Day Two

Andromeda must've slept for hours before finally raising herself out of her bed. She sat upright on the cozy bed, allowing the furs to drape down her shoulder, Andromeda looked around the room. The splintered table had been moved out while she slept, leaving an empty gape on the floor where she had spent the previous night drinking her cares away.

"Drinking... Sleep..." Andromeda fell back on the bed, allowing her pale arm to drape over her eyes. She had begun to drift back into the blissful dreamland before bolting up and flinging the furs off her small yet strong form, "Cicero!"

Andromeda swung her pale legs over the bed and trotted down the steps, the sound of bare skin hitting stone echoing around the room. She walked to the door before halting all her movements and looking down at her sleeping tunic. She couldn't go out and face the Brotherhood like that. It was not only indecent but not befitting for the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood.

"Shit... Shit... Shit" Andromeda ran from the door and back up the stone steps. She pulled the drawers from there place, searching for some robes or armor to wear back into the cold Dawnstar Sanctuary. She acted in a frenzy, forgetting all the composure she had trained herself to have as an assassin and focusing on making sure she could still look Cicero in his mad yet, ironically, trusting eyes.

After pulling on some assassin robes she never chose to wear before, as they were for mages, Andromeda pulled her raven black hair into a braid that draped down her shoulder. She approached the door, giving it a pull, it opened with a loud, creaking sound.

Cicero was singing a tune as he moped up some water that had dripped through the cracks of the Sanctuary, making sure his beloved mother stayed nice and dry in her new home.

Andromeda walked up the stone staircase, ready to speak to Cicero, when out of the blue.

"Listener!" Nazir sat at the wooden table and motioned for her to join him. Andromeda looked through the metal fence that separated her and the jester, before retreating back down the steps.

"What do you want Nazir?" Andromeda yanked a chair out from the table and seated herself against its wooden frame, bringing a foot to rest on the chair with her, the other foot was firmly placed against the cool stone.

"I was walking around the shore early this morning, and a man was looking for you. Said he had a letter" Nazir slid the envelope across the table to her. "I have no idea what it's about, and I don't care either. The sooner it's out of my hands, the better"

"If it bothered you so much, why did you take it from him?" Andromeda picked up the letter and held it between her fingers.

"Ah, yes courier. Come into our sanctuary, deliver your letter to our listener and stay for the torture-"

"Alright, alright. I understand" Andromeda waved her pale hand, signaling him to stop his chatter. With a small huff, she read the carefully written name across the top

Annie

"Hmph, Annie" Andromeda looked at Nazir, who was taking a sip out of a mug. "Are you sure this came from a courier?"
"While lying is something I'm good at, no. I did not write you a letter"
Placing her hands on the table, she pushed out the chair and stood up, "Cicero!" Andromeda stomped up the stone stairs, searching for the jester.
"Yes, Listener?" After setting the bucket of oil and brush down on the stone beside the Night Mother, Cicero met the Listener partway.
"Did you tell a courier to deliver this letter to me?"
"Why no, Listener. Why would sweet, innocent Cicero do such a thing like that?"
"Because no one in all of Nirn would call me Annie unless they were dead set on being killed or crazy!"

Cicero remained unfazed by the possibility of being called crazy, and instead just shook his head.

"I swear on our Dread Father that Cicero would never have a courier deliver you a letter. No, no, Cicero would give a letter to the Listener himself"

Rather than continue the conversation, Andromeda put most of her weight on her left foot and ripped off the wax seal on the back, never breaking eye contact with the Jester. She flicked her eyes to the letter and scanned the words.

Dearest Annie...

Cicero listened to Andromeda mutter to herself before she sealed the letter once more.

"I have to leave for awhile" the Listener started for the stairs again.
"Ooh, goody! Cicero can join the Listener on another adventure"
Andromeda didn't turn towards the man, she instead kept walking down the stairs to towards her room, "No, Cicero. I have to go on my own"

"Now Cicero can't let the Listener go out on her own" He followed her to her doorway and stood there. Somehow remembering it would seem odd for him to follow. Even though everything Cicero ever did was "odd"

"I'll be fine. Besides, I won't be gone long and I'm the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood" Andromeda went up the steps to the bed and yanked open her dresser drawer, "Anything that tries to kill me will be dead before they can say Sithis"
"But what about when you're sleeping-"
"I have no problems sleeping!"
"-your guard is down and something can sneak up on you-"
"Cicero…"
"-And there will be no one to talk to dear, sweet, Cicero-"
"Fine! You can come!" Andromeda ripped open travel backpack and began to fill it with food and various potions and poisons. "We are traveling to Solitude, should be a 4 days journey in total"
"What are we doing in Solitude, Listener? Are we looking for another fool to send to the void?"
"This is not Dark Brotherhood business, Cicero" Andromeda turned her back to the Jester, closing up her pack. Examining her robes she heaved a heavy sigh and walked down the steps once more. Since this was not Brotherhood business, it wouldn't be wise to wear any Brotherhood armor. She needed to make it to Solitude, and being arrested would throw her plan off course.
"Well… Cicero will happily join the Listener on her quest to Skyrim's capital. As it is his duty to serve Sithis, the Night Mother and her" Cicero did a small bow before clapping. "I will pack and meet you on the shore!" And with that, the fool scampered away, humming some tune that was so familiar, leaving Andromeda alone.

A/N: Originally, I hadn't planned out making this a story. But, I realized that I could add more to the story of Cicero and Andromeda. Of course, some ambiguities will be revealed as time passes. But, there is supposed to be an air of mystery. Like, "Why does Andromeda hate the name Annie?...Why does Andromeda have to go to Solitude?...Why is Cicero so dead set on going?"

All will be revealed in due time