A/N Sorry for the long update! I started school on Tuesday and the homework's just been pouring in =( I hope it's okay! R&R, and I don't mind constructive criticism. =) Anyway, on with the story!

Chapter 11

One breath: in, out.

One heartbeat: desperate, slow.

One sound: is it music or a voice speaking in a far off world?

One sense: pain.

One life: lost?

The dream...

Dark, light, shadow, death, destruction, the bodies, the blood-pool, the face, oh gods, the face! I know it now! Will I remember when I awaken? Will I every wake up? Or am I doomed to repeat this dream over and over again until the end of time?

Lucien, standing with his back to me as I ran up to him, trying to tell him about the face, but when I touched him, he was nothing but a robe that crumpled to my feet.

Running, snow, a cottage, the horse, death, destruction, fear... why? Why am I seeing this? Why must the Nine torment me so? Why?

Suddenly, I felt hot, and the dream dissolved into nothingness.

First Voice tells me to live, tells me to wake up. Should I listen to First Voice?

One breath: in, out.

One heartbeat: less desperate now.

One sound: Second Voice commanding me. I don't like Second Voice when he's angry.

One sense: heat. Pain is gone, I no longer need Pain.

I can understand what First Voice is saying now. First Voice sounds familiar...

"Eveandril! I know you can hear me! Wake up!"

I opened my eyes.

Two breaths: in, out, in, out.

Confident heartbeats: rapid, desperation gone.

More sounds: wind through grass, trickling of water, First Voice and Second Voice.

More senses: heat, grass beneath me, slight pain and a pair of hands on mine. One warm, callused; Imperial? The other, not a normal hand, scaly, cold, definitely not human... I know!

"Teinaava?" I whispered.

"Sister, I am here," his face was blurry and I could define no features of anything around me.

So I'm not dead; that's good? Yes, very good. Sithis, I was having trouble keeping my thoughts straight, let alone construct coherent sentences. But the face in my dream, I felt I knew who it was, but the face was blurry at this moment.

"Wha' happen'? Where 'm I?" my speech was slurred and my tongue felt like lead in my mouth.

"We are on the moor. I thought it would be wiser to carry you here than leave you on the floor of the inn," there was a slight relieved humour to this voice. A sound I know very well. How did he get here? "As to what happened, you tell me. All I saw was you stumbling through the streets and climb into the window of your room. I thought you might have been injured in the chase, so I followed you in and found you collapsed on the wood, still in your Brotherhood armour. Teinaava must have also noticed, because he appeared and helped me carry you here, away from the guards. Do you remember much?"

My vision had cleared somewhat by now and I attempted to sit. Success! I closed my eyes briefly, fighting off the residual nausea, but I managed to stay upright. I was not wearing my Shrouded Armour, but instead the simple linen shirt and pants I wore under my armour. Lucien was sitting across from me, his back against a large rock and Teinaava sat next to me.

Glancing around, I studied my surroundings. We were in a small campsite by a medium-sized tree and large rock. Two bedrolls were set out, one of which I was sitting on. I saw my bags and black leather armour off to one side. There was no campfire, because the smoke would surely give us away. Atisha was grazing not too far away alongside Shadowmere. A black horse, Teinaava's, I presume, was rolling lazily in the grass.

"I remember shooting the arrow," I began my tale, "and wading up to Phillida's body... Oh! and when I started to cut his finger off – for the bonus – I recognized his face. He is (or was) the Captain of the guard from my time in prison," a look of sympathy and relief crossed Teinaava's eyes. Lucien's face was unreadable. The entire Sanctuary knew the story; the whole story. I had told them after many concerned questions and remarks that I was quieter than I had been. I think that I was fucking lucky that nothing happened. My life would have been extremely different. "I was too distracted by the fact that I didn't hear the other guards until they saw me," stupid mistake, I thought."I ran off by way of one of the alleys. The front gate was where I was headed and luckily I made it," suddenly, pain in my forearm distracted me from my tale. There was a large bruise where the guard's sword glanced off my armour, as well as a small cut that bled more than it ought. I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, regretting the action almost immediately, and pressed a hand to the wound. Light flowed from my fingertips and I was bathed in a warm, golden glow. When I removed my hand, all pain was gone and the cut had disappeared. Grunting in satisfaction, I continued my tale. "Where was I? Oh yeah, so I ran out the gate and lost them on the marsh. Good thing it was foggy," I paused, thinking of just how lucky I had been. "I doubled back when I couldn't hear them anymore and stopped at the wall. I heard dogs barking off in the distance and didn't want to find out if they were after me or not, so I climbed the wall. At one point, I disturbed a Black Widow and she bit me," I giggled at Teinaava's shocked face. "Funny, huh? Imagine: I, the mighty Nightshade, killed by a tiny spider!" I don't know why, but we both burst out laughing, whether it was from relief, stress, or the poison running through my system. Lucien simply watched us, amused.

"Lucky I was here! Your gallant knight in shining leather armour!" he stood and bowed melodramatically, smiling his toothy, Argonian smile.

I punched him playfully in the arm, grinning. "Thank you," I said earnestly to both of them, "for helping me. I don't know what would have happened otherwise."

"There is no need," Lucien said quietly.

"You would have done the same for me, Sister," if an Argonian could blush, then Teinaava would have at this moment. He grinned at me and handed me some bread. I didn't know how hungry I was until I could smell the wonderful item. After a few moments, I noticed that I was the only one eating. They noticed my sudden hesitation and Teinaava spoke:

"Don't worry, Sister. We have eaten already."

I nodded and finished off the bread. Afterwards, we sat, speaking quietly. I told them that I would like to head towards the Imperial City as soon as possible to complete the bonus. We agreed that I should wait until tomorrow, in case the guards were still looking for me.

Teinaava left that evening; he had a contract to finish. Lucien stayed, much to my curiosity. What brought him here? Why was he watching me last night?

We were sitting across from each other, he sharpening a thin, deadly blade that was small enough to hide, but big enough to kill, and I was simply staring up at the sky, watching the stars.

A shooting star caught my eye just before my curiosity got the better of me, and I finally asked:

"So, what brings you to Leyawiin?" Damn my wondering mind!

He glanced up at me, "I had some... business to attend to here."

"Well, I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble," I watched him as he set down the blade and gazed at me, emotions hidden.

He didn't answer, but simply looked me in the eye, and I understood him perfectly. I knew I would have done the same for him. Oblivion, I would have dragged him across the whole of Tamriel to save his life. This is what troubled me most; the utter trust and admiration I had for him. Why now, when I'd just forgiven myself for leaving Kvatch and the people I love? Loved, a little voice in my head corrected me. That life is behind you now. There is no going back.

We spent most of the night in silence, before sleep claimed my tired, and poison free body. I dreamt that night, but they were pleasant dreams, normal dreams, not the plaguing nightmare.

When I awoke, he was still here, organizing a small meal for both of us.

He glanced at me when I stirred. I stood and stretched before accepting a small plate of food and sat next to him.

We never seemed to talk much; we both value silence. I don't mind that, because I dislike those who gossip meaninglessly.

Afterwards, I prepared to leave for the Imperial City. I packed what little needed to be and stood to go. I saw movement in the corner of my eye as Lucien stood to see me off.

He was so close, so very close, and all I could think of was the moment we stole in Fort Farragut. I wondered if he was thinking the same.

"Eveandril," a shiver always ran down my spine when he said my name, "when you have completed your contract, speak with Ocheeva." Business again; I should have known. "She will provide the rest," he hesitated a moment, as if deciding whether to speak or not. After a few moments of silence, I spoke:

"Well, thanks again, Speaker," I slung my pack across my shoulder. "Good bye," I turned and walked up to Atisha. I tied my bags onto the saddle and mounted her. Heading towards the road, I set off in the direction of the city, watching for the White Gold Tower on the horizon, never looking back. I thought of the face in my dreams, and suddenly, I realized who it was, and it frightened me even more. For underneath the hood there lay Ocheeva's face.

~{::}~

The bonus task was performed without a hitch, and I made my way to Cheydinhal Sanctuary and reported back to Ocheeva, as Lucien had instructed.

She congratulated me on achieving that which many had not and pressed a heavy bag of gold in my hand, proudly promoting me to the Assassin rank.

I entered the sleeping quarters half-an-hour later and changed into more comfortable attire. A simple shirt and baggy pants were all I wore.

I joined my hands behind the small of my back and stretched my stomach forward while pulling my shoulders and hips backward until I heard and felt the quiet click! of my vertebrae snapping back into place. I sighed and relaxed and sat on my bed to read a bit before sleeping.

~{::}~

Two months passed and I had had three contracts, one in Skingrad, one in Bravil and one in Bruma.

I was promoted again to the Executioner rank, and was one of the highest ranking members in this Sanctuary. Ocheeva said that soon I would be distributing contracts to new Brothers and Sisters, when they came in, of course.

Each night brought a new face to the dream, but it took me weeks to actually recognize them. By now I had seen Ocheeva's face as well as Teinaava's, M'raaj-Dar's, Gogron's and Antoinetta's. I didn't know what to make of it, and every night I loathed sleep for fear of another's face being revealed to me, or the details of their deaths. I had vowed to try to protect them from whatever happened, so I was glad that my promotion meant that I wouldn't be leaving the Sanctuary as often.

The first snow of winter fell today. Well, it was more like sleet; extremely wet and almost clear when it hit the ground. The day was bitter cold.

I was sitting in the commons, speaking with Antoinetta, Talaendril, M'raaj-Dar and Gogron.

"Have you heard?" Antoinetta began. "The traitor has killed another of our Brothers!" The traitor had been murdering more and more of Cyrodiil's Dark Brotherhood members

"Who was it this time?" Gogron asked. "Was it that snooty High Elf from Skingrad Sanctuary? No offence to current company, of course," he added quickly. Talaendril and I exchanged amused glances before Antoinetta continued.

"No, it was the quiet Imperial from Chorrol Sanctuary. You know: the one who completed a contract by throwing his target off the castle ramparts."

"Ah yes. Herbert was his name, I believe," M'raaj-Dar added.

I was about to speak when I saw Ocheeva walking quickly towards us.

"Eveandril, may I have a moment?" she seemed excited about something.

"Okay," immensely curious, I followed her to her quarters.

"I have just received a sealed letter from a Dark Brotherhood courier. It is addressed to you," she handed me a letter sealed with wax bearing the inscription of two 'L's intertwined in a hand-print, encircled by the half-moon, "from Lucien Lachance. It would seem the Black Hand itself has a task for you."

I was stunned.

A letter from Lucien? With orders from the Black Hand! What have I done to deserve this?

Ocheeva hugged me tightly.

"Well done!" she whispered. "Not many gain the attention of the Black Hand!"

"I'm humbled, Ocheeva," I was still just standing there, staring at the letter.

"Now, Eveandril, you must open this letter immediately and follow its instructions to the letter," her voice held a motherly sternness to it.

"I will. Thank you," I bowed my head and left her quarters. Instead of turning right and joining my friends again, I walked left, to the small Alchemy room. Closing the hidden door behind me, I lit one of the small candles in the small area. My heartbeat quickened as I fingered the letter. "What do you hold within you?" I murmured softly.

I broke the seal, pulled out the letter and unfolded it. Elegant handwriting covered the parchment. It read:

Executioner,

You have served the Dark Brotherhood well in the short time you have been with us. Indeed, the rate of your advancement has been rather remarkable. Now the Black Hand itself is in need of your abilities.

You must proceed with all haste to my private refuge in the ruins of Fort Farragut. When you arrive, we will discuss the nature of your special assignment.

I cannot stress to you enough the importance of your swift arrival at Fort Farragut. There are unseen powers working to unravel the very fabric of the Dark Brotherhood. The Black Hand is counting on you to prevent this disaster.

Do not share the contents of this message with anyone at the Cheydinhal Sanctuary, including Ocheeva, and make no mention of your journey to Fort Farragut!

I shall await your arrival.

Lucien Lachance

I stared at the paper for a moment, not quite comprehending what it said. I'm to say nothing to my Family? Why?

Sighing softly, I stayed there for a while longer, hiding from the lie that I would eventually have to tell my Family. It must have been a good few hours later when I finally emerged, for the Sanctuary was empty, save for the Dark Guardian and Schemer, who were still prowling about.

I stole into the sleeping quarters to wait for morning. That night, the last face revealed itself, this time it was Talaendril's. Where's Vicente's face? Why wasn't he there? I was scared. Why was this happening? Why was his face absent?

I woke early, packed my bags as quietly as I could, and set off via the well entrance, attempting not to wake anyone. The early morning was cold and the overcast hid the sun. The wind tugged at everything it could and cut through the black cloak I wore. I shivered and pulled the hood further over my head.

Clutching the cloak about me, I stole out of the city to where my horse would normally have been. She was nowhere to be seen. I whistled softly, then a little louder. She didn't approach me.

"Atisha!" I called as loud as I dared. No whinny answered me. Gone? I didn't want to think of the fact that she might have been stolen from me. I was worried for her safety; she was my horse and, stolen as she may be, I had grown attached to her. Sighing in frustration, I realized that I had many an hour's walk ahead of me, for Lucien had called for the utmost haste and so I had no time to search for her.

I was thinking of my Family and how their faces came to be in my dream when I finally reached Fort Farragut.