Skyrim | Thief Of Hearts | DISCONTINUED

11.

{Mercer POV}

There was a huge amount of ruckus going on in the Ragged Flagon. I looked up from my work, my eyes narrowing towards the entrance of the cistern. 'You, barman, get me some rags and a bucket of hot water, please. Blondie, could you please get some alcohol, mead, ale, it doesn't matter. You there, Dirge guy, could you get me bandages?' The voice was somewhere extremely familiar, but I couldn't lay a finger on it. Suddenly, Brynjolf stumbled into the cistern, held up by a girl in a long black cloak, a grey wolf following them. Bryn seemed to be in pain and not a little also. They didn't seem to notice me behind my desk. The girl placed Brynjolf onto one of the beds and helped him out of his armor. On the Guild's best mans shoulder was a gaping wound, pressed on by a dirty rag to keep blood from gulping out. 'Lass, I'll manage, really!' 'No you don't. You helped me, so now I am going to help you.' My eyes scanned the girl that was peeling the blood stained rag from Brynjolfs wound. She held a certain type of charm that made me look a bit closer. 'Ah, the water! Thank you, barman.' 'Name's Vekel.' She nodded and drenched one of the rags in the bucket that Vekel placed next to her. 'Alright, let's clean this up.' Brynjolf clenched his jaw as the damp cloth touched his injury. 'I have to wash the blood off before I can disinfect it. I'm sorry if it hurts.' The lass gently dabbed (DAAAB XD) the wound and a long gash became visible under the dried blood. 'Now what did you exactly do?' I pretended to be reading, but meanwhile I fully concentrated on the conversation. 'I had to run when one of the guards saw me slip the letter under the door of the jarl's longhouse.' The girl hummed and inspected the wound. I couldn't help it, but my eyes kept going back to her every few seconds. 'It looks clean now. Blondie, can you pass me the alcohol, please?' 'It's Vex for you.' 'Alright.' The (h/c) girl pulled out the cork and carefully poured the alcoholic beverage over Brynjolfs wound. Bryn hissed in pain. 'It stings.' 'I know.' She kept pouring until the wound looked extremely clean and took a bandage from Dirge. She wrapped it around the injury very carefully and smiled. 'That's that.' 'Thank you, (Y/n). I feel better now.' Oh, so that was the thief everyone was talking about. I stood up and cleared my throat. 'So, you're that (Y/n) I presume?' She looked up, (e/c) eyes meeting mine. 'Hello, sir. Indeed, my name is (Y/n).' I shook her hand, which was incredibly soft for a thief. 'My name's Mercer Frey, the Guildmaster. Everyone just wouldn't stop talking about you. Are you really as good as they say you are?' She smiled a bit, looking at her feet. 'Is that what they say about me?' As she looked up again, I saw that a pink hue had dusted her cheeks. 'They say you are a legendary one, lass! Mainly Brynjolf if we are being more specific!' She blushed even more and looked at Brynjolf. 'Is that so?' The gingers face turned a shade of red and he looked away. 'You are pretty good, yes.' I grinned and decided to tease my friend even more about his little crush. 'He was determined to get you for our Guild. Still, you will need to prove yourself to me, lass.' She looked at me again and folded her hands behind her back. 'Yes sir.' I smiled inwardly about her attitude towards me. 'Well miss, before we continue, I want to make one thing perfectly clear. If you play by the rules, you walk away rich. You break the rules and you lose your share. No debates, no discussions... you do what we say, when we say. Do I make myself clear?' (Y/n) nodded. 'Of course, sir.' 'Good. Then I think it's time we put your expertise to the test.' Brynjolf made a sound of disapprovement which made us turn towards him. 'Wait a moment, you're not talking about Goldenglow, are you? Even our little Vex couldn't get in!' I straightened my back and looked at Brynjolf with narrowing eyes. 'Are you starting to doubt her all of a sudden? You claim this recruit possesses an aptitude for our line of work. If so, let her prove it.' I turned to the girl again and looked her in the eye. 'Goldenglow Estate is critically important to one of our largest clients. However, the owner has suddenly decided to take matters into his own hands and shut us out. He needs to be taught a lesson. Brynjolf will provide you with the details.' With that, I spun around and walked back to my desk. I heard Brynjolf talk to her behind me. The reason I gave her the job wasn't because I doubted her skill, I only doubted if she was able to kill if it was necessary. If I would be completely honest with myself I would say she was pretty, beautiful even, and I was curious how she would handle it if she had to slit ones throat. As I returned to my desk and sat down behind it, I saw Brynjolf walk up to me as (Y/n) walked towards the Ragged Flagon. 'Mercer, why in heaven did you give her that bloody difficult job?' He was genuinely scared of her safety. I smirked. 'Why, afraid for her well-being?' Brynjolf blushed. 'Ah, yes, she is a friend! Of course I fear her death.' I leaned back and tilted my head. 'Is she special to you, Brynjolf?' He stared angrily at the ground. 'Just tell me why you did this to me, to her!' 'As I said, I want to put her expertise to the test. See if she is so fantastic as everyone says she is when it comes to the real job.' Brynjolf huffed and turned to walk away. 'Where are you going?' 'Away from you.' I frowned and smirked. 'You really like her, do you?' Silence. I heard him swallow before he looked back at me. His eyes held something I'd never seen before. He pointed a dangerous finger at me, his voice two octaves lower then usual. 'Listen to me closely, Mercer Frey. If anything happens to (Y/n), then I will hold you responsible!'