I was met with dark chuckling from the cloaked man. I didn't falter, to show I wasn't swayed by his demeanor, and would shoot him where he stood if I thought he meant me harm. "You…" He started. "I now see why my client wanted you dead. You are ten times the hunter that he could ever be. He could not tolerate your existence." I stood stock still, unshaken by the words that he'd said.

He observed me for a moment, then spoke again. "But the longer I remain in your presence, the more I see the Dread Father reflecting in you." It was only then that he truly caught my attention. Could he be referring to the presence I feel inside me? The entity that diminishes my faith in the Nine, and gives me solace in darkness and silence? I stood still, aiming directly for his eye. But I was listening intently at what he had to say.

I saw him smile devilishly, and he spoke again. "There is no question, Sithis has most certainly ordained you. I can see it in your poise. No longer are you a target, but a potential recruit." When I didn't lower my aim, he understood that diplomacy was out of the question until I had some answers. He grinned and said "Perhaps an introduction is in order." He took a few steps forward, his way of relaying to me that he was unafraid of the fact that I could kill him with a single twitch.

He swept a bow, and said "My name is Lucien Lachance. I am a Speaker for the Dark Brotherhood. And you are a killer. A taker of lives, a harvester of souls, and future child of Sithis, whom is addressed as…" He made a gesture implying that he wanted to know my name, and I stared at him for a moment, uncertain of what to do.

He was an assassin, and a damn good one at that. I was not so foolish as to make the mistake of underestimating him. But, he may hold knowledge of the presence in my mind. I was conflicted, so I figured it best just to kill him and get it over with. Just as I was about to loose the arrow, the presence intervened. "Don't." It spoke in a darkened tone that was barely recognizable. I stopped cold, and reluctantly released the tension on my bow, putting the arrow back in its quiver. I slung my bow back, but kept my hood up

He appeared to be pleased with my submission, and asked once again. "Your name, mad 'am?" I looked straight at him, though neither of us could see each other's eyes yet. "Lucinda." He nodded and said "Lucinda… Beautiful. Surname?" I sighed and reluctantly gave up the information of my adoption. "My surname if Hofstede, but I was adopted, so my true surname remains a mystery." He nodded, seeming satisfied with the answer.

He approached me once again, and I took a step back to match his. He stopped and looked at me, then said in a soft tone, "You are right to be wary. That is another sign of the presence of Sithis within you. But I assure you, I mean you no harm." I was still untrusting of him, but the dark presence in my mind, whom I was increasingly convinced was the Dread Father himself, gave me a sense of comfort.

I stopped evading him, and he spoke. "I come to you bearing an offering. A chance to join our rather… unique family." When I remained silent, a grin appeared on his face. "You prefer silence, then? As do I, my dear child. As do I. For is silence not the symphony, the orchestration, of Sithis himself? Then you should have no problem heeding my words, for I will not be repeating them." I nodded, and he proceeded with his explanation.

"As luck would have it, your target lies in the Inn of Ill Omen, an establishment not too far down the road." I nodded, relaying to him that I knew where it was. "Inside you will find a man named Rufio. He is an old codger, and sleeps his days away. You could kill him before he even has a chance to wake, if you so desire. If you slay Rufio, your initiation into the Dark Brotherhood will be complete, and my family will welcome you with open arms."

I stared straight at him, contemplating what I should do. I hate my life here on this little dirt farm. I don't get to go anywhere or do anything, and it's the same boring rut every day. If I were to join the Brotherhood, I'd have a family that I could feel equal to. I could be my own self without harboring any shame. I could travel anywhere I wanted with the objective to murder. It was everything I ever wanted… Except for one thing.

Martin.

I couldn't hurt my brother. Surely he would be saddened at my leaving, and I couldn't bear the thought of being the cause of any heartache to my brother. But if I left, perhaps my brother would get the courage to leave and pursue a promising career as well. I had to do what was best for my brother, and what was best for me. I'd made my decision.

I looked down the dirt path leading to the inn, and said "Give me half an hour." He started to laugh and said "In half an hour? I'll be astounded." I walked over to the stables and mounted my horse Nightingale. I patted her on the head, and she nodded to me in a way that said she agreed. I rode out, and stood over Lucien. He reached his hand out to touch her neck, and I expected her to eat his hand off. But to my surprise, she leaned into his touch.

He looked up at me, and I looked down and said "Starting now." I took off, a flash of black racing down the street. When I finally made it to the Inn of Ill Omen, I cast a chameleon spell, hiding me from sight. I snuck down into the basement, and saw the man who I assumed was Rufio. I looked down upon his sleeping figure, his hair greasy and matted to his head. He smelled of wet dog, and was a pitiful, lazy old man.

I almost took delight in slicing open his neck. He didn't make a sound, his eyes only flashed open in shock. He died almost instantly after that. I crawled out of the basement undetected, then mounted my horse, riding back at a blinding speed. When I came riding back, I saw Lucien in the pen with a big black horse like mine, only its eyes were an unworldly red. It was a beautiful horse; a Cheydinhal Black.

I laced my horse up next to the entrance, then walked into the horse pen. Lucien was petting his horse, lost in his own mind. He didn't hear me enter, which was surprising. I usually scared other people with my silence when I approached them, but I would think that an assassin would be better about things like that. I started to approach him slowly, and the horse looked at me. It nodded its head, then started walking toward me.

Lucien looked shocked for a moment and said "Where are you going, girl?" She stopped in front of me, then bowed her head. I reached up and touched her head, then grinned softly and stroked her jawline. I looked past her to Lucien, and saw that he was stock still, staring at his horse in shock. "She's never done that before. She's never just walked up to a complete stranger and submitted herself to them."

I looked from him back to the horse and started to whisper to her in Daedric. "Do you know of the spirit inside me?" It gave a snort, then I said "Then I understand. Thank you for bringing him to me." She laid her head on my shoulder and I smiled, petting her again. He just approached and began to pet her as well. "Then the deed is done?" I nodded to him, and he nodded back. "Then you are now one with the Dark Brotherhood. Saddle up, because we're going home, Dear Sister." I nodded, then went to my horse.

I mounted her and turned to look at our farm one last time, thinking of Martin. I remembered the note that I left attached to the post of his horse's pen, telling him to not look for me and to pursue other things. I made it so that no one would find it but him. I grinned slightly, but my face immediately went back to seriousness. He came up on his horse and stopped next to me.

"Are you ready to leave?" He asked in a considerate tone. I shook my head, then hopped off my horse. I placed my hands to the ground and put a powerful shield spell around the house, summoning a few storm atronachs t guards the place. I nodded to him, and he whistled. "That was some advanced magicka. Let us take our leave then, Sister." We cracked the reigns and rode through the forest at a normal pace in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence, it was a stagnant silence that we both savored. Neither of us said a word until it started getting dark. We were on the outskirts of Kvatch when he turned around to ask me a question.

"Do you want to set up camp for the night, or are you rested enough to continue on through the night?" I kept a straight face, relaying to him that I was fine. He turned around and said "Very well. If you feel the need, I could rope your horse to mine and you could sleep on the way." With a quiet, intense, and yet respectful tone, I said "You needn't patronize my horse; she is more than you're giving her credit for."

He chuckled darkly and said "I see. You won't speak up in your own defense, but in the defense of others." I kept a straight face and said. "I don't see a point in making my actions justified when it is unnecessary. But I will go to the end of the world to defend those who have treated me well." He chuckled and said "Yes, I know. There are large similarities in our raising, for the same goes for me." I nodded and said "Then you will understand my actions and my thirst for silence."

He stopped his horse, and I stopped beside him. He looked at me, and I looked to him in unison. He looked deep into my eyes as though he were reading my story in them, and coming to a crucial deduction on his mind. With the side of his head resting on his fist and a slightly amused smirk on his face, he said "Am I correct in my believing you to have been raised in a strictly Divine worshipping family?"

With no change in expression, I responded with a nod. He nodded and looked down as though in thought. His eyes locked on mine again midsentence. "Would I also be correct in an assumption that you never quite believed in the Nine?" My face remained stoic, yet my eyes told another story. He smiled and said "Your eyes betray you, my dear. You've known the Dread Father for a while now, haven't you? You have always placed you trust in him, but you haven't had a name to the entity until I told you, have you?"

I simply looked at him in a way that told him everything. "Yes. Were it not for Sithis reassuring me of your intentions, I'd have killed you. I felt as though I'd found what I was looking for all my life when I made that kill. It was as though I had a place in the world, and I knew the presence inside me was Sithis himself. You presented me with myself. You told me that I wasn't insane; that what I felt was true. And for that, you have my full trust, compliance, and above all, gratitude."

He looked at me with a small smile, though his eyes betrayed him. He was truly shocked at all that I'd said to him, and frankly a bit embarrassed. He hadn't expected me to give such a heartfelt testimony. I looked at him with a small trace of a smirk and said "Your eyes betray you, my dear." He smiled and chuckled, shaking his head. He pushed me slightly and I just took it with a grin. I knew that this was one of those moments that was as fleeting and rare as a cherry blossom. It would probably be a while before we got to see a genuine smile on each other's faces.

We both continued on, feeling a little bit better about our situation. After a couple of hours, I felt something deep down in my stomach. I immediately started looking around without moving my head, and I looked up into the canopy overhead. There was an archer who had his bow drawn, aimed directly at Lucien. In a flash I had my bow drawn, but was too late. He'd loosed the arrow, and I had my arrow drawn back.

I only had one option. I'd only done this one other time. I loosed the arrow timed down to the nanosecond, and prayed to Father Sithis that it would strike the man's arrow. About the time Lucien turned to see the arrow, mine collided with it perfectly. His jaw dropped, something oddly out of character, yet perfectly justified. I looked up to the tree archer, who was staring at the spot of the collision, dumbfounded. Before he could even move, I sent a thousand volts flowing through his body.

He fell out of the tree, convulsing until he died moments later. I looked at him for a moment, then to Lucien. His eyes met mine with a flood of disbelief, fear, and gratitude. His face was a deathly white, and it was then I was pulled out of my reverie. I pulled closer to him and gave him a look-over. "Are you alright, my Speaker?" He shook his head slightly and said "Yes, I'm fine. Are you alright?"

I shook my head and said "Of course I am. Don't fret for me. You are my main concern." He shook his head and said "How did you shoot like that? There's no way… You shot his arrow in mid-air!" I looked at him for a moment, then smiled in amusement at his complete and utter amazement. "Well, it sure as Oblivion wasn't easy, I'll promise you that. I've only done that one other time. But it saved your ass, didn't it?"

He looked at me with the same shocked expression, his mouth still agape. It turned into a wide smile. "Yes, I suppose it did." He said with a chuckle. "I'm sorry for not being more observant. You saved my life. And for that, you have all my trust and gratitude." I scolded him and said "Nonsense. As a new member of the Brotherhood, your life holds much more value than mine. I did my best to protect you, as I should." He just smiled and said "As an older member of the Brotherhood, I shouldn't need you to watch after me. Thank you." He smiled, and I gave up the fight, both of us turning and continuing on.