A/N: Apologies for the random other chapter that came up in this one's place - if you haven't seen it, don't worry. I was busy editing and updating and I posted the wrong chapterXD Sithis keep you

Chapter 6: The Listener? Me? You've Got to be Kidding

Ah, sweet Night Mother, your humble Cicero had so much trouble containing himself today! Oh, to see his Alysa in that dress… oh he had wanted her there and then! He had been so taken with how beautiful this assassin looked he could barely think! He felt as if he had been stabbed! In the chest! With a burning red-hot dagger!

Oh, Cicero had to tack up the horse to calm himself down, do something because he needed to think of something else. Cicero liked the way the belt fit around her waist, and the cut of the dress's bodice…. "There, Mother. All finished now!" Cicero puts the oils away, coming back to the now, although Now isn't a place so Cicero can't leave or come back, and closes the Night Mother in her standing coffin. He locks it, too: no one can defile the Night Mother! Not while the Keeper is here! Cicero tidies the room and oils and other necessary things to keep the Night Mother ready for the Listener. "Will Mother still not speak to Cicero? Not even if you, oh Unholy Matron, take the laughter, the jester? Cicero would do anything, ANYTHING to earn this honor! Oh, Mother, sweet and loving Mother, I know I can still save the Family, I can still bring back the Old Ways!" Humble Cicero waited for the Night Mother to speak. But she didn't, and Cicero is beginning to think she won't. Who will be Keeper after Cicero?

He makes his way to his private chambers, bathing and eating by himself, his room is just outside the Night Mother's room, and his bed is in the passage between the Night Mother and his chambers. Cicero supposes they're not very private, since there is one door that goes STRAIGHT through, and if he doesn't close it, anyone looks in. That's why Cicero locks it, too: it stops that harlot and her lumbering lapdog from defiling the Unholy Night Mother!

Cicero thinks about Alysa: she had been so taken with the Old Ways she hadn't said another word to poor Cicero. Just a quick Good Night, that's all. Oh what must Cicero do?! He doesn't think she will accept his claim, for the Fool of Hearts is just that: a fool. But maybe she will think differently…. But Cicero won't know if he doesn't say. Cicero must see if he can tell Alysa about this…. Cicero lay down on top of his bed, his fingers laced together under his head. He wished he could stare at the stars.

"Dammit!" I breathed, my hands shaking. I couldn't hold the picks properly, couldn't get the lock open that kept the Night Mother inside. I shook my head, breathed deep and closed my eyes briefly. I can do this, I started again, breathing a sigh of relief when the lock clicked open. Thank Sithis the coffin was upright, and the lock was built into the coffin. I pried it open, and flinched at the thought of the sacrilege I was doing. I stepped in anyway, and shut the door behind me. I was much too close to this husk of a woman's corpse, and although she smelt of nothing, she was still the Night Mother, and her gaping mouth and head cocked to one side was frightening in the light, and now I was shut in the dark, almost chest to chest with her. It was wrong. I closed my eyes, or at least I thought I did, it was still black either way, and breathed deeper, forcing myself to calm down and think of the day that had passed.

Festus and Gabriella had left sometime after I left on my trip with Cicero, and Veezara had left in the morning. Babette wasn't particularly interested on feeding to endure the daylight, so Nazir had sent me out on a minor contract. Close-by, easy kill. Well, I charged the victim from behind with my horse and cut him down. When I heard he was still moaning I rode over him. Can't say the horse was pleased about it, but I had been allowed to kill as I pleased. I was out on a road about a morning's hard ride away, and I needed to get back to spy on Cicero. Otherwise I would have taken my time, enjoyed the kill.

Damn Astrid and her paranoia! I had better things to do. I really didn't want to do this, but I could only avoid Astrid for so long. So, I was here, in the Night Mother's coffin, waiting for Cicero to come in. I had never been to this part of the Sanctuary before. I hadn't really known it existed until now. And I now knew where Babette slept as well: only a vampire can sleep on a stone bed. Oh well. I sighed softly, breathing deeper as I finally started relaxing. I was still burning the adrenaline from the chase, the kill and the ride, and it wasn't helping my nerves. I hope Astrid had a valid excuse for making me do this other than her un-assassin-ly paranoia. Ridiculous.

I kept my eyes closed, leaning my hands against the back of the coffin as I conjured up an image of Cicero's face. He was an attractive Imperial, at least to me. His steel-grey eyes especially got to me. I am in love with Cicero, I finally admitted to myself. It felt good, so I repeated it in my head. I am in love with Cicero. I grinned. And I'm in the Night Mother's coffin, the random thought popped into my head and I sniggered silently, the idea suddenly was very funny. What would Cicero do if I spoke from inside the coffin? I swallowed my laughter immediately when I heard humming and the door being closed, but not locked. I wondered why, briefly. I supposed I wouldn't have heard the almost silent 'click' from inside a coffin. But now I needed to spy.

Cicero kept humming, busying himself in the room. I almost wanted to know what he was doing, exactly. But then he started speaking. "Sweet solitude," Cicero sighed. I wondered if that was how he felt with me…. "Everything is going according to plan. The others… I've spoken to them. And they're coming around, Cicero knows it! The wizard, Festus Krex… perhaps even the Argonian, and the un-child…. Cicero does like her, strange one that, and," he paused, "Alysa…" he breathed, softly, sweetly as if my name was a rare honey to him. It warmed my otherwise cold heart, really. Made me smile to think I meant so much to someone else. "What about you? Have you… have you spoken to anyone?" Cicero moved, waiting for a response that evidently didn't come. He continued a little bitterly. "No…. No, of course not. I do the talking, the stalking, the seeing and saying! And what do you do? Nothing!" Cicero hissed. I could almost see him pace. He sighed, amending himself. "Not… not that I'm angry! No, never! Cicero understands. Heh," he laughed uneasily, nervously. "Cicero always understands! And obeys! You will talk when you're ready, won't you? Won't you… sweet Night Mother?"

"Poor Cicero. Dear Cicero. Such a humble servant. But he will never hear my voice. For he is not the Listener…."

I froze, wide-eyed and ready to bolt. I hadn't heard anyone else enter, and Cicero wasn't responding to that. He continued his soliloquy about defending the Night Mother and exerting her will. Surely she hasn't spoken to me, has she? I wondered, relaxing again. Cicero was moving around a lot in outside.
"Oh, but I will speak. I will speak to you. For you are the one," The woman's voice continued. Me? I thought wildly. "Yes, you. You, who shares my iron tomb, who warms my ancient bones. I give you this task - journey to Volunruud. Speak with Amaund Motierre."
I wasn't really listening to Cicero anymore, although I heard what he said next, how he despaired. "Poor Cicero has failed you! Poor Cicero is sorry, sweet Mother. I've tried, so very hard! But I just can't find the Listener!"
How can I convince him I am the Listener? Do I really even know what that means?
"Tell Cicero the time has come. Tell him the words he has been waiting for, all these years: 'Darkness rises when silence dies.'" The Night Mother went silent, and I repeated the words: Darkness rises when silence dies. "You are meant to be, Listener Alysa…" she whispered, her voice fading to the Void. I gasped as I fell out of the coffin into Cicero's arms, which quickly dropped me.

I had never been afraid before, but this jester's fury was something to behold. I shifted, desperately wanting to scoot away but unwilling to show just how scared I was. "What? What treachery! Defiler! Debaser and defiler! You have violated the sanctity of the Night Mother's tomb! Explain yourself! Speak, worm!"
His words cut and burned. "Wait, Cicero, I can explain–"
"Cicero trusted you–"
"Cicero, please–"
"Called you friend–" he started growling, pulling a knife.
"She spoke to me! The Night Mother spoke to me!" I exclaimed, finally scooting away from him.
Cicero paused his advance. "She… spoke to you?" he looked hopeful for a moment. "More treachery! More trickery and deceit! You lie! The Night Mother speaks only to the Listener! And there is. No. LISTENER!"
Cicero continued. My back hit a table's leg before I finally remembered the words and screamed them out.

"'Darkness rises when silence dies!'"

The entire Sanctuary seemed to go silent. Cicero froze, his expression turning from outrage to awe. "She... she said that? She said those words... to you? 'Darkness rises when silence dies'?" I nodded quickly. "But those are The Words. The Binding Words. Written in the Keeping Tomes. The signal so I would know. Mother's only way of talking to sweet Cicero…." I was suddenly hoisted up and into Cicero's arms as he spun me round and round in a maniacal dance. "Oh! Forgive Cicero! Forgive, please, Alysa! He was wrong to attack you! Then... it is true! She is back! Our Lady is back! She has chosen a Listener! She has chosen you! Ha ha ha! All hail the Listener!" he finished, shrieking.

I wasn't sure if I should laugh, cry or scream in terror. So I opted for a nervous laugh. Right then Astrid burst into the room, her dwarven sword in hand as she wrenched me free from Cicero. "By Sithis, this ends now! Back away, fool! Whatever you've been planning is over!" She held her sword out in Cicero's direction, pulling me behind her, quizzing me briefly. "Are you all right? I heard the commotion. Who was Cicero talking to? Where's the accomplice? Reveal yourself, traitor!"
"I spoke only to the Night Mother! I spoke to the Night Mother, but she didn't speak to me. Oh no. She spoke only to her! To the Listener! To ALYSA!" Cicero pointed at me, dancing on the spot and jumping up and down. Astrid stepped out to look at both of us. I let my face go blank as I tried to process everything. "What?" Astrid looked between me and Cicero. "The Listener? What are you going on about? What is this lunacy?"
"Lunacy?! It's true, it's true! The Night Mother has spoken! The silence has been broken! The Listener has been chosen!" Cicero started dancing and cavorting where he was, and Astrid pulled me aside.

"Then what in Sithis' name is going on? Cicero spoke to the Night Mother, but she spoke to you? Is this just more of the fool's rambling?" she asked quietly.
"She spoke to me. He really was just talking to the Night Mother," I glanced at Cicero and the coffin behind Astrid. I couldn't help myself: I smirked. "Apparently I am the Listener."
"What? So Cicero wasn't talking to anyone else. Just… the Night Mother's body? And the Night Mother, who, according to everything we know, will only speak to the person chosen as Listener… just spoke. Right now… to you?"
I looked back at Astrid, and nodded. "She told me to find an Amaund Motierre in Volunruud."
"Amaund Motierre? I have no idea who that is. But Volunruud... that I have heard of. And I know where it is."
"So am I going?" I asked, mostly out of years of respecting Astrid. She looked very… pensive.
"Hmm? No. No! Listen, I don't know what's going on here, but you take your orders from me. Are we clear on that? The Night Mother may have spoken to you, but I am still the leader of this Family. I will not have my authority so easily dismissed. I… I need time to think about all this. Go see Nazir – do some work for him. I'll find you when I'm ready to discuss the matter further," she waved her hands at me dismissively, but she was the one who walked out of the room.

I shook my head. She's giving up a chance to make us respected, feared, again, I thought. I didn't know where Volunruud was, but I could find out while I was out doing minor contracts. In my musings I hadn't noticed Cicero was standing almost nose-to-nose with me. I blinked a few times when I saw him so close, with that ridiculously broad and happy grin plastered all over his face. "You are the Listener! You are the Listener!" he sang softly, watching my reaction. He still seemed sorry about his attack earlier.
I smiled gently. "Yes. I am the Listener, Cicero. And I forgive you."
Cicero beamed at me, straightening and looking sheepish. I wondered what he was thinking.

Cicero was looking at his Listener! She was his Listener! Oh, sweet Mother, Cicero has served you well! To choose one so bold, so deadly, so cunning and so beautiful as Listener…. Now Cicero must just deal with the harlot. She will pay for defying the Listener! Oh, Alysa is so pretty when she smiles like that…. Cicero feels his heart pounding. What will she do if…? Cicero steps closer. Such a little Nord, so fine…. She looks a little surprised. Cicero doesn't want to send her away, never. He wonders if he should touch her face, if she is as soft as he thinks she will be.

"Alysa!" Babette called, and his Listener stepped backwards, away. Damn the un-child! Cicero's fingers curled into a fist, his shoulders slumped. "Coming, Babette!" the Listener called back. "I'll see you around, Cicero."
"Of course, Listener," Cicero dips his head.
Alysa scowled. "I'm still Alysa, Cicero. You really don't have to call me the Listener."
"Cicero knows. But the un-child is calling, sweet Sister, dear Listener."

Alysa pursed her lips. She didn't want to leave! She wants to stay here, Cicero realizes! But she nods, backs out, and looks over her shoulder twice before she disappeared. "Dammit, Babette! I said I was coming!"

Cicero laughed. Still the same Alysa, but now Listener Alysa.