Vex couldn't deny that Vess had given her work. It wasn't anything exceptional, to be sure, but it had earned her some coin. Aside from infiltrating the now-necromancer fortress to the west, just about everything she'd done for Vess was ordinary and honest work.

All told, she hated it.

She was a thief, not some... errand girl. While Vess had paid her well enough for the tasks that had been entrusted to her, there was little else the wood elf had offered her in way of theft. Vex was grateful for the introduction to Agvar and Za, and the services they provided her - chiefly, their talents as fences - and she was grateful for having a place away from Riften that she could safely start saving up her rewards again... but she was starting to wonder if there was any actual work for her.

Coupled with what Carissa had told her two weeks ago about the code that everyone - excluding Vex and the bandits that safeguarded Faldar's Tooth - knew and understood, Vex was feeling quite distrusted. Not for the first time, Vex began to wonder if she should try and set out on her own once more.

As she proceeded down the cavernous passage that linked the fledgling guild hall with Faldar's Tooth, she decided she would confront Vess on the matter. If the wood elf wasn't going to provide her with any opportunities to show what she was capable of as a thief, Vex would just up and leave, fences be damned.

As she neared the door, she heard two familiar voices, prompting her to slow down and eventually stop a few feet from the door. Vess was one of the voices... and the other was Agvar.

"...trust in her too much," Agvar was saying. Vex had an assumption he was referring to her.

"I have tested her patience and made her run around doing menial tasks long enough, Agvar," Vess replied. So Vex was the topic of this... conversation. "She has proven loyal and patient enough, my friend-"

"That Argonian, back in Valenwood, also proved 'loyal' and 'patient'," Agvar interrupted. "That didn't stop him from stabbing you in the back - figuratively and literally."

Hearing this made Vex blink. She hadn't asked Vess about her past yet, not finding any opportune moments to do so, nor a particular inclination to ask, but this tiny glimpse... it sparked the Imperial's interest anew.

"Vex is no Argonian."

"Your trust in her will be your undoing, Vess," the Nord sighed. "This job-"

"Will be perfect for Vex," Vess interrupted. "You and Za both have your own tasks to focus on, and I have business elsewhere. Carissa has to keep an eye on the Guild..."

So it all came down to Vex being the only one left available. She wasn't quite pleased to hear that, and chose that moment to enter the room, a displeased scowl on her face. Her sudden entry made Agvar and Vess both look in the direction of the door; the Nord looked surprised to see her, though the surprise registered for all of a second before his expression became neutral. Vess, on the other hand, gave her a small, knowing smile. Had the wood elf known Vex was listening in...?

Vex had intended to speak her mind when she'd entered the room, but the sight of Vess made her mind go blank for a moment. The wood elf was wearing rather fancy clothing, such as what nobles wear to high-class parties. It was very unusual, seeing her fellow thief in a blue dress. The dress left the elf's shoulders exposed, but still covered her upper body quite well; the dress came down to her ankles, but appeared to have a slit in the right side, all the way up to her hip. Strangest of all was not her attire, though, but rather the fact that her usually unkempt and short brown hair appeared as if it had been tended to. Had Vex not known Vess to be a thief prior, she never would have believed it to be the case, given her present attire.

Apparently she was staring for quite a while, because Vess chuckled softly and winked at her. "If you want to get into my dress, you'll have to wait until I return from the party," she teased.

"What party? What's going on?" For now, Vex was willing to let the suggestive comment go ignored.

"Some gathering in Windhelm. Jarl Ulfric is hosting a gathering for... the details are boring, but I managed to secure an invitation nonetheless. Or rather, Agvar here put in a good word for me, which turned into me being invited." She gave a small shrug. "I tried to secure an invitation for you, as well, but Agvar failed to mention you, as well..." She cracked a small grin. "So you, my friend, will instead slip into the Palace of the Kings unnoticed, in the middle of the party, and complete the job I have for you." She picked up a single septim, which rested upon the capital of Windhelm upon the map, and tossed it to Vex, who caught it. "Have you heard of the Jagged Crown, by chance?"

"Only briefly. I heard rumors that it was an ancient artifact of importance to Nords," Vex said. She glanced at Agvar, who sighed heavily.

"The Jagged Crown, traditionally, was worn by the High Kings of old," he explained. "It was a symbol of power in its day. Nowadays, that power is diminished, but in the hands of someone aspiring for the throne... well, holding the Jagged Crown would stir the hearts of the Nordic people, and in turn make them more receptive to the holder's claim to the throne."

"Ulfric has the Crown," Vess continued for him. "A client wants it taken from him."

"Empire, or Thalmor?" Vex asked flatly. She knew it was likely that taking the Jagged Crown from Ulfric would return the civil war to the stalemate it had seemingly reached... or tilt the scales sharply against Ulfric.

"Neither," the wood elf replied with a grin. "Private collector who thinks the Crown would look better on his shelf than on Ulfric's head."

"I am grateful to you, of course, for saving me unbidden," Agvar said slowly, "but that has no bearing on your skill as a thief. Taking a dagger from oblivious necromancers and stealing a coveted artifact from vigilant guards... the two are completely different tasks. Fail in this, and we'll be crushed underfoot before we can even get off the ground. This is why I think Vess is the best choice for the job, because she's proven time and again to have a knack for this sort of high-profile theft."

"Ah, but I was invited to his party - and on your recommendation, no less," Vess chipped in before Vex could retort. "It wouldn't look good if I were discovered with the Crown on my person, because then you would come under suspicion, your reputation would be ruined... we would be crushed much sooner if we lost you."

"You wanted her invited to the party as well," the Nord pointed out.

"I have faith in Vex," the wood elf said simply. When it was clear that was all she was going to say, Agvar sighed wearily and shook his head.

"There is a lot riding on this," he said, staring at Vex. "For everyone's sake, particularly yours, you better be worthy of Vess' trust and admiration." With those words and a curt nod to Vess, Agvar stepped past Vex and down the passage beyond the door, still held open by Vex.

"Come here," Vess said, beckoning the Imperial closer. "I have a few things to say before we leave."

"Wait, we're leaving shortly?" Vex was surprised at how short notice this was.

"No, I just really like the dress I'm supposed to wear to the party, and have decided to wear it frequently until the party," Vess commented with a chuckle. Vex only rolled her eyes at the sarcastic response; it was not lost to Vess, for the wood elf's expression became serious. "First, I wanted to apologize. I have... that is..." She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "I've been intentionally sending you on these... 'errand girl' jobs the past couple weeks. Don't misunderstand," she added quickly, noting the furious expression creeping to Vex' face, "I had to make sure you were going to stick around with us, even if there were no jobs to undergo. Loyalty isn't required, but I do greatly appreciate it. You have proven very loyal thus far, and so I feel like now is as good a time as any to... well." She reached up and rubbed the back of her head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have doubted."

Vex didn't say anything. In hindsight, she realized that if the roles were reversed, she'd have done the same thing, especially if she'd been betrayed in the past. Thinking of how Agvar had mentioned the wood elf being stabbed in the back only served to further emphasize the caution Vess practiced.

"I'm going to take your silence as forgiveness," Vess added with a nervous chuckle.

"Yeah, it's... it's fine. I think I understand."

Vess visibly relaxed at this. "Thank you. I can only imagine how frustrating the past couple of weeks have been for you. I will do all I can to make it up to you, I promise." She flashed another wink at the Imperial. "Perhaps I'll let you into my dress before the party," she teased.

"I'm going to pass on that," Vex said with an exasperated sigh. She wasn't going to deny that Vess looked rather lovely in the dress, but neither was she going to say it. She was also most certainly not interested in pursuing such things with... well, anyone, to be technical, but particularly not another woman.

"You sure? I've been called quite a tease," Vess mused. When a sharp glare was her only reply, the wood elf chuckled. "Relax, I'm not being serious. You're pretty for an Imperial, but not exactly my type... or gender," she added. "Anyway, onto the more business focused things. Have you ever been in the Palace of the Kings before?"

"I... once, but it was... a while ago. It wasn't voluntary, either." She noted the curious expression on Vess' face, and decided to explain further. "I was arrested when I was younger, and less experienced as a thief. This was well before I found the Guild, so..." She shook her head gently. "Other than prison, no, I've never really looked around the Palace."

"How fortunate, then, that Za has this ready for you." Vess reached behind her and, after a moment, extended a paper toward Vex with a small flourish. "Layout of the Palace, tells you where everything is. Well, except perhaps the Jagged Crown, but I think we both know it's likely Ulfric will be keeping that in his room."

Vex took the layout and looked it over briefly. She quickly identified where Ulfric's room was, and immediately decided getting to it undetected would not be easy.

"Party is in the Great Hall," Vess said, tapping the largest room in the layout. "Kitchen to the east, war room to the west, both open to the guests of the party. Otherwise, however, guards will be keeping people out of the wings... and especially out of Ulfric's chambers." She winked at Vex. "But they don't know how to catch you, my friend."

Vex was no longer looking at the entire layout, but rather Ulfric's room. Her lips pursed as she thought hard about how she could get into what was likely to be the heaviest guarded chamber in the entire Palace.

"On that note, I do have one last thing for you." Vess stepped away from Vex and ducked beneath the table briefly, then returned holding a neatly folded outfit. Judging from the similarity in material to Vess' dress, the Imperial decided it was another dress - likely for her.

"I thought I wasn't invited?" Vex asked, quirking a brow.

"You weren't," Vess agreed, "but I figured you'd appreciate having an alternate means of entry - and a convenient excuse, should a guard just happen to spot you." She set the dress down upon the table, then had a forearm upon her forehead. "I'm so sorry, mister guard sir! I'm feeling so drunk right now, I thought this was the way to go to relieve myself!" she exclaimed what Vex thought was a very convincing 'clueless drunk party guest' act.

"You've done this before, haven't you?" Vex finally asked, grinning lightly.

"Party in Elsweyr, years ago," Vess chuckled. "Except I was in your position, the thief while my partner got to enjoy the party itself. And I got caught, but thanks to the dress and my drunk act... well. The guard was only mildly annoyed as he shooed me out - with my prize in tow, unbeknownst to him."

Vex looked at the dress Vess was wearing, a dubious look on her face. "Where in Oblivion did you hide... whatever it was you stole?" she asked incredulously. She could think of nowhere on the elf's dress where any stolen item could be hidden.

"It was a different dress," Vess replied with a shrug. "I tossed and burned it once I was out of the Embassy." Mentioning an Embassy made Vex' brow shoot as high as it could, closely followed by the other. The only Embassy she was familiar with was the Thalmor Embassy... did they have one in Elsweyr, too? "Anyway, just in case you wanted to try doing things the way I did them, there's that," Vess concluded brightly. "It should save you before you get your hands on the Crown, and it will likely only save you once. Guards don't much care for repeat drunken offenders."

Vex looked at the folded dress, then picked it up. For a moment, she wasn't sure it would fit her - did Vess even know her measurements, and how would she have learned them if she did? Regardless, she did tuck it under her arm with a small nod. She would make it work somehow, if she did decide to fall back on the dress scheme. If nothing else, it would keep her out of prison once.

"So, any ideas?" Vess asked, looking at Vex with a small smile.

"Just one right now." She was looking at the layout of the Palace again - specifically, Ulfric's room. "How high up are the windows in his room?"


Getting into Windhelm had been rather difficult for Vex, simply because she was an Imperial and thus automatically judged to be on the side of the Empire. Nonetheless, she did manage to get into the city itself without any real trouble beyond the incessant questions of the guards.

The Palace of the Kings, on the other hand, was an entirely different matter altogether. The entrance was under heavy watch, and each of the guards present had a list stating who was invited and who wasn't. The thought had crossed her mind to try and steal one of the lists long enough to find a likely name she could impersonate, then return it before the guard she'd taken it from noticed it missing.

That was too difficult, though; there were simply too many guards in the courtyard, and they made any stealthy situation or approach nigh impossible. Getting in under a false name was out of the question. She needed an alternate when inside.

The windows into Ulfric's room were too high up - and impossible to open from the outside - to consider as an alternate means of entry. She could likely use one of them as an escape route, Jagged Crown in tow, but that was about it. There didn't seem to be any other way inside, though.

There was always the option of getting arrested. It would get her inside and once she picked the lock, slipping past the guards would be a relatively simple matter. It was getting past the guards into the Great Hall, then, that would pose her greatest challenge.

So that ended up being the path she took. She threw a punch at one prick of a Nord who accused her of being an Imperial spy, a dark elf lover, so on and so forth. She was fairly sure she broke his nose, but didn't get a chance to confirm it; she was already being dragged away to the Palace of the Kings. As she was guided through the Great Hall and to the prison, she spotted Vess. The wood elf didn't make a show of staring at her, but did glance in her direction - as did just about everyone else in the hall - once the doors had opened. Vess had pursed her lips and shaken her head; had she believed Vex had failed, then, or was it just an act?

She didn't get to find that out, either; she was guided to the dungeon, stripped of everything and tossed into prisoner garb, then tossed unceremoniously into the cell furthest from the hall.

Of course, it didn't change the fact that she had gotten in. Now she had to make the most of it.

It always astonished her that guards seemed to miss a lockpick or two, despite their best efforts to find them all. They hadn't dared touch her undergarments, though, presumably for fear of being accused of something malevolent and perverse. Vex always played that to her advantage and kept a pair of lockpicks stashed carefully in her bra. Once she was sure the guards were going to leave her be, she began the tedious process of picking the lock on her cell door.

Once it clicked open, she didn't open the cell immediately. She decided she'd wait until one of the guards came to check on her, then would leave when they did. She had to get past the guards in the barracks, but almost all of them were sleeping, that she had seen. It wouldn't be particularly difficult. Retrieving her gear, though, would make the matter a bit trickier, as she would run the risk of being caught not only in the act, but also changing. She would figure that out when she came to that.

There. One of the guards stepped toward her cell, then stopped in front of her door. As soon as his back turned, inspiration struck, and she reached out for him. Her arm was around his neck rather quickly, and she manage to choke him into unconsciousness. She opened the cell, dragged him into it... then began to remove his uniform.

Only a guard would have unrestricted access to everything right now, except maybe the interior of Ulfric's room. Another bridge to cross when she came to it, she supposed. Even so, she found herself gagging once she had his armor on; the helmet was worst of all, in her opinion. She managed to get herself under control, however, and told herself the stench was only temporary. The convenience of looking just like another guard far outweighed the inconvenience of the smell.

For good measure, she locked the mostly naked Nord in her former cell, leaving him in nothing but his smallclothes. Didn't want him waking up and alerting the other guards by running into the barracks.

Entering the barracks proved quite easy. She noticed that only one of the guards was awake, but his attention was elsewhere. He wasn't looking at the chest that contained her leathers and pack, at any rate, so silently slipping the key into the lock and opening it was easy. Withdrawing all of her belongings was easy.

"What are you doing?" Vex froze as the voice of the awake guard spoke suddenly. Explaining this... not easy. Rather hard, in fact.

"Taking the Imperial's belongings and preparing to destroy them," she said in the best Nordic accent she could muster. "Jarl Ulfric will likely never let her see the light of day again, so they're just clutter."

The guard was silent for a while, and for a moment, Vex thought she was in the clear.

"Idiot. You are the Imperial," he snapped. "Rodulf is a man, and there's only one woman down that way."

Well fuck. She forgot about that part.

"Do us both a favor, Imperial, and go back to your cell. I'll kill you if you don't."

Even bigger problem.

"All this for punching an arrogant ass? Come on, even you have to admit he deserved it," she said - perhaps too quickly, she started to think.

"Whether he did or not doesn't matter. You broke the law, and now you're breaking several more. I won't ask you again." He stood from his chair and started toward her.

She noticed he was unarmed. She decided she could probably knock him out as she'd done with the other guard. As he threw a punch in her direction, she dropped her gear back into the chest and dodged the punch. She continued to dodge his obvious but strong punches, watching and waiting for the perfect opportunity to slip behind him.

There. That brief charge she sidestepped gave her exactly the opening she needed. She whirled around and had her arms in front of and behind his neck, and she started to choke him out. She winced as he battered her right arm fiercely, but told herself he would eventually stop.

He did, and as he sagged in her arms, she eased his unconscious figure to the floor, so as not to alert the sleeping guards. In fact, she decided to place him on an unoccupied bed and make it look like he was asleep, too.

So far, she'd had to resort to violence twice. Not really her style, but it was the only way she was going to get through this unhindered.

Or it would have been. She realized belatedly she had the issue of trying to explain why she was carrying the imprisoned Imperial's effects toward Ulfric's room... or even why she was carrying them in the first place. Guard or not, it would appear suspicious.

She glanced about the barracks. It was risky - immensely so - but she decided to change out of the guard's uniform and back into her leathers. Each time she heard a shift, her eyes snapped to whichever guard was responsible, and she froze for a few seconds. Once she had confirmed, each and every time, that they were just moving in their sleep, she resumed dressing.

With the much more familiar - and admittedly better smelling - leathers back on, Vex started to sneak her way out of the guards' wing. It was easier than she expected; there didn't seem to be anyone patrolling the corridor, which made reaching the door to the Great Hall simple.

Getting out, however, would be the harder part. She would suddenly be in a room with hundreds of eyes, all of which might actually spot her skulking about in the shadows of the hall.

Then again, she was Vex. Once she slipped into shadows, none could spot her. With that thought, she cautiously opened the door and peeked out into the hall.

The party was still in full swing. There were probably several dozen well-dressed Nords - and a few of the other races - in the hall. The pickpocket in Vex screamed at her to help herself to their belongings, but she forced herself to refrain. She had a job to do, and if Vess was already disappointed at her imprisonment, she wasn't going to disappoint any further.

As if thinking of the wood elf were a cue, Vess appeared in Vex' vision - and the wood elf's eyes were staring directly at her. Something akin to relief and amusement crossed her expression, then she subtly held up a finger. Vex assumed Vess was telling her to wait.

"If I might have everyone's attention," Vess began, walking toward the doors leading outside, but stopping a fair distance from them. Slowly, the hundreds of eyes in the room were redirected to look at the elegantly dressed Vess, toward the doors... and clearly away from where Vex was hiding.

Vex, however, took what was clearly a distraction and worked it to her favor. She slipped out of the corridor and into the hall, then snuck behind the countless party guests. She was mostly zoning out Vess, who seemed to be going on and on about Ulfric, his hospitality, how he would be High King... the wood elf was obviously appealing to the Stormcloak supporters within the hall, which was to say probably everyone. She wondered how convincing it was, to hear it coming from an elf, but it seemed to be going well enough.

Definitely well enough for Vex to slip into the war room, at any rate, and out of the Great Hall. To her surprise, there was no one between her and the door leading to Ulfric's chambers. She wasn't going to dismiss the stroke of good fortune, however, and slipped into the narrow corridor rather easily.

That was when she heard voices further down the hall. One man, what woman. They didn't seem to be moving toward her, so she very cautiously set one foot in front of the other, moving as silently as she could. She passed four rooms, two on each side, before she found herself looking up at the door to Ulfric's chamber. The voices were a little louder, as she was closer now. She quietly tried the door, and found it was locked. No problem for her, but odds were someone was in the room; this was less than optimal for her.

When the lock clicked open, she opened the door as quietly as she could - and immediately wished to slam it shut.

Ulfric Stormcloak, obviously, was the male voice in the room... and he was currently lying in bed with a woman. Except they weren't really lying in bed, they were apparently making love, if the woman's moans were anything to go by. Vex, needless to say, found this to be a very convenient distraction - but also a massive inconvenience at the same time. Opening a window to make her escape would be noticed.

Fortunately, she saw what she assumed to be her target, resting upon a table near the fireplace. Unfortunately, that meant she had to take the bone-like headpiece from a spot where Ulfric could and likely would see her taking it; all he would need to do is glance up.

She had come too far, though, to just wait around. Besides, she didn't want to listen to this... debauchery any longer than necessary. She would take the Crown, then... She almost smacked her forehead. The side rooms she had passed. Of course. She could slip out of one of the windows there. There didn't seem to be guards present, though it was likely Ulfric had sent them away for privacy.

Plan in place, Vex began to silently make her way closer to the Crown, forcing herself to glance at the bed every so often to make sure the attention of the bed's two occupants wasn't anywhere else. Once she was close enough to the Crown, her fingers curled around it, and she lifted it off the table.

She was suddenly acutely aware of just how deafening the silence was. She slowly glanced over her shoulder at the bed.

Ulfric Stormcloak was staring directly at her, expression contorted into one of immense rage.

She'd been caught in the act.


A.N. - Nope, not dead, and nope, not abandoned. Just had a few big issues.

The biggest issue was the death of my Acer laptop. I have had no keyboard to work with, and no computer besides. I do have a tablet that I've been using instead, but given the tedium of tapping the screen so damn many times, with typos galore and auto-correct trying non-stop to say 'that isn't the word you want, this one is!', it's been... really slow going. I haven't been able to bring myself to write anything because of that.

And yet, here I sit with Chapter 5 finished, and Chapter 6 also done.

That owes rather largely to my lack of inspiration the past several months. I've been having issues with anything Elder Scrolls related, insofar as fanfiction ideas, and haven't been able to bring myself to start the finale to Eventide. (League of Legends fanfiction, on the other hand, I've had inspiration for in spades, but I haven't been able to put anything to... well, tablet.)

So yes. I haven't given up by any definition of the term, but I have had some issues.

The Jagged Crown. This was the item of interest I had ideas for waaay back when, and initially I was going to have Vex take it from the crypt... but instead, I decided this was a better idea. It feels more like a theft this way.

I like how it turned out, far better than a crawl through an old Nordic tomb.

So Vex is in a spot. What happens next? Well... next chapter will be coming up soon, so you won't be in suspense for too long.

-Spiritslayer