Walk in the Shadows

Twenty-Five

Now, as a woman who was part Nord, I prided myself in my ability to hold my liquor. I was, in no way, a lightweight. My father had often said that when he caught me drinking in my grandparents' inn, challenging men three times my weight to drinking contests.

Old habits die hard, because that was exactly what I did last night. And now I was paying a steep price for it.

I glared at the candlelight by my bed, wincing as it only made my pounding head hurt worse. I groaned and turned my face into my pillow. Was my drinking contest worth it? Was this headache and nausea worth it?

For a woman now seven-hundred septims richer, it was totally worth it.

"I believe this'll help, lass," said Bryn as his light footsteps padded towards my bed.

I moaned a little, wishing he wouldn't talk so loudly. "What is it?"

"Some water. It'll settle your headache."

I forced myself to sit up and take the small glass from him. I squinted, of course, as the soft light of the Cistern made my head pound.

"How in Oblivion did you manage to stay sober last night?"

He shrugged as I downed the water. "Someone had to remain responsible."

I groaned again. "I set such a fine example, didn't I? You still think I should be the Guild Master?"

"Well, why not? You have to be able to cut loose every now and then. Just don't do it on a job, and we'll be fine."

I rolled my eyes and fell back to the bed. I overestimated the distance between where my head would fall and the headboard of my bed, and I let out a string of harsh curses as the back of my head connected with the rough wood.

Brynjolf had the audacity to laugh at me, only making my head hurt worse. "Forget where your headboard was, lass?"

I cursed again and threw the cup at him. "Shut up."

He chuckled a little and sat beside me, his hand rubbing my back gently. "Never thought I would see hungover Femke."

"And why not?"

"Because you seemed like you wouldn't waste time or coin getting drunk."

"I was drinking years before my mother died." I closed my eyes and sighed as his hand grazed over my spine and came to rest against the back of my throbbing head. "Probably not a good thing, since I drank myself into poverty when she died."

He massaged the back of my head, his fingertips gentle in their motions. When he came to a sore spot, I winced, and he moved right away.

"You've got yourself a knot, lass," he chuckled as he stopped. "Hit your head pretty hard, eh?"

"Wasn't my intention, Bryn."

He laughed softly, almost affectionately. "Then you'd better rest easy." The bed creaked as he stood up. I rolled over to face him, opening my eyes. He started to walk away, but I reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Don't go. Please."

He sighed and worked his hand out of my grip. "Sorry, lass. I've got important things to do. We'll speak another time."

"Where are you going?"

"Not far. Don't worry." He bent over and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Take it easy. I hope your head feels better soon."

I closed my eyes again, smiling lightly as his footsteps receded. His care for me, whether I was hungover or dying, didn't change. He was the first person to show true concern for my well-being in quite some time.

I'm going to marry him. I don't care how long I have to wait or what it takes. I'm going to marry that man.

Nearby, a couple of thieves started shouting at one another. One voice was clearly female, and the other was male, accented, but not like Bryn's.

"I don't care what you say, Vex!" said the male. "That job is suicide! Breaking into... into Jorrvaskr?! Are you trying to kill me?!"

"You asked if I had any jobs available, Vipir," said Vex, tone snooty as usual. "Well, there's the job. Heist a golden urn from Jorrvaskr. I'm not sure who wants us to steal from the Companions, but I don't care. They're paying good money for the item."

"Money isn't worth it if you're too dead to spend it!"

"Would you two knock it off?!" called Etienne from his bed two places from mine. He was one of the men I had beaten last night, and he was just as hungover as I was. "Some of us are nursing hangovers over here!"

"Your fault for being a lightweight, Breton!" said Vipir with a certain venom in his tone. "Next time, don't make a bet if you can't afford it."

"I hate you right now."

"Etienne is right," I groaned, finally getting involved. "If you're going to argue, tone it down or go somewhere else."

"I would listen to her if I were you," said Etienne. "Unless you don't remember what she, Cynric, and I did."

"What, besides get drunk?"

"We heisted the Scorched Hammer," I said, remembering how stupid the stunt had been. "Came back with at least ten ebony ingots. And that place was swarming with guards last night."

"If we can do that drunk, surely you can get one silly little urn from Jorrvaskr, Vipir."

I sniggered at Etienne's comment. "Yeah, Vipir. Won't those Companions be drunk, too? That's all they do, fight each other and get drunk."

Etienne joined in with my laughter and sat up to face me. "Sounds kind of like us, don't it?"

I nodded. "Sure does."

Not wanting to be called a coward, Vipir squared his shoulders and jutted out his chin. "All right, if you don't think I can do that, I'll prove ya wrong. Just watch me get back without a scratch."

Etienne, Vex, and I chuckled as he marched out of the Cistern, his head high and nose turned into the air.

"I didn't know how I was going to get him to go," said Vex after he'd gone. "Thanks."

I shrugged. "We did it for ourselves. You were disturbing our naps." Then, I sat up and rubbed the back of my head. "How's Del?"

She chuckled. "Grumpy and hungover. Probably won't hear a peep out of him for the next couple days."

"Hmm. That'll be an improvement. And the rest of the Guild?"

"Hungover, for the most part. We're in for a slow couple of days."

"Ah, that'll be good for us. It's nice to slow down." I massaged my left temple, moaning a little. "I haven't had that much to drink in years. I won't be doing it again, either."

Vex laughed at me. "But it was worth it, yeah?"

"Oh, yeah. Totally worth it."

"I know I haven't been all that easy on you since you came to us, but you earned my respect last night." She started to walk away, her hips swaying. "Be seeing you... boss."

I lay back on my bed, careful not to hit my head this time. According to Bryn, until we could get our foothold back in Skyrim, I would be acting as the Guild Master, but I would have no real power over the Guild. A figurehead, so to speak. The senior members of the Guild would handle finances and jobs until I was ready to take over. I still had a lot of training to do, and even now, I worried about what kind of leader I would be.

I squeezed my eyes shut and massaged my temples again. All the worrying and thinking was making my hangover worse, I turned onto my side and nestled into my canvas pillow. There would be a time and place for the stresses of leadership. Right now, I would ignore my worries and try to recover from the hard night of celebration.

Bryn told me to rest. Probably should take that advice.

With that, I snuggled deeper under my covers and allowed myself to slip into a light but restful sleep.