CHAPTER ONE - Distorted Truths

Elouise Cyrianna was born Elina Cyana. She was of Kara-Tur descent; yet she had never travelled there before. Though she was far from petite, she had a weak soul and body; deeming her only able to focus her mind and spirit in the learning of arcane magic: she was a sorceress. Intelligent in the art of magic, she was unfortunately indecisive and confused in her thoughts and action. She often made the wrong choices. Firstly, it was Laran.

She had met the young and handsome knight at an inn and proclaimed love for him, only to get drunk with him in his room and had him gone in the morning. She felt defiled, not understanding what she had done wrong to deserve this "punishment", she called it. She cried out her heart to Jaheira, the dominant female half-elf in her party who was the strongest female she had ever known, being a spellcaster of divine magic as well as a ruthless fighter. The other female was an elven mage cum cleric, who she had dumped from the party for another cleric named Viconia, who she had to save from the sadists who had wanted to put her for death due to her Drow nature. Drows are dark elves who are looked down on by society. Elly couldn't take Aerie's nonsensical constant moaning over the loss of her wings.

A few weeks later, a twist of fate had allowed her to meet the sneaky yet devilish-looking Yoshimo at the Copper Coronet, an inn located in the midst of the Slums district in Athkatla, the capital of Amn. She admitted she hadn't had a proper look at him while at Irenicus' dungeon as it had been quite dark, but from the mere moment she set her eyes on Yoshimo, under the perfect lighting in the Coronet, she had fallen head over heels in love with the bounty hunter. She had wanted to just wrap her arms around him and hold him tight to her all day long, without being bothered about what she was expected to do as the group leader. But being a sorceress, she didn't have the courage of a fighter to actually proclaim her admiration for him.

Laran was gone, and Yoshimo was with her now. She wondered if there was a Fate Spirit, so she could thank him for letting her be acquainted with one of the most good-looking young men of the present. Why, she could just stare at his sleeping figure the whole night long!

"God" seemed to answer her prayers when one day, out of nowhere, Yoshimo teased her into admitting she was, in fact, awaiting a "visitor", to which he hinted he would come to her the next night. Indeed he did, and the two of them enjoyed an unforgettable night. However, judging by the fact that she did sleep with Laran the Knight, she hadn't expected what was in tow for her that night. Blood stains, pains like being knifed repeatedly, she felt as if it was her first time encountering all this. But hadn't she "done that" with Laran? She hadn't wanted to give herself to Laran at all. She had gotten drunk beyond her own self-control, waking up bare and empty, without a trace of Laran at all. He hadn't told her where he had left, but he had left a letter of apology for robbing her of her purity and innocence. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she forced herself into her robes and left Laran's room feeling worse than a harlot. And Yoshimo didn't seem to mind her at all; whether she was pure and untouched like a lotus, or not.

Elly breathed a sigh of relief when Yoshimo took no serious notice of the stains on the sheets. She wondered if Yoshimo knew where they were from. During her early teens, she had known about what was termed "bed activities". It was a hot topic she often discussed with Imoen, given Imoen naughty "thieving" nature. How she missed Imoen. Imoen had been arrested along with their captor, Jon Irenicus by the Cowled Wizards of Athkatla, government officers placed in charge of unlicensed arcane magic. According to the law, Imoen and their captor had no license to the use of arcane magic (which Elly had now) and this was why they were jailed.

She had met Yoshimo, the thief of her heart, in a dark dungeon which she believed was Jon Irenicus' lair. They left through a hidden portal in the dungeon. Irenicus was an evil Elven mage who probably took joy in seeing people tortured. He had Jaheira's husband Khalid killed and then chopped to pieces, while he pervertedly forced Imoen to watch. He also had Dynaheir killed before Minsc. Minsc was a Rashemen ranger and an old friend of Elly. Dynaheir was a witch in his care, and with his death, Minsc failed his mission to protect her with his life. Minsc was also deeply in love with Dynaheir. He also liked Aerie and was considering having her as his new witch, but sadly, Elly had to let her go to protect Viconia, which was often at odds with formerly, the evil dwarf Korgan, and then, his replacement, paladin Keldorn. Both had joined, one after another, for their respective quests.

Elly cried out again and again in the middle of the night, as Yoshimo didn't seem to be capable of stopping. Gritting her teeth to hold back the tears, she stared blankly at the wall. As she had her back facing Yoshimo, he wouldn't be able to see the tired and painful expression plastered across her face. She had never expected the pain to be so excruciating at first. At first, it had been some mere bloodshed, and it had continued to what felt like being shot by countless arrows. Yoshimo seemed oblivious to her cries and had probably thought them to be passionate cries of pleasure. But she loved him deeply and continued to let him enjoy hurting her. Finally, Yoshimo stopped, conquered by weariness. "Turn off the lights," he said, sinking into a deep sleep.

As if defying his request, or rather, immobile from the pain, Elly stared at the deep-in-slumber Yoshimo. With his sparkling eyes and his seductive lips shut, his body tilted to one side with his arms at his sides, she found him hard to resist. Yoshimo's eyes flew open, giving her a surprise.

"The lights, girl,"he snapped impatiently, "the lights."

Obediently, she reached out, painfully, to douse the lamp. "Yes, I forgot. Please pardon me."

Yoshimo stared at her for a while. Then, as if understanding her pain, he turned her towards the wall and hugged her protectively from behind. "Good night, Miss Leader."

As Yoshimo drifted into slumber she wondered if he had ever treated her as his leader at all, or just some weak female who couldn't wield a blade at all. She kept her jewel embedded dagger in the drawer beside her bed. Mages and sorcerers weren't meant for wielding melee weapons, other than quarterstaffs, slings and daggers.

She envied Jaheira, who was capable of wielding various melee weapons ranging from the sling, light as it was, to the heavy clubs and even the spear. And yet, Jaheira maintained her grace. She couldn't deny Jaheira's beauty, inner and outer, was unsurpassed. She thought about the men who had fallen to Jaheira, in love and in battle. Yet, Jaheira had eyes only for Khalid, despite what he had done to her. First, he had cheated on her, then some enemy had transformed him into an undead monster, and Elly had killed him. However, in order to bring him back to life, Jaheira bartered her life with the spirit who had the essence which could resurrect him and bring him back to normal. In return for the essence, the spirit had her drink poisoned ale. Jaheira fell into a comatose state for a number of hours. Touched by Jaheira's undying courage and sincerity, the spirit agreed to give Jaheira the essence as well as the antidote to the poison.

It was a number of months after their success when Irenicus had taken them hostage. From the description the dryads had given them, the old elven mage was by no doubts an evil pervert, with countless fetishes. The dryads had been his pleasure slaves, and they could only seek freedom with the acorns, which Elly had passed to the Dryad Queen at the Faerie Grove near Garren Windspear's home. Garren Windspear was the true owner of the Windspear Hills, which had been taken over by the red dragon Fikraag in disguise. With the help of Yoshimo's deadly snares, as well as the dwarf Korgan and Minsc in tow, they had subdued the evil red dragon. The sleeping dragon had not expected to run into booby traps in his own lair. While Korgan smacked him with his axe, and Minsc slashed at him with his sentient sword, Elly had broken through his spell protections and magical resistances with her spellcasting. Jaheira and Viconia did the healing while hidden by the bushes. They barely escaped unscathed, but they were rewarded handsomely with the death of the dragon. The dragon's scales had made a wonderful fire resistant armor, and from his possession the group had obtained a magnificient two-handed sword, which Elly later presented to the paladin Keldorn.

Yoshimo had indeed benefited in their adventures, but she wondered about the bounty hunter's previous adventures in Kara-Tur. She had heard tales of the land where everyone seemed to be "of one race". They shared a similar culture, though of slightly different race, they looked the same. Sharp noses, narrow eyes, slender figures, they were. She wondered if she had deviated from having the looks of an actual Kara-Tur descendant. After all, her predecessors had intermarried, hadn't they? Furthermore, she was a Bhaalspawn. Her tainted blood often brought fear to her, fear that she would one day wake up and turn into a monster. She shivered at the thought.

Yoshimo's arms tightened around her, causing her to cease her thinking and submit to the darkness of the night.

Meanwhile, in the room opposite, Jaheira instinctively knew what Elly was going through. She had never trusted Yoshimo, though Minsc seemed to like him very well. Though she didn't trust Yoshimo, she believed that Elly loved him deeply. Elly had been like a younger sister to Jaheira all along. She didn't bother about Elly's tainted blood at all. Bhaalspawn or not; she was still Elly. Jaheira sighed deeply. Despite being an "elder sister" to Elly, she hadn't been entirely honest with Elly.

Her memories returned to flashbacks of the night Laran had supposedly bedded Elly. She had snuck into the room, where both Laran and Elly had been overly drunk, to the extent that they had blurred visions, or rather, hallucinations. Laran reminded her of Khalid. She didn't know why, but the knight's touch had her aroused. Then she heard him say the words "I prefer these long periods of relaxation. Lovely day for it." These words were undoubtedly Khalid's own words. Laran was very like Khalid. He had a kind heart and nervous character; often stuttering while talking to Elly for the first time. Feeling empty and lonely with the absence of Khalid, she herself had taken Laran into her arms and for the first time after Khalid's departure, had succumbed to worldly desires. In fact, she was the one who had "done it" with Laran, not Elly. However she had made it appear that Laran had bedded Elly, by undressing Elly and messing the things in the room. She feared the truth would come to light, and that Elly would blame her for "stealing" Laran. Laran was Elly's first love, after all.

Jaheira had never felt herself so selfish in her life; to be worried about her own benefits, to make Elly feel she was the one cheapening herself instead of Jaheira by having the affair, and to have never spoken a word about the whole affair to Elly. She felt unworthy, as Khalid's wife, and as Elly's friend. But she still hoped she would be leader. Someday.