Title: Vicissitudes

Author: BurningSilence

Rating: R (I'll let everyone know if it goes up)

Disclaimer: I think we all know the answer to this by now.

Summary: Bit of a change here: Now, instead of possible romance, there will actually be romance in this story. Although, I don't think that's going to be much of a surprise for anyone -_-.

Chapter V: Of Old and New Acquaintances

Not for the first time since starting out to Cheydinhal, Felicienne was thankful for the horse she'd been 'loaned' from Weynon Priory. Instead of it taking her a full day to go from Bruma to Cheydinhal, it'd taken her roughly six hours…with rest!

Now, though, she was heading towards the Sanctuary, ready to eat a small dinner, settle in for the night, and maybe accept a contract before jotting off to the Imperial City to find Baurus. If she remembered correctly, he'd been one of the Blades she'd come across as she was 'escaping' prison the night the Emperor was killed. She wondered what he was doing at Luther Broad's.

'Drinking himself into a stupor?' she thought, amusedly. Although, that was probably not what he was actually doing there. Probably just scrounging the area for information…usually it was the seedy places that tended to attract people who knew…things.

Before she knew it, she found herself in front of the abandoned house she needed to enter. She looked around, making sure no guards were watching, before she let herself inside. She hated to admit it, but the entryway into the sanctuary still gave her gooseflesh…especially the door's depiction of the Night Mother and her five children. Something about it just sat wrong with her. Perhaps it was the knife she was holding that was aimed at one of the children?

As soon as she stepped inside, she immediately made her way to the main living area where she sat herself at the long table and grabbed an apple and some mead.

"Are you still refusing to eat the ham?" an amused voice asked.

Felicienne found herself blushing and mumbled, "Shut up, Antoinetta."

The blonde woman just laughed at her younger friend's embarrassment. Apparently, the girl had a hard enough time killing any wild animals that would attack her for encroaching on their territory, let alone eating any of them. They'd shared a couple meals before Antoinetta had caught on. Seeing as Felicienne would only eat the fruit or bread at the table, carefully ignoring the ham or venison, or any other meat anyone had picked up at the market.

"I think it's cute," she went on, ignoring Felicienne's discomfiture. "You're a murderer, you have no problem killing people, but you can't handle eating animals."

Felicienne mumbled something unintelligible, and Antoinetta strained to hear it.

"What was that?"

The girl just sighed and stated, "I just don't like the fact that something died so I could eat it. It's disturbing."

Felicienne would never admit it, (out loud), but Antoinetta was her favourite person in the Sanctuary. She filled the role of a sister wonderfully; at least, Felicienne felt that she did. She'd never had a sister before, so she supposed she wouldn't really know what it felt like to have one. She wouldn't mind it, though, if Antoinetta stopped teasing her for reading children's stories, or for avoiding meat at mealtime.

No one could be perfect, though.

"Are you going to pick up a contract from Vicente?" Antoinetta asked, changing the subject fluidly. Felicienne just looked over and raised an eyebrow before answering.

"Yes, I'm thinking about it. Why?"

"I'm just wondering; you've been away for a couple days. Ocheeva was beginning to worry. Although, that might have had something to do with Lucien dropping in, rather unexpectedly I might add, inquiring on everyone's progress…including yours, Felicienne," Antoinetta ended with a smirk.

Felicienne blinked in surprise, "Why would he care about me? I haven't even been a member for two weeks." She stopped and looked thoughtful for a moment, "And how would you know what they were talking about?"

Antoinetta had the decency to look self-conscious before admitting, "Alright, so I may have been listening at the door of Ocheeva's quarters, but that doesn't change anything that they said!"

The younger of the two snorted in a rather un-ladylike fashion before murmuring something that sound like, 'nosy'. Antoinetta was a shameless gossip-monger, self admittedly as well, so it was no surprise she'd stoop to eavesdropping to 'garner information'. Even though Felicienne knew the woman just was hoping to hear news of her possible progression. More specifically, she wanted to hear if their Speaker was paying her any special attention. It was a well known fact through the Sanctuary that Antoinetta had designs on becoming Lachance's Silencer. Felicienne snickered at the thought. She wouldn't lie, though. The thought of advancement was tempting to her as well. Felicienne liked to succeed in whatever she did.

She supposed she'd be described as ambitious, however, she tried not to let that colour her relationships with people she…associated with.

Felicienne polished off the rest of her apple, and gulped down the remains of her mead, before standing up and heading towards Vicente's quarter. She turned her head back towards Antoinetta and announced she was going to pick up a contract.

The blonde woman smiled and responded cheerfully, "Good luck, sister! I hope you don't get killed!" The she blanched, thinking over her words, "Er, well, you know what I mean."*

The girl just widened her eyes while giving Antoinetta a playful smile and inclining her head towards her. Sometimes it appeared as if Antoinetta didn't think before she spoke, but she knew her older sister didn't mean anything by that remark…at least, she hoped she didn't.

Felicienne would've rather stayed at the Sanctuary for a few days more, but she did have more pressing matters than her own comfort to take care of at the moment. For instance, finding Baurus in the Imperial City, then making sure an 'accident' befell an old Bosmer named Baenlin. Fortunately she could do the latter on the way back to Cloud Ruler Temple.

Arriving in the Imperial City, Felicienne found herself overwhelmed. Though she had vague memories of it before she'd been arrested, she hadn't been able to appreciate how large it was. Already, she found herself lost; wandering around in the Market district looking for the exit that would lead her to the Elven Gardens.

So far, she wasn't having any luck.

It seemed as if she was just going around in circles, somehow always finding the entrance to the Arena, or the gods' forsaken prison. Felicienne huffed in frustration, and plopped herself down on a nearby bench, feeling her aggravation catch up to her.

"I just want to find Luther Broad's Boarding House, damn it! Is that so much to ask for?" she groaned as she rubbed her face with her small hands.

"Did I hear you say Luther Broad's?" a male's voice inquired.

Felicienne lifted her head and looked towards the voice's source. He was an older Breton with grey hair and a kindly smile. "Yes," she answered. "Can you help me find it? I've a horrible sense of direction."

He looked surprised, "It's in the Elven Gardens district."

"I know that!" she snapped, then continued, flushed from shame. "I can't find the district itself…I just keep going around in circles!"

The man let out a hearty laugh, ('At my expense, no doubt,' she thought, seething), before he replied, "You just need to follow the main path east," here he stopped to point the correct direction, "And you continue on straight. Don't make any other turns. Before you know it, you'll be in front of the entryway in no time."

Felicienne hopped up off of her bench and clasped the old man's hand, "Thank you! Thank you so much! I started out in the Waterfront and the people there were absolutely no help at all!"

He laughed again and waved her off, "If you really want to thank me, tell your friends about 'Edgar's Discount Spells', here in the Market district. I sure could use the business!"

Felicienne found herself smiling despite herself; the man really had been very helpful. The least she could do was peruse his wares. She thanked the man again, with the promise she'd stop by his shop and see if he had anything that interested her.

As she continued on the path Edgar had shown her, she noticed where she made (her continuous) mistake; she kept getting turned around in one of the smaller shopping plazas. Now, she just felt stupid, a feeling she was (unfortunately) becoming familiar with. And that feeling was just compounded as she came across the doorway the led into the Elven Gardens.

She sighed and let herself through, wishing she could slam her head against the stonewall, repeatedly. After that fiasco, it wasn't all that hard to find Luther Broad's, especially since there was a large sign proclaiming its existence in front of the building. She opened the door and walked in, scanning the room for the Redguard she remembered from prison.

She noticed him sitting at the bar and approached him quickly. She tapped him on the shoulder and took a bit of pleasure in seeing his surprised expression. She grinned.

"Did you miss me?"

"Another scavenger hunt," she muttered under her breath. It wasn't that she really minded looking for some books…it was just how time-consuming she'd know it'd be. Of course, the first two of the four volume series were easy enough to get a hold of. So naturally the last two volumes would be harder than hell to come across.

She was making her way towards the shop 'First Edition' from the Arcane University to see if the shop keeper there had the third volume of 'Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes'…although she wasn't sure about the fourth. Everyone she'd asked said it was impossible to come by. Not just nearly impossible…no, that was reserved for lucky book number three. The fourth had to be full on impossible to find.

She let out another huff of frustration as she found the bookstore. As she stepped inside, the first thing she noticed was how snooty the proprietor appeared. He glanced at her with a look of absolute boredom and went back to reading his newspaper.

'It's not like there's anything new in there,' she thought. 'They're still covering the Emperor's death. It's been nearly two months now!'

She walked up to the counter and asked, "Do you happen to know where I can find the third and fourth volumes of 'Mysterium Xarxes'?"

The Redguard raised an eyebrow and said, condescendingly, "Oh, you mean 'Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes'. It's a common mistake."

Felicienne gritted her teeth as she replied, "Yes, the 'Commentaries'. Do you have the third and fourth volumes, or what?"

"As a matter of fact, I have the third volume in stock," he said. "However," he continued as he saw the relief flash in her eyes, "it's on hold for someone else."

"What?" she exclaimed, angrily.

"Yes," the owner continued, looking rather smug. "He's traveling all the way from Valenwood to pick it up." The he screwed is face into a look of consternation, "Although, he's running a bit late for our appointment."

"Well, I need that book!" she cried out, rapidly losing any patience she might have possessed.

"And I told you it's on hold for somebody else!" he snapped. "If you can manage to work out a deal with the fellow who's buying it, then you can do whatever it is you want! But otherwise, I can't sell it to you!"

"Then I'll wait for him to show up!"

"Go ahead!"

With that, Felicienne stomped off to find a chair, flopped down into it and crossed her arms, making sure to glare spitefully at the shop owner. She was prepared to wait as long as it took for the client to arrive. And for his sake, he'd better not give her any grief over that damn book.

In the end, it hadn't taken much to get the book away from that irritating Bosmer, (Felicienne felt herself begin to develop a sharp pain behind her eyes as she thought about him), and had been able to persuade him with out having to resort to violence. Which was lucky for her, really, since he seemed to be a screamer and would probably alert the City Watch…and she didn't need to be arrested, again.

In fact, she'd even gotten some extra information out of him. And a handy little note.

Apparently Mythic Dawn, (and who came up with that name for a Daedric cult bent on world destruction was beyond her), had a meeting set up with Gwinas (at least, that's what he said his name was) and that he would receive the fourth and final volume there, as an initiate of Mythic Dawn. And that would be where the letter would come into play. It seemed to serve as a 'ticket' of sorts; one needed to have it if they wished an audience with the Sponsor.

Unfortunately, the meeting would take place in the sewers.

Felicienne cringed, she'd had enough trips through sewers to last her a lifetime, thank you very much. It'd taken her a week to feel clean again after the last time she'd had to crawl around in one. She rubbed a hand over her eyes, wearily. She was so tired; she'd been running around all day. But fortunately, the meeting with this Sponsor was to take place tomorrow. She'd just have stay at the Boarding House after giving Baurus the information.

She let out a sigh of contentment as she reached the inn, wanting to do nothing more than flop down onto a nice, comfortable bed and drift off for say…the next few weeks.

As she stepped through the doorway, Baurus walked right up to her, joking that she was hard to get a hold of.

She just narrowed her eyes at him and stuck out her tongue.

"Did you get them?" he asked, meaningfully.

"Mm-hmm," she nodded, tiredly. "Except for the fourth one. Apparently, we'll need to meet with someone they're calling a 'Sponsor' to receive the fourth volume." Then she handed him the letter she'd receive from Gwinas. He took it and quickly scanned the contents.

"It looks like this will take some undercover work, doesn't it?" he asked wryly, not looking up from the letter.

Felicienne made an affirmative sound in the back of her throat.

"The meeting's for tomorrow in the sewers here. And as lucky would have it, I know these sewers very well," Baurus smirked. "Although, I always did wonder who put those chairs and table in there…" he trailed off.

"I can see where you might find that perplexing," she chuckled. She sobered up quickly, though, as she thought about what might happen tomorrow afternoon. "How do you want to handle this?" she questioned.

"I think I should be the one to meet with the Sponsor, but there's a catwalk above where I believe the meeting room is, and I want you to act as my back up. Just in case something goes wrong. I'll point it out to you when we get there tomorrow."

She nodded, feeling worried. It wasn't that she thought he couldn't handle himself; it was just that she knew what she was capable of. She supposed this was partly his way of making up for failing to protect Emperor Uriel…he'd taken that very personally.

She pitied him for that.

"It's getting late, and we'll have a big day tomorrow," he interrupted her musings with a friendly clap on her back. "We should get some sleep, and I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of booking you a room here for the night."

"Oh, no, not at all," she stammered. "Thank you, I'll pay you the gold…"

But he held up his hand, effectively cutting her off. "It's the least I can do. After all, it was my idea to kill you back in the prison," he joked.

"Alright then, I don't feel bad about you paying for my room," she replied, turning her face from him in an attempt to look haughty.

"Besides," he continued, grinning at her. "It was just ten Septims."

To which she replied with a very unladylike snort.

As Felicienne and Baurus emerged from the sewers, she had to admit; the mission hadn't gone that badly…well, if you over looked the fact that they were almost ambushed. She was glad she'd managed to keep Baurus alive, and they were able to get the fourth volume of the Mythic Dawn Commentaries.

At first it had seemed as if everything was going to be alright, until Felicienne, standing guard on the catwalk overlooking the meeting room, noticed two other agents approaching her from the other side. Fortunately, they hadn't seen her until it was two late. However, before she'd been able to kill the second one, he'd shouted a warning to the sponsor. It was lucky Baurus was a trained soldier, or he might not have survived.

"You should get these books to Tar-Meena at the University and see if she can provide us with anymore insight on where the Mythic Dawn's hidden shrine is. I'll head to Cloud Ruler Temple; as a Blade, my place is at Martin's side," he told her. "I trust you can handle this?" he taunted.

"Oh, that's how it is, is it? I save your life only to be mocked by you? I don't feel like you appreciate me, Baurus," she teased back. "You just see if I ever help you again."

"Don't be so sensitive. I know the books are in good hands." He sighed and straightened his pack. "I'd better go now, though."

"Will you be alright?" she asked, it was already becoming dark. "Don't you at least want to stay at the Boarding house for tonight? It's a bit of trip to Bruma."

"I'll be fine; I'll stop in Aleswell for the rest of the night, if that will make you feel better," he grinned.

"Don't patronize me," she grumbled. "It's completely reasonable for me to worry."

He laughed and nodded, "Maybe, but you need to get to the University, and I need to get to Martin."

"Yes, you're right. Well then," she hoisted her, now heavier, satchel over her shoulder, "I best get going, now. You too, you lazy sod."

He just shook his head at her and walked off. She rolled her eyes and started to make her way through to the Market District. Baurus had been pleasant to work with, despite still feeling guilty over the Emperor's death, he'd kept a light-hearted air that made their 'undercover' work less nerve-wracking.

When she got to the University, she found Tar-Meena sitting in the lobby reading a manual on spellcraft.

She smiled as she greeted the Argonian woman, "Hello, Ms. Tar-Meena."

The older woman looked over and her and beamed, "Well, if it isn't the Mythic Dawn scholar. Do you have the last two volumes?"

"Right here in my pack," she chirped, feeling irrationally proud of herself.

"It's a good thing you caught me now, I was almost getting ready to head off to bed as soon as I finished this chapter," the mage stated, pleasantly.

"I'm sorry, should I come back tomorrow?" Felicienne asked.

"Goodness no, Loredas is a very busy day for me; that's when all the apprentices are at the library, researching for their mentors. A bunch of procrastinators, if you ask me," Tar-Meena groused.

Tomorrow was Loredas? As soon as she was done with this, she'd have to head out to Bruma as well. Hopefully she wouldn't run into Baurus on the way; he didn't need to what kind of 'errand' she had to run was.

"Anyway," the older woman continued. "Why don't you let me study those books for a day or so. It's usually a common practice for these types of groups to put hidden messages in their sacred texts. Usually, by breaking this code and finding their way to the shrine, the prospective member has already passed his or her first test on the road to 'enlightenment. With any luck I'll turn up with something soon."

"Of course, not a problem. I'm sure you'll find something faster than I would," the girl grinned. Besides, no one needed to know that she'd managed to lift copies of volumes one through three off of the corpses of the would-be assassins. Hopefully she could make do with out the fourth book, especially since now she had an idea what she was looking for.

But now, she needed to get herself up to Bruma and stage an accident for an unlucky Bosmer.

This was clearly not Felicienne's day…er, evening. First, she'd arrived too late; the old codger had already gone to bed, which, of course led to her sneaking through his bedroom to the crawlspace over the living room. She'd decided to wait it out until eight o'clock the next night. Judging from the amount of dust on the door to the crawlspace, no one came back here very often.

So, she waited, cramped and uncomfortable, bored out of her mind as the hours crawled by. She must have dozed off sometime during the day, because when she woke up again, it was dark out. Or, at least she thought it was, since there was no light coming through the tiny window at the top of the small room.

Quietly, she crept out of the crawlspace, and peeked outside of the bedroom just enough to see if the old man was sitting in his 'favourite' chair. After making sure the Bosmer was seated comfortably, and that his manservant Gromm, a Nord who bore a striking resemblance to a Jayred Ice-Veins, was no where in sight, Felicienne decided to make her move.

Being as silent as she possibly could, she made her way back to the crawlspace, and loosened the supports for a mounted Minotaur head. When she heard the crash, and Baenlin's exhalation, she knew she had succeeded, and that she'd better get the hell out of their before Gromm came investigating.

Not caring about being quiet anymore, she ran out of the bedroom, down the stairs and into the basement. Finding the door that had been her original entry point, she quietly (so as not to alert any neighbors) opened the door and rushed out into the chilly night.

She'd need to travel to Cheydinhal soon, to collect her reward, but first she needed to head back to Cloud Ruler Temple for a good night's sleep. The confined area of the crawlspace had made it impossible to rest comfortably. And maybe while she was there, she'd take a look at those bothersome books as well.

'But first things first', she noted as she stared down at herself, dressed in her Shrouded Armour, 'I need to find a place to change.'

A/N:

There it is, chapter five, finally! I'm sorry it took longer than usual. Or, at least I think it took longer than usual. It's a bit shorter than my other chapters, and I apologize for this. Hopefully, it won't take as long to get chapter six out, but I'm not sure as I may be going out of town for a day or so.