Rise of House Sigeweald Book One (Skyrim Fanfiction)

Ill Met in Riften: Part IV

"A housecarl? Have you lost your mind?" Vipir opened his eyes to find Vex standing over his bed, sneering at him.

"Good afternoon, Vex. How nice to see you," he replied, smirking back at her.

"I'm serious," she said, her irritation was obvious. Vex was baffled that Bryn and Delvin weren't more concerned that Vipir was fucking a housecarl. They seemed to think this one would be gone soon, like all the women who traipsed in and out of his bed. Vex didn't disagree. But a spurned housecarl could make trouble for the entire guild. In any case, she was determined to give him a hard time; at least then no one could say he wasn't warned. "Which court?" she asked.

"She lives in Whiterun," he replied although he wasn't sure why he was telling Vex anything. What he did on his own time wasn't any of her business. And jobs were so few and far between these days; he had a lot of his own time. He checked in with Delvin every other day or so at the Flagon, but this was the longest he'd spent in the Cistern in weeks. He spent every night with Lydia at the Bee and Barb and during the day he tagged along on whatever task the Jarl sent her.

"Whiterun!" she exclaimed. "One of Balgruuf's? Again, have you gone insane? At the very least you could have gotten yourself someone from The Pale or Hjaalmarch. They're so gods damn poor, they're corruptible." He didn't respond and she continued to scowl as she turned away. "Maybe you can talk some sense into him," she said to Rune, who had approached just moments before.

"Believe me, I've tried," he said. Rune sat down at the bottom of Vipir's bed. "I was starting to wonder if you'd left us for the tundra."

"No...I may soon though," he said gesturing toward where Vex had wandered to indicate his annoyance. "Did you do that favor I asked when you were in Whiterun?"

"I did." Rune paused for a moment. "It didn't seem right, using a protection symbol for someone who isn't officially under the protection of the guild. So, I marked it empty. That should keep people away."

"I appreciate that." Vipir tilted his head toward his friend in thanks and then looked up to the ceiling, knowing what was coming next.

"Have you told her yet?" he asked, his tone was serious—almost severe. Rune was the only person in the guild who was genuinely concerned about Vipir's relationship with Lydia. Of course, he was the only one really knew the depth and intensity of his feelings for her.

"No," he said curtly, but as soon as the word left his mouth, his face softened. Try as he might, Vipir couldn't bring himself to be irritated with Rune. On one of his stops by the Flagon to see about work, he wound up pouring heart out to the man over too many tankards of mead. At least Rune, unlike Vex, understood where he was coming from.

"You said you would. Why didn't you?"

"Because it's not enough I tell her what I do for a living. She's going to want to know if I plan to keep doing it." He considered his next statement very carefully, realizing that Rune was one of the few men he could trust with it. "And I'm not quite certain how I am going to answer that."

Rune's eyes grew wide. He leaned over and asked quietly, "Are you seriously thinking of quitting?"

"I'm considering everything," he said, pressing his palms to his forehead. "I haven't decided anything so I would appreciate it if you kept this to yourself."

Rune nodded although he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Thieves were thieves for life—usually because there were few other jobs for individuals with their particular skill set. Still, the guild was a tight group. Such a decision would not simply involve moving from an illicit occupation to a legitimate one—Vipir would be leaving his closest friends and mentors, the only family he'd ever really known.