AN: So, here is the next part of the fifth encounter, eventually there is going to be also a third part, because Missy is just spending a lot of time in Riften.
I would like to say a big thanks to everyone who gave me a review so far, I feel really flattered that you seem to enjoy my story so much. It always makes my day, when I get an E-Mail saying "You got a review". If you have any suggentions, ideas or critic feel free to write me!
This chapter or part is mostly consisting of dialog, as Missy is not in the condition to do anything else...but that makes us explore their relationship a bit more and in the end it´s getting a bit dark. I hope you like it =)
By the way this evil evil scumbag, that calls himself my boyfriend suggested that I could just let Missy die, that would certainly be an unexpected ending for the story. I hope you agree with me that this wasn´t really an option...
As I got good Feedback at giving away my musical influences. I thought, I might be doing this more often. This time I had an "earworm" (can you say that in english? It´s the direct translation of the german "Ohrwurm"), anyway, I couldn´t get "Snuff" by Slipknot out of my mind. Even if you don´t like metal music, you should give this song a go. It´s wonderful...

Fifth encounter part 2

Missy felt like she was swimming in a warm lake, or no, more like flying… through clouds. Everything was fluffy and smooth. She was totally at ease… it seemed nothing could disturb her peace. But suddenly she felt like falling down into a giant black hole. She tried to stop it, tried to hold onto this wonderful peaceful feeling, but couldn´t… then she felt like hitting the floor hard.

Pain flooded through her and centred on her thigh. She felt that she was laying on a bed. Her legs were bare, but she was wearing some kind of a tunica and had a blanket over her. Then she remembered she had gone to Brynjolf injured. Reluctantly, very reluctantly she opened her eyes.

The world spun around her. Groaning she reclosed her eyes, why did she have to wake up…?
Brynjolf who sat on a chair beside the bed, startled at her noises. He had drifted off in a light slumber. "Hey, lass, good morning…" he smiled at her. Missy turned her head in the direction she assumed his voice coming from and tried to open her eyes another time. "I…" she didn´t get further as she felt how dry and raw her throat felt. "Wwwwaterrrr… please"

Brynjolf retrieved a cup from a nearby table. He shoved one arm under her head to prop it up a bit, with his other hand he brought the cup to her lips. Missy tried to grab the cup, but her hands were shaking and she had little to no power in them. So she had to let him hold it. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he had let her down again. "Like a mammoth had walked over me…"

She tried to prop herself on her elbows, but fell back down again at an instant. "Easy lass, you lost a lot of blood, when we pulled that arrow out of you." For the first time she gave him a closer look. The world had already somewhat settled down, though she felt she shouldn´t make fast movements. He sat beside the bed. His arms rested on his knees and he watched her calmly. He looked very exhausted and tired… She reached at him and gently tugged a strand of hair behind his ear. "You look like it was you who rode an hour with an arrow in your thigh and then hopped through Riften…" she joked.

He tucked her hand in his, when she withdrew it and felt how cold it was. "Lass, I need to give you a health potion. You´ll be feeling much better then." He sat on the edge of the bed, gently took her in his arms, so she could sit a bit upright and helped her drink again. Though Missy was too powerless, to do that herself, she found it a bit exaggerated. She wasn´t a child… But then she liked him being near her. He was warm and she was freezing again. As she was done drinking, she snuggled closer to him before he could go away. "Feeling cuddly, lass?" he laughed.

"Don´t flatter yourself, I´m just unbelievable cold and you nord guys radiate a heat that is unnaturally." She snorted, but didn´t let him get an inch away from her. Concerned because it really wasn´t so cold in this room, he felt her forehead and cheeks. Thankfully she really was cold and obviously not catching a fever. "Let me take off my armour and then we can cuddle as long as you want." He joked and got up, as Missy released him reluctantly from her grip. Her eyes watched him interested and maybe a bit heated. She was by far not in the condition to have sex right now, but still appreciated the view she got. Although he was a bit overcautious, treating her like glass, she liked not being alone at the moment.

She slipped further to the other side of the bed, making him as much space as possible. As he was only cladded in a shirt and underclothes he laid down beside her, tugging her as near as possible, so she laid half on top of him. She brought her hands, which felt really cold in between them, sliding them under his shirt, to warm them further. Brynjolf had to hiss at the sensation of her cold hands on his warm chest. "By the Divines, lass, you´re a walking corpse… only by your temperature of course" he joked.

It really felt good having her so close to him. She was asleep again at an instant and lightly snored, because her nose was buried in the crook of his neck. He gave her a small kiss on the forehead and then closed his eyes too. The night had been long and exhausting.

When he woke up again first thing he felt was that she had put her leg on his and that her knee was rubbing against his groin. And he was far too sensible currently to ignore it. Carefully without waking her he tried to bring a bit space in between them, but she wouldn´t let him. He only achieved that she wriggled herself again closer to him, rubbing her breasts against his chest. Brynjolf groaned, she must be kidding him… Really he was no one to take advantage of a helpless, injured woman, but he wasn´t a saint either… He should better occupy himself with something else. There would be no sleep for him here anyway. Deliberately he crawled out of bed and put on his clothes again. It was by far time to go and see how his fellow thieves were doing, must have been midday by now. Maybe Greta was back? Hopefully in one piece… He gave Missy a last little kiss on her forehead and went to go into the Flagon.

The mood was obviously good, everybody seemed to enjoy their half day off, as Brynjolf entered the tavern. He got himself something to eat and made a mental note, to later take something with him for Missy. The others barely noticed him. Only when he sat across Delvin, the man acknowledged him. "Hey, Brynjolf, good to see you! How is your injured damsel doing?" The man in question laughed "She´ll live, but beware that you never call her that when she´s around. She´ll kill you. Has something happened while I was away?" Delvin looked at him astonished.

"If something has happened? Your little protégé has done the job. Burned the beehives and got a parchment. I didn´t want to believe it, but you have quite an aim when it comes to women."

That took a load off Brynjolf´s mind. "And how is she? Do we have another injured damsel?"

"No, a few scratches, nothing serious. She already talked with Mercer and later has an appointment with Maven. Currently she is asleep." Oh, now Brynjolf felt a pang of guilt. He should have been the first to congratulate her to her success, but Delvin wasn´t finished yet.

"Speaking of Maven, that old witch has more luck than anyone else. While we raided Goldenglow, only some miles further another bee farm burned, and in fact one that was in compete with Maven. Guards say that it must have been a bandit group. Left quite a mess. Everyone is dead, the house is raided and burned." Brynjolf had a feeling somewhere deep in his gut, that this was not at all coincidence. He would have to talk with Missy later…

He got up from his seat and said:" Well, interesting enough, I´ll go have a talk with Mercer."

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In the meantime, Missy stirred in her sleep. Something had changed, she wasn´t sure what, but she didn´t liked it… irritated her hand appeared from under the blanket, and searched the place beside her. It was empty. She opened her eyes. Nope there was no Brynjolf. She looked around the room. Still no Brynjolf. He must have gone at some point. She tried to sit up and felt that she already had more power than earlier. What time was it? What day was it anyway? For the first time she gave the room around her a closer look. First thing she noticed, it had no windows. The light came from some candles burning in the right corner. There was a table and two chairs. In the left corner there was a desk loaded with books and parchments. In between some cupboards, chests and other furniture. Everything was dusted and messy, with no decorations. Brynjolf seemed to use this more as a store for his stuff.

There was no getting back asleep now. Missy was awake. She looked down at herself. She was naked but for her underclothes and a seemingly giant shirt far too big for her. It must be Brynjolf`s she figured. Her right thigh was nearly totally covered in a bandage. She could see that there was dried blood beneath it. She tried to move it. She could, but it hurt. Next she tested her shoulder, which was far better she could even move her arm good again, if she didn´t overdid it. Next thing would be to stand up, but she wasn´t sure if that was such a good idea. She was still a bit dizzy.

Carefully she lowered her legs out of the bed, so that her feet could touch the ground. The floor was cold. Couldn´t get Brynjolf a carpet? With all concentration she could muster, she tried pulling herself up.

"Lass, what are you doing?" Surprised she fell back on the bed. "Stop that! You will reopen the wound…" Angrily Missy looked up only to see Brynjolf with an equally sour look. Behind him stood an older man, smiling. He know came up to her

"Such a strong girl. It hasn´t even been a day and she already tries to get up again. It´s good to see that you seem to fare well." Missy looked at the man puzzled. "Oh, I´m sorry miss, you can´t know me, I´m Tjure, I was the one who pulled that arrow out of you." Ah, so he was Brynjolf´s healer. Missy looked at him up and down. Yeah, he looked like a healer.

"Here, I still have the piece. Do you want it back?" and he rummaged in his bag and then held the top of an arrow to her. "Yeah, why not… thank you" Missy smiled and took it from him. "May I now change your wound dressing, miss?" He asked putting his bag down. Missy laid down on the bed fully again and said: "Sure"

While Tjure was occupied with her bandages he engaged her in a light chatter. It seemed he was working regularly for the Guild. Brynjolf stood in the door, not saying anything. What was she thinking at getting up all alone? When the wound had started bleeding again, she could have been dead before he would have been back… reckless girl…

The wounds were healing without problems. Tjure left them a salve, so it wouldn´t infect and then left again. Missy turned around to see Brynjolf still stand in the doorway. She sat up again and then saw that he had food with him. "Uhh, is that for me?" she asked sweetly. Brynjolf snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the bowl in his hands. "Yeah, thought you could be hungry…" And handed it her. "Hungry? I am starving…" and as if on command her stomach growled. Brynjolf chuckled and got himself a chair beside the bed, while she seemed to inhale the contents of the bowl.

"Easy lass, don´t forget to chew once in a while…" he originally wanted to stay mad at her, but it was hard. With her mouth full, she answered: "It´s just beans and bacon… there is nothing to chew…" Then she swallowed the rest. "I… I can´t cope good with being hungry. Used to be it my whole childhood…" Brynjolf noted that this was the first personal thing she ever revealed.

"Thank you" she handed him the bowl back and an awkward silence spread, until Brynjolf tried: "Lass, please, don´t try to get up alone. I can help you if you need to, but I don´t want you reopen your wounds…" Missy felt something warm flooding through her chest at his concerns, but really they were unneeded. "Brynjolf, I´m a grown woman and this is not my first injury… I can assess myself at what I can do and what not…" He folded his arms and face showed that he was not amused. "Well, obviously you can´t or you wouldn´t have ended up bleeding on my doorstep…" That was harsh, but it was out before he could stop himself.

Missy now looked at him angry. "Are you questioning my abilities?! I have been doing this for a long time, and by Sithis I know to handle myself. I pulled off the greatest assignment in the history of the brotherhood!" Now it was her to fold her arms. "This profession is just dangerous, you cannot always do something about it and you cannot predict every possibility. You of all people should know that!" she noticed that she was getting furious once again.

The last sentence struck Brynjolf deep. "…hmpf… cannot predict everything? You attacked a whole farm all on you own… that´s nearly suicidal…"

Now she got angry. "You believe to know more about murder than me, thief?" she pronounced the last word as if it was an insult. "I´m not just some pretty lass…" she muttered. She had the giant urge to get up and out of this freaking room, away from him… The anger made her really reckless, but also stronger. With a swift movement she stood up. The pain in her leg told her that this hadn´t been a good idea, but she wouldn´t give Brynjolf the satisfaction of backing down. She took two steps towards the door, but suddenly the world went pitch black.

Brynjolf had stayed on his seat as she had tried to get up and away from him. She should try to get along without his help… but when he saw her going limb, every anger was vanished from his thoughts. In the last moment before crashing on the floor he could catch her. By all gods… why had he provoked her? He had achieved the exact opposite of what he wanted. Gently he laid her back on the bed, hoping that it had caused no major damage.

Groaning Missy woke up. The world was spinning viciously again. She cupped her eyes with one hand. Wonderful, now she had proven Brynjolf´s point.

"Lass, are you ok?" his gentle, concerned voice asked her from beside. She turned her head in the other direction, so she didn´t had to face him. Accepting defeat had never been one of her qualities.

Watching her turn away from him, made Brynjolf´s heart clench. Why did he had to be such an ass? She wasn´t under his command, he couldn´t deal with her that way. "Lass…" he leaned over her and touched her shoulder. "I must apologise. I don´t know what happened to me. I don´t question your abilities. You just scared the hell out of me… again, when you laid there all this blood covering you… and then earlier when I heard the gossips about the farm being raided. They said it was a massacre… Really, lass, I mean no offense, but it´s not a nice thing to picture…" He was nestling with his hands and didn´t know how to go on further, but instead Missy turned around again and looked at him. Were that tears in her eyes? She quickly blinked a couple of times to get them away. "No offense taken…" she said. "Really, seems you were right about me standing up… and I know that it´s not a pretty picture… but this is who I am, Brynjolf. I am a cold blooded killer." She gently laid a hand on his cheek, making him looking her in the eyes.

He bent down and kissed her desperately. It was hard to comprehend that this petite woman underneath him had caused this bloodbath. Slowly he withdrew and she searched his eyes again. "Brynjolf, can you cope with that? With me as the leader of the dark brotherhood?" she ask with a serious expression. He sat back on his chair, scratching his head. "I guess I have to, I don´t like the thought though… it´s difficult to accept a view of the world and morals that is totally contradictive to mine…" Missy smiled at him and sat upright again, her back leaning against the wall.

"Then let me explain how I see it." She took a deep breath and started. "I won´t deny that I´m a bad person. I kill people for money. That´s a bad thing and should be punished. There is no arguing about that fact. Call it hypocrite, but I still have some morals. I would never kill children and I´m not making people suffer unnecessarily. I don´t enjoy the act of killing itself, maybe the thrill that comes with it…" Brynjolf smiled, he could relate to that.

"And here´s the thing: I´ve been doing this for a long time now and I´ve seen a lot. I don´t think I´m a worse person that the one that employees me and those who seek our services are evenly spread throughout all of Skyrim. Every province, every gender, every social status from beggar to Jarl and every age. My youngest customer was a boy at the age of 12." Brynjolf raised an eyebrow at that. "What I want to say is, that if they are just as guilty of murder as I am, then no one is innocent. And in fact many times I think my reason to do this, money, is better than theirs and they even pay me. Some people save money for years to then assign us. I always think, couldn´t you used that money better… for the education of you children or your retirement?! But then it´s not my position to judge them. Many of them have the urge to tell me why, I don´t really care about that, but it´s seems a general urge. And in 99% it´s vengefulness. The urge to seek revenge is the power that alone creates my business. Just like yours is greed…" Brynjolf took himself a moment to process the said.

"What you basically saying is, lass, that in the end the others are even worse than you because without them you wouldn´t be doing this and the others that is about everybody." Missy shrugged at that "More or less…"

He got up from his chair. "I think I can live with that." He decided. "I need to get back to the Flagon. I have still stuff to manage. I hope I´m back in one or two hours. Should I bring you something?" Missy now really smiled at him "Oh please, something sweet, pastry maybe" she looked excited like a child. "I´ll see what I can do."

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When Brynjolf entered the Flagon first thing he saw was that everybody seemed to be celebrating again. And he soon found out why. Greta was back from her talk with Maven and paid a round of mead. Really that girl was sweet and now everybody wanted to be friends with her. Those thieves were so opportunistic. Even though it was only early afternoon they all seemed a bit drunk, including his dear lass, Greta. When she saw him, her smile grew wide and she beckoned him over to her. Smiling he sat down at the bar beside her. "You throw a party and don´t invite me? I´m hurt, lass…" he said, mocking her. "I didn´t knew… I was…." She was struggling for words and watched her hands very closely. It was a very cute sight. Eventually she looked up at him again. "I feel ridiculous. I… must apologise. There was no need to be mad at you. You have been nothing but nice to me."

Brynjolf leaned on the counter, he had already forgotten their little confrontation. "Lass, you are sweet. I have never taken any offence in what you said. You are not used to people like us. Your way of thinking is still quite black and white. You´ll find out that it not that easy…" She considered his words for a moment and didn´t seemed convinced. "Hmpf, I still don´t like the idea, but I can live with it, as it is your decision, not mine. How is she faring anyway? Heard she was injured…"

Brynjolf could tell that Greta wasn´t really interested in Missy, but just wanted to be polite, so he just answered: "She´ll live." It had been a long time since anyone in here had tried to be polite. Maybe that was a nice change, if everybody would remember their manners up to a certain degree.

Suddenly Vex jumped from her seat and yelled at Delvin. Yeah, it would definitely be good to practise some manners. Greta looked at the two of them, too. "What´s going on with them?" she asked. "Oh, that´s a long story. They have been dancing around each other for a long time." Brynjolf answered amused. Now, Vex was throwing her cup at Delvin, probably because she was out of insults. "You mean they are in love?" Greta asked, like a small girl. It made Brynjolf laugh. "Well, something like that…" The girl beside him seemed so innocent sometimes, especially in this matters. He felt a bit reluctant to explain her the details of their on/off relationship, as it surely wasn´t innocent, and so he was grateful for her not questioning any further.

"I´ll be going to Witherun tomorrow. Maven sends me there." She suddenly said. Brynjolf looked at her, he wasn´t sure of the subtext of what she said. "Well, Maven´s errands always mean good coin." That wasn´t her point, it seemed. "Yeah, when I brought home money earlier, Grandma was so glad. Said I was such a good girl, but I felt miserable since it isn´t honest money… and I think she got suspicious, but she didn´t asked further. I think she didn´t want to know…"

Brynjolf didn´t know want to say to her for a moment. "So, you still got your morals, lass. I don´t think I can help with this… it´s one of the few things in this world I´m not good at." He joked.

She smiled at that and gave him a big hug. "Thank you anyway. Talking to you always helps me…" He tousled her hair and said smiling: "You´re welcome, lass. Take care in Witherun" She now smiled too and went away.

Turning around to Vekel, Brynjolf asked him: "Do you have Sweet Rolls or something?"

About 20 minutes later he was walking back to his room. He didn´t used it very frequently, but now he was thankful that he had it. Having Missy under the eyes of everyone in the guild would have been difficult. He didn´t think Mercer would have taken it so good and Missy surely would have been even less uneasy with the whole situation.

When he entered his room, the first thing he saw was that there was no one in the bed. He sighed and was about to get angry again. Then Missy who sat in front of his desk, raised her hands in defence. "Before you are peeved at me again… I just couldn´t lay in bed anymore. My back hurts at I´m done with sleeping. I was very careful when I stood up and I never put weight on the bad leg, okay?" She had stood up somewhat circuitous and now looked at him a bit shyly. Brynjolf suddenly felt it very hard be mad with her. She stood there only clad in his shirt, which was far too big, so her shoulder peeked out at one side. Her legs were bare from her mid-thigh and the plunging neckline gave him a good view of the swell of her breasts. It take him only a few large steps to take her in his arms and kiss her.

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About 20 minutes later Missy sat on the desk naked. Everything that had been previously on that desk, now laid messily on the floor. Her legs were holding Brynjolf, who was equally naked, tightly against her and his head rested on her shoulder. He was panting heavily.

She lightly caressed his head. Combing through his red hair with her fingers. She could feel him smiling against her neck and a contented moan escaped him. "Lass, one day you will kill me with this." He kissed and nibbled on her neck, reluctant to let go of her and this moment. But Missy turned his head to her and said smiling: "I couldn´t think of a better way to die."

Brynjolf gave her a passionate kiss and mumbled: "Me neither." Then very unwillingly, he separated himself from her and went to retrieve his clothes. Missy let herself slip from the desk and put on the shirt again. "Where is my armour by the way? I need something proper to dress at some point."

He turned around and looked at her mockingly. "Nay, you don´t…" She gave him an unimpressed look. "Pervert…"

Now he was really laughing. "Have you expected anything less from me, lass?" She considered his words for a moment and then shook her head. "No, not really…" He then helped her to hop to his table and sit down. He had already placed the sweet rolls and two bottles of mead there, what made her eyes grow wide with pleasure. "Your armour was totally ruined. We had to slice it up to get you out of it and your tunica beneath was also covered in blood. But your weapons lay there at the far end of the bed."

She cursed herself for forgetting her saddle bags on Shadowmere. She had a few clothes to change there and more important her money. Taking a bite from her sweet roll, she said: "I need to get outside the city and find my horse any time soon."

Brynjolf eyes dropped. He had hoped she would stay awhile at least until her injuries were mostly healed. He cleared his throat and asked carefully: "Do you really think it would be wise to ride now? I mean all on your own through Skyrim when you can barely walk…?"

Missy now saw the hurt in his eyes and understood that he thought, she was on her way to go again. She quickly tried to ease the situation. "Oh, no, I wasn´t thinking of going home… I told you I would stay for a bit. And now it seems I´m forced to do so…" she smiled at him. "I only wanted to retrieve my stuff, it´s still on the horseback." He visibly relaxed at that. He did not want another confrontation today. "I could get them for you. What does your horse look like?"

Missy chuckled at that thought. "That would be a bad idea. He would stamp you down till you die probably. He is really not friendly to strangers." Brynjolf`s eyes widened at that. "That must be one hell of a horse…" and Missy chuckled again. "Yeah, that about fits it."

She took another sweet roll and he poured himself some mead. "Then I´ll get you a dress tomorrow or should I asked Tonillia if she has a spare guild armour."

She didn´t liked the idea of walking around in a Thieves guild armour, but didn´t know who to tell him without being offensive. "A dress would be fine… I think it wouldn´t be such a bad idea to dress in civil for a while…" They shared the bottles of mead and had a light uncomplicated conversation that evening. Neither one wanted to disturb this peace that was settling between them.

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The next day Brynjolf got up early and went into the Flagon to find Tonilia. She was seated at her usual place and greeted him with a smile. "How is your girl doing?" He sat down beside her and answered: "Oh, good, thanks again for your help… She is already starting to feel a bit caged in that room and so I said I would go and find her something to wear. For some reason she didn´t want to run around in my tunic."

She smiled at him catching were this conversation was going. She got up and said:" I´ll quickly check my stuff, but I am sure I can find something." In the meantime he talked a bit with Vekel who gave him some bread and cheese for breakfast. It seems there had been a lot of celebrating yesterday and now most guild mates were all still in their beds or elsewhere nursing their hangover. Those drunkards…

As Tonilia came back, she held a grey dress with a brown corsage. "Here, it isn´t something special, but I guess it will fit her." He took the dress and asked. "What do you get for that?"

But she only waved aside. "She can keep it. Wouldn´t get anything for it and it doesn´t fit me anyway. I think also it´s not a bad idea that the brotherhood owns us something. Could be useful…" Brynjolf didn´t complained about that. He had already spend a good amount of his money on the healer and was a bit penniless at the moment.

When he had made his way back to his room Missy sat at his desk again. This time writing something. "I got you a dress and breakfast. What are you writing?" She turned around and got up to inspect the dress. "I´m just writing a letter to my fellow assassins. To let them know that I´m alive, but that it could take some time till I get back. Can I tell them to send letters to you, if they need to contact me?" She asked and tried to get out of his shirt. He had sat down on the table and was debating if they could delay their departure for the surface a little while. He felt as if he had an important thing to do, as he saw her there standing more or less naked. When he felt her scrutinizing gaze on her, he noticed that he hadn´t answered yet. He coughed then and tried to look elsewhere, but not on her naked form. "Uhm, sure…"

Her eyes narrowed. "Don´t look at me like that. We won´t be having sex now, I need to get out of this room." She was struggling with putting the dress on. Though she could move her arm normally without pain, she still couldn´t lift it over her head and that made her being caught within the dress.

Brynjolf chuckled at the sight but then had mercy on her and went to her aid. "Really, lass, you seem to have a bad opinion of me. Why would I think such a thing?"

When he dragged the dress down, so her head popped out, she gave him a sour look. But he wasn´t impressed and gave her a small kiss. "C´mon, lass, let´s eat something and then we are going to find your horse…"

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Since Missy had refused to be carried through Riften, she had put an arm around Brynjolf´s waist for stabilisation and now was hopping again. Still even with his help they were making a slow progress. But Brynjolf didn´t cared so much, there were far worse things in the world than walking arm in arm with a beautiful woman. It was still quite early and the city was just starting to buzz with life again.

There still was a morning mist, but that meant it would become a nice day. Especially Missy enjoyed the fresh air and the sun, though it was still a bit dull. She really wasn´t one to stay in bed for a long time. It made her feel like a caged animal and it usually didn´t help with the temper. Very interested she watched the people around her, performing their usual work. It was very uncommon for her, not to spy on someone in particular, but to just watch.

They walked or hopped the whole way to the gates in silence, but not an awkward one, it was comforting. Both seemed to daydream and if she didn´t knew better, Missy would have said, that they looked like a couple being freshly fallen in love.

They stopped just outside the stables and peered inside. "So, which one is yours?" but Missy had started to walk off a bit on her own. "No, we need to get a bit further outside. Here are too many people. I don´t keep him in a stable. He´s far too proud for that and he can take care of himself."

When they had ventured a bit more into the woods, she whistled. And it took Brynjolf all of his self-control to close his mouth again, when only a minute later a giant deep black steed appeared from the trees. The Horse seemed to watch Brynjolf sceptical and snarled at him.

But Missy was having none of that. "Oh Shadowmere, don´t be such a bitch, c´mon here. Brynjolf is not one of us, but he´s a friend." The horse still eyed him warily, but slowly came nearer. It seemed kind of happy to see her and nudged her hair friendly. Missy giggled a bit and patted his head. "Have you missed me, my dear? Did you worry about me?" she asked and want kind of shocked Brynjolf the horse nodded his head in agreement. "Oh, you didn´t had to, my good boy, dear Brynjolf here attended to me…"

While she stroked the mane, the horse turned to Brynjolf now eying him less menacing. "Think none of it…" he stuttered, not comfortable at all with taking to a horse, which then just snickered.

"Shadowmere, I need to stay in Riften some time to let my leg heal proper. I want you go back to the sanctuary and deliver this message." Missy took the letter she had written earlier and placed it in one saddle bag, while she plugged her stuff in the other. The horse nodded again and went his way.

Brynjolf still stood looking behind him in an awe. "Really, lass that is one hell of a horse…"

They turned around and started to go back to the city, when he asked: "Shall I bring you back down or where do you want to stay? I need to spend some time at my market stand." Missy shook her head. "I need some fresh air. I will spend some time in the city. I wanted to go to some merchants anyway and I won´t waste the opportunity to see you in action." She smiled up at him.

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Brynjolf had more or less watched Missy the whole day. He had done his best to sell his goods, but then still kept an eye on her. Though he felt a bit ridiculous doing so. He knew very well that she was able to take care of herself, even when she was injured, probably better than he was himself. Still he had the urge to make sure she was safe.

She had talked with nearly every merchant in Riften. She had critically inspected Balimund´s weapons and looked over Madesi`s jewellery. The Lizard had smirked at her for he surely had recognized the necklace she wore, but hadn´t said anything and she hadn´t asked. Then she had disappeared from his view. Later he again caught a glimpse on her when she went for the piers. And that´s where he found her, when he had closed his stand in the afternoon.

She sat at the end of a pier. Her feet dangling in the air just above the water and with a faraway look she watched the lake in front of her. The sun that was slowly setting, illuminated her in a way that made her look like a ghost. Brynjolf fought hard with himself not to disturb the peace of that moment. But it seemed she had heard something for she turned around and looked at him. For a brief moment he saw loneliness in her eyes that was heart-breaking. But within a blink it was gone and she smiled lightly at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked getting down to sit beside her. She looked again on the water. "Just… thinking… didn´t had much time to think about what happened lately and trying… well, seeking a peace of mind…" Brynjolf suddenly had the irresistible urge to comfort her, though she didn´t really seemed sad. So he put an arm around her shoulders and made her lean onto him.

They sat a moment like this in silence, but then there was a nagging question in Brynjolf´s mind and it was out before he could stop himself. "Lass, may I ask if Missy is an alias?"

She looked at him puzzled for this question came totally out of the blue. "Is it really so unlikely that this is the name given to me by my mother?" she asked, now obviously joking with him.

"Well, actually it kind of suits you. You maybe have a habit of bitching around when you are bad tempered." He stated. She separated herself from him and acted as if she pouted, but then dropped it and smiled. "Can´t deny that… but I guess that is why I got that name after all. It was given to me by mentor when he recruited me. So it is kind of an alias, but has become my name within these years. You won´t find any one in Skyrim calling me by the name given to me at my birth."

Brynjolf considered her words for a moment. It was obvious that she wasn´t going to tell him the real name and pushing her wouldn´t help, so he thought about an easier question. "So, err, how old you´ve been back then, I mean when you got recruited?" She watched him for a moment and then her feet dangling above the water surface. "You want my story, right? How I became who I am"

He just couldn´t fool this woman. Either his subtle ways didn´t work with her or he just was a fool around her. Both options were very likely. "Lass, I didn´t meant to push you. I just… I´ve been knowing you for a while now and we shared some… intimate moments, but still I know nothing about you. Not even your real given name…" But she didn´t back away, just sat there watching the water and said:" It´s ok. I normally wouldn´t do that, but I feel like I owe you, so I will tell you, but only in exchange to yours…" She looked at him inquiring. Now he knew why she was so reluctant. He felt the same. Sharing the story of your life is an intimate thing. It makes you vulnerable. More human like. Most of his fellow guild mates didn´t knew how he ended up here and he was sure she had the same problem. But then it was only the past, what harm could that do?

He extended his hand to her. "We have a deal, but you start." She smiled and shook his hand. Then she looked out to the far end of the lake again.

"Against common belief I am not from Morrowind. My parents came from there though, but I was born after they had fled here. So I have never seen anything but Skyrim and I call it home.

We lived in Windhelm. In the Grey Quarters." She looked at him, silently asking if he knew what that meant. He nodded, he had seen this slum first hand a couple of years ago.

"My father did his best to provide us with occasional jobs, but it was hard. From what they told, I can tell, that they came from rich families, but lost everything on the flight. Especially my mother couldn´t cope with the loss of her social status. Father seemed to bear it with dignity, as best as he could. Me and my younger sister, we never really complained. It was the only life we ever knew and we were fine with the way it was. Though will never forget the feeling of starving and the severe cold in the winters. My mother taught me how to use Magicka to create a flame that would keep us warm. She was good with these things…" Missy smiled a bit, as she remembered how she burned herself the first times. Then her expression grew grim.

"But then one day everything fell apart. I was 14 and my sister was 12. It was early in the morning, we still lay in bed and father was preparing for work, when a group of guards knocked down our door. They surrounded my father and my mother quickly made us hide beneath the bed. The guards accused my father of having stolen something. That was ridiculous, he was the most upright person I ever knew. In retrospect it now seems cynical, considering what I do now… So well he defended himself and didn´t let them arrest him. So the guards became aggressive and knocked him down. But still father was too proud to back away and tried to fight back. He never had a chance, it were 4 trained and armed guards against one mal nourished man. They beat him up so badly that you couldn´t recognize his face afterwards. When father fell to the ground unconscious, they intimidated my mother, so she wouldn´t be telling anyone what happened. She did her best to heal father, but he was too badly wounded, especially on his head. It took him another day to die. I will never forget the sound of his cries and pain, until finally the house became silent."

Brynjolf didn´t know what to say. He had heard stories similar to this from new young thieves, but it had never been guards… He could just lay his arms around Missy again. She smiled bitter at leaned on him. "I can´t really remember the days afterwards. I know that I ran to the palace and wanted to speak with the Jarl. Tell him what his guards did, so they would suffer for their crimes. I was so naïve, of course they didn´t let me speak with him… I was so furious. I kicked and spitted and it ended with my in jail. My first time ever… Next morning my mother came and got me. She was acting totally unemotional. She wasn´t the same afterwards and it took her only a half year to follow father. In the next winter she caught a pneumonia and within a week she was dead. Now, my sister and I were all on our own. Some neighbours tried to help us a bit, but they hadn´t even enough money for themselves. We found work in the local inn. My sister helped in the kitchen and I worked as a barmaid. The money we got was barely enough to keep body and soul together. But ever since father´s death, I had this anger in me. Just out of stubbornness I wasn´t giving up."

Missy laughed bitterly once. "And the anger grew. The looks I got from the older men… I can still feel them on my back and behind. It was disgusting. By all gods, I was just 14 years old… and the other women in the tavern were no help, they just said I shouldn´t be so prude, being a bit coquette would earn me a good tip…" Missy shook her head and Brynjolf could very well understand her anger.

"My sister and I grew apart these days. She weren´t angry at the whole situation. She more waited naively for her knight in a shining armour… I couldn´t deal with that for I was far beyond such hopes." Now her smile grew a bit. "But then I got saved. I had made it a habit of carrying a dagger with me, so I could ward off anyone who would get too close. That evening back then, a bit over a year after mother had died, and something like 10 years from now, there was a stranger staying at the inn that night. That wasn´t an unusual thing, but he watched me closely the whole evening, but never made a move or something. When I stepped on a foot of a drunken man, who tried to pull me on his lap, I felt him smiling. In the early morning when I was done with my work, he intercepted me at the outside of the inn. He told me, he could show me to use this anger for me and that I could earn lots of coin. Actually I didn´t gave it a second thought, it only took me an hour to grab my stuff and bid farewell to my sister and I was gone to become an assassin.

I still don´t know what he had seen in me to make me this offer, but I´m still very thankful."

Missy ended her story there and Brynjolf felt that he couldn´t blame her for the decisions she had made. He thought that maybe he understood her ways better now. Though he felt a bit sad that this young girl had to experience such injustice, he knew a well enough by now to not pity her. She would have stabbed him probably. She didn´t need his pity. She had gotten herself out of this misery all on her own. He couldn´t do anything but admire the strength she obviously possessed.

She shook her head then as if to shake those memories off. He stood up and reached out to help her. "C´mon, lass, it´s getting late and I´m hungry…" She smiled at him then. "Okay, but tonight I´m paying." That was an invitation Brynjolf wasn´t going to decline. Slowly one walking one hopping, they made their way to the Bee&Barb.