Riding a horse was definitely not the worst thing I'd ever done, but it was close. Lucien was a masterful rider, anyone could see that, but the road was still uneven and my butt was painfully numb. Despite this, I was excited. Once we'd crossed over the bridge and moved away from the water, the fog started to lift, slowly at first so you could just make out the trees, and then suddenly it was gone, leaving a new world in its place. I gasped when I finally got my first real view of the world outside of the wall. It was absolutely stunning, with rain droplets sparkling on every surface and the smell of damp earth swirling around me. The colors were so vivid it made me never want to go back inside city walls again. Maybe Lucien was right and I was an elf in spirit. The thought made me smile.

"Glad to see you're enjoying the day. I can't believe you've never seen anything outside of the city."

"My father was a control freak. I never even visited the waterfront district. He was always so scared that I would be kidnapped and held for ransom." I let out a heavy sigh. "My childhood was miserably boring, but at least I never went hungry or froze during the winter. As a child I used to sneak food to the local orphans. At least I did until my father caught me. He was furious and began locking the cabinets."

"That man deserves a knife in his back." I heard Lucien mutter darkly.

"That may be true, but nobody has summoned the Dark Brotherhood or offed him themselves. Or maybe the Brotherhood just ignored the ritual. Most people believe them to be a myth anyway." Lucien took a deep breath.

"I can assure you that's not the case." He pulled Thunder to a stop, dismounted, and offered me a hand. Throwing a leg over, I took the hand and slid off. The jolt sent shock waves through my legs and I nearly collapsed. I forced myself to walk and work the feeling back into my legs and butt.

"So how do you know the Dark Brotherhood isn't a myth?"

"Because I am a member, Rivien." The blood drained out of my face.

"You're a...member? Then am I going to die? Is that why you brought me all the way out here?!" My voice rose steadily until I was yelling. "I won't go down without a fight!" Lucien looked me up and down.

"You have a lot of spirit. No I am not going to kill you. I was send to collect you and bring you to Cheydinhal with me."

"Collect me? What use am I to you? Are you going to hold me for ransom? Is that it?" He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"I wasn't told all of the details. They just instructed me to test you, and, if you passed, bring you along." I narrowed my eyes.

"So you led that drunk to me? I was nearly raped because of you!"

"But you weren't. I wouldn't have let him anyway. I may be an assassin, but even I have some morals." I snorted.

"Morals? Really?"

"Look, the man had a contract out on him anyway. He was going to die one way or the other. You just took care of it for me."

"So he really was a bad person." I mumbled to myself. "So...what now?"

"Now I am formally offering you a place in the Brotherhood Rivien. Being an assassin requires certain skills that the Listener has been told you possess."

"Listener?"

"He is our leader. The Night Mother tells him her wishes and he passes them along."

"I see. Why me though? I can't fight. I'm stealthy, but I can't use magic. I'm nothing special."

"Oh, but you are. It's been hundreds of years since the Night Mother sent us after a member before they committed a murder. He was the greatest assassin we've ever known." I couldn't wrap my head around everything Lucien was saying. He had offered me a home though. I had felt guilty about the drunk, but no more. If he had a contract on his head he must have been a bad person. Plus, with my father the way he was, I knew he'd never allow me back home, and if he did, I'd be beaten. Severely. I was truly on my own for the first time. Able to make my own decisions.

Lucien was standing by quietly, most likely fully aware that I was processing everything. Maybe this was my calling. I had always been stealthy, and I really wanted to learn how to use a dagger and a sword. I took a deep breath and looked up at him.

"Okay. I'll come with you to Cheydinhal." His face brightened.

"Great. I really didn't want to explain why you weren't with me."

"Is it really so important that I come with you? I really am just an ordinary person. I'll even admit that I'm soft. I have no training in anything."

"Not to worry. You aren't the first member we've had to train. Come on, we can ride a few more hours before we have to camp for the night." Mentally I groaned. My butt was sore from the few hours of riding we had already done. Lucien helped me mount, then hopped up behind me. With a slight nudge, he had Thunder moving down the road again.

"So..." I said after a few minutes of silence. "I can pick any weapon? Or do you only use certain ones?"

"Out of all the questions I'm sure are buzzing around your head, that's the one you ask?"

"Fine. I'll ask something else then." I huffed. He laughed a little.

"It's alright. I'll try to answer all of your questions. Is there a certain style of fighting that you want to learn?"

"Once as a girl I saw a man fight in the arena that actually had combat training. He used a one handed sword and his movements were so graceful. It was like watching a dancer. At the end, the other guy ran away so this man took out his dagger and threw it. It lodged in the other man's throat, and he won."

"I see."

"It was one of the few times I went to the arena. Nothing else has ever compared to that man's fighting. I'd love to learn if there is anyone willing to teach me." In my honest opinion I'd always been a bit of a klutz. As I'd gotten older I'd developed the poise befitting someone of my station, but I still tripped over my own feet sometimes.

"We have plenty of swordsman at the sanctuary. I'm sure one will help you out."

"Umm...one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Are you going to be there? At the sanctuary? I know we just met, but I'd like to know at least one person." Lucien chuckled. I felt it rumble in his chest.

"I was recently promoted so no, I do not live in the sanctuary. I do live close by though. If you need me I can be there soon."

"Oh. So what should I expect? Is the work hard? Are the other members terrifying?"

"Well, we are assassins so of course we're scary to normal people, but nobody is going to slit your throat in your sleep. The brotherhood is a family. Most of us either have no living relatives, or ran away from their families for various reasons. No one has a happy past, but it doesn't affect us."

"Why are you in the brotherhood?"
"That's a story for another day." Also known as it's none of my business. "The work can get tedious depending on the contract. Usually there's a bones if you complete one a special way."

"So you can't just do things the way you want to?"

"Oh, some you can. Those are the most fun." I glanced back. His smile was positively feral. I let the questions drop for now. He was scary. Everyone was good as something I guess. Some were good at writing or music. Others knew numerous ways of killing a man.

We rode for the next hour or so in silence. I was admiring the trees and flowers along the road. Everything was so bright and colorful. So far my favorite had been a single orange lily that had sprouted along the roadside. The only lilies we had in the Imperial City were pink and those weren't nearly as beautiful as this one. Lucien noticed my staring and had maneuvered Thunder to the flower. In one smooth motion, he bent down, picked it, and held it out to me.

"This one is an early bloomer. If you travel this road in the summer, there are clusters of them everywhere." I took it and inhaled the scent. It wasn't particularly strong or sweet, but the smell was comforting.

"Thank you. I'll have to come back in a few months to see them in full bloom." I shifted a bit in the saddle. My butt was starting to ache through the numbness. I told Lucien as much.

"We'll camp just up the road. You sit so well that I forgot you've never ridden a horse."

"Thank you. I think." True to his word, about ten minutes of agony later, we stopped in a small clearing just off the road. After he dismounted, Lucien helped me down and then got to work setting up camp. I paced around trying to work some feeling into my legs and butt as I watched. I knew I'd be in the way if I tried to help. He had loosely tied Thunder to a tree so he could graze and was at work making a fire with wood from the clearing. The rain from earlier hadn't made it this far east so everything was dry. As he was stacking the wood for the fire, I walked around the clearing. I wasn't paying much attention, so I didn't see the large rock until my foot connected with it. Through the thin leather of my boot, it felt like I'd broken my big toe.

"Fuck!" I yelled as I hopped up and down on my good foot. I saw Lucien's eyes go wide as he tried not to laugh.

"Rivien are you alright?" I glared at him.

"Do I look alright? I think I just broke my damn toe!" I sat down and gently peeled off the shoe. Lucien started laughing. He had tears streaming down his cheeks. "I'm glad you think this is funny."I grumbled. Still chuckling, he walked over and squatted in front of me.

"Your reaction is what's funny. I was worried we'd recruited a girly noble, but with a mouth like that, looks like you'll fit in fine. Give me your foot." He picked it up and looked at it. "You didn't break anything, which is good. I can only heal minor cuts and bruises." Light flared in his hand and a soothing warmth spread through my foot. After a few seconds the pain was gone, and I wiggled my toes.

"Thanks Lucien. It appears I owe you a favor." He waved a hand dismissively.

"You don't owe me anything. All I did was heal you foot. I need the practice anyway. Plus, sometimes there are missions that require two people. Everyone needs one person he or she can trust with their lives." His eyes bore into mine. In the twilight shadows, they looked like dark, liquid pools. I looked away uncomfortably. I'd only met him this morning. Why did we have this connection? Was there a purpose or were the gods toying with us? I didn't like it. Without a word, Lucien released my foot and stood.

"I'll get dinner started. You don't mind stew do you?" I shook my head.

"I'm not a picky eater."

"Good" He lit the fire with magic and took out a metal rod with a hook on the end from his packs. He stuck that in the ground and then grabbed a black iron pot from a different pack. After hooking the pot to the rod, he took off the lid, threw in some vegetables and water and let it simmer over the flames.

"Is there anything magic can't do?" I muttered to myself. He heard me.

"There's plenty of things you can't do with magic. Don't tell me you know nothing of the arcan arts?" I walked over to the fire and sat.

"I used to want to study magic, but my father wouldn't let me."

"Of course he wouldn't. He was probably scared of it." I really didn't know why my father didn't want me around magic. He'd never said. "Was there a particular school you were interested in?"

"Well yes, but I'm too old to really learn any of it." I was uncomfortable around magic, but I used to watch mages show off near the arena.

"I doubt that." I sighed.

"I love watching Destruction magic. Specifically lighting spells. They're so pretty."

"Really?"

"Mhm. It's so powerful. Watching it is like watching a god control the weather." He chuckled.

"Yeah. I guess it is. I only know a basic fire spell, but I have books that may be able to help you. Most of the brotherhood practice Illusion and Alteration magic. It gets us out of tight spots sometimes."

"I can see that helping. Plus, magic creates light, especially destruction. I may just stick with a sword." He shook his head.

"If you want to learn something, then learn it. Don't let other people or the way everyone else does things hold you back." I smiled slightly. It was easy to say those things, but harder to practice that belief. I wasn't stupid by any means, but my father had only wanted me to learn what he approved of.

Lucien picked up a wooden ladle and stirred the stew. It smelled heavenly. I hadn't eaten since breakfast and I was starving. I laid back and looked up at the clouds. The sun was setting so they were varying shades of pink, orange, and purple. It was so peaceful laying on the grass watching the clouds drift by and listening to the birds in the trees.

"So Lucien, how long will it take us to get to Cheydinhal?"

"If all goes well, we'll be there tomorrow. It's only a few hours away."

"That close huh?" I was only six or seven hours away from one of the biggest cities in Cyrodil and I'd never known. I needed a map to study.

"Oh, I have something for you." He rummaged around in his pack for a moment and produced a cloth wrapped bundle. I sat up and he handed it to me. "It's tradition for the speaker of the sanctuary to give new members a gift." I smiled and unwound the cloth. Buried in the folds was a beautiful ebony dagger. The hilt and sheath were decorated with beautiful gold filigree, and when I pulled out the blade, it had the same gold patterns. I could tell just by looking that the blade was wickedly sharp.

"Lucien, it's beautiful." I spun the dagger, watching the reflections of the flames on the blade.

"Use it well. You can name it if you wish." Name it? I thought long and hard. I toyed with Shadowfury for a few moments before deciding on a different name.

"Woe. The blade of Woe." Lucien blinked.

"Seriously?" I started to giggle.

"I wanted a name fit for an assassin. I thought it fit, and it's funny as well." He smiled.

"I guess it is. So, the Blade of Woe." He pulled out two bowls and ladled some soup into them. He handed me one.

"Here. You need to eat. You may want to put away the dagger for a bit. There will be plenty of time to look at it later." I stuck my tongue out at him, but sheathed the dagger and put it down. I took a bite and scalded my tongue. Lucien just raised an eyebrow as he blew on his spoonful to cool it. I ate more slowly, blowing on the spoonfuls to avoid burning myself again. It was bland, but filling. With the right spices it would've been fantastic.

"Alright, I am going to bed. You should do the same. I want to be in Cheydinhal before noon tomorrow." He had finished his soup and rinsed the bowl with some water he had in a skin. I handed him mine and he cleaned it as well. Then he tossed a bedroll at my head. I managed to catch it before it hit me in the head.

"Hey!"

"What? You need something to sleep on. Unless you prefer the grass and dirt." Grumbling, I spread it out on the ground, took off my robe, and crawled in. The night was chilly, but the bedroll was warm and I didn't feel the cold. Within minutes, both of us were sound asleep.

Hey everyone! I am so sorry this took so long! I have had a lot of stuff going on lately. I'm rarely home, and when I am, I have stuff to do here. By the time all of that is done, I'm so tired I just go to bed. Anyway, I hope you like it. Leave me a review or shoot me a private message telling me what you think. Personally, I'm not 100% satisfied with this chapter, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting too much longer.

xoxo Eldest123323