Hiyas again everyone 
This is my second story. Unlike my first one ("One Night Stand"), this one will be a multi parter (looking at 4 or 5 parts at this stage). It has sort of a similar theme (oh the trials and tribulations of love/lust) but it's a lot darker and probably more melodramatic 
This PC *does* have a name. Her name is Kiruna and she was a human thief dualed to a fighter and romanced Anomen in BG2. This piece is set a fair bit after BG2. Anomen and Kiruna are in their mid 30s and have *settled* down. So here it is.
***
When I got married, I thought I would be like a princess living in her white castle with her perfect prince and we would live happily ever after.
Oh how wrong I was...
***
"My Lady, I must be away."
"Why now, Anomen? You've only been home for two weeks!"
He gave me a steady look.
"You know why my lady. I have duties to fulfil."
"What about your duty to your family, Anomen? What are about your duty to me?"
As usual, he seemed to ignore my words. He slung his packs over his shoulder and started to walk towards the door.
"I'm not finished with you Anomen Delryn!"
"My Lady, we will talk when I get back. Farewell!" He walked out of the door and out of my life again.
I fumed silently and stared at the open door. I heard Anomen saddling up his horse and a minute or two later, I heard it trotting away. I stood there as the sound of horse shoes receded into the distance.
"Is Daddy gone again?"
I turned around and saw my four year old, Moira. She was standing there, clutching her female paladin doll.
"Yes, sweetie. Daddy's gone again," I said sadly.
"How long?"
"I don't know, sweetheart."
"Will he get me something?"
"Probably," I smiled. I did not want her to see my anger or sadness. However she saw through it.
"Mummy, why does Daddy keep on going away when it makes us sad?"
"That's a question I'd like answered," I said quietly.
***
I looked outside the study window. It was a pleasant day with only a few puffy white clouds dotting the Athkatla summer sky. The sound of people enjoying themselves gently wafted through the window. I sighed. I wish I could be out there amongst those people. However I had other responsibilities.
I smiled at the crib that lay on the other side of the room. Tristram was only six months old. I insisted he be in my study so that I could nurse or hold him whenever he needed it. Most of my staff were horrified at the thought, insisting that he would disturb my work at the most inconvenient times but I really did not mind.
My mind wandered back to his birth. They say that the first one is usually the hardest and after that, it's easy. It did not happen that way with me. Moira was easy. Anomen was home for most of the pregnancy and he was there when she was born. However with Tristram, the pregnancy and birth was very hard. Anomen was away for most of the pregnancy, apparently "fighting dragons" or something. He was not even there for the birth. I was in labour for twenty four hours before Tristram came out. Anomen came home three weeks later, pleasantly surprised that he had a son and complimented me on choosing a fine name for him. Little did he know that Tristram meant "sadness".
With Tristram being so young and needing constant care, I was basically house bound. Also I had to run the family business, with Anomen being away so much. The business dealt with the wholesale distribution of goods imported from the New World. I ran the business quite well and there was always sufficient cash in our coffers. There was always a lot of paperwork as well to fill up my time and in a strange way it kept me sane. If I did not have to do it, I probably would have driven myself insane from my brooding.
What remained of my spare time was mainly spent with Moira. She was a bright and vivacious four year old. Despite the fact she did not like Anomen going away so much, there were signs that she would end up like him. Instead of playing with tea sets and doll houses, she would play with her female paladin doll and toy dragons and pretend the doll was a brave dragon slayer. Valygar also gave her a toy sword for her 4th birthday, something that I was not too impressed by.
"Isn't she a bit young?" I remembered asking him.
"Better to start them young," he shrugged.
I rolled my eyes at him.
With her new toy sword, Moira liked to terrorise the staff of the house with it. Her favourite roleplay was with the cook. Moira was the brave paladin, the cook was the nasty red dragon and the cookies were the treasure the nasty dragon was hoarding. It annoyed the cook to no end at first but eventually she and Moira had developed a close relationship and it turned into a game where the two would try to outwit each other.
A gust of wind interrupted my musings. It was getting a bit windy outside so I closed the window. I looked back at my desk. Scrolls were scatted everywhere. Luckily I had finished most of the paperwork before Anomen came home so I could show him how the business was going. Still it was a terrible mess. I muttered something under my breath as I started to arrange my desk to the way it was before. A scroll with the seal of Candlekeep attracted my eye. Remembering what it was, I opened it:
Dear Sis, How are you? I've spent the last few months in Candlekeep, doing all the magey stuff. Would you believe Elminster came to visit me? At first I was so excited but after meeting him, I realised he was just ANOTHER stuffy old archmage. Is there some rule dictating all archmages have to be old and stodgy? How is Anomen and the family? I was so happy to hear that you had another child and Tristram is such a nice name! I think I will drop by Athkatla again in a few months. We have so much to catch up on and we can fuss over the baby. I'm so jealous of you and Anomen. I wish I could find someone as caring and good looking as Anomen. Maybe not as snooty but no one is perfect. However things are looking up for me, someone might be interested in me. Remember when we both had that crush on Kivan? Well I'm getting that warm fuzzy feeling again. Well I sort of felt that way with Valygar until I found out he had a thing against mages and he's always so serious. But I digress. Anyway tell me more about Tristram and how Moira is doing. She must be growing up fast now. I better finish writing this letter because someone is calling me. What? No. You lost that scroll, not me! I am so insulted by those comments... oops can't believe I'm writing this down! Love you Kiruna! Imoen
I smiled. Imoen's letters were always so full of life. I wish she was down here because I know that she would find a way to make me feel better about everything. I decided to start penning my reply:
Dear Imoen, How are you? I guess things are not too bad but my relationship with Anomen is deteriorating. He's always away and he treats me like a wife whenever he's home. I know that doesn't make much sense but he doesn't see me as a woman anymore. He doesn't write pathetically sappy love poems for me anymore which were pretty bad but made me feel special. He doesn't take me for long walks in the forests outside Athkatla anymore. Sure we have children now but he treats me like I'm no longer a woman! Just some caretaker for his business and his children. And he's always away. Like some blue dragon or heretics in Tehtyr is more important than his wife or children. You know the other month, he...
I stopped writing. I was definitely ranting and I was a bit ashamed to reveal the true state of my marriage to Imoen. I crumpled up the piece of paper I was writing on and threw it away. I started anew.
Dear Imoen, How are you? Things are okay. Anomen's away from home a lot but I don't really mind and it's for a good cause. Moira and Tristram are doing fine. You know, Moira...
***
Ok the ending to this part is a bit abrupt but I think I got the mood of the story well so far. Next chapter we'll see some plot action with some of the other BG2 NPCs making an appearance and Kiruna decides to do something for herself instead of moaning about her life constantly
Feedback most welcome!
