Chapter 8: Conversations of the Night
The door closed after Antoinetta Marie and the three were left in silence. Ocheeva and Vicente now stood before the Speaker, expectant and curious whilst Lucien seemed tired with his arms folded in front him; their pending conversation running through his head
"Ocheeva, Vicente, some changes have been made to the list of our new recruits" He said in a tone likened to defeat. The Argonian would have been surprised at the tone of Lucien's voice, yet the burden of controlling a thousand feelings had consumed her focus. Conversely, Vicente had caught the oddity in which the Speaker had spoken yet he held his tongue and continued to listen.
"The huntress has accepted our offer, and has secured herself within our ranks" He said as he made his way to Ocheeva's desk. There, he lackadaisically inspected the paperwork.
"How?" the Argonian asked herself; knowing that the contract for Rufio had been accomplished a week ago by somebody else. Despite how softly Ocheeva had spoken, her words did not escape the Speaker's listening ears.
"How else?" He asked her, his deep brown eyes piercing through her. Ocheeva felt a chilling sensation run through her spine as Lucien's eyes held her own "She terminated him"
As he said this he held the contract he had been looking for to candle and the flames soon engulfed the piece of paper. Both watched in apathy as the history of their new recruit burned to a crisp before their eyes.
Lucien then took another piece of parchment and started to write.
"Do we allow such means of initiation in the Brotherhood?" Ocheeva asked yet it was not the Imperial who answered her but Vicente
"Indeed sister, the Brotherhood permits such in the occasion of an initiation. It is used as if to determine who is more determined to join the ranks of our organization or who the more capable assassin is" He said as he sat back down on his chair. He sipped his wine casually sending a superior aura about. In a sense, Vicente technically was above the both of them.
"But would that not violate our tenets?
Vicente answered once again yet he kept his gaze on the speaker as he spoke "It would, if the initiate was subjected to the tenets but remember sister, that a recruit does not yet know of our ways therefore the tenets are rendered void in his situation or in this"
"I see... Has this occurred before?"
This time Lucien answered; he too did not look at Ocheeva instead at the man before him "There have been three recorded happenings in the entire history of the Brotherhood yet they had happened eons ago. Never the matter, let us get back to the business at hand"
The Imperial then sat on the chair by Ocheeva's desk and took a deep, albeit, subtle intake of breath.
"Now Ocheeva, I understand that there will be quiet a disturbance here. Yet I believe that you can ensure that the sanctuary remains as it always is and perform your duties efficiently and without delay"
"Certainly Speaker"
"I also believe that you can carry out the orders the Hand has deliberated upon; such as the silencing of the count concerning our location, the sending of sentinels about to ward off our enemies and the relocation of some of our members"
"They will be achieved Speaker"
"Very well, there is also the matter of the traitor amongst ourselves" with this statement, Lucien had managed to bring the atmosphere he wanted. He could feel the gloom and the anger in the room and so he continued. "Have we found anything about the traitor?"
"Very little Speaker" the Argonian answered agitated "We analyzed the documents we have on his or her killings and came to several assumptions"
"And what would those assumptions be?"
"We believe that the traitor is in the south-western part of Cyrodiil considering that all his killings take place about in the Imperial City, Bruma and Chorrol; it seems as if he is trying to draw attention away from Skingrad and Anvil. He also seems to be a high-ranking member of the Brotherhood, able to travel anywhere and access information amongst our organization. He kills methodically, he makes sure that his target remains alive while he tortures; for this reason, we have come to conclude that he holds a grudge against the Brotherhood or that he is mad with a lust for blood. Other than what I have mentioned, we have nothing more"
"I see. I shall take your suppositions into consideration and present them to the Hand. Now then, Ocheeva I ask that you prepare the others for our new sister. She will come soon and others will certainly not… accept her as we have" Lucien said whilst motioning to the door. Ocheeva bowed and left.
Once Ocheeva's steps were distant to Lucien he spoke "You didn't bother to tell her that you were one of the three who were recruited in such a way?"
The vampire answered with a smile that was common to both of them "Our sister does not need to know of my personal business and I believe that it will only complicate matters"
Lucien answered with a nod and wrote once again.
Vicente observed the Imperial as he continued to write. The sound of his quill writing and that of the flames cracking served as their background tonight. He sipped on his wine every now and then, and savored the faint taste of blood.
"You are hiding something from our sister, brother" Lucien said not once stopping to look at him.
"Indeed I am" the other answered and took another sip. He looked to the door as the younger asked "May I ask your reasons as to why?"
Vicente smiled discreetly at his old student. Most would have asked what he was hiding yet Lucien, thought it more important to know the cause of his actions. "My reasons, my reasons are for the sake of our new… sister"
"How so?"
"Hmm… I suspect that there is a link between our new sister and the traitor" At this statement, the speaker looked at him. Vicente felt that he had caught all of the Imperial's attention and so he continued. "Have you not noticed brother, that the assassins the traitor leaves behind serve as the target for our little huntress? Have you not questioned how it is that our huntress knew of the whereabouts of our brothers and sisters or the time in which they would be there?"
After a moment of silence, Lucien confessed that he had. He had long thought about it; it wasn't even much of a challenge to come to that conclusion. In all sense, it was highly probable that Vicente's suspicions were true.
"I understand the apprehension that you feel Vicente but I find the reason vague as to why you have not shared this with Ocheeva"
"For the same reason why you haven't told her yet of Saline" the Breton said and at once, Lucien understood. Saline was a red-haired Altmer who had been terminated one and a half months ago in the streets of Bravil by the huntress. She had been a dear friend of their Argonian sister and if Ocheeva had even the slightest knowledge of who had slain her friend, it would not bode well for their new recruit.
Suddenly, they both heard the crushing sound of the door sliding in; it seemed that their sister was here. Lucien sighed as he stood and Vicente soon followed whilst setting his goblet on the side table. The speaker walked over to the Breton, parchment in hand.
"I must go, the Hand meeting will commence soon. Take this brother, I have written down all the information Ailill has gathered about our sister" Lucien said and handed the paper to Vicente. Even though the Imperial explained his need to go, Vicente had a feeling that that was not the only reason why the Speaker was leaving yet he kept this to himself.
Both men left Ocheeva's office. They said their farewells and the parting words "Walk always" to one another. Lucien headed to the well exit and Vicente watched as he did so. Afterwards, the vampire proceeded to his quarters, the conversation of Ocheeva and their new recruit in the distance.
Once there, he poured himself a glass of wine and began to read.
"Race: Bosmer. Appearance: Black eyes, dark red hair, pale. Height: 5'2" Weight: estimate of 99 to 103 pounds. Body Type: Slender" a tiny girl you must be Vicente thought and read on "Quick and agile, lack muscle strength, favors Illusion and Mysticism, favors bow, fair with a sword" she has good qualifications but what is her name.
Vicente scanned the parchment until he came to the one that he had been looking "Ah! There you are… Name: Lythiana Valora"
The goblet that the vampire held clanged to the floor and the wine spilt about. Vicente did not bother to clean this instead he too escaped, not wanting to face this encounter or perhaps it was more accurate to say, that he did not want to face this reunion.
A/N: So that's that XD how did you guys like this chapter? Too much talk, isn't it? :/ Oh well, don't worry there will be more action stuff than talking in following chapters (I hope XD) By the way, do you guys still remember Saline? :D She's the girl in chapter 3? The one who died (duh XD)
RnR