26th of Morning Star 4E203
Kaiya was jolted awake, her head knocking against the floor of the carriage as one of its wheels dropped dramatically into a hole in the road. While she would have preferred waking up in a less painful way, she was thankful that she was at least given a reprieve from her nightmares. They had plagued her quite often throughout most of the past six months, but the last week had been brutal. It was as though every time she closed her eyes she was met with the most torturous of visions, consistently waking in a panic and without providing her body with much rest at all. She rubbed the side of her head that had collided with the wooden planks while she tried to shake off remaining influence of the last nightmare that had been ravaging her mind. As her consciousness came back into focus, Kaiya was immediately aware of her location, not because of the trees or the mountains, but the overwhelming smell. They had made it to the Rift. A weak smile crept across her face as she breathed in the crisp pine scent that hung in the air. She was almost home.
She had always loved the Rift - the vibrant reds and yellows that adorned the white trunked trees, the warmth that seemed to reside in this corner of Skyrim alone as if it were exiled from the rest of the holds, the smell of the grass and plants as they were allowed to grow unimpeded by snow or ice. While she had always loved it here, it had just recently begun to feel like home. She felt herself grow excited at the thought that she would soon be back in the cistern with her fellow guild members, drinking and swapping stories of recent heists.
As she thought about what she had to look forward to, she became more aware of a slow, invading force from memories of what had transpired on the road. The memories made her stomach tighten, suddenly feeling as though it was sitting in her throat. The pleasant mood that arriving in the Rift had provided was now gone as thoughts of dead Forsworn and a horrified carriage driver flashed across her mind. She would have no stories to tell in the Flagon tonight.
The carriage groaned as it pulled up the hill to the stables outside of Riften, her driver turning to look over his shoulder to ensure she was awake. It wasn't Kibell that led them now but a new driver she did not quite know since she forced Kibell to return to Markarth after their little incident. She had snuck off when he wasn't paying attention after they rented rooms in the Vilemyr Inn, not wanting to force him to escort her any further. He had been through enough. Her new coach driver, whoever he was, was a graciously silent Nord who seemed to loathe small talk of any kind and for that, she was grateful.
She grabbed her bag and gave her thanks to the driver as her journey finally came to an end. Her feet on solid ground again, Kaiya took the opportunity to stretch out her tired, stiff muscles. What she wouldn't give for a warm bath. She'd have to settle for a few moments with a washbasin and a warm bed, but that seemed like a luxury to her now.
From the look of the sky around her, it was just after dawn. The ride from Markarth to Riften was painfully long, taking an entire day's time to make it one way. It had been three nights since she slept in a real bed and all she could think about was how thankful she was that the cistern was dark, cool and quiet in the morning. Ah, the thief life.
Her achy body climbed down the ladder into the cistern, all too aware of how badly she needed some rest. Just as she had imagined, the giant room was quiet except for the sound of cascading water. Her eyes habitually trained on the Guildmaster desk across the water to see it standing empty. No Guildmaster yet. Must still be asleep, she thought to herself. A smile crept up on her lips at the thought as she made her way into one of the makeshift sleeping areas to find a place to crash.
Mercer sleeping. Even tyrants with personalities larger than life need to sleep. It was little reminders like these that fueled her fascination with the Guildmaster; the everyday actions of normal people seemed so alien when she thought of Mercer doing them. These thoughts played in her mind as she cleaned off in a washbasin and took off her outer leathers before plopping into a spare bed. She lied there, staring at the stone ceiling and listening to the peaceful sounds of the water gushing from the walls as she imagined the Guildmaster stretched out in the same position somewhere else, fast asleep. Her heavy eyelids drooped and closed as she drifted off to sleep herself, with thoughts of meeting Mercer in her dreams. If only it worked that way.
"Kaiya! Kaiya wake up! Kaiya you're screaming!"
Kaiya sat up in a panic, eyes bulging and breath panting, her undershirt clinging to her small frame with sweat. As usual when this sort of thing happened to her, she had to take a few moments to anchor herself to reality before she could move on.
"I'm in the cistern. I'm in a bed. I'm here with…" one of her tightly closed eyes opened just enough to see who had woken her, "I'm here with Delvin. I'm safe. I'm not alone. Deep breath in, 2, 3 and out, 2, 3."
"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Delvin's worried voice broke through her meditation. One of his hands gripped her shoulder as if that was the only tether keeping her on this plane. He wasn't completely wrong.
"I'm uh…" Kaiya's voice croaked in reply "I'm OK. Thank you." Her eyes still closed, she exhaled one last time before opening them and looking around herself. "Whew!" she laughed, awkwardly. "So give it to me straight Delvin, how much of an ass did I just make of myself?"
Delvin's eyes grew huge in surprise at her question. "An ass? Love, what's goin' on?"
She knew this would happen one day. She should be thankful it was just Delvin here and not all of the guild around her bed like worrying mothers. "I have nightmares, that's all" she replied, sitting up and throwing her casual tone into the mix in order to lighten up his mood. Her fingers betrayed her however, resorting back to their familiar nervous habit of spinning the ring she wore around her neck.
Delvin ran a hand across his bald head as he exhaled. "You had me worried there, love. You were screaming and thrashing and yelling for-"
"Enough!" Kaiya blurted out as she put her hands up to Delvin's lips to silence him. "I'm pretty aware of what I usually dream about Delvin, you don't need to make me relive it again when I'm awake."
He shot her a sheepish smile as her words sunk in. "Ah, sorry sweetheart. But you're OK?"
Now it was Kaiya's turn to be the comforter. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, an understanding smile on her lips. "I'm all right, thanks Delvin. It wasn't the first time and it probably won't be the last, but I appreciate you waking me up."
"You're not the only one haunted by your past, love. If you ever want to talk about it, I'll listen."
This completely altruistic offer from Delvin shot right to Kaiya's heart, causing tears to begin filling up her eyes, threatening to spill over. In an instinctive response, her arms shot out and pulled Delvin to her into a hug. She clung to him in desperation, in thanks, in fear, all pouring out of her through her vice like grip on her friend. He just sat quietly and returned her hug, one hand rubbing slowly up and down her back.
"Thank you, Delvin," she whispered in his ear, "Vex is a lucky woman."
She felt him stiffen before he let out a single laugh "I don't know what you're talking about, love. But I'll take it as a compliment all the same."
Kaiya laughed at his clumsy dismissal, "you're ridiculous, you know that?"
"We all are, sweetheart. You'd have to be to spend all your time in a godsdamned sewer. Now come on, let me buy you a drink."
They sat at the Flagon for a while, just the two of them, talking and swapping more stories as Delvin tried to get Kaiya to relax. When she told him that she hated Markarth he said she didn't have to go there anymore if she didn't want to, to which she told him she'd slice his balls if he babied her or denied her any jobs. They settled right back into the natural rhythm their relationship had formed over the past few months and Kaiya could not help herself but to think of how much had changed in her life. She had friends, real friends. She had a family again. This is exactly what she had needed. Now all she had left to accomplish was to let herself fall for someone instead of running away with a lame excuse and she might actually be doing a solid job of impersonating a well rounded adult.
As if on cue, Kaiya felt the air around her shift and grow heavier as the door to the Flagon flung open and the sound of boots on stone signified someone was entering. She couldn't stop herself from turning to meet his eyes when he walked in; it had been three days since she saw him last and she surprised herself with how much she had actually missed him being around. The thought made her gulp in fear until he turned the corner and entered the room and all of that just fell away.
His eyes caught hers, the green of them burning her from the inside as if his gaze were enchanted. She felt a chill run down her spine at the almost palpable spark that shot off as their eyes met. Her infatuation with him was getting a little out of hand, although she had to admit that lately it seemed like it may not just be her that noticed this connection. He felt it too. He had to. Otherwise, why was he smiling at her like that?
"You made it back to us, I see" his voice rumbled out of his chest towards her, a note of excitement barely audible in his tone. "I guess you'll be wanting your pay." He sat in his favorite stool but still faced the blushing Kaiya as he leaned back into the counter.
Kaiya smirked to match his playful stare, "well someone's up late tonight. You waiting up just to pay me for that job or is there something else keeping you up, Guildmaster?"
They stared at each other for a moment, both of them with stupid grins plastered on their faces and practically trembling at the electricity present in the room. Kaiya's eyes drifted from her Guildmaster's to Delvin's for a moment and the look on his face made her freeze. That look. A smirk with a raised eyebrow. It screamed I see what's going on here. Kaiya felt her stomach drop just as Delvin shot her a wink before standing up to excuse himself "I'll be going but Kaiya don't worry, I'll pass that message along to Vex." Another wink.
At first Kaiya was completely confused by his statement before it clicked with his wink. He meant that he may see what's happening here, but her secret was safe with him. Because she knew about him and Vex. She felt like she could kiss Delvin at that realization. She would have to thank him later but for now, she was alone, once again, with her Guildmaster at the bar.
Kaiya lazily drug her bottle of mead off the table as she sauntered over to the bar to sit next to the smirking Guildmaster. His eyes didn't leave hers, watching her every move as she made her way towards him. As she sat, his smell overwhelmed her. It wasn't any stronger than it normally was but after not being around it for a few days, it stood out. Rain, stone and wet leather. The past three days had definitely changed their relationship.
"Miss me?" she shot him a smile that was more in her eyes than on her lips.
"No, I finally had some peace and quiet at the bar at night without someone here to disturb me." His words were cold but his eyes said otherwise, baiting her to fire back.
"Oh then by all means, O Sulky One, you may have your quiet and I will sit here in silence as I think of how to spend all that gold you're going to give me."
"I thought you didn't care about the gold." Not a question, but a statement, leveled at Kaiya with piercing eyes.
"What's that? I'm sorry I missed it over all the peace and quiet I was giving you." Her smile was downright sinful, taunting the Guildmaster. He just stared at her.
And stared. She tried to concentrate on her mead bottle to stop from laughing. He continued to stare. She finally broke with a laugh, "OK! You win, but you can't say I don't give you peace and quiet, ya ass!" She joked as she lightly slapped him on the shoulder.
A smirk was on his lips although the corners of his eyes showed the true nature of his smile. Kaiya took a final sip of the bottle of mead she had and sat her empty bottle on the bar.
"So I'm guessing it would be too much to ask you to help me get another bottle of mead?" She feigned innocence as she looked up at the Guildmaster through her lashes, meeting his humored gaze. He just shrugged and took a sip of his own mead before responding.
"Depends, what's in it for me?" His eyes threw all of the flirtation he could muster into the stare he leveled at her.
Oh, so we're playing this game? She stood from the barstool, placing herself conveniently between the legs of the sitting Guildmaster before leaning towards him. Without a word, she took his mead from his hand and took a sip of it and slid back onto her stool, bracing herself with a hand on his thigh. She continued to face him as she sat, her frame still somehow wedged in between his legs. Your move, Guildmaster.
Mercer's smirk grew at her blatant theft. He leaned over slowly, moving his face within inches of hers, and paused. Kaiya felt her heart pounding at the sudden closeness, a chill moving over her skin at the possibilities of what could happen next. With one arm bracing his weight against the counter, the other hand slowly moved across Kaiya's thigh, up higher and higher, until it settled on her hands holding the bottle of mead in her lap. He slowly slid the bottle out of her hands to accentuate what he was doing before sliding back comfortably into his own stool and taking a sip.
Damn that man! Kaiya crossed her arms and furrowed her brow in displeasure at his stunt, causing Mercer to let a snicker escape out of him at the sight. She stood, still somewhat awkwardly positioned between Mercer's open legs as he sat on the stool.
"Well that's fine, I didn't need another anyway," she started to get her things to leave. "I have other things I could be doing."
With a barely audible chuckle, Mercer waited until she turned her back to him before he reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. She now was wedged between his legs once again, but her back leaned against his chest. She was close enough that his smell took over her senses, leather, oils and when she smelled his skin, water and stone. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders, holding her against his chest and leaned to speak directly into her ear. "Did I say you could leave yet, footpad?"
Her heart thudded wildly at everything that was happening around and to her - his smells, his arm holding her to him, the feeling of his voice rumbling out of his chest directly into her ear, it was almost too much. She let her hands come up and rest on the arm draped across her collarbone, almost as if this were a romantic pose.
"To quote my stubborn ass of a Guildmaster" she replied, turning her head to look straight at him. She could feel his breath hitting her face. She looked at his lips and back to his eyes before continuing. "What's in it for me?"
Mercer's eyebrows shot up and his smirk grew wicked, his arm around her tightening at her taunt. He could try to hide it all he wanted but in this close proximity, Kaiya knew it got to him. He leaned down to place his lips by her ear, causing the smallest of shivers to roll down her body at the feeling of his breath on her again.
"See this is where you're mistaken footpad," he growled into her ear, "nothing has to be in it for you. If I say you stay, then you stay, understood?"
Another shiver took over Kaiya's body, settling in her core. Her mind raced with accusations to convince herself that she was wrong for liking it.
"Well in that case," Kaiya turned towards him, "what's in it for you?"
She could feel his breathing grow heavier, the smell of mead dancing along her skin with each breath. She felt his grip tighten across her collarbone and his hand tighten on her shoulder where it rested, crushing her against his leathers. She felt his chest against her back, rising and falling with his heavy breaths.
"Was that a question or were you making me an offer?"
His forwardness caught Kaiya by surprise. He was spinning his web again, the one that tangled her up so completely that night so long ago. As much as she wanted to fall into it and let him have his way, she knew better. She couldn't let him win so easily. Time to step her game up.
She leaned into him, nuzzling into the crook of his neck and running her hands back and forth along his arm that held her pinned to him. With a few content sighs she knew she had him hanging onto her words. She went up onto her toes so she could reach his ear and whisper in it as he did hers.
"It's merely a question, Mercer. I'm far more curious than I am stupid. Make an offer to the Guildmaster? I'm no fool."
He let out a small chuckle that she felt reverberate in his chest and lowered his head into the crook of her neck, taking in her scent. His other hand, previously holding onto the bar for stability, moved to rest on her hip. Every cell in her body was alive, thrumming with excitement at his every touch. She was enveloped in him and while she should be fearful, she felt nothing but the thrill of where this was heading.
"That's a shame," he rumbled, his voice barely more audible than a groan. "I had half a mind to give you what you asked." His hand at her hip slid across her body to hold her to him. "But since you're in no mood for bartering, I guess you're free to go." With that, he slowly released her from his hold as he sat back in his stool, letting his hands slide across her hip and collarbone as they retreated.
She stood breathless for a moment, letting her head reattach to her body at the loss of his contact. Her face felt hot and flushed, her heart racing. Not to be outdone, she slowly turned to face him, resting her hands on either thigh, letting herself feel the muscles tighten beneath her hands. She let her lips curve into a wicked grin before running a hand through her wild blonde mane, never breaking the eye contact that continued to spark the connection between them.
"You've taught me well, Guildmaster," she grinned, letting her hands slide up his thighs. "Never take a deal if a better one could be made later."
And with that she slowly slid her hands back off his thighs before turning to leave, casting one promising look over her shoulder at him as she waltzed off. The hungry smirk he wore was sure to leave a lasting impression on her as she made her way out, once again leaving the Guildmaster alone with his thoughts.