#why is she called goldenglow when she's pin

[actuallykiwi]

Once a Thief... Chapter 7: Familiarity

There it was again. That clear, beautiful lake in the middle of the forest, transparent enough to see all the little fish swimming underneath, undisturbed by the world outside. The little girl stepped over to the shore, and looked to see if she could see her reflection. She was expecting to see a bloodied, scared little child holding onto her dress as if it was the only comfort in this world. Instead, looking back at her was a strong, beautiful, fierce young woman, with only a fading scar where the pain on her eye should be. She smiled, a sense of peace suddenly upon her. The water looked so clear, so inviting. Surely just one little dip in the cool water wouldn’t hurt. She fell forward, expecting to feel the gentle sensation of the lake...

And instead fell face-first onto the wooden floor.  Cimber groaned as she sat up and rubbed where her nose had taken the impact. “You alright up there, sweetie?” The innkeeper called when she heard the thud and Cimber’s yelp of pain. “Fine, just a little clumsy. Ugh..” She stood and stopped the slow trickle of blood before gathering her things. After eating some breakfast and a pleasant conversation with Hulda the innkeeper, she made her way back to the Whiterun stables, just after the sun had risen. With how early she had gotten up, this carriage ride felt much faster, mainly because she kept falling asleep. 

Around noon, they had arrived back at Riften, and Cimber made her way to the Bee and Barb to speak to Maven. “I trust you have good news for me..?” Maven drawled as she walked up to the same chair she was sitting in last meeting. “Indeed. Sabjorn is taken care of, and here’s the information you requested.” 

Maven quietly took the note and perused it quickly. “This doesn’t tell me much. The only thing that could identify Sabjorn’s partner is this odd little symbol.” 

“Yeah, I’ve seen it before...” Cimber thought aloud. “Well, whoever this mysterious marking represents, they’ll regret starting a war with me. You should bring this information to your guild immediately. And about your payment..” she handed her a steel dagger, “I believe you’ll find this more than adequate for your job well done.” 

It wasn’t. After a few minutes of haggling with the blacksmith, Cimber got 35 septims for it. “Better than nothing, I suppose..” she sighed. 

With barely any more gold than she had left with, Cimber dropped down into the cistern and found Brynjolf in the training room. “Word on the street is that poor Sabjorn has found himself in Whiterun’s prison. How unfortunate for him.” 

“Yet very fortunate for Maven,” she smirked. 

Brynjolf laughed. “Exactly! Now you’re beginning to see how our little system works. She sent word that you’ve discovered something else while you were out there. Something important to the guild?” 

She nodded. “The same symbol from Goldenglow was involved.” 

“Then this is beyond coincidence. First Aringoth and now Sabjorn. Someone’s trying to take us down by driving a wedge between Maven and the guild...” He crossed his arms and appeared to be in deep thought. 

“Is there anything we can do?” She asked. “That’s what we’re looking into right now. In the meantime, let’s talk...” He grinned and pulled out his sword. 

“Uh, I don’t know if you guys were raised differently here in Skyrim, but in Valenwood, we talk with our voices, not our weapons. That’s called fighting.” 

Brynjolf laughed and spun his sword teasingly. “Sparring now, actually. And if you can’t talk and focus on your fighting at the same time, you’ve got a lot to learn, lass. Multitasking is one of a thief’s greatest skills.” 

Cimber chuckled and drew a sword from the weapon rack. “Alright, you’ve convinced me. Let’s see what you’ve got.” 

 “So, continuing from before, you moved to Skyrim because...?” He asked as their swords began clanging from parrying. “Well like I said before, my dad was from here, so I just thought that I’d return here, to kind of honor his passing, y’know?” She spun as he tried to disarm her, unsuccessfully. 

“Now I know that’s a lie, or at least not the whole truth. You said your father died years ago, right? So why move back to Skyrim now?” More clanging. “Heh, well, it has a lot to do with becoming a thief...” She somersaulted backwards as he begun taking wider swings. “Impressive. Were you just getting caught too much back home?” He teased. “Well, no, that’s the thing...” She became quiet as they fought, her focus almost solely on where her blade was landing now. Brynjolf seemed to consider her for a moment and stepped away momentarily. “I’m gonna guess it has something to do with that scar...” 

She touched where the fading scar rested below her left eye. “Yeah... But that’s a story for another time. Too busy kicking your butt.” She grinned and began swinging at him, and he chuckled and matched her movements. She began asking questions about him, and eventually they both began to become a little worn. “No wonder you decided to come here. Wow...” she told him, slightly panting. He nodded. “Everyone has their secrets. You look awfully tired...” She shrugged, “I was up really early this morning, and-AH!” She cried out in surprise as lunged for her and had her pinned to the floor in moments, sword hovering over her throat and face just over hers. “I was wondering why you were a little sluggish today...” he murmured teasingly. 

Cimber blushed and peered up at him. “Cheater.” He laughed and she couldn’t help but laugh too, until the moment was interrupted by a very aggressive clearing of the throat from the other side of the room. 

“Cimber. A word, if you would.” Mercer growled as he turned and left the training room. Now Brynjolf was a little red in the face as he got off of Cimber and helped her to her feet. “Glad Mercer isn’t much of a gossip. Rumors could begin to fly from that.” He shook his head. 

“What, you don’t want them to?” She teased and he laughed softly. “Nothing is ever hidden in this guild, lass. Guess you’d better go see what he wants. I’ve never seen him that angry before. Just don’t be so sluggish with him, alright?” 

“I was tired and you caught me off guard!” She playfully shoved him as she began to walk out. 

“Excuses, excuses.”

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