All's Fair in Love and War

By: Donny's Girl

Disclaimer: Don't own anything except Barenziah and my twists to the plotline. Blah blah you knew that…god I hate disclaimers.

A/N: Woo I got a couple reviews! Haha. It got like 75 hits, but that doesn't mean people liked it…oh well. I'll keep writing anyway. Thanks to my few reviewers though : Enjoy and don't forget to review (hint hint)!!! Hehe :P

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"Would you happen to have any armor that doesn't feel like an elephant is riding on my back?"

Brother Piner laughed at my comment, which wasn't supposed to be funny but was actually the truth. Jauffre had given me a set of iron armor, in case I ran into trouble on my way to or from Kvatch. It felt literally like an elephant was perched on my shoulders, and I was considering going without armor altogether.

I suggested this aloud, and Piner frowned at me. He was a very nice man, and I had come to like him in the short time that we had been able to talk. I'd gotten up a bit late in the day, and had descended the chapterhouse stairs to find only Piner sitting at the small table, reading. I had sat and ate breakfast beside him, chatting with him about his mother, who seemed desperately worried about him being out here in danger. I thought it was nice that she was so worried about him, but he found it obnoxious.

"I don't understand what her problem is," he'd said, "I can take care of myself."

At my 'no armor' comment, he snorted. "Right. You are expecting to last more than ten seconds out there, aren't you?"

I scowled slightly at him. "I ran all the way here with no armor. At night too."

"Sheer luck. And by now there could be anyone out there- we aren't sure if whoever murdered the emperor knows who you are, or if they know that there's an heir in Kvatch. We have to be cautious."

I pouted and rapped my knuckles on the front of the cuirass. It made a hollow clanging noise. I tried to think of a good argument that could get me out of wearing it, and smiled hopefully. "I doubt this will help speed my progress at all."

"That's what horses are for." Piner countered, smirking at me.

I blinked for a second before sitting back in my chair and grumbling, "Touché." Piner chuckled, and I couldn't help but smile.

"About ready, Miss Barenziah?"

Piner and I turned simultaneously to see Jauffre standing at the middle of the stairs, holding something that looked like a rather large leather backpack. I nodded.

"Good. I'd like to give you this pack; it's for any items that you find in coming days, and in it there are smaller pouches that you can use for money and small things like that, as well as a map of Cyrodiil. I hope you'll find it useful."

"Thank you Jauffre, that's very generous."

He nodded and continued. "I've also put your clothing from yesterday in here. I wasn't sure if you wanted to keep it or not."

"Thank you Jauffre. Now if I could just see that for a moment…"I stood, giving Piner a sideways smirk, and grabbed the pack from Jauffre's hands.

I felt Piner's disapproving stare on my back as he said warningly, " Barenziah…", but I paid him no heed and ascended the stairs to change out of my Elephant Armor.

"What is she doing?" I heard Jauffre ask as I struggled to get my feet out of the annoyingly clanky boots.

"She doesn't like the armor…she seems to think it feels like an elephant. She refuses to wear it."

"Is she mad?" I smiled at that.

"A bit, I think." At that I chuckled. I heard Jauffre sigh, and then the door close to announce his departure as I got the rest of the armor off, and changed back into the sack cloth pants and shirt from the prison. I sighed at the uncomfortable feeling of them, and leaned over the railing until I could see Piner's face. When he saw mine, he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes. Do you happen to have any decent women's clothing lying around here? These prison clothes are going to scratch my skin off."

Piner sighed heavily and stood, a small half smile playing on his lips all the same. "Picky with clothes are we?"

"Not normally. I just don't enjoy wearing Elephant Armor or wheat sacks."

His half smile became a wider half grin as he said, "I can check…you don't mind dresses do you? That may be all we have."

"I suppose not…that depends how tight it is though. Can't have the thing sucking the life out of me while I'm trying to pace myself, right?"

He rolled his eyes, and came up the stairs to me, and took my arm as he led me to a closet. I stood and watched as he filed through the clothes, scratching at my arms and legs as I did so. I caught his sideways glance and narrowed my eyes. "What?"

He shook his head and turned back to the clothes. "It might not itch so much if you just left it. You're making it worse by scratching at it." I stuck my tongue out at him and made to comment back, but he cut me off. "Ah, here we go. This is all we've got, so take it or leave it." He pulled a blue and green dress out of the closet. It was pretty, not too fancy and not too shabby. It also looked like it wouldn't be too small on me, but I'd have to try it before making any decisions. I grabbed it from his hand and shoved him towards the stairs.

"Shoo. I need to try it on."

He chuckled quietly at me and obeyed, going down to probably sit at the table again and wait for me. I threw off the wheat sack clothes and put on the dress. It felt very nice against my once itchy skin, and I liked how it only fell to my ankles, instead dragging on the ground at my feet. The torso was also a bit loose so I could breath, and the skirt was wide enough so I could maneuver my legs easily. A very non-irritating dress.

I walked down the stairs, jumped the last three steps and landed with my arms spread wide to present myself. "Ta-da! How does it look?"

Piner smiled at me, and nodded his approval. "Lovely. Although the armor was more your style…"

"Funny. Try as hard as you want but I will not wear that bloody armor." I smirked, and he shook his head.

"It's your neck."

"Yes, so why should you worry about it?"

"You'd best get to Kvatch before Jauffre gets irritated and I decide to force the armor on you."

I laughed. "You're probably right. We can't leave this Martin alone for too long. Might get himself into trouble."

"I can almost guarantee that. This is where the armor would come in handy."

"Goodbye Brother Piner." I said loudly, throwing open the door before he could say anything else. I heard him chuckle and say something quietly to himself before I closed the door.

I still had an amused smile on my face as I swung the pack over one shoulder and headed to the stables, and saw that Brother Maborel was there, feeding his paint horse that I would be using for the journey to Kvatch. He smiled at me as I approached, and I smiled back, Piner having put me in good spirits.

"Good morning Miss Barenziah."

"Morning, and please, enough of the formalities. I'm not the heir to the throne or anything." I scolded him, smiling.

"Right." He seemed to brush off my comment. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "This is my horse Dibella. You'll be using her to get to Kvatch."

I giggled. "Aw, you named your horse after Dibella?"

He shrugged and stroked Dibella's forehead. "She's a beautiful horse."

"That she is." I agreed, grinning at the back of his head, and then sighed. "Well, I'd better get going. Jauffre probably isn't happy that I've waited this long." I mounted Dibella easily, and she didn't seem to be bothered by me at all. I put the other pack strap on my second shoulder and grabbed the reins, steering the horse out of the stable. "I'll be back soon, Maborel. Tell Jauffre I'm sorry." Maborel nodded, and waved as I coaxed Dibella into a brisk jog, and I waved back as I left the Priory.

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My good spirits immediately vanished as I approached what looked like a campsite in front of the winding road that led to Kvatch. The people in this camp looked sad, frightened, and distraught. I frowned as I pulled back on the reins to make Dibella slow to a walk, and yelped as an urgent voice beside me startled me.

"Run! Run while there's still time!"

I looked down to see an Altmer man with a frantic expression on his face. He looked like hell- his hair was disheveled and his face was covered in soot, as were his clothes. He grabbed my hand and shook it wildly when I didn't respond.

"Do you understand me?! You need to run! It's too dangerous here!"

I snatched my hand back from him, an automatic reaction when people touched me that way. "Slow down! What happened?"

"You don't KNOW? Daedra overran Kvatch last night! They opened an Oblivion Gate outside the walls and burned Kvatch to the ground!"

"What?" I gasped, looking panic-stricken up to the top of the hill that held what was once the city of Kvatch. "Were there any survivors?"

He grabbed both my shoulders now, his Altmer height allowing him to do so, and shook me madly. "We're all that's left! Do you understand?! Everyone else is dead!"

I snatched his wrists and wrenched his hands off of me, and tried for calm and soothing. "It's going to be alright, just calm down-"

"No! I'm getting out of here! I can't stay here another minute with these hopeful fools!" And with that he dashed out of sight, with a speed I didn't think he had in him. I stared after him with wide eyes, and quickly dismounted Dibella. If Martin wasn't in this group of survivors…the Empire was finished.

"Excuse me?" I placed my hand on the dark brown shoulder of a Redguard woman who was standing on her own, gazing into one of the fire pits in the campsite. She jumped a little and looked at me. A warm smile spread across her face, but it didn't reach her eyes, which were still distant and sad.

"I'm sorry stranger, you startled me. Can I help you?"

"Yes. I'm Barenziah, and I'm looking for Brother Martin. The priest? Is he here?"

"No, I don't think he made it out of the city." My heart plummeted, and I felt my eyes go wide as they could go. No, no, no…the heir couldn't be dead! "But, I do think that I saw him leading a group into the chapel. Maybe they're still there." She said quickly, noticing my panic. My breathing slowed ever so slightly. So there was still hope. I nodded and thanked her before jogging back to Dibella, mounting quickly and setting off for what was left of Kvatch.

As I traveled up the road that wound up the small mountain that held Kvatch, the sky began to turn a deep blood red, and I heard thunder sounding in the background from an unseen storm. I swallowed and urged Dibella on faster, not wanting to linger near anything to do with Oblivion for very long. When I got to the top, I noticed that three guards were standing outside the city gates, fighting off the daedra that were coming from a huge Oblivion Gate that blocked entrance to the city. I practically leapt off of Dibella, and ran to what looked like a tall Imperial man.

He turned to me and scowled, gripping my shoulder and swinging me right back around to face the road. "Get back to the encampment, citizen. This is no place for you."

I scowled and pulled his hand off of my shoulder, and turned back to face him. "And who do you think you are?"

"I think I'm Savlian Matius, captain of the Kvatch Guard, and I'm ordering you to get back to the encampment!"

"Oh…"I said, but ignored him all the same. "What happened?"

"We lost the damn city, that's what!" He snarled, and I saw the angry pain in his eyes as he said it. "We need to try to find a way in. There was a group headed for the chapel, and they could still be in there. We need to get them out."

"How're you going to do that?" I asked, turning to stare at the huge Gate. It randomly spit fire into the air and onto the ground. The heat coming from it was immense, and I was suddenly very grateful that I didn't bring that stuffy armor.

"I don't know, but we don't need you making things more difficult by standing here asking questions."

"Are you too afraid to go in and close the Gate or something?" I asked him, frowning up at him and looking him straight in the eye.

"No!" He growled, glaring at me. "We sent men into the Gate some time ago, but they haven't returned. We're waiting for them."

"Why don't you send someone in there to look for them?"

"We're not willing to risk anymore men."

I frowned as I still stared at the Gate, and then an insane idea came to me, and I voiced it without even thinking. "I could go in and look for them for you."

Obnoxiously, he laughed at me. "You?"

I glared. "Yes, me."

"But…look at you! You don't even have any armor!"

"What is it with men and armor?!" I snarled, and took out Renault's katana, which was strapped to my waist, and stomped towards the gate. I heard Savlian calling me back, but I soon couldn't hear him as the sound of thunder got louder when I stood right in front of the Gate. The heat was terrible, and the light was blinding. I took a deep breath, now completely convinced that Jauffre's assumption of my madness was correct, and stepped through.

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"Savlian, she's been inside that Gate for ages." said Jesan quietly. Savlian had been staring at the Oblivion Gate since the strange Dark Elf woman had gone inside. They'd been waiting for what felt like hours, but no one had emerged from the Gate except Llend, one of the men they had sent into the Gate earlier, who said that he had seen the girl inside the Gate. He said that she had gone to find Menien, another soldier that had been sent into the Gate, and to try to find a way to close it.

Llend was currently staring at the Gate just as intently, if not more, than Savlian, terrified that the woman who had saved his life would lose her own.

"I know," said Savlian, turning to Jesan and sighing. "But we have to wait. She's our only hope." The two Imperials turned back to watch the Gate. Scamps had stopped coming out of it a few minutes after the strange woman had entered, and now they had nothing to do but wait. Suddenly, the Gate began to glow brightly, and the three men had to shield their eyes from the blinding light. The Gate seemed to explode with light, and then it sank back into the ground.

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"Finally!" I gasped as I looked to the top of the chamber, where the Sigil Stone was suspended in the air by a beam of fire. I'd been wandering around what was supposedly called the Sigil Tower for way too long, in search of the Sigil Stone. Trailing behind me was Menien, the man that Llend had sent me to look for and had been kept prisoner in one of the smaller towers. He'd told me that the Sigil Stone was the anchor to Oblivion Gates, and that removing it from its suspension would cause the Gate to close. I'd managed to kill Menien's captive and get the key to cage he was in, and he'd been my companion till now.

"We need to get to that stone quickly!" urged Menien, and I nodded, taking off running for the thorny stairs that led to the second level of the chamber. Waiting for us were a few scamps and what I thought were Daedric mages or something. I killed them off, Menien unable to help for being unarmed, and we ran up to the third level, where we would be able to remove the stone.

"Alright, stand back. We don't know what will happen when I remove this." I called to him over the strange wavering noise that was coming from the beam of fire keeping the Sigil Stone suspended in the air. He nodded and stayed where he was as I sheathed my sword and approached the stone. It was radiating heat, just as intense as the Gate's, and I worried that it would burn me if I touched it. I tested this theory, reaching out to poke it, but it felt cool, as if it were just an ordinary rock.

I took a deep breath, and quickly grabbed it with both hands and snatched it out of the air. Immediately there was an exploding sound, and I felt the ground shake beneath me, knocking Menien and I off our feet. I held the stone tight to my chest, and closed my eyes as I felt a random hot wind swirling around me, throwing my hair into the air and threatening to toss me off the ground. I felt Menien's hand on my arm as he gripped me, probably afraid that I was going to fly away or something. And suddenly, the wind became more intense, almost like an explosion, and I clamped my mouth and eyes tight.

I kept my eyes closed even as the wind stopped. The air was cool, the ground didn't feel like stone anymore. I still felt Menien's hand on my arm, and then his voice in my ear, "We did it! You closed it!" I wrenched open my eyes, and sure enough we were outside the Kvatch gate, right where the Oblivion Gate had been. I still held the Sigil Stone tight to my chest, and I loosened my grip on it, taking a good look at it. It was a perfectly rounded stone, emitting a strange red glow and that same sound that I'd had to yell over in the chamber.

I looked up as I heard another voice. "You did it! The Gate is gone!" It was Savlian Matius, and it took me a moment to realize that he was speaking to me, and another to realize that he was holding out a hand to help me up. I shook my head to clear it, and took his hand gratefully, heaving myself to my feet. "Miss, I owe you an apology. I was not as kind to you as I should have been, and I doubted you. I was wrong to do so."

I smiled and waved him off. "No harm done. My name is Barenziah by the way. Please don't use formalities."

He smiled back and nodded. He looked relieved, his now high spirits revealing his handsome smile and good-natured air. However, his smile faded into frown as he gave me a one over. "You look like you could use a bath."

I raised my eyebrows and looked down at myself. I was covered in soot and dirt. Hopefully the dress wasn't ruined. I'd have to bug Piner for some new clothes… I shrugged off my strange train of thought as a result of shock, and shook my head again, trying to get my mind to start working correctly.

"Menien, are you alright?" Savlian asked the man beside me, and I looked to him, asking the same question with my eyes.

"I should be fine after a little recuperation." assured Menien, nodding and rubbing the soot from his face with the back of his hand. "Would you happen to have a weapon for me? I want to help now."

I felt the pack still on my shoulders, and was relieved that the wind hadn't cast it away. I dropped the Sigil Stone over my shoulder into the pack as Savlian handed Menien a shortsword, relieved that the Stone was mysteriously weightless.

"Savlian," I said, turning to the Imperial man, "I need to find Brother Martin. Did you see him before you left the city?"

"Yes; he was leading a group to the chapel. You can check for him in there, but will you first help my men and I clear the front of the chapel of Daedra? We don't want to risk any of the survivors in the chapel getting hurt as they're evacuated."

"Of course." I nodded, and wiped the soot off of my eyes and mouth. "Let's get going." Then a thought came to me, and I looked over Savlian's shoulder. He frowned at me.

"What is it? What are you looking for?"

"Llend… Did he make it out?"

"Yes, he's right back there with Merandil and Jesan."

"Oh, good." I sighed, relieved. I'd met up with Llend after about 5 seconds of being inside the Gate, and I could tell that he had been completely exhausted when I spoke to him. He'd insisted that he help me look for Menien and close the Gate, but I made him leave and go back to Savlian to help with the barricade. It was a decision to save his life, really. I could have used his help, but I didn't want to endanger him.

Merandil, Jesan, and Llend approached now, all looking amazed and relieved to see Menien and me. Llend took both my hands and thanked me over and over for saving his life, and I had to tell him to stop before he would stop doing so. All three of them slapped Menien on the back and thanked the Nine for his safe return. After reunions were finished, Savlian said, "Alright, men. It's time to get those civilians to safety. Are we ready?"

All four of them replied "Aye," and I nodded, unsheathing Renault's katana again.

"Right, then. For Kvatch!" yelled Savlian, and the other four echoed him, and they all dashed into the Kvatch gate, and I followed on the rear. As soon as we entered the gate Merandil was hit with a fireball.

"Watch it!" yelled Jesan.

The front of the church was crawling with scamps and Daedric mages. I immediately took down a scamp, already used to the spurt of blood that would normally make me sick, and worked with the other four men to take back the plaza. When all the Daedra were dead, which took a surprisingly short time, I heard Savlian laugh. "We wiped the bastards out!" I jogged back to him, along with the other three. All of them were grinning, but I felt shaken. Must be a male thing; killing is fun, or something. "Alright, it's safe to get the civilians out. Let's go see if they're alright."

The four of us nodded to him, and followed him to the church door. I heard Menien ask if I was alright, and I chuckled. "As good as I can be; covered in soot and blood, but my spirits are still sky high." He chuckled too, and held the chapel door open for me as I stepped inside.

There were 5 or 6 people inside, along with a female Redguard and male Imperial Kvatch guard. Jesan patted my shoulder and pointed toward an Imperial man standing in the corner with blue robes and shaggy brown hair. "That's Brother Martin. You were looking for him, right?"

"Yes, thank you." I said, nodding and smiling to him before heading over to the man. He didn't seem to notice me; he was staring into space. "Excuse me? Brother Martin?" I seemed to have startled him, because he jumped slightly and turned quickly to me. Immediately he smiled, and I shoved out of my mind the fact that his smile was handsome and that his eyes were a striking bright blue. I also decided he couldn't be Imperial, he was much too tan.

"Yes. And you must be the one that closed the Gate."

"Yes." I nodded, looking at the ground. For some reason when I met his gaze I hadn't wanted to look away; I was avoiding that at all costs.

"Thank you, on behalf of all the other survivors. I don't know how long we would be stuck in here if not for you."

"You need to come with me." I told him, looking up and forcing myself to meet his gaze. "You're in danger here."

"Danger? You came all the way to Kvatch and closed an Oblivion Gate to tell me I'm in danger?" He looked puzzled, and cocked his head to the side as he observed me.

"Yes. You're the last son of Uriel Septim."

"Emperor Uriel Septim? My father? No…you must have the wrong man. My father was a farmer." He looked like he thought I was insane. I scowled slightly; I'd had enough of that look for one day.

"No, Martin. The daedra came here for you." I told him, urging him to believe so we could get a move on. I hadn't really thought about the fact that 'illegitimate son' meant that Martin had no idea that Uriel was his father, and that he probably wouldn't believe that he was the son of the once most powerful man in Tamriel.

"An entire city destroyed to get at me?" He asked quietly, his eyes widening as he stared into mine. "Why…? Because I'm the emperor's son?"

"Yes. I wouldn't lie to you, not about this. The empire needs you."

He considered me for a moment, frowning. "You're…really telling the truth, aren't you?"

"Of course I am! Look, you need to come with me to Weynon Priory, and talk to Jauffre. He's the grandmaster of the blades, and he can tell you everything." I noticed that my words scrambled together in my irritated rush; he was making this very frustrating.

He shook his head slowly, now frowning at the ground. "I'm…not sure I believe you. But, you closed the gate, and saved these people. I will come with you to Weynon Priory, and hear what Jauffre has to say." It took me a moment to process what he'd said; I'd been listening to his voice more than his words. It sounded like nothing I'd ever heard before; sort of like a bunch of racial accents mixed into one. It was enchanting…I shook my head, shoving the stupid thoughts from my mind. Must still be in shock. No wonder I'd never taken up an adventurer's life, I took so long to recover.

"Right." I said, nodding.

"Brother Martin, are you coming? I'm taking the others to the encampment." I heard the Redguard woman calling to him, and I turned to her with a smile.

"He's coming with me." She nodded and headed out, the civilians filing out behind her. I looked at Savlian. "I'm sorry I can't stay and help, Savlian; I have urgent business to tend to. You can handle everything without me, yes?"

"Of course, Barenziah. Thank you for your help!"

I nodded to him, and turned my attention to Martin again. "Come on, we need to get moving."

Martin nodded and followed me to the door, where I said my goodbyes to the Kvatch guardsmen, all of them urging me to visit in a few weeks when rebuilding of the city started. I promised that I would, and finally got out of the church.

Martin said nothing as we made our way down the winding road and through the encampment, except the occasional mumbled 'hello' to those who greeted him. I cast a sideways glance at him to read his expression, but it was impossible. He was staring straight ahead, his jaw set and his eyes expressionless. He remained this way for quite some time as I found Dibella feeding on some grass near the camp and the both of us mounted her. He still didn't speak as we made our way down the road toward Weynon Priory, and only the sound of Dibella's steady gallop filled the air. I thought the silence would drive me mad, so I spoke first.

"I'm…sorry this is such short notice. It must be kind of…frightening."

"A bit." He sighed, and I suddenly felt guilty for bringing him into a mess he might not be prepared for. I wanted to say something else, but I couldn't seem to get the words out. I heard him exhale through his nose, and then he spoke, overly casual,"How far to Weynon Priory?"

I tried not to chuckle at his small talk. "Half a day, maybe a bit more if we're held up." I could feel him tense at the words 'held up' and I smiled. "Don't worry, I won't let anything or anyone harm you. You're safe with me." He didn't answer, and I wondered if he believed me. Well, it was foolish to trust someone you just met with your life…Uriel's face swam into my memory briefly, and I swallowed. Yes, it was foolish to trust a stranger so easily. But if Martin was Uriel's son, he was perfectly capable of being foolish. Part of me hoped that he was, that he would trust me and allow me to protect him in the coming days. Another part sincerely hoped he was smarter than that, and wouldn't put his life and future into the hands of someone he barely knew, and welcome death as easily and guiltlessly as his father had.

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"Help! You must help! They're killing everyone at Weynon Priory!"

I jumped off of Dibella at once as the Dunmer shepherd Eronor nearly collided with us in his all out sprint. "What? Who?" I asked, looking over his shoulder to the chapterhouse. It was night, the stars shining brightly over the Priory. It had taken Martin and I about half a day, as I had expected, to arrive here, and we hadn't been here for 30 seconds before Eronor approached us.

Over his shoulder I saw three people, dressed exactly like the assassins that had attacked the royal party under the prison. My heart raced as the memories of their devilish armor flashed through my mind, and I realized that all of them had not been doing the real thing justice at all. I wanted to move, to pull out Renault's sword and fight, but I couldn't move. I was frozen. My brain suddenly started working again as I heard Martin shout in my ear, "Watch out!" I felt a jolt in my stomach, and ripped Renault's katana from its sheath and blocked an attack that would have struck me in the head if I hadn't snapped out of it. Eronor ran for it, took off for the road without a backward glance. I growled at his cowardice, because now I would be fighting alone. But as I was dueling with a smaller, feminine looking assassin, a burst of lightning shot past my left shoulder and sent my opponent flying into the air. I felt that my eyes were wide as I looked over my shoulder to see Martin in a defensive stance. I frowned, but couldn't wonder where he'd learned that for very long, because suddenly I heard someone calling my name.

"Barenziah! You're back!"

I turned to see Brother Piner running toward me, akaviri katana in hand and a relieved expression on his face. He was speckled with blood and looked disheveled, and I gave him a quick one-over to find him mostly in tact. "Piner! Are you alright?"

"Yes, are you?"

"I'm fine. Where is Jauffre?"

"He was in the chapel praying before the assassins got here. I don't know if he's alright, we should go find him."

I nodded to him. "Right. Martin, stay here. Scream and yell if anything happens, and I'll come for you." Martin nodded, his arms still held out in front of him in defense, and I sprinted for the chapel, Piner behind me.

I shoved the doors out of my way to find Jauffre dueling with three assassins, and I immediately went to his aid. Piner and I each took on one assassin, and within a minute they were all defeated. The chapterhouse was filled with the copper scent of their blood, and I struggled to keep my stomach under control.

"You're back!" exclaimed Jauffre, looking as relieved as Piner had. "Thank Talos!"

"I've found the heir Jauffre. He's waiting outside."

"Thank the Nine he still lives…but I fear the Amulet was the reason for this attack. We must check that it is safe."

"Alright, let's go." I agreed, and followed him as he ran out of the chapel, sheathing his katana as he went. I gestured toward the door with my head for Piner to follow me, and he obeyed, keeping pace beside me. We ran straight past Martin, and I thought I heard him say something to me, but I was too frightened that the Amulet might be gone to pay attention for long.

Jauffre made it up the stairs of the chapterhouse before us, and I heard a closet door open as Piner and I made our way up the stairs. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I stepped into a secret room with double doors. Jauffre was standing in the middle of it, a horrified expression on his face. Behind him was a wooden box, that look as though the top had been violently wrenched off. I stopped in my tracks at his expression.

"They've taken it!" he exclaimed. "The Amulet of Kings is gone!"

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A/N: Dun dun dunnn! Hahaha…wow that took a long time to get up... Sorry about that. Thanks to my reviewers and I shall update soon! Really, I will this time. Haha :