Chapter 5

"So the Dark Brotherhood is your family?" Kiri asked as the both of them laid down in the bed. She was resting her head on his chest as she listens to his voice. Veezara's strong, scaly hands were holding her by the waist.

"They are. Astrid took me in after the king of the Black Marsh was assassinated by one of his rivals. When the new king ascends the throne, he casted out all of the Shadowscales, saying that we could not be welcomed anymore to our own home. Our leader decided that we should separate in case we meet again in the future."

There was resignation in his tone. Kiri held his clawed hand, to which he closed it onto her small one. "I'm sorry, Veezara. You lost your family but now you have a new one. Won't they be angry that you haven't finished your task?"

Veezara looked down at her with soft reptilian eyes. Brushing her hair to the side, he began to kiss her forehead. "There are other kills but if the contractor persists, then it will have to be a top priority."

There was so much that Kiri had wanted to ask but at the same time, she was exhausted from getting her 'debt' settled through the Shadowscale's swift tongue. She blushed at the thought of it inside of her again.

"Kiri?"

"Hmm?"

"I will visit you again during the night," he told her quietly. "But before I leave, may I know about you?"

Kiri leaned back, her head touching the headboard of the bed. "Depends. What would you like to know about?"

Veezara's tail curled in a crescent shape. "What do you do on the farm? Aside from the chores of harvesting vegetables and collecting eggs."

Kiri smiled and explained to him about caring for the horses with Blaise as well as teaching the students from the Bard's College how to ride. This made the Argonian quirked an eye ridge. A horse riding teacher? Now that's something he doesn't heard of everyday!

"Do you have a favourite horse?" he asked. She smiled as she sat up from her position. "Although I love all of the horses, I think Cinnamon is the best. She is the sweetest mare and I think you would like her. She's the favourite amongst the students because of her nature and popular with kids. As for the other horse in the stable, Pepper lives up to her name since she likes to buck most of the riders off her."

Kiri laughed at the memory of one of the students who tried to approach the said ornery mare but was met with a trip to the hay bale. What surprised her was the deep, resonating chuckles that caused her face to heat up. Sure, he was still a member of the Dark Brotherhood but...

"You owe me a new tapestry," Kiri pointed out to the slashed fabric that laid at the corner. It was a maroon-coloured tapestry with golden stitchings that made out the shape of a wolf with some laurels as the border. It was a gift from the Bard's College after her first successful riding lessons after so many attempts!

Veezara smiled, showing his sharp teeth. It wasn't as terrifying as she thought it would be now that they have spent some time together. "I'll fix it if I have some time," he promised, glancing at the door. "So, Blaise is not your child. A little brother perhaps?"

Kiri shook her head. In fact, Blaise was the first to welcome her to the farm before Katla herself. It was odd that he should sleep in the stables when there were TWO farm houses that had enough rooms for him. Since she had a bit of allowance left, she purchased this very house not only to have privacy, but to keep Blaise out from the cold.

"That's a noble thing to do," he murmured, touching her hand. "Though I am curious about one more thing: why did you surrender so easily?"

Now the mood in the atmosphere changed. Kiri averted her gaze from him and paid attention to the detailed gnarled wood carvings of the end of the bed. "It's...I don't want to talk about it. I'm sorry but it's too personal for me."

There was silence but then she heard a small exhale from the Argonian. "Very well, Kiri. But this debt will not be a one-night session. I will return tomorrow in the night for you."

To her surprised, he went over to pick up the torn tapestry and then began to dressed himself back. Kiri had done the same, watching him leave from her window. Despite the passionate night, his departure left a cold presence within her chest.

...

Back at the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary, Veezara was washing off the blood from his body. Before he returned, he had killed two Thalmor guards and a lone thief at the crossroads. It was the only way to throw off his scent from the prying nose of Arnbjorn.

The said werewolf was sitting at the campfire with his wife, Astrid.

Both of them paused their conversation to look at him. "Well, you certainly took your time," Astrid remarked, draping her body across the werewolf's. "I was about to send out my husband or even little Babette to check on you."

"I'm alright, Astrid. Tonight I have been hunting for a bit. Babette seemed happy when I presented her a few jars of blood."

"Of course she does. Though I have heard that you've been killing Thalmors on the road. They were not on our list, Veezara. Why did you kill them?"

His heart was racing as he had forgotten that Astrid's had spies on the road of Skyrim. As much as Kiri was a contract, he would do anything in his power to protect her from getting killed, even if it meant lying to his leader.

"Their armours stood out," he explained bluntly. "Plus, they hate all races except the Altmer in general. Is that a disservice to be taking them out and show their embassy the true power of the Dark Brotherhood?"

Astrid and Arnbjorn exchanged glances at each other before the latter growled. "As much as killing those bastards are satisfying, it will blow away our cover. If the Thalmors spread word about our killings, there's a chance that the Penitus Oculatus will be knocking on our door."

Veezara said nothing but hung his head down to show his submission. Astrid's words were law but after spending that night with Kiri, he was starting to doubt his loyalty.

"I don't mean to say you shouldn't kill them," said Astrid, pushing his head up to meet her gaze. "But I expect you to report to me or even Nazir before you decided to freelance your kills. We are a family, Veezara."

"Yes, Astrid."

Once he was dismissed, Veezera made his way into his quarters, hoping Arnbjorn had not followed him. Did his plan work? Masking his scent with another was difficult unless he could lose the werewolf's sense of smell.

However, that would have been suicide.

With that, he got down to work on the torn tapestry that he had slashed for failing to kill Kiri. The scent was stale but it carried a bit of that Redguard woman in his midst. Once he was done, he began to draped the tapestry across his body as sleep overtook him.

Tomorrow is another day.

Let's be real: those Thalmors are our experience points XD

But, I wonder what happened in Kiri's past before the farm?