Fate's Games
(A/N: Third up today. I wanted a romance oneshot with this guy mainly because of his love for horses and his bravery for going against even Maven and risking his life for the sake of possessing Frost. His looks were subpar, sure, but oh well. Looks aren't everything. I really didn't know where to go with this, though, so though I've made changes to it, it'll probably still seem rushed and loosely put together. I hope not, though. I guess we'll see.)
Promises to Keep
In appearance the man was sub-par at best. His moral character wasn't much better, judging by the proposal he was offering her. "Looking for work? I need someone to deliver a message to Sibbi Black-Briar," he greeted as she was walking by.
He had a discerning eye to be able to tell that she was looking for work. "What message?" she wondered.
Obviously pleased she was willing to listen, he smiled. "Ah, well, I recently approached Sibbi Black-Briar about buying Frost, one of the finest breeding horses in Skyrim. He agreed to sell. I paid Sibbi half the cost of Frost up front, but before he could deliver, Maven had him locked up. Sibbi believes this exempts him from our deal. It does not. I want you to talk to Sibbi for me. Then, I want you to bring me Frost and the Lineage Papers that prove the horse's worth," he said.
She had been doubtful. A deal with the Black-Briars? Who in his right mind, she wondered, would make such a dangerous move? Then again, she was hardly clean of all misdoing herself. It appeared, though, that Sibbi was perhaps an old acquaintance of this man's. Louis LeTrush, he had said his name was. "All right," she agreed.
"Excellent. Head to Riften jail and talk to Sibbi. Get him to tell you where Frost and his Lineage Papers are and bring them to me outside of Riften. You'll be well paid for your time," he replied. He must think very highly of this horse, she thought. From the sounds of it the stallion was a prize to be had.
"Why is Sibbi in jail?" she wondered, because before she got too deeply into this she needed to know a few things.
"No idea, but whatever he did it must have angered Maven. No guard would lock up a Black-Briar without the old lady's permission," he answered, tilting his head. This girl was smarter than he'd given her credit for. Luckily he was ready for this. The truth and freedom and all that.
"Why don't you speak to Sibbi yourself?" she asked.
All right, he determined, the truth had limits. He would answer but he wasn't about to go into detail as to that question. "I'm not exactly… comfortable around guards or jails. Definitely not when associates of mine have been locked up," he replied, grimacing. Apparently he'd had a run-in or two with the law, she guessed. Not a surprise. "No, I'll meet you out of town." So he did know the risk he was taking.
She nodded. "All right," she said with a sigh.
"Go on, then. Deliver my message to Sibbi," LeTrush dismissed.
ES
She entered the jail and approached a lavish cell. She would go out on a limb and say this was Sibbi Black-Briar's. She stood in front of the bars and he glanced up from his bed. His eyes lit up ever so slightly and an intrigued smirk pulled at his lips. He rose and came over to the bars. "Well, well, well, if you aren't the finest thing I've seen in a while. Finally, some female companionship," he remarked, coming up to the bars and leaning on them.
"Already I have to resist the urge to run you through," she flatly said. He started at this then frowned, but made no further comment.
"So, what brings you here, my dear?" he asked, smirking again and looking her up and down.
"Louis LeTrush sent me," she replied flat out.
Sibbi started, sharply looking up into her eyes. His own narrowed coldly. "Ah, and let me guess. He wants his horse. Well that's going to be a bit of a problem. You see I don't outright own Frost," he stated.
"You don't own the horse you already sold to LeTrush?" she incredulously asked. Was he an idiot, she thought? Either that or an incredibly cocky and shrewd bast… well, you know.
As if sensing her thoughts, he said snidely, "That is correct. You see, Frost belongs to the Black-Briar estate. Technically everything in the estate is owned by my mother, Maven. My plan was to take the horse from our lodge and deliver it to LeTrush at the stables. Obviously, that didn't exactly work out as I'd planned…" He was silent a moment, obviously pondering something. "Still, I don't want to cross LeTrush," he mused. She started. A Black-Briar not wanting to cross someone? How dangerous was the man she had agreed to help, exactly, or was she just overthinking it? "Tell you what," Sibbi finally said. "Steal the horse and deliver it, and you can have the second half of the payment."
ES
After obtaining the information from Sibbi she had decided to take the clever route. The manor was guarded by mercenaries. It hadn't taken much to kill one and disguise herself. She approached the stables and looked through the horses. One in particular stood out, one that was a dapple grey, almost white. She went to him and began stroking his nose. "Hello lovely. You must be Frost," she cooed to it. He nickered and snorted, shaking his big head from side-to-side. She smiled and giggled, scratching the horse's ears. He nibbled at her. She could see why Louis so badly wanted him. He was a beautiful creature.
For a week she was there, attempting to find an opening to make her move. It was no easy feat to gain the trust of the mercenaries. Even now she was picking off those who threatened to be trouble. She snuck through the house searching for the documents that would prove Frost's lineage. She had been told exactly where to find them. She soon reached the room and took the documents out, reading them over. She smiled and tucked them away. Mission accomplished. Now all she had to do was deliver the stallion to Louis.
She went out into the yard and walked towards the stable. She took hold of Frost's reigns and paused, meeting his big, bright eyes. "Hi," she whispered to him, offering the horse some sugar. Happily Frost took it. She grinned, giggling. She had become really quite fond of the stallion. She hesitated, cringing. Part of her actually didn't want to give Frost away. She drew the steed out of the stables and swung up onto his back. Quickly she rode towards the place where she would meet LeTrush. Perhaps it was time to rethink her course of action.
ES
"Ha! You've done it! Got to admit, I wasn't sure you could pull it off. But you've definitely earned your pay. Let's make the exchange," Louis exclaimed as she slipped from Frost's back. He took the reins and began stroking the stallion's nose, grinning widely and excitedly. Frost nickered and nipped at the man's long hair. LeTrush chuckled softly, petting the stallion's velvety nose and lips.
"I'm going to Maven unless I leave here with Frost," she suddenly declared.
He started and turned to her in surprise. "What?" he asked.
"I'm going to Maven unless I leave here with Frost," she repeated, expression set in a frown as she went up to the horse and began petting his fur.
"And telling her what? That you stole her horse? I don't think so," he sharply shot.
"If you were dead, I could keep the horse," she said, glaring dangerously at him.
He scowled dangerously. "Well ain't that the truth of it. All right, then. Let's see what you've got!" he barked. She started. He was taking her up on the challenge? She immediately drew her sword. He pulled out his dagger. She almost scoffed. Frost whinnied loudly as the two lunged at each other.
ES
The battle was short and sweet, as they'd both known it would be, and he was at her mercy, backed against a rock and looking up at her in fury and hatred. "We had a deal," he hissed.
"Deals are made to be broken," she replied.
"No honor amongst thieves, hmm?" he remarked. She chuckled darkly, her smile like ice. She pressed the blade to his throat. LeTrush visibly paled. "Now wait a minute…" he quickly said. "No need to do anything drastic. Look, keep the horse, all right? Then we all walk away happy…" That, though, was a lie, and he knew it full well.
She paused a moment then pulled the blade back. He stood up and gave one last forlorn look at Frost. He brought the horse close and nuzzled him softly. The stallion nickered, licking and nibbling at him affectionately. His eyes were filled with remorse and regret; that was plain enough to see. There was reluctance and for a split second she thought she saw sadness. That couldn't be right, though. A man like Louis LeTrush couldn't possibly care about what happened to something as beautiful and pure and valuable as Frost.
"Take him," he finally relented. Furiously he let go of the stallion's reins and gave her a reproachful and betrayed look. He shook his head coldly at her and walked away, cutting down a trio of Frostbite Spiders that tried to attack him.
ES
She had thought little of the man, as previously established, until, that is, one day she went to Whiterun. Leaving Frost in the stables she had entered the city. She came out about an hour later and froze, stiffening. There, standing at Frost's side and brushing him, was Louis LeTrush! But why? What was he doing here? He wouldn't dare try and steal her horse. "Get away from him!" she shouted, racing towards him.
He looked over at her coldly. "I have no intentions of taking your horse. I just wanted to make sure he was tended to properly. He has specific requirements as to his care and feeding," LeTrush replied. "Take him."
She was silent, watching the man interact with the stallion. Just then a shocking revelation hit her. He actually was concerned for Frost. He actually favored the prized stallion. "You care about him," she said.
"Do you think I would have risked Maven's wrath if I'd only wanted the blasted stallion to sell him again?" LeTrush asked bitingly, still petting the horse. She bit her lower lip, feeling a guilty blush creep up onto her cheeks. In retrospect that had been a fairly stupid thing to assume.
"How did you find him?" she asked.
"Whiterun is the trading hub of Skyrim. I knew that at some point you'd come here," he answered. "I know you'll keep coming back."
She was quiet, looking over at Frost. She cared for this horse, there was no denying that. She looked over at Louis. But as much as she cared for Frost, somehow she thought that maybe he cared for the stallion more. She wondered very much what the story behind Frost and Louis's bond was. "If… If I were to give him back to you… you would treat him well, wouldn't you?" she uncertainly asked, moving to Louis's side and beginning to pet Frost's nose.
He looked sharply over at her, honestly a little surprised at the request. "I would," he replied.
"And you would let me see him, even though I sort of double crossed you?" she asked.
He frowned at the recollection and paused a moment, glaring coldly at her. Still, he found he could hardly hold a grudge towards the woman. After all, she hadn't known any better. Finally he replied, "I would."
She bit her lower lip, debating something. He found it amusing, the way she did that and her brow creased in concentration. Soon she looked at him, saying, "Then take him back."
ES
Louis was quiet a long moment, nuzzling the horse. Finally he replied, "I would love nothing more… But it seems that you'll get more use out of him than I ever will. Besides, he needs to be as free. He needs to be as free as possible. The stable is no place to contain a spirit like his. If you knew what this horse was capable of, if you knew his life's story…" Louis shook his head. "He may have been in a sense 'tamed', but he's as wild as he is mastered; he always was. Sibbi could never control him, none of them could. The closest anyone came to riding him before… before me… was Hemming. This horse means everything to me. Please, be careful with him."
"There is no one in whose hands I'd rather leave him than yours… If… if you really want me to take him I will, but… but I would like you to be the one to tend to him and care for him when I can't," she remarked, looking up at the man who suddenly seemed much more appealing to her.
He started, looking down at the woman. She was bowing her head. Finally he replied, "Thank you."
"I would very much like to know more about Frost's background, if possible," she remarked. Looking up at him she asked, "Would you like to share a little about his history over dinner?"
He started, looking at her in shock. She was nervously twirling her hair and he couldn't for the life of him read what her motive behind this invitation was. Desire said one thing, cynicism said another. Soon, though, he replied, "I'd be honored, Dragonborn." She smiled at him. Hmm, she had quite a nice smile. He couldn't help but smirk back as they headed up towards Whiterun.