Chapter Text
It took Valtene an extra week to arrive back in The Rift. Although she was now back in Mistveil Keep, she couldn't abandon the knowledge of what took place in the Blue Palace. Like always, she needed to tell the Thieves Guild what went on. It was around nightfall, and Valtene was now dressed out of her heavy armour, into a white blouse and blue skirt. She gave an extra generous 10 minutes to ensure she wouldn't arouse suspicion, and when the time was ready, she tip toed out of the keep, slipping through the dark night and to the ratway. She had now arrived, telling the Guild about the recent events that unfolded that day and informing them about Elisif and Maven’s dispute.
“A war? Haven’t we had enough of those?” Brynjolf said.
“Clearly not if the Jarl wants to strike her vengeance.” Delvin replied, “Don’t you think she’s been acting a little strange?”
“If you mean she’s been acting more herself, then yeah.” Vex spoke.
“No, Maven usually has her head. She’s fallen out with almost everyone of her allies. The Dark Brotherhood are no more, spies are worth even more coin, and us, well you know the rest. The only allies she has left are Jarl Igmund and the bird.” He referred to Valtene.
Valtene took offence to his comment. She did not want to be her ally.
“I’m not her ally.” She defended with a grunt, however the platinum blonde was first to voice her opinion.
“Yes you are. Do you purposely act this stupid, or do I have to spoon feed you truths?” It was obvious that she was making these comments spitefully, still obviously holding a grudge against her since critically injuring Tacirian.
“You do realise the only reason I’m considered an ally is because I’m going undercover for you people? For your benefit.” She emphasised, “I would’ve travelled by boat to another province by now, but I'm helping you people.”
“And we’re happy for your service.” Considering her statement, she didn’t sound very happy. The comment had snarky written all over it, “All I’m saying is, remember where you stand.”
It went silent for a moment, before Tarician joined the conversation,
“At least we know for certain the High Queen will not go through with the attack. But with the majority of Maven’s ties severed, her plan of going to war with the empire will obviously not go as she expects. A war without allies isn't a war at all. Anyway, I think we deserve a drink. Gather your tankards, everyone.”
The inner circle raised their tankards, clunking their full tankards while foam bubbles on its rim spilled from their drinks. Then in unison, the group took a large swig. Once their cheersing was over, they all wandered back to their original places, except for Brynjolf and Tacirian. As people had left, Tacirian continued to show visual interest in the warrior, but Brynjolf halted his staring,
“Boss, I’d like to speak with you in the Cistern.”
“Very well.” He glanced at Valtene, his eyes conveying disappointment that he was taken away from her. Nevertheless, he followed him out of the room, and Valtene stood in the middle of the flagon, her eyes wandering boredly to the people of the guild. Just as her eyes were occupied with watching Tonilla at the walkway, Vex approached her, wearing her usual grimace. This wasn’t going to go well.
“Still doing your job then, huh?”
“Mhm." She vaguely gave an answer, unwilling to put effort into the conversation from their obvious dislike for each other.
"What are you doing it for? What's made you clean up your act?" Her voice interrogated disrespectfully.
"Tacirian said he would help me with my problems, so that's why I'm helping him with his."
"Interesting." Hearing Valtene speak of his name made a thought appear in her mind, a memory from a week ago, "Somethings changed with you, hasn't it? You don't hate his guts anymore, better yet, you like speaking with him."
"What?" Valtene narrowed her brows, not a fan of where she was navigating the situation.
"Don't you remember, or do I have to remind you? You were speaking to him on the walkway, dare I say it looked like you were enjoying yourself. What's that all about, huh?” She pressured her into an answer, trying to evoke bother into her mind.
“That wasn't out of my own will. I wanted to leave, but he wanted to speak with me.”
“He wanted to speak to you?" She laughed in amusement, finding it unconvincing that Tacirian would even want to make conversation with her, “And why would he want to do that?
“How am I supposed to know? I couldn’t tell you what goes on in his mind. It was his words, not mine.”
There was silence. Vex looked in thought, noticeably pondering Valtene’s words.
“What did he speak with you about?” She said judgingly, as if it were a crime for Tacirian to mutter a word to her.
"I've answered enough questions, don't push your luck." Valtene was losing her patience with Vex's continuous questions.
“Valtene, I don't think you've answered enough of them. You answer my questions when I tell you to. Now play nice or I'll demonstrate why you shouldn't ignore my word.” She replied with urgency.
“Alright...He just asked about how I found the party, it was casual talk.”
“Casual talk.” She echoed back with a sneer, unsatisfied with her seemingly vague answer. It left the impression there was more to be told, “You’re leaving things out.”
“It isn’t relevant.”
“It is relevant!” Vex raised her voice, the contrast of volume taking the inner circles attention for a few moments, “What else?” She asked with grit.
"Hmph." She unwillingly reflected on yesterday's events, “Vekel came to the table. I wanted to leave, but I thought it was rude when we were just about to be served. So I stayed. We spoke about Riften's rumours, things a lot of people gossip about. Then he asked about my history with other partners. We just spoke about those that have done us wrong over the years.”
“Cute. Y'know, every single answer you've given me has wasted my time. Get to the point, what are his intentions with you?"
“Remind me again why this is your business?” Valtene was getting agitated.
“Because it is my business. What else did he say?”
She sighed, “He wants to get to know me better. He expressed that he found me attractive and wants to explore a connection between us.” That was putting it short.
“Get to know you?" She sneered, coming to the assumption that his intention was solely based on sexual relations. Obviously, that wasn't the case. Tacirian didn’t explicitly mention bedding her, however the possibility of it happening wasn’t off the cards. It was evident by Vex's stern eyebrows and harsher grimace that the thought of the two together let alone bedding was enough to anger her, and you could tell by her comments, “Well don't go thinking you're special. There's nothing special about you. He's told many stories about his past partners, to him he's just repeating history. So good luck with that. But I suppose you’re not even interested are you? I bet the thought of him getting as close as two inches disgusts you, doesn’t it?”
Despite Vex’s rude comments, beneath it all was a question she was neglecting. How did she truly feel about Tacirian getting to know her? The answer was she was morally conflicted, although it would be a lie to say she hated his guts. She hated him for known reasons, but the hatred wasn't as passionate, if anything the feeling had dulled. While she thought about Vex's question, the warrior couldn’t help but notice a strange energy radiating from her. Valtene was naturally gifted with feeling other people's emotions, so it was coming quite handy in understanding her resentment. A mixture of anger, fear and jealousy were all intertwining with each other. There must be more past history between the members than she originally let on. Then she could feel it. Vex was thinking about him. She couldn’t picture what exactly she was thinking of, but the emotion of longing was clearly present. This clearly changed her perception of her. Now it made sense why she reacted so strongly towards Valtene. Now that she got to the root of her standoffish nature, there was a bone in her body that wanted to spark jealousy within her, to get back for being so horrible to her. She had tolerated more than enough of her slander. So she decided to play along,
“Y’know what, I don’t think it does. But it disgusts you, doesn’t it?” She grinned.
“What disgusts me?” She asked as if Valtene was asking a foolish question.
”You’re so jealous, aren’t you?”
“Why would I be jealous?” She overreacted, clearly offended she even came up with the idea.
Valtene’s mind had suddenly gone in the gutter. She knew that Vex wouldn’t be able to stand the idea of her and Tacirian getting physical. She could feel it from her exterior that it was making her squirm. Come to think of it, neither Valtene couldn’t fathom the idea of taking things to the next level, she had no intention to by the obvious obstacle of her own morality. But she knew that it was the only way to bother her. In a playful facade, she began,
“You can’t get it out of your head. How every inch of my skin could be touched by him and him only. That you'll hear him speak my name behind closed doors. It drives you crazy.”
“No it doesn’t-” Valtene’s accurate reading of her emotions was starting to resonate.
“Oh it does, I know it does. You can’t fathom the thought of his hands on me. You hate the idea that he could move on from the wild thrilling experiences of you two together. That it's not you and it's all me.”
“What are you talking about? Me and Tacirian have no ties to each other, none.” Although she intended to speak with confidence, it sounded as if Valtene had sucked her usual assuredness dry.
“Hm, doesn’t sound that way. You two have history, there’s no point in lying. You made it obvious enough trying to insert yourself into my business. I’m just here to warn you. He doesn’t want you anymore, he wants me, and I think he’s made that very clear." Valtene grinned.
“You've got some nerve, ain't you!” Vex was interrupted by Tacirian’s presence. He had now entered the flagon, approaching the bar where her and Valtene were talking. Before he could order a mead, he looked to his right to see Vex standing next to Valtene, her eyes burning with both anger and fear. Naturally, he asked if there was a problem between the women,
“Vex, are you alright?”
Defeated, Vex walked off from the flagon towards the tunnel, muttering not so quietly, “This is ridiculous.”
Once she had left, Tacirian looked at Valtene with a curious smile, facing her to speak,
“What’s up with her?”
“It’s a long story.”
“How about you fill me in? Come, sit next to me." He patted a seat next to him.
This time, Valtene wasn’t too opposed. She still had her opinion about him residing with the Thieves Guild, however now she wasn’t so adamant to leave every five minutes. Now, there was a somewhat calm presence within her, and she didn't quite know how to feel about it. With no reply, she sat down beside him at the bar, sitting on a stool to his right.
“So what happened?” He asked, still showing off his amusement with flashy teeth.
“Vex wanted to speak with me. Pretty much started with her complaining about me. Then the conversation turned to you.”
“To me, how?” He laughed in confusion.
“She said she saw us last night on the walkway. She thinks because I'm 'tolerating your presence' that there's something going on. She then demanded to know everything that was said between me and you, and I told her most of it, but it never seemed like enough. She just kept demanding me to tell her more.”
“Did you tell her about my intentions with you?”
“Funnily enough, she was forcing me to say it. Is she usually this nosy?"
“Hm," He thought about her question, "Not usually. I’m surprised, Valtene. I thought you would’ve insisted on keeping quiet.”
“I wanted to, but she beat it out of me. I should've just stayed quiet, she was all up in my business, asking question after question. She came to the conclusion that you want us to, uh...bed."
"And what did she think about it?" His grin quietened.
"She told me I was nothing special and that apparently I'm like all your other partners."
Tacirian sighed, "She doesn't know what she's talking about. I might've been open with the guild at parties about my past relations, but you're not the same as them. Don't let it phase you, Valtene, she's just jealous."
“I think she made that very obvious. Tell me though, what is the history between you two?”
“Well, Valtene…We bedded a lot. I know, it doesn’t sound believable, but it’s true. When I joined the guild, she made it very clear that she found me attractive. For someone like her, that was a rarity given she’s rejected many men in this guild.”
“What made you two go separate ways?”
“I don't know, really. We just stopped doing it. It was around the time the problem with Maven started. But now it seems that she's missing what we had together."
"I see.” She nodded, showing she was listening.
“But it doesn’t answer the question why Vex looked furious with you. What did you do?”
Valtene began to feel awkward in remembering what she had done. Maybe it felt better in the moment, but now that she was being made to confess her strategy to rile her up, she was fully digesting the impression she’d give the thief if she owned up to it. At first she closed herself off,
“Uh, nothing...”
“Come on Valtene, be truthful with me.” He grinned. Just his staring beaming eyes were backing her into a corner. It was no use. She needed to come clean.
“Well, I…I thought it would be fun to make her jealous.”
“Jealous? What are you entailing?” His grin got wider. This was clearly pleasing him.
“Uhm…” She prepared herself, “I was sort of rubbing in her face that I would be the one you would um..."
"Bed?" He helped her finish her sentence, amused by her words.
"Well, not quite."
"Valtene, I may have caught you speaking when you were making her jealous. It wasn't my intention to eavesdrop, but-"
"W-What? You were listening!" Valtene became irritated, "You fool!" She pushed him.
"Hey, hey, you just stopped me in my tracks. I couldn't help but listen. I was stunned."
"What did you hear?" Valtene questioned fearfully.
Tacirian wore a devilish grin, preparing himself, "I’m just here to warn you. He doesn’t want you anymore, he wants me, and I think he’s made that very clear." He laughed after quoting her.
"“W-What? That was nothing, I didn’t mean anything by it.” Valtene tried to make it appear as if the action was done without much thought, but she was blatantly lying. While she was busy striking envy in Vex’s heart, Valtene was guiltily finding pleasure in picturing her and Tacirian together. Her words were becoming vivid images of them in a suggestive manner, his hands all over her, his tender kisses planted everywhere on her body, the mysterious sounds of sexual fulfilment her ears were yet to witness. Their potential itself was a guilty pleasure, but she was stopping herself from envisioning it. All because he was a thief.
“Really? By the words that came out of your mouth, I find that hard to believe.” He smirked.
“Well believe it, thief.” She spoke weakly, her natural standoffishness completely wiped clean.
Silence was present for a few moments, leaving time for Tacirian to ponder his question.
“Hey, I know this might not be the best time to ask, but I'd like to know. How do you feel about us...bedding? I'm not suggesting anything, I just want to know how you feel about it."
"No, no, that's out of the equation. I can't." The thought of it sent her into panic.
"You can't? Didn't you just speak to Vex in graphic detail about us together?"
"Well...I did, but that doesn't mean I want us to. It was a stupid mistake, I shouldn't have done it, I just wanted her to back off."
"Oh, I apologise, Valtene...I shouldn't have come to the conclusion you'd be willing to go that far. I know your head must be scrambled after accepting us to get to know each other."
She'd somehow forgotten how considerate he was for a leader of the Thieves Guild. It may have been the bare minimum, but it felt nice to know that he always put her feelings first, no matter the outcome.
"Thanks for understanding."
"Do you still want to get to know each other?"
"I mean...sure. I guess it wouldn't hurt. Tell me about yourself, convince me that you're worth all the trouble."
"Trouble? I'm anything of the sort." The smirk on his face was telling.
"You're the guild master of the Thieves Guild, you're the epitome of trouble."
Tacirian found this quite funny, "I suppose you aren't wrong. Alright, I'll tell you about myself. What would you like to know?"
"Hm, let me see...How did you get into the Thieves Guild, what made you join?"
"Well, we'd be here for a while, it's a long story."
"That's okay, I'm listening." Valtene replied, showing she was ready to listen.
"Oh, alright. So-" Quick footsteps hit the solid ground, stealing his attention.
"Thief?" She asked, trying to get him to focus, but the footsteps got louder. It was then when she saw the mysterious figure emerging from the tunnel that something was going to happen. Vex had returned to the flagon, walking into the place as if she was on a mission. There was something there that wasn't before. A burning fire of desire and want, unwavering and inevitable. Her eyes were the soul of this fire, getting closer to the bar with her eyes on Tacirian only, blatantly ignoring the irrelevant person beside him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, the first time to ever display physical touch in front of Valtene. Then she whispered in his ear,
“Boss, come with me. Your presence is greatly needed..." In this new soft tone, her voice was almost unrecognisable.
Valtene finally admitted that Vex's presence was starting to piss her off. She just wanted one conversation with the thief, but of course she had to implement herself into their situation. It was as if telling the truth about their progress was worse than lying to her face. Taciran turned around, now mistakably caught in the web of Vex's eyes, her pale eyes luring him deeper. The guild master was stunned by her display of actions, and you could tell he was fighting internally. He returned his gaze to Valtene and said to her in guilt,
“Sorry, Valtene.”
Valtene looked at her. It was weird to see Vex out of her usual grimace. She was grinning like a Cheshire cat, a smug expression that got worse the more it went on. The smile was leaving room for questions, but it wasn't long before she could answer them herself. Valtene had stirred something within her, a change in attitude, a wake up call that she needed to take action against her, to take what was in her eyes 'rightfully' hers. She watched Tacirian get up from his seat, and the two exited the flagon. Tacirian took a final turn back towards Valtene, giving her a confused glance. You'd think by how he'd usually act with women, he'd be delighted to be courted by another woman, but he looked scared. Nevertheless, the two had gone, and she could do nothing but sit in the ambience of the flagon, waiting for him to come back. He was going to be gone for a long time.