When Leola awoke, the smell of freshly baked bread was the first thing she noticed. She drew herself up into a sitting position, her gaze quickly falling on Aventus and Alesan. They sat at the small table across the room, each with a loaded plate before them. They were both fully dressed, unlike the previous night, and they were laughing and talking, though she couldn't quite make out what was being said.
"There's our sleeping princess!" Alesan exclaimed with a grin. "Come on, Leola, there's food!"
Leola smiled, slipping out of the bed and wandering over. A third plate sat beside Aventus, covered in a cloth – presumably to keep the bread warm. She sat down beside her friend, smoothing out her skirt. She had simply slept in the same dress she'd worn yesterday, uneasy about the idea of changing in front of the guys.
Lifting the cloth off of her plate, she saw a fat loaf of bread. She grinned, picking up a knife and beginning to slice the bread. Alesan handed over a small dish of butter, and Aventus motioned towards a bowl in the middle of the table that contained a handful of various fruits and vegetables.
"So, Leola, how is it being the long-lost princess?" Alesan teased, grinning over at the blonde.
"Exhausting," she replied with a smile of her own. "I have all these new friends, all the food and jewels and clothing I could ever want, countless suitors vying for my attention, not to mention over a dozen Daedric artifacts in my house that I need to get rid of."
Both men laughed, and Alesan grinned at her. "Countless suitors, eh?" he asked, and she nodded.
"Oh, absolutely," she joked, smearing some butter over the soft, warm bread. "Sons of Jarls, dashing knights, far-off princes…"
"Sounds fantastic," Aventus said with a laugh. "Why haven't I met any of these charming suitors?"
"Does every suitor have to go through you first?" Alesan asked, laughing, and then he looked back to Leola. "Have you chosen a suitor?"
"I – well," she said, her cheeks going pink and a smile coming to her lips.
"You have!" exclaimed the Redguard, grinning. "Let me guess…is it Asgorn? No, wait – Francois? Or perhaps…could it be Assur? He did always love blondes…"
"Isn't Assur engaged to Eirid?" asked Aventus, and Alesan shrugged.
"One of the Winterhold blondes," he said, and the two laughed. "Did you hear that Val is pregnant?"
"Which one is Val again?"
"The pretty one," Alesan answered, and Aventus raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?" he asked. "Who's the father?"
"No idea," answered the Redguard. "No one's stepping up or saying anything."
"Are you with anyone?" Leola asked him suddenly, curious, and he laughed, shaking his head.
"Nah," he replied. "I'm not into that kind of thing. Definitely do like talking about it, though." A smirk came to his lips. "What about you? Did a great job avoiding the question back there. You should recruit her, Aventus."
"Minot would eat her alive," Aventus replied, and Alesan gaped.
"Minot is with the Dark Brotherhood? Man, I knew you couldn't trust anyone around here," he said, shaking his head.
"Don't tell her that you know, though," said Aventus, and Alesan shook his head.
"Of course not," he said. "Now, would you just stop bailing her out? Leola's not answering me!"
Leola giggled softly, blushing. "I am with someone," she said in a slightly teasing voice. Alesan stuck out his tongue.
"And am I going to find out?"
"Probably not," she teased, and Aventus laughed.
"You've met Erith, right?" he asked.
"Merchant girl from Markarth?"
"Yes, that's the one," Aventus said with a grin.
"No way," Alesan exclaimed, looking at Leola. "You're with Erith? Breton Erith? She's a real looker. Good job, princess."
Leola giggled softly as she ate her bread, and Aventus started to push the fruit bowl closer to her. Every minute or so, he would give it another tiny nudge. Leola doubted that he was being as sneaky as he could be – he was an assassin, so she assumed that stealth should have been his strongest attribute, yet every time his hand went to the fruit bowl, she clearly saw him nudge it towards her before retracting his hand. A few times, she glanced at his face and saw a little smirk playing on his lips, and it was all she could do to not giggle.
"We really should be getting on our way," Aventus said after he had finished eating, but not before Leola had helped herself to a few items from the fruit bowl he had forced upon her. "We have a few stops to make today."
"Can I come along?" Alesan asked with a grin, and Aventus laughed.
"We already have some backup arranged," he said, and the Redguard raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?" he asked curiously.
"Minot, Cas, Ana and Nani are all coming with us," he said.
"Are they all in the Dark Brotherhood?" asked Alesan.
"They are," Aventus confirmed with a nod, and his friend gaped.
"You let Ana in but not me?" he exclaimed, and Aventus laughed.
"We didn't let anyone in, and you haven't asked, by Sithis, you're impossible," said the assassin, and he shifted his gaze to Leola. "Are you ready to head out?"
"Yes," Leola said softly, and Aventus nodded.
"Alright," he said, rising from the table and grinning at Alesan. "Can we come back tonight?"
"I see how it is. I'm nothing more than a place to lay your head at night," the Redguard said in a silly, joking tone, humphing as he turned dramatically away from the pair. Leola giggled softly, rising from her seat and going over to him before leaning up and placing a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you for letting us stay here, and for the breakfast," she told him softly, and he grinned.
"It was no problem, princess," he said.
It took only a few minutes for Leola and Aventus to ready themselves, and most of that was Aventus arranging the various buckles and straps of his black and red shrouded uniform. Once ready, he led her from the house and began away from the town, into a wooded area.
"So there are four more assassins joining us?" Leola asked, and Aventus nodded.
"Yes," he replied softly. "They should be waiting for us just ahead."
"Are they nice?" asked the blonde, and no sooner had the words left her lips than four figures clad in outfits matching Aventus's stepped out from behind the trees.
"Why don't you find out for yourself?" Aventus asked with a grin. As if it had been rehearsed, the four figures all lifted their hands and drew back the hoods of their outfits, gazing curiously at Leola.
The first of the figures to catch Leola's eye was the only man in the group, a tall Imperial with expertly styled brown hair and piercing blue-green eyes. The next was a Nord woman, uncharacteristically slender for a Nord – but then, so was Leola – with pale skin, blue-grey eyes, and light blonde hair cut so short that Leola almost mistook her for a man at first. A Redguard woman was the next one in the group, with dark eyes and thick, wild curls drawn back out of her face. She looked older than the others in the group. Finally, there was a Breton – this woman was different from the others as she wore a different tunic, which Leola guessed was indicative of her role as a mage. Her silky straight hair was a dark reddish-brown, her lips were bright red, and her eyes were a clear, glassy blue. There was something incredibly sexy about her, and Leola quickly conjured up a mental image of Erith to rid herself of that thought.
"Leola, I'd like you to meet some of our recruits – Minot, Naniena, Ana, and Cassius," said Aventus, naming them off in the reverse order that she had looked at them. She took a second to associate names with faces – the Imperial man was Cassius, Ana was the blonde Nord, Naniena was the Redguard, and Minot had to be the beautiful Breton. "Recruits, this is Leola Stormcloak."
A nervous smile came to Leola's lips as she looked at the group standing before her. "Hello," she said apprehensively.