With Friends Like These…

Chapter 2: With Friends Like These…

Escaping the orphanage was easy enough. In fact, Noela had simply closed Grelod's door after the deed was done and walked out. The children and Constance were eating lunch at the table, and only saw her as she passed them and left. She had not spoken a word to them, and decided it was probably wise to get out of the city as fast as she could before anyone discovered the body.

Once outside the orphanage, she made a beeline for Riften's main gate. The wooden boardwalks creaked beneath her feet and twice she nearly tripped due to the fast, barely-manageable walking pace she used.

She was panicking, yes, and tried to calm her furiously beating heart. Deep breaths, in and out. The mist had now cleared and it was a sunny afternoon in Riften. It was a beautiful day, and part of her wished she could've stayed to explore the city; she hadn't had a chance to last time.

But, now was not the time. The residents of the orphanage knew what she looked like, and it could be minutes before they alerted the guard.

If they alerted the guard.

Noela began to slow down as the thought crossed her mind. She had not talked to Constance, but since practically all the children had wished for Grelod's death…

Still, it was not a risk she was willing to take. Whether they reported it or not, Riften was not a safe place for her at the moment.

When at last she passed through the city gates, she set off at a run. She wanted to put as much distance between the city and herself as possible.

It was at least an hour later when Noela, panting with exhaustion, finally allowed herself to slow to a walk. She was on the route back to Windhelm so she could inform Aventus of the mission's success. She did not know what 'reward' she would receive, but she had never planned on following his request anyway. Still, she had to at least tell him that Grelod was dead so he didn't have to remain lonely at that house. That he could now return to the orphanage and see his friends again.

Noela breathed out heavily. The adrenaline of the past couple of hours was beginning to wear off and she no longer feared being caught. She was quite far from Riften now and was sure the guard would not be able to track her down if they were in fact pursuing her, which she doubted. Still, she might have incurred a bounty on her head but with no need to return to Riften in the near future, it was nothing to be concerned about.

The day was slowly beginning to shift to evening and Noela watched the pine trees that grew in this warmer, temperate climate pass her as the sound of her footfalls on dirt lulled her into her thoughts.

Grelod the Kind was dead. Slain, by Noela's own hand. Not that the old bag didn't deserve it. In fact, Noela thought that someone should have been sent to kill her a long time ago. A horrible human being living up to that ripe old age was a crime in itself. Noela was glad she had ended that wretch's life.

And yet… This was the first time Noela had killed in cold blood. She had faced hundreds of battles in her lifetime and killed just as many, if not more, enemies. But those had been life-or-death situations; she had never actively sought out an ordinary citizen, much less an old, defenceless lady, to murder.

Noela held up her hands and gazed at them. Did that make her a murderer now? Was she actually, a horrible person? Not unlike Grelod herself?

Noela shook her head. There was no way she would be compared to someone like Grelod. Noela did not torture people, she had never hurt a child in her life. But murdering someone…

The issue of morality was not something she thought much about, though she knew the limits. Stealing was fine, you weren't harming anyone physically. Killing 'innocent' people though, that was definitely below even her.

Noela decided to make an exception on this one. Grelod was a bad person. Noela was helping the kids, after all. She was judging herself too harshly.

Still, she remembered the sight of life slipping from Grelod's eyes and when they went blank forever, knowing the woman would never harm anyone again made Noela's heart swell with something akin to happiness.

It was confusing, and she likely did not understand herself that well to know what she was truly feeling in those very seconds. She had never murdered before, after all.

She let her mind settle as her stomach gave a rumble and she decided to stop for a late lunch.

17 Rain's Hand, 4E203

It was evening when Noela arrived back in Windhelm. She headed directly for the Aretino Residence and upon knocking on the door, the young boy answered. She pushed herself into the house so they could talk without being overheard.

Aventus was waiting for her news with eager eyes. "Well? Grelod the Kind, is she, you know?"

Noela nodded. "Grelod the Kind is dead."

"Aha!" the boy exclaimed. "I knew you could do it! I just knew it!" He made a whooping motion and jumped up and down with glee and Noela couldn't help but smile. "I knew the Dark Brotherhood would save me!" Aventus then ran up the stairs into the living room, and Noela followed curiously after him.

She saw him grab something off a dresser near the bed, and return to her. "Here, just like I promised." He shoved what appeared to be a silver metal plate under her nose and Noela peered at it, frowning. "This should fetch you a nice price. And thank you, thank you again."

"What's this?" she asked, taking the item.

"It's a family heirloom. Supposed to be sort of valuable. Is that alright?" Aventus asked, worry clear in his voice.

Noela smiled at him. "I accept it," she said and the boy sighed in relief. "You know," she continued, "You could go back to the orphanage now. With Grelod gone, things ought to be a lot better, especially if Constance comes to be the new headmistress. And you can see your friends again".

Aventus shook his head. "I'll go back to the orphanage in a while, I'll give them time to, you know, clean up the mess." He gave her a knowing grin.

Noela laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Alright. You take care, Aventus." She made for the door but the boy said one more thing that made her stop in her tracks.

"Someone else came here too, you know."

Noela spun around to face him, worry clouding her features. "Who?"

"Oh, another one of you, from the Dark Brotherhood," he replied casually.

"Is that so?"

Aventus nodded. "A lady in black and red, I figured she was one of your friends?" He looked questioningly at her, frowning at her sudden change in expression.

"Erm, yes, thanks for letting me know," she said.

"Anyway, I told her that one of you had already come, and she was alright with it and just left."

Noela nodded, thanking him for the information and waved goodbye, concern beginning to fill her mind.

It was late and Noela booked herself a room in Candlehearth Hall, the inn in Windhelm. She was exhausted after the few days of constant travel and just wanted to lie in a nice, warm bed. She was about to remove her boots and finally relax when a knock came on her door.

Noela sighed and tiredly dragged herself to open it. "Yes?" she asked impatiently.

It was an Imperial male, a courier. "I've been looking for you. Got something I'm supposed to deliver, your hands only." With that he handed her a sealed letter, and disappeared.

Noela gazed at the letter in her hand and closed the door. She tossed it on the bedside table and pulled off her boots and Master Robes, hanging the latter carefully on the chair beside the bed, and tucked herself under the covers.

She then proceeded to tear open the letter to see its contents. What she saw made her stomach lurch. A large, black handprint with the words 'We know' scrawled beneath took up almost the entire page.

Noela stared at it for a few long seconds as her fatigued mind willed itself to work. After about half a minute she knew beyond a doubt who it was from.

The Dark Brotherhood.

Putting the letter down and closing her eyes, she figured she would deal with it all tomorrow. She was too tired to think, and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

21 Rain's Hand, 4E203

The first thing that Noela noticed when her mind began to stir awake was that there seemed to be a breeze going through her room. It made its way under the blankets and without anything on other than her smallclothes, she shivered. There was also sunlight coming into the room, she could see it through her closed eyelids. She tried to open them, but they were heavy. Surely, she hadn't slept so long that she was more tired now than before she had gone to sleep?

She tried to remember what had happened. Right—Aventus, Grelod, she was at Candlehearth Hall. But, she did not recognise the smell. Why did it smell like a forest in her room? She then heard a cough that awakened all her senses instantly.

Her eyes struggled to open. When she did manage to at last force her eyelids apart, everything was blurry. She felt completely dazed, her head heavy and aching. Her vision swam before her and she finally made out wooden boards that comprised the ceiling. Something was wrong. Was there someone in her room? And wasn't the ceiling supposed to be stone? Admittedly, she couldn't remember what the ceiling was made of, but everything in Windhelm was stone, so…

She willed with all her might for her body to move, and at last, after a few long seconds, she sat up in the bed and felt the blood pound in her head. What in Oblivion was this? It was worse than a hangover.

"Sleep well?"

Noela's heart jumped into her throat as she realised there was in fact someone in her room. Her eyes scanned the space in front of her and with a sick turn of her stomach, noticed the unfamiliar surroundings. She was in a wooden shack of some sort, and there in the corner, sitting atop a high wooden shelf, leg dangling over the side and leaning casually against the cabin wall, was a woman in red and black armour.

A Dark Brotherhood assassin.

With a start, Noela jumped up onto her feet on top of the bed itself, readying for a fight. But her head was spinning and she fell back down hard onto the mattress almost immediately, landing flat on her backside. The person in the corner chortled.

Noela glared with a combination of anger and fear and this time had the sense to stand on the floor. She shivered. It was cold now that she was out of the bed. She looked down at herself and discovered she wore nothing but undergarments. Where were her clothes?

She realised she was standing, near naked, in front of a complete stranger, but now was not the time to worry about that.

"Who are you?" she demanded of the assassin.

The woman seemed to stir to life. How long had she been watching her sleep? Wait, how long had she been out for, what day was it?

Questions buzzed around Noela's mind as the woman replied. "Who I am really isn't as important as what I am. And what I am is an admirer, of sorts." The woman had a low, enticing voice that reminded Noela of a predator luring in its dinner.

"What? Where am I? Who are you?" she requested impatiently. She was not in the mood for mind games and cryptic talk.

The woman narrowed her eyes. That was the only part of her Noela could actually see; the rest of her face was hidden beneath a cowl she wore. "Does it matter? You're warm, dry, and still very much alive. That's more than can be said for old Grelod, hmm?"

At the mention of Grelod, Noela started and blurted, "You know about that?"

The assassin chuckled. "Half of Skyrim knows. Old hag gets butchered in her own orphanage? Things like that tend to get around." She was surprised at this news but continued to glare in silence. "Oh, but don't misunderstand. I'm not criticising, it was a good kill. Old crone had it coming, and you saved a group of urchins, to boot." The woman dipped her head in a sort of congratulations before pulling into a serious frown. "Ah, but there is a slight problem."

"A problem?"

The woman nodded. "You see, that little Aretino boy was looking for the Dark Brotherhood. For me, and my associates. Grelod the Kind was, by all rights, a Dark Brotherhood contract. A kill that you stole. A kill you must repay."

Noela shook her head, trying to understand what the assassin was saying. "You want me to murder someone else? Who?"

The woman shifted on the shelf. "Well now, funny you should ask. If you turn around, you'll notice my guests," Noela quickly looked behind her and to her utter horror, saw three hostages at the other end of the shack, bound and on their knees with bags over their heads. "I've collected them from, well, that's not important, the here and now, that's what matters. You see, there's a contract out on one of them, and that person can't leave this room alive. But which one?"

Noela stared in abhorrence at the additional three captives in the shack. The sight was disturbing and she was partly furious with herself that she had not noticed them before. And she had no clothes on. She only hoped they could not see through the executioner's hoods on their heads.

"Go on, see if you can figure it out," the assassin continued. "Make your choice, make your kill. I just want to observe, and admire."

Noela looked back at the Dark Brotherhood member with disbelief etched on her face. She wanted her to kill one of them? Without telling her which one was the target? Her fists clenched into tight balls of fury. This was disgusting, this was some sick game made up by an even sicker person. She couldn't believe she was caught up in this mess.

"I'll have no part of this insanity," Noela declared. She wasn't about to play the mind games of this madwoman.

"Now that is a shame. But what you fail to realise is that you involved yourself in this 'insanity' when you took Grelod's life. You made your choice. Now it's time to face the consequences of your actions. You don't leave this shack until someone dies."

Seething, Noela forced herself to think. What could she do? Could she actually get herself out of this? Did she have to murder another person, against her own will?

Or… she could fight. She could kill this deadly foe in front of her and escape and free the hostages, the same as any ordinary person would.

Noela concentrated within her body and tried to gauge her current condition. She was weakened, she was sure she had been drugged with some kind of poison and the reserves of her magicka were greatly depleted. There was nothing more than a trickle of magic within her body. She wondered if her Thu'um would work. Plus, she had no robes, no weapons and no potions to heal herself. Speaking of, where were her belongings?

"Where are my things?" she asked the woman.

"Outside. You won't be needing them," the woman replied coolly.

"How do you expect me to kill anyone, strangle them with my bare hands? I don't think I even have the strength to do that, what with whatever you fed me."

The woman laughed, a surprisingly pleasing sound in the alto register. Noela felt goose bumps rise on her arms. She shook off the peculiar feeling.

"Don't be ridiculous dear, use your magic, I'm sure you still have enough left in you."

Noela exhaled heavily, it seemed she wouldn't be able to get back anything that might help her fight and defeat this assassin. She had one last idea. "What about my clothes? Can I at least have those? I'm not really comfortable standing here in front of you, or them"—she waved at the hostages—"practically naked. I think I'd be able to do the job a lot better if I were clothed." It was a reasonable request and perhaps her captor would be kind enough to allow her her decency.

The assassin gave another low laugh. "Nice try, and I bet you would just love to have your enchanted robes back," she said which earned her a glower from the mage. "Oh, don't be mad, I'm actually enjoying the show."

She gave a suggestive wink and Noela felt her cheeks begin to heat up. She quickly brushed it away and crossed her arms over her chest. If she did not feel self-conscious before, she did now.

The woman noticed her discomfort. "Don't worry, they can't see anything through that cloth over their heads", she said, trying to placate her. Noela did not truly care that much, but being observed like this without her permission even by someone of her own gender was not something she appreciated. Still, it was probably the least of her worries right now.

Just how was she going to get out of this? She peered at the woman above, examining her more closely. Well-toned muscles were visible beneath her Dark Brotherhood armour, which indicated she was probably not a mage, and the lack of visible weapons meant she was most likely a dagger-wielder. The woman did have an impressive physique, she'd give her that. It made her wonder what was beneath that cowl. Maybe if she fought her, she could rip it off…

Noela shook her head to keep her thoughts from straying. Could she defeat her? Possibly, if her Thu'um worked, which she had no idea if it would. And with her magic, if she did not miss and have to wait for the tiny reserves she possessed to replenish. She could probably kill her in one good hit, but she doubted the assassin would be willing to stay still as a sharp, pointy ice spike made its way toward her.

Was it worth it? Risking her life to take the woman out? She knew deep within though that it was likely going to be a one-sided match; she was severely handicapped and without any assistance from potions and such she was in an even worse position.

The woman exhaled impatiently. "The anticipation is killing me. Can you figure out who has the contract? Which one will you choose?"

Noela looked back into bright green eyes, trying to make her choice. Staring into the eyes of her adversary like this, she knew it was foolish to even attempt it. A part of her also did not want to fight her, though she did not know why. Sighing, Noela turned to the hostages.

She started from the left, seeing as she might as well try to figure out who the correct target was. She approached a man who looked like either a warrior or mercenary.

"Would someone pay to have you killed?" she asked him.

The man began whimpering. "What? Oh gods, I don't want to die…"

Noela narrowed her eyes at the coward and huffed in annoyance. People like this irked her. "Answer me, or die!"

The man recoiled in fear. "Please! I don't know! I mean, I'm a soldier, I've killed people, when I was ordered to…"

Noela lost interest quickly and approached the middle hostage who was a woman. "Would someone pay to have you killed?"

"Excuse me? What kind of question is that?"

The contrast between the two was almost laughable, and Noela responded, "It's all right, just tell me what I need to know."

The woman hesitated. "I'm a woman living in Skyrim with six children and no husband. I don't have the time or patience to be 'nice'. Do some people look down on me? Have I made some enemies? You're damn right."

Noela nodded though the woman couldn't see her and moved onto the last hostage, a Khajiit. "Who are you?" she asked.

A slippery voice responded, "Vasha at your service, obtainer of goods, taker of lives and defiler of daughters. Have you not heard of me? Perhaps I will have my people carve my name in your corpse as a reminder…"

She had heard enough. Her head was throbbing and she wanted nothing more than all of this to be over with. Placing her hand on top of the Khajiit's covered head and willing magic up into the palm of her hand, Noela forcefully gave everything she had and watched Vasha's head erupt into flame. The smell of burning flesh filled the shack and the other two hostages began screaming.

Smoke rose from the Khajiit's head and Noela pulled her hand back as the fire consumed his entire body. She watched in fascination as slowly, his clothes disappeared into curls of black ash, then his skin and fur, and lastly all that remained was his charred flesh as the fire burned itself out.

She was still staring at the corpse when she felt a hand on her bare shoulder and she flinched, jumping away from the source of the touch. The assassin had finally come down off the shelf and Noela took a step back in caution.

"The conniving Khajiit, cat like that was sure to have enemies. It's no wonder you chose him," said the woman.

"So who was it? Who had the contract?" Noela asked, burning to know.

"No, no, no. Don't you understand? Guilt, innocence, right, wrong. Irrelevant. What matters is I ordered you to kill someone, and you obeyed," explained the woman.

Noela was confused. "So, there was no contract?" she questioned vehemently. "Or were they all contracts?" She really had to know. "Did I kill someone innocent?"

"Look, it doesn't matter. It's done, as I said the Khajiit was the obvious choice—"

"Just tell me goddamn it!" she raised her voice in frustration. She didn't know why it was so important she know who had the contract, but something inside her was bursting like a dam and now she had killed two people. Two people. In cold blood…

"They all have contracts on them," stated the assassin. Noela looked at her, trying to work out if she was telling the truth. Her green eyes betrayed nothing. "If you were so inclined, you could do me the favour of finishing them off…"

Noela's eyes widened. "What—"

"You don't have to," the woman interrupted, "You're actually free to go. Here." The woman handed a key to Noela who took it. "That unlocks the shack. You've repaid your debt in full, and I'm satisfied with your work here." Noela looked up at the taller woman in confusion. "Your clothes are outside," she said and when Noela did not move she sighed. "Here, follow me." She grabbed the key back from Noela's hand and went over to the door and unlocked it.

Outside, a chest was on the ground against the far wall. Inside were all of Noela's things. The woman knelt down and grabbed a set of Master mage robes, handing it to her. Noela took it quickly and put them on. She then retrieved the pouch of potions herself that she wore on her waist, a dagger she always carried and her bag of other items. When at last everything she owned was back on her, Noela felt better.

"Thanks," she mumbled at the woman, before realising that she wasn't supposed to be thanking her.

"Noela," said the woman. 'Yes, I know who you are," she interjected before Noela could respond in surprise. "From what I've seen today, it's clear you have much potential. The Dark Brotherhood could really use someone like you." There was genuine sincerity in her voice. "But why stop here? I say we take our relationship to the next level," she said in a low, sultry tone.

Noela's eyes snapped up to meet the woman's green ones. The way she had just said that was so… Noela felt something stir within her.

The woman continued, "I would like to officially extend to you an invitation to join my Family. Our Sanctuary is in the southwest reaches of Skyrim, in the Pine Forest, and the entrance is just beneath the road, hidden from view. When you see the black door, answer with the correct passphrase: 'Silence, my brother'. Then you're in, and your new life begins".

She took a breath before extending out a gloved hand.

"By the way, my name is Astrid."

Noela took her hand and shook it.

Astrid turned to go, but then spoke over her shoulder. "You may not know it now, but I think you will find our Family to be exactly what you're looking for," she said. "I'll see you at home". She waved and disappeared into the forest.

Noela stared after her. But what about the people still…

Noela looked back through the open door of the shack. She walked back inside to where the two hostages still knelt on the floor. She cringed again. It was still a horrible sight. What was she to do with them?

Contracts or not, Noela did not care. She brought out her dagger and cut through the bonds of both of them, before removing their execution hoods. Both stared up at her in surprise and she urged them to go quickly and they ran out of the shack and into the wilderness.

She then turned to the corpse of the Khajiit. "Sorry," she muttered and walked out.