The next few days for Valel had been fulfilling her recent contracts. She hadn't talked too nor seen Astrid since their last interaction, but to be fair she hasn't quite been home to have that conversation with her. The armor given to her by Nazir had fit perfectly, even for her height. The armor allowed her to be flexible and made her able to move around lightly in the shadows.
Valel had three targets this time; Deekus, Ma'randru-jo and Anoriath.
Deekus had been posted outside of Dawnstar, a little northeast. A place called "Hela's Folly." She made quick work of the lizard by sneaking into his camp while he slept and sliced his throat. He clutched at it, as he quickly drowned in his blood. Valel had taken whatever gold he had before leaving his body there.
She was able to locate Ma'randru-jo by Riverwood, stalking him until he was away from the settlement before she tackled him to the ground and lodged her blade into his neck. She watched him bleed out, whilst the he looked at her with a confused look before his eyes looked towards the sky and the life drained out of him.
Anoriath was an hunting merchant, and had a daily schedule; ran his stall in the marketplace of Whiterun, go hunting for supplies, and go home. She took a day to stalk him, adapting to his schedule. He went hunting the next evening, and had been aiming at a deer but collapsed when a knife had been lodged into his head. Valel had ripped the blade from his skull, wiping the blade off. All of her contracts were terminated.
It took her half a day to reach home from Whiterun. It was rough being out all day, being contracted to kill. She had a blast doing it, she loved it. She wasn't ashamed to admit she liked killing, but that doesn't make it easier. She's psychotic. Everyone in the Brotherhood was, they all enjoyed killing.
She dropped down from the horse, before walking towards the door leading to the sanctum. She yawned, before the door seemed to recognize her presence and cracked open for her. She took her mask off, taking a deep breath of fresh air before fixing her fizzled hair. She walked in, letting the door shut behind her as she made her way down the small flight of steps. The command room was empty, and it was as if no one had been there.
Valel walked deeper into the sanctum before she heard two feminine voices with a third voice which seemed masculine conversing in the area where Nazir usually was. She made her way over there, revealing Veezara, Gabriella and Babette had been sitting at the king table just down the steps from where she stood above them.
Babette had been the first to notice her. "Val! Hey, come down here with us."
Valel raised an eyebrow, before she made her way down the steps and sat next to Gabriella. Babette sat at the head of the table, with Veezara across from the two elves.
"What were you all talking about?" Valel asked awkwardly, still not used to starting conversations.
"Oh, Veezara was just telling us how life is in the Black Marsh." Gabriella answered with an amused look.
"Yeah, and how it's nearly impossible for non-Argonians to live there." Babette said as if she found it cool.
"Well, what is life like there?" Valel questioned, looking across the table to Veezara.
"Normal for us, but would be considered hectic for you." He simply said in his thick accent, he leaned back against his chair.
"What's more hectic than this skeeverhole of a region?" Babette question. "Giants spiders try and kill me on the road all the time."
The Argonian chuckled at the child. "In the Marsh, there are very few roads. We mostly must travel by boat." He said, crossing his arms with a smug look.
"And if you have no boat?" Gabriella asked.
"Then we swim, which we are no stranger too. Argonians can breathe underwater. So we swim for miles without coming up for air."
"I could make a potion for that, y'know?" Babette challenged, making Valel giggle.
"Could your potion last forever?" Veezara challenged back.
"You, of all people know not to underestimate me, Veezara."
The two of them stared each other down, with a competitive looks. Valel and Gabriella had eyed each other from the corner of their eyes before the looked back the the Argonian and vampire stare down.
"Ah," came a voice from above, the four of them looked up to see Nazir standing at the top of the steps, his hands held behind his back. "I've been looking for you, Valel. Astrid's been wanting to see you. You'd best get going."
Valel stood up, bidding the three of her company goodbye before she made her way up the steps. She nodded towards Nazir, which the Redguard did back before she passed him making her way to the command room. She passed by Festus, giving him a glare and brushing past him.
She made it to the command room, spotting Astrid sitting at the table with the map laying across it. Astrid eyed her, watching Valel approach with the same look. She stopped just in front of the table, not uttering a word.
"We need to talk." Astrid confronted, but Valel kept her mouth shut making Astrid sigh. "Don't make this difficult."
"I am not making anything difficult." Valel growled out.
"Look. Something is happening here. I'm not sure entirely what that something is. Well, we need to find out." Astrid sat forward in the chair, placing her hand on the table still not breaking eye contact with Valel. "If the Night Mother really did give you an order to talk to a contact, we'd be mad to ignore it. And I think we'd both agree, Cicero's brought quite enough madness to this Sanctuary. So go."
Valel raised an eyebrow. "Go? Go where?"
"Go to Volunruud. It's a crypt, pretty far to the northeast. Talk to this Amaund Motierre. And let's see where all this leads."
It took her half a day to reach the Pale. Her horse huffed as it slowly walked up to the Nordic tomb, before she got off the horse and began to slowly stoke her face. She slid her mask down her face, which had been ontop of her head covering her hair and most of her forehead. She walked up to the tomb, before walking upward and down the steps that lead to the door. She had pushed the door, and entering the tomb with the door closing behind her.
More steps led downward in the dark tunnel, as she took a deep breath and walked further into the tunnel with a dagger in her left hand and sword sheathed to her right.
There had been a body, slumped against the wall. It was a man, a Nord. He looked as if he had recently died, his body had still been intact and not fully composed. She had looked at him with a scoff, before taking the few pieces of gold that fell from his pocket and stepping over him to continue into the tomb.
She made into a forked hall, before remembering the location the Night Mother shared with her. She looked over her shoulder to a hall leading further into the tunnel. She followed it, coming across a room with plants and herbs grown. A door had appeared, and it had made Valel flinch unexpectedly.
Opening it, she saw two men conversing before they stopped entirely out of shock when a masked Valel opened the door and closed it behind her.
The shorter of the men, walked up to her. He looked just as, if not shorter than Cicero. He walked up to her with a greet. "By the almighty Divines. You've come. You've actually come. This dreadful Black Sacrament thing... it actually worked."
"You have opened the door to darkness, little man." Valel said, still standing in the shadows. Amaund had looked a bit confused, taken aback by the choice of words.
"Please, allow me to state my business. Surely your time is as valuable as my own." He began, walking in paces as Valel listened. "I would like to arrange a contract. Several, actually. I daresay, the most important work your organization has had in, well... centuries."
She said nothing, which Amaund noted by the look of his expression. "Right, then. You prefer to listen, is that it? As I said, I want you to kill several people. You'll find the targets, as well as their manners of elimination, quite varied. I'm sure someone of your disposition will probably even find it enjoyable. But you should know that these killings are but a means to an end. For they pave the way to the most important target-"
Valel sighed impatiently. "Get to the point."
Amaund looked annoyed that she cut him off, but further explained. "The real reason I'm speaking with a cutthroat in the bowels of this detestable crypt. For I seek the assassination of...the Emperor."
Valel felt her heart pumper harder, as if it would pound itself out of her chest. The man had looked at her with a conflicting look, and his hands put together. Valel's thoughts scrambled. The emperor? Of Tamriel? Is this man fucking nuts?
"You want us to kill...the Emperor? Of Tamriel?"
Amaund nodded eagerly. "That is correct. What I ask is no small thing, of course. But you represent the Dark Brotherhood. This is, what you do? No? You must understand. So much has led to this day. So much planning, and maneuvering. Now, it's as if the very stars have finally aligned. But I digress. Here, take these. They need to be delivered to your, um, superior. Rexus. The items."
Rexus walked up, and handed her the item in her hand before he wordlessly walked back into the dark corner he was posted in.
"The sealed letter will explain everything that needs to be done. The amulet is quite valuable - you can use it to pay for any and all expenses." Amaund informed.
Valel gulped. "We'll require significant amount of compensation. Can you pay the price?
Amaund merely laughed. "Oh, my furtive friend. When Emperor Titus Mede II lies dead, there will be gold... a fortune in gold. But so much more! It is said that the Dark Brotherhood, in recent years, has been in decline. That you lack the power, wealth, and respect of days past. Is it not so? If you do this, if you kill the Emperor... Oh, how the masses will fear and respect you."
Valel nodded, before she put the sealed letter into her pocket and turned to walk away, but was stop by the voice of Amaund.
"You must deliver those items to your superior. And I... I must get out of this foul place."
"It can't be that bad," Astrid said leaning against the table on the command room in the sanctuary. "What did he want?"
The Altmer sighed before she looked Astrid dead in the eyes and said; "Motierre wants us to kill the Emperor."
"You're joking." She said in disbelief, as she watched Valel take the sealed letter from her pocket and handed it to Astrid who took it hesitantly before reading it. Her eyes widened. "By Sithis, you're not joking. To kill the Emperor of Tamriel... The Dark Brotherhood hasn't done such a thing since the assassination of Pelagius. As a matter of fact, no one has dared assassinate an Emperor of Tamriel since the murder of Uriel Septim, and that was two hundred years ago..."
"Surely the Night Mother wouldn't misdirect us," Valel inquired.
"No, she certainly wouldn't." Astrid set the letter on the table before dragging a hand down her face. "And... for whatever reason, she chose to relay Motierre's information to you. I don't know exactly what's going on here, if you're the Listener, or this is some fluke, or what. But what we now have before us..."
Valel shrugged. "Are we taking the contract?"
"You're damn right we'll accept it. If we pull this off, the Dark Brotherhood will know a fear and respect we haven't seen in centuries." Astrid gloated with a huge grin on her face. "You think I'd abandon an opportunity to lead my Family to glory? But this is all so much to take in. I need time to read the letter, and figure out where we go from here. And this amulet. Hmmm..."
"Any ideas? Who'd want an amulet of that kind anyway?" Valel asked.
"There's only one man who can give us what we need - Delvin Mallory. He's a fence, a private operator. Works out of the Ratway, in Riften. Give me the letter. Bring Mallory the amulet. Find out everything you can, and sell it if he's willing. He'll offer a letter of credit - that's fine. Delvin Mallory and the Dark Brotherhood have... history. He can be trusted."
Delvin Mallory wasn't exactly what she was expecting him to be. He seemed like a perv, she could see the glimpses of him checking her out but said nothing. The better I get out of this dump the Thieves Guild calls a home the better. When she asked him about the amulet, he seemed shock, and asked where she got him from but not before shooting down the question, seemingly not wanting to know.
He'd give her a letter of credit, and slightly brushed her thigh with his index finger with earned him a nice backhand to the face. The impact of her hand connecting to his jaw had echoed around the sewer, making the members of the guild direct their attention towards them, but quickly adverted their attention away.
Delvin had held a hand to his jaw where a welt had begun to form. It was reddish, but was quickly colored with purple. Valel hadn't realized how hard she had backhanded him, but was satisfied. She didn't care for the pain that shrouded her knuckles.
"Pig..." she hissed quietly, before she pocketed the letter and gave him a nasty look. She took it another step further and slightly spit on him. "I hope you wouldn't touch your mother like that." She heard the silver haired woman who was leaned up against a box chuckle.
Valel pulled her mask down, covering her face, exiting the shit hole the Thieves Guild calls home.
Astrid's face slightly lit up at the sight of Valel. "Good, you're back. Well, what did Mallory have to say? Is the amulet authentic?"
Valel placed the amulet on the table, letting Astrid examine it. "Yes, and specially made for members of the Elder Council."
"The Elder Council...?" Astrid looked up in confusion. "Oh, now that explains quite a bit. Motierre, you naughty, naughty boy. Hiring the Dark Brotherhood to help you rise beyond your station. Delicious. Was Mallory willing to buy the amulet?"
"Yes. Here's a letter of credit."
"Excellent. Then we're ready to begin. Or, more specifically, you're ready to begin. After all, you're the one the Night Mother spoke to. Now then. I hope you have something nice to wear. Because you're going to a wedding."
"I do not fancy weddings." Valel grumbled.
Astrid sighed, running a hand down her face. "It's more like a public reception. It should be a lovely affair. You'll mingle with the guests, eat some cake... stab the bride. Oh yes. You've got to kill the bride. At her wedding. And they say romance is dead."
Valel could see the satisfaction in the smirk Astrid wore when she said that last sentence. A low chuckle came from the woman, before she looked up at Valel.
"Who do I kill?" Valel asked, feeling her thirst for blood rise.
"Her name is Vittoria Vici. She oversees the East Empire Company's business holdings in Solitude. The wedding is being held in that city, at the Temple of the Divines. Her death will cause an uproar, which is exactly what we want."
Astrid walked over towards the high elf, positioning herself in front of her and leaning back on the table.
"Vici is likely to address her guests frequently, as is the wedding custom. Kill her when she does that, and I promise you a significant bonus. Now go. And give my best to the bride."
"Would the Emperor be there?" Valel questioned, making Astrid seem to think hard about answering the question.
"He had a trip to Skyrim planned for months, and canceled at the last minute. Much to his cousin's dismay. Seems the Emperor realized his presence would necessitate a more direct role in the ongoing hostilities." Astrid rubbed a hand alongside her jaw before she squinted her eyes. It must've been a thing she im did when thinking. "A role he was, obviously, unwilling to take. All that will change with his cousin's murder. Everyone will think it was motivated by the conflict between the Imperial Legion and Stormcloaks. And the Emperor will be forced to come clean up the mess."
Valel raised an eyebrow. She wasn't keen on getting in the middle of political affairs, but if this is what will bring them closer to killing them Emperor, then so be it.
"I will eliminate her. I do not know how, but I will get it done." Valel assured with a hint of confidence in his voice. "When does the wedding start?"
"Soon," Astrid answered. "Few days time, but not to worry - the ceremony itself is being followed up by a public banquet that will last for several days."
"Then I must make haste-"
"No." Astrid said, freezing Valel in her motion. "You do not have to venture to Solitude yet. The wedding is not for another couple days. It's nighttime, I suggest you get some rest. You look exhausted. Leave tomorrow morning. I do not want you restless for tomorrows contract."
Valel had to admit, she was very exhausted. Being an assassin that traveled around the region could take it's toll, especially when it's a region like Skyrim. The Isles were much easier because things were closer. The weather wasn't as rigid and harsh as Skyrim's. Sure, the tropical storms had arisen time from time, but it never took the energy out of her traveling the Isles as it did compared to Skyrim.
"Fine." Valel said defeated, earning a nod from Astrid who had brushed by her. Valel yawned, and her eyes did in fact begin to feel heavy. She had stepped down the stairs, into the main room of the sanctuary. Oddly, it was empty.
She scanned the room, noticing no one was currently in there with her before she shrugged. She made her way towards where her, Babette and Gabriella shared a room seeing the two ladies in bed asleep. Had it really been that late?
She'd figured Babette would be awake, it seemed she didn't need sleep. But the little girl had been curled up with her blanket up to her neck, sleeping soundlessly. Gabriella had been in a more relaxed position than she was when Valel last saw her. Both of her legs had been covered by the blanket this time, but she was sleeping on her stomach with the side of her face planted on her pillow, her mouth slightly agape.
Valel had quietly removed her armor from her body, before she slipped on a sleeping dress that had hung on her body. She slipped under her blanket, before she heavily sighed.
A while had passed by, and Valel was still awake. Granted, she dozed off for a awhile but was welcomed by a hallucinatory dream about her father that had awoken her. The sanctum was deathly quiet, aside from the occasional snort from Gabriella with a dreamy muttering of words.
Valel sat up, before she looked towards Babette and Gabriella in their sleep. Valel admitted she's grown fond of the two girls, she seemed to be able to relate to them. She didn't like the ideal of friends before she found the Brotherhood, but now; she's glad to have them around.
Sleep would have to wait it seems, Valel slipped out of her bed and stood to her full height. She walked out do the room quietly not to wake the women. She walked towards the main room of the sanctuary, feeling the cold hardened floor beneath her bare feet. She looked at the stairs that led to Cicero's room, and noticed the door had been slightly ajar.
She walked up the steps, the only noise was her feet slapping against the floor. She silently approached the door, seeing that it was more open than she thought. She heard Cicero's voice, rambling and muttering words. Valel peeked into the room, seeing him writing in his journal rather quickly.
He seemed intently focused, as his eyes were widened madly and he was writing aggressively. He wasn't in his usual jester clothing, nor did he have his signature hat on. His ginger red hair had fell from his head, some of the strands covering his face. He was shirtless with just an old pair of pants on. He had a lean body tone, which she could see muscle on his body. It took a lot for Valel to admit that the jester was attractive.
She leaned in closer, letting her eyes scan all over him before her foot accidentally hit the door, widening it with a creak. Cicero looked up lightning quick, his eyes landing on the Altmer before his guard seemed to go down. His aggressive expression had softened at the sight of her.
"Listener, what are you doing up this time of hour?" His voice didn't have the energetic intensity that it usually held, and seemed tired.
"I could ask you the same," she stepped further into the room, still wincing from the hard ground under her feet. Cicero had eyed her up and down, before he looked at her eyes again. "I couldn't sleep."
Cicero nodded. "Yes, yes, neither could Cicero."
He closed the journal he had been writing in, before he motioned to the empty chair just next to his. She hesitated, before she quickly walked towards him and sat in the vacated chair. There was an awkward silence between the two before Valel had asked:
"What were you writing about?"
Cicero looked up at her. "Cicero's feelings. Writing out how I feel makes Cicero feel much better about hisself. I have a few journals. Maybe you should try." He suggested.
"Writing does not help me." Valel shot the idea down. "I wouldn't know where to begin."
Cicero giggled. "There is no beginning, silly Listener. You just write, write out how the Listener feels."
"I'd much rather kill."
"Ahh, yes. There's that too." Cicero said with a tired grin, Valel could see the tiredness begin to wear down the jester. "So, Listener; why are you here?"
Valel looked at him, before her eyes flickered to the ground. "I couldn't sleep. I felt alone."
"I thought being alone wasn't an issue to you."
She sighed. "It wasn't. Until I met people who care about me. It seems, being part of the Brotherhood changed me."
"But you came to my room, of all places."
"I assumed you'd be awake." Valel said, a little more aggressive.
Cicero put his hands up. "Cicero is just flattered is all. It seemed I was right, in thinking you and I would get along well."
"Babette and Gabriella are in the room, but they're asleep. I feel like I just needed someone to talk to." Valel admitted lamely, feeling her strong willed voice crack a bit.
"Ah yes, I have mentioned you can talk to me at any moment." Cicero assured with a low voice. The Altmer looked at him, seeing the dark circles under his eyes. His hyperactive smile was now a tired one. "So what is it? Nightmares?"
Valel could only nod, and she felt her eyes moist. Nightmares plague her every waking night she sleeps. Whenever it be of her old home, friends, her father or the last look on her mother's smug face when she abandoned her.
"They never end," she muttered loud enough for the jester to hear. She could see him place his chin on his hands that were propped up on the table by his elbows as he stared a hole in her. "Just seem to get worse."
"Cicero too, has nightmares." He admitted, making Valel look at him with a slight eyebrow raise. She'd never take him for the kind of person to have nightmares with the way he acted.
"What about?"
Cicero visibly gulped. "My past. Yes, Cicero has not had a good past. That is something both of us have experienced. Maybe one day, Cicero will share his past with you."
Valel felt slightly offended. She'd told him hers, why he is hesitant about his?
"I told you mine."
"Oh, don't worry! Cicero will tell you of his past soon. Just not as of now." He assured with a lazy tired smile. "But, Cicero is curious about you."
"You always seem curious about me." Valel said.
"You...intrigue Cicero." He said, his voice lower. Valel felt her hairs stick up at his gaze towards her, before stroke eye contact feeling her cheeks heat up.
"After I killed my father, I was alone for awhile. I killed a few people after that, but mainly in self defense. Most of the time, it was men trying to have their way with me."
She looked away from the ground, before she looked up at Cicero who had been listening intently without a smile on his face, but he had been fidgeting his fingers together.
"I met an old man; Aranecalmo was his name. He was an retired assassin, and had wanted to pass his skills onto someone before he died." Valel gulped, remembering the tiring lessons of the old man's teachings. "He taught me where vital organs were. Taught me how to move without making a sound. Where the best place to slice, or stab. How to poison arrows, and taught me a bit of magic. Everything an assassin needed. He'd always tell me I was like his own daughter."
Valel smiled at the times her and Aranecalmo sat around a fire near his hut they shared in his last few years. He would tell her old stories of his younger days as an assassin. People he killed, his targets and his upbringing."
"One day he began to contract kills for me. I didn't know how he paid me, but I never asked. My first contracts were easy. Regular people, merchants, thieves and other common people. Then he'd raise the stakes. I begin to go after public figures. Priests, bards, commanders, politicians."
Valel smirked at the memory of killing people that deserved it, before her smile faded. The story ended as usual, badly for her and the old man.
"But one day, I came back from an contract. And found Aranecalmo wounded. Apparently, someone who had been wanting him dead found him when I was gone. He managed to kill his attackers but was fatally stabbed in his abdomen. I showed up not long after the fight, and found him bleeding out in front the hut." Vale felt the emptiness settle in as the face of the old man was contorted into pain and despair.
"I had tried to help him, but he refused." Valel continued, fiddling around with her fingers. "He told me, that one of the people I had killed was involved with the Thalmor, and that I needed to flee the country. That if I didn't, they'd hang me. So I did. I'd pack up all I could and paid a huge amount to be transported from the Isles to Cyrodiil, where I worked as a lone assassin. After some years, I fled Cyrodiil and came to Skyrim. Where I met the Brotherhood."
Cicero hummed. "An interesting introduction to the art of killing. I'm glad we can share secrets like this. Maybe one day I'll let you read one of my journals!"
Valel slightly cringed. She'd rather not read his journals and would rather hear him speak to her face to face as she's been doing.She could feel her eyes begin to grow heavy. Yawning, she could hear a giggle from the clown across from her.
"Seems someone is tired." Cicero said.
"You seem tired as well." Valel pointed out. Cicero smiled, before he yawned. The two stared at each other, no noise in the background had interrupted their silence as the two bored holes in each other.
"Will you be returning to your room?" He asked, somewhat innocently. Valel squinted her eyes at him.
"Gabriella's snoring can wake a bear up," she answered. "But it is the only place I have to sleep."
Cicero stood up, which made Valel stand up. She looked down at him, realizing that the hat made him appear taller. His forehead came up to her chin, so she felt like the dominant presence in the room.
"Will you..." Cicero began to ask, but cut himself off. He looked towards the left, before he shrugged. "Share my bed with me?"
Valel felt the urge to smack the taste out of the man's mouth, but restrained herself. Maybe she misunderstood, and that she didn't need to react rash without an explanation. "What do you mean?"
"The two of us," he pointed to her then to him. "Sleep in my bed. You mentioned you didn't want to be alone, and that the dark elf snores like a daedric prince."
She chuckled at the last remark. Yeah...yeah she did. But she's never shared a bed with a man before. She's fucked before, but that wasn't in a bed. She looked towards his neatly made bed which looked much more intriguing than it needed to, most likely due to the tiredness in her body.
Valel and Cicero locked eyes for a moment, both standing inches apart in their sleepwear. Her heart had pumped quickly, before she felt that unfamiliar feeling of her stomach tingling. She smelt his scent, which was the woodsy smell that clouded him earlier.
She felt heat rise in her cheeks, looking at his toned bare chest. She could see tiny hairs around his pectorals, that led down to tight abs. His loose pants had sagged down to his v-line, making Valel gulp.
He held out his hand, palm facing up. She hesitated for a moment, before she looked up at Cicero's face. He seemed to have a genuine expression on his face with his hand held out. His lean veiny arm held in the air, patiently waiting for her to accept his offer.
She put her hand inside his, which was a bit smaller than his before he guided her towards the bed. The two held their hands together on each side of the bed before Ciceo motioned them to get in. Valel slipped underneath the thick covers, which were thicker than hers before she pulled them up to her neck facing Cicero.
"Yes, seems you are comfortable already." She could hear the jester's voice which both sounded eager and tired.
"It has been a long day." Valel managed to get out sleepily, she could already feel herself come hallucinatory as the sleep deprived woman sighed once more. "How do I know you will not try to..."
Cicero looked innocent for a moment with an eyebrow raised, but quickly caught on to what she was trying to insinuate.
"You need not to worry, Listener," Cicero assured her, making Valel only nod in acknowledgement. She'd cut his manhood off if she tried to have his way with her when she was vulnerable. But she got the feeling he was sincere. "I will not try anything. I will stay on my side of the bed."
The blanket only came up to his waist, leaving his exposed toned torso facing her. Valel had been zoned out looking at his toned bicep. The jester outfit really did wonders and hid how he was truly built. She sighed deeply, feeling her body and mind begin to shut down.
"Sleep tight, Listener..." She heard him mutter loud enough for her to whisper. She felt her hair slide down her face, but was quickly brushed alongside her ear. She wanted to say a remark back, but all she could do is sigh once again. Before she fell into a deep sleep...