I had awoken before he did. Deciding that underclothes weren't the best thing to go out in, I quietly borrowed a shirt and pair of pants, telling myself I'd return them when I had my own back. I knew where I was and where to go, so I scaled quietly and carefully up the ladder and through the hollowed-out tree exit of fort Farragut. The sun was just rising over the horizon of the Jerrall mountains and the air was crisp. I inhaled a nice, deep breath before trekking down the hill to Cheydinhall and back to the Sanctuary.

I tried as quietly as I could to enter through the front door, but it was like nobody had really slept since I'd left and they all greeted me happily.

"Nothing can beat the Grand Champion!" Gogron clapped me on the back and I smiled, holding the wound instinctively. He apologized quickly but I was okay.

"Where's Vicente?" I asked, looking around. "We don't need the cure anymore."

He had just stepped out from his quarters, stopped dead in his tracks and stared at me with a vial in his hand. He sighed, looking weary.

"I'm sorry, Vicente. Lucien would have been here sooner to let you know I was okay, but I told him to rest first. My orders, not his." I joked, adding quotations to the "orders" part.

"Yes, well, I'll keep it close by in case something were to transpire. Though I pray it never happens again, and the blade will stay well out of your reach. Anyones, really. Until Lucien decides you're ready for it again. His orders. Not mine." Vicente gave me a look, glancing quickly at my outfit with a smile. "I will say, we had quite the scare and are happy to see you in good health again." With that, he walked back to his quarters to store the vial.

"It was downright awful." Antoinetta said later over dinner. "Once we read in the papers that your contract had been completed, we waited for you to come back. And when you didn't, Vicente contacted the Black Hand to see what could be done. He could smell the foul play. Most other Sanctuaries leave their colleagues to die, but we're family here. Lucien was at his wits end trying to convince the Hand it was safe enough to retrieve you, but they outright refused and told him to resume his original position. But then Lucien received sudden instructions to be here at the sanctuary, and lucky he was here. If it wasn't for him, the whole Sanctuary might have been compromised by the public. You probably would have died. Vicente knew how to care for you, but nobody else knew where to take you. Then, Lucien just whisked you away and poof! And nobody's told us anything since, other than you were going to live. That was more than a day ago."

"I'm sorry about that whole fiasco, really." I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "The contract went perfect until the end. Right when I was back into the sewers. It was like a trap..." The cogs in my brain we're churning again. A trap... "But anyway, there were vampires down there. It was like they had rabies, and there were so many. It didn't make sense."

"Yes, that tends to happen when one of my ilk doesn't feed." Vicente had joined us again, listening intently. He looked like he was taking in the same details I was. "It takes years, of course. And it makes me wonder how they managed to stay hidden down there for so long."

"Me too." I admitted. "When I first went through, there were things on the ground from... the original escapee. Jewelry and things that had been dropped. I used each like a way finder. But by the time I came back, hardly half an hour later, they were all gone. And all the torches had been put out so I couldn't see when I made a wrong turn. All it took was one moment of me letting my guard down. Never again." I sighed, exhausted.

"Nobody's perfect, Bella. You'll do better next time." Ocheeva said kindly. I smiled at her. I hoped there wouldn't be a next time.

"Where did you get that outfit?" Teinaava asked, narrowing his eyes with a sly smile. "It's way too big on you."

"Uh- I've got things to do, I'll be back." I took my quick leave.

I had been put on a week of no contracts to let my body rest and wounds heal, with the help of restoration magic, and was ready to finally receive the next one.

"I have a special contract that needs fulfillment. In truth. I don't wish to offer it to any other family member. I've come to rely on your abilities." Vicente said to me. "We're usually called upon to take a life, but not this time. This contract requires us to stage the assassination of a marked man. Are you ready?"

"Yes, sir." I knew being sure of myself would help me to be confident, but I was more careful then not to be overly so.

"Good. You must go to the city of Chorrol and break into the house of Francois Motierre. Inside you will find Motierre waiting for you. Do not kill him! You see, Francois Motierre is a marked man. He owes a considerable sum to the wrong kind of people. So, they have sent an enforcer to kill him. You will use this specially poisoned knife to stage Motierre's death, in the enforcer's presence. Motierre himself will provide more details.

This is an unusual contract, Motierre had to make a special arrangement with us before it was approved. I trust in your professionalism. The Dark Brotherhood is not in the business of staging deaths, no matter how much gold is offered. Sithis demands blood, and blood must be paid. In order to accept the contract, we demanded a life. Motierre offered his mother, and we accepted. Lucien has already taken care of that... detail." He handed me a blade and I took it warily.

"The blade has been coated with a rare poison called Languorwine. One drop in a normal human bloodstream will mimic the effects of death immediately. I have provided you with a vial of antidote, which will be used to revive Francois Motierre after you successfully stage his death. You will find him in the Chorrol chapel undercroft after about a day. You should also know that there's only enough Languorwine on the blade for this one contract. After Motierre is sliced, the knife will be useless. Well... not entirely."

"Got it." I smiled, carefully sheathing the knife into an empty slot on my belt. They had provided me with new armor, insisting on it being free of charge, but I payed them 500 Septims anyway. More out of guilt for causing such a scene. "Thank you, Vicente. I will be back soon."

"I'm counting on it." He said as I left.

I asked around for advice. Antoinetta mentioned the undercroft could be cursed or haunted, Teinaava mentioned the enforcer would probably attack me on sight, and once I found Taelandril, she told me to flee before the enforcer could react. She put emphasis on timing being everything. I couldn't have agreed more. After packing for the trip and departing on my paint horse, all I could do was bide time until I was there.

The enforcers name was Hides-His-Heart. And he was indeed not happy at all. He gave a good chase but even with my wound, I was quicker. I led him out of Chorrol and made tracks through the woods before doing a roundabout and covering my trail, returning to Chorrol by the next morning. I was sure that by then, the enforcer had given up but I wasn't in the business to be taking chances again.

I headed to the chapel and slipped down the stairs when no one was looking and found Motierre in the Undercroft. After giving him the antidote, he finally woke up.

"Ohhh... I'm a bit stiff, but quite fine otherwise. Ah yes, the Undercroft. My family members are buried here, you know. Which... um... leads me to something I may have failed to mention before. My ancestors will see my "revival" as a desecration of their tomb. This Undercroft is... well... quite cursed. Any desecration will cause my ancestors to rise from their graves and defend their resting place. I can hear them coming as we speak! You must protect me... escort me to the Gray Mare where I can buy passage out of Chorrol!" He gasped and I watched, highly annoyed, as a zombie rose from the grave. "Here they come! Oh my, Aunt Margaret! You are looking the worse for wear..."

I took the dagger that once held the Languorwine and sliced my way through the zombie. And like the vampires, they just kept coming. I felt a little more at ease with the knowledge this at least wasn't a trap. Most were headless so it was almost amusing, watching them bump into each other. Watching them tear each other apart limb from limb with incredibly deadly grips was not quite as amusing.

Once I had escorted Motierre safely to the Grey Mare, I chose to spend some time at my house in Chorrol.

Entering through the door, I noticed the house was a lot cleaner than I had expected. I heard a commotion coming through the hallway and was surprised to see-

"By Azura, by Azura, by Azura! You're back!" I inwardly groaned. How long had it been since I had last seen Palias Greenthorn? I had entirely forgotten the deal I had made with him. "The Messenger of Death herself!" He hugged me tightly, grinning ear to ear.

"Palias, my old friend." I put on a happy face, prying him off. I had told him if he stopped showing up to the arena every day, I'd let him stay in one of my residences. That was over a year ago. I had chosen to lend him Arborwatch, since it was nicer and I wouldn't feel bad, but it was a place I didn't think I'd end up staying in again, what with Rosethorn Hall being my favorite. Not to mention Benirus Manor. Arborwatch was a fine estate to say the least, just in an odd area of Cyrodiil. "I'm just here to stop by, I'm staying the night before heading out again." I told him outright.

"Ah, geez. Are you sure?" He looked positively heartbroken. I sighed.

"Yeah, I found a job. I have somewhere to be tomorrow, but for tonight I'm resting. Well... I guess an outing couldn't hurt my schedule. How about a drink, huh? On the house." I decided throwing him a bone wouldn't hurt. So I got dressed in something a little more bar-friendly and we headed off.