The sun was at the highest point in the sky by the time the trio returned, their arms laden with various flowers, herbs and mushrooms they had found in the wilderness surrounding the Haven.
Nock had been very helpful, pointing out various things that Kedi and Gabriella would never have spotted otherwise, and it was obvious she had enjoyed wandering once more amongst her flora. She was also incredibly knowledgeable about every ingredient, knowing exactly which properties they possessed.
Kedi removed her blindfold after they returned to the dimly light Sanctuary, and they proceeded down into the main hall, where they stopped, frozen with surprise.
The members they had left behind now formed a crowd round the small body of water that sat beneath the stained glass illustration of Sithis.
"What's going on?" She asked, marching towards the crowd. There was no response, so she pushed her way through and found herself staring at a wet, naked man, shivering on the floor under a thin woollen blanket. "What the… Who is this?"
Astrid crossed her arms as she glared at the man's prone form. "This man emerged from the water and collapsed here, not long before you returned. All we've been able to get out of him was that Sithis sent him here for you." She shot Kedi a strange look before kneeling to study the wet man's face. "He looks familiar though." She stood and turned to Kedi, waving a hand at the man. "You try talking to him."
"I'll get another blanket; he looks like he's freezing." Gabriella said, while Kedi knelt in front of him. Veezara watched the exchange carefully.
"Who are you?" She asked softly.
"I… am… Lucien." He answered, through chattering teeth. He seemed to be having trouble breathing, as though he was unsure how to do it. He had golden olive skin, lighter than Nock's, and his ebon hair hung lankly past his shoulders, now dripping lightly onto the floor. His deep brown eyes avoided her yellow gaze, and light stubble dusted his square jaw. His nose was handsome and straight. He looked to be from Cyrodiil, and his name confirmed it. "My name is…. Lucien Lachance."
A collective gasp arose from the group, and Kedi frowned. "Lucien Lachance died two hundred years ago, in Cyrodiil, betrayed by the members of his own Brotherhood."
"They thought I was a traitor. They were wrong."
Kedi frowned. "We know."
Gabriella appeared and draped a thicker blanket around him, and his shivers gradually lessened and his breathing improved.
"Why did Sithis return you?"
His eyes flicked up to meet hers and Kedi felt a jolt go through her as she fell into his impossibly dark gaze. "To serve you with the coming struggle."
Astrid laughed. "Excellent! The Dread Father has sent us the most skilled and famed assassin of our order to help us with the Emperor's death!"
Kedi frowned and looked up at Nock, but the elf's face was as impassive as always. Something felt… off. The new contract was already suspicious, but something, a memory, lingered at the back of Kedi's mind.
"…of a spirit yet to join you…" Nock's words from their first meeting, the trees' whispers, echoed in her mind.
"Is this…?" She started, but Nock nodded before she could finish, as though she saw the questions burning in her golden eyes. Kedi turned back to Lucien and ran a finger along the scars that marred her cheek. "We need some clothes for him; can someone fetch some? And since he isn't talking to anyone else, I'll take him to my room. He looks like he could use some rest."
Gabriella left, again, to fetch some clothing, and Kedi, with a grim expression on her face, hooked an arm round Lucien and lifted him. He was slender, like Veezara, but more toned. You could see his muscles rippling under his golden skin as he struggled to remain upright while they made their way through the crowd to Kedi's room. Nock and Veezara followed them, but Astrid ordered the rest to their previous duties.
Veezara helped Kedi get Lucien onto the bed, and once he was completely covered and wrapped within all the blankets, she asked Veezara to keep watch over him while she spoke with Nock. The Argonian, as always, complied with her wishes, and she left him with a tender kiss on the nose.
She led Nock outside the room and stopped her there. "So, Lucien is important?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"He is vital to your journey."
"What journey?"
"The journey of death, betrayal, love, and rebirth. You have the new soul, but there is still a duty left to be fulfilled." Nock repeated, as Kedi paced backwards and forwards in front of her.
"The duty? The Emperor's assassination?"
Nock shook her head, her face expressionless. "I cannot say."
Kedi groaned with frustration. "Is there anything new you can tell me, now that the new soul is here?"
"Yes."
The redheaded Breton waited, but Nock remained silent. She sighed. "Who will be betrayed?"
"You."
Kedi froze. "By… By who?"
"I cannot say."
She studied the Bosmer's face, but the elf gave no hints. Her black and gold eyes stared back at her, as depthless and disturbing as the first time they met. Kedi ran a hand over her face and leaned against the wall opposite, sliding down until she was seated on the floor. They were silent for a long moment, and Kedi assumed Nock would remain silent, until she eventually spoke again.
"There will come a time when you will have to choose between two loves. It will be… difficult." Kedi looked up and saw a hint of sadness on the Bosmer's face. She frowned and stood back up.
"I only love Veezara. There is no one else."
"There will be." She seemed to hesitate, before some strong emotion flitted across her face and she took the Breton's white hand in hers, the colour contrasting with her dark skin. Strands of snow white hair escaped the leather tie and hung over her face. She looked younger, almost; more vulnerable. "There will be a time when things seem too difficult to continue. You have an important duty, and it will be painful… But I will remain here, and your struggles will not go unnoticed. Even when the darkness around you seems blackest, remember that there will be happiness at the end of your struggles, and a gift you never knew you wanted." The elf dropped Kedi's hand as suddenly as she'd taken it, the blank expression once more in place.
Stunned, Kedi only nodded, before returning to her room.
