A/N: Well, guys, NaNoWriMo is over, and that means the TSD hiatus is over! Did I hit my goal of 50,000 words in a month? I did. In fact, I hit the 50k goal on November 17th...and then I somehow managed to plateau. I just couldn't force anything else out. It's like I got forced into a really awful case of writer's block. It was not pretty. Hopefully that won't happen with this story though! So, without further ado, here's what you've been waiting for all month!
Leola's blue eyes went wide as she heard Aventus speak. Ana? She struggled against the other girl, but the assassin was too strong, easily holding Leola in place against her body with one arm and drawing a dagger with the other.
"Don't interfere, Aventus," Ana said dryly, bringing the dagger to Leola's neck. Tears began to fill the Princess's eyes and she whimpered, pleading softly for Ana to let her go.
"Ana, don't," Aventus said, stepping forward and extending an arm.
"I said don't interfere," Ana snapped, and though Leola couldn't see the other blonde, she knew that Ana was glaring daggers at her fellow assassin.
"And I said don't do this," Aventus replied. "Put the dagger down and let's talk."
"There's nothing to talk about," answered Ana, her lips near Leola's ear as she spoke. "The Princess has a contract on her head. I'm simply fulfilling it."
"There is no contract," Aventus said. "Nazir refused to accept the money."
"He did, but I won't," Ana replied. "A contract is a contract, and abandoning it just leaves it open for a brother or a sister."
Aventus drew his own dagger, the same sleek, curved one that he had taken from the Dragonborn's home back when he and Leola first met. "Don't make me do this, Ana," he growled, and though his voice was filled with anger, his expression was composed of a frown and a pair of sad, pleading dark eyes.
"You won't, brother," Ana said. "You won't break a tenet."
Aventus's hand was shaking and he shook his head. "I will if I must," he said. "Let the Princess go. She's done nothing to you."
"She took an innocent girl and sold her to a Daedra, and for what? For a fragment of a soul gem? The fragments are worthless."
"Not when you put them together and free the soul trapped inside," Leola whimpered, still struggling.
"Stay still and shut up," Ana snapped, her grip on Leola tightening. "Your life is a valuable one, and now it's mine for the taking."
"Who's paying you, Ana? How much are they paying you? I'll give you gold," Aventus said, still gazing sadly at his Dark Brotherhood sister. "I'll double their offer."
"This isn't about the gold," Ana said. "It's about honouring a contract – and there were many contracts out on this one."
"Many?" asked Aventus, and Ana laughed.
"You didn't do your research when you found out? So many people want little Leola dead, Aventus," she murmured, delicately running the tip of her dagger across Leola's neck, eliciting tiny whimpers from the terrified Princess. "Misinformed bandits who fear she'll carry on her mother's legacy. Jealous barmaids. Renegade thieves. Jarls who want her out of the way so they'll still have a shot at becoming High King when daddy's dead and gone…" Her tone was mocking, as if she relished telling Leola just how many people wanted her to die.
"Samuel," Leola whispered, and Ana laughed coldly.
"Of course," she replied, her voice icy. "In the end, it came down to accepting the highest offer, because – well, of course it is about the gold, somewhat…"
"Ana, don't," said Aventus again, taking another step closer.
"Don't come any closer or when I finish with her I'll kill you next," Ana snapped.
"You'll have to anyways," Aventus growled. "I won't let you get away with this."
"You will, because you – aah!" A shocked cry left Ana's lips, deafening in Leola's ears as her grip loosened and she all but dropped the Princess. Leola immediately ran to Aventus, who pushed her behind him and stood between the two blondes. Once Leola could see Ana, however, she knew that she wasn't in any immediate danger. The assassin was on the ground with a feathered arrow sticking out of her leg and blood reddening the snow beneath her.
"Aventus! Leola!" called a voice from the trees, and the pair turned their heads just in time to see Minot come running towards them. "Are you alright?"
"We're fine," Aventus said to the Breton as she approached.
"Fuck, Minot!" shouted Ana before pulling the arrow out of her leg, a pained cry leaving with it.
"Dammit, Ana, I told you to lay off," Minot shouted back. "You brought this on yourself!"
"Minot, will you take Leola back to Alesan's house? Tell him to guard her with his life," Aventus said.
"Or I can take her there and guard her myself," Minot replied, reaching over and briskly taking Leola's hand. Before Leola could protest, she was being pulled away by the third assassin and taken towards town.
After a minute or two of silently walking away, Minot dropped Leola's hand and the blonde took a moment to rub her neck. She didn't think that the blade had broken her skin, but she wanted to be sure – the assassins were probably accustomed to blood here and there and hadn't thought to mention it right away.
"Thank you," Leola said in a soft voice. "You – I think you saved my life."
Minot shot Leola a dazzling smile, her shocking blue eyes sparkling with warmth. "I did save your life," she replied. "I mean, I'm sure Aventus would have thought of something, but I saw nothing he could do without putting you in further danger – it's good that you both stalled her, though, or I might not have been able to do anything either."
"I didn't know you were an archer, I thought you were a mage," Leola said.
"I am a mage," Minot replied. "Magic can be loud, and it's also not as precise as an arrow – if I used magic I risked hitting you as well, and that's not something I would ever want to risk."
"So you risked using something that isn't your specialty?" asked Leola with a nervous giggle.
"I'm good at archery," Minot said. "It's my back-up if I ever need one. Magic is difficult because you need mana, and you might not always have the right spell for the occasion, and sometimes you might not be able to use it for one reason or another. If you use magic, you need a back-up."
Leola nodded slightly. "That makes sense," she said softly.
"I would hope so," Minot replied as they trudged through the snow. "Do you want to come to my house? I'll make you breakfast."
"Aventus won't be able to find me though, he said to take me to Alesan," Leola replied.
"He'll find you," Minot replied. "Dear brother knows where I live."
"If you're sure," Leola said softly before Minot suddenly grabbed her by the hand again.
"Of course I'm sure," she said with a smile and a wink before beginning to pull Leola off towards town again.
As with any trek in Dawnstar, it was merely a matter of minutes before they reached the little cottage that Minot called home. It was a small place, with one bedroom and a kitchen living area, but it was cute – quaint, Leola would say.
"Do sit," Minot said as she brought the blonde in, motioning towards the table. Leola smiled, going over to the table and sitting down at one of the chairs.
"I like your house," Leola said softly, and the Breton laughed.
"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing like yours," she said with a grin. "You live in the Palace, yes?"
"Yes, I do," Leola said softly.
"I'd bet that's an exquisite life, living in the Palace and having all that your heart could possibly desire," she murmured, gazing towards Leola.
"I suppose it is," Leola replied. "I mean…before I came to the Palace, I never had trouble. My mother was always able to provide for me and she made sure I had nice things… it wasn't quite the life of a Princess, but it was all I really needed."
"Then you led a privileged life," Minot replied. "And you never knew that your mother was the Dragonborn?"
"Never," Leola said, shaking her head. "I barely knew what the Dragonborn was – I'd read of such a hero, but never suspected it was my mother."
Minot smiled as she began to gather a handful of ingredients from a sack propped up in one corner. "I know the feeling," she said softly.
"You do?" asked Leola, and Minot nodded.
"Yes, I do," she said. "My father died when I was young, not long after Mathieu was born, so we were mostly raised by my mother. She died a few years back, and when she died, she left me a letter explaining that she was an assassin of the Dark Brotherhood, and saying that she wished for me to follow in her footsteps and join the Brotherhood."
Leola's eyes widened as she heard Minot's words. This other woman understood, she had to – for the first time, she had found someone who could understand what she'd been going through, someone who could support her even when her closest friends could not.