I can explain. Yeah right. I'm lost, and had no idea where this was. Sure, maybe if she was wearing the dress Vess had provided her. This isn't what it looks like. Except it really couldn't be considered anything else. Her hand was already upon the Jagged Crown, and Ulfric Stormcloak was looking directly at her. It was pretty clear what she was doing.
No words seemed quite appropriate for her. She considered letting go of this Crown and getting out while he was still laying in bed, on top of his lady friend... alternately, she could take the Crown and bolt.
"Thieves Guild says hello," she said without thinking. Ignoring the fact that she was no longer part of the Guild, she picked the Crown up from the table and bolted out of his room. She barely had time to slam the door shut behind her before she heard him stomping toward the door.
Side rooms. Which one would she pick? It couldn't be either one nearest to his room; those were the ones he'd check first. That left... well, two others. She ran into the room on the right, furthest from his room, and despite the urgency, closed the door as quietly as she could. A glance over her shoulder revealed she was quite alone in here, and that there was a window she could escape through.
The problem, then, lay in the fact that the window didn't open. It was just glass, set in the stone wall of the Palace. She would have considered breaking it, but the metal lattice made it pointless, beyond making noise and alerting him to her presence.
In other words, she was cornered. All he would need to do is search through the room very thoroughly to find her... and there wasn't much to search, she realized. A simple bed, a wardrobe, a table and two chairs. Probably servant quarters... or would they be? She wasn't sure. It really didn't matter, either.
She heard the door wrench open, and whirled around - to find the door was still shut. Confused for a moment, she realized her mistake when she heard a commotion as someone seemingly upended the furniture in the room she'd passed. She'd been right in her assessment, at least.
What if she slipped back into his room, and tried to escape through the window- except no, that likely wouldn't work. It was likely that window had a metal lattice, too, and the woman was likely still in the room. She would likely scream in panic if Vex reappeared, and that would be far louder than breaking glass.
"You can't hide from me, thief!" Ulfric's voice was muffled by the bends in the corridors and the door, but it was still quite loud nonetheless. Vex belatedly recalled the fact that Ulfric could use the ancient power of the Voice, and realized that being imprisoned was likely the least of her worries right now. She'd be lucky if he didn't Shout her to pieces, as he'd allegedly done to the late High King.
There was only one place she could really go, then. The Great Hall. Escaping with the Jagged Crown, however... and with a furious Ulfric looking for her... all it would take was for him to shout 'thief' in the hall, and suddenly everyone would be looking for her.
She heard Ulfric storm out of the room, and held her breath a moment. She heard another door wrench open, though this one sounded like it was furthest from her. Had he gone into the left room, then?
She needed a way to blend in with the guests. She still had the dress Vess gave her... she could make that work. The problem, then, would be trying to explain why she was carrying a pack - never mind the Crown. Even so, she began to hastily begin changing out of her leathers and into the dress. This would take quite a while, all told, and as far as she knew, her room was next... but she had to take the chance.
She was fussing with the dress when she heard a door slam shut, and she froze. He was done searching two rooms. She didn't pray often, but she was begging the Divines to let him search the room across the hall from her own.
Maybe the Divines heard her, or perhaps it was simply good fortune; she heard a door slam open, but her own was mercifully still shut.
She would have to hurry. The second that door shut, she was likely dead. She continued to fuss with the dress, and eventually gave up. It would have to do. She hastily stuffed her leathers into her pack, then snuck out of the room.
She could clearly see Ulfric in the room opposite her, and moved quickly before he could turn to face her. She was fairly sure the room looked like a mess, but didn't stop to investigate closer.
No sooner did she turn the corner toward the door to the war room did she hear the door slam shut. She froze briefly, then forced herself to try and melt into the shadows of the corridor. Her gaze shifted down the hall, back in the direction she had just come from.
Ulfric stormed past her without so much as a glance in her direction. She was relieved that he'd chosen to search the last room, and waited until she heard the door wrench open. As soon as she heard that, she hurried for the door that would lead her to the war room.
Once she had put the door between her and him, Vex began to search for a place to hide her pack and the Crown. There was no way she was going to get it out of the Palace right now; she'd have to try her luck later, once the party was over and there were fewer people to worry about. Her eyes fell upon a stack of crates, and she decided she'd try, at the least, to hide her pack inside one of them.
The topmost crate, fortunately, opened easily and was empty. What if he searched it first, though...? Crown be damned, but she didn't want him to hide her leathers, or worse, destroy them. She bit her lower lip, thinking hard.
She could still hear Vess talking. Had the wood elf truly kept their attention that long? Perhaps, with their backs turned, Vex could blend into the crowd and slip out...
She took a moment to stash the Crown in her pack, so she wouldn't keep carrying it everywhere, then peeked into the Great Hall. Vess was no longer addressing this entire crowd, but rather talking with a few guests very near the war room.
Peeking around the corner, however, seemed to catch Vess' attention, for the elf glanced in her direction and raised a brow in silent curiosity. Vex gave a quick nod, and she noted the faint smile on the elf's lips. Vess excused herself from the conversation, and approached Vex.
"Dress looks off. Here, let me fix-"
"No time," Vex interrupted. "Ulfric saw me take it. He's..."
Vess looked surprised and pursed her lips, but nodded nonetheless. She wordlessly took Vex by the arm and started to guide her out of the Great Hall.
"What-" Vex began, but she was shushed by Vess.
"Say nothing. Let me do the talking," Vess said quietly. Vex only nodded, and allowed Vess to guide her. When Vess opened the doors leading outside, Vex realized just how cold it actually was without her leathers on; the sudden onset of wind from outside seemed to freeze her to the bone.
There were still guards stationed outside, and their attention was turned to both women. Vex realized belatedly that they'd likely seen her enter as a prisoner, and was suddenly concerned.
"Is everything all right?" one of the guards asked.
"Just fine, though my new friend here may not agree." Vess gestured to Vex briefly. "She's feeling ill, so I thought I'd get her out of the Palace, lest she make everyone else sick."
The story seemed convincing to every last guard... except one. It was this one who crossed his arms. "She looks vaguely familiar," he rumbled.
"Of course she does," Vess sighed. "She entered the Palace, no? Same as me. Same as everyone still in there."
The guard gave a slow nod, and gestured for them to continue on their own way. Vess nodded her head and continued to lead Vex away from the Palace.
They didn't stop until they reached that docks, which surprised Vex. Why were they-
"In here." Vess was already picking the lock on a door outside the city. Judging from its position on the docks and the fact that she'd personally stolen from the East Empire Company's Windhelm office, that really only left...
"The Argonians?" Vex asked quietly.
"Just get in," Vess hissed. There was no denying the irritation in the elf's voice, so Vex decided to just do as she was told.
The interior of the home was shabby, dimly lit and looked to be a place of poverty. It was still warmer than the outside, but with no fire presently burning anywhere, it wasn't as warm as Vex would have liked.
"Okay," Vess sighed out. She let go of Vex' arm, closed the door, leaned against it, and crossed her arms. "What the fuck happened?"
Vex wasted no time telling the tale from its start, up to the point where Vess had spotted her and guided her out.
"You know the rest," she finished quietly. She noticed that Vess was pinching the bridge of her nose, and had been since she'd mentioned Ulfric being in his room with a woman.
"...What best defines a thief?" Vess asked quietly.
"I... er, patience?"
"Are you asking me or telling me?" Vess' tone was sharp and easily conveyed her disappointment and frustration. "Never mind," she sighed out. "Why, then, couldn't you have just been patient? Why not tuck yourself away in one of the side rooms until he returned to the party?"
Hearing Vess make the suggestion prompted Vex to smack her forehead. That had definitely been an option.
"You're damn lucky we already have a buyer," Vess growled, "or else this whole thing would have been a huge failure. There's only one Jagged Crown, and its most recent owner caught a thief taking it from him." She squeezed the bridge of her nose a little harder. "As it stands, we now have to wait a little longer before we can actually sell it to him. Let Ulfric think the trail's gone cold. Once it reappears in our client's hands, he can pretend to be the clueless buyer if the trail leads back to him eventually... but again, that will take time."
Vex didn't dare say anything in her defense. She had her pride to try and protect, but in the face of cold, harsh reality, she had definitely screwed this one up by being impatient.
"I suppose it could have been worse," Vess continued, lowering her hand from her nose, "and I'm pleased you got the Crown... but Vex, I'm very disappointed in your sloppiness. I thought you were better."
Now Vex really wanted to defend herself, but forced herself to hold her tongue. At this point, she was worried that Vess was going to push her to the side... or maybe worse, act like Mercer... or even worse still, cut her loose.
"Get changed," Vess said curtly, stepping away from the door and deeper into the Argonians' abode. "Once we've both changed, we're leaving before he brings the whole city crashing down on us."
"Er... right."
Gods, but she'd screwed up.
She had been surprised to hear that the Argonians of Windhelm were friends of Vess', and oftentimes lent her their assemblage as a safehouse in times of need. She was not quite as surprised, hearing that, to find Vess had her armor and cloak stored beneath some loose floorboards in the abode.
She had been somewhere between surprised and not surprised when Vess said nothing to her all the way back to Faldar's Tooth. She understood that only a single circumstance had prevented the heist from being an absolute failure, and couldn't blame Vess for being so disappointed in her. Gods, she was just as disappointed in herself, if not more so.
The silence persisted through the interior of Faldar's Tooth, and was broken once they entered the guild hall. Agvar and Za were both present, talking back and forth in low murmurs, but they both stopped when Vess entered, followed closely by Vex.
"Well?" It was Agvar who asked the question that was evident and unspoken by the Khajiit.
"Not quite," Vess sighed. "Oh, don't get me wrong," she added, noting Agvar's severe gaze turning to Vex, "she stole the Jagged Crown..."
"She was seen." It was Za who offered the flat comment. Agvar groaned quietly at the words and at Vess' quiet nod.
"By Ulfric himself," the wood elf added, ruffling her own hair a little. Vex had seen her do it several times since they had left Windhelm, and had thought it her way of returning her hair to its usual state, but she'd also noticed a forlorn sigh accompanying the last few. This time was no different.
"I told you that you trust her too much," Agvar grumbled.
"Perhaps you're right," Vess said with a small shake of her head, "but I still trust her regardless. It wasn't perfect, by any stretch of the word, but she did get it done." She turned to look at Vex and extended her hand toward the Imperial thief. "Crown."
Vex nodded, swung her pack around to her front, and carefully withdrew the Jagged Crown. It was placed into Vess' waiting hand shortly after, and she watched as the elf set the Crown upon the table, with the front resting upon the capital of Windhelm.
"For a job done," Vess continued, ducking beneath the table and pulling out a small pouch. She tossed it to Vex, who caught it. "You're lucky you're getting anything, so don't even start on how little there is in there," she said with an air of finality. When she turned away from Vex and faced the table, Vex assumed it meant she was dismissed. She wasn't sure yet, though.
"Is there anything-"
"Not now. Not for you, anyway." Vess didn't even so much as turn her head. "Don't misunderstand. We need to keep a low profile because of this... error. Best if you aren't spotted elsewhere for a time, especially-"
"Wait." Agvar had the Crown in his hands, and was examining it closely. A frown was on his face. "This... seems new."
"Oh?" Vess looked in his direction, as did Vex.
"In fact, if I'm not..." He gripped one of the bones that comprised the Crown, and tugged on it very lightly. It was enough to make it move from its setting, however slightly. A little more pressure, and he shot Vex a fierce glare. "Thought to dupe us with a fake?" he shot at her.
"Easy, Agvar," Vess said, defending Vex before the Imperial could do it herself. "I've had my eye on her since she left the war room of the Palace. She has had no opportunity to do such a thing, nor do I think she would."
"It's a fake?" Vex asked, brow raised in disbelief.
"The Jagged Crown was said to have been made with dragon bones. These?" He yanked one of the bones off and slammed it against the table - which caused the bone to splinter slightly. "Horker tusk."
Her mind spun. All that trouble she'd gone through... all for a fake?
"Someone beat us to it," Vess said quietly, glancing over her shoulder at Vex. "Well then... this may yet be your shot at redemption for a poorly managed job."
"We must first find whomever took the real Crown," Za said, scratching her chin lightly. "Then may we proceed with finding the real thing."
"Two come to mind," Vex said. "Empire, and Thalmor. Both would definitely want it for their own purposes." When the other three exchanged glances with one another, she sighed. "So what's-"
"For now, you'll keep your head down," Vess cut in, turning to face her. "I'm going to investigate both, see if one side or the other has any notable successes they brag about lately. Za will find blueprints for... well, just about all of Solitude, and the Thalmor Embassy. Agvar will inform our client about this... development."
"And I'll just sit here doing nothing?" Vex realized belatedly her tone with the question was rather hostile, and she began to regret it.
"In regards to the Crown, yes," Vess replied stiffly. "Or, on second thought, why don't you head to Riften and ask Carissa if the Guild got their hands on something like the Jagged Crown? We can't dismiss the likelihood that a professional thief left the fake behind."
It was true, but Vex didn't see any reason why the Thieves Guild would want the Jagged Crown, or what they would gain from possessing it. Even so, she chose to nod. Anything was better than sitting around Faldar's Tooth until the other three returned.
"While you're at it, I have a message for Carissa, as well. Two birds, one stone." It was Agvar who spoke up, and he was extending a letter toward Vex.
"You both have somewhere to be," Vess said, nodding to Za and Agvar. "I'm not done with Vex yet."
Khajiit and Nord both looked at the wood elf, then at Vex. They left shortly after.
"Vex..." Vess stepped around the table and gestured for the Imperial to join her. "Words cannot sufficiently express my disappointment in the Windhelm job, fake or not." She looked up at Vex, locking her gaze with her fellow thief. "That's not the care and efficiency you practiced when you took my coin purse."
Vex had no response ready for that, so she instead approached the table and leaned forward opposite Vess.
"You mentioned you implicated the Thieves Guild when he caught you?"
Vex nodded wordlessly.
"Maybe we can use that to our advantage." She gestured to the broken and fake Crown. "I want you to take our little... prize and plant it somewhere in the Guild's base of operations. With luck, Ulfric will come down so hard on them, the news will spread all through Skyrim that the Guild is finished... and thus, more opportunities will open up to us."
"...A shill job," Vex said, blinking.
"I prefer to think of it as 'knocking our competitor down, if not out'." Vess stared at her for a time. "I don't need to tell you, I hope, that you have already embarrassed me once. I am begging you, Vex, do not make a fool of me a second time. I know you're better than..." She gestured to the fake Crown once more. "That."
"...You have a lot of faith in me," Vex said quietly. "Why, especially after-"
"The others... they are talented thieves in their own right, each with their own area of expertise. And yet, they all believe I'm superior to them. I'll be honest, I feel it most times. But you... I feel like... you're my equal. You're the only person, only thief, that I've ever thought of as such."
Vex wasn't sure what to say. Even despite the problem in Windhelm, the wood elf continued to stand by her, wanting to give Vex a chance to prove her skill to the others.
"It helps that I like you, as well, but that isn't the point. The point is... if this," she gestured around her, at the small and well decorated chamber around them, "were to fall... I'd want you to stick around. We might have a bright future ahead of us." Her gaze locked with Vex' eyes once more. "Which is why I don't want to see you fail another job, do you understand me? I need to know you're as proficient a thief as I believe you to be. Mistakes happen, I won't deny that, but it was easy to avoid that huge mistake you made in Windhelm." She sighed softly and nudged the Crown in Vex' direction. "Now get this into their base, and tell Carissa what's developed. She'll know what part I want her to play in all this."
A.N. - Aw, Vess. You DO care.
So why did I have Vex mess this one up? That will be explained soon, and it has plot purposes besides. To put it briefly, though... I just wanted to convey that even a master thief runs the risk of getting caught.
Vess, as you can see, places quite a bit of faith in our favorite blonde thief. Thus, when Vex messes up, Vess feels she messed up as well. That, too, will be better explained in the future.
So I did just want to say that it may seem as if I've ruled out a Vex/OC pairing... I really haven't. It might happen, it might not. At this point, it's not guaranteed. I can promise that there will be... an 'adventure' of sorts in that regard, much further down the road... but can't confirm nor deny that anything will come of it. We'll just have to see.
-Spiritslayer
