Disclaimer: I only own a copy of Skyrim.
Cicero immediately shot up into a sitting position.
"Listener!" he whispered urgently, shaking her. She stirred slightly. "Listener, somebody is breaking in."
That caught the woman's attention. She immediately began to sit up, wincing in pain.
"Which door?" she asked in a hushed tone. Cicero thought for a moment as he silently slipped out of the bed.
"Sounds like the front door," he replied as she followed his suit, still wincing and holding her lower stomach. "Listener, you gave birth not..." he glanced at the clock, "three hours ago. Maybe you should rest. Cicero will do the sneaking and the stabbing, you just watch the twins. Cicero will send Lucien upstairs to Listener."
Samar began to protest, but a wave of pain hit her. She looked at Cicero with sad eyes, but she broke her gaze to sit on the bed. There was no time for one of their arguements. She instead had to nod in agreement, the pain of knowing that she couldn't.
"Get Lucien quickly," she ordered. "He's sleeping on the bedroll in the basement, and I need him up here before that door is completely broken down. And alert the guards!"
Cicero nodded and rushed down the stairs, ebony blade in hand. Samar slowly stood and peered in the make-shift cribs to check on the twins. Both were sleeping peacefully. Minutes seemed like hours, but only two minutes later, Lucien had sleepily walked into his parents' bedroom. Upon his mother's request, he closed and locked the door. He then crawled into his dad's side of the bed, and after snuggling under the bed furs, went back to sleep. Samar couldn't help but smile lovingly at her little jester. She couldn't help but wonder if one of the twins would be just like her.
She slipped in next to Lucien and pulled him a bit closer to her, kissing his forehead and smoothing his hair.
"It seems as though Cicero has been replaced."
Samar rolled her eyes as Cicero pretended to be hurt. He must have picked the lock.
"He is a lot cuter," she teased. "Did you take care of them?"
"Of course!" he scoffed. "Only one thief. Cicero put the dining room table in front of the door and yelled at the guards for being so lazy."
"Cicero?" she asked softly as the fool slipped into the bed on the other side of Lucien. "Do you think...the Stormcloaks...do you think that the Stormcloaks want Lucien because of his thu'um?"
"Cicero believes that it's possible," he said slowly, but then gave a wicked smile. "But Divines bless those who try to mess with the children of assassins!"
"Very true," Samar said with a smile. Cicero gave a dark chuckle.
"Plus, the boy and the Redguard have been teaching little Lucien with dull knives," he said with eyes sparkling in excitement. "Maybe it's time little Lucien had some Skyforge steel."
She looked down at the little boy in her arms, her firstborn baby. He was sleeping peacefully, but he was not as innocent as he looked. She saw how he took a demented joy in helping Nazir in the torture room, the way he loved helping make and sharpen knives, and not to mention his inappropriate comments and suggestions around the other Solitude children that she had to have numerous talks with him over. Samar was never sure if Lucien had picked these comments up from his father, or if he was truly insane like him.
"Let's kill someone!" Lucien had squealed, followed by a little demented giggle when his playmates wondered what they do. This was one of the many statements he had said that caused the other parents to not allow their children to play with Lucien.
"Ho ho ho, he he he, break that lute across my knee, and if the bard should choose to fight, why then I'll set his clothes alight!" he had sang as he skipped, hand in hand with his mother when they passed the Bard College and into town.
"Mommy, the court needs a jester. It's so dull there without other children. But not me, though. Daddy would be perfect! But he says he's too busy caring for us and the Night Mother."
"We'll stop in Whiterun before we head to Dawnstar," Samar said. "Maybe it is time for Lucien to have some Skyforge steel."
Nazir and Babette,
I gave birth to twins, a boy named Vicente and a girl named Amaya. We're headed towards Whiterun before we head for Dawnstar. Lucien accidentally showed his power of the thu'um in public, and a month afterwards, our home was broken into. Nobody was hurt, but Cicero and I fear that the Stormcloak army wants Lucien for this power to gain the upper-hand in the war. Even if it wasn't the war, who's to say that bandits or somebody even worse wants him for this power? We're getting Lucien his first dagger, some Skyforge steel. We're headed straight home afterwards.
Kill well and often,
Samar
She paid the courier, who beamed at the generous amount and then he took off as Cicero loaded up their wagon. Lucien helped carry blankets, baby clothing and pillows while Cicero handled the heavy items. While they did this, Samar fed, burped and changed the twins.
Cicero arranged some pillows and blankets to form two little areas that the twins could sleep in, and another bigger one for Lucien to lay down in. But instead of laying down, Lucien was peering out the side of the wagon, chatting away with the snoozing twins about what he saw, how they were going to love the Sanctuary and about their family in Dawnstar. Samar sat next to Cicero in the driver's seat, turning her head to check on the twins and Lucien every five minutes or so.
"Relax, Samar," he said, putting a hand on her cheek to make her look at him as opposed to checking on them again. "They'll be fine. Cicero will protect and take good care of you all."
"I know you will," she said softly, kissing him. He grinned and turned his attention to Shadowmere. She scooted closer and leaned into him. In response he wrapped an arm around her. "You're a good husband."
"EW!" Lucien shrieked upon noticing his parents getting lovey-dovey. Cicero chuckled.
"You'll feel different when you find that special girl," Cicero told him, glancing back.
"No I won't," Lucien scowled. "Girls are icky."
Samar just giggled and leaned into Cicero more. A few hours later, they found themselves not too far from Whiterun, only another hour's ride. She glanced up ahead of them and saw an odd movement among the trees and bushes up ahead on the side of the road.
"Stop the wagon," she told Cicero. He gave her an odd look, but slowed Shadowmere down to a stop. Slipping out of the driver seat, she unhooked Shadowmere from the wagon, ignoring's Cicero question. Whispering into the horses ear, she let her go and the horse took off, neighing loudly as she ran towards the tree, stomping furiously. A loud cry and more stomping later, Cicero and Samar noticed a hand flop out of the bushes.
"Ambush," Cicero growled, taking out his dagger and jumping from the cart. He glanced in the back at a confused Lucien. "Lucien, stay here."
He nodded eagerly.
"I'll stay here, even if huge, scary frost spiders eat my face off!" he replied with an insane grin.
"Good boy," Cicero said, mirroring the grin. Samar resisted the urge to roll her eyes. This almost creepy likeness was the reason nobody had questioned if Cicero was really the father of the previously unmarried girl.
Shadowmere apparently stomped two others before seven others-bandits-appeared before them.
Cicero immediately charged them, which caught them by a slight surprise. They quickly snapped out of it after he slit the throats of two. Samar ran towards one and stabbed them in the chest, although she didn't escape a stab to the arm quick enough. Cicero was already stabbing the third bandit multiple times in the stomach. She quickly turned and killed two more with a hard swing of her blade, slitting a throat and embedding her knife deep into the chest of the second. The last one left a decent gash on Cicero's stomach, put Samar knocked the weapon from his hands. Cicero jumped him, sitting on his chest and putting his arms above his head.
"Who ordered you to attack us?" Samar hissed.
"Bandits attack those with wagons transporting goods," the lowly bandit chuckled. Cicero's eyes darkened as he let go out a hand. Before the bandit could punch him, Cicero had the ebony blade in his wrist and pinned him to the ground. The bandit howled with apin.
"Who ordered you to attack us?" Cicero repeated the question.
"The contract is in my pocket," he gasped, in too much pain to speak much. "It's from Ulfric Stormcloak."
Cicero took the piece of paper from the bandit's pocket and handed it to Samar.
Orders from Ulfric Stormcloak
The Dragonborn's child has proved himself to have the power of the Thu'um. I want him. Bring him to me, alive and unharmed, and you will receive a payment of 50,000 septims. She is also rumored to be with a second child. Bring that one to me as well, and I will double your reward to 100,000 septims. The Dragonborn must stay alive, or you will not receive payment. If you bring me the Dragonborn as well, I will assure you that every bandit in your little clan will be set for life. The boy's father, the jester, must die. Bring me his jester attire as proof of his demise. If you do not bring this to me, you will not receive your pay.
Do not disappoint me.
"Why does he want me?" Samar asked the bandit.
"I don't know," he whimpered. "I sincerely don't know! But I do know that he's got several others lined up if I fail. He really wants that kid. That's it, I know nothing more!"
Samar looked at him. He was telling the truth.
"To the Void?" Cicero asked Samar, looking up at her.
"To the Void," she echoed. Cicero nodded and pulled the knife from the man's wrist. In one quick movement, he stabbed his throat and the man died nearly instantly.
"What now?" Cicero wondered aloud, wiping his blade on the man's shirt.
"Let's head to Whiterun then decide," she said softly. "I don't want to run into anymore bandits...thieves...soldiers...whatever Ulfric has hired. At least in Whiterun, we'll be safer."
Cicero nodded. Samar collected Shadowmere, praising her heavily as she hooked the mare back up. Getting back in the driver's seat, they continued to Whiterun.