CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

I am walking through the forests, listening to the sound of the leaves whispering to each other and the birds' voices raised in carefree song. Snow is dusted on the high peaks, but the sun is bright and warm, shining down on me from a cloudless sky. The shadows of the leaves dapple all around me, making a beautiful pattern of black and gold on the crisp, dry ground.

He walks by my side, humming the song I sang to him beside the lake, his eyes shining with joy. His smile is neither his usual calm one nor his boyish, mischievous one, but the one I have come to know so well, the one I love the most, because it is a smile that he only ever shares with me. It is a smile I never hesitate to return.

We walk on in silence for a while after he finishes the tune, content to simply walk side by side, hand in hand, alone together in the quiet happiness of the woodlands. At times like this, there is no need for words. All either of us needs is the knowledge that the other is there.

He speaks at last, glancing up at the roof of golden leaves above our heads, and the brilliant azure sky beyond. 'I love days like this,' he tells me quietly, his voice making my skin tingle. 'I love the Guild, but sometimes it's good to escape, if just for a while.'

I nod. We stop walking and look up to the skies as if we expect to see the answer to life written there. 'I know what you mean,' I say. 'It's nice just to get a bit of peace once in a while.'

He chuckles. 'Hmm, yes. Peace is very often hard to find in the Flagon.' He gives me a sad sort of smile and sits down on a tree stump. 'And of course, I can never talk to you properly when the others are around.'

I suddenly find myself feeling an unexpected twinge of anxiety. His words worry me. 'Gallus, you don't want to tell the others about us, do you?'

He hesitates, then shakes his head. 'No, I don't think so. They'll find out sooner or later, after all, and for now…' He beams at me, and I can see the unspoken words on his face. Right now, what we share belongs to us, and to us alone.

We both lie down on the warm earth, hands behind our heads, gazing up into the depths of the sky, somehow unable to stop smiling. A bird wheels across the sky, and a light breeze plays through the branches of the trees. I smile to myself. We told the Guild this morning, as we left, that we were going on a job in Whiterun. In truth, all we had wanted was a few hours to enjoy each other's company, and to talk freely with no one listening.

His next question takes me by surprise. 'Do you ever wish you hadn't chosen the life of a thief, Karliah?'

I blink, unable not to feel confusion. 'Why? Do you think I do?'

He sighs. 'We're criminals. There's no way around it. We break the law for a living; it's all we do. We're loathed by the people of Skyrim, all the folk who call themselves honest people. There's plenty of ways that you and I could have made ourselves decent livings. Do you sometimes wonder whether we should have?'

I frown. The thought has simply never occurred to me. I was born to a thief, and was brought up as a thief. I never considered anything else. I've never considered anything else, and I've never had any regrets. Living by my mother's golden rule of enough and no more, I had never caused lasting harm to anyone. I had no reason to feel guilty about my actions. I was happy in the Guild. I always had been. I always would be. What reason would I have to regret my chosen path?

I shake my head. 'No. I think I was born for the life of a thief. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. And I've never done anything that I've regretted later. I don't think I've ever really hurt anyone by what I've done to them.' Apart, of course, from the handful of bandits and brigands, who will never be recovering from what I did to them.

Gallus nods. 'I agree. I could never conform to what other people call a decent life. Too dull, for a start. I think I proved that by leaving my family. There's just something in me that seeks more in life. I always was a rebel, I suppose.'

I laugh. 'I guess you just feel more comfortable searching through the contents of someone's pocket than you do when searching through the contents of some dusty old tome.'

His eyes sparkle. 'Oh, there's little that pleases me more than a good book, naturally. But I still think I'll never have any regrets about leaving my old life behind. I doubt my family ever missed me, and I know I've never missed them.' He turns his head towards me. 'And of course, had I not come to the Guild, I should never have met you.'

I feel like I could die of happiness, right here and right now. 'I wouldn't exchange you for anything,' I tell him.

'Nor I you,' he replies, and his face takes on a serious expression despite his smile. 'I couldn't live without you,' he says, and I can see the truth of his words on his face. 'I would die for you, Karliah.'

I take his hand, caressing it in my own. 'And I'd die for you,' I reply, without a second of hesitation.

'Don't,' he murmurs, closing his eyes. 'Promise me you won't. I want you with me forever.'

We lie there in the summer silence, as the golden strands of sunlight rise far above the hills.

I have eyes only for his face. So much for looking into the sky as if searching for the answer to life there. The answer to life is lying by my side, and I don't ever want him to leave.

'I wish we could just stay here for the rest of our lives,' he murmurs softly.

I smile. 'Fine with me.'

He reaches out and strokes my cheek, and I close my eyes with pleasure. 'Good,' he whispers. 'Because I think I could get lost in your eyes.' His smile widens. 'You know, I think it might have been your eyes I fell in love with first.'

I have only one reply to that. I gently take his face in my hands and lean in towards me. He runs his hand through my hair as our lips meet.

In the peace of the quiet forest, I find his embrace, and we lie there without a shred of sorrow in our hearts, bathed in the golden light of the sun.


My eyes snapped open and I lay still in silence. The chorus of bird voices outside my shelter told me that it was morning, but I did not move. I wanted to lie there forever, just as I would have done with Gallus all that time ago. I wanted to stay here, savouring the last bits of magic of the dream.

It was so strange. Since I had made my decision to come back to the world, since I had determined to keep my vow to Gallus, I had been having these dreams. Dreams of the past. Peaceful dreams. Happy dreams. Dreams that cast a feeling of serenity over me when I awoke. I was still haunted and plagued by nightmares, but every few nights, I would be lulled by the calmness of one of these visions of days gone by.

In a way, it was painful. I didn't want to be reminded of all that I had lost. But they reminded me why I was fighting, and who I was fighting for. And in these dreams I had experienced joy again for the first time in almost a quarter century.

Joy. A feeling I had all but forgotten.

I wasn't sure why these dreams were only coming to me now. Perhaps, having turned away from my life as an exile, having determined to fight for the vengeance I deserved, I was carrying less shame and guilt in my heart, and my mind was no longer tormenting me as much. Maybe the Divines had taken pity on me now that I had finally kept my promise to Gallus. Or maybe Gallus's spirit had somehow sensed that I was on my way to deliver him from his torment, and the dreams were his way of thanking me.

I smiled sadly. I didn't know if that dream that had come to me that night, that dream of him, was real. I wasn't sure whether I wanted it to be true or not. I hated the thought that he might be in such pain, such agony in his mind. But I wanted him to not be lost. I wanted him to be in the Sepulchre, because at least then I knew that he was there, and not lost forever. And whether the dream was true or not, it had at least opened my eyes. And if it was true, if my Gallus was really lost in the Sepulchre, slowly forgetting the world, forgetting himself, forgetting me… then I had to save him. I had to. He would have done the same for me.

Except, I thought bitterly, he wouldn't have taken nearly twenty five years to do it.

But I had realised now. I had come back to the world. Gallus was not the only person who had forgotten who they were over the past years. But now I had remembered, and I was going to keep that oath I had sworn to him. I would keep it or die in the attempt.

I won't give up, I determined as I got to my feet and began packing up my shelter. I've never been the sort of person to give up.

But then I hesitated, knowing that it was not completely true. There had been one time I had come so close to giving up. Giving up on my quest, giving up on myself, giving up on life.

I shuddered to remember it.

It had been, perhaps, a year after my banishment. I had been struggling to hard to survive. Every day was a battle, every minute that I was still alive a triumph. But as winter set in, and food became scarce, I had found myself desperate. Desperate, angry, and afraid.

And finally it had become too much. I closed my eyes, wincing as I remembered. I saw it in my mind, clear and painful.

In my mind's eye, I stumbled away from the body of the bear that had nearly killed me. My left arm was bleeding where it had clawed me, and pain shot through my body with every move I made. The beast lay still, my arrow in its throat, its glazed eyes still glowing with rage and hated and hunger, its claws digging into the snow as if, even in death, it longed for blood. The snow was stained with scarlet as I staggered away, my tears of fear and agony turning to ice on my face. I sank down against a pine tree, hugging my knees into my chest and trying to block out the pain. I might as well have been trying to block out the moonlight.

My sobs echoed through the night, and the wind howled over the mountains like a wounded beast. The cold bit into my body like sharp, hungry teeth, and my bow slipped from my numb fingers, falling with a crunch onto the snow. I closed my stinging eyes and huddled against the meagre shelter that the tree trunk provided, desperately trying to shield myself from the wind and cold.

I reached for my potion bag. I had to battle with the clasp for a full five minutes before I finally managed to pull it open. The cold bottles knocked against my fingers as I shoved them aside, trying to seek out the one I desired most. My frantic, frozen fingers finally found it. A resist cold potion. I scrabbled to uncork it. I lifted it to my mouth with a gasp of relief- but nothing came out. I shook the bottle desperately. Ot couldn't be empty, it just couldn't!

It wasn't empty. The liquid had frozen solid.

I threw it aside with a cry of mingled agony and fury. The wind's howling sounded like laughter, cruel, mocking laughter. I let out a long, wordless cry of pure grief and pain. All my heartache and sorrow and desperation and rage was poured into that cry, a cry that rebounded off the mountains and sent birds fluttering up in panic from the trees. A cry that rang in my mind long after it faded away.

Gallus was dead. I was an exile. My Nightingale status was gone forever.

What was the use? What was the point in this? What was the point in anything? What was the point in living?

I wasn't quite certain how it happened at the time, and I never have been since. All I know is that one moment, my hands were pressed together as if in prayer, clutching each other in a futile attempt to retain some warmth. The next, they were holding my dagger, and the tip was at my throat.

I was shaking now. I wasn't sure whether it was from the cold, or from fear. I looked at my blade, the blade that Gallus had given me, the blade that was about to end my life. I felt another sob break from my throat, but I shook the tears from my eyes and swallowed down my terror. I would stay strong. I would die with dignity. It would be painful, but it would be quick. I would suffer for a short while, but then it would be over. It would all be over. I would not have to carry on. I could just let go, set myself free.

The thought made me feel relieved. In a minute's time, it would all be over, ended forever. I would never have to suffer again. I would be free.

And I would see him again.

I sucked in air, and took my last look at the world. The shadows, the forests, the mountains, the moons, the stars. I had loved them so much. It pained me to leave them behind. But I had no choice.

I wanted to die. I had to die. It would be easier to die.

I was going to join him. I was coming back to him. I was going back to Gallus, and in death, nothing would be able to keep us apart.

I brought back my hands, ready to strike the final blow. Please, Divines, I thought. If you ever had any mercy, then let my death be swift.

My eyes closed, and my hands moved, moved forwards, and I felt the cold metal touch my throat-

And then I flung the dagger away with a cry. It spun through the air and landed on the snow, black against white.

I kneeled there, breathing hard, unable to believe how close I had come to surrender.

How could I have been so foolish? Killing myself would not set me free. It would condemn me to an eternity of torment. Without the title of Nightingale, I would never be able to rejoin Gallus when I died. If his soul was still out there, it would be in the Sepulchre. If I was to join him, ever, I would have to go to the Sepulchre too. And more than that. I was the only witness to Mercer's betrayal. If I died, who would prove my innocence? Who would punish Mercer? Who would avenge Gallus?

Nobody. Nobody could, and nobody would. Everything depended on me.

Slowly, I got to my feet and picked up my bow and dagger. I would not give in. I could not give in. I would keep fighting, and I would fight until Mercer was dead at my hand, and Gallus's death was avenged.

My hands still numb with cold, I staggered off into the woods, as the wind howled and wailed around me…

I came back to the present with a wince. It was almost a physical pain, to think about how close I had come to breaking my promise to Gallus. It was a promise I had to keep, because it was a promise I had pledged my soul to.

I sighed and sat down on a rock, surveying the woodlands. It was nearly time. I knew that now. I had heard the news from Whiterun and Riften. Goldenglow estate had been virtually wiped out. The mercenaries that had been guarding it had been killed, and Aringoth, the former owner, had been found bound and trapped in his own wardrobe, yelling furiously and blaming everyone except for himself. The Honningbrew meadery was under new management. Apparently the leader of the Whiterun guard had tasted their mead, and it had tasted like a seven-month-old horker carcass. It was rumoured that the Guild had found a way to slip skeever poison into the mead. I had to admire their nerve and their ingenuity.

All I was waiting for now was the news from Tsumata –that was the Khajiit woman - and her caravan. They had promised to send me word when the Guild came for Gulum-Ei. Because they would. I knew they would. And then Gulum-Ei would tell them everything. And then I would be ready.

The thought that after all this time- it would be a full quarter century in less than a week- I finally had vengeance within my grasp was enough to make me stop dead and shake my head in amazement. I was so close to victory now. So many years had passed, and so much suffering had been undergone, but now, at last, I was going to avenge my lover.

I was not going to kill Mercer. He didn't deserve the mercy of a quick death. He needed to know what he had condemned me to with his lies and his treachery. He needed to be taken before the Guild alive, with his betrayal clear for all to see. He needed to know what it was to be hated by all the people who you called your friends. He needed to know how it felt to see your life fall to pieces around you. Not until I saw the fear and pain in his eyes would I kill him. Only once he felt my pain would I finally have vengeance. For myself as well as for Gallus.

And I had a weapon. A secret weapon. When I had started to make it, I had not had this in mind. I had planned to make a poison I could use on predators, one that would paralyse them before they reached me, so that I could escape them before it came to a head-on battle. But that did not concern me now. After an entire year of painstaking work, I had finally perfected it. A poison that would paralyse my foe almost the instant they reached me, slowing their heartbeat, rendering them helpless until the antidote was applied. This was my weapon, the weapon that I would use one Mercer. All it would take was a single shot. Which was good, because I only had enough for a single shot.

I knew that I wouldn't miss. With Mercer, I would not miss. I hated him too much to miss.

And that was not all. I remembered how, back when I was with the Guild, in the evenings, Gallus would sit apart from the rest of us, scribbling in his journal. He carried it with him everywhere. He would almost certainly have taken it to the sanctum. And if he had written about his suspicions in there, then I would have everything I needed. Mercer would be at my mercy, and I would have proof of his treachery.

I heard a crunch of snow behind me. I reached for my bow.

'It is Tsumata, friend. With news.'

I relaxed and turned around. She was standing at the top of the slope, clasping her furred hands together uneasily. 'Well?' I asked. 'Did they find him? Has he told them?'

The Khajiit hesitated, then dipped her head. 'He told them everything. A Guild member wiped out half the guard of the East Empire company to find him. He didn't care about betraying you, as long as he saved his own slimy skin.'

'I didn't expect anything different from him.' I reached into my pocket and pulled out a coin purse, which I tossed to her. 'That's yours. I don't need it, and it's far less than you deserve for helping me.

Tsumata pocketed it. 'Thank you. But… where are you going now?'

'To put an end to this. For good,' I replied simply.

She nodded slowly. 'This one does not think we will see each other again.'

I blinked. 'Maybe we will, if all goes well. But if not, then thank you for everything you've done.'

She smiled at me. 'Tsuamata does not know what drives you towards your goal, nor what that goal may be. But she wishes you all the best of luck.'

'Thank you. I'm going to need it.'

We looked at each other for a moment more, then Tsumata nodded and turned back towards the distant city. 'May you walk on warm sands,' she murmured, and vanished among the trees.

I breathed in deeply. It was time to go.

I gathered my gear. Dusk stepped forwards from where he stood beneath the trees. He was old now, his muzzle streaked with grey, but I had left him in Enthir's care for the past years, and he was still loyal, still strong. He would take me to the Sanctum, to the goal of which Tsumata had spoken. Snow Veil Sanctum. My trap, my cage. Gallus's final resting place.

I would go there. I would lay him to rest. I would take my revenge.

All would be set to rights. Or Mercer's sword would taste Nightingale blood once again.


Thank you to the peope who voted on the poll for what my next story should be! If you haven't, please do, because I need to know which one I need to start planning...

I don't have much else to say, apart from the usual thanks for reading and please review!