The Cure For Curie (Complete!)

A Diplomatic Leap

"Has she woken yet?" Cosnach asked as the vampire returned.

"She has, yes." Babette answered as she folded her arms. "But you cannot see her."

"Why the hell not?" He spat as he took a step forward.

"She is no longer with us." She said flatly.

"Wait. Our lady has passed on?" Lydia pushed forward concerned.

"Not at all." The vampire giggled, clearly having too much fun. "She left about an hour ago."

"What? She left? Why did you not tell us sooner?" Cosnach roared.

"That's an easy one. She would not have been able to escape." Babette responded, the smile growing on her face.

"Come here you little brat." Cosnach yelled as he jumped after the girl. She bolted toward the corridors, giggling wildly. He chased her toward the depths of the sanctuary but stopped suddenly when a figure collided with him in a door way.

The small man was hurled toward the ground as Cosnach was barely moved by the interference. The mountain of a man watched as the jester swung his legs and jumped up from the ground laughing.

"Move." Cosnach growled but Cicero shook his head, the bells on his hat jingling.

"Cicero cannot move. The brute cannot have the girl. The girl was only protecting the Listener. The brute will have to go through Cicero first." He sang as he danced merrily in a circle, his dagger waved high.

"Cosnach, leave it be." It was Lydia from behind him. He turned to see her stern gaze pleading for him to stop. "You know as well as I that this was all Lilelle's doing. If someone gets hurt, she will be furious. You cannot fault them for doing as they were told by your wife."

"The hell I can't." He snapped grabbing at the jester. Cicero back flipped from his grasp and ran skipping down the hall after Babette.

"Come. We know where she is headed. We can go after her."

"She clearly doesn't want us involved or she would have taken us with her."

"She doesn't trust your hot head to remain cool."

"I can be diplomatic." He huffed.

"Can you?" Lydia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Probably not. That doesn't give her the right to leave without a word."

"Would you have let her go alone if she had spoken to you first?"

"Hell no."

"Than you've answered all your own questions."

"I suppose." He sighed as he slumped into a nearby chair. He stared at the ground for a long while, his eyes looking for answers in the cold stone.

"We can however, follow her. We can hide out of sight. Just in case she needs us."

"Just in case." He looked up, hopeful. "I can manage that much."

"Good. We can grab some horses from the Brotherhood and leave immediately."

"What should we do about the mercenaries. There are too many to remain hidden."

"Pay them and send them on their way. They will care not once they have their gold."

"Let's go then."

                               -----
Lilelle surveyed the compound from a tree branch nestled inside a grand fir tree. The smell of pine had invaded her nostrils, becoming nauseating as she watched for movement inside the embassy.

There were no guards posted on the gates, or anywhere for that matter. The grounds were so still that she feared they had been abandoned. The sun had begun to set and she wondered if she should make her move toward the front door or make camp for the night.

As she moved her foot down to the branch below, she caught sight of a small figure skipping down the main road, likely headed from Solitude. She watched the cloaked child head toward the gates of the Thalmor Embassy carrying a large wicker basket. The small form slipped through the bars with ease and ran into the building.

Lilelle waited a moment longer before she saw candles being lit in the large front windows. Whoever it was, was now home for the evening she thought to herself as she climbed down the tree.

Once down the tree, Lilelle bolted across the road and toward the walls of the compound. She moved close to the wall and slipped down toward the rocky cliffs. She wanted to go through the back of the main house to better survey what it was she was walking into. She hoisted herself up and over the wall into the courtyard.

Dropping down behind a tree, she listened for any noise. When she was certain the courtyard was empty she left from behind her cover. The sight before her, stopped her dead in her tracks.

What once housed a beautiful garden and a smaller office buliding, now lay in ruins. A giant pit had opened up, swallowing all that had once been. She had known the necromancers had been searching for the Draugr Matron's statue, but the size and depth of the hole before her was dizzying. Peeking of over the edge, she could see no bottom. Only ladders dug into the frozen earth, going on for what felt like infinity, stood testament to its magnitude.

"By the nines.." She whispered to herself as she peered into the hole.

"The things we do for those we love?" A voice spoke lovingly from behind her.

Lilelle spun around, pulling her dagger from her belt. Behind her stood a man that seemed to look almost Imperial. He was quite attractive and carried himself with a regal posture, his chin held up in confidence. His crop of brown hair was disheveled with sleeplessness and his smile tired and worn.

It was his eyes though, that left her enraptured. Black as the void of Sithis himself, they seemed to hold the answers of the universe. She couldn't tear her own gaze away. She had no doubts in her mind that this was the Undead King.

"We had hoped that you had received our letter. I had my doubts that you would come, but Shaun remained hopeful."

"You're the Undead King, I presume? Word of your acts has reached all the corners of Skyrim."

"That is not my title." He spat. "I'm afraid the real story has much less fantasy. Some fantasy, sure. The years have not been kind to my reputation."

"It never is." She joked.

"Come." He said as he gestured toward the main house. "There is plenty of ale inside if you have time to hear the truth of it all."

"Sounds good." She shrugged. "Who doesn't love a good story?"

She followed him toward the back door, before entering she turned back toward the outer walls. She waved toward the trees that still remained.

"You guys want a drink or would you rather snoop from behind the trees?"

"Shit." Cosnach mumbled as the pair shamefully clamored out of their hiding place. "I could use a drink, or two."