The carriage to Riften was tiresome, and she managed to reach the stinking town near sunset. She mentallly noted that it would be better to slit her neck while she slept, and that the kids wouldn't see. The boy also mentioned not to kill Grelod's assistant of some kind, but she had blocked out his words.

She was finally relieved when she could no long feel the chill of Windhelm, and the autumn breeze of The Rift. Thankfully, she was the only one in the carriage with the humming man who had commanded the horse who would try to spark a conversation with her, only for it to be shot down by her. She had no time to make friends. But the alternative from riding the carriage was held over her head, and she'd have to endure it.

The woman she apparently is marked to kill is an mean old woman, known for abusing orphans and dehumanizing of the children. She was cold hearted towards people, but she absolutely hated child abuse. And it might sound hypocritical for her being a serial killer, but she still had slight drops of humanity in her before it was completely stripped away.

She was abused as a child, and took great pleasure in killing those who assaulted defenseless children. She remembers slitting her father's neck, and watching him drown in his own blood. She felt guilt, but she knew that she didn't want to wish the abuse on anyone. So yeah...she is kind of a hypocrite. But who isn't on Nirn? Weren't people suppose to be made this way?

Riften stunk, as usual. The beggars didn't let up, begging her for change which was answered by a brush of the shoulder or a shove out the way. She walked alongside the bridge that led to the center of town, pass the bar. The market had been scarce, and some red headed Nord had been trying to market his items by raising his voice in a announcing manner. She ignored it, and continued her way to the orphanage.

The letter of the establishment had been nailed just above the door, the letters had become incredibly rusted and it almost made it hard to read out, she went to step in before she noticed a guard had been watching her. Imande played it off, and tried to act as if she had gotten lost.

Valel walked away from the orphanage, cursing her breath. This might be harder than she thought. She couldn't go into Honorhall without being suspected of devious activity, but she couldn't kill the woman in day light in front of the kids. She'd have to wait until night.

Which bothered her very much so, the trip to Riften had taken a day. She had spent most of the time on the carriage sleeping away as the man transporting her took his sweet old time, she'd make sure she walks back this time. The sun was still in the air, but had the faint sight of beginning to set. She sighed, realizing her only option was to break in and kill the old woman. Imande walked alongside the bar, hoping to at least grab something to eat and a drink.

The Bee and Barb had luckily been just stragglers, a few people dining and drinking. It was quiet, which was much to her liking. She went to make her way to a seat, before an angry voice next to her sprang to her ears.

"I don't have any business with you, so get out of my face." The woman said with a scowl, making Imande narrow her eyes at her.

"I doubt anyone wants business with you." Valel shot back with a sneer, before walking away to where she was going. She wasn't even going to interact with the woman, god knows why her panties were in a bunch. She took her seat in a corner, and had waiting for the Argonian waiter to take her order. It had been a hasty couple of minutes, until the man had saw her and made way towards her.

"Welcome to the Bee and Barb, my lady." His deep, thick Argonian accent had rumbled, he bowed towards her in a mannerly greeting. "If I can interest you in one of our special drinks, you let me know."

She saw a paper with written foods and beverages on it, and had looked through it throughly.

"You mentioned you served special drinks?" Valel questioned.

The Argonian nodded. "Three in fact. They're my own recipe. Brought them over here from my days as a bartender in Gideon. First is the "Velvet Lechance" which is a mixture of blackberry, honey, spiced wine and a touch of nightshade... perfectly safe, I assure you. Second, we have the "White-Gold Tower" which is heavy cream with a layer of blended mead, lavender and dragon's tongue on top. Last, and only for the bravest of souls, we have the "Cliff Racer" which is Firebrand Wine, Cyrodiilic Brandy, Flin and Sujamma."

White-Gold tower sounds nice...

"I'll take the White-Gold." She said, folding the piece of paper and handing it to him. She took out a few septims and placed them into the Argonian's hand.

"Of course my lady." He scurried me towards the bar, talking to a woman who happened to be Argonian. She nodded at the words between the two and crouched, disappearing behind the counter. A few moments later she sprang up with a fancy looking tankard, who it was slightly taller and had a spout to drink from.

Setting it down, he bowed again before removing herself from her vicinity finding his way to other costumers. She took the drink, examining before shrugging and taking a hefty drink from it. She was a heavyweight when it came to drinking, so the alcoholic beverage shouldn't give her an issue. She gulped it down, and let out a stern as the strong taste enveloped her tastebuds. She cringed, while it was nasty it sure wasn't good. How on Nirn does he get away with selling this death drink? She scowled, getting up and escorting herself out of the bar.

The chill wind of Riften had hit her, and she didn't realize it she had been in there quite awhile. Night had mostly covered the sky, and the town of Riften was reduced to mainly beggars and guards. She cracked her neck, before she quietly made her way over back to Honorhall. She noticed a guard standing by the door, watching it.

Probably because of that boy escaping. She thought, walking past the orphanage. The guard had looked her up and down, and scoffed at her. She made sure to make a dirty face at him too. Gods, she hated Riften. Why someone would want to live in a skeever hole of a city, she'd never understand. The foul smell of the sewage below didn't help its case either.

She needs to get rid of this guard. She could knock him out, and flip him over the railing but that might cause to much noise and attention. She noticed a pile of leaves that had been raked together in front of the orphanage, maybe she could kill him and cover his body with the leaves. By the time the body starts to rot or someone discovers it, she'd be long gone.

But then again, she couldn't take her chances on someone finding the body while she's in there. She cursed herself again, before trying to think. If she could just lure that guard...

She looked over to the other side of the empty town square, watching an drunk beggar wonder around mumbling nonsense. She smirked, and made her towards him. He was the average height for an Nord man, which had been a few inches shorter than her kind. She swiftly took him by surprise, covering his mouth with her gloved hand and dragging him into a dark corner. He squirmed, struggling to get his drunken self out of her grasp but luckily her vice grip tightened onto him as his muffled sounds of frantic confusion.

"Make a move, and I'll slit your throat." The man's muffling had begun to die down, and he had calmed himself. "I won't kill you unless you make me." Valel said coldy, removing her hand from his mouth.

"What do you want from me?" He quietly quaked, she could feel the Nord man shaking. He looked quite feeble compared to Nordic men. He was skinny, and didn't have the toughness an Nord would usually give off.

"For twenty septims, I need you to distract that guard. Get him away from the orphanage." She saw the man go to open his mouth, but she stopped him with a hand. "I am not harming children, if that is what you were going to ask. I am simply doing someone a favor."

She showed him the septims, and the man hesitated looking between the orphanage and guard before he sighed and nodded. Valel dropped the coins into the beggars hand, before she watched him put on a show.

The man had drunkenly swayed his way to the guard before he started to exchange words with him. The man then had dramatically acted as if he passed out, leaning onto the very much annoyed guard

She could heard him groan in annoyance, before watching the guard grab the man and drag him off out of view. Valel almost celebrated in her mind, before she hastily made her way to the door of the orphanage. Hopefully the kids were asleep by this hour, and she could easily kill the woman in her sleep and be done with it. By the time her body is found, Imande would be long gone.

Surprisingly, the door was open making another thing easy enough for her. She was running low on pick locks and they were hard enough to come across these days. The dark engulfed her, as she closed the door silently. She had been trained in stealth in her days back in the Isles, so moving around was easy; even for someone of her stature.

Valel peered into the room, looking at the kids fast asleep in their beds. She could see slight bruises on the children, which had given her some sort of reaction but she shook it off. Another bed had been placed to her far right, with a sleeping body in it. Must be the woman Aventus mentioned.

She crept her way slowly into the back room, which she assumed was this Grelod the Kind's. She slowly opened the door, which took longer than expected to make sure no noises came from the aged wooden material. She slowly closed the door behind her.

Soft snoring had emitted from the bed, as the old woman slept like a baby. Valel had stood to her full height, and silently crept her way towards the old woman. A book had sat at her bedside titled Pig Children.

Valel gritted, before she had swiftly reached for her dagger, and quickly swiping the old woman's neck. Blood had spurted out, and the old woman had jumped up with eyes wide. Valel quickly grabbed the pillow, forcefully covering the her face and blood flow. Grelod had weakly squirmed, before not moving all together.

Valel let a breath out, looking towards the door which had still been shut. She didn't want to risk making noise to wake the kids and assistant. Looking around, she didn't see a window. She'd have to go through the house again.

Sighing, she slipped out of the room closing it shut quietly behind her, when she heard shuffling next to her. One of the kids had rolled over, adjusting herself in her little sleep. Imande breathed out, before spotting a door. She walked towards it, opening it to be hit by a breeze of night chilly Skyrim air.

She closed it behind her, before she stood tall. She sighed, before looking around. It had been a narrow backyard, with a huge fence shielding it. This wasn't a problem, as Imande was able to maneuver her way over the fence and onto the the other side. Well that's that. She figured she could catch a carriage back to Windhelm to deliver the news to the boy that the old woman was now dead, lying in her bed in a pool of blood.

Making her way towards the gates of Riften; she passed by numerous guards who eyed her up and down with suspicion, one of them even making a smart remark towards her, which triggered her to glare at him. She saw the carriage sitting out front of the gate, although it had been a different coachman. The man was a red headed imperial. He looked a bit younger, and had his head stuck in a book.

She snapped her fingers to grab his attention, which worked on the first try. The man's eyes locked onto the coin that she held in her hand, before she tossed them lazily onto his lap, landing together.

"Take me to Windhelm." She declared, jumping into the back of the empty carriage. "And no talking."

She awoke to a chilly wind, and a soft voice calling out to her. The coachman had nudged her awake, letting her take in that they arrived in Windhelm. Valel grumpily looked towards the sky, before yawning. The imperial man had jumped off the carriage, before hopping back into his seat with the same book he had been reading.

Valel stood to her full height, dropping down from the back. She stretched her arms out, before she felt herself quake at the sudden stretch of her body. The icy chill of Windhelm almost swept her from her feet, earning a nice sigh from her. She began to walk to the gates of Windhelm.

Windhelm was lively this morning, bustling with activity. Children mindlessly ran around the streets, weaving and whipping around the adults who were too busy doing their normal tasks. Imande was lost in her thoughts when a rough shoulder had bumped her.

She reeled back a bit, the force was rather quick and sudden when she turned to her left to see a man with long black hair, and a clean shaved face. He had the usual stormcloak attire on. The attire usually was a blue cloth that wraps around the quilted armor underneath it with leather belts fastening around the torso. The chainmail under it would protect the solider from any damage from a sword.

"Watch where you're going, Nord." Valel warned, with a furrowed brow. The man's face had turned into a scowl, which had most likely been the cause of her tone.

"I'd watch your tone, if I were you." The man coldly said, not fazed by the slighty taller elven woman.

"Bloodsnow!" A masculine voice called out from the crowded street, which had made him break his gaze. He turned back to her, before snorting and walking away. Valel sneered, before making her way back towards the Arentino residence.

The walk was slightly shorter than she thought, turning the corner she had already almost been in front of the residence, finally walking up to the door. She had made sure to keep it unlocked, so she'd wouldn't have to pick the lock again.

Opening, she crept in as so no one would be suspicious of her. Closing it behind her, she marched up the steps and into the main room where the boy, Aventus had been waiting eagerly.

An awkward silence had taken over the atmosphere, and Aventus had impatiently waved his arms. "Well? Grelod the Kind...is she... you know?"

"She's dead. Drowned in her own blood." Zaele coldy confirmed, making Aventus almost jump in the air out of joy. Jeez, and I thought killing satisfied me...

"Aha! I knew you could do it! I just knew it! I knew the Dark Brotherhood would save me! You can keep the heirloom, just like I promised." Valel had pulled the heirloom from her satchel, before holding it between them. "It should fetch you a nice price. And thank you. Thank you again."

Valel looked at the heirloom, before looking at Aventus with a questionable eye before she cleared her throat and walked out of the room. She stuffed the heirloom back into in her satchel, before clipping it back into place. To be fair, she was a little disappointed by the reward, but what she expect from a boy who was probably eleven at most.

Valel walked away from the residence, grumbling words about children. But it wasn't before she was stopped by a courier.

"I've been looking for you. Got something I'm suppose to deliver." The man quickly said, before he flipped through his pouch of letters and notes. "Let's see...yeah got this note."

"From who?"

"Don't know. Creepy fella. Black robes. Couldn't see his face. Paid me a great sum to get it to you." And with that, he had jogged off to deliver his next message. Valel sighed, before she flipped the note open to read the message:

We know...

With a black handprint. She thought about it for awhile, who could've sent her this? She had shrugged her shoulder before crumbling the paper up and throwing it aside with a heavy yawn. Maybe it was nothing...

It had almost been noon at this point, yet she somehow still felt exhausted. Maybe she should take a nap in one of the inns.

Maybe a long nap would alleviate her, allow her to gather rest before wherever her travels were to take her next. For the love of Arkay, she could be dead in a ditch tomorrow.

Candlehearth Hall was slow for business, which made it easier to pick a room, pay and slide her boots and shirt off. A flimsy plain bra and panties was all she had worn now as she settled into the somewhat uncomfortable bed.

She made sure to darken the room, her favorite place to sleep was the dark so she could stare nothingness while drifting off into nothingness. Eventually, her exhaustion would defeat her. Her eyes slowly began to close, before she pulled the cover up to her chin.

It wasn't long before she slept. Hoping she wouldn't be disturbed...