Author's Note: Hey everyone and thanks to all who have stopped by to read my fic! I am going to update every Saturday from this point forward.

Chapter 7: Tension Rises as Silence Dies

Ava nearly jumped out of her skin, as someone grabbed her from behind. She whipped around to lock eyes with Astrid, "Shhhh...follow me." It was night and most everyone was sound asleep. Astrid led her to her quarters. "Okay...I didn't want to wake anyone. I need you to do something for me..." Astrid spoke sternly, her hand on her hip.

"Is everything ok?" Ava inquired. Astrid seemed edgy- -something Ava had never witnessed before.

"I'm...not sure...I overheard Cicero a while ago...He was talking to someone in his room back there. I don't know who, but I know it wasn't one of us. I checked, and everyone was accounted for..." she explained. "I'm afraid he's possibly conspiring against the Sanctuary- -possibly some sort of treachery. I fear he may have...outside sources. There's no telling what he's capable of. That's where you come in...I need you to sneak into his room tomorrow and hide. Find out what he's planning before that jester has our heads..."

"Are you sure his intentions are bad?" Things didn't seem to add up. Cicero never spoke of treachery of any sort. If anything, he appeared to be against it. Ava didn't want to think badly of the jester- -he'd been very welcoming to her. Then again, he could be deceiving. She knew that from the road, where he seemed so pitiful- - so innocent. She never would have guessed him to be a member of a death cult. Astrid sure seemed threatened by him. Maybe she had good reason to be.

"Let's just say I'm not so sure his intentions are...good. That's reason enough...isn't it? Or are you...questioning my judgement?" Astrid asked, seeming agitated with Ava's response.

"I meant no disrespect...I'll do what you ask of me." Ava replied. She didn't want to go against Astrid's wishes. She was her leader after all- -the one who accepted her into the family. She really hoped Astrid wasn't right about him.

"That's ...better. Just do as I say, and don't get caught..."

The task Astrid had given her the night before had been tiring to say the least. All morning she'd tried to sneak into Cicero's room, and all morning she'd failed. He seemed to be everywhere she went. When she went to the dining area to eat, he was there , "OH! Good morning! Did Ava get any sleep? Cicero could've sworn he heard the PITTER-PATTER of her feet ALL NIGHT! Hehe!" She tried sneaking in his room earlier, only to find him there, "Welcome friend! Cicero's glad to see you so EARLY! You can watch Cicero sew that PESKY hole in his UNDERGARMENT! TeeHee! I jest!" Trying to sneak in a second time was even less successful. She came to his empty room, only to have him come up from behind her. "Ah, did Ava need something? Cicero can help!" She had to lie her way out of that one. She told him she thought she'd dropped a necklace in there, only to have him insist on helping her search for it. It was nearly two hours before she convinced him to stop. ("OH I remembered I wasn't even wearing that necklace! Oops, sorry Cicero!) She felt terrible having to spy on someone so eager to be a friend to her, but she also felt the need to be loyal to Astrid.

She was standing by the cool waters that pooled up in the middle of the Sanctuary, breathing a sigh of frustration. Besides feeling awful about all the sneaking around, she was beginning to believe what Babette had said about Cicero. Maybe he was watching her after all, and that would only make things more difficult.

Suddenly, she heard Cicero's voice belting out one of the passageways. Another voice came sounding back . It sounded as if he were arguing with one of the other assassins. Cicero came into view first, followed by a frustrated Nazir.

"Listen, I don't care how wonderful it is- -I don't want to hear it! Go bother someone else!" He huffed, trying to hurry Cicero away.

"But you like MURDER, so why not a merry TUNE about it?! C'mon, let Cicero cheer up GRUMPY Nazir!" he said, now dancing a little jig. "HO HO HO! HE HE HE! Break that lute-"

Now was Ava's chance! Seeing Cicero distracted, she slipped away to his room. She quickly looked about for a hiding place, but came up empty-handed. There really was no place she could hide. Wait, there was one place- - a place that made her spine shiver. She slowly turned to face the large, ominous tomb. She didn't want to hide in there, but like many things in her life, she had to do it anyway.

She eyed the lock that was in the center of the doors on the front of the coffin. After breaking two lockpicks, she finally managed to get it open. Lockpicking wasn't necessarily her strong point. She pried the heavy doors apart, swinging them open.

Inside stood a corpse- -an ancient corpse of a mer. It stood fully erect, with it's skeletal arms crossed, and it's head tilting to one side. It's dull brown skin was shriveled and stretched tightly across the bone. The eyes had dehydrated and receded into the skull until they were no more, and the fiercely jagged teeth still shown sharply under wrinkled lips. It was a frightening sight, really.

The sound of footsteps coming toward the room caught her attention. She could hear Cicero's voice echoing through the hall. She quickly positioned herself as far away from the skeletal figure as she could, then closed the heavy doors behind her. All the light had been drowned out by the darkness. She grew tense knowing that she was face to face with a lifeless body.

"STUPID Nazir! Throwing things at poor, CHEERFUL Cicero! All he wanted to do was CAPER! Just a TEENY, tiny bit!" She could hear Cicero's voice draw near, until it could be heard right outside the coffin. "But MOTHER likes Cicero's dancing! Oooh Yes! HE HE!"

His jolly voice tapered off for a moment, then returned sounding more sullen. "Cicero THINKS the Mother likes his capers...Maybe she does. Maybe she does NOT! Heh heh...Cicero wouldn't KNOW would HE?!" His voice turned fiery, "He WOULD know what Mother wants if she would only SPEAK for poor Cicero! But Mother doesn't SPEAK, OH NO...She remains SILENT! WHY?! Cicero does everything to protect you...does his best to polish Mothers dead TOES with oils...DRAGS her heavy tomb around...OBEYS her every whim! And yet Cicero hears NOTHING except SILENCE! DEAFENING SILENCE!" He grew quiet a moment, then spoke again, on the verge of tears, "...Oh, but Cicero understands. Cicero ALWAYS understands...You do know BEST, dear Mother..."

Once again, Ava felt sympathetic toward the jester who appeared to be in much agony. This was the ruckus Astrid had overheard. Cicero wasn't conspiring against the Sanctuary, he was simply full of angst and sorrow. He was merely venting his frustrations.

Ava's thoughts came to an abrupt halt. Heat began to radiate from the corpse as it glowed faintly before her. Then she heard a voice- -not Cicero's voice that carried on outside, but a voice from within.

"YOU...YOU HAVE COME TO ME...YOU WHO WARMS MY ANCIENT BONES...POOR FAITHFUL CICERO...HE SHALL NEVER HEAR MY VOICE...IT IS NOT THE WILL OF SITHIS...BUT YOU..." The voice was shrill and sharp. It emerged from her very being and she could feel it travelling throughout every part of her body. The corpse was warm but Ava had that familiar feeling, both icy and dark. "YOU ARE THE LISTENER...AND YOU WILL GUIDE MY DARK CHILDREN...IT IS SITHIS' WILL...THAT YOU DO AS I COMMAND...A DARK CHILD HAS CALLED MY NAME...AMAUND MOTIERRE...HAS PERFORMED THE BLACK SACRAMENT...HE WAITS IN VOLUNRUUD...SPEAK WITH HIM...ANSWER HIS DARK PRAYERS..."

She felt frozen with disbelief. She was the Listener- -the chosen one?! "BEFORE I RELEASE YOU FROM MYSELF... I MUST TELL YOU THE WORDS...YES...THE BINDING WORDS...SO MY FAITHFUL KEEPER SHALL FINALLY BE AT PEACE...SPEAK WITH CICERO...SAY TO HIM...DARKNESS RISES WHEN SILENCE DIES...NOW MY PRECIOUS ONE..."

The voice faded out, and Ava was left standing alone in the dark in complete amazement. She had little chance to process all the information, before the doors sprang open violently. She tumbled backwards, landing on the cold stone floor. Cicero stood mortified beside his beloved Mother's coffin.

"AVA!? YOU...YOU...DEFILER! BLASPHEMEY! HOW dare YOU enter the SACRED resting place of our UNHOLY MATRON!" Before Ava could explain, the jester pulled his twisted ebony blade from its sheathe. "EXPLAIN YOURSELF! Why you TRICKED poor humble Cicero! Pretending you LIKED him to get to the MOTHER!" He creeped toward her with his dagger at the ready.

"NO! Cicero! You don't understand! She spoke to me!" Ava pleaded, scrambling to her feet. She backed away from Cicero, who was slowly cornering her...waiting to pounce at any moment.

"Spoke to YOU?! HAHAHA! AH, good one SISTER! Cicero LOVES a good joke! MOTHER DOESN'T SPEAK! DO you not KNOW this?! SHE NEVER SPEAKS!" He screamed, completely unphased by her cries.

Ava felt the cold, damp wall at her back. Cicero didn't believe her. The jester flashed a jagged smile, pointing the tip of the blade at her face. "HEHEHE...Any last WORDS?"

Words, that was it- -she needed the binding words! "Yes! Yes, I do have words! She told me to tell you 'Darkness Rises When Silence Dies'! Please! You...have to believe me!" Ava was begging, tears forming in her frightened eyes.

Cicero came to a grinding halt, his eyes wide with shock. His hands flew open, dropping the black blade on the ground. The tinny sound of the metal on the stone floor was all that could be heard. He was completely speechless. Cicero took a couple of frantic steps back, "What...did...you...say?"

"...I said Darkness Rises When Silence Dies...Please...I'm telling you the truth..." Ava whimpered, bracing herself for what may come next.

"Those...words...SHE told you...those WORDS?! The very words HIDDEN in the Keeping Tomes?! Only CICERO knows those words..." He gazed at Ava in pure awe. It was as if he had been standing at the very Throat of the World, taking in every sight to be seen. "It can only mean... one thing...YOU ARE THE LISTENER!"

Cicero stared at the quivering young woman, who was now wiping tears off her face and attempting to compose herself. He had never seen such a marvelous sight! He began to feel intense ecstacy bubbling inside himself. The Listener stood before him...his Listener! It was as if Cicero's every desire had now been granted by the Night Mother herself! All those years of pain and silence- -years of yearning and searching- -had not been in vain after all! Standing before the jester was the very person who would give his life meaning again.

Ava stepped past Cicero, head hanging down as if she were in distress. Why would one so great and powerful as the Listener be so GLOOMY? Cicero's eyes fell to his dagger, which layed on the floor beside him. Oh...FOOLISH, STUPID, OBTUSE CICERO! He FINALLY receives his Listener, and what does he do? Tries to KILL her, he does! Bad, terrible, PATHETIC Cicero! Guilt flooded inside the jester's heart, as he reached out for the young woman.

"Listener! Cicero is terribly sor-"

"By Sithis! This ends now! Ava, what is going on here?!" Astrid shot into the room.

Oh how lovely, it was the Pretender...

"What do you mean...she spoke to you?" Astrid questioned, her voice thick with doubt. She eyed the young woman, who seemed to be stunned by the events that had transpired.

"Yes...she told me to speak with a man named Amaund Motierre in a place called Volunruud...that's all I know...I..I don't know what to make of all of it...It happened so fast." Ava spoke, her voice still trembling.

"OOOOoooh! GOODY! Now our Listener can speak with her FIRST official contract ordained by the Mother HERSELF!" Cicero piped in from behind Astrid, while dancing a jig.

"What? Wait- -no! Look, I don't know if this Night Mother spoke to you or not, Ava, but you are to follow my direction...understand?" She wondered how this fool got off thinking that Ava should act on her own- -without Astrid's guidance! She was still their leader! Astrid was beginning to think it was all some sort of strange plot to undermine her authority...maybe Ava had been the wrong person to ask for assistance...

"But doesn't our Mistress want to OBEY our DEAR Mother? Hmmmnn? SURELY Astrid does not want to PROVOKE the WRATH of SITHIS?!" The jester gave an evil grin.

"No! I didn't say I wouldn't let her go..., " she looked back to Ava, "just give me some time to...process...all this. In the meantime, I'll tell Nazir to prepare some contracts to keep you busy...It's just a lot to take in..."

Ava nodded, still appearing rattled. Astrid studied her for a moment. Ava seemed to want to follow her orders, but only time would tell if she would remain loyal to her. Maybe Ava did hear a voice, or maybe she was in with that ludicrous fool! Astrid had yet to know if all this Night Mother business was legit, but she knew it made her very suspicious.

Upon her return, Ava was less than content. She'd finished the second of two contracts given by Nazir. Lurbuk lay dead in a puddle of his own blood in the Moorside Inn at Morthal- -all because of her. She felt especially disgusted as to why she had to murder the unfortunate Orc. He was a terrible bard, and that was the stupid reason people wanted him dead. She'd come to realize that some of these contracts could be quite petty and trivial. Ava didn't think kindly of herself for being an assassin, and it was times like these that she cringed at the heinous acts she carried out. All of these things mixed with her newfound role as Listener, proved to be a lot to take in.

"I see you've made it back alive. I guess that means the Vampire and the Orc are taking a dirt nap. Tell me, was Lurbuk as awful a bard as I was informed?" Nazir smirked, handing Ava her payment.

''Well...yes...I just don't understand why anyone would want him dead. He seemed alright to me...He wasn't harming anyone..." Ava sighed, thinking about what she'd done to the poor bard.

Nazir gave her a look of disapproval, "You do realize you're an assassin, right? You don't get to pick and choose who dies, you just have to murder them. Why did you join the Dark Brotherhood if you were going to whine about killing people?"

Ava looked down at the floor in silence. She figured she'd said too much already, so it would be best for her to keep her thoughts private from now on. She didn't need to cause more friction between herself and the Brotherhood.

"Listen, I don't know what is going on with you- -or what all this Night Mother business is, but you'd better start acting like a real assassin if you want to last around here. Let's just say we have no room for sensitive types," Nazir scowled at her.

Tiny sparks flew from her steel blade, as Ava attempted to sharpen it on the grindstone. She didn't realize how dull it had become until she took a stab at poor Lurbuk. The bard had quite a messy death, not the quick clean one a razor sharp edge would provide. As she listened to the grinding of stone and steel, she thought of Astrid- -of how skeptical she seemed toward Ava's news. As a matter of fact, much of the Brotherhood seemed to think she had been flat out lying. Just when she was beginning to fit in, something else had to distance her from her new family.

"...Listener?" A whimpering voice came from behind her. She turned to see Cicero, head hanging down, with a pitiful expression on his face.

"Yes?"

"Cicero noticed that the Listener finished her contracts, so he came to speak with her...Cicero wanted to say he's sorry for trying to...er...END...the kind Listener. He wanted to tell you sooner, but he had not the opportunity. Cicero feels very bad...STUPID CICERO! He hopes Listener understands that Cicero only tried to MURDER her because he was obeying his DUTIES..." Said the jester, fidgeting nervously.

Ava thought back to the other day when she pounced on poor Lurbuk in his room at the inn. She saw flashes of her stabbing the unfortunate fellow multiple times, while darkness swirled about like a storm. She sighed, "...No, it's okay Cicero. Believe me- - I understand...It's all part of the job." She gave him a weak smile.

"OOOoohhh! You FORGIVE Cicero?! HEHE! Cicero PROMISES he will make it up to you! He will do WHATEVER the Listener asks of him! NO task is too TEDIOUS for DILIGENT Cicero! OH YES! WHY, Cicero would follow his Listener to the ends of Skyrim, HE WOULD! He would RUN and RUN until his very LEGS were ground to DUST and he were NOTHING but a TORSO with a HEAD and ARMS! Hehe!" The jester bantered, while jogging in place.

"Oh, that won't be necessary. Your apology is enough..." Ava said, finding humor in Cicero's antics.

"NONSENSE, Listener! Cicero is at your SERVICE!" He chimed, bowing flamboyantly.

"Well, if I need anything I'll let you know. "She smiled at his outrageous behavior- -she couldn't help but to find it amusing. On the bright side, at least someone believed she was the Listener.