A/N: So, here's another one. It's the exception, because I usually don't update so soon after I've posted something already, but I think you'll enjoy it. Sithis keep you, brothers and sisters.

Interlude: So this is How it Goes… I See

Astrid paced across her chambers later that night while her cousin Seri lounged out on Astrid's bed, picking at her nails uninterestedly. "Relax, Astrid. I've been a spy for you and the Dark Brotherhood for as long as you've been around, I'm quite sure I can find out a little something on your Alysa and Cicero, and how to make them both go away. You should have more faith in me. And in yourself – things will get back to normal," Seri cooed wryly, smirking up at Astrid when she received a glare from the older woman. Seri flung herself flat on the bed and stared at the ceiling, Astrid's footfalls becoming the beat to a rushed lullaby. "I know, I know, Seri! That's why I called you in to join us officially! But now that the Penitus Oculatus are so close to finding out exactly where we are the problems are increasing tenfold… I don't know what to do about it! They'll kill us all if they find us! And I'll be damned if I can think of another place to go! Locations of other Sanctuaries aren't mentioned in records by other assassins, only their names, and those that were made public were those the Void-cursed Oculatus agents found!"
"Maybe we should take a hint from them and go through their ranks and kill a few of them to even the odds," Seri sniggered, earning another glare and a slap on her leg.
"It's not a joke, Seri! They will find us eventually and they will kill all of us – after they torture us…. Which might be fun, for a while…" Astrid trailed, still pacing up and down.

Oppressing silence filled the room when they stopped talking; Astrid's continual pacing the only soft beat, much like a dying creature's heartbeat. It was beginning to annoy Seri, but she couldn't find the will to be annoyed enough to go to the effort of telling Astrid to sit down. Seri sighed: it was close to midnight and her cousin's husband and the dark elf who had apparently accompanied him had yet to return. It was worrisome in the least, and gaining two to lose two wasn't particularly great odds.
And then there was the Night Mother and her corpse, and the lunatic Keeper who dressed as a jester, and the new Listener, Alysa… Seri wondered if her old childhood friend really could hear the old cow speak – she'd never been a believer in the supernatural, but the Void was something she couldn't deny; she felt it every time she picked up her throwing axes and mace. If there only was a way to get rid of the Oculatus agents and Alysa, her lover and their pet corpse at once….

She wondered how exactly the blue-eyed, almost-blonde woman had turned out like this. For as long as she could remember, Seri had always been envious of how much more beautiful she had been sure Alysa would grow up to be, and when she had seen her in Windhelm twelve years ago, dressed in rags and shivering from the cold and thin enough to snap if she had been hit too hard, Seri had immediately felt victorious – she had won, she had finally won against this girl! She had felt a little guilty after her father had kicked Alysa out – he hadn't recognized her – and then their oxen had mysteriously been killed. Seri had always assumed the Khajiit from the caravans had done it, but then the bodies wouldn't be there. She had never suspected Alysa simply because she had looked so pitiful, and she had only seen the beggar-girl twice after her father's oxen had been killed – after that, Seri assumed Alysa had finally succumbed to illness or been killed.
But here she was, a strong Nord woman still wearing the scarred trophies of her past on her slight, unwomanly body – not that she wasn't still attractive… Seri supposed. She shook her head, and let her thoughts on Alysa go. She was still shocked that Alysa had managed to kill eight oxen with such skill – she would have been doing it for a while. Seri felt her lips twitch in a wry smile as a sudden plan came to her.

"So why not eliminate two birds with one stone?"
"What now, Seri? I don't understand," Astrid snapped, rounding on her cousin. Seri just grinned and let it slide over her – Astrid was desperate to get her husband back, apparently.
"Well, you have trouble with the Penitus Oculatus hunting you down, yes?"
"Of course! I just told you that and every idiot knows that," Astrid interrupted harshly.
"And you feel threatened by Alysa, the alleged new Listener…."
"Where are you going with this?" Astrid said quickly, finally stopping in her pacing.
Seri rolled onto her stomach, a dark grin on her face. "Why not make a deal with these lovely agents? The Listener in exchange for your lives – the Night Mother too, and the Keeper, if the agents are being difficult to negotiate with. Then they can do as they please with the three of them and they're off our case, probably for good."
Astrid's face was blank, and then a smile slowly started spreading and she laughed a little uncertainly. "Oh, Ree! That's perfect! By Sithis, you're a blessing in this place!"
Seri allowed herself to be pulled up by Astrid and crushed in a bear hug. "That's what family is for; fixing the problems together."

Seri just wondered exactly how Astrid was planning on executing her rather brilliant plan.