The Tale of the Opal Assassins

6: We Know

                ~Ingrid~
          Ireonna was brought back home by our parents in the middle of the night last night. We made eye contact as they walked in, but nothing was said verbally. Ireonna and I silently walked to our rooms. I'm sure she was tired and probably went to sleep, but my secret rage kept me awake. I tried to think of something to do to keep my mind off of it. Training would be too loud, and cooking would also probably wake everyone up.
I can't say that I was disappointed that I couldn't do either of these things. I could focus on my current wonder, Ornstein. I still remember the night that I first discovered that he meant something particularly special to me. It happened in a terrifying manner. Anyone that I tell, aside from Gudrun and Ireonna, thinks I'm insane or just making it up. Everyone thinks that he's just a fictional being, but I know he's real. He's come to me in my dreams. Quite more often than not. He just has to be real. As I lie in my bed, he appears above me, almost as if he's floating. The area around us seems astral, beautiful colors amidst. He never speaks; he just hovers above me. Always clad in that same armor. It's golden and made to resemble a lion. And he always has that spear in hand.
I didn't always have these dreams. They only started recently. Shortly after we moved to Winterfell did they start. My parents think I joke when I say the dreams are real, at least they don't think I'm crazy, but I know he's real. He has to be.
In fact, I had one of those dreams, and it left me with a physical clue. He showed up in yet another spectacular spectacle. Not a word was said from him. He held out his hand balled in a fist. I reached out to him and he dropped his silver ring into my palm. I looked at it. A lion was engraved in it. As I turned my attention back to him, he vanished as he always did. And that was all.
I opened my eyes to see my bedroom. It was still dark outside with only the silver light from the moon piercing through my window. I sighed as I recalled my nightly visitor. Just who could he be? Why does he visit me and me alone? With a deep breath I decided to sit up. That's when I realized it. My fingers rest over my palm gently, hiding something. I slowly opened my hand to reveal something shiny. It was much too dark for me to see. Feeling like I knew exactly what it was, I sat upright quickly and crawled to the end of my bed. I held my hand to the pale light given by the moon to see the ring of the old dragon slayer in my hand. It was the ring he gave me in my dream!
"It's... the old dragon slayer's ring!" I whispered to myself.
I had seen this ring in books. I leapt out of my bed and rushed to my desk. I lit a candle and pulled out my old books. I flipped through page after page until I found it. The exact ring was drawn beautifully on the paper by historians of old.
"Not much is known of the old world," it read. "Only the Leo ring has been recovered. It is said to have belonged to the Dragon Slayer of the old world." I looked up from my book and to the ring. I wondered if I was being visited by this ancient dragon slayer.
That was a long time ago. Now I know that I am being visited by him. Ornstein is trying to communicate with me for some reason that I've yet to figure out. Tonight I tried very hard to find any more clues on a reason that Ornstein is wanting my help or attention. I've read numerous books about him, but tonight I discovered one that mentioned something about a spear. That feels relevant. I don't know why.
                ~Ireonna~
          I didn't sleep at all when I got home. The thought of my parents as murderers kept me awake. Why did they kill that man? Was there more to this than I realized? My mind filled with disturbing thoughts and questions, and never did I once have a logical answer. I thought about what would happen if someone found out. I thought about what might happen to Ingrid, Gudrun, and me. I wished that I had never seen it. I don't want to be involved in this sort of thing.
           I tried to force myself to sleep, but that didn't work at all. By the time I finally started to drift off, the sun was rising. Any sleep was was now pointless. I debated in my head if I should tell my sisters. The easiest conclusion was to tell Gudrun and Ingrid and hope that they knew what to do. I hoped that they were awake, but I didn't care if they weren't. I needed to speak with them. I needed their help. I ran to their rooms.
          "Ingrid," I called out as I knocked on her door, "I need to talk to you! It's urgent!"
          "What," Ingrid groggily said as she opened the door.
          "We need Gudrun. I have something very important to tell you two."
          "She's probably still with that stupid little cunt, Theon. He makes her stupid."
          "It doesn't matter. We'll just tell him to leave. This is a big problem."
          "What even is it?"
          "I'll tell you with Gudrun."
          Ingrid and I made our way to Gudrun's door. Ingrid banged on it very loudly and began to yell.
          "Theon," she yelled as she opened the door, "Get the fuck out."
          "Really Ingrid," replied Gudrun as she sat alone at her desk, "He left about an hour ago. It's a good thing that my potions make him feel better, but he's still got a very noticeable black eye."
"He deserved it."
          "I won't lie and say that he didn't, but couldn't you have laid off after giving him the black eye? You didn't exactly have to beat the shit out of him. I was up all night taking care of him."
          "Why the hell do you care about him so much? It's not like he's strong, smart, or even attractive. He's a waste of time, and he makes you stupid. So Gudrun, explain to me what the hell you see in him!"
          "Guys," I butted in, "We have much more important matters to discuss. I saw something horrific last night... Our parents are killers."
           Shock invaded Ingrid's face. She became more pale than Gudrun as she gasped a bit. I watched her blue eyes widen more than ever. Gudrun, on the other hand, seemed less surprised. She had a look of worry, but far less than Ingrid's. It was almost as if she already knew. I explained the story in full detail. I told them about the darkness, the pleading for mercy, and the arrow that hit the poor man.
"I didn't want to believe it," said Ingrid, "But deep down I believed Gudrun when she told me."
I was both surprised and hurt.
"What do you mean by that," I questioned, "What had Gudrun said?"
"I saw our parents kill someone one day back in Skyrim," Gudrun began, "It was a man back on the outskirts of Falkreath. I had followed them to work. I-I saw them go northwest of the town to an area in the pine forest. Somehow they hadn't caught me. I got closer as I watched them enter a disturbing door. That door was terrifying. I could hear a heartbeat pulsing from it. After they had entered, I walked up to it and touched it. It spoke, "What is the music of life," it asked in a dark voice. I ran from it and hid in the near by foliage. Just as quickly as I made it to hiding, a man in the armor of the protectors of the emperor approached the door. That's when the door opened, and our parents stepped out. Mother stabbed the man several times in the neck. He fell down as he squirted out blood, so much blood. He choked on it as it began to pour out of his mouth as well. Our father laughed at it him as he died. Mother smiled. They talked about the fool as they went back inside."
"When was this," I asked with a tear in my eye.
"Just before we left Skyrim. Around the time that the world found out that Josh was the Dragonborn."
"Why did you tell Ingrid and not me?"
"Because you were already really depressed about Tyrion. I didn't want to make it worse."
"You're forgetting a few details," explained Ingrid, "Gudrun didn't tell me until a little while after we had returned to Winterfell. She hadn't learned what it really meant until she discovered a book that explained everything."
"It was several books. I read them over a long period of time. That's why I only recently said something."
"Where did you find these books," I questioned.
"That's the disturbing part. They were located behind a false back panel in a wardrobe our parents room in the house back in King's Landing. There was also a chest in there that contained some black and red leather suits, some bottles of nightshade extract, and a satchel full of letters and other scrolls containing information. I decided that it would be very obvious if I snatched the entire thing, so I took one book at a time. After I had finished all of the books, I moved on the letters. However, I didn't get to read all of them due to the fact that I don't know where the satchel is now."
"I believe I can guess what your conclusion is from that."
"I think we all know," Gudrun whispered as she stood up and opened a drawer at her desk.
"What are you doing," I asked.
She said nothing as she pulled a letter from the drawer. She unfolded it and dropped it in the floor in front of Ingrid and I. It was a black handprint with the words "We know" written beneath it. This could only mean one thing... The Dark Brotherhood.