Rose

She sat in the tree reminiscing.

FLASHBACK

She sat perched watching the guards routine. They were trained so well, only a few blind spots were ever open. But there were blind spots.

"I stole you some food" Kaitlyn remarked, holding out a golden roll of bread.

Rose took it from her, and after a quick smile, took a bite into the sweet, glazed food. "Thanks"

"No worries. So how's it look?" she asked, glancing at one stationary guard.

"Hm, shouldn't be a problem for us, but they haven't made it easy."

"Fun" Kaitlyn rolled her hands over themselves.

Rose made no reply, instead saying it's was time by dropping silently to the ground. Kaitlyn followed, drawing knives to her hands. Rose agreed and knocked an arrow, her string only making to slightest mark of being stretched. As a guard walked by, they dashed forward. But Kaitlyn hadn't noticed the pressure plate, and hadn't trained the light foot technique, as rose did. She flipped back as the poisoned darts began to fire. But the guard noticed. He turned and drew a sword and shield. As Kaitlyn quickly scanned the premises, she noticed rose had gone, but a shadow flashed on the pipes above her.

Kaitlyn ran towards her attacker, but as he braced she took a short left, and ran up the wall, flipping off and releasing two knives, plunging into her attackers shoulder and neck with a soft squish, spraying blood over everything within a two foot radius. She landed softly and brushed her arms. When she heard the grunting she turned just in time to see him crash into her, shield first.

He ran down the hallway at such a speed she was glued to the shield. She took out her dagger, and repeatedly stabbed him, again and again and again and again, until eventually, he fell to his knees and she rolled on the floor, in a small pond of thick crimson. She took out the potion just in time, and drank until she finished the whole vial. She sneaked back down the hallway, until she saw a line of dead bodies leading down a hallway, and looked up to see Rose brushing her arms in the same fashion.

"Oh screw you"

Rose just shrugged, as she went to pick up her arrows. "Sorry, I thought you'd have trained with light foot by now"

Well, you could have at least told me

Rose didn't answer, instead going to pick the lock of a nearby gate. When she was finished she walked through.

"Now, this is my time to shine" Kaitlyn said, a glint in her eyes. She always researched the most dangerous part of the mission, and she loved being able to do something without Rose's help." There are dwarven traps in these ruins. We can either sneak past them, which will be faster, find a different, safe path, which will be slower, or take the pipes path, which will be fast if we can find a way to get up there."

Rose looked around, then drew a dagger and stabbed a part of the wall with intricate carvings, and a whole lot of steam was released. A nearby hole opened and out spilled a dwarven spider, limp as a blob of jelly.

"Or we could do that"

Kaitlyn walked off with a huff. Rose always did this, never gave her a time to shine. Like earlier, when Kaitlyn took out a guard, she filled a hallway with every other guard in the area. Rose just looked at her with a smug grin, almost like she was happy with Kaitlyn. If only she'd realise that I want her to start acting more like me, Rose thought to herself.

Maybe I should start acting more like her, thinking with my mind, not my brain. What does that even mean? Kaitlyn pondered, wondering where she got that thought from.

They walked down the hall, Kaitlyn occasionally checking a broken dwarven device for the occasional soul gem, Rose just kicking broken metal on the ground for the heck of it, until Kaitlyn through a dagger at one skidding plate, and stopped it's sliding with a twang.

"Wait a second Rose"

"Yo" Rose made a hand sign, drawing in her thumb, ring and middle finger, making a rock sign, and holding it in front of her chest.

"What are we looking for?"

"An altar"

"Say what now?"

"You know, an altar"

"Yeah bu-"

"Those pedestals people pray on"

"I KNOW SHUT UP! What I meant was, why are we looking for an altar? What could we gain from that?"

"Something I've been planning to help you become a better thief"

Kaitlyn stomped her foot in frustration "So you're saying I'm not a good enough thief now!"

"Yup, you need to stop thinking with your head, start thinking with your mind" Rose replied

"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!" Kaitlyn screamed, on the brink of pulling her hair out.

"It means, as a thief, we take the easy way out. We don't work to get what we want, we let others do it for us. You saw earlier, instead of using your well thought out, dreary and boring plans, I cut to the chase and cut off their power."

"So I need to think in the moment you mean…" murmured Kaitlyn

"Meh, something along the lines of that" Rose shrugged, kicking another metal strut.

"So is the altar one of nocturnal?" Kaitlyn asked, aware of their great patron Nocturnals power.

"No idea" rose remarked, walking in a soldier-esce fashion, bringing her knees and elbows high when she walked.

"Honestly Rose, I'm about to give up on you. If you don't know what it's for, and if we can't steal it, what use is it?"

"Like I said, it will improve your skills as a thief. How I'm not sure. It might take my knowledge and give it to you, or just bestow you with knowledge or skill itself, I don't know. All I know is that it needs a willing receiver, and someone close to them, so close their bond is spiritually materialised."

"We have a Spiritual Bond!" Kaitlyn remarked, with a glint in her eye

"I have no idea!" Rose replied with equal enthusiasm.

But soon they walked into a huge room, filled with tens of altars. They formed a sort of cone, all of them leading up to the end, increasing in size and elaboration until the last one was in view, a plain black altar, looking more like a stand than a ritual location. In the middle, was a small spiral, about a metre high. It was basically a big spike, but formed of many twisted layers of rock.

"Alright let's get crackelackin!" Rose started

"And just how d-" began Kaitlyn

"With these!" Rose lifted the bag of soul gems that Kaitlyn had filled on the journey. Kaitlyn's hands went to her rear pocket, and when she felt the empty air, she gave Rose a stare that would cut anyone else deeper than all of Kaitlin's knives, but Rose was already getting to work, placing a trapped soul on each of the altars.

"Alright go touch that altar"

"And why should I?" replied Kaitlyn stubbornly.

"Just do it"

Begrudgingly, Kaitlyn went over, but the moment the tip of her finger reached the spike, a blue light lifted her and she floated a few inches off the ground. When she realised what was happening she began flailing wildly. Rose positioned herself of the top altar, attempting to contact whatever daedric lord operated this dreary place, all the while attempting to drown out Kaitlyns screams. Then she made a breakthrough.

All the crystals began to glow, and in a single flash of light, were gone. Then a glowing purple thing appeared.

"WHY HAVE I BEEN CALLE DHER MORTALS!" Lord Hermaeus Mora boomed.

"Please, in return for those souls trapped within those dwarven machines, filled with the knowledge discovered by dwarves that has yet evaded you, please fill this girl with knowledge of the path of shadows!" Rose beckoned, arms outstretched. Kaitlyn had stopped screaming at this point, now with a mix of curiosity and desperation in her eye.

"Agreed, as your sacrifice pleased me." The Prince vanished, and in his place was a shadowy mist, which turned into wind and went into Kaitlyn, who thereafter dropped to the floor.

"I thought you said they had to be willing."

"Well I don't know, I heard it from some drunken guy in the Bee and the Barb."

"so you put me on an altar and subjected me to a daedric prince without knowing anything that was going to happen?" Rose nodded. "Then how did you know to say the dwarven souls were filled with knowledge?"

"That was just kind of an in the moment thing I pulled from thin air."

Kaitlyn sighed, and turned to see a knocked arrow by Rose. Kaitlyn dashed around her and threw a knife at Rose's leg. Rose had to use her blink ability, the ability bestowed by nocturnal, allowing one to move at incredible speeds for a short period of time, to dodge.

"Hmph so it did help"

"Shame he didn't give me the Blink ability though"

"That's not the lord of knowledge's business"

Kaitlyn only replied with a huge grin, and after a few seconds, a tackle hug to the floor.

PRESENT TENSE

Rose jumped down and walked calmly towards them, through the bushes. She smiled at Kaitlyn, but that was cut to an end when cold steel met her face, spraying blood and a few teeth to the ground.