Leola stood motionless, staring wide-eyed up at Aventus. There was concern in his dark eyes and a frown on his lips.
"Leola?" he asked in a soft voice after several long moments of silence. He lifted a hand and she quickly inched back.
"You're not…you're not going to kill me…are you?" she asked in a soft voice, and he quickly shook his head.
"Sithis, no," he said right away. "Nazir wouldn't accept their gold. He said he couldn't because of your ties with the Dark Brotherhood – which I'll bet confused the hell out of them…"
"Oh," Leola said softly, a relieved breath leaving her lips. "Then why bother telling me?"
"Leola, somebody wants you dead," he said, his tone dark.
"Oh," she said again, feeling silly for not realizing that that, in itself, was why he had told her. "Did he say who it was?"
"No, he didn't," Aventus replied. "I asked, but he wouldn't tell me. He only sent for me to let me know because he knows that I've been here with you, so he warned me to watch out for you."
"Don't you already?" Leola asked with a giggle, and Aventus grinned.
"I most certainly do," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him in half a hug. He planted a kiss atop her head as she snuggled into him for a moment.
"Next time you speak to Nazir, thank him for me," said Leola softly as she pulled back, looking up at him.
"I will," he replied with a smile. "Now, shall we get back to Erith? Maybe try to find out what happened?"
"I don't want to bother her by asking about it any further," Leola said with a shake of her head. "She seemed…extremely shaken and upset. She goes cold if you try to ask about it. I'm just going to wait until she brings it up herself."
Aventus was thoughtful for a moment, and then nodded. "Fair enough," he said.
He moved back to the door of Erith's room, but as he reached out to open it, it flew open. He jumped back slightly as Erith came out, smiling over at the two of them. She had dressed herself while they were gone, as she had been wrapped in just her blankets before, and she seemed to have regained much of her composure.
"I wasn't listening, don't worry," she said to them quickly. "I just…figured we'd move out of my room and back to our table."
"Sounds good," Aventus said with a nod. He looked over at Leola. "If you want to tell her what we've discussed, you can – I only asked to speak with you privately for, well, your privacy, in case you weren't comfortable sharing."
"It's fine," Leola said softly, biting her lip and shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other. "But, um…can you tell her?"
Aventus nodded slightly, able to see her discomfort with the topic, and he looked up into Erith's concerned face. "Somebody contacted the Dark Brotherhood seeking to have Leola assassinated."
Erith's brown eyes widened at his words and her mouth fell open. The shocked expression on her face quickly shifted into an angry one, her brow furrowing and a frown adorning her lips. "And what did you say?" she asked, her voice becoming cold.
"Nazir said no," Aventus said calmly. "He told them that we can't assassinate Leola because of her close ties with the Brotherhood – and thank Sithis he did. That doesn't, however, change the fact that somebody wants our Leola dead."
"No, it doesn't," Erith said, calming slightly at his answer. "But we're not going to let that happen."
"No, we won't," Aventus replied with a shake of his head. "And Leola…I think that you need to tell your father about this."
"He's not here," Leola said quickly. "He left for Falkreath this afternoon. He won't be back for a few days."
Aventus frowned at her words, shaking his head again. "Well, so much for that idea," he said slowly. "Why is he going to Falkreath?"
"He wouldn't say," Leola replied. "He said that he'll explain when he gets back, that something was found in a tomb and he was asked to come and see."
"That's odd," Aventus said slowly, sitting down at their regular table.
"Do either of you want anything to eat?" Erith asked, moving in the direction of the stairs instead.
"No, I'm fine," Aventus said, and Leola echoed the sentiment. With a shrug, Erith began making her way down.
"Do you know Samuel and Runa?" Leola asked softly, and Aventus raised an eyebrow.
"I do," he replied. "I lived with them in the Riften orphanage for a short time."
"Oh, right," she replied softly, and Aventus smirked slightly.
"What do you mean, right?" he asked softly. "I don't think I ever told you about that."
"Ulfric did," she said. "He doesn't believe that you performed the Black Sacrament, though, he thinks it was just some nasty rumour being passed around."
"Good," Aventus muttered, a frown coming to his lips. "And what do you think?"
"Samuel and Runa said it was true," she replied, and a laugh left Aventus's mouth.
"Is there anything you don't know about me now?" he asked in a gentle, teasing voice.
"Probably," she replied with a smile. "I just don't know what it is that I don't know."
Aventus laughed, smiling over at Erith as she came back up the stairs with an apple in one hand and a chunk of bread in the other, just like the first time Leola had met her. The blonde smiled, feeling a warmth spread through her at that thought.
"Sond left me the map," Erith said as she set her food down on the table, reaching into her pocket to pull out the folded paper. "We put a mark on Markarth because the cultists of Boethiah said that Molag Bal's shrine was there."
"One of the notes in Hjerim mentioned dwemer ruins, so perhaps there's another shrine somewhere in the Reach?" Leola asked softly, and Erith nodded.
"We just need to narrow it down from there," she said, "but it's certainly plausible."
"I wonder if we can speak to any of the artifacts?" Aventus asked suddenly, and both girls looked up at him in confusion.
"If we can…what?" asked Erith, while Leola was rendered utterly speechless.
"I was just thinking…if holding one of the artifacts and trying to communicate with the Daedric prince associated with it…would accomplish anything," Aventus said slowly, clearly trying to piece his words together precisely.
"I understand," Leola said suddenly. "If it's their object, maybe they can see us or hear us through it, and maybe there's a way for them to speak back."
"It's worth a try," Erith said softly. "Which of us would they be most likely to talk to?"
"Leola," Aventus replied, the certainty in his tone so strong that it caused the blonde to jump slightly.
"Why me?" she asked soflty.
"You're the daughter of their champion. I'm sure that will count for something," he replied with a smile.
"Doesn't one of the artifacts summon a Daedra?" asked Erith, and it was her turn to be met with confused gazes from her friends.
"Where did you hear that?" asked Aventus curiously.
"I seem to recall having read it somewhere," she replied. "I could be mistaken."
"It would be worth trying to find out," Leola said with a smile. "Should we go tonight and try it? Or should we wait for morning?"
"It's up to you," Erith replied.
Leola was thoughtful for a moment, lifting a hand and brushing a loose blonde curl from her face. "I think…let's go tonight. The sooner we get this done, the better."