Sweat flew in all directions as Sable spun around following up with a strike from one of her daggers. It never hit home as it clanged loudly against the blade of her opponent. He pushed her arm out wide and immediately reversed his movement bringing his sword back in to stab her through the stomach. She quickly brought her other dagger down in a quick arc to deflect the blade away.

The white-haired assassin backed up a step. The two circled a bit taking measure of each other. Without warning, her assailant rushed her feigning a high strike before dropping low at the last moment, slashing at her legs. Sable leapt over the attack, tucking into a roll as she landed behind him. An instant later, she gained her feet and wheeled around, the points of both daggers leading the way, looking for the chest of her attacker. What they found was a wooden shield with a dull thud.

Before she could pull away, the man used the shield to bull her off balance. The sword followed right behind, coming straight down to impale her. A backwards somersault saved her from the blade and put a short distance between them. Once again, they faced each other. They had been fighting a long time and she was beginning to tire. She needed a way to end it quickly. Her mind whirled trying to think of something. And then she had to suppress a smile as an idea came to mind.

She came forward suddenly, but missed a step and stumbled. Just like with Dufont, her opponent went for it, bringing the sword down in a sweeping arc to slice open her back. Sable turned the stumble into a roll and popped up right next to her assailant ready to push her blade into his ribs to the hilt.

To her surprise, her skilled attacker countered by twisting away from her strike. He followed that by bashing his shield into her chest. There wasn't much force in it as he was no longer at a good angle for the bash, but it was just enough to over balance her and that was all he needed. He spun in low circle, then kicked into the backs of her knees. The maneuver swept her legs out from under her and she fell to the ground. He was on top of her instantly his sword at her throat.

"My comlimentss ssisster," the Argonian congratulated. "You fought sso very well, but it lookss like I win again."

"Not quite Veezara." Sable replied smugly and she tapped the steel dagger in her right hand against his ribs.

There was a brief look of bewilderment in her brother's eyes before he smiled. "A draw, then." He replied astonished. "No member of the Family hass ever accomplished ssuch a feat againsst me before. Very impressive."

Veezara stood and offered a hand to help her up, which she gladly accepted with the smile of a fox in a hen house.

"Indeed," came a silken voice behind them. They turned to see Astrid in the archway of the training area. "Still the overachiever." She smiled demurely at Sable. "May I have a word, Sable? We have learned of the Black Sacrament being performed and I think you should be the one to answer its call."

Sable followed her mistress out of the cave that served as the training room and back to cave near the front of the Sanctuary where she looked over all the contracts and conducted the Family's business in general.

When they got there, Astrid paused as if considering what words she wanted to say before speaking. After a moment, she finally spoke.

"It would seem that your mage friend accomplished what was thought to be impossible." She started. The realization of what her mistress said was like a punch to the gut and Sable suddenly felt shaky and fought to keep her knees from buckling.

"Sionis found his sister's killer," the younger assassin breathed.

"That would be my guess." Astrid answered. "He has performed the Black Sacrament requesting our services."

Sable's eyes went wide for just a moment. "And you want me to take the contract?"

"Normally I wouldn't allow a family member to take a contract from a person they have a history with, but in this case, I think it would be best if you went ahead and fulfilled it. Considering the manner in which we all parted, I feel it would be best that he see someone he is familiar with and hopefully still friendly towards."

"I see." The white-haired assassin replied, finally coming to terms with what she was hearing. He had done it. Sionis had actually found the person responsible for the desecration of Clairiss. It was a task she had figured would have been impossible. It was how she had justified leaving him with her refusal to help. The time and resources needed for that kind of search was dizzying to think about and he had actually done it. Now she wondered if she had actually betrayed him. Should she have stayed with him? Would the Family have disowned if she had? Could she have handled that? She pushed these questions aside, not wanting think about them further; they were too disconcerting.

"When should I leave?" She asked her mistress, using her profession as walls against the disturbing intrusions.

"As soon as you are ready." Astrid answered. "He is currently staying at an inn in Whiterun."

"I shall leave as soon as I have bathed and gathered my things." Sable stated before turning to leave.

"Do remember something for me, sister." Astrid called after her and once Sable turned back to face her, continued. "This is just like any other job. Meet up with your former associate, fulfill his contract, and collect your payment. Nothing more, and nothing less."

"Of course, mistress." Sable turned on her heel and was gone.

He looked very different than she remembered. His light stubble had grown into a full blonde beard and he looked tired. His countenance seemed darker somehow and Sable couldn't help but wonder about what he had been through. He obviously hadn't made it through his quest unscathed and she pushed away the thought that perhaps she was partly responsible for his current condition. She still agreed with Astrid that his crusade to find a nameless unknown mage had seemed impossible. She was still astonished that he had succeeded, assuming his request for an assassination was meant for his sister's killer. He hadn't noticed her yet. He just sat there staring at his table as if he were trying to set it ablaze with just his eyes. The assassin wondered briefly just then if mages could actually do that.

With a sigh, she looked down and straightened her dress. It was a rather simple dress made of a sturdy material dyed blue with a brown leather torso. It was a very common style of dress, but that was the point. She wished to attract as little attention as possible. After re-shouldering her pack containing her black and sanguine leather armor, her daggers, some coins, and few other oddities, the curvy assassin walked across the room to start a conversation she was suddenly rather hesitant to have. She knew that he viewed her leaving him a betrayal. It was the fact that she cared about his view of her that she found disconcerting. It was foolish and weak and something she would have quash.

It was this last thought that dictated her greeting to her mage acquaintance. "Hello, Sionis." Sable said simply and coldly.

He looked up at her. "Of course they would send you." It seemed he was trying to keep no small amount of contempt from his voice. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that your organization would twist the handle."

"Twist the handle?" Sable asked. "And just what does that mean?"

"Forget it," he grumbled. "Sit down."

She took a seat in a chair across from him, setting her knapsack down across her feet. She finally looked back at him. His eyes had completely lost the fire they displayed earlier when he had first seen her. Now they just looked tired and, perhaps, listless. There was a moment of silence between them there in the common room of the Bannered Mare. It almost seemed that the busy, noisy world of the inn around them had been muted out. Sionis closed his eyes for a long moment. Just as it seemed that the awkwardness was beginning to escalate to the point of overwhelming her, he finally opened his eyes and spoke.

"I must say," he began, his eyes regaining a bit of their luster, "I never expected to see you wearing that."

Sable was quite taken aback. She hadn't expected a remark like that and she looked down at her dress. True it wasn't nearly as gorgeous as the ones she had back at the Sanctuary, but it was pretty enough for the purpose it was serving she thought.

"I … I … this is a nice …." Her broken response was interrupted by his chuckling at her.

"I meant a dress in general." He explained. "The last time I saw you, you were involved in Family business. I guess some part of me expected you to always be wearing that leather armor of yours."

"I … I can't be wearing my armor all the time. At times I need to blend …"

"I understand the point." Her dark-eyed companion interrupted again. "I agree we shouldn't be trying to attract attention." After a brief pause he added, "But all the same, you look nice."

Now she was really blown away. Not only had their parting not been on good terms, but no one had ever given her a compliment like that one. As long as she could remember, the attention she'd gotten was aimed at getting just one thing from her. Never had it been a genuine compliment like that and now she didn't know how to respond.

"I'm sorry about earlier." The mage finally said. "I didn't really expect you to show up and I guess I still haven't sorted through how I …" he trailed off and there was another moment of silence before he re-grouped his thoughts. "I mean, I guess I expected your leader…" he left the word hanging to prompt his companion to help him remember her name.

"Astrid." Sable complied. "Yes, normally she would be the one to establish the contract, but she thought it best if I handled yours."

"Did she think it would be good to send you to make up for your betrayal?" His tone held an accusatory edge to it.

"Betrayal?" Sable snapped. "How did I betray you?"

"You left me!" He shouted back before quieting himself again. "You left when I could've used you the most. You knew what Clairiss meant to me and when I needed my vengeance, you went scurrying back to your back-stabbing family."

"Did you really want me there?" the assassin fired back. "Or was it the skills and resources of the Dark Brotherhood you wanted?"

"Is it really that terrible that I wanted help from someone I thought was a friend?" Sionis asked.

And there they were again. Those disturbing thoughts and feelings she just couldn't quite seem to shake about this man. This was her chance the end them – to kill them – once and for all.

"Friends?" She answered coldly. "It was just an arrangement. We both had a common enemy. Why not work to together to take that enemy down? That's all it was." Her eyes stung as she said it, but she managed to say it without the slightest waver in her voice. A stunned look came over his face and for a moment he said nothing. She was victorious.

"Don't do that, Sable." He said authoritatively. "If that's all I was to you, then why did you come back for me? Why not just let me rot in that cell?"

And just like the Empire during the Great War, her walls were crushed; her defenses shattered. Why had she gone back for him? She remembered refusing to leave until Astrid and the others had agreed to find him and later his sister. Damn him. Damn him to Oblivion for that realization. Her anger surged up within her and she wondered if she would expelled from the Dark Brotherhood if she murdered him after his contract was fulfilled. It didn't last long. It died as soon as she looked back into his eyes and saw real pain there. Guilt and shame swallowed her anger whole.

"I'm … I'm sorry Sionis." She stated quietly. Why did she care that she had hurt him? What in Oblivion was wrong with her? "I'm sorry about everything. I'm sorry about what happened to your sister."

"Perhaps this contract will help you atone for her death." Sionis stated.

With that statement, her anger was resurrected. "I caused her death?" Sable hissed at him. "How do you figure that?"

"I never would have tried to assault the operation without your help." He answered sharply. "If you hadn't come along, she'd still be alive."

"What!?" The pale-eyed assassin gasped. "How do you know that? Gods, Sionis did it ever occur to you that she might have already been dead? Did it occur to you that they might have killed her long ago and just lied to you about her to keep their leverage over you?"

The mage opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. A moment later all he could manage was a single utterance. "Oh."

"Besides, even if that were not the case, you could've just killed me and your life would have gone on as normal." She pressed. "You could have stayed in the happy ignorance that she was alive and just ended me. But you didn't. Why?" Again she was met with silence. "Admit it, maybe the thought that you were being lied to – that they had already killed Clairiss – had been disturbing you for awhile."

His eyes welled up with tears he was furiously trying to keep back.

"Either way, Sionis, I had nothing to do with her death. You made the decision. If anyone is to blame it's…"

"Stop!" he cried out, not wanting to hear her finish. "Can we talk more in private?" He choked out through sobs that were stronger than his willpower. "Let's go to my room."

He didn't even wait for her to respond. He got up from the table and fled to the stairs that led to the inn's lodging. Sable used the opportunity to get her breathing back under control before grabbing her pack and following him.

Once she reached his room, it seemed that Sionis had regained his composure as well. He looked up to her, his eyes pleading for both forgiveness and comfort though he didn't actually say anything. She set her stuff down just inside the door to his room and grabbed a chair, bringing it near him and sitting down herself.

At that moment, he burst. "You're right. It's my fault she's dead." The sobs were taking him over again. "She was killed and so blasphemed because of me. Even if our attack didn't cause the retaliation, it would have happened at some point anyway. And I was the one that put her there."

"Didn't you say they kidnapped her?" Sable offered. "How was that your fault?"

"If I had refused to do the job for my friend," he answered solemnly, "they would have just killed him and she would still be alive and this whole thing would have never been a part of her life."

Sable wasn't sure if she could argue that one. But she knew that Clairiss' death hadn't been his fault. He may have put her in an awful situation, but he needed to hear what she didn't get to finish saying.

"You should've let me finish out there, Sionis." She stated simply and evenly.

"I didn't need to." He replied. "You're right. It was my fault."

"That's not what I was going to say." She chided, finally getting his full attention.

"What do you mean? Who's at fault, then?"

"They are."

"What!?" Sionis straightened up with a look of incredulity.

"Do you force them to drag a blade across her throat?" Sable asked pointedly.

"No." He answered cautiously.

"Did you, yourself, pour poison down her throat?"

"No."

"Did you personally gut her?"

"No."

"Bash her skull in?"

"Please stop." He finally cried out.

"The point is, they killed her. Not you. They made the decision to end her life. They, not you." She pointed a finger at him and the door alternately to further make her point.

"You really think that?" The mage asked hopefully.

"That's how I see it." She stated calmly and definitively to assure him. "And I'm an assassin. I kill people for a living."

"Thank you, Sable." He said weakly. "I appreciate it. I don't know if that helps me feel any better, but I'm grateful."

Then, he leaned in and kissed her. Her eyes went wide and surprise and anger flooded through her. Her elbow crashing into the side of his head knocked him out cold, and ended that nonsense.

Sionis groaned as he opened his eyes. He had a nasty headache and wasn't sure what had happened. One moment he had been talking with Sable and now the throbbing in the left side of his head was making him feel a bit queasy as he fought to keep his vision clear. What had happened? How did he end up like this? The last thing he remembered was …

His eyes went wide as it hit him. He had kissed her. And know he was just waking up. He groaned again.

"Next time you try something like that, I'll put you out for a lot longer than few minutes." Sable's voice carried a tone of warning.

"Most people wouldn't strike a friend for kissing them, you know." He retorted, still sounding a bit woozy.

"I'm not most people." She stated in a matter of fact tone.

"I see that now." The mage replied. "But it was just an innocent little kiss."

"There's no such thing." She returned.

He opened his mouth to argue further, but nothing came out. How would he even begin to explain? Before he could find a way, the curvy assassin changed the subject.

"Would you like to discuss the contract now?" She asked, a bit of exasperation creeping into her voice.

"Yes, but there are two conditions I'd like you to agree to before I give you the specifics of the contract." Sionis said a bit of nervousness in his voice.

"Okay, I'm listening." Sable conceded.

"First, I'd like you to agree to take the contract. Even before you hear what it is." There was even more apprehension in his voice as if he figured this was his biggest hurdle to overcome.

"Sionis," Sable began in an almost condescending tone, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't intend to take the contract. It's how I make my living. I can't exactly be picky or choosy about those I kill. Besides," she added after a brief pause, "I suspect I'm going enjoy this kill greatly."

"Okay, then. The second request I have is that I join you." Sionis said.

"No!" She said forcefully. "That's not how it's done, Sionis. Otherwise why not just kill the bastard yourself?"

"I just want to see it through to the end." He replied emphatically. "Please, Sable. Give me that much."

Sable thought for a moment. She didn't know of any explicit rules against this, but she knew that it wasn't how things were supposed to be done. In the end, she decided that she did owe it to Sionis to allow him his request. Besides, what could it possible hurt for him to witness her murder the person responsible for turning his beloved sister into an abomination?

"Fine," she finally said, "let's hear the details of the contract. I assume you found the mage that turned Clairiss into a zombie?"

He winced slightly at her crude summation, but did reply. "Yes, I found him … and I killed him."

"What?" Sable blurted out. "What do you mean? If you killed him, then what do you need me for?"

"He was a former Thalmor mage that called himself Mala Aran Naga. The kind of power he wielded was beyond what any mortal could attain. Not without help anyway." Sionis replied. "So after I killed him, I tracked down the person he got his power from and that is what I need help with. I need you to kill the one that provided Naga his ability to do what he did."

"So you performed the Black Sacrament to get at this other person? The one that gave the elf mage his power?" She asked still trying to get over the astonishment.

"That is correct."

"How did you find this mage in the first place?"

The dark-eyed mage looked away from her at that question. "You'd probably rather not know and I'd rather not talk about it."

"I understand." Sable offered before returning to the task at hand. "So then, who do want me to kill?"

"Boethiah. I want Boethiah to die."

A/N: So there it is. Sionis just put a hit on a Daedric Prince. How in all Oblivion is Sable going to pull this one off?

Thanks everyone for reading, for the reviews, follows, favorites. Hope you have enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

-E.K.