The art of thieving

Chapter 7

A/N - I hope you appreciate the memes I scour the internet for. 

Also this chapter is shorter than usual, hope you don't mind ;-;

Iniko jumped up - gasping at the sudden pain she felt in the pit of her stomach, she looked down. She'd been wrapped up and somewhat healed.

The words of Brynjolf and Sapphire ringing in her ears. The memories of her last moments with them.. the last kiss her and Bryn shared. Was she dead? Was this death? Seems disappointing. 

"What the-" 

"Whoa, whoa! Don't get up so fast." a quiet voice emerged from the shadows and lay her back down with ease.

"Who are-" Iniko looked into the violet eyes of the woman who was re wrapping her injury. She suddenly realised. That was Karliah. She shot her then Mercer stabbed her, that was not her day. 

"Wait a moment, you shot me." Iniko's memories came flooding back. What was going on?  The dark elf finished bandaging Iniko's wound and rummaged around in her belongings and brought out a slice of cheese and bread. 

"Here you must be starving, you were asleep for nearly 2 weeks" two weeks? "And I didn't shoot to kill you. If I had meant to kill you we wouldn't be having this conversation. In fact I saved you." 

Iniko took the food graciously, "What do you mean?" 

"My arrow had a unique paralytic poison on it. It slowed your heart and bleeding." Iniko cocked her head in confusion.

"Why save me? Why didn't you just shoot Mercer?" she had so many questions. 

Karliah sighed. "My original plan was to shoot Mercer, yes." Iniko finally realised why he told her to go first. Rage filled her as he basically used her as a human shield. "I made a split decision to get you out of the way and it saved your life.." 

Iniko finished the food, hungry gargles slightly put at bay. "Why should I believe you..?" her trust took a hit after Mercer. How did she know Karliah was any better? 

"Without the antidote I gave you you still wouldn't be able to move. I treated your wounds and didn't leave you defenceless." the elf nodded to Iniko's weapons lying beside her. "The poison on that arrow took me a year to perfect, I only had enough for one." she answered indifferently.

"Oh. Then I'm in your debt.." something in Iniko told her that she was trust worthy.

Karliah nodded gratefully. "More than you'll ever realise." Karliah handed Iniko a bag full of water and Iniko drank about a quarter of it, even she didn't realise how dehydrated she had become. 

Karliah looked over at her horse mournfully then returned to the conversation. "All I had hoped was to bring back Mercer alive." 

"Why?" the pain in Iniko's side was getting more bearable by the minute as she felt it close up, as she finished re fuelling her strength started to come back too.  

"Mercer must be brought up in front of the guild to answer for what he's done, he needs to pay for Gallus' murder.." her voice trailed off. 

So Mercer killed Gallus, not Karliah. Iniko went to fiddle with the ring and went cold with dread when it wasn't on her finger. She shot back up. 

"Where's the ring I was wearing? I can't loose it-" 

"Calm down - I put everything unnecessary that you were wearing into your bag, it should be in one of the front compartments." Iniko calmed as the now cold ring slipped onto her finger. She suddenly really missed Brynjolf, was he worried? Did he even miss her?