"What!?"

Mercer roars in frustration, crinkling the note and hurling it across the room. It rolls to a hault close to the edge of the pool of water and Brynjolf bends to pick it up as he enters the conversation.

"What's wrong now, Mercer?"he asks, sounding both amused and exasperated.

Mercer begins to pace, runing his hand through his matted grey hair. "Aringoth sold Goldenglow, Bryn. That's what's wrong. Damnit!"

Brynjolf opens up the letter and reads it, his brow crinkling. I see his expression pause as he looks over the bottom of the page. "Oi, Mercer. What's this symbol, then?"

Mercer pauses in his angry tirade, snatching the paper away from Brynjolf and reading it again. "I don't fucking know..." he grumbles, running his finger over the surface.

Then, figuring that I have nothing else to offer, I begin towards the bar to get a drink from Vekel. Mercer and Brynjolf continue to brood and mull over the note, and I don't really care. All I want is to get paid. The sooner I get paid, the sooner I can earn everyone's trust, and the sooner I can get the hell out of here and on to the rest of Skyrim. This staying in one place thing is really not my style. Granted, it's only been a few days but with the other cities I've been to, I've been in and out within a week. As much as I want to rub my thieving prowess in Vex's face, and as much as I want to prove to Brynjolf that I'm better than what he thinks, I am not a stick around and make friends type of person. I work better alone.

"Black-Briar for ye, elf?" Vekel asks me as I sit down.

I nod to him, resting my elbows on the bar. He slides a bottle over to me with an interested gaze, but eventually leaves me alone. Soon, Mercer and Brynjolf leave as well and it's only Vekel, Dirge and I in the Flagon, but we all keep to ourselves. I stay there for about an hour before someone else enters. Another Bosmer whom I haven't met before. He sits down at the bar a few stools away from me and orders a bottle of Black-Briar as well. Soon, he turns to me with a playful smirk.

"I wasn't aware that Brynjolf had brought in another Bosmer recruit. It's good to see a sister face."

Gods, I'd missed that accent. I haven't seen another of my kind since I left Valenwood and I have noticed my own Bosmer tongue slipping into the guttural Nordic intonation. I turn to the man and smirk myself, one hand around my bottle. I extend the other in greeting to him.

To my utmost surprise, he takes the hand and kisses my fingertips. "Niruin," he says, grinning.

I chuckle. "Kyari." I pull my hand back and rest on the bar, eyeing him up. "A little too classy for this place, aren't you?"

He grins at that, and moves to the bar stool closest to me. "This place...meaning the Flagon, or the Guild?"

I shrug. "Both, I suppose. With a silver-tongue like that, surely you'd do better as a shopkeep or a salesman."

He takes a swig from his bottle and I catch myself gazing at his lips as he does so. Damnit Kyari, control yourself! He licks his lips when he finishes and I look away before I drool on the bar.

He sighs a bit and rests his elbows on the bar, turning to the center of the room. "I haven't been called classy in many a year, Kyari. Not since I left home."

"Home...You mean Valenwood?"

He chuckles. "Is there any other place you'd call home?" I shake my head, and he continues. "Yes well, the last time I was called classy, it was followed by the word 'prig.' Said by my father of course."

I tilt my head at him and snicker once. "Your father?"

His eyes grow a bit distant and he nods. "Indeed. During one of the many heated arguments he and I would engage in. See, he owned a winery back in Valenwood, which I worked at. As such, I was incredibly wealthy and adored by many people. I had more friends than I could keep track of, and was betrothed to a simply beautiful woman."

I catch myself staring again as he continues his story. His smooth cockiness is entrancing and I take note that he is very much like me in that sense. We are both aware of our superiority and aren't afraid to flaunt it. I grin, putting my chin in my hand and listening as he goes on.

"As luxurious as that life surely seems," he starts, then leans in close to me. My breath catches. "...it is incredibly dull." He winks, then sits back up. "I grew increasingly bored as the years went on the wine flowed."

Ah, Valenwood wine. I remember it fondly. Much sweeter a taste than the swill they have in Skyrim. I've heard tales of a spiced wine up in Solitude that's gotten a lot of praise. Perhaps when I finish in Riften, I'll have to head there.

"I can't imagine how having that much coin could be dull."

He chuckles. "Well, the coin wasn't of course. Money can buy anything. The finest meats and cheeses, the grandest of parties and balls, and of course the most beautiful and sexual women around."

I blush at that, and turn away. Ah yes, the sexuality that is Valenwood's women. The Nords perceive us to be above such impulses. They'd be in for a treat if they ever crossed the Valenwood border. I chuckle nervously and sip at my mead.

"But party as much as you want and fuck as many girls as you can...it still gets boring. I craved excitement and action and adventure. Danger, if you will."

"Ah, so you're a thrill seeker?" I ask him, my voice a little lower than I expected.

He chuckles darkly and nods. "Yes. So I found myself with a group called the Silver Crescents. We were a gang, I suppose you could say. Not thieves, but not bandits either. I found the thrills there that the winery lacked."

I lift an eyebrow. "I can't imagine your father was too happy about that."

He raises a glass to my comment and takes a long swallow. "That's where the ultimatum came. I was to either leave the Silver Crescents and come back to the winery, or go to jail."

I widen my eyes at him. "Those were your choices? What kind of a father was he?"

Niruin shrugs one shoulder. "One who was looking after his business. He had no patience for layabouts and guttersnipes, and that's what he assumed I was doing with the Crescents - neglecting my duty."

I take a swig of my mead. "So what did you do?"

"Well," he starts, then stretches. I take a moment to admire his lithe, Bosmer body and the fluency of his movements. I can really appreciate a man like this after being around nothing but Nords since I left the Vale. "I'd heard tale of the Thieves' Guild here, in Skyrim. So I sent out a few feelers and made a few discreet contacts. Eventually, Delvin contacted me."

"Who's Delvin?"

He cracks a smile. "I forget that you are new here. He's one of the senior thieves. Usually handles the sales of rare items or artifacts that we lesser thieves bring back. He also handles the broader jobs like pickpocketing and numbers jobs."

I nod like I know what he's talking about but I don't have any clue. He goes on anyway. This man does enjoy talking, but that's the only downfall I can find.

"Anyway, Delvin sent me a letter about the Guild along with a recruitment invitation. I left Valenwood the next morning."

I smile, finishing off my bottle of Black-Briar. "An interesting tale. Thank you, Niruin."

"Of course, milady. I am always delighted to talk about myself to beautiful women."

I feel a blush creep into my cheeks but I push it away. "Beautiful, is it?"

He rises from his bar stool and creeps a bit closer to me, standing a mere six inches away. He places his hand on the bar and leans in, close to my elongated ear.

"Gorgeous," he murmurs, pressing his lips right behind the curve of my ear.

I shudder, closing my eyes. When I open them, he is walking away with a mischievous smirk on his lips. It takes me a moment to regain my composure. That is a man who knows how to arouse a woman. His breath was velvety hot in my ear when he spoke, his tone deep and dark. He even smelled captivating. And his lips were soft and deliciously delicate when he pressed them to my skin. My cheeks blush. Of course...it could be that I haven't bedded a man in nearly six months. But even still, Niruin is a fine specimen of a Bosmer.

When I turn back to the bar, I see a quickly scrawled note written on a piece of tattered parchment.

If you're looking for company, come to my room tonight.

Oh yes. This, I can do.

As things heat up between Kyari and Niruin, trouble is brewing in the Guild. Money is tight as it is, and now Goldenglow has been sold. What will Mercer and Brynjolf do about the sale? Will Kyari and Niruin's relationship heat up even more? Come back soon for more!

A very fun chapter to write. :) I am delighted to know that people are enjoying the story! Favorites, follows and reviews are always welcomed and appreciated!