Author's Note: This is actually a re-upload of a story with the basic same characters, although it is now with a different plot. Well…the first copy of the story was super unsuccessful- not a single review. While I don't believe in not updating if I don't get enough reviews, I admit, I did abandon it since there was no review at all. You don't know if anyone read it and it is hard…but somehow after reading quite some stories of Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights I decided to give this story another go. And I like to believe that my writing has improved after about a year and a half now.
This story does not centre on the Bhaalspawn, although he would come out and plays an important enough part. Instead, this story focuses on Valygar and his relationship with Elara, (a NPC that I hope to one day mod), although I'm not sure if that will be possible as I am a computer idiot. Elara is an assassin and depending on the gender of the PC, her story will be different. If the PC is a male then she and him might have a previous relationship, although if that doesn't work out, she will have a relationship with Valygar. On the other hand, if the PC is a female then she and Valygar would already have a relationship. But for this story I decided to do something different, she and Valygar would already have a relationship but the PC is a male. (so the thing that would never happen in the game)
Anyway…please have a read and please leave me a review!!!
Disclaimer: don't own anything, so don't sue me.
The way that people can change so fast in such a short interval is rather amazing, Aran Linvail thought as he turned to look at the sleeping woman right beside him. Eight years ago she was nothing but a frightened child- a little girl who was scared of almost every thing.
He actually still remembered their first meeting rather well. She had been huddling in a corner even as Lehtinan started to whip her. She was clutching onto a dagger, and her hands were covered by blood- like the blade. The corpse of her 'client' was only a few paces away from her, dead due to the numerous wounds made by her blade.
What disgusted him were her clothes. Both her face and the barely feminine body betrayed her as being nothing but a child, yet she was clad in the dress of whores.
It was not as if he was a man of great moral, no, quite the opposite. He was certainly no stranger to brothels, and he still did personal businesses with prostitutes now and then. Yet what happened to these children always sickened him.
But this was the first time he felt touched, somehow that little girl moved him enough to make him help her.
Now she was the complete opposite. She was not a whore, although many accused her of being one, as she probably has slept with half of the guild during the last two years. He couldn't care less about this. She was not his mistress, so her sexual activities were of little importance to him.
Though he did, to an extent, raise her up, she was not his daughter or anything remotely like that at all.
Currently, she was twenty years old, and it was clear to all that she was a woman, a very attractive one too. Many men did desire her and for reasons of her own she did seem to enjoy having a variety of bedroom partners.
It is a pity, he admitted, that he had become the shadowmaster of Athkatla just a few days before their meeting, as things might have been quite different otherwise.
But he was not a man to regret or even mourn about his decisions. He has given up too much to gain this role, including his dearest friend and a part of his own conscious. He could never possess neither of these again so there was no point in trying to.
She stirred slightly, reminding him that he must make his decision soon. Although the choice should be rather easy: she was his numerous subordinates and it was natural to assign the best tools to the most difficult tasks.
Surely he was not concerned for her. Fond of her as he was, his affection would never be deep enough to hinder his judgements. Nor was it the possibility of her leaving forever. If she was gone, he would only miss her in the rare moments when he suddenly thinks of her.
She would perform this task then.
The first thing Elara did upon waking up was to recollect whose bed she was in, and more importantly, which man she spent the night with.
Once the act of bedchambers frightened her so much that it made her kill a man, but she was now indifferent- regardless of the numerous men who were skilled enough in provoking some reaction from her body, or the equally many she was tempted to kill for making her night so miserable. For her, love making became something as common as eating, it was usually pleasant, yet unremarkable.
She has only tasted a feast once, and that was the one and only time she made love to her husband. It was her first time, and she suspect that the same could be said for him, but it was still very pleasurable despite their inexperience and even fear.
"Ah, my pretty Zella is awake." The shadowmaster commented with a slight smile as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him to her. She had quickly learnt that he was fond of combining pleasure into their business.
He still called her by that nickname, and her best guess was that it reminded everyone else that she was his private property.
His pet…his life size doll. That was what she was to him. He trained her and used her, even played with her- he was doing so this very moment. When she was little he used to put her into his lap and pat her, as one would with a dog or cat.
Now he would do this instead, not that she was unwilling anymore…after all, sleeping with him did give her quite some advantages in the guild.
"Yet you still demand a lot of me." She finally said after the long pause that naturally occurred due to his instructions about her latest assignment.
"Why, do you not have the tiniest hint of affection for me anymore?" he teased back.
"You know very well that I will do almost anything that you ask, because you saved me eight years ago." She spelt out slowly. "And you also know that he…that he is the only one that can make me disobey you. But regardless of all this, this is not an easy task."
"Which is why I will use one of my best weapons."
"I think this is more of a test on my temper instead of my skills. You ask me to travel in a group filled with almost all the types of people that I hate. First of all, he is a half-elf who actually wants to be an elf, and according to your reports he will have at least two elves in his group, one being a male!" she sneered out this word, her nails digging into his flesh. "Then there is a snobbish noble who is worse then the usual bunch because of her hypocrisy, a holier-then-thou knight who can only do the world a favour by jumping off the docks in Athkatla…"
"I wouldn't call that a secure way of suicide, Zella, you should know that from personal experience." He interrupted her a bit coldly, reminding her that she was displaying too many emotions. "But you will do this task, and you will only strike when you are meant to."
At his command she sneered while her eyes darkened, he was sure that she was controlling her desire of spitting on his face, and that she would be releasing a series of curses as soon as she exit the room.
"I obey my orders very well, 'master', and you out of all people should know that by now! Is the death of my beloved foster brother not a good enough proof?" She hissed angrily. "As I said, I am loyal to you two because you both saved my life."
"Although you are no longer so grateful at this anymore." He stated calmly.
Author's Note: One of the reasons I enjoy writing about Elara is that she is so different from all the other female characters I usually write. But yes, I think this chapter should show what Elara is like- to an extent. But I just want to mention that she is not a loose women or anything, despite what she seem like now.
I think Aran Linvail is a really fascination character so that is why I am really interested in him. But yet he is very hard to portray and I have learnt this the hard way, having done such things badly before. But I do hope that I have improved.
And you can probably figure out that Elara and Valygar (although he is not named) are actually married. I will explain this and it should actually make sense, and it wouldn't be that out of character. But please…give it a try by reading on!!!
A last bribe (?)- with a few excpetion, I am not sure who else would come out (meaning the NPCs), so all suggestions are highly welcome and I would try and follow them!!!
By the way the story is rated M because I think given Elara's character, it might actually end up as M instead of T. So for now…it will be M.
