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?
XII: She's Dark Sided
The two thieves looked at each other, the anger was still dripping from their faces. How could Brynjolf allow himself to be tangled up with Mercer's daughter? Did he really think that lowly of the family to let her waltz her way to the top of the pecking order, all because of his feelings towards her? Before Elsie showed up, Brynjolf would never have put his hands-on Delvin and as he sat with a piece of raw meat against his face, he thought that the good old days were over.
"How are we going to get rid of her? We can't let this Guild have another Frey destroy us." Vex said as she crossed her arms. "This friendly act that she's got going on, it's all a façade. She's going to bleed us dry from the inside just like he did."
"I don't know, Vex… She's got Bryn wrapped up in her games now, I don't think he sees it."
"He doesn't, he's in love with the bitch." Her words were pointed, and they came from a place of hurt. She had made her feelings for Brynjolf clear to him from day one, that led the two of them to use each other when they felt like it; but that wasn't what she ever wanted. "We need to go to Odin with this, the Guild has to be disassociated with her."
Delvin shook his head and ran his hand across his bald head. "I can't see him doing that, I'm afraid. If you were Guild master, would you let go of someone who's damn good at bringing in coin?"
There was an air of silence as Vex tried to muster up some sort of a plan. Her eyes roamed the room as she waited for a bright idea to fall into her lap, and when it did, she couldn't help but grin.
"By any chance, do you still have that contact in the Dark Brotherhood?"
His eyes widened, and he recoiled into his chair. "I do, but we are not calling on the Dark Brotherhood to fix Guild business. If we did and Brynjolf found out, he would kill us."
"Fine, I'll drop the notion." She lied as she grabbed her tankard of mead. Vex couldn't help but feel jealous of Elsie; she had Brynjolf's favour and she was getting all the recognition she could've ever wanted. It wasn't fair, she was the one that helped pick the Guild up again when Mercer bankrupted them, not Elsie.
"We're just going to have to suck it up and get on with our lives. Maybe we might get lucky and she leaves of her own free will." Delvin got onto his feet and took the meat from his face. "I better put this back before Vekel notices that it's missing."
Vex shook her head in disgust and rolled her eyes. "Remind me not to have the stew tonight."
Her notion of employing the Dark Brotherhood was still swirling in her head and her anger towards Elsie wasn't helping. Vex didn't need Delvin to enlist their help, she knew how to do the Black Sacrament and if she didn't do it now, she was going to talk herself out of it. She was doing it for the longevity of the Guild, and maybe for her own personal reasons.
She dug up a skeleton from one of the graves at the secret entrance and picked a couple of the Nightshade flowers that grew around the tombstones. Vex had to make sure that no one could tell that the graves were freshly dug up or she would be outed; she couldn't let that happen. Once the dirt was patted down easily with the back of the shovel, she threw it over the city gates and placed the bones, the heart and the flowers into her satchel and made her way out of the city. Towards the mountains was where she was going to do the Sacrament and as she lay the effigy of Elsie out on the floor, she unsheathed her dagger with a smirk.
"Sweet mother, sweet mother, send your child unto me," she stabbed the heart harshly and closed her eyes, "for the sins of the unworthy must be baptised in blood and fear." She dropped the dagger and got back onto her feet. Now all she had to do was play the waiting game and hope that they answered her call.
When they returned to the city, they were bursting with excitement to make their way to the temple, but when they returned the horse to the stable, Odin emerged from the shadows with a small smile.
"What're you doing out here, lad?" Brynjolf threw the stable boy a few septims and turned to his Guild master. "You couldn't have missed us that much, we were only gone for a day or two."
"I have a job that I need to get to and I want Elsie to accompany me. While I'm gone, I want you to keep things running smoothly and help Ysolda settle into our home." He paused for a moment and scratched at his chin awkwardly. "I would also like you to settle your differences with Delvin, I wasn't impressed when I heard about what happened Brynjolf, I expect better of you."
"It won't happen again, lad. You have my word."
"It's my fault… I let my secret out and Vex and Delvin didn't take it too well." Elsie admitted as she placed her bag over her shoulder. "Brynjolf was only defending me."
"I'm going to let it slip this time, Brynjolf but the next time a fist fight breaks out,"
"There won't be a second." He interjected with a nod. He looked down at Elsie and gave her a small smile. "We'll continue with our plans when you return."
She sighed and watched as Brynjolf walked away; she could tell that he too was disappointed that she had to leave again for who knows how long. Elsie could feel Odin's curious gaze on her and when she looked up at him, she forced a smile onto her face.
"So, where are we heading, boss?"
"College of Winterhold, a client has expressed great interest in a certain book stored there. I'm going to go in and cause a distraction, I need you and your invisibility to take the keys to the bookcase and secure the mark." He explained as he handed the stable boy a letter. When he returned with two horses, he raised a brow at Elsie and threw a smirk in her direction. "Have you learnt to ride, or do you need to hold onto my waist too?"
Elsie rolled her eyes playfully and loaded her things onto the horse. "I've learned, no need to worry about me touching you up."
"Good because both of us are spoken for." He got onto his horse and began the long journey up north. "Make sure you keep up, we don't need you having another accident."
"I don't go looking for them." She reminded him as she followed Odin along the road. Deep down she was nervous, it was the first time she was going to ride a horse by herself and her first quest with the master; she needed to impress him, she couldn't mess this up.
Everyone in the Guild was happy to see Brynjolf return, all except one. As Thrynn, Niruin and Sapphire expressed their well wishes for him and Elsie, Brynjolf couldn't help but notice that Delvin was throwing dirty looks in his direction. He sighed and excused himself from the crowd and approached his friend with a stern expression.
"Brynjolf." He said, looking away from his eyes. Now that he was up close, Delvin lost the nerve to look at him.
"Fancy a drink and a bite to eat? We've got to talk about what happened."
He looked at Brynjolf from the corner of his eye and hesitantly nodded. He had no idea what he was going to say to him; was he going to curse him out or was he willing to put what happened behind them and continue with their friendship? Delvin had a hard time reading Brynjolf sometimes, but he regretted some of the things he said, not all of them but some. He wanted to move on and put it behind them.
They sat in the still as Vekel placed a bowl of stew and a cup of mead in front of both men. It didn't take a genius to pick up on the tension between them and once Vekel had gotten himself out of that situation, Brynjolf turned to Delvin and gave him a teasing smile.
"I really did a number on your face, lad."
"I could say the same thing, haven't saw you with a black eye in a long time." He said into his cup.
"I'll admit it, you got a couple of good hits but what hurt me the most were the things that you said. You know that I'm not with Elsie for sex. If I only wanted that then I would go to the Bee and Barb and chat up a barmaid. I love that lass and you knew that."
"I said that out of anger, Bryn. I may not have heard her side of the story, but I have a feeling that she's going to turn out exactly like Mercer."
"Delvin, you tell me about your feelings and your instincts all the time and you're wrong, all the time. What was it that you said about Vex? That you had a feeling that she liked you?" Brynjolf leaned into his chair, his palms open as he proved his point. "I get that you're sceptical about her, but there's no need."
"Why aren't you sceptical? Why were you happy enough believing everything she spouted at you?"
"Do you know how long it took for her to trust me with her secret? Elsie expected everyone in this Guild to react the way you did and that scared her. Mercer abandoned her before he had even met her, she wasn't even born when he ran off, so she wasn't entirely trusting for most of her life. The pain in her eyes when she told me, that confirmed the truth."
Delvin scratched his stubble as he concluded that he had jumped the gun and made an absolute fool out of himself. "I was all wrong about her then, wasn't I?"
"You think so?" he said sarcastically as he took his first sip of mead. "You should've given her the chance to speak."
"I know, if I could rewind time, I would've listened." He suddenly started to feel guilty about his attempt to get rid of her with Vex's help. He needed to know if she was planning something, but he couldn't out her to Brynjolf, he would exile her. "I'm glad we've talked about this, I'm sorry about everything I said and done."
"It's fine Delvin, it's in the past now." Brynjolf picked up his spoon and started to stir his stew.
"I'll apologise to the girl, let her tell me her story, if she still wants to." He got onto his feet and went to dart off when he remembered about the meat, he had pressed to his face for most of the afternoon. "Uh, Bryn. I wouldn't eat that if I were you."
"Why not?"
"I used the meat to stop my face from swelling." He scuttled off quickly before Brynjolf had the chance to say something smart and went on the hunt for Vex. He hoped she had nothing planned.
The College was a beautiful place and if Elsie hadn't had been attracted to the life of thievery, she probably would have ended up here instead. Magic always coursed through her veins and she was never going to turn away from that side of her. She didn't know where she had got the love of magic from, her mother never tapped into the power within her. When she dismounted the horse, she looked over at Odin and placed her hands on her hips.
"Do you want me to be invisible from the moment I step into the College?"
"I think that would be better, I don't think Urag would let me into the Arcanaeum if I had you with me." He gave his horse a pat before he took her up the bridge. "How long can you hold your spell? I know that it takes a lot of magika to hold the invisibility spell."
"I'm surprised that you know that; I can hold the spell for up to an hour." She was impressed by Odin's knowledge, but then again, he was the Dragonborn; she didn't know what that meant but she assumed that he had to tap into magika in some sort of a way.
"I dabbled here and there, I was going to apply to the College once upon a time, but like you, I'd rather make gold." He got to the gates and looked at her over his shoulder. "I would start your spell now before anyone notices you."
"I'll stay close by your side, but again, I can only hold it for an hour." She gave him a quick nod and began to cast her spell, sticking as close to his side as possible.
The main hall was relatively empty, the wizards must've been on another one of their expeditions; it made things a lot easier for Elsie because he wouldn't be dragged into a conversation by the Arch mage. He stepped into the Arcanaeum, holding the door open a little longer than he should've and looked at the Orc that was raising his brow at him.
"Urag, long time no see. How are you holding up?"
"Odin is that you?" he got up from his chair and stepped towards him with the hint of a smile. It was always so hard to tell with the way his teeth stuck out from his mouth. He placed a hand on his shoulder and led him into the middle of the room. "Things are just the same around here. Savos mentioned your problem with a mage, did you get that sorted?"
"I didn't, I never managed to find her again." He lied convincingly as he reached into his satchel. "The reason I'm here is this book," he took a large tome from his bag and handed it to Urag, "I'm wondering if you can find any use for it."
Elsie began to look around Urag's desk for the key to his bookcases while Odin kept him distracted; if it was on his person then she would have no luck getting it off him, she was always terrible at pickpocketing. Once she had spotted the key, she swiped it quickly and kept low to the ground as she made her way through the bookcases. She was looking for a volume of books called 'The Ysmir Collective', apparently their client wished to make a profit off this stolen book and they were willing to pay a lot of coin; Odin said the money from this quest would bolster the Guild's foothold in Skyrim. It had to be completed.
She set her hands on the books and put them into her satchel quickly. She scurried towards the table and put the key back before Urag could notice that it was gone. She dropped the invisibility spell until Odin made eye contact with her. When that contact was made, she quickly put the spell back up and made her way back to his side.
"Are you willing to give me a fair price for this book, just for old times sake?" he was going to charm his old acquaintance out of whatever money he could.
The Orc thought about his question for second before taking the book from his hand. "I'll give you five hundred, and that is more than fair." He took a coin purse from his pocket and handed it over.
Odin bounced the coin purse back and forth between his two hands. "I'm grateful, Urag. Truly. Perhaps we'll cross paths again?"
"I hope so, and if you ever feel like getting rid of that Elder Scroll, throw it my way."
He nodded and turned towards the door, holding onto the handle. "You'll be the first person I contact."
"Well, that's good enough for me. Have a safe journey back to Riften." The old Urag made his way back to his desk, looking around for his key. He raised his brow when he realised it had been moved and when he looked up to wave Odin off, he was already gone. "Well, that was strange." He sighed as he picked up his key, shuffling towards his bookcases.
"That was a job well done, Elsie." Odin exclaimed as he looked through her satchel. "We'll make our way back home, stop off at an inn on the way for a bit of grub."
"Thank goodness because I am absolutely starving." She complained as she climbed onto her horse. "I haven't eaten in two days."
"I thought Brynjolf would've took you to an inn?"
"No, we went to the Eldergleam, have you ever been there?" she took the lead down the main road, glancing back occasionally at her boss.
"Once but it was a very long time ago. It's quite the romantic spot, isn't it?"
"I wouldn't say romantic, it is very beautiful but you're too busy gazing at flowers and the tree to do anything." She tightened her grip on the reins as she thought about the prospect of marrying Brynjolf. She was excited, but she couldn't help but feel nervous; her fear was starting to creep back into her.
"I suppose so." Odin went quiet for a moment and made his horse walk a little faster until he was level with Elsie. "I don't want to alarm you, but that Argonian behind us has been following us since we left Winterhold."
She glanced over her shoulder at the hooded Argonian and shrugged. "Perhaps he's going to Riften too?"
"I don't have a good feeling." He looked at her, his eyes narrowed, and his lips pulled close together.
"We'll stay at this inn up the road and we'll see if he enters or not."
"Good thinking."
They stopped at a tavern in Kynesgrove and tied up their horses. The two thieves waited for the Argonian to pass and once he did, they made their way inside, following the strong smell of freshly made bread with bated breath.
"We'll take two single rooms and a dinner each." Odin said to the woman behind the counter.
"I can't wait to have a hot meal." She said as she took her key from the woman.
"Me neither, I think we both deserve this."
They sat at a table in the corner of the hall and when their dinner was served to them, steaming hot, they mauled at it like wolves to their prey. Odin looked up at Elsie and cleared his throat as he wiped his hands on his trousers.
"There's something I need to say to you before we get back to the Guild."
She kept her head down as she slurped on her soup. "I can already tell what you're going to say but spit it out."
"I know that a couple of our senior members didn't take your news too well and things were said in the heat of the moment; I don't want any grudges held, I'm still going to expect you to be able to work with Delvin and Vex regardless of what was said and done. I've just got the Guild back on an even footing and I can't afford to take a slip in profit."
"I'm not going to hold anything against anyone, I don't know what words were exchanged between Brynjolf and Delvin because he wouldn't tell me, but I understand that Mercer is a very sensitive subject and feelings are obviously tangled into it. As I've said before, I'm with the Guild for the long haul, I want to make coin and I want to do what I do best."
He smiled to himself and nodded at her with a sort of newfound respect for the young woman. It could've been easy for her to turn cold with her superiors, but she was showing her professionalism, he prayed that Delvin and Vex could do the same.
They called it an early night and made the use out of their rooms; both were exhausted after the long trip from Riften to Winterhold, but Elsie was completely worn out. Between her trip away with Brynjolf and this quest they were on, she was ready for a good night's sleep. As soon as her head hit the feather pillow, she was out like a light. It must've been just before dawn when she was woken by her door opening; she was expecting it to be Odin telling her to get ready to leave, but it wasn't him.
The room was still dark and all she could see was the figure entering her room. She jumped out of bed and got a closer look at the figure as they stepped towards her. It was the Argonian from the night before, but he wasn't wearing his cowl; instead he had a red and black light armour that was so recognisable, even for someone who wasn't from Skyrim. That uniform was everywhere. It was an assassin. She threw everything she had at him; ice, fire and sparks but these assassins were well trained, and it seemed like he was absorbing his pain and getting stronger. Elsie cast her invisibility spell and dodged the dagger that came towards her. She fell onto her knees and crawled under the bed, making it to the other side with ease. She watched as the assassin started to search the bed, he was probably looking for an outline of her form. He was starting to lose his patience, he couldn't see her, and she moved so quietly and then her door opened and he came face to face with the legend that was Odin.
The assassin leapt out of the window and once he was gone, Elsie dropped her invisibility spell. She was rested on top of the wardrobe with a pale face. She slid down slowly and pushed her hair from her face as she tried to come to terms with what just happened.
"Did he hurt you?"
"No, he missed me."
"You're lucky, the usually coat their daggers with poison to make sure they finish their job." He let out a sigh and ran his hands down his tired face. "Who the hell is sending assassins after you?"
"I've got enemies everywhere, I'm actually surprised that it took someone this long to pay a Dark Brotherhood assassin after me." She was trying to make light of the situation, but Odin was concerned for her safety.
"Get your armour on, we'll head back to Riften immediately. There's no time to stop and smell the roses, we've got to get back underground."
She picked up her pieces of armour and waited until Odin was out of the room before she sat on the bed, crying into her cuirass. If the Dark Brotherhood was after her, then she knew her days were numbered; they don't fail.
Being back in the cistern was a relief for her; it was going to be difficult for an assassin to get down here. Firstly, they didn't know about the secret entrance and secondly, finding the Flagon was trouble enough but Dirge was always on the lookout. Brynjolf greeted her with a comforting hug and a kiss on the top of her head. He was full of rage, he wanted to know who called the hit. He took her to the side of the room and looked over her face with great care.
"Do you know who called on them, lass?"
"It could be anyone, I have enemies in High Rock and I have enemies in Skyrim." She looked up at him, the terror visible in her eyes. "What am I going to do? I don't want to die."
"Listen, I'm going to speak with Delvin. He has a contact in the Brotherhood… We're going to fix this mess, even if I have to pay double for them to drop it."
"Do you think he'll be able to get the contract dropped?"
"There's no harm in trying. I have money set aside, I would pay all the money that I've saved if it meant keeping you out of harm's way."
She kissed him gently, her hand rested on his cheek. "Thank you, I don't know how I'm going to make it up to you."
"You don't need to, I'm not doing this for personal gains, I'm doing it because I love you." He petted her brunette hair and stepped away from her. "I'm going to speak with Delvin, try and get some rest."
She knew that she was going to have to spend a few nights lying on her lumpy Guild bed, there was nowhere safer than with the other thieves. She tried to make herself comfortable and rolled onto her side, curling up into the foetal position as she cradled her pillow. A few tears escaped her eyes as she thought back to her ordeal and when Niruin and Cynric approached her, she wiped them away quickly. She moved to get up but Niruin placed his hand on her arm and crouched down to her level.
"You have had the time of it this week." He commented as he watched Cynric crouch beside him.
"How are you holding up, Elsie? Bet you're wishing you were still in that jail cell."
"The cell would've been safer." She tried to put a bit of life into her voice, but she couldn't manage it. "I'll be okay, I always am."
"You know that it's okay to not be okay?" The Wood Elf remarked with a frown. "No one wants to have the Dark Brotherhood breathing down their necks."
"I don't want to be a liability to the Guild, I have to get over this and keep the coin flowing."
"Perhaps Delvin can speak to his contact, I know he's not on the best of terms with you right now, but you are part of the family no matter what." Cynric suggested.
"Brynjolf is going to speak with him, maybe he'll help." She sat up and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not waiting for anything special to happen though."
"Keep your head up, girl. You're made of tough stuff. We Bretons are." Cynric smiled at her and got onto his feet, pulling Niruin up with him. "Let's leave her be, she's had a rough enough day without us two clowns bothering her."
She tried to give them a smile as they stepped away from her, but she couldn't move her face muscles. Everything was numb from the shock and the fear. Being in love made death all the more real, she wasn't ready to go.
Delvin stormed into Vex's quarters with a scowl. She got up from her bed with a raised brow and stepped towards her friend. "What's wrong with you now, Delvin?"
"Please tell me you weren't the one that put a hit out on Elsie."
"You think that it was me? When you told me to get the notion out of my mind, I did. That girl probably has enemies up and down Tamriel, but I can assure you that it wasn't me."
"Promise me that it wasn't you."
She rolled her eyes and placed her hand on his arm. As she looked him in the eye, she could see that he was worried and that wasn't like him. "I promise."
He let out the breath he had been holding onto and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Okay, well I have to make a trip to Dawnstar and try to sort this mess out. I'll see you when I get back."
"Be safe out there, Delvin." She walked with him to her door and closed it once he left. She pressed her back against the door and closed her eyes. It seemed like she was in the clear, the only thing that was going to expose her would be the assassins themselves and she knew for a fact that they weren't going to say anything.
Brynjolf sat on the edge of her bed and handed her a tankard carefully. He watched her drink it slowly and rested his hand on her lap. He smiled slightly when she placed her hand on his, she made his skin tingle.
"Odin just called me into his quarters to discuss what our options are until Delvin fixes this."
"What did he say?" she said curiously, pressing the metal tankard to her lip. She took a sip and swallowed it back harshly.
"Him and I agree that the best thing to do is to put you into hiding."
She furrowed her brows and shook her head. "No, I'll be safe here."
"We can't be sure of that, the person that hired the assassin could be right under our noses. He's gave me permission to leave with you and take you somewhere. He won't even know the location until I send him a sealed letter."
"Well, when do we leave?"
"At nightfall. We're going to scale the city walls and walk to our location. A horse would draw attention."
"There's just one thing we need to do before we set off."
He tilted his head and spoke lowly. "What's that, lass?"
"We need to visit that temple, may as well while we're both in Riften."
"Are you sure you're still up for all that? I'd understand if you weren't."
"Having an assassin come after me has only made me want to marry you more. I have to experience being your wife before I'm murdered." She was trying to keep a positive outlook on her situation, the only way she could do that was to give it less power in her mind. Humour was going to have to pull her through.
"I'm not going to let anyone touch a hair on your head." He rested his head against hers and whispered in her ear. "I'll make the arrangements and I'll see you at that temple in an hour."
"Should I wear a dress?"
"I love you the way you are now, you don't need a dress to look beautiful."
A:N Thank you for reading this chapter and thank you to those who leave support and encouragement, I really appreciate it. I wanted to make this chapter a little longer than usual because the last one was shorter than usual. What do you think about Vex sending the Dark Brotherhood after Elsie? Is it because she thinks she'll be like Mercer or is her jealousy rearing it's ugly head?