Sanctuary
The assassins trickled in one by one after Cicero arrived. Despite their trying to be discrete, it was soon common knowledge that something had changed. Babette, as usual, pieced it together.
"Why the sudden interest in a cure for sanguinare? Hmmmm?" Babette's face lit up in a broad grin. "Are you hunting vampires? Or perhaps one is hunting you!" She giggled. "Tell you what… we can trade. I'll give you the recipe for a really good cure and you tell me what's going on."
Nessa bit her lip. "I can't, Babette. Please! Just show me the recipe."
Babette reach out and touched Nessa's skin. "Oh goodness, you're feeling a bit clammy and you're most definitely pale. I think you've got it for sure."
"Babette…"
"How long, two days?" she asked.
Nessa shrugged.
"Well, you've got a day to think over my deal. After that, it's too late. You might want to bid farewell to daylight, you won't be able to go outside except after sunset, until you're much stronger anyway."
"Babette! Please." Nessa considered her options. She could complain to Arnbjorn and Astrid about Babette, but she didn't want to stir things up.
"I've got to go feed, Nessa," she smiled sweetly. "I'll just go into Falkreath and find someone sleeping and sneak up on them and take a little. I do that a few times and I'm good for a few days. Not so awful really, and the taste grows on you." She jumped up from her chair and ran down the stairs to the common room, turning once to wave to Nessa.
"Wait!" Nessa called out.
Babette turned to look at the highly embarrassed Nord girl.
"All right. You win. Come to my room and I'll tell you, but you have to promise to keep it to yourself!"
"Cross my heart, hope to die… oops, I can't die. Well cross my heart anyway!" Babette chirped.
It had taken a lot, but she was finally going to hear it all. The freshest, juiciest gossip and right from the source! The Dark Brother was definitely looking up. Business was booming, the Night Mother and her Keeper were here—and he was as mad as a hare—and there was a wonderfully sordid affair going on involving her best friend, Astrid, Astrid's husband, and the Nord girl. The potential for everything to just explode was unlimited. Best part was, she didn't even have to lift a finger. As sure as shit stinks, something was going to go wrong, she could taste a catastrophe brewing.
And, speaking of brewing, she got Nessa busy brewing curatives for sanguinare, the disease that turned people in vampires. It was a shame. She thought Nessa would have made a lovely vampire.
Babette lived up to her word, she told no one else about the interesting arrangement that Astrid and Arnbjorn had with the new girl.
"Where's Arnbjorn and Astrid?" Gabriella had asked at supper one night.
"Where's Nessa?" Babette asked, bringing to light the fact she too was missing.
"The Nord girl seems to have developed a taste for raw deer liver," Cicero observed. "I also found her plucking the feathers out of some arrows. She's mad… mad I say!" He cackled happily as the others eyed him warily.
"Feathers and raw deer liver?" Gabriella mused. "She does look a little pale at times. I assumed she was having trouble with her moon blood. That could explain the liver. It is full of iron and vitamins."
Babette was nearly bursting. Hawk feathers were a main ingredient in the anti-sanguinare potion.
"Feathers…," Festus mused. "Feathers and mudcrab chitan. I saw her pounding those together in a mortar. I was working on an enchantment so I couldn't be bothered, but the smell of mudcrab was unmistakable."
Gabriella went on with her eating then dropped her fork. "Wait! Isn't that the cure for the sanguinare?"
"The cure for vampire bites?" Nazir said, suddenly picking up on the conversation. "She hasn't had any contracts lately, unless Astrid sent her out while we were gone."
Babette wanted to scream, figure it out, you idiots! But she calmly sipped at a glass of water.
"Babette, have you been feeding from your sister?" Vezara asked.
She sighed theatrically and let her forehead thump down on the table. "Oh gods, I work with morons," she said very quietly. "Lis, the spider, is smarter than they are."
"Did you say something, Babette?" Nazir asked.
"I said, 'No.' I don't drink from Nessa. Or anyone here for that matter."
"It's a mystery! A mystery, I say!" Cicero said, cackling manically.
Gabriella shrugged. "She probably met a vampire in the woods when she was gathering alchemy ingredients."
"In the middle of the day?" Babette prompted helpfully.
"Hmmm...," Gabriella said, shrugging. She picked at her food, took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. "The last time she was like this…." She dropped her fork again and it clattered to the platter noisily. "Astrid?" She turned to look at Babette with her fierce red eyes. "Are they… Oh divines! Do you suppose…?"
There was only the slightest dimpling around Babette's mouth. "Why are you looking at me? No one ever tells me anything around here!" She got up from the dinner table and stormed off to her room and slammed the door. Then she sat down on her bed and laughed until her sides ached. "My work here is done," she said and sighed happily.
~o~o~o~
The dining room grew quiet after Babette left and realization began to sink in. Gabriella pieced it together. Of course, Astrid and Nessa couldn't be together without supervision and so that must be that Arnbjorn was involved in the affair as well. She chuckled quietly and whispered her conclusions to Festus.
Cicero overheard some of the gossip and became very concerned. Not only had this Sanctuary drifted far from the proper respect of the Night Mother and Lord Sithis, but the leader was preying upon that sweet, apple-cheeked girl; had nearly killed her, according to the gossip he overheard.
"The fifth tenet," he murmured. "Never kill a Dark Brother or a Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis." If, as the gossipers were saying, Astrid had nearly killed her before, unable to control her unnatural vampiric penchants, then only her husband stood in the way of the girl's death. Cicero narrowed his eyes as he considered the situation. Clearly this Sanctuary had fallen away from the old ways.
"Cicero wonders," he said, "why does the girl permit such abuse? She didn't strike me as stupid." He laughed suddenly. "She didn't strike me at all. I would have ducked if she'd tried!"
Vezara hissed with laughter. "When vampires drink their targets can become enthralled, like slaves they are. Our poor Nessa would have willingly gone to her death if I hadn't kept her from leaving her room."
Cicero rubbed his chin and considered. "So, Astrid stole her will?" Another tenet broken!
Vezara shrugged. "I suppose that you could say that."
Festus nodded vigorously. "Astrid's been a good leader, but I disagree with abandoning the tenets. Now that the Night Mother and her Keeper are here we should return to the old ways. They've always guided us."
Cicero picked up his fork and knife and pretended they were having a conversation. "He's wise beyond his years, says Forky." Knife jumped up and down excitedly. "Not so! Not so! Have you counted them? I don't know any numbers beyond one-hundred!"
"Bah! That's enough nonsense, clown." Festus got up. "I have some enchanting to do."
"I'm a jester, Uncle Fester!" Cicero called after the old man as he left the dining hall.
Gabriella laughed at his antics but Nazir looked like he had a headache coming on.
Soon the last remaining diners left and Cicero had the dining hall to himself. He picked up his knife and fork and began playing with them again. "Forky thinks Astrid is a bad leader. Two tenets broken! Stealing and killing… sort of." The knife nodded in agreement. "Knifey thinks Forky is right. But there is no Listener so these Dark Brothers do what they're told."
Sounding quite sane for once, Cicero nodded to his cutlery. "You two are both right." His voice dropped in pitch and sounded cool, calculating, and even. "But we can do nothing without a Listener, so we'll let the Pretend Leader continue to pretend to lead." He giggled at the knife. "Stay sharp!"
~o~o~o~
"I know you like to give the Night Mother flowers, so I gathered some extra ones while I was out today." Nessa gave a neat bundle of colorful flowers to Cicero. "I didn't know her favorite color, so I guessed. I like the purple mountain flowers and the yellow dragon's tongue. It's so cheerful."
"Mother's favorite color is black, of course," Cicero said as he pottered about her shrine. "But, since there's a dearth of black flowers, she likes the poisonous ones best: deathbells, nightshade and such." He looked over the colorful batch the girl gave him. "These will be fine." He straightened up from his fussing and looked at her. "Thanks."
She smiled and turned to leave.
"Wait," Cicero said.
She turned around and came in further. He moved behind her and shut the door. "What is it?"
"Cicero may seem quiet, inconspicuous as a little mouse even," he said. "People forget I'm around and sometimes they say things… things I'm not supposed to hear."
Nessa had to clamp down on a laugh. Cicero was anything but quiet. "What did you hear?"
"That this Sanctuary doesn't hold with the five tenets of the Dark Brotherhood. Some even say that your leader, Astrid, sneers at them."
"Well, I wouldn't say she sneers at them, but it is true they're not followed here. I don't think that's any great secret," Nessa said. Cicero was definitely acting differently. The jester persona was dropping away a little and he began to speak more normally.
"I've heard that you're her slave. She's stolen your will and she nearly killed you." His voice dropped in volume and tone. "Is this true?"
Nessa was so startled by the accusation she backed up a couple of steps closer to the door. Cicero followed her, closing the distance between them.
"Who said such a thing?" she demanded. "I… it was an accident." She folded her arms and glared at him. "Everything is fine between Astrid and I. We're very… close."
"Close… yes, very close, I've heard. Perhaps too close, cherub. The Night Mother does not approve."
Somehow Cicero seemed madder when he dropped the jester persona. She blinked twice and furrowed her brow. "I thought you said the Night Mother doesn't talk to you. How would you know?"
He narrowed his eyes but then he broke into a low chuckle. "Oh… fine, cherub. Just take it from me, you're playing with fire. These things never end well." Cicero liked the cherub, and he didn't want to see her hurt, but he didn't trust Astrid or her grouchy husband.
"I should probably go. I have… things." She backed up a little closer to the door.
"Cicero scared the cherub?" He frowned theatrically and began to slip back into his jester persona. He reached out and grabbed her hand giving it quick squeeze. She flinched away for a moment but then smiled before turning to leave. He felt he was going to lose her. "Wait!"
She turned around wondering what he wanted now.
"Mother likes candles a lot. Black ones are good, but red ones aren't bad."
Nessa nodded and sent him a fleeting smile. "I can get some from the village."
"Can Cicero go with you?" he asked.
She wondered how the villagers would react to him, but she nodded. "All right. Let's go."
They walked together out of his room. Cicero looped his arm through Nessa's and pretended to be drunk. Nessa had to steady him to keep him from crashing into things and that got her laughing. She pulled him up the hallway and out the door where he promptly sobered up and smiled at her. "Hi ho! To Falkreath we go," he sang.
Behind them, back in the Sanctuary, Astrid and Arnbjorn had watched the pair struggling up the hallway, giggling together. Arnbjorn's lip was slightly raised and Astrid looked like she'd just smelled something awful.
"The jester is really annoying me," she said. "I swear, if he babbles on about that moldering corpse again, I'm not responsible for what I am liable to say."
"Nessa seems to like him," Arnbjorn said. "I can't imagine why."
"Perhaps you should speak to her," she suggested.
"Me? Why do you think I should be the one?" Arnbjorn crossed his arms. Nessa wasn't enthralled any longer, at least not like she had been when Astrid had nearly killed her, but his wife still held a great deal of sway over her. "I'm the guild leader. I don't want her to think it's an order. Just suggest that she might want to keep her distance. In fact, why don't you spend the night with her tonight?"
Arnbjorn looked surprised. They'd been inviting her to their room, to sneak in late at night, unseen by the others. Neither of them had been alone with her since her return. "Are you kicking me out again?"
Astrid barked a short laugh. "No. I just thought I'd go feed tonight. Nessa needs more time to recover, and you never let me take much from her anyway. But there's no reason you can't spend some time together without me. I trust she won't take you from me."
He held her eyes a long moment then pulled her to him and kissed her neck gently. "You'll never lose me, my love. 'Til death do us part."
It was rare that Arnbjorn expressed such a tender sentiment and it touched her. "You're mine, wolf." She kissed him gently. "But go. Follow the clown and Nessa. Make sure that nothing happens."
"What could happen?"
Astrid shrugged. "He's crazy. Anything could happen. I'm just… I'm worried about her."
"You're such a mother hen."
She laughed at him and punched him in the arm. "Go on. Be discrete."
"Of course."
He waited a few minutes but followed the pair up the hallway and out of the Sanctuary. He changed into a wolf in the forest and picked up their scent following it into town. They disappeared into a shop and emerged later carrying bundles. Arnbjorn noticed they were whispering and laughing and, as he followed them, Nessa produced an additional bundle that she'd hidden under her tunic. She'd stolen something from the shop.
"Bad cherub!" Cicero's piercing voice floated up to him. "You're a very bad influence on good, kind… honest… Cicero."
Nessa laughed merrily, but Arnbjorn couldn't hear her response but he could guess she was teasing Cicero about being a kindly and honorable assassin.
All told, there seemed nothing out-of-order in the friendship developing between these two. Certainly nothing for Astrid to worry over or even be jealous of. Still… it did bother Arnbjorn and he didn't know why. Just seeing how the clown could make her laugh irritated him. He skulked back to the Sanctuary and go there ahead of them. He reassured Astrid that Nessa was fine.
~o~o~o~
Nessa went to bed hoping she'd hear that scratch on her door that signaled Astrid and Arnbjorn wanted her company. It came that night about the time everyone else had retired. She slipped out of bed and tied a robe around herself and opened her door. Arnbjorn was waiting there, but this time he didn't move to lead the way back to his bedroom with Astrid.
"Can I come in?" he asked.
Watching his face closely for a clue as to why the change in what was practically a nightly ritual, she stepped aside and let him in. "Of course." She watched him move over to the fireplace and warm his hands, still confused by why he was here. He'd shown her no affection outside of Astrid's presence since they'd returned. She rather missed their time alone together, but she knew why he did it. Astrid was his wife and she was not. Whatever Arnbjorn might, or might not, feel for her would never change his priorities.
"Is something wrong?" she finally asked when Arnbjorn had said nothing more.
"No." He felt like he should say more. "Astrid is out tonight." Should I mention she sent me? He decided against it.
Nessa walked over to him and tentatively put her hands against his shoulders. "You're welcome to stay here, if you wish." I've missed you.
He said nothing but turned around and took Nessa into his arms and kissed her, softly. His fierce, animalistic presence seemed far away this night. He broke off the kiss and murmured in her ear. "Is this all right?"
The question confused her. "It's fine. You can stay."
"No, I mean, what we're doing, the three of us. Is it all right with you?" He didn't intend to even ask the question and now he didn't know how to ask it. At some level he knew they were using the girl. This wasn't healthy for her, half-enthralled with his wife and, he thought, half in love with him. She was still just a girl, although growing up quickly. A girl should fall in love with someone that can fully return it. For the first time he realized that this life, killing for money, giving lip service to some dark god, was a terrible existence for a girl like her. She deserved better than this, better than them. "Go. Leave this place. Find someone that can return your love properly, bit."
Nessa inhaled, wounded by the suggestion. "Do you want me to leave?" She turned away from him and stared into the fire, afraid of his answer. They've tired of me.
Arnbjorn recognized the trap but didn't know how to avoid it. He wanted something better for her but he knew if he drove her off Astrid would be furious. "I'm thinking of you, bit. I want you to be happy." He ran his hand down the length of her hair, across the crimps and creases left from wearing it in tight braids.
"Happy?" she scoffed. "You're a fine one to talk about happiness. You told me it was a terrible thing to examine your feelings. Really! You're such a fraud."
"I don't think about them, not mine, and anyone else's either, except Astrid's, and… yours." This conversation was getting more uncomfortable by the moment. "And no, I don't want you to leave, but you should consider it."
Nessa turned to look at him, her confusion was obvious. She opened her mouth to say something but Arnbjorn seized her. "Enough talk." He grasped her chin and pulled her to his mouth and kissed her.
Damn him! He always kept her off-balance. Telling her she should leave, then doing… this. She should push him away and tell him to leave, but this reminded her so much of that happy time they'd spent in Solitude. Well… happy if you didn't count all the terrible things that happened there. She wove her fingers into his long, pale hair and pulled him into her. Their mouths coming together harder in a deep kiss.
Hesitations were forgotten as they collapsed onto her bed and clothes were abandoned on the floor. It plunged them both into the past when they were learning each other's bodies, and they took up where they'd left off. Arnbjorn was free to show his affection for her without worrying about Astrid, and she was free to return it. Neither one of them thought of her, though they would feel guilty about it later.
Afterward, they drowsed in each other's arms, the fire fading into glowing embers in the hearth. He considered breaking the spell the evening had wrought to discuss Cicero with her, but these moments were rare now. Tomorrow would be soon enough. He kissed her softly on her eyelid as it closed. She was awake enough to smile, but not for long.
~o~o~o~
"You should stay away from the jester, bit," he finally said. It was early the next morning and he'd dressed, ready to leave her. There wasn't much more time before the others would start to stir and he needed to be out of her room before then.
"Wait. What?" She grabbed his arm and pulled him back from the door. "Why? He's a little moon-touched, or rather a lot, but other than that, he's all right."
"He's up to something, bit. Astrid is certain of it, and I trust her. It's just best you stay away."
Anger flashed through her at first. Cicero didn't deserve to be treated like that, she thought, but then she remembered a few of the things Cicero had said. It was pretty clear he thought Astrid was heretical and, well, from what little she knew of the Dark Brotherhood, they had strayed rather far away from tradition.
Arnbjorn saw an angry response flash across her face and he expected a retort, but it didn't come. Instead he saw the fire go out of her eyes and she slowly nodded.
"All right," she agreed. "He can get his own damn candles in the future."
"Good girl," he said. He kissed her one last time and left, pulling the door closed behind him.
Nessa sat on her bed and pondered everything Arnbjorn had said. Leave? It almost sounded like a warning, but then he said he didn't want her to and judging by what transpired the night before, he'd really didn't want her to leave. And what had Cicero said? These things never end well.
She couldn't leave. Her feelings for Astrid and Arnbjorn kept her here. The assassins were friends, strange as they were. No, they were more than that, they were family. What else would she do if not this? Maybe she could go back to Whiterun. The Jarl had been friendly, but she was alone there. No, she couldn't go back.
She got dressed and made her way to the dining hall. Astrid was there and waved her over.
"I have an assignment for you, dear," the guild leader murmured into her ear.
It took a moment for Nessa to parse the sentence, having Astrid's breath buffet her ear derailed her for a moment. "Oh? A contract?"
Astrid shook her head and smiled at the girl. "An easy one, but well paying. You'll be done in a week, tops. You can even take Shadowmere."
"Alone?" she asked.
Astrid nodded. "Oh yes, it is easy. You'll be fine." She gave Nessa's hand a reassuring pat. "Or did you think you could steal away my husband for another tryst?"
Nessa looked at her, worried, but Astrid was smiling. "I wouldn't!"
"I'm teasing, sweetling. Perhaps someday you and I can do a contract together, hmmm? But this time it you'll fly solo. All right?"
Nodding, Nessa squeezed Astrid's hand back. "I won't let you down," she murmured quietly.
"I know." She gave the young assassin a smile and received one back. "I've got to go. You can get the details from Nazir. You might as well leave right away. The sooner you go, the sooner you'll be back. Right?"
"True," she agreed. "I'll get going within an hour or two."
Getting up from the table she placed a hand on Nessa's shoulder and said, "Come say goodbye before you go, Nessa."
Nessa ate her breakfast, dreading leaving again, but in some ways looking forward to it. Maybe some distance from the guild leader and her husband would clear her mind. She could think about what Cicero had said and Arnbjorn's advice as well. She sought out Nazir after she ate and he told her she'd be going to Windhelm and gave her all the details of the kill.
"The manner of the death is up to you, Nessa," Nazir said.
Nessa smiled. It was the first time Nazir had ever called her by name. She said her goodbyes, tender ones for Arnbjorn and Astrid, and left the sanctuary that same day. Shadowmere arose out of the inky tarn when she whistled for him and he seemed quite happy to see her. Odd, the last time he had seemed almost indifferent to her.
It took her three days travel to find the mark and the better part of the day to lay in wait for him. He died quickly and cleanly to a well-aimed arrow. Nessa stayed in her hiding place until she was certain no one would see her, and then she emerged and slunk off into the woods where she had left Shadowmere.
Nothing to it, she thought. Far easier to kill from afar with an arrow than any of this other nonsense she'd had to do in Solitude. Much easier on the conscience, too, than if you have to view their death too closely. Although, she noted, there was much less soul-searching with each one of these now. Someday she'd be able to do this without the pangs of guilt or wondering if she'd just stolen some child's last bit of family away.
Someday.
~o~o~o~
Notes: I'm finally getting to Hearthfire and Dawnguard. I've adopted two kids and I spoil them rotten. I hope they don't go the way of Jarl Balgruuf's unruly brood. But Mommy just turned into a vampire, hope the kids don't mind.
My thanks to Rayven Feather, Zevgirl, Biff McLaughlin, Guest (who?), Gangyzgirl, Cromar, Blue Dartwing, TheOtherLachance, Heiwako, Procrastination Possum, and EllaBea for you reviews! I always love hearing from readers. Your opinions help me very much.
If you're a Skyrim reader you'll really enjoy Heiwako's stories and if you enjoy Mass Effect and Dragon Age (and some Skyrim too), then Zevgirl and Biff also have some great stories.
Thanks all! Hopefully the next chapter will flow like a tidal wave of molasses—which really did happen once, Google it—inexorably and steadily, coating everything in a sweet, sticky, syrup of yum. (That simile needs work.)