"Termonious, come on, wake up silly! We were going to play with Mercutio today, so you gotta wake up."
He recognized that voice, he had heard it so many times throughout his life how could he not recognize it. It was her, with her short black hair and her bright green eyes. He had opened his eyes and let out a loud yawn as he sat up and stretched, almost hitting the girl who had been calling his name.
"Hey! Be careful Termonious, you almost hit me in the face with the top of your head." He laughed at that and grinned at her, pushing himself up off of the ground.
"Then maybe you shouldn't hover over me like that, Adonia." She huffed at him in slight annoyance but couldn't help but smile at him before grabbing his hand and pulling him along behind her.
"Well, come on then! Mercutio won't wait for us if we take too long!"
He could feel someone rubbing circles into his chest, the sensation slowly bringing him back from the dream world and from a memory of days gone by. When he finally came to, he opened his eyes and blinked. Once, twice, three times before taking in his surroundings and the elven woman lying next to him, drawing circles on his chest with her finger. Right, Velaren was her name and what a beauty she was too. Her long, black hair was tousled from their activities from the night before and her alluring blue eyes were staring at him with a small smirk forming on her lips.
"Good morning, handsome. Do you want to stay the rest of the night here with me? We could go a few more rounds if you're feeling up for more." She let out a soft but seductive giggle, kissing at his neck a few times before looking back up at him.
He pushed himself back before sitting up in the bed, ignoring her for a moment to look out over the room groggily. Finally turning to look at her, he shook his head no and began to move his body to the opposite side of the bed. She merely shrugged and said that it was his loss before getting out of the bed herself and making her way towards the door. He got out of the bed and stretched his arms behind him then began the task of picking up his clothes from where they lay on the floor.
As he got dressed, he couldn't help but ask himself why he kept coming here after everything that had happened. But he knew why, he was all too aware of his reasons why. He wanted to forget, even if it was only for a while, he wanted to forget the pain in his heart and the guilt that was eating him alive whenever he was alone.
Once he had finished dressing himself, he made his way out the door and towards the entrance of the building. Sparing a passing glance at the proprietess and owner of the high class building before opening the door to the outside and letting it close behind him. It was still dark out but he couldn't see the moon through the tall buildings all around him. He wrapped his cloak tighter around himself to fend off the early morning chill then began making his way back to his home in the rich district of Waterdeep. He knew these streets and this area well, especially with how often he came down this way. He knew to tread lightly and swiftly so as not to get caught at knife point by the local thugs that ran through this city.
He didn't know how long it took him to get to his home, but by the time he arrived the first signs of dawn were coloring the sky. He didn't want to make a big scene of things so he slipped to the side of the mansion and entered through the side door that led into the kitchen. When he walked in he was hit with the different smells of food being cooked and prepared for breakfast, and along with it he could hear the mumbling of the head cook, Marn, as she worked. He tried to shut the door as quietly as he possibly could before attempting to sneak past Marn while she was working. Just as he was about to creep up to the door leading to the dining room, a hand had grabbed him by the hood of his cloak and pulled him backwards.
"Termonious Alexander Maxwell Wilhelm the Fifth, you aren't going anywhere." Came the voice of Marn, motherly anger lacing every syllable. He knew that there was no talking his way out of the lecture he was about to receive from his former nursemaid, so quietly he followed. She had led him to an unopened barrell and told him to sit on top of it, letting go of his hood so that he could do just that. Once he had seated himself on top of the barrell, she moved in close and undid the buttons of his cloak and removed it from his shoulders. She saw the small bruises littering his neck and stepped back with a sigh, then pinned him with a harsh glare.
"How can you keep going back there, after all that has happened? You broke that woman's heart and you still insist on going back to that infernal brothel. Answer me this, young master. What is going through that thick skull of yours?"
He couldn't look her in the eyes and give her a straight answer. If he did, he wouldn't be able to keep himself from breaking down right then and there. He knew that he broke her heart, he knew that what he was and is still doing, is wrong and that he needed to stop. But he couldn't. He just wanted to forget the pain, the stress, everything. He just wanted to forget it all and if it meant going to that brothel will make him forget for even a small fraction of time, then he'd keep going.
"I don't know, Marn, I wish I could give you an answer but I can't." He stared back at her with a somewhat pained and pleading look. "I wish to go to my study so please, let me leave Marn."
She analyzed him for a moment, taking in his hunched shoulders and how he seemed to curl in on himself. He was already paying for what he was doing, that she could tell was certain. With a sigh, she relented and backed away from him with a nod. "Very well then. I shall have the maids bring your food to your study when it is ready."
As he stood up from his spot on the barrell, he smiled wearily at Marn and nodded his thanks to her before making his way to the door leading into the dining room. Once he had exited the kitchen, he made his way through the large and expansive dining room to the foyer of the mansion. Looking up at the grand staircase that led to the upper floors of the house, he began to climb the stairs to the floor that his study was located on.
As he ascended the stairs, he could hear the sounds of several sets of footsteps dragging across the marble floor of the foyer. His servants were up and about and would soon be making their rounds. With this in mind, he quickened his pace and continued up the rug covered steps until he reached the third floor. He made his way down the familiar halls of his second home, eventually reaching the door to his study.
Turning the knob, he pushed the door open as gently as he could without making any noise and crept into his study, closing and locking the door behind him. With a sigh, he made his way towards his desk that sat at the far end of the room, with a 10 foot tall window behind it that had a good view of the rich district. Making his way to the chair that sat behind the desk, he took a seat and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table while interlacing his fingers together and staring at the contents covering the surface of his desk.
Different types of documents sat in neat stacks upon his desk; trade agreements, political negotiations, several finished and unfinished maps of the Underdark, drawings of men and women that were wanted for crimes against a few cities and towns, and much more. But as important as all of those documents were, none of them mattered to him. No, what mattered to him was the singular envelope that sat beside the lamp on his desk. Inside that envelope held the letter and ring that had brought his world crashing down around him.
Reaching forward, he picked up the envelope and held it in front of him. He stared at it for a good few minutes, why he did that he wasn't entirely sure. Perhaps he thought it would change the contents of the letter if he stared at it long enough? Taking in a deep breath, he pulled the letter out and unfolded it, ignoring the feeling of his stomach dropping as he read over the neat cursive.
To My Beloved Termonious,
I know what you've been doing these past few months Termonious. I gave you my heart and have been prepared to give all that I am and you threw it into the gutter. And for what? Elven prostitutes at a high-class brothel in a ten person orgy?
I have loved you for over seventeen years and I thought that you felt the same for me. But it seems that I was mistaken and played for a fool. I know that Mercutio gave you a piece of his mind when he saw you there and for that I'm grateful to him.
I wish to talk this over with you when I've come back from the journey that I'm currently on. Hopefully you won't be so occupied with other women to be able to talk to me.
For the time being, I'm sending you my former engagement ring for safe keeping until I return. We will have much to discuss and my family will have much to say on the matter once they receive my other letter.
You have been warned. You have broken my heart, Termonious, you have cleaved it in two and it hurts to write this letter to you. My eyes hurt from how much I've cried, my stomach has become coiled into knots; my mind is trying to get me to try and rationalize all of this mess.
My heart is throbbing with so much pain, my legs and arms feel like they're being held down by heavy weights. My hands won't stop shaking, the tears haven't stopped pouring out, and I can barely see through them.
Do you have any idea how much you've meant to me all these years? I am in so much pain right now, Termonious, and I can't stand it. It hurts more than any wound that I've ever received in battle because it isn't a physical wound but a wound to my heart. The very heart that you have had all this time.
Your Beloved,
Adonia E. G. Galahad
He could see where the paper had once been wet, the small dried spots evidence of her tears that had fallen as she wrote. It hurt to imagine her writing this letter every time he read it. Her body sitting up straight like a perfect lady as she began her letter, but as she continued to write her body would start to hunch over the desk that she was at. The quill in her hand gripped tight in between her fingers, her knuckles turning white as she ground her teeth together. Her eyes blinking rapidly as she'd try to stop the tears from falling, wanting to be strong. But they fell and he was the cause of her tears and pain.
He laid the letter back down on the desk, leaning back and covering his eyes with his hand as tears rolled down his cheeks. Where did it all go wrong? When did these visits to the brothel even begin? Why did he continue to go back? These were the questions that he asked himself every time he read that letter. After he had first received it and as the pain and guilt began to set in, he had thought of burning the letter to try and rid himself of what he was feeling. But he couldn't bring himself to do it, no matter how many times he held it over the hearth of his study. Wiping the tears from his eyes and cheeks, he stared up at the ceiling and tried to remember how this whole mess started.