It felt like forever that Aventus was in the room with the statue before he finally emerged. His hands were empty - the Daedra had accepted the masque back.
"What happened?" Leola asked, rising quickly to her feet.
"We made a deal," Aventus replied calmly, reaching into his bag and pulling out a shard of the soul gem. He held it out to Leola, who quickly took it, excited.
"So I wasn't even needed at all for this one," she said, laughing slightly.
"If we'd known that we'd have been able to wake you up with this," Erith said, shaking her head. "We should have tried at least asking what he wanted before coming all this way."
"We should get back," Aventus said dryly. There was something off about his behaviour, Leola noticed, but it was likely due to the fact that he'd just been dealing with Clavicus Vile. They'd obviously made a deal, but what it was, Leola knew not. All she knew was that when Aventus was ready to talk about it, he would.
The ride back to Falkreath was just as uneventful as the ride to the shrine had been, and when they arrived, everybody shuffled off to do their own thing. Leola was left with just Erith - her father had gone to see the Jarl, Aventus had skulked off to brood on his own, and Bottar and Shelur seemed to have snuck off to spend time together.
"I hope Aventus is going to be alright," Erith murmured, taking Leola by the hand and heading into the inn.
"I'm sure he will," she said. "I can't help but wonder what Clavicus Vile wanted with him, though."
"Who knows," Erith said, shaking her head.
"Leola?" came a voice, and both girls turned to see a young Redguard woman in simple leather armour standing behind them.
"I'm Leola," said Leola quickly. "Who are you?"
"My name is Lucille," the Redguard said, offering her hand. Curious, Leola reached out and shook the other woman's hand.
"It's nice to meet you," Leola said. "Er, how did you know who I was?"
"I was sent to fetch you," Lucille replied. "Why don't we sit? I can tell you everything."
"Alright," Leola said with a nod. The three girls moved to the nearest table and sat down.
"My name is Erith, by the way," Erith said before Lucille could say a thing.
"It's good to meet you too, Erith," Lucille said to her, smiling. "Now, Leola…I am here because I am Hircine's current champion. I used to be a member of the Companions in Whiterun, but one day a hunting trip landed me in his lair, not far from here. He made me an offer and I simply couldn't refuse, so now, I do his bidding and in exchange, he ensures that my hunting is successful and I never have any trouble feeding my little sister."
"That's - that's kind of him," Leola said softly. "What exactly is his bidding though?"
"Usually it's simple tasks - retrieving items, killing certain people, or hunting certain prey," Lucille said. "Right now, he wants me to contact you for him."
"About what?" asked Leola.
"About this," Lucille replied. She held out one hand and opened it, and Leola's eyes widened at the sight of the soul gem fragment she held.
"Oh," Leola breathed. "What does he want for it?"
"All he asked me to do was retrieve the Savior's Hide in exchange for the piece," Lucille said. "Do you have it?"
"The cuirass? We have it," Leola said, nodding. "We brought it with us hoping we could deliver it to him when we visited - is that all he wants?"
"Indeed, it is," Lucille replied, grinning. "He is impressed with you, princess. You show great honour and skill. I had specific instructions not to approach you until after you had finished your hunt."
"My hunt?" Leola asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The thief, Samuel," Lucille replied. "Hircine wished to see you hunt him, although he had no need to tell you so when you already had instructions from others to deal with him. He wished merely to observe, and when you had finally killed him, I was to approach you for the hide in exchange for his piece of the soul."
"He certainly trusts you with a great deal," Leola said.
"Such is the life of a champion," Lucille replied with a shrug. "He has eyes and ears everywhere, but I am his mouth and his hands here on Nirn. He explains little to me, but that which he does explain is always of great importance."
"I'll go and get it, love, I know where it is," Erith said, standing up.
"Do I not know where it is?" Leola asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You haven't seen it since we left Markarth," Erith said with a smile. "You were bedridden for a few days there - we stashed it and you just didn't happen to be a part of it."
"Oh," Leola said softly. "Alright, okay, go get it," she said.
As Erith walked away, Leola looked back to Lucille, who was smiling.
"She's a lovely woman," said the Redguard. "You're very lucky."
"Are you also…?" Leola asked softly, unsure how to word her question.
"Oh, no," Lucille said quickly. "My only love is for the hunt - well, and my little sister, I'd do anything for her. That doesn't mean I can't admire a good-looking man or woman here or there when I see one, though."
Leola nodded. "That makes sense," she said softly.
"Do you intend to marry her?" Lucille asked.
"I - I don't know," Leola said, feeling a warmth coming across her cheeks. "We haven't really discussed it. I mean, I love her - I hope I'll marry her…just right now, all we've been able to focus on is finding these pieces and saving my mother's soul."
"Well, when you're Queen you can marry her and then you'll be co-Queens," Lucille said, and both girls laughed slightly at this.
"Co-Queens. That sounds fun," Leola said, grinning.
"What sounds fun?" asked Erith's voice, and Leola whirled around to see her. She smiled, looking rather desperately to Lucille.
"You're on your own with that one," Lucille said with a laugh, rising to her feet. She held out her arms and Erith carefully handed over the armour. Lucille held it delicately in her hands, letting her fingers run over the fur. "It really is remarkable. Your mother did an incredible job with it."
"My mother?" Leola asked, raising an eyebrow. "What did she do?"
"She killed and skinned the werewolf that this pelt came from," Lucille replied, smiling. "Hircine made the cuirass with the hide, though." She pulled out the small violet soul gem fragment and held it out for Leola to take.
"My mother skinned a werewolf," Leola murmured as she took the piece, shaking her head. "At this point I'm wondering what my mother didn't do."
"I can tell you with some certainty that your mother wasn't a vampire," Lucille said, smiling.
"That's a relief," said Leola, nodding. "Is there anything else we're certain about?"
"Your mother wasn't an Argonian either," Lucille said, giggling a bit.
"Or a Khajiit, for that matter," added Erith, laughing.
"You're both awful," Leola said, giggling. "Lucille, if you're ever looking for a good laugh, come find us in Windhelm."
"I probably will," Lucille replied with a grin. "I look forward to meeting again. Erith, Leola." With that, she gave them each a polite nod before turning and heading out of the inn, clutching the piece of armour against her chest almost lovingly.