chair and put the half-eaten bowl of stew in front of Vekel. "Thanks for the dinner, again your talents are wasted here."
Brynjolf turned in his chair and watched her as she joked around with the bar keep.
"You really need to stop trying to flatter me."
"If it means that I keep getting free stew, then I'll keep complimenting you."
"You only got it because of what happened to you in Castle Dour."
When Elsie glanced over her shoulder at Brynjolf, he turned away quickly.
"I wouldn't have told Cynric anything if I knew he was going to blab about it to everyone."
"Don't be so harsh on him, I think he was concerned about you."
Elsie nodded and stepped away from the bar. "I suppose, I'll just have to start picking and choosing what I'm going to tell people. Again, thanks for dinner."
She lit the fire in the bedroom and sat in front of it, waiting for Brynjolf to show up. He was very punctual and as he walked up to the second floor, he caught a glimpse of her warming the inside of her boots. He laughed to himself and took the seat beside her.
"Someone's made themselves comfortable here. This place has changed."
"It's mine now, it's the least Mercer owes me. Haven't got the coin to make it perfect but that'll come. I've always wanted an alchemy lab at home." She watched him from the corner of her eye as she put her boots back on. "What did you want to speak to me about?"
His eyes glistened with sadness, if what he heard was true then he wouldn't be able to forgive himself for the danger he put her in. "Why didn't you tell me about Castle Dour?"
"Did you hear what happened?"
"As soon as you left, I asked Vekel and Cynric."
Elsie rested her legs over the arm of the chair, her feet taking the place in his lap. "We were a little busy getting better acquainted."
"If I had have known that you were sore, I wouldn't have touched you." He placed his hands on her ankles affectionately. "Why were they so harsh with you?"
"I kind of made things worse for myself. I spoke back to them and I summoned atronachs. They were reading my journal and I didn't like that."
"It's just a journal, who cares if they take a peak and tease you? It's not worth getting hurt over."
She smiled to herself and looked at the fireplace, watching how the flames danced against the stone. "Obviously Cynric didn't go into full detail about what we discussed, which is surprisingly relieving."
"What are you talking about, lass?"
"They were teasing me about you, I wrote down my feelings, so I wouldn't act on them. It worked out well, didn't it?"
"You wrote about me?" a small smile flickered across his face, but it disappeared quickly.
"Don't act so surprised, you probably wrote about me too."
"I don't keep a journal."
"Everyone keeps a journal… Why wouldn't you keep a journal?"
"We live with thieves, lass. If I piss off the wrong person all they have to do is take it and then all my secrets are out there, and I have a new reason to keep my private life private." He shared a look with her before he cleared his throat. "Tell me what those guards did to you and I assure you they'll be dealt with."
"They poisoned me, one of them beat me and Cynric watched as one choked me through the bars. You're not planning on going into Castle Dour, are you?"
"No lass, the Guild has connections that will take care of it for us. I just don't like the thought of you being harmed, not just you but anyone from our family."
"You don't have to worry about me, I know how to take care of myself."
"I don't doubt that for a second."
She nodded and went silent for a moment. "This might sound stupid, but I'm going to ask anyway… Do you think anyone would notice if I just spent the night here? This bed is much better than the one in the cistern and I don't really want everyone asking me every detail about my jail time."
Brynjolf smiled and shook his head. "It's late, most of them will be asleep so I think you'll be fine to stay here."
"Do you want to stay? It could be the last time we see each other for a while."
"I can't lass, if anyone notices that both of us are gone…"
"But you said that most of them will be asleep. Gods know that you could use a decent night's sleep in a good bed too." She reached over to him and tucked some of his hair behind his ear.
"Fine," he rolled his eyes and smiled happily, "I'll put the fire out, you get into bed."
She smiled and kicked the boots back off her feet, she took the armour off her body quickly and climbed into the warm bed with a grin on her face. As soon as Brynjolf climbed in beside her, she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes.
"I could get used to this."
"It's a small luxury, isn't it?" he petted her head, running his fingers through her long, brunette hair.
"Soon we can do this every night." She said quietly as she started to drift off.
"I hope so lass." He watched her until she fell asleep, listening to the sound of her breathing as it became heavier. He was content having her in his arms, he knew she was safe; he just couldn't help but feel guilty, if he just trusted his instinct she wouldn't have got hurt.
By the time Elsie woke from her first peaceful night of sleep since arriving at the Guild, she found that Brynjolf was already gone. She read his note that he left by her bedside and put her cold armour on. She didn't know where Delvin was going to send her or what he planned on making her do, whatever it was she was ready for it. It had been a long time since she done minor jobs, it took the pressure off her to perform well. Since day one she felt like she was constantly proving herself and now she had been given the opportunity to slack off a little bit.
When she stepped into the cistern, no one really said anything to her; most of them were probably still half asleep and exhausted. She found Delvin at the corner table in the Flagon with a cup of mead in front of him and a loaf of bread in his hand. She sat across from him and raised an eyebrow.
"That's a healthy breakfast." She rested her head on her hand and watched him stuff the rest of the loaf into his mouth.
"When you get to my age, you just eat what you want. Now, Odin tells me that you're going to be doing some of my jobs for me. For someone like you, it'll be easy money."
"That's what I like to hear, what am I going to be doing?"
"What I want you to do is to go into every city and change the ledgers in these businesses," he handed her a piece of paper with the business names and the figures he wanted in the books, "I hope you're good at writin'."
She read through the information and noticed that he wasn't sending her to Solitude. "So, everywhere but Solitude then?"
"I'll take Solitude myself, I've got to keep busy in my old age." He gave her a smile as if he was hiding something and got up quickly from his chair. "I'll walk you to the stables."
She stood in front of him and folded her arms across her chest. "Why aren't you sending me to Solitude?"
"It's too risky for you, guards will still recognise you. Besides, Odin and Brynjolf want to keep you out of harm's way." He tried to step around her, but she followed his movement. "What else do you want me to say?"
"What did Brynjolf say to you?"
"He didn't have to say anything," Delvin dropped the tone of his voice and moved her out of Vex's earshot, "I could see that there was something there between you two, you're the only woman that's been able to hurt his feelings and then I realised he went to see you at the river and he didn't come back for a long time."
"So, he didn't tell you a thing?" she unfolded her arms and dropped them to her side.
"No and I won't let him know that I know. He's my best friend, Elsie and I want him to be happy again. When the Guild started to go bust and then Mercer betrayed us; he hid inside himself. The Brynjolf that could convince us to steal a sweet roll from a beggar faded into a man with no drive."
Elsie nodded and placed her hands on her hips. "How did you feel by Mercer's betrayal?"
He shook his head and stared her straight in the eye. "I could've killed him myself. I'm not an angry man but what he did turned me into one."
She put the piece of paper into her pocket and slapped Delvin playfully on the shoulder. She felt a little nervous around Delvin, she was going to have to befriend him before she revealed her past to him. "How about we head to the stables before you start getting too angry?"
"Good thinkin', let's be on our way."
Delvin readied his horse, watching as Elsie hung around suspiciously; something was up with her and he could tell. As he climbed onto his horse, he called down to her and furrowed his brows. "Where's your horse?"
"I think the stable boy might be getting him; why don't you go on, I'll see you back at the Guild in a month or so."
"I'll wait, I want to make sure you get a good horse and not one on it's last legs. These people here have a habit of giving dodgy steads when we pay for proper horses."
She stared at him and folded her arms across her chest, she was going to have to embarrass herself and tell him the truth. "Listen, I'm not going to take the horse. I'd rather ride in the carriage."
"Why? That would be very costly to the Guild."
"I'm paying out of my own pocket, I don't expect the Guild to pay for me just because I can't ride a horse."
A grin crept onto Delvin's face, he tried to hold it back, but he couldn't resist. "You can't ride?"
"No, I never learned. I've never had to."
He started to laugh hysterically and gripped onto the reins to steady himself. "I've heard it all now." He started to ride away, saying to himself as he went past her, "Can't ride a horse!"
She sighed and slung her satchel over her shoulder, handing a coin purse to the carriage driver. "Take me to Whiterun before I become a bigger laughing stock, please."
A:N Thank you for all the reviews, I really love this story and I love Brynjolf as a character. Expect much more to come and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!