Hi, everyone! I feel like it's been so long; I missed all of you!

Here's Chapter 25!


Her gaze hard, Iris keeps her eyes on the road, heading toward the inn's stables. Night is falling, and the two thieves decide to stay in the inn until morning. Iris hasn't spoken a word since the bandit incident; the guilt is beginning to drive her to madness.

She wordlessly pays for a room and sets her bag on her bed before lowering herself onto it. She keeps her gaze on her hands as Bryn drops his bag on the floor, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room before mirroring her, sitting on his bed. He says nothing, only sighs softly.

Eventually, Iris can't take the silence any longer.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, finally looking at him. "For…using my Thu'um on you. I shouldn't have done that, and I'm sorry."

He shakes his head. "I shouldn't have forced you into the water."

"It doesn't matter, Bryn. I should never have used my Thu'um on you. It wasn't right. That isn't what I'm supposed to use it for and—"

"Iris." He appears in front of her, taking her hands. "It's alright. Tensions were high, and we weren't thinking clearly."

"I guess." She drops her eyes again. He always makes excuses for her, forgives her.

"We should probably get some rest." He lets go of her hands and settles back onto his bed.

Iris lays down as he blows out the candle, her mind spinning. She was going to tell him about the Dark Brotherhood before the bandits attacked. She was going to tell him that she lied about Ianthe's death. She was going to finally reveal the truth to him because she can't stand lying to him. But her chance was ruined. And now, she's not so sure that she wants to tell him. He puts so much trust in her. How can she break that? He's her only friend, her love. There's no telling that if she tells him the truth he won't just leave. Abandon her like her parents. No. She can't do that again. She'll keep everything a secret. She'll stick to her lies, no matter how hard it is. Because, she knows, the alternative would be worse. If he knew, he'd leave.

She forces her eyes closed, burying her face in her pillow, suddenly overcome with exhaustion. She hears Bryn sigh softly as sleep overtakes her.

"Iris." Bryn's eyes harden upon seeing the Breton thief enter the cistern.

Iris regards him with caution, noting the rest of the Guild standing behind him in the center of the cistern.

"What's going on?" she asks, tucking her hands in her pockets.

"Don't act like you don't know." Karliah appears next to Bryn. "You've betrayed us. You're no better than Mercer Frey."

"What are you talking about?" Iris swallows a large lump in her throat, her hands trembling.

"You know bloody well what we're talking about." Brynjolf crosses his arms, looking at her as though she were a stranger. "You lied to us. To me. Did you really think we wouldn't find out?"

All the air leaves Iris's lungs, leaving her panting as she raises her arms, palms facing the Guild. "Please, I don't know what you're talking about." It's the truth. She doesn't know what she did or what she lied about. She slowly takes a step backwards, but a hand presses against the small of her back.

"You're not getting out of this one, Liriiette," Delvin growls.

Her heart pounds in her chest as Brynjolf places a chair in the middle of the cistern.

"You have to answer for your crimes." He doesn't meet her gaze, looking anywhere but at her eyes. It's like he doesn't even know her.

"Bryn, please, what crimes?"

"Thrynn. Dirge."

At Brynjolf's words, the two biggest members of the Guild take Iris's arms, dragging her to the chair.

"No! What are you doing?" Iris shrieks when Karliah takes out a long piece of rope and begins to bind her wrists to the armrests. Her wild gaze moves to Brynjolf. "Bryn, please! Stop this!"

Karliah steps back, gesturing to Delvin who hands her a large axe.

An executioner's axe.

"No!" Iris shrieks, straining against the ropes. "Brynjolf, please!"

"I–It has to be done, Iris." He turns around, his back to her, apparently not wanting to watch.

"Bryn! Please! Don't let them do this!"

Karliah approaches, the axe in hand, her eyes hardened to stone. "You betrayed the Guild, betrayed the Nightingales. This is your punishment."

"No! Please, help me! Bryn!"

But he ignores her cries as Karliah raises the axe, his back shaking with sobs.

She gives Brynjolf one last gaze. He turns to meet her eyes, his filled with sorrow. But when Karliah looks to him, asking silently for his consent, he nods his head.

And the axe comes down.

"No!" Iris's throat tears with her desperate cry, shooting out of bed.

A shadowy figure scrambles, fumbling out of his bed and brandishing his dagger. "Where—What—"

She can't breathe. Her hand clamps over her mouth, straining to catch her breath, but her lungs won't cooperate.

"Iris—" Bryn moves to sit next to her on her bed, but she shakes her head, pushing him away.

"No," she gasps, forcing herself to her feet. She nearly falls; she braces herself with a hand against the wall.

"Was it a nightmare?" he whispers.

She nods quickly, her chest still heaving. She can't look at him. She just saw him condoning her execution. A sob in her throat, she pushes the door open, ignoring him and rushing outside into the cold. She kneels by the water's side, splashing her face with the frigid water and still trying to catch her breath.

It was a figment of her imagination, right? There's no way they'd actually kill her, right? All she did was do one job for the Dark Brotherhood, repaid a debt.

But you still have the Skeleton Key, a small voice whispers to her.

It's right. She feels the bulge in her pocket, evidence of her unfaithfulness to the Nightingales. She kept meaning to return it, but something always got in the way. She doesn't know if Bryn knows that she still has it. He hasn't asked her about it. She finds herself praying that he won't ask her. She doesn't want to give him yet another lie.

Shaking her head, she finally manages to catch her breath. Running her hands through her tangled hair, she lets out a shuddering sigh. Mercer was killed for his betrayal. He stole from the Guild and Nocturnal herself. His punishment was death. All she's done is lie to her Second and failed to return the Key. She still intends to. She hopes that's the difference. But the more she thinks about her dream, the more ridiculous and unrealistic it seems. Though she still feels she'll collapse under all the lies she's given Bryn. She just wants to get this job over with so she can go in secret to return the Key and forget all about the Dark Brotherhood.

She straightens up, throwing back her shoulders in resolution. For now, she just has to focus on completing the Solitude job. Then, everything else will work itself out.


Brynjolf buckles his armor, throwing another glance at the Breton thief lying on her bed, fast asleep. He decides to let her sleep in a bit longer; he knows that she had a rough night.

After she ran out of the room in tears, he debated on following her or not. He eventually decided to stay back and give her space. If she wanted his support, she'd have asked. So, he laid back down and feigned sleep when she came back in an hour later.

He silently walks to her side, sweeping a stray hair away from her peaceful face before pulling on his boots. He might as well grab some breakfast while he waits. He makes his way out of the room and chooses a seat next to the roaring hearth. After ordering ale and soup, he settles in, warm and content.

Less than an hour later, he spots Iris leaving the room. Dark circles mar the flesh under her usually bright eyes. He's happy to find her eyes brighten when she spots him. A grin on her face, she joins him at his table, ordering a glass of spiced wine and soup. She eyes his drink with a smirk on her lips.

"A bit early for that, don't you think?"

"Don't play the innocent one, lass. You ordered wine," he counters.

"That's true." She hums happily when the barkeep delivers her meal. "Thank you."

He chuckles as she takes a long draught of wine. "Be careful, love, or I'll have to carry you into the Blue Palace."

She scoffs, leaning close to his ear. "I'm the Dragonborn, Bryn. My metabolism is crazy fast."

"Hmm, am I detecting a challenge?" He arches an eyebrow at her.

She laughs lightly. "Please, it wouldn't be a challenge. I'd win hands down."

"Oh, really?"

She nods, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "It'd be easy. Believe me, you should give up now. You don't want to embarrass yourself." Her eyes glint with mischief.

"Okay, now. You're telling me that you, a tiny Breton, can outdrink me? I'm a Nord. Drinking is in my genes."

She shrugs. "But you're not the Dragonborn, are you?" She laughs, holding her hands up. "When we get to Solitude, after we finish the job, why don't we settle this once and for all? Drinking contest in the Winking Skeever."

"You're on." He laughs as she downs the rest of her wine.

"You're going to regret challenging me," she teases.

He shrugs. "If anything, we'll end up drinking a lot. Hell, and it'll be a night to remember."

She nods, sipping her soup. "I never say no to crazy nights."

"Gods know we've had a lot of those. The good kind and the bad kind."

She exhales, widening her eyes. "Yeah. We have."

He glances out the window at the snow flurries gently floating down from the white sky. "We'll head out once you're done. Hopefully, the roads won't be too bad."

"That's what horses are for."


The two thieves make it to Solitude as the day draws to a close. Exhausted, they decide to spend the night at the Winking Skeever and do the sweep first thing in the morning.

"Here." Iris drops a pile of richly colored clothes on the bed. "Got these at Radiant Raiment. Supposedly, they're fit to go to the Blue Palace in. Taarie was kind enough to tell me how awful my outfit was and how these were better, so…hopefully, that was money well spent."

Brynjolf laughs, holding up a deep green outfit, complete with fur on the shoulders. "Gods, these are awful. But we'll blend in."

Iris chuckles to herself, holding up the royal blue outfit and the deep purple one. "Oh, whichever will I choose?" she moans sarcastically.

"Hmm." He crosses the room, looking over her shoulder. "This one." He points to the purple. "For your eyes."

"Ooh, Bryn. Maybe you should take Taarie's job," Iris coos, her eyes glistening with humor.

His mouth twitches into a mischievous smile as he wraps an arm around her middle, pulling her backwards before tossing her lightly on the bed.

"Hey!" She giggles as he leans over her.

"First, the drinking contest, now this? Cut me some slack here, lass."

"I'm just being honest." She smirks.

He can't help but chuckle to himself. Honestly, he's just happy that she's in a good enough mood to tease him. This is the Iris he grew to love. With his thoughts, he leans down and kisses her softly.

She hums happily, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. His hands tangle in her hair as he deepens the kiss. Iris hasn't been herself lately. Ever since she came back from being abducted. He's glad that she's somewhat returned to the happy, teasing lass he fell in love with. He hates seeing her so torn up and full of despair. So, he's gentle with her. He doesn't want to force her to do anything she doesn't want to. He lets her take control of their passion, and he follows her lead.

So, when he finds her slipping her tongue between his lips, he's a bit surprised but reacts. One of his hands moves to cup her face as their lips move against one another. He feels her rising in intensity, her lips more eager and forceful against his. She pulls away for half a second to gasp before her hands slip behind his head and pull him even closer. He breathes in, drugged by her flowery scent. He lets it wind around his mind, lets it take him over, intoxicated by her.

But she finally breaks the spell, pulling back, her chest heaving. She lets out a soft laugh before muttering, "I'm glad Vex sent us on this job."

He chortles. "Aye, me too."

Her beautiful eyes flit up to meet his. "I love you, Bryn."

"And I love you." He gives her a lingering kiss on the cheek before lying down beside her. "Good night, love."


Aww, so much romantic fluff! I couldn't help but throw it in.

Special thanks to TheSilentShadows, Guest, and Mia78 for the reviews!

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See you in two weeks! :)