Virieti awoke and turned on her side. Cicero was still curled up next to her, his face covered in his long ginger hair. "He looks so peaceful." She thought, staring at him. Out of nowhere, a voice began to creep into her mind.
"Congrats on courting poor Cicero, Listener. But your time with the Dark Brotherhood is not over yet." Her eyes bulged; she knew this voice. It was the Night Mother!
"Mother!?" She exclaimed. She covered her mouth, not realizing she said that out loud. Cicero groaned and turned over; his sleep almost disturbed by Virieti's tone. the Night Mother shushed her "Hush my Listener, the Dark Brotherhood is in danger. You must go back to the Falkreath Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary." "Mother I can't go back!" Virieti thought. the Night Mother did not respond, she had nothing more to say. "What am I going to do?" It had been just 3 days since she rescued Cicero, why did they have to return?
Virieti looked at Cicero again who was fast asleep. Should she tell him? Should she leave him behind and go by herself? She sighed. "I can't leave him alone; he will worry himself into an even deeper madness." Virieti grabbed Cicero's shoulder and shook him, attempting to wake him up. Cicero groggily opened his eyes and raised his head. "Good morning sweet List-" Cicero coughed and corrected himself before he finished. "Virieti."
Virieti leaned closer to him, her sheets falling to her stomach. "Cicero, we need to get up, the-" she stopped and looked over at lover only to find him staring at her bare chest. She blushed and covered herself with her hands. "Cicero!? My eyes are up here!" She said feeling embarrassed. She closed her eyes sighed "Whatever it's not important, we need to head back to the Sanctuary by Falkreath, I got a message from the Night Mother!"
"Mother?! Well, we must go then! No time to lose! Make haste!" Cicero clamored, quickly starting to get up. His loyalty to the Night Mother was unmatchable. "Cicero.. are you sure you want to go? Everyone thinks you're dead! They probably think I'm dead too! This is a dangerous mission and your side is still healing!" Virieti asked, worrying about Cicero's wellbeing. Cicero smirked "Don't underestimate my ability, Virieti. Have you forgotten Cicero was apart of the Dark Brotherhood for years before yourself?" He was right, he was way more experienced than her. Virieti sighed and paused. If he is coming, he needs to at least not draw any unneeded attention. "Fine, but I am not letting you wear that silly Jester outfit, you need something less conspicuous." She said, making Cicero whine. "But L-Listener!"
Virieti got up and looked inside the guest room's dresser. "Ah, perfect!" She said, holding up folded Chitin Armor. "Here is some Chitin Armor including bracers and boots! I found these while exploring a mine before I met you. Kept them in case of emergency." She handed the set to Cicero and walked into her own room, putting on her Carved Nordic Armor. When she was done she went back into the Guest-room to find Cicero fully dressed in Chitin Armor, adjusting it slightly to make it more comfortable while humming a tune. "He looks so handsome!" She thought, seeing Cicero's new attire. He no longer looked like a flamboyant street performer, instead, he looked like a true force to be reckoned with.
"You look really nice; I think the color red must suit you." She said drawing closer. She leaned into him and kissed his lips while wrapping her arms around his neck, she couldn't resist. "We must not dilly-dally Virieti, Mother comes first." Cicero said breaking their kiss. "I know, but I couldn't help myself." Cicero snickered at her response. "Naughty naughty!" He teased before going to grab his own dagger from the chest in his room. He examined it for a moment and taunted with "Need to sharpen my blade. Make it shiny, gleamy, and oh, so... deadly." before putting it in its sheath on his pants. Virieti grabbed her war ax from a weapons rack and headed for the door, Cicero following.
After 3 days of hiding inside, it was time to finally venture out and face their enemy head on. Luckily, the Sanctuary was only an hour or so away by foot from Virieti's Manor, making traveling easier.
As they began to approach the Sanctuary, they could see smoke beginning to plume into the sky. The sanctuary was on fire. "Mother!" Cicero screeched, realizing the Night Mother's coffin was still in there. As they ran closer they could hear voices from the inside. The sanctuary had been ambushed. "Damn it! Cicero, I need you to get ready for battle!" Virieti said, readying her weapon. Cicero put his hand over the sheath of his dagger, prepared for what lies inside. They stumbled inside; a mass of smoke filled the room. Footsteps and yelling could be heard across the first floor. Virieti covered her nose with her free hand in an attempt to filter the smoke. As they walked crossed the falling sanctuary, Virieti spotted a foot laying on the ground beneath the flying smoke. She bent down and saw it was Veezara, an Argonian and one of the surviving members of the team during the incident. "Fuck, Veezara's dead!" She screamed, tears falling down her face. Out of all the members in the Brotherhood, Veezara was the most solid-minded and kind. "What, whose there?" A voice called.
Before they could react three Imperial soldiers ran towards them, their swords drawn and ready to slash. Cicero, without hesitation, grabbed one and placed him in a chokehold. With one hand he wielded his blade and met it with another Imperial's sword before pushed it aside and stabbing the soldier in the stomach. He looked into the last free Imperial's eyes and smiled. "Run along and I might just spare your little friend." He said, looking at his dagger playfully. The Imperial, shaken with fear turned to run only to be met with an ax to the head. It was Virieti, who had gotten up by this point and was waiting to strike at any moment. Cicero looked at the Imperial he was holding, who was now attempting to yell for help only to be silenced by Cicero's strong grip. He smiled and placed the dagger up to the Imperials throat. "Oh, did I say I was going to spare you?"
Cicero cackled and leaned into the soldier's ear.
"I lied."
Cicero slashed the man's throat before tossing his body to the floor.
"I knew I heard that laugh from somewhere." a voice called. It was Nazir, the Redguard assassin and Dark Brotherhood member. His dark skin was hard to make out through the smoke, but his voice was unmistakable "Nazir!" Virieti shouted. It was nice to see someone survived. "Oh Virieti, why am I not surprised you're alive as well. Astrid was stupid to think she could get you to kill Cicero." That brought up a good point, where was Astrid? "Where is she?" Virieti asked. "I haven't seen her since the smoke got bad, she said something about getting help. Gabriella and Festus didn't make it, as for Veezara, I am not-" "Veezara is dead" Virieti said interrupting Nazir. Nazir sighed "Shit, another good one down."
"Where's Babette?" She asked. Nazir shrugged "I am not sure about her either"
"Cicero, we have to go look for Babette!" Virieti said grabbing Cicero's hand, surprising him. "I'll check the dining hall, you go into the Night Mother's room and check there." Nazir said before running off. Virieti pushed Cicero forward and they ran into the Night Mother's room. "Babette!" She called "It's me, Virieti! No time to explain, if you are here we have to-" The walls began to crumble, pieces of rubble were falling from the ceiling and increasing in size. "Fuck!" Virieti spat. The Sanctuary wasn't going to make it much longer. Large chunks of stone were falling and cracking the floor below causing the building to shake. "We need to hide!" She scanned over the room trying to find somewhere to find cover. She opened the doors to the Night Mother's coffin and pressed herself inside and pulling Cicero in with her.