So my laptop is on the fritz and my fiancés laptop doesn't have word. Glad my stupid iPhone finally came through for me. About time.

The Dark Brotherhood was a league of skilled, ruthless assassins. I had listened to all of the tales that the crew had told and they had always left me with a shiver. A couple of the darker stories had given me nightmares. I distinctly remembered some particularly brutal stories and the name Lucien. As a pirate, my father had made his share of enemies, Cassius being one of them. A potential visit from the Dark Brotherhood had always been a fear of mine.

The next thought was nearly as overpowering as the first. Why had I been able to open the door to the sanctuary? From Lucien's reaction I could tell that I had been the first unexpected guest they'd ever had. The door had made me feel warmth when Lucien said that it made others feel cold. It was strange and I shot down the voice in my head that whispered something about fate. What kind of fate did I have with a guild of cold assassins? I didn't have it in me to murder.

I barely paid any mind to the ruins around me so when Lucien stopped walking and opened a simple wooden door I was caught off guard. He gestured for me to go in first and I nodded shakily and entered the darkness. When he entered and closed the door behind him I realized that I wasn't just shaky from fear. The soft breeze that had been stirring the night air was absent now that we were inside again but I was still frozen. My shredded clothing offered me no protection from the chill at all.

Lucien muttered something unintelligible and fire burst into existence at the end of his fingertips. I watched in awe as he touched the tip of a torch that he held in his other hand and it burst into flame too. It lit the space immediately around us but it didn't illuminate enough for me to distinguish any details about the room we were in.

"The guardians don't like bright lights. Don't go wandering around the fort by yourself. They'll kill anyone who trespasses here." I rolled my eyes as he started walking again. It seemed all this man knew how to do was give death threats. Every other word out of his mouth since our unfortunate meeting had been a warning on my life.

We entered a large open room sparsely lit with eeiry green lights and I gasped and scooted closer to Lucien subconsciously. A skeleton carrying an axe was walking toward us across the room. It was a walking skeleton! The walking skeleton was holding an axe. I glanced at the hooded man accompanying me and shook my head. What a strange being he was turning out to be.

The skeleton paused when it was less than ten feet from us and nodded its head to Lucien before it turned and began a slow march back across the room. I released the breath I hadn't realized that I'd been holding and Lucien simply laughed.

Again I followed him. We entered a wide but short hallway. Warm light came from a room on the other side of iron bars at the end of the hall. Lucien placed the torch into a holder on the wall and I jumped when the iron bars suddenly rose.

Lucien walked into the room confidently and I followed slowly. This was obviously his dwelling. A large table with four chairs sat on a dark rug in the center of the large room. An elegant divider blocked most of the view of the large four poster bed on my right. It seemed roomy but cozy at the same time.

My attention was torn away from the room as Lucien removed his robe and draped it over one of the chairs at the table. I swallowed my gasp and studied the sight before me in awe. I had expected Lucien to look evil. He didn't, at all. His hair was cropped unusually close to his scalp. His ears came to a slight point hinting at some possible elfin blood somewhere in his parentage. Without the hood I could clearly see his high cheekbones and rounded jaw.

When he turned toward me slightly and walked closer to the desk and the large fire roaring in the fireplace, his eyes caught the light. It truly looked like liquid amber. He was wearing light armor that made no sound when he walked and molded to his body like a second skin. His body made my cheeks heat up and I looked away in wonder at my own thoughts. There was a good chance this man was going to murder me before the sun rose and I was ogling his body like a harlot.

"Please make yourself comfortable. I'm not going to harm you. Come get warm." He picked up a pot off of the wooden counter and filled it with water before taking it to the fireplace and hanging it over the fire.

I didn't have to be asked twice on that one. Cassius had never let me get close enough to the fireplace to get rid of my chill. It was a miracle that I hadn't gotten sick. Lucien didn't move as I walked slowly around the table and stood beside him in front of the fire nervously.

"How-" We both started at the same time. "Sorry." I muttered and waited for him to ask his question first.

"How do you know of the Dark Brotherhood? More importantly, how do you know of me?" He asked in a soft low voice.

I looked up at him in an attempt to find out if he was angry. He didn't seem to be. He looked calm and relaxed. "My father was a pirate. His crew always told stories." I looked into the fire overwhelmed by my first chance to quietly grieve for my father.

"What happened?" He asked.

"He was murdered and I was kidnapped by a man he refused to sell me to." My fists clenched in anger and I shook my head. Before he could pry anymore I asked my own question. "How long until I find out if I'm dying or not?"

"Morning." He said. "I must meditate."

We were quiet then. I soaked up as much warmth as I possibly could before he took the chance away from me. Out of the corner of my eye I also watched him so I could jump out of the way if he moved to attack me.

Suddenly he moved. I gasped and dropped to the ground and threw my body further from him. As I cowered beneath him I tried to figure out what I had done wrong. He shifted and I pulled my legs closer to my body and clenched my eyes shut tightly.

I sensed his movement rather than saw it. I wasn't sure what he was doing but I was pretty certain that it wasn't good. A shadow passed over my face as he moved between me and the fire.

Cassius had never needed a reason to attack me. Sometimes he'd manage to find one but usually it was just because he enjoyed my suffering. From the stories that the crew had told about this man I knew that he enjoyed causing pain as well. The stories told had always been about the cruelty he had inflicted on men. I didn't question too closely what he would or could do to a woman.

Something touched my shoulder and I jumped in alarm, my thoughts returning to the present and the man in question. I cringed away from him and pleaded softly. My back was already injured. I knew from experience that any wounds he inflicted would hurt that much worse.

The sound I heard next confused me to no end. It sounded like water dripping and the squishing sound of a cloth being wrung out. I couldn't believe it. Sure enough, I felt the warm wet cloth brush gently over a particularly painful wound. The pain receded almost completely when he finished with that mark and moved on to another one. I still couldn't believe that the most ghastly of all murderers was tending to my injuries. Especially since he had threatened my life himself.

"Sit up and remove your top. I will not take advantage of you." He nearly whispered in his low smooth voice.

I sat up slowly and stiffly moved to obey him. I wasn't sure why I trusted his words but I did. It could have just been the hopeful idea that he was going to the trouble to treat my wounds, so maybe he'd be less inclined to inflict more. Then common sense kicked in and I frowned.

"Why are you doing this if I'm just going to die by your hands in a few short hours?" It didn't make sense to me at all.

"Because I don't think that the Night Mother would allow you to just walk into the sanctuary like you did only for me to end your life. Even so, there is no reason that your final hours have to be filled with suffering."

I frowned. "The tales I've heard of you never particularly mentioned your compassion for your victims. Why am I different? Am I really to believe that you will make my death quick and painless?"

"For someone expecting such a gruesome end you sure are calm. Are you sane?" I heard the sudden humor in his tone and rolled my eyes.

"What reaction should I have? If I tried to run or fight I'd end up injured further or dead on the spot. I'll save the crying and screaming for when the moment actually comes. From what I've heard, you enjoy hearing that." I couldn't help the shiver that traveled over my body.

Lucien stood and I watched nervously as he crossed the room. I hadn't meant to goad him. He opened a cabinet on the other side of the room before returning to me with a pile of gray cloth in his hand. He crossed back to me and unfolded the shirt, handing it to me.

He turned back toward the fire while I pulled the garment over my head gratefully. "I am definitely sadistic Amiee and I can tell from your lack of panic, that the stories that you've heard aren't anywhere near as bad as the stories you haven't heard. Only certain situations warrant that level of torture though. You have already suffered at the hands of someone else. If these are truly to be your last hours you are welcome to spend them here in my home. You are safe and warm and soon to be fed. If you would like to sleep you may do so in my bed."

I watched in awe as he passed me a plate with a large chunk of steaming meat and vegetables. He smiled and walked back to the fire. I didn't hesitate. Cassius hadn't cared much about feeding me. Touching the food that was in the kitchen was asking for a beating. A severe one.

"You may sit here or you can go lay down. I intend to drink my tea and then I will meditate. I only ask that you are quiet while I do so." He poured hot water into a cup and returned the kettle to the fire.

"I would like to sleep. It's been a long day." He nodded quietly and I returned to my food as I watched the flames. A thought occurred to me then and I asked him quietly, "What if I get to live? You're not going to release me since I know about all of this stuff. Are you going to keep me here?"

His glowing eyes met mine and he shrugged. "You will have to stay here or in the sanctuary. The problem with you staying in the Sanctuary is explaining why you're there if you are not an assassin."

I blushed. "I could stay and serve you. I'm sure you are a busy man and you have little time to dedicate to chores. I can cook and clean and I'd be good and quiet too." I couldn't help the hopeful note that entered my tone.

Lucien studied me quietly for a minute before he asked, "You must understand that if I am angry those stories that you've heard about me could become a reality for you. There's more than one reason I live away from the sanctuary, alone. I lose control when I get angry."

I shivered. "My only future is as a house servant. Most masters beat their servants. Cassius did it for fun. As least you'd only do it if you were angry. Not that I have much of an option to go anywhere else but even if I did, what's to say they won't be just as cruel as he was."

"It's not much of a house but if you wish to stay you may. I can perform a ceremony that will allow you to pass through the fort without the guardians harming you." He sipped his tea and I studied him surprised.

"You would allow me to do that? To leave this room without you?" I was astounded.

He smiled briefly and nodded. "Of course. You could come and go as you please. Could you really stand to stay in this one room for the rest of your life?"

I frowned and looked down at my now empty plate. "I used to believe that I wouldn't survive more than a night off of my father's ship. I believed that regular meals and warmth were essential to survival. Fresh air is another one of those things that cease to be important if it means the difference between life and death or pain and no pain. Even pain is tolerable if it means you are alive. There was only one time when I wished that he would just kill me."

I stood and placed the plate on the table he sat at. Before I could ask what he wished for me to do with it he held out his hand and shook his head. "Just leave it. You're not my servant yet and you are tired and injured. Go to sleep. The bed is clean and I will not touch you."

Deep gratitude overwhelmed me and I moved forward quickly and placed a light kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for treating me so well." He smiled and moved around him and toward the bed.

My bed at Cassius's house had been a towel on the ground at the farthest point from the fire he could find. As I looked at Lucien's large soft looking bed I almost became giddy with anticipation. It was away from the fire but the thick downy blanket would be plenty warm. I climbed up onto the bed and pulled the blanket up over my body, sighing deeply. I hoped that I wouldn't wake up to my own death but I was too exhausted to truly worry about it.