Yes, I did take some liberties in regards to the Dark Brotherhood questline- this story is spread over three years [3E 430-433], so the introduction of certain contracts [like Whodunnit? and Roderick] will happen at different times. Also, there are some contracts that are just made up- like Dar'keth Hare or the Stefan Levefre contracts.

Let the story continue!

-Dreksler, out!

Chapter Fifteen: Three Months Later...

23. Second Seed, 3E 430

The date had thrown her slightly. It had been three months since that Dunmer showed up- three months since that Dunmer started her elocution and etiquette lessons. Already, her annoying habit for skimming over the 't' in words was gone- if only, her accent went with it.

Arquen sighed miserably. It was her turn to oversee Sonnerset's 'conditioning'- she cursed Antoinetta Marie under her breath. If it wasn't that the Breton was so damn persistent, Lachance wouldn't have set Vincente on the case. Well, Arquen had to get down- she might as well have fun with Sonnerset at least. That, and Vincente wouldn't be pissed off with her for a change.

Vincente Valtieri tapped his foot against the cold floor; normally, Lachance would be the first one to see him by now. To update him on assassin whereabouts, and information flows... and whether any informants 'dried' up. In which case, Valtieri waited patiently. Two-hundred years of existence taught him as much.

Whilst he was thinking about, he was supposed to be seeing a certain Dunmer soon. He thought Mhezsura was progressing well; considering she only had basic reading, writing and math under her belt. Soon, he felt, she would flourish into a cultivated assassin- capable of being a monster, and a person at the same time.

Three months had passed since she first arrived. She still had a long way to go to finish the first step of her 'conditioning'- he chuckled slightly, remembering how she used to sneer at him. On her face, a sneer still looked attractive. Not to him; he swore of women a long time ago.. but he saw how Mathieu looked at her sometimes. Wanton. He was a man, he had needs- but Maria should have been able to satisfy them. Right?

Not until Vincente see how Lucien walked down the corridor towards him, did he realise.

Maria L'Coeur was dead. He didn't need to see the body to know- he knew Lucien well enough, to see he was troubled. And now Vincente was worried. The traitor, that maggot, had gotten one of his students. And it took a lot of skill to do that. Lucien could see the realization on Vincente's gaunt face and yet, he still marched towards the vampire. "Vincente... one of our informants turned up dead. Again." Lucien started, his voice fluttering slightly. My, my he is worried. "And yes, Maria is dead." Vincente's face creased slightly with frustration.
"The traitor got her, of course." Vincente said.
"Of course. J'Ghasta found her, stripped and choked on the Orange Road." Lucien replied, the cold slice of brain talking once more

Vincente cringed.

Mhezsura Sonnerset was incredibly impatient, Arquen decided. That and she had the annoying habit of knocking her fingers against the wood table-top- crack crack crack. By Sithis, what had she done to deserve this? Oh... well, I've murdered at least fifty-no-eighty people in my entire career... She smirked at that fact, satisfied with herself. The Dark Brotherhood taught her that to doubt yourself, is to open yourself to weakness. "How are you, Mhezsura?" Arquen asked, in a fairy-light tone, looking at the Dunmer's face. The sharp contours of Mhezsura's face were slightly filled out. And her hair was sorted out into a long ponytail.
"Fine." Mhezsura replied, her long finger-nails rapping on the table top. Arquen sighed.

The double-doors were pushed open quickly... by a panting Mathieu Bellamont,whose face glistened with sweat. Arquen merely stared at him; Mhezsura quirked an eyebrow up in confusion. He was panting so hard, he couldn't speak... so instead, he beckoned them to come with him desperately. Arquen began to look worried for some reason- What's up with her? What's going on? Well, easy way to find ou'-out. Mhezsura stood up quickly, and marched alongside Arquen as they rushed down the corridor.

A cry echoed across the whitewash walls, and the trio began to run- at a dead beat across the cobblestone floor. Finally, they arrived into the main entrance hall; the high, navel-like roof expanded high above them. Arquwn cried slightly in shock- Mathieu was shocked silent. Mhezsura looked on in numb confusion, as a corpse was carried into the Charter. Two men, their faces covered in black maskes set the corpse down and laid it across the floor. It was a young woman- her hazel hair spilled out across the floor, and her eyes were empty. Her lips were deathly blue- and there were marks along her perhaps-beautiful neck. Mhezsura could see Vincente stare intently at the corpse, his breathing stopped or shallow. Antoinetta was silently crying, as her shoulder carried Telaendril. Gogron, the unshakable Orc, was silent and numb-like her.

And the silence carried through the air, like a disease. The two, masked men stood aside and hung their heads low- forgetting about the pale-white sheet, laying on the sodden floor. Ocheeva stepped forwards, pushing through the crowd- Lucien stared at her, numbly. The Argonian took a small, gold coin- shining slightly in the gloom- and crouched down beside the carcass, the coin clenched between her gloved fingers. Schemer pattered over to her, smelling her fingertips- she laid a hand on his head, and laid the coin to rest on the body's forehead.

"A payment for the ferryman." Ocheeva said, indifferently with a slither on her tongue. She picked Schemer up in her hands, and he sprawled over her chest. Mhezsura looked coldly at the corpse, wondering...pondering... thinking. She shook her head, and marched away along with Ocheeva. The crowd began to trickle away like water.

"Why can't I have a contract?" Mhezsura asked, her temper rising as Lachance just pushed past her. "Excuse me! I was talkin'-talking to you. Why can't I have a contract?" she began to follow him, down the corridor. People turned their heads towards her, some with a noticeable scowl [aka. M'raaj-D'ar] and others looking sympathetic [aka. Telaendril and Antoinetta]. Lachance stopped and turned towards her, with a glare on his face. "Is it because of that dead woman?" Mhezsura asked, carelessly, with anger.
"That dead woman was highly trained, by not only Vincente but by me as well. You, on the other hand are not." Lachance quipped. He smirked at the expression of shock on her face.

Mhezsura gasped in indignation. And her eyes wettened slightly- stop that! Don't be such a child: you could prove him wrong. She turned away, and strode down the corridor. M'raaj-D'ar snickered slightly, his little laughs a prick in her ear but she carried on... regardless.

To find Vincente.