Claimed: A Thieves Guild Fanfiction [Revised&Edited]

Chapter 24

 Brynjolf stomped out of the Nightingale Hall to find Karliah waiting for him by the entrance. "I take it she declined your offer," she noted as he walked out.

"Yes," Brynjolf stated shortly, trying to keep his fiery anger in check.

Karliah raised an eyebrow and studied his face. "There's something else. The two of you had a falling out. What happened?"

Brynjolf sighed and decided to tell Karliah the truth, or at least part of it, "She kissed me." Karliah's eyebrow climbed higher. "Then she showed me who she really was." Brynjolf couldn't keep the contempt out of his voice. Karliah only nodded and began to walk down the path that led away from the Hall. She didn't ask who Arsha was, which Brynjolf was glad for. He wasn't sure he could tell anyone without revealing a whole lot of emotions he would prefer to stay hidden.

Brynjolf shook his head to clear it. He had to focus on the task at hand. He was not going to let Mercer get away again. He jogged down the path to catch up to Karliah.

They reached the Riften stables about half an hour later. The plan was to use a pair of horses to travel as far as Shore's Stone today where they would camp for the night. Brynjolf glanced at the sky. According to the sun, it was about noon. They needed to get going if they planned to reach Shor's Stone before sundown.

Brynjolf hopped on his horse and turned it down the road. Karliah took off and he followed her. They rode in silence for about an hour until Karliah said, "This... disagreement you and Arsha had, it won't distract you from our goal, will it?"

"No," Brynjolf declared firmly. "I'll deal with Arsha later, but for now Mercer is our top priority. Nothing can change that. He is going to pay for the crimes he committed against the Guild and against-" Brynjolf stopped speaking abruptly. He had been about to say "against Arsha". Mercer had left her to bleed out in a frozen tomb, and earlier today that had been one of the main reasons Brynjolf was hungry for Mercer's blood, but now? 'No,' he scolded himself. 'Don't think about her.'

The rest of the trip went much the same way. They rode mostly in silence which left Brynjolf to his thoughts. He would think about some random thing and eventually, the line of thought would lead him back to Arsha. Whenever it did he shut his mind down for a few minutes before tentatively following another train of thought only to have the same thing happen again and again.

By the time Shor's Stone came into sight Brynjolf was more than happy to set up his tent just outside of the mining town, set a few traps just in case, and go to sleep. For once his sleep was free of dreams, something that unnerved him almost as much as the dreams themselves did.

Arsha reached Shor's Stone an hour after sundown. She spied two tents just outside of the town and figured they must be Brynjolf and Karliah's. She pitched her own a little farther away from the town and deeper in the woods. Then she went out to hunt some dinner. She returned with a dead elk which she cleaned and dressed. A few minutes later she had a small fire going. Once the meat was cooked she divided it into three portions, set hers aside, and went to offer some to Karliah. Their tents came into view and, to Arsha's great relief, she saw that Brynjolf's was occupied. He was out cold.

Karliah was sitting on a log nearby keeping watch. She saw Arsha coming and Arsha raised a hand in greeting. Karliah stood and walked toward her. There was a question written on Karliah's face. Arsha sighed and gestured for Karliah to follow her as she walked back to her camp. Once they reached her camp Arsha sat down and gestured for Karliah to do the same. She did and opened her mouth to speak.

"Before you ask, eat. I know you and Bryn haven't eaten all day." Karliah raised an eyebrow but accepted the food Arsha offered. Arsha waited for Karliah to finish her meal, not touching her own plate. She had no appetite.