Goldenglow

Chapter 10: Goldenglow

The trip through the waters surrounding Goldenglow Estate was rather uneventful, Noela deliberately keeping a safe distance behind Vex as she didn't want to unintentionally antagonise her in any way.

Or intentionally, if Noela couldn't help herself.

Smirking slightly, she crept after Vex through the sewerage tunnel that was their secret way into the estate.

They came across nothing but a couple of skeevers, and Vex stopped them once they were beneath a manhole-sized cover in the ceiling. She pointed to the ladder leading up to the exit.

"This is it, the start of the mission. Once we go up through that grate, it's game time," said Vex, placing her hands on her hips. "So, this is our last chance to speak and discuss our plan. You saw how swarmed the place is with mercenaries. Once we're in there, we won't be able to make a sound."

"So, what's the plan?" asked Noela casually.

"First we get the key, clear the safe, then burn the hives. I'll take care of the breaking and entering, and you provide me backup where I need it. Take out the mercenaries on my command—you're allowed to kill them, just not Aringoth, unless absolutely necessary."

Noela nodded. "And could we not break into the safe without the key? I assume we'd have to deal with Aringoth directly in order to get it."

Vex seemed to take her question into consideration. "That's—actually not a bad idea, newb. Of course, I don't know how hard that safe is to crack, but it's probably worth locating it first anyway. Alright then, let's get going."

She turned to head up the ladder but Noela said, "Would it not increase our chances of success to wait until night to do this?"

"No. Well, yes, but Mercer wants this done asap. Maven's getting impatient."

Without another word, she scrambled up the ladder and Noela followed suit.

The sewer exit brought them out onto the hill overlooking the beautiful Lake Honrich, right beside what Noela supposed was the side entrance of the Goldenglow Estate house.

Looking quickly around for mercenaries, Vex crept over to the door and began working it. "Watch my back," she whispered over her shoulder to Noela.

She got it open in about twenty seconds, and Noela briefly wondered about the difficulty level of that lock.

They found themselves in a wooden house, the floorboards creaking slightly with each step they took. They passed two shut doors on their right, and at the end of the corridor Vex turned left.

Off to the side was a large dining room, and at the far end of this new corridor a mercenary was sitting in a chair.

Clinging to the walls, Vex shuffled silently toward the dining room and away from the direction of the mercenary.

Then, she stopped abruptly and Noela walked right into her, which earned her a 'tsk' from the Imperial. Rubbing her shoulder where it was now throbbing painfully, Noela looked up ahead and saw a second mercenary walking through the dining room.

Vex flattened herself back against the wall. "We need to take him out," she said in a hushed voice.

"On it," said Noela, and stepped ahead.

At the doorway to the room, the mercenary was close but now had his back to them and Noela took the opportunity quickly, lunging in with her dagger and slitting his throat from behind. Grabbing his body so he wouldn't hit the floor with a loud thump that would no doubt alert the other guard, Noela whispered, "Help me."

Vex sidestepped her and took hold of the chest side of the man's body, and together they lowered him silently to the floor.

Once they'd straightened up, Noela noticed that Vex now had a few spots of blood on her clothes and hair, which, surprisingly, seemed to increase her attractiveness more.

But then Noela caught Vex's eye and realised the Imperial had caught her staring, again. Vex's expression narrowed into a frown but she didn't say a word, instead turning and traversing the rest of the room.

They exited the dining room and turned right. Straight ahead was a locked iron gate. Checking that the coast was clear, Vex tiptoed over to it and began picking its lock.

Noela spun about to watch their backs, when a mercenary appeared around the corner of the corridor. He was headed straight for them but hadn't spotted them yet.

"Shit," Noela swore, whipping out two potion bottles from her robes and pressing one quickly into Vex's hands. "Drink it!" she whispered hurriedly.

It took them two seconds to down their potions and just when the magic took effect, the mercenary looked at them and stopped in his tracks.

Both she and Vex were now invisible, though the mercenary might just have seen them the second before they had disappeared. The man drew his sword, making his way cautiously over. There was no time to delay though, as the invisibility potion only lasted thirty seconds.

Noela dashed forward without another moment's hesitation, her footsteps being muffled by the Dark Brotherhood shoes, and stabbed the man several times in his vital points and he fell to the floor, the ground vibrating as his body hit it. His sword made a loud clang as it too, hit the floorboards, and that was all that was needed to alert the very first guard they had spotted.

The mage turned around and heard footsteps coming from just out of sight, and she knew they were now in danger. Just as he rounded the corner, Noela shot off a few spikes of ice exactly where his head was, and he quickly fell to the floor atop the other guard, dead.

Noela breathed a sigh of relief. She spun around and saw that Vex had gotten the gate open, and ran through it just as she became visible again. Vex shut the gate after her and the mage caught her breath.

"Let's hurry," said Vex. "The bodies are sure to attract other guards."

They went down some stairs and came across an iron door. All was silent and it appeared to lead to a more remote part of the building.

"The basement," stated Noela.

Vex nodded, "Exactly where I might put a safe."

Opening up the door, they discovered a dark and dank room, full of cobwebs and dust and tables and chairs stacked haphazardly. Some sort of storage room, Noela surmised.

They scoured it but came across no safe, and so made their way to the other exit which opened up another corridor beyond.

Here, it was even dustier than the previous room, bits of stone littered on the floor from the crumbling walls and they had to tread carefully in order to not trip over.

Although it appeared completely deserted, if the safe was in fact here, which Vex seemed to think it was, then it would undoubtedly be guarded, possibly heavily.

After finding their way through what felt like a labyrinth of dark corridors, they finally spotted a mercenary in a chair, his back to them, at the far end of the corridor.

"That's the way," muttered Vex.

She stopped as they were pretty close to the man and there was nothing else around. He sat facing another part of the room that led another floor down. This time though, the Imperial didn't get Noela to do the killing, instead sneaking straight behind the mercenary and slicing his neck without a moment's hesitation.

Noela walked over slowly in awe. "I see thieves can be as good as assassins," she commented lightly. "I didn't take you for the type though. I assumed dirty work wasn't your kind of thing."

"Oh, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, newbie," responded Vex. "I simply prefer to keep my blade clean, and kill out of necessity, not because I enjoy it."

Noela felt a bit of a blow from her words, because she was immediately reminded of her own propensity as a killer. One that did enjoy it, and it still didn't sit quite right with her. She supposed she still couldn't fully come to terms yet with who and what she was.

"Let's keep going, and keep the chitchat to a minimum," said the Imperial, bringing the mage out of her thoughts. "We're nowhere near the end of this yet."

They headed straight for the ladder the mercenary had been watching, and at the bottom, the thieves found themselves in a room, another locked iron gate at the opposite end.

But then, Vex pointed to the far left corner of the room, exclaiming, "There it is!"

She rushed over to the safe and Noela was a step behind her. Vex quickly inserted her lockpick and a small knife blade and began trying to open it.

Noela stood back, glancing over her shoulder at any guards that might appear but at the same time being incredibly interested in watching Vex work.

This was the first time she had ever seen a high level lockpicker at work, and since Vex had claimed she was the best infiltrator in the guild, Noela assumed no less than the best.

"Say," she began, wanting to check. "What's your lockpicking skill level?" she asked the Imperial curiously.

Vex was concentrating hard on trying to pick the safe and didn't respond right away. Noela was about to shrug it off when the woman replied, "I'm master level, obviously. I can train you in lockpicking, it's one of the services I offer in the guild."

Noela nodded, though the Imperial couldn't see her. She let Vex work and kept an eye on the entrance to the room, when she heard a loud snap.

"Dang it!" said Vex. The broken lockpick fell to the floor and she fished in her pocket for a second one, immediately jamming it into the keyhole and starting over.

"Is it difficult to open?" asked Noela, stepping in to peer closely at the lock.

Vex huffed in frustration. "No, it's not a difficult lock, but there's something jamming it up. Could be rust, I don't know."

"So then, you can't get it open?"

Vex tried again for a few more seconds, before sighing heavily. "Nope, it's jammed. At least, it won't open with any lockpick."

"Can I try?"

The Imperial gave her an incredulous look. "If even I can't get it open, there's no chance in Oblivion you will."

Still, she handed over the implements to Noela and the mage had a shot. After about three minutes, Vex smirking at her the whole time, Noela conceded.

"You're right, it's stuck," she said, handed the tools back to Vex.

"See? I mean come on, it's not like you could ever open any lock I couldn't," said the Imperial in a I-told-you-so tone.

"Hey, I bet I could hold up against you in any lockpicking race," answered Noela indignantly. "Fastest of ten rounds wins."

"Is that a challenge?" asked Vex, her voice sounding cool although not quite hiding the excitement beneath. "One thousand septims says that I kick your ass. You in?"

Noela almost gaped at the huge sum of money, but she had plenty of it so it didn't matter. "You're on!" she exclaimed loudly, and Vex quickly clapped a hand over the mage's mouth.

"You idiot! Keep it down!"

She let go of Noela and the mage apologised, almost having forgotten that they were on a mission. If she had to admit it, the idea of a lockpicking race was setting her heart pumping.

"Alright then, so we need the key," stated Noela. "But would that help since the lock is stuck?"

Vex exhaled, "It might have a better chance of opening it, but no guarantees. The last resort would be to blast this thing apart but that will likely alert the entire estate."

"The key it is, then."

Creeping back through the basement was no fun at all, and they found themselves back at the iron gate with three dead bodies lying around.

"That's weird, it looks like no one else has discovered them yet," commented Vex.

This time, they headed back past the dining room doorway and up another set of stairs, which led to the second floor of the house.

Vex seemed to be going more slowly than before, and Noela got the feeling she was being extra careful. Perhaps this was where she and Delvin had been ambushed last time, or maybe it was bringing back bad memories, Noela speculated.

There were many rooms on this level, and not knowing where exactly Aringoth was, they had to search behind every door.

It was a difficult task, seeing as there were even more mercenaries on this floor than the first.

After a while of sneaking about, Noela's senses on high alert, they crossed just behind another mercenary sitting in a chair and found a locked room.

The mercenary was sitting only a few feet away, so Vex mouthed at Noela to have a go at the lock.

Noela whipped out her pick and opened it with no fuss, the lock being easy enough for a novice, and they entered the room.

It was a bed chamber, a large bed straight ahead and a desk on the left. The far side of the room was slightly raised like a platform, and they couldn't see what was beyond that point as the room curved around.

Vex took the lead, and crept onto the platform. Then she stopped and Noela saw Aringoth in the hidden corner of the room.

Against the wall, the Altmer sat, his side to them, and Vex motioned for Noela to stay put. Then, the Imperial crouched even lower, and remaining out of his field of vision, attempted to pickpocket him.

Noela watched with bated breath as Vex dug about in his pocket, but then shivers erupted all over her skin when Aringoth spoke.

"Worthless mercenaries, I didn't think Maven or Mercer would allow me to get away with this, but I had little choice."

Vex jumped back in alarm but quickly recomposed herself. "I just want the key to your safe."

Aringoth shook his head. "I can't. If I do, I may as well cut my own throat."

"And what makes you think I won't?" asked Vex in a fierce tone.

Aringoth responded coolly, "I don't believe you. That's not your way."

Then Vex suddenly pointed at Noela. "Maybe I won't, but she will. She's an assassin with the Dark Brotherhood, and she'll gladly cut you up, mince you and take the key from your disemboweled corpse. Right, Noela?"

"Er—sure," said Noela.

Aringoth emitted a harsh laugh. "You can't fool me! But give it your best shot anyway!" he said, standing up. "GUARDS!"

All at once, the battle had begun. Noela was closer to the door and ran over to shut it, while she felt a heavy thump of a mercenary against it. They were about to be outnumbered, and Noela didn't know if Vex could hold up against Aringoth.

Hastily casting a frost rune over the door, Noela jumped back to avoid triggering the spell and ran over to help Vex.

She was fighting Aringoth with two daggers, and the Altmer had one of his own.

A loud bang erupted from behind them, and Noela knew the rune had exploded, hopefully taking out a few mercenaries with it.

She quickly shot off a lightning bolt at Aringoth, which caused him to stumble and opened him up for attack from Vex.

But she had to watch their backs, and Noela swiftly returned her attention to the blown-apart door. About four mercenaries were charging through, the rune only having taken out one, who lay dead in the doorway, and Noela raised her palms and aimed both hands at the floor.

A wall of flame erupted from the ground, engulfing two mercenaries and setting another one alight. He ran off, screaming in pain and she shot him down with a fireball, managing to hit the last remaining mercenary who was within its radius.

Satisfied, Noela turned back to Vex.

The Imperial had incapacitated Aringoth by stabbing him in his right arm, his dagger now on the floor at the opposite end of the room. Stepping over him, Vex bent down and rummaged in his pocket for the key, which she grasped with triumph.

Aringoth was not unconscious though, and groaned as it was taken from his possession.

"Just be glad you're alive," Vex directed at him as she gestured to Noela that they were going.

Once they left the room Noela spoke. "Why did you let him live, Vex?"

"Because we weren't supposed to kill him. He was right, Aringoth. That's not the way we do things."

Noela nodded slowly. "You don't like to kill people if you can help it."

Vex replied with nothing more than a glance.

"Except… you took out that mercenary near the safe."

The Imperial shrugged, "You would've killed him anyway. It doesn't make a difference."

"I would've killed him because you asked me to. I'm not a killing machine, you know."

Vex looked seriously at her. "You're a god damn assassin, unless you forgot? And I only killed that mercenary because we had to take him out. As I said earlier, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. Can't let you have all the fun, can I?"

"Oh, but earlier you said you don't kill for fun," Noela contended.

"Newb, we at the Thieves Guild don't like a messy trail, it doesn't look good for us. So we keep it clean when we can. Besides, I couldn't have you thinking I wasn't willing to do any of the heavy lifting, right? On this mission, we work together."

Noela gave a chuckle. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say some part of you actually cares about me."

There was a pause before Vex said coldly, "The only thing I care about is getting out of this mission, alive. And if you're dead, my odds decrease dramatically. So don't convince yourself that I actually like you—you couldn't be further from the truth."

"Well, that's unfortunate. And here I was thinking that we might be able to get along," sighed Noela.

Once down in the basement again, Vex inserted the key into the safe and they both breathed a sigh of relief when the lock clicked open.

"Thank the gods," said Vex. She pulled out a pouch of coins and a letter, tucking them away into her pockets. "And all that's left now are the hives."

They found a quicker way out of the room through another locked gate, which surprisingly took them back into the sewer tunnel.

"Ready for round two?" asked Vex once they were back under the same manhole cover as just an hour before.

"Let's do this," said Noela.

The noon sun was high in the sky now, and it was rather warm given the activity and the heightened state of Noela's senses. This time, they crept around the house, and saw from the top of the hill, the wide expanse of large gardens below, descending in a tier-like fashion, that led to the beehives out in the distance, near the entrance of the estate.

They could see many mercenaries guarding the grounds from here, and in broad daylight, they'd have to be extremely lucky to not be spotted.

"How many more of those potions you got?" asked Vex as they crouched in the bushes overlooking the gardens.

Noela dug about in her robes. "Erm, only one more invisibility potion. Do you want it?" she asked, offering it to the Imperial.

Vex looked from the bottle to the mage with a crease between her brow. "If I take it you won't have one," she stated.

Noela smiled, "That's alright, go ahead. I'm sure you need it more than me." That earned her a glare from the Imperial and Noela laughed. "Just kidding, go on," she pressed.

Slowly, Vex took the bottle from her grip with a heavy scowl. "Don't forget that you lost the fight we had earlier, so I think you've got it backwards," she said, tucking away the potion.

"Maybe I let you win," disagreed Noela.

"Bullshit," was Vex's response. "Now stop your blabbering and let's burn the hives. You see that canal down there? We'll take that bridge to cross it." She pointed to one of several wooden footbridges that joined the bit of land they were on to the one with the beehives. "We're probably not going to be able to get there without being seen, so be prepared for more fights. I think we'll sneak first, and if and when we do get caught, just sprint for the hives and burn them quick, then jump into the lake and swim to the shore. Sound good?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Right then, follow me."

They crept to the edge of the land, then found a spot to climb down onto the level of garden below. There was a footpath that weaved through the grounds, but there was barely any cover; no trees and mainly just bushes, shrubs and flowerbeds.

"Stick to the bushes," whispered Vex.

It didn't take long before they came across a mercenary who was walking the footpath, and the women ducked into the sharp branches of the nearest bush, Noela trying her hardest not to yelp as she felt the fabric of her robes tear.

The mercenary passed, and Vex exhaled beside her. "Let's keep going."

They managed to reach the footbridge Vex had pointed out earlier, when they discovered it was wide open space from here to the other side of the bridge. The bridge itself wasn't exactly long, but it was completely open and if they were spotted, it would only be seconds before arrows started flying their way.

"This would be a good time to use the potion," whispered Noela to Vex.

"And how will you get across?"

"Wait—I've actually got an idea," said Noela. "And I think you can save that potion."

Noela scanned the surroundings, looking for the ideal location.

"What are you going to do?" asked Vex in an undertone.

"Just wait and see," said Noela, her eyes flashing as she spotted a good place.

Taking a quick glance at Vex, who looked understandably puzzled, Noela sucked in a breath.

"ZUL MEY GUT!"

Right across the bridge from where they were hidden, Noela's voice could be heard shouting, "Hey, cheese-brain!"

Vex slapped her arm. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Noela held up a hand to silence her. "Just watch."

Two mercenaries who had been near the location of where the Shout was aimed, wandered over, their body language indicating they were clearly perplexed.

"What's that?" they heard a guard near the hives shouting down to the mercenary who was now scratching his head near the source of the noise.

"And now, let's get them further away," whispered Noela. "ZUL MEY GUT!"

"Hey, skeever butt!" rang out Noela's voice again, this time from a location further up and away from the beehives.

"Perfect," said Noela. "Let's go!"

This time, the shout had attracted an additional two mercenaries and all five of them headed off in the direction of the disembodied voice.

Noela sprinted across the bridge, Vex hot on her heels. She had no idea if they'd still be seen by other mercenaries who hadn't been in range of the shout, and the quicker they reached the hives, the better.

The mercenaries were still looking about bewildered for a few seconds and one of them drew a battle axe. "It's a trap, lads!" he yelled. The other mercenaries drew their weapons.

They had reached the other side of the bridge now, but there was nowhere to hide here. The area was bare rock and they had to go up a set of steps to reach the upper tier of the land where the hives sat.

"I see them!" roared one of the mercenaries, and Noela swore.

"Vex! Use that potion!" she yelled.

Noela didn't have time to check where Vex was when she heard the whoosh of arrows fly past her head.

"Crap!"

Noela sprinted up the steps two at a time and dove into the grass, her eyes finding the hives.

"Burn them, with your magic!" said Vex from beside Noela. The mage spun around but couldn't see Vex anywhere. "Do that, I'll take care of them!"

The invisible Vex's boots could be heard sprinting off through the grass toward the mercenaries who were no doubt making their way over, fast, and Noela set her sights on the hives.

From the ground, she shot three fireballs at three of the hives and they struck home, the structures going up into flames immediately.

Getting onto all fours, Noela scampered toward the mercenaries who were now at the top of the steps. She had no idea where Vex was—it hadn't been thirty seconds yet and she couldn't see her.

Noela shook her head. This was a bad plan.

She couldn't fight with magic because she might hit Vex, and long range weapons weren't her thing.

"Vex, clear out!" yelled Noela to the mercenaries where she assumed Vex was.

One of the mercenaries suddenly spurted blood and dropped to his knees, and it was clear now where she was. Noela aimed an ice spike at a mercenary a little further away, and then, the thirty seconds was up.

Noela heard yells in the distance, and could see a further eight or so mercenaries coming from the gardens and about to cross the bridges to their side of the island.

"We have to leave!" yelled Vex, now fully visible again, as she fought off another mercenary, stabbing him in the ribs.

"Duck!" shouted Noela to Vex and the Imperial dove out of the way. Noela released a continuous flames spell at the mercenaries who ran off before the fire could reach them, and under that cover, she sprinted after Vex to the bank of the island.

The Imperial dove into the water without missing a beat and Noela did so too, the cold water gushing through her robes as she used all her strength to propel herself as fast as she could to the opposite bank.

She wasn't sure if there were arrows flying at them and so she dove deeper underwater, feeling her ears pop as she strained her muscles to go faster.

At last, after what was probably five minutes of maximum speed swimming, the water became too shallow and Noela emerged from the lake, collapsing onto the bank.

She gasped for air, spewing out some lake water that had gotten into her lungs, and clutched her side, a stitch having formed and was stabbing her painfully with each breath.

She heard the sound of panting beside her and Vex too, emerged from the water.

"We're—not—clear—yet," panted the Imperial, and tugged at Noela's robes as she jogged past her further inland.

Noela forced herself to get up, and ran through the trees lining the bank after Vex.

Another ten minutes passed and finally, Vex slowed to a stop.

Both women collapsed onto the ground then, trying to catch their breath. Noela could hear the blood pounding in her own head like a thunderous storm drum and after another couple of minutes, her hearing returned.

"That—was sick," said Vex, sounding completely drained. "What a neat trick."

Noela chuckled, the air slowly returning to her lungs. "Yeah, it's damn useful, that Shout."

"And… we did it!" said the Imperial gleefully, and for the first time ever, Noela saw Vex smile. "We fucking did it, Noela. Great job!" She whacked the mage across the shoulder and Noela winced.

"Ugh—I think I must've got cut there." The mage aimed a healing spell at her shoulder and immediately felt its restorative effects. "Alright, you can hit me again."

She didn't think Vex would, but the Imperial gave her a harder smack across the same place.

"Hey!" exclaimed Noela, and Vex sniggered.

"You told me to."

The wide grin on Vex's face was a rare sight to behold. Not that Noela had known Vex long, but—she didn't think it was often that the Imperial did give off a smile.

And it was amazing.

"You're um, staring again," said Vex, her expression slowly returning to normal.

"Ah, no!" said Noela as the Imperial's face began to show it's usual sulk. "It's bloody rare, that moment!"

"What is?"

Even though she was no longer smiling, the Imperial was now displaying a somewhat endearing expression of puzzlement. "Um, forget it," said Noela, feeling her ears begin to heat up. She looked away, but Vex's gaze was still on her face. "And look who's staring now."

She met Vex's eyes again, and in the sunlight, was reminded of their enigmatic hue, the colours of her irises seeming to shift between orange and a light brown.

"You should smile more often," said Noela. "It makes you look… less threatening."

Vex crossed her arms. "And what if I want to look 'threatening'?"

"Then I guess, don't," shrugged Noela. "Seriously though, it does wonders."

She didn't want to be clearer than that, the conversation getting sort of weird now that she had unexpectedly gone off on some peculiar tangent regarding Vex's appearance.

"Let's just get back home," said Vex, and they headed back to the road leading in the direction of Riften.

"Gals, you're back!" exclaimed Delvin happily as they entered the Ragged Flagon.

"Where's Brynjolf?" asked Vex curtly.

"But were you successful?" continued Delvin. "You got the goods? Burned the beehives?"

"Yep and yep," responded the Imperial.

"That's my little Vex," said Delvin fondly.

"Shut your face," snapped the Imperial.

Just then, the sound of the trick cabinet opened and Brynjolf appeared, striding quickly towards them.

"Lasses, you've returned! Well, how did it go?" asked the Nord very eagerly.

"All done, Bryn," replied Vex, pulling out the contents of the safe from her pockets and handing the items to him.

Brynjolf peered at the letter. "What do we have here?"

"Sorry it got wet as we had to swim through the lake. I haven't read it yet so I don't know. But it was in Aringoth's safe."

"Right," said the Nord, and tucked it away. "I'll have a look at it in a bit. But, this calls for celebration. Well done, the both of you." His eyes twinkled as he smiled at the women. Then he turned to Vex. "See? I knew you could pull it off with Noela at your side."

The Imperial glanced at the mage. "Yeah. She had the firepower like you said. Thanks for the help, newb."

Noela rolled her eyes. "You're welcome."

"Well then, why don't we throw a party here in the tavern tonight? Have a few drinks, celebrate your success, eh? It's only afternoon but we can start now, gives us more time." He winked. "I'll go call everyone."

Just as he was about to head back to the Cistern, Noela asked, "Can I head back after the party, Brynjolf? Astrid will want me back soon as I can, I expect."

"Of course," he replied with a smile.

Once he left, Vex made a beeline for the bar, ordering herself a drink. "Oh, and get her one too, Vekel," she said, thumbing at Noela.

Noela wandered over, and gratefully accepted her tankard of mead from the bartender, who claimed it was on the house.

"Shall we go sit on the dock?" asked Vex once she had her tankard too.

At the mage's confused expression the Imperial pointed to the boardwalk that extended out from the main part of the tavern and onto the water.

"Sure."

There was a bench on the left of the boardwalk and they sat down, a short wooden barrier separating this part of the Flagon from the main part, offering them some privacy.

"Just want some peace and quiet," explained Vex. "Delvin can be annoying, and I want to relax right now."

Noela peered through the gap in the barrier at Delvin, who was sitting at his usual spot at a table and reading some paperwork.

Not a second later, the sound of the trick cabinet rang out again and a multitude of voices and chatter along with footsteps met their ears.

Vex sighed. "I don't exactly want a party, but whatever." She took a sip of her drink.

Noela didn't feel like socialising with the other thieves at this moment either; she didn't really want to socialise, period.

"So, you're heading back to Falkreath tonight?" the Imperial asked.

"Yeah."

"Give my regards to Astrid," said Vex, looking out over the water. "And tell her to get her ass back here soon."

"Um, sure," replied Noela, a little confused at the request.

"So you did well out there today, newbie." Her gaze met Noela's and in this dim light her eyes were much more subdued—more like a dull brown.

The mage took another sip of her drink. "And when will you stop calling me a newbie?"

"When you're not new anymore," shrugged Vex. "You're only here part-time, so that mightn't be for a while."

"I guess I'll have to deal with it," Noela said in a resigned, albeit lighthearted tone.

With the mead flowing through her, Noela felt the adrenaline and the excitement of the day fizzle down into a content sort of relaxation. The pit of her belly was warm from the liquid, and she felt her mind wandering of its own accord.

Scenes of the mission flashed through her memory, and it suddenly felt like she'd been a part of the Thieves Guild for a lot longer than just a day. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she had carried out her assassination missions, being in Dawnstar, and Ivarstead, and the long journey in between.

And her mind flowed onto Astrid, the woman she had come to develop a soft spot for. The Nord, her blonde hair blowing in the snowy mountain air, the smell of mountain flowers rolling gently off in the breeze as Noela walked behind her.

She couldn't wait to see her again.

Dreamily, Noela gazed about through a haze of alcohol, feeling more relaxed than ever. The ripples on the surface of the water danced about, scattering when water droplets from the cave ceiling fell and disrupted their calm.

Distantly, she could hear the hum of laughter and chatter from the party in the tavern. She peered to the woman beside her.

Vex was gulping down her drink, and looked to be nearly finished with it.

In the dim light, her eyes were brown, and Noela remembered how mesmerised she had been from examining the Imperial's eye colour in the sunlight. Even her hair was more vibrant in the outdoors, and a strange pang that this underground light didn't do her justice at all suddenly seemed to overwhelm the mage.

She's beautiful, Noela thought. She shouldn't be living down here in the dark.

She examined Vex's platinum strands, her hair cropped just before her shoulders. Worn down, it was a little unruly, but at the same time, gave her a tougher exterior. A rough edge.

She's a little similar to Astrid, Noela's train of thought continued.

Strangely, slowly, the image of the Imperial in front of her began to morph. The platinum hair became blond, the skin darkening just a tad. Her uniform changed from just black, to red with black. And her eyes—her eyes turned from brown, to green.

And in the back of her mind, at that moment, it didn't make sense. Her mind was in a daze, and she shook her head vigorously to snap out of whatever alcohol-induced daydream she was in.

"You alright?" came Vex's voice beside her, a hint of concern audible.

Noela cleared her throat. "Erm, yes. The mead is starting to affect me is all."

"It's probably because it's mid-afternoon and we haven't had lunch yet."

Her vision returning to normal, Noela gazed at Vex.

And then, she saw something that she didn't expect. A flashback of the Imperial earlier in the morning, specks of blood on her face, on her hair, and on her clothes. The image of someone who had just killed.

Except, Noela had to remind herself, that it was she herself who had killed that particular mercenary, not Vex.

And her mind then conjured up a second scene of the day, one where Vex had sneaked up behind a mercenary in a dark corridor and slit his throat.

She felt a jolt between her legs.

She looked up, alarmed. The Vex in the present moment was frowning at her. "What's up with your face?"

The Imperial's question was a fair one, and the mage was certainly not thinking straight.

Noela opened her mouth to give some reply, but nothing came out. She closed it back and must have looked rather dumb; like a fish gulping for air.

The only thing she knew right now, was that in some strange, twisted way, she was attracted to Vex.

"You've um, finished your drink," said Noela, gesturing to Vex's empty tankard but clumsily knocking it out of her grasp by accident. It hit the floor with a clang.

Vex's eyes widened and looked like she was about to tell Noela off, but for some reason, didn't.

"You've been… staring at me all day," noted the Imperial slowly.

"I suppose I—can't help it," replied Noela, the intensity of the gaze seeming to grow as each long millisecond passed.

Her hand was still near the other woman's since she had knocked the tankard from it and she brushed it ever so lightly, wanting to feel just how soft that pale skin was.

The Imperial's hand jerked from the contact, and she withdrew it quickly.

Vex looked away as a strong blush crept up her neck, her fair skin not helping to hide it at all.

"I'm going back to Astrid now, I think she'll be waiting," Noela informed the Imperial in a gentle tone.

"W—why?" Vex stammered.

Noela looked at her, confused. "Because I need to get back to work," she said, stating what she thought was obvious.

"Oh. Of course." Vex blinked and in two seconds, her expression returned to normal.

"I guess… I'll see you the next time I come here," said Noela.

"Yeah, I guess." The Imperial shrugged but didn't meet her eyes again. "I'll see you around."

Vex got up from the bench and headed back for the tavern, Noela noticing the tankard that still lay on its side on the floor.