Makings of a Monster

Jelena was resting on her bed, hearing the priest Unnah's incantations from Sarevok's room. She had been assured that the boy would be good as new, even though Reiltar had managed to damage his internal organs in his frenzy. Still, she could not help sobbing a little. How could the marriage go on? Reiltar would not forget that she had swung the cleaver at him, nor what she had said before she did that. The bit about comparing the merits of Winski and Reiltar as child-rearers was maybe a bit much too... fortunately Reiltar was much too arrogant and self-centered to pay too much attention to finer details like that. Blushingly she realized how much more she liked Winski than the man she was married to. Damn it, she hated Reiltar with vehemence, if she was honest to herself.

Thinking of which. What was the beautiful assassin doing so long in Winski's room? They spoke so casually and intimately, as if they were old friends. And was that all they were? Jelena wished she would be like Allonia, walk her head high and erect, strong, tough, confident. Perhaps then Winski would respect her and... she blushed, and remembered with aching fondness how gently Winski had curled next to her when she confessed of her shameful childhood secret to him. Jelena had been seriously tempted to eavesdrop when Allonia had asked her to leave the room, but she would really hate herself for disrespecting Winski's privacy if she did that.

Allonia appeared in the doorway, and the weak and pale Jelena couldn't help noticing how beautiful and strong the other woman was. Jelena's body was soft and round, Allonia's muscular and predatory. She wore a dagger strapped on her thigh. It wasn't terribly effective in most situations, and Allonia was no more of opinion that one should exactly advertise ones chosen profession than Winski was, but in situations that didn't require actual operations, it was sometimes good to wear for an effect.
- "Hi.... Jelena, was it. I hope you feel better. I was merely wondering where that lovely husband of yours might be. I want to have a little business chat with him."
- "I imagine he is in his study. I guess Winski told him to go away."
Allonia turned her back as to leave.
- "Hey... what about Winski? CAN he stop the drinking just like that? I've been worrying but thinking that it isn't my business," said Jelena.
- "He'd better, if he wants to live. But I have a feeling that you can help him in that. I imagine you do the cooking here. See to it that he eats, take him to a walk or something so that he gets sleep easier, and if he so much as tries to touch the bottle, smack him in the head."
- "Why would he care about what I say?"
- "Mask give me strength! This whole house seems to be filled with such brainiacs!" burst Allonia. Jelena flinched, and she continued in a softer tone. "Um. Sorry. I guess this isn't easy for any of you. He would care about what you say because he loves you, and by the looks of it the feeling is mutual. Ponder that at your leisure. I have stuff to do now."
She walked away.

Allonia made an elegant, feminine knock and entered Reiltar's study without waiting for an answer. The man, brooding at his desk, looked up as she sat on the edge of the desk and stretched, lifting her armed leg on the table and unsheathing the dagger, starting to seemingly absentmindedly play with it.
- "Well hello here, MISTER Anchev. I think I'll call you Reiltar now that we are buddies, after all I saved your family from a certain untimely demise," she purred.
- "What do you want, Allonia?" Reiltar's voice was strained and awkward.
- "I thought I'd tell you a little bit about myself. About what kind of person I am, that sort of thing. See, you are the kind who has ambition. You see life as a contest where the biggest reward comes to the one who carves the largest empire.
I'm not like that. I just believe in good food, tumble in linen occasionally, song and dance and wine and food... as for the money, it is easy come and easy go for me. I have no intentions of taking it with me once my day comes, as it eventually will for everyone. 'Be a king, or a street sweeper, everybody dances with the Grim Reaper.' I just intend to have as much fun in the meantime as possible."
- "And why should I care about any of that, Allonia?" asked Reiltar, starting to get annoyed.

- "You should care about that, Reiltar, because it means that my kind, unlike yours, has preciously little to lose. You have your schemes and plots and facades going on, while I'm just a devil-may-care assassin. Who however takes certain things seriously. Like friendship. Winski is my best friend, and I like little Sarevok, well actually he's taller than me now, but you still get the idea, I think, very much. And should you get any ideas of making them pay for whatever impudence they showed today in your deranged mind, then I will get a similar idea about you. Only more painful and lethal, I'll promise you that. You have reaped the benefit of my work, you would know. I don't give a damn when and where I hang, or how high, as it will eventually happen anyway. Not that I want to give any of the days away by being stupid or careless, but hear me now. You have been warned."
With one very swift movement she suddenly tossed the dagger so that it ended up nailed to the desk just a few inches from Reiltar's fingers.
Reiltar flinched and swallowed, staring at the assassin.

- "Byee-e!" purred Allonia in a sing-song voice, and strolled softly away.