Things have managed to settle somewhat in the Sanctuary after Carciniea and Astrid finally made their truce. Tensions have been put to rest, though Carciniea herself had no interest in leaving her new favorite spot in the back of the Sanctuary.

Lucien's disappearing schedule had become strange; he'd be there one moment to be a remark on her strange new habits and then recede back into the depths of the Void.

A deep, stark loneliness began to fill Carciniea's heart as she became engulfed in the foreboding room. She never ate unless her appetite felt as if it was on a verge or sleep unless her body commanded it. She even took a break from the contracts, as her interest in bringing down the emperor dwindled. But, from all this, she felt the fleeting need to leave the room. She never really paid much attention to this thought, until she managed to put down the final volume to Cicero's journalistic series.

She laid the journal open on her stomach, laying her head back against the pillow on the bed. She stretched her arms behind her head, letting out a grand yawn. She couldn't recall what time it must have been.

"Lucien? Are you there?" She called to her friend to no avail. She scoffed at this sudden, sinking feeling, "Of course you're not, because you're idle."

She grumbled some more rude words under her breath, grabbing the pillow and smothering it against her own face. She let out one more yawn, closing her eyes as she moved the pillow off of her face and to the side of the bed. She felt herself beginning to fall, fall far from her physical world which she had grown to loathe and into a world of another.

She heard a faint, vaguely familiar clicking sound that willed her to open her eyes and find herself in a black, deep pit. All around was darkness, a black void at best. She sat up, wobbling to climb to her feet. She jumped at the sound of giggling, her head turning to the source of the disembodied sound to find a familiar looking little girl with long, unkempt black hair that matched the darkness around them.

"Who are you?" She took a step forward, slowly reaching out to the small girl.

Without any sign of acknowledgement or warning, the little girl took off into the distance. This had made Carciniea jump out of her skin. She began to hear the strange clicking sound once more, hesitantly following after the girl, "Wait! I don't think it's safe here for you!"

She followed after the girl into what felt like an endless loop. Carciniea soon tired of this chase, feeling her breath begin to shorten. She rested her hands on her knees, leaning over to pant.

"They say you used to be like me," she heard a small, youthful voice say.

Carciniea felt her body begin to freeze up, a cold chill ran down her spine. She held what she had so far of her breath, squeezing her knees as she slowly brought her head up. About a yard away, the little girl stood looking at her. Her eyes were completely void of life, only darkness to match their lifeless surroundings. She looked to Carciniea with almost a hurt expression, as if her hopes and dreams were destroyed. It was then it hit Carciniea why she looked so familiar: That was her when she was younger.

The sound of a door slamming rang through the vast emptiness, the girl had completely disappeared from view. The feel of warm breath made the hairs on Carciniea's neck, a raspy voice, as if someone was struggling for one moment to live, shuddered out, "You grew up so alone in such a large family. You felt that the only friends you needed, were the monsters under your bed."

"Clicky?" She asked, her eyes watering in disbelief. The clicking noise, the empty darkness, it all made sense. She finally turned her head to meet eyes with her old friend, to find that she was alone.

"My child, I have watched you grow and blossom and be recreated into what you are now. You should know my name better than any," Sithis, spoke out to her. "I suspect you know why I have brought you here."

"Not a clue," she shrugged, "Family reunion? You wanted me back in the Void forever? Not like I'd be complaining, but the list can go on..."

She slowly turned to meet her friend, but was greeted with darkness. Even in the nothing, she felt as if she was staring into the heart of the Void, into the eyes of Sithis himself. She took a few steps further, hearing the faint sound of other footsteps in the distance.

"You are on Nirn for a reason and one reason alone," Sithis wheezed, his voice coming from directions all around, "The Brotherhood must come back to life. We have tried to prevail against these tragedies, but now I see..."

"What do you see?" She whispered, her gaze lowering to the nonexistent floor.

"What do you see when you close your eyes? Through the never ending darkness, being blinded, what is it that comes into your mental vision?"

Carciniea said nothing of this, instead relaxed her shoulders and deeply inhaled before firmly closing her eyes. She searched through her mind, as if she was going through assorted filing cabinets to find something. In the end, it was not just one, but two things.

"I see Lucien... And Cicero," she finally answered, opening her eyes. Opposite of her gleamed a light, a wall of glass had been silently created while she let down her guard. She walked towards it, each step echoing through nothing.

She noticed her reflection in the glass, but not of her current appearance; she looked just as she did when she was still a young girl, when she first became Silencer. Her hair was no longer in a high ponytail, but was tied in wind braids. It was the first time in two hundred years she had gotten to see her face.

She touched her face, feeling her lightly colored skin against her fingertip, running it across her lips and cheeks. She even pinched her ears. But she noticed a new reflection emerge from nowhere, placing two hands on her shoulders. Her hands slid up to feel the cold, slightly larger ones. She grabbed them, turning around to find a flesh and blood Lucien Lachance.

She felt the breath and words she had kept from him for so long escape her once more, disappearing into the depths of the Void. Her grasp on his hands tightened, her lips parting and moving as she tried to make some form of communication before the opportunity passed over her.

"I... I..." She began, tears already began to well up in her eyes. But these weren't of heartbreak or loss, no, it was of genuine happiness.

Lucien only smirked at this, taking one hand from her grasp and sliding off his hood. He placed his hand back, this time holding her's in his own."It's nice to see you- The real you, Carciniea," he greeted her.

A hand slid up his arm, lingering at his shoulder, and finally raising to softly place it on his cheek. A tear drop fell from her cheek, dropping down and never really hitting anything.

"I can touch you," she murmured to him, almost as if she was in disbelief. She stroked his cheek with her thumb, repeating to herself, "I can touch you..."

"I believe you and I have both been waiting far too long for this moment," Lucien had admitted to her, "Forgive my mixed signals at this topic, I am quite as sensitive of it believe it or not."

Carciniea stared as she wondered what exactly he meant by this, her expression softening even more as she realized the meaning behind it. She wished, prayed, and swore wrath upon the gods if she were to awaken now, interrupting this single moment she had waited for. She straightened herself, wiping her eyes of any remaining tears, and composed herself before falling into a mess of pieces.

She had leaned forward, her hands pressed firmly to his chest as she looked up to him. He had in turn cupped her cheeks in his own, both of them closing their eyes as their lips finally met in the Void.

She savored the touch of his lips, feeling the tip of her ears as their mouths begin to part and explore one another's mouths. Their grip on each other had tighten, when they finally pulled apart they rested their heads against their own as they sat in each other's arms.

"I don't want to go," she muttered into his chest, clinging on him for dear life.

"It is none of our wills that you leave, but mine shall you return," Sithis spoke once more, "There are duties to be filled. The Brotherhood must thrive again."

"Why not someone else?!" She snapped at him, her chest beginning to tighten and swell with anger, "Why does it have to be me?!"

Lucien took her by the shoulders, having her take a few steps back. "I will be with you when you awaken," he assured her, taking her hand gently kissing it.

"But... Not like this," she attempted to protest, but melted at the touch of his lips against her hand. "I like this Luce, I've been waiting for this for..."

"I know," he stroked her hand, sighing, "I have been as well. But there are things to be done, first. Maybe then may we meet up without any worries of separation or..."

"Or?" She asked. A shot of fear creeped up on her.

"You have not told her yet," Sithis referred to Lucien, to which he looked away out of anger. "This is... Amusing."

Carciniea's vision shifted back and forth from the vast emptiness around them and to Lucien. She was curious as to what he could have been hiding, but was fearful to press the issue. They were finally together and that much she was more than content with. She felt her grasp on him beginning to slip, as if she was once again in the process of falling. The feeling of just letting go relaxed her, made her momentarily ignore the saddening burden that weighed upon her.

She had finally opened her eyes to find that she was in the old, dusty room in the back of the Sanctuary. The journal that she previously laid on her chest was now sprawled across the ground. She had turned on her side as she dreamed, the first thing she noticed in her sight was the ghostly figure of Lucien.

She gave him a weak smile and wide yawn, stretching her arms. "I had a dream about you," her smile quickly faded, "But... I can't remember. All I know is that I think you were there."

Lucien only stood eerily in the corner, but Carciniea didn't think much of it. She assumed he was in one of his strange moods, carrying on, "Oh, I think there were robots too! I remember smiling a lot, but everything else was a blur. Man, I hate it when my memory does that."

She turned on her stomach, turning her face away from him. "What's been up with you, Luce? You seem so distant lately..."

She didn't bother to wait for a response, digging herself under the warm blanket and curled up tightly. As she slept, Lucien only gazed sadly at her slumbering form. He approached her, a hand gently pushing some hair out of her face. Once more, he withdrew himself from his bitter emotions and shoved them into the dark corner of his mind.

"She still doesn't remember..." He whispered before disappearing back into the Void.