"EXPLAAAAIN YOURSELF!"

The angered scream seemed to rock the cavern where the Dark Brotherhood. Arnbjorn made his way to his wife's study and found her pouring over the large map near the door to their bedroom.

"We've got a problem..."

Astrid straightened at the words and her mind knew only one answer:

"Hesara!"

As she ran to get to the Night Mother's coffin, a milky eyed Bosomer stood in a daze as the Jester before her screamed and raved. She thought back to what had happened only a few long minutes ago.

"Poor Cicero. Dear Cicero. Such a humble servant..."

Her eyes flickered towards the man. Cicero was the Keeper. Of the Night Mother. The dark matron of the Brotherhood she had entered into. He had arrived a few months ago with the coffin that carried her remains and since, the family had never been the same.

Hesara had watched with a sense of detachment as she watched everything else. The man dressed as a Jester and acted like a madman. Many times he had danced around her, trying to get her to crack a smile instead of trying to get her to talk like most. The only time she broke out of the haze was when Astrid had taken her aside to give her this new...mission. She believed that Cicero was trying to talk the others into turning back to the Night Mother as their leader instead of Astrid. She gave Hesara her plan of listening in on Cicero's conversation with the traitor.

Hiding in the Night Mother's coffin.

There, in the chill of the iron tomb, a prickling sensation picked up at the back of her neck...

Right before the Night Mother started to speak.

"Yes, yes. We know of Astrid's insecurities," the Night Mother went on, answering the silent question and brushed it off before saying," We are the same, you and I. We are the same on different sides. I am dead yet you are living. We both do not speak to many. Only one. Not with our lips...but our minds are a different story."

It was true. She never felt the need to use her voice. There seemed to not really be anything of great importance to talk about. No one liked what she liked. No one had done a lot of what she had done. Her mind, however, was always full of questions. She loved to learn new things.

"No...Cicero will never hear my voice. He shall remain my faithful Keeper. You, however, Dragonborn...WILL be my Listener."

Nothing came to her mind then. It was affectively wiped clean of any form of words and thoughts.

"Yes, you. You who share my iron tomb, who warms my ancient bones. You who has the souls of dragons trapped in her own. You are now mine. I give you this task. Travel to Volunruud. Speak with Amaund Motierre."

Outside, the sounds of lamenting drifted to the Bosomer's ears as Cicero started moaning about his failure to the Night Mother for not tracking the Listener.

For not being able to find...her.

"Tell Cicero that the time has come. Speak to him the words he has been waiting for, all these years..."

"I am honored for the title, dark mother," she had thought back graciously as the Matron fell silent once more and light spilled through the widely opening crack as the coffin doors were pulled open.

And the screams started up. She patiently waited him out.

XXXXX

Cicero stopped and cocked his head to the side. He could see the defiler's lips moving, forming words over and over again. Curiosity, for once, got the better of him. He squinted harder to watch her lips move silently.

He blanched at what he thought was...

"What is that," he asked shrilly,"What are those words you're mouthing over and over and over?!"

She didn't look up. Her eyes were still glued to the ground near his feet.

"Say it again," he said, knife still poised and eyes wild,"Say it aloud! Say it again! Say it say it SAY IT, damn you!"

She looked up at him slowly, maddeningly slow until their eyes connected over the gap of space and she went over the words again. He could tell. Her milky eyes lightened and dimmed with the words as they went over in her head.

"Aloud," he shrieked,"Say the words alooooud!"

She looked at him blankly with her maddening white eyes. With a quick jump, Cicero was on her with the knife now at her throat.

"TELL ME," he raged, pressing it down hard enough so that blood leaked from the pale flesh,"TELL ME THOSE WORDS YOU SPEEEEAK!"

When she still didn't, when she still remained as silent as the Night Mother, he screamed once more. Silence! Damnable silence! Too many times has it filled his ears with it's chaotic buzz and embraced him in it's maddening hold! He would make this silent defiler speak! As he stabbed her and kept her alive, he will make her scream!

Cicero raised the dagger high, eyes gleaming with merriness at the thought of making her scream-

And she spoke. A mere whisper, like a soft breeze. It made his skin pebble like one.

"Darkness rises," she whispered,"when silence...dies."

He stopped the plummeting of the dagger when his body went into shock.

The words! The words, the words, the words! She said the words! The blessed, beautiful words! A laugh started up in his chest and came forward.

"OOOOHHHH YOU ARE THE LISTENER," he screeched happily, jumping up from her,"It's you you you YOU YOU YOUUUUUU! AHAAAHAAHA!"

He grinned up at her so widely, she could have sworn his face would split into two pieces. He suddenly starting doing a happy dance around her figure as she stood

"THE LISTENER HAS BEEN FOUND!"

Author's Note:

Haha! Meet Hesara! My Bosmer from Skyrim. She belongs to me and everything else belongs to Bethsada.

Please enjoy and tell me what you think! Ideas for what you want next would be good, too.