Author's Note: I'm so excited about the reviews and readers I have already! Thank you so much. I hope you continue to enjoy it. I hope you continue to comment and review the story, both are good to read! There's probably too many exclamation marks here but oh well!

A Shot in the Dark

It took two days for me to work up the courage to accept what it was I had to do. It took much less time for me to do understand exactly what it entailed. As soon as I considered what would help me and began to plot the excursion, it was like second nature. A second nature I had never known I'd had before and wasn't entirely sure I was comfortable relying on now.

"You've only got three picks Ever, are you sure? I mean, if you just joined the Thieves' Guild they would have more picks you could buy and –" Lynn asked for somewhere around the tenth time.

"Yes, I'm sure Lynn," I snapped.

She stilled and looked almost as lost as the first day I met her. I stopped pacing and let out a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. It wasn't her I was angry at after all, it was this task. I knew Lynn didn't have the same aversion to stealth tactics as I did. To her it was part of life, a necessity she had learned at the same time I had started learning archery and magic. I didn't want her to feel alienated just because we differed here.

I leaned down so my face was level with hers. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to get angry. I'm just nervous. I don't want to get tangled with the Thieves' Guild just yet, not if I don't have to, ok? I just, I just want to figure this out for myself."

Lynn nodded, her shoulders relaxing. It still hurt me to see her pain, her instant reaction to my anger, to my tenseness. Less than two weeks ago that kind of behavior meant she would get slapped or worse. I had to learn how to keep calm on the outside better.

"Yeah, I get it," Lynn said.

"And Lynn."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for the picks. Don't know what I'd do without you kid," I said, standing up straight but not losing eye contact.

She grinned.

I hadn't wanted to get Lynn involved in my plan but she seemed eager and I had to admit it would go much smoother with her distracting Grelod. She'd enlisted her friend Jared by promising him freedom for helping her. Once they'd roused the old woman out of the orphanage that night, I snuck in.

I had to admit, the light armor felt more natural in a lot of ways. I had always preferred heavy armor because of my weakness with blocking, but with the new maneuverability the armor afforded, I could easily dodge most attacks.

Focus. I thought. I passed the children's bedroom and if any one of them were awake, none of them said a thing as I slinked toward the basement door. Almost all of my planning seemed unnecessary. It seemed too good to be true. Until I made it to the door.

To my surprise I found it slightly ajar. I listened hard, a sense of unease rising in the pit of my stomach. Of course it could have just been Grelod, she could have opened it right before Lynn and Jared had started their scene throwing rocks at her bedroom window but…

After a few moments I decided I couldn't waste more time. I didn't know how long Lynn and her friend could distract Grelod and the thought of the old hag getting her hands on Lynn scared me more than any potential threat the door could have.

In the basement it was easy to find the safe, which was closer to the size of a vault, taking up half an entire wall. I took a deep breath and tried my first pick, trying to sense the mechanism out.

Please, please, I prayed. But it was barely in at all before I heard it break. I bit my lip so I wouldn't curse. On the second one I thought I was finally understanding what to do. I heard the lock moving, wanting to comply with me but just as I thought it would open crack! I shut my eyes and counted to ten before trying the last one.

The safe opened.

"Impressive," I heard a voice say behind me.

Instantly there was a dagger in my right hand as I turned to meet the owner of the voice. It was obviously a man, his voice had given that away, but in the dark of the basement I couldn't make out anything more.

"I was starting to think you might not show at all being so reluctant to associate yourself with the art of stealth. And then when you did I can't say I expected much of you but you pulled it off there. A natural. I'm very impressed."

I tried to calm my nerves, taking deep breaths. "I don't know who you are or why you're here but if you don't mind I came down here for a reason," I said finally.

"I know. A little bird told me. She said you might need my help and I've always been fond of the girl. Apparently she was wrong about my assistance though," the man said.

"Who are you?" I asked, ignoring the fact that somehow he had been in contact with Lynn without my knowledge. I knew I should have been angry with her for this but somehow all I felt was worry.

"You've met me before you know lass," he said, his voice taking on an accent.

It took me a second to place but I recognized his voice now. "The market stall, you sell potions and poisons. Brynjolf."

"Aye," he said. "Now Everlee, I'm going to get lost because I doubt you'll want to turn your back on me right now but when you have the time, stop by my stall. The Thieves' Guild could really use someone with your skill and I'm sure we could be of much use to you too."

With that he did leave and I waited until I heard the front door of the orphanage shut, a little loudly, as if to make sure I knew he'd gone, or that he wanted me to think he'd gone. I didn't hesitate long to ponder that though, I had a quest that was probably minutes away from going wrong.

The vault opened pretty easily despite its size. It was also much more organized than I had anticipated. I got the feeling that no one, not even Grelod had been in it for awhile. The files easiest to find were the current residents. I grabbed all of them in my arms, eight fairly thick files. Then I started shifting through older stuff.

I finally found the folder I was looking for but I knew something was wrong the moment I spotted it. Unlike every other folder, it was thin, very thin. Of course I had disappeared a year into my stay but…

I pulled it free of the mess. Sure enough it was empty except a note which I snatched that read:

Since you clearly can't do the simplest of tasks I've taken these off your hands.

I cursed, tucking the note in my armor. I had come all this way for this. It wasn't even two sentences. I was back to square one. I shifted through some more papers but I knew I wouldn't find anything. I was too late, and by the withered edges of the note, I was late by at least a decade.

I closed the vault, not even bothering to lock it up. It had to have been at least forty minutes and I hadn't heard anyone come back, which made me a bundle of nerves again. It either meant that Lynn and Jared were excellent at playing keep away from Grelod, or they had gotten caught.

I got my answer as soon as I left the orphanage. Jared who appeared about twelve years old, ran up to me. In the dim light I knew it wasn't going to be good.

"Grelod! She has her, Lynn! I tried, I tried to stop her I just couldn't! I'm supposed to protect her, I -" Jared had begun choking on his words. I put my hand on his shoulder firmly.

"Where is she Jared? Where?"

"By the docks, please, I think, I think she's going to –" Jared finally mustered.

"Jared, listen, go to my camp, Lynn's told you where it is. Take the files with you. Get safe, we'll be there soon. Go!"

I didn't wait to see if he'd do it after dumping the files in his shaky arms. I ran towards the docks as fast as my legs could take me. I heard his voice cry to me or to the divines I wasn't sure:

"Please don't let her die!"