Walk in the Shadows

Twenty-Nine

I marched right up to Bryn when I found him lounging by his old stall in the marketplace. He straightened the moment he saw me. He was smiling, but it fell when he realized I was scowling.

"Everything all right with Maven, lass? I didn't see you walk out the door."

"Because I didn't walk out the door. I jumped out a second-floor window."

His brow furrowed. "Why?"

"I'll tell you later. You wanted to see me, didn't you?"

He nodded and took my hand. "Come with me, lass."

As the sun began to dip towards the horizon, Bryn and I ambled out of the city and down the leaf-covered cobbles leading to Shor's Stone. The sun left orangey-gold streaks on everything, giving the forest an almost magical feel. I looked around at the trees and plants, realizing what Bryn was doing.

"You're taking me to the place where we first met."

"Aye, lass." He smiled and stopped by a knee-high rock close to the path. He and I both sat down and watched the sun continue to set. I leaned into his side, his arm wrapping around my shoulders. "Romantic, isn't it?"

I snorted a little. "It would be more romantic if we met in a more romantic way, you know."

"Oh, I know, but I still think it's romantic. Sunset, cool breeze...." He kissed the top of my head. "Just you and me and the trees."

"This is nice, Bryn. The only thing that would make it better would be—"

"Dinner?"

I sat up and watched him as he, with the biggest grin on his face, whipped out a basket filled with all sorts of delicacies. Sweets and cheeses and the like. He even brought a bottle of Cryodiilic wine.

"Bryn...."

Still grinning, he poured a glass of wine for me, then one for himself. "Oh, you know I prefer my mead, but I found myself acquiring a taste for some of the finer things in life." He swirled the wine in his goblet before taking a sip. He nodded to himself, setting his goblet down on the flat surface of the rock. Then, he reached back into the basket of food and pulled out a bundled cloth. He handed it to me, then got the other out for himself. "Hope you enjoy, lass."

I unwrapped the bundle and found myself smiling. Half of a baked potato, toasted bread, and a slab of cooked beef. Bryn had even wrapped cutlery in with the food.

I began to eat, savoring the taste the well-seasoned meat and perfectly cooked potato. "How did you manage to do all this?"

Bryn forked a piece of meat into his mouth. "You just got back into town, lass. It wasn't that hard to whip up a surprise, you know."

"I guess not." I smiled at him and set my food aside. "Thank you, Bryn. This is very sweet of you."

"Only the best for you, lass." He reached for me, cupped his hand to my cheek, and traced his thumb over my cheekbone. "I never want to see you scowl again. I always want you to be happy." He slipped his hand further down my face, so that his fingers caressed the scar on my jaw. "I only ever want to see you smile."

I leaned into his touch. "You're with me. There's no way I could be unhappy."

His green eyes softening, he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers grazing against my earring chain as he did so. "I love you, Femke."

Grasping his wrist, I pulled his hand down to my lips and kissed his palm. "And I love you, Brynjolf."

With a soft smile, he pulled his wrist out of my hold and reached into one of his bandolier pockets. "Femke, in all my years, I've never met anyone as remarkable as you. The moment I found you here, shivering in the rain, I knew there was something different about you. I knew that underneath the grime and rags, there was a fighter in you. I would be lying if I told you the only reason I saved you was because I thought the Guild needed someone like you." He pulled his hand from his pocket, his fingers tightly closed around whatever it was he had fished out. "I saved you because I needed someone like you."

He opened his hand, revealing a beautiful ring. The band was made of five interwoven strands of the purest silver, all of them meeting in the middle to form an elegant knot that housed a shimmering emerald. Flanking the emerald on either side were a pair of smaller diamonds, held there by two smaller knots.

I gasped, hands flying to my mouth, as I stared at the ring. "Gods, Brynjolf, it's beautiful."

He smiled and took my left hand in his. "You see, lass, our relationship has never been conventional. And so it didn't seem right to ask you this in the conventional way." He held the ring at the tip of my ring finger. "Femke, would you make me, a fool who is so madly and desperately in love with you, the happiest fool in Tamriel and be my wife?"

I found myself having to swallow before I could speak. Even then, my voice was broken by the heavy lump in my throat. "Of course I will, Bryn."

He slipped the ring onto my finger, leaning forward as he did so. When the ring was securely on my finger, Bryn closed the distance between us and kissed me.

"I think we've waited long enough," he said as he pulled away. "How would you like to run away to Solitude with me? Get married in the Temple there?"

"Just you and me? You want to elope?" I furrowed my brow a little. "Wouldn't that upset the rest of the Guild?"

"I already spoke to Del and Vex. They want us to get away, have time alone. There's no privacy in the Cistern, really."

I smiled a little. "About that...."

He frowned, brow knitting. "What?"

"Maven Black-Briar deeded Riftweald to me. It's my property now."

"Why would she do that?"

"Who knows? She's a crazy woman."

"She's also the Guild's patron, lass."

My smile widened. "Not anymore, she's not."

"What did you do, lass?"

"Nothing. She just decided to sever her ties with us. And I let her. We don't need her gold anymore. We can survive without her help. We have Nocturnal behind us, now. It's time the Guild learns to stand on its own two feet." I pressed my hand to his cheek. "When can we leave for Solitude?"

He grinned again, and I found myself grinning back. "As soon as you want, lass."

"Then let's go get married."