A Frosted Brotherhood

by NeoResilience

This is the story of the Dark Brotherhood, and how one Marina Frost changed it. Many Original Characters, quests, storys, etc. UPDATE: 1/12/2013. The End. Read final chapter. Abandoned. Sorry.

1. Part 1: Marina Frost

Disclaimer: I do not own the Elder Scrolls series or any of its content. Permission to use my custom characters must be through me, you have but to ask. I hope you enjoy this story. It's only the first part of the big picture!
_

Marina was crouched, her breathing slowed by her concentration. Her target lay ahead in Clearspring Tarn. She nocked an arrow to her Imperial Bow and tested the string. It was slightly frayed, and she knew she would have to get a new bow soon. She checked her quiver and counted sixty iron arrows. Good. She raised her dark brown eyes and watched as a cloud loomed overhead. A storm was coming. Her target raised its head. Marina fired.

The elk fell to her arrow, an almost perfect hit. What she wasn't expecting was to hear the cry of a man. Marina stayed in her crouched position, waiting to see who was going to arrive. She was glad she did. A Nord, a fellow kinsman, was cursing as he walked up to her kill. She intended to kill him, but noticed the cloud had parted and she was illuminated.

"What the hell?" The man said, "You, woman! That was my kill! I'd stalked it for hours!" The youth cried out.

Marina sighed, she wasn't much a speaker. This boy had a lot to learn when it came to hunting. If your target is taken, move to another. He's probably alerted even Dawnstar to his presence. She nocked another arrow to her bow, and kept it by her side. The youth, in his ignorance, thought an animal was behind him and turned to see nothing, but darkness. For as he turned, Marina fired an arrow into the hunter's neck. A small spot, but completely unarmored compared to the rest of his attire. A grin met her face, showing unnaturally white teeth, before she crept towards the hunter.

There were some pelts of the various wildlife on his body, but that was not what she was interested in. She slung the Imperial Bow and its case towards the body and looted the 14 iron arrows, including her own. She then took the little gold he had, his hunting bow, and a chunk of venison. She smirked at the fool, thinking to do something like that. As she made her way to carve her elk and take her arrow, a rock rolled down the mountainside to her right. She pulled her steel dagger from her waist and was making her way to the Clearspring Cave when an arrow landed itself four feet in front of her.

She took off at a sprint towards the cave, entering to find a troll with his back turned to her. At least, she assumed it was a male from the evidence she saw. It may have just been a fat roll. Nevertheless, she crouched down before she was detected and slid herself into the shallow pool of water to her left. With the archer in pursuit, she knew the best way was to try to hide. The troll was perfect coincidence. The man, although quiet, had not expected the troll. His foot hit a rock that splashed only inches from Marina's face. The troll heard this and turned, but not before an arrow hit him in the shoulder.

The troll grunted and broke the arrow off before charging at the archer. Marina couldn't see anything, but she could hear that the fight was an even match. Finally, a blade clattered, followed by a thud. She heard the troll's pained breathing and climbed out of the water. Her dagger still in hand, she made her way towards the troll before stabbing it in the back expertly. With both enemies dead, she went back to the archer and sighed in exasperation. He was wearing black and red armor, tight to his body, with a cowl that covered the lower part of his face. The Dark Brotherhood.

Marina looted the body of some gold, an orcish dagger, some steel arrows, and a folded piece of parchment. She read the note;

As instructed, you are to eliminate Marina Frost by bow. The Black Sacrament has been performed-somebody, and I, want this bitch dead.

We've already lost Eliza, Ricon, Aanora, Baric, and Oliviana. Failure cannot reach you too, Elswick.

-Astrid

Marina smirked, that made it the six assassination attempt on her in the past month. Somebody really loathed her, but obviously didn't know what she was doing. She got a fair idea of who Astrid was as a person, but this was foolish. Why did she send an assassin with the job of using a bow, when the man was obviously a terrible shot? She folded the parchment and slid it into the book with the rest of the contracts that were set on her. She was about to turn and leave when she saw the glint of something on the opposite side of the cave. She made her way to it.

She found on a table a book titled Vernaccus and Bourlor By Tavi Dromio, but she had already learned all she could from it. Next to it, however, was a bow in a case of some sort. As soon as she touched it, she knew it was unique. A paper fluttered to the floor as she tossed the book aside. According to the paper, the bow was stronger than other hunting bows and held an enchantment that did extra damage to animals. Perfect for hunting.

Marina checked the chest to the right of the table and found some gold coins and a garnet gem. She pocketed both before exiting the cave. It was time for her to return to Shor's Stone to sell her loot.

The trip back was quick and straightforward, coming across only a den of fox that fled when Marina approached. She grinned with amusement and went on her way. By the time she arrived there, the sun had begun to set. Maybe she could sell to Sylgia before making her way to Riften. She intended to sell the Bow of the Hunt to the highest bidder. She didn't really like magic besides her Magelight spell. She had some fun playing with the Riften guards when she was caught with 'stolen' goods. Planted by an associate of Brynjolf's. No matter, she was free now and was going to sell in the morning.

She traded some rabbit meat to Sylgia for a place to sleep, and drifted off into darkness.

When she awoke, she felt confused before remembering where she was. She laughed at herself and left Shor's Stone with a nod to Sylgia, who lay snoring in her bed.

As she approached Riften's gates, she overheard the guards talking amongst themselves.

"Yes, that's right. Helgen, destroyed by a Dragon. The end of times is here. I might as well just go in there and start slaughtering the town now."

"Broki, are you insane? Watch what you're saying, Black-Briar has ears everywhere. Not to mention, I don't like the look of Pale-Skin over there."

Marina scowled. She hated being Albino. But it does have its advantages when seducing certain types of guys. Priests of Arkay basically switched to Dibella when they saw her.

"Yes, I heard you guys. Now let me into Riften or I'll send a very vivid letter with the name Broki to Maven Black-Briar. And trust me, I've had a history with Black-Briar."

It was true, she had a history with her. She was hired by Sibbi to track down his girl, but Maven found out first. She had instead hired Marina to cover up evidence of Sibbi's misbehavior, and since then Maven has hired Marina to do very different jobs. From killing a priest to saving an elder. It seemed every time Marina went out and did a job, Maven benefited from it highly. Marina didn't care. She got a decent amount of gold, and kept the Guild off her back.

The guards shrugged and pulled their swords out, coming close to Marina. She just laughed and raised her hands at them. She cast a double magelight spell, and amplified the brightness. The guards dropped their weapons and covered their eyes, almost being blinded. Marina walked past them into Riften where she saw Maven giving an approving look. She didn't like having guards killed, but anything besides that and she was content.

She walked to the vendor's stalls and talked to the vendors there. She couldn't remember the names of any of them besides Brand-Shei. Rumor was he crossed someone he shouldn't have. After a few hours of conversing, bartering, complaining and trading, she had left with three dozen elven arrows, a dwarven bow, and 150 gold pieces. As she was about to leave for Whiterun, she heard a psstand looked to see a shadow beckoning from an alleyway.

She knew it was probably a trap, but she was feeling quite reckless today. She cast a magelight spell towards the shadow and it stuck to the figure. The figure shouted and ran off into the ratway. Marina chased after the figure and repeatedly kept slamming magelights onto the mysterious figure until it turned and attacked Marina. She shouted in surprise and fell back. She pulled her steel dagger out and stabbed the assailant in the thigh. The figure, now revealed to be an assassin, screamed. It was a girl. Marina got up and ran off into the thin, twisting tunnels of the Ratway and readied her Magelight spell. She put all her magicka into the spell, and waited until the assassin came near and unleashed a blinding magelight onto the assassin.

She collapsed, grabbing her head and screaming in agony. Marina sighed and dragged the assassin to one of the many shackles in the tunnels and locked the assassin up. She brought up a bucket and overturned it, using it as a makeshift stool.

"Now, assassin, we talk." Marina knew what was to come and knew it wasn't going to be clean. She took off her leather gloves and imperial boots first and sat them on the opposite side of the room. She then took off her fur armor folded it, placing it next to her boots. She shivered, it was cold standing there in a few pieces of leather. She considered removing those too, but she felt she had to keep a bit of dignity.

The assassin groaned and looked around, before realizing she couldn't see. She grinned.

"So this is how it ends.. Take this blindfold off me, will you?" She asked, with a sinister tone.

Marina laughed, darkly.

"You're not wearing one. And the lights are on."

After hearing this, the assassin screamed before she got the hilt of a steel dagger across her jaw.

"Enough, Assassin. I am Marina Frost. You are the seventh assassin to come after me. Your armor says that Astrid has sent you. Answer me honestly, and I will make your death painless. Lie, or do not cooperate, and I will skin your hands and feet to the bone. You will suffer, but I will not kill you. You'll die by blood loss, if anything. Do you agree to my terms?"

The assassin grinned, and spat two feet to the left of Marina.

"I die, or I die. Very well, I'll tell you answers to your questions. What is your first?"

"Who put out the contract?"

"I cannot say. Don't get me wrong, I'd tell you if I knew. Astrid keeps names out of it. Besides yours, of course."

"Very well, what is your name?"

"My name is Kelsi Vredon, Breton of Skyrim."

"How did you become an assassin?"

"I was originally a member of the Forsworn, but after I slaughtered the rest of my tribe, I fled. I had allowed an Argonian, Veezara, to kill my sister-in-arms without alerting anyone else. I contacted him, and Astrid let me in. No strings attached."

"Bullshit."

"Yeah, oh well."

"How is the Brotherhood doing? I heard it was going downhill. Obviously the family is doing well, because Astrid was able to send seven assassins after me and they never returned."

"I was supposed to be the last, before she and Arnbjorn came after you. Good luck, because they are a powerful duo. And we are going downhill. Because of you.Our numbers have more than halved, only a handful are left. If Arnbjorn and Astrid failed, then we were to disband."

"I'm honored to be a high-priority target. Tell me about Arnbjorn."

"I'm afraid I can't. We're sworn not to betray our family. It's time for me to die, Marina. If I could have one final request, it is this. Run. Escape from Skyrim before you destroy the Brotherhood. We're the last of them, let us live. What is light without darkness?"

"I'll consider it, Kelsi. Thank you for being cooperative, for the most part. Goodbye."

Marina walk over and put her armor, gloves, and boots back on. Her footsteps echoed as she began to walk away.

"Wait! Aren't you going to kill me?"

"Kelsi, I've poisoned you. You're going to die in a matter of seconds. Oh, and thanks for the contract and coin."

Marina walked away and exited the Ratway.

The sun greeted her, along with a hulking wolf-beast. It grinned, before a woman hit her in the back of the head.

She woke in a cave. Nordic, by the looks of it. She was chained to an old coffin, that read 'Red Eagle' on it. So that's where she was. In Red Eagle's tomb. She prepared to cast a spell, but found herself drained of magicka. How was that possible?

"Morning, teddy. I see you've already found out about the spells." An older man with long, white hair laughed. To his left, sitting in an old throne, was a woman that couldn't be anyone other than Astrid.

"So, you must be Arnbjorn. And Astrid, of course. I'm quite impressed by the skill the survivors of the Brotherhood have. Congratulations. You've finally caught me after seven failures. I thought you said it wasn't an option, Astrid?" Marina grinned as she spoke. She was royally screwed, but she had to have the last laugh. She tried to cast Magelight again. Nothing happened.

"Thank you, Marina, for the compliment. However, for someone so skilled to survive seven attempts from the Brotherhood, you somehow are still dull enough to believe you can use magic. The chains are enchanted with a shock spell, while the ring we've put on you has a healing enchantment on it. No magic, all health. Perfect for us, really." Astrid spoke, rising from her throne.

"What do you think of the place? It's our little hole to hide in when we can't lead guards back to our Sanctuary. Or, when we need to keep someone locked up for a while without worry of them escaping. Red Eagle was such a clever person, having a sword as the key. Put the sword in, the door opens. Take it out, the door closes." Astrid was walking towards Marina now.

"Astrid, you believe you're so clever. It's true, you are, but don't think killing me will bring back the ones you've lost. Even with me gone, you're struggling to get contracts. Who was the last contract you've had besides me?" Marina shot out, hoping to hurt with words. It worked.

"We'll bounce back, we always do. Even as we speak, The Black Sacrament is being perfomed somewhere. It's just a matter of time." Arnbjorn spoke, before Astrid could slip up.

"What about members? It takes time to train them, get them ready. I really hope the seven you sent after me weren't all rookies."

"Enough, she's stalling." Astrid spoke. She turned, and both her and Arnbjorn left the chamber. In the distance, Marina heard a stone slam. She was alone.

"Shit, shit, shit. How'd I end up like this? Kelsi even WARNED me. Shit..."

Marina looked around, and saw her stuff was scattered across a table to the left. Everything was scattered, except for the letters written by her. The only thing to remind Astrid of her brothers and sisters of darkness. Her bow was smashed, her dagger shattered, and her arrows snapped.

"Wait a sec, I'm alive. Why is that? They must want something. Maybe to learn how I could survive for so long with no military, guild, college, or companion experience. I'm surprised they don't know. They know everything else. But until they come back..."

Marina shook the chains that bound her, and noticed she had just enough room to make one of the chain links chafe against the coffin lid. She grabbed that particular link and started to slide it on the coffin lid. Hopefully, it could break. Until then, patience.

It was a few hours of sliding the link across the lid, and it was wearing thin. Just like Marina, the chain was about to break. However, before she could do anything, the stone opened once more and in walked Astrid and five people, all with execution hoods on their heads and their arms bound. They followed her fearfully, but none tried to escape.

Astrid forced the five to their knees, side by side. She then sat down in her throne and rested her head in her left hand, as if she had a headache. Suddenly, she got up and walked over to Marina and grabbed the hand that had the ring on it.

"Seriously, don't move. The less you move, the less it'll hurt." She said, vexed. Marina didn't understand until Astrid took the Ring of Healing off Marina and put it on herself. Almost suddenly, the pain of the shock magic hit her and she felt herself drifting until it suddenly vanished. Astrid had put the ring back on Marina.

"At least now you know a way to kill yourself, if you choose to." Astrid said while walking back to her throne, "Speaking of choice, there are five people here. Three of them are innocent, one is guilty, and one knows you quite well. You must kill at least three of them if you wish to survive."

"But, Astrid, I can't do anything with these chains on me." Marina groaned, still throbbing from the pain.

Astrid laughed. "So keep sliding that chain link on the coffin lid until it breaks and you're free. You honestly thought I wouldn't notice? Congrats though. You've been the second to try. Go on, keep going. It's not like you can go anywhere. Arnbjorn has closed the chamber and won't open it until I say so."

Marina, reluctantly, kept sliding the chain link against the coffin lid until after over an hour, it seemed, it broke. She could move her arm more, and used it to get the chains off her. She looked at Astrid.

"How am I supposed to kill them, without being able to see who knows me? That kind of ruins the fun for you."

Astrid laughed. "So you already know how to play this game? Wonderful! Cooperation is key. Hmm, why don't you use this old thing?"

She was holding an Ancient Nord Bow that had a few arrows strapped to it. She tossed it to Marina, who caught it with surprise at how much it weighed.

"Yes, around 18 pounds or so. I was surprised too. Go ahead, shoot. And don't bother shooting me, because you'll find I'm better armored than the rest of you."

Marina looked at the weapon in her head. How could this even be considered a bow? It looked like a dead tusk. She grabbed one of the arrows and nocked it. She aimed at the second one to the right and fired, hitting the person in the head. Instant death. She fired at the middle one, and hit them in the shoulder. She fired a second shot to kill that one. She sent her final arrow into the head of the last one, piercing the top of the head. Astrid applauded, but Marina wasn't finished yet. She grabbed an embalming tool and walked over to a survivor and shot the metal up through its jaw, killing them as well. She laughed, the blood from her victims had pooled into a large puddle. She went to the last victim and forced his face, hood and all, into the deepest part of the puddle. He drowned in blood.

Astrid was laughing with happiness. She was clapping, smiling, and most of all not holding a weapon to Marina.

"Well, that was unexpected. But one of them had to be the one, right? I mean, you killed five people! Five! And the last one! Magnificent! Babette would be proud!"

Well, that's four people of the Brotherhood I know exist. Astrid, Arnbjorn, Veezara, and Babette.

Marina was ignoring Astrid. She took the execution hoods off her victims to see a khajiit that seemed to be part of a caravan, a Nordic woman, a Breton man, an Orc, and...

"You slipped up, Astrid. You thought you grabbed someone who knew me. This woman, and you, don't know me at all."

Marina reached down and lifted the head of the woman, the one she slammed an embalming tool into, and showed it to Astrid.

"My mother thought I was dead, and forgot about me. You thought I had contacts within the Brotherhood. Speaking of which, what now?"

"Now, my dearest Marina, I give you the opprutunity of a lifetime. And if you refuse, than I'll let you go. You killed seven of us, but you just killed five for us. That's right, they all had contracts out on them. Would you join us, dear Marina? I want to take our relationship to the next level."

"Can I have a moment? I doubt you'd truly let me go, and what about my gear? You destroyed my weapons, and my armor is almost torn to shreds."

"Marina, we will provide you with everything you could possibly need. A family, a home, love, food, weapons. Tools. And you, if you so wish, can have an armor just like mine. You're such a talented young woman, you enjoyed the last two. Please, won't you join us?"

"Very well, Astrid. I accept, though I haven't much choice. I'll join the Dark Brotherhood."

What Marina didn't expect, was to be grasped in an all too-tight hug from Astrid. There was obviously something very wrong with her. Besides the death dealership, of course.

"I'm so happy you said yes! At first, I thought you'd try killing me. I really didn't want to kill you, you're so talented!" Astrid praised, but suddenly went bipolar and glared at Marina.

"But let me get one thing straight, I am the leader of the Dark Brotherhood. My word is law. Cross any of us, and we'll kill you."

"Astrid, sister, I would not dream of hurting you. You've already given me so much."

Astrid looked like she was fighting back a smile, and walked over to a cabinet.

"Well, at least you're addressing me like family, sister. Here, these are enchanted to boost your abilities. Also, they adapt to your shape and size. Festus was clever in that trick."

Five.

"Well, when can we be off?" Marina asked as she was pulling on her Shrouded Armor, leaving the cowl down. She preferred to have her hair out.

"We can leave for home now, if you'd like." Astrid laughed. She was seriously messed up.

"Truly, Sister Marina, I'm so happy you're with us now. And don't worry about our brothers and sisters, they bear no ill will against you. If we leave now, we can make it by dinnertime.?" Astrid asked hopefully.

"Yes, Astrid. We can go now." Marina smiled back at her, genuinely. Who knows, this might actually be quite good for her.

They arrived at the Black Door outside of Falkreath, and when getting close to the door, it whispered to them. Almost as if it were alive.

"What is the music of life?" It asked.

Astrid looked back at Marina and smiled.

"Silence, my Brother."

The door replied, "Welcome Home."

It opened, and the two of them walked into the main chamber where Arnbjorn was hammering away at some metal. After noticing the newcomer, he whistled and people came out into the chamber to see their new sister. She recognized Veezara, only because of his Argonian ways.

"My dearest family, this is Marina. She has joined us after our pursuit led to the loss of seven of our closest friends. Please, welcome her."

Arnbjorn walked up to her and grabbed her hand.

"Arnbjorn, werewolf. Nice to know I'm not hunting you anymore, hamshack."

"Nice to know I don't have to kill you, pup."

The room laughed, and an older man wearing robes walked to Marina. He didn't touch her.

"I'm Festus Krex, Master Destroyer and Wizard extraordinaire. Keep sharp, don't want to lose you too."

"Ah, Festus, I've heard so much about you already. I must say, though I'm not partial to magic, the enchantments on this armor are quite clever. You must have saved our family a lot of money on armor production."

Festus smiled a little bit, before walking back to his Alchemy Lab.

"Don't mind him, he's just mad because I brew a better ale." A girl's voice rang out.

Marina looked around, and saw a little girl sitting by the waterfall. She jumped a little bit, and was embarrassed by the laughter that followed.

"Astrid...what is a little girl doing here?"

"I'm no little girl, besides my body of course. I'm a vampire, reaching my 312th birthday this Frostfall. My name is Babette, and it's so nice to meet you!"

She hugged Marina around the waist and, sensing discomfort, back away.

"Babette, it's nice to meet you too. I've got a story to share with you that Astrid thought would be perfect." Marina smiled, looking at Astrid.

"Really? Wonderful! I'm afraid it'll have to wait, I have to go to Riften. My parents are dead, and I have no place to go..."

Astrid giggled.

"Have fun, and be safe sister!" She called as Babette ran off. Marina stared after her until a scaly hand touched her shoulder.

"Hello, I'm Veezara." He said indifferently.

"Ah, Veezara. I'm terribly sorry about Kelsi. She told me about you before I killed her."

"She did? What did she say?"

"Just that you were the reason she was in the Brotherhood, and that she thought you were her closest friend." Another lie.

"Ah, that brings me a bit of peace. By the way, congrats on the use of the shackles. Been a while since we locked anyone up." He walked away before Marina could say anything more.

"Sister!" A dunmer woman shouted before hugging Marina. Marina fell onto the ground from the force of impact.

"Ah, um, erm.." Marina stuttered as a Redguard man pulled the Dunmer off of Marina. He helped her up.

"Don't mind Gabriella, Sister. She's just happy there's another woman in the family. I'm Nazir, by the way, you'll get the smaller contracts from me. Speaking of which..." Nazir looked at Astrid, who nodded her head.

"Marina, I've got five contracts here and they've all got your name on them. This time, as the assassin. Not the target. You can do them one-by-one for payment, or take them all out before returning. They must be done, but there's no time limit on these ones."

Marina smiled, her first day and she's already been offered another five people to kill?

"I'll take them all, now please."

Nazir stiffened, but took the envelopes and handed them to Marina.

"Inside are the details of the contracts. Kill them any way you'd like. All that matters is that they die."

"Arnbjorn?" Marina called out, "I'm going to need a Dagger and Bow."

Astrid reached around and grabbed a Steel Dagger, hunting bow, and 12 Steel Arrows.

"Already got it, sister. Sorry, we haven't been out to get crafting materials lately."

"That's alright, Astrid. I can work with this. Do you think Babette could brew me a Paralysis potion? It needs to last about 20 seconds."

"Babette?" Astrid called.

"Don't worry, I heard. I'm a vampire, I can hear almost everything in this place. Though sometimes I really wish I couldn't."

Though she couldn't see Babette, Marina knew that she was implying that Astrid keep quiet during her time off.

Marina walked to the dining hall and sat in a chair, opening her first contract with the Brotherhood.

"Her name is Beiltild, a miner at Dawnstar. She's either sitting on a bench outside her house, at the smelter, or sleeping. Guard patrols overlap at the smelter, one goes past the house every ten minutes." Nazir's handwriting told Marina.

Marina smiled. So Beiltild was a miner, who worked with white-hot liquid metal on a daily basis. She got up and left for Dawnstar.

"Sister, make sure Babette has the poison ready by the time I get back. I'll pay her for it from my contract." Marina said to Gabriella, who thought she was hidden from Marina.

It was going on Eleven P.M. and Beiltild was working at the smelter, getting some last-minute ingots in before she went to bed. Marina was hidden in a thick snowberry bush, and watched as the guard walked by for the last time before his replacement came. The replacement was always three minutes late, and that was just enough time for Marina.

She watched as the ore melted into liquid, and Beiltild put more coal into the smelter. She was distracted and didn't notice the the lute string wrap around her neck, choking her. Marina whispered in her ear,

"Scream, and I'll cut your tongue out. Do you understand?"

Beiltild nodded, and was knocked to her knees, before being flipped over on her back. Marina strattled her, pinning her arms to the ground by her knees. Marina stuffed a wad of leather into Beiltild's mouth before lifting her up and placing her right underneath the hot liquid. Beiltild's eyes widened in fear and she thrashed about, trying to escape. Marina whispered again,

"Shh, the Void beckons you. Let it be over with."

With that, she punched Beiltild in the jaw, jumped back, and poured the hot liquid all over Beiltild's body. The smell of burned flesh hit the air, and Marina stared as Beiltild's torso began to disappear, leaving only a large, burned hole. A guard was in the distance, and Marina took off into the mine.

She quickly changed out of her Shrouded Armor and placed it in a knapsack that was sitting on the shelf. Looking around, she picked up an old miner's uniform and slipped it on, along with a pair of boots, before putting the bag on her back. She grabbed a pickax and placed it on her shoulder and walked out of the mine singing;

"We drink to our youth, to days come and gone, for the age of aggression, is just about done."

The guards noticed her, because she was singing, but she quickly stopped and feigned horror as she saw Beiltild with a huge hole in her chest.

"What happened? Who did this?" She screamed. One of the guards came over to quiet her down, and walked her over to the Windpeak Inn for a drink. She downed the Nord Mead and listened as the guard tried explaining to her the situation.

"With the lack of sleep in town, people can work later. She, like yourself, was working when...when thathappened. Perhaps it was her ex-lover, Leigelf. It would make sense. The stress of the separation, the lack of sleep, the fact that she's been outselling ingots faster than his workers can mine it. I think maybe you should get out of town, before something happens to you, too."

Marina looked at the guard, and shook her head.

"But I don't have a lot of money. I was going to bring the ore to Beiltild for some septims, but...but..."

Marina wailed and buried her face in her arms. To anyone else, it would look like she was sobbing. She, however, was laughing.

"Shh, don't worry. I'll pay for a carriage, tonight. Did you have anything else?"

"No..just what I've got on my back."

"Very well, let's go."

The two left the Inn and the guard was walking towards the carriage when suddenly Marina fell down. She pretended to faint, and the guard panicked before lifting her up and setting her in the back of the carriage.

She felt her shirt move, and knew that the pervert was trying to get a look before sending her off. Oh well, it was the price she had to pay, let it be. At least he didn't try raping her.

"...Yes, Windhelm. Take her there, hurry. Tell Free-Winter that Golnir sent her."

"Aye, sir. For you, twenty septims."

And then they were off. She waited until they were near an old inn she stayed at previously, Nightgate Inn, before she opened the knapsack and changed into her Shrouded gear. She opened the next contract and saw that it was an Ennodius Papius. The man lived close to Anga's Mill, and once the Inn was out of sight, she took the knapsack, put it on her back, and dove off the carriage. The man would be in for a surprise when he went to wake the girl up and see she was gone.

She walked along the road until the sun began to rise, then she sprinted towards the mill. The letter said the target would be camping just a few yards west of it. She saw the man, sleeping, and decided to change back into her Miner's outfit. She was glad she kept it, because disguises work so well. She lifted the bedroll and tossed it, man and all, into the river. When he awoke, he found that the bedroll had tightened on itself from the cold water and that he couldn't get out. That was the least of his worries. The river sent him flowing downstream in a spiral, and he was floating right towards the water wheel. His legs hit the wheel first, and a loud crack, followed by a scream woke the sleeping millers. When they came out, it was too late. Ennodius' body was mangled to almost no recognition, while Marina watched from the rocks up ahead. She saw, much to her dismay, a woman looking right at her. She just nodded and gave a thumbs up before walking back into her house. The woman must have set the contract up.

Marina had to admit, she really liked her new job. She was heading towards Ivarstead when a Carriage stopped next to her and the man holding the reins looked at her.

"Marina Frost? Your sister has a message for you."

Marina accepted the letter and opened it, reading what it had to say.

"Marina. Narfi is dead. Got mauled by a bear last night. Don't worry, your inheritance is waiting for you. Your name was already on the will. Thank the person delivering the message and ask for his services to come home. That is an order."

Marina smiled. She got paid for a freak accident? She caught back up with the carriage driver and asked if he could get her to Falkreath.

"Sorry, I'm heading towards Windhelm. Unless you have 2000 septims, I'm gone."

Marina scowled, and decided to 'thank' the driver, with an arrow to the eye socket.
-

With the driver dead, and the horse stolen, Marina was pushing the horse to get to Falkreath as fast as possible. She had gotten just past Riverwood when the horse collapsed, and Marina screamed in anger. She got up off the ground, grabbed her steel dagger, and stabbed the horse at least thirty times before sheathing the dagger. She took off at a dead sprint and stopped when she saw pine trees. She was there.

As she ran down the stairs into the main chamber, she saw a short man with a large crate behind him. Tensions were high, and Astrid looked like she was about to explode. Marina walked over to the odd dressed man and pressed him to the crate.

"Who are you?" Marina growled. She pulled the steel dagger out so fast, that the horse blood flew off it and hit the man in the face.

"I'm Ci-Cicero. Keeper of the Night Mother! Though quick you may be, soon you will see, Cicero will flee, you can't kill me! Ha ha ha ha!"

Marina put the dagger away and stormed off.

"Astrid! Nazir! Babette!" She shouted from the dining hall.

Nazir was the first to come.

"You okay, sister? You seemed a little tense back there. And I like the blood, brings out your eyes." Nazir joked. Marina smiled, Nazir was always kind to everyone.

"I'm here to collect my payments, too, Nazir."

"Ah yes, I heard about those. Narfi begged for only one thing after that bear attack. Ennodius cracked under pressure, and Beiltild didn't have the guts to do her job."

Marina loved Nazir's puns. She was laughing when Astrid and Babette came in.

"Someone's in a better mood. Did the jester finally make you laugh?" Astrid asked, just as frustrated as Marina was.

"Marina? If I give you this paralysis poison will you promise me to use it on Cicero? His dancing is disturbing." Babette asked in her little 10-year-old voice.

"Astrid, you called so I'm here. What is it? And Babette, sweetie, thank you for the poison. I'm afraid I can't use it on him though. It's for a special occasion."

"Well, Marina, it's time for your first real contract. With specifications." Astrid smirked.

"Really? You'll have to give me the details in a few minutes, I have to finish up with Nazir and Babette first." Marina replied, anxious to hear what her contract was.

"Well, Marina, I'll get down to it. Here' s your payments, 1700 septims total. I already paid 200 to Babette for the poison." Nazir smiled.

"Thanks, Nazir. And Babette? How did your contract go?"

"Sometimes I wish I could be just a few years older in this body. Grelod the Kind was a hassle getting into those shackles. It was kind of an homage to you, actually. Inspired by what you did to Kelsi. Never liked her."

"I'm flattered, Babette. And well done for trapping the old hag."

"It was nothing. Perhaps you and I can go on a contract together in the future?" She looked at Astrid.

"It depends on what the contract calls for, Babette, but we'll see." Astrid said, "Marina, care to discuss your contract now?"

"Sure, let's."

"It's quite straightforward, really. You're going after a bard in Whiterun. Mikael is his name. The client wishes for him to be disposed of during one of his performances, and..hahaha sorry, and you are to use his lute as the murder weapon!" Astrid cried out in laughter.

"Really? That's hilarious!" Marina cried out, laughing along with Astrid. "The best part is, I'm going near there anyway to take out a vampire, and I'm also taking out another bard! Lurbuk in Morthal!"

"You're WHAT?" A voice cried out behind us. Cicero was standing there in fury. "You can't kill a bard! They always sing! And dance, and play. Oh...Cicero wishes he could play..." Cicero muttered before walking off.

"He is so unstable...by the way, whose turn is it to cook tonight?" Marina asked, feeling hungry.

"Actually, I think it's Babette's turn. She always has something nice. Hopefully she remembers we don't all like our food bloody." Astrid said with a grin.

Marina got up and stretched her legs before taking off once more to finish up her contracts. First on the list was the Vampire, Hern. At Half-Moon Mill that was only a half hour away from here. She borrowed Gabriella's Horse and was off.

She arrived there a little after dark, which was her intention. She watched as the two entered a small shack by the log splitter and was repulsed when she heard the pleasurable moans coming from within. What was even more disturbing was that there were body parts of animals and humans flying out of the shack occassionally. She crouched and waited for them to finish, and watched as her target left the shack first, going back into the house. She waited, and waited, but his spouse was still in the shack. She crept over and saw that she had passed out from exertion, and saw this was her chance. She slit Hert's throat and started gutting her, disfiguring her face and body, before driving meat hooks attached to chains through her body.

Marina admired her artwork, as Hert's body hung there with her guts coming from her stomach into her mouth, before waiting for Hern to find his spouse. She waited for an hour or so, before Hern came back out.

"Hert? Hert? Where are you, you seductive demon? You up for round..Hert! Hert!"

Now, Marina thought, taking the some of the paralysis poison and lathering it onto a nail. She stabbled Hern in the back with the nail, and he fell. The poison acted quickly. Marina would have to thank Babette for that.

Marina picked Hern up and carried him over to the log splitter, where she pulled a log and set it into the track. She then placed Hern parallel to the log and strapped him down, before walking over and turning the lever.

The saw blade moved up and down, waiting for the log and it's passenger to come closer. Marina watched as it cut through his genitals, stomach, chest, and head perfectly in two. She loved the look of his face as the poison wore off, the immense pain. The humiliation. The knowledge that he couldn't do anything until it was too late. It was beautiful. Her pleasure was short-lived, however, when she saw a trio of torchs bobbing towards her. She looked down and saw that his blood and intestines had gotten into the water, and went downstream. A group of soldiers must have noticed.

Shit, Marina thought as she took off into the lake. She dived down and swam towards Riverwood, holding her breath for as long as she could. When she felt she could no longer stay underwater, she came up to the surface and gasped for air. Getting out of the water, she followed the path from Riverwood towards Whiterun.

She entered through the gates, pissed because her makeup was running and her face looked completely disgusting. She stormed into the tavern and shouted

"Mikael! Come here!"

A youth came over and stuttered out something.

"Is this Mikael?" Marina shouted.

"Yes, I am." "He Is." "Yeah, the perv."

"Mikael, play me a song with your lute."

"Like what?"

"The Age of Aggression."

"Okay.."

Mikael pulled his lute out and strummed one chord, before Marina grabbed it and smashed it over his head. She hit him repeatedly with the lute until his eyes popped out of his head, brain came out of his nose, and the smell of feces entered the room.

"There, he was playing. I used his lute. Bonus."

Marina sprinted out before the guards could grab her.

She couldn't take it anymore. These fucking bastards were just lying around, laziness. She hated it. If people wanted others dead, do it themselves. It's not that hard. She just killed a guy with a lute for Sithis' sake. She hated it. Hated it. Hated it! It's like someone had just cut the wrong wire. She found herself running towards Morthal, and knew that killing wouldn't make it better or worse. She had to do something though! She didn't even slow down as she ran into town, or change into a disguise. The guards were after her because she was a Dark Brotherhood member. She didn't care anymore.

She busted down the door of the tavern, tossed a vampire into the fire, and went over to the orc.

"Lurbuk?"

"Yeah?"

"Fuck You!" Marina screeched as her dagger flew around the corpse. Blood flew everywhere, there were multiple stab wounds to the face, she even smashed the orcs face into a pulp, and forced his erect penis into his mouth after cutting it off. She turned around, coated head-to-toe in blood, and saw the guards shaking. She walked towards them, and they ran off.

She took one of the guardsmans horses and sent it speeding towards Markarth, with her on it. She couldn't hear anything anymore. She couldn't see, couldn't think. It was like someone had taken over. She was riding the plains of Whiterun when a large shadow sped like a magicked arrow and tackled her. She rolled over, and Arnbjorn standing over her.

"Yeah, it's me. It's time you calm the hell down, before you get yourself killed." He bent down and Marina kicked him in the face, breaking his nose. Arnbjorn fell back, grasping his nose. That did it. He jumped in the air as a human, but landed as a wolf. He swiped at Marina, but she dove underneath him and stabbed at his underbelly. Arnbjorn howled in pain, and Marina could hear swear words as he reverted back to a human.

"Fuck! Shit, Damn! Motherfucker!" Marina looked back at the swearing man.

"You done yet? I'm not in the mood for your shit." Marina spat before running off towards Markarth.

Arnbjorn sat there, holding his side. She had gotten strong, quick. No wonder she dropped seven assassins before they took her in. And in his arrogance, she almost dropped an eighth. He was angry at Astrid. She told him to follow her, make sure she did well. She did incredible! She always did. How she used the nightspawn's mate to lure him out, before using his own wood-cutter to kill him! He smelled the blood and followed her to Whiterun. He talked with Vilkas for old time's sake, and then saw Marina run out of the tavern. When he walked in, he couldn't believe what he saw. That much damage, caused by a girl with a lute? Impossible. He took off through the Underforge and saw her headed towards Morthal. Probably to kill Lurbuk. He had to follow her, for he swore to Astrid he would. Astrid...would he ever see her again? He hoped so.

Marina was even more pissed than ever. Arnbjorn trying to stop her. She showed him, didn't she? Showed everyone. She didn't take shit from anyone. Not anymore. Fuck Sithis, Fuck the Night Mother, Fuck Astrid, Fuck Babette, Fuck Festus, Fuck Nazir, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!

It was impossible, no matter how much she tried, to slow down. It was like something was calling her towards Markarth. She managed to stop to drink some water, but she passed out before she could keep running.

He had watched from the Void. Ever since Cheydinhal, it was his job to watch and serve. He was so disappointed in the woman he was watching now. She has so much potential, but what was calling her to Markarth? He decided he could wait no longer.

"Astrid! Marina has lost her mind. She just attacked Arnbjorn, and is in some type of rage. We have to stop her, she's heading towards Markarth for some reason."

"Did I hear you right, Lucien? Markarth?" Babette chimed out.

"Yes, why?"

"When I was visiting a certain mineworker, I heard stories. I guess Molag Bal is trapped within a shrine in one of the houses there. Maybe he was something to do with this?"

"Might be, but I doubt it. Astrid, your orders?"

"Lucien...you must invade her mind. Take control of her body. Take her to Rebel's Cairn. Lead her inside the chamber. There's a button hidden in the rocks. Once inside, close the chamber and return to the Void."

"Are you sure?"

"It's our only hope."
-

Marina woke to find herself in the same chamber where all this began. It was a little different than before. Only one coffin remained, and it was the size of a child. There were beds in here now, along with a small garden. She tried getting out, but found she was trapped inside.

She hated this more than anything. She had to get to Markarth. She had to. She was going to die if she didn't. She just knew.

It wasn't fair. She hadn't done anything but defend herself, and follow her contracts. She looked up and saw nothing but enclosed stone. There weren't any secret levers, puzzles, or buttons. She was trapped.

She pulled her armor off and sat it on the workbench. She took some of the leather there hit it with the hammer and anvil. She just pounded it until it became soft. After it got soft, she started carving it into shapes and strips using her dagger. She was experimenting, really. Learning how to improve leather armor, because then she'd make upgrades to her Shrouded gear. She might also improve the look of it. Make the blacks darker, and the reds brighter. There were some smithing books on light armor, so she read those.

It wasn't until hours later that she learned how to upgrade her armor and have it all stay together, enchantments and all. She may not have been a master of smithing, and was certainly unable to forge weapons and armor, but she could upgrade them like a master. She heated her armor, and the leather, and started mending and bending the leather, making it tougher. She also would soak the armor in a pitch tar substance that looked like the pond outside of Falkreath Sanctuary. It seemed to soak into the leather suit, until the entire thing was pitch black.

She had to let it dry, so she slipped her Miner's outfit on started reading on enchantments. Probably a book for Festus. According the book, enchantments can only be learned by destroying the item holding the enchantment. She certainly did not want to destroy the armor, so she continued reading. She read of strengthening enchantments by increasing the amount of energy the object held. She considered trying that, but was very interested by a certain Daedric method. The method implied that enchantments could be boosted by the usage of Daedric Hearts in the forge. She kept reading.

After another day in the chamber, Marina finally realized that she hadn't thought of Markarth since she the first couple hours. Hopefully Astrid came for her soon. She didn't want to die in here. She walked over to her armor, now fully dry, and noticed how stiff it was. She took a hammer to it, and it softened quickly. She put it on and noticed that it was smoother than before, but heavier. She expected that, but was surprised by how easily she moved around in it. Easier than before. It felt like the armor wished to be a part of Marina. She thought about amplifying the enchantments, and decided she'd let Festus do that. Besides, they worked well enough in the past.

She also had modified the strap that crossed her torso, shoulder to hip. It now held slots to place any sort of dagger into it. She ran around the chamber for exercise, until she realized how hungry she really was. She dug around in some barrels and found a couple apples, but decided she better not eat them. They could be poisoned for all she knew. She decided to snack on some barnacles and eggs she found in a small puddle, and after not being severely hurt, save for some magicka damage, she saved the rest for later.

She was so bored here. She actually decided to clean the place up a bit. All the dead trees and branches that were lying about were chopped into clean, even pieces and stacked a safe distance away from the fireplace. The scattered urns and pots were scrubbed and placed into a corner. The various skulls and bones were placed in a unique pattern that looked terrifying and beautiful at the same time. She was just clearing away some rubble when she heard some voices.

"Well, maybe we should lock her up at home too. Look at the place!" A voice echoed through the chamber. It was Nazir's.

"Shh! Careful. She could still be..." A voice whispered. It sounded like Gabriella's.

"Crazy?" Marina said, standing at the top of the stairs.

"What the hell..." Another voice, sounding like Veezara's.

"How can she hear us?" A child asked. Babette's.

Marina decided to prank them. She climbed up to the top of the chamber and walked along the stone arches until she was right above the chamber door. As the four of them walked into the room, she jumped down behind them. They didn't hear her land, but somehow knew she was there.

"Hey Mari-ugh." Babette said.

"What's wrong, Babette?"

"Don't think this the wrong way, Marina, but you reek. When was the last time you bathed?"

"Oh, sorry. I was kinda preoccupied."

"Besides making your armor awesome, with what?" Gabriella asked with an approving tone.

"Oh, I don't know. Cleaning? Look around, this place is gorgeous. Just because we're assassins doesn't mean we're slobs."

"Says Madame Stinky over there." Babette joked.

"Oh, by the way Babette, I saved you a good size lot in the corner for an alchemical garden. You can finally grow ingredients instead of walking around harvesting them. Isn't that wonderful?"

Babette smiled and was about to hug her, but wrinkled her nose. Nazir was sweating.

"Something wrong, Nazir?" Marina asked.

"Marina, how long do you think you've been in here?" He asked, beginning to shake.

"I don't know, maybe a few days." As she replied, the four gasped.

"Marina, it's been two months."

"Bullshit."

"I'm serious. Here, look at yourself." Nazir said, taking her by the arm. "And keep your arms down, please."

Marina was about ready to hit someone. She did not stink, she was not in here for two months, and she still hadn't got one thank you yet!

"Look." Nazir said, having Marina look into the puddle of water she used to scrub the pots and urns.

Marina gasped. She no longer saw the slightly awkward seventeen-year-old girl that she was when she left for the vampire contract. Instead, she saw an elegant young adult who was paler than Babette. She turned around.

"How is this possible? It only feels like a few days."

None of them answered. Finally Babette spoke up.

"Marina, that's not the only thing that's changed about you."

"What do you mean?"

"Say something, and listen carefully."

"Okay. Where's Astrid?"

Silence, but then she heard someone say

"Okay. Where's Astrid?"

The voice was magnificant. It was deadly, yet seductive. The voice carried power.

"Alright, you guys can talk now. I get it, I've changed. Oh well. Still the same personality. Now can someone tell me where Astrid went?"

They remained silent.

"Hello? Someone?"

Babette kicked a stone, Gabriella looked down, Veezara looked like he was going to be sick. Nazir answered.

"After you attacked Arnbjorn, we sent a servant of the Void to protect you. We should have sent one for Arnbjorn too. He didn't make it. You killed Arnbjorn."

Marina stepped back. She felt a huge weight just hit her chest. She sat down, gasping for breath.

"I did what?"She gasped out.

"It wasn't your fault. You were possessed. Molag Bal had taken control and made your bloodlust and anger skyrocket." Babette shot out.

"Anyway," Nazir continued, "Astrid went to Markarth and found the shrine. She brought some members of the Vigilant of Stendarr to the place and they banished Molag Bal. You probably felt normal after that. Well, when Astrid came back, she learned about Arnbjorn and flew into a rage. Cicero mentioned the Night Mother and she snapped. She attacked Cicero and killed him, but then she just vanished. Poof. Gone."

"So she just disappeared, right in front of you?"

"Yeah, but here's the thing: the Night Mother's coffin is gone too. It's like Sithis just said "That's it, they're done. Game over" and took them both. Babette has been leading the Brotherhood since Astrid disappeared, since she has the most experience in the matter. The Brotherhood is almost done. We're down to us. That's it."

"What about Festus?"

"Blew himself up trying to make a new spell. Kinda funny, if he wasn't dead." Veezara muttered.

"Okay, what about recruits?"

"We've tried," Babette complained, "But nobody wants to join a dying breed."

Nazir, Veezara, and Gabriella nodded in agreement.

"Well, I've killed eight of us. If it weren't for me, none of this would have happened. That means that I'm stuck with you guys until the end. Unless.."

"Unless what?" Nazir asked.

"What if we weren't a dying breed?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if we made a name for ourselves again?"

"That could work, though how will we make a name for ourselves?"

"We have to strike high-ranking targets. Elenwen, Ulfric, Tullius, any of the Black-Briars.."

"Are you insane? We couldn't do that. Maven has been with the Brotherhood for decades!" Babette interjected.

"That's the point, Babette. We've made allies, and that's weakened us. It doesn't make sense, I know, but that's the point. Think! How many people would hire us if they knew that we would strike anyone, even old allies? The Black-Briars have kicked a lot of people around. All we need is to get attention from someone."

The five stood there, thinking. They could always disband. Move on with their lives. Forget about each other. They didn't want that. They couldn't get rid of the darkness inside of them.

"I...have an idea." Nazir spoke, hesitantly.

"Go on."

"Maybe we should expand. Infiltrate the other guilds. Marina, you could do whatever. Babette, you could go to Solitude and listen for anything. Any whispers of the Dark Brotherhood. Make people talk. Gabriella, you could join the College. Festus was a teacher there, someone had to agree with him. Try to track down any of his students or ex-collegues. Veezara, you could join the Thieves Guild. Listen for any people complaining about killing marks. Being an assassin is close to being a thief. And I can join the Companions."

"That could work, but what if we find we like our assignment more than our job?" Babette asked.

"Then we let them go. Just spread word, that's all we have to do." Nazir replied.

"Are you guys sure about this? I'll be the only one free to do any contracts. If I fail, then we lost another. Babette, you could do contracts too, but you'll have to do a lot more." Marina asked.

"It's the only way." Nazir said. Veezara nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, we have to." Gabriella said.

"I'll try my best." Babette said.

"Then it's decided. Let's go then. We'll return here in thirty days to discuss anything. If any of us don't show up, then we understand." Marina said.

The five then went their separate ways, with Marina heading out into the world for the first time in almost two months.

She headed for Markarth, this time of her own free will. She decided she would spend some time there. Get to know the people. See if any would be willing to get their hands dirtier. She arrived that night and went to the first place anyone would be. Silver-Blood Inn. She walked in, and immediately all eyes were on her. She sat down and a woman, Hroki, walked over to her. Marina said she'd have a glass of water, and when she moved the woman hurridly ran off.

Marina smelled worse than she thought she did, because she cleared the tavern after only a few minutes. Embarassed, she got up and left Markarth. She went into the river and soaked and scrubbed until her skin was red. She rubbed some lavender on her body, then washed her armor. After she was sure both were clean, she put it back on and re-entered Markarth.

She apologized for her hygene to the barkeep, before asking for any rumors. He heard only one, and that was that the Dark Brotherhood was gone.

"Yeah, I'm glad. Don't need those creeps lurking everywhere." Marina lied smoothly.

"Agreed, though you look like you could be one..."

"No, sorry. Thieves Guild. My Armor's just been modified to make my work easier."

"Ah, my mistake. I apologize dearly."

"No problem."

Marina sat down and watched as people returned to the tavern. She watched the barkeep's son for a while, but noticed he lacked the stomach to see blood. She frowned and got up to enter the Warrens. She immediately regretted it and left to find a carriage to Falkreath.

On her way there, she passed a khajit caravan. She made a mental note to keep an eye out for any uniquely talented khajit. Other than the khajit, nothing of interest happened. She decided that Falkreath wouldn't have anyone talented that wasn't ancient or arrogant. She needed to find skill.

"I'm sorry, I got confused, could you take me to Whiterun instead? Here's another ten septims." Marina apologized.

"Yeah, no problem babe."

She made her way back into The Bannered Mare and was relieved to see nobody recognized her. She sat down and refused a drink, she just closed her eyes and listened. She heard about Nazir joining and was relieved, but other than that..nothing. Only whispers of the Brotherhood ending.

"Yeah..kind of a shame isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, let's just say chopping up wood isn't fun anymore."

Marina perked up, listening carefully now.

"Please, not even the Companions accepted you."

She gave up and rented a room out.
-

"Look, Astrid, look and see how your greatest family member is doing. Marina only got out of that cave days ago and she's more devoted to The Dark Brotherhood than ever. You were only interested in yourself. It must be hell for you, to live in the Void. After all, you're still alive. There's always hope. Marina is devoted to me."

Astrid suffered as she watched her family forget about her so quickly. Sithis himself had captured her and nobody cared.

Marina was starting to become impatient. She had travelled through Morthal, Markarth, Falkreath, Whiterun, and now she was in Solitude and not one person came close to being a worthy member of the Brotherhood. She didn't give up though, because she still had Windhelm, Dawnstar, Winterhold, and Riften to check. Not to mention the strongholds. She was leaving The Winking Skeever when a courier came up to her.

"Frost?"

"Yes."

"Letter."

"Ah."

"Here."

"Thanks."

"Bye."

Marina laughed at the kid, but opened the letter. It was from Gabriella.

Turns out Festus made a friend here at the college. An Altmer chick named Nirya. She's pretty well balanced in magic, and I've found evidence that she had conspired to kill someone. More details to come.

P.S. I really missed you!

Marina smiled, for two reasons. The first was that there was finally a candidate for a recruit, and that she, too, missed Gabriella. Things were finally starting to look up. She made her way to the blacksmith and asked for the best dagger he could craft.

"You sure?"

"I have the gold. Don't worry."

"Very well. One silver dagger, coming up."

Marina sat there, glad to have some time to think. She didn't even have to visit Winterhold now, and Dawnstar was full of miners. She could go straight to Windhelm! She was staring off into space when she was interrupted.

"Excuse me? It's done. I've put an anti-scratch cover over it, just as you specified. I must say, I've never known someone to ask for a silver dagger, but it has been done!"

Marina took the blade and it was precisely as she had asked. She slid it into one of the sheaths on her chest and asked what the total will be.

"It's going to be 780 septims."

"780? Very well. Here." Marina had asked Festus to enchant her a pouch that could hold a large amount of gold, without growing in size. It was tricky at first, but it was done. She handed him three 200 pieces, and paid the rest with 20 pieces.

The blacksmith accepted it happily, and Marina was off to Windhelm. She was in such a lovely mood. She was meant to meet up with everyone back at Rebel's Cairn in two weeks. When she did get to Windhelm, her first instinct was to go to the Gray Quarter. There was just common gossip, nothing special. The Butcher, Calixio got caught, and was killed. She rented a room at the Candlehearth Inn and slept for twelves hours straight.

When she woke, she was greeted by two letters. One from Veezara, the other from Gabriella.
She opened Veezara's first.

"Marina, found a guy who's amazing with a bow. Name's Niruin. I talked to him, and he said he's willing to talk to you. Said stealing didn't give a big enough thrill. See you soon."

She grinned, and opened Gabriella's.

"Nirya said she'll meet with you. She's sick of being treated like trash here, and guess what? She knows how to enchant. Thank goodness, I thought we would have to suffer with what we've got. Can't wait to see you next Morndas."

Marina was bursting with excitment. Two potential recruits, both with unique talents that would prove quite useful for the Brotherhood. She got up and headed out of Windhelm. There was no need to go to Riften with that good news. She hired a carriage to take her to Ivarstead. She gave the man sixty pieces and was beaming so much, her cheeks were starting to hurt. She got down and ran across Nazir himself.

"Nazir! It's nice to see you again! How are you?" Marina asked, her happiness radiating.

"Pretty good, actually. Heard about this Khajiit guy who hunted down a werewolf and survived. I tracked him down to here. I guess he's making a pilgramage. How are you?"

"Wonderful, that's the third potential recruit I've heard about. I've gotten a silver dagger crafted. Have you heard from Babette in a while? I'm beginning to worry."

"Really? The third recruit? We could just do it then. And i'm sure Babette is fine. She's 312 years old, she can handle herself. Well, if you'd like to join me to talk to this Khajiit, I'd love it."

Marina agreed, and the two began the climb up the 7,000 steps. She complimented Nazir on finally shaving, and he shrugged. When they finally saw the person, Marina walked up to him alone.

"J'Kier?" Marina asked with her seductive voice.

The Khajiit turned to look at the woman, and stood up immediately.

"Who are you?"

"A potential sister, and he could be your potential brother. I heard about your hunting abilities."

"Really? Thanks, I guess. What did you mean by sister and brother?"

"I see you speak differently than most of your kind, it's a welcome change. I meant simply, if you wished to join us, you could."

"I usually work alone, so that's how I speak. But I'm intrigued. Your outfit looks familar."

"I'm a representative of the Dark Brotherhood."

"The Dark Brotherhood?"

"Don't worry. We're here on business, of recruition." She clarified.

The Khajiit relaxed.

"So, you're asking me if I want to join you."

"Yes."

"Are you sure? Didn't you hear of my..condition?"

"What is your condition?"

"I accidentally swallowed a droplet of blood when I killed the werewolf. I had my mouth open and it went down. I'm a werewolf."

"That is no problem. We used to have one before he died. Though, forgive me for laughing. A cat becoming a dog isn't something you see every day."

"Yes, I laugh too. But, if that is the case...Then yes. I will join the Dark Brotherhood. Now, what are your names so I can thank you properly?"

"My name is Marina, and his is Nazir. Welcome to the Family, J'Kier. Now, I request that you make your way towards Rorikstead and rent a room there. Here is enough for the room and food. I will locate you after I finish my business. Nazir, you have completed your assignment. Go with him."

"Alright. C'mon J'Kier." Nazir said, leaving Marina on the steps. One down.

Marina was back in Markarth, after hearing rumors of a woman feasting on the dead. Her name was Eola, according to her information. She entered the Hall of the Dead and cut to the chase.

"Eola, even after you were assissted in clearing out a place where you could dine, you came back. Well, I have a proposition. Join the Dark Brotherhood. You are welcomed for whatever you are. We do not judge, we kill. You can even consume some of your victims. You might even be paid to do it."

A woman with one eye walked out of the shadows, and looked at Marina.

"Alright. I'm in. Not like I could get a better deal."

The two of them left Markarth after Marina wrote letters for Babette, Gabriella, and Veezara to return with any guests they might have. She made her journey to Rorikstead with Eola in tow.

"Just don't kill or eat us, and you're good." Marina reminded Eola. Eola grinned.

"Even I have standards. Though you do look delicious."

They fetched Nazir and J'Kier, and the four of them made their way to Rebel's Cairn. Nazir opened the chamber, and the four filed themselves in to find Veezara and Niruin standing there. Marina embraced Veezara before Gabriella and Nirya walked in.

"Secretive, yes. This could work." The Altmer woman commented.

Marina had everyone sit at the dining table, with her at the head. They waited for an hour and finally decided that Babette wasn't coming.

"I thought she would have been the one who would come back the most." Nazir lamented.

"Excuse me? Hasn't anyone ever told you not to dine until all the guests have arrived?" A woman's voice rang out. It sounded familar to Marina, but different.

A woman in her early twenties, wearing shrouded armor walked in with three more people following her. Finally, Marina recognized that tone.

"Babette?"

"Yes, it's me. After you sent me to go to Solitude, I stopped by Morthal to visit a Wizard who said he could make me human again. I agreed. His name was Falion, I think. Anyway, because I was so old, I aged rather quickly. So, I waited until I was in my twenties, and got the disease again. Can't believe I didn't think of it before. Always complaining. Though, I did lose the advantage of looking like a child."

"Damn, Babette, you look hot." Veezara complimented. If Babette could blush, she would have. No longer would she be the little girl. She'd be the hot woman.

"Oh, and I brought some guests to our party. This is Ragvan, Cascus, and Lora. Ragvan is an excellent smithy, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I suppose I'm pretty good." Ragvan replied.

Marina stood up. "Well, have a seat! It's time we get down to business."

"Look at them Astrid. You've been forgotten. Marina has accomplished what you have failed. She has rebuilt the Brotherhood. Look, what was once five became twelve. Each of them suited to kill. To spread terror. Look, for you will be joining them soon."
-

Marina stood and looked at the ones before her. She was so happy with everyone. Babette actually exceeded her expectations, but that was to be expected. So Babette met her expectations.

"My brothers and sisters of darkness, thank you for being here with me in the last safe haven we have. For those of you who don't know, our sanctuary in Falkreath has been cursed due to the ignorance of our former leader. In this family, we have one mother. The Night Mother. We will abide by the Five Tenets of old. We will care for each other. We will not fight amongst each other. We will accept contracts paid for by anyone. This is the Dark Brotherhood. I am Marina, Mistress of the Brotherhood. I am not your leader, but advisor."

Suddenly, the chamber shook violently. The fires went out, and everything was sent into darkness. The fires were relit, and the Night Mother's coffin was resting at a podium at the higest part of the chamber. There was a pounding within the chamber, and Marina walked over to it. She unlocked the door, and Astrid fell onto the floor. Marina lifted her up and pressed her against the wall.

"So she finally returns. Shame you couldn't be here to help. You're lucky the Tenets prevent me from killing you." Marina growled at her.

"Put me down, please. Let me explain?" Astrid was asking, not ordering. She must have understood what happened.

"Very well, explain."

"After I attacked Cicero, The Night Mother took me and herself into the Void. Sithis tortured me beyond belief, before I was told that there was still hope for the Brotherhood."

"I can't believe you."

"You must believe her. It is the truth. And so is this. You must go to Volunruud and speak to Amaund Motierre. Do this, my Listener, and bring my children pride."

"My mistress, are you sure? I'm not doubting your decision, but are you sure you want me to be Listener?"

"Listen, Listener. For that is your job. You've rebuilt this Brotherhood. Like a phoenix, it has risen from the ashes. Astrid will be your Speaker. She will train the newcomers. You keep Veezara, Babette, Gabriella and Nazir. Now do as I have asked."

Marina sat down, and placed her face into her hand. She stood up and faced the group.

"I have rebuilt the Brotherhood, and the Night Mother has noticed. She has named me Listener, and Astrid is to be my Speaker. Astrid, you are to take the newcomers; Eola, Ragvan, Cascus, Lora, J'Kier, and Niruin, and teach them the ways of the Brotherhood. You will teach them the ways of old. This is no longer your Brotherhood, Astrid. Do you understand?"

Astrid nodded, and silently thanked the Night Mother for showing her the path.

"Astrid, the Night Mother has given you a second chance. Be grateful. You will operate out of the Falkreath Sanctuary. I will remain here with Veezara, Nirya, Babette, Nazir, and Gabriella. And Niruin? Before you leave, will you make sure Delvin Mallory contacts me? Thank you."

He turned to face his family.

"Nirya, I've kept you here because I require your service. You are familar with enchantments, no?"

"I know enough, Listener."

Marina, no longer caring what her family thought, stripped down to the skin and handed her all of the armor, and undergarments.

"You are to clean, repair, and then double the amplitude of the enchantments of what I've given you. Understood?"

Nirya nodded, her eyes wide as she took in a Nord's body for the first time. She left without a word, and Marina turned to see Gabriella blushing deeply, Veezara walking away, Nazir awkwardly trying to hide an erection, and Babette laughing. It would be hard, seeing Babette this way. However, she was quite lovely in her own way.

"Get a good look, Nazir? I don't mind. But I truly hope you'll see me as a sister instead of how you see me now. Babette, will you help me find a set of robes? This cold isn't helping anything."

Babette laughed again, understanding exactly what Marina was talking about. Over 300 years old and she still didn't understand how the cold made nipples hard. Oh well. She'd learn. She rushed past her and opened a wardrobe. Inside hung many different types of clothing styled in colors of reds, blacks, blues, purples, and some rare whites. She picked a button-up white shirt with black trousers and brought them over to Marina. Marina put them on and invited Babette to sit with her.

"This must be hard for you, Babette."

"What must be hard?"

"The fact that Astrid is Speaker and not you. I'm frustrated about it. You should have been Listener, too. That, and the fact you've aged over 13 years in the matter of a month. Gosh, that must have been very awkward for you. 13 years of cycles sped into a month. Not to mention, you've been so used to being a vampire..Anyway, I'm glad you're back to being a child of the night. And I must say, congrats on the new look. Maybe instead of Bab, people will call you Babe." Marina laughed at the last part.

Babette was quite embarrassed. She never experienced a menstrual cycle before, and that month was the worst thing she's ever seen. Even as a human, she had to suffer from the memories of bloodlust. She thought she was going to be sick thinking about it, so she started laughing when she heard about being called Babe.

"Thanks, I'm happy about it too. Finally I can be with a man. It's frustrating, being trapped in a 10 year old's body. I..." Babette stopped and sighed.

Marina understood what Babette was getting on about.

"Veezara, Nazir, go and get some food for us. And buy some Nightshade seeds." Marina called out. The two men got up and left, almost running.

"Gabriella, come here would you?" Marina called out, "And you may as well come here too Nirya."

The two mer came and sat down by Marina and Babette.

"I'm sure you've heard our discussion. It seems we have to have the talk with a 300-year-old." Marina sighed, with a half-grin on her face.

"You do notneed to have the talk. I just..I don't know how to.." Babette bit her lip, which showed her embarrassment. She couldn't blush, not anymore.

Gabriella spoke up, "Aw, Babette, don't worry about that. The guy does most of the work anyway."

"Excuse me? I had to do everythingwith my men. From start to finish, and even then I had to make myself finish." Nirya complained.

Marina laughed. Both the mer looked at her.

"Sorry, I just never really thought about Elves having sex. The concept is alien. Do elves and humans look similar?"

"Almost the same, in fact. I don't know if it was this particular Dunmer, but I know that all Altmer lack hair besides on their head." Nirya boasted.

"The same with Bosmer and Dunmer." Gabriella replied.

Babette was looking terribly humiliated.

"I really don't want to talk about this..."

"Babette, you've had to of have the thoughts, right?" Marina asked.

"Of course I have, I just never went into detail because I thought it would never happen." Babette admitted.

"It's alright. It can happen now, and you've got a lot of time to cover. Don't worry, we won't judge you." Nirya promised.

"Speaking of judging, Nirya, " Marina interjected, "Why did you stare at me when I was naked?"

"Well, there are two reasons. The first is that you are exceptionally gorgeous, enough to make even elves feel bad. The second is because I'm attracted to both male and females." Nirya replied, unashamed.

"Seriously? I thought I was the only one who thought that!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Both of those, actually." She glanced at Marina.

"Great, now we've got these two.." Babette whined.

Marina smiled, this was unlike her. To be so open, so honest, so uncaring. It was like her solitude in the chamber had transformed her in all aspects.

"It must be a mer thing, the bisexuality." Marina laughed.

"Ah, I wish I could go back to being 10! You three are ruining me!" Babette cried out.

"I'm in the same boat as you, Babette." Marina whispered.

"What?" Echoed all three of them.

"You're joking.." Gabriella muttered.

"Yes!" Babette cheered.

"How?" Nirya asked.

"I never really saw anyone attractive, and those I did find, didn't exactly measure up." She giggled.

"Speaking of which..do you think Nazir..?" Nirya asked..

"Matches his sword!" Gabriella finished, laughing hysterically.

This time, it was Marina blushing.

"All Right, All Right, time to get back to what we were doing. Nirya, I'll need my armor by nightfall. Gabriella, go back to whatever you were doing. Babette, you're free to harvest alchemical ingredients to plant in your garden."

The three got up, still giggling, and went back to work. Marina laid back on her bed and sighed. This was a long day.

"Marina?" It was Babette.

"Yeah?" Marina asked, she wanted to take a nap.

"Thanks, for sticking up for me back there. And for everything. I really like our new family." She hugged Marina, which felt different than when she was ten. At ten, it was cute. At 23, it was seductive.

"No problem, Babette." Marina mumbled, before drifting off into sleep.
-

She was in blackness. There was no floor but she was walking. She assumed it was the Void. A man, wearing a black robe and hood, was clapping. Marina took a step forward, and he was gone.

She woke up and found that Nazir and Veezara had returned. She exchanged a grin at Babette, who noticed her waking, who grinned back.

"Nirya? Is my armor ready?" Marina called out.

"Yes, Marina. I was just adding a few final touches." She replied.

Nirya walked over to the bed, holding a stacked pile of armor and her underwear.

"The underwear has an enchantment to keep warm. Might help next time you decide to strip down. The Armor's been polished, cleaned, and I've upgraded all the enchantments. The cowl now boosts your skill with the bow by more than half, the gloves makes your damage triple when sneaking, the boots remove all sound instead of just muffling it. The armor..is completely resistant to poison and disease. Don't want you getting sick on us now."

Marina slid her underwear on first, then her bra. She felt the warmth and smiled in appreciation. She then slipped the armor on and noticed that the leather had been thinned. She looked questionably at Nirya.

"Don't worry, it still offers the same protection. When you added the upgrade, the leather got tougher and denser. What I removed was practically useless, but it does help a bit." Nirya explained.

Marina looked down and saw that her curves were far, far more defined than before. She slipped the boots on, pulled her cowl up, and slid the gloves over her hands where she saw the back of the gloves had a slightly lighter color to them.

"Look carefully." Nirya explained, seeing the look.

Marina did and saw that the lighter color was actually an identical design of the Black Hand. She got up and gave Nirya a hug. What was wrong with her? She never hugs.

"We're going to talk about the curves later. I'm to look like an assassin, not a succumbus." She uttered in her ear before walking past Nazir and Veezara. She heard a whistle, but was unsure who it came from. She lifted her right hand and formed a fist, before extending her middle finger. In all races, it meant the same thing: Fuck You.

She got onto her horse, Nightwing, and took off towards the old crypt. Though nowhere in any of the Dark Brotherhood records, the Listener always had the best horse. Nightwing was related to Shadowmere, but was a creation of Sithis. As it ran, it became less and less solid. It could get the rider to and from any location in a short amount of time compared to other steeds. Wisps came off of Nightwing as he ran, but only returned to the darkness from whence it came. Marina and Nightwing arrived at the crypt five minutes after leaving the Cairn. She told Nightwing to stay as she went inside.

She closed her eyes and smelled the air as the door closed behind her. It reeked of death, dust, and...nightshade. Marina opened her eyes and grinned, following the scent of Nightshade to a door. She opened it, and saw two men standing there.

The shorter of the two walked forward and spoke.

"Ah, I see you've arrived. My name is-"

"Amaund Moiterre. Yes, I know. You have performed the Sacrament, who do you wish to join the Void?" Marina asked, her voice stable, seductive, and deadly.

The Breton paused, shocked by the woman, before continuing.

"I have a single target in mind, but his death requires the death of a few others."

"Speak, who is the target?"

"The Emperor of Tamriel. Emperor Titus Meade the 2nd."

"Do you happen to have any information that will help us?"

"Accepted? No questions asked?"

"You performed the Sacrament. I asked for a target. You gave me one. We do not joke in the Brotherhood. I hope you were serious."

"I was, I was. I have prepared a letter explaining everything to your superior, and an amulet to help fund any and all costs you have. Please tell Miss Astrid-"

"No." Interjected Marina. "I have no superior besides the Night Mother. Astrid serves me, and the Night Mother. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, my apologies, Miss..?"

"Frost. Miss Frost. Listener of the Dark Brotherhood."

"I'm so, so sorry Miss Frost. I didn't know. I truly didn't I haven't left the crypt in ages. Rexus here told me you, that is, the Brotherhood had disbanded. We were going to leave tomorrow morning."

"We did not disband. We recruited. Our numbers have more than doubled. And so has the asking price of the Assassination."

"What? Why?"

"It's hard to fund 13 well-trained Assassins equally."

"Thirteen? I heard there were only five left."

"Like you said, Mr. Moiterre, you've been in here a while. May I have the items?"

"Of course, Miss Frost, of course. Rexus, the items please."

The taller Imperial, Rexus, walked forward and handed Marina a sealed letter and an amulet.

"If you have the suffient amount of gold, I will continue the operation as planned. Or..." She reached towards the silver dagger on her chest.

"No, no. It is understandable. I'll just have to sell some more gems, that's all. The contract is still on. I'll double the original payment of 20000 septims." Moiterre stammered.

"Very well. It is a pleasure to do business with you. Guard him well, will you Rexus? Wouldn't want him to die before we were paid."

Marina smirked as she walked out of the room and looked up into the open night sky. She jumped up and pulled herself through the bars, before hopping on Nightwing. Time to go home.

Nightwing returned to the Cairn quicker than it left, obviously sensing the high that Marina had. She went to the stone door and cast a black Magelight on it, opening it. She walked through and pulled a lever, closing it. She was surprised to see a bald man sitting in a chair by her desk.

"Ah, Delvin. Just the man I was hoping to see. I have two things for you."

"Nice to see you too, Miss Frost. Also, thanks for stealing one of the best archers I've ever seen." He said with sarcasm.

"Now, now, let's just do our business. As you've noticed, the place is a little..old. I've done my best with the place, as have the others, but we need someone with true talent. Like yourself."

"I'm not joining."

"I wasn't recruiting. I'm hiring. We need upgrades to the place. Expand it a little, get some actual rooms, tap into an underground river, you get the idea."

Delvin looked around and nodded his head a couple times, making some mental notes, before looking back to Marina.

"Tell ya what, Miss Frost. I'll help you if I get Niruin back."

"No."

"How much would you be willing to pay?"

"How about this?"

Marina opened a drawer and pulled out five gold cases and opened them. In each of them was a floating gem.

"The Stones of Barenziah.." Delvin sighed.

"These five for upgrades to the place, and if you do a good enough job, I'll put in a good word with Astrid."

"Astrid? She's alive? Thank goodness. But how come I'm not talking to her?"

"Because she is the Speaker, and I am the Listener."

"Ah, that explains it. She holed up in the Falkreath Sanctuary?"

"Yes. Do we have a deal, Mister Mallory?"

"Yes, Miss Frost, we do. But I expect all five of those gems, you hear me? We've already got 13 from a newcomer."

"No problem. They're worthless to me. Alright, I'll give you a week to get this place ready, starting tomorrow morning. Understood?"

"Yes Ma'am." He said, before getting up and leaving.

"Saved a good chunk of money there, it's gonna help if we ever need another Sanctuary." Marina muttered before she stood up.

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make! Pack a bag, we're staying at the Falkreath Sanctuary for a bit. This place is getting remodeled!"

Babette and Gabriella cheered the loudest of them all.
-

"So, Delvin's fixing the place up? I understand. Besides, I can't really say no to you, can I?" Astrid laughed, before continuing, "And he's doing it for those stupid gems? Idiot."

"I don't think so. I read a little bit about the Crown of Barenziah. If it is completed, it brings a lot of luck to the owners. Shame they never will complete it."

"Why's that?"

"Because while I promised him five stones, I have six."

"You clever girl!"

"Yes, but I don't want to make him mad. I need him to fence this amulet."

"Amulet?"

"Oh, that's right. You haven't heard. Well I was sent to speak to an Amaund Moiterre about a contract. We're going to kill the Emperor."

"That was blunt."

"Sometimes a mace cuts easier than a sword."

"Nice metaphor."

"Yeah, well be prepared for some couriers. I expect we'll be keeping in contact a lot. How are the recruits?"

"I had to teach them everything about the Brotherhood. The Tenets, the techniques, Sithis, the Night Mother..Then the cat yelled at me because I didn't have a set of Shrouded Gloves that fit his paws. Do you happen to have a pair on you?"

"Hold on, let me check."

Marina opened her knapsack and dug around before pulling out a battered pair of Shrouded Gloves.

"Here, and if he complains then tell him they used to be mine."

It was true after all. Those were her first pair. She grinned.

"Just make sure those things aren't completely destroyed." She continued.

"Of course. The ex-thief, Niruin, is doing incredible. He's finished up some contracts that were out since before you joined. He truly is talented with the bow."

"Wonderful. That truly helps with the Dark Brotherhood's infamy." Marina finished, before walking off.

"Oh, Marina? Keep your clothes on while you're here. These ones don't know you like we do." Astrid giggled.

Marina sighed. She had done that to assert her independence, pride, and courage. If it's spread to Astrid, then the recruits also had to have heard. She shrugged, it didn't matter. They couldn't see anything. She walked around and saw that Niruin was practicing his shot. She walked over and watched as he fired, over and over, hitting the dead center of the target each time. She applauded him.

Niruin bowed.

"Listener, it is an honor."

"Rise, do not bow to me. I am your sister, not your master. I'm here to congratulate you on the success you've had so far in the family. Perhaps I'll let you join myself and the others in Rebel's Cairn if you continue to prove yourself."

"Thank you, sister. That means a lot, coming from the Listener."

"Also, if you're out on a mission, do you think you could grab me an Ebony Bow and some matching arrows? I lost my bow a while back and never got a replacement."

Niruin made a move to give her his own bow, which she refused.

"That is your greatest tool. Do not give it up. I'm just asking a favor. Don't go out of your way."

Niruin nodded, and went back to firing at the target. Marina walked away and climbed up to above the waterfall.

"Do you miss it as much as I do?" Babette asked, appearing from nowhere.

"Surprisingly, no. Then again, I wasn't here as long as you were. And I did spend two months trapped inside our home."

"True. Thank you for the River Betty eggs. I'll put them in the pond where the slaughterfish eggs used to be."

"No problem. Did you ever get your Nightshade seeds?"

"Yes, though I can't plant them yet. Delvin better not touch my stuff."

"He wouldn't dare. He may be a thief, but we're assassins. He wouldn't dare cross us."

"True. I'm thinking of learning to use a sword. I can't use my little girl excuse anymore."

"I'll teach you myself. I'll also show you how to use a dagger. Those things can save your life."

"Do you think we could start tonight?"

"Sure, why not? But neither of us have swords, do we?"

"I do. I got it off a Blade in hiding. This thing is awesome looking, wait 'til you see it!" Babette bragged before jumping down, running to go get it. Marina sighed and hopped down. She walked over to a barrel by the Forge and opened it to find a Steel Sword.

"Better than nothing."

"You ready?" Babette was back, blade in hand. It was rather beautiful. It's curve emphasizing quick movements. The handle was long enough for her that if she needed to, she could use both hands in a power strike.

Marina nodded, and the two circled each other. Both were right handed, so it made things easier to teach Babette. Marina noticed that the others had came to see the Listener fight. She looked and saw that everyone but Niruin was there, but she heard the twang of a bow string. It was alright. He didn't like swordplay.

"Remember, Babette, it's about using your entire body. I understand it may be difficult at first. You're not used to your form."

The others had a quiet mumbling. Apparently they didn't know she was trapped as a ten-year-old.

"Good going, Marina. Now they know."

Marina smiled, and as Babette was distracted, she closed the distance between them and struck with her sword. She stopped the blade before it made contact though, and jumped back as Babette swung at her.

"Babette, use that one power you have. The one where you can enter another's mind? I want you to see through my eyes."

Babette nodded and closed her eyes, before opening them to a bright red color. Marina felt her presence in her mind. She felt similar to the Night Mother.

Now don't take control. You have to see and feel what I do.

Babette's body was placed in a chair by Astrid, and Astrid used Babette's blade. Marina took a step forward, and the battle begun. Astrid stabbed at Marina's hip, but Marina moved only a inch to the right and struck at Astrid's head. Astrid lifted the sword to block, but Marina had already moved the sword to another location.

Are you watching and feeling, Babette? Confuse your enemy, use their moves against them. Then stop their assault. Watch Astrid's hips and eyes. You can see her movements there.

Astrid then leapt at Marina with her sword raised, ready to strike. Marina was already prepared though, and switched her sword to her left hand. As Astrid came near, Marina took a step forward, blocked the blade with her sword, and caught Astrid by the neck with her right hand.

Gasps went through the crowd. But that wasn't the fun part. Astrid still had a lot of momentum left in her. Marina spun and tossed Astrid in the air, using Astrid's own force against her.

Did you feel that? Did you feel that wave of energy course through us? That type of energy can make or break you. Don't ever make a mistake you can't fix, Babette. Like being stuck in the air.

Gabriella was covering her mouth in awe, as Astrid soared through the air. Marina went underneath her, and jumped up. Her steel sword knocked the Blades Sword out of Astrid's hand, and was caught by Marina's right hand. Astrid landed on her feet, but Marina had both blades wrapped around her neck.

Sorry, had to show off there. But you felt my movements, my thoughts. You saw through my eyes. It's a pretty good way to learn, but you learn better by doing them yourself. Get out of my head, Babette. I'm getting a headache.

The pressure vanished, and Babette got up from the chair.

"By Sithis, Marina, did you have to do that? My neck is already sore.." Astrid complained, rubbing her neck and walking away. Marina's brothers and sisters stood there, before they applauded Marina for the incredible skill she possessed. Babette came over and hugged Marina.

"That was incredible, Marina! I think I learned a lot by just that."

Marina smiled, but knew Babette was just being nice. Nothing Marina did taught Babette about sword play. She handed Babette her sword and tossed the Steel Sword back into the barrel. She felt tired, so she went to a bed and fell asleep.

She woke up and noticed the place was empty. She got up and went outside to find a note pinned to the tree.

Marina, we all went out to get you something. Think of it as a thank you for everything. And for kicking my ass last night. I had to have some of Lis' webbing to wrap my neck and I look like a fool. The recruits just absolutely loved you putting me in my place. Hope it was worth it. -Astrid.

Marina smirked at the letter, and decided to take advantage of her solitude. She went back into the sanctuary, and got out of her armor. She lay down on Astrid's bed and slid her hands up and down her body. She continued from there until she screamed from pleasure and was gasping for breath. She thought she heard the Black Door slam shut, so she jumped out of the bed and slid back into her underwear and bra, before slipping her Armor on. Her hair was a mess, so she pulled the cowl over her head and was sliding her boots on when Astrid walked into the room.

"Enjoying ourselves, are we? I hope you got a good nap. My bed has lavender incense in it. Gives a good, well-rested feeling. Anyway, come out here. We have something for you."

"Yeah, I was pretty wiped. I haven't gotten a full night's sleep for a while. Thanks, seriously." Marina grinned. She got up and walked to the main chamber.

"So what did you guys get me? Hold on, let me guess. A throne of skulls? A golden sword?"

"No, but you're getting warmer." Astrid replied. She was grinning widely.

"Alright, I give up. What is it?" Marina frowned.

Astrid didn't have to answer. Marina saw that Niruin was holding a pitch black bow with glowing red in it. It emitted death from it's very core, and it resembled something Sithis would use.

"Is that..mine?" Marina gasped.

"Yeah, it's Daedric crafted. Niruin made sure it fired true, and Nirya enchanted it with Vampire enchantments. Heath, Magicka, and Stamina absorbments. We thought it would be suited for you. We also have four dozen Daedric Arrows. That was why we all went out. We searched the entire province, and Blackreach." Astrid shuddered as she mentioned Blackreach.

Marina thought it was odd that Astrid would be afraid of it. The idea of an underground city, filled with the blind and tormented, living in almost complete darkness sounded quite appealing to her. Maybe it was the Falmer themselves. Or Astrid wasn't used to not being close to the outside. Oh well. She made her way across the chamber and took the Bow and Quiver from Niruin.

"Does this mean I still have to grab you that Ebony Bow, Marina?" He grinned. Marina laughed.

"I suppose you don't haveto." She teased. "You could always join me on a mission sometime, though."

Niruin stiffened, and Marina realized what she had said. The Listeners in the past almost never went out on missions, and when they did it was only on the highest, most dangerous contracts. She never heard of a Listener going with someone else before, either. She had just invited a recruit with her.

"Not on anything too deadly. Maybe just wiping out a fleet of Stormcloaks, a town, you get the drift." She corrected, quickly. Niruin relaxed.

"It depends on whether or not I have conflicting contracts."

"Very well. Speaking of which, I happen to have a few contracts out that I need to wrap up. I have a ship that needs sinking, a town that needs razing, and I'm supposed to kill the Emperor too."

"What!"

Marina turned and noticed everyone was still there, all with the same expression. She forgot that they didn't know.

"Yeah, I suppose I should have mentioned that. I'm to kill Emperor Tidus Mede the Second. Got told by the Night Mother. Which means..."

She turned to look at Babette.

"Babette, start studying the Gourmet. Learn all the recipies. You're to replace him when the time comes."

"Oh no! The Gourmet? Is there any other way?"

"Unless you want to burn down all of Solitude."

"I just might."

"You have your orders, Babette." And there was no more discussion of the Gourmet.

Marina sighed, and slipped into one of the few decorated dresses the Brotherhood had. It was a long, tight, black dress that was weaved in the back. Simple, yet so fitting for the purpose. She was going to a wedding after all. Moiterre requested that she be killed while giving her speech. That could be simple. An arrow to the head from long range, a dagger to the throat. So many possibilities. She smiled, evilly. It was time to give the Bride her gift.
-

Marina arrived in Solitude the morning of the Wedding, and walked over to the Temple of the Divines. She cracked the door open and heard the wedding. She had to bring some Priest of Mara from Riften all the way up here. They had just finished exchanging vows, and Marina disappeared from the door. The couple burst out of the Temple and heard loud clapping and cheering. Marina was hiding in plain sight. Her dress made her look like one of the servers. She loathed how the men were looking at her, especially the Groom. He had just been married. Maybe she'd kill him too. There was nothing in the contract that said it had to be just Vittoria Vici.

Vici was wearing a lovely wedding gown, but it had red in the wrong places. Marina intended to change all of that. She and her husband walked and took a small staircase to a Balcony. Marina followed them. She drew a silver dagger in her left hand, and an elven dagger in her right. One thrust each, both would be dead. She waited for the big moment. Vici began to speak, and Marina realized that she was in plain view of everyone if she moved. She tore a strip of cloth off the bottom of the dress and wrapped it around her face. Only her eyes and forehead were visible. She took a deep breath and stepped forward. Vici turned and looked right into Marina's eyes, and realization struck her as quickly as the dagger.

Blood poured from her chest, staining the white gown underneath her red robe. Marina reached down and took the wedding band off her finger, before spinning and slicing the man's throat. He fell just as quickly, and puddles of blood grew underneath Marina's body. She took the man's ring too, and jumped off the balcony.

She landed awkwardly, but rolled to avoid any damage. She turned to exit, and saw that the Solitude guards were already standing there. The other way had it's gate down. Was this how it ended?

Suddenly, Marina remembered the Temple. She jumped over the benches and dove through the open doors. Getting back up, she pressed one foot against the back of a bench and jumped, pulling herself to the upper floor. She slammed through a window, and found herself on the stone walls that she was just trapped in moments ago. She ran down the pathway, and saw Astrid battling a guard.

"Run, Speaker!" Marina shouted as she sprinted past. She went to the tower that was connected to the Castle and ran down the staircase to the outer limits of Solitude. She jumped on Nightwing and was off.

She arrived at the Abandoned Shack to the south and waited for Astrid there. It was the plan beforehand that they were to meet at the Shack after the assassination. They used to use the place as simply an initation room, but now it was a safe haven in the Haafingar hold. She waited, and waited, but Astrid didn't arrive. Marina screamed in anger and punched a hole through the wall. She slipped her Shrouded Gear on and took off on Nightwing back to Solitude. She was glad she did.

When she arrived, Astrid was laying on the headsman's block. The executioner, Ahtar, was raising his axe when a Daedric arrow pierced his head. He fell, with the axe behind him. Marina pulled her daggers out and stabbed and slid through the crowd, attacking anyone who made their way towards Astrid.

"Get the FUCKup!" Marina screamed angrily, stabbing Captian Aldis in the chest. Astrid just laid there.

Marina picked Astrid up and tossed her over her shoulder, then grabbed the Headsman's Axe with her other. She walked off slowly due to Astrid's weight, and was swinging the axe around to keep people back.

"Damn, Astrid. You've been putting on a few pounds." Marina muttered in Astrid's ear, and immediately she woke up and slapped Marina.

"Bitch."

"Come at me, Astrid." Marina teased, before running off to the Shack. Astrid was in hot pursuit. Marina was faster than Astrid, and it showed. It took Astrid a full fifteen seconds after Marina to arrive at the Shack. Nightwing had barely moved an inch, and Marina was already inside.

"What the hell was that about?" Astrid yelled at Marina. Marina grinned.

"You're a terrible actress, Astrid. I knew you were faking the minute I saw you. You're too stiff. Relax a bit in the future. It could save you."

"Did you seriously mean what you said about the pounds?" Astrid asked, worried.

"Honestly, yeah. Sorry."

"Umm, that's a good thing."

"How?"

"Well, umm, I'm kinda.." Astrid held her stomach, not in the way if you were sick, but if you were carrying something.

"What? How?"

"I'm expected to develope a bulge after about two months. Arnbjorn never even knew."

"Well, that's new. I've never heard about any babies in the Brotherhood. Will it be like it's father?"

"No clue. I'm kind of scared, Marina."

"Are you absolutely sure it's Arnbjorn's?" Marina asked, nonaccusingly.

"What do you mean?"

"You spent time in the Void, Astrid. Sithis' domain. Maybe..."

"Maybe I"m like the Night Mother? Is that it? Does Sithis expect me to kill this child?"

"Or, maybe your child is to be the next Listener. Maybe this isn't a test, but a gift from Sithis."

"I hope. But It has to be Arnbjorn's. It has to."

"What happened back there, in Solitude? You were right behind me."

"My child happened. I got dizzy, and blacked out. I woke up at the block, and tried to pray to the Night Mother to save the child."

"Maybe she interferes with us more than we think."

Marina sat down, exhausted. Not only had she ruined her dress, which she thoroughly enjoyed, but she had found that her Speaker was expecting a child. She got up and paced the room.

"You'll have to stay away from Babette. At all costs."

"Why?" Astrid asked.

"Damn these hormones, they've changed you. Think. You'll be hormonal, and there's going to be blood. She's still a vampire." Marina reminded her.

"I know, I know. I suppose it was just too obvious."

"Go back to Falkreath. Send Niruin and Ragvan here. Tell them it's time to step up."

"What? Already? I understand Niruin, but Ragvan isn't as good as the others."

"Yes, but he can blend. He's the most human of all of us, and we're going to need that. I'll be waiting."

Astrid nodded, and left. Marina looked around the cabin and sat down. She truly felt the weight of the Brotherhood on her shoulders. She wanted to finish this, and go back to doing contracts.

She was bored out of her mind too. Nobody thought to bring any books with them, or any form of entertainment. She considered pleasuring herself again, but decided she better not press her luck any further this week. She'd wait until she was absolutely sure she wouldn't be disturbed. Instead, she took the letter that Moiterre had written for her and reread it for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

Most esteemed overseer,

As was already communicated to your subordinate, I wish to hire your organization for some delicate ambassadorial work. All of this, of course, would culminate in a historic meeting with the Leader himself.

In order to secure an audience with the Leader, some secondary meetings must first take place. They have been outlined below.

1.) You must attend the upcoming wedding at the Temple of the Divines in Solitude. The bride must be given a gift she will never forget, one that will get all of Solitude to talking and which will, undoubtedly, reach the ears of the Leader himself.

2.) A certain high-ranking military officer, permanently stationed in Skyrim, is responsible for securing the Leader's safety should he choose to schedule a visit. When this officer learns of the Leader's journey, he will begin the necessary security arrangements. You must learn this officer's plans, and meet with his people, to ensure appropriate security for your eventual audience with the Leader.

3.) Several months ago, the Leader planned a visit to Skyrim that was canceled unexpectedly. In that time, a world renowned chef was contacted, and brought to Skyrim in order to prepare a lavish meal. That chef remains in Skyrim on retainer. You must meet with him, and convince him that it would be your honor to cook for the Leader in his place.

I realize these instructions are a bit non-specific, and do apologize, but I feel the vagueness is necessary to ensure security. Surely an organization as esteemed as your own has the means and resources to obtain all the essential information before each meeting can take place.

When the final part of our arrangement has been carried out - that is, when you have secured an audience with the Leader himself, and brought such business to a close - I will contact you about final payment.

Most sincerely,

A friend

Marina hated the letter. It was stupid, vague, and overall just plain irritating. She had no clue who the officer would be, but that he was a high-ranking officer. Obviously, because it was the Emperor, it would be a member of the Penitus Oculatus. That narrowed it down a bit, but besides that...nothing. Not a damn clue.

She paced the Shack, thinking. Word wouldn't spread for a few days. That was one good thing. It gave time to think. To plot. She decided to finish up a Captain Contract in the meanwhile. Before she left, however, she wrote a note to Niruin.

Niruin, you and Ragvan are to travel to Dragon's Bridge and survey the Oculatus soldiers there. Listen for whispers of our friend arriving, and find who is making the arrangements. Once you know for sure, let me know. I'll give you the next step in the plan.

Marina.

With that, she was off into the night. Her other contract required her to infilitrate a ship called the Icerunner and kill the captain. Specifications included that nobody else be killed, and that the death looked like an accident. A plus to this contract was that the Icerunner had been docked at Solitude when she was there this morning, and was to set sail that night. She waited underneath the bridge as the boat sailed past, and leapt onto the side of it. She only had the smallest of fingerholds on the planks, but it was enough.

She slowly, and painfully, moved herself to the back of the ship, where the Captian's Cabin was, and fell onto the balcony below. She peered through the window and saw the man described on the contract sitting at a desk, facing away from the balcony. This was going to be tooeasy.

And that was what made Marina stop and hesitate on killing the man. The contract required nobody else but the Captain die. How could she be so sure this was the right man? She placed her back against the ship and sat down, thinking. She wasn't that good of a pickpocket, so that couldn't work. Suddenly, she had an idea. She stood up and dove off the back of the ship and swam underneath it before coming up for a breath of air. She dove back down and swam ahead of the ship, which was going surprisingly slow. While she waited, she realized her armor would be a dead giveaway and so she dove back underneath the ship, taking her armor off. Luckily it was all leather, so the water wouldn't ruin anything. She folded her armor up and slid her gloves into her boots, which were secured to the armor by the strap. She then hooked the strap onto a slightly loose plank, before coming up for air.

She swam ahead of the ship, dreading what she was about to do, and called out.

"He-ey! Anyone up there?"

A sailor poked his head over the ship's edge and widened as he saw Marina.

"Hey, you! Could you help me? I'm soaking wet and freezing!"

The sailor stared a bit longer and realized that she hardly had anything on. He turned and shouted to the crew.

"Hey guys! We got a lady in the water! Help me bring her up!"

Suddenly, it seemed every guy on the ship was helping. The man she talked to had tossed a rope overboard and Marina grabbed it. She had to admit, having these many guys doing this for herwas rare. When she found herself on deck, she noticed that over 14 pairs of eyes were staring at her body. She blushed a little bit, before one of the sailors came over with a blanket. He draped it over her back and walked her into the quarters. She sat down on a cot and he sat next to her.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just sc-sc-scared."

"You don't have to be afraid anymore, babe, I got ya now."

"Thankssss, I guesssss." Marina replied. She thought she was exaggerating a little with the shivering and fear, but the sailor seemed to be interested in something else entirely. Marina had to admit, he was quite attractive for the Nords she's seen around here.

"Come 'ere. You're freezing." The man said, and Marina obliged. She wrapped her arms around the man's muscled chest and placed her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you for saving me." Marina whispered.

"No problem babe. Let's see if we can't get those wet clothes off ya." He said, while reaching around to loosen the ties that held her bra in place. Marina could have stopped him, but felt now was as good of a time as ever." She placed one hand on the man's chest and rubbed it while looking at him. He was grinning at her and went in to kiss her. Marina kissed back, but soon realized that he was making his way down her neck and to her breasts. She moaned as he grabbed her and took his shirt off. He got up and sat her on the bed while he went onto his knees on the the floor. He was kissing her as he got closer and closer, and she took her underwear off.

Marina moaned again as he did things with his mouth she didn't even think were possible before she realized that this was not who she wanted her first time to be with. He stopped, like he was reading her mind. Marina laughed to herself as she realized he was just taking his pants off. She immediately hated herself after what she saw.

The first guy whose measured up and I can't. Wow.

She got up and went over to a bucket and threw up. She groaned and looked at the man.

"I'm so sorry, but I don't think we should do this. I get a little seasick every now and then."

The man crused before he pulled his clothes back on and stormed out of the room. She giggled as his erection bulged through his pants. She got up and put her bra and underwear back on and laughed. He didn't even notice that they were drier than her hair. She wrapped the blanket around her and wandered the corridors until she found a young Imperial boy washing the deck.

"Hey, could you take me to see the captain? I want to thank him for having such a kind crew."

The boy looked up and nodded. He was only around nine or ten, so he didn't look at Marina like the other men on the ship. He did however look at her and said

"You're pretty."

Marina giggled and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Thank you! That's the nicest thing someone has said to me all day, can you believe that?" Marina asked, smiling.

The boy shook his head and walked her to the last room on the right.

"Wait, why doesn't he stay in the cabin?"

"Because his brother is in there. Guy's a jerk if you ask me." He replied.

Marina smiled. She made the right call on avoiding the balcony. Not only would she have killed the wrong person, but she wouldn't have known she did until days later. She thanked the boy and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Marina wrapped the blanket tighter around her and sat down. The captain looked at her with wide eyes.

"Who are you?" He asked, reaching for his sword.

"I'm a survivor of a shipwreck. Your crew rescued me from freezing to death. I wanted to thank you for having true Nords upon your ship." Marina said, noting the Amulet of Talos around his neck.

"Ah, well that explains why you're soaking wet. Didn't anyone think to get you some clothes?" The captain asked, walking over to the dresser.

Marina sighed. She wished she could have done this another way. She had to improvise and stall though, before she got too far from land. She stood up and walked over to him and placed her hands on his waist. She bit his ear softly and whispered,

"We don't need clothes for this next part."

"Well...I don't know. I've got a woman at home..."

"So let's get drunk first. You get something, I get something, and you won't even remember doing anything the next day." Marina replied hastily.

"That works. I've got some Bosmer wine somewhere in here.." the Captain muttered as he dug through the drawers. He pulled out a wide bottle and poured her a glass, while chugging the wine from the bottle. She sipped the wine and waited for him to get wasted. He closed his eyes and she poured her drink back into the bottle. He emptied the bottle, and fell over. She grinned and lifted him up, placing him on the bed. Looking around, she broke a long splinter of wood from the bed and opened the Captain's mouth. She slowly pushed the splinter down his throat until she hit what she was looking for. She yanked the splinter out, and the Captain vomited everywhere, while beginning to choke on his own vomit.

Marina gagged, she hated the smell. It was worse than death, and she was all too familiar with that smell. She made sure that the Captain was dead, before exiting the room. She walked out onto the deck and looked around. She saw the sailor from before and went over to him.

"Hey, sorry. I really have to get going. I'm close enough to Dawnstar now, I can swim from here."

"You sure you don't want to stay? We can dock if you want."

"No, no. It's better I don't bother you anymore than I have. Thank you for rescuing me though. I appreciate it."

Marina gave the man a hug and took a running start before diving off the boat into the frigid waters. She went to the bottom of the boat and took her gear off the plank before coming back up for air. She took a deep breath and went back under, sliding her soaking wet armor on and shivering. She slid her boots and gloves on before pulling the cowl over her head and face. When she came up, the boat had sailed away.

Marina swam to shore and shivered even more. Even though she had Nordic blood, the cold still bothered her when she was soaked to the core. She walked towards Dawnstar in the distance, but turned towards the lighthouse instead. When she got there, she climbed up the latter and used a shovel to push some of the coals to the other side. She pulled herself up and sat on the edge of the braiser, her feet resting on the inside of it.

"Brr, I'm freezing. Hope I warm up soon. Fucking perverts." She cursed to nobody in particular. She started to feel her muscles relax after a few minutes, and started to sweat. She breathed slowly, before leaving the welcoming warmth of the fire and into the snowy town of Dawnstar.

She caught the eyes of a few guards and swore one of them mentioned Sithis. She giggled to herself before walking towards another carriage driver. This one was a female, and looked manly. She paid the driver 20 septims to go to Morthal, and the two were off. Marina closed her eyes and placed her head in her hands. This was a long day already. She just wanted to rest. It was that time of day where the sun was beginning to set, which was her favorite time of day. Just not tonight. Tonight she wished to sleep. She wanted to do that a lot lately, sleep.

You can sleep in the Void, Marina. You have contracts to do. Remember, everything happens for a reason.

Marina rose her head and looked around. She didn't know if the voice was actually from someone, in her head, or from a dream. She hoped it was a dream. The only voice she heard inside her head was the Night Mother's. She looked around, and saw that they were nearing Morthal. She stopped the carriage and got off. She had to go North from Morthal anyway.

She yawned, and starting walking lazily towards the Shack. She walked slowly, step by step, watching the trees around her. She felt the cold nip at her skin through the leather. She smelled the pine, frozen to the world. She, too, felt frozen. Inside. She changed so much from the hunter that she used to be. It was unbelieveable. She finally got out of the snow and found herself in the swamps. This was good, because that meant she was close to the Shack. She saw it in the distance, and jogged towards it. There were two other dark horses by Nightwing, tethered to a tree. Niruin and Ragvan must have arrived. She opened the door and instead of seeing just two assassins, she saw a group of the Penitus Oculatus with bows aimed at her. Niruin and Ragvan stood in the corner, hands and legs bound.

"That's right. We got you." The man, obviously in charge of the operation, boasted.

Marina just stared into space. She was thinking as hard as she could if they left any incriminating evidence connected to the Emperor Assassination. She turned to stare at Niruin.

"Commander, have you seen a letter around here? I was supposed to send it an hour ago." She said, not looking away from Niruin.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I sent it when I got here." Niruin spoke, calmly.

"Enough, all of you. Now, Youare coming with us. These two have already agreed to come quietly. You're all going to the block, assassins." The man laughed.

Marina walked forward with her wrists together. The guards tensed their arms, already getting sore from holding the bow string back.

"You caught me. Let's go."

"Just like that?" The commander asked.

"Sure. It's not like you caught the leader. Just three pawns on the chessboard. Though I'd like to think I measure as a bishop at the least." Marina replied, her voice empty.

"Alright. You heard her. Tie them up. Off to Solitude with the lot of you."

Marina, Niruin, and Ragvan were carried out of the shack, their horses gone.

"Where'd they go?" One agent asked.

"Who knows. They're all spawns of death." Another replied.

Marina just lay there, staring into space. The agents had been so proud before, but their spirits lessened when they so easily believed Marina's lie. It was funny, but Marina was no longer thinking of that. She was already plotting an escape. It had to happen before they got to Solitude. She had already loosened the ties holding her arms. She had to wait for the perfect chance. One slip and everything would end. She closed her eyes.

Sweet Mother, Sweet Mother, send your children unto me. For the sins of the unworthy shall be baptized in blood and death.

A little off on the Sacrament, Listener.

This isn't a contract, Mother. It is a plea.

I'm sorry, Listener. My hands are tied. But I can offer this knowledge. The Commander, Garo, has a son.

What is that supposed to mean?

Find out for yourself.

Then silence fell. Marina couldn't get the Night Mother to expand on the subject. Marina took a deep breath.

"How's your son, Maro?" She asked, a sharp blade of hostility cutting with each word.

The entire group stopped as Maro halted. She smiled.

"How do you know about Gaius? Answer me!"

"He and I had a little fling, back when I first started out. You know that depression he had when he first joined the Penitus Oculatus? That was because of me. I broke his heart. He begged me to leave the Brotherhood, I refused. I told him that he had to chose between me or you. He chose you, but regretted it ever since."

"Shut up! You don't know anything!" Maro shouted.

"Tell you what, Maro. You let us go now, and I'll keep away from your kid. I'll never watch him as he sleeps, as he eats, or even when he bathes. I'll ensure that when he is alone, he is actually alone."

"You.. You stay away from Gaius!" His voice shook.

"Just let us go, and it will be so."

"Never. I'll kill you before that happens."

"Good luck. Just remember, Maro. Everything from here on, is on you."

With that, rolled off the arms that carried her. She landed with a thud, and untied the ropes that held her legs together. She grabbed the arm of a soldier thrusting a blade at her and broke it. She tore the sword from the soldier and stabbed anyone who was in her way. She cut Niruin and Ragvan's binds and they quickly grabbed blades of their own. They cut down each member of the Penitus Oculatus until only Garo remained.

"Remember. This is on you." Marina whispered, before disappearing into the night.

Commander Garo stared in horror at the bodies of his comrades before him. He turned and ran towards Solitude at full sprint. Niruin laughed.

"So, That's the leader of the Penitus Oculatus? Seems like a coward. I hope we didn't kill the guy who was supposed to arrange security."

Marina laughed in agreement, but was busy searching the bodies. She found her daggers and slid them back into their sheaths. Ragvan and Niruin did likewise. Marina also took letters off some of the corpses.

"So, where's your bow, Niruin?" Marina asked.

"Next to yours in the shack. I had them in the chest. Didn't want them damaged. What do you have there?"

"Some letters and orders. Turns out we didn't kill the guy. I understand why Maro got so upset when I mentioned his kid. Listen to this. 'So I didn't get the assignment to check the cities' security. Commander is having his kid do it. Damn Gaius. He isn't half as talented as the rest of us. Must be nice having Daddy help out.' So, there's your guy. Maro's probably going to reassign Gaius now. And you two are useless. I chose the both of you because you could fit in. You've been seen now. We're going to have to send someone else. Damn it!"

The trio walked back to the Shack and retrieved the rest of their belongings. Marina was furious. They hopped on a carriage to Falkreath, planning their next move.

"We could send Astrid. She's good. Quick, talented." Ragvan noted. Marina shook her head.

"No, not Astrid. It's too risky for-" She stopped herself. "Too risky for me. I can't lose a Speaker so quickly. Maybe Babette?"

Niruin nodded his head.

"Yeah, it would be perfect for her. She has to test out her new methods and everything. Not to mention, she probably has more experience than anyone."

"What do you mean? Marina is surely better than Babette." Ragvan asked. Obviously sucking up.

"Yes, but Babette has been in the Brotherhood for over two hundred years."

"What? How?"

"She's a vampire, Ragvan." Marina sighed.

"What? Impossible. What other secrets am I missing?" He looked at the two of them frantically.

"Well, other than the cannibal and the werewolf.." Niruin whispered.

"Those too? Let me guess, we've also got a necrophiliac."

Niruin and Marina laughed.

"No, not yet. I'm sure we will eventually. Though technically, Babette isdead. So if I had sex with her, would that make me a Necrophiliac?" Marina smiled.

"I suppose so, but I wouldn't blame you. She does look good for three hundred and thirteen." Niruin smiled.

"Niruin, how do you know so much about the Brotherhood?" Marina asked.

"Simple. I listen. People tend to gossip, word gets around. By the way, I hope it isn't too cold for you." He winked at Marina.

Marina sighed. So that had finally gotten around. Oh well. Niruin was polite about it and dropped the subject. Marina had to admit, he was the only recruit that she actually knew. Nirya didn't count, because she lived with her. Ragvan, feeling left out, spoke up.

"Marina, did you know your hair has red in it?"

"No, actually. How can you tell?"

"The light."

"It's dark out, Ragvan." Marina sighed.

"I was talking about during the day, or when you fought Astrid. There's red tints in your hair."

"Oh, well cool. Thanks Ragvan, I didn't know that."

"No problem. Hey, could I see one of those arrows?" He asked, indicating one of the Daedric arrows in her quiver.

"Sure, no problem. Here." Marina said, handing him one.

"Such craftsmanship, such beauty. This is a true weapon of death. Suiting, because of the owner." Ragvan glanced at Marina, before examining the arrow closely.

"Hmm, yeah. I see how the arrow was made. Ebony metal, daedric hearts. Mahogany wood, Raven feathers..."

"You can tell all of that just by looking at it?" Marina asked, impressed.

"Yeah, and I can also make more. I'm going to have to keep this one though. It's nice to have a model."

"Sure, I've got plenty. It would be a big help to not just me, but Niruin too. Only the best of the best."

Ragvan kept quiet, pretending to look at the arrow more. Marina noticed his knuckles were white and wondered what was wrong. Maybe he was sick or something. She looked at Niruin, who just stared at her dumbly. It was obvious to him what was wrong. She shrugged and looked at the driver, realizing she had just divulged a lot of information to this guy. He was extremely stiff, and obviously knew what was happening. Marina sighed.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that."

She slit his throat and tossed him off the carriage, taking the reins.

"How can you do that, so easily?" Ragvan asked.

"What do you mean? We're assassins." Marina replied.

"Well, he was just sitting there. I understand whyyou did it, but not how. You didn't even hesitate."

"People change, Ragvan. You will too. Give it a few months and you'll find yourself wanting to kill everyone. It requires control, but it's easy. Think of it as crafting a diamond ring. The first time you ever touch a forge, did you craft jewelry? Probably not. You likely made iron daggers and leather bracers. You saw a master craft beauty and wanted to do the same. It applies to killing too. You work your way up."

"Oh, yeah. I see what you're talking about now. So you've thought about killing me?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't do it for a multitude of reasons. The first is that I'm prohibited from doing so unless I wish to invoke the wrath of Sithis. A second is that you are like family to me. A third is that you're the only smith we've got right now. A fourth is that it really isn't worth it."

"One was enough."

"Oh, sorry." Marina replied. She stared into space ahead of her and thought about everything. She had done so much for the Brotherhood these last few months, and yet there was so much more to do. She had read tomes left by her predecessors, and found that there were supposed to be not one but four Speakers. The Brotherhood was to work all over Tamriel. She sighed, and placed her head in her hands. Was she supposed to represent the entire Dark Brotherhood?

Patience, child. We all have two hands, no? The Brotherhood will regrow it's other hand soon. Just be patient. You will have help soon enough.

Marina blinked, hard. She wasn't alone. There would be someone else. Suddenly, she felt the weight lessen. It was such a relief. She smiled and slapped the reins, hard. The horses suddenly lurched forward at top speed.

"Damn, Marina. What got into you?" Ragvan asked. Marina laughed.

"Just some happy thoughts. That's all."

"Such as?"

"Well, such as the fact that the Darkness Rises quicker than expected."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing you'd really understand."

"O-kay, then." Ragvan finished.

The rest of the trip was spent in silence. Niruin had fallen asleep as they passed through Whiterun, and Ragvan was struggling to stay awake as they rode alongside the river. He fell asleep as they entered the pine forest. Marina smirked, and the horses slowed to a steady trot. It was just wonderful, how the night air felt to her tonight. Like the wind had warmed, but the breeze was cool. She tried to remember the last time it smelled so fresh, and felt so alive. She found she couldn't. In fact, she could barely remember anything before the assassins came for her.

She panicked, sending the horses into a lurch that woke both Niruin and Ragvan. Ragvan drew his dagger, and Niruin was nocking an arrow.

"What's going on?"

"Sorry, I fell asleep." Marina lied.

"Oh, how long until we get home?" Ragvan asked.

"I don't know, maybe five or ten minutes."

"Darn. I can't even go back to sleep now." He replied. Niruin, however, was already snoring again, the tension in the bow slightly releasing. Marina and Ragvan laughed quietly, seeing Falkreath in the distance. Marina led the carriage past the town instead of leaving it there as she had so many times before. She took them all the way to the Sanctuary where she killed the horses and put a log behind the wheels of the carriage. She heard crunching sounds and turned to see the Brotherhood's horses eating the fresh corpses. Ragvan chuckled.

"I don't think that would be considered cannibalism."

"Why?"

"Well, our horses are something morethan those dumb creatures. Look, Nightwing can get here easily. Like he can find his way through everything. We're lucky that Niruin's horse and mine got here. They must have followed Nightwing."

Marina smiled, and lifted Niruin up. Ragvan took his bow and arrow. She walked into the Sanctuary and immediately had four people running up to her.

"Is he..?" Astrid asked.

"No. Sleeping." Marina replied with a smirk.

The word was repeated seven more times before Niruin was placed in his bed, with the covers pulled to his waist. Marina sighed, and made her way towards a bed. She kept her gear on, daggers and all, and fell asleep as she fell into the bed.

She was crouched in a tree, balancing perfectly on a tree branch. Up ahead, a girl walked towards her direction, looking side to side frantically. As the girl passed underneath Marina, Marina jumped from the tree and landed behind the girl. The girl turned and smiled when she saw Marina.

"You're always so good at hiding, Mari. It's not fair. When am I going to be as good as you?" the girl spoke.

"When you finally stop trudging around. You're louder than a Horker in heat." Marina found herself saying.

The two of them were laughing, and walked together back towards a town. It looked like Ivarstead, but Marina couldn't be sure. Her thought was confirmed as she saw the 7000 steps. The two of them walked to a house and entered it. She found herself looking at a tall Nord man with a muscled body and short brown hair sitting at a table, next to him was a pale woman with dark brown eyes and long, red hair. The girl sat down across from the man and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. Marina found herself sitting across from the Pale woman.

"So, you two girls have fun in the woods?" The man asked.

"Yeah, Dad. We always do. Or Mari does, anyway. She always hides from me. I wish I could hide like her." The girl replied.

"Now, now, Ange. Don't be talking like that. You'll get there." The woman said. "Your sister has just been around longer. Isn't that right, Marina?"

"Yeah, mom. But you're the best out of all of us." Marina replied.

"Mom, I

hate being called Ange. My name is Angela." The girl, now known as Angela replied.

"Well, you still call Marina 'Mari'." She pointed out. The man laughed.

"That's true, Isabelle, but maybe we should just listen to our daughters. They're growing up into fine young women."

"Mom, when are you going to take me out like you do with Mari?" Angela asked.

"When you're older. Enough discussion. It's time to eat." Isabelle replied, sternly. Something was off, Marina noticed. She realized that she was no longer seeing through her own eyes, but in the third person. Even from this angle, she saw that the woman, Isabelle, had a look in her eye. Marina knew that look too well. It was the look of fear. Of being caught. But what was Isabelle hiding? What were the two adults hiding? It was only at the end of the thought did she realize what was being said. This was her sister, mother, and father.

"Marina? You okay?" A voice sounded from outside the dream. She felt the image shake, and then there was darkness. She woke up and saw the familiar ceiling of the Sanctuary. The voice she heard was Gabriella's.

"Yeah, just a dream." Marina replied. She was confused. She was an orphan since she was three. Who were those people, and why was Marina in her middle teens? She tried remembering back when she was a kid, and found she couldn't. Was there something wrong with her? She closed her eyes. She had a massive headache now. What was happening to her? She gasped, and grabbed the sides of her head as a shockwave of pain hit her. She fell onto the floor and screamed, loudly. The pain was unbearable, her head was going to split in two, and she just knew it. She looked at Gabriella, and saw that everyone else was already there. She fell to the floor in a heap, before everything went black.

Her body rose, and slowly Marina's body faced the group in front of her.

"Listen carefully. She must be taken to Danica Pure-Spring in Whiterun immediately. While she is gone, you must follow the instructions she has given you. Time is of the essence. Gaius Maro will still be doing the security arrangements. The Gourmet is an Orc in Nightgate Inn. Hurry!" a raspy male voice said.

Marina's body collapsed once more, leaving everyone puzzled.

"What the hell was that?" Astrid asked, looking at Marina's body.

"I don't know, but Marina was in a hellulva lot of pain." Nazir replied.

"Who was that? That spoke to us?" Nirya asked.

"The Night Mother?" Ragvan suggested.

"Yeah, because the Night Mother sounds like a guy." Babette spat.

"Sithis?" Gabriella tossed out.

"Isn't Sithis simply the Void? I don't think Sithis is an actually entity.." Veezara mentioned.

"This isn't the time! Lookat her!" Niruin shouted, pointing. Marina's body was getting stiff, her arms straightening before lying by her side. Her legs straightened too. Her body became as stiff as a board, before Niruin walked over and picked her up.

"What are you doing?" Eola asked, appalled.

"I'm doing what whoever just told us to do. Obviously Marina is not well, and Danica is the best at Restoration magic." Niruin replied.

"I'll go with you." J'Kier offered.

"No, you stay here. Cascus will join me." Niruin shot back.

"What? Why me? I've never even spoken to the Listener." Cascus whined.

"I'm leaving. Cascus? Come with me." Niruin spoke before walking past them all, Marina held safely in his arms.

-
Marina found herself waking in an unfamiliar room; in clothing she didn't remember owning. She got up and looked around and saw a dresser. She opened the drawers and searched for her armor, but couldn't find it. She noticed a small hand-mirror and grabbed it, looking at herself in it. She saw a girl that was similar to how she looked a year ago, but her face wasn't as defined. She looked down at herself and noticed she wasn't as curvy yet either. She was confused.

"Don't worry, Marina. In a few years you'll finish developing, and all the men won't be able to take their eyes off you." A woman said.

Marina turned and looked at her, seeing the redheaded pale woman from the last dream. She couldn't recall the name, Isa-something, but she knew this woman was supposed to be her mother. She went with it.

"Mom?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I was on my way to wake you anyway. We're going out, you and I, to practice what I've been teaching you."

"Okay. Let's go then." Marina replied. She was very confused. Her head hurt, even here, and she learned that even though she could think and move, it wasn't really her doing it. It was like there were two of her minds inside the body and she was along for the ride. She could see, hear, feel, smell, and taste everything the body could, but she couldn't control it. It was hard to comprehend.

Marina walked over to her dresser and opened a secret compartment. Inside it was a set of Leather armor. She slipped it on over her clothes and followed her mother out of the house. They walked and walked, until they were somewhere in the middle of the woods. Her mother, she now remembered was called Isabelle, turned and pulled a dagger out of her sheath.

"Now, remember what I've taught you. You have to learn to watch the movements of your enemy. These people are trained to kill, and they're paid for it. The—" She was cut off, and everything went blurry. Isabelle's voice shifted slightly.

"The Morag Tong" and everything was normal again. Perfect clarity and voice.

"are vicious, and we are here to kill them. To end their assassinations. No more will people have contracts out on them. It will finally be over and done with. We've led an attack on them in—Morrowind" The voice had changed again. "but there have been some survivors. We will eradicate them from existence! Now, show me what you've learned!" Isabelle shouted, back to normal.

Marina found herself holding a steel dagger, and alone in the forest. She closed her eyes, and suddenly she was in control. It was like the younger version of her and disappeared. She sniffed the air and found the familiar scent of her mother, floating lazily towards her from a tree. She also heard the draw of a bowstring. Marina turned and ran into deep brush, before getting on her stomach and crawling around underneath the thorns and vines. She made her way some twenty feet to the left of her last visible location, and climbed into the trees. Moving from branch to branch, tree to tree, she found herself looking down at Isabella, looking around frantically.

"Where

isshe?" Isabelle muttered, moving her bow left to right. Marina smiled to herself. She slid slowly down the tree, getting onto the same branch her mother was on. She moved slowly, dagger drawn. Her footfalls were silent, and was downwind of her mother. She stood up, stepped forward as her mother turned around, and ripped the bow from her hands. The arrow flew off behind her, but she didn't mind. The bow lay on the forest floor, and her Steel Dagger was touching her mother's throat.

"How's

thismother?"

Isabella smiled and tried to elbow her daughter in the stomach to keep her attacker away. Marina twisted her body out of the way, before tossing her mother ten feet to the floor below. Marina dived after her, and pressed a knee on Isabella's back. Both her Steel Dagger and Isabelle's elven dagger were now held to Isabelle's throat.

"Are you finished yet? You're dead." Marina rasped in Isabelle's ear.

"How did you do that?" Isabelle asked, astonished.

"Do what? Get you so easily?"

"Not only that, but escape me. Capture me. Kill me. You weren't this good last time."

"You reek of Nightshade, mother. I smelled you. And I've practiced a lot since last time."

"Impossible. I know those techniques. Those take years to master. Now I'm going to ask you again. How did you do that?" She asked.

"You learn a lot by watching your prey. You learn their habits, their thought processes, and behavior. You make the same movements each time. Even now, you're trying to figure a way to escape from me. You think I'll let you up after you say we're finished for today. As soon as I turn my back, you'll strike. You want to be the teacher at all times. You want me to fail. I'm sorry, mother, but I have not failed."

"You speak like one of them, the—Morag Tong," Her voice changed again, but returned almost immediately. "Who was been training you? B-Boranius?" Her voice changed again.

"Mother, what is wrong with you?" Marina asked, angry. Suddenly, things changed. Marina was outside her body, and watched as the two got up as normal and returned home. She couldn't hear, feel, or smell them or anything around her.

"Quit Digging, Child. I'm trying to help you." A ghostly voice whispered. Marina gasped. It was the Night Mother.

"Help me? How do you plan to help me? What are you hiding from me?" Marina accused.

"You truly wish to know? Bear in mind that once you find out, you're still bound by the Tenets. You belong to the Void regardless."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said. Do you wish to know?"

"Yes."

"Then when you get to your 'home' in Ivarstead tonight, go into the cellar underneath the house. There is a false back panel in the cupboard. Open it and travel down the path it yields. You will learn everything, Marina."

Marina was back into her own younger body and was wide awake while in bed. She guessed it to be around one or two A.M. She got up and made her way out of the house, hearing her younger sister Angela snoring. She went into the cellar and opened it, wincing at the screech of the hinges. She slipped into the cellar and walked over to the cupboard and opened it. She pushed against it and it fell back, then slid into the wall. She walked down the tunnel, taking a torch from the wall. What she saw at the end of it shocked her.

Inside laid bodies upon bodies of decayed flesh, all in Dark Brotherhood armor. She saw some of the armor was a lot older than the newer ones, being all black but discolored. Some were wearing black robes and hoods. There was even an old dagger with black and yellow on it, covered in strange designs. She looked around and saw black rings, old necklaces, and even a golden scale that glowed. She gasped, and sat down. Her family and she were hunters of the Dark Brotherhood.

That's why she had evaded capture from seven assassins, she was trained to kill them. The Night Mother tried protecting her from the truth, because it was too much for her. She didn't understand, was the Night Mother also responsible for altering her memory?

"So, you finally know Marina. You know once and for all what we, as a family, truly are. We stop these monsters. We end everything. Look around you. These rings? They're called Black Bands. The Dark Brotherhood used to give these to every new assassin after their first kill. Those robes belong to the speakers and listeners of the Black Hand. Some of this armor is over 200 years old and still works perfectly. This dagger, is a Blade of Woe. There are rumors that four others like it exist. This necklace is called Cruelty's Heart. Those scales are known as the Scales of Pitiless Justice. We've been around for centuries, hunting down the Dark Brotherhood. Our last name isn't even Frost. It's Phillda. Our ancestor pledged himself to hunting and eradicating the Brotherhood, and was killed by one as a result."

Marina just sat there, feeling as if she were going to be sick. This truth..she was meant to hunt down and kill people like herself. She passed out.

When she woke, she heard chimes and the sounds of healing spells.

Marina awoke and saw the familiar face of Niruin and a recruit named Cascus. She got up and sat there, facing the wall. A priestess ran over to her.

"Ah, you're awake! I found that there was heavy illusion magic in your head, and it had altered your memory. You must have weakened it and that's how you got into so much pain. I've removed the spell, but I don't know if you'll ever remember what you were supposed to forget."

Marina stood up.

"Don't worry, I do."

She exited the Temple and the two followed suit.

"Where's my armor? My Daggers? My Daedric Bow and Arrows?" She asked, angry.

"Right here. We held onto them." Niruin replied, handing them to her. She ripped them from Niruin's hands and slid her armor on, pulling the cowl over her face. She slipped the daggers into their sheathes, and strapped the bow and quiver to her back.

"Go home, both of you. Cascus, you must follow Gaius. Niruin, you wait outside Dragon Bridge for him. Remember, he must be killed in a city, here's a letter to plant on his body when he's dead. It is important you plant the letter." Marina ordered, handing Cascus the letter. She exited Whiterun and went to the stables. She stole a horse there and took off.

She was going home.

She arrived in Ivarstead and looked around, before seeing the house she grew up in. She walked over to it and knocked on the door. An elderly man answered the door, and when he saw who was standing there, he stepped back and bowed his head.

"It's about time you sought your revenge, Assassin." He croaked.

Marina walked inside and saw an elderly woman resting in a bed to the right. When the woman saw who walked in, she gasped.

"You've finally came for us, haven't you? I knew we would never get away with it."

Marina walked over to the woman and crouched down.

"Listen, and listen well. I have one question to ask you. Answer me honestly. What is your surname?"

"My last name is Frost. Used to be Phillida, when we used to hunt you down and slaughter you like cattle."

Marina took her cowl off, and stared into the eyes of her mother. Recognition swam in tears as the woman realized that this assassin was her daughter.

"Marina…" She whispered, bringing a wrinkled hand to Marina's perfectly smooth face.

"That's right, mother. I remember. Everything."

"How long?"

"It's been about a year or two now. I'm the Listener."

"So we've failed. We hoped that the decline we caused would be enough to end everything."

"Don't worry, Isabelle. I killed seven of them before they recruited me."

"Seems my training paid off after all. I'll always remember that day, when you caught me so easily. I knew then that you would become one of them. I tried to protect you, by having your memory altered. To forget us. You would never remember what you saw that night."

"That's part of the reason why I'm here. Is it still there, the 'trophies'?"

"No, not anymore. Angela took them with her when she left. She is good, but you were always better. How did you remember?"

"It took a while. As soon as I learned I came here. The Night Mother saved me."

"The Night Mother? So she truly exists? When the crypt was empty, we assumed it was all a ruse. Bravil..there was so much death."

"Mother, where is Angela?"

"I won't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because for 8 years, she has believed you were dead. We're not as old as we look, sickness has befallen us. Let her live in peace."

"I just want what is rightfully mine. I want the gear."

"I cannot help you, Marina."

"Are you sure you wish for this to happen, Isabelle? It doesn't have to happen like this."

"I won't betray my daughter."

"Then, goodbye mother."

Marina pulled her cowl back over her face and slipped the elven dagger from the sheath.

"Kind of Ironic, isn't it? You used one in our training sessions."

She set the blade's point right on her mother's chest, before looking into her eyes.

"Last chance."

"Finish it."

With that, Marina slid the blade into the skin of her mother, killing her. She turned around and saw that her father had already consumed a vial of poison. She sighed, and exited the home. She went to the cellar and found that the cupboard had been moved, and the tunnel was visible for anyone. She followed it to the room where all the Brotherhood's treasures had lied. It was completely empty, save for the bones of the bodies she saw as a child.

"Brothers and Sisters…I have avenged you." Marina whispered to the bones. She saw a movement in the corner of her eye, and saw a spectral ghost standing there in black robes.

"Not quite. Your sister still lives. She holds our treasures, treasures that should have been passed down to our other sanctuaries! She stays in Cronvangr Cave in a secret cottage. Use the secret button hidden amongst the rocks. Rescue our treasures, Listener. Restore the Brotherhood! Hail Sithis!" The robed man shouted, before vanishing.

Marina looked around the room, scanning for any rings or necklaces that may have been forgotten. The room was stripped to the minimum. Even the banners that hung from the walls were gone. She turned and left the tunnel, exiting the cellar. She mounted Nightwing, and rode alongside the river north. She grinned. The Night Mother gave her the gifts to be a perfect assassin. She had no qualms over killing her family, because she never knew them. Her mother, biological, had given her the gifts. She realized that the Night Mother had chosen her at birth. It was an honor.

She could immediately identify the cave by the spider webs that were everywhere. She wrote a note to Astrid to send carriages and some recruits to Cronvangr Cave, saying she was more than okay. The note went into a pouch that was wrapped around Nightwing's neck. Nightwing nodded his head, and sprinted off towards the Falkreath Sanctuary. Marina took a breath, and entered the cave. She used her elven dagger to kill the spiders that assaulted her, in the main chamber she saw the button. She walked over and pressed it, with the stone wall falling down. She walked through and saw a woman with an arrow pointed right at her. She smiled, seeing the similarity between the two.

"Who are you? An Assassin from the Dark Brotherhood? Have you come to join your predecessors?" Angela shouted.

Marina smiled and just stared at Angela, waiting. She made to effort to move, to blink, to breathe. She stood there and stared. Angela lowered her bow.

"Who are you?" She repeated.

Marina walked forward towards Angela, who didn't bring her bow back up. There was a quizzical look on her face as the Assassin walked calmly towards her.

"Don't you remember me?" Marina asked, hurt.

"Should I?"

Marina removed her cowl, showing her face. Angela gasped. She, too, had noticed the similarities between the two women. Her mouth moved, but no words came out of it.

"Yes, it's me. Marina. Mother and Father are dead."

"I thought you were. Did you?" She indicated a killing movement.

"Yes. And I didn't know you existed until this morning. They altered my memory with an Illusion spell."

"They told me you were kidnapped, raped, and killed."

"Do you want to know why?"

"Why?"

"It was because I was traumatized when I saw all the bodies, the armor, the robes, the swords, the rings, the necklaces, and the blood. I was taken down by it. They tried saving me. It was too late, though."

"Is that why you're here? To reclaim what is rightfully the Dark Brotherhood's?"

"Yes..and No." Marina answered.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean this, sister. I do not love you. I do not know you. You are a sworn enemy to my family."

"I am your family!" She shouted, pulling her sword out.

"Wrong. My mother is the Night Mother, my Father is Sithis. I am the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, and it's time you were sent to the Void."

Marina grabbed Angela's wrist as she swung her Ebony sword at her. She squeezed as she stared into her sister's eyes. There was a cracking sound, and she dropped her sword.

"Sister..why?"

"You have no right to call me sister." Marina whispered, cutting off Angela's right hand. Angela screamed.

Marina picked up the hand and showed it to Angela.

"A thumb, and four fingers. That is what makes up the Black Hand. There is me, the Listener. I'm represented by the thumb." She folded the thumb.

"Astrid is a speaker." She folded an index finger.

"But there are three slots open for speakers. Because of our ancestors. Because of you. Because of me. I killed seven assassins before they caught me."

She put the Elven Dagger away, and tossed Angela's hand aside. She looked at the armor Angela was wearing.

"Surrounded by the armor of your enemies, yet you wear this pathetic excuse of leather armor? You wear MYold armor? After all this time? You're disgusting." Marina spat at her, before slamming the silver dagger into Angela's abdomen, pointing upwards. She had severed the Aorta, and stepped back as her sister bled out in front of her.

"Isabelle confessed to me, before I killed her, that she wishes it was you they abandoned. They were always proud of me, even as I killed them." Marina sneered, before seeing the light in Angela's eyes go out. She stepped over the body and admired all the armors, robes, weapons, and jewelry she saw. There were new weapons that she hadn't seen as a child, and old ones that looked ancient. They were beautiful. She was admiring a Black Band when she heard gasps behind her.

"Guess what I found?" Marina smiled, turning to look at her family. She saw Nazir, Babette, Niruin, Ragvan, Cascus, Eola, Astrid, Veezara, Gabriella, J'Kier, Lora, and Nirya standing before her.

"You all didn't have to come, you know." Marina grinned.

"How did you? And who is? And how are you?" Astrid asked, stuttering.

"How did I find this? Turns out, this was my Inheritance. Astrid, you always wanted to know how I was so good, it was because I was a member of an old family who hunted the Dark Brotherhood. Quite Ironic, seeing as it's only helping me. This," Marina kicked Angela's Corpse. "Used to be my sister until I was fifteen. I killed her. And turns out an Illusion spell placed to modify my memory was going bad, and I kinda got caught in the middle of it failing. So, what do you think of our treasures? Some of this stuff dates back to the Second Era, I think."

The Dark Brotherhood had taken all of the gear that was in the shack, including the tapestries, and placed them in knapsacks, crates, bags, etc. and placed them onto the backs of the carriages. Marina went back and looked at the shack one last time. She saw a glint on the floor and picked it up. It was a ring. It was just a silver sapphire ring, but as Marina was about to toss it, she saw an engraving on the inside of it. It read: "Marina, lucky to die." She smirked and placed it in Angela's mouth, before taking a torch and lighting the bed on fire. Once it was burning strong, she lit her sister on fire and walked out of the cave, closing the stone door behind her. She had a new family now. One that had loved her the minute she joined them.

She exited the cave and saw that Niruin had waited for her with his horse, Moongleam. Marina smiled and climbed onto Nightwing, and the two rode behind the carriages.

"So, you were born and raised to kill the faction you now lead." Niruin stated, it wasn't a question.

"Yeah, too bad they couldn't erase my training. I'm surprised that I could remember my last name. I suppose they switched back to Phillida after they got rid of me. I don't care. The Dark Brotherhood is more of my family then they are. I stillcan't remember my dad's name."

"Really? In any case, I think you did amazing just now. You've gotten the Brotherhood back artifacts that are rightfully ours. Not many people just happen upon this sort of thing, you know."

"True, but I find that some things should be left alone. I'm kind of regretting taking all of the stuff. Half of it is outdated and it's enchantments are obsolete. I'll have Nirya, Ragvan and Babette pour over it when we get back."

"Alright, but are you really okay? I mean, you snapped out of your trance before Danica even started any real work."

"Really? Hmm. Maybe I was supposed to remember, to get these treasures back. I mean, look at those weapons. See that short, black dagger with the yellow designs on it? It's made of ebony. Nobody crafts ebony like that anymore. I'm surprised these weapons haven't broken."

"True. Ragvan will probably just melt them down if you want. Maybe make molds out of them. Nirya could disenchant a few. By the way, Cascus and I are going to Dragon Bridge soon, so if you had any last things to say..?" Niruin asked.

"Just good luck, really. Don't get killed or caught." Marina grinned. She sped past the carriages, Nightwing loving the challenge. The two weren't going straight home; they had to visit the Cairn to see how construction was coming along. She made sure her armor was secure and tightened the cowl, before they disappeared from view of the carriages.
-

"Has she noticed?" Astrid asked Niruin, who was riding up beside her.

"No, she has no clue. Then again, she hasn't been near a mirror lately. When she sees herself, I think it will be a shock to her. Hope I'm there when it happens." Niruin replied with a chuckle.

Marina looked over her shoulder and saw that what was once a black dot on the horizon was now gone, and that the sun was beginning to rise. She hadn't realized how many hours had passed in the last day. Nightwing seemed to want to vanish into the air as he approached the Cairn. Marina saw carriages out front and saw Delvin checking things on a piece of paper. She rode up and hopped off of Nightwing.

"Delvin, how goes the work?" She asked.

Delvin looked up at her and his face came back in shock. His eyes lingered at places where they hadn't really lingered before, before becoming frightened as he looked into Marina's eyes.

"M-Miss Frost?"

"Yes, I thought we've gotten over this part. How goes the work?"

"We're almost done, ma'am. Just making some final additions. We've got the garden, a waterfall, a forge, more rooms, a training room, a chamber for your..mother, and we even tossed in a master bedroom for you."

"Ah, what is there left to do?"

"Just a few added security measures, and the torture room."

"What sort of security measures?"

"Well, we've kind of created something similar to a Black Door. However, we couldn't get the voice right. It's like a woman's voice, seductive. And we have a secret entrance/exit for when you have to get out quickly. "

"And the torture room?"

"Hidden, as you specified. The door is under the waterfall, as asked. We've got a smaller forge there, shackles, stretchers, tools, everything you'd really want."

"When will you be finished?"

"Come back tonight. We'll be finished then." Delvin replied.

"Perfect." Marina stated, before getting back onto Nightwing.

"Oh, and Miss Frost?"

"Yes, Delvin?"

"You look..lovely."

"Thank you, I suppose?" Marina replied, before riding towards the Falkreath Sanctuary. She was highly confused. What happened back there? She shrugged it off and found herself at the Sanctuary ten minutes later. She laughed, realizing that with the entire luggage, the others wouldn't be here for another half hour. She walked through the Door and decided to see what Delvin was talking about. She went into Astrid's room and closed the door. She closed her eyes and walked over to the mirror, which was hard by using her other senses. She took her boots off first, then her gloves. She tossed her cowl back and slipped out of the Shrouded Armor. She opened her eyes and gasped at the woman she saw looking back at her.

The woman in the mirror was absolutely pale. Almost to the point where she could see throughher skin. She also noticed that her body had developed even more, becoming taller and even more slender. She also noticed that her breasts had gotten significantly larger. What was she supposed to be, an assassin whore? She frowned, and finally looked at the woman's facial features.

Her face became slightly gaunt, but it worked. Her lips were a shade darker than before, but her eyes caught her attention. Her eyes, instead of the dark brown they used to be, now were a bright, dazzling blue that matched the color of flawless sapphires. She gasped, and nearly fell back when those sapphire eyes looked up at her hair. Her hair was no longer the brown she loved, but a dark red color. Almost the color of blood. She looked at herself, grasping the mirror with both hands. How had this happened?

You looked too..normal for a Listener of the Dark Brotherhood.A voice spoke within her head. It was the Night Mother.

Do you change all your Listeners for your pleasure?

Just the ones who happen to save it.

So, just me?

Yes, Listener. Do you find your appearance pleasing?

Yes, and no. I've been used to seeing..wait. You didn't. How long have you been altering my appearance?

I must admit, I wasn't completely satisfied with how you looked before Molag Bal tried taking you. I changed you a little to keep him back. He saw who he was messing with, and quickly submitted when Astrid came for the shrine. I've been changing you slowly since then.

All this time?

Yes, but what did you mean by no? Do you wish to return to your original appearance?

No, I want to stay like this. I was just used to seeing ordinary. Now..i'm too..sexy? People won't see me as a bringer of death.

Wrong. Did you not see Delvin Mallory as he looked at you? He was terrified of you. You're so beautiful that people believe you must not be human or elven. They think you are something more, and that frightens them. Because that fear is also of the danger you radiate.

Then..thank you? But, can I ask one thing Night Mother?

Yes, child. You can always ask me questions.

Why are you helping me so much?

Let's just say, you remind me of myself when I was trapped within that body.

The silence returned once more, and Marina gazed at herself. She looked closer at herself, and saw that the scars she had on her shoulder had vanished. She shrugged, and guessed that the scars had blended with her skin tone. She wasremarkably pale. She placed her armor on a mannequin, with the gloves, boots and cowl on it too. She then walked over to Astrid's wardrobe and opened it. Inside were more dresses than she could count. She thought the number had been small when she was at the Cairn. She dug through dresses after dresses until she found a royal blue, strapless dress that ended midthigh. She slipped it on with some difficulty, mostly because Astrid wasn't as busty as she was, but found herself admiring how it looked on her. She slipped on blue heels and walked out by the waterfall. She pulled a chair up and sat in it, crossing her legs.

Astrid, Gabriella and Babette were the first to walk in, each carrying a crate. They walked right past Marina without noticing her, and only when they were halfway back to the entrance did Babette smell her. The three turned and their faces mirrored one another. Marina saw it in their faces. Jealousy, before it melted away. All three took a major hit on their self-esteem looking at her.

"That's mydress, Marina. Speaking of which, why are you so dressed up? You could wear rags and pull it off. Literally, I think you could." Astrid smiled.

"Oh shush, Astrid. She looks amazing; it doesn't matter why she's dressed up. Just lookat her!" Gabriella replied. Marina smiled. At least Gabriella meant what she said.

"Not the best attire for killing, but I suppose if it works for you.." Babette winked at Marina. Marina frowned, seeing the look in Babette's eyes. Babette had realized how she felt towards sex. She also noticed how Babette's eyes flickered towards the man entering the room, Niruin. Marina understood. Babette liked Niruin, but saw Niruin wasn't interested like that. Niruin turned and saw Marina sitting there in the chair.

"Damn. Astrid? Looks like we couldn't see her reaction after all. I must say, Listener. You look..you look.." Niruin sputtered.

"Indescribable. So sexy will have to do." Nirya said, dropping two crates of armor onto the floor silently. Marina felt uncomfortable with where Nirya's eyes lingered. She glanced down to make sure nothing was showing, and was relieved when everything was properly hidden from view. She still didn't like how long Nirya was looking at her crotch.

She received several comments from the others, and didn't see Ragvan enter at all. She stood up and walked flawlessly over to Niruin.

"Where's Ragvan?" She asked, hearing her voice had slowed slightly and become softer.

"He handed me the crates from the carriages, said that was all of them. I came out and warned him about..this," He gestured towards Marina's body respectfully "and when I came back to see why he hadn't come in yet, he and his horse were gone. I did find a note saying he left to survey Gaius."

"Good, good. He's following orders. What I don't understand is why you aren't?" Marina's voice became stern now.

"I was going to ask if you needed anything else done, Listener." Niruin replied quietly, looking down.

"I told you what I needed done. Gaius Maro needs to be killed, and the letter needs to be planted on his body. You still have it, I hope?"

"Ragvan has it. I said it would probably be safer with him. Guy is obsessed with having everything in place. Wouldn't lose that letter for anything."

"Well, you might want to go help him. I don't think he could handle this assignment without you." Marina ordered.

Niruin bowed and ran out of the chamber. Marina smiled to herself.

"That was rather rude of you, don't you think? Speaking to him like that." Babette scolded Marina from behind her.

"Babette, kills need to be done. Death must be spread. Darkness must rise. Just because you have feelings for Niruin doesn't mean I have to be kind to him. Besides, I'm doing you a favor."

"How? How are you doing me a favor by treating him like crap?" Babette shot back.

"Because he wants me! I don't want anything to do with him, but he follows me like a lost puppy. He figured since I talked to him more than the others that I liked him. It was because I knew he was reliable. He has experience with organizations and infiltration. If he stops thinking I want to fuck him until I scream, then it's good for you. He's thought about you, I could tell by how he looks at you. I could also see how you looked at me. And no, a threesome will NOTbe happening with me in it."

"Oh..so you noticed?" Babette looked down, embarrassed.

"Yes, I noticed," Marina sighed. "And don't take offense that I don't want to fuck you. I have my own needs, yes, but the needs of the Brotherhood come first. Besides, I don't want anyone in the Brotherhood. It leads to problems."

"Yeah, Astrid and Arnbjorn were a decent example. Sucks that the baby won't have a dad."

"You know about the baby?"

"Please, I could smellthe hormones coming off of Astrid."

"Oh, then you understand more than I thought. That's a relief. Gosh, I'm supposed to be out on a contract in less than an hour. I've been invited to a dinner tonight, and there are some very special guests attending."

Marina got up and went over to the door. She sighed, took a deep breath, and walked out into the world. She walked over to Nightwing and led him to the carriage. He was strapped in, and she climbed into the back.

"Nightwing, we're to go to Maven Black-Briar's manor."

Nightwing shook his mane, before taking off. Marina looked down at her feet. She had to poison Hemming Black-Briar, frame Mjoll the Lioness, kill Aerin by any means necessary, and then to cripple Maven Black-Briar.

It was amazing, how much she had to do. But it seemed so easy. She giggled to herself, thinking about how she would do it all. She figured she could crush some Nightshade petals into Hemming's food and leave a stem on Mjoll's body. Aerin can simply take a dagger to the heart, and Maven will lose a hand. Maybe she could make a statement. Something serious. Something to show that the Dark Brotherhood answered to only Sithis and the Night Mother. She sighed, and looked at the iron dagger that was in her hand. Maven knewMarina. In fact, she was Marina's employer for quite some time. To do this, would be the ultimate betrayal.

"Or maybe the greatest sacrifice.." Marina whispered. She wondered if this could possibly be a trap, because it was in the Ratway that she was captured by the Brotherhood. Maven had eyes and ears everywhere. Marina sucked in a breath of air and shuddered. Something wasn't right.

Nightwing and the carriage arrived at Riften as the sun was beginning to set. It was incredible how quickly she arrived, but realized Nightwing may have hardly touched the ground. She closed her eyes and took a breath. The dagger was hidden in a small satchel hanging from her elbow, a Nightshade flower resting next to it. She let out a breath and entered Riften, making her way towards Black-Briar Manor. She noticed that she caught the eyes of the citizens, but didn't mind. She kept her eyes on the man, Maul, standing next to the door.

"Hello, Maul. Great to see you again." Marina exclaimed, putting a genuine smile on her face. Maul was a real nice guy, who hid behind a mask of danger.

"Marina? Is that you? I could barely notice you. What happened?" Maul asked, his eyes weren't looking her up and down. Maul was only a friend, and he knew that.

"I grew up, spent some money I saved from working for Maven. The usual. Can I go in? I have an invitation." Marina smiled, handing a folded piece of parchment to him. Maul didn't even open it, but he opened the door.

"Have a nice party. Wish I could come in.." Maul muttered.

Marina smiled at him once more before walking in and seeing the guests before her. Hemming, Ingun, Maven, Mjoll, Aerin, and another man were sitting there.

"Ah, Miss Frost, it's wonderful to see you again." Maven stood, greeting her former employee.

"Maven, it has been too long." Marina smiled without emotion.

"It has, what have you been up to lately?" Maven smirked, staring into Marina's eyes.

"Just living the life of luxury. Joined up with the Companions a while back, I found I can persuade criminals to turn themselves in rather easily. Make quite a good bit of gold for doing it, too. Yourself? I hear that the Mead business and its associates are booming again." Marina replied, returning the stare.

"Yeah, there's been a climb in sales. However, there seems to be a problem. One of my employees has disappeared. He was climbing the ranks very quickly. Even did a few jobs for me, directly."

"Really?" Marina asked, sitting down. Maven sat down across from her.

"Yes, a Wood Elf named Endras Feronis. Bloody good. I hear he is almost as good as you with a bow."

"Do you have any idea where he might be?"

"Yes, but we should return to politer conversation. This is a dinner after all."

The two exchanged glances over the meal, but only had small talk about the citizens of Riften. It was when a clatter outside the manor occurred that Marina made her move. She squeezed the nightshade plant and the pollen from the flower fell into the wine that Hemming had. She then placed the flower in Mjoll's pouch strapped to her waist. She followed Aerin, who had ran out to see what happened. Maven turned and looked at Marina.

"Damn Thieves. Can't do anything right." She muttered. Marina grimaced, before holding Aerin's shoulder back from re-entering the house.

"What?"

"Aerin, I'm sorry."

"For wha-?" Aerin gasped as the dagger pierced his aorta. Marina pulled the dagger back out and took a deep breath, before slamming the blade into her right shoulder. She screamed, before falling to the ground next to Aerin's body into the growing pool of blood.

Maven, Mjoll, and Hemming ran out and all three had identical looks of horror on their faces.

"Aerin!" Mjoll shouted, before running over and grabbing his lifeless body. Tears were running down her face.

"Marina, are you okay?" Maven asked, her voice slightly indifferent.

"Yeah, I think I'm good. Damn thief tried getting Aerin. I didn't see him until it was too late. By the time I got my hand up, he got me in the shoulder before taking off." Marina replied, the lie coming easily to her lips.

"I'm going to speak to Delvin about this. This is unacceptable! Attacking a guest is the final straw. They were already crashing, but this is it!" Maven shouted.

"I knew it. I knewyou were involved, Maven. You and your Thieves Guild. Game over." Mjoll grinned, pulling out Grimsever.

"Mjoll, don't. You've already lost one person today. Don't ruin your shot." Marina shot out.

Maven just laughed. Mjoll growled, before launching herself at Maven. Maven grabbed Mjoll's wrist and broke it, leaving Grimsever to fall to the floor.

"You just made a big mistake." Maven laughed. Marina got up and walked over to Mjoll.

"You idiot, you ruined everything for yourself." Marina muttered, before dragging Mjoll out to Mistveil Keep.

"Guard, she just attacked Maven Black-Briar."

The guard stiffened and immediately hauled her into the jail. Marina turned and walked back over to the Manor.

"Maven, she's taken care of. Did you get hurt?" Marina asked, plotting the final part of her plan.

"I'm fine. Here, drink this. You're losing a lot of blood." Maven replied, handing her a large red bottle. Marina took it and chugged the entire potion. She breathed out with relief as the pain dulled, before looking at Maven.

"Shall we go in?"

The two walked back in and saw that Hemming was hunched over the table, blood trickling from his mouth. Maven gasped, and placed her hand on the back of a chair.

"Is he-?" Maven asked, looking away.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. I was on my way out when I saw him." Sibbi replied.

"No!" Maven shouted, throwing the chair across the room.

"Maven. I've seen this before. This is Nightshade Poisoning. "

"Yes, you would know that, wouldn't you? Why don't you go back to your sanctuary and report a job well done?" Maven shouted.

"What?"

"I know you're the Listener, bitch. Did you do this?"

"No. I was actually here to answer your little sacrament. You know, 'Sweet Mother, Sweet Mother, send your Child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy shall be baptized in blood and fear'."

"Oh, well then. Shall we get down to business?"

"Maven, listen to me. You almost just killed me, didn't you? Do you think I'd actually hurt the family of my second-favorite employer?"

"True, then who did it?"

"Who knows. We'll find out soon. But, we need to get down to business."

Marina closed her eyes and thought long and hard about it. It was easy to do that, because they were deaths. The Brotherhood does deaths, not assaults. She wasn't going to cripple Maven. She couldn't.

Marina opened her eyes and saw Maven had quite a number of documents on the table. They had been working all night and she had yet to even see a sketch of her target. Her displeasure was noted by Maven, who sighed.

"Look, this guy is bad. That Wood Elf I told you about, Endras Feronis? He was working with the Thieves Guild. Climbed all the way to the top, too. He proved that Mercer Frey killed Gallus, and was made a Nightingale by Nocturnal. There are just a few large problems. First, he betrayed Karliah and Brynjolf. Second, he took the Skeleton Key and the Eyes of the Falmer from Mercer's corpse after he butchered it. Because of this, Nocturnal has been angered to the point where the Thieves Guild is ruined. They've lost almost every one. Delvin has become desperate, saying their last shot is to get the Crown of Barenziah. However, that's not the only thing. I've lost a lot of money from this. If this Elf gets away with what he's done, the Black-Briars could lose everything. There's more bad news, though. He was last spotted up north, near the Hall of the Vigilant. A day later, the place is in ruins. People are blaming it on Vampires, but that damage was almost certainly him. There have been rumors that the Dawnguard are reforming, but that's for another discussion. I have a contact in Solitude that a stranger had arrived, asking questions about a Castle to the North. I've seen it myself, and that is Castle Volkihar. It's almost a sure bet that he is with them, so he must be one of them. You must track him down, and kill him. "

Marina looked at the sketch that was placed in front of her. He looked evil from the depiction, something even she was sure she didn't look. He had sleek, black hair pulled back in a knot, pale skin that looked almost silky, and eyes that held ferocity in them. Marina smiled: finally she found someone worthy of her skill.

And so ends Part 1 of A Frosted Brotherhood. I understand there are probably a lot of typos and incorrect details. Please review, favorite, help out, etc. Also, tell me how I did for my first contribution to ! Thanks, I'll have Part Two up in a week or two.