Cards Reshuffled

And here I thought it was embarrassing to have my familiar peeking in on my bedroom activities. Shows how much I knew. That is nothing whatsoever, compared to certain other mortifying experiences that lay in store for me. Then again, perhaps it was better that I didn’t know. At least I got to enjoy myself in the meantime.

Excerpt from ‘Ruminations Of A Master Bard’

“But suppose something is wrong? She could be ill!” Anomen sounded earnestly worried, and his hair was unusually disorderly after he had dragged his fingers through the brown curls about once a minute for half an hour. “And if she doesn’t show up soon she will miss the Hero’s Presentation in front of our statues, and the entire town is awaiting us, and what will they all think?”

“Anomen…” Jaheira tried. “Have you seen the statues yet?”

“Of course not,” the cleric replied. “They are meant to be a surprise, after all.”

Of course. And what a surprise they will be. Jaheira shook her head, trying to think of a good way to break the news to the poor boy. Unlike him, she had seen the statues when she was taking a walk the previous night, and she certainly hadn’t missed the significance of the way two of them looked at each other as if they were about to jump each other and do something that really wasn’t suitable in public. Of course, the fact that she had overheard snippets of a certain conversation coming from a certain fountain had also helped her draw certain conclusions. Not to mention that Zaerini wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been down to breakfast yet this morning.

I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. Those two have been besotted with each other for ages, after all. She had used to be very concerned about Edwin’s intentions towards her younger friend, and his disappearance from Baldur’s Gate hadn’t helped matters, but there was no mistaking the way that the wizard looked at Zaerini. Whatever else you might say about Edwina, by now Jaheira was quite certain that she would never intentionally do anything to harm the bard. In fact, she would probably rather cut off her own arm. So let them enjoy what happiness they have managed to find together. Time is too short to be wasted. You never know…you never know when the person you love might be taken from you.

“Lady Jaheira?” Anomen inquired. “Is there something the matter?”

Jaheira blinked, coming back to the present, and met the priest’s anxious blue eyes. They were both sitting at a table in the Trademeet Inn, along with Minsc and Jan. It was a cozy little place, with a warm and intimate atmosphere about it. The tables were freshly scrubbed, the windows clean, and there was a delightful smell of freshly baked bread drifting out from the kitchen. A pair of nimble serving girls darted about the tables, taking orders. There were actually quite a few people present for such an early time in the day, every single table was crowded. The citizens of Trademeet seemed to have stepped out to a man to honor the people who had saved their town, and the adventurers were the focus of plenty of admiring gazes and whispers. Minsc was waving cheerfully to everybody who smiled at him, telling anybody who wished to hear about the ‘Heroic Kicking of Evil Druid Butt’, and Jan had told about twenty different versions of the battle with Faldorn already, each more outlandish than the last. And Anomen…well, Jaheira had noticed several young ladies watching the cleric, admiring his strong shoulders and boyishly handsome face no doubt. He seemed completely oblivious to their attention though. Poor boy, chasing after the one he cannot have, deluding himself. Well, he will realize soon enough, and that will be for the best. Hopefully he can be kept from challenging Edwina to a duel or some such silly nonsense. I should try to prepare him for the blow. It is bound to fall any moment now anyway. “No,” Jaheira said, pondering how to go on. She waited until Minsc and Jan had both drifted over to other tables and were completely preoccupied, and nobody was listening. “Anomen…have you spoken to Zaerini yet?”

“Ah…about what, Lady Jaheira?”

The druid shook her head. “You know what I am talking about, Anomen. You are fond of her. Yes, I have seen the way you look at her, do not bother to deny it. My question is perfectly simple. Have you spoken to her about this?”

Anomen’s cheeks turned a bright pink, and he fidgeted a little with the straps to his armor. “Lady Jaheira, ‘tis not seemly to speak of such…”

Jaheira leaned forward across the table, fixing the young cleric with her best level stare. “Humor me,” she said, her voice flat. “And trust me when I say that this is very important. Have you in any way mentioned to her how you feel?”

Anomen stared into the tabletop. “Not as such,” he quietly said. “I have thought of it, more than once, but every time I try something seems to go wrong. I will brag and make a fool of myself, or else lose my temper, and be outright rude and insulting. How could she possibly put up with that?”

“Her tolerance for bragging and insults is remarkably high,” Jaheira dryly commented. “However, you should be aware that…”

“It is? It is!” Anomen got to his feet, his smile shining as brightly as his newly polished armor. “Thank you, oh thank you, Lady Jaheira! I must go and speak with her at once! Ah, if only that annoying wizard hadn’t totally ruined those crimson rhodelias I found in the swamp…” He immediately started towards the stairs, and before Jaheira had the time to react he was already pounding up them.

Great Silvanus, what now? “Anomen, wait!” she called out. “Stop! I did not mean to suggest…”

Too late. Even as the druid ascended the stairs, she could see Anomen halting outside the door to Zaerini’s room, primping his moustache a little and clearing his throat. “My lady!” he trilled. “’tis a beautiful morning, and a glorious day, nay, a glorious life awaits us both! Come, let me escort you down to the adoration of the townspeople!”

Then he pulled the door open with a flourish and a bang, bowing deeply, paying no attention to the black cat and small fluffy monkey who streaked between his legs and into the room.

Then he raised his eyes.

And then he drew in his breath sharply, as if he had been punched in the gut, and his face turned a sickly gray. Jaheira had just caught up with him, and was able to look over his shoulder, and she wasn’t surprised at his reaction.

Zaerini was sitting in the bed, and the warm midmorning light that was streaming in through the partially open window illuminated her long limbs and slender form, making them shimmer as if they had been lightly sprinkled with gold dust. Her unruly red hair almost seemed to be on fire, a bright flame around her startled face. And she had good reason to look startled too. One reason for this would be that she was completely undressed, with not so much as a sheet covering her. The other reason would be that she wasn’t alone in bed.

The young half-elf was reclining on Edwina’s lap, more or less seated between her legs with her back resting against the equally naked wizard’s breasts, one of her hands stroking Edwina’s shapely thigh, and the other toying with a long strand of dark hair. She certainly seemed in no hurry to go anywhere.

As for Edwina, she had both her arms tightly wrapped around Zaerini, and was resting her chin against the smaller woman’s head. Her hands seemed very preoccupied too. When she spotted the uninvited visitors, her dark eyes went very large with surprise and she froze in mid-caress. “Haven’t you people ever heard of knocking?” she snarled as she hastily tried to cover up her lover with an extremely crumpled sheet, red spots appearing in her cheeks. “I thought monkeys generally knew how to use their knuckles at least. (If that Helmite doesn’t take his goggling ‘Everseeing Eyes’ off her soon I will take them straight out of his head! And I could have sworn that door was locked…flimsy westerner workmanship…)”

Zaerini was still staring at Jaheira and Anomen, her face utterly horrified, and her mouth open.

And Anomen…well, Anomen straightened his back, bowed curtly, and then he spoke in a voice that was polite, courteous, and held only the smallest hint of a tremble. “I beg your pardon, my lady,” he told Zaerini, his face still that nasty gray color. “I fear I have overstepped myself, and intruded in an unforgivable way. Please believe me when I say that it was entirely unintentional…I presumed too much, and I shall remove myself immediately.” Then he turned around sharply, pushed past Jaheira and hurried off along the corridor. Jaheira thought she could hear a muffled sob as he passed her.

Oh Khalid, the druid thought, her heart heavy. How I need you now. You would have been able to talk to him. Please help me now, if you can. Please help me help him, before he does himself or anybody else any damage. “I will talk to him,” she hastily told Zaerini. “You two had better get dressed, unless you mean for the presentation ceremony to present rather more than originally intended.”

As she walked out, Jaheira could head Edwina’s voice drifting after her. “Oh, wonderful. They let in the cat and the monkey too. Insufferable, no! We do not need lessons on ‘Hot Monkey Love’…and stop making practical displays!”

Jaheira hurried as much as she could, but Anomen was moving remarkably swiftly for an armored man, and once she finally caught sight of the sun reflecting off an immaculately polished suit of armor the priest was already walking past the city gates. The druid ran after him, heedless of the puzzled looks she got from the many townspeople walking past, no doubt wondering why one of the fabled Heroes of Trademeet was running in the very opposite direction of the large celebration prepared for her. She didn’t care. All these people, the crowds, the stone streets, they were pressing in on her, and it felt very good to have soft grass beneath her feet, and feel a warm breeze against her face. And now, when there is nobody around to panic, we will see about really running. Jaheira concentrated, and then she felt her body shifting and changing, as she crouched down, suddenly standing on four legs rather than two. Thick gray fur sprouted all over her body, and she stretched her muscles briefly, then sniffed the air for the familiar scent of Anomen. Time to run. Time to hunt.

He was sitting on a rock on the ground when she found him, a little way from the main road, and into the woods. His shield and flail had been allowed to fall on the ground next to him, and lay forgotten in the dirt, the previously shining surface of the shield smudged and grimy. Anomen himself also looked to be in a bad state. His face was buried in his hands, his brown hair untidy, and now and then his shoulders shook with silent sobs. Jaheira silently crossed to his side, and sat down next to him, shifting back to her normal shape as she did so. She said nothing. It was not yet the time to speak. She simply sat there, waiting. The time would come when it came, and right now he needed his grief.

Eventually, Anomen raised his head, and looked at her. His eyes were red, and his cheeks streaked with tears, but he seemed a little calmer. “How long?” he asked. “How long have they…”

Jaheira raised an eyebrow. “Been lovers? Only since yesterday, as far as I understand it. But they have been in love since long before then, since long before you met them.” She paused briefly, then went on. “It is a long history. They have had their ups and downs for certain, but if it had not been for what happened in Baldur’s Gate, then I do not doubt that they would have been sharing a bed for quite some time.” She tried to keep her voice compassionate, but not pitying. He would not appreciate that. “I know her well, well enough to tell you what I am now about to tell you. She did not understand that you felt that way about her, at least not until very recently. She did not want you to get hurt, and she does care for you, if not in the way you would wish. She would not want you to leave either.”

Anomen drew a deep, shuddering breath, and wiped briefly at his eyes, forcing a smile. “I…I believe that,” he said. “And yet, I cannot stay. Not as it is now. I…I could not bear to look at them, together, knowing what I have lost. Knowing that it was never mine to begin with. My Test will soon be upon me, I must be clear in my thoughts and firm of purpose for the Order to accept me, and this will not help. No, I must go. I must spend some time alone, to think.”

Jaheira nodded, feeling a surge of sadness. Perhaps it is better that way. It will give him time to calm down, to accept the thought, before the situation deteriorates further. “Where will you go?” she asked.

“To Athkatla,” the cleric said. “I wish to spend some time at the Temple of Helm, to see what counsel my god may offer me. And I will also take the time to visit my sister…I have not seen Moira for quite some time, and I miss her sorely.” He sounded a little choked. “I…I had hoped to bring my lady with me, to visit…but it seems I shall go alone.”

“I am truly sorry, Anomen,” Jaheira said, briefly embracing the young man. “I hope we will soon see you again, and that spending time with your sister will help ease your mind. Go with Nature’s blessing – and with mine.”

The balance has been shifted, she thought as she watched Anomen walking off down the road, his lone figure disappearing into the trees. I hope we will find it again, and that he will too, for his own sake.