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Chapter Text

8th of First Seed 4E203

Kaiya woke as she felt her pillow move underneath her. Her eyes slowly opened to try to make sense of what was happening in the dark, the sun just barely beginning to creep up into the sky in the wee hours of the morning. She felt the corners of her mouth turn up in a smile as she realized that what she originally thought was her pillow was instead the chest of Mercer Frey as he slowly tried to disentangle himself from her limbs.

"Off so soon?" her voice was thick with sleep as she let herself fall into the mattress on her stomach at the loss of Mercer, who now moved silently around her room looking for his clothes. At the sound of her voice he paused, his eyes meeting hers in the dark as he grabbed his trousers. A hint of a smile made its way to the corner of his mouth as he dressed, his eyes never moving from her naked form as she lied on her stomach before him.

"I have to meet with Maven" he stated, his voice rough with his grogginess.

Kaiya smiled at the sound of his rumbling early morning voice. Even though they had been secretly spending their nights together for a few weeks now, she had still not been able to get over the way she felt at his voice being the first thing she heard every morning. It still felt too good to be true, like the other shoe would be dropping at any moment. Things usually didn't work out like this for Kaiya.

Mercer moved to sit on the side of her bed as he put on his boots while she sat up to embrace him from behind, her naked breasts pinned between her and his naked back.

"But why?" she asked innocently, trying her hand at sounding convincing.

He let out a single laugh in response to her machinations. "We still haven't figured out who is trying to sabotage us, Footpad."

The small reminder sent Kaiya's mind hurdling back into the stress and anxiety that had plagued the guild and its Guildmaster for some time now. Her stomach tightened with worry when she thought of the fact that someone was after them and they had no idea who or why. Whoever it was could strike again at any moment, and they had no idea how to stop them. Someone wanted to wreck what they had built, what she had just been accepted into. Not now. GIve me a few more minutes of happiness before we return to business.

"Always so serious," she joked in a mocking tone as she let her hands roam around his chest and stomach while she continued to press herself against his back. "You know what they say about all work and no play, right Mercer?" In case her intentions weren't clear, she planted a kiss in the nape of his neck, trying her best to distract him enough to stay for one more round.

"Yes, it makes a man wealthy" he joked as he grabbed his other boot, doing his best to ignore her feather light touches on his body. She let one hand wander down to reach for his hardness as she continued to plant kisses along his neck and shoulder.

"And oh so sexually frustrated," she joked into his ear as she massaged his erection through his trousers. He could try to pretend as if he weren't affected all he wanted, but that erection did not lie. She dragged her tongue down his ear and to his earlobe before pulling it between her teeth. A shudder raked through Mercer's body as she teased him, bringing a grin to her lips. His ears were one of his weaknesses and she was not above exploiting it. One boot on and one boot hanging from his fingers, he had stopped trying to get dressed and instead sat still in her arms, breathing heavily.

"Just one more time before you go?" Her voice was sheer temptation as she breathed her words into his ear, drawing out yet another shudder.

"She expected me last night. I'm already late. You've already dis-" he shivered again as she planted more wet kisses behind his ear and ran the hand that wasn't on his pants through his hair. "-distracted me."

"Mmhmm," she hummed against the skin under his ear. "So what's a few more minutes, then?"

"A few minutes!?" he barked, somewhat offended. "Give me some credit, Footpad. You know I'm good for more than a few minutes." He eyed her over his shoulder at this, scowling playfully.

"Hm, I don't know…" she teased back, kissing up his jawline. She grabbed his hair and maneuvered his head so that they were able to make eye contact before continuing her taunt. "Why don't you prove it?"

His eyes closed at her words as chills prickled down his skin. "Shadows save me," he whispered in prayer. "Nocturnal knows I tried."

And at that, he spun around and climbed on top of her naked, grinning form. "You win this time, Footpad" he growled as his mouth found hers, kissing her as she smiled.

A few hours later, Kaiya entered the cistern. This was one of her favorite moments of any given day, when she climbed down the ladder and turned to face all the familiar sounds and smells of the cavernous space. Nuruin was practicing his archery as usual, the sound of arrows hitting the straw reverberating around the stone. Rune and Sapphire chatted casually by one of the cooking pots, the smell of venison causing Kaiya's stomach to rumble. The ever present smell and sound of rushing water had become so commonplace that she almost didn't notice it anymore but there it was, gurgling, sputtering, and washing out all of the idle conversations taking place across the cistern. Just as they did every time she entered, the corners of her mouth turned up into a grin. This was home.

The flutter from the scene she had caused in the Flagon with Ravyn had died down over the past few weeks, and of that she was grateful. He still gave her a wide berth when he passed her in the cistern, but his broken nose had healed nicely. Apparently Delvin wasn't kidding when he had said that they had all had moments like that. The thieves gave her the same small nods and hellos as they did before 'the event' as she had begun thinking about it, so she decided not to make a big deal out of it either. Plus, Delvin was also right that it was nice to have everyone know exactly what she was capable of, even if it was crazy.

What she hadn't expected when she walked into the cistern was for Mercer to call for her in the same angry tone he usually did the moment he set eyes on her. He had just seen her a few hours ago, what could possibly have happened? They had decided to keep their relationship private and not let it affect their work, but Kaiya would be lying if she said she hadn't hoped for a little easing up of his brutish nature. Apparently Mercer was better than she thought he'd be at keeping work and personal life separate, still just as authoritative as he was when he wasn't getting laid nightly. With a roll of her eyes she knew he couldn't see, she made her way over to the Guildmaster's desk as she had so many times before.

When she arrived at the desk, she realized she had mistaken his tone for angry. He was energetic, animated even, but not angry. She watched with rapt attention as he hastily dug through papers that were spread out in front of him on the table. When he noticed her presence, he shot her a side glance and a quick wink before diving into the papers again. Heat bloomed on her cheeks at the show of attention, but she couldn't help but think that Mercer was acting almost… manic.

"I spoke with Maven." He spoke hurriedly as he looked through his papers, his fingers walking through stacks so fast she wondered how he was reading them. "She agreed with my observation. Looks like ol' Delvin's wrong after all. We're not cursed. We're under attack."

"Under attack!?" Kaiya responded in shock. That didn't sound good.

He looked up long enough to shoot her his signature smirk before looking back down at the papers in front of him. "But there is good news, Footpad. We're not fumbling around in the dark any more."

"What?" she was perplexed. Very rarely did Mercer ever speak in riddles like this. "What's going on Mercer?"

"Whoever it is that's doing this made a mistake. They're good. Really good. But I'm always one step ahead." He looked up at her as he said this, a proud grin taking up his face.

"Ah! Here it is!"

He pulled out an old letter, so old the parchment had yellowed and looked worn. Kaiya moved to stand behind the desk next to him, peering around him to watch. He scanned through the old correspondence quickly, looking for something in particular. When he spotted it, he smacked the area of the paper with his hand and pulled Kaiya up to see it herself.

"See?" he pointed at the old letter. "This letter is from years, perhaps decades ago, but it lists the contact as Gajul-Lei." He then moved his finger to point at the bill of sale from Goldenglow. "And well look here at who is listed as brokering the deal at Goldenglow? Well if it's not the same Gajul-Lei."

"Do you know who that is? Gajul-Lei?" Kaiya asked, fascinated by the excited behavior of her Guildmaster. He was really onto something here.

"It just so happens that I do, Footpad." He turned to face her now, his hip leaning into the desk. "He's an old contact of ours. His real name is Gulum-Ei, slimy bastard." His eyes narrowed as he spoke of the old contact, although he was obviously trying to stave off any effect the betrayal had on him at the moment.

"What do I need to do, Mercer?" she cut straight to the heart of it, as Kaiya always did.

He gave her a half smile at her directness. She hoped he could sense her determination, her eagerness. She wanted to take this bastard down as much as Mercer did. He let a slow grin take over his features as his eyes bored into Kaiya's before he finally spoke.

"You're going to Solitude to pay a visit to a dear old friend of mine."

Chapter Text

11th of First Seed 4E203

Mercer was tired. The past few days of preparing Kaiya for her mission to Solitude, planning what to do with the information once they got it, and tamping down his own anxiety about the whole situation was weighing on him. It was steadily approaching midnight and the Guildmaster still felt like he had a mountain of work in front of him. This mission to send Kaiya to Solitude had taken priority, rightfully so, but that didn't make the other items on his list lose their importance. He stretched his aching muscles as he stood by his desk in the cistern and listened to his stiff joints crack under the movement. He needed a break. The ledger would be there for him tomorrow.

As soon as he made the decision to call it a night, he felt the corners of his mouth curve into a smile. Kaiya would be coming over tonight before she left for Solitude in the morning. The past several weeks had been long, but it was his nights with Kaiya that made it worthwhile. No, they weren't getting much sleep, but he wasn't complaining about that. Just the thought of being able to spend the rest of his evening with her beneath him was reason enough to smile. Suddenly he felt like he couldn't get out of the cistern fast enough.

He made his way through the graveyard as he exited the cistern and headed towards the back entrance to his home. Although he rarely spent his nights at his house before, it seemed necessary now that he was spending more of his evenings with a woman. How could she let him know all the ways he was pleasing her if they had to be quiet? Distracted by his thoughts of his upcoming plans, he missed the signs he would normally have noticed that signaled he was not alone once he entered the yard behind Riftweald manor. The gate had not been closed all the way. Candlelight could be seen from the window of his bedroom on the second floor. Mercer went about his business as usual however, which is why he was so surprised when a voice greeted him as he entered his bedroom.

"Hello, Mercer."

He froze, immediately recognizing the voice. While it was a woman's, the voice did not belong to the woman he would have been happy to see in his chambers that night. He let his eyes narrow at her through the barely lit room once he spotted her. There she was, stretched out and laying on his bed as if in invitation.

"What do you want, Maven?" The words came out exasperated and tired, exactly how he felt. He was not in the mood to hide his aggravation at the intrusion.

"Is that how you greet me now, Guildmaster?" she asked as she moved to stand up from her perch on his bed. She sauntered over to him in what to other men may be a sultry, flirtatious walk, but to Mercer it was just grating.

He could not have stopped the heavy sigh that broke free from him if he had tried. His eyes shut and his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation, he answered her taunt. "I'm tired Maven. It's been a long day. I just want to go to bed."

"Is that so?" she asked, not deterred in the slightest. Her hands wandered up to rest on his shoulders, preparing to sense the reaction her next jab would have to his already tense body. "Is that what you would have told your little Breton whore if it had been her instead of me on your bed tonight?"

He tensed. Just as she expected.

"What are you talking about, Maven?" he groaned, acting the part of a frustrated and innocent man. Inside, his thoughts were screaming. He should have known it was only a matter of time before she figured out he and Kaiya had been spending their nights together. They had been so careful, so cautious, but with Maven, it was never cautious enough.

"It's endearing really, how you still try your act on me after all these years." Her lips pulled away from her teeth in the most menacing smile she could muster while still maintaining her calm. "Oh don't play coy with me, Mercer" she spoke with more aggression now, her hands slowly pushing back his shoulders until he was pressed against the wall. "You know nothing happens in this city without me knowing about it."

"Well Maven," he retorted, removing her hands from his shoulders with disgust. "If you continuously threaten your informants with bodily injury if they don't have information for you, sometimes they might make things up." He pulled himself away from her hold by the wall and made his way to the fireplace, sitting down in one of the chairs he had by the fire. "Maybe you should rethink your technique. It's getting tired."

She slowly followed Mercer to the fireplace, shooting him her predator smile once again as she took the chair opposite him. "Aw, are you lying to me for her now? And here I thought that maybe it was just about the sex."

"What is it that you want, Maven?" he groaned as his patience ran out. He let his head fall back to stare at the ceiling in a show of exasperation. "I grow weary of your games." He knew better than to try to argue with her if she didn't believe him. It was an exercise in futility at best, and dangerous at worst.

"Oh honey, when will you accept that I'm not playing games with you?" She reached over as she spoke, giving him a patronizing pat on the back of his hand. "You know you're merely a piece to be played in my games, not an opponent."

"Even more reason to cut to the fucking chase, you succubus."

"Fine." She stood at this, seeing no more reason to continue to play coy. "I know you're fucking her, Mercer but that's not why I'm here. I'm here because I still own you and it's time for me to collect my dues."

His head shot up at this, his eyes glaring at her with a look of pure hatred. "No."

"Oh please," she scoffed away his denial. "If I remember correctly, you are the one that made this deal with me, Mercer. Now you wish to pull out of it?" She laughed, rolling her eyes at his feeble attempt to defy her. "If that's the case then the whole deal's off. You don't have to give me my dues tonight and I will go and tell your guild what a bad boy you've been." She couldn't help the evil grin that took ahold of her features at this blackmail. She was so good at this. She turned to leave, giving Mercer no time to argue or debate her. Either he would let her go or she would get her way. There was no gray area.

"Maven, wait" he sighed as his head fell forward to rest in his hands. As much as he loathed what was about to take place, he knew he had no choice. He only hoped that Kaiya would be spared the knowledge of this for a little while longer. Until he could tell her himself. And he prayed that she would be able to forgive him when he did. "What do you want?"

"You know your end of the deal, Mercer" she claimed in triumph, turning from the door to face his defeated form. "Now do you need more foreplay or are you ready?"

"I hate you." He spat out under his breath, almost inaudibly.

"Oh I know you do, Mercer" she grinned, relishing his torment. "But you love what I can do for you. Now, be a good boy and take off those leathers. Oh and try to act like you like it this time."

Kaiya traversed through the side streets of Riften towards Riftweald manor. It was late, just barely past midnight, but there were always people milling about in the market square. It was this nature of the city that prevented her from being able to go and come as she pleased from the Guildmaster's home, forcing her to stick to the shadows and the darkened alleys as she walked. While most of the residents of Riften may not care that she was gleefully fucking the Guildmaster every night, her and Mercer both knew that a certain Imperial woman could do serious damage with that knowledge. So secret they would remain.

As she approached the gate at the back of Riftweald, she noticed the faint candlelight that could be seen from Mercer's bedroom window. She felt her heart thump in her chest at the thought that he was up there, waiting for her to arrive. It had finally happened. They were finally together, even if she wasn't exactly sure what being "together" entailed yet.

She had been so lost in thought about their relationship as she stood there, staring at the light emanating from his window, that the sight of a shadow from the bedroom surprised her. She was even more surprised however, when that shadow became two - both distinct and obviously human. Who did Mercer have in his bedroom?

She felt her heart speed up as her stomach plummeted, her mind racing to catch up with her emotions. It's probably nothing. It's probably just one of the mercenaries. Or two of the mercenaries! Maybe he isn't even in that room! Try as she might, she could not convince her pounding heart that there was no reason to panic.

She lifted her hand to knock on the door when suddenly, it opened. Before her stood Vald, one of Mercer's paid mercenaries that she had met a handful of times during her visits to the manor. Vald's ice blue eyes grew wide once he recognized her, yet he said nothing. They stood silent for a moment, just looking at each other. Kaiya prided herself on being intuitive and in that moment, her intuition was screaming at her. She knew that look. Lips pinched in and brows so subtly raised, the mercenary wore a look of pity.

Finally, he spoke. "Hey Kaiya, I'm sorry but Mercer has asked not to be disturbed." His eyes cast downward, unable to meet the hurt present on her face.

"Oh, okay then?" She responded meekly, her tone making the statement sound like a question. When Vald didn't immediately reply, her brows deepened with her confusion. This was unlike Vald, who was normally so casual and downright playful with her, to not tell her what was going on. To hold back.

"Vald, what's going on?" She felt as if she had the right to ask that, didn't she?

"I'm sorry, Kaiya" he said, shaking his head as if it pained him to say it. "I can't say. Sworn secrecy and all that."

Kaiya stood stunned for a moment, willing her chaotic thoughts to come together long enough to form a response. In the end, there was only one question she had left to ask. One question that was screaming inside her head, dying to get out. "A secret meeting, in his bedroom?"

She saw it. His wince. He winced at her question. It was barely there and she could tell he tried not to react, but he did. And she didn't miss it. That couldn't be good.

"I'm sorry." He shook his head again, his lips pinched together in the same pitying expression they did when he first opened the door. She had the urge to smack that look of pity off his face, but that wasn't fair. It wasn't Vald's fault. Don't kill the messenger, and all that.

She took a deep breath to steady her racing pulse, doing her best to keep her emotions in check. "Will you tell him that I came by?" she asked, trying to break the silence. Gods, this was awkward. She felt like a girl with a stupid crush, showing up at his house to give him a love note. "You know what?" she laughed humorlessly, shaking her head at her own stupidity. "He's obviously tied up with something more important. Don't bother."

At this she turned to leave, not wanting Vald to see the tears that threatened to spill over in her eyes. She quickly jogged down half the steps before he responded, calling out to her back.

"Kaiya! I'll tell him you were here. He had been expecting you."

She slowed her retreat, her mind jumbled with thoughts of what his response should mean to her. Turning her head to call out over her shoulder, she responded "well then he should do a better job of making sure his appointments don't overlap."

The mercenary said nothing more, turning instead to slowly retreat back into the manor. Kaiya picked up her speed, escaping as fast as she could back to her home on the other side of the city. As she ran, her eyes stung with the tears of disappointment. She could not shake the feeling that whatever was taking place in Mercer's bedroom was something that was not as innocent as a business venture.

As she stormed into her house, she slammed the door behind her and leaned against it, thankful that she was finally alone to ponder her next move. She and Mercer had never discussed their relationship at all really, much less if it was exclusive or not. Was it fair of her to be angry? A small part of her wanted to listen to the hopeful side of her reasoning, the voice that told her that maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was business. Maybe it was a family member. But try as she might, her intuition could not be quieted so easily. She knew that whatever it was taking place in his bedroom that night was something that would hurt her. The only thing she had left to decide was whether or not she wanted to find out what it was.

Chapter Text

12th of First Seed 4E203

Three loud knocks.

That's the first thing Kaiya heard as she woke. She sat leaning against the door of Honeyside, the same door that was being jostled as whoever it was on the other side pounded against it with their fists. As the confusion that clouded her mind began to clear, the memories from hours prior came flooding back. Mercer's house. The light in the window. The conversation with Vald. She felt the cracks in her heart begin to pulse again, pain searing through her as if she was reliving the events that broke it in the first place. She must have fallen asleep against the door as she had tried to make sense of it all. Now there she sat, jolted awake from the knocking of the door she leaned against with no idea of what time it was.

She stood slowly, her body aching from the awkward position she had been sitting in. Her guest, whoever it may be on the other side of the door, continued to bang on the wood so hard she worried it might splinter. How impatient could they be!?

"Sweet Sithis I'm coming! You don't have to break the door down!" she yelled through the door as she stretched out her weary body, trying to get the blood flowing into all her limbs.

"Kaiya it's me!" she heard from the other side of the door, a booming voice that could only come from one person. Mercer.

"What do you want?" she called out with no small amount of animosity. "I thought you were busy!"

"Just open the godsdamned door Kaiya." His voice was weary, tired. She felt the familiar tug at her heart that his rumbling voice caused without fail and hated him for it at that moment. No matter how angry she was, she knew that voice would always be her weakness. Fighting her own reaction, she found herself swinging the door open for him, even if a part of her wanted to tell him to go away.

He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. His arms propped him up on the door frame, but he seemed like he was barely standing. He lifted his heavy head as Kaiya opened the door and watched as her face turned from angry to concerned at the sight of him.

"What's going on, Mercer?" she asked, fighting the warring emotions that ran through her. She was hurting and upset at being turned away from his home and hated him for that, but she could not deny the pull that his current appearance at her doorstep had on her. No matter what had happened before, he was here now and deep down, she loved him for it.

He practically fell into her as he stumbled inside, grasping her face to hold in his hands. He crushed his lips into hers, quickly moving to thrust his tongue into her mouth almost greedily. Despite her hesitation, she found herself responding to him, opening her lips to him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

Without breaking their kiss, Mercer spun them around and pressed her back against the door he had just come through. His body came alive as he pressed into her and a hungry groan ripped from his chest in response. His hands did not move from holding her face to him, but hers wandered eagerly. She pulled him closer by his leathers and clawed at his chest and back as she became frantic with her need of him.

He pulled back from her for a moment so they could both catch their breath, panting as they gazed at each other. "I need you." was all he said, his voice rough and husky.

"Then take me."

So much for being angry at him.

"It's sunrise."

Although she did not want to leave her current position with her head lying across Mercer's chest, she felt as the time was drawing near. Lying with Mercer in those quiet, calm moments afterward was almost better than the act itself. Mercer was sated, more relaxed, and sounded free when he laughed, as if nothing in all of Nirn could touch him. Kaiya found herself at ease, her body rid of its usual tension. These moments made all of the headaches that had accompanied their relationship worth it.

Kaiya let her fingers lazily glide along Mercer's chest as she laid there, tracing the outline of his scars and muscles. He ran his fingers through her hair with his gaze on the ceiling, although the faint crinkles at the corners of his eyes told Kaiya that he was happy.

"How did you get this scar?" she asked as her fingers moved towards his right side. The scar was jagged over his ribs but it looked old as if it had been there for most of his life.

She felt Mercer's chest move under her head as he laughed at the memory. "One of my first burglaries in High Rock. I learned that even if your mark is asleep, they may still carry a pretty nasty dagger."

"And this one?" Kaiya felt her lips curling into a bit of a smile as her fingers ran over the scar on his face that cut through his bottom lip. He turned to look at her as she touched his face, seeing her smile.

"Oh you like this one, do you?" he asked. His eyebrows shot up in surprise at the way she bit her lip as she nodded. "Dear gods, you do like it." He laughed now as she continued to run her fingers across the scar on his cheek. "Well I hate to break it to you Footpad, but it doesn't have a great story."

"Go on…" she urged.

"Well, it's the scar from when I learned not to underestimate women."

"That sounds like a great story to me!" she joked as she snuck a quick and playful kiss to his cheek.

Mercer sighed heavily as he continued. "Anyway, it was after I first joined the Guild. I had a mark that also happened to be a young, very pretty, woman."

"Slut!" Kaiya jokingly interjected.

"You jest, but that's not too far off from how I saw women back then. My plan was to just spend a little time talking to her and giving her attention and then when I held her in the palm of my hands, I'd make my move and get to have my way with her whilst robbing her of her quite valuable emerald ring in the process."

"Oh no," was all Kaiya managed to get out.

Mercer shrugged. "I was young and dumb and assumed that all women were just waiting for a man to save them from their manless lives."

"Oh no. Oh my gods I'm so nervous. What in the Oblivion did you do, Mercer?"

"Well, I came up to her in a tavern and started talking with her, doing my best to resemble someone who would be 'courting' a lady such as her. Then, once I felt I had put in my time, as it were, I leaned over and wrapped my arms around her and went to make my move." Mercer began laughing at the memory, shaking his head at his own naivete.

"She wasn't into it, was she?" Kaiya asked as she waited in suspense.

"No," he laughed openly now. "This move was so unwanted that she whipped out her dagger faster than I could even think to jump away, slashing straight across my face."

Kaiya sat quiet for a moment before bursting into laughter. "You thought you were being all smooth!"

"The really sad fact of the whole story," Mercer continued, laughter still present in his voice, "is that she didn't even realize I was trying to rob her. I really was just that bad at trying to seduce a woman."

"Well the fact that you're in my bed right now proves that you've gotten better at it at least." Kaiya laughed as she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek again.

"Mm hmm," he rumbled into her ear as he leaned to kiss her on the forehead. "Lucky you."

At that moment, the image of the second person in Mercer's bedroom floated into Kaiya's mind. Her stomach turned at the memory, crushing the fluttering her heart had done at the kiss he had placed on her forehead. He had gotten better at seducing women, that was obvious.

Mercer noticed her tense up next to him. "What's wrong?"

"What? No. Nothing. Um. What's this scar?!" She spat it all out in one rushed breath, searching for a way to change the subject. She was not ready to discuss this yet. It was still too raw. She didn't realize until she felt Mercer tense next to her that she had opted out of a difficult conversation for her straight into a difficult one for him. She had her hand over the most gruesome scar Mercer had - a dark purple discoloration that looked as if it was caused from a puncture wound. The skin around it was a mangled netting of scar tissue, the entire area directly over Mercer's heart. She had wondered since their first encounter where this came from, but seeing as it was right over his heart, it seemed a little too intimate to ask about.

"It's from an arrow." He spat out almost angrily.

"An arrow over your heart? Who did this? Why?" Kaiya asked anxiously. The thought of Mercer being in a situation that put him that close to death caused her stomach to flip. Maybe this wasn't a better line of conversation after all.

"I don't want to speak of this any more." She felt his arm tense around her, his grip tightening on her shoulder.

"What? Mercer what happened?"

"Betrayal." His voice was cold, offering nothing more than harsh reality.

They sat silent for a moment, both of their bodies taut from the stress of the change in mood of the conversation. Kaiya had once told Mercer that he didn't know what betrayal was. He had responded with "try me." She guessed this is what he was referring to and she had to admit, a shot to the heart was some pretty bad betrayal. It hurt her that he wouldn't tell her more, although she knew that not all scars were physical. Some scars didn't heal.

"It's sunrise," he finally said, breaking the silence between them. "You should get going to Solitude."

They both got out of bed and made their way around her home, picking up articles of clothing and dressing in silence. The tension was still palpable in the room, but neither knew how to break it. Kaiya was not certain that Mercer wanted to, and the thought caused a lump of fear to rise in her throat. She didn't know if she could handle it if he started pushing her away.

She obviously still had a lot to learn about Mercer Frey.

Once they were dressed, they stood facing each other in an awkward moment, both trying to figure out how they should say goodbye. Kaiya did the only thing she knew how to do in strained moments and tried to make light of the situation.

"Well this is awkward," she laughed humorlessly. "Look, can we just pretend that the last 10 minutes didn't happen? We were so good before that!"

"Sure," Mercer replied, but Kaiya could still sense the rigidity of his posture. "Be safe in Solitude."

"I'll do you proud, sir!" she joked as she saluted her Guildmaster, still trying to get at least one laugh out of the man. It didn't work.

"Report to me straight away when you return."

"Will do," she said as she approached him. She raised up on her toes in order to kiss him goodbye since he seemed to have no intention of bending over to meet her halfway. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she forced him to look at her.

"Hey, are we okay?" she asked quietly, although she swore Mercer could hear her heart beating with fear from what he might say.

"We're okay Footpad," he responded, and the first sign of softness towards her started to return to his features. He let one corner of his mouth curve upwards into his most endearing smirk before he reached up and grazed his thumb across her cheek. "Just come back to me in one piece."

"Oh I will," she smiled up at him. "I don't even want to think about how mad you'd be at me if I came back dead. You'd never send me on the good missions anymore."

At this he finally let out a laugh as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, but that wasn't good enough for Kaiya. She grabbed his face and pressed her lips to his in a searing kiss, making sure he'd miss her while she was gone. Once she heard him grunt in pleasure at her ministrations, she pulled back and bit her bottom lip.

"Tease" he groaned, rolling his eyes at her.

"Well I've got to give you something to look forward to when I return." She winked at him before pulling away. Throwing her pack onto her back, she walked to the door of her home and stopped to look over her shoulder. With a smirk, she said her silent goodbye to Mercer before she made her way out of Honeyside.

Chapter Text

13th of First Seed 4E203

Kaiya had never liked Solitude. It felt like secrets dripped off the walls, the very stones that laid the city ready to burst with forbidden knowledge. At least Riften had the decency to be honest about its dirty nature. Solitude presented itself as a beacon of progress and forward thinking but it never failed to feel somewhat meretricious to Kaiya. She knew better than to assume a city in Skyrim didn't have a dark history or its own share of problems.

Adjusting the hood of her guild leathers, she made her way towards the Winking Skeever as the giant doors of the city gate closed behind her. It was later than she hoped to arrive since the carriage ride across most of Skyrim had encountered more problems than she had anticipated. The civil war was getting worse; you could not venture from a city and not see the effects it was having on the landscape.

A cold wind came tunneling through the marketplace as Kaiya stepped inside the inn, sucking the door shut behind her with a bang that drew the attention of every patron in the room.

So much for going unseen.

She approached the bar amongst a room full of stares before they seemed to grow bored of her normal actions and let their attention wander once more. All but one.

"Well, well, if it isn't one of Mercer's toadies."

There was no doubt that the hissy, deep voice that spoke to her belonged to an Argonian. She turned to follow the sound and her eyes met the lidless gaze of who could be no one else but Gulum-Ei. He stared at her in a way that made her feel like he was analyzing everything about her, searching for weaknesses and leverage. Mercer had not been overstating the craftiness of this fence, that was certain.

Kaiya did not deny his statement or argue with him that he called her a toady. She recognized a trap when she saw one. Instead, she turned her back to him and continued making her way to the bar to order some mead. The way this was going, she would need one.

"What's the deal with the Argonian over there?" Kaiya asked the innkeeper, jerking her head in Gulum-Ei's direction to indicate who she meant.

"Oh him?" The innkeeper looked away quickly as to not let his eyes linger on the fence too long. "He's with the East Empire Company. Slimy bastard, if you ask me, but he always has plenty of coin."

"I see." Kaiya flipped a coin onto the bar in thanks for the information before making her way, mead in hand, to the Argonian. She always found it difficult to get a read off of the Argonians since they did not exhibit the same facial features as elves or men. She was good at watching the area around a man's eyes to see if he was genuine or for the hints of a smirk to see if a jab was made in jest, but that was impossible with those from Black Marsh. They gave nothing away. Still, she had a job to do, and she was determined she would get it done.

"Gulum-Ei, is it?" she asked as she approached him.

"Depends." He crossed his arms over his chest in a smug display of superiority.

"I'm Kaiya," she spoke showing no signs of intimidation. "I have some questions for you."

"Well I hate to disappoint you sweetheart, but I told Mercer that I don't deal with the guild anymore so you'll get nothing from me."

Kaiya's lips curled into her signature assassin smile, the one she wore when she wished to turn a man's blood cold. "We'll see about that, Gajul-Lei."

"This is a whole new level of stupid for you, Kaiya."

She chastised herself under her breath as she made her way through the East Empire Company warehouse, silently following behind the Argonian. He had proven himself to be elusive and even pig-headed, resisting all of her attempts to charm him or even intimidate him. Even when she stooped to a level that she usually refrained from, bribery, he accepted her bribe and she got nothing.

As she silently snuck around the mercenaries that infested the warehouse, her anger simmered. What a slimy bastard! She thought as she kept replaying their earlier conversation in her mind. When I get ahold of him he's going to be sorry for playing me like the fool. There had yet to be a moment in which she hated the guild's "no killing" rule more than right now.

Suddenly, she realized that Gulum-Ei had reached what seemed to be a dead end. If she was going to make a move to threaten him, this was it. She silently cast her invisibility spell as she crept closer, but she was met with a surprise. Standing next to the Argonian was a Nord archer that had an arrow knocked and looked around intently for the source of a sound he must have heard. Well shit. While at first this situation seemed far from ideal, Kaiya realized that it presented a perfect opportunity for her. Since she'd most likely have to kill the guy anyway, why not make a show of it? Really scare the Argonian?

With her invisibility spell still intact, Kaiya crept around behind the archer as silently as she could manage. Unsheathing her dagger affectionately known as Little Friend, she moved into position. In one fluid motion, she grabbed the archer's head with her left hand while slashing his throat clean across with her dagger. The contact caused her invisibility spell to vanish so the killing was on full display for the terrified Argonian. One moment there had been nothing, the next moment there was an assassin slicing the throat of his mercenary. Not only would she kill even though the guild normally had rules against it, she was quite capable of it. More capable in a fight than he would be in his merchant clothes with his iron dagger, that's for sure.

He was fucked.

Before he could even consider running, Kaiya rushed behind Gulum-Ei and put him in a hold, her dagger pressed up against his throat.

"Okay okay!" the Argonian shrieked, doing his best to put his hands up in surrender. "I know when I'm beaten! Please, don't kill me. I'll give you what you want."

With a satisfied grin, Kaiya released the Argonian, pushing him away from her with disgust to accentuate her intimidation. She was in control here. Deciding her threat had been effective and with her hands still covered in blood from the mercenary, she sheathed her dagger.

"Speak."

His hands still in the air in surrender, he began to talk, his words spilling out as though they were tumbling over each other to escape.

"It was Karliah okay!? Karliah!"

"Who?" Kaiya was confused and it showed. Gulum-Ei revealed this information like it should have been a revelation, yet she had no idea who this Karliah was.

"Oh my gods," he said as though stunned, his hands slowly dropping from their surrender position. "He never told you about Karliah?"

"Well obviously not," Kaiya snapped back, feeling a little embarrassed that this Argonian had information about her guild that she did not. "So you tell me."

"I'm sorry sweetheart," he said with no small amount of charm, "but this is a story you're going to have to ask your Guildmaster."

"Don't do that" she stomped towards him, closing the gap between them. He raised his hands in surrender again, slowly backing away from the angry Kaiya until he was pressed against one of the crates being stored on a shelf. "Don't patronize me, lizard. I'm new to the guild but I'm obviously good at what I do, so I may not know all the history and all the little stories, but I'm damn well capable of kicking your ass should you not tell me yourself."

"All right, all right," Gulum-Ei responded with a laugh, "you're a firebrand aren't you?"

"Why's everyone that doesn't like me call me that?" It was her turn to laugh now.

"Who said I didn't like you?" he asked sincerely, one shoulder going up in a charismatic shrug.

"Oh cut the crap, Gulum-Ei." She said as she rolled her eyes. "Just tell me who this Karliah bitch is."

"Oh it's Gulum-Ei now, is it? No more 'lizard' or 'Argonian'? For a minute there I was worried you were racist." He smiled at her now, fully appreciating the fact that he had gained some power in their confrontation. "Or maybe I'm just growing on you?"

"You ARE a slimy bastard, aren't you?" Kaiya laughed humorlessly. "Just tell me about Karliah!" She was feeling exasperated now, pacing back and forth.

"She betrayed the guild years ago. Killed Gallus and broke Mercer's heart." he spoke as though this was such an old story to him, all emotion it perhaps once had brought had long since faded. To Kaiya however, this information was new, and it felt like a blow to the stomach to hear it for the first time.

"Where is she?" Kaiya grated out between clenched teeth.

"I don't know," Gulum-Ei replied with a shake to his head. "The last I saw her she said she was going 'where the end began.'"

Oh great, a cryptic bitch.

"She broke Mercer's heart?" Kaiya couldn't help herself but to ask. The question came out as a squeak, a shadow of the terrifying assassin she had been moments before.

She tried to hide the concern. She really did. She tried to hide the fact that it not only hurt her to think about him being in pain, even if it was years ago, but it hurt her tremendously to think about him being brokenhearted. A broken heart is a different type of pain. It doesn't heal. It doesn't mend like an arrow to the heart or a dagger to the face.

"Ah, I see" Gulum-Ei said in a way that seemed out of place to the bewildered Kaiya. If she hadn't known better, she would have said that his non existent eyebrows had gone up the way a man's would if he had just been enlightened to some deep secret.

"What? What do you see?" Kaiya was eager to draw any information out of him that she could while she had the chance.

"I tell you that the former Guildmaster was killed by this woman and you don't blink an eye, but when I say Mercer was heartbroken…" he let his sentence trail off at the end without finishing his thought.

"So? I know Mercer. I didn't know Gallus." She spoke as if this were obvious.

Gulum-Ei chuckled lightly, as if he was laughing at a joke only he understood. "Well aren't you just a devoted little Mercer toady?"

"What? Stop calling me that!" Her emotions were starting to take over, which was a dangerous situation for Kaiya to be in considering their current predicament.

"By the Hist, woman!" he laughed openly now. "I didn't expect this. You're fucking him, aren't you?"

Kaiya felt her eyes go wide as his declaration. How the hell did he know that? She felt a bit taken aback at how perceptive he was. It reminded her of her time with Veezera and how he would always know the right question to ask to really get at the core of an emotion. Was this an Argonian thing? She watched his scaly cheeks rise to give way to a toothy grin that told her she needed to say something and say something fast.

"What in Oblivion would make you think that?" she scoffed awkwardly.

"There's no use in trying to convince me otherwise, sweetheart" he said with a twinge of laughter still present in his voice. "Your pink cheeks told me everything I needed to know."

Kaiya felt her face grow even redder under his examining eyes. She found herself jealous of the Argonian and his inability to blush. Lucky bastard.

"What did Maven have to say about it?" he asked her this after letting out a faint gasp, giving her the impression that he just thought about a very important component to the whole ordeal.

"She doesn't know," Kaiya responded smugly, crossing her arms over her chest. "And it better stay that way."

"Oh honey," he crooned, giving her a look of pity. "She knows. She knew before you did."

Kaiya let out a heavy sigh at his words. He just spoke the fear she had internalized since it all began. "I was afraid of that," she said honestly. There was no use in trying to deny it in front of the perceptive Gulum-Ei any longer.

He reached up and put a hand on her shoulder in the attempt to comfort her. He knew this couldn't be easy. "What has this done to her little agreement she has with Mercer?"

Her eyebrows snapped together in confusion. She was feeling confused a lot today and she didn't like it very much. "What are you talking about?"

"He hasn't told you?!" the hand that had rested on Kaiya's shoulder quickly moved to cover his face in an attempt to hide the laughter that he fought back. "You poor thing!"

"First of all," she started, getting aggravated at his mocking pity, "stop pitying me and treating me like a sad child. Second of all," she counted on her fingers to accentuate her point "you know I don't know so just tell me already!"

Gulum-Ei stayed quiet for a moment, the look of amused pity still plastered across his face, before he finally responded to her. "I shouldn't, but what the hell?" He laughed as he threw his hands up in defeat. "You made me laugh, so that's worth something. Maybe I like you after all."

He adjusted his position on the crate so that he could lean against it more comfortably before he began, eliciting not one but two annoyed sighs from the impatient Kaiya.

"He's had an agreement with Maven as long as I've known him. She gives the guild her support and he gives her his…" he paused as he tried to think of the right phrasing, "skills."

Kaiya gulped. She did not like the way that sounded. "I don't think I like where this is going, but just for clarification…" she paused now, bracing herself for the answer this question would bring, "what skills?"

"If you're fucking him, you know better than I do sweetheart."

Kaiya felt the blood drain out of her face. She felt her heart plummet to the bottom of her stomach. There was a moment she forgot to breathe. NO. No it can't be.

"And for clarification, how long have you known Mercer?" She still continued the conversation because she wanted answers, but she had begun to feel like she wasn't there anymore. Not mentally, anyway.

"Gods, I don't know," Gulum-Ei answered as he looked to the roof of the cavern in concentration, trying to think of the right answer. "Twenty, twenty-five years?"

Thump thump. Kaiya felt her heart pound in her stomach. Suddenly, the image of the second person in Mercer's bedroom window the night before came crashing into her mind, almost making her gag.

"So he's been fucking Maven Black-Briar," she stopped mid sentence for a moment as she felt a gag coming on. Her stomach contents were just as unhappy with what she just said as she was. "For twenty-five years?"

"If not longer," he answered so matter of factly it made Kaiya want to punch him.

"And you're sure this is still going on?" Kaiya asked with the last bit of remaining hope she had. Anything to convince herself that was not Maven in Mercer's window. It couldn't be.

"Was the last I heard," he said with a shrug. "I'm surprised you haven't heard about it. It's the most well known secret of the Thieves Guild. Everyone knows he does it and everyone knows not to ask him about it."

No. This couldn't be true. Delvin wouldn't have encouraged her to get involved without telling her this, would he? Vex? Vekel? They wouldn't have kept something like this from her had they known, right? She found herself taking deep breaths to try to steady the room that seemed like it had taken flight while she was in it.

"And why…" she asked between gulps as she tried to keep from vomiting. "Why is he in this situation?"

"He did it for the guild, as far as I know." He shrugged again. If this Argonian didn't stop shrugging as he continued giving her news that was flipping her world upside-down she was going to pin his shoulders to his damn earholes. "He thought her influence would make it worthwhile. I'm willing to bet that 25 years ago the deal seemed a little sweeter than it does now."

Kaiya continued to breathe deeply as she stared off at nothing in particular, holding herself captive in her own mind. Gulum-Ei reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder again, hoping to ground her to this plane. She hated to admit it, but it did help relax her the smallest bit.

"He was a much younger, and stupider, man back then, Kaiya." He spoke softly now as if he finally understood the impact his words were having. "She was also twenty-five years younger, so you can imagine that it seemed like a win-win at the time." But then he said that. So much for understanding the impact.

"Well I guess that explains why he hates her so much."

He let out a small chuckle at that. "I'd say so. He's been, for all intents and purposes, her sex slave for a quarter century." The heaviness of his words caused Kaiya to lose her breath for a moment, her eyes glazing over a bit in order to remain conscious.

"Kaiya," he exclaimed as he shook her shoulder in an effort to bring her back to the present. Her eyes, bewildered and shocked as they were, met his. "Kaiya, I'm sure this is an embarrassment to him. If you think you hate hearing it, think about what it's like for him to live it. I don't envy him."

Several moments passed in silence as they stared at each other. Kaiya tried to get her heartbeat back to normal while Gulum-Ei continued to assess the situation to ensure she wouldn't pass out on him. He wasn't sure why he found himself in a situation where he was caring whether or not the tiny Breton would be okay, but for whatever reason, he found himself staying put, unable to move away.

When her heart's behavior returned to normal, she let out a groan. A groan of disgust, of hatred, of bitterness, of revulsion and anger. Her body shivered in an attempt to shake the feeling out of her.

"So in one day, I find out that Mercer had his heart broken by a woman named Karliah that betrayed him AND that he has been a slave to Maven for twenty-five years?"

Gulum-Ei remained quiet. There was nothing to say.

"Today sucks." she said, a small laugh escaping her alongside her words.

"In all honesty Kaiya," Gulum-Ei spoke. "The two events are probably not unrelated, but that's just my guess. You will have to ask Mercer if you want the whole story."

"Oh I intend to do just that!" she declared with a look of determination. She began to walk towards the exit of the grotto, ignoring the chests and crates of loot that probably belonged to them. "Thank you, Gulum-Ei."

"You're welcome Kaiya." He gave her a sad smile as he empathized with her current predicament. He didn't envy her either. "Oh hey!" he called after her as she approached the exit.

"Tell Mercer he's got an ally in me. I'm back in."

Chapter Text

15th of First Seed 4E203

"That's fine! I don't need a driver anyway! I got this!"

Kaiya screamed at the retreating form of the man who had been her ride thus far on her trip back to Riften, who was now abandoning her just outside of Kynesgrove. She had pushed him too far. At first she had just encouraged him to take a few passages through areas in which she knew bandits inhabited, just so she could get her swords wet. Then she had instigated a giant - a giant whose club came much too close to destroying the carriage. The final straw was the roar of a dragon in the distance as they approached Eastmarch and Kaiya's eagerness to take it on. The driver decided he had had enough and kicked her out to walk the rest of the way on her own.

Kaiya kicked and screamed at Thaer's back as he rode off without paying her any mind. This wouldn't be the first time she'd have to travel on foot - far from it. If she was being honest with herself, she'd realize that she was upset because he gave up on her, and right now she needed someone on her side. It had been a crazy 48 hours.

When her energy had waned enough that she was no longer tempted to Shout at the poor carriage driver, she accepted her fate. If nothing else, this walk would give her time to think about the latest developments and perhaps work out a little more aggression.

She stormed off on the road that headed south, straight for the dragon she knew would be there. This area was always rife with dragonfire. Ever since she had taken out the dragon who had originally called Bonestrewn Crest his home, others had flocked to the craggy peak in order to take over that spot. She wasn't sure what those sulfurous springs surrounding the mountain did to attract the beasts, but they were always there and sometimes even fighting each other for the right to call Bonestrewn Crest home.

Sure enough, as soon as Kaiya could smell the putrid, rotten egg stench of the sulfur ponds, she saw the silhouette of the dragon's form flying around the mountain that jutted up from the pools. Before she knew what she was doing, she felt her legs pumping into a sprint. She couldn't lose the dragon now. She needed this. She needed to feel powerful because after the revelations she gained from the interrogation of Gulum-Ei, she had felt so powerless.

In no time, she approached the jagged rocks that made up Bonestrewn Crest. The dragon had seen her, but had yet to attack. She felt the wind from his wings as he flew overhead, the great shadow of the beast overtaking her in momentary darkness. The sound of his beating wings did nothing but stoke her fire - this dragon would be an offering to her rage. When he passed over again, she saw her opportunity.

JOOR ZAH FRUL!

Her Shout hit its mark. A blue cloud enveloped the flying dragon, slowly bringing him to land whether he wished to or not. She felt the earth beneath her shake as he crashed into the ground atop Bonestrewn Crest, but she was ready. She ran towards the beast as he clumsily tried to right himself, casting her Ebonyflesh armor spell over her as she approached him. Before the dragon could gain his bearings, she was on him with her sword and dagger, slashing away at the scales of his neck. All the training with Mercer had paid off - she was a virtual whirlwind of blades, slashing and stabbing at the skin beneath the scales and the vulnerable flesh of his wings. The dragon turned his head to face her, preparing a Thu'um of his own.

YOL TOOR SHUL!

Kaiya leapt and rolled out of the way of the incoming fire, ducking behind one of the exposed rocks that littered the crest. The dragon stomped towards her on his awkward limbs, shaking the ground beneath her. Pebbles shook and danced away around her feet, but she stood strong, anticipating the dragon's every move. When the fire had abated, she jumped out from being the rock to face the dragon again, taking a deep breath to prepare for another Shout.

KRII LUN AUS!

Kaiya watched as an ethereal purple stream enveloped the angry dragon, seeping into his very bones and causing him to appear as though he emanated a purple glow. The Shout had once again hit its mark. Her sword and dagger at the ready, she stormed towards the dragon in a fury, determined to finish him off once and for all. She slashed a deep cut into his wing as she approached his head, ripping a cry of pain from the beast's throat. She felt her rage move through her limbs as she stood before him, looking straight into his eyes in a show of dominance. The power she so badly needed to possess coursed through her veins as she slashed at the dragon's maw, spinning with a speed she didn't know she had. Just as the dragon readied himself to fight back with another Thu'um, she grabbed onto one of the spikes that covered his head and used it to launch herself on top of him. He bucked and snapped at her, but it was no match for her determination. The Shout he had prepared ripped from his body but just shot forward, far from reaching his attacker that plunged her sword over and over into his scales. With one final thrust from her dragonbone blade, the beast let out a roar of defeat before crashing his head back into the earth.

It was over. She had won. She hopped off of the dead dragon as his soul started crackling and popping around her, preparing herself to take his final offering. As it rushed into her, she could feel his unrest, his pain, and his betrayal. Betrayal? The soul she consumed allowed her to feel as he felt and gain his understanding, but she was struggling with coming to terms with his feeling of betrayal.

Then it hit her. He had not attacked. He was one of Paarthurnax's allies. She had gone against her word by killing him, taking the life of a dragon who had given his vow to remain peaceful.

The realization made her feel sick. What had she done? In her quest to feel powerful and to overcome the blow to her pride she had taken in Solitude, she took the life of an ally. Of someone she had sworn to spare. After fighting the Blades on their indiscriminate killing and promising she'd never be like them, here she was, taking the life of a dragon who was not her enemy. She was just like them. What was happening to her?

She felt her knees buckle underneath her and she clumsily plopped down next to the bones of the dragon she had just slain. Leaning back against its rib cage, she let her emotions take over. She was tired. She was worn. She was heartbroken at what she had done. With no one else around to see her in this vulnerable moment, she cried.

Kaiya winced at the squeaking of her wet boots on the stones as she crept her way into the cistern. It was the early hours of the morning and most of the thieves were still asleep. She could hear soft voices coming from one of the beds against the wall, two thieves most likely in deep discussion, but those voices were the only other sound besides the water crashing from the pipes into the pond of the cistern. As if in habit, her eyes moved across the expanse of the room to lock onto the Guildmaster that stood at his desk, his body hunched over the ledger. He looked exhausted.

No matter how much Kaiya had tried to prepare herself for the moment in which she would lay eyes on him, it was of no use. She felt an immediate shot of pain course through to her stomach at the sight of him. All she could think about was how badly she wished she could go back to how they were just a few days prior, when her biggest obstacle was how to get him to stay a little longer in the warmth of her bed. But it wasn't a few days prior, it was now. Now she knew his dark secret about Maven. Now she knew his past with a thief named Karliah that had broken his heart. Now she knew, but she still had a job to do. She still had to report to him "right away" lest she hear his wrath. Now she had to face him, all her new knowledge intact.

She approached the desk with no small amount of apprehension, trying to stay as quiet as possible to prolong the time before their eyes would meet. He would see it written all over her in an instant. She was not as successful as she had hoped in her quest to remain quiet, for Mercer heard her and shot his head up to look at her when she was still only halfway across the cistern. The look on his face sent her already pounding heart into shock, thrumming so hard it was difficult to distinguish individual beats. His face had lit up, a small smile dancing along the corners of his usual scowl in appreciation that she had returned. He was no fool however, and noticed almost immediately that something was wrong. His smile, as small as it had been, wilted back into a frown. The sight caused Kaiya to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat, squeezing her eyes shut to concentrate on getting it down.

"What? What is it?" he asked, unable to keep the trepidation he felt from leaching into his voice as she stood before him at his desk.

"Well hey to you too," she said flirtatiously, trying with all her might to act normal. They could just talk about it later, right? Now all she wanted was a few minutes with the one person on Nirn who might be able to make her feel better, even if he was the source of her current pain.

He stared back with a look of incredulity, not buying her act. "What do you have for me, Kaiya? We can say our hellos after you report to me what you've learned."

What I've learned? Oh gods. The phrasing he used hit her like a slap, although it was unintentional. He noticed her wince and his eyebrows snapped together in confusion.

"Kaiya…" he started calmly, as if he was speaking to a wild animal that he didn't want to spook. "What happened?"

"Gulum-Ei happened," she joked, still trying to maintain her insouciant attitude, as transparent as it was. "You were right about him, by the way. He is a slimy bastard."

"Did he give you any information?" he asked impatiently, trying to force the answer out of her faster.

"Not at first, but I have my ways" she smiled as she spoke. If she was to tell him something that would break him in a matter of moments then at least she could have her moment to shine.

"I know," he said with a crooked eyebrow. "That's why I sent you. Get on with it."

"Can't I have a drink first, Mercer? I'm exhausted." This was her last attempt at staving off what would be a most unpleasant conversation. She knew better than to think it would work, though.

"Enough!" Mercer boomed. "Did he give you a name or not, Kaiya!?"

"It's Karliah, okay!?" she shrieked back, surprised at her reaction. "It was Karliah." She spoke softly now, her head hanging a bit in fear of what was to come.

Mercer was silent. Her eyes moved up to find his, but his were glossed over, staring off into space. His face was pale, almost white. This news had not been what he expected. After a few moments in stunned silence, he finally spoke. "No…" It trailed off into the atmosphere, apparently not intended to be a part of the conversation.

"Mercer?" Kaiya spoke now with concern. "Are you okay?" She had expected that he would not be happy about the news, but this reaction was more emotional than she thought him capable of. Remembering what Gulum-Ei had said about Mercer being heartbroken by Karliah's betrayal, she felt that familiar slash in her heart begin bleeding again. He still had strong feelings where Karliah was concerned, that was for sure.

"I know you loved her, Mercer." Kaiya spoke softly. Now it was her turn to try not to spook the wild animal. "I understand this is not good news."

"Leave me." was Mercer's response. His eyes had finally snapped back into focus and now bore into Kaiya's.

"Leave…?" Kaiya asked in a breathy voice. "No next steps? No new mission? No 'find this bitch and slit her throat?'"

"I said leave me." He thundered back, and she saw the rage barely lying under the surface. He was cracking.

"Okay," she breathed, throwing her hands up in surrender. "I'll leave you alone."

He did not respond as she backed away, his eyes once again taking on the stare that showed he was looking at nothing here. Before she got too far away she turned back to him and spoke softly, barely over a whisper, "I'll be in the Flagon if you need me, Mercer."

He heard her, but her words did not register. His mind was a chaotic mess but there was one phrase that seemed to rise above the cacophony of his jumbled thoughts. One phrase that seemed to stab into his consciousness and would not release.

After all this time, she's returned…

Chapter Text

16th of First Seed 4E203

Once again, Kaiya found herself back at the Ragged Flagon, drinking away her emotions. The past few days had been some of the most difficult Kaiya had suffered through in a while, and she was currently way too sober to handle that. Vekel was not yet awake seeing as it was barely sunrise, so Kaiya took the liberty to serve herself a bottle or five. She needed that blissful numbness that came from the fourth or fifth bottle, so she cracked open two at once to get started. In no time, she was on her third.

Her thoughts were buzzing around her like bees in one of Maven's infamous hives and she hated it. She decided to take this opportunity as a time to review. The symbol that had adorned the bill of sale of Goldenglow and the purchase agreement from Honningbrew had been that of a former guild member named Karliah. A Karliah that had once been loved by her current Guildmaster, the very same Guildmaster that she currently… had strong feelings for. (With all the buzzing in her head right now, it was not the time to ponder over if she loved him or not.) This Karliah had betrayed the guild, killed the former Guildmaster and hurt Mercer in the process. She took a swift sip from her mead bottle in anger. That bitch would pay.

But then there was the revelation about Mercer's relationship with Maven. He had been held captive by this woman for twenty-five years, having to fulfill her wants and needs in whichever way she saw fit. Kaiya felt a shiver of disgust course through her at the thought. But Mercer did it all for the guild - for her influence in order to help them. Kaiya wondered for a moment if this arrangement happened before or after Karliah's place in his history. Another shiver shot through Kaiya. There was no angle in which she could look at this information and not be torn by it.

But then there were her own actions. Her own despicable, selfish actions that had taken down an ally. She could never forgive herself for that. Kaiya prided herself on her loyalty; if she gave her word to protect someone or that she was someone's friend or ally, then she meant it. She took her relationships with others very seriously and would normally slice through anyone who gave her friends even minimal trouble. And yet here she was, drinking down the guilt from murdering one of her own associates. She took another long draw from her third mead bottle, finishing the contents. It was finally time for her fourth. That warm, familiar feeling of numbness should be hitting her soon. Any moment now.

She finished her fourth.

Then her fifth.

As she cracked open number six, she heard footsteps behind her approaching the bar. She turned around sloppily and almost fell out of her stool in order to see who it was. Luckily, the approaching figure was a friend, not foe, as they were able to help her get situated back onto her stool.

"Thanks Vekel," Kaiya said almost sheepishly, somewhat embarrassed from her pitiful agility.

"A little early to be three sheets to the wind, eh Kaiya?" Vekel chuckled as he walked behind the bar, wrapping his white apron around his waist.

"I wish I was three sheets to the wind," Kaiya groaned. "Whatever that means."

"It's a nautical saying," Vekel answered with another chuckle. "Means drunk."

"Well don't you just sound like a salty sailor with your nautical sayings" Kaiya joked before finishing up her current mead. She held up the empty bottle to signal that she needed another.

Vekel complied and cracked open another mead, paying attention to the number of corks that littered the bar where Kaiya sat. "What's up, Kai?" he asked sincerely. "It's barely sunrise and you're already bingeing as if you witnessed a murder this morning."

She laughed darkly at his question, lifting an eyebrow up in answer. "I wish all that happened was that I witnessed a murder."

Vekel tilted his head in impatience towards her before grabbing a glass to clean while they spoke. "I'm listening Kai, go on." He knew that the best way to get her to talk was to speak as little as necessary and just keep reminding her that he was listening.

"I'm not at liberty to say, Veks."

Well that was new to him. She had never been in a situation she wasn't allowed to speak of before.

"I'll talk to you about it when I can but until then, just keep feeding me drinks until I pass out okay?"

He nodded once in agreement before returning his focus to the glass in his hand. It might be good for her to pass out. At least then she'd get some sleep.

Kaiya woke with a very unsettling feeling that she wasn't quite sure where she was. She could hear the familiar clanking of dishes and bottles from the Ragged Flagon, but yet she was lying in a bed. She could hear the faint sound of water gushing out of pipes in the cistern, but yet she wasn't in the cistern. As she sat up, she felt a hand on her shoulder steadying her, and she jumped a bit in surprise.

"Easy love, it's just me" Delvin spoke softly from his position in the bed next to her.

"Oh Sithis, we didn't…. Did we?" Kaiya asked in horror as she backed away, her eyes so wide Delvin couldn't help but laugh.

"Seriously Kai?" he joked as he shook his head at her. "I may be a lot of things but I am no predator. Usually I like the women I sleep with to be a bit more… oh what's the word?... conscious!"

Kaiya remained silent as she continued trying to remember why she was in this bed in the Flagon and what had gotten her there. Delvin continued to laugh at her addled state.

"You were falling asleep on the bar in the Flagon by lunchtime sweetheart," Delvin crooned as he brushed her hair out of her face in a soothing gesture. "I figured it'd be a good idea to let you sleep it off before you tried to find your way home in this state."

"Thanks Delvin," she said with a sheepish half smile. "You're too good to me."

"Nevah!" he exclaimed before standing up from the bed. "How's your head?"

"It feels like the inside of a Dwarven ruin, actually." When Delvin looked back at her with confusion, she explained "A lot of hammering, loud noises, stone scraping metal…. It's not a good way for a head to feel."

"Ah," Delvin responded with a bit more clarity. "You should get yourself home then before Mercer needs you."

Suddenly, Kaiya remembered why she had been drinking herself into Oblivion in the first place. A rush of emotion fought with the hangover she already had, causing the room to spin and the alcohol in her stomach to slosh.

"Oh gods, I think I'm going to be sick" she proclaimed as she clamored out of the small bed. Once on her feet, she was able to stave off the effects of the onslaught of emotion and alcohol enough to keep her stomach contents where they were. With a few deep breaths, she was ready to move on. Without a word, she stumbled clumsily from the room in which she had been sleeping, Delvin close on her heels.

"Where are you goin' love?" Delvin asked with worry, doubtful that she had pulled herself together enough to be moving around with such determination.

"I've got to find Mercer," she announced, pushing through the door to the cistern. She shot a look over her shoulder at Delvin in order to give him a smile in thanks for helping her before making her way to the Guildmaster's desk.

Once she stood before the desk however, she lost any of the determination she had moments prior. Why had she felt so drawn here? To Mercer? She knew that nothing they discussed would lead to anything good, yet she felt compelled to talk with him nonetheless.

He stood silent, his eyes on the desk in front of him, still seemingly stunned from their previous conversation. Kaiya took a moment to look around the cistern, seeing it practically empty. All of the thieves must be either out on jobs or drinking in the Flagon. How long had she slept?

"Mercer," she began once she was confident they were alone, "we need to talk."

She anticipated that he would yell at her, projecting his anger onto the one closest to him, but he did not. She half expected that he would throw an insult at her in his anger, but he did not. She had imagined several different scenarios that might take place when she tried to start a conversation, but silence was not one of them. She was dumbfounded.

"Okayyyyy…." she drawled out, trying to be patient but growing more and more concerned as time went on. He hadn't even acknowledged her presence. "Well, it seems like now isn't a good time."

No answer.

"Fine. I'm going home, Mercer." As her patience waned, she crossed her arms in front of her chest in irritation. She didn't do anything to make him mad. In fact, she is the one that had more reason to be upset! She had just had her world turned upside-down and he couldn't even talk to her?! How dare he be so selfish? "When you feel like you're able to talk to me like I'm a human being that is here to help, here to do whatever you ask, here to help you in your quest to save the guild, then I'll be at my house. Until then," she turned to go as she spoke, "I hope your time alone gives you comfort."

She stormed off in the direction of the secret entrance into the graveyard, but she didn't get far before she felt a hand grab her elbow and give it a tug. When she spun around to see who dare stop her in one of her infamous stomp offs, she was surprised to see the tired and pained face of Mercer. He didn't seem mad or even irritated at her antics, just tired. His face immediately caused the wall she had built up around her heart to fall once again. If he only knew the power he held over her with as much as a single glance.

"Follow me," he spoke quietly, yet with a firmness that told Kaiya she should not ask questions. He pulled her behind him as he made his way towards the Flagon all the while Kaiya struggled to keep up with his long, determined strides.

"Slow down, Mercer!" she cried as she stumbled behind him. "There's no need for you to drag me behind you like a petulant child!"

He turned to face her so abruptly it caused her to stumble again, his grip on her elbow the only thing keeping her from falling. "Shh, quiet!" he whispered through clenched teeth. "I'm going to take you somewhere I have never shown another living soul. Can you keep your mouth shut long enough for us to get there?"

Kaiya's eyes went wide at Mercer's words, but she dared not respond. She nodded quickly in acquiescence before Mercer turned on his heels and started out once again in the direction of the Flagon.

Where they would normally turn to head towards the tavern however, Mercer quietly pulled her through the heavy door leading into the Ratway vaults. A tinge of fear crept through Kaiya at this strange turn of events. Why would he be bringing her into the Ratway? But she pushed it aside and reminded herself that she trusted this man. That, and she was pretty confident she could defend herself against any of the inhabitants of the dank city under the city.

Their journey into the Ratway was not a long one. After about fifteen steps, Mercer pulled her into one of the alcoves that lined the walls. He reminded her once again to stay quiet with a finger to his lips before he looked around to ensure no one was watching. She topped his keen eyesight with her spell of detect life, showing him with confidence that they had not been followed and no peering eyes roamed the vaults. With this reassurance, he moved into the alcove and pressed one of the bricks that made up the wall, causing the sound of rocks grinding on rocks to permeate from within the wall. Kaiya was taken aback when she realized what was happening - alternating bricks going up the wall were pulled inward, revealing slots in which they could place their hands and feet. With a look up, Kaiya understood what the hand holds were for. There was a hole cut out of the rocks in the space above them - they were climbing into whatever was beyond.

Mercer went first, carefully placing his feet and hands into the spaces provided by the bricks before he reached the hole. Gripping onto the sides, he pulled himself up and into the area above. Kaiya went next, following Mercer's example and climbing up until she reached the hole. Mercer reached out his hand to pull her up before pressing another brick in the wall beside him to retract the bricks they used to climb so no one could follow them.

Before them now laid a set of brick stairs, identical to the rest of the Ratway. Kaiya had no idea where she was, but once again reminded herself that she trusted the man she was with. If he trusted her enough to bring her here, wherever this was, she had to show him the same. Besides, she had no choice now. To calm her fears, Mercer reached over and grabbed her hand in his before giving it a light squeeze. He led the way up the stairs and she followed behind, still silent from his command earlier. She was beginning to notice the importance of stealth in their current situation.

When they reached the top of the stairs, they were met by an archway cut into the bricks of what once was a wall. Mercer led her inside before turning to gauge her reaction to the room they found themselves in. Kaiya was shocked, her wide eyes showing the proof of her surprise. They were in an office. There was a desk with a chair, a bookshelf and even a weapon case amongst random chests and books in the room. It seemed so commonplace, but that's what made it odd. A secret office amongst the filth of the Ratway.

Kaiya was drawn to the weapon case on the far side of the room. It was locked, but that did not prevent her from seeing the beautiful enchanted glass blade that lied within. "Chillrend," Mercer said softly, breaking the silence that had seemed to infiltrate the room.

Kaiya continued looking around the room before her attention was brought to the desk before her. A small snicker left her as she saw the book that rested on the desk.

"What's so funny?" he asked from behind her.

"Really, Mercer?" she asked between laughs. "Lusty Argonian Maid?" Seeing the pink in his cheeks at her finding what he obviously never meant for her to see caused her to laugh even harder. "Oh it's okay, my lusty Breton rogue," she joked as she reached up to touch his cheek. "We all have our secrets."

The mention of secrets brought Kaiya's thoughts firmly back to their current predicament and why Mercer had felt the need to bring her to a secret room to talk in the first place. Whatever was happening in the guild was apparently not common knowledge.

"We need to make a plan," Mercer stated flatly, understanding from the change in Kaiya's face that she was thinking the same as he was. She nodded sadly in response, disappointed that the moment she was allowed to laugh was past. "Did Gulum-Ei say where she was?"

She shrugged casually as she let her finger trace the side of his desk, unable to make eye contact with him. "Apparently all she said was she was going 'where the end began' or some shit. Have I mentioned how much I just love the cryptic clues? Let me guess, it's something only you would understand? Give me a break." She couldn't help the aggravation that crept into her response when she talked about Karliah. She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel jealous about the fact that Mercer loved her once. Her Mercer.

"I wasn't in love with her, Kaiya." It was as if he knew from her tone that jealousy was consuming her. He lifted her chin to look at him as he backed her against the desk in the office. With one foot, he pushed the chair out of the way before lifting Kaiya up to set her on the surface of the desk so that she was more easily at eye level.

"You don't have to lie to me, Mercer" she explained casually as if it didn't matter to her after all. "Gulum-Ei told me that you did."

Mercer couldn't help but smile. "Oh and you believe everything he says now, is that it? I thought you said he was slimy."

"He IS slimy," Kaiya retorted confidently, "but at least he told me the truth."

The space between Mercer's brows crinkled in concentration as he tried to work through what she meant. "The truth about what?"

"Everything." Kaiya shrugged again, crossing her arms to show her irritation.

"Hmm," Mercer responded with incredulity. "Well what did he tell you about Karliah?"

"No, that's not how this is going to work" Kaiya jabbed a finger into Mercer's chest as he stood before her. "You tell me about Karliah. I want to hear it from YOU."

"Fine," Mercer growled through his clenched teeth as he ran his fingers through his hair in irritation.

"It's true she was in the Guild before, but it didn't end well as I'm sure you could assume. She left after the death of Gallus and betraying us all. We tried to find her, but she had vanished."

"And her relationship to you?" Kaiya asked with arms crossed.

"She was like my partner. We were close, yes. Went on almost every heist together, had each other's backs. But I did not love her like Gulum-Ei told you I did."

Kaiya arched an eyebrow at Mercer. She wasn't buying his story. Mercer grew tired of her attitude. He wasn't used to explaining himself like this.

"Believe me or not, at this point I don't care. I told you the truth. I brought you to this room that I have never shown another soul. If I haven't proven to you by now that you can trust me, then all has been in vain." Mercer stood up to his full height and begun to pace, causing Kaiya's nervousness to spike.

"No," she cried, reaching out to grab his arm to bring him to her. "I believe you. It's just…" she looked down as he turned his full attention to her. She was ashamed of her jealousy. "It's just that it's hard to think about you being with someone else, is all."

Mercer smirked at her attempt to soothe his anger, her former obstinance long gone in the face of the threat of him giving up. He let her pull him to her and put one hand on either side of where she sat on his desk. He looked her in the eye before he spoke, "well is there anyone else here right now?"

"No," she smiled as she answered, feeling the overwhelming effect of Mercer's full attention on her. "Just you and me." She reached up to run her fingers through his hair as she held his head to look at her.

"That's right," he growled as he leaned in to touch his lips to hers. "Just us." One of his hands made its way to her lower back, rubbing circles on her skin underneath her leathers. It was clear what he wanted.

"What about planning?" she asked, although any objection she might have had was slowly fading as his attention remained on her.

"Oh we'll plan that later, but there's no rush." He leaned down and kissed her up and down her neck as he spoke. "She obviously is ready to be found now, so it's not like she's going anywhere."

"Mm," she moaned in appreciation. "Well in that case…" she let the end of her sentence trail off into a smirk to show Mercer she was ready for whatever he wanted.

With a growl, he pushed her down onto the desk as she let out a girlish giggle. As his nimble fingers began to unhook the clasps of her guild leathers, a small, flickering flame at the edge of the desk caught her attention. Looking over, she realized it was a single, solitary candle, illuminating the room with its dim light. As she stared, it began to remind her of the soft light that emanated from Mercer's window on that fateful night when she saw two shadows. That night she was turned away. That night he was probably with Maven.

Her smile faded as she watched their shadows flicker against the walls and ceiling, the undeniable proof of two bodies in candlelight although she could think of nothing else but Mercer's body with another.

Chapter Text

16th of First Seed 4E203

"Wait!" She called out as she sat up, clutching her loosened leathers to her chest.

An impatient grunt was her response. Mercer ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as he eyed her, his brows arched in anticipation for her inevitable explanation. She sat still for a moment, breathing deep to gain her composure. Thoughts of two shadows still danced in her vision as she tried to steady her racing heart. Her eyes began to betray her as one solitary tear made its way down her cheek.

"What is it Kaiya?" Mercer spat with frustration clear in his tone. "This isn't still about Karliah, is it?"

Kaiya shook her head in response, not trusting herself enough to speak.

"Then what's wrong?"

Through gritted teeth, Kaiya uttered "Maven."

"What about her?" Mercer couldn't hide the edge of concern that seeped its way into his tone. "What's going on Kaiya? Did she say something?"

Kaiya shook her head again. "Gulum-Ei told me about your relationship. I know, Mercer."

She watched him closely as she uttered this, hoping for any sign that the story she had been told was a fabrication. She silently hoped that he would knit his brows in confusion or that he would laugh in her face at the preposterousness of her statement, but he did neither of those things. Instead, he stared back. He was silent for a moment, just a moment, but it was enough time for Kaiya to know that it was true. That validation was all she needed to turn her sadness into anger.

"When were you going to tell me about this, Mercer?" she was yelling now. She pushed him in his sternum causing him to take an awkward step backward as she jumped off the table and stood up to her full height, letting her loosened leathers hang open. "Or did you just intend to keep it a secret indefinitely?!"

Mercer roared back in defense. "And how in Oblivion is this any of your business, Kaiya!?" He towered over her as they stood, his enraged eyes looking down his nose at her.

"What?!" she cried as she clenched her fists by her sides. "Mercer you fucked her literally the same night you fucked me. How is that not my business?"

"And what makes you think that? Did Gulum-Ei tell you that too?"

She crossed her arms over her chest while cocking her hip out to the side. She wouldn't let him get the better of her in this time. "I know that because I'm not dumb, Mercer. Tell me the truth. Were you or were you not fucking her the night I was turned away from your house?"

"What are you talking about, Kaiya? I never turned you away from my house." The confusion on his face showed that he wasn't lying about this. He really didn't know.

"The night before I left for Solitude. You told me to stop by, so I did. But Vald told me to go away because you 'didn't wish to be disturbed.' I saw two shadows in your bedroom window, Mercer. I know you weren't alone. Now tell me the truth."

He stayed quiet for a moment while his mind went back to the night in question. He never gave the order to turn her away, of that he was sure. Then it hit him. She said Vald. It wasn't just any of his mercenaries that turned her away, but the one that worked for him only because he originally worked for Maven. She had been the one to instruct Vald to tell Kaiya to leave and there was nothing he could do about it. "Kaiya, I didn't turn you away. I had no idea that happened."

"You didn't answer my question, Mercer." Her posture was rigid, a physical manifestation of her will.

Mercer was cornered and he didn't like it. "Since when do I owe you an explanation of who I spend my time with?"

"Oh really?" she yelped as she threw her hands up in exasperation. "Is that where we're taking this conversation? See I was under the impression that you didn't have much of a choice, and that was something that caused me to have sympathy for you. But maybe I'm mistaken and it is a choice you freely made. But I don't know since you're not being honest with me about it."

"Why should I feel the need to tell you about it?" he boomed at her. "Are we in a relationship in which we've discussed being exclusive? Is this a conversation we've had or just one you've imagined?"

"Watch it, Mercer" she warned. "Don't call me crazy. Don't do that."

"I'm just trying to figure out why it matters to you what goes on between me and Maven. I'm still not seeing how this is any of your business."

"Oh I don't know, maybe because I started getting roped into her weird jealousy games? Or perhaps because you have warned me that my life was in danger from her because she viewed you as a possession? Or I don't know, maybe when you and I started fucking you should have let me know you were also fucking the one person on Nirn I truly despise!" She punctuated each point with a jab of her finger into Mercer's chest, her pitch growing higher and higher as she rambled. "You seriously don't think I had a right to know that when you were coming over to fuck me you had just had your dick in that godsdamned Hagraven!?"

"You think this is something I enjoy talking about? You think this is something I like people knowing? Especially the girl I'm currently fu…. Involved with?" Mercer's voice was shaky, the whites of his eyes visible around his entire iris. He was beginning to panic.

Kaiya decided not to remark on his correction of their relationship even though it made her heart flutter just to hear that he considered himself involved with her. She would go downhill in this argument fast though if she let his little crumbs he tossed her get in the way of what she wanted to know.

"Not everything that needs to be talked about has to be something that we enjoy! I've talked to you about some serious shit in my past I didn't necessarily like talking about, but it's part of getting to know someone. It's part of building trust. I thought we had a bit more of that, Mercer. You know I would never tell anyone your business, but from what I've heard I'm the last to know anyway."

He paused for a moment as he looked down, trying to find the right words to say. "Well it was intentional, Footpad. I knew you wouldn't see me the same way if you knew."

"Well you didn't really have faith in me to let me make my own mind up about that now did you?" she crossed her arms again, her anger beginning to fade to irritation.

"Faith in you? No. It's not about faith." His head rose to meet her gaze, tension building in his brows as the conversation grew more personal. "Do you think I like this situation? Did Gulum-Ei tell you I had much of a choice or are you really just that selfish?"

"Selfish!?" She shrieked in reply, "You're the one keeping secrets because you don't want to talk about it!"

"Yes selfish!" He thundered. "Have you paused for even one moment to think about how this whole situation has affected me for years? How it continues to affect me? How it continues to affect every decision I make? Or have you only thought about how it affects you?"

"Of course I've thought of how it affects you, you idiot! That's why I'm so godsdamned mad!"

"What?!" Mercer's hands flew to his hair in exasperation, a manic tone taking over his voice. "Do you even hear yourself right now?!"

"I don't know how to handle this Mercer, okay?" she shrieked as tears started to well up in her eyes, spilling over onto her cheeks. "I'm so godsdamned angry at what she's doing to you, at what she's done to you, that I have no idea how to fucking process it!"

He stayed quiet, letting her work through her current meltdown without his interference. She deflated at his lack of retort, her body caving in on itself and slumping back onto the desk.

"I mean, yeah I'm upset you didn't tell me and that I had to hear about it from that slimy bastard," she pointed a finger at him halfheartedly in her last stand against him. "But I can't really blame you. I'm just so mad at her I can't think straight. I mean I'm shaking, seriously. Look! I'm shaking!" She held up her trembling hand for him to see as proof.

Mercer continued to stand quietly as he stared back at her. This is not how he expected this conversation to end up. She was mad for him. He was unsure as to how to proceed from this. Not only had he prepared for a fight that was over before it ever really got started, but his tiny Dragonborn seemed ready to fight a war against the most powerful being in Skyrim on his behalf.

She took his lack of response as confusion, so she continued. "She fucked with the wrong person when she fucked with you, Mercer. She doesn't know it yet, but fucking with you will be her downfall. I'll see to that."

"You're cute when you're determined" he finally spoke as he approached where she sat on the table. There was a softness to his eyes that hadn't been there earlier as he brushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. Kaiya's insistent defense of him had completely dissipated his anger. He was used to feeling as she felt now, but it was so nice to not be alone with it anymore. "You'd go to go to war with Maven Black-Briar because of a bad deal I made 25 years ago?"

"Damn right!" she announced, her eyebrows knitting together with resolve. "No one fucks with one of my people and gets away with it!" She paused once she noticed the softness in Mercer's features as he looked at her. She had not expected that. "Plus," she added "I'd rather not share you with someone that has to get laid through coercion. That is less than ideal."

Mercer laughed, "you're right Footpad, that is definitely not ideal for me either." He leaned forward, touching his forehead to hers as he smiled, still unable to get over her stern defense of him. There was no way he was letting her mess with Maven though, that was for sure. "You know I can't let you do anything though, right?"

"What do you mean?" she shot up straight, surprise all over her face. "Why can't I?"

"Because I'm not going to let you put yourself in danger over this. She will retaliate and you know it."

"And like I've said before," she argued "I can handle her."

He was quiet for a moment as he debated the best course of action to handle her determination. He had just praised her for it, so he knew he was never going to convince her to drop it. Truthfully, he wouldn't have it any other way. "What if we made a deal?"

"Ooh bartering!" she laughed at his offer. "It's almost like that's how you got yourself in this mess! What could go wrong?!"

He spread her knees with his hands before positioning his hips in between her thighs as he moved closer. Sliding his hands up her legs, he gave her his offer. "I'm not going to try to talk you out of something you've made your mind up about, but could I delay you maybe?" As a distraction, he began kissing down her jawline.

"How long, Mercer?" she asked with a touch of laughter in her voice. "I don't like waiting for my vengeance."

"I know, my little Forsworn," he joked, his kisses trailing lower onto her collarbone. "What about until after we handle this Karliah business? That way we can stay focused on this job before we move onto the next one?"

"Hmmmm" she hummed in thought. "You make a strong case."

"Mmm" he hummed, his attention swiftly being taken from the conversation at hand.

"And after we handle Karliah I can destroy Maven however I see fit?" Her hands began to roam around Mercer's chest as she spoke, slowly unhooking the clasps on his leathers.

"After we handle Karliah you are welcome to do as you please."

"You'll have a deal if you can answer one question," Kaiya offered, a grin taking shape on her face as he began to remove her leathers from her shoulders.

"What's that?" he asked, although she was sure she could get him to agree to anything in this moment.

"I'm better in bed, right?"

Mercer barked out a laugh before grabbing her hand and pressing it to his bulging pants. "I think you can answer that one yourself, Footpad." He pressed her back onto the table as she giggled at his response, his mouth working its way down her exposed form.

"Oh wait, one more thing!" Kaiya exclaimed as she sat back up with an annoyed groan coming from Mercer.

And at that, she leaned over and blew out the solitary candle that lit up the room, throwing them and their entwined shadows into darkness.

"It's Snow Veil Sanctum, by the way."

Mercer broke the silence that comfortably lay amongst the two thieves as they picked up their scattered clothing throughout the hidden office.

"Huh?" Kaiya asked as she fastened her guild leathers over her breast band. "If we were having a conversation I'm sorry but I totally spaced there for a minute."

Mercer chuckled to himself at her honesty. "It was that good, eh?" He joked as he ran his fingers through his damp and disheveled hair before giving her a wink.

"You were there!" Kaiya was thankful that her cheeks were already red to hide the blush that Mercer's flirtation brought forth.

"Well as flattering as that was, I was telling you where we have to go to find Karliah."

"Oh." Kaiya would be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed in the abrupt ending to their solace away from discussing business. She knew it had to come sometime, but she was usually the last to break the blissful afterglow between them to bring it up. She noticed the way his all too familiar scowl was back in place as his mind undoubtedly searched out a plan. Just moments ago he had looked peaceful, happy even, but now that they were back to business it seemed as though that blissed out look on his face was retired once again.

"Wait did you say 'we'?" She asked with a little more excitement than was probably warranted.

"Yes, I did." He didn't seem to share her enthusiasm. "This may be the most important job that the guild has had in years. There's no way I'm sitting this one out."

"Are we bringing anyone else or just you and me?" She hoped she didn't sound too hopeful, but she was quite intrigued as to what it would be like to travel with Mercer. They had rarely spent time together outside the cistern, so this was bound to be interesting.

"Just me and you," he said as he finished lacing up his boots. "Well unless you want to bring someone else…" he let his sentence trail off to see if she'd take the bait. She didn't disappoint.

"No! Just me and you is great!"

He felt a smirk take shape in the corner of his mouth as he eyed her, the excitement almost palpable from her response.

"Remember Kaiya, this is an important job." His tone took on the manner of Guildmaster as he approached her, placing a hand on either shoulder. "This isn't a vacation."

"Well duh," she chastised him as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Doesn't mean there can't be a little fun though, right Guildmaster?"

What would normally have been taken as a flirtatious joke seemed to set him off. "If you can't take this seriously then maybe I should bring Vex."

Kaiya reeled at his words, unexpected as they were. "What? Mercer you know I'm the best for this job. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!" he boomed as he disentangled himself from her arms.

"Then why can't you look me in the eye?" His behavior was making her nervous. Was this job really that dangerous?

As if out of spite, he leaned forward and glared into her eyes. "We leave at dawn. Get some rest." Then he spun away from her and made his way out of the secret office, leaving Kaiya to find her own way out.

She stood bewildered, her mind racing to try to catch up with the mood swings that Mercer had just thrown at her. She knew him well enough now that she could begin to see what was happening. He was scared. Whatever this mission entailed and whoever this Karliah woman was put actual fear into Mercer. As she gathered herself enough to make her way out of the secret entrance to the hidden office, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something that she was missing. It didn't seem that terrifying to her; Karliah was only one person after all.

She made her way home to begin packing her things for the long trip that lay ahead. The excitement that had once taken residence in her heart at the idea of traveling with Mercer had been replaced with a sense of dread and apprehension, but she couldn't put her finger on why. Normally, he would come spend the night with her before a big job, but he was nowhere in sight. She assumed he just needed space, but maybe there was more to it than that.

What was waiting for them in Snow Veil Sanctum?

Chapter Text

17th of First Seed 4E203

Mercer had been quiet for most of the trip thus far. He had taken initiative to speak only in terms of directions and plans, but nothing that would cause anyone that passed them on the roads to think that they even knew each other at all. Each time Kaiya tried to start a conversation, it would end in more silence. She would tell him tales of travelling she had done in the past and stories involving the places they were passing on the roads, but he seemed to have no interest in what she was saying. In fact, it seemed like he wasn't hearing her at all. It was only when she asked about Karliah that he seemed aware of the fact that there was someone else with him. When he spoke of the past, he was obsessive. He was manic. He would jump from detail to detail, never staying in a straight line with his story. She could tell that Karliah was a topic that was very personal to him. Even when he spoke at length about her betrayal of the guild and the overwhelming blow it had been to them, he was careful not to divulge too much information. The past several hours had done nothing to ease Kaiya's paranoia about the job ahead of them. She found herself repeatedly thinking about what must be awaiting them once they reached this old Nordic tomb. What was waiting for them in Snow Veil Sanctum?

They found themselves outside of Kynesgrove in Eastmarch as the sun began to set, so they agreed that they would stop for the night. As they made their way into the Braidwood Inn, Kaiya couldn't help but think that Mercer didn't seem to have tired much at all over their journey, his movements still just as jerky and erratic. He was a man possessed. This probably explained why he didn't notice that the inhabitants of Kynesgrove seemed quite familiar with his companion.

"Well if it isn't the Dragonborn!" Roggi Knot-Beard called out as they approached the counter where he stood with the Innkeeper, Iddra.

"Hey Roggi! Hey Iddra!" Kaiya called out, excited to run into some of her old friends from her more heroic days in Skyrim. Roggi was just as excited as she was as he leapt from behind the counter and charged at her. He swept her up into a huge hug, twirling her around in circles as Mercer stared on in confusion.

"It's been ages little Dragonborn!" Roggi said as he twirled her.

"Put me down you giant Nord!" she cried out, although her giddy voice betrayed her. "And what have I told you about calling me Dragonborn?!"

"Ah nonsense," Roggi joked as he sat her down, ruffling her hair with his big, callused hand. "You're a hero Kai, and I'll greet you as such."

"So you're saying if I were a big burly Nord man you'd pick me up all the same?" she joked back as she punched him lightly in the arm.

"If this old miner's back could handle it, you bet your ass!" his eyes crinkled in the corner as he smiled at her, his affectionate disposition infectious as it made Kaiya smile in return. "What brings you back to Kynesgrove? I thought you'd be settled up in some mansion in Solitude or married to Ulfric Stormcloak by now."

"Ew, Roggi. Just ew" she said with a groan. Mercer, who had been silent and ignoring the conversation up until this point let out a groan of his own at Roggi's words, reminding Kaiya that he was still there.

"Oh yeah, Roggi this is my friend Mer…...curio. Yeah Mercurio. He and I are going to stay here for the night." She touched Mercer's shoulder as she introduced him with his impromptu alias, but Mercer gave no indication he was in the mood to be polite and shake hands.

"Er, okay Kai" Roggi responded after he realized he would get no greeting from the Dragonborn's companion. "Iddra'll get you set up. You'll have a mead with me though, won't ya?"

"Sure Rogs just let us get set up in our room first and we'll join ya!"

Mercer however did not like the plans that were being made for him. "We'll take two rooms, actually." He directed his command at Iddra, but the words caused Kaiya to flinch.

She leaned over to speak into his ear where no one could hear her before whispering "separate rooms?"

"Yes. We'll need our rest." Mercer responded tersely without looking at her. Roggi sensed the tension that was building between the two associates and decided to give them some space to hash out whatever was happening, so he gave a small bow as he moved away back towards the counter where Iddra stood.

"Well I hate to disappoint you, but we only have one available room here tonight." Iddra spoke cautiously, not wanting to upset the clearly high strung man.

"I was afraid of that," Mercer grumbled under his breath. Kaiya called out an upbeat "we'll take it!" before Mercer could say anything further. She wasn't sure what was going on with him, but she figured that when they were alone in a bedroom she may be able to calm his nerves.

Kaiya dropped a stack of 10 septims in Iddra's hand before Mercer had a chance to intervene or grumble about going elsewhere. The innkeeper counted them quickly before stashing them in her own coin purse. "Right this way," she said as she motioned the travellers to follow her. "I'll show you to your room."

In a matter of moments, the two thieves were alone. Mercer quietly removed his pack and sat on the small bed they were to share to organize his belongings. He didn't seem upset that they were now sharing a space, but it seemed as though his thoughts had moved on from their current predicament and were far away from where they were. In fact, Mercer did not seem as though he was still on Nirn.

Kaiya had never been the type to let an awkwardness linger like some miasma in the room. She was always direct, even to the point of being blunt. But right now, all Kaiya wanted to do was to go back out in the inn and have a mead with her old friend Roggi. The last thing she wanted to do was peel back the layers of the past and history that were obviously having an effect on Mercer's mental state. That project could wait until she had some booze.

"I'm going to get some food and have a drink with Roggi" she stated with as little emotion as possible. "You should eat Mercer. It's not healthy for you to just sit in here and sulk."

Silence.

She didn't expect any less. "Welp, looks like I'm in for a long night" she mumbled to herself as she turned her back on the stewing thief to make her way back into the openness of the inn common room.

"Roggi that is NOT what happened!"

Kaiya shrieked with laughter that shook her whole body. This was what she loved most about her friend Roggi, he had the ability to make her laugh so hard that her sides ached and she felt like she had to hold her midsection together with her arms.

"That is EXACTLY what happened Kai! You were drunk, why should I trust your memory?" he joked as he nudged her shoulder with his elbow.

"Roggi YOU were drunk! We both were drunk! We almost got ourselves killed in some gods forsaken cave looking for a shield we were so drunk!"

"Oh is that so?" he teased, shooting her a side eye over his tankard. "Because I remember you proclaiming to anyone that would listen that you could get the shield, like it was pathetic to even ask! But then the next thing I knew you were RUNNING back out of the cave with no pants on shouting about a troll!"

"There WAS a troll, Roggi! I had to pee so I took my pants off but then there was a TROLL! You run when there's a TROLL!"

"Sure sure drunkie" he said between gulps of his mead. "All I know is that I got my shield back so I'm grateful, but you never did get those pants back."

Their laughter died down to a soft chuckle before Kaiya spoke again. "I wonder if the troll puts 'em on sometimes." Their laughter erupted anew at that, causing Roggi to order another round of mead for the two friends.

The laughter and lighthearted atmosphere the two friends created could not last indefinitely, however.

"So what's the deal with the guy you're with, Kai?" Roggi asked now as they settled back into their familiar routine.

"Oh Mer… him?" Kaiya asked awkwardly, temporarily forgetting the alias she had given Mercer previously.

"Yeah, Merhim." Roggi agreed with a knowing smirk.

"He's a friend. Colleague. He's kinda my boss?" Kaiya had never been in a position in which she had to explain to an outsider what her relationship with Mercer was. It didn't help that she wasn't so sure of it herself.

"It's okay if you guys are together, Kai. I'm not going to be upset. I've got Iddra now." Roggi gestured towards where the innkeeper sat cleaning glasses behind the counter. "We've got a good thing goin' on."

"I know Roggi, I'm happy for you," she said as she reached across the table to pat the back of Roggi's hand. "It's downright cute, you know that? You two should be ashamed!" She flashed a grin at him to show she meant it all as a compliment. "And I'm not sure if we are together Rogs. I'm not afraid to tell you or whatever, I just don't know."

"Hm," Roggi grunted in thought. "Do you want to be?"

"Yeah I do Rogs," she answered honestly.

"He always this exciting?" he asked with no small amount of sarcasm present in his voice.

His joke caught Kaiya off guard, forcing her laugh to come out of her nose. "Well I was going to say he's being a bit of a butt right now, but he's kinda always a butt."

"Well you've always loved butts," Roggi joked.

Kaiya's laugh turned to a whining groan as she realized it was getting late and she probably needed to see what was wrong with Mercer. "Speaking of butts," Kaiya said as she stood from the table "I guess I should go find out what's up this one." She jerked her thumb in the direction of their room to indicate she meant Mercer. "It was good seeing you Rogs."

They said their goodbyes as she turned to go back to the room she was sharing with Mercer, unsure of what she would find. She wasn't all that surprised when she found him lying on his back on the small bed to stare at the ceiling. He seemed to still be thinking. She wanted to shake him, to break him out of his entranced state but she knew that would just start a fight. Part of her felt as though a fight would be better than this, but if this mission was really going to be as dangerous as he was acting like it was going to be, then maybe she should give him his space to prepare.

After stripping off her outer leathers, she slowly crawled into bed next to him wearing nothing but her undershirt and smallclothes. He didn't move. He didn't speak. There they lay, silence hanging over the moment like an executioner's axe. It had its own energy, its own smell. Kaiya felt that the silence was going to become its own being if it wasn't broken soon. She wanted to scream, to cry out, to smack him and have him swing back as long as it meant that SOMETHING would break this palpable silence. It lasted for minutes or hours, Kaiya could no longer tell how time affected it. She knew that everyone else in the inn was asleep. The lights had all been snuffed out. She could hear the heavy breathing and snoring of the other patrons in the inn, but she laid wide awake. And silent.

To her surprise, Mercer spoke first. "Are you asleep?"

"No." Her voice was shaky from disuse.

He did not respond with words. Instead, he rolled over in the dark until he hovered above where Kaiya lay, his face mere inches above hers. He paused for a moment, staring with brows knitted together at her face as if memorizing her features.

When the scrutiny became too much for Kaiya, she whimpered "Mercer?"

She watched a fire take over his eyes, his countenance becoming determined and resolute. He crushed his lips into hers, invading her space and her mouth with more of him. His tongue, his chest, his hands, they explored her in a way they never had. It was possession. It was domination. The sheer need from his actions lit a fire in Kaiya in return, causing her to reach out and grasp ahold of him.

In a frenzy, Mercer yanked off the undershirt and smallclothes that covered her before tearing at his own, snapping off his leathers and tossing them unceremoniously to the floor. As if the distance had pained him, he returned to her mouth with ferocity. He nipped and bit at her lips before exploring her mouth with this tongue. She responded in kind, opening up for him to have more, for him to take what he needed. With one hand balancing himself by her head, his other hand found its way to his shaft to prepare to enter her. He pumped it once, twice, ensuring he was ready before lining himself up and shoving it into her in one motion until he was completely sheathed inside her.

The action was aggressive and while it made her nervous to see him so raw and unbridled, it disturbed her even more that she liked it. A lot. She cried out as he entered her, giving no thought to any of the other patrons that may overhear their coupling. Her world was just this, just the two of them.

He began moving his hips in a quick rhythm, plunging deep with each thrust. She opened up wider in response, understanding what he wanted from her. He needed control. He needed her.

His hips began to snap faster and faster as he pummeled Kaiya's small frame into the mattress, his grunts becoming louder and more volatile. Sweat coursed down the hair on his chest as it slid across the smooth skin of the woman beneath him, the friction between them bringing the moment to a fever pitch.

It was wordless. An understanding. He was afraid. This was his way of staking claim, not of her as an object but almost as if he was announcing to the universe that she was his. As if he feared losing her. Or even worse, her being taken from him. He continued his rapid pace above her as his lips made their way to the skin beneath her ear, his breathing coming heavy and irregular as he moved. She ran her nails down his back and arched into him, giving him more of her. Giving him all.

She turned her head so that she could whisper into his ear as he grunted above her like a man possessed. "I'm yours" was all she said. All she could say. The meaning was clear and it ripped through his body like a shock.

His pace became more frantic as he responded, "Say it again."

"I'm yours."

They were reaching the precipice together. White spots began to cloud her vision as she neared the edge and his erratic pumps showed he wasn't far behind.

"You're mine," he growled in the most possessive voice she had ever heard.

That was it, the push she needed. Her vision exploded into stars as she careened over the edge and her body felt as if it were floating, every nerve ending alive and crackling with energy. He continued to thrust into her with deep, powerful movements until she could feel his body trembling from the nearness of his own climax. With a roar, his body stilled as he came, his head dropping into the space between her neck and shoulders. She drug her fingertips lightly over his back and shoulders as he released, his body releasing the tremors that had laid dormant all afternoon.

As his body began to lose shape and melt into her, he found the energy to speak once more. It was barely louder than a whisper but she heard it as if it were a shout.

"I'm yours."

Slowly, their heart rates returned to normal as they laid intertwined in the small bed of the inn. Instead of the relaxed state that Mercer usually found after sex, he seemed to still be on edge. He laid behind her, his chest pressed against her back and his arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders and stomach to hold her to him. She didn't mind, in fact she quite liked being held by Mercer that way. Silence began to seep back into the room, but this time it wasn't laced with dread. It seemed calmer, less loaded. Kaiya's fingertips slowly drug back and forth along the arm Mercer had around her chest and they seemed to find solace in this moment.

When Kaiya had assumed that Mercer had fallen asleep behind her, he surprised her by breaking the silence once again. "No matter what happens tomorrow Kaiya, know I meant what I said."

She didn't need to ask him what he meant. She knew. What she didn't know was what he expected to happen the next day. What was waiting for them in Snow Veil Sanctum?

Instead of letting her fear bleed into the moment, she kissed the arm that was wrapped around her chest and responded "me too."

At that, Mercer seemed to finally relax. Just as he was about to drift off to sleep however, a chuckle started to rise from his chest, catching Kaiya by surprise.

"What?" Kaiya asked, unsure if she should be worried by this change in his demeanor or not. He just continued to chuckle, the chuckle slowly turning into a laugh as he went.

"What?!" Kaiya asked again, a little more determined this time. He held her where she was, still needing her, but yet his body shook with laughter. When he got to a point where he could finally speak, he answered her question.

"Really Kaiya? Mercurio?"

Chapter Text

18th of First Seed 4E203

As Kaiya woke the next day, she felt a renewed sense of hope at not only the mission that laid before them, but with her relationship with the thief that shared her bed. The night before had ended better than she could have ever expected. She felt a smile creep across her face as she thought about it, slowly stroking the arm of the sleeping Mercer as her thoughts replayed in her mind.

I'm yours.

She felt her heart flutter a bit at the memory and her cheeks ached from smiling. She must have been smiling in her sleep. Kaiya NEVER smiled in her sleep. In her blissful state, she forced herself not to think of his more cryptic words: No matter what happens tomorrow…

How bad could it be?

Kaiya convinced herself that he had just never seen her in action and thus had no idea what she was capable of. That had to be it. Why else would he be so nervous about an encounter with a solitary Dunmer?

As if Mercer felt Kaiya wake next to him, he too began to rise. He sat up without a word and began searching around the room for his leathers that he had thrown the night before. Kaiya stayed laying in bed, a smile still firmly planted on her face.

"Good morning" she crooned, stretching out her sore muscles. She assumed Mercer didn't hear her since he didn't respond, so she stood and approached him before wrapping her arms around him from behind. "I said good morning!"

"I heard you the first time," he grumbled, removing her hands from his midsection as he continued the process of dressing.

Well that wasn't right. Kaiya had been blissed out by the night they had shared. They had overcome such an obstacle, finally telling each other they were committed! Hadn't they? She decided not to push her luck and instead mimicked Mercer's actions of finding her clothes that were strewn across the room.

After they had packed their bags in silence, they made their way out into the common room of the inn. Roggi and Iddra stood behind the counter, both smirking at the two thieves as they approached.

"Well good morning you two" Roggi teased before sipping from his tankard. "Sounds like you had a good night."

Kaiya blushed as she smiled but Mercer ignored their taunts. "What do you have that we could eat on the road?"

"We've got some cooked beef or salmon steak." Iddra responded without pause, but the look on Roggi's face showed concern. Kaiya was embarrassed knowing that he pitied her in that moment.

"We'll take the cooked beef" Mercer answered, tossing a few septims onto the counter in payment. He turned to leave before Kaiya had a chance to say goodbye to her friends, so she hurriedly hugged them before running out after Mercer. She tried to forget the look on Roggi's face as soon as she had laid eyes on it. She hated it when her friends worried about her.

The journey through Eastmarch and into Winterhold began the same as the first half of their journey had: in silence. Kaiya excitedly answered and responded to any question or statement Mercer gave her, but they were all just related to the voyage. Nothing personal. Nothing even business related. He was the same man he had been the day before, and it was consuming Kaiya. She wasn't worried before, but she sure was now.

"So what's the plan boss?" she finally asked as they passed by a giant encampment by the road. "Surely we can at least discuss the details of what you have planned?"

"We get in, we find Karliah. That's it. What else is there to know?"

"So just get in, kill the bitch and get out? Is that what you're saying?"

"Kill her?" Mercer stopped walking to face her, causing Kaiya to do the same. "Who said anything about killing her?"

"Well, I assumed that's what we were doing going after her and all. After everything she's done to the guild, I thought it was a logical plan?"

"No!" Mercer bellowed, approaching her so as not to cause a scene and attract the attention of the nearby giants. "I just want to talk to her. All we need to do is get her to listen."

"And how are we to do that?" Kaiya asked, her pitch going higher with confusion. "This is why we need to discuss the plan, Mercer."

"Keep walking" he instructed as he grabbed her elbow, leading her back to a brisk pace down the road. "We cannot afford to dally."

They walked that way until they were out of earshot of the giants before Mercer began speaking again. "I thought we'd get to her and then with the two of us, one of us could subdue her. I'd like that person to be you so that I can do the talking."

"Did you expect me just to know that?" she asked as she kicked a rock off the road. Mercer was usually so neurotic about planning, this was unlike him. He must really be frazzled.

"I thought I had told you that" he said quietly, almost where Kaiya couldn't hear him.

"See you've been so caught up in your own damn head you don't know what you've shared and what you haven't! If this is such an important job, don't you think you should have shared some of your thoughts with me?" Kaiya turned to look at Mercer as they walked, but his determined stride kept him facing forward.

"Enough!" he bellowed, his head snapping towards her to pin her with his gaze. "I tell you what you need to know. You now know everything you need to know. We get in, make our way through the traps I'm sure she's set and then find her. You subdue her in whatever way you wish, but keep her conscious and alive, Kaiya. I'll do the talking, okay?"

"Fine." She answered tersely, kicking another rock as she walked.

They made the rest of the way to the ruin in complete silence, without even the customary "quiet, there's a bear on your right" or "I'll take the wolf on the left" directions. By the time they made it to the ruin, Kaiya thought she might explode with tension. This was not a good way for two people to enter a dangerous ruin, much less a ruin with a vengeful Dunmer hiding in wait to ambush them.

"Before we go inside this ruin Mercer," her voice was jarring after such absolute silence, "I need to make sure we're ready. I've fought through these tombs before and they are no joke. I need to know you have my back like I've got yours. I need to know that we're okay because right now I don't have a lot of confidence in our teamwork."

He glared at her with a look of contempt she hadn't seen from him since she first joined the guild. "When we enter this ruin, you will go first and I will have your back. Do not run into any traps Kaiya and I will make sure that you make it out of here alive. We've fought together before in training, this is no different. Just some old bones wielding axes. Don't lose your head."

Kaiya stifled a retort as it rose in her throat, taking deep breaths through her nose to control her nerves. "Okay then, let's go."

"Wait" he spoke in a rough whisper. "There's her horse. We should take care of it."

"Are you done yet?" he asked as he wiped the blood off his Dwarven sword onto his trousers. Kaiya stood hunched over, holding onto the nearby tree for support, the cooked beef from the Braidwood Inn a putrid mess on the ground by her feet.

"You didn't have to kill the horse Mercer, what in the Oblivion!?" she spit as she spoke, relieving her stomach of its last remaining contents.

"I didn't want to risk it. Now clean yourself up. She'll be able to smell you from across the ruin at this rate." He offered his canteen to her although his eyes remained on the barrow before them.

Kaiya glared at him through her lashes but he never noticed. She accepted the canteen and rinsed the horrid taste out of her mouth. "Here" she grunted as she handed it back, popping a frost merriam leaf from her pockets in her mouth to hopefully relieve some of the aftertaste.

"Let's get going."

"It won't open Mercer, I'm not joking." Kaiya tried once again with her lockpicks to open the entrance to the barrow to no avail. "It's like I don't have a place to put my lockpick."

"Let me see" he stepped up and brushed her aside, turning so that she didn't have a clear view of his attempt at the door. "It just takes some skill, Footpad" he chastised with a bit of a smirk as the door popped open for him with ease.

"How in Oblivion did you do that?!" she asked, inspecting the door to see if there was a trick she had missed. "You have to show me that later!"

"I'm the godsdamned Guildmaster Kaiya," he joked openly now, a stark contrast to his demeanor just minutes before. Getting a bit of praise must have done wonders for his mood. "If I can't open a door then I shouldn't be in charge."

"Whatever you say Guildmaster" she laughed as she stepped inside the barrow past him. As soon as they crossed the threshold into the tomb, the mood shifted. No longer were they joking or even angry at each other, but instead both took on a calm focus, a determination to see this job through.

They made their way down the narrow steps into the barrow itself in crouched positions, both taking care to make as little noise as possible. The first room they entered had a chest surrounded by two standing sarcophagi.

"Well this is a trap if I've ever seen one" Kaiya whispered over her shoulder to Mercer. He responded with unsheathing his long Dwarven sword and dagger, the sound sending a thrum of adrenaline through her. She drew her sword as well, leaving her left hand open to cast spells. The feeling before the first fight was almost a high of its own, the excitement sparking in the air. She reached for the chest, the obvious trigger for the trap and took a deep breath to steady herself before yanking it open.

In unison, the coverings over the two sarcophagi fell open, clanging to the stone floor. The unmistakable sound of a draugr's snarl followed on Kaiya's right.

"This one's mine, you take the other" she directed her Guildmaster, no panic at all present in her voice. Mercer responded wordlessly, slashing out at the draugr she assigned him.

She formed the spell for Ebonyflesh in her left hand and cast it, the air snapping around her as the mage armor fell into place. Before the spell was completely finished, she had already begun to prepare the spell for Thunderbolt. The smell of shock magic was an old friend to her, the metallic, copper twinge that saturated the air around her hand as she held lightning itself in her palm.

The draugr stepped out of the sarcophagi and unsheathed his old, rusted sword from its moth eaten scabbard as he rushed towards her. She cast her prepared Thunderbolt spell in response, thrusting the energy bolt directly at the heart of the ancient corpse and causing him to stagger backward. Kaiya took the opportunity to swing hard with her dragonbone sword in an overhand arc, slamming the blade directly into the meat where the draugr's neck met his shoulder.

Slicing downwards with her sword to open his chest, Kaiya cast another Thunderbolt with her free hand before the draugr had a chance to recuperate. Using the momentum she gained from casting the spell, she spun on her heels, swinging the sword with her in a giant arc before making contact with the stumbling draugr once again. This blow was the final strike, causing the mummified remains to crumble with a croak before her. She spun around in time to see Mercer finishing his fight with his own draugr, a yell ripping from his chest as he spun in a flurry of weapons and struck the animated corpse down. Two down, who knew how many more to go.

As they panted lightly to catch their breath after the small victory, Kaiya walkedover to look into the open chest while Mercer looted the fallen corpses. "So how are we splitting up the spoils on this mission, Merc?" she asked as she eyed the contents. Inside were a few septims, some random weaponry of not much monetary value and a few potions. The loot was nothing exciting, but they should probably work out how the split would go anyway.

"How did you usually split the spoils when you would dungeon dive with your little boyfriends?" Mercer asked with a smirk as he pulled out a few old coins from the draugr's scraps of remaining armor.

"Boyfriends?" Kaiya asked with a laugh. "You mean the men that followed me into the bowels of Oblivion to face their own death because of their loyalty to me? Those boyfriends?"

"Whatever," he shrugged. "Did you split the spoils with them?"

"Sure," she agreed cautiously, feeling a trap coming from Mercer's tone. "I mean maybe not down the middle since I was taking the majority of the risks but it always worked out to their benefit."

"Mmhmm," Mercer hummed as he moved onto the second draugr corpse. "Those men who 'followed you into the bowels of Oblivion' weren't worthy of a half share?"

"I don't understand why this matters right now Mercer," Kaiya argued back defensively. "That was a lifetime ago when I was the hero of Skyrim. Now I'm a thief and I want my share."

"I bet you do" Mercer laughed as he poked at the draugr with his sword, moving the armor around without having to touch it. "Any reason why this draugr is smoking?"

"I zapped him with shock spells because I'm a badass spellsword, that's why." Kaiya cocked her hip to the side as she gloated. "Now speaking of my awesome fighting skills I'd like a fair share."

"How about this?" Mercer asked as his attention moved from the draugr to his companion, "How about we just haul what we can and then split it up afterwards?"

Kaiya eyed him suspiciously as she thought over his offer. "Sure..." she drawled out with narrowed eyes "but I'll be watching you Frey. Don't think I won't notice if you try to keep the good stuff for yourself."

"I thought we trusted each other," he said with a laugh as he jabbed his sword back into its sheath. "Was I wrong?"

She rolled her eyes at him in response. "Whatever 'Master Thief'" she taunted "let's keep going, shall we?"

They continued to make their way through the ruin in much the same fashion, teaming up against the walking dead, fighting side by side or back to back. Each small victory made them a more solid team and they could feel the mood between them improve with each battle. Before long they were joking in whispers, teasing each other just like the usually did. At one point after wiping out eight draugr deathlords, the two separated to go through all the loot.

They plundered through the chests, burial urns and corpses and their packs became heavier and heavier. As Kaiya was leaning over to inspect one of the female deathlords, she felt a nudge to her shoulder.

"Here," Mercer said as he unceremoniously handed her a silver amulet. "Don't say I never gave you anything."

At first she was taken aback with the gesture. It was almost romantic in his own way and she was surprised to see this come from him in the middle of a Nordic tomb of all places. She could feel the enchantment running over the silver but she could not tell what ability it held.

"What is this?" she asked, inspecting the silver closely to try to get a sense of the power it offered. "What is this enchanted with?"

"You tell me, Archmage" Mercer teased as he continued on with his pilfering.

She pulled down her hood so that she could slip the necklace over her head thinking that she may be able to get a sense of the enchantment if she were to wear it. Immediately, she felt her lungs tighten in response. She knew what this was.

"You ass," she joked as she took the amulet off and stuffed it in a pocket on her guild leathers. "That amulet is practically useless."

"Hey you're the one that tends to get in over your head," he said as he laughed. "You'll need it before I do."

"Har har" she mocked before letting the conversation drop. Even if it was a worthless enchantment and the amulet would not fetch much coin, she still felt a flutter in her stomach at the thought of Mercer giving it to her. She wasn't one to turn down a gift. She may never get another one.

As Mercer continued to search the fallen bodies, Kaiya decided to head up the nearby set of stairs that had been patrolled by one of the slain deathlords before. When she reached the top of the stairs she came to a quick stop, immediately identifying another trap.

"Mercer!" she called out to him since she may need some help if they were going to make it out with that model ship that sat on a pedestal in the middle of the room. It was the lanterns hanging overhead that gave her pause, considering the entire floor of the room was covered in an oil slick.

"What? What is it?" he responded as he jogged up the stairs after her before laying eyes on the trap for himself. "Oh shadows preserve me, are you really thinking of setting off this trap for that stupid boat?"

"I think Delvin would love it," Kaiya responded in awe, her eyes not wavering from the pedestal in which the ship sat. "Plus, we can do this come on!" she nudged him with her elbow at that, bringing out a grunt of displeasure.

"And how do you intend to get it unscathed?" Mercer asked as he crossed his arms, brows raised in inquisition. "You can't just light up the floor around it and think it'll still be worth something."

"No, I was thinking I'd just grab it and run away really fast." Her eyes told Mercer she had made up her mind; there was no talking her out of it.

"All right, it's your face" he relented as he started back down the stairs "and I'm not going to stick around to watch you ruin it."

"Are you saying you like my face?" Kaiya called out to his back as he walked away, her perpetual need to have the last word showing even now. Mercer just grunted in response, not wanting to say anything incriminating in either direction. Smart man.

Kaiya walked into the room, her feet cautiously stepping as lightly as possible through the oil. She decided she'd just jump off the balcony back to the level below after she grabbed the ship, so she angled herself towards the opening. With the ship firmly in the grip of her closest hand, she Shouted.

WULD NAH KEST!

She sprung off the balcony in a blur and landed on the level below with the model ship in hand. She even had time to shoot a grin at the bewildered Mercer before the trap sprung into action above them. Maybe she had been right before. Maybe he was nervous just because he didn't know what she was capable of. He schooled his expression back to his perpetual scowl before she could say anything about the surprise clear in his arched brows.

"Well great I'm glad you got your little toy" he mumbled flatly as he motioned for her to walk ahead of him. "Now if you're done can we continue?"

She just grinned at him in response as she stored the model ship in her pack. "You can say whatever you like Mercer, you were worried about my face." Before he had a chance to retort, she spun on her heels and headed towards what she assumed to be the way forward. Mercer followed without a word.

They continued on through the catacombs of the sanctum, fighting off draugr as they went. Kaiya laughed at Mercer's taunts, the provocations he shouted at the stumbling deathlords even though he constantly berated her on what he saw as her inability to stay quiet. She shrugged off all his gripes about her "being noisy for someone who claims to be a thief" with a lopsided grin. Pestering as he was, she adored their dynamic of tossing quips and barbs at each other. He was able to keep up with her and very few others could say the same.

In a fight with a particularly brutal deathlord, she found herself laughing at his jabs as she fought. The deathlord shouted them both into the wall, their bodies bruised and battered from the force. As they clawed their way back to their feet, Mercer yelled out "you've just written your own epitaph!" before launching himself at the embattled corpse. Kaiya joined him with her sword and spells, but she could not stop the laughter that ripped out of her as she swung with as much strength as she could muster. The chuckle in her throat stopped a Shout before it could even form but before long, the two thieves worked the deathlord down until he took a knee before them in surrender. Mercer dealt the final blow and scoffed "that wasn't a fight, it was an execution" as he sheathed his sword.

Kaiya couldn't hold it in any longer. She fell to the ground, holding her stomach as her body vibrated and shook. Tears streamed out of her eyes as she tried to keep her laughter contained, as she tried to be quiet through her fit.

"What in the Oblivion are you doing? You're laughing? In the middle of this crypt?" He ran his hand through his hair before grabbing at her shoulder to get her to stand. "Get up Kaiya they're going to hear us!"

"Hear us, because of ME?" she squeaked out as he forced her to her feet. "Mercer, really!? You're the one shouting 'your blood will adorn my blade' with all your might, give me a break!"

Mercer then did something she never expected. He laughed too. It started as a chuckle and then started coming out with a force that made his lungs hurt. "They can't understand me, can they?" he asked as he doubled over, his hands on his knees.

"No!" she cried out as she wiped the tears that had started spilling over the bottom of her eyelids. "That's what's so great about it! Because you MEAN it!"

They laughed together for a few minutes longer, the guffaws slowly turning into exhausted chuckles. Mercer stood to his full height and looked over at Kaiya with an expression that went straight through her. He looked bashful, as if he had been caught doing something embarrassing. Just the sight of that look on his face hit her right in her heart, endearing him to her more than ever. She grabbed at him and pulled him into a hug as their laughter ended and he hugged her back in kind. She took the opportunity to take in his scent - sweat and leather, water and stone.

"What are you thinking about?" Mercer asked her as she squeezed him tighter. He knew something was going on in that head of hers.

She pulled back to look him in the eyes. "Do you ever have that feeling when something particularly horrible or funny or endearing happens where you know immediately that it's going to be one of those memories you never forget? Like years from now you'll still be able to remember the sights, smells, thoughts you had, all of it... that happened in that particular moment?"

"Uh, yeah probably?" Mercer answered as if it were a question although he knew where she was headed with this train of thought.

"Yeah that was one of those moments for me, so thank you." She gave him the sweetest smile she ever had and she could see it register in him as he looked at her.

"Well you're welcome" he mumbled as he ran his hand through his hair, clearly uncomfortable from the attention. "We should get going."

A peaceful quiet fell over them as they straightened out their leathers and got their equipment back together, a familiar pause that neither of them felt the need to fill.

Until Kaiya heard it. The sound of distant chanting, although she knew it was calling to her from somewhere nearby. "Sweet Sithis there's a word wall in here!" Kaiya exclaimed as she clamored forward in the direction she heard the noise.

"A what?" Mercer asked as he scrambled to keep up with her. She jogged towards the back of the room before she laid eyes on it. A semi circle of white stone, carved with an ancient language that called out to her like a chorus. The chanting grew louder as she approached. And louder. She could see nor hear anything else but the wall itself, three draconic symbols beginning to stand out to her amongst the rest.

"Viik," she whispered to herself as the understanding began to flow into her. This experience never lost its potency for Kaiya; each time felt just like the first. Her hair whipped around as the chanting grew to a crescendo, the very meaning of the word flowing through her. "Defeat" she spoke in reverence, giving thanks to the word for revealing itself for her.

And then it was over.

"What. The Oblivion. Was that?" Mercer asked cautiously, his voice as even as possible considering the look on his face was that of disbelief.

"That was a word wall" she responded with a shrug before moving away from the stone towards her companion. "Shouts."

"You... you just looked like you were on another plane for a second," he said, his face pale with the memory. "Did you just absorb a shout from that wall?"

"Uh, not exactly..." she trailed off as she thought of a way to explain it. "But we'll go with that for now until we have time later. For now, yes, I absorbed a shout from the wall."

His mouth hung open as she passed by him with a wink, confident that he had completely underestimated her before this trip. It made so much sense now why he was so nervous before. He had NO idea what she was truly capable of.

This was going to be easy.

Chapter Text

18th of First Seed 4E203

"Careful!" Mercer called out as he hastily grabbed Kaiya's waist. "Do you not see all the bear traps?"

Kaiya looked down, her eyes scanning the short hallway they found themselves in. It was very familiar to her. They were in a hall of stories. Mercer wasn't wrong about the bear traps however, the soft light from the torches along the walls caught the metal all across the floor and made it shine.

"We've got a bigger problem than these bear traps Merc," she exclaimed as she leaned back into him, his arm still firmly strapped around her waist. "We don't have a claw for that door up there."

He released her and nudged her forward with a hand at the small of her back. They began tiptoeing through the set traps before them, careful not to set any off to alert Karliah to their presence. Or to snap through one of their legs.

"Ah, it's one of the infamous Nordic puzzle doors," Mercer answered as they approached the door. "How quaint."

"Quaint?" Kaiya whispered through clenched teeth. "We can't get in if we don't have the claw."

Mercer arched an eyebrow as he shot her a smug look before responding. "You're right. Without the matching claw, these doors are normally impossible to open. And since I'm certain Karliah already did away with it, we're on our own."

"So we're just giving up?" Kaiya asked with exasperation. "But we're almost there!"

"I didn't say that," he said with a smirk. "Fortunately, these doors have a weakness if you know how to exploit it. Quite simple, really."

Mercer moved where once again his back was to Kaiya so she did not have a clear view of what he was doing at the door. Abruptly however, he stopped moving and stood completely still, his eyes staring at his hands as if he were in deep thought.

He stood that way for several heartbeats. Kaiya was so nervous she dared not breathe and break his concentration. Suddenly, he pushed himself away from the door and came hurriedly towards her, three long strides making up the distance between them. With a gentleness contrary to the intensity coming off of him in waves, he held her face in his hands, tilting her head up to look into her eyes. His gaze roamed her face, once again giving Kaiya the impression that he was memorizing her features as if this was the last time he'd ever see her. It shot fear through her heart like a spear, her stomach clenching with anxiety at the meaning behind his actions.

"Mercer, I…" she began but before she could utter another word, his lips were on hers. The kiss was wild, passionate and so full of need it made tears form in Kaiya's eyes. He kissed her hungrily though his hands never moved from her face. Kaiya immediately understood what this was. This was goodbye.

She kissed him back just as fervently at her realization, her hands making their way up into his hair and holding on as if she could keep him there with her strength alone. She breathed in his scent, committing as much to memory as she was capable. Water on stone. The feeling of his hair slipping through her fingers. The scar on his lips and how it felt against her tongue. His barely audible grunts that she could feel reverberate through his chest. If this was to be their end, then she would not let a detail slip away.

As quickly as it began, Mercer pulled back and ended their kiss. The look in his eyes was crazed, the green flashing and glittering in the soft torchlight of the hall. She knew her eyes were glistening with tears but she didn't shy away. She let him see them. Let him see that she understood.

With a shaky voice he finally spoke, bringing their current predicament back into the forefront of their thoughts. "Karliah's close. I'm certain of it. Now let's get moving."

With that, he broke away from her and made his way back to the puzzle door, picking up right where he had left off. Kaiya felt the absence in his presence as if it were part of her that was missing. She took a deep breath through her nose to steady her nerves and released it out her mouth. Steady yourself, Kaiya. One more breath.

"I'm ready."

With a loud pop, the puzzle door gave under Mercer's ministrations and began to open. He looked over and let his eyes lock onto hers one more time before she stepped in front of him to lead the way into the room. Slowly the door lowered. Once her eyes could see into the room, she began scanning, looking for any sign of where Karliah was. She readied herself for the Aura Whisper shout, but it was too late.

With a sickening crack, Kaiya felt the arrow penetrate her chest right above her heart. The room spun and went out of focus. She felt no pain. She reached out for Mercer who looked on in horror as she slowly crumbled to the floor. She tried to focus. Must get to Karliah.

Then there was darkness.

It started in the center. A soft light, directing her attention to where she should look. The light grew as her vision began to slowly come back into focus. She could see Mercer standing at attention with his blades drawn. Then she made out the form that she assumed was Karliah. She felt hatred bubble up in her stomach, a raw, acidic burn that slowly made its way through her veins. She wanted to scream, to Shout, to charge at the Dunmer with her blades drawn and slice into her pretty neck. But she could do none of those things, for she was still on the ground. The edges of her vision remained dark, whether from the effects of her wound or from the actual darkness of the tomb, she could not say.

Then, she heard them speak.

"Did you honestly bring me here to put an arrow through my heart?"

It was Mercer. Kaiya could hear the shock in his voice. She wanted to yell at him to kill the Dunmer, to give up on the plan to talk! But she could not speak.

"Give me a reason not to try."

Bitch I know you didn't. Her anger roared.

"You're a clever girl, Karliah. You should know when you've no options but to listen, but you insist on violence."

Just kill her already Mercer! She's not going to listen!

"I have not killed you yet, have I?"

Kaiya felt the fire of her anger turn to ice at Karliah's threat. No. She couldn't take Mercer. Kaiya tried to get up, tried to move enough to do SOMETHING to help him, but she laid motionless and paralyzed on the cold, stone floor.

"No, just shot my companion here and tried to bankrupt the guild. I must admit, buying Goldenglow Estate and funding Honningbrew Meadery was inspired."

His companion? Was he complimenting her? Kaiya felt the anger start to bubble up in her veins once again but she tried to tamp it down. Mercer was crafty, maybe he was just buying time?

"'To ensure an enemy's defeat, you must first undermine his allies.' It was the first lesson Gallus taught us."

How dare she mention Gallus? The fiery anger returned with a vengeance.

"You always were a quick study."

Another compliment?

"Not quick enough, otherwise Gallus would still be alive."

What?! Kaiya felt her blood run cold.

"You were a quick study, but you've always been a terrible listener."

What was happening?

"I told you I would never listen to your lies! Did you forget the Oath we took as Nightingales? Did you expect Gallus to simply ignore your methods?"

What was she talking about? What are Nightingales? Why has Mercer not mentioned any of this?

"I told you I wasn't the one behind it all, Karliah."

What!? It was Karliah, wasn't it?

"And yet you were the one behind the blade that found Gallus's heart."

No. The blood in Kaiya's heart froze over. She felt as though her heart would not continue beating.

"Karliah, if you would just listen! You were in danger! You still are in danger!"

What was he saying?

"Yes, from you. I'm no fool, Mercer. Crossing blades with you would be a death sentence. But I can promise you the next time we meet, it will be your undoing."

She feared him. Was Mercer the villain all along?

"Karliah you're not in danger from me! You-"

But it was too late. Karliah had vanished. Kaiya was still paralyzed although her mind was awake. She wished it wasn't. She found herself hoping and praying that the poison would take over her body, take over her veins. Make it where she couldn't think anymore. Where she couldn't process the information she just heard. But poison was never so kind. She felt the warmth of a single tear streak down her cheek, followed closely by another. There was no sound, no whimpering, no evidence of the sorrow inside her except for the two pale streaks across otherwise dirty cheeks.