A.N. A big Thank you to all those who have been reading and reviewing. Especially to L'Ankou, who went through eight chapters in one sitting and reviewed them all. Love your work and presence in the site, girl. *hugs* I'm sorry that there will be no J'Ghasta in this chapter, when you get a chance to read this. I promise he will appear in the next one, along with Vicente.
Hi antihero. :) Thank you for the kind review as always, and I'm glad that you agree with the necessity of having Bellamont around. :D I've managed to keep Lucien and Antoinetta together in this chapter as well. Hopefully, you will still like seeing them together.
Chapter Thirteen
Patience has its own rewards.
In Bellamont's case, it is the only virtue he has perfected. Even he, however, could not foresee just how richly he was going to be rewarded on this occasion. He waited in the hallway at least an hour after Uvani retired to his room, just to make sure his target was sleeping deeply. The kill was easy, silent and pleasant. However, it was his search of the dead Dunmer's belongings that proved to be most satisfying.
Normally, he would not have wasted his time around his fallen victim, searching for something of interest. It was hard to miss the quill and a bottle of ink on the desk, with a fresh wax strain on the surface. The Dunmer was likely to be a high-ranking member of the Black Hand. That is why Bellamont took his time in going through the possessions of the dead mer, putting aside his anxiety to leave the scene.
His reward lay in the form of a sealed letter, deep inside a travel bag, carefully hidden inside a folded garment. It was addressed to none other than the Listener himself, detailing the reports of a completed contract. With a grin that stretches from ear to ear, Bellamont considers the pleasant implications.
He has just slain Alval Uvani.
Apart from the obvious fact that he is a step closer from annihilating the Black Hand, this fortunate coincidence should make even easier his task of framing Banus. Only the Speakers have access to highly sensitive information such as the movement of the Listener's Silencer. A black spider is what Bellamont has become, and he believes he can better even the Night Mother when it comes to spinning a web. It is obvious that luck is on his side.
Bellamont's good fortune does not stop at his holy kill, however. He leaves the town gate behind. As he hurries his steps towards the Wildeye Stables, he spots a figure jumping off a black steed, a figure clad in black from head to toe. The voice that gives a few instructions to the Imperial stable hand is female and that of Altmer. He needs not seek out Arquen. He only needs to follow her and wait till she attempts to communicate with others.
The Nine must be smiling at him, though nineteen years too late.
The winter sun shines high above as Antoinetta makes her way to a farmhouse not far from the North Country Stables. She has emptied all of the fatigue restoring potions Lucien gave her to remain alert while carrying out her investigative work. The lack of proper rest is however catching up with her, and the thought of sleep is almost as inviting as that of beholding the proud face of her Speaker.
The thought of sleep, however, leaves her as soon as she opens the front door. The enticing smell of crab stew fills her nostril, the pleasing aroma of butter and leak lingering in the air. The door directly leads to the dining section of a large open space, roughly divided by low partition walls. A circular dining table is positioned in the middle, in front of open fire surrounded by a stone hearth. Lucien greets her from the table, motioning her to the chair opposite.
With a thatched roof and sand stonewalls, the house is well insulated, making the small fire place sufficient to warm the whole space. Antoinetta feels her natural colourings return to her cheeks. She is grateful Lucien rented out the place for their temporary accommodation. She eagerly seats herself and helps herself to the warm stew, golden crust of bread sprinkled on top with black pepper corn. It is delicious as she expected; Lucien is an exceedingly talented alchemist, and alchemists have a good grasp of how to mix ingredients together.
Through the corner of her eyes, she can see the alchemy equipment displayed on the writing desk in the far corner to her left side. So, that's what this extravagant treat was about. She thinks with a sly grin. Her Speaker probably didn't want to waste ingredients for his potions. Instead he put them to good use.
"Does Ulen Arenim still live?" Lucien asks, halfway though the meal. He already knows Bellamont has not been to Chorrol, which means the elf in question is more than likely to be alive. Bongond informed him that there was no black steed trusted to the care of his stable that week. His Shadowmere is probably the only horse that can look after itself in the wild. It helps him considerably that the mare does not have to be stabled.
"He still lives, Speaker. I was told that he spent most of his day in The Oak and Crosier, socialising and drinking. Apparently, he leaves the place around midnight and rests in his home till early morning," Antoinetta gives a brief account of her findings and waits for his questions.
"Does he have a family living with him?"
"He is married, but he only returns to his home when his wife is away, visiting her parents. The rumours are that they cannot tolerate each other. It seems that they found an amiable solution to their marital conflicts. She will be returning within a week, so he is scheduled to leave Chorrol in four days."
Lucien nods and asks the location of Ulen Arenim's private house, which according to Antoinetta is within ten minutes' walking distance from the Great Oak, a much-celebrated tree in the town.
"It doesn't seem that there was anyone else from outside Chorrol who showed interests in the dark elf," she concludes as she looks up at her Speaker.
"You did well." Lucien acknowledges her efforts, which causes Antoinetta to beam with pride. "Now tend to your meal. You will need a decent sleep after that."
Antoinetta turns her attention back to her stew, eager to consume it before it gets cold. When she is done, she murmurs her thanks and complements the cook.
"It was almost perfect, Speaker."
"Almost?" Lucien raises a questioning eyebrow, his tone that of amusement. He has been told about Antoinetta's experimental cooking, mostly in the form of Vicente's complaints. "You believe you could have done better?"
"I do, Speaker," Antoinetta replies playfully. "I believe garlic would have improved it even further."
Lucien smiles wryly. Perhaps it is time that Antoinetta should be informed about one of her Brothers' rather unexpected survival. A topic they need to discuss, though he hoped to delay it as long as he could.
"How did you get on with Vicente?" Not that well. Lucien knows, but the question is a suitable opening for the matter at hand.
Antoinetta looks surprised. Apart from the one moment of weakness in the cave, Lucien has been carefully avoiding any conversation that could lead to her life in the sanctuary. There was of course their short discussion regarding Bellamont, which inevitably brought up her adopted family. It was, however, necessary for their current mission. Perhaps he believes she has grown strong enough since the event that nearly shattered her spirit beyond any hope of recovery? Only Lucien made such a revival possible because he was the only one who could break her.
"I loved him as one of my Brothers because you told me to," she replies, her tone somewhat light-hearted but sincere nevertheless. She realises grimly that her love of the family was merely an extension of her love for Lucien. While it was true, it was by no means overwhelming. She would have done exactly what Leonia did, had Lucien asked her to carry out the purification. She would have wept bitterly only for Telaedril.
"Then, you are happy that he still lives?"
"He does, Speaker? How?"
In her astonishment, Antoinetta nearly forgets she is supposed to answer Lucien's question before coming up with her own. Then, she remembers, considers the implications and cautiously adds.
"I reserve my happiness till such time that it coincides with yours."
Clever girl, the Imperial reflects with approval. She seems to know instinctively how to endear herself to him. It surprises him just how much Antoinetta has been in tune with his thoughts and feelings, which are almost impossible to detect unless he lets his guard drop. Lucien relays Arquen's report to the eager ears of Antoinetta, genuinely curious as to what she will make of the unforeseen event.
"It seems rather strange that Speaker Arquen did not report any interaction between herself and Vicente. There must be a reason for him to let her find out about his survival. If he had wanted to play dead as he perhaps originally had intended, he would have slipped out of the sanctuary quietly," Antoinetta states after a while. "He must be up to something. I fear that Speaker Arquen's silence on their communication does not bode well for his motives. Neither is his disappearance."
"If he seeks retribution against the Hand, what kind of recompense will he consider fitting? I do not believe he intends to violate the Tenets."
Lucien asks more to himself than to his companion. Antoinetta is, however, not one to miss her chance to contribute to a discussion even when asked half-heartedly. In this case, she knows her insight should prove useful. She did drive Vicente mad quite a few times and learned what came to the vampire's mind when angered. They had their … differences.
"He did threaten me a few times that he could drain blood from me without breaking the Tenets," Antoinetta replies with a stifled laugh. Of course, it was an empty threat. He would have hated tasting her blood, knowing garlic is on the menu of her staple diet.
Vampire, retribution without causing death, ignorance, sin, retribution, vampire, blood.
A series of concepts quickly runs through Lucien's mind, and finally he smiles with understanding. It all makes perfect sense now. He couldn't give too much thought on Vicente's course of action, but hated not being able to think one step ahead of the vampire.
Lucien only hopes Vicente is going to be discreet in his attempt to achieve his objective. He would hate it if a charge of insubordination were leveled against his most skilled assassin.