A/N: Thank you SO much for your near infinite patience – if I was you I probably would have hunted me down and forced me to update – I mean, its bad enough that all my chapters are way too short without putting weeks between updates, right?

Jonas almost had to gouge the layer of muck and sweat off his forehead it was so thick. He'd been wandering the wilderness for weeks, searching for another city, and with each passing day he deeply regretted leaving the Imperial city.

He sighed and collapsed under an old oak tree, massaging his blistered feet and preparing to get some sleep. Back when he lived with his foster parents, he never would have had to sleep like this. Memories of his warm bed by the fire floated back to Jonas, and he thought of the warm milk his mother would give him to send him off to sleep.

Jonas' stomach grumbled as his thoughts turned to food. Roast beef…chicken breast…potatoes; boiled, mashed and roasted…he could almost taste the near-regal quality food he'd had at least twice a week. He smiled to himself. I am regal…

Jonas' nose taunted him with false scents of delicious foodstuffs – the most Jonas had had to eat over the past few weeks was a meagre assortment of vegetables he'd happened across a couple of times, and he'd always had to take as much as he could carry, for fear of starvation.

The smell wafted over yet again, and Jonas' eyes snapped open. He sniffed the air twice. He was sure he wasn't imagining it now. Jonas peeked behind the oak he sat under, and saw the faint orange glimmer of a fire a little way away behind some trees. Letting the fire's light guide him in the near pitch-black forest, Jonas crept slowly forward.

"…Be crowned emperor." A pair of dunmeri men sat around a fire, along with a female orc, and a hooded figure with his back to Jonas. The orc had just finished saying something that obviously held some great weight in regard to whatever they were discussing, for one of the dark elves had dropped the chicken wing he had been trying to eat both quickly and quietly.

"But, but…then maybe killing Ocato was not the best of ideas," he looked accusingly at the hooded figure.

Assassins! Jonas thought with a yelp. He dared not move a muscle – who knew what they would do if they discovered him sneaking around their secret meeting.

"Maybe it can be," the second dunmer said pensively. "If we can elect someone over whom we have complete control, this threat can be eliminated quickly."

"But then there is still the problem of the election – who could we possibly get to oppose him?" The first dunmer said quickly.

"Peace, Dreth." The hooded figure spoke up at last. "If I was as nervous as you, I would never have gotten into this business. "Are you having second thoughts about your cousin, too?" Jonas thought his smooth silky voice somewhat familiar, but he couldn't place where he'd heard it before. Dreth shook his head. "Good, because Valen is already dead."

Jonas started as he realised who this was; it was the assassin that had helped him escape from the imperial prison. "As for a suitable candidate, the Count of Bravil is an old acquaintance of mine. I have already spoken to him about…him."

"But then," the female orc said, "why have you brought us here if you already know all this?" There was an edge of fear to her voice now.

"Peace, peace. I didn't come here to kill you all, but to warn you; there are strange things afoot, and I think that old weapons should be replaced." He said that last statement with meaning, though the rest of the company seemed just as bewildered as Jonas. The assassin stood, and the fire extinguished itself, blanketing the area in darkness.

Jonas pressed himself to the ground, hardly daring to breathe until the first rays of sunlight penetrated the upper canopy of the forest.

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Jonas awoke, his entire body aching. His face was nestled in the sweet-smelling grass, and he might have stayed there but for his fear and painful joints. He heaved himself up and picked a random direction to start walking off in. It wasn't the best strategy, he knew, but he figured he'd get somewhere eventually.

After a few minutes of wandering through the dense trees, Jonas stumbled onto a path. Looking along it, Jonas could see the walls of a city some short distance away. All thoughts of pain and fatigue forgotten, Jonas broke into a shambling run – anything to get to the city as quickly as possible.

Jonas was so pleased at having reached civilisation, he simply hurtled through the city gates, paying the guards' strange looks no heed, and collapsed onto the cobbles of the street within, resting his head against the wall separating the city from the outside world. He was so content in fact; he just sat like that for maybe five, ten, fifteen minutes without a care in his head. But then his brain kick-started into worry-mode as it did so often these days.

The assassins' conversation drifted slowly back to him, and he felt more uneasy the more he thought about it. What were they taking about…Ocato? Chancellor Ocato? That was the high elf I was accused of killing…and the Count of Bravil is going to replace him…? Jonas felt very uneasy at the thought of a group of assassins running all of Cyrodiil, using the Count as a puppet. And that man had seemed quite friendly when he released me from prison…Jonas reflected that the man had murdered someone about ten seconds before freeing him, so maybe he'd been misguided on that count. Why did he help me, anyway…?

Jonas cautiously opened one eye and sneaked a quick glance at the guards' coat of arms on their shields. Yes, this was the city of Bravil – he recognised the emblem at once.

Now Jonas' thoughts moved onto the matter at hand: What now? He was safe from the dremora lord, for the moment at least, but the elusive Jauffre was still a mystery. Now that he thought about it, maybe he should have met up with Baurus – at least then it would feel as though he was getting somewhere.

As he watched, Jonas noticed that the number of people wandering around on the street was beginning to increase. They seemed be congregating near the chapel, so Jonas eased himself up to his feet and wandered over to investigate. He immediately wished he hadn't. Lying in front of the chapel doors was a young woman, whose protruding abdomen proclaimed her pregnancy to the world, and whose blood stained the steps where she lay.

On first glance, Jonas thought someone had carved a large letter 'O' onto her front, but then he realised it was one of those weird symbols he's read in the Mysterium Xarxes. The woman's glazed-over eyes stared up at Jonas, beseeching him to do something. Jonas shuddered. He made his way back through the crowd, feeling sick at the thought that they were all just milling around, gossiping, and none of them had thought to remove the body. As he pushed past, he just managed to catch some snippets of conversations, but really he wasn't interested. It was a mistake to come here, he realised, but he really didn't know what to do.

"…Yes, Lizzie's daughter…"

"…The priest, I think…"

"…Well, if it was the…"

"…Someone called Junoshin…"

"…Yes, that's what I heard – the mages guild…"

"…Yes, up at the castle…Jauffre…"

"…No, surely not…"

Jonas froze. His head snapped around, but he couldn't tell who had said that vital thing about the elusive Jauffre. He gave his silent thanks to the aedra and said a short prayer for the woman's soul before pushing through the crowd with renewed vigour.

"Excuse me," Jonas put on his best 'puppy-dog' look as he spoke to the soldier. "Please could you tell me where the castle is?"

"Why, are you alright? Are you looking for your mother or something?" The soldier seemed genuinely concerned. Jonas wondered why the man had let him see the dead woman if he was really that worried about him.

"Y-yes…" Jonas fake-sobbed. "She said she would be at the castle, b-but I can't find her!"

"There, there," the guard patted Jonas' shoulder heavily and pointed him in the right direction.

"Thank you," Jonas sniffled.

"That's quite alright," the redguard smiled, evidently pleased at having done his good deed for the day. Jonas shook his head incredulously as he walked away in the direction of the castle, and hopefully Jauffre.

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The castle was surprisingly well furnished, considering the fact that the rest of the town was blatantly shabby and run-down. "Hello, can I help you?" The soft voice of a dunmer caught Jonas off-guard as he made his way toward the main room of the castle. Jonas turned and started with surprise. It was one of the assassins from the meeting the previous night, and Jonas identified him as the one named Dreth.

"I-I, er, ah…" Jonas stuttered, at a loss as to what to say. Can I trust him enough to tell him I am looking for Jauffre? No, I don't think I can.

"Are you here in response to the flyer that went out?" Dreth looked Jonas up and down suspiciously.

"Yes!" Jonas said at once, latching onto the excuse.

"Ah, good!" the dunmer said, his expression easing slightly. "You know we've had lots of beggars coming in recently, just wasting the Count's time – can you believe that?"

Jonas nodded, but privately wondered how Dreth could have known that, having only arrived there sometime that morning.

"Well, come on then!" Dreth said briskly, "Count Terentius is waiting."

Jonas hesitated. What had he gotten himself into? He couldn't really back out now, after having said he was here for this…this thing, whatever it was. Then again, he did wonder what their reaction would be if he went along and revealed himself after this big event.

Come on, what's the worst that could happen? Jonas asked himself. Famous last words…a small voice at the back of his head muttered. He ignored it and nodded. "Lead on," he said.

Dreth, looking slightly amused at the authoritative posture and voice the boy used, smiled and pushed the door behind him open.

"Aren't you coming in?" Jonas asked nervously.

"Oh, no; I wouldn't want to interfere in the Count's special business." Dreth smiled nastily, and Jonas wondered what he could be talking about. He shook his head and strode confidently into the room.

The sound of many ticking clocks greeted Jonas as he stepped into the small office. There were so many timepieces hanging on the wall it was hard to hear oneself think, or indeed see the walls. As Jonas entered the room, the Count stood up at once and barely restrained himself from running across to shake the boy's hand.

"Welcome, welcome," he said. "I am Count Regulus Terentius, and the current owner of this castle." He smiled as if he had been under enormous stress for the past few months and this was his moment of salvation. "So, do you think you're qualified to work as my servant, boy?" he smiled as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

So that's all it is! Jonas thought with relief. I was expecting something far more sinister. "Yes, sir!"

"And manners, too!" Terentius exclaimed, as if hardly believing his luck. "Well I'm really happy we could come to this arrangement, er…"

"I'm Jonas, sir."

"Jonas," the Count repeated. "Well, you're duties include helping the cooks, the cleaners, and generally doing what I tell you," he paused for breath. "I'll pay you with food and board, and maybe an extra gold piece every week, alright."

"Yes, sir!" But I don't know if I'll still be here in a week, Jonas thought. If Jauffre's here, he can help me, and if he's not, I can afford to wait.

"Good." He sighed with relief. "Now repeat after me: 'I will to my Lord be true and faithful, and love all which he loves, and shun all which he shuns.'"

Jonas repeated him word for word, and Terentius said, "ok, go and find Master Thred – he's in charge of the servants and will give you most of your orders." He paused before adding, "he's the dunmer who brought you here." Jonas nodded his thanks and left the room, wondering what his first 'order' would be.

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Count Regulus Terentius sighed as he collapsed back into his chair. He almost felt sorry for the young boy he had just put into service, but then…he shuddered as he glanced about the room he hated so much. Better him than me.

A/N: Once again, sorry for the really long wait. I'll try really hard to update quickly next time - also, MorganEddasil, I haven't forgotten your request, but my access to the actual game is becoming more and more limited, so I don't know when I'll be able to do anything...sorry.