Is it safe to come out? O_O Sorry for the long wait again, working has a habit of getting in the way XD Thanks again for your continued support everyone, I will reply with PM's later on. For those who I cannot reply to:

-InuGhost: LOL Loved that scroll warning XDDDD Thanks again for your comments :D
-Guest: Thanks! I like to add a little backstory every now and again :)
-Xe20: Thank you! And yep, all will be revealed... :P

Here you go, and sorry again for the long wait *goes back to hide* XD

"Here looks safe."

Lilith Aurelius nodded at the Argonians words and sat down, bringing out her blade and beginning to sharpen the length with a piece of flint.

"You don't waste time do you?"

She smiled as she gave him another brief glance.

"It did carve through seven Stormcloaks not so long ago. I'm surprised it isn't completely blunt," she remarked.

Veezara hissed with laughter as he sat down, pulling out a small loaf of bread and passing it to her. She looked like the Dragonborn in many ways. Her hair was jet black and spilled over her shoulders in a graceful manner. She had the wit that Morgan possessed as well. Not to mention the fact that she was just as deadly with a blade as Morgan was.

As if she had read his thoughts, Lilith looked up at him once more, maintaining eye contact.

"Any idea when we can meet up with her?"

Veezara shook his head sadly. His last letter hadn't arrived at Dragon Bridge, and the news that Falkreath had been retaken by the Stormcloaks meant that they couldn't return to the Sanctuary while it was not safe to do so.

"No. I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't apologise for something you have no control over," she said simply before returning to her blade.

There was silence before the Dark Brotherhood assassin spoke again.

"You fight well. I have never seen your style before."

Lilith chuckled.

"It has been in our generation for as long as I know of. Hundreds of years maybe. My mother taught me everything she knew. And after giving birth to Morgan, I knew that she would need the skills. I knew she was special…every mother thinks that of her children after all, but with Morgan…"

"Go on," he pressed softly, eager to her more about the woman that Skyrim hated and adored in equal measure, yet none really knew her properly.

"Morgan learned everything so quickly, it was uncanny. She never liked using the bow for instance, but she still managed to learn the basics despite her lack of interest. Yet when she uses the blade, it's like her sword is part of her."

"That is a sentiment I can indulge," he said quietly, "I am the last of the Shadowscales and I know that meaning too well."

"I heard about the Shadowscales. There are brief mentions of them in the Bruma records," she said softly.

"It is a title I wear with pride. But I am a Dark Brotherhood assassin first and foremost now."

"Thank you again for your company."

Veezara couldn't blush, but he did give a weak grin at the Breton woman who had managed to disarm his wits with a simple statement.

This woman would make a fine assassin.

"Get up Veezara!"

Veezara shot out of his bedroll and instantly unsheathed his dagger and looked around at the cave they had taken refuge in. His eyes found Lilith's immediately, and he noted the scratches on her face straight away.

"What's going on?"

"Stormcloaks. I have no fucking idea how they found us. I thought Solitude was friendly to Morgan. The Jarl wouldn't sell us out so cheaply would she?"

"No. Jarl Elisif and Morgan formed a strong bond of friendship, and while Elisif is young, she is not stupid. She knows what would happen if she pissed off your daughter. The rest of her court on the other hand…we were not alone in that hall yesterday, there were others. And any one of them could have heard a snippet of conversation."

"Shit. That would mean there are traitors in her court."

"And those traitors must have acted already. Maybe exchange information for gold."

"Or maybe exchange me for gold," Lilith muttered sourly.

"They will not touch you. I promised Astrid I would keep you safe, and that is what I will do."

Lilith grinned at him and gave him a brief embrace before picking up her weapons and heading out of the cave, the assassin following a few seconds later with an amused grin on his face.

"FUCK."

Veezara agreed with her rather blunt comment.

After three days of running and hiding from increasing numbers of Stormcloaks, they had been forced to venture towards Dawnstar. He knew that they had a second Sanctuary there, but Astrid had told him that to come there was a last resort only situation, knowing that there was the possibility of the Falkreath Sanctuary being discovered.

And when they had reached the Falkreath Sanctuary, they found corpses of Stormcloaks and Dark Brotherhood assassins strewn all over the forest.

Veezara could still feel the hand of Lilith's that had gripped his forearm in sympathy as they had buried the bodies of Arnbjorn and Festus. They had even buried what remained of Gabriella's pet spider. He knew no-one would come back here again now that the ruins of the Sanctuary were exposed, but he also knew that if there had been survivors, they would have headed north to the other Sanctuary.

They had travelled for three days, running and hiding from the increasing Stormcloak soldiers that they ran into as they headed north, and the two of them believed that they could make it undiscovered.

So much for that plan Veezara thought bitterly as he watched the two Stormcloak officers approach them. One male, the other female. Both wore the bear claws on the shoulders along with the leather armour of the Stormcloak regime.

"Put down your weapons!" the woman screeched.

It was Lilith who answered of course, much to Veezara's amusement.

"By Talos, you have a horrid voice."

"Shut up you bitch," the man answered as he kept his eyes on the sharp blade held in Lilith's hand, the enchanted metal glowing green in the moonlight.

"And your voice has obviously seen better days as well," Lilith continued, ignoring the remark as easily as killing a fly with a fireball.

Veezara hissed with amusement again. He had never thought that protecting someone instead of killing someone would be entertaining, but Lilith was just like her daughter in that regard.

They really don't care about anything but family in the end. Just like we do.

"Drop your weapons and you will live," the male Stormcloak said quietly, as though trying to reassure them.

Lilith burst out laughing at that as she twirled her blade in a graceful arc, settling into an attack position.

"Sorry dear," she said as she regarded the blond haired man standing before her, "But I do not care to listen to Stormcloaks too much. It's hard to get rid of the shit out of the ears you know."

Veezara almost lost his composure after that statement, but his years of training and his promise to Astrid and to Lilith reined in his thoughts before they could take over. Instead, he also readied himself, his dwarven daggers held in both hands.

"Nothing but lies," he hissed as he looked at the Stormcloaks, the two officers standing back while thirty regular soldiers formed a circle around them. "That is all that the Stormcloaks believe in."

"Take the woman alive. Kill the assassin," the woman barked.

Veezara was glad when the fighting started. He loved seeing blood being spilled, and if he died taking out one of those annoying officers before he was whisked away to the Void, he would be satisfied.

She snarled as she slashed the throat of another Stormcloak. She ignored the gurgling coming from the dying man and moved onto her next attacker, parrying his blows as she waited for the right time to strike. She didn't know how Veezara was faring, she only knew that so far, they had killed half of the Stormcloaks so far with no injuries.

Not the time for self complacency she told herself sternly as she managed to land a fatal hit on the soldier, her blade puncturing his leather armour as though it were butter, the tip emerging on the other side. She removed the blade by kicking the man away and looked around briefly, trying to regain her bearings.

And her heart sank as she watched Veezara being skewered by at least five blades, his dagger managing to impale itself into the leg of the male Stormcloak officer as the assassin threw it, knowing his death was already imminent.

I'm sorry Veezara.

She watched as if in slow motion when the Argonian shook his head as if he knew what she had said. And then she screamed as a war hammer landed on the back of the assassin's head, instantly killing him. Lilith felt that rage flow through her, the same rage that she had only unleashed once in her life, back when she had been in the Imperial City where a guard had tried to rape her. She had killed the guard without thinking and had fled. No witnesses had seen her leave, nor had anyone seen the guards demise, so she had been safe from the authorities. But she could never remember the deed itself, it was like Nocturnal herself was shielding the scene from her.

That's what you get for loving a man who had ties to the Thieves Guild.

She shook her head and yelled as she ran directly into the group of Stormcloaks who had killed the assassin who had protected her and had provided a welcome change of company than what she had been used to.

Ralof blinked as he applied pressure on the wound in his leg, the dagger lying on the ground beside him. He never thought that he would have been promoted in the short time he had been in the Stormcloak army, but Ulfric had said that his knowledge of the Whiterun hold prior to the battle of Whiterun many months ago was so detailed, he deserved the rank.

He didn't mention Dark Brotherhood assassins or a woman who shared the Dragonborns bloodlust.

He winced as the other woman passed him a bottle of healing, and he drank the contents, ignoring the foul taste as the liquid ran down his throat.

"Thank you. Help the others."

"There's no need. We got her."

Ralof looked up and indeed watched the three men who had eventually managed to subdue the target and were now tying up her arms with thick rope.

"Is she unharmed?"

"She just killed fifteen of our brethren and you ask…."

Ralof punched the man who had spoken and looked at the others, ignoring the man with a bloody nose.

"It was the order of Jarl Ulfric that she was unharmed. Do you dare defy his commands? Or mine?"

There was no answer and he nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the woman who was kneeling before him.

"You fight like a Nord."

"If that was a compliment, it fell short," Lilith retorted.

Ralof bit his lip to prevent the angry response he wished to say and nodded to the woman, who stepped up and promptly pressed a cloth over the captives nose and mouth while wrapping an arm round her throat, forcing her to breathe.

Lilith Aurelius felt herself falling into the blackness. But before everything went black, she was certain that she saw a black haired woman staring back at her, her eyes bright red and her smile kind and regarding.

Fear not, she will come for you Lilith. Stay strong and do not allow fear into your heart. And if you see by beloved, give him my regards.

Who is your beloved? And who are you?

His name is Lucien. And my name ends in the same as yours. You will understand soon. Rest.

And everything went black.

Morgan closed her eyes, feeling the tears of blood falling down her face. It was something she had gotten used to in the last few months. Being a vampire had not only changed her way of life (if you could call it that), but it had also changed her tears. She wiped them away with a cloth that Serana had handed to her and she clung onto the other vampire as she continued to cry.

Astrid felt her tears falling but they were for the woman sitting there and not for her husband. She would see him again after all, but she didn't know if Morgan and her mother would ever be reunited.

"I'm sorry Morgan."

Morgan shook her head as she looked up at Astrid.

"It wasn't your fault. Nor was it Veezara's. He died protecting her and he has my eternal gratitude for it. Its just…how could he do this? Ralof of all people!"

Everyone jumped as Morgan's fist went right through the stone table as though it were parchment, and they now regarded her warily as she began to pace. Even Serana stayed clear of her. She knew that she needed some personal space.

"He was so helpful when I met him in Riverwood when I first got there, even though he and Hadvar were giving each other evil stares. He was even at Marcus's and my wedding…"

Morgan took a deep breath and then breathed out slowly as she turned around to meet the gazes of the others there.

"That is in the past now, and he is my enemy. If he harmed my mother, then I will drain him dry."

Astrid felt a coldness spread through the room at those words, and she swore that the feeling was coming from the Night Mother in the corner of the room. She blinked a few times before meeting Morgan's gaze, trying not to flinch at the sight of the burning irises of the Dragonborn.

"Elisif must have had no chance at the coup. And because Veezara and I couldn't reply to each other…"

"You had no way of telling him Astrid," Morgan said quietly, a thankful smile forming on her lips. "You did everything you could. Thank you."

Astrid nodded, at a loss for words. She was glad when the spirit spoke up again, who had been quiet after retelling the story.

"I grow restless. As does my blade."

Lucien almost smiled as he watched a grin form on the future Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, a smile that promised bloodshed.

"Funny you should say that Lucien. I feel the same way. Astrid, what do we do next?"

Astrid shook her head as she stood up.

"First, you need to get settled in and maybe a change of armour is in order? All of Skyrim recognises you by sight of your armour by now. And maybe Nazir can give you any outstanding contracts we had. Babette can bring you to Gabriella later on if you wish it. And Lucien is an excellent person to ask for anything about the Dark Brotherhood."

Morgan nodded in thanks, glad to see that Astrid was thinking a little more clearly than before. She wiped the last of the bloody tears from her face and nodded again.

"Good idea."

"We have a lot of work to do," Astrid said as she walked out of the room, Nazir following her close behind.

Morgan watched as Serana went with Babette, smiling a little as she winked at her. She knew what she was saying.

Everything will work out.

There was only herself, Scar and Cicero left in the room. Cicero had been sitting on the floor the entire time that Lucien had relayed the information that he knew of, the wolf lying on the jesters legs.

"She likes you," she told Cicero as she walked past him, a smirk firmly planted on her face.

"Cicero likes her too! But…how does she move off Cicero?"

Morgan laughed as she walked up the stairs.

"You wait until she wants to move."

She laughed harder as she overheard Cicero trying to sweet talk Scar into moving. He had no chance. Her smile faded when she found herself standing before the open coffin of the Night Mother.

She then knelt down, her head bowed.

"Thank you Mother. And thank Veezara for me please."

You are welcome child. And he knows already of your gratitude.

"What do I do now?" she found herself asking.

You begin your life in the Dark Brotherhood of course. Speak with Lucien and learn from him dear child.

Morgan nodded and stood up, smiling at the desiccated corpse.

"Thank you Mother."

She then spun on her heel and walked away, eager to track down the spirit of the Dark Brotherhood who had vanished at some point while Astrid had been talking a few moments before.

She didn't know that he had been standing beside her the whole time, invisible to even her senses.

Lucien LaChance watched the vampire leave before regarding the Night Mother once more.

What do I tell her that she does not know already, Unholy Matron?

Simple dear Lucien. Tell her of the true days of the Dark Brotherhood, of the woman who led after your unfortunate death. Tell her of Lucinda Aurelius.

But she…she was….

Yes, she was the only woman who ever captured your heart besides myself dear Speaker. Your own Silencer and Listener shortly afterwards.

Lucien allowed a small smile to form on his face. He should have known that the one time he and his lover had allowed their feelings to dictate their actions instead of burying them under feelings of professionalism would have consequences. He had no idea that she had been pregnant. His death had seen to that news never being known. But to know that the one time would lead to the rise of the Dark Brotherhood two hundred years or so into the future….

"I can hear you laughing," he said to the Night Mother.

And seconds later, he started chuckling as well.

It was time for Nirn to fear the Dark Brotherhood once more.