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<\/p>\n\u201cKarliah?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sayma stepped toward the woman she hadn\u2019t seen in so long, hoping that she wouldn\u2019t be immediately attacked for entering Nightingale Hall.\u00a0 She was one of only three people who had the right to enter; and yet she also knew that she looked different than she had, sounded different, and had run away and left Karliah and Brynjolf to guard the Ebonmere by themselves.\u00a0 Karliah had every right to strike out at her.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But the woman covered entirely in the supple black of the Nightingale armor merely crossed her arms and turned her masked face toward Sayma.\u00a0 She was silent for a moment, and then sighed audibly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you really did change your face, Dagnell. And your voice as well.\u00a0 I thought it must be the case. There was no other way you could have eluded all of us for so long.\u201d\u00a0 Karliah\u2019s voice was soft, unthreatening, and thoughtful.\u00a0 \u201cWhat has brought you back after all this time? And more importantly, why did you leave?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI, uh\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Sayma stopped, considering. \u201cYes. I changed my face, and my name. It\u2019s Sayma now. \u00a0Sayma Sendu. It\u2019s a long story.\u00a0 I left because I had an offer from the Dark Brotherhood. \u00a0I stayed away because, well, I\u2019m the Listener.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI see.\u201d\u00a0 She paused for a moment, her head tilted slightly to one side. \u201cThere hadn\u2019t been a Listener for quite some time until recently. A decade at least, to hear it told. I\u2019m impressed.\u00a0 But I\u2019m certain that isn\u2019t everything. There must be more to it, to have taken you away from us without a word to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sayma was surprised at herself; she didn\u2019t know what to say.\u00a0 I \u2026 what can I tell her? I wanted to go? I needed to go? I was afraid to stay because I was afraid of what I was becoming? How will any of that matter to any of these people, after I promised to help them, promised to help Nocturnal?<\/em><\/p>\n Well there\u2019s one thing I\u2019m sure she\u2019ll understand.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI have a son, Karliah.\u00a0 Brynjolf\u2019s son. I wasn\u2019t certain whether it was his son or not when I learned I was pregnant, and I was ashamed. And afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n All she could see of Karliah was her violet eyes peering out from under the inky black hood.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what has brought you back now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe same thing that sent me away. Brynjolf,\u201d she said. \u201cDardeh and Roggi made me promise to get him back here safely. Karliah, there\u2019s been\u2026 a death. It\u2019s Andante.\u201d<\/p>\n There was a long pause.\u00a0 Finally Karliah nodded toward the second chair placed at her table.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d better sit down and tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma did just that. She trusted Karliah, had needed to trust her from the moment she had opened her eyes outside Snow Veil Sanctum after being attacked by Mercer Frey and left for dead inside it.\u00a0 She told Karliah what had happened to Andante, and what he had done for Brynjolf just before he had died. \u00a0She told Karliah about Dardeh being her brother, about their father and how he had died without acknowledging his son. \u00a0Once she started speaking, the words spilled out faster and faster, facts combined with confusion, and she found herself grateful to have someone with whom to share her distress.<\/p>\n Karliah listened, and nodded, and didn\u2019t interrupt while all of it tumbled from her; and when Sayma finally got to the end and was quiet, she nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, there are good and bad things about this,\u201d she murmured.<\/p>\n Sayma snorted. \u201cWhat could possibly be seen as good<\/em> in all this?\u201d<\/p>\n Karliah chuckled. \u201cYou\u2019re alive, Brynjolf is alive and human again, and you have a son. \u00a0And a brother. Those are all good things. Wouldn\u2019t you agree? The bad things are self-evident.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, but Karliah – he hates me.\u201d<\/p>\n Karliah shook her head. \u201cNo, he doesn\u2019t. \u00a0I\u2019m certain of it. Look at how he accepted me back into the Guild after twenty-five years of believing I had murdered Gallus. He had no reason to listen to me, but he did. I\u2019ve known Brynjolf since he was quite young; he is a very open-minded man. I\u2019m sure that, given time, he\u2019ll come to understand your reasons for leaving. But even if he doesn\u2019t, I know he could never hate you.\u201d<\/p>\n She paused for a moment, bringing her hand up to her chin in a gesture of contemplation.\u00a0 When she spoke again, it was soft, as though she was talking to herself; and her gaze rested on the table in front of her.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the bad things is, of course, that Andante is gone. I know it\u2019s difficult to understand but they did truly care about each other. It will be hard for him to cope with this loss, at least in the short term. I\u2019m sure he will be back to himself eventually and, well, we will all be watching out for him in the meantime.\u201d<\/p>\n She looked back up at Sayma and shook her head. \u00a0\u201cWhat is not clear to me, though, is what you<\/em> are thinking or intend to do.\u201d<\/p>\n What am I thinking?<\/em><\/p>\n Sayma pondered for a moment. Two things kept going through her mind. One was the look on Brynjolf\u2019s face when he\u2019d realized she was truly there in front of him. Even with eyes the deep gold of a Nightlord vampire Brynjolf hadn\u2019t been able to disguise the combination of joy and pain he\u2019d felt. The other thing was the bleak, tired, deeply sad expression he\u2019d worn as he\u2019d brushed her off just before she left the Cistern to come find Karliah.\u00a0 He\u2019d obviously wanted to be angry with her; but he was too wounded to do even that.<\/p>\n I\u2019m responsible for it. I want to take it all back and I can\u2019t.<\/em><\/p>\n I want to do something. Anything.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI \u2026 want another chance, Karliah. That\u2019s what I\u2019m thinking. I can\u2019t stand seeing him look so sad. I want a chance to do something to make up for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Karliah smiled with her eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother chance with Brynjolf, I take it; not necessarily another chance with the Guild.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma hesitated for a moment before answering, but then nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, yes. I would take both if I could, I think, but\u2026 They made him Guildmaster.\u00a0 Vex and Delvin did. Just now. I\u2019m out; at least out of being Guildmaster. I guess I\u2019m still in the Guild. I understand, but I\u2019m not sure why they\u2019ve waited so long to do it. And it\u2019s fine, really.\u00a0 I always thought he should be Guildmaster, rather than me. You know that.\u201d<\/p>\n There was a tiny chuckle from beneath Karliah\u2019s Nightingale mask.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know better than most that if you\u2019d been removed from the Guild we wouldn\u2019t be speaking.\u00a0 As to Brynjolf; well, we didn\u2019t want him to give up. And if we\u2019d named him Guildmaster it would have meant that you were either dead or not coming back.\u00a0 He needed to believe the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n Truly? <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cEven with Andante?\u201d<\/p>\n Karliah nodded. \u201cEven with Andante.\u201d She reached out and gave Sayma\u2019s arm a squeeze.\u00a0 \u201cAndante knew where he stood with Brynjolf, trust me. He simply accepted the situation as it was. I\u2019m \u2026 moved, that he gave back Brynjolf\u2019s humanity in spite of it.\u00a0 It must have been a terribly difficult decision for him.\u201d<\/p>\n A sudden thought occurred to Sayma. \u201cKarliah, did you know\u2026 oh, what did he say the man\u2019s name was? It began with a D\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDynjyl?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. That\u2019s it. Did you know him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot well, but I did meet him a time or two.\u00a0 I take it Brynjolf told you about him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. I was surprised, to put it mildly. He had never mentioned him, before.\u201d<\/p>\n Karliah nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure you were. Brynjolf was very young. And very smitten.\u00a0 And Dynjyl, well\u2026\u201d She chuckled. \u201cSome of what Brynjolf knows about being persuasive he learned from that rascal.\u00a0 He was a terrible thief, but a real charmer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHmm.\u00a0 There\u2019s something important about him, but I don\u2019t know what it is and I don\u2019t know how it\u2019s connected with what happened to Andante. Or even if it is connected.\u201d She sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI feel so out of touch with everything. What can I do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure, but I can offer a suggestion. Go to Falkreath, to the Sepulcher. You need to talk to Nocturnal.\u00a0 She wanted her Nightingales back, and whole, all three of us. Brynjolf told me about it. He was quite angry about being seen as not good enough \u00a0because he was a vampire; and if he isn\u2019t any longer \u2013 and shadows be praised about that as far as I\u2019m concerned — well, that leaves only you.\u201d<\/p>\n What?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019m not a vampire.\u00a0 I don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t tell you what is in Nocturnal\u2019s thoughts, Sayma, only report what Brynjolf told me.\u00a0 But she can.\u00a0 Go to see our Lady.\u00a0 Maybe that will help set you on a path.\u00a0 Aside from that,\u201d she murmured, squeezing Sayma\u2019s hand once more, \u201cI am glad to see you again.\u00a0 And I know that no matter how much Brynjolf is hurting right now, inside he still cares deeply for you.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma rose, slowly.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Karliah. You don\u2019t have any more reason to accept me back than anyone else does, but you\u2019ve been a big help. I\u2019ll take your advice and see Nocturnal.\u00a0 I have to go through Falkreath anyway.\u00a0 My son is staying with Dardeh and Roggi right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is his name?\u201d Karliah asked.<\/p>\n Sayma smiled at her before turning for the exit.<\/p>\n \u201cBrynjolf.\u00a0 His name is Brynjolf. He\u2019s a sweet little boy with red hair and green eyes. It seemed a properly Nord thing to do, to name him after his father.\u201d<\/p>\n Karliah chuckled. \u201cI might have known.\u201d<\/p>\n All the way back to Riften, Sayma thought hard about what she\u2019d learned.\u00a0 There was as much about Brynjolf that she hadn\u2019t known before as there was about her that he hadn\u2019t known.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know whether there\u2019s a chance for us at all. I don\u2019t know whether I deserve it. But little Bryn does. Maybe we can at least work something out, so that they get to know each other.<\/em><\/p>\n She slipped back into the Cistern and through to the Ragged Flagon, and caught her breath as she saw Brynjolf leaning against the wall.\u00a0 She had hoped that maybe she could put it behind her, treat this as a business relationship much as it had been when she first joined the Guild. But as her heart rose into her throat she knew that she\u2019d been fooling herself.<\/p>\n I still love him. And I am a fool. There is no reason in creation for him to take me back.<\/em><\/p>\n She approached quietly and cleared her throat.<\/p>\n \u201cYes? What is it?\u201d he murmured.\u00a0 His eyes were pinched, shadowed with fatigue, and deeply saddened.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to stay away from Honeyside, Brynjolf. It\u2019s your house, has been for a long time now.\u00a0 I can stay at the inn.\u201d\u00a0 She grinned, in spite of herself. \u201cKeerava doesn\u2019t know this face well enough to shoo me out.\u201d<\/p>\n She thought she caught just the tiniest flicker of amusement in his eyes, but then decided that she was wrong when he shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u00a0 Thank you, but no. It\u2019s\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He hesitated, as if searching for the right words. \u201cIt\u2019s much too soon.\u00a0 He\u2019s still there, for me.\u201d\u00a0 He looked down at his hand and twisted the ruby ring.\u00a0 \u201cHe \u2026 made this for me the last time we stayed there. It wasn\u2019t that long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wondered where you\u2019d come by that. It\u2019s a beautiful thing.\u201d<\/p>\n He smiled, just a bit, looking at it, and then spoke very softly. \u201cAye. And it says \u2018Loverboy\u2019 on the inside.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma studied his face and was shocked to see a solitary tear sliding down the side of his nose.\u00a0 He reached up, unconsciously, and wiped it away, then realized what had just happened and met her gaze, looking embarrassed.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m\u2026 sorry. Sayma,\u201d he said quietly, folding his arms across his chest.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry I was so short with you, before. You\u2019ve been trying hard to apologize and I haven\u2019t been trying hard to listen.\u00a0 It\u2019s just too soon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know. And I\u2019m sorry I haven\u2019t been more understanding.\u201d\u00a0 She sighed heavily. \u201cGods know I\u2019m the one who made this mess, and I am just grateful that you all even let me in here with you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re the Guildmaster.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma laughed, in spite of it all.<\/p>\n \u201cWas.\u00a0 You\u2019re right, I finally got my way. Should have been that way all along.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t start with me.\u201d<\/p>\n She grinned.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry. I won\u2019t.\u00a0 Listen, I went to see Karliah and she told me I should talk to Nocturnal.\u00a0 Do you have any light to shed on that for me?\u201d\u00a0 Just like old times, asking Brynjolf for the skinny on a job.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n He frowned.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think anything I could tell you would make much sense. When I went to see her she talked about getting one of her prized artifacts back. But I wasn\u2019t really paying attention because I was there to talk to her about someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n He dropped his voice to just above a whisper. \u201cSomeone else I\u2019ll never see again, now, thanks to Andante.\u201d He raised his head and shook it. \u201cAnd no, I don\u2019t want to talk about it.\u00a0 Go see Nocturnal. Maybe she\u2019ll make sense to you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlright.\u201d\u00a0 Sayma readied herself to leave, but something about his proximity, the light flickering on his red hair, made her forget herself for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cBoss.\u201d<\/p>\n She heard Brynjolf make a disgusted noise as she turned away, and in spite of everything she grinned at the sound of him.<\/p>\n It was good to be near him again.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n \u201cSo there you are.\u00a0 You couldn\u2019t be bothered to wear your Nightingale armor, hmm?\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma looked up at Nocturnal and grimaced.\u00a0 I should have known.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s in Dawnstar, and I was already here. Time is a precious commodity when you\u2019re mortal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIndeed.\u00a0 And what has brought you to me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBrynjolf. He\u2019s human again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am aware of that, and I am pleased. Now two of my Nightingales are intact once more.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, that is why I am here.\u00a0 What is it that you find lacking in me, Lady?\u201d<\/p>\n Nocturnal floated up and down slowly, holding her ravens on her outspread arms, and smiled the smallest of superior smiles.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you know, Listener<\/em>,\u201d she answered. \u201cWhile your soul is still intact, you have sworn it to Sithis in spite of having transacted the oath with me.\u00a0 That is a bit of a problem, a conflict, shall we say, as I am certain you must be aware.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma grimaced. \u201cI did no such thing as swear my soul to Sithis.\u00a0 I was\u2026 chosen<\/em>.\u00a0 By the Night Mother.\u00a0 I was not consulted about the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n She would never forget that day, the day that came shortly after she left Riften.\u00a0 Astrid had been surprised to see her new face, but had been too preoccupied with events in the Sanctuary to press her on the reasons for the change.\u00a0 Instead, she had ordered Sayma to conceal herself in the Night Mother\u2019s coffin to spy on Cicero, to learn who it was he spoke to and what conspiracies he might be organizing against her; and so she had done.\u00a0 Sayma had heard Cicero reciting his now-familiar mantra, begging the Night Mother to speak to him. The Night Mother had, instead, spoken to her.<\/p>\n \u201cI will speak to you,\u201d she had whispered in her dusty, ancient voice, \u201cfor you are the Listener.\u00a0 Talk to Cicero. Tell him the words he has been waiting to hear. Tell him that you are the one.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma, like Astrid, had always assumed the Night Mother to be another fiction, a legend from earlier days meant to inspire awe and obedience.\u00a0 Hearing the voice, the command, being told that she was the chosen one, all had shocked her to her core.\u00a0 There is something big awaiting you with them, <\/em>the voice in her mind had told her; and big it was.<\/p>\n Once her skin had ceased crawling, she had pushed open the sarcophagus to find an irate Cicero waiting for her. He had been ready to kill her until she gave him the message from the Night Mother and then, in spite of the jealousy his face betrayed, he had stood up to Astrid and proclaimed Sayma the Listener.<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t choose it. It chose me. Cicero stood by the Night Mother and by me because of her.\u00a0 He was chosen to be Keeper.\u00a0 He understands what it means to be selected for a thing regardless of your own wishes. Even when he was afraid and fighting the others, and even threatening to kill me, he was standing up for the tenets of the Dark Brotherhood and the principles he believed in. <\/em><\/p>\n That is why I let him live.<\/em><\/p>\n With a part of her mind, Sayma marveled that once again she was face to face with a deity, a powerful being from another dimension.<\/p>\n \u201cI made a deal with you, Nocturnal, back in Riften.\u00a0 I restored your Skeleton Key. I\u2019ve done nothing to break my vow to protect this sanctuary. The title of Listener was something that was thrust on me, much in the same way that my brother Dardeh is Dragonborn.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t get a choice about that. Neither did I.\u201d<\/p>\n Again, she thought she saw Nocturnal smile the tiniest smile.<\/p>\n \u201cIndeed. Well, as it happened, I made an offer to Brynjolf. If he could restore all my Nightingales to me I would bring the soul of his friend Dynjyl from the Soul Cairn to rest in the Evergloam.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo that\u2019s what is so important about him!\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t figure it out,\u201d Sayma said.<\/p>\n \u201cHow little you know of your own husband, Nightingale,\u201d Nocturnal said flatly. \u201cHalf his lifetime has passed since the young man died and still he cares for him. That is why he\u2019s important. Brynjolf still blames himself for the death and wants to make amends.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma frowned. \u201cI\u2019ve only learned about Dynjyl in the past week. And how does all of this relate to me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs I\u2019ve said, I find you\u2026 incomplete. But I agreed to a compromise. I promised Brynjolf that if he could restore to me the Gray Cowl, I would consider that an adequate substitute for one of you. Since he is once again in possession of an intact soul, it falls to you to complete the bargain.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d Sayma blurted out without thinking. \u201cWhy is it my<\/em> responsibility to complete a bargain I had no part in making?\u201d<\/p>\n Nocturnal stared at her.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m surprised. Even Andante was willing to give up something precious, to complete the bargain.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma\u2019s mouth fell open.\u00a0 \u201cAndante? He came here?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. And I allowed him to live, because he was willing to take on that risk for Brynjolf\u2019s sake. He offered me his soul in the place of Brynjolf\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n The realization of what Nocturnal was saying was like a slap across the face to Sayma.<\/p>\n Andante was willing to do that, to give himself up, so that Dynjyl could be released.\u00a0 Just for Bryn.\u00a0 And here am I, supposedly Brynjolf\u2019s wife, and balking about doing\u2026 something. Anything. <\/em><\/p>\n What is the matter with me?<\/em><\/p>\n She stood with her head down for a moment, feeling wholly inadequate.<\/p>\n I owe them all. I owe Roggi, and Dardeh, and Andante; and Vex and Delvin and Thrynn and most of all I owe Brynjolf.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n Both of them.<\/em><\/p>\n Then she nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cAlright. What is it that I must do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot tell you that, Nightingale. You must find the place. There are a husband and wife guarding the way to the Cowl. You must find them.\u00a0 Good luck to you.\u201d<\/p>\n Without warning, Nocturnal sank down into the Ebonmere and disappeared.<\/p>\n Sayma stood staring at the deep blue pool for a moment, her mouth open.<\/p>\n Find the place?\u00a0 What place?\u00a0 What am I supposed to do?\u00a0 How am I supposed to figure out a thing like that, without even a glimmer of a clue?<\/em><\/p>\n She was fuming all the way through the portal, out to the entry of the Twilight Sepulcher, and out the door into the brilliant sunlight.<\/p>\n The sight of the place stopped her short.<\/p>\n Birds sang, the small brook burbled down from the mountains and across the entrance to the sanctuary.\u00a0 A cool breeze made the branches of the pines and spruce sway, like hands reaching out for each other across the small gaps between them.\u00a0 The air smelled fresh, and full of growing things, and all Sayma could think of was the first time she had emerged from that cave and realized that she loved Brynjolf and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.<\/p>\n Her eyes welled up.<\/p>\n It hasn\u2019t been fair.\u00a0 I\u2019ve made bad mistakes, and I need to take responsibility for them.\u00a0 But it hasn\u2019t been fair to any of us, all the things that have happened since that day.<\/em><\/p>\n I need to do something, to make up for it.<\/em><\/p>\n I will do this.<\/em><\/p>\n She began walking back down the path, heading for Dardeh and Roggi\u2019s home.\u00a0 Maybe they could shed some light on this.\u00a0 And even if they couldn\u2019t, she would need to either take small Brynjolf back to Dawnstar or convince them to continue caring for him here.<\/p>\n I only wish I had any idea how I will do it.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cKarliah?\u201d Sayma stepped toward the woman she hadn\u2019t seen in so long, hoping that she wouldn\u2019t be immediately attacked for entering Nightingale Hall.\u00a0 She was one of only three people who had the right to enter; and yet she also knew that she looked different than she had, sounded different, and had run away and … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/4-1-3-2.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart I: Sayma Sendu<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"