I've always wanted to do a Skyrim story, but I haven't felt the time was right. I did attempt a SKyrim story a while back but it kind of lost it's way.

Then came Valentine.

Valentine is a feisty red-headed nord with a new lease of life. I won't say to much as I have a habit of spoiling the story whilst introducing the character, so I will let her story speak for itself.

Also this is kind of an experiment for me. Valentine is my first charachter that doesnt have a pre-planned story, so I will basically write as I explore with her, which is extremley exiting. The only thing Pre-planned was the backstory, which is the 'Prologue'.

I hope you enjoy

0.1 Prologue: A day in the life of Valentine

I woke up and looked to my left. My lover, Arthur, was still fast asleep as I saw a glimpse of the morning sky through the window of my house, Honeyside.

It was going to be another Riften day; dull, dreary and most likely boring.

I climbed out of bed carefully, not wanting to wake Arthur, and headed to the dining area. I buttered myself a slice of bread and sat down, taking a book from the shelf a reading it.

Just as I was getting into ‘The Lusty Argonian Maid’ I heard a knock at the door. I put down my book and breakfast and hastily put some clothes on before answering the door.

"Hello, Valentine."

"Good morning, Jenassa." I said to the Dunmer stood in my doorway.

"Not quite as good as you would think, I'm afraid I have some bad news. May I come in?"

I nodded and she entered. She sat at the table and I joined her.

"Everything okay?" I asked her, a little concerned.

"Not really, no. It appears the Jarl has ordered for my removal from the Co-Captain role. Therefore I must leave Riften and find a new purpose in life."

I laughed, but Jenassa didn't. I looked at Jenassa, stunned. Her tone was so deadpan it seemed like it was a joke, but it wasn't.

"Wait, what? She can't do that? Did you hear her right? The Jarl is getting on in years? Maybe you heard FIRED when she said... tired?" I said to her, convinced she must have been mistaken.

"There is no doubt about it. I have been ordered to leave my position. Apparently Dunmer arne't welcome as guards of Skyrim."

"WHAT? But you are MY Co-Captain. I am captain! I should choose the Co-captain to my captain!" I stood up. "I'm going to talk to the Jarl."

"I'm afraid that will not be of any use."

I stared Jenassa in the eye. "This is NOT fair."

"This land belongs to the Nords. If they choose I don't belong, then who am I to argue?"

I laughed in disbelief.

"Have you SEEN Riften? It is the most multi-racial city in Skyrim! Why would you think you don't belong?"

Jenassa looked at me and then smiled. She stood up and hugged me. She released me from the hug and held my arms.

"I must go."

"Where?" I asked her, my tone sounding meek and pathetic.

She shook her head. "I do not know. But know this. You are a wonderful captain and a true friend. Don't let ANYONE put you down. Always remember to trust your instincts to come out on top, Okay?"

I could feel a tear welling. The fact that Jenassa, my trusted friend, would be leaving without any reason or a place to go broke my heart. I wasn't sure if I would ever see her again.

As she left my house something bothered me. The way she said not to let anyone put me down. Did she mean in general... or a specific person?

***

That same night Arthur and I sat in the Bee and Barb for our mothly date. I decided it was the perfect time as I needed cheering up.

"This is nice. We hardly ever do things like this." I told him, holding his hand across the table.

He smiled at me with his blonde, blue eyed, sexy ruggedness. "You have an intense job. I understand that you can't be free all the time."

"Well you have an intense job too. I mean, you're a stormcloak. Fighting the empire has gotta be tougher than fighting skeevers."

He laughed. He then looked to the bar and saw the bar matron, Keerava, approach us with two plates of delicious looking food.

"Enjoy." She said, placing the food on the table.

"Thank you." I said to her.

Before she headed back to the bar, though, the asked me a question.

"I was wondering if I could ask you something? A favour, if you will."

I looked at Arthur, unsure if he would be happy with work talk during our date. The reassuring look on his face convinced me he was perfectly fine.

"Of course you can, Keerava; what is it?"

"Well my problem is that I've been waking up in the morning to find my inventory and some of the guests private things have depleted overnight. I worry that someone on the inside is using the master key to steal from us as there appears to be no signs of forced entry anywhere. It doesn't appear to be your average theif."

I thought about her problem for a short while before coming up with a suitable soloution. "Don't worry about it, I'll make sure to have hourly patrols near the Inn for any suspicious behaviour as well as a guard on twenty four hour watch inside the building itself. How about that?"

She smiled with elation. "Thank you Captain, thank you so much! Please, your meal is on me!"

I smiled and shook my head, "Oh no there isn't any need for that. I'm just doing my job."

"I refuse to take no for an answer! Either you accept the free meal or you never eat here again!"

I laughed, "Okay, well thank you Keerava, that's very kind."

Keerava bowed with gratitude then headed back to the bar. I looked at Arthur, who gazed at me with a loving look in his eyes. I smiled.

"What?" I asked him.

There was a short moment of silence before he responded.

"You're amazing, do you know that?"

I didn't reply, only blushed, trying not to smile too much. I changed the subject.

"Eat your stew, It's getting cold."

***

"How was the patrol of the northern sector?" I asked Gunter, one of my guards.

"No signs of any trouble." He informed me.

I nodded. "Good work, soldier. Back to your position."

"Cap'n." He replied before scurrying off to guard the main gate.

I began to wander round the city, greeting the citizens who walked past me. I liked the fact that I had garnered a lot of respect from my position. I would always get the occasional free piece of fruit or bottle of mead. I was convinced it was through my position, but Arthur remained convinced that it was because I was just a nice person. Either way, I couldn't complain.

"Ahh, Captain Valentine!" Greeted Haelga as I walked past her bunkhouse. "How are you?"

"I'm very well thank you, Haelga, yourself?"

Her face suddenly dropped. She folded her arms.

"I am well, apart from the fact that I cannot help but wonder where the guard with the beautiful eyes has gone..."

I laughed. " Who Sinding? I'm afraid he left the guard a few weeks ago. He went to live in Falkreath."

Her eyes widened. "What? Oh no, what a shame... well I best get back to work..."

She smiled solemnly and then turned to walk back into her bunkhouse.

"You do know about her reputation, don't you?"

I recognised the voice instantly. I turned to see Sapphire stood behind me. The raven haired nord stood leaning against a wall, her arms folded.

"Her reputation has nothing to do with me. Sapphire." I assured her.

She smirked sarcastically.

"If I were you, I'd keep an eye on your man. I've overheard Haelga claiming that the moment you and Arthur break up, she's going to swoop in."

I smiled at her. I wasn't in the mood to play her games, so I just put her down with a witty comeback instead.

"I wouldn't worry if I were you. Arthur and I are engaged now. That's more than enough reason for me to trust him."

She gave a look which suggested she was impressed with my comeback, so she decided to verbally stab me with words that equalled a very sharp blade.

"Was that Jenassa I saw leaving the other day? You finally fired the useless lump."

Whatever Sapphire's problem was I wasn't in the mood to deal with it. Before I had a chance to make any kind of response, though, she'd already turned and walked away, heading to the bee and barb.

Although it had been three days since Jenassa left Riften, the pain she left in my heart was still raw. Not only was she my trusted colleague, she was also my best friend. Ever since my dad died she was the only person I trusted...

Yet she didn't trust me enough to tell me why she so willingly left? That makes no sense...

"Miss Valentine. Should you be standing around? Don't you have a job to do?"

I looked up to see Maven Black-Brair stood before me. I smiled a false smile. I despised the woman and her perfect, prissy lalala-ness. She was heartless, cold, evil, manipulative, EVERYTHING.

"Hello Maven, How wonderful to see you!"

"Please be quiet. I'm not here to chat; I have an job of extreme urgency for you."

"Oh yeah?" I said, curious.

"Fort Greenwall. My son had been doing some research there and he left some very important papers behind. Unfortunately he managed to land himself in jail-"

"He didn't 'land himself'. You put him in there." I reminded her.

She performed a half smile and then continued her story.

"I have to many errands to run and I need someone trustworthy to fetch them for me. The information on those papers are too important to be read by any normal citizen. Can you do this for me?"

I thought about it for a second. I had a job I needed to do here; I couldn't just up and leave for anything. Then again, Maven was the most respected and possibly the most powerful woman in Riften, maybe even more powerful than the Jarl.

I smiled and nodded without saying a word.

"I will be away until tomorrow evening so bring them to me then. I highly suggest you go at 6pm as I return at 7pm and I will need them immediately as you get them. As I said before, I can't risk the papers getting into the hands of civilians. The less time you have with them the better. Here is the key to room where the papers are kept,"
She handed me the key, then looked at me again.

"Goodbye." She said rather bluntly.

She started to walk away. I could have just imagined it, but there was something sinister about the look in her eyes when she bid be farewell.

Welcome (again, lol) Rihanae to your new story! I was suspicious of the free meal, but it looks like I was early in my worry, lol. Great Write !!

A new story, and this one's set in Skie-rhim! We learned quite a bit about Valentine here. It seems the captain of a city guard would be a role just full of possibilities and adventure.

A mystery regarding the departure of Janessa.

Why do I feel that Maven’s simple fetch and carry task that Valentine has agreed to will turn out more complicated than it sounds?

mALX: Hehe thank you! With Valentine being captain of the guard she is used to being highly respected, so free stuff usually comes to her. Haha

Acadian: Haha I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far. It is a challenge keeping both stories up together, but it's fun! Mysterys already? Of course! Hehe ;P

A quick note to say that this is a long chapter. If I split it up it wouldn't flow as nicely. Luckily the chapter has been broken up, so feel free to return to it whenever you feel like it

Previously on Valentine...

Valentine, Captain of the Riften guard discovers her second in command, Jenassa, has been removed from her position by the Jarl and exiled from Riften for an unknown reason.

Valentine also goes on a date with her fiance, Arthur.

Finally, Valentine is approached by Maven Black-Briar to go on a mission to Fort Greenwall to obtain some papers. Valentine has minimal suspicion about this random task.





"That's so cool Captain Valentine! Those bandits didn't stand a chance!"

I'd just finished telling the story of the bandit raid that occurred in Riften a year ago, one of many stories I told the orphans of the orphanage. I sat with the Orphans next the housekeeper, Constance Michel, who also happened to be one of my best friend. Runa, the only little girl in the orphanage, sat on my knee whilst all the others sat on the floor.

"Let's play bandit raid!" One of the boys shouted as they all stood up. Luna bounced off my knee insisting that she got to play me.

I laughed and turned to Constance. "Maybe telling them semi-violent stories before bedtime isn't a good thing."

"I sure they'll be fine." Constance laughed. "I'm fairly sure they will behave themselves once Grelod returns."

I continued to look at them. They appeared to be arguing about who got to be the bandit leader.

"They're sweet kids. It's a shame no-one wants to adopt them." I said. It was a shame, really.

"It's really not a case of no-one wanted to adopt them..." Constance started, but her change in tone suggested she'd changed what se was going to say to something else. "Grelod loves the children dearly. She... can't bear to let them go."

I smiled, then looked back at the children. Luna held a stick and was pretending to hit the boys shouting 'I AM VALENTINE! YOU CAN'T BEAT ME!'

Runa then stopped, thought intensely for a second and then looked at me. "What is your first name captain Valentine?"

I smiled, then beckoned her over with my finger.

"If I tell you do you promise not to tell ANYONE else? It's our secret. Only us Captain's can know."

She nodded. I leaned over and whispered my name into her hear. She smiled an ear to ear grin.

"That's pretty!" Runa said before running back over to the others.

There was another moment of silence as we watched the children play.

"The children love your weekly visits, Captain." Constance informed me. "They always ask me when you're coming over. It’s gets rather annoying!"

I laughed, but I didn't look away from the kids, "Like I said, they're sweet kids. It's the least I could do."

After another peaceful silence I then started to tell Constance something really personal, and I wasn't sure why.

"I actually lived here for a while, you know."

"Really?" Constance said, genuinely surprised.

"Yeah," I nodded. "When I was a baby. I didn't stay here long though as my dad adopted me pretty much right away."

"That's so strange. I always thought Griffin was your biological father. You were so close."

"He needed an heir, someone to take his Captain title when he died, and for some reason he thought a girl would be better than a boy, so he chose me."

"And he raised you in battle?" She asked, she sounded slightly horrified.

"No... Well not all the time. The thing about dad was that he really wanted me to make my mark. He trained me to be the best I could be, and he taught me all about world. He wasn't just a father; he was a teacher... a friend."

The memory of my father sparked a moment of emotion. A short silence followed.

"You must miss him terribly." Constance said, a gentle tone to her voice.

As per usual I changed the subject. I couldn't appear vulnerable to anyone.

"Where is Grelod?"

"She is at the market. There is this new import of fruit that she wanted to try out..."

I didn't really listen to her as she mumbled on. I continued to look at the children. They were so happy. I wondered If my childhood had ever been that happy. I knew I loved my dad, but I wasn't sure if that was because I wanted to, or had to. Should I have been given a normal life? Maybe.

All I knew was that I was happy with the way my life turned out, and no amount of self doubt was about to change that.



"Good afternoon Captain!" Greeted Madesi; the Argonian who ran the jewellery stall in the market place. "What gives me the pleasure of your visit?"

"I was wondering if the necklaces I ordered have been made yet?"

"Ah yes!" He said, ducking down to grab two silver necklaces from his merchants chest. "Here they are."

He handed them to me and I smiled. They were truly beautiful.

"Each of the necklaces have been fused with a precious stone; a garnet for you and an amethyst for Arthur." He then grinned. "But they aren't your ordinary run of the mill precious stones."

I looked at him, curious. "Oh, no?"

"No. They are both a rare kind of stone that I had to use a lot of contacts to find. They are called 'Guardian Stones'."

"Really?" I said, confused. "They don't look like guardian stones."

"There are many kinds, you see. There are the Standing stones that dot Skyrim, and there are these. Apparently they have some form of enchantment; but what that is I do not know. But I am sure they will bring you luck."

I looked at the Necklaces thoughtfully and then smiled gratefully at Madesi.

"Thank you, Madesi. If there is anything else I can do to repay you for your kindness, let me know."

Madesi bowed his head and I waved, headed off. I decided to visit Grelka at her Armour store.

"Good afternoon Grelka, how are you?"

"If you're here to ask me to join the guard again you can forget it." said the aggressively charming Nord.

"No, I'm not. Just innocently asking how you are. That's all."

She gave me a look of suspicion, then answered. "I'm fine, I guess. Business is slow. Nobody seems to want to buy armour anymore."

"Oh that's a shame. I'm sure business will pick up eventually. Have you ever thought about a USP?"

"Of course I've though of a Unique Selling Point, but nobody seems to want to buy my armour made from skeever skulls."

I chuckled subtly to myself. "Maybe you should think of something else. Maybe you should offer training to anyone who wants it? You are very skilled in Light Armour."

A spark of brilliance appeared in her eyes. I'd obviously brought an idea to her that she was more than happy with.

"Business will pick up. I'm sure of it." I smiled. She didn't smile back, only nodded.

I continued my patrol, thinking about the necklaces that I held in my hand. The engagement necklaces I wanted to surprise Arthur with.



It was nearing 5pm, which meant that I only had an hour until I had to leave to complete Maven's errand. On the way back to Honeyside I bumped into Mjoll the Lioness, a proud warrior who appeared in Riften not long ago. I'd tried to recruit her with my guards, but she always refused, which was a shame. She would have been a powerful ally.

"Valentine, I have a question for you." Mjoll asked me.

"Okay, but it'll have to be quick." I informed her.

"Have you ever thought about venturing outside the city? Exploring the world?"

Her question was surprising and confusing at the same time.

"Um... not really. I have a duty here. Why?"

She looked disappointed at my response.

"No reason. It was nice to speak with you."

I watched as she headed back to her friend, Aerin. I laughed to myself at the weirdness of Mjoll.

I headed to Honeyside and entered the door, seeing Arthur sat at the dining table, eating.

"Hey honey, I'm home." I greeted him. I took off my boots and kissed him, joining him at the table.

"Good day?" He asked me.

"It was okay." I answered, stealing a piece of lettuce from his plate. "Madesi finally made our engagement necklaces."

I took the necklaces out of my pocket and plonked them on the table. Arthur picked up the one with the Amethyst and examined it.

"This is magnificent craftsmanship." He said, carefully spinning the pendant whilst holding the chain up. I gazed at him, smiling. His face was so serious. He then turned to me.

"I've been thinking."

"Careful. You don't want to strain yourself." I joked.

He laughed, putting the necklace back down on the table. He looked at me and held my hand.

"How about I come with you on your mission tonight?" He said.

"It's not really a mission. She just wants me to fetch something for her. She's too lazy, you see."

Arthur laughed again, "Still, i think it would be nice for both of us to get out of Riften for a little while."

I was unsure about his request. Maven seemed adamant that she only wanted me to fetch the papers. I didn't want to risk either of us getting into serious trouble for breaking the agreement.

I thought about it a moment and came to the realisation that I really didn't care what Maven thought. It's not like she was in charge. Besides, chances where she wouldn't even know Arthur came with me.

"Okay," I said, putting my head in my hands and my elbows on the table. "But it'll most likely just be a fetch and carry. Nothing too exciting."

"Meh, who wants excitement." He smiled.

I looked at him as he grinned at me. I chuckled to myself. "Alright then, you win. You can come with!"



Arthur and I entered fort Greenwall from the second story entrance. For some bizarre reason every door was locked, apart from that one.

We traversed through the Fort; it was eerily silent. There was nobody around. I expected a few bandits to have made residence here, but there was nothing.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Arthur asked me as we walked through the unknown.

I turned to him, "Yeah, what makes you think that?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know," He then looked at me with a serious expression, "It's just odd how all the doors were locked and the key didn't work."

"That's just Maven. She'd DIE to protect those papers i reckon. She's gone all out to protect them."

"I guess, But didn't you say the papers were her sons? Why would Maven work so hard to protect them rather then just take them home?" Arthur replied, slightly unconvinced...

We continued to travel through the Fort. Every single door was locked with an unlockable lock; even my lock picking skills provided useless.

"This is too strange," Arthur proclaimed. "I've never known an abandoned Fort to be so... safe."

"Why are you so suspicious?" I asked him, confused and slightly curious.

"Why aren't you?" He asked.

We stopped walking; I put my hands on my hips and looked at him. "What is this Arthur? Are you worried or something?"

Arthur looked bedazzled, "What on Nirn would I be worried about?"

I said nothing, just glared at him with the question still in my eyes. Eventually he gave me an honest answer.

"I find it hard to understand why you are so quick to take every order? You're the captain! YOU give the orders."

I folded my arms and thought about how I’d explain, "Yeah, I'm captain, but every boss has a boss. The citizens are my boss. If they make a request, I do it, it's literally as simple as that; unless it involves mud crabs.

Arthur sighed and then said nothing for a second. "I just worry that one day you'll take the wrong order and get yourself killed."

Although this comment could have been seen as incredibly insulting of my skill, I couldn't help but smile. I approached Arthur, grabbed his face and kissed him. When I pulled away we said nothing for a while, only smiled.

"Come on." I said, grabbing his hand and leading him down the corridor.

Eventually, after many failed unlocking attempts on previous ones, we found an unlocked door.

I turned to Arthur, "Bingo."

I opened the door to reveal a large room with only a single treasure chest at the end. By large, I mean HUGE; as easily as big as my entire house. Was it strange that the whole room had only a single chest? Maybe. Maybe Maven assumed that A chest in an empty room would be seem unimportant to potential thieves.

We walked over to the chest and I tried to open it. It was locked.

I huffed in frustration, then scratched my head.

"Maybe the key you have is for the chest?" Arthur suggested.

I smiled and squeezed his cheek, "This is why I love you!"

I took the key out of my pocket and put it in the chest. I turned the key to unlock the chest. Nothing happened. It didn't unlock or anything.

"Whatever. She probably gave me the wrong key. We'll head back and talk to her."

"Okay." Arthur replied.

We walked over to the door to leave the room, only to find that it was locked.

"What?" I said, frantically trying to open the door.

Then I heard the sound of clanging metal. I turned to see the ceiling literally raining men dressed in Black and Red garments. They all had weapons; they all looked at Arthur and I. It seemed they were lying in wait the whole time.

Assassins.

I'd dealt with an Assassin of the Dark Brotherhood before. Someone had hired one to take out Haelga, but I managed to stop him just in time.

"You're here because I've killed one of yours, aren’t you?"

Then, stupidly, one of the Assassins revealed the true contractor. He turned to his brother and said, "I thought it was because that Black-Brair woman hired us? Is this the wrong Valentine?"

In retaliation the questioned Assassin killed his blabbermouth accomplice with a throat slit.

I should have known from the beginning. Maven had set us up. For some reason she sent me here at this exact time to get me killed. It was clever. She'd rigged all the locks, and then the chest lock was wired to lock the room door when it was used; letting the assassins know we were trapped.

There must had been about twenty of them when I looked at Arthur as the Assassins glared at us with menace in there eyes. He looked at me, then without saying a word he unsheathed his sword. I looked back at the assassins, unsheathing my two swords for a dual wield.

"I'm sorry..." I said to Arthur with compassion. The man I loved warned me it probably wasn't safe. I should have trusted his judgement.

"Don't be sorry," He said. He then looked at me and smiled. "Be strong."

I smiled back, then looked at our foes. I led Arthur as we charged for an attack.

HA! Another cliffhanger! Like her boyfriend, I had a bad feeling about this mission. Very cool trap though !! Great Write !!

Nice how you gently and naturally revealed that Valentine was an orphan.

Guardian stone necklaces!

"Why are you so suspicious?" I asked him, confused and slightly curious.
"Why aren't you?" He asked.’
Arthur has pretty good instincts, methinks.

"Yeah, I'm captain, but every boss has a boss. The citizens are my boss. If they make a request, I do it, it's literally as simple as that; unless it involves mud crabs.’
Words to live by indeed!

Captain + bf vs 20 assassins? Yikes! This could end up being a very short story!

The adventures of a Red-headed Nord! Yay, red-heads. So you took the plunge and wrote a story that was not pre-planned? My, you are a bold one. And a story I can follow from the start. As you know, the forum section lacks many readers, so I'm here to provide a breath of fresh air.

Onto the story. Captain of the guard and yet she finds it boring? Most can relate to her, at least she didn't take an arrow to the knee(bad joke). In Skyrim, with all those heroes and anti-heroes, being a guard certainly would seem bleak.

Jenassa co-captain removed! Valentine curious and mad, and Riften being a vile hive of crime and scum and villainy makes for a clever story. It was interesting to find out in the new chapter that she's an orphan. I guess that was before that old hag we meet in the game took over.

mALX: Haha thank you! Yes the trap was very un-obvious to those who aren't suspicious. Hopefully Valentine will learn from this Thank you mALX!

Acadian: Hehe Guardian Stones are such a huge part of my world, and Valentine, like everyone else, does have a guardian spirit. Hopefully we will discover this in a future chapter. Thank you for reading! I understand that a Skyrim story can be hard to get into for those who haven't really played the game

DE: WOO! Thanks for reading! and for your wonderful words! I'm glad I can do something which you can read from the beginning

I'm working on putting up a few screenies of Valentine, so look out for those soon I've also added links to pictures of other characters from the story

Previously on Valentine: Valentine reveals to her close friend Constance that she used to be an Orphan. She was raised by her adoptive father purely to gain his title should he pass away.

Valentine recieves engagement necklaces from Madesi. He tells her he made them with a Guardian Stone.

Arthur decides to join Valentine on her errand at Fort Greenwall for Maven.

Valentine and Arthur discover Maven's 'errand' was a trap, leaven them locked in a room in the fort with a horde of assassins.





My eyes slowly opened. The first thing I felt was excruciating pain. It was everywhere; my arms, my legs, but it was worse on my face.

Although everything was blurry I recognised instantly that I was in my house, in my bed.

As I let my eyes recover I noticed that my depth perception was off. I could only see out of one eye.

Oh no! Please no!

With struggle I leaned over and grabbed my hand mirror from my bedside table. I looked at my reflection. Half of my face was covered in bandages. My forehead, my left eye and cheek. I could see that parts of my lips were stitched up. Luckily for me they were separate and not together, so I could hopefully still talk.

I gazed at my reflection for a little bit longer, horrified by what I was seeing. I touched my face, but recoiled from the intense pain that even the smallest stroke would cause.

As I continued to look I started to cry. It was a silent cry. It was a cry of self loathing. I was in shock. The last thing I could remember was Arthur and I about to open the chest at for Greenwall.

Arthur!

I turned to my right to see if Arthur was lying in the bed with me. He wasn't. I didn't worry too much, though. I knew he was alive; how else could I have gotten back home if I’d been this badly damaged?

Fed up of lying in bed I got out of it, struggling to climb onto my feet, wincing in pain with every move I made. I didn't care that I was in only my red silk nightdress; I had to find Arthur. I didn't want to be on my own.

I waddled to the front door and opened it, with each step feeling like I was being stabbed. The sunlight that rushed through began to burn my newly awakened eye. I slammed the door shut as a reaction and blinked until my eye felt better.

Once I was convinced it was okay I opened the door again, squinting my eye to protect it just in case.

I left my house, the Riften breeze coming over my body like a visit from an old friend. It felt amazing. It felt fresh; safe, even.

I closed the door behind me and waddled to the marketplace, looking around for Arthur. Nobody appeared to be around.

I stood immobile for a moment, suddenly very aware that I was all alone. The usual chatter of the market place was non existent. It was terrifying.

I continued to walk, my arms folded to try and protect myself from the breeze that soon became unfriendly. It turned cold; evil. It scared me. The calming breeze suddenly felt like it was mocking me.

As I walked through the abandoned city I saw Arthur walking in the distance. He was heading into the castle. I smiled and tried to call for him, but my lungs weren’t ready for that particular task.

I started to pick up the pace, turning my waddle into more of a limped jog. Each step caused my body to experience extreme pain, but I really didn't care. I wanted Arthur to know that I was awake. I couldn't bear to not have him with me; not even for a moment.

Then I tripped. My left leg went completely numb, causing me to crash face first into the ground.

On the floor I slowly lifted me head and attempted to crawl my way to the castle, but I knew that that attempt would be futile.

Instead I crawled to one of the market stalls, a slow and painful crawl. I grabbed onto one of the stalls legs and hoisted myself up, screaming with intensity as I did. I sat leaning against the stall.

I waited for ages. It felt like hours; it must have been at least two. Arthur hadn't found me yet, so I continued to wait as long as it would take. The longer I waited the more the cold air began to creep into my wounds. I grew tired; weak. I worried that I might have been dying.

"Valentine?" A familiar voice came from beside me. It sounded like Constance. Suddenly I felt myself being lifted into her arms as we both sat on the ground. "Someone help!"

After a moment I saw Symon, one of my guards, approach us. He lifted me into his arms." What are you doing out here Captain Valentine? You should be resting." His voice was gentle and calming.

"I was... looking... for..." I started to say, but I'd drifted off to sleep before I could finish my sentence.



"How are you feeling now?" Constance asked me as she sat with me on my bed. I was snuggled under the covers.

"Better. I shouldn't have gone outside. I was just... confused." I admitted to her.

"Well that's understandable. You've been through a lot. I'd be confused too."

I smiled at her; Constance truly was my best friend. In that single moment I thought about everything she'd been through with me. The death of my father, the bandit raid (which was more like a war) in which we lost half of the cities citizens, and now this. She'd always been there for me and never showed me any sign of leaving. I was grateful, but I decided it was time to give her time off.

"You don't have to stay you know." I said to her.

She looked at me, slightly insulted. "Why wouldn't I?"

"No reason, it's just wont Grelod freak if she finds you gone?"

Constance had a look of hesitant worry on her face, "Probably. But I'll cross that bridge later."

Suddenly I saw the front door open. I painfully bolted upright hoping Arthur was home, but he wasn't. It was Mjoll and her friend, Aerin.

"Captain Valentine! We heard about what happened in town this morning. Are you okay?" Mjoll asked me.

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a bit too adventurous. Never. Again." I joked.

"Mjoll and I have been ever so worried about you, Captain." Aerin informed me.

I smiled, "Well aren’t you sweet."

An awkward silence followed, shortly interrupted by Constance, "Tea, anyone?"

Everyone nodded and Constance headed to the fire to boil a pan. Mjoll came over and sat in Constance's spot. Her heavy armour made it slightly uncomfortable. She began to stare at my wounded cheek.

"That'll leave a nasty scar you know. It'll look like a bear claw. That's what you can tell people! That you got attacked by a bear!" Mjoll said with such excitement

"Thanks." I replied sarcastically.

"My mother always said that scars are trophies, not atrocities."

"Well tell your mother I’ve got a good one!" I joked.

"She's dead." Mjoll replied bluntly.

There was another brief silence, this time it felt awkward.

"So do you remember anything from last week?" Aerin asked me.

I shook my head. "No. I don't even remember who attacked me."

"Well that is unfortunate. How will I conquer him if I do not know what he looks like?" Mjoll asked me. I wasn't sure if she was being humorous or not.

Menmenlotsofmenattackingallatonce-

"Wait, it wasn't one person-" I started. My head hurt as I slowly began to remember the vague yet accurate account.

"There was more than one? Were they bandits?" Mjoll asked me, interested, yet strangely excited.

I shook my head again, "I don't know who they were. All I remember is there was more than one. A lot more."

"That explains the extent of your injury." Aerin started. "I thought it was strange that such a skilled fighter like you got brutally beaten by a single man."

"No there were a few. Luckily Arthur managed to take them all out or who knows what would have happened."

"He did?" Mjoll asked me. She looked slightly perturbed. I wasn't sure why, so I elaborated.

"Yeah, I mean I’m sure I probably took out a fair share but I must have got knocked out or something. Then Arthur killed the rest and brought me here." I looked at Constance. "Does Arthur know I’m awake? Shouldn't somebody tell him?"

Everyone’s faces suddenly dropped.

"What?" I asked, concerned. The others all looked at each other, then Constance slowly headed over with a tray of tea. She placed it on the bedside table and squeezed between Mjoll and me.

"So you remember happened? With Arthur I mean?" She asked me, her tone fuelled with worry.

"I don't remember anything. I just assumed he brought me here after the fight."

Constance's eyes started to water, "Oh gods." She said. She grabbed my hand.

"What?" I said, laughing off my worry.

Constance looked at Mjoll, then back at me. She took my hand.

"Okay. A week ago, on that night, you came back to Riften at about 11pm. You stumbled through the gate, mumbling incoherently... you were beaten and bloody, could barely walk."

"What?" I laughed unbelieving. "No I didn't..."

"Luckily Mjoll here was there to help you. She saw you collapse onto the ground and she picked you up. She took you back here where you began to mumble something about Fort Greenwall..."

She struggled to continue, so Mjoll continued for her.

"... I ventured to the fort and found a man on the road whilst walking there. He'd been dragged along the main road leading from the fort. The backs of his clothes were ragged and torn, suggesting he'd been moved very slowly for a long time."

I stared at Mjoll In horror. She finished her story.

"It appears the man had been dragged very, very slowly for hours."

Constance then looked at me, "It was Arthur. Arthur was dead and it seemed you tried to drag him back to Riften."

Awesome line !! The pain she was feeling is very powerful in this, tangible !!

OMG, she didn't drag him to death - she wouldn't. Horrifying mystery, GAAAAH !!!! AWESOME WRITE !!!!!

Very powerful stuff! I was heartened when she ‘saw’ Arthur heading into the castle, only to later realize that it was either someone else or she was having a wishful delusion.

It seems the pair survived the assault and Valentine tried valiantly to bring her wounded Arthur home. But her own wounds were too severe to save him. Poor thing.

Let us hope there is not another attempt against Valentine’s life as she recovers. ‘That Black Briar woman’ may not be aware that one of the assailants in the fort named who hired them. Once our captain mends up, I can imagine her paying a call on Maven to serve up some hot words and cold steel!

Indeed, mALX said it! A powerful chapter, and especially horrific when she saw her reflection to discover she wasn't the same as she was earlier. A creepy thing to wander the streets were its usually crowded only to find it deserted and barren . Quite the trickery of the eyes on her part with Arthur, eh? Hehe.

M.B will get hers soon! You can't have a captain of the watch assaulted and "jumped" by a mini army of assassins and expect to get away with it. I expect some Punisher justice!

Is it me or does Constance appear...angry all the time?

"It appears the man had been dragged very, very slowly for hours."

Constance then looked at me, "It was Arthur. Arthur was dead and it seemed you tried to drag him back to Riften."

Oh, that's so sad for Valentine. No wonder she can't remember.

I wonder what the Guardian Stone necklace will do. It would be interesting to see Valentine coping with a voice in her head!

mALX: To put your mind at ease, I can confirm that Acadian's opinion of Arthur's dragging was spot on, so worry not; although I am pleased that you are viewing the story with such an open mind! Thank you so much!

Acadian: Thank you so much for your kind words. It's wonderful that you understand what Valentine must be going through at this time. I'm sure Maven Black-Briar will get her just desserts at some point; should Valentine ever remember the whole story of that night.

DE: I'm so pleased you enjoy this! I very much leave parts of my story very open to interpretation, so I enjoyed that you noticed the oddity of the unusually quiet city. I imagine Valentine was just in the right place at an odd time ;P Constance appears angry? Hmm, that is interesting that you mentioned that. Looking back I agree to some extent. I think she is very much a lioness looking after her cub.

Grits: How wonderful to see you reading! Hehe, yes it seems inevitable that Valentine will encounter a guardian spirit. It will be interesting to explore a different relationship than that of Lissa and Rihanae

Previously on Valentine: After waking up on morning and discovering that she just about survived a brutal attack, she also learns that she has absolutely no memory of the events that occurred.

She also learned that Arthur wasn't as lucky as she...

2. It's all too much

"What?"

The others all looked at me. I began to laugh if disbelief then stopped. They all looked so solemn and full of pity. I glared at them. There expressions didn’t change. It's like they were fixed in time.

"This... this can't be right..."

Silence.

I shook my head, "No, that's... it wasn't Arthur. Arthur's alive I... I saw him... I did, I saw him."

Nobody said a word. Everyone looked so certain. I hated that.

"Get out." I said, gritting my teeth.

No one did. I had to make myself clear. "Get out, get out, GET OUT!"

I screamed, accidently pulling a stitch from my lip.

Constance leaned over to hug me, but instead I slapped her round the face. "Get out you nasty, lying harlot.

She recoiled for a second but wasn't even the slightest bit upset; not for her, anyway. She looked at the others and stood up. She nodded at them and they left. She then looked back at me, but I didn't look at her. She leant over and kissed my forehead.

"I'll come back later, okay?" She said before turning to leave the house. I looked at the door, grabbed my tea and threw it across the room.

I screamed at the top of my lungs to let out the excruciating pain. It felt like my stomach had been squeezed and my lungs closed tight. I couldn't breathe.

I got out of bed, the turned and looked at it. I stared at Arthur’s side of the bed for a while. I then grabbed the mirror on my bedside table and looked at my reflection again.

This time all I saw was a woman who barely survived an attack that her lover died from. This woman was weak, undeserving of life. She couldn't protect her man. Everything she'd ever loved was taken away from her in an instant because she was meek.

I collapsed onto the floor and cried. I didn't think I was ever going to be able to stop.



It was the day of Arthur's funeral. A day I refused to believe was going to happen.

I refused to let anybody else come to the funeral. I wanted to be alone. Nobody knew him. Nobody trusted him. They'd be there purely to support me when it wasn't their support I wanted. I wasn’t sure what I wanted.

As I walked through the city I could feel the patronising pity burning me from the eyes of the citizens.

They tried to talk to me but I wouldn't let them.

Once I made it to the chapel I turned around. I could see everyone continuing on with their lives. It was just another day to them.

I entered the chapel and approached the priest, Maramel. I looked around, but there was no coffin.

"Where is he?" I asked Maramel.

"He is outside ready to be put in the ground. We must first proceed with the burial ritual inside the house of Mara before we perform the actual burying."

I looked at him, emotion draining from my face. "Okay."

I turned and sat down on the bench. He didn't say anything. I thought that maybe he assumed more people would be arriving. "You can start." I told him.

He waited a moment, then started. "We gather in this, the house of Mara to send the spirit of Arthur-"

It didn't take me long to completely shut off. My gaze was fixed on Maramel, but my mind was somewhere else entirely.

Everything seemed to move so slowly; my thoughts included. I couldn't even remember what Arthur looked like. His face was covered by the same fog that clouded my memory of that night.

I touched the scar left on my cheek. Four straight lines spread across my left cheek and my lips.

I stopped touching my scar and then looked at my clothes. I wore a black dress that Haelga had let me borrow.

Maybe I shouldn't have worn this. It shows to much leg. I should have worn something which didn't show leg too much leg...

I tried to stretch my dress down as much as possible. It didn't make it longer, but it made me feel a little bit better. I looked back up at Maramel. His words were still not registering in my mind. Although it was what I wanted, I felt so alone.

I want my Daddy. I want Jenassa.

Daddy would take care of things. He would have taken control. We would have organised everything. He would have let me grieve. Jenassa would have comforted me. She would have told me everything was okay. She would have held my hand. She would have made me feel like the world wasn't ending.

Suddenly Maramel's words began to fade back into understanding, "... we are sure, By Mara, that he will go to Sovenguard."

"No he wont." I interrupted for an unknown reason. "He'll go into the ground. He will rot."

It didn't feel like I had actually said the words. The moment passed so quickly I had completely forgot that I had just spoken.

Maramel tried to be as compassionate as possible. "I must finish the ritual."

I said nothing more as Maramel continued to speak. I started to stare at him, my eyes becoming transfixed and hypnotised. My mind when numb. Any thought that entered me mind would be deemed a luxury.

I felt a hand slowly grab mine. I looked down to see a hand gently squeezing mine. I looked at it for a second, not really noticing what was happening until-

ARTHUR

"Arthur?" I said as I turned. It wasn't. It was just Constance. I didn't say anything, and neither did she. I'd made it clear that I wanted to be alone and she ignored that. By that time I didn't care. I wasn't angry, I wasn't grateful. I wasn't anything. I didn't feel anything.

She continued to stay right to the end. She stayed during the actual burial. We watched Arthurs body being lowered into the ground. Slowly going down. Never to be seen again.

An hour after the funeral I was still stood by Arthur’s grave; as was Constance. Neither of us said anything the whole time. Constance was just there for me. Eventually I spoke; a task I felt I wouldn't accomplish so soon.

"Do you think he deserved it?" I said rather bluntly. A genuine question for a genuine answer.

"Do you?" Constance replied. She could tell my question was for my own benefit. I wanted an answer that only I could give.

I didn't reply. I just stood there. I watched as the rain began to fall; splashing elegantly off the tombstone. Every drop that bounced off the gravestone seemed large and significant.

"It's raining." Constance stated. She waited a moment for me to reply before continuing. "You'll catch a cold."

I didn't move. I didn't care. I wasn't ready to move yet.

Constance knew this and didn't persist any further. She took off her hat and put it on my head. She then grabbed my hand and squeezed it with support.

I squeezed it back.

We stood as the rain began to fall on the grave.



After a few hours Constance and I sat on the deck of Honeyside overlooking the fishing dock. Arthur's favourite spot. We sat, protected by the heavy rainfall.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there more for you." Constance admitted.

I continued to stare out into the distance; the fishing lake looking mighty and ominous.

"It's okay." I replied.

We didn't say anything for a while.

"Would you like more tea?" Constance asked me.

I didn't reply, but she took it as a yes and heading inside.

I kept staring at the lake. It was so beautiful. It looked so fresh. Gorgeous.

I stood out of my seat and walked to the steps that led to the lower deck. I stood by the railing that protected me from the water below. I looked up. The rain splashing softly onto my face. I looked down. I could see my reflection rippling at me in the lake. It was taunting me with a clear image of a woman I didn't recognise.

I continued to stare at her. The black veil covering her face proved it wasn’t me. It was respectful, yes, but Arthur wasn't around to BE respected.

I continued to watch her. Mimicking me. Mocking me.

I began to cry. I hated what the emotion was doing to me. I couldn't handle it. I loved him, and then he was gone. Just like that. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye.

I looked back into the lake. I knew what I had to do. I had to make things right.

I climbed the railing. I was going to be with him. It wasn't fair that I was alive and he wasn't. I needed to let him know that I was sorry for letting him die.

Then it happened. The heavy rain suddenly melted into nothing. The dark clouds began to shift revealing a small beam of sunlight which covered me in its essence. It made me feel warm. It made me feel safe. It made me feel forgiven.

Arthur?

I stepped down from the railing and basked in the sunlight. Every doubt and self-loathing I had inside melted away like snow.

I took off my black veil and looked at it. I then threw it into the lake, watching it as it slowly drifted out of sight.

I looked out into the distance again. The cold, dreary day suddenly turning bright and beautiful.

I smiled.

Poor Valentine! Very sad and powerful episode. You captured and shared her emotion with us well.

Constance is a good and steady friend.

I was so pleased that Valentine took the ray of sunshine as a sign from Arthur that not only stopped her from joining him but seemed to give her hope and some relief from her self-blame and survivor’s guilt.

Once again you've demonstrated your ability to bring out the raw emotions of your characters in a thoroughly wrenching read !!! Totally AWESOME Write !!!!

I've had a rather busy week this week and only managed to squeeze in posting this, I will be sure to read your stories ASAP

Acadian: I'm glad you see the importance of Constance in Valentine's life right now. It's important she has a close friend at this particular time. I'm so thrilled you liked the sunshine segment. It's wonderful that Valentine got such comfort and strength from it. She'll need it

mALX: Thank you so much What an amazing compliment, one I am very pleased to get

Previously on Valentine: Valentine accepts the death of Arthur and tries to grieve.

After the funeral she thinks about ending her life, but a sudden burst of sunshine convinces her that Arthur thinks it is a bad idea.

3. I know who killed me.

"Are you sure you're ready to return to work?" Constance asked me as we wandered through the market place.

I nodded, "Yeah, I think so. It's been a month now. I've grieved all I can and apart from this scar I'm all healed and tip top fabulous. As far as I'm aware there's no reason not to go back."

Constance had a look of uncertainty on her face. "Okay... well if you're sure-"

She was interrupted by Maven, who barged right through us to head to the castle, Mistveil Keep.

Gotknockeddownarthurblockedattack

"Woah..." I said, touching my head as my head began to rush.

"Are you okay?" Constance asked me.

"Yeah i-i'm fine. Just had a flashback of... you know."

I looked at Maven as she walked. "C'mon, lets go see the Jarl."

We continued to Mistveil keep, and once we were inside, We approached Jarl Laila, with Constance keeping her distance.

"Captain Valentine, how wonderful it is to see you up and about!" Greeted the Jarl.

"Thank you, Ma'am. I've come to bring you good news," I smiled. "I'm ready to re-join the guard."

The Jarl's face dropped. "Oh... I see..."

I smiled, yet was terribly worried at the same time, "Is everything okay?"

"Um..." The Jarl struggled to come up with the words to say.

As if from nowhere, Maven appeared from behind the Jarl and approached the seat next to the Jarl's. "Unfortunatly that position has already been filled, but you're more than welcome to be an underling."

"Position? what position?" I asked. She was confusing me with what she was saying.

"With you being out for so long we were forced to replace you. He is arriving from solitude and should be here-"

I interrupted the uncaring Maven, "Hold on, Miss, what are you saying?"

Maven gave me a look which could kill, "You are no longer needed Miss Valentine."

She continued to glare at me. Shocked I looked at the Jarl. She looked so apologetic, yet refused to do anything.

Then it happened. My head began to hurt again, but this time it was worth it.

Ithoughtitwasthatblackbriarwomanthathiredus...

blackbriarhiredusblackbriarhiredus

BLACKBRIARBLACKBRIARASSASSINS!

In that moment, looking into Mavens pasty eyes i managed to remember that the men were assassins; and that they were hired by Maven.

I glared at her, all the anger I had bubbling away like stew, causing my body to leap off the ground and lunge for Maven. "YOU DID THAT! YOU HIRED THOSE ASSASSINS TO KILL ME!"

I grabbed her by the collar and pinned her to the floor. Everyone began to scream in panic; but no-one actually did anything straight away. Every one probably enjoyed the fact that Maven was getting what she what everyone had thought about doing; but only for a moment.

"What are you doing?!" The Jarl screamed.

I turned to her. "Maven tried to kill me!" Then back to Maven. "YOU KILLED ARTHUR!"

Suddenly the guard dragged me off Maven and held me against the wall. Maven stood up and brushed herself off.

Maven then glared at me, "You better think carefully before you accuse me of such lies." she said. I saw a sly smile.

I tried to break free from the guards grip but failed miserably. The Jarl then looked at Maven and then slowly approached me.

"Are you telling me that Maven set up for you to be killed the day of your attack?" She asked.

"Yes, she did." I smiled. The Jarl believed me, I knew it.

"Why do you think she wanted you dead?" The Jarl asked me.

I knew the answer right away. "Because I don't take any of her garbage. I don't respect her and she hates it. She hates that I’m the only person in Riften she has absolutely NO control over."

The Jarl then walked away from me and headed toward Maven. "Maven..." she started. I smiled at Maven, she was getting her comeuppance. "I'm sorry you've been accused of such outlandish lies."

"WHAT?" I bellowed.

The Jarl turned to me. "Without a shred of proof this is slander. It is a crime of honour and I will not have a silly little girl destroy the reputation of a good woman. Now, either you apologize to Maven, or I will be forced to exile you from Riften until you do. You won’t leave a criminal, but you WILL leave an enemy."

I looked at the Jarl in disbelief. She was useless. She trusted the judgement of a civilian rather than her trusted friend.

I sighed and then looked at the guards, MY guards, then back at the Jarl. "Fine."

The Jarl gave them a hand gesture and they let me go. I approached Maven and the Jarl. I didn't say anything for a while.

I looked the Jarl in the eye, "I guess I'll be leaving Riften then."

The Jarl said nothing.

Maven looked at me, victory showing in her subtle smile, "I think that's wise."

I turned around, bumping into the guards that stood directly behind me, they attempted to grab me again, but I stopped them, "Okay Mr Macho, I'm leaving."

I brushed past them and headed for the castle door, Constance following close behind.

Before I opened it I turned to say my final piece. "You're making a huge mistake, Laila. I hope you realise that."



I sat by Arthurs grave, looking at the tombstone.

"Hey honey." I started. "I'm sorry I haven’t visited more often. Lots of things have been going down. You know how it is; someone tries to kill you, everybody loves them."

I placed some flowers on his grave.

"I have to go away for a while. I don't know when I'll be back, or even if I will be back. Seeing as Maven's turned everyone against me I very much doubt I'll be welcomed back anytime soon."

I continued to stare at his grave stone. I then stroked it gently,

"I wish you were still here. Now more than ever. I don't know what I'm going to do. I've never been on my own before..."

I then reached into my pocket and took out the engagement necklaces I forgot we had until I found them at home that day. I took the amethyst one and put it on his grave. I put my Garnet one around my neck.

I then stood up. "I'll come back soon my love."

I turned to slowly walk away, only to literally bump into Constance.

"Oh, Constance, hi. You made me jump!" I said to her.

"Sorry." She laughed.

We looked at each other a moment. I then nodded and walked past her, heading home to get whatever I needed, despite that fact I had no idea what I would need. I'd never been exiled before.

"Are you really going?" She asked me, following me to my home.

I nodded, "I'm not about to apologize to that murderous hound anytime soon."

"Are you certain that it was her that killed Arthur?" Constance asked me.

I had to be honest. "About ninety-eight per cent. One of the assassins said he was hired by the 'Black-Briar woman'. There are only two Black-Briar's in town and I highly doubt it was Ingun... unless she's still bitter about the fact I stole her doll when we were five."

There was a short silence before Constance spoke up. "Maybe you should say sorry..."

I knew what she meant, but I decided to make a joke. "I'm sure Ingun's over it by now... although, saying that, she was very close to that doll..."

Constance didn't appreciate the joke.

"Seriously Honey, maybe you should, even if you don't mean it." Constance suggested. "At least you'll get to stay?"

I laughed at her, "No. That is NEVER going to happen. I'd rather have a mace to the face- OH wait! She's done that already."

We continued to walk to Honeyside, when I saw a sight that filled me with utter shock and incredible rage.

Guards were throwing all of my stuff from Honeyside into the murky water that the city rested upon. Everything I owned was being tossed away. I ran toward the Guards, but they wouldn't let me get into my house.

"Bertha?" I said to the guard by the door. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry Capt- I'm sorry Miss Valentine, but it is by order of the Jarl that we take ownership of your house."

"But... it's MY house? It's nothing to do with the Jarl! I bought it with MY money!"

Bertha didn't seem to have a response; only another order she repeated. "We've also been ordered to escort you out of the city the next time we saw you; which I suppose would be now." She grabbed my arm, "I'm sorry."

She led me to the city gate, Constance trailing behind arguing with Bertha.

"Surely you can let her take a few things? All she has is her Chapel dress and shoes! That can't be appropriate attire for the harsh weather outside-"

Bertha stopped walking and turned to Constance, "Unless you want to be executed for stalling the removal of a criminal, I suggest you go home."

I looked at Bertha, horrified. "Criminal? The Jarl told me I wasn't a criminal!"

"She's had a change of heart." She told me.

She means Maven managed to get her own way again.

Bertha continued to drag me out of the city. I looked humiliated as citizens that once respected me gawped and laughed. I was a joke. Everything I'd worked for had turned to nothing. Just as Bertha opened the city gate i heard Constance shout at me.

"GO TO SHOR'S STONE! FIND SYLGJA, MY FRIEND! SHE'LL HELP YOU!"

Before I had a chance to reply Bertha literally threw me to the ground outside the city gate. I struggled to get back on my feet. Once I did i turned to see the city gate firmly shut.

I stood and looked at the gate for a while.

"I suggest you take Constance's advice and find Sylgja." spoke an unknown voice.

I turned to look at the speaker, but there was nobody there. I brushed it off as my imagination. Until she spoke again.

"You won't see me. I'm not of physical form. I'm a Guardian spirit, you see. I’m all ethereal."

I looked at my necklace. Madesi told me that the garnet was a Guardian Stone. It must have granted me the ability to speak to my guardian spirit. It was odd, but I was too angry to be freaked out.

I turned away from the city gate and looked in front of me. The landscape of the Rift looking mighty and open; all the possibilities waiting for me. But I didn't want possibilities. I wanted my old life back.

"But that's never going to happen."

"... I know."

There was a moment of silence as I continued to stare at the mass of land. I'd never gone further than fort greenwall before. Whatever was waiting for me was going to be new. Terrifying. Exciting.

"What's your name?" I asked my guardian spirit.

"My name?" She said. "My name is Alice."

I didn't reply. I only smiled. Although my life was over, it had only just begun.

My only wish was that it could begin with Arthur at my side.

What a roller coaster ride! Valentine is finally ready to go back to work, only to find that she has been ‘replaced’. Then her memories cut through the fog and she realizes the nature and perpetrator of the treachery. Her choice to leave was then turned into a criminal exile with barely a chance to say goodbye and no opportunity to gather any belongings. At least she got to say farewell to Arthur (The Wind Beneath Her Wings). And finally, we meet her guardian!

That Maven is a piece of. . . work, and the damn Jarl is no better.

This episode had a very satisfying feel in that you fully wrapped up her past and embarked her on a new – and harsh – future.

I really liked how you used the Guardian Stone. It was creative and I liked it

This story is so much faster paced than Lissa, like Acadian said - a roller coaster ride!

The flashbacks reminded me of the men coming back from the war, very well done on that !! She def was not ready to be out and about yet, still reliving the experience.

Then trying to buck Riften politics - that is a no-no, everyone is in the Black Briar's pocket there. It is hopeless to try and turn the tide in that town, the Jarl sure won't when she is enriched by it. Poor Valentine.

Awesome Write !!

No update, sorry, but I thought I'd FINALLY share with you a picture of Valentine...






You ready?







Here it is!

And here is one which shows her ponytail (she is stood by Arthur's grave)


I will post more frequently now, maybe adding screenies to the story. I hope you enjoyed them

Love the pony-tail! Not sure why, but for some reason your (page 1) posting page has become oversized suddenly! Page 2 is fine.

Thank you! I love her ponytail

Hmm... if you mean the large spaces between the sentences of my post I did that for dramatic effect

If not then I'm not sure :/

No, the width of the page is what I meant. Page one the posts are wider than the screen, I have to scroll across using a slider at the bottom of the page. On page 2 the page is the right width for the format.

That's strange. It seems fine on my computer :/

I wonder if anybody else has the same problem :/

Page one is wider than my screen now, too.

Alice! It's great that Valentine is embarking on her adventure with someone at her side (in her head). I hope she can get past Fort Greenwall unarmed in her chapel gown.

Love the screenshots!

Yes, I suspect the line with no spaces and the increasing font "BLACKBRIARBLACKBRIAR..." is the cause. Edit in a space somewhere and it should go back to nromal.

How nice to see some pictures of Valentine! She’s as pretty as her name. Thanks for sharing!

I just looked at the first page of this thread and its formatting looks normal to me (not wider than my screen).

Maven Blackbriar needs a good beating, that's for sure! Good tale and Valentine is . . . beautiful! Simply a true female face of the Riften guard. Still, not much can be done in Riften. It is a bent town full of crooks who stick their nose up Maven Blackbriar's .

And I loved the commments, I thought the page width was only a problem I was having .

Acadian: Thank you very much! This story is very fast paced, much like the life of a soldier. I'm glad you felt satisfied by how the last chapter was wrapped up

mALX: I'm glad you feel for dear Valentine. She herself knew that her effort's trying to take down Maven would be futile as, like you said, it's really Maven that's in charge of Riften. Thank you!

Grits: Oh dear, yes, Fort Greenwall. Hopefully she will take some kind of detour haha. Thank you!

LL: Hehe your little spoiler had me rolling Thank you for reading!

ALL: Thank you all so much for your compliments over Valentine's screenies! It makes me so happy to see that she is beautiful in not only my eyes, but yours too!

For some bizarre reason my spellcheck is going loopy, so I've proof read all I could, so i apologize for any errors. I shall fix it soon

also ghastley I've taken note of your suggestion, but Im not sure if it helped as I didn't have a problem to begin with?

Previously on Valentine:

After being fired from her position, Valentine remembers that Maven hired the assassins that killed Arthur.

After attacking Maven, she is thrown out of Riften with nothing but a dress and shoes.

Constance told her to see her friend Sylgja in Shor's Stone for help...






I followed the path from Riften to Shor's Stone; a mining villiage that I couldn't imagine being too far away.

"How do you feel?" Alice asked me.

"Like everything I've worked for my entire life was for nothing," I replied, "I just can't believe that Laila would exile me just like that. She didn't even give me a chance to find any evidence."

"Maybe you should have kept what you remembered to yourself until you had evidence? Might have worked in your favour?"

"Probably." I said, sighing. "I just got so angry, you know? I couldn't not react."

The thing about the Black-Briar's, or rather the thing about Maven, was that they were basically in charge of Riften. They had everything in their back pockets. Where the Jarl was officially the ruler of Riften, Maven made all the desicions; or rather manipulated the Jarl into making them.

I suddenly remembered I was talking to myself, "This is odd."

Alice laughed, "Don't worry, simply think your side of the conversation. I can hear your thoughts."

"What? You can?" I said, intreagued and wary at the same time.

Alice laughed again, "Haha, well I can't hear ALL your thoughts; just those that you want me to hear."

There was a brief silence where I gathered my thought's. Haveing a gurdian spirit seemed pretty nift, but I worried that It would be a huige invasion of my privacy. Dispite that I couldn't ditch the necklace which carried my Guardian Stone; it was only physical memory of Arthur I had.

Besides, I couldn't imagine losing Alice at that moment, anyway. Even though i'd only just met her, she was the closest thing to a friend I had.

I continued to walk, eventually coming across Khajiit caravaners camping alongside the road. I smiled to myself.

If I explain my situation maybe they would be willing to donate some supplies to me?

Plucking up all the pride and dignity I could muster, I approached one of the Khajiit, smiling. She smiled back.

"Is there something I can help you with?" She asked.

"Yes," I started, "You see,,,"

I stopped speaking for a moment. I wasn't sure whether to tell the truth to the Khajiit woman. I didn't want her judging me; so I decided to lie to her, saving myself any humiliation.

"I was travelling to Riften to see a friend and some bandits ambushed me and stole all my belongings..."

"Oh that's terrible." She replied; no empathy in her voice whatsoever; at least none that I could detect.

I waited for any other kind of response, but there wasn't one. I dewcided to continue in the hope that she would see what I was hinting for.

"I told the guards but there is nothing they can do and they won't let me in the city without any money. I'm very hungry you see. All I need is food."

The Khajiit remained silent, only smiled sympathetically; but that soon stopped.

She wasn't taking the hint that I was after a few free supplies, which due to the fact that I always recieved free goods my whole life came as quite a shock.

I awkwardly bid the Khajiit farewell and continued on my travels.

"Well that was embarassing. You were very Helpful." I teased Alice.

Alice laughed. "I'm sorry, but you were so adamant that you would be successful; I needed you to see that there will be dissapointment in the road ahead."

"You could have warned me before hand. I looked a little bit pathetic." I laughed.

I decided to find out more about my new companion, with the hope it would pass some time whilst I walked to Shor's Stone.

"So tell me something about yourself?" I asked.

"Something like what?" she asked me, a bit wary.

"Anything. Where did you live when you were alive?"

She was silent for a moment before telling me. She seemed hesitant to say anything. I'd obviously brought up something she was trying to forget.

"Well I was originally from High Rock and with me being a Breton I was attuned to magic, so I decided to study at the Arcane University in Cyrodiil."

"Was it fun?"

"Not really. I was there during the Oblivion Crisis 200 years ago and I somehow managed to get myself caught up in that."

There was a brief silence. I'd obviously brought up some kind of painful memory, so she changed the subject. "That reminds me, I once met a Redguard who had a Guardian Stone."

I raised my eyebrows, "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. She told me that, at first, her Guardian Spirit was a burden, an inconvience."

"Really? Right now I see it as very beneficial."

"She certainly didn't. She told me that she got 'creeped out by the thought that he could see her bathing." She liked to annoy him a lot to. It did'nt take her too long before she got used to him though. They grew to become great friends."

I smiled to myself, "Hopefully we will too."

Wonderful to see Valentine and Alice settling in to each other. Our girl probably really needs the company now.

‘She wasn't taking the hint that I was after a few free supplies, which due to the fact that I always recieved free goods my whole life came as quite a shock.’
This was hilarious but also shows that the life Valentine had been given in Riften wasn’t really of her own making. I bet she’ll actually do better on her own now (with Alice of course).

An enjoyable tribute to Lissa as well!

I have to say I do love this story (not JUST because Valentine has the same surname as me )

Although it's sad you most likely wont continue this (although I hope one day you can), what you have left us with is fabulous!

Again all I wish you is a speedy recovery babe!

morelove&hugs

xxx

I don't know how I missed you posting this Rihanae! My favorite scene was Valentine lying to the Khajiit and her not falling for it, ROFL! That was perfect!

You are always in my thoughts, I hope you get back on your feet soon! You are greatly missed!