Martin awoke to the sound of soft footsteps and occasional bumps and thumps coming from the Blades' quarters below him. He sat up in bed and looked out the window. The sky was still dark, and the sun had yet to even think about coming up. He then heard a door open then close. He then got out of bed and went into the Great Hall, to find Azure sitting at a table looking over her bow. She was dressed in a brown shirt and blacksmith pants with her hair in a very loose ponytail.

"Azure?" Martin called, his voice somewhat muffled by sleepiness.

Azure jumped and spun around. "Oh, gods...don't sneak up on me like that!" she hissed. "Why are you up anyway, Martin? You should be sleeping."

Martin sat across from her at the table. "I could say the same to you." he said with a teasing grin.

Azure smirked and looked back down at her bow. "I couldn't sleep," she admitted, "So I decided it would be best to leave for the Imperial City now."

Martin couldn't help but notice that Azure's voice sounded a little thick, and her eyes were red and puffy. He got up from his spot and sat in the chair next to her. He gently turned her face towards him.

Azure cocked an eyebrow at him, slightly taken aback. "What are you doing?" she questioned.

He was silent as he looked over her face, examining it. "Azure," he said finally, "Have you been crying?"

Her face grew red, and she batted Martin's hand away from her face.

"No." she turned away. Martin rolled his eyes. She must be such a terrible liar...he thought to himself.

"Azure..." he began, "You have been crying."

She glared back at him. "I was not!"

"You have."

"I. was. not."

Martin then grabbed her arm and led her down into the bathing area. He then grabbed a mirror and stood her in front of it. "Then what do you call this face?" he said, jerking a thumb at the mirror.

Azure's eyes widened and her hands flew up over her face. Martin had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing at her flabbergasted expression. "Damn...dammit!" she mumbled under her breath. She peeked at him through her fingers. "How could you know what a..."

"Crying face looks like?" he finished for her. "You forget that I was a priest. I've seen countless crying faces at funerals, services, and confessions. It's pretty obvious to spot a person who has been crying." He softened his expression and gently pried her hands from over her face. "Why were you crying, Azure?"

Azure looked away for a second, and then looked back at him. "I cry in my sleep," she sighed as if she was disgusted. "It's a bad habit I developed after my parents were murdered...I cry every time I'd have a nightmare."

Martin was silent for a moment as he eyed her intently. "Was...the nightmare about your parents?"

She covered her face with her bangs. "Yes." she mumbled. "About their death...and I also dreamed about Oblivion."

Martin could feel his heart ache for the girl. She's been through so much hell already...she's been through hell itself... and she had only just begun to live.

He reached for her and drew her into a tight embrace. He half expected Azure to shove him away and tell him off for not respecting her personal space, but to his surprise, she didn't. Instead, he could feel one of her hands reach up and grip the back of his robe tightly. Her voice came shakily, and she spoke as if she was ready to burst into tears.

"I...hate...crying." she said into his shoulder. "Crying is... for children and weak people...I don't want to be weak...I don't want to cry..."

Martin held her back at arm's length and looked at her. She had the back of her fist pressed against her eyes, trying to dam the tears back, but they slipped from under her fist and trickled down her cheeks. He reached for the back of her head and stroked it.

"Azure...people who can cry are not weak, as a matter of fact, they are some of the strongest people. They aren't afraid to show others how they are feeling, they aren't afraid to let their sorrows out in tears. The only weak ones are the ones who are too frightened to show their tears, because they think they will be seen as weak."

Azure looked up at him, with a sad smile. "So I guess that makes me weak, huh?"

Martin smiled and shook his head. "You admitted to crying, and you showed your tears, but you are becoming stronger." He took his sleeve and wiped her tears away.

Azure placed a hand over her face and sniggered softly. "You just tell me what I want to hear, don't you, Martin?"

"Would I lie to you?"

"Apparently not." she smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Azure, you know I'm here for you."

"And I, you, Martin." She returned to the Great Hall and Martin followed her. "Hopefully I'll be back in about eight days tops, if everything goes as planned." she said, securing her pack.

"What do you mean 'if everything goes as planned'?" Martin couldn't help but sound worried.

"Who knows what type of obstacles I'll face? This is the first time I've shown my face in the Imperial City since I escaped from prison..." Her eyes brightened and she looked at Martin mischievously. "Maybe I should tell them I'm good friends with the Emperor?"

Martin laughed. "Even if you did tell them so, they'd probably doubt I was the emperor if they were to see me. Do I look like emperor material?"

Azure studied him. How his light eyelashes accented his eyes, how his brown hair fell neatly into place, how his piercing blue eyes sparkled when he smiled...she could feel her stomach fill with butterflies. He really was...handsome. "Well...not yet." she said after a while. "Maybe you could use the Voice of the Emperor on them." she smirked, nudging him with her elbow.

He smiled and shook his head. "I don't think using manipulation to get what you want is responsible in the slightest way."

Azure snickered. "If only there were more politicians like you, Martin." she then stepped forward and tentatively slid her arms around his neck and hugged him softly. "Goodbye Martin. Take care of yourself."

Martin slid his hands around her back and squeezed gently. "You too, Azure."

She pulled away with a confident smile, and then left the Great Hall.

Martin then did something that was a surprise even to him. For the first time since Kvatch, he prayed. He folded his hands and bowed his head. Divines, he prayed, Please watch over her and protect her. This is my prayer.

Trust really wasn't too happy with the idea of me waking him up so early that morning.

I've got the bite mark on my calf to prove it.

Lucky for me though, leaving early had it's advantages. I made it to Imperial City in only a day and a half instead of the expected four, by cutting through the forests and taking the Red Ring Road instead of taking the Orange Road, which would have taken me all the way around to Chorrol. I stabled Trust at the local stable and entered the city. I sighed when I was greeted with those familiar cobblestone streets and stone arches.

So many memories here... I reached in my pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment, which contained a note from Jauffre. It read:

Azure:

You are to meet up with Baurus at Luther Broad's Boarding house in the Talos Plaza District in the Imperial City. He has valuable information on the assassins who are behind the Emperor's murderer. Find him, and learn what you can.

Jauffre

I returned the note to my pocket and smiled wryly. Well, won't Baurus be surprised to see me? The Imperial prisoner returns! I entered Luther Broad's and saw Baurus sitting at the bar, drinking while carefully glancing over his left shoulder occasionally. "Hey Baurus!" I called out to him. "Remember me? Long time no -" He shot me a look and put a finger to his lips. I cocked an eyebrow at him. Again he glanced over his left shoulder. He then beckoned me towards him.

"Sit down. Don't say anything." he said, his voice above a whisper. The look in his eyes told me that something serious was about to go down, so I did as he said. I looked at Baurus from the corner of my eye. He took another swig from his mug, and glanced over his left shoulder yet again. "Listen," he finally said, "I'm going to get up in a minute and walk out of here. The guy in the corner behind me, will follow me...don't look at him! You'll draw his attention over here!" he snapped quietly when I tried to look over at the man.

"Sorry. What do you want me to do?" I whisper as quietly as I can so only Baurus can hear me.

"You follow him. But wait for him to follow me. I want to see what he does first."

"Gotcha. Ready anytime."

"Good. Remember what I told you. Wait for him to follow me." He set down his mug and went over to the cellar door. Not soon after Baurus left, I could hear a chair creak behind me. A Breton man walked by me, shooting me a suspicious glare as he headed toward the door. I pretended not to notice, and pulled the note from Jauffre out to pretend I was reading something. The Breton man then disappeared into the cellar. I waited a few moments and headed towards the door myself. I drew my bow upon entering the cellar, not knowing what to expect. No less than a second later, I can hear the Breton man shouting at Baurus. A sword is unsheathed, and I burst through my hiding place to see the Breton man in attire resembling the assassins. I nock an arrow while he's engaging Baurus, and it finds the assassin's head.

"Good work." he congratulates after the dust settles. "I am happy to see you, by the way, but you just caught me at a bad time." he looks down at the assassin's body. "See if there's anything of interest on him. It may give us a lead." I search the assassin and find a book in purple binding. I crack it open and skim over it.

….Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes...

…..Mankar Camoran...

….Mehrunes Dagon...

…..Mythic Dawn...

I slam the book shut as a smirk spreads over my face.

"We got the bastards." I mumble to myself in satisfaction

Four days had passed since Azure left Cloud Ruler, and Martin sat in the Great Hall reading, trying to get his mind of the growing worry within him. The words on the book he held was blurred by his agitation.

"Your Highness?" a voice came from behind. Martin startled a bit, and turned around to find a young Redguard man standing there. "My name is Baurus." he said, kneeling. "It is an honor to be able to serve you."

Martin's eyes brightened a bit. "Baurus, you say?" Martin remembered that this was the man Azure was sent to retrieve. "Has Azure returned with you? Where is she?"

"She has not returned yet, Your Majesty. Last I saw her, she said she was going to locate a Mythic Dawn lair and try to retrieve a book from them."

"By The Nine..." Martin swore under his breath. "And you let her go alone?"

"She insisted that I come back to Cloud Ruler Temple to protect you. I offered to go with her, but she ran off."

Martin rubbed his temples and sighed irritably. "That woman is stubborn. Taking unnecessary risks yet again!"

"She also told me to tell you that she is fine, and not to worry about her."

Martin put his book down on the desk and raked a hand through his hair. He then looked up at Baurus. "She didn't give you any trouble, did she?"

Baurus smiled. "Surprisingly, no. She can really fire a bow, but her sword skills leave room for improvement. She must be really passionate about finding the Mythic Dawn. When we engaged a few agents in the sewers, she went nuts. She almost shot me with a stray arrow."

Martin was struck with curiosity. "Why, I wonder? She nicked me with an arrow when we fought a few agents at Weynon Priory almost a week ago."

Baurus nodded. "Can you blame her though? The Emperor was cut down by them right in front of her eyes. Even after she killed the agent, she was ready to hack him into pieces. I don't know what would cause her to react in such a way though. She only knew the Emperor for only an hour and a half."

Martin's face fell and he could feel his heart drop. It probably brought back memories of her parents' murderer...

"Well it's safe to say that the Mythic Dawn are getting what they deserve." Baurus said with a touch of satisfaction. "Azure is a strong woman, and has ferocity when it comes to protecting things she cares about."

Martin smiled to himself. "Yes, she is strong."

"And she's beautiful, too." Baurus smirked at Martin. "Wouldn't you say so?"

Martin looked up in surprise. "Well I...I wouldn't know...I spent most of my life as a priest...So I..."

Baurus knew where he was going. "Say you weren't a priest. Would you think so?"

Martin turned a light red. "I suppose so..."

I lost it.

I lost the Amulet to Mankar Camoran.

The Amulet of Kings is gone again. Emperor Uriel himself entrusted it to me and I let the enemy take it again. Now Tamriel is in danger because of my incompetence! Without the Amulet the Dragonfires still remain dark! I failed the Emperor. I failed the Blades. I failed all of Tamriel.

I failed Martin.

A bitter lump formed in my throat as I slumped down in the grass outside Lake Arrius Caverns with Mythic Dawn apparel. Covered in cuts, bruises and blood that was both mine, and someone else's.

How can I face Martin without the Amulet? All I have is this Gods-damned useless book? What good is that?! I thought bitterly. I shouldn't go back. How'd I face the shame? I have to...leave...go far away. I got up and started running as fast as I could. I didn't have a destination, but I had to get away. My heart and feet were pounding, and tears burned my eyes.

"It'll be nice to have a friend there." Martin's voice pops into my mind.

I'm sorry, Martin.

"I think you're really...interesting as well."

I can't come back...not when I've failed you.

"When will you be back?"

I won't...I...I can't

"Azure...people who can cry are not weak. As a matter of fact, they are some of the strongest people."

I then throw myself down in the dirt and cry like a newborn. I cry because I lost the Amulet. I cry because I hurt all over. I cry because I actually thought of just leaving Martin. I cried long and hard. I waited until I calmed down, my wailing now soft sobs. I walk over to Trust and climb into the saddle. Trust looks back at me and nickers in concern. I try to smile as I pat his neck.

"I'm sorry, Trust. I just...lost myself for a moment there." I take a deep breath and sit up straight. "Let's go back to Cloud Ruler Temple."

Divines...I don't know if you take a thief's prayer but...give me strength to face my failures.