The door opened and revealed a disgruntled Kari and Mjoll. Kari's eyes fell on my face immediately while Mjolls red rimmed hues looked away. I took this to mean she had learned of Aarons fate and pressed my lips into a thin hard line. Kari nodded at me as she moved to my side. Maul moved backwards until his back was pressed flat against the wall but not before Kari pressed a stained dark green glass bottle into his shoulder.
"Argonian blood wine, extra strong and extra sweet."
"A woman after my own heart." He uncorked and took a long deep drink which seemed to settle him greatly. "How did it go after we parted?"
"Well enough. We killed who we could but the rest of the guild scattered. Needless to say we attracted the attention of the Jarl. By doing so we exsposed Maven for what she was and much, much more..." She trailed off and averted her eyes. Maul gave her a hard look and waved at her to continue. With a resigned sigh she sat near my head and absently played with my hair.
"Maven's interests went far beyond that of the theives guild. She also gambles in slave trade, dog fighting rings, skooma... The list goes on. She is a very well versed woman which brings both good and bad news. After the fighting broke out Brynjolf made for Maven and they both slipped out of Riften, unnoticed. The good news is that Brynjolf was easy to locate. He's in one of Mavens more popular dog fighting rings. Unfortionately Maven has been able to keep her new location a secret. I think its because shes moving around from place to place much more frequently to keep her presence generally secret or least harder to pinpoint." If Maul felt any specific emotion about what he'd been told he was determined to keep it off of his face. There were no obvious tells in the corner of his eyes or the set of his mouth. Maybe it was because I could see through his façade, or maybe it was because he hadn't been able to lie to me yet. Which ever it was I saw that almost imperctable tightening of his fingers around the bottle, and could of sworn I heard the slight waver in his carefully control voice when he spoke.
"How did you find out this out already?" Kari grinned then, but it was malicious.
"We were followed of course. At first we weren't sure and went in circles for awhile but we managed to get behind them. Two corrupt Riften guards; they were cursing about how they'd lost us before we jumped them. After we got our hands of them it wasn't hard to get what we wanted out of them."
"They told us about Aaron," Mjolls voice was thick was tears. "The fool boy, always looking out for me, just trying to warn me and they killed him. He was so young and now his blood is on my hands." The room fell silent, with Kari's hand still in my hair, Mauls eyes trained on my face, and, Mjolls soft sniffs as she quelled her saddness and guilt.
"It isn't on your hands Mjoll," I murmured softly. "It's on theirs, so make them pay for it."
"I will... By the divines, I will."
Silence descended once more in an uncomfortable fashion. I tried not to squirm under the combination of the quiet and Mauls gaze. I settled on humming softly to myself just as something to fill the space. A soft snort from Maul startled me.
"Don't tell me your a bard." He said, voice incredulous.
"No, I wouldn't say that?" It was meant as a statement and came out as a question.
"Aarons had a thing for bards before he met me," Mjolls wistful voice rang out.
"A final song for Aaron then. Sing to us, Mistress Not-Bard-But-Sings-Like-A-Bard." Maul brought his bottle to his lips and drained it in one go. "Now you have to sing cause I just ran out of alchohol." My face twitsed up into a grimace and I had to think hard about whether or not he was being serious. Besided that, a song for Aaron? I barely knew the tune of any pf the songs Skyrims bards sang let alone the words too. Not only that but what song would even be appropiate for the late Aaron... Something soft obviously... Then I knew exactly what would ease Mjoll... At least I hoped it would, I had to stifle a laugh that threatened to pop out. My mind would draw parrallels between Skryrim and The Hobbit.
"Oh, misty eye of the mountain below... Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls...And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke... Keep watching over Aarons soul..." I channeled my best Ed Sheeran and changed Durin's Son to Aarons soul. No one said anything and the soft melody wove its self around our forms and picked up our broken pieces in its own unique way. I channeled Mjolls loss into the notes as I came to the line "And I hope that you remember me..." and her soft sobs were almost too much to bear. But I pushed on for her and as the last note hung in the air, Maul looked like a broken and new man, while Mjoll came over to me and crushed my form in her arms. I could barely ascertain soft thank you and I'm sorrys tumbling from her mouth. I didn't know who she was talking to but I hoped wherever he was, Aaron heard her.
Authors Note: I happen to love I See Fire by Ed Sheeran and love Peter Hollens version even more. As for reference think of Kates vocals as a cross between Amy Winehouse, Billy Holiday and the female singer from The Bird And The Bee. Its and odd mix but works depending on the song, seeing as how her vocals will play odd yet recurring roles through out the story.