A/N: The following story contains ideologically sensitive material. It is of a very dark nature and may not be for all readers. If you feel you may be offended by themes like rape and incest, please feel free to skip this chapter as it is a standalone and will not affect your ability to enjoy future chapters.

Viewer discretion is advised.

Middas 19 Hearth Fire 208 4E 3:00 AM

"Cicero, have you ever wanted children?"

We were waiting outside the house of Erikur, a thane of Haafingar, in Solitude watching the city guards' patrol waiting for a pattern to emerge. It was a beautiful night with no clouds in the sky and the two moons shining brightly across the land. The perfect night for lovers, but it was a terrible night for assassins. Cicero and I had been waiting for hours and I was getting restless. I hoped no one would pass close enough to hear us talk if we kept our voices low.

"No," the Keeper shook his head, "Cicero has never wanted children. Cicero has his siblings and Mother. That is all the family Cicero could ever desire. Why would Cicero want a crying, soiling thing?"

"Some of the initiates seem to think you'd be a really good father," I said shrugging. "Because you're so good taking care of the Night Mother, I suppose."

"Mother is nothing like a baby," Cicero frowned. "It's insulting to even imply as much. Mother is perfectly preserved and quiet, oh so very, terribly quiet. A baby is constantly leaking from one orifice or another and crying, crying, crying." Cicero paused and looked at me. "The Listener isn't wanting children, is she?"

"No, no!" I shook my head roughly. "I never want children."

"Listener said she never wanted this either," Cicero said gently as he placed his left hand over mine so our rings were touching. "Maybe the Listener has decided she wants to be a Mother of her own." His tone was joking, but I could hear the underlying threat. The first Tenet – Don't disrespect the Night Mother or suffer the wrath of Sithis. There could be only one mother in this family.

"Trust me, I still don't want children," I smiled shyly. "I've always been more afraid you'd one day come to me with lust in those amber eyes of yours ready to convince me that I did though."

"Oh, ho, ho, ho," Cicero chuckled, "Cicero understands that the best part of children is making them." He leaned forward and kissed the hollow of my neck. "The Listener has no worries there. Sweet Cicero wants her all for himself. If the Listener doesn't desire screaming, leaking children, then why ask Cicero if he did?"

"It's our current contract," I admitted. "It's gotten my mind on such matters."

Cicero held his hand up and gestured. The path was finally clear of guards. The two of us scurried across the road and clung to the few shadows as we pressed against the wall. We quietly walked along the side until we found a small door that would lead into the servant's quarters. I produced the iron key our client had given me to unlock the door and we quickly darted inside before the patrol could come back.

Sleeping figures stirred restlessly as the Keeper and I ghosted across their sleeping quarters. One maid sighed as she rolled from her back to her side. Thankfully, she didn't wake. I breathed a sigh of relief after we had moved into the corridor closing the thick wooden door behind us.

"What about Aventus?" I asked quiet as we walked down the dark hallway.

"What about Aventus?" Cicero said stiffly. The two men were still bitter rivals over my affection despite my clear statements of preferring Cicero.

"The two of you were close once," I said carefully. "I remember when Aventus joined us that you were like a father to him. And he was just a child then."

"Hmph, Aventus was never a child," Cicero sniffed, "at least as long as he's been with us. His body wasn't grown, but Aretino was an assassin. If he hadn't been, he wouldn't have killed Rolff and could not be one of us. Aventus has never needed an adult to take care of him. Not once did the boy request help with making sure he was fed, clothed, or bathed. May as well insist that Babette is a child when she is our unchild."

I nodded as I thought back to when Aventus became our littlest brother. It was true that he never asked for help or care. Although I had occasionally read to the boy or tucked him into bed, Aventus never asked me to specifically do those things. I had offered out of some sense of responsibility to the boy, but would I have felt resentment if he had actually asked instead of patiently waiting for me to remember him after weeks of being preoccupied with my own needs first?

"Cicero is happy to be on contract with Hecate," the jester said happily doing a silent jig. "Keeper and Listener on the hunt!"

I rarely took missions any more. As the Listener, my responsibility was to bear the words of the Night Mother. We had plenty of siblings now who could wield their blades in the name of Sithis. It would be foolish to risk the only person who could hear the Night Mother on a contract. Siblings could be replaced much more easily, as cold as that sounded, but a blade was a blade.

Mother had never deigned to tell me why she had waited so long to pick me as her voice. We still had no idea if there was a certain quality that Mother needed for her Listener or if she had withheld her favor because she was angry with her children for some reason. If I died would the Brotherhood flounder again for another decade before Mother found another Listener or would she replace me immediately?

Thus when I did take a contract, I only chose what I considered the most important petitions. There were some calls for vengeance that I felt required the best of the Brotherhood and could not be left in the hands of just any assassin.

Our petitioner was Gisli, the owner of the general store Bits and Pieces and Erikur's sister. I remembered the first time I met the Nord in Solitude. Her first words had been, "I'm Gisli, but you can call me Erikur's sister. Everyone else does!" I had been taken aback by the venom in her tone.

Maybe Gisli had plenty of reason for that bitterness. Her older brother Erikur was handsome, rich, and a thane of Jarl Elisif who had very strong connections with the Thalmor Embassy. Compared to being a mere business owner, it appeared that Erikur had everything in the world. If that had been the only problem then we wouldn't be here right now. There was something darker between those siblings.

Erikur was a notorious womanizer. During one Thalmor Embassy party, he insisted on harassing a Bosmeri barmaid for physical attention. When the woman rightly refused him, he made a huge fuss and she was condemned to an interrogation room. It was also telling that his own wife, Bryling, did not live in the same house as he. Instead she had her own residence in Solitude where she lived with her own housecarl.

Until recently, Gisli had lived in her brother's home. About a year and a half ago, Erikur returned drunk from a New Life Day party and forced himself on his sister. When Gisli found that she had become pregnant from the ordeal, she fled to Bryling for help. Bryling took her in and in the following months Gisli gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

Erikur found out and demanded that he be given the child to raise as his own. When Gisli had refused, Erikur threatened to use his elven connections to ruin her business and he would spread rumors of Bryling being closer to her housecarl than was strictly professional. Despite the fact he had a reputation as a playboy; it was still socially seen as unacceptable for a married woman to tarry with another man. Bryling would have to worry about losing her position as thane if such a rumor was started. Completely unfair, but such is the way of politics. Men could enjoy certain privileges that if a woman attempted she would be labeled a whore.

Under the pressure of Erikur's blackmail, Gisli surrendered the boy to him. Erikur was pleased as pie. He had everything he could ever want now. Before he had been childless and now he was the father of a healthy baby boy. Skyrim is a harsh climate and often young babes died from the bitter cold or other complications. It was common practice to not name a child until one year after its birth, typically called their Naming Day. Erikur had ignored tradition, certain of his child's health, and named the boy Ull, which meant glory.

The loss of her child after the shame of rape by her own brother and the threat of further losing face had been too much for Gisli. The Nords are a proud people whose honor means everything, even those who support the Empire. She had turned to the Black Sacrament to find vengeance. The Night Mother had heard her plea and sent one of her own metaphorical children to extract unholy justice.

"We're here," Cicero whispered in my ear. We had quietly ascended the three story building to the top level with no difficulty. It was late enough at night everyone was asleep, even Erikur's housecarl. What did they have to fear? They were in the capital of Skyrim surrounded by the Imperial army and curried the favor of the Aldmeri Dominion.

Cicero gently turned the handle of the ornate door and silently pushed it open. Its well-oiled hinges didn't make a sound as we entered. The sleeping chamber was richly decorated as would be expected of someone of Erikur's disposition. I tiptoed to the center of the room and placed my hands on the frame of the bed and looked down at our victim.

I have killed innocents in the name of the Night Mother. Despite my rationalizations of maybe having delivered a backhanded mercy, I was haunted by Vittoria Vici's face when I shot her down on her wedding day. I remembered every line of Gaius Maro's face when I stabbed him in the heart. Finally, noble Emperor Titus Mede II's eyes as he silently begged me not for his life but vengeance against the man who had ordered his death before I slit his throat. I had never found anything about their lives that made me think they deserved the services of the Dark Brotherhood.

"You cannot do it, can you?" Cicero asked as he wrapped an arm around my waist. I looked down and saw that my hands were shaking violently. I shook my head trying to not cry.

Ask me to kill a monster in a man's form and I could do so without any reservation. Bandits, vampires, pirates, blackmailers, rapists, and murderers I would send to Sithis without hesitation. Maybe even with a bit of glee. Soldiers and thieves didn't even particularly bother me. I enjoyed killing or I would never have considered joining the Brotherhood. The feel of hot blood on my hands feeds a hunger my dragon soul craves, but the human half of my soul needed to feel I was performing some sort of justice.

How could I feel that way when I was looking into a crib at the sleeping form of our victim—a baby about to celebrate his Naming Day in a few days? Ull stretched in his sleep and rolled over onto his back. His small mouth yawned loudly as he clenched chubby fists. He was a beautiful child with a head of curly brown hair and ruddy red cheeks.

Many women would have sought the death of their brother after what Erikur had done to his sister. Gisli was shrewd and realized that if Erikur died suddenly it would still be revealed that Ull was a child of incest and rape. Erikur would have contingency plans in case one of his many enemies had decided to remove him from the courts. The blackmail would still be released and Gisli and Bryling would be ruined. The Civil War was winding down, but it still lingered because of Lydia claiming leadership after Ulfric had died; two women could not afford to live on their own safely on under such conditions.

At the same time, Gisli could not bear the thought of her child being raised to become the same type of man her brother was. If she could not have Ull, then neither would Erikur. It was exactly the type of prayer that would draw Mother's attention. Hadn't she personally sacrificed her five children to their Dread Father Sithis to garner his favor?

"Cicero will do the deed," the Keeper said gently. He kissed my forehead just like how he did with the Night Mother when he finished her weekly oiling.

"Thank you," I whispered. I brushed a butterfly kiss against Cicero's lips. When the Keeper reached for his blade, I stopped him. "Don't forget the bonus."

Gisli had requested that the death look natural. If it had been obvious that Ull had been murdered then nothing would stop Erikur from finding out who had ordered the kill. If the baby mysteriously stopped breathing in the night… well, such things happened all the time. And surely it would be taken as a sign from the gods punishing him for his arrogance for naming the child before his Naming Day.

I wanted to step away and even turn my back as Cicero reached for a small, dainty embroidered pillow. I forced myself to watch as he pressed it over the baby's face. The infant struggled, but only weakly. I had chosen this assignment, and even though I had allowed Cicero the "honor" of performing the task, I would see it through to the end because I believe firmly in not asking someone to do something I wouldn't do personally. I crossed my arms to try to reduce how much my body was shaking. It took everything in me to not sob as tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Don't cry, sweet Listener," Cicero said as he smiled innocently at me. The form under his hands was still. "It's okay. Mother loves children."

A/N: I realize that an infant as a target for a Dark Brotherhood mission is not going to be a popular choice. One thing I feel a lot of people do is forget that at their heart, the Dark Brotherhood is an assassin's guild. They kill people for money. Some kill for religious beliefs and others kill because they have a dark passenger that needs to be sated, but they kill. And they kill who the Night Mother indicates they should kill. This was the same woman who killed her own children as a sacrifice to her Dread Lord.

I truly hope this chapter didn't offend anyone to the point of not reading future stories. Sometimes a dark tale needs to be told just as much as a funny or happy story and this was one of them. Please feel free to pm me with any thoughts and concerns or leave a review.