Hullo, everybody ! Here you go ! It's late as all hell, but I managed to squeeze this one out. I hope you enjoy ! -LR

I ended up taking him to Swindler's Den.

The little me. Chaos.

Obviously not his real name, but who was I to judge? I've been Pate and Keller, Firenze and Dane, thief and bastard, pirate and prisoner, liar and lover, drunkard and Dragonborn.

I know a thing or two about hiding who you really are.

Not that any of this matters; who the kid really is. Because, I also know a thing or two about fighting for your mother. And I know how brave that bond can make you be, even if you're scared. Glancing at the boy beside me, I get to thinking about him, and his past. He literally told me "No questions", and gave me those big, doe-y serious eyes, and I agreed.

I laughed hard as shit, but I agreed.

The rubies I stole need to turn edible, and soon. A broker's what I need, and there aren't too many of those willing to smuggle food into a fortress city that's under lockdown. So, cut out the middleman, cut out the fence. Go straight to the source. The Guild's too far, Whiterun's thieves're all under lock and key. It would have to be someplace that the guard couldn't care less about. Someplace outlaw, and off-grid.

It would have to be the Swindler's Den.

I figured I could trade the rubies for more food. I know my way around a gem, so I know that each is worth around 350 septims. That's 1050 septims together, and I intend to get my money's worth.

Hey, I may not be able to read, but math is essential to thievery. You don't cheat me out of my cut.

I didn't really know how to tell Saadia that I was going to have to see the Alik'r. So, I didn't.

What we have is very basic, very simple.

We eat, we fuck and I leave. Wash, rinse and repeat.

I don't know why I started doing it. Could have something to do with how gorgeous she is, and how soft. Rontu, for how I loved her, still looked like a boy. That was easy to forget, since I never gave it a second thought once I was after her. But, I think the truth of why I started this thing with Saadia, is that she is everything Rontu wasn't.

For one thing, she's beautiful.

For another, she's vulnerable. Where Rontu was hiding shit -important shit- from me, Saadia is open, telling me everything, actually relying on me. With her, I don't have to play guessing games. I already know that she likes me, or at least that she likes me enough to let me fuck her. It took months of uncertainty, and confusion before I was ever even able to kiss Rontu.

Saadia shares the weight of her worries with me, and for some reason, it's a good feeling; taking care of someone. I found that out with the refugees, too, and the caravan from before. I just think I could have felt that sooner, and saved the whole world a lot of grief, if Rontu O'Naharis had just found it in her to let me in.

Like hell. I purse my lips and swat the reins, so that Fenris will pick up speed.

Rontu O'Naharis would rather piss glass than let someone take care of her.

I feel something knock against my shoulder, and I angle my head to see Chaos, snoring softly. I smirk in spite of myself. Bastard's been trying to fight sleep the whole ride to the Den. I'm actually surprised he's only just conked out.

For some really scary reason, I'm pretty fine with this irresponsible decision, the whole Oh-You-Know-Just-Taking-This-Random-Child-With-Me-To-A-Secret-Cave-Full-Of-Dangerous-Warriors thing. But, in spite of what he said before, I want to try to get to know him, to see what it's like in his age-old mind.

After all, it en't every day, you get to meet your younger self.

Another half hour of riding, and we reach the Den.

Chaos is still gone, his brows furrowed tight, like he's having a nightmare.

"Wake up," I say, and shake him a little. "Chaos, wake up. We're here." He opens one eye, and then, the other before rising up slowly, rubbing them both with tiny fists. I busy myself with securing the rubies in a secret slot, in the left rear wheel of the wagon. Not always easy, dealing with Alik'r. I should know. "Wake up," I say again, tying up Fen's reins. "Come on, kid. Come on."

"I'm up," he grunts, and to prove it, he jumps down from the seat, landing neatly in spite of the drop. It's almost twice his height. I glance the kid over again, but don't say anything. Give him a little more time to open up on his own. "They're Alik'r in there, right?"

Now, I really don't want to say anything. Old as this he is, I'm not of a mind to send Chaos back to his mother even older.

"Just keep your head down, and your mouth shut." I unsheath my dirk, and put it in the wagon, along with my blades. "Do that, and we can get out of this in one piece, hn? Preferably with the food?" I pause, suddenly appalled at myself. Aye, aye, it's finally caught up with me:

OH, SHIT. I'VE TAKEN A FUCKING CHILD TO THE SWINDLER'S DEN.

"Change of plans," I blurt out, catching him under the armpits and sitting him back in the wagon. "How 'bout you stay here, take care of 'ol Fenris?"

"Sure," he says, deadpan. "I'll take care of him, all the way back to Whiterun." My brows pull in sharply, and my jaw drops. "Leave me here? I wish you would. If you really want to get out of there in one piece, you'll take me with you."

Honestly, I don't know what makes me more nervous: the Alik'r on the other end of this cave, or the thing that chipped this fucker's shoulder.

"Suit yourself," I mutter, and make room for him to vault back down onto the ground. "But what I said before, about keeping your head down, and your mouth shut - that shit is still in effect."

He gives no reply, just waits beyond me, waiting for me to enter first.

The dark of the cave makes the dark outside look like day.

We step carefully through the narrow trail of the entrance tunnel and - hands raised - into the main chamber of the Den. Two Alik'r warriors speaking in their native tongue turn sharply before crossing the cave and intercepting us. As fast as my heart's beating, it speeds up even quicker as they start to draw and raise their blades.

"I'm buddy spy, and I'm unarmed!" I shout, stepping in front of Chaos. "I'm not here to make trouble. I'm only here to cut a deal with you."

The warriors turn and look to each other, before conversing openly in Yoku again.

Shit! They're gonna kill us, right here. I've gotten both of us killed.

Thinking fast, I consider grabbing the closest one's head, and slamming it into the other's before grabbing one of their scabbards and running them both through, trying to hold an advantage.

"Keian mo'hurat. Qual mo jhatt rhiad."

As if we planned it out, both me and the Alik'r warriors look at this kid in shock and awe.

Mostly shock.

"Chaos. . ?"

He doesn't respond, only tips his chin further up, eyes beseeching- no, commanding them.

"Que't mo'raza, mish'garai?" asks one, giving Chaos his complete attention. "Mo'raza lo Kematu Zahol?"

"Nem." Chaos gives the slight shake of his head, before saying proudly, "Que't mo'raza O'Naha."

I feel like I've heard the words before, but I can't remember where. Something to do with a cave. . .

I don't give it much thought. Whatever the kid's said, it's worked. They're all smiles now, the warriors, and one of them even tugs playfully on Chaos' braid. They finally turn to address me, grins fading a bit.

"Kematu will see you now, Nord."

I nod, still more than a little bewildered, and Chaos takes point, leading me onward into the cave.

"Thought you were Breton-born," I say quietly.

"Who says I'm not?"

I pause, watching that little boy with the old soul keep walking on, without fear.

So much for me protecting him.

We enter another, more finely furnished room. At a table in its center, is Kematu, the man I know as the organizer of the Swindler's Den, the commander of these Alik'r, and as the childhood friend of Adjin, Jarsha and Rontu.

"I know you?" His voice is even deeper than mine, even deeper it seems, than Adjin's. "I know you," he says, and it's a statement, recognition lighting in his eyes. "You're that blizzard boy, what Master's been babysitting." I twitch at the remark, at the insult "blizzard boy". It's some rude shit the foreigners have for Nords, when they've been given a hard time in Skyrim. Even that slight jump of my cheek causes them to put their hands on their scabbards. "Easy now," Kematu chuckles, unthreatened. "Easy."

His eyes traverse my form, and when they're satisfied, that I'm as unimpressive as I was the first time we met, he turns to Chaos.

Here, his eyes bug.

Like, wiiiiiiide open.

"You!" he accuses softly. "What- How-"

Chaos smirks.

Then, shocking the hell out of all of us, he raises that index finger, just as he's done with me, and presses it to his lips, all with this coy, knowing look on his face.

Hell, I'm just glad it en't just my strings he's pulling here.

"Kematu."

The voice comes from behind me, and I turn to see that it belongs to one of the most striking Redguard men I've ever seen.

Eyes like dark, molten gold, but cool and calculating, are framed by dark lashes, his eyebrows dark and thick and neat, as they sit above them. His cheekbones are high, with the hint of a dimple in his right cheek. He's lighter than Rontu; he's the color of some sort of sweet bread, making him look even more exotic, and his eyes look even more interesting.

Traditional Alik'r white pants, tucked into his leather boots, and a brown leather tunic are the base of his clothing, while elaborate ocean blue robes, with gold stitched through them are folded over him. As we look each other over, he unwraps the midnight blue Alik'r hood, revealing an afro of jet-black hair, and a slight scar by his right eyebrow; the only mar in his features.

I feel like I ought to know him.

And the crazy thing is, he looks as if he feels exactly the same way.

"They told me you were caught," Kematu offers, his voice steady. "If that's the case, then how is it you managed to return? Even if you had the courage to, there is still the matter of Whiterun's prison fine."

I think back to Saadia's mentioning of an Alik'r prisoner, in the gaol of Whiterun. This must be him.

"I had to come back," he says quietly. "I had to come back, because She paid my fine. I never saw her, but the guards described her, and I knew."

"She?" Kematu's brow furrows. "She, as in . . ?" The ex-prisoner levels his commander with a look, and Kematu's own face takes on one of understanding. "I see. So, She is in Whiterun," he muses, and nods toward Chaos. "I figured as much."

The light-eyed Redguard looks to where Kematu indicates, and as he takes in the little boy, he seems overwhelmed. I get the sense that he's on the verge of tears, but he's quick to compose himself.

"He looks just like her," he whispers hoarsely, and clears his throat. "You look just like your mother."

Chaos, for all the lack of emotion I ever get from him, looks puzzled for once. And, I get the feeling that this is something he didn't intend. He had anticipated one-upping me. He had anticipated one-upping Kematu, and the Alik'r. But, he doesn't know jack shit about this new character. And, for that matter, neither do I.

The boy seems dazed for a moment, and seems as if he wants to interview this man on his beloved mother, but then, he seems to remember himself. And, that "self" is a little boy who never lets his face betray his feelings.

"We came to trade for food. Like, a lot of food. Maybe a city's worth?" His eyes are back to their serious calm, as he stands straight and unconcerned, speaking to Kematu as though they are equals. "The refugees of Whiterun are starving. We want to do something about it."

Kematu hesitates.

"Does your mother know-?"

"My mother is in that city. If they can't get food, then that means she can't, either."

This gives the commander pause. But, not for very long. It's obvious that this woman is important to him; to all of them. He nods to himself, before his expression becomes curious.

"What have you brought to trade?"

"Three flawless rubies," Chaos says, unwavering.

Tension rises between the men, as they all share a glance. Kematu's brows pull in tight.

"How came you by them?"

"Does it matter?" I ask. Kinda tired of being ignored. "They'll be yours, or they'll be someone else's." I shrug nonchalantly. "It en't really that hard, you know. Finding thieves during siege who're willing to fence food." Kematu e hope to expect four hundred bread loaves, two hundred apples, two hundred carrots, three hundred ful. goat cheese wheels, and four hundred heads of cabbage."

The man who was playing with the kid's braid earlier, now grunts out what I know to be a curse in Yoku. Kematu stretches out his hand towards him, and then trains his eyes back on Chaos.

"When do you expect this by? Hm?" He crosses his arms, curiosity apparent in his face. He, like me, is trying to see just how savvy this kid really is. "Do you have a plan for that?"

"Split the amount of each foodstuff we want into thirds," Chaos replies. "We'll make it simple: one shipment a week, one ruby a shipment."

Kematu glances at me.

"How do I know you have them?"

"Because, I'm saying that we do," Chaos snaps. "On my mother's life, we do."

"On Her life?" sneers the golden-eyed man. "Really?"

"Rahaim, j'heta !" Kematu barks, and the man's eyes narrow further, though he casts them down. "Let us Alik'r handle this." With an incredulous look at Kematu, the man turns on his heel, and strides out of the room. "Apologies," he says shortly. "And, we have an accord." I release a breath that I didn't realize I was holding. "But, we'll take the boy as insurance."

Chaos' eyes flash in a way that makes him very familiar in the oddest of ways.

"That was never a part of our deal."

"It is now," the commander shrugs, indifferent. "Might even put your mother at ease."

"You don't understand," the boy snarls, and for that moment, he's almost a man. "She's all I have. And, I'm all she has. I have to protect her."

Kematu surprises me by sighing, and dropping to his knee, his hand on Chaos' shoulder.

"I am not disputing that. You are the man of your house; of this, there is no doubt. But, just because I know your mother, does not mean that I trust you on the rubies you claim to possess. You're as man as me," he continues. rising to his full height. "And, sometimes, men have to prove their trust and their worth in this way."

I'm stunned.

For once, there is no quick wit, no snide comeback.

Chaos merely stands there, little hands clenched into fists. He turns his eyes to me, slowly, and I know by their look that he is going to stay.

"We anticipated a deal like this, from someone out of Whiterun," says one of Kematu's men. "A shipment like the one you described is ready, stored in the back cavern. We will load up and leave behind you, and you can smuggle it into the city."

"That's the only part I en't figured out," I mutter, rubbing the back of my neck.

"What?" asks a third warrior. "Wouldn't the city just take you back in?"

I wet my lips, preparing to unveil the truth, when Kematu nails it.

"He's a fugitive," he muses, eyeing me. "Probably the same rubies we're about to trade for our merchandise."

"What difference does it make?" Chaos challenges, finding his voice again. "Our deal is still on the table."

Kematu glances wearily between me and the boy, before shrugging slightly.

"It doesn't make a difference," he admits. "Especially because we have someone who's in Whiterun presently. Someone with a city clearance, validated papers." His eyes rake over me still, in this patronizing way. "Someone with more smuggling talent than this one here." He smiles, "Just leave it to us, blizzard boy. We load the shipment now, we hold onto the boy. When all our supply is delivered safely behind the walls, you give us the ruby, and we give back the boy. Oge`?"

I sigh and nod, but it is Chaos who answers him aloud, "Oge`."

We all shake hands, and I get my last look at him, before he's taken to Kematu's study and shut inside.

About two hours later, all the crates of food the Alik'r held in storage are loaded up into my wagon and a couple of others. When we all mount up, I catch the man in blue, with the golden eyes, staring at me almost in fury. A few Alik'r told me about him when we loaded the carts. He was caught trying to enter the city, they said, and he was never truly Alik'r to begin with. My guess, he's insulted about getting left behind.

"Watch the kid for me, will you?" I call out to him. "I need to get him back to his mother, preferably in one piece." It was in good faith, just trying to make conversation. But, it only serves to enrage him even more, as he storms back inside the obscure cave. I look all around me, for any witnesses to this melodramatic bullshit, and there are. Kematu himself stands beside my wagon, arms crossed watching on as the man is swallowed by the mouth of the cave. "Something I said?"

He shakes his head, smirking tiredly.

"Something you ejaculated." He walks off, leaving me confused as shit, and tired as all hell. This whole evening has knocked twenty years off my life, and I'm ready to get this done. "Lead the way, blizzard boy!" he hollers, as he mounts up in the final wagon.

I click my tongue, clicking the reins, and Fenris raises his head, trudging forwards toward Whiterun.

"At the Bannered Mare inn, you'll find our friend." We stand outside the city walls, surrounded by the confusion of the refugee encampments. Kematu remains calm and at ease, despite being in the jurisdiction of a city he's forbidden to enter. "She'll be wearing a white hood, styled in Alik'r fashion."

"She . . . ?"

His eyes take a strange light, almost like amusement.

"Be best not to assume weakness of women, my friend," he smiles. "I've often find that as well as we think we know them, they can still surprise us."

. . . going to ignore how weird that last part is.

"Bannered Mare. White hood. Right." I nod to confirm my understanding, and turn away towards the creek, but Kematu stops me, taking a tight hold of my arm.

"Whatever she's doing," he says, his tone cautionary, "Whoever you see her with. Do not interfere." He lets go, his expression serious. "Do not interfere."

Then, I get it.

Then, I understand.

It's Saadia. All of this time, it's been Saadia.

She's Chaos' mother. She's the reason that he came to the city, that he knew he could watch her, if he was with me. He's not Breton-born, he's a Redguard, like her! It's why he knows the language, and it's why he knows Kematu and the Alik'r. Even the joke Kematu made, about something I ejaculated, they fucking know that I've been with her. They know everything. The danger he said she was in, I just brought it to her. Even worse, I've delivered them both: the boy, and his mother.

Do not interfere.

I snap back into the here and now.

Kematu's hardened eyes are boring into me, as if he can sense the acceleration of my heart beat, as if he can sense my realization. I plaster on a smirk with ease, the way I've always been able to, and shrug as nonchalantly as I can.

"Of course," I tell him, and slap the first ruby into his hand. "All part of the deal, right?"

This gives him pause, and I'm hoping he'll buy it, my hint that I don't care what happens to Saadia. I know he does, because he looks at me with renewed satisfaction, as if he's underestimated me, and he nods.

"All part of the deal."

Raising my brows with a coy grin, I turn back towards the stream, and walk down into it, creeping up to where the grate is so I can slip back into Whiterun undetected. I check on Breezehome first. Everyone and everything is still fine, and orderly, with a new family of two warming themselves by the fire. It's a mother and young son, and they get me thinking about the pair I just took a shit on.

I can't save Saadia.

At least, not now, not at the risk of letting the city starve. Kematu won't go back on his word. I know he won't; not with the way he told Chaos all that shit about being a man of his word. And, I'm sure he'll be missing those rubies, should he not deliver the boy.

So, that'll be one down, and we can save his mother later.

I leave through the second floor window, sticking to the rooftops the way Chaos has, and soon enough, I climb down the side of the supply and goods shop, and up to the Bannered Mare.

I reach to push open the door, only to find it being shoved open by someone else.

That someone else stumbles forward, but quickly recovers, and I find myself staring into the wide brown eyes of a Redguard woman.

Her skin is like bronze, and her face is made up of sharp angles, with high, becoming cheekbones, dark brows of a pretty, curving arch, a nose of a perfect slope and full, bow-shaped lips that seem to soften the pride and regal quality of the rest of her face. She's beautiful, aye.

And, strangely familiar . . .

I start to fumble my words into an apology, when I realize two very important details.

One, she's wearing a white hood.

Two, Saadia is right behind her.

At the sight of me, a radiant smile practically falls off her face. She seems surprised.

"Marrick," she stammers. "But, I thought you were gone."

"Came back early," I tell her shortly. I chance a look at the white-hooded woman. She's worrying her lower lip. I narrow my eyes; why the fuck is that so familiar. Snapping out of it, I notice Saadia is wearing her cloak. "You going somewhere?"

She hesitates, as if the truth will hurt me - which I know it will - and then, she admits all.

"Yes, Marrick. I'm leaving. This woman," she says, turning to her companion, "this woman has come to help me. The only way I can escape the Alik'r, is through her." I'm boring my gaze into this stranger, silently demanding her to reconsider. To save the mother and the son. She stares right back at me, undeterred, almost challenging me. "What we had. . . was amazing," Saadia murmurs. "And, when things are safe for us, I'm sure we can be together again."

FUCK.

I want to tell her, she's in harm's way, but I remember Chaos.

I remember Kematu's brief warning: Do not interfere.

"Be safe," I tell her. "Be safe, Saadia."

I don't kiss her.

I don't, because it would mean making this about us, when it's really about Saadia and her son.

The white-hooded woman takes hold of her again, and leads her off down the street. I stand there awhile, watching them. Then, I start to follow.

They head down the street and through the gates. I slip back through the grate and plummet into the stream. I crawl up until I reach the top of the bank, and then, I take in the scene.

Saadia's led right to the awaiting Alik'r. She whirls on the woman hollering and in return, her traitor says something back with extreme passion, and spits in Saadia's face. There are raised voices. Kematu stuns Saadia with a charm - I'm not sure which - and she drops to the ground. They both watch her for a while, in silence. Then, he opens his arms, and the woman steps into them almost gratefully. He rubs her back, consoling her for a moment, and then, she pulls away.

She unfolds her hood, and a wave of rust red hair falls around her like a curtain.

I know that hair.

I know that hair.

I've had my hands in that hair. I've slept against that hair. I've smelled that hair. I've watched it grow from short to long for the three months, following behind it on horseback. I would have followed that hair to the ends of the earth. I would have followed that hair into Oblivion.

I know that hair.

My breath hitches in the back of my throat. The hairs on my arms come alive. My heart stops inside my chest. My mouth drops open. My ears stop hearing. My eyes refuse to blink, for fear that what I'm seeing will evaporate before them.

As the full moon finishes its climb, the Whiterun plains are bathed in light. So, I don't miss it when the white hood is completely removed, and I can see the tattoos wrapping around that neck. I don't miss it when the glass lenses are removed. I don't miss it when that brutal, disarming smile breaks through, and that wild, untamable mane is tossed back carelessly, out of the way of eyes as pearl-white as the moon.

I'm itching to say her name.

It's on the tip of my tongue. Just behind my eyes. Restless underneath my skin.

And, in spite of everything, in spite of the fact that Saadia's lying on the ground, and her child is an Alik'r captive and that I've been trying so fucking hard to convince myself That This Woman Doesn't Mean Anything, SHE STILL MEANS EVERYTHING. And, that is enough to force the name from out of my soul:

"Rontu."