In the depths of twilight, all is revealed. In the endless shadows of death reign those who no longer dwell in the brightness of life. She would know; she'd sent more people than she could count to dwell in such shadows. She had killed people for money, for love, and for simple bloodlust. She stole whatever she wanted without regard for those who would attack her- her bow ensured that she never needed worry. She was everything the people of Cyrodiil feared- the Gray Fox, the leader of the Dark Brotherhood, a merciless killer. And a dark elf, no less.
And yet, in the soft purples and blues of that twilight, she found herself staring into the eyes of Martin Septim, the illegitimate heir to the Emperor, and realizing that she loved him.
It hadn't begun that way. She had been arrested while she was sleeping, and was facing the rest of her life in jail for- what was it? 143 counts of murder, 18 of which had been guards, more counts of theft than even they could begin to count, and possession of the Gray Fox mask. They had even found her secret stash of lock picks and stolen them. So she was trapped, and was beginning to realize that she was going to spend the rest of her life in this jail, listening to the chatter of guards.
Then… Then he had come. Emperor Uriel Septim, ruler of Tamriel. He had come into her cell and stared into her eyes, and told her that he had seen her in a dream. He had allowed her to follow them out of the jail cell, and escape that hellhole of a dungeon. The goblins and other creatures had been a little difficult at first, but she found a bow and a large supply of arrows, and contented herself with that. She had helped the cold Blades with him kill off the assassins- only if they looked at her, of course. He had given her the Amulet of Kings, the most valuable artifact in Tamriel, and told her to find Jauffre, and his son. He had ordered her to close shut the jaws of Oblivion.
And then the wall had opened, and she had watched Uriel Septim die.
She followed the Blade's instructions to escape the prison, and upon seeing the sunlight again, had realized that the Emperor had saved her life. And so, being an 'honorable' assassin, she had set out on the quest- after getting back her stuff, of course.
It had been difficult. Oblivion was a place for pious knights and swordsman, not marksman women wearing robes. And it didn't matter how intriguing of a man Martin was, nor how secretly enjoyable it was to see admiration in his eyes when she shot and killed a bandit with one arrow- it was still an immensely difficult quest, and anyone else would have given up.
But for some reason, the thought of giving up, the thought of leaving Martin and the rest to the Daedra, never even occurred to Celana.
And now, after going through hell and back to get the items ready, it was time to go to Mankar Camoran's Paradise. When next the sun rose, she would go into Paradise after the Amulet of Kings. But before that happened, she pulled Martin aside, into his rooms, to speak with him. She was filled with the sense that if she died, she wouldn't rest without Martin knowing who she was, what she had done. It was in that idea that she realized that she loved him. When she had shut the Great Oblivion Gate, it had been relief at seeing his face- not at having the Stone. When she killed the spies in Bruma, it was so they could not get to Martin.
She wondered when it had happened. When she stopped dreaming of a certain dark-haired Speaker, long dead, and begun dreaming instead of the future Emperor. When she had completed his missions for the sole reason of wanting to see him smile.
And it was for these reasons that she couldn't leave, couldn't face death, while he thought she was a good person.
"You wished to speak with me, Celana?" She nodded, not looking at him for a moment. Her dusky blue skin was clean of blood at last after a long bath, and her black hair was clean for what felt like the first time in months. Perhaps it was. Finally, after steeling her nerve, she met Martin's eyes with her own red ones. "It is time you know who I am, Martin Septim." She said quietly. Martin smiled softly. "You wish to tell me you are a killer?"
Celana froze, then relaxed and smiled wryly. "You're smarter than I give you credit for, I suppose. But I am more than that." She glanced at him. "You might want to sit. Once I start, I don't think I'll be able to stop." He nodded and sat. She took a deep breath and began.
She told him everything. She told him of her birth to nobles in Morrowind, of her sister Celina that everyone loved so much because she was a proper Mage. She told him of coming to Cyrodiil in hopes of joining the Dark Brotherhood, and succeeding. She told him of discovering the curious method of duplicating items, and of always keeping scrolls on hand afterwards. She described to him in detail her contracts, and her prophetic vision that later came true in her adventures as a Silencer. She told him of the Purification, and of the absolute agony she felt as she saw the arrows pierce the skulls of the only real family she had ever known. She told him of her growing feelings for Lucien Lachance, and their kiss after she killed Ungolim. She told him of finding the basement in Anvil Lighthouse, and the frightening diary. She told him in a cracking voice of coming to Applewatch in time to see Lucien breathe his final breath. She told him of meeting the Night Mother, and of using the head of Mathieu Bellamont's mother to distract him long enough to kill him, and of being proclaimed Listener. She told him of the Night Mother's reward, of allowing her one night in the shadows of Sithis with Lucien.
She told him of joining the Thieves Guild, of rising through the ranks. She told him of robbing the castles of each and every town simply for the joy of knowing she could. She told him of keeping only a few arrows on hand so she wouldn't be tempted to kill anyone. She told him of gaining the respect and fear of everyone in the guild, and eventually meeting the Gray Fox himself. She told him of the primal joy she found in the mission to the Blind Moth's crypts, and of her tracking down each and every priest and slaughtering them all. She told him of the Ultimate Heist, and becoming the Gray Fox herself. She wondered quietly to herself if he believed her about that, what with the spell being on it that she could never be recognized as the Fox. Throughout her entire speech, he was perfectly still and silent, his expression never changing.
"So, as you can see," She said with finality. "I am evil. I am a cold, heartless killer, not the hero everyone seems to think I am." She sighed quickly. "I just felt you needed to know that before I went to Paradise." He was still staring at her with that perfectly blank expression on his face. She felt a huge weight settle on her- he hated her now, surely. She turned away. "I'm going to go get some sleep for tomorrow, sire, and then-" "Shut up, Celana."
Celana blinked and turned to him with a questioning look in her eyes. "You think I care about any of that?" He asked coolly, and she blinked. "Excuse me?" She asked, and he grinned wryly. "Celana, I've known from the first day I met you that you were a murderer. Maybe I didn't know everything, but I knew that much." He stepped towards her until he had her pressed to a wall. "And I don't care." He whispered, and her eyes widened to the point of pain. She didn't believe him- how could she believe him? He smiled at the confusion in her eyes. "You're still my savior, Celana. Still my friend." He whispered. Heat poured through her, but she felt the need to protest nonetheless. Surely he was delusional. "But… I'm evi-" But before the word could finish, he had his mouth on hers, and suddenly it didn't matter anymore that he was Martin Septim, or that she was the most wanted person in Cyrodiil. As he gently pulled her towards his bed, and she went quite willingly, all that mattered was each other.
And Celana was happy with that.