AN: Okay so, I feel kind of like a moron because I thought I had loaded this already, like, ages ago. Whoops! Anyway, this is the eh… prequel to the prequel for "The Dragonborn and the Companion" and "A Shadow of a Thief". As always, Skyrim and the NPCs belong to Bethesda. I'm only claiming Elise and Kirsikka.
It was a bright sunny day in the southern portion of The Pale. Birds were chirping as they darted around the few trees scattered across the fields while deer and elk grazed leisurely on the grasses. Far in the distance the sound of mammoths could be heard lumbering across the plains. The guards patrolling the roads did so with a little bounce in their step, enjoying the warmth of the sun.
Unfortunately for poor Cicero, all the surrounding beauty of the day was lost upon him as he danced and jumped helplessly around his wagon. "Oh Mother, do not worry! Somebody will come along soon to help, Cicero is sure of it. And that farmer!" Cicero frowned and made a face, tugging on his jester's hat. "That farmer will pay for not helping dear, sweet Mother! He and his pretty wife both!" He cackled maniacally, rubbing his hands together. "Yes, yes. Cicero will introduce them to his blade. Stabby, stabby, stab!"
He laughed again and turned away from the wagon, eyes darting around and spotting nothing but empty landscape. He sighed reached out to pat Mother's box absently. "There, there Mother. It will be fine." He was staring dejectedly across the countryside when he caught movement from the side of his eye. He turned and clapped his hands in glee when he spotted somebody coming towards him.
As the figure got closer he could pick out details; a Bosmer, female by the look of her long dark hair. She was wearing simple hide armor and had a standard longbow slung on her back and an iron short sword on her hip. She slowed as she neared him and he grinned widely, pulling his hat off and bowing low before her. "My dear lady!" he cooed, "Cicero begs of you to assist him!" He straightened and pulled his cap back on, grinning all the while.
She stopped completely and eyed him and the wagon behind him, obviously taking in the broken wheel. "How can I assist you?" she asked warily.
"Poor Cicero is on a long journey from Cyrodiil to Skyrim to move sweet Mother to a new home and the wagon broke! Silly, stupid wagon!" He pointed at the wheel and then continued. "Cicero talked to the farmer, asked him to please help Cicero so Mother can be on her way to her new home, but Cicero was spurned and turned away. The farmer does not want to help Cicero or his dear sweet Mother." He sighed sadly and hopped from foot to foot anxiously. The woman rubbed the back of her neck and glanced up at the farm house. "He has the tools to fix the wagon," Cicero added. "If the lovely Miss would go speak with him and change his mind then Cicero will reward you with shiny, shiny gold!" He pulled out a coin pouch and waved it at her.
The sight of the money had the desired effect and she nodded. "Okay, you stay here and I will go talk to him." She turned and strode up the hill and Cicero danced around to the side of the wagon, watching avidly.
He saw her near the farmer and the two of them conversing, the Bosmer woman waving her arms dramatically as she talked. Finally, they shook hands and she turned and came back down the hill. Cicero turned to face her fully, hands twisting frantically in front of him. "Well?" he asked when she was within hearing distance.
"He will help you," she answered.
"Yay!" Cicero cheered and then grabbed her hands, spinning her in a circle. He dropped them just as quickly and pulled out the coin pouch, shoving it in her hands. "Here, for you, for you! Shiny gold, all for you!"
She gaped, looking down at the stuffed coin pouch in her hands. "Oh, this is much too much. I could not take this," she said.
"You must! Cicero insists!" He reached out to stroke the box that held Mother. "You are helping Mother! All who help Mother are rewarded." He nodded wisely and grabbed her hands again, pushing the pouch tighter into her grip. He tilted his head and blinked at her. "What is your name, helper of Mother and Cicero?" he asked, releasing her hands.
"Elise," she responded, carefully sliding the coin pouch into one of her bags.
"Elise the Savior of Cicero!" he declared, dancing a small jig. "Where are you traveling to, Elise, Savior of Cicero?"
She grinned and responded, "Windhelm. Where are you off to, Cicero, Keeper of Mother?" Cicero froze and his eyes widened as he looked at her. She had called him Keeper. Only Brothers and Sisters knew of the Keeper. She did not wear the armor, she did not have look. How did she know he was Keeper? The grin was falling from her lips now as Cicero stared at her silently, one hand fingering the hilt of his dagger lightly. "Did I say something wrong?" she asked, stepping back a few paces.
"You called Cicero 'Keeper'. Why?" he asked, blinking at her slowly.
She shrugged and looked down at the ground, rubbing her leather boot into the dirt absently. "You called me 'Savior of Cicero' and I thought, since you gave me a name I could give you one. 'Keeper of Mother' just seemed to fit," she muttered.
Cicero blinked again and then a smile split across his face. "Cicero understands!" he declared and she breathed a sigh of relief. "Elise is smart and knows that Cicero loves Mother."
"You certainly do seem to," she answered. "So where are you going?"
"Cicero is taking Mother to a new home, a new family. Not near Windhelm, no. Much too cold for Mother," he answered. Elise's face fell and Cicero felt bad for making her sad.
"I was hoping maybe we could travel together," she said. "You are the first person who has really been nice to me since I came back to Skyrim, I mean besides Jarl Balgruuf and this one Stormcloak soldier. That is why I am going to Windhelm, because it is either that or High Hrothgar and I am not sure how I feel about that. Anyway," she inhaled deeply and smiled lightly at him. "I should get going. I have enough money to buy passage to Windhelm now instead of walking so I thank you for that. I hope you and Mother have a safe journey Cicero."
She reached out and grasped his hand to shake it and he pulled her into a hug. "Cicero believes we will see each other again Elise, Savior of Cicero." He released her and smiled again.
"Thank you, Cicero, Keeper of Mother. I hope that is the case." She glanced up behind him and he turned to see the farmer coming down with his tools. He looked back to find Elise walking away, towards Whiterun and the carriage ride.
Cicero again reached out to stroke Mother's box. "You will bring her back to Cicero, please Mother? Cicero likes that one." The box remained silent as always, but Cicero swore he felt Mother smiling as he went to aid the farmer in repairing the wagon.
After only an hour of work Cicero was back on the road towards he and Mother's new home. He giggled to himself, humming a little ditty as he steered the wagon, carefully watching for bumps and divots that would upset Mother's coffin or possibly cause another wheel to be damaged. Part of him was happy that Elise, Savior of Cicero, had managed to convince the farmer to help, but another part wished that the farmer had said no so that his blade could feel the warm rush of blood again.
"No, no, no. Cicero knows a fixed wheel is better for Mother," he muttered, glancing around absently at the scenery. No matter how good it would have felt to kill that farmer and his wife, he knew that without them he would not be on the way to take Mother to her new home and family. "New family, new home and, does Cicero dare to hope? Perhaps a new Listener? Oh, he does, he does!"
His thoughts again flicked to Elise. Something about her had called to Cicero; perhaps she enjoyed the dance of a blade and the smell of blood as much as he did. Cicero could picture her wrapped in the Shroud of the Dark Brotherhood, executing contracts for their Mother. The idea brought another chuckle to his lips. It started out quietly, but within a matter of moments his loud guffaws filled the air, startling birds from nearby trees as he passed.
Cicero bit his lip to stop the laughter. "Must be alert, could be bandits, could be bears, either way, best bewares!" He giggled again. "Mother, you will make sure she comes to visit, yes?" he asked. "She would be such a good Sister, Cicero knows." He nodded solemnly and after his short plea to Mother he turned his focus completely to the task at hand. After all it would not be long until they reached the new Sanctuary.
lllll
The upper floor of Candlehearth Hall quickly filled as travelers staying at the inn and the local patrons looking for a drink and hot meal filtered in when the sun set. Nobody paid any mind to the small Imperial woman seated back in the corner. A flagon of untouched mead sat in front of her and in her hand was a small knife that she was using to clean her fingernails out as she eavesdropped on those conversations around her.
"Rolff was raising hell again with the grey-skins. I do not know how somebody like that could be brothers with somebody like Galmar. I mean, I know Galmar feels the same way as far as kicking the elves out, but at least he is not so public about it. If Rolff is not careful, he is going to get hurt."
"He already did. A Wood Elf blew into town earlier looking like a leaf could knock her over, but she gave Rolff quite a beating after she chewed him up one side and down the other for mistreating folks. I bet it will take a few days before he shows his face around here again."
The voices faded as they moved away to a table and Kirsikka wrinkled her nose. Small subjects for small minds; that was all she had been hearing in the two days she had been at the inn. She had heard promising rumors that had sent her interest to Windhelm, but so far nothing had come to fruition.
"Somebody really needs to do something about that Aretino boy," a gruff voice said. "Idesa said that Grimvar was poking around the house today and there was a bad odor about it. I am not sure why the guards do not just haul him back off to the Orphanage."
"Because the guards are all busy fighting in the Jarl's war. We have very few left here, it is no wonder nobody has caught that damn Butcher yet. I am surprised things have not gotten worse than they are. As for the Aretino boy, leave it Torsten. The boy has had a rough childhood. I almost would not blame him if he did do the Black Sacrament."
Kirsikka perked up, ears tuned to the conversation. She frowned when the matter turned to farming and slumped back in her chair. At least she knew she was in the right town. Sighing she pushed herself away from the table and slipped unnoticed down the stairs. There was a small commotion near the front and she made her way towards the bar.
"I do not care if you have coin that can cast spells, I do not have a room!" Elda, the innkeeper, declared.
Standing across from her looking dejected and road weary was a Bosmer woman. Kirsikka frowned; she knew that there was at least one room open and for some reason Elda was not letting this woman have it. She stepped forward, causing both of them to look at her. "She can stay with me," Kirsikka volunteered. Elda glared and the Bosmer's mouth dropped open in shock. Kirsikka grabbed her hand and turned to pull her towards the room. "Have two meals sent round also, please," she barked over her shoulder at Elda. The Nord woman glowered but nodded.
Kirsikka closed the door behind them as the other woman hesitantly walked into the room. She turned and rubbed her arm warily. "Thank you," she said.
Kirsikka grinned and dropped down onto one of the beds, tugging off her gauntlets as she did. "You are welcome. You look like you need the rest and Elda was just being a bitch." The Bosmer began removing her armor as well, carefully folding it atop the dresser in the room. "You are the one who took down Rolff," Kirsikka stated.
The woman spun, eyes wide. "I do not know what you are talking about," she hissed out, voice laced with panic.
Kirsikka smiled. "I am not going to hold it against you like the rest of them would. Personally, I wish I had been there to help." She rose and held her hand out. "I am Kirsikka."
"Elise," she responded, taking Kirsikka's hand briefly. "And thank you again. I just cannot stand small minded people."
Kirsikka finished pulling off her armor, leaving her in a pair of short linen pants and a small tunic. She shoved her armor under her bed with her foot and made sure her mace was accessible before she settled back onto the bed. "So, what brings you to Windhelm?" she asked.
Elise finished folding the last of her armor and sat on the bed opposite her after she untucked her tunic from her breeches. "Believe it or not I am thinking about joining the Stormcloaks."
Kirsikka laughed. "You are not serious?" At Elise's nod, she laughed harder. "Why on Tamriel would you?"
Elise shrugged one shoulder. "First person I met when I came back to Skyrim was a Stormcloak. He helped me out of a rough patch and told me I should think about joining, so here I am." She leaned back on the bed, eyes staring up at the ceiling. "Not like I have a lot of options right now."
"I am heading out tomorrow to look into a rumor I heard. You could come with me," Kirsikka offered.
Elise turned her head to look at her. "What rumor?"
Kirsikka swallowed and took a moment before answering. She knew how most people felt about the Dark Brotherhood and this woman did not strike her as a killer. She was, however, a woman with no other options. "I heard that there was a boy here trying to contact the Dark Brotherhood. I thought I would check into it."
Elise snickered. "Oh, you heard that too? I did not think it was real. I mean what child would do that?" she responded.
"A desperate one," Kirsikka stated. "Whether he tried to contact them or not does not matter, either way there is a child out there who needs help. I intend to explore it." Kirsikka bit back the triumphant grin when she saw the look on Elise's face change.
"Good point. Okay, I will go with you," she answered.
Kirsikka smirked, that was almost too easy. "Great," she said.