So, who's up for a new chapter? Glad to be able to get more chapters out, especially now. I really hope you like this one, definitely fun to write. Since there's not much else to say, just please favorite, follow, review and PM. And enjoy.

"Do you two have to do that in here?" I asked as I looked up from my book. I sat in the kitchen, seated in one of the old stone thrones that had been shoved into the corner (and that I assumed had been built at the same time as the Sanctuary). Very few people remembered the chairs were here and even fewer ever sat in them, making it a useful place for reading or other solitary interests.

Babette and Shade were once again wrestling, and I watched as they both rolled into the throne on my left. Babette giggled as Shade untangled herself and put some distance between the two. "Are we bothering you, Sister?" the vampire asked before pouncing on Shade, who jumped to the side and tackled her as she landed.

"No, I just thought that it'd be a better idea for you to do this in a more open area. Like by the pool." I said, shaking my head as the two barely missed a busy Nazir by inches. He scowled as they passed.

"Yes, how about you two do that instead of bothering me?" He asked. Babette pushed Shade off of her and gave the Redguard a sweet smile.

"All right, all right. C'mon, Shade." She said and the both of them chased each other out the door. Nazir sighed once they left.

I smiled slightly. "Never thought Shade would ever become so close to Babette, or anyone else, for that matter. Hope they don't hurt each other."

The other assassin let out a laugh. "Girl, I'm more worried about the furniture than those two! Probably break everything in here if we didn't send them out." He looked at me for only a second before turning back to his paperwork and I quickly went back to my book.

It'd been a couple of months since I joined the Dark Brotherhood and by now my presence here had felt like several years. I took contracts whenever I could and Shade always joined me on them. In between jobs I either trained with Veezara or Velan (who seemed genuine in his promise that he'd changed his mind about me but most times I still didn't want to believe him) or learned magic from Festus. Though I hadn't even lived with them for much of my life, my day of arrival seemed like a lifetime ago.

The idea of living the rest of my life as an assassin seemed pretty good too; I was always traveling and the skills that I had sharpened in order to survive would still remain useful. I had stopped hesitating in my kills but I always preferred to be as quick as possible, though that was more out of practicality than sentiment. But what still troubled me was that the Morag Tong seemed to have disappeared. It was like I was no longer worth anything to them. It should have calmed me but it didn't. It just made me even more on edge and desperate.

"Mivryna." Came Nazir's voice. I looked up once again to see him finishing a document before putting it in a pile. When he was done he turned to face me. "I got a contract for you. Want to hear it?"

"Of course." I said and put the book aside. As I headed across the room, I saw Rowena getting things out for breakfast. Before I even knew he was in the room, Velan came over and helped her, pouring drinks for the both of them.

"I've assigned you to kill Lurbuk, an Orc bard in Morthal." Nazir snorted, as if the last part was funny. "He is, by all accounts, the worst bard in all of Skyrim. Apparently so many people sought his death, Astrid had to hold a lottery to determine the client."

My eyes widened. "You're kidding?" I said, slightly humored. A bard so bad that people want him dead...

"It's true, Sister." Rowena said as she took a place a few seats down from Nazir. "I visited Morthal myself on my last contract. Never have I ever heard a voice that I hated so much. Little wonder for the reason of the contract, though it still escapes me how we didn't get it sooner." She shrugged, took a drink, and choked on it. I winced as the Dunmer's cheeks flushed. After a few seconds, she held up a hand to say she was fine.

"Careful. Wouldn't want to think you're being murdered." Nazir joked. Rowena laughed in between coughs.

"Now that would terribly, and sadly, ironic." She joked back. After watching my sister for a few more moments, I patted her on the shoulder, took the contract and headed up to the bedrooms to get ready to head out. I still didn't have much, so I just about emptied my chest into my knapsack and set off, motioning to Shade who lay by the pool with her head in Babette's lap. The others waved as I passed and in about a minute I was outside. It wasn't raining at the moment, but light gray clouds covered the sky, dimming the forest around me. I lifted my hood over my head and walked up to the road. I still hadn't bought anything else to wear. Hopefully I could convince Nazir to give me a contract near Solitude so I had an excuse to visit Radiant Raiment. I really need some mage robes…

I was a good distance away from the Sanctuary when I heard a twig snap on the left side of the road. Both Shade and I tensed as we looked in its direction. I summoned Flames as I waited for something (or someone) to strike. Instead, off in the distance, I saw a dark figure moving away from us. I squinted to see and my heart stopped when I recognized that they were wearing chitin armor.

Shade's senses went on high alert as my heart went from not seeming to work to painfully trying to hammer its way out. I looked behind me, but no sneak attacks. They must have been surveying the area. And this close to the Sanctuary, they could very well be planning to strike! My first thought was to run back to the Sanctuary, inform Astrid. She'd need to know. I actually turned to head back when another idea came to me. But even so, it'd take forever to find their camp. And they might leave before we find it. I looked back to the figure. They were moving slowly, hoping to get away stealthily (which wasn't working). I can still follow them. I can follow him to the others and then head back.

Some part of my mind warned that this plan could go very, very wrong, but I ignored it. Shade whined but I shushed her. Giving up, she took the lead and caught the assassin's scent easily. We kept low and moved slowly. Despite the fact that I lost my visual on the Tong agent, Shade still clearly had their scent. The road disappeared behind us, and soon the trees looked all the same. My heart grew louder and louder and I thought that it'd eventually give away our position, though I knew that was impossible. The clouds above us seemed to darken, and I figured it would rain again. I was thinking that the gloomy weather may give us an advantage as I passed through some thick bushes and found that Shade was not on the other side of them.

I had to have fallen behind. I thought and quicken my pace. I moved further and further, listening for any signs of the Morag Tong and now, unfortunately, Shade. I wanted to yell for her, but didn't risk it. This isn't good. Gods, where are you, girl? I kept going until I found a small, round clearing. And it was empty.

Fear started to run coldly through me as I moved into the open. She would have known if I had fallen behind. She would have looked back. I came to near the middle of the clearing and slowly rose from my crouch. I looked in all directions but no sign of anyone. I was alone.

Suddenly, I heard Shade yelp. I jumped, panic coming to the edge of my senses as I realized that she had cried out from behind me. I whirled around, Flames already flaring in my hands. But before I could really register anything, something rammed into me, cutting off the scream that just now came to my throat.

Rowena Indaren

"A vampire, Nazir? I know you've always been one for jokes but this is a bit much don't you think?" Rowena said as she folded up the contract. Apparently, she was to kill a Nord who worked as a lumberjack at Falkreath's Half-Moon Mill. She had passed through herself before, and had felt that the woman there had seemed strangely too eager for her to stay. Due to the name, she had guessed that the woman was a werewolf like herself. Now it seemed almost a comfort that she wasn't.

Across the table, Nazir gave her his usual smiles, the ones that told her that he was enjoying this quite a bit. "I thought you'd like it. I know you always enjoy a challenge." He said.

Rowena sent him one of her own wicked smiles. "Yes, indeed. Tell me about Hern."

Nazir shifted to a more comfortable position before saying, "He's a vampire, and has blended into human society for years. He's never far from his female companion, Hert. Also a vampire. The contract is for the male, Hern. But you'll probably have to contend with the female, too. So for Sithis' sake, watch yourself." He said, the last part with concern. That was natural, though. Rowena had become a strong assassin and Sister. The Sanctuary would mourn her passing. Most of us forget that as we take lives we put our own on the line. This profession may be thrilling, but our lack of long lives is often the price we pay.

"Do not worry. I am always careful, Nazir. If not, I would be dead long ago." Rowena said and her brother nodded. She then headed up to her bedrooms and packed. It was not a long distance so she packed lightly. She stayed in her Shrouded Armor and chose to merely use a cloak to cover herself. After grabbing her bag, she headed out across the training area and up the stairs to the map room.

Astrid had stopped studying the map on the stone table and instead stood in the doorway, listening to the Family's daily life. She smiled warmly as Rowena passed. "Going out, are we? Who is it this time?"

"A vampire by the name of Hern. He lives over at Half-Moon Mill." She said as she passed her superior. Astrid laughed and shook her head.

"My, Nazir sure loves his jokes, doesn't he?" The two women smiled at the knowledge. "Just be careful, Sister. As you know from Babette, vampires aren't taken down easily."

Rowena nodded. "I'm all too aware of that. I will make sure-" Her words were broke off as a sudden white pain flashed through the Dunmer's mind. Rowena gasped as her eyes widened and she distantly saw Astrid push off the doorway. The Nord woman looked alarmed, but both of them knew what this was as her vision was lost in pure, white light and noise dimmed before being muted. This was one of Rowena's many visions.

The Daemer calmed herself as she lost all senses. She knew from experience that allowing her emotions to run wild would only make what Azura showed her that more difficult to be seen. So she steadied her breathing, allowing her mind to be lost to the world. Distantly, Rowena believed that by now her moon-colored eyes were now the black of midnight and that she had possibly collapsed. She would suffer a headache and weariness when she returned. She always did. And Astrid would probably force her to wait a day before attempting her contract.

Finally the blank white was slowly replaced with color. Rowena noticed green at first, then brown, and from the shapes she could tell that she was outside, within a forest. Soon it became more apparent to her that this was Falkreath. Questions started to form in her mind but she dismissed them. She needed her mind clear.

Suddenly, the hazy colors took on clarity. Yes, it was Falkreath, she knew it like the back of her hand. People were here. They were fighting. But before she could put a face to any of them, pain shot through her again, blurring the picture before her. Like smoke, it started to part for her to see the roof of the Sanctuary. No, this can't be. I haven't seen anything yet!

She could hear herself start to scream and thrash. Astrid moved away as Rowena convulsed. Her name was called, and then Astrid said it again with more urgency. Knowing that something was amiss, she yelled for Babette and Festus. Someone who could make sense of what was happening. Unfortunately, Rowena herself didn't even know.

The vision started to appear again, bleeding back into focus like a stain. Two people were fighting violently now, but when she tried to see who these people were, pain once again ran through her and tried to bring her back. Each time increased the intensity and the speed, to the point that reality and the vision were one, and Rowena was filled with horrible pain through it all. Babette had arrived at some point, and was begging her Sister to come back, or at least say something. She was just as helpless as Rowena.

Azura, help me! Release me from this vision! There seemed to be some sort of response and soon an image bled though. A face. One that she recognized. Mivryna's. But almost as quickly it came, it was blurred. Wait! Rowena cried but it was unheard. Other images bled through, other battle scenes, many taking place somewhere else. She could now hear their screams, but whatever was preventing her from seeing her vision was distorting the voices, turning them into white noise. But she could hear their pain and rage and misery.

The chaos was suddenly replaced with another scene. It was the Sanctuary, the large area used for training and meetings. She could still feel the pain from whatever was intervening but Azura seemed to be able get this one last piece through. But Rowena truly wished the Daedra hadn't.

The bodies of all her Brothers and Sisters lay bloodied and mutilated. Astrid, Arnbjorn, Nazir, Babette, Veezara, all of them. She could even see her own, blood blossomed over her chest. And a man stood in the center of it. His back was to her and all of his features were blurred or perhaps forgotten the moment she looked upon him. But what was clear was that he held a Daedric dagger in his hand. She shuddered at the power that radiated off of it. That is no ordinary dagger. It is something out of legends. Or nightmares.

Rowena then noticed the Sanctuary itself. It was uncharacteristically bright. Orange danced along the walls. And then Rowena saw the flames. They burned everything, even stone. And Rowena could hear the man laughing, taking delight in the fall of the Dark Brotherhood. Everyone is dead! Blood is everywhere! The Sanctuary… The Sanctuary is BURNING!

Her thoughts echoed. The scene was fading, turning back to white. Rowena could hear the other members of the Sanctuary crying out for her. They begged her to open her eyes, to come back. But their voices were dimming, and instead of seeing the faces of her Family, darkness started to take over. There was nothing she could do to stop it. Rowena let go, and knew nothing else.

Mivryna Faryon

My heart pounded in my head as I opened my eyes. I squinted at the gray light as I lay on my back. My senses came to me slowly. The first thing that I was aware of was the horrible pain. The worst stretched from my stomach all the way to my shoulders and included half of my arms as well. My neck also throbbed painfully, and when I moved to touch it, the skin was rough and torn. The rest of the places, which included almost the rest of my body, hurt only slightly and were probably just bruised.

It took a minute for my vision to become clear and to be able to recognize sound. I could hear thunder occasionally, not far off, and the trees of Falkreath shown above me. The sky was much darker now. It was going to storm hard. I tried to raise my head, and immediately felt incredibly tired. I breathed quickly, and was very, very cold. Rain drops hit my face, and I shivered. I need to get up.

I tried, but it was hard. I felt so tired, and the pain was worse when I moved. It seemed to take forever to just turn onto my side. As I rested for a moment, I became aware of something by my side. No. Someone. They were facedown and I couldn't tell if they were moving or not. Looking around, I realized that no one else was here.

What happened? I asked as I moved to try and prop myself up. My mind seemed to move too slowly. Finally, I remembered the assassin. We… we were following the assassin. Shade was leading the way. And then I lost her. And I heard her behind me. How? And where is she now? How did I get ahead of her? And then… Something came at me… And… I can't remember anything else. It's all black. Maybe I got knocked out…

I then remembered the person lying next to me. I silently cursed myself for forgetting before moving to turn him over (I could tell by their build that it was male). My vision blurred as I sat up. The pain was bordering on excruciating now. My strength was gone; it felt like moving a mountain as I turned him over. And when I did I gasped.

It was a man and he was very obviously dead. His skin was burned in a lot of places, but the mortal blow had come from a stab wound on his chest. Still dazed, I realized that the dagger used to kill him hadn't been removed. What idiot doesn't remove their- My thought was broken off as in a moment of clarity I recognized the man. And then everything seemed to freeze as my heart stopped and my blood ran cold.

Because the man was Festus Krex. And that was my Elven dagger.

Well, that was explosive, wasn't it? Well, please tell me your thoughts, as always I'm interested to hear what you have to say. Signing off for now, see you guys later.