Nazir sent the Initiate on a few small contracts. Selene was in her room, sat at a small table with her head in her palm, lost in thought. She wondered why she felt surprisingly strange around the Initiate. His aura resonated a strong energy, it almost felt like fate. But why him of all people? What is so special about this man? Perhaps time will tell.
"Selene." Gabriella's voice snapped Selene out of her thoughts.
"Hmm? Oh. Yes Gabriella? What can I do for you?" Selene quickly raised her head out of her palm and whipped her head to Gabriella.
"Our guest has arrived. Come." Selene got out of her chair and followed her to the main chamber, there she found Astrid and the rest of the Family speak with a strange jester who had a giant crate behind him. She then saw the Initiate walk from the entrance into the main chamber.
"But the Night Mother is mother to us all! It her word we must follow, her will! Would you dare risk disobedience? And surely…punishment?" His high-pitched, frantic words already grated on Selene's nerves and she can see it did the same to Astrid.
"Keep talking, little man, and we'll see who gets 'punished'." Arnbjorn growled.
Festus quickly cut in. "Oh, be quiet you great lumbering lapdog. The man has had a long journey. You can at least be civil." He then turns to the jester. "Mister Cicero, I for one am delighted you and the Night Mother have arrived. Your presence here signals a welcome return to tradition."
'Ah, so his name is Cicero. Lovely.' Selene's sarcasm in her head was certainly welcome.
"Oh, what a kind and wise wizard you are. Sure to earn out Lady's favour!" Cicero smiled with joy.
Astrid gave a fake smile for sheer politeness. "You and the Night Mother are of course welcome here, Cicero. And you will be afforded the respect afforded the respect deserving of your position as Keeper." Astrid's fake sweetness faded as she turned to her husband. "Understood….husband?"
Arnbjorn merely growled.
Cicero did a little dance in glee. "Oh, yes yes yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Astrid's voice turned stern "But make no mistake. I am the leader of this Sanctuary. My word is law. Are we clear on that point?"
Selene could tell Cicero was not happy with that statement, even so, he still smiled. "Oh yes, mistress. Perfectly! You're the boss."
Astrid gave him a nod and turned to the Initiate. Selene knew better to speak to the nutcase and decided to move as far away as possible, even if he is the Keeper. Perhaps some crossbow training is in order. As she moved to the archery targets, she heard Cicero mutter to himself.
"Oh yes mistress, you're the boss….for now…"
That sent chills down her spine. He's definitely trouble. She tried to aim at the targets with her crossbow. She then felt a small hand on her hip.
"Are you alright, Selene?" Selene looked down to see Babette with a frown on her face.
She shook off the question and continue to practise. "It's nothing."
Babette isn't buying it. "Are you sure? When you saw Cicero you looked…uncomfortable.."
Selene looked behind her and saw Veezara and Arnbjorn help Cicero carry the large crate to the shrine upstairs. She then sighed.
"I-I just don't feel right about Cicero. He definitely seems to be passionate about the Old Ways and I just think it will be difficult for me to explain my beliefs to him. Besides, I definitely don't trust him. He just rubs me the wrong way."
"What's this about Cicero?" Astrid walks up to Selene and Babette. Behind her, the Initiate heads to the alchemy room.
"Selene was just worried about Cicero."
Astrid's eyebrows rose. "Really? Is there something wrong? You know I'm willing to listen to your opinions."
Selene looked down at the ground. "I just down trust him, Astrid. I know he has a high rank in the Dark Brotherhood, but he just make me feel…uneasy. I don't know, maybe I'm just being paranoid. Forget what I said."
Astrid gave a small smile. "You don't need to worry. I am still the leader here and nothing here will change. You have my word on that."
After training, Selene decided to head to her room. Or what was her room.
"WHAT IN OBLIVION JUST HAPPENED TO MY ROOM?!" She looked at Cicero sitting at a table in the middle of her former room. Cicero merely smiled.
"Oh, dear sister! Hello hello hello! Has Astrid not told you? This is Cicero's room now. My apologies, Cicero merely assumed-" Selene just ran out to the kitchen.
Everybody's head whipped to Selene. "Why did nobody tell me?! Where is my coffin?!"
Nazir had a look of confusion. "We thought you knew. Arnbjorn said-"
Selene's glowing orange eyes widened in fury. Everybody then looked to Arnbjorn and back to Selene. "Arnbjorn. Could you explain to me why you didn't tell me about our little 'guest' in my room?" Her voice was calm and dangerous. This didn't deter Arnbjorn, he merely shrugged.
"Oops."
Selene clenched her fists. "You have. Five seconds. To run."
Arnbjorn bolted, knowing she would join the chase, which she did. They dashed up the stairs past the beds through the main chamber through the entrance and into the woods at inhuman speeds. The rest of the Family followed, only to find Arnbjorn in his Beast form and Selene using her Ancient vampiric powers and magic to catch him. The entire Family just stood back and laughed as they watched the werewolf and vampire chase each other in and out of the woods.