An illustrated Skyrim story beyond the fall of the Dark Brotherhood~
After a surreal event, Cicero is inexplicably thrown back into a clear state of mind and his memories from his life prior to his madness return. We begin to learn who he really is...
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The guards never came for me. Several days passed while I waited for Mother to return. I grew hungry as the cupboards went bare but I was afraid to leave. I needed to be here when she came back. She needed me.
Eventually, the hunger became too much. I was forced to venture out but I wasn't sure where to go or who to ask for help. In the marketplace, I decided to try and steal some fruit from a stand while the merchant was distracted. I would come back later after Mother returned to pay for it... but for now, I desperately needed to eat. I took an apple and a handful of blackberries before fleeing to a nearby alley. As I quickly ate, I noticed that some of the children noticed me. They were watching and giving me strange looks while whispering to one another.
When I was just about finished with the last of the berries, one of them came down the alleyway. His rapid approach made me nervous. I didn't have much energy to defend myself.
"Hey..." he said in a quiet tone, "...we thought you were dead..."
"Dead? Why?" I asked while wiping the berry juice from my mouth.
"I heard that your mom killed you and then hung herself. That's what the other kids are saying. They said their parents are talking about it."
"I'm not dead... and my mom didn't hang herself. She's just missing," I tried to reply with confidence but the fact that everyone was talking about Mother and I was very alarming.
"No one told you?" his eyes widened, "Someone saw your mom hang herself from a tree outside the city gates. The guards cut her down and said it was suicide."
"...suicide?"
"It's when you kill yourself on purpose," he explained with a glint of excitement in his eyes, "My dad always said your mom was crazy. He said she would probably off herself someday. We just heard that she killed you first."
My head began to spin and I felt nauseous. Liars. All of them! That's why my mother told me to stay away from the other kids. They were liars and so were their parents! I wanted to hit him for suggesting that my mother would kill herself. She loved me and she would never leave me behind on purpose.
"Why would you lie about that!?" I yelled, my face feeling warm, "My mother is a strong woman and she'd never-"
"Go see for yourself," he replied casually and crossed his arms. He seemed very unaffected and if anything, found enjoyment out of telling me such vicious rumors.
I didn't want to hear it anymore. I shoved him aside and ran from the alley. The guards would have told me if something bad happened, right? They said they would come for me and make sure everything was okay...
I ran across the temple grounds toward the south gate. I didn't believe him, so I wasn't sure why but I just knew I needed to know. I needed to see for myself.
