Rival

Chapter 15: Rival

14 Second Seed, 4E203

The door of the sanctuary shut with a loud and low boom, and Noela steeled her fists as she proceeded down the stairs.

At the bottom and just around the corner, she would be there.

It had been exactly a week ago, and coincidentally, also dusk since they had parted ways in Markarth. A quick seven days, and simultaneously an eternity.

Noela had travelled vast distances across Skyrim; first to Markarth, then Raldbthar, then back to Markarth to report the assassination complete to Muiri, and now back to Falkreath.

The long nights and days of travelling alone meant she had had more than ample time to stew in her thoughts; to process all the events that had occurred, and she was full of resolve now to see it through.

I must not feel anything, she told herself. We had a great time together, an unforgettable night, and good times. But that is over now. It's back to work. I must be nothing other than friendly, and professional. No more.

Clapping her face with both hands to snap herself back to the present, she turned the corner.

The woman in question was standing beside the stone table, gazing at the map of Skyrim and appeared to be deep in thought.

As Noela spotted her, she looked up, as if knowing she was about to enter at that very second. Since her shoes were muffled, it was more likely that Astrid had heard the door slam.

"Ah, you're back. So, how went your first real contract? A bit more exciting than what Nazir's been offering, I'd wager."

Green eyes pierced into her as Noela felt her heart leap into her throat.

So much for not feeling anything, she sighed internally.

"I did what had to be done, nothing more." Her vague answer echoed through the room, sounding stupid to her ears.

"Of course, dear, of course. And from what my little ravens tell me, you handled yourself quite well."

"I was trained well," Noela shrugged, stopping a few feet from the Nord.

There was a smile on her superior's features which did little to stop the now-constant fluttering in her heart. But she was determined not to let anything show. She felt pathetic enough as it was that her resolved had crashed so quickly.

Then Astrid did something unexpected—she reached up and… lowered Noela's hood. The younger woman felt her breath hitch. "What did I say about having your hood up? You're home, you can let your guard down a little."

No, no, she definitely could not let her guard down around this woman. Or she'd be sprawled on top of her already.

Noela remained still as a statue. And then her scalp froze as she felt fingers stroking her hair. Her brow knotted in confusion but Astrid's face showed no sign that anything out of the ordinary was happening. For sure, this did not seem 'professional'.

The mage cleared her throat. "I—my hair is probably gross as I haven't bathed in days. If I could excuse myself, I will take a bath."

"Of course, sister." Astrid removed her hand. "I expect you will join us for dinner? Tonight is a bit of a special night, as the whole family are home, which is rare. Veezara and Gabriella decided to cook a feast as an impromptu celebration."

"I will be there."

Having freshened up by taking a quick bath in the lake outside, Noela arrived at the dinner table in the kitchen in a set of fine clothes she had discovered at the bottom of her trunk.

Everyone was wearing either casual or fine clothes, as it was supposed to be a dinner party, and she joined a seat at the table beside Babette and Nazir who were discussing contracts they had recently carried out.

Veezara and Gabriella were at the stove and oven respectively, and Festus was surprisingly setting the table. Noela was half-out of her seat about to offer to help, but Babette addressed her.

"How was your mission, Noela?"

Noela replied in the affirmative, and went on to describe what she was tasked to do, all the while noting they were only waiting on Arnbjorn, and Astrid.

The werewolf sauntered in as if on cue, and sat himself in a seat furthest from the rest of them.

"Ah, almost everyone's here," said Gabriella, laying down a plate of leg of goat roast on the table. Upon observing that Arnbjorn was positively watering at the mouth in hunger, she added, "We're just waiting on your wife, Arnbjorn."

He grunted in acknowledgement as Noela felt a sickening lurch at the words 'your wife'. She stared at him, wondering what in all Oblivion was attractive about him at all, and stopped before she felt like puking. She didn't want to ruin her appetite.

Then Astrid came in, and by all the gods she was a sight to behold. Her fine clothes were a rich green, matching her eyes, and the contrast of the gold trimmings brought out the colour in her hair in all the correct ways. Noela sighed, realising her clothes were a dusty grey, not matching her eyes nor her hair.

The woman sat down, as Veezara placed the last dish—a steaming pot of venison stew, on the table. Festus had poured glasses of spiced wine for each of them and now Astrid raised her glass in a toast.

"Our family, the Dark Brotherhood. Tonight we celebrate the reunion of our family, but not only that." She turned to Noela. "It so happens that our newest recruit has just returned from her first successful contract. Well done, Noela." There were mutters of congratulations around the table as the others raised their glasses to her, minus Nazir and Arnbjorn. "To the Dark Brotherhood!"

"To the Dark Brotherhood!" everyone echoed, and sipped from their glass.

"And now," said Astrid, "Thank you to Veezara and Gabriella for cooking up this storm. Let's eat!"

Everyone began to dig in around the table and Noela grabbed one of the roasted goat legs first, tearing into it with her teeth. The sounds of chewing and swallowing filled the air.

"Do you think Cicero will mind that we left him out?" Babette directed toward Astrid. "Is he not technically the newest recruit now?"

Astrid turned to the vampire. "Cicero was already a member of the Dark Brotherhood before joining us, so he's not a new recruit. As for this dinner, do you really want that madman sitting here with us? I'm quite enjoying the less rambunctious atmosphere, aren't you?"

Babette sat beside Noela, and the mage could sense discomfort. "He's still part of the family. But you're right, Astrid, it'll not be like old times with him at the table. Where is he, anyway?"

"He had to get supplies for the Night Mother. Sithis knows what he does in there with her all day."

Noela looked up in confusion. "What's Cicero doing with the Night Mother?"

"Keeping her bones fresh, making sure they don't rot," answered Festus from the other end of the table. "His job as Keeper is to maintain the corpse."

"Although it is quite pointless," Astrid said, tapping her fork on her plate. "The Night Mother doesn't do anything for us now, not in recent history. As far as I'm concerned he's not earning his keep, and I think I will need to reassign him back as an assassin."

"That would not go down well with him," spoke Nazir. "He takes his role seriously. And besides, do you think he has the mental capacity to carry out assassinations successfully? One almost thinks he'd be caught, the way he acts."

"I think there is no other way forward. He can rub the Night Mother's bones in his spare time, but I can't have dead weight around the sanctuary. He was an assassin before becoming Keeper, he can do it again."

Nazir replied, "But he could have been sane back then, which would have made the job a lot easier."

"Crazy or not, it doesn't matter. He's going to put in the work. And if he dies out on an assassination, so be it. It would mean he's no longer able to be useful to us."

Noela watched them converse with interest. She didn't know much about Cicero, not having spoken to him before.

"In other news," continued Babette, "Noela just told me how she went to Raldbthar and killed a bandit. Poisoned him and chopped off his head!"

"Chopped off his head?" repeated Gabriella. "Any particular reason or… you just felt like it? Actually, tell us in detail how it happened."

Seven pairs of eyes looked at her and Noela launched into the story. How Muiri was the ex-lover, how Alain Dufont had betrayed her, and how Muiri had given her the lotus extract to use on Alain.

"The poison paralysed him, but it wasn't working quick enough. So I grabbed his warhammer off the floor and put him out of his misery."

"Decapitated with one's own weapon," smiled Veezara, shaking his head. "That, is music to my ears."

"And killed by the one who used to love you," said Gabriella. "What a poetic, beautiful death."

Gabriella then started talking about a list of 'beautiful' deaths she had carried out in the past, and Festus, Babette and Veezara talked animatedly about their favourite assassinations. Nazir chipped in now and then, and so did Arnbjorn, though the latter was mostly concerned with eating.

Noela partially listened, but it was hard to concentrate when the blonde leader was sitting directly opposite her. Astrid had yet to contribute to the current topic of conversation, but Noela could tell she was listening.

And then Astrid spoke. "What about you, Noela? What's your current number one assassination? Either yours, or anyone else's."

The mage blinked, having been interrupted from her stupor of watching Astrid eat. "Well, I have no idea. Maybe the one with Ennodius," she shrugged.

The blonde's face was widening in a smile. She turned to the rest of the table. "Noela's second trial assassination was in Anga's Mill, where she skewered this poor man. I'm sure you've all heard this one before." Noela noted her cheeks were a bit red from the wine. "She used destruction magic, thousands of tiny ice needles, and shot them with incredible speed at the target. That was one of the most beautiful assassinations I have ever witnessed."

There were nods and ooh's from around the table. Babette turned to Noela and rolled her eyes. "She's told us about that one a million times."

For the rest of the main course Noela felt the warm, spiced wine relaxing her. Though she did not speak much, she felt very comfortable in the company of her brothers and sisters. For the first time in a long time, there was a semblance of home.

At one point, Gabriella asked her to train destruction magic with her. At another, even Festus offered to show her a trick or two—mostly concerning creating a more gruesome (and hence more beautiful), death. And Veezara kept referring to her as 'sister'. The only people that did not seem as warm were Nazir, who was rather impartial, and Arnbjorn, who barely looked in her direction.

Astrid herself mentioned Noela or referenced her work more times than Noela could count. As good as it was to know that the effort she put towards the Dark Brotherhood's cause was acknowledged, it was hard to be fully content and satisfied when she could actively see Arnbjorn leering at Astrid much of the time.

Her fists clenched the napkin on her lap and she found herself glaring at him. Once, she was caught, but only by Astrid. There was a warning look from the Nord then, and Noela knew she had to drop it.

Gabriella then got up from the table, announcing that dessert was about to be served. Feeling stuffed already, and now partially agitated, Noela wanted to dismiss herself, but knew that would look odd to the rest of the family.

She chose a sweet roll, and slowly began to chew it. The table grew quiet as everyone started on their desserts and sipped renewed glasses of wine, and Noela once again watched Astrid, who was digging into a snowberry crostata. At that point the Nord also looked up, sensing that she was watching her, and gave a slight frown.

After a few minutes, Arnbjorn burped heavily and patted his tummy. "Well, I'm off for a quick hunt outside. Will be back in a bit." He pecked Astrid on the cheek and left.

The sweet roll in Noela's mouth suddenly tasted much too sweet and on the verge of disgusting. She would have much rather spit it out, but forced herself to swallow with difficulty.

Then Astrid rose. "I've got some work to attend to before bed, but I'd like to thank you, Gabriella, Veezara, for the lovely meal tonight. It was absolutely delightful."

Veezara and Gabriella smiled and uttered thanks, and Astrid turned to Noela.

"See me in about an hour," she said.

An hour later, Noela returned to Astrid's office, but she wasn't there. Her bedroom doors were closed though, and so she went to knock on them.

"Come in," said Astrid's voice.

Noela entered, and noticed the Nord sitting in one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. In her hand was another glass of spiced wine, and her cheeks were tinged red instead of pink. She was alone, Arnbjorn not home yet.

"Close the doors."

Noela shut the door and Astrid gestured for her to take the other chair next to her, and she did so. So close to the fire in the enclosed room, it was much too warm. Perhaps it was also the spiced wine in her belly.

The other woman poured her a new glass, which the mage took even though she had drunk enough alcohol for the night. By the colour of her cheeks, Noela was sure Astrid had already had more than her.

She waited for the Nord to speak, but the woman sat silently, swishing the wine in her glass and staring into the flames of the fire. Perhaps she had called her here to tell her off for her behaviour at dinner, or maybe it was something else entirely. A new mission?

After a full minute had passed, Noela sat sipping her wine, growing more uncomfortable with each passing second. Surely she wasn't here just to accompany her for a drink. "Astrid, what did you call me here for?" she asked tentatively.

The Nord met her eyes, the reflection of the flames dancing in the green. Noela almost looked away out of instinct. It was difficult to take her eyes off Astrid when she was in such fine clothes. It had been difficult the entire night.

"I want your input on something," said the Nord. "Do you know what the Listener is?"

"The… Listener?" Noela repeated. "When I read the Night Mother's Truth, it did mention a Listener, but otherwise I don't know much more." That was the book Astrid had given her the day she joined the sanctuary.

"I see. Then this will take a few minutes. The Dark Brotherhood used to rely on the Night Mother to receive contracts, since the very beginning. Usually, there is a Listener, who is the leader of the Dark Brotherhood, chosen by the Night Mother herself. She speaks to them in their head. When someone performs the Black Sacrament, as you know, they wish to contact the Dark Brotherhood and have someone killed. The Night Mother hears these prayers when the ritual is performed, and she would speak to the Listener directly. In turn, the Listener would inform his or her Speakers who then go out and set up the contract with the client."

She paused and Noela nodded that she was following.

"Do you know what the problem is? There hasn't been a Listener for many years, not since the year one hundred eighty-eight."

"That's fifteen years to today. So then, you can't hear the Black Sacrament prayers."

Astrid shook her head.

"Then how do you find out who has performed the Black Sacrament?"

"How do you think?" the Nord questioned back.

"Hearsay."

"Exactly. It takes very long sometimes; the entire system is broken. We are struggling to survive because it is difficult accessing our potential clients. I have spent a lot of time, most of my time actually, building up our network and paying people to work with us—a very time consuming and expensive practice. Though I have eyes all over Skyrim, it still isn't enough. We barely stay afloat—but at least our sanctuary is still alive. I called you in here, to see if you could help me think of innovative ways to solve our problem. I don't expect anything at this time of night, but see if you can think of something that may speed up the time it takes for us to hear about a potential contract. If you think this is a test, it is."

She winked at Noela, and the mage felt her cheeks flush. From the seriousness of her tone, from the expectation.

"I… see," the younger woman said slowly.

Astrid patted her shoulder. "Anyway, think on it, and I'm very interested to hear what you have to offer. As for other matters…" And now she fully turned her torso to her, remaining seated. "I noticed during dinner, you were shooting daggers with your eyes at my husband. That has to stop."

Noela shrugged, "It was unintentional."

"And you were staring a lot."

"You do look fabulous in that outfit," the mage said nonchalantly.

"Noela…" Her tone made her look concernedly at the Nord.

Noela sighed. "Fine. But I wasn't the only one staring. Your husband couldn't keep his eyes off you either."

"He's my husband." Astrid rolled her eyes.

"And you couldn't shut up about me," quipped Noela.

The blonde looked at her stunned, like she had just slapped her.

"And you had your hands on my hair as soon as I got back," Noela added pointedly. "I don't think it's just me who has to stop."

The indignant expression on Astrid's face worried Noela that she might have overstepped, but the Nord closed her eyes and massaged her eyelids. "You're right," she sighed heavily. "I shouldn't have touched you. I forgot."

Noela put a hand on her shoulder and Astrid blinked, looking up. "I'm tipsy, that's my excuse for saying this, but you don't have to stop, you know."

"Stop what?"

The mage gave the slightest of grins. "Touching me."

The door opened with a loud bang and both women jumped out of their seats.

"My lovely wife, how'd you like to make love to me tonight?" Arnbjorn marched in and stopped short when he spotted the visitor in his room. "What the fuck are you doing in here?"

Noela got up, her death glare returning. "I'm just leaving," she spat coldly. She made sure to slam the door shut on her way out.