I was very tempted to wait until I hit 1000 views to post this chapter, but the more I wrote, the more I wanted to post. It is short, but it's fun. Hopefully the steamy bits in the next chapter will make up for it! Enjoy.

Mmm...Niruin in bed...

Since he left me that note, that's the only thing that's been on my mind. I feel like such a child, lusting after him the way I am but his cool, confident sensuality stuck with me. I will undoubtedly pay him a visit tonight. In fact...how late is it? I plop a few coins down on the bar for Vekel and stand, stretching out my legs. Perhaps he went back to his room and is waiting for me? The idea is tantalizing and I grin, making my way into the hideout.

I must have been at the bar for a while after Niruin left...there's hardly anyone here. I look up at the gate that seperates us from the city above and the sky is darkening. My stomach jumps and I feel a tug in my groin at the thought of a lithe, Bosmer body waiting for me. I shudder.

"Hey there, lass, you alright?"

I jump. Shit. I can't let Brynjolf near me when I'm in this state of mind. I'd end up saying something I might regret. I keep walking like I don't hear him.

"Kya! Hold up a second."

Ah damnit...

He catches up with me and puts his hand on my shoulder. I feel the heat from his hand sink straight through my armor to my skin and I hold back another deep, down-my-spine shudder. I smile warmly at him despite my racing heartbeat.

"Everythin' alright? You seem tense," he asks, smirking at me. I shrug a shoulder nonchalantly. Oh, if you only knew, Bryn.

He looks around the hideout and then back to me. "Listen lass, I just wanted to say well done on the Goldenglow job. Mercer's not one for niceities but I know that Vex almost had a cow when she heard about it." He chuckles and the sound resonates through the room. I bite my lip.

"Maybe I'll have to go speak with her."

He raises an eyebrow at me, smirking. "You two have got it out for eachother already, eh?"

I cross my arms over my chest. "She thinks she's better than me and she's wrong. I'm not going to sit around like a doormat and let her walk all over me. That's not my style."

Brynjolf leans closer to me, his crimson hair falling from behind his shoulder. "I'm gettin' that impression." He winks once, sending a tingle down my spine. "Still, I wouldn't go flauntin' your skill too much. People might take offense to it."

I snort. "Let them. I've taken down worse than the rabble around here anyway."

His eyebrow creases and he crosses his arms over his chest. "Rabble, hm?"

I stop. Shit, did I offend him? I look away from his gaze and lick my lips. "I uh-"

"Well perhaps you'd like to go blade-to-blade with me somtime, eh?"

My eyes widen. "What?"

He shrugs. "If you think you're so good, why not put your skills to the test? Spar with me."

I look around. "Right now?"

He nods, pulling a dwarven dagger from his belt and chuckling. "If you think you can handle it."

I look around again, in disbelief. Is he serious? He wants to fight me, here? Test my steel, right here in the open? Is that...allowed in here? Surely if it wasn't...he wouldn't have suggested it. I feel a grin spread over my cheeks. This should be interesting.

I pull the ebony dagger from both my boot, and my belt and take one in each hand, spinning them around my fingers. He moves to the center of the room, on the stone bridge above the water. I follow, and take a defensive stance.

"Now we aren't fightin' to kill-"

I dive at him, daggers flying, and aim for his abdomen. He jumps out of the way and laughs, spinning his own dagger once before crouching. I grin.

"You talk too much."

He shrugs a shoulder. "Apparently."

Then, we circle. He sizes me up and I take in his stature as well, not missing the chance to admire his handsome, Nord physique. I bet he really knows how to fuck a girl... I shake my head. No, I can't think about that right now. Weak points. I need to analyze his weak points. Knees, of course. Nords are burly and top heavy. If I can take him out at the knees, I'll have my victory.

He lunges at me, suddenly, pointing his dagger at my shoulder. I feel it graze my armor before I step out of the way and swipe his blade away with mine, swinging my leg towards his knee. It connects, but not as hard as I'd hoped and he grunts. He swings around and shoves me, pushing me a few feet away. I spin and crouch, placing a hand on the ground for balance. When I look up, he's already coming at me again, with his fist and his dagger. I stand fast and backflip off of the bridge, landing in the water. It takes me a moment to get my balance and he grins down at me, acting as though he were victorious. Oh, how little he knows.

I rip the bow from my back and draw an arrow, pulling back and firing at his knee. It connects, biting into his flesh and he cries out, falling to the other knee and clutching his injury. I fault onto the bridge and push him to his back, straddling him, and push my dagger to his throat. He holds up his hands in defense.

"Hold up, hold up...I concede! I-fuck!" He clutches his knee, which is bleeding heavily.

I take a moment to revel in my victory before I rip the arrow out of his knee and reach for my pack. He cries out in pain and clutches his leg. He glares daggers at me, his eyes wide with anger.

"Lie back, Bryn."

"You fuckin' shot me, Kya!"

"Lie back." I plant my hand on his shoulder and push him onto his back, ripping open the armor around his injury. The wound is small, but deep. I pull a vial out of my pack from Valenwood and unstopper it, pouring its contents over the wound. He writhes for a moment but, as the mixture seeps into the wound, he relaxes. I massage his entire knee, from top to bottom, waiting for the wound to close.

"What is that?" he asks, craning his neck to see.

"Shh, just wait." I continue to massage him, watching the wound close and the skin knit back together.

His eyes widen. "Kyari, tell me what that is."

I put the vial back into my pack and cover up his knee. "It's a special potion from Valenwood."

He sits up. "What is it, some kind of miracle-healer?"

I shake my head. "No, just a mixture of specific Valenwood herbs and spices, mixed with a bit of sap from the trees my people live in, and no small amount of magic. This one is tailored specifically for puncture wounds."

He quirks a disbelieving brow at me, then inspects his leg. His mouth falls open when he sees that the wound is completely healed, from the surface to the muscle beneath. He cracks a smile.

"Please, don't tell anyone about this, Bryn."

He looks at me. "Why? This could help so many of our people with injuries and-"

I reach out and take his hand. "Please."

He stops, inspecting my eyes. His gaze is piercing and I feel a tug in my belly. "Alright, lass. If it's that imporant to you."

I smile, squeezing his hand once before releasing. I might be a cold hearted, cocky Bosmer bitch, but I won't betray my people's secrets to a man I barely know, an organization I've barely even come into. Maybe after some time here...I can begin to brew some of this for the thieves here. But not now. There's no guerentee that I'll even stay.

Brynjolf rises then, dusting off his backside. "Well fought, lass. I guess you do have a bit of skill to back up all your barking."

I chuckle, sheating my bow and both of my daggers. "I'm glad you think so. I'd hate to have to shoot the other knee."

He rolls his eyes and chuckles, crossing the bridge and leaving me alone without another word. I smile at him as he walks away, my chest aching. Why is my chest aching? I shake the feelings away and ascend the stairs out of the water, wringing out my clothes. Why do I want so strongly to prove myself to him? I barely know him, and I haven't even had enough time to form an opinion about him other than wanting to get him into bed. Yet...every time I see him, something burns in my veins. He looks passively at me, like I don't matter. Like I'm some riff-raff nobody who couldn't rub two septims together. I can't have that. He needs to know how good I am. Hopefully today gave him a taste of that.

I finish squeezing the murky water from my trousers and chuckle. Wet pants. All the more reason for Niruin to take them off of me.

Brynjolf has tasted of Kyari's mettle, and come away unscathed...after a secret concoction from the Vale. Kyari's desire to prove herself to him and her desire to sleep with him continue to war inside of her. Lies, darkness and back-stabbing are coming. Who is behind it all? Will it be enough to keep Kyari around for the long haul? Come back soon for more!