Chapter 3

A loud knock startled Katlyn awake. Blearily eyed and half blind with sleep she made a mad scramble for her sword that lay propped against her bed. She had succeeded in knocking it to the ground when a voice came through the door.

"Miss?" came the timid voice of the maid, "It's nearing midmorning. Elda asked me to wake you. Are you alright, miss?"

Katlyn groaned. Damn innkeepers always having to wake her. Didn't they understand how little sleep being the Dragonborn allowed for? Flopping back down on the bed she covered her face with the pillow shielding herself from the day.

"Miss?" the voice came again. Katlyn sighed an exasperated sigh.

"I'm coming," Katlyn grumpily shouted in the direction of the door. The sound of retreating footsteps informed her that the maid had gone. "Thank Talos," she thought, "okay Katlyn, get out of bed, you can do it." She mentally coached herself. Her body felt like a dead weight and she was incredibly tired. The prediction she had made the night before had turned out to be right. Images of Aventus crouched over the body plagued her as she had tried to sleep and Katlyn had yet to come to a decision about the boy's request.

Slowly she clambered out of bed she twisted and stretched her back resulting in several satisfying popping sounds. Sighing again she opened the wardrobe where she'd stashed her armor and bow the night before and rummaged for her black clothes. The thick wool night shift she wore to bed was stripped and unceremoniously stuffed into her pack. Her skin prickled slightly at the chilled air and goose bumps formed on her skin but the cold didn't really bother her as it didn't most Nords.

Moving much slower than normal, Katlyn assembled all the pieces of her armor and gathered her supplies. She picked up her brush to untangle her hair and turned towards the mirror. The face looking back at her had limp unwashed hair, green smears around her eyes, and dark circles under them. "Wow Katlyn, you look like hell," She thought to herself whipping her face with a cloth she's dampened in the wash basin, suddenly incredibly grateful her armor came with a hood. After tugging her hood up and making one last check to make sure she had all her supplies, Katlyn slipped out the door and down the hallway.

The eating area was empty and Elda had her back to the counter while tending a cooking pot over the fire. Judging from the smell, the patrons and staff of the establishment could expect a fresh pot of potato stew for lunch. Without breaking stride Katlyn extended her hand, stole an apple off the bar, and walked out of Candlehearth Hall eager to leave the city in her wake.

XXXXX

Many long hours later Katlyn was sitting in a bath back in Honeyside. Even as she scrubbed the grime and dirt from her skin she couldn't relieve her mind of its current burden. "I'm gonna do it," she thought determined "I'm going to kill Grelod the Kind."

The long journey from Windhelm to Riften had given her ample time to think over the child's offer and by the time she arrived at Riften's stables the question was no longer if she should kill Grelod but how. For years she'd watched passively as the woman shouted and abused the children of the orphanage without giving it a second thought. Riften was a rough town and Grelod's ilk had simply been part of the scenery. . . until now.

"I can't let a child get involved with the Dark Brotherhood. I just can't," Katlyn thought rubbing some soap through her copper tresses. If fate was kind the Brotherhood didn't know anything about Aventus and her killing Grelod would be the end of it. If it wasn't. . .

She couldn't think about that right now. Right now she had a job to do.

Climbing out of tub, she grabbed a towel and dried herself. She tied up her damp hair in a knot on top of her head not wanting to waste time waiting for it to dry. The Nightingale armor was lying on her bed waiting with her swords. She had considered wearing a different armor on the small chance she was seen. But ultimately she'd decided against the idea. The only other armor she had was her original Thieves Guild getup and a set of plain leather armor she'd crafted herself with help of Eorlund Grey-Mane during her brief stint with The Companions. Both resided on mannequins downstairs and neither of those would help her get in and out of the orphanage undetected more than the enchantments on her Nightingale armor.

A few minutes later after applying her eye makeup, Katlyn was in her bedroom fastening the last buckle of her armor. The Nightingale bow rested unstrung on the kitchen table, she wouldn't need it for this mission. Katlyn was just about to strap Dawnbreaker to her hip when something stopped her. As she looked into the soft light emitted by the sword a voice in the back of her mind spoke up.

"Do you really want to sully those blades with murder?"

Katlyn looked down at Dawnbreaker and the Nightingale Blade. They were precious to her: magical, powerful, and irreplaceable. They were the most beautiful swords she had ever seen and still felt unbelievably blessed to call them her own. She doubted there was any sword in all of Skyrim she would rather have more than these two. How would she feel about using such precious instruments to carry out the dark deed she planned on committing that night?

"They're just swords. Killing is what they're for. I've killed with them before." The rational part of her mind fought back.

"Killing dragons, monsters, the guilty. Do you really want the blood of an innocent to be spilled by them?" the voice continued.

"Grelod the kind is hardly innocent." She spoke the last argument aloud to the empty bedroom, but a cord had been struck inside Katlyn. She couldn't use her precious swords for such a task. Not for murder.

Sighing, she placed Dawnbreaker back down on the bed next to its sister blade. She crossed the room and rummaged through a chest of random items. After a moment her fingers found what they were looking for: a Skyforge steel dagger. She'd forged it herself during one of the smithing lessons she'd had with Eorlund Grey-Mane. Gently she ran her thumb over the blade to test its edge; it sliced through her skin like a hot knife through butter. Satisfied, Katlyn slipped the dagger onto her belt and her bleeding thumb into her mouth. Nothing held an edge like Skyforge steel.

Night had fallen completely by the time Katlyn slipped out her door. With the grace of a sabercat she swung herself onto the roof of the next building. Thankfully for Katlyn, many of the buildings in Riften were close enough together that she could traverse the city via the rooftops when the need arose. From the roof of The Bee and Barb she could see the lights shining in teh orphanage windows across the central square of town. 'Damn, they're still awake,' Katlyn cursed silently. Wish a sigh of resignation she slowly lowered to a half sitting half crouching position on the rooftop and waited.

Every second she waited felt like an hour. Even though she sat perfectly still nearly invisible in the shadows, her heart pounded in her chest as though she'd been running for hours. Her nerves were tight and beginning to fray; she was afraid if she waited much longer she might lose her nerve all together and give up.

A flicker caught her attention. Katlyn watched with all the rapt intensity of an animal bearing down upon its prey. Was that? . . . Yes! One of the lights flickered out in the window of the orphanage. A small balloon of hope inflated inside Katlyn's chest. Soon. Soon the rest would go to bed and it would all be over.

After what seemed like another eternity the rest of the lights in the orphanage went dark. Katlyn waited another agonizing twenty minutes just to be safe. Then when she felt like she would burst if she did not move, Katlyn dropped off the roof and crept across the main square. She ducked quickly as a guard carrying a torch suddenly appeared from around a corner. Once he had gone, she performed a stealth roll closing the remaining distance between her and the orphanage door.

Instinct took over as she picked the lock giving her nerves a momentary reprieve. Then after checking behind her one final time for a guard, she slipped inside the dark building. Only then did she realize this was the only building in all of Riften she had never been inside before. She wondered briefly if that was by chance or if there was some understanding among the Thieves Guild that they didn't bother the orphanage. No matter, she could find Grelod the Kind easy enough.

"Laas Yah Nir" the Thu'um came out in the faintest whisper. Suddenly all heat signatures of everyone in the house became visible to her. The room to her left held four small bodies: the children's room. There were two other rooms on the other side of the house that each held one occupant. One was Grelod the Kind, the other was her assistant but even the power of her Thu'um couldn't tell which was which.

Katlyn picked the door nearest her and opened it as slowly as possible to avoid making the hinges squeak. It was an old Thieves Guild trick Brynjolf had taught her for when the occupants of a marked house were home during the job.

Grelod the Kind lay sleeping soundly as a shadow entered her room. Luck had been on Katlyn's side. Silently she drew the Skyforge steel dagger from her belt as she lingered in the darkness.

The voice came again from the back of her head questioning her every action. For a few moments Katlyn stood motionless as her conscience and reason warred with one another. All the while Grelod slept on completely unaware of the danger lurking in the shadows just above her bed.

"I am the Dragonborn: the protector of Skyrim. And if that means I have to kill one awful excuse for a human being to protect a little boy from the Dark Brotherhood. Then so be it." In that moment her will was ironclad. In one swift movement she dragged the dagger hard against Grelod's throat. Blood spurted from her neck and poured over the bed in a dark river. Grelod the Kind would never awaken again.

Immediately Katlyn stepped back from the bed to avoid the blood. Suddenly ice gripped her heart. 'Oh Talos! By the Nine! What have I done?!" Her conscious screamed at her. She bolted for the window and flung herself through it.

A few moments later Katlyn stood trembling on the roof of Honeyside. The sight of the bloody dagger in her hands made her feel suddenly faint. She had to get rid of it. Now. Hardly thinking about what she was doing, she jumped onto the balcony and flung the dagger as hard as she could into the lake. There was blood still on her hands and she descended the steps to the small dock, knelt, and washed her hands in the water. Her hands still trembled and she knelt there rubbing them over and over in the water long past what was necessary.

It was done. The murder weapon disposed of. The body wouldn't be discovered till morning. There was no way they could tie this to her. She hadn't reported to the Thieves Guild yet, in fact the only person in the entire city who even knew she was here was the stable boy. They'd likely blame the Dark Brotherhood for the murder. It would only be logical. It was done.

With clumsy fingers Katlyn unlocked the door to her house and numbly walked inside. Once the door closed behind her she allowed herself to slump back against it with a heavy sigh. Gods did she need a drink.

Then a shadow moved in the darkness. She was not alone in the house.