A week later. The fateful date was coming up. Mother and I were about to claim the Black Briar family’s deeds to sabotage them. I was stretching outside while Sammy left the house after giving some heads up to my mom.

My relationship with little Sammy had improved, I got to know her and soon came to consider her as the little sister I never had. 
"Hi, Lucille! You getting ready for tonight? Can I give you a hand?"
"Hey Sammy! Sure, why not! Have you ever been used as a weight before? I'm guessing not, so go ahead, climb on my back!"

I got down on all fours with little Sammy mounting me. I underestimated how heavy she was and I started to feel like I couldn't keep this pose much longer...
"Yeah! Again, once more! You're the best horse I've ever had, Lucille!"

I kept working out with Sammy by my side. When I got into this position to stretch my back, I could feel tiny fingers scratching my foot.
"Don't you dare tickle me, young girl! I can fight back properly this time!"
"But it's a good endurance challenge! You need to step up your game!"
"I guess you're right... Fine, you can tickle me for one minute while I maintain some of my poses."

I began to doubt my earlier decision a bit. The little girl knelt down behind me and tickled my armpits. I started laughing softly, thank goodness I wasn't overly sensitive there.
"You're staying strong, Lucille! Or maybe you're not very ticklish in that spot..."

My last posture ended up being tricky. I was supposed to hold my legs up high enough in the air with my feet directly under Sammy's little hands. My soles were likely one of my most sensitive ticklish spots of my entire body and a minute can sometimes last a lot longer than it should. 
"Ah, that's much better! You can keep laughing, Lucille, but you have to hold on until the very end!"
"Ahahahahah! I will resist!"

After the workout, Sammy and I kept chatting casually while I did some cross-legged stretches before Mother arrived. 
"Alright, children, that's enough bonding! Sammy, I can see you're tired, so go home and get some sleep. Lucille, you come inside. We need to talk about tonight's job."
"You're right, Miss Eclipse, but I like hanging out with your daughter... She's my super-cool big friend!"
"Oh... Thanks, Sammy, you're so sweet! We'll play together another time! Off you go now!"

"I'm glad you get along so well with Sammy. She's such a kind little girl but I'm afraid the Thieves' Guild might take advantage of her..."
"Then why didn't you adopt the poor thing, Mother?"
"I don't know... Maybe because of how I acted towards my own daughter...Anyway, we'll talk about this later."

We went to the guest room, where Mother briefed me on tonight's mission.
"Two burglaries to commit, the first at the Black-Briar mansion, the second at their meadery. I'll take care of their property before midnight, then you'll take over the brewery a few hours later. In and out, quietly without violence, only stealing the deed. Questions?"
"Yes. Why this time delay and where do we meet up afterwards?"
"Security-wise, no one will be around. Maven gets home at midnight, and there's no night watch at the meadery between two and three in the morning. That's your window. Meet me at Riften's south gate once you're done, and together we'll hide our loot."

Since you have some time to kill, I suggest you go take a nap."
"But it's only seven in the evening, Mom! I'm past being a kid, and I'm not even sleepy!"
"No arguing, I'm not leaving until you fall asleep!"

A few minutes later, Mom was right, and I fell asleep like a baby, helped by the workout that left me worn out enough to get some rest.
"Sweet dreams, Lucille! I'll see you later at dawn, and we'll celebrate our success in style, I promise!"

The nap restored me greatly! I put on my entire outfit, tied my hair back, and slipped on the mask to hide my face. I was ready to pull off this seemingly easy burglary, however, I had to stay on my toes. Always expect the unexpected...

I hid on the Black-Briar Meadery's corner to scout the area. It was a mild, moonlit night where no one was around the docks, just a stray cat wandering aimlessly. Picklocking the door should not pose any problems whatsoever.

Once inside, I swiftly examined the place. I was on the middle level; the lower level contained the production tanks and barrels, while the upper level housed the shop and the office where the deed was meant to be stored. That had to be my first stop.

I moved forward cautiously, taking cover behind the large wooden supports. Even though the premises were clear, I needed to be prepared for anything, such as a guard appearing out of nowhere.

Upstairs, I thought I heard a noise coming from the shop and took cover. I waited a few seconds before making my way to the office, across the corridor.

As I searched around the room, I found a note written by the Black-Briar matriarch. 
"Indaryn, If you ever dare to create arbitrary rules on my behalf again without informing me first, I'll have Maul personally show you what your insides look like. I trust that we're clear on this issue and I won't have to mention it again. Also, don't forget to stash the document in the wall behind the staircase at the bottom level. Maven."

Downstairs, according to the note's instructions, the contract is supposed to be located in the alcove behind the hay bales. Something about this seemed too easy, and I wondered if there might be a catch...

My heart skipped a beat when I saw exactly what was hiding in that corner. I couldn't believe it, I stammered out my shocked thoughts just to get a word out of my mouth.

"Mo... Mother???"

It was Mother, stripped down to her underwear, tied to a pole and gagged with a cloth. She tried to warn me about the danger lurking behind me with her eyes, but it was already too late. The fact she had been taken prisoner meant I was next in line.

Someone jumped me from behind and choked me. I resisted, but with both my arms locked in place, I could only watch helplessly as the world around me slowly faded away. I'm sorry, Mother...
"Good girl, quit fighting and just let yourself go."

Poor Lucille... It was all my fault; I should never have let myself be captured like this. I was so angry.... First at myself, then at Maven, that snake, who showed up right after her right-hand man pulled the mask off my daughter’s face.
"Good job, Maul. That's Teresa's slave. Did she put up any opposition?"
"Not really, no. But I heard her say “Mother” just before I knocked her out."
"Interesting. Search her, undress her, and bind her. We're going to take them both to our secluded residence."

"Oh, Teresa... How clever of you to pass off your own daughter as a slave to keep her safe. Guess she wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps, huh? Don't worry, I'll take good care of her, and of you, too. You two caused me some headaches, but that's just a minor setback. At least I can put my hand on you... My, my, even at your age, you still have firm breasts, how fortunate!"

Maven turned out to be a fierce competitor. She now had the opportunity to take all my business and get rid of me at the same time.

I had to be strong, for myself and for my Lucille. 
"By the way Teresa, I didn't mention it, but thanks to your cheeky little brat from the Thieves' Guild, I’ve learned everything there is to know about your Eclipse business. That’s also how I figured out you were coming to rob me. Rest assured, though, I’m no monster. I’ll send that girl to do the Guild’s dirty work in another city, far away from Riften. You can reflect on that, hahaha!"

Looks like Maven had something up her sleeve... You know what they say: what goes around comes around, right? 

And now both Lucille and Teresa (Mother) are in big trouble...

The next chapter will be longer and divided into two parts; I have a couple of ideas about how I want to structure it. Expect peril, torture, sex, and perhaps a future life of slavery for our protagonists... Until a miracle occurs.