WARNING: This chapter has somewhat of a smut in the end of this chapter

Chapter 2

Kiri hadn't had the time to process those words whispered into her ear.

Someone summoned the Dark Brotherhood to kill her. Who? Why? How do they know where she lived?

From what she had heard, the Dark Brotherhood were a guild of secret assassins that carried out their tasks if one performs the Black Sacrament . Never would she thought that someone out there really wanted her dead.

What about Blaise? Would this assassin target the young boy too? Were they as cruel as the tales she had heard?

"Any last words before your end?" the assassin asked, readying his great sword close to her neck. The voice definitely belonged to a male and with those yellow eyes boring into her olive-brown ones, she was too stunned to fight back.

Like the tales she had heard, the Dark Brotherhood uniform was garbed in black and red. To hide their identities, the outfit had a hood and matching masks. However for her assassin, she noticed his scaly green tail that was curled near his foot.

He was an Argonian.

Taking a deep breath, Kiri blinked back the tears as she puts on a brave face to look at him in the eye. "Do it. Just don't hurt Blaise, please. He's...he's all I have here."

"I won't harm your son-"

"He's not exactly my son," Kiri lets out a small laugh, shaking her head. Here she was, about to die by a skilled assassin and yet, she found the space to laugh. "He is like a brother to me. Please don't kill him."

To her surprise, the assassin gently wiped her tears with his thumb. Such tenderness almost made the Redguard want to lean into the touch. Maybe death had finally made her insane with these thoughts!

"I won't."

Closing her eyes, she prayed to the gods that Blaise would be okay and her death would be swift. She could feel her own breathing while a hand clutched her chest to stop her heart from beating like a drum.

SLASH!

She was hesitant to open her eyes. 'This is it,' she thought to herself. 'I'm dead and now I am nothing but a ghost.'

No sound was heard except Kiri's occasional breathing. Slowly, she opened her eyes to find the assassin's great sword slashed through the tapestry that was hanging on the wall at where she stood.

He too was breathing but not as shaky as her. He missed? Does that mean that he would try again?!

But the assassin stared down at her with those intense, reptilian eyes. Bracing herself, she asked, "A-are you going to...kill me again?"

She watched him, eyeing the sword that he was gripping in his right hand. But he simply puts it away so that he could stand upright. "Maybe," he replied, tilting his head. "Why did you resign so easily? I gave you a warning and yet you don't want to fight back."

Kiri stayed quiet, since she doesn't know why she had said that. Maybe it was the spur of the moment or- no, it couldn't be. "I don't know," she murmured, averting her gaze him his. She was still shaken up by the whole ordeal. By the time she looked up, he was already gone.

In utter confusion, the Redguard could only slumped down onto a chair. Just then, there was a tentative knock on the door, causing her to immediately spring out of her seat. It was none other than Blaise.

"Kiri, I had a nightmare," the young boy whispered. "Can I stay with you tonight?"

Pushing her fears aside, she gestured Blaise to come in and gave him a hug. "Of course you can. I won't let anything hurt you, okay?"

While Blaise was settling himself into her bed, Kiri opted to sleep on the chair. She was still trying to figure out one thing: who summoned the Dark Brotherhood to kill her?

...

Veezara was keeping himself busy by killing two other targets he had obtained from Nazir: a man in Mortal named Hroggar and a Thalmor agent passing through Riverwood. It gave him a sense of accomplishment whenever he made his kill.

No one noticed and quiet as a mouse, he left immediately before dawn broke the sky. When he finally washed up by the river, his mind swam back to the farm in Solitude. He wondered why he had spared the target since most of the kills he had done have begged, pleaded him for mercy before meeting the end of his blades.

However in this case, there was something about the woman that made him froze in his tracks before she resigned her fate. He had a good glimpse at her before he started swinging and he had to admit that she was beautiful.

'What do YOU know about beauty?' a cynical part of him asked. 'Since a hatchling, you never once took in a mate because of your vows as a Shadowscale? Jealous that Astrid and Arnbjorn have each other?'

He shook his head, splashing more of the water onto his face. Most of the blood were wiped away clean but even that had not stopped him from feeling heated about the situation.

"Kiri..." he began to say his target's name to himself. There was no one around except the occasion fireflies and salmon swimming passed his feet. Her name sounded sweet on his tongue and yet...

Splashing some more water, his body was starting radiate heat despite the chilly night's air. Growing up, he had some urges but never acted upon them due to his vows as a Shadowscale. However, he does relieved himself whenever he was in his private quarters or somewhere where no one could spot him.

This was one of those moments...

His mind drifted back to the Redguard woman, who not only resigned her fate but also lets out a laugh to correct him about the little boy. Her small smile, the fact that he allowed himself to wipe her tears.

He wanted that moment to last longer.

"What are you doing to yourself?" he breathed, trying to maintain control over himself. But, his primal Argonian instinct took over as he began to stroke himself at a faster pace. The visions of that woman smiling, her lips against his scaly maw.

He wondered what kind of sounds she would make if he decided to lay his mark on her cinnabar skin. And her hair...he had urges to run his claws over them as they feel the contact of scales on skin.

His body suddenly went rigid as something sticky was caught in his claws. Knowing that he had wasted an amount of time, Veezara had to come up with an excuse for his long absence. Growling with frustration, he began to suit up and found an unexpected prey to hunt before heading back home.

Back to the Falkreath sanctuary, the last Shadowscale hauled his kill of two deers. Despite being a skilled assassin, he would not brag about his cooking. His mentors taught him recipes that were passed down aside from killing. Babette would want the blood, so he drained them in a bottle for her while he prepared the rest of the meat. Using his claws, Veezara used a blade to skin off the deer. The skin will be turned into fine leather for some upgrades.

"You're home late," a voice remarked. He looked up from his skinning to find Arnbjorn, Astrid's husband crossing his arms. "Trouble with the target?"

Veezara assured him with a laugh. He knew not to cross him since Arnbjorn was a werewolf under the moon. "Not at all. I take it you need to wolf out or wolf down on the prey?"

The werewolf laughed before taking a large chunk of deer for himself while Veezara kept his guard up. He prayed to Sithis that Astrid does not know about his failed assassination. He will have to make it up somehow.

Tomorrow, he will get the job done.

Gee, I wonder who tried to kill Kiri?