Fate's Games
(A/N: Second up today. I got this idea when the bounty collector met me outside of Riften. I was fighting a dragon, and he suddenly joined. I didn't know who or what he was until he confronted me. To my surprise, though, he asked for less than I owed. From other accounts he usually asked for far, far more, and your name might not be cleared either, but he asked for less and my characters name was cleared. I found it amusing.)
Bounty Collector
She had been fighting off a dragon when he approached. He had taken one look and raced in just as she was near death, barely managing to save her from the dragon's jaws. Quickly it had fallen. She had thought he posed no threat. She was wrong. She gazed up at the man in fear now, backing against the rocks behind her. "Stop right there!" he ordered.
She obliged, nervous and flustered. What had she done? "What do you want?" she asked.
"You have quite the bounty on your head in the Rift. You pay me, and I see that your name is cleared," he replied. Her eyes widened. A bounty collector! He was a bounty collector! He was a bounty collector, and she was almost penniless.
"I don't have the gold," she admitted helplessly.
"In that case, you will die," he replied.
"No, wait, please!" she begged, beseechingly falling to her knees and reaching out to him. "I-I do not have the gold, but I have some gems with me. They will fetch you a fair price, I promise you, please!" Quickly she removed everything of value she had with her; the few bits of jewelry she'd found, the gems, desperately she'd offered them to him. He scoffed and she sobbed, covering her mouth. Still weak with any form of weapons, clueless in magic, and hardly able to use her shouts, she couldn't hope to defeat him.
"Do you take me for a fool, lady? I know what these objects go for, and at peak price they are not good enough," he replied.
She sobbed again and bowed her head low. "I will do anything," she pled, and there was no limit to that. Not even if he demanded favors of the intimate kind, and she knew full well that is exactly what most of the men in this land would ask for.
He was silent, though, making no move. Finally he replied, "I will make sure this gets back to the Jarl. What it does not cover, I will pay off. Consider your name cleared, for now." She looked up at him quickly, eyes wide and hopeful. "I will be back though, my lady. In two months' time I will be back, and I expect my payment in full, and then some for the gold you've cost me. If you do not oblige, you will pay the price," he warned icily.
"Thank you…" she breathed, almost in a daze. Then just like that he was gone. He was gone, and her relief ended as abruptly as it had come. How could she ever hope to pay back all she owed in two months' time?
ES
She tried desperately, doing favors for anyone she could come across. She'd helped so many, in fact, that she'd been named Thane. She'd been given a place to live that, luckily, she hadn't had to pay for. But at the end of one month it wasn't even half of what she owed him, and she was desperate. She was desperate, and there was only one thing she could possibly do anymore. The thought shattered her soul, her spirit, her heart, her very being… but she was young and inexperienced, and it was the only solution she could come up with. So she sold the one thing she had left. Her body…
It wasn't difficult. Many of the men in Riften were pigs. Many of them were all too willing and eager to take her into their beds and play out whatever fantasies they could come up with in their usually alcohol induced frenzies. Each night, though, she prayed to die. Each night she regretted her choice more and more. Each night she submitted helplessly until finally they finished with her. And the second month passed by, and she summed up all she had made, and still… still it wasn't enough. Oh gods. She couldn't even remember what she'd done. All she remembered was transforming into the beast, and then nothing… Had she killed? If so, how many?
He came to her then, as she was counting. She felt the cold tip of a sword at the back of her neck and froze, paling. "Where is the gold you owe me?" he asked coldly. She closed her eyes tightly and willed her tears away.
Slowly she rose and answered, "On the table." He looked to it then sat in a chair and began to count. She didn't dare move, her head hung low.
"Three quarters of what you owed is here. Where is the last portion?" he icily questioned, looking up at her with eyes glittering dangerously.
"I need more time," she meekly whispered.
"You have run out of time," he replied, rising menacingly. "Give me an offer quickly, woman, or you will die."
ES
She burst into tears, shaking and covering her face. She didn't see the hesitance flash through his eyes, the uncertain way he relaxed his fighting muscles and almost moved back. Quickly he went back to the menacing appearance. Never before had tears swayed him. They wouldn't start now. Pleas and cries for mercy had gone unheeded by him time after time. She would be no different. "Well!" he shot furiously.
Her sobs had slowed, and slowly she looked up at him, tears still in her eyes, her teeth gently clenched in misery. Finally she closed them tightly, and to his absolute shock she began to let her dress slip off of her shoulders and down her arms. It took him a moment to fully comprehend what she was doing. He'd known immediately, of course, but to actually comprehend what she was offering him… His lips parted slowly. Immediately he felt his skin flush. Then he saw her bruises and cuts, and he knew what she had done to try and pay him back.
Guilt suddenly shot through him, weighing heavily upon his heart and mind and soul. Oh gods… what had he driven her to do? Never before had he felt guilt, remorse, anything. In these dark times you did what you could to scrape together enough money to feed yourself, to make a living for yourself, and he had found his talent. It was all part of the job. What his bounties did to get the gold was none of his concern. But here he was, swiftly moving out from behind the table and moving towards her.
In two long strides he stood in front of her. His hands went to her own, stopping her from moving the gown any farther down. She whimpered in fear and looked up at him, eyes wide with uncertainty. "I do not disappoint!" she desperately exclaimed, and he realized that she was afraid he was going to kill her. She was afraid that he doubted it would be worth the dues he would miss out on.
"Enough," he ordered firmly. She stopped struggling and looked up at him in despair. "Enough," he repeated softly.
She sobbed, pleading as she buried her face in his breastplate, "Be swift about it."
He was silent a long moment, simply holding her arms… just-just holding her arms. Her skin was soft and warm. He'd never been gladder to have removed his gauntlets in order to count coin. She was so vulnerable, so delicate, and for a moment the thought of all the men who had touched her, who had hurt her, sent a wave of despair and fury through him. "I will not harm you," he finally said. "I will not harm you, and I will not drag you into your bed and have my way with you. Keep your gold. Your debt is forgiven."
ES
She could hardly look up at him in shock and wonder before he had released her and swiftly strode by. Before she could call a thank you he was out the door. Only then did she realize how softly, how gently, he'd been holding her. His chin had rested upon her head, the warmth of his body had been felt even through the heavy armor he wore. His hands had been softly on her arms, gently moving up and down and gliding over her skin.
His fingers had not dug into her limbs bruising them as so many others had. He had not struck her. He had not dragged her into her bedroom and taken her. He had not even nipped at her. She had forgotten what it was like, to be held tenderly. She had forgotten… She sniffed and looked back at the gold on the table blankly. She wanted him to return. She wanted to see him sitting there watching her. No gold, just him. She missed his touch, and that thought frightened her more than anything ever had. Let him return…