Walk with Shadows

Uncomfortable Silence

Her red eyes met the Dunmer's purple, but she was still silent. The woman held out a hand to her but Gwen sprung up on her own, pulling out her dagger and dropping into a stance. In spite of the pain that made her wince. "Whoa... Calm down." Gwen growled, narrowing her eyes to slits.

"You shot me." She seethed through her clenched teeth.

"Yes, and I think you owe me an apology for taking that arrow instead of Mercer. I had to shoot you, he was using you as a shield. I made sure not to hit anything vital. You're a Bosmer, you should know that. The position that tipped the arrow stopped you from bleeding out, too. The bastard stabbed you. It is lucky that I wanted to take him alive. I cultivated that poison for years..." She sighed. "Check your stomach. I was careful with your armor, it looked custom and I don't wrap others as well as I would myself but I treated it as best I could."

The woman lowered her dagger slowly and placed a hand on her stomach. She felt a twinge of pain. She took a deep breath and felt the pain radiate deeper. Her fuzzy memory came slowly back with every unreal pound of her brain. Her long ears twitched replaying his gruff voice as she passed out. 'You're not my problem anymore. He will heal.' Her head whipped back up to Karliah, staring in wonder at the woman. Her face was stern towards Gwen but she was not rude. "Why... Why did you need him alive?"

She smiled a little and folded her arms over her chest. "That's your first question? Not why your leader did this? Ah, well- I needed him. He is the only one that can make them believe the truth. The truth he's been lying about for decades. That he killed my beloved. He was my ticket back into the guild and my home. He would have the proof. Ironic that I needed the one who wrecked my life in order to get it back."

Gwen cleared her throat, feeling sympathy for Karliah. That was true the moment she looked at the Dumer and seeing her like this clicked with a few odd encounters with Brynjolf and the guild. The way they look at him when with her sometimes was always strange. She eased all the way now, looking into her eyes. "The truth... Mercer loves to lie. Anything to get his way. You really didn't kill him, did you?"

She shook her head. "I loved Gallus." She whispered. "With everything I am. We were nightingales... Along with Mercer. Sworn to protect Nocturnal and her sanctum." She shook her head. "Mercer... He killed Gallus and framed me when we found him stealing a rare artifact. One that can unlock any door. It angered the prince and the dark cloud looming over my family was the price of my failure. The skeleton key is very powerful. We need to return it! He is-"

"I get it Karliah." She placed her hand in the air, prompting the Dunmer to nod and retreat as Gwen spoke. "I... I never trusted Mercer. From the moment I met him I got a bad feeling. Had I not cared about the guild, I would have left. He's taken pleasure in lying to me about people. He's tried to hurt me independent of trying to kill me recently. My family... Told me to follow my intuition. It says to trust you. Tell me about the nightingales on the way."

Karliah raised a brow. "You're family? Wait... On our way, where?"

"The brotherhood..." She spoke softly. "The guild was a hobby, my actual family is darker than that. We are going to the guild. Your home. I cannot let Mercer dig his claws into Bry- them anymore."

"Wait..." She placed a hand on her shoulder. The women stare into each other's eyes for a while, before Karliah nodded slowly and then continued. "You are close to Brynjolf... He was just a teenager when I was exiled. You care for him? What's your name?"

"Gweneith. I... do. Care for him. He, doesn't know the depths. I think... it's love and I hate it. I would like to keep it this way." She grunted, holding her stomach a little harder. "So imagine how scared I am to meet him again with someone he thinks is a murderer of someone he loved. He may never speak to me again. Getting over the hurdle that is me just being an assassin and Bosmer to be his friend was hard but, this is the kick that breaks the dam open. But you deserve your home more than I deserve attention from a man. He also deserves not to be hurt by his friend, again." She shook her head. "Make them listen. You don't have Mercer, but you have me. I know what he said. I have the wound. We will make them listen. At least one of them might. Then I will go home, where I belong and not look back."