Thanks to @Bre_2019 for this request!! It was a lot of fun to write! I hope you like it!!
Murderer?!
I shuddered as the cold chill of the night shot through my bones. The stones beneath my feet pinched and pierced the soles of my feet as I trudged up the path towards Solitude.
"You hear that? I swear, there's something out there. In the dark." One of the guards whispered as he tapped one of the others on the shoulder.
"You need to calm yourself, we are the scariest thing out this late." The other responded.
I chuckled at their idiocy, I anything I was the scariest thing out in the night, that was until I tripped over a rock before I entered the city.
"No lollygaggin'." The female guard behind me growled as she poked my back with her shield.
As I entered the city I watched as the scornful crowd turned to look at me. 'Traitor', 'Murderer', 'Wench', those were the names that echoed throughout my head as I walked to the dungeon door. The night masked their faces, but I knew the sounds of their voices. From bartenders to merchants I could hear them all, and as I hung my head low I felt my world crumble around me.
Let me tell you how things came to this.
...
"You have committed crimes against Skyrim and her people. What say you in your defence?" A male guard defensively held up his sword and shield as he and three others slowly approached me from all sides.
"And what did I do?" I laughed, placing my axe down next to the chopping block and wiping the sweat from my brow.
"What's wrong [Y/N]?" Vex called from around the back of my home.
"Some guards think I committed a crime." I chuckled, knowing I hadn't done anything in the last week or so with being so busy building my house from scratch.
"Not 'a' crime." He pulled at my arms and tied my hands together. "A murder."
"I didn't murder anyone!" I bellowed in defence. "How dare you suggest such a thing!"
"Well, you tell that to the solitude guard. You are under arrest and you're coming with us to face your trial." He pushed me to the other guard's chest and he stripped me of my weapons.
"Hey!" Vex yelled as she came down from my balcony. "You can't charge her without solid evidence!"
"Her fingerprints were found at the scene of the crime." The female guard announced. "Along with something that belongs to her."
"I demand to know what I have done. And I demand to know what exactly you have to prove my guilt!" I screamed as they stripped me of my belongings and pulled at the ropes around my wrists.
"You killed Vittoria Vicci of Solitude, and at the scene of the crime you dropped your signature, handcrafted, Stalhrim bow." The guard yelled, making me stop in my struggles.
Yes, I owned that bow. Hell, I made it myself and carved my name into its upper limb. However, I never let that thing out of my sight, but the one time that I did, it was taken from me.
"No." I tried to pry myself free. "I misplaced that bow along with a few dozen arrows on my ride back from Solstheim!"
"Lies! Now let us get you to Solitude, you will await the verdict of General Tullius in the cells. And if all goes well you will be beheaded for treason the next morning, murderer." The guards pushed me down the path. "A stretch in the Castle Dour Dungeon will straighten you right out. Take her away."
"Vex!" I cried. "You have to believe me! I didn't kill anyone!" I struggled against the might of my prosecutor. "Find the place I keep my treasures! Mercer knows where it is!" I was trailing out of her sight as she stood there with her mouth still agape. "Help me! I don't want to die for something I didn't do!"
"Oh shut up." The female hit me across the head with the back of her hand. "I won't be able to take this for the whole work home. If I have to I will kill you myself."
...
And that is how I ended up here. Locked in this cold and barren cell, pressed up against the sharp edges of the stone walls, with my knees pulled to my chest to keep me as warm as possible.
How it all ended up so pear-shaped had me stumped. I was framed, and now I was being unjustly prisoned under the orders of the Imperial Legion. I let a tear slip as I wiped my cheek of its remnants.
What could I do?
"Your lunch." A guard held out a bowl with a little bread on it."Though I would prefer if people like you didn't get any." I crawled up to him and slowly took the food, though he seemed a little on edge as I took so long to take it."Hands to yourself, sneak thief." He pushed the plate into my hands and covered the cell keys as they jingled on his belt as if to check that they were still there.
"How rude," I whispered as I sat back on the floor and began to dig into the scraps. "Didn't your mother ever teach you manners?"
"I know Thieves Guild armour when I see it." He spat, pointing to my clothing. "You're not fooling anyone." He growled.
"Yes, and I do believe that being a part of our many acquaintances is quite valuable." I eyed him up and down, hoping it would gain his attention. Luckily for me, it seemed to work. "Maybe you would like to join our-"
"Don't think you can barter with me like I'm one of those damned shopkeepers." He grunted, "Remember who has the keys to your cell." He waved them around before strapping them back onto his belt.
"You know," I got up and leant against the bars. "The Thieves guild doesn't have a tie to the army." I smiled innocently. "You could be a very valuable asset indeed."
"Shut up and finish your food. We're taking you to Tullius after you've finished." A female cut in.
I watched as they armed themselves, clearly in fear of what I would do to them. I chewed on my scraps and observed the room. Dim lights lit up the areas where guards resided, and darkness shrouded the cages they kept us prisoners in. It may have been dark but I could clearly see others in the cells along the other wall, and most of them looked at me with the most menacing if glares.
"Come." They tied my wrists through the bars after I had finished my last piece. "Your fate awaits." The female opened the door and pushed me down through the barracks.
It was a long walk. It felt like the longest walk of my life in fact. I felt as though the corridor just kept on stretching further and further, as though the divines were poking fun at my misery.
"Just a few more hours and I can crawl under some furs..." I heard the male sigh.
"With your weight, I doubt that you'd need furs." I whispered.
"What was that?" He stopped us dead in our tracks, just in the training courtyard, and lifted my face to meet his eyes.
As I stared into this man's eyes, I felt my blood boil; I felt the rage of everything that has come to pass over the last day or so bubble over to my surface, and I knew that if I were to leave this world in such a manner, I was to go out with a bang. And so, I headbutted him.
"The fact that you have to ask me to repeat the question is proof of your incomprehensible idiocy." I screamed, spitting in his direction as he regained his balance.
"Insulant little bitch!" He screamed before battering me with the handle of his mace.
My vision turned spotted, and my ears screamed as I was knocked to the ground. I hadn't even made it to the chopping block yet, and I was already stepping up to death's door.
"She won't be a problem for the General in this state." The male stated proudly as my vision began to darken.
"Do you hear that?" The female guard's voice rang in my ears just before my consciousness slipped away. "A change has swept into Solitude, like a breeze off the ocean - the Thieves Guild has come..."
...
"How is she?" I heard a familiar voice ask.
"She's recovering. Better not disturb her while she takes her time to heal."
Mercer?
I couldn't move, nor open my eyes, but I knew who it was that was speaking. His voice. It reminded me of nails being dragged down a chalkboard. However, it was a sound I had come to love. It was soothing when he wasn't too angry or stressed, and it was incredibly sexy when he had just woken up.
Not that I would know how that sounds in a sexual way! He just fell asleep at his desk once and I woke him up to deal with some business.
I could feel the touch of his hand over the top of my own as I struggled to focus my energy on one sense. I felt as though I was spinning, and I wasn't even awake yet.
"I knew from the moment you walked into our guild that you were going to be trouble." Mercer groaned. "You were naive, stupid, and reckless."
If I could have spoken then and there I would have given him a what for.
"However, despite all that, and despite my better judgement, I fell for you." I listened intently as he carried on. "The way you made bad jokes and was the only one who laughed at them, the way you would always sit on the corner of my desk when you needed something, the way you smiled at me when I ruffled your messy hair, the way you do anything I ask of you, even if it's a joke." He chuckled. "I love it all, you bloody pest. I love it all."
I couldn't believe that fate could be so cruel to me as to make sure I couldn't react to the sort-of-sweet things that Mercer was saying to me right now. Curse the divines for putting me through such torture.
"[Y/N]." I heard Mercer sigh. "Please wake up soon."
Did he just say please? Mercer? Said please?
That alone was enough to pass out once again, however, coupled with my uneasiness and my inability to focus, it certainly was a significant contribution for my second loss of consciousness.
...
"Ouch." I groaned, opening my eyes sluggishly as I took in my surroundings.
I was in Mercer's house, laying on his bed and was surrounded by empty healing potions, stacks of dinner bowls, and a sleeping Mercer. He looked so peaceful when he slept, as though the stresses that he had during the day had been lifted from his shoulders.
I thought back to my previous awakening. He loved me. I could scarcely comprehend that he was in love with me. Especially since he treated me with little to no respect most of the time. The ways in which he described my actions were as though I was more of a love-sick puppy than a guild member, and although that made me a little angry I couldn't stay mad at him. I just couldn't do it.
And believe me, I tried.
I smiled as I tapped his head, his hair was bristly and he looked like death when he lifted his head.
"Mercer?" I cocked my head.
"[Y/N]?" Oh boy, that morning voice. "[Y/N]! You're awake."
"No shit." I laughed. "And I have something to say."
"What?"
I took a breath and sat up on the bed, to which Mercer got up and sat on the edge so I was mere inches away from his face.
Perfect.
"I love you." He blurted out, not giving me any chance to react what so ever.
Suddenly, I was pulled into a needy and passionate kiss as Mercer held me close to him. I felt a little annoyed that he said it first, but I was barely bothered by that as I gripped his hair and neck to keep balance during out kiss. It lasted all but forty seconds before I broke away.
"I love you too." I breathed.
"I wasn't going to give you an option." He chuckled.
"How did you rescue me?" I wondered aloud.
"I knocked out a few guards and carried you back to Riften."
"Impressive," I smirked. "Now how did you really do it?"
"I snuck your unconscious body out of Solitude through the sewers and bribed a carriage to give us a lift back home."
"That sounds more realistic." I smiled, placing my forehead against his.
"Stop it."
"Stop what?"
"Smiling with that goofy grin." He smiled. "It's ridiculous."
"Ah, and contagious I see."
"You're so annoying."
"I love you too Mercer."