Zarissis woke up from what smelled like a rotting animal carcass. It took her a minute to realize that the scent was not coming from something next to her but was the result of her drunken expedition the night before. She slowly opened her eyes and immediately regretted it as she was hit by an agonizing burst of white pain to her head, making her clutch at her eyes and moan into the pillow.
That's right. Vicente offered her a drink, and she accepted one…and then another, followed by another four… Although from what Zarissis could remember, their conversation seemed rather pleasant. Still, Vicente probably thought her a fool. She'd have to go and apologize once she managed to get up.
With a whimper, the redhead pushed herself into a sitting position before cupping her head in her hands, rocking back and forth slightly as the pounding in her head roared. She was still in her green dress, and she felt very thankful that Vicente hadn't tried to change her into nightclothes. Then again, after several centuries she was sure he learned a thing or two about being a gentleman.
Once the aching dulled down, Zarissis was able to open her eyes and look around. The living quarter was empty, everyone else already having gotten up to begin their day. Zarissis pulled herself to her chest and popped it open. Her satchel had been placed neatly inside on top of the Dark Brotherhood armor. She reached in and pulled out the leathers, placing them on her bed, before pulling her dagger from her satchel.
Closing the chest and turning back to the bed, Zarissis pulled off her dress and began to put on her armor. It took her quite a while to figure out how to put everything on correctly, but as she slipped different sections of the leathers on, she noticed they were enchanted to change shape to fit her body. Once she was dressed, Zarissis slipped the sheath of her dagger onto the belt on her waist before walking into the main hall.
Everything was eerily quiet. The only family member in sight was Ocheeva, who sat in a large armchair reading. As Zarissis approached, she saw that the book was entitled The Lusty Argonian Maid. She had heard of the book, of course, but had never taken an opportunity to read it. Her mother had forbidden such reading material. Books about blood and gore she would occasionally tolerate, but anything racy and the woman would have beaten her deaf. Not that it mattered, anyway; Zarissis didn't imagine that there'd be any romance or sex in her future. She was here for business, and her own personal pursuit of freedom.
Ocheeva looked up as she approached. "Oh good, you're awake! You spent a long time in Vicente's room last night." It was the kind of statement that suggested more than something innocent, like when her mom would come into her room in the morning and tell her she stayed up too late, in a suspicious manner, as though Zarissis had done something wrong by it.
"We just sat and talked, that was all. I lost track of the time." It was mostly true, aside from her unexpected drinking binge. She thought it was best not to mention that.
Ocheeva merely nodded, her suspicion cast aside. "Very well. I'm glad to hear you're settling in with the other family members. Also, Lucien Lachance will be returning later and desires to speak with you."
"Do you know where everyone is? And what time it is?"
"It is currently dusk. You were up most of the night and slept through the day. As for our family, most of them were assigned contracts. We seemed to have had a dry spell lately and haven't had many children praying to the Night Mother, but Lucien returned this morning with work. Some contracts involved long travelling, so they left a bit earlier." She paused, thinking. "I believe that Gogron may return in a few hours. He's usually very quick, but he does prefer to stomp into homes and bash his target's head in rather than stealthing. Anyway, Vicente is awake, if you are interested. Nighttime is his usual hours, after all." Ocheeva gazed at Zarissis for a second before returning her eyes to her book.
Zarissis bid her thanks and descended down the hall. As she approached Vicente's door, she was about to knock when the door swung open from the inside, revealing the vampire standing before her with a hand on the doorknob.
"Come in," he muttered huskily. Zarissis noticed his mood had changed dramatically. Instead of the flamboyant, perky personality she'd been faced with earlier, this one was quiet and sad. There was a parchment on the table, words written in cursive, but any attempt to read it was quickly diminished. As she entered Vicente quickly swept it beneath another pile, concealing whatever bad news she imagined it must have bore.
Vicente's hair wasn't in the same neat ponytail it had been the night before. It was still pulled back, but little strands of hair had escaped and fell around his face. Gazing at him, it was only then that Zarissis realized he looked much different then how she had remembered him. His cheeks were full and pink, and his eyes had changed to a deep shade of amber.
Zarissis had not stepped two feet into the room before Vicente sat before her, staring at her intently. He looked quite remorseful, and there were dark circles under his eyes. She frowned. Whatever was on the parchment must have been pretty bad, as she could not imagine that she would be the bearer of such a sorry state.
He quickly pulled out a chair for her and sat across the table. He folded his hands together, giving her his full attention.
"I must apologize for my behavior last night. Given your position as a new recruit, I never should have enticed you to drink." After a moment, a small smile graced his lips. "Then again, I'm not sure of many who would feel comfortable drinking themselves silly in the face of a vampire."
Zarissis didn't know quite how to respond. It was true that perhaps she ought to have been more cautious, but she felt oddly…comfortable around him. Maybe it was because he was so forward about his condition, or perhaps it was that he was the only person she had spoken to in a very long time about more personal matters. Zarissis couldn't ever recall telling someone of the brutality of some of her mother's actions.
"I had fun," she responded simply, smiling with all the innocence she could muster. It was not a difficult task. Vicente merely shook his head in a way that could have been described as scolding, but Zarissis ignored it.
There was something enticing about watching him, whether in his current saddened state or the lively, flamboyant man she had seen the night before. His lifeless eyes bore more spirit than many people she had met before. Zarissis knew that the years he'd spent as a vampire must have been difficult, but this looked like a man who remained positive about most situations.
A thought came to her, and she acted on it. In one bold, swift action, Zarissis stepped forward and gently grabbed one of the wisps of hair floating around his face, tucking it back into the ponytail. Vicente stiffened at her sudden approach but did not take his eyes off her face as she smoothed his hair down.
She didn't know quite why she did it, but many of her actions seemed to border on rash and impulsive recently. That was the entire reason she was even in the Dark Brotherhood – if she had ever given a second thought to killing Tristeran, she never would have done it. Yet, it seemed to turn out okay for her. She felt comfortable in the Sanctuary, even after a day. The minute she stepped over the threshold of the Black Door, she felt like she was finally home, and like every person in her new home was important to her. She had not yet found an explanation as to why, but even then, this same comfort extended into her heart before Vicente, despite his condition. And now she found herself inexplicably touching him in some way, far closer than she probably should be.
Once she had retied the ponytail, the vampire merely tilted his head to the side slightly, his body language clearly questioning. Zarissis didn't respond or provide explanation, as there was none to give.
After a moment, Vicente abruptly spoke. "You are an unusual girl." It was an odd sentence, and even stranger coming from one who had lived far longer than the typical mortal. She wondered if she should have been offended, but the tone of his voice was soft and suggested something more akin to a compliment.
"Thank you," she whispered in response, taking her seat again. Vicente still had his eyes focused on her, although now there was a frown on his face.
"When I told you I gave you alcohol to keep your company so I could listen to you talk, you did not show any evidence of shock or worry." Vicente appeared puzzled, narrowing his eyes. "Apart from becoming defenseless in the company of a vampire, even the best of us have secrets we wouldn't want to share."
Folding her arms over her chest, Zarissis merely raised an eyebrow. "What would I possibly have told you? As you know, I was a merchant's daughter. My mother monitored all I did, including what I felt like reading. There are very few things I have to hide, even from you, except perhaps that I have a copy of Immortal Blood and spent a great deal of my youth learning everything I could about vampires because I was fascinated by the concept of immortality." The words flowed from her lips, and Zarissis didn't bother to stop them. Although, she thought to herself, perhaps it was best not to mention Immortal Blood.
Vicente raised an eyebrow. Immortal Blood? That would certainly explain her sudden excitement after she overcame fear when first meeting him.
She was true to her word. He didn't understand how even someone like her could have no secrets, but her heart rate didn't lie. Even if she were the product of an overprotective household, which seemed like the case, it was hard to imagine having nothing to hide from anyone.
The girl seemed to be quite mysterious herself, at least to Vicente; typically he understood the character of a person and what to expect of them fairly early, but even after many hours of her company the night before, he still found her actions unpredictable. She was young and innocent and always had been. How had someone like her been driven to kill, and then been compelled to join an assassin's guild?
Her sudden closeness simply to fix his hair was perhaps the most baffling. She should have been far more wary about being in his presence, yet she approached him and touched him like a friend would. Her body language did not change; it was clear to Vicente that she was not in the habit of thinking her actions through. Still, he found it amusing how comfortable she seemed to be with him.
In his younger, human years in High Rock, Vicente had studied magic at the Mages Guild. He recalled that a person's subconscious would retain awareness of any spells placed on it, even if their memories were altered. If you shocked a man with chain lighting before entering a specific room and then modified his memories so he didn't recall what happened, the next time he'd go near the door he'd still hesitate and flinch, as though expecting the shock.
He worried that someone at some point had cast a spell on her, removed memories that she should have had. How else would she have known to kill someone when in danger? Most people he had met would scream, faint, or both - perhaps even tried to run. However, Lucien had been very specific in his recollection of her murder. She had pulled out the dagger as swiftly as any other killer and landed the blow nearly perfectly. Had she killed before and someone wiped her memories to protect her? The idea worried him extensively.
"Yes, you are quite right," he at last conceded. Deciding that this was a subject best left until another time, Vicente quickly switched to a different subject. "Onto business. I have one contract I can offer you; however, you will not be able to do it until Lucien has a word with you. Up for it?"
Zarissis shrugged and nodded. Without waiting for a verbal response, Vicente launched into an explanation of her assignment. "Excellent. Here is what you must do. Go to the Waterfront District of the Imperial City. There you will find a ship named the Marie Elena. Board the ship and find its captain, Gaston Tussaud. He'll be in his cabin. Eliminate Tussaud in any manner you see fit. The pirates have been moving a lot of cargo onboard lately. You may be able to smuggle yourself on board in one of the packing crates. Oh, and one more thing. Get into the habit of asking your fellow family members about any current contract. Their insight may prove invaluable."
Zarissis listened intently as he spoke. It was then, between his stream of words and her concentration, that he found that thing about her that made her so odd. There, caught up in processing what he was saying, she looked quite serious, far more mature than she had the other night.
The girl who stood before him was the kind who would seduce and trick for murder. She was a hunter, and her contracts the prey, unlike the little lark who babbled innocently the night before. Vicente never recalled Lucien telling him her age, and looking at her then, she could have been anything from fifteen to thirty and still beguile those around her.
"Out of curiosity, how old are you?" Vicente asked once she had learned of her target. Zarissis blinked in confusion, clearly put off by the sudden topic change and random nature of his inquiry.
"I'm twenty…" she responded slowly, nervously running her hands over her braid. "Why are you asking? How old are you, exactly?"
Oh, still so young, at least in Vicente's mind. Lucien always did have a knack for recruiting younger women, much to the Black Hand's irritation. There was no question that he had his eye on her, since the Speaker rarely spoke to a new recruit once they joined the Sanctuary, unless he needed them for business, and Zarissis was far too inexperienced for that. Vicente understood Lucien Lachance far better than he'd like to admit. The man had served him as Silencer many years ago, when Vicente still held the position of Speaker, and he had seen his cruel nature first hand. No doubt Lucien would do anything in his power to seduce the girl, merely for the concept of owning her. Vicente himself had nearly fallen for the dark-haired Imperial when he was just Vicente's apprentice. It was a dangerous road, one Vicente was careful not to walk again. And while he appreciated the Speaker and considered him a friend, Vicente was not so fond of the influences of Lucien Lachance. He'd seen many of Lucien's conquests become submissive and compliant, refusing to question or disobey any of Lucien's orders, no matter how absurd, and often they'd become aggressive and distrustful if someone else had any word to say against the man. With a traitor on the loose and clues pointing to Cheydinhal, Lucien was not in a good position.
The last thing the Sanctuary needed was another mindless, dutiful Sister to Lucien, and if the Speaker got his hands on her, Vicente knew that the little songbird he saw would be merely a haunted shell. Vicente simply couldn't let that happen.
Zarissis quietly panicked inside. After she had told the elder vampire her age, he had merely stared at her, his face expressionless. She didn't know what to expect. Did he think her too young to be a part of the Dark Brotherhood?
"Did I do something wrong?" She questioned slowly, staring at him through paranoid eyes.
Vicente seemed to realize again that she was there. His usual smile returned, with no evidence that his face had changed. "Of course not! You are simply a child compared to me. I was stricken with vampirism over three-hundred years ago, while on an expedition deep into the Ashlands of Vvardenfell. For nearly 100 years I hunted in secret, until the Dark Brotherhood found me."
"Oh." Zarissis didn't know what to say. She knew he was a vampire, of course, so naturally he wouldn't age, but she hadn't expected him to be as old as he was. The man before her was less gaunt than the day before, and his expression more humanly, so Zarissis assumed he must have fed. He looked quite young, only in his late twenties, as though he wasn't much older than herself when he was turned.
It was only then while she stared at him that she truly noticed the structure of his face. He had a square jaw but an oddly delicate chin, coupled with the still-prominent cheekbones, despite that his cheeks weren't nearly as emaciated. Even with his slightly feminine facial structure, there was something far more rugged in his face that Zarissis could only guess was due to years of struggle and hardship, as well as life in the Brotherhood and as a vampire.
Vicente cleared his throat, a smirk on his lips. Zarissis jumped, realizing she had been staring at him for quite some time. And why wouldn't she? Lucien may have had the rough and masculine aura about him and the face that she was certain most girls would swoon over, but Vicente was just as attractive when he had fed.
Zarissis felt her cheeks burn. She had never looked at someone before and found them attractive, yet here she was, ogling the vampiric Breton assassin whom she was to answer to after all of her contracts. Not to mention that he was probably completely aware of her sudden interest, due to the whole I can hear your heartbeat thing.
It looked as though Vicente was just about to speak when his chamber door burst open without warning, a black-robed Speaker stomping in angrily. Zarissis sighed in relief, yet again feeling saved by the man.
"You!" Lucien pointed at Zarissis, hissing as he launched forward. His sudden maniac action scared the girl, who instinctively clutched to the nearest person to her, inadvertently wrapping her arms around his torso and pressing her face into his chest.
"I need to borrow the girl," Lucien demanded from Vicente, who merely patted the head of the creature now attached to him.
"I think," the vampire began, an unamused tone entering his voice, "that if you really want to speak to her, asking politely and calling her by name might be an excellent place to start."
Zarissis glanced up from her place against Vicente's side to see the two exchanging heated glances, tension building between them. At last, the Speaker's scowl deepened before he looked down to the little Breton girl.
"Zarissis," he began, his voice stiff. "I want a word with you."
She merely stared up at Lucien, who looked increasingly more unsettled as time went on. He seemed completely fine and normal the past two times Zarissis had encountered him, but before Vicente he seemed agitated.
"Okay," she replied quietly before gasping as sudden embarrassment hit her as she realized she had her arms locked tightly around Vicente. She quickly unbound her body from him and followed behind Lucien, casting a shy glance backward at Vicente as she left the bedchamber, only to be surprised to see his face a reflection of amusement.
Later perhaps, she thought to herself, he'll tease me for being a silly little bird, or something along those lines. Still, his gentle quips were something she expected, and she was discovering that she looked forward to listening to his amiable pleasantries.