Author's Note:

Hi guys! Sorry for the super long hiatus. I've actually started school now, so I'm finding it hard to do the chapters, but guess what! The next chapter is the final chapter! The ending is nigh! So I want to thank everyone, all readers and reviewers for fully sporting this wonderful story, and I hope you enjoyed Solir and the others. Here, the main Thieves Guild questline ends, and the last leg of Solir's legacy begins. What is in store for our hero? And what is to become of her father, Scipio? Keep on reading to find out!

~Airbendergal

Chapter 25: The Thief Queen

"So it is done," said Nocturnal. "Karliah, you have put an end to the treacherous Mercer Frey."

"My lady," Karliah began, getting on one knee. "With all due respect, I was not the only one who put an end to Mercer. Much credit must be given to Solir and Brynjolf as well. I only ask that you grant them their full Nightingale powers."

The blue orb in front of us began to change shape. From a sphere, it transformed into the figure of a lady. Starting from head, down to her waist, then to her toes. Nocturnal was not a ball, but a woman, swathed in flowing, black silk. She had a face beautiful, but intense, and perched upon her shoulder was a raven of the same dark color. Its eyes were like rubies. The daedric prince had revealed her true form. "So be it, young Nightingales," she said, addressing us. Her voice was no longer like an echo, but of a real person speaking to us. Slowly, she descended from her pedestal, still hovering a few inches off the ground. "For without you, Solir, the Dovahkiin, and Brynjolf, the Guild Master, I would not have accomplished such task. The Skeleton Key, Solir, is in your possession?"

"Yes, my lady," I said, remembering to kneel to keep the formality. "Mercer Frey had intended to use it for his own selfish reasons, as would any thief." I drew the strange, large black key from my satchel, and raised it up for the goddess to touch. I felt her cold, soothing hands brush against mine as she stroked the key.

Her eyes went down to me. "And you. If I were to grant this key to you, how would you use it? Would you open up the world's darkest secrets?"

"I would not use it, my lady. I am a thief by profession, but not by nature," I looked up to meet her eyes. Her irises were the dark purple, like the color of the heavens at night, filled with mystery and beauty. Her gaze was powerful, yet I faced it fearless. The truth had to be told. "No one on Nirn should hold a power this great, Lady Nocturnal. The Skeleton Key belongs to a higher power, one that can comprehend its true potential. None of us want it."

I looked around. Karliah and Brynjolf nodded. "It needs to be destroyed, my lady," Brynjolf added. "It is too dangerous for mortals."

"So be it," her answer was quick, precise. "I shall bring it back with me to Murk. It is but a shame, though, since this item could be used to give the Thieves Guild infinite capabilities. Once in the past, I had sought to bring luck to the thieves, and so I had created the Skeleton Key and given it to the mortal kind. Such kindness I had received in return—the desecration of my temple and a rift between the thieves. No, this will no longer burden your people, guild master, it will stay with me until the time is right."

"You have my thanks, Lady Nocturnal," Brynjolf bowed lowly.

"And now for your powers," Nocturnal said. "I, Nocturnal, a daedric prince, grant you your full Nightingale powers in completion of my task. To you, Brynjolf, I give you the Agent of Subterfuge, that you may use the darkness to cloud others' thoughts and judgments, and use it to our advantage. And to you, Dovahkiin, I grant you the Agent of Strife, that you may draw a cord between you and our enemies, and suck the life force out of them. And as for Karliah, you are now fully restored under my service."

"My lady," all three of us said in unison, kneeling. We were more than humbled.

"Now I bet you are expecting some sort of accolade, Nightingales," she continued, raising up her arms. "A kiss on the cheek? A pat on the back? But what you fail to see is that your completion of this mission was no more but a fulfillment of your agreement as an agent of the darkness. But don't mistake my tone for displeasure…we both know this has little to do with honor. It's about the reward. Is that not correct, Karliah?"

Our low eyes turned to the dunmer, who suddenly got up to her feet. Drawing off her cowl, she let her face be seen by the goddess. What could have Nocturnal have meant by this? What reward? Had there been something that Karliah did not tell us? My eyes turned from Karliah, to Nocturnal. A small smile crawled up on her lips. She had a look set upon her face, as if they had some sort of secret that Brynjolf and I did not know of.

"My lady…" Karliah began. Her eyes were beginning to water, of such sadness I had never seen before. She was trying to fight it back, though. Her voice was weak and hoarse.

"Worry not, Karliah, for he is already with me here…"

Just then, another shade entered the ebonmere, the divine wellspring in the Nightingale Hall's bowels. This shade was of a different color, a spirit of whitish blue. He was donned in a Nightingale suit, and his presence was very familiar. It took me a while to realize who this was, but the moment I did, the very words escaped from Karliah's lips.

"Gallus!" she gasped, weak on her knees. All the caged emotions inside her had suddenly burst out.

"Karliah!" The phantasm approached her, opening his arms. They stood a few feet away from each other, both still in awe.

"Gallus…I was…afraid…" Karliah confessed softly, as tears began to well out of her amethyst eyes. "I thought I would never see you again…I thought…you'd become one of those monsters…" And she began to cry, burying her face in her hands. Gallus was there to hold her, even though he was a spirit, intangible and inhuman. He let her headrest on his shoulder.

"Do not fret, Karliah," the hooded soul told her soothingly as he stroked her back. "I am here now, and everything's alright. If it were not for the actions of your young Nightingale friend, none of this would have happened. She honors us all."

The dunmer pushed herself back a bit, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Where will you go now, my love?" She asked, as her long ears tingled with fear. Her hands were soft on his cape.

"Nocturnal calls me to the Evergloam. My contract has been fulfilled."

"Will I ever see you again, Gallus?"

"In time, my love, when your contract has been fulfilled. We will embrace once again," he said. And with that, he leaned in close and their lips met. Karliah put her hand on the top of his head, and drew back his hood. It was then when I realized why the dark elf had been so drawn to her lover. His face was strong and handsome, and yet showed signs of gentleness. Gallus was everything that Karliah could have hoped for.

Slowly, Gallus started to rise, higher and higher up into the air, as his body began to shift form. Nocturnal joined him up there, as they hung many meters above us. It was too swift, too soon. "Goodbye, Karliah…" were the last words of Gallus Desidenius before the Evergloam had taken the goddess and him.

"Goodbye, Gallus," Karliah said sadly, her waving hand still suspended in the air. "Eyes open…walk with the shadows."

We doubled back to the Thieves Guild with much haste. Still in our Nightingale attires, we entered the tavern, where the mood was grim and anxious. The first one to spot us there was Tonilia, who quickly ran to the back of the tavern to give everyone a call. All the thieves came running out of the back door in single file, and gathered around us in a semi-circle. They were silent, but their eyes were wide and filled with amazement. I could feel their glares on my very skin.

"Brynjolf, is that really you?" asked Delvin Mallory, craning his neck. He touched Brynjolf's armor, and jerked his hand back. "Bloody good leatha, that. What have you three go'en yourselves into now?"

"Mercer Frey is dead," Brynjolf said, pulling back his hood.

At those words, the group of thieves cheered and clapped. The sad looks suddenly turned into wide smiles. Everyone started shaking hands with each other, and the semi-circle broke into some irregular clump. Even Vex seemed to share a solid handshake with me, for which I felt proud of. When the applaud had died down, the Guild Master raised his hands in the air and said, "Attention, everyone!" The whole cluster fell silent and all eyes turned to him.

"This is not yet a cause for celebration," the Nord master continued. "For we do not have an official guild master. Even if I'm second in command, everyone knows that to select a new leader, we'll need to put a vote on it."

My stomach started to churn.

"Then I vote Brynjolf as new head master!" Delvin chirped. There were some nods and some 'yeah's, but never really a resounding, unanimous 'Yes'. The thieves became more quieted because of this. An awkward silence loomed over the Ragged Flagon.

"Thank you for the nomination, Delvin, but you're picking the wrong man," Brynjolf replied bluntly. "Everyone, don't you see the real master here in the Guild? It's Solir, of course! Look at this woman! Hers is the face of the future! Imagine the endless possibilities the Guild can have if we have her as our Guild Master."

"Erm…uhh…ehh…" The crowd replied flatly. "Yeah…"

"Brynjolf…" Vex started. "Are you sure?"

"I am sure. Everyone, it was Solir herself who defeated Mercer Frey single-handedly. She is the Dragonborn that will lead us all to fortune," the redheaded Nord replied resolutely. "As of this moment, I declare myself no longer Guild Master, and I cast my vote to Solir!"

"The Dragonborn…" said some. "Could the rumors be true... that he coming of the dragonborn…means she must our savior!" The commotion started to turn into a nest of buzzing hornets.

"Alright, are there any more nominations?" asked Brynjolf. Seeing as there was none, he continued. "The floor is now closed. We shall now cast our votes. Votes for Bryjolf, votes for me, say 'I'!"

"I! I!" cried some voices within the thick clump of thieves. Hands were raised, and to my disappointment, very little of them. I could count all of them with one glance. Three hands, one belonged to Vex, the others to two unrecognizable members in the back. I was raising my own hand as well, hoping to shift the tides. "I!"

"That's four votes, tally that," Brynjolf noted. "And now, who is to vote for Solir?"

"I! I!" people said one after the other, on a tone showing little hints of being unsure. Hands were raised into the air like the spikes on a club. Countless numbers of them. It was overwhelming.

I looked over at Brynjolf, who was counting the votes. "That's twenty-eight, Solir," he told me, smiling. I only responded to him with a straight and blank face. It took me much time to process that I had won the voting by a landslide. "Solir, listen to me, you've won the votes."

"Bryn—"

"—no need to thank me, lass," he snapped, as he took my hand and raised it high. "All hail to the new guild master, Solir Ezelino! The Dragonborn, The Thief Queen!"

"The Dragonborn, The Thief Queen!" The thieves echoed and chanted, their voices beating like a war drum. "The Dragonborn, The Thief Queen!"

"The Thief Queen…?" I told myself, staring blankly at the ground. I didn't even know what to say. I was not even worthy of this title…After everything that I had done to them, and everything that I hadn't. If I spoke to them and rallied them on, would they listen? Then, I felt a hand to my shoulder.

"Speech! Speech!" They cried incessantly, pounding their hands.

I snapped out of deep contemplation. I looked up at them, all the faces that were ravaged with mistrust and lies. They needed a beacon of hope. They needed a leader that was not afraid. I had to be their beacon now. All of them were depending on me. I clenched my fist. I tried to find the words, but all I could manage was. "In truth, I don't deserve all your praises, my friends," I told them. "If it weren't for the Guild, then I would still be hell-bent on my own selfish deeds. I know I've committed a lot of mistakes in the past, and I hope that you forgive me. As guild master, I'll do my best to serve…" My eyes trailed to Brynjolf, who fluttered his eyes, signaling me that I had been too formal.

"Oh, gods!" I broke out into a different tone. "As guild, we should work not only as partners in crime, but brothers in fortune! So let's bring this hellhole up into what it's really supposed to be, yeah? Let's make the cistern into the Cave of Wonders. People will tell stories of us, of how the band of thieves stormed across the land, and how the heisted the greatest treasures on Nirn! Let's make people fear us again. Let them believe that we are the gods of riches!"

The whole cistern trembled with the sound of applaud and happy hooting. "Thief Queen! Thief Queen! All hail the Thief Queen!"

Suddenly, Delvin Mallory came and approached me, with a parcel in his hand. I was always wary of him, since he was there to delivery me ominous news. I looked at the paper for a moment, thinking whether or not I should receive it from him or not.

"What do you have for me now, Delvin?" I asked him. A tight knot in my stomach began to form.

Apprehensively, I took it and opened it. While scanning the message written on the paper, Mallory told me. "I 'ate to break it to ye, yer highness, but we've got a very important captive on our 'ands. Our southern watch caught him in the 'elgen 'ighroad. Said 'e came from Cyrodiil. Said 'e was delivering armaments from the capital. They've got him 'ostage in a camp not far from here."

"My father…" My heart stopped. "It could be him."

"What do you say, master?" asked Brynjolf. "What should we do?"

I paused for a while. "We…pay this man a visit," I proclaimed, raising Chillrend. "And if he is Scipio Ezelion, I propose we give him a grand welcoming, Thieves Guild style!"