Lucien wasn't at home when I woke up. Whether he intended it or not, I took it as a great sign of trust that he allowed me to stay in his home when he wasn't there. I seemed to recall him saying something about having to meet the Listener first thing in the morning as one of his feeble attempts to deny another round, so that was probably where he was. I briefly wondered if I'd ever get to meet the Listener as I pulled my clothes back on.

I buckled my armor shut and stretched. I felt fresh and ready to take on another contract. I had had so much fun on the last one. As I turned to go, however, the trapdoor opened and Lucien dropped down. He turned and looked quite surprised to see me.

"Lily, you're still here," he said. "Do you know what time it is?"

"No," I admitted, yawning. "What time?"

"Almost two."

"Oh."

"Are you just now getting up?" he asked with a small smirk.

"Well to be fair, you did an excellent job of tiring me out last night," I said with a pout, which was quickly replaced by a sly grin. "You know, we have time for one more round…"

"No, we do not, you incorrigible vixen, and in fact I think you should probably go," said Lucien, walking past me.

I grabbed his arm as he walked past. "How come?" I asked. "What'd the Listener say?"

"Nothing that concerns an Assassin," he said.

"Does it have something to do with your Silencer and/or current lack thereof?" I asked, now a little irritated.

"It might, eventually, but right now I have a very large decision to make and a lot of thinking to do, and I find my mind rather clouded with you around," he said, looking down at me. I blushed and smiled slightly, taking it as a compliment. "I would also ask that you not come around here until I call for you," he continued.

"What? But I love dropping in on you and catching you doing normal person things," I pouted.

"Lily," he said. "This is a decision I must make alone, and it may not turn out favorably for everyone involved. Allow me to make it clearly and without distraction."

I sighed. "Okay. I'll go, and wait until you send for me. You will send for me right?" He hesitated. "Lucien…" I said warningly.

"Lily, this will come to pass much quicker and easier if you just let it be," he said harshly. "Ocheeva has an important contract for you. With luck, I'll have decided by the time you get back."

"Fine," I said. I leaned up and kissed his cheek as a goodbye. He responded by grabbing my waist and kissing me forcefully, pushing me back. I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Alright," he growled lowly. "One more round before you leave."


One round turned into two, two rounds turned into four, four rounds turned into as many times and Lucien was physically able to go after last night, and as many times as he was able to go turned into me running into the Sanctuary, disheveled and still fixing certain buckles on my armor, at dusk.

"I'm here! I'm here," I said breathlessly, skidding to a halt outside Ocheeva's room, flipping my hood up to hide my messy hair, and walking into her room with some semblance of poise.

"You are later than usual, Sister," said Ocheeva, amused. "Do you recall the name Adamus Phillida? The Imperial Legion pest? It's time he joined Sithis in the Void. Think you're up to the task?"

"Really?" I asked. "That's really important, are you sure you want me to be the one to…?"

"Quite sure," said Ocheeva. "Adamus Phillida has spent his entire career investigating the Dark Brotherhood, interrupting our contracts, killing our family members! We tried to eliminate Phillida, of course, but failed on three separate occasions. He's a powerful man, and was surrounded by powerful associates. Now the Legion pig's years of service have come to an end. He has retired. Phillida must not be allowed such a victory! His destiny is...darker. Phillida now resides in Leyawiin, in the City Watch barracks, an honored guest of the soldiers there. He is, in fact, more vulnerable than ever. The Black Hand has sanctioned the Rose of Sithis. It is a magic arrow specifically enchanted to kill its target. In this case, Phillida. As long as the arrow hits Phillida, he will die. But it cannot pierce armor! Shoot while Phillida is armored, and the Rose will be wasted. Travel to Leyawiin. Track Phillida. Learn his schedule. Observe when he removes that blasted Legion armor! And then, let fly the Rose of Sithis! Kill Phillida in any way, Rose or not, and the contract is complete. But to receive a bonus, you must go beyond murder. You must send a message! Once Phillida is dead, take the very finger from his corpse, the one that bears an Imperial Legion signet ring! Deposit this finger in the desk of Phillida's successor, in his office in the Prison Barracks, in the Imperial City! Do this, and the bonus is yours."

She handed me an arrow. The head had a rose etched into it. "I would be honored," I said. "I won't fail you, Ocheeva."

Wow. Lucien had said that she had a big contract for me, but this. This would be a true test. I went to go find my siblings to ask for their advice. I found Gogron, Teinaava, and Telaendril in the living quarters at the dinner table and told them the contract I was going on.

Telaendril's eyes widened. "The Rose of Sithis! Such an honor! Just make sure your marksmanship is up to the task. If you miss the target, the enchantment will be wasted."

"The Rose will only work if Phillida is unarmored," said Teinaava. "So, when would a soldier not wear his armor? I only take my armor off to sleep or swim..."

Gogron looked thoughtful. "Hmm. Don't get me wrong, that magic arrow sounds nice and all, but it seems to me like you don't even need to use it to get the bonus. As long as you cut off his finger and leave it in that desk, you'll get your bonus. Sounds to me like you can kill the old sod anyway you'd like. So what if he's wearing armor! You think that Imperial Legion scrap can stop a well-forged claymore? Not bloody likely!" He laughed.

I found Antoinetta, who was completely useless, before going to Vicente and asking for his advice. "Phillida may be retired, but he'll likely have a bodyguard, probably a member of the Leyawiin City Watch," he said. "You may have to dispose of him as well."

At this point though, that wasn't really my style. Thus far, I hadn't killed anyone who hadn't needed to die, and I intended to keep it that way. Besides, I didn't much fancy the idea of taking on two guards at once. Phillida would die alone.

I decided to sleep at my own house before heading out. I was pretty spent from all the…activities I had done with Lucien, and didn't quite feel up to travelling all the way to Leyawiin that night. I would set out in the morning. As I entered my house and saw the dust, I realized exactly how long it had been since I'd actually been in my own bed.


It was evening when I finally made it to Leyawiin. I was barely into the city at all when I saw a Leyawiin city guard sitting by one of the many ponds, watching an older man swimming around. I grinned and took Shadowhunt off my back, going around to the other side. This was a big target, one who knew us. As I took the Rose out of my quiver and held it in my hand, I decided to be a little showy. I decided to let the old man know that he had lost.

"Phillida!" I shouted from the other side of the pond.

He looked up. His eyes narrowed. "Do we know each other?" he asked. "There's something familiar about you, but I just can't place it."

"I'm afraid that Sithis needs your soul, Phillida," I said, stringing the Rose of Sithis.

Phillida looked more annoyed than anything else. "Oh, Sithis needs my soul does he? Well, you can tell your Dread Father that he can kiss my wrinkled arse! Defend yourself, Dark Brotherhood dog!"

Unfortunately for him, Phillida barely had time to stand before the Rose pieced his chest, and he fell backwards with a splash, dead instantly. His bodyguard finally reacted, having just stood and watched our conversation. He was too slow, however, and moved slowly through the water in his heavy armor. I leapt into the pond, swam to the floating body, sliced his ring finger clean off, and was halfway out of the water before he even made it to the body. I pulled myself onto one of the decks around the pond, blew the bodyguard a kiss, and hauled ass out of Leyawiin.


It was near three in the morning by the time I got to the Imperial City, and by then I was more than eager to get rid of the bloody, severed finger with the stupid ring on it. To be perfectly honest, it was kind of beginning to gross me out.

The guard patrols were slim, and even where I encountered them, they left me alone, seeing as it was no crime to walk through the city no matter what ungodly hour of night it was. Surprisingly, there was hardly anyone even in the Prison District, where guards should be swarming. I found the Imperial Legion Offices, which was unguarded, and picked the lock, finding the entryway also unguarded. These guards were terrible.

I picked the lock on the desk of the new Captain and dropped the bloody finger and signet ring in, right on top of everything and unable to be missed by whichever poor fucker next opened the drawer, which hopefully would be the Phillida's successor. Slipping out as easily as I had arrived, I started my trip back to Cheydinhal.