Chapter 22

Aria didn't sleep well the rest of the night. She wasn't used to sleeping on the floor anymore and couldn't get comfortable. She was glad for Ocheeva and Antionetta's presence, though. It was comforting after the scare Gogron had given them.

Because of the excitement of the night and unfamiliar bed, Aria slept late the next morning. When she got up, she went to get fresh clothes from her dresser and noticed Antionetta and Gogron deep in conversation in a corner of the main room. She was about to go over to them when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Let them be, dear one," Vicente said.

Aria looked at him. "What are they talking about?"

Vicente slipped his arms around her waist from behind. "Lucien has ordered Gogron to apologize to you both for what happened last night."

"How'd you find that out?"

"I may have overheard their conversation. Gogron also isn't allowed to leave the Sanctuary unattended, even for contracts, for three months. And he has to track down and get rid of the rat he released."

Aria thought about that. "I can understand making him get rid of the rat, but confining him to the Sanctuary seems harsh."

"Lucien said that if Gogron is going to act like a child, he's going to treat him like a child." He turned Aria so that she was facing him. "Are you alright, dear one? You look tired."

Aria smiled at him. "A little tired, but I'm okay." She gave him a long kiss to prove it. "As much as I'd love to stand here kissing you all day, I need clean clothes and breakfast."

"Of course. And when you're finished, Teinaava asked if he could speak with both of us." He gave her another kiss, then let her go.

After a quick bath, Aria grabbed some toast and cold ham from the kitchen, then went to find Teinaava. She found him reading a letter in the main room. He looked upset and stood up as she approached.

"Ah, dear Sister, may I steal a moment of your time? I have a rather delicate situation I was hoping you could help me with. This is a personal matter, and will have no bearing on your standing within the Brotherhood. Can you help me?"

Aria nodded. "Of course. Tell me what's going on."

Teinaava glanced around. "We should not discuss it here. Come with me." He led her to Ocheeva's quarters, where they found Vicente and Ocheeva waiting. Teinaava sat down next to his sister while Vicente pulled out a chair for Aria.

"What is this about, Teinaava?" Vicente asked.

The twins looked at each other. "We received a letter yesterday, alerting us to a...situation," Ocheeva said.

"What kind of situation?" Aria asked.

"As you already know, when Teinaava and I were born, we were taken at birth and given to the Dark Brotherhood. It is the way of all Argonians born under the Shadow. We were raised in the Brotherhood, and when we came of age, we returned to Black Marsh as Shadowscales, trained in the arts of stealth and murder. Together we served our nation as spies and assassins, as all Shadowscales do. After ten years, we joined the family as one."

"When Ocheeva and I were training with the Brotherhood as children," Teinaava said, "we befriended another initiate, a Shadowscale by the name of Scar-Tail. The three of us were inseparable. When our training was completed, we reluctantly parted ways. But now...the unthinkable has happened! Scar-Tail has fled Black Marsh and refuses to fulfill his duties as a royal assassin! This is an act of treason, punishable by death. This treachery must be punished!"

"And how do we fit in?" Vicente asked.

Ocheeva looked down at her hands. "Just as a member of the Dark Brotherhood cannot kill a fellow family member, a Shadowscale is forbidden from slaying another Shadowscale. That is why we need you." She looked up at them both. "Please, kill Scar-Tail so my brother and I may put this behind us."

Aria studied Ocheeva. The pain on her face made her suspect that Scar-Tail had been more than a friend to her at one time. She realized how hard it must be for her to ask this of them, and her respect for the woman went up greatly. She reached across the table and took her hand. "Of course we'll help."

"Indeed," Vicente agreed. "Tell us where Scar-Tail is."

Teinaava held up the crumpled letter. "According to the message, Scar-Tail is hiding in a swamp called Bogwater. It is far from here, on the southern tip of Cyrodiil." He glanced at his sister, then continued. "The message also insists that we need proof of the deed. We need you to bring back Scar-Tail's heart."

Aria looked at Vicente and they both nodded. "We'll leave immediately," Vicente said.

A few hours later, they were riding south. Teinaava had marked Bogwater's location on Vicente's map while Aria gathered supplies. Ocheeva said that she would explain the situation to Lucien before he left.

Aria was glad to be away from the Sanctuary for a time. She was still angry with Gogron for the prank he had played. He hadn't apologized to her yet, but she hadn't made herself available, either. She had been avoiding him since she got up that morning. This assignment would give her some time to get over her anger.

It took them over a day to ride to the southern part of Cyrodiil. The swamp was located in the southernmost part of the province, just beyond the city of Leyawiin. They left their horses at the city stable that evening and hiked through the damp terrain.

After a couple of hours, Vicente, who was leading the way, stopped and pulled Aria behind a boulder. "We're here."

Aria peeked around the boulder. All she could see was a faint light flickering in the distance. "How can you tell? It could just be bandits or someone camping out."

Vicente shook his head. "My senses say it's a lone Argonian."

"Must be nice to have senses that sharp," Aria muttered. "How do you think we should do it?"

Vicente looked around the boulder. "He's a renegade Shadowscale, so he probably knows that someone was sent after him. He'll be wary, so sneaking up on him will be difficult. We should probably just approach him head-on."

Aria held up a finger. "He's trained just like us. If I approach him alone, I can keep his attention on me while you sneak around behind him. With your speed, you can easily jump in if he attacks."

Vicente nodded. "Good thinking. Are you ready?"

Aria nodded and they split up. Aria approached the campsite directly, while Vicente moved through the shadows to her left. Sure enough, an Argonian sat alone by the fire. Aria was about fifty feet away from him when she stepped in a puddle, drawing his attention.

He stood up calmly and turned around. He was holding his right side. "I guess I've been expecting you, assassin," he said. "Don't try to deny it. I can see it in your eyes." He looked her over. "You're Dark Brotherhood, through and through. Let me guess, it was Ocheeva, right? No, wait." He studied her face. "Teinaava. Yes, he put you up to this, didn't he? That is more his style."

Aria stared at him. "You know why I'm here, right?"

Scar-Tail shrugged. "To exact punishment, I suppose. Well, you can kill me if you like. I'm afraid I won't make much of a challenge, though. The Argonian Royal Court already sent an agent to do the job. He failed, of course. His body's around here somewhere. But he got in a pretty good hit." Aria noticed the blood staining the right side of his chest. "I'm probably dead anyway. But maybe I can appeal to your sense of goodwill, huh? You let me live, and I'll tell you where I stashed my treasure. Is it a deal?"

Aria looked at him and thought about the pain she'd seen on Ocheeva's face. His betrayal had hurt her deeply, and she was trusting Aria to make it right. She shook her head. "No. You hurt someone that I care about. You're going to pay for that, traitor."

"Ha!" Scar-Tail snarled. "I expected as much from a Dark Brotherhood lapdog!" He drew a dagger. "I may not survive this fight, but I'll not make it easy for you!"

He lunged at her. Aria deflected the strike and ducked beneath his arm, coming up behind him. She kicked him in the back, sending him right into Vicente, who appeared a few feet away. Vicente grabbed the blade of the dagger and yanked it away before sinking his teeth into the Argonian's neck.

When he was finished feeding, he let the body fall and turned to Aria, wiping the residual blood from his chin. "That went better than expected."

"Was he tasty?"

"Not especially. Argonian blood tastes rather fishy. Khajit blood is better, but I'm usually left picking hairs out of my mouth."

Aria laughed. "He mentioned that he had treasure stashed somewhere. I'll take a look around for it, while you get our proof."

Vicente nodded and set to work while Aria searched the small campsite. There wasn't much in Scar-Tail's belongings, so she widened her search. Several minutes later, she found a rotting tree stump at the edge of the firelight. Someone had hollowed out the inside and placed a large leather bag in the space. The bag was full of septims. Aria grabbed it and headed back toward Vicente. "I've got it."

"As do I," he replied, holding up a small box. "Shall we?"

Aria took his hand as they started back toward Leyawiin. "You missed a spot," she said, pointing at a smear of blood on his chin.

Vicente wiped it away. "Thank you."

Aria retrieved their horses from the stable and they started the long ride back to Cheydinhal. They rode through the night and stopped just before dawn. Vicente found a cave they could rest in and Aria led the horses in and cared for them while Vicente built a fire. When she sat down beside him, she noticed he still had blood on his hand.

"Did you miss another spot?" she asked.

"What?" Vicente looked down. "Oh. No, that's from disarming Scar-Tail. The reins kept rubbing against it, so it didn't stop bleeding."

"I'll take care of it." Aria rummaged in her bag for a moment before pulling out a square of parchment and her water tin. "Hold out your hand."

Vicente didn't ask questions. He held out his hand, palm up, and watched as Aria unfolded the parchment, revealing a small amount of powder. She poured a couple of drops of water on the powder, then mixed it with her finger to form a paste. She took Vicente's hand and quickly cleaned the wound, then rubbed the paste in. She held his hand in both of hers, then used her healing spell to seal the wound, locking the paste inside. "All done."

Vicente looked at the pink scar on his hand. "Impressive. You've gotten better with that spell. And it's very clever to use the healing potion, as well."

Aria tossed the parchment into the fire. "You told me once that combining magic and alchemy could be a useful skill. The potion will heal the wound from the inside while the spell makes sure that the wound doesn't get worse." She took a drink of water. "So were there any good contracts in that last batch?"

"None for an assassin of your skill level, I'm afraid. Which brings me to something I wanted to tell you."

Aria looked at him. "What is it, Vicente?"

"I'm afraid I have no more contracts for you. Our time of working together has come to an end." At Aria's dismayed look, he hurried to explain. "Not like that, dear one. I simply mean your contracts will no longer come from me. Instead, you must report to Ocheeva. She will provide your contracts from now on. I will return to my roll as an Executioner until a new family member comes along."

Aria looked down. "And then you'll have someone else to mentor."

"Eventually." He cupped her chin in his hand. "But only you will have my heart for eternity, dear one." Aria smiled in relief and kissed him. After a moment, he pulled back. "And that brings me to something else I've been meaning to discuss with you. I intend to make good on an offer I made some time ago. As a vampire, I may pass my gift on to others as I see fit. You have served Sithis well, and I would like to extend that gift to you."

Aria sat back. "You want to turn me into a vampire?"

"Yes." Vicente took her hands. "I want you by my side for all eternity, Aria. And that can only happen if I turn you."

Aria was stunned. "I- wait, are you asking me to marry you?"

"Not exactly. But the idea certainly has appeal."

"I...I don't know, Vicente...This is...so sudden..."

"It's all right," Vicente assured her. "I understand your trepidation. Take all the time you need to think about it. My offer will always be open."