Happy new year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday :) I'm still trying to overcome my writer's block little by little, and I appreciate everyone's patience with me :) You guys are the best! Now, without further ado, here's Chapter 35!
"Alright, so Cicero attacked that harlot, Astrid! But what's a fool to do when his mother is slandered and mocked? Surely, the Listener understands!" Cicero's voice echoes through Iris's ears as she pulls her blade out of the troll's carcass, wiping it on her sleeve.
"Thanks for your help," she tells her ghostly companion with sarcasm.
Lucien arches an eyebrow. "You were handling it well enough without my assistance."
Iris rolls her eyes, looking to the bloodstains marring the ground. She gestures for Lucien to follow and continues following the stains. A gasp leaves her mouth as two Sanctuary guardians pounce, catching her completely unaware. She squeezes her eyes shut, expecting to feel the piercing pain of a dagger in her shoulder, but instead only hears a groan. Opening her eyes, she finds Lucien wiping his blade on his long, black robes, two piles of ectoplasm at his feet.
"Lead on, sister," he tells her, a slight smirk on his face.
Shaking her head, she steps over the two piles, searching for the trail of blood.
"Cicero admits, he thought the Listener would be dead by now." Cicero's wry chuckles echoes throughout the Sanctuary. "Maybe we could just forget all this? Hmm? Let bygones be bygones? What do you say?"
"I do hope you have thought of what you plan to do about our Keeper," Lucien says from behind her.
"I have." Iris successfully sneaks up behind a Guardian and slits his ghostly throat before he even knows she's there.
Lucien moves toward the other and skillfully parries its blows. Iris straightens up, watching as Lucien defeats the ghost. She opens her mouth to thank him for earlier, but Cicero's echoing voice sounds again.
"If it's any comfort, I do feel slightly bad about Veezara. Stupid lizard got in my way! But please tell me that hulking sheepdog has bled to death."
The Breton follows the hallway and blood to a barred doorway. Spotting a lever, she wraps her bloodied fingers around it and pulls. The bars retract into the floor, and the two assassins sneak into the next room. The hallway dead ends, two doors on either side, one barred.
"And now we come to the end of our play," Cicero's voice says through one of the doors. "The grand finale."
Iris looks to Lucien, her mouth opening silently as she sheathes her sword. She pushes the door open, gasping when she finds the jester lying on his side, blood everywhere.
"You caught me! I surrender!" Cicero shouts in a feeble voice, letting out an equally feeble chuckle.
"Cicero…" Iris approaches his side, watching him with worried eyes.
"Please, Listener. Killing me would be a mistake! Oh, yes. You would displease our mother, hmm? For she's your mother too, isn't she…Listener? Your mother abandoned you, but your real Mother, she stayed."
Iris squeezes her eyes shut, hating how much his words hurt.
"Walk away! Let poor Cicero live! Tell the pretender, Astrid, you did the job! Stabbed, strangled, drowned poor Cicero! One itty bitty lie!"
Iris closes the distance between them, kneeling down to lay a hand on his shoulder.
"Do what you will. Cicero has…no fight left," the jester wheezes out. "In the end, Sithis will judge us both."
"Listener…" Lucien warns her, moving behind her.
Iris's hand slips into her pack; Cicero's wide eyes follow her hand in fear.
"Listener, you can't—" Lucien's words stop as she draws a health potion from her bag.
She gently helps Cicero into a sitting position, silently putting the potion to his lips. "I would never kill my own brother," she whispers, tears in her eyes.
"Oh, thank you, Listener," Cicero mutters after finishing the potion. "Thank you."
Lucien gives her an approving nod, his stern features motionless.
Iris wipes the tears from her eyes. "You have to stay hidden. Can you hide out here until everything blows over? In time, maybe Astrid will forgive you."
Cicero nods. "Oh, yes. Cicero will hide here. No one will ever find Cicero!"
"Good." Iris gets to her feet, helping the jester to a bed. "Will you be alright on your own?"
After assuring Iris that he'll be more than fine, Cicero lets her give him a sleeping potion.
"When you wake up, your wounds should be healed," Iris whispers.
"Cicero owes you his life, dearest Listener."
The Breton smiles, softly kissing his forehead. "Hush now. Get some sleep." Iris tucks him into bed, and leaves with Lucien, both silent for a long while.
The two are halfway to the Sanctuary when Lucien speaks.
"Forgive me for doubting you, Listener."
Iris turns in surprise at the apology. "It's fine, Lucien. I wasn't completely sure what I was going to do, either."
"Perhaps your aversion to killing actually paid off."
The violet-eyed thief frowns, feeling an unwelcome topic approaching yet again.
"Why are you still here, Listener?" Lucien asks.
Iris stops walking, turning around to face the ghost. "What are you talking about?"
He chuckles, deep in his chest. "If you hate killing so much, why are you still in the Dark Brotherhood? Why haven't you left?"
Iris's mouth opens, but no words come out. She doesn't know. Okay, well, she does know, but she doesn't want to tell Lucien.
"Well, it's like you said. I don't really have a choice, do I?" she says, crossing her arms. "It's not like I can quit being the Listener."
"But you haven't even tried. What if you could?"
She stays silent.
"I have the slightest inkling that you enjoy being an assassin. You complain about it, but you haven't stopped anything. You haven't changed anything. I wonder why your mouth so readily disagrees with your heart."
Iris's fists clench as she tries to keep them from shaking. "I'm not an assassin."
Lucien scoffs. "And I'm not a ghost."
"Can we please not talk about this?"
"You avoid it every time I bring it up, but you've yet to provide me with an answer."
"Did you ever think it was because I don't want you to know?"
"Ah, so there is an explanation."
Iris's mouth snaps closed at her slip. Her hand comes up to rub her eyes, her breath coming out in a defeated whoosh.
"Tell me, Liriiette. And I vow to stop asking."
"Fine." She drops her hand, crossing her arms tightly around her torso. "Let's just say I'm…acquainted with a certain person who…who wouldn't be very happy to know I've been running with the Dark Brotherhood, okay?"
"Ahh, afraid of what others will think of you once they know you're a killer?"
"I'm not a killer."
Lucien laughs at her. "Always in denial." His hand cradles his chin as he looks her up and down. "Let me guess…is this certain someone a lover?"
It feels like a knife to the heart. "I'm done talking about this." Iris whirls on her heel and stalks off.
Lucien chuckles, watching the Listener storm off. He knows a killer when he sees one. And based on the contracts he's accompanied her on? She's a natural.
And she loves it.
Our sweet Iris is becoming quite the murderous little thing, isn't she? Always in denial...
What do you think will happen next? Do you think Iris made the right call in sparing Cicero?
Let me know in a review!
Thanks for reading!