Hey everyone, sry it's taking so long to get this story going lol. Ok oblivion and its characters do not belong to me. Leya and Valena do. Here we go!

Thief of the Heart

Chapter 4

Lucien woke up earlier then usual that morning. He couldn't shake off the events from last night. He didnt understand why. He stood from his bed and looked down at her on the floor. She must have gotten used to the floor, she seemed to be sleeping peacefully. He looked over her, noticing the blood still in her once white hair. The bandages seemed to be loosening. He wanted to kill her to get rid of this headache, but he just couldn't do it. He sighed and grabbed his cloak. Maybe the Night Mother will have advice that he could follow or maybe distract him.

Once out of the fort, he mounted Shadowmere and rushed to Bravil. It took him a few hours to get there. Along the way his mind kept wondering, off. He kept thinking about Leya, how he lost his temper. What still confused him was why he regretted it later. He is Lucien Lachance, the Speaker of the Black Hand. He regrets nothing!

"Blast it all!" He shouted. "What has this witch done to me!" He saw Bravil up ahead and kicked Shadowmere to go faster. Once reaching the city walls he used his cameleon spell to make him unseen. He entered and carefully made his way to the center of the city. Where the statue shown was his way to communicate. He closed his eyes and spoke softly. "Dearest Night Mother, I beseech you. I need your guidance." A soft sigh was heard from the statue, as the Night Mother spoke.

"You come to me dear boy, dealing with your little friend, correct?" He tensed up a bit and nodded."I want you to take care of her."

"Yes, Night Mother...It seems she is becoming too much for me. Forgive me, I swear to you she will no longer distract me."

"You misunderstand, Lucien. I do not wish for you to kill her." He looked up confused. Was someone playing a trick on him. Surely this was not the Night Mother.

"What do you wish of me then, Dear Night Mother."

"I want you to watch over her. Protect her. She will soon be needed." Lucien was wondering what she could be used for. Sure she was sneaky, not to mention a great fighter, but she was certainly not a killer.

"As you wish Night Mother." Lucien turned to leave.

"Lucien, there is one other thing." He turned and bowed, ready to listen. "There is a traitor in your midst. Tread carefully." With that, he felt the presence of the Night Mother disappear. He turned and left, deep in thought. A traitor? He had to be careful, this was not going to end well.

He arrived back at the stables, removing the cameleon spell. He decided to go investigate at the Sanctuary, mounting Shadowmere he then rode hard to get back to Cheydinhal quickly.

Back at the Sanctuary...

"Vicente, i know that you hate having Antoinetta cook, but it is her turn tonight. I highly doubt she uses garlic on purpose." Ocheeve bantered. Vicente was getting frustrated.

"You know very well she is! She knows im a vampire. Why would it never cross her mind to use garlic!" Ocheeva sighed and stood up. "As you wish, I will talk to her about it." Ocheeva left and as she was leaving, Lucien entered the room. Ocheeva looked at him shocked but then bowed. "Good evening, Lucien. How unexpected."

"I am just here to check on the newest recruit." He looked at Vicente, who stood with a smile.

"Ahh, yes. I think you will be very pleased with how everything has been going with Valena." He motioned to the door. "Please, follow me." Lucien followed Vicente out of the room and walked down the halls into the training room. There he saw Valena sparing with Gogron the ogre. He was sweating as he threw swing after swing of his axe at her. But she dodged every one. Lucien watched her amused. She wasn't even sweating.

"How long have they been sparing." Vicente looked at them still. "About an hour." This intrested Lucien. He watched her evade Gogron's axe with such grace and skill. She was indeed a fine specimen of an assassin. Maybe...just maybe.

"She has been making incrediable progress. Ocheeva is almost out of work for her." he said with a laugh. Lucien just rose and eyebrow. "Is that so?" He paused. "Well then, we'll have to fix that." Vicente looked at him, but ignored his question and looked back at Valena. "I have a small problem at the hideout." Lucien began. Vicente looked back at him.

"Problem? What, are the rat setting off the traps again?" Lucien,sighed. "Yes but that's not the problem. A few days ago there was this dark elf who was running from these guards. She found her way into my hideout, and unfortunately for the guard, so did he."

"Let me guess, you spared the girl?"Vincente smiled. Lucien glared at him. "It's nothing like that. She is just keeping it clean. Until she pushed me too far last night."

"Oh? Did she have an opinion?" Vincente smirked. Lucien's ego puffed up like a blowfish, he stared down Vicente so hard. If looks could kill, that three-hundred year old vampire would be lying for eternity in a coffin.

"Bite me.." He turned and looked back at the sparing, with his arms crossed, that is, until he just realised what he said to his vampire companion. He could practically hear the smile form on Vincente's face. "Not like that you moron!"

The sudden burst from Lucien cause Valena and Gogron to stop. they looked at him surprised. "Oh, hello there, Most honorable Speaker!" Gogron smiled with his toothy underbite. Lucien was already getting a distaste for being called 'Most honorable' or 'most unholy' or whatever clever alias they could come up with. Valena smiled and rushed up to Lucien. This girl knew no boundaries.

"Oh, Master Lucien! I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon." Lucien cringed a bit inwardly. He sighed and forced a smile.

"Well, I was just checking in to see how your progress is coming. But now I must head back. It's getting late and I must retire for the night."

"Right, well I hope to see you again soon, Master Lucien." He looked back at her.

"Sooner than you think." And with that, he left.

Once he reached outside he quietly headed to the gate. It was getting dark outside. Within a few steps he bumped into a man who was flailing around. "Hey!" The man yelled. Once he did, Lucien could smell the alcohol in his breath. It was a sizeable amount.

"Keep your voice, down. And I will be on my way" He started to walk away but the man grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around, but before he could say anything Lucien drove a blade through his heart. The man fell dropped dead, only to reveal a guard coming around the corner.

"Hey! You there! MURDERER!" Lucien sighed. "Great...just what I need right now."

Back at the Fort...

Leya sat on the ground rubbing her head. She felt so sick from yesterday, her head was throbbing, and her ankles were still killing her. She hated this blasted place. Still,a part of her was sad when she thought about leaving Lucien. He may not know it but, with her "profession" she could read people like a book. She knew he was struggling with something. She knew very well he wanted to kill her. But there was hurt in his eyes. He cared for her, and that made her feel somewhat comforted. The debate in her mind was to either submit for a while so it wouldn't be harder on him, or press the matter and enjoy driving him crazy. But of course that would mean more pain inflicted on her as well.

Suddenly the hidden entrance to the fort was swung open and Lucien practically dived into the room. She jumped and looked at him in shock. He was out of breath. Had he been running? "L-Lucien?" He glared at her. She noticed he was holding his arm, with blood staining a bit of his cloak. "You're hurt.." He turned, feeling rage build up.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious! Do you not see the blood!" He spat at her. she crossed her arms and looked away. "No need to be cross, I didn't do anything."

"Keep quiet, or I'll-"

"-Or you'll what?" She interupted. He glared at her and went up to her. Seeing how she did not flinch at his quick approach, only made him even more furious. He went to slap her but she quickly caught his wrist. He looked at her both in shock that she did, and had the guts to do this. Her hard expression turned more gently when she took his arm and led him to the bed. She sat him down and went to the cubbard to get the bandages.

"What are you doing?" He asked as she walked back to the bed.

"What does it look like I'm doing: I'm fixing your arm." She said as she got the bandages ready. He looked at her a bit surprised at this kind gesture. "Please, take of your cloak." He sighed and reluctantly took his cloak off. She saw his bare chest, his arm stained in blood. The wound opened at his shoulder. "What happened?"

Lucien looked away with a grunt." Some drunk moron bumped into me." She looked at him surprised.

"So you KILLED him!" He looked back at him, yelling in his defense.

"He tried to start something! And once he hit the ground the guards came. It's like they are psychic or something!" She rolled her eyes and began to clean his wound.

"You have anger issues." He grabbed her by the wrist tightly.

"Excuse me?" She looked at him unphased." If I am wrong then why are you squeezing my wrist off when I am trying to help you?" He stopped and let her go.

"There are better methods than killing someone."

"Oh please.I dont want to hear it." He looked away.

"Fine, by all means, make yourself miserable. But it only makes you that much more predictable." He turned back at her.

"What?" She chuckled a bit and wrapped up his arm.

"Yes, you heard me. I think thats what makes the Dark Brotherhood so boring. It's always the same thing. The life of a thief. Now THAT is exciting!" She stood up and smiled, turning to face him."Being a thief, you never know who you will run into." She laughed a bit. "It is such an adrenaline rush. Being able to run fromt he guards, being silent and sneaky. It makes you feel so...so free!"

Lucien was listening to her. She seemed so passionate about her life. While he sit here, feeling slavery to his duty as a Speaker. Even though he enjoyed killing people. Leya saw this concentration in his eyes, and decided to push her luck, afterall, she was somewhat of a risk-taker herself. She walked closer to him and leaned forward. "You want to know what the best part is?"

He looked at her suspiciously."What?" Before he knew it she had her lips pressed to him. Eyes wide open, mouth would be too, and first the first time he couldn't move. He was completely paralyzed.

Leya pulled away slowly and smiled, somewhat proud of herself. She then whispered gently. "We are unpredictable."

A/N

Hawt Diggity Dawg! The first kiss! HAHA!

BTW did you get the psychic guard joke! HAHA, gotta love the puns. Oh the puns. Anyway, sry again that it took so long to get this chapter up. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I will try and post the next one soon! Let me know what you think! Please R&R