AN: Okay, maybe I'll post this one early since I'm so excited for everyone to know more about my story. I've never had so much fun writing before! Chapter 5 will be out Monday.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is property of Bethesda Softworks. I own nothing but Roseleigha. Thank you for allowing my words to have the privilege of your time.
The Seer and Her Thief, Chapter 4
Hjilda was a simple girl growing up. Her father was a smith, and her mother was a priestess. She met a boy that practically became her brother when she was fifteen winters old, and as they became adults, he grew to be her lover. The two were madly in love, got married, and quickly began to make their daydreams of a happy little family a reality around the coast of Solitude.
The poor Nord girl had trouble conceiving children. She and her husband, Gogelf, were always hopeful. Hjilda could not stop crying after they realized another attempt failed. And another, and another, and another…
Gogelf could not take the emotional toll of seeing his wife break down into tears so often. He was tired of listening to his wife sob into her sleep, waking up the next morning and apologizing for being so loud, always asking for forgiveness for her inability to conceive. She felt that she failed him; what kind of a wife can't give her husband the little bundle of life they both desperately wanted?
He began praying to Mara, the goddess of maternity. He continued to encourage his wife to try once more, so she did. The feeling of having a little life growing inside of Hjilda stayed and stayed until she went into labor. The couple could not stop kissing the little baby girl or each other. Gogelf's prayers had been answered.
Ecstatic, the couple had more children. First it was the one, sweet little miracle, then the second, and the third, fourth, fifth and sixth. A seventh was on its way. Hjilda and Gogelf finally had their dream. The proud father wished for more boys, but he loved his beautiful blooming flowers nonetheless.
He loved to watch them play around in the fields, pretending to be warriors, bandits, thieves; anything that they could pretend to battle against one another. Four of is little flowers had their mother's hair: a beautiful ashy mud auburn, reminding him of the leaves in his home of Riften. One little flower and his brave baby knight had his hair: a bright blonde, perfectly screaming of their Nord blood.
They were all sitting down for dinner as they would every night. Hjilda had prepared some grilled leeks, boiled creme treats, bread and delicious venison. The eldest, Roseleigha, was playfully fighting with their second eldest and only son, Nirnraujh.
"Give me your creme treat, Nirn!" Roseleigha said trying to grab one from his plate.
"Hands off, Rosie!" Nirn responded, pulling his plate away and sticking his tongue out at his elder sister.
The fourth eldest, Jazibell, grabbed one of the treats off Nirn's plate, tore it in half, tossed it to Rosie and kept the other half for herself.
"Hey! That's not fair!" Nirn pouted as his parents chuckled at their children's behavior.
The third, fifth, and sixth eldest were in a separate room they designated as the nursery, taking a nap while the third eldest watched over them. The little blooming bud, Canis, was constantly demanding to be helping her mother and father around the house. She wasn't very playful or extroverted.
"Canis!" Hjilda called, "come get dinner for yourself and the twins!"
Among the ruckus of the family getting around and eating food, no one heard the loud roar and ancient words of the large beast that flew toward their happy little village.
Roseleigha woke up to the shaking of her shoulder. She quickly pulled out her knife and grabbed the collar of the one that had disrupted her sleep.
"Hey, easy there, friend." A startlingly familiar man said. She felt him staring at her and kept her grip on his collar, even though she knew he was a fellow thief and old acquaintance.
"What do you want?" she said, sounding more friendly than she wanted, averting her face from his eyesight.
"You were mumbling in your sleep, sounded a bit like a nightmare."
"Oh," she sheathed her knife and let go of the man's collar. "Who are you?" she asked, sitting back down in her chair.
"Rune," he replied with a smile, sitting on her bed. "and yours?"
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, hoping to fall back asleep.
"Well, anyway, why are you sleeping in a chair?" The man continued to talk despite her efforts to show she wasn't interested in conversation. "The beds aren't that bad, are they?"
Roseleigha anticipated this question and figured she might as well make up an excuse to further her past behind. "It's more comfortable."
"Come on now, I know that isn't true." He rested his elbow on his thigh and put his chin in his hand.
She gritted her teeth. Roseleigha had been a liar for well over half of her life and hated when people tried to call her out on them. No one was able to get an admission of a lie from her. "Believe what you want then." She stood up and headed to the Ragged Flagon.
"Wait a second," Rune rushed to block her path to the bar. "You can't be… By the Nine, I never thought I'd see you again!"
"Keep your voice down!" Roseleigha rushed to cover his mouth, hurrying to see if anyone had seen or heard him.
He pulled her hand from his lips and held it in his hand. "Sweet Mara, I'm sorry for shouting but I figured you were dead."
"It would've been better," she whispered.
"By the Gods, Rosie, what happened to you?"
"Not here," she bit her lip to keep her from being emotional, "and please don't call me Rosie."
Rune cringed, knowing he hit a nerve. He pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry… But I'm glad you're here. Did anyone else make it out?"
"I don't want to talk about it," she snapped, trying to squirm from the hug. "Can you let me go?"
"What, I can't give my old friend a hug after how many years?"
She gave up, hugging him back and tried not to let the lump in her throat be known. "It's been too long."
They stood there embracing each other for a while not caring for anyone that walked past and gave them odd looks. Eventually, they pulled apart to look into each other's eyes.
"Gods above," Rune whispered, "what happened to your eyes?"
"The smoke," she said simply. He understood what she meant and walked her to the Flagon.
They departed to the Bee and Barb in order to catch up, away from the ears of the guild and Vekel, who was a sucker for guild gossip and wouldn't admit it. They talked for hours, speaking about where they had been since they last saw each other, drinking mead like they would when they were still maturing; before they knew it, the sun was resting on the horizon and a loud knock came from the door they had rented.
"I know you two are in there!" a painfully recognizable voice boomed.
Rune groaned, being awoken from his alcohol-induced slumber. "What do you want, Bryn?"
"Where's Roseleigha?" Brynjolf called, opening the door. Roseleigha continued to sit in the corner, going through the thoughts in her head and regretting building up a large tolerance to alcohol just this once. "What in Oblivion were you two doing?"
Rune let out a drunk giggle. "What's the matter, Bryn? 'Fraid I'm going to steal your girl?" Roseleigha began to chuckle at the thought of a jealous Brynjolf. "Can't a man have some mead with his old friend?"
Brynjolf stared suspiciously at the two. "You know her? And you didn't think to tell me?"
"I didn't know it was her or that she was blind!" Rune tried to stand and defend himself, but Roseleigha rushed to his side, anticipating the inevitable stumble from the drunken light-weight.
"It's okay Rune. I can handle this," she reassured her drunk friend who unsurprisingly fell onto her shoulders.
"Why didn't you tell me, lass?" Brynjolf questioned the newest member of her family.
She stared daggers at him. Her eyes were as intimidating, possibly more so than if she had any color to them. "What the hell gave you the idea that you have an obligation to know every damn detail about my life? I had no idea he was a member of the guild, and he had no idea that the 'blind thief' you went shouting and bragging to everyone. Did you ever think I may not have always been blind? Maybe I had a regular life before I possessed any skills you won't shut your mouth about. And as far as I'm concerned, I don't know a thing about how your life is now and far before you were in the guild, and hardly anyone else does."
The room went into silence; all that could be heard was the chatter and ruckus of the floor below them. Only the intoxicated Rune spoke up, "So what did you even want, Bryn? Why'd you come stormin' in here and bother my pleasant conversation with my precious little Rosie?"
Roseleigha felt her cheeks ignite with embarrassment at her old friend's childhood pet name for her. But that didn't Brynjolf from buckling over into laughter over the adorable name for such an ice-cold woman. "Rosie? Are you serious, lass?"
"Just get to the point!" she yelled at him.
Brynjolf let his laughter subside before continuing, "Aye, sorry lass. We got a tip about an old Nordic ruin that may be overflowing with treasures and gold. A client wants us to check it out and tell them what we find."
"Maven?" Roseleigha guessed.
"How did you know?" Brynjolf asked.
"Come on, Brynjolf. Who else would send the Thieves Guild into an old ruin just to see what's inside?"
"Aye, good point lass. Anyway, Mercer wanted me to go and take you along with me."
"Did he say why?" Roseleigha felt a slight bit of worry that Mercer had already figured out who she was.
Brynjolf furrowed his brows. "He said that it'd be a perfect time to test your skills. Something wrong about that?"
"No. Not at all." She breathed a sigh of relief, but knew Mercer was smart enough to figure it out eventually. Hopefully things won't go as bad as I'm thinking, she thought. "Did he say where we're headed?"
Brynjolf nodded. "Volskygge."
"Volskygge?" Rune suddenly chimed in. "That place is on the other side of Skyrim!"
"Rune," Roseleigha said softly to her friend, "don't tell me you're worried about me after everything I told you. A road trip to the other side of Skyrim, going into an ancient tomb, and coming back is like child's play. Have you already forgotten everything I told you?" He rushed to shake his head, instantly regretting it as a feeling of nausea came to him. She continued to support his weight onto her, not surprised her childhood friend was still much heavier than he looked.
"Here," Brynjolf held up the other side of Rune, "I'll carry the lad. Get back to the cistern and rest."
"I can handle him just fine." She kept a firm grip around Rune's body. Brynjolf didn't reply but continued to help her bring the intoxicated man back to the cistern.
"So what's going to happen to the Goldenglow job?" she asked on their way back.
Brynjolf took a deep breath, seeming irritated. "Mercer wants you to go in there once the job to Volskygge is over."
She sighed in an exhausted manner. "I could be in and out of there by morning. I don't understand why he doesn't let me go in there. Now I'm forced on a trip into Oblivion with you to prove my worth to that blasted Breton."
He chuckled, extremely amused with her frustration. "Welcome to the family, lass."
She sent Brynjolf away once she returned to the cistern and laid her now unconscious friend down in his bed. She sat beside him, holding his hand long after they arrived back not giving a damn about what people thought about the relationship between herself and him.
She rested her eyes, finally having a chance to breathe with stillness and silence around her. She didn't have to worry about how to tell Rune about what she's been through, she didn't have to listen to all the moments she and her family missed in Rune's life. Rune still could not find where he was from, and even when they were apart, she still tried to find any clues she could about where he came from. She smiled as she recalled young Rune being so shy once he was welcomed into their home.
"What are you smiling about, lass?" Roseleigha struggled to her feet and let go of Rune's hand once she heard Brynjolf's voice.
"That's none of your concern," she said coldly.
"Hmmph," he sighed, "you seemed pretty happy about something."
"It's none of your business, Brynjolf." She walked to her bed and settled herself into her chair. Brynjolf followed closely behind her, a look of amusement on his face.
"I never thought you'd have a soft spot for someone, especially one for Rune."
"I don't have a soft spot," she folded her arms and stretched her legs out, preparing for sleep.
"Is that right?" She heard him lay on her bed, turned toward her. "Seemed like you couldn't stop talking to the man all day. Poor lad, having to listen to you for so long."
Roseleigha ignored Brynjolf; she knew he was just trying to push her buttons, get some sort of remark out of her. She wasn't going to oblige him with that.
The two fell silent after that. After waiting for what seemed like forever, she heard the steady sleeping of the master thief. She chuckled to herself, wondering how someone like him was able to so easily fall asleep in another woman's bed. Actually, she could wonder. He probably slept in more women's beds than she cared to think about. A thorn of jealously poked her heart.
Stop it, Rosie, she said silently to herself. You can't get attached to someone. You know what will happen if you do.
She shuddered at the thought and allowed herself to fall into the sweet embrace of sleep.
