Astrid had walked towards the table where the map, papers, multiple documents and books stacked on one another. She looked down the steps that led into the Valel ponded at Astrid saying: They're all very eager to meet you.

She walked down the steps leading into what appeared to be the main chamber of the sanctuary. A smell of smoke and flames had seeped through her senses, the area had been pretty spacious for a guild which made her feel a small satisfaction that she wouldn't be clumped up with people. A beautiful small water fountain with the Dark Brotherhood symbol embedded into the stone just above it, she walked near the water before she slightly smiled. She used to love waterfalls as a child.

But then those memories came rumbling back into her thoughts, and she felt her anger and blood-thirst rise. She could go mad remembering her life as a child, she could see the people that would mock and laugh at her for her bruises and black eyes. She swore to never return to Isle of Summerset. Hopefully, everyone there forgot about her.

A manly laugh had cut her thoughts off, and she peered over her shoulder to see a group of people surrounding a small child, which she felt the instinct to protect but as she got closer she realized that the child was telling a story...a far more complex one than what she's used to children.

"Again! Again!" The Argonian had begged, wiping his eyes from presumably tears before he laughed again. "Do the part where he tries to buy you some candy."

The little girl rolled her eyes with a smirk before sighing.

"Okay, okay. Wait. Here we go." The little girl had straightened her posture, before she dramatically began to move around. "Ooh, you are such a pretty little girl. Would the sweetie like a sweetie? Oh yes, how about some chocolate? Oh yes, please, kind sir. My mama and papa left me all alone, and I'm so very hungry. I know a shortcut to the candy shop. Through this alley. Oh ya, very good. Very good. My it is dark down here. Oh, but you are so beautiful. Such a lovely smile. Your teeth... your teeth! No! Aggghh!!"

The rest of them had laughed, but Valel didn't. She didn't know why she didn't find the imitation of the man in the story funny, mainly due to the fact that he seemed like a pedophile, but everyone around her had laughed at the joke.

The short Dark Elf next to her had giggled with a hand over her mouth. "Oh Babette, you are so wicked."

A Redguard man, dressed in his ethnic clothes and a scimitar sheathed to his side, stepped up as the small child, 'Babette' had stepped back.

"What about you, Festus? How did that last contract turn out?" He asked.

"Oh, yes, please, old man. Regale us with your tales of wizardry..." The white haired man had sarcastically asked, making some of the members giggle.

The man 'Festus' had glared at him before clearing throat dramatically. "Ah, the young and stupid. Always mocking the experienced and brilliant. My contract went very well, I'll have you know. Tried a new spell. Little something I've been working on in my spare time. Came "this" close to turning that priest inside out. Damned messy."

"And what of your latest, Arnbjorn?" The Dark Elf next to her asked. Something about a Khajiit? Merchant was it?"

Babette had snickered. "Oh, a big doggy chasing a little kitty! How adorable!" The joke had made some of the members laugh, making Valel smirk herself. The child had a good sense of humor, she'd give them that.

Arnbjorn seemed to seethe. "I am not adorable, it was not funny, and he wasn't a merchant. He was a Khajiit monk, a master of the Whispering Fang style. But now he's dead... and I have a new loincloth."

He turned around and stormed off, looking annoyed that the group had mocked him. Valel shook her head, before brushing a strand of black hair out of her face. The group had dispersed into different directions, and the steps that led up to a room is where the man 'Nasir' is to be.

The sanctuary was sizable, and it made her wonder how someone sculpted such

She seen the little girl, Babette sitting at a table reading some kind of book. She noticed Valel approaching, and a huge smile had washed over her face.

"There you are!" Babette closed the book, before looking up at the much taller woman. "Astrid's told me all about you. Heard she pulled the ole' 'Choose your victim" gag with you.' Ah, I love that one. I'm Babette."

"Valel."

Babette nodded. "You're going to love it here. We have a lot of fun, and we look out for each other. Just like any family."

Valel sat in the chair across from her, before she had relaxed. She had been standing and walking for almost have a day with little means of resting, but she could hold off rest until she could get some contracts. "So, what can you tell me about yourself?"

"I'm just a little girl! The Dark Brotherhood killed my mama and papa, and then they took me captive! Please, please help me!" Babette smirked devilishly, before she laughed. "Rather convincing, don't you think? In truth, I'm no more a little girl than you are. I was once, of course. Three hundred years ago. Vampirism tends to keep one remarkably... fresh."

Valel's eyes widened. She knew Altmer could live hundreds of years, but this woman would be a little girl forever. She's already been trapped in a child's body. Valel couldn't imagine being stuck in a ten year old's body. But it seemed the child had been used to it, her orange eyes that resembled ones of a vampire had flickered at her.

Her hair was brown, long and had almost went past her shoulders. She had a red long sleeve shirt on with a long dress and regular shoes. Besides the eyes, she did truly look like a child. It just so happened that this child was also 300 years old mentally. Valel had nodded before standing up, smoothing it out her light armor she wore.

"It is nice to me you, I suppose." Valel nodded awkwardly.

"Yes, indeed. I am glad to have a new member of the family. I like you already. I can tell we're going to get along." Babette assured with a smirk, before picking her faced down book up again. "Can't wait to hear all about the next person you murder."

Valel smirked. Me too.

She walked pasted the vampire, before turning a corner to ascend into the sanctuary. Coming upon a staircase that lead downwards into what looked like a dining hall, she walked down the steps, every wooden step creaking as she pressed her weight down onto them. The man 'Nazir' had been sitting down at the king table with documents spread out in front of them, he seemed aware of her presence but didn't look up from the documents.

Valel could see his eyes reading the papers, as his pupils glided across each word of the paper. He straightened his position before finally looking and acknowledging Valel approaching.

"So you're the newest member of our dwindling, dysfunctional little Family. I've heard quite a bit about you." He examined her, before urging her to sit with an arm raised. She sat on the chair next to him, sitting sideways and leaning an elbow on the table. Nazir had noticed her silence, and slightly chuckled raising his tankard to his lips and taking a drink.

"Ahh, going for the mysterious and brooding thing, hmm? That may work for your targets, but you'll find I'm not so easily impressed." The last sentence seemed as he was challenging her, but she didn't take the bait as she looked at him.

"Astrid said you'd have some work for me." Valel cut to the chase, usually as she always does. She always tends to use shorter sentences to get what she needed across. Didn't seem to gain much by wasting words.

"Did she, now?" The Redguard asked sarcastically, before seeing the death glare on Valel's face and chuckling. "Well, as it turns out, there are a few lingering contracts we haven't had the chance to complete just yet. And more, dribbling in from time to time. I'll assign them to you as they become available. To be completed at your leisure."

"Sounds simple enough."

The older man nodded. "It is. These aren't particularly glamorous assassinations, I'll be honest. Don't pay much, either. But they'll keep you busy. Just do them as you're able. There's no real time limit - the targets aren't going anywhere. You can turn each one in as it's completed, or wait and turn in the whole group when all the targets have been eliminated. Whichever works for you."

"I'm ready for the first targets." Valel said, making Nazir smirk in content.

Well then, let's get started." Nazir pulled out three small papers that had been folded before sliding them to Valel's way. "I've got three available right now. Your targets are the beggar Narfi, an ex-miller named Ennodius Papius, and Beitild, a mine boss. When you've completed all those, we'll see if I might have some more."

"I will get it to it."

"Happy hunting."

Valel turned to walk, and did so walking up the freaking stairs. She hadn't met all of her new "family" but intended to do so before she went to kill her contracts. Babette wasn't where she was last time she saw, and her book was now faced flat down opened again on the table. I wonder where the child has gone.

Valel simply shrugged before exploring the rest of the sanctuary. Behind the wall of the waterfall and symbol had been a simply room with an unused bed, but it had no sheets, pillows or a blanket and had looked quietly old and dirty. I hope this isn't what they sleep on around here.

She left that room, before walking past a pile of new beds. She saw the dark elf knitting a piece of clothing. The woman looked up at Valel before bowing slightly with a small smile.

"New sister. May I offer my most sincere welcome to our Family." She said standing up, setting the knitting aside on her bed, she walked over towards the taller elf. "I am Gabriella."

"My name is Valel."

Gabriella took note of her elven appearance. "You are elven as well, I see."

"Altmer." Valel informed.

"As least us mer have to stick together," Gabriella joked, earning a slightly amused grunt from Valel. "Do you originate from Skyrim?"

Valel shook her head. "No, I was born in Alinor, Isles of Summerset."

"I, am not from Skyrim as well." She said with a smile on her face, conversing with the Altmer. Valel wasn't used to having such conversations with people. She was used to short conversations and small talk. "I was born in Blacklight, Morrowind, but my family moved here when I was younger."

Valel was silent as the Dark Elf looked solemn about her organs, fiddling with her fingers and staring at the floor below them where they stood.

"I don't remember much from Morrowind," she sighed, looking back up at Valel. "What about you? Do you remember the Summerset Isles?"

Valel flinched at the question, before her tormented memories of that cursed island came flooding back through her mind. "Far more than I would've liked to remember."

"Bad memories?" She asked, making Valel gulp with a feeling of emptiness. Something she feels everyday.

"Worse." Was all Valel said.

She stared at the floor before she turned to walk away from the Dark Elf without a word. She found herself in the main room again, by the waterfall. She wiped a lone tear that ran down here cheek as she sighed heavily. Talking about herself and abusive childhood always had an emotional toll on her, and she refused to let anyone she her cry. She wouldn't let anyone deem her weak again. Like her Father once did.

She turned around, and was met with an Argonian sitting on the ground simply staring into a fire. He seemed to be resting himself, but it rushed in questions why the man would choose the cold hard floor instead of a bed. She'd seen the beds behind Gabriella, and how they looked much comfortable that the one she saw earlier.

She wiped her eyes, and fixed herself making her way up to the lizard, who had still been sitting on the ground.

"Welcome, sister. Welcome to our sanctuary. You have made the right choice, joining us, I assure you." He said with a deep accent. His Argonian tongue made her conclude that he was from Black Marsh instead of an Skyrim native. "Name is Veezara. And you are?"

"Valel."

"You just trust in Astrid, follow orders, and you'll do fine here." He assured, before closing her eyes once more.

Valel stepped forward. "What can you tell me about yourself?"

There was a long silence, before Valel went to turn around and walk away but was cut off by his voice. "Once, I was a Shadowscale. An assassin in service to the King of Black Marsh. Trained by the Dark Brotherhood since the day of my hatching. Ah, but that was a lifetime ago. Today, I am the last of my kind."

Valel raised an eyebrow. "Last of your kind?"

"My order is extinct. Now, I happily serve Astrid, and this Sanctuary. I am a trained killer, and once again have been given purpose. Life is good."

"Well, I must be off. It was good to acquaint you." Valel said with a nod. Veezara nodded with a bum before closing his eyes again. She noticed an old man had came walking out of the pathway behind the waterfall, and made his way down towards them.

Valel sighed, before walking towards him. The old man noticed before he stopped her mid sentence and spoke first.

"Yes, yes, you're the new Family member. Let's make this easy - consider me the cranky old uncle nobody talks to. You go your way, I'll go mine." He said crumpling, making heat lick Valel's skin with rage.

"Fine. I'm not here to make friends, old man." She bumped the older, shorter man's shoulder before going to leave the exit, but was stopped once again by a white haired man. The same man who stormed away from the group conversation earlier, Arnbjorn.

"Don't mind the old man, he's just as grumpy as the next older man is." He said, walking next to her just below her height. She always seemed taller than everyone except High Elves... "Well, well. It's raw meat. Oh, my beautiful wife has told me all about you."

"You know nothing about me, or my abilities." Valel sneered

"I'll give you a week before you end up dead in a ditch."

"A bold statement."

"Look. If you're trying to get to know me - don't. I don't like you, and I never well. It's nothing personal. But... My wife trusts you, and I trust her judgement. So you can't be all bad. Here's all you need to know: I'm a werewolf. I like killing things. I love Astrid. I hate annoying people. And the color blue gives me a headache." Arnbjorn walked past her, making Valel's blood boil.

She shook her head, it was time she kill.

...

Four days had passed by, and Valel had completed killing her last target before tearing the paper to shreds and throwing it off in the wind as it flew away from her hands. She lodged her knife in Beilitid's neck, watching her gurgle and drown in her blood as Valel watched with satisfaction.

She had sliced Narfi's neck, telling him his pathetic existence comes to an end before she hid his body behind his home, knowing she'd be long gone before discovered.

When Ennodius tried to flail and run from her, she threw her knife expertly, perfectly hitting him directly in the back of the head watching him twitch on the ground dead from the knife that had been embedded in the back of his head. She seemed satisfied with her new life...and family.

She could get used to it, taking on contracts and killing people in creative ways she would make. A pang of excitement swelled in her chest as she approached the Dark Brotherhood door, uttering the password and waiting for the door to open so she could walk in.

The last few days have been nothing but traveling around Skyrim, killing her targets. She had killed a stormcloak and taken his horse before cutting it loose. She could feel herself become exhausted after her final target was eliminated, and she hadn't got much rest besides concealing herself in the wilderness to sleep. She could really use a bed, pillow and blanket.

She walked through the command room, before she heard a high pitched voice coming from the main room of the sanctuaryh. Oh no...

"But the Night Mother is mother to all!" The jester, Cicero preached in that ungodly annoying voice. She concealed far enough to see the family had been in front of him, heeding his words. "It is her voice to follow! Her will!" He moved his arms dramatically around during his rant. "Would you dare risk disobedience? And surely...punishment."

His voice dropped low on 'punishment' and had stated directly into Arnbjorn's direction who had curled his fist by his side. "Keep talking little man, and we'll see who gets 'punished'."

Valel sighed, before walking down the small steps walking into the room where everyone was gathered around the small man, standing by Gabriella who noticed her presence with a small nod.

"Oh, be quiet you great lumbering lapdog!" Festus piped up, making Arnbjorn look at him with a scowl. "This man has had a long journey. You can at least be civil." Festus had walked up to the joker, before he slightly bowed. "Mister Cicero, I for one am delighted you and the Night Mother have arrived. Your presence here signals a welcome tradition."

Cicero giggled. "Oh, what a kind and wise wizard you are! Sure to earn our Lady's favor." Valel seen Astrid sigh, and step between the three men breaking up the debate.

"You and the Night Mother are of course, welcomed here." Astrid assured, Valel watching the man's tense face turn a bit softer. "And you will be afforded the respect deserving as your position as Keeper." Astrid looked at Arnbjorn. "Understood...Husband?"

Arnbjorn grunted.

"Oh, yes, yes, yes!" Cicero practically jumped up and down. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Astrid's smile had faded, and a serious look washed over her face making Valel raise an eyebrow. "But make no mistake, I am the leader of this Sanctuary. My word is law. Are we clear on that?"

"Oh, yes mistress. Perfectly, you're the boss." Cicero eagerly said. Cover hadn't even noticed Valel's presence which somewhat relieved her, and just as she was about to find Nazir, Astrid had pulled her the side.

"Ah, there you are. Good. I was done speaking to that muttering fool anyway." Astrid tugged on her arm, and they walked up the small steps into the command room again where they were alone. "We've got some business to discuss."

"Do you have a target for me?" Valel asked bluntly.

"I do indeed." The blonde confirmed. "You must go to the city of Markarth, and speak with the apothecary's assistant. You'll probably find her in The Hag's Cure, when the shop is open. The girl's been running her mouth, wants an ex-lover killed. She's apparently performed the Black Sacrament. Her name is Muiri. I need you to talk to her, set up the contract, and carry it out."

"Anything else?"

Astrid shook her head. "Just do whatever the contact wishes. Be professional, represent us well, and get the job done. Since it's your first contract, I'll let you keep whatever Muiri pays. She'll be generous, I'm sure. They always are."

"Ah!"

Both Astrid and Valel had snapped their heads up, looking towards the high pitched yelp before it was none other than Cicero standing at the two woman. Cicero looked Valel up and down with an unreadable expression, before he giggled.

"Wait, oh wait. I know you!" He tapped his finger on his chin before his face lit up. "Yes, yes. From the road! Cicero never forgets a face." Valel sighed, before putting a hand to her face.

Astrid looked up at Valel. "You knew him already?"

"I helped him on the road just outside of Whiterun a few weeks back. A farmer wouldn't help him fix his wheel, so I intimidated him into helping."

"You didn't tell me?" Astrid saying, making it seem that she was hiding it from her.

Valel's brow furrowed, now looking at the shorter woman. "If I had any idea it was the clown, I would've told you."

Astrid looked between the two before she sighed. "We'll talk about it more when you return from Markarth." And with that, she quickly exited the room leaving just Cicero and Valel.

The two bored holes in each of, only being a few feet away from each other. Her squinted eyes, combined with the annoyed expression from her face clashed with the insane wide eyed smile from Cicero. She noticed the nan truly was a midget. He barely looked five-seven.

Cicero giggled, making Valel look at him with a dagger look. "You were the tall stranger."

"You're the man with the wagon, transporting his mother..."

"I am! I am! But not just my mother. Our mother, hmm? The Night Mother! Oh yes! And you helped me! You helped poor Cicero! You talked to Loreius, got him to fix my wheel! Oh, you may have pleased me, but you have surely pleased the Night Mother. And our mother, she will never forget."

"Why are you here?" She asked, making the jester flinch back at the harsh tone.

"The Night Mother's crypt in Bravil was... desecrated. The Imperial Province is ravaged by strife. Nowhere there is safe, at present. So Cicero brought our Lady to her new home. Here! This is the only Sanctuary left in all of Skyrim, you see. Such was my... honor. As Keeper."

Valel raised an eyebrow, as insane as this man was, she seemed curious about him. She wanted to know more of him, she had a few questions. "Who is the Night Mother?"

"What? Who is the Night Mother?" He dramatically jumped back with his hands, before repositioning himself. "Oh! Oh, you jest! You jest with gullible Cicero! You of course know that the Night Mother is our Unholy Matron. The undying spirit of a great woman who birthed the children of Sithis. And killed them. In his honor."

"Sithis? Who is this, Sithis?"

"Hmm..." Cicero hummed with a high pitched voice. "That's like telling you about the cold of space, or terror of midnight. Sithis is all those things." He stepped closer, looking up at her. "He is... the Void."

She felt heat rise in her cheeks which was an unfamiliar feeling, feeling him closer. The jester had looked st her with wide eyes and a small smile, slightly jolting up and down with energy. She could see he had red hair, as some strands had been visible from the hat he wore. As pained as Valel admitted, he wasn't bad looking in the face either. A sharp jawline, freshly clean shaven with tiny stubs of hair around his face. The man was nice on the eye, light brown color painted his pupils. He seemed around her age, if not a bit older than she was but he wasn't very old looking.

"Who are you really?" Valel asked, he went to open his mouth but she cut him off. "And spare me of the antics."

"Me? Oh, Cicero is just the Keeper! I... keep! I look after our matron, you see. The Night Mother. I keep her clean, and protected, and happy..." Valel wondered how one could keep a corpse happy, but shook the thought off. "But I am not the Listener. Oh no. There is no Listener. Not yet! But some day, some day, some day I pray, that one will come to hear her say... The words."

"The Listener?" Valel questioned.

"Oh, well, the Listener is the only person the Night Mother speaks to. It is the highest honor attainable by a member of the Dark Brotherhood. Of course our Lady is dead, so she doesn't talk with words, since her lips are... rotted. But inside the Listener's head. I hear it's... intimate. Ah, but there has not been a Listener in years. Our Lady has not chosen Cicero, and certainly not Astrid. Or... anyone. But some day..."

Valel had almost seemed somewhat satisfied from the information she had been given, and she had begun to turn around right before Cicero spoke again.

"Y'know you've never told me your name, tall stranger." His voice dropped low again, on 'tall stranger' making her feel a coldness down her spine. She turned back around, looked at the shorter man.

"My name is Valel," she said, before watching Cicero nod. "I am from the Summerset Isles."

"What a lovely name," Cicero dragged the word on, before stepping closer. "And, how did someone as alluring as you become a member?"

Valel had pointed out that he said she was alluring. Was the jester flirting with her?

"I had taken on a Dark Brotherhood contract I wasn't suppose to take." Valel crossed her arms, telling how it all began. "I woke up the next day in a shack somewhere in Skyrim with Astrid proposing me to join the Dark Brotherhood. She made me kill three people."

Cicero had danced around, making Valel raise an eyebrow. "Yes, yes, an interesting story. I was wondering when you would say more than one sentence."

The jester seemed to be challenging her. "I do not like to waste words. What I say, will be all that I say. Nothing more."

Cicero cackled, before he spun around in a circle. "And people say I'm a mood killer," he giggled. "Oh, but who am I to judge? I think you make a perfect addition to our family."

He stepped closer to her, and now they were only inches apart. Cicero's forehead was matched with her lips, it was almost comical how much of a height advantage Valel had over the man, but it didn't seem to bother the smirking man who stared into her eyes.

"Do I intimidate you, tall stranger?" Cicero asked with a smile, boring a hole straight into Valel's eyes. She felt a flutter in her stomach as she smelt his scent. It wasn't a bad scene surprisingly, he had a natural woodsy and forest scent. "Do I make you uncomfortable?"

She frowned. "My name is Valel. And no, you do not intimidate. Nor do you make me uncomfortable."

He lowly giggled. "It seems like you are the only person here with sense. Yes, oh yes, I can see us getting along very nicely. You intrigue me, Valel."

Her name sounded weird on his tongue, dragging her name along. He was looking at her weirdly with a smile, before he giggled. She felt the hairs stick up on the back of her neck, as well as the feeling of her stomach turning softly. She'd never felt this way before, yet she found the situation unbearable feeling the heat rise to her cheeks, before she mentally slapped herself.

"I have a contract I must fulfill." She brushed by the jester, walking away as quick as she could.

"Farewell! Farewell! I hope we talk again soon, ha!"

That damned voice...