Chapter 6: Contract

I'd been at the Sanctuary for a week. Ocheeva had been trying to train me and it hadn't been going very well. I was good at stealth and could easily sneak around without being seen while I was in the city. Weapons were another story. The Argonian had amazing patience, but I could tell it was starting to wear thin. Today we were in the training room and she was trying to teach me how to throw a dagger.

"You hold it this way." She corrected my grip again. I nodded and threw it at the target. Yet again, I missed. I sighed and retrieved the dagger from the floor. "Alright Rivien. I have some things I need to take care of. Just stay here and practice on your own for a bit."

"Fine." I grumbled. She left the room. I was annoyed with myself for being so bad at this. I was horrible with a dagger. More often than not, I dropped it or got it stuck when I tried to pull it out of the scabbard. We hadn't even attempted a sword. I fumbled and dropped arrows when I tried to use a bow. I had yet to hit a target with anything.

I was alone, so I tried throwing a few more daggers at the hay target. My aim was so off, they clattered against the wall, hilt first. I stalked to the daggers and picked them up. There was an amused snort behind me. I spun around and glared at the intruder. It was a male Wood Elf, his bronze skin and green eyes were shining in the torch light. He had dark brown hair pulled into a queue, and the hood was down on his brotherhood armor. He was also wearing the most infuriating smirk I'd ever seen.

"Can I help you?" He rolled his eyes.

"I highly doubt you could ever help me. I'm here to help you."

"I don't need help."

"Judging from what I just witnessed, you really do." Lightning fast, he pulled two daggers out and threw them. They buried themselves hilt deep in the center of the target.

"I just need practice." The elf sighed, annoyed.

"Look. I don't want to help you. I couldn't care less actually. But Lucien asked me to train you, so here I am." As if on cue Lucien walked into the room.

"Hello Rivien. I see you've met Stephan." I shifted my glare to him. I hadn't seen Lucien since he'd shown me around Cheydinhal. How did he know I was so bad that I needed a special trainer?

"Yes I have and I don't want his help." I knew I sounded like a snob. I didn't like getting help from anyone for anything.

"I don't care what you want. You're going to train with Stephan. End of discussion."

"But—"

"Silence!" He hissed. "You are not a noble here girl! You are at the very bottom and you will stay there until you prove yourself. The Brotherhood has no use for useless assassins." He turned and stormed out of the room, robes flowing behind him. I huffed and looked at the elf. Stephan was grinning, struggling not to laugh.

"I thought I was the only one who could make Lucien that angry in such a short amount of time. Maybe you aren't so bad after all. Come on, let's do a little training today. I'm sure he's watching to make sure that we do."

Today marked a month since I'd joined the brotherhood. Since the day I'd met Stephan, Lucien had avoided me. He'd been busy most likely, but my brain refused to be logical. My training was coming along nicely. Stephan wasn't nearly as nice or patient as Ocheeva and more often than not we were yelling insults at each other. Despite this, he was a very good teacher. I could now wield a dagger and bow, and could use the throwing daggers. I wasn't deadly accurate, but I was told that would come with practice. As a gift, he even taught me a basic fire spell and a healing spell. We weren't friends. I wasn't sure we could ever be, but we weren't enemies either.

I was in the practice room with my bow when Ocheeva walked in.

"Good morning Rivien. I need to speak with you." I stopped shooting and looked at her.

"What is it?" She handed me a rolled up parchment. Quietly I opened it and scanned the contents. It was a contract for a man in Chorrol. There was a description of the target and a brief mention of a guard that followed him around.

"Do you think you're up to it? It'll be your first contract and I thought it was simple enough." Did I have a choice or was she just being nice?

"I can do it. How would I get there?" I didn't have a horse and walking would take forever.

"Lucien's horse, Thunder. He already told the stables you would be taking him. If you leave soon and follow the main roads you should reach Chorrol by tomorrow evening. Pack and head out." I nodded and she left. My first mission. Hopefully I wouldn't royally screw it up. The contract didn't mention any special conditions, so like Ocheeva said, it was simple enough.

I walked to the practice target and retrieved the arrows stuck in it and put them away. I had some better ones I kept in the chest at the foot of my bed that I hadn't had a chance to use yet. I'd actually bought a few things I hadn't been able to use yet, like a pack to carry the few things I needed for missions and a new traveling cloak. I was starting to get excited, so I headed to the living quarters and started packing. I already had on my brotherhood armor, so I simply threw a spare set of civilian clothes, some food, including a few apples for Thunder, and a couple of water flasks into my traveling pack. I put on my new cloak and fastened it, threw the pack over my shoulders, and I was ready to go.

I said goodbye to the few people in the sanctuary and climbed the ladder that led outside. Once my feet touched the grass I was hit by a wave of nervousness that nearly made me throw up. I'd never intentionally killed anyone before. The first—and only—time had been an accident, self-defense. The thought that I wasn't cut out for this briefly flew through my mind before I dismissed it. I'd agreed to this. I didn't have to, but I did so I was going to stick it out. Straightening my spine, I calmly walked through the city and through the gates. Sure enough, Thunder was already saddled and waiting. I fastened my pack to his saddle like I'd watched Lucien do and then stepped into the stirrup to swing myself up. I overshot it, and nearly fell off of the other side. I heard a snicker, but when I turned and looked there was nobody around. Thunder, as patient as ever, simply snorted and shook his mane.

"Alright boy, let's go." I nudged him with my knees and he started to walk down the road. I took a deep breath to steady myself. Even though I felt unprepared, I'd been training hard for this. I was an assassin now, even if I had no experience and was probably going to be abysmal at it. Thunder sped up a little more when I gave him a nudge. A gentle breeze blew through my hair, and I took the time to look around. It was truly a beautiful day with everything bloomed out and green. The sky was perfectly clear, the air smelled sweet. Smiling, I relaxed in the saddle, happy to be out in the sun enjoying the day.

"This is stupid and I hate it." I grumbled to myself. It was almost dark and Thunder and I were stopping for the night. We'd been riding pretty much nonstop all day, apart from a lunch break and a few water breaks for Thunder. My entire body hurt, even my teeth were aching. I was too tired to make a camp, but I didn't exactly want to sleep in the cold either. Even though it was spring, the nights were still a bit chilly. Complaining loudly the entire time, I gathered some firewood and tied Thunder to a tree where he'd be able to get something to eat. When the firewood was in a neat little stack, I used the fire spell that Stephan had taught me. I somehow managed to make it too strong, and instead of making a campfire, I incinerated the wood, causing it to simply fall apart into a pile of ashes.

"AHHH why? I just want to rest and eat!" I knew I was being loud, but at this point I didn't care. I was in a foul mood, and it would be wonderful if someone stumbled upon my camp. I stalked around the edge of the woods, gathering some more firewood. I arranged it into a pile again and this time made sure my fire spell wasn't too strong. Finally, I had a nice little campfire going and I pulled out my sleeping pallet, a blanket, and some food. Starving, I rushed through my small dinner of fruit and cheese, chasing it down with some lukewarm water. Now that everything was secure, I laid down and pulled the blanket over myself. After a few minutes of rolling around trying to find a comfortable position, I gave up. Annoyed I moved my pallet to another spot, hoping the ground would be a little softer.

Somehow I managed to grab a few hours of sleep. All through the night strange sounds would wake me. A twig snapping, wings flapping in the trees. At one time I swore I saw a black figure across the road watching me. And to add to all of this, there had been a rock in my back all night. Now that it was morning, I was ready to get started again. I was still in a foul mood after my sleepless night, so hopefully I wouldn't meet any travelers on the road. Part of me wanted to just so I could be a jerk and take my annoyance out on someone, but the other part of me just wanted to be left alone. Quietly, I cleaned up camp, kicking dirt over the remnants of the fire. I gave Thunder an apple, climbed into the saddle, and got back on the road.

The constant jarring of Thunder's hooves on the road was doing nothing to improve my mood. A sleepless night combined with the soreness from spending all of yesterday afternoon in the saddle was making me extremely unhappy. We unsurprisingly didn't pass anyone on the road; it wasn't time for traders yet. Since we didn't have to stop for anyone, we made good time. Just like Ocheeva said, we reached Chorrol just as the sun started to set. Stiffly, I dismounted and stabled Thunder, giving him another apple just for putting up with me. I grabbed my pack off of his saddle and made my way into the city.

Compared to Cheydinhall, Chorrol was rather boring. The architecture was pretty much like what you'd see in the Imperial City, and because of that fact, I pretty much instantly hated this place. I stopped a passerby and asked him for directions to the nearest inn. I'd get started tomorrow on this contract. I needed a good night's rest so I didn't screw up. The little Bosmer directed me to an inn that was pretty close to the gates. It was thankfully easy to find, and I walked in. Compared to what I was used to back in the capital, this place was a dump. After counting the amount of gold I had on me, I swallowed my pride, rented a room, and bought myself a hot meal. The innkeeper was friendly enough. He brought my meal to me, along with a tankard full of cold water. Before I could even start to eat though, a pair of men walked in. The first one looked familiar so I pulled the contract out of my pocket and looked at the description. Sure enough, that was my mark and his body guard.

I sighed. It appeared that I wouldn't be getting much of a rest tonight. On the bright side, I didn't have to hunt them down. Since I didn't know this city that would have taken me awhile. The man was an Imperial. He was rather short, a bit chubby. His skin was ruddy, his hair and eyes a dirty brown color. He was rich, that much was obvious, but he was disgusting. As he ate, gravy dribbled down his chin. He wiped it off with the back of his hand and continued to eat. I grimaced and looked at the bodyguard instead. This man was huge. A Nord, he had the typical blonde hair and bright blue eyes of his people. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt that showed off his bulging muscles, and he had a two handed sword slung across his back. The little man definitely knew how to hire a bodyguard. Everyone in the room was as far away from them as they could get.

The Nord noticed me looking that them and he smiled at me. At least I think it was supposed to be a smile. It was a cross between a grimace of pain from a stomachache and the face one made when they smelled something bad. I looked away, quietly eating my soup. After roughly half an hour, the chubby little man stood up, knocking his chair over in the process, and tottered out of the door. With a low sigh, the Nord followed after him. I gave them a minute, before I quietly stood up and left.

I tried to remember everything I'd been taught, sticking to the shadows and being as silent as I could. It was still too early though, and there were too many people on the streets. Thinking fast, I climbed the side of a building and used the roofs to get around, following my mark as closely as I could. Thankfully, the buildings in Chorrol were built pretty close together. The duo stopped at a small house and the little man went inside. The Nord stood at the door, arms crossed and eyes closed. I wasn't sure when the man was going to come out, but this was probably my best chance to just get this over with.

Quietly, I climbed off of the roof I'd been sitting on and looked around. My eyes landed on a nice sized rock and I picked it up, tossing it up and down a few times in my hand. Then, as hard as I could, I chunked it. The sound echoed down the street. The Nord's eyes flew open and he drew his sword. Quietly, he crept towards the sound and I slipped inside the little house.

It was a skooma operation. No wonder the little Imperial needed muscle. The place reeked of the drug and I had to cover my mouth and nose to keep from breathing in the worst of the stench. Chubby was sitting at a desk, back to the door. I pulled my dagger out of its sheath and silently crept up behind him. He noticed me at the last second, spinning around so fast he, yet again, knocked over his chair. Before he was able to make a sound, I slit his throat, making sure to aim him away from me so I wouldn't get anything on my clothes. Just like that, it was over. I quietly laid him down on the floor, wiped my dagger clean on his shirt, and crept back out of the house.

I wasn't a moment too soon. Just as I climbed back onto the roof of a nearby house, the Nord man rushed back and flung the door open. With a howl of rage, he started swinging his sword around, destroying everything he hit. Judging by his reaction, he must've been making a pretty penny by helping the guy out. As quickly as I could, I made my way back to the inn. Before going inside, I pulled my hood down, fixed my hair a bit, and calmly walked inside. The innkeeper smiled at me and directed me to the room I'd rented. It was small and a bit rundown, but at least the bed looked clean. Without a second thought, I fell onto the mattress and was quickly asleep.

Hey everyone! I know it's been awhile since I last updated. With the holidays and then starting a new semester at school, I've just been insanely busy. I noticed that when I uploaded my previous chapters, Fanfiction was messing up my formatting a little bit, so I went in and tried to fix it with this one. Hopefully it's a bit better. Also, I just wanted to way thank you for the reviews :) I will update again as soon as I am able. I promise I haven't forgotten this story, I just haven't had the time to write anything.

xoxo, Eldest123323