The Aftermath

By Maeniel Celeres

Hiya, well this is my own ending to Mask of the Betrayer. In this story, the Knight Captain has a sister who travelled with him and Elanee doesn't die.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Neverwinter Nights 2 or Mask of the Betrayer

Guinevere Celeres awoke to the sound of her sons cries from the cot close to her bed. She blinked several times, trying to clear her eyes of sleep. Her son started to cry louder. Sighing, Guinevere rubbed her eyes and got out of her warm bed, moving towards her sons cot. Slowly and carefully, Guinevere reached into the cot picking up her son and holding him close to her.

"Shh it's alright I'm here, shh…" Guinevere whispered to her son. This seemed to stop her son's cries though he still seemed restless. Sighing, Guinevere opened her bedroom door, making her way to the stairs at the bottom of the corridor. Another door opened just as Guinevere passed it. Stopping for a second, Guinevere had a wild hope that it was…

"I thought I heard Tarek's cries." Elanee said quietly looking towards Guinevere. Guinevere felt the tears come to her eyes as a wave of despair rushed through her. She angrily wiped them away with her free hand.

"Guinevere?" Elanee said her face full of concern. She moved towards Guinevere. Guinevere felt the tears coming back to her eyes, but this time she didn't try to stop them from flowing down her face. She began to sob.

"Oh Guinevere…" Elanee said embracing her. This made Guinevere's sobs become wails, and though this started her son's cries again, she didn't care. She just didn't think she could care for anything anymore.

Maeniel…Casavir…why, why did you both have to…She couldn't finish the thoughts, it was too much. Guinevere was dimly aware that Elanee had also begun to sob loudly; the same thoughts that had raced through her mind were probably racing through Elanee's. Both of them stood there in the corridor, crying, crying for the loss of the people they had loved the most. Their chaotic thoughts eventually turned to the day that their loved ones had been taken away from them…

Flashback

"We have to get out of here now!" Maeniel shouted as the walls of the Illefarn Ruins began to collapse. Guinevere was exhausted, physically and emotionally. The enormity of what they had just accomplished running through her mind. The King of Shadows, an ancient Illefarn guardian that had turned against its own people and had threatened the people of Faerun and even the Planes, was finally no more. Gods, She thought I can't believe it…It's finally over…Guinevere stood there, staring at the spot where her brother had landed the final blow against the King of Shadows.

"Guinevere, come on!" Maeniel shouted running towards her, the Silver Sword of Gith in one hand and the Angelus Infernus Great sword granted to him by the Divinity Torm in the other. Quickly sliding the Angelus Infernus back into its Scabbard, Maeniel grabbed Guinevere's hand and pulled her towards the exit where the rest of their companions had just run through. As more rubble collapsed over the doorway they had just run through, Guinevere finally realised that they were not out of danger yet, and letting go of her brother's hand, she began to run quickly to their companions whom were by the next doorway waiting for them.

"Quickly, before this whole building collapses on top of us!" Casavir shouted taking hold of Guinevere's hand. Together, Guinevere and Casavir ran with the rest of the group as the walls in the hall collapsed behind them. Over the noise of the destruction of the ancient ruins, she could hear Khelgar swearing in front of her.

"…damn good for nothing Elves; if they had learned to build their structures properly we wouldn't have the damn walls collapsing on top of us!" Any other time, Guinevere would have laughed at Khelgar's comments. At best she could only register the comments and just continued to run.

"No! Construct!" Grobnar suddenly shouted.

"Grobnar no!" Maeniel shouted. Guinevere spun round watching in horror as Maeniel ran after the little gnome whom was running towards the Blade Golem he had rebuilt, a large piece of the wall slowly toppling towards the Blade Golem whom was stuck in some rubble. Before Maeniel could catch him, Grobnar jumped landing on top of the Blade Golem just as the large piece of wall thudded on top of them.

"NO!" Maeniel shouted stopping by the rubble. Tucking the Sword of Gith into his belt, Maeniel tried to lift the rubble, trying to get at the Gnome who was obviously dead. Guinevere could only watch blankly, even as Casavir tried to pull her away, even as the rest of their surviving companions shouted for Maeniel to leave, even as Elanee ran over to Maeniel and grabbed his hand, firmly pulling him away, all the while Maeniel shouted out the name of the dead Gnome over and over. Grobnar…no…The little Gnome had kept the groups morale up even through their toughest moments, and had been a close friend of both Maeniel's and Guinevere's since they had met him on the way to Old Owl Well. Grief rushed through her as she thought of never seeing the little Gnome ever again. When she finally pulled herself out of her thoughts, she realised that she wasn't running anymore. Casavir had given up trying to pull her away and had instead picked her up and ran after the others. Though she understood the urgency of their situation, she couldn't help but hold onto Casavir tightly, her head against his armoured chest. She was just too weak; Grobnar's death had just drained all of her strength away. Casavir seeming to understand held her tighter against him even as he ran to catch up with the others.

For what seemed like hours but could only have been a couple of minutes, the group ran through the endless, meandering corridors of the Illefarn ruins, dodging the falling rubble of the ancient ruins architecture. Neeshka, the most nimble of the entire group, led them through the ruins, jumping over rubble already on the ground and dodging the pieces of the structure falling overhead. She was in her natural element, and despite the torture she had received from the hands of Black Garius because he had wanted her to betray them, despite the fact that she had been tortured because of them, Neeshka never ran ahead so that she could escape and save her own life, instead shouting warnings back to the others leading them across the easiest routes with the least rubble. Neeshka had turned around to shout another warning about the path ahead when she saw the rock falling…falling towards Maeniel.

"Maeniel look out!" Neeshka screamed even as she ran towards him. Neeshka's scream seemed to pump strength back into Guinevere's body. Jumping out of Casavir's arms, she ran towards Maeniel even as he looked up to see the rock coming towards him. Before Maeniel could react, Elanee shoved him out of the way. The sickening crunch of the rock falling on top of Elanee's body seemed to echo even over the noise of the destruction occurring throughout the ancient ruins.

"Elanee!" Maeniel shouted running towards her fallen body. Before Maeniel could get to Elanee however, three Gargoyles appeared out of nowhere and knocked him to the ground. The largest one grabbed a hold of him before he could get back up and holding him close, the large gargoyle flew after its fellows whom were escaping down the corridor the party had just come through.

"Maeniel!" Both Guinevere and Neeshka screamed. Before either of them could move however, they heard a roar of anger behind them and watched as Khelgar, the Hammer of Ironfist in hand, chased after the Gargoyles. A second later, Ammon Jerro was sprinting after Khelgar, his face grim and set. As she watched them go, Guinevere had to force herself to stay behind. If anyone could save Maeniel, she knew that those two could. Instead she turned her attentions to Elanee. Running over to Elanee's body, she checked for a pulse. It was weak, but it was there, which made Guinevere sigh in relief. Throwing the rock off of Elanee, Guinevere grimaced as she saw the mangled mess of her body. It was obvious that most of Elanee's rib cage was broken, as well as her legs and one of her arms.

"Zhujaeve! Please heal Elanee quickly!" Guinevere shouted turning towards where the Githzerai was standing. Her eyes widened as she realised that Zhujaeve wasn't there. Guinevere looked around frantically looking for her but it was no good, she had disappeared.

"Guys, where's Zhujaeve?!" Guinevere said turning towards her companions. Startled they all looked but couldn't see her among them. No one had even seen what had happened to her. Howling in frustration, Guinevere called for Casavir who came over immediately. Holding his hands over Elanee he muttered his prayers to Tyr. His prayers were granted as his hands began to glow. When he was finished, Casavir stood back to allow Guinevere to take a look at her. He had done a good job, managing to heal all of her injuries except for two of her ribs. Picking Elanee up and holding her close, Guinevere turned around to face the rest of the group. As she did this the noise of destruction seemed to come back in full force. She looked slowly at the group, who were waiting for her command. Casavir, Sand and Neeshka were the only ones left. Taking a deep breath, Guinevere pulled her mind away from her worry for Maeniel, Khelgar and Ammon Jerro, the grief over the death of Grobnar, and the mystery of Zhujaeve's disappearance, instead thinking about what they had to do now to survive.

"Neeshka, we have to get out of here now, please lead the way…" Guinevere said loud enough to be heard over the sound of destruction.

"We can't leave the others; we have to wait here for them!" Neeshka protested.

"We have no choice you idiot girl, in case you haven't noticed, these ruins are collapsing on top of us!" Sand bellowed glaring at her.

"But-" Neeshka began but she was cut off by Casavir.

"Sand is right Neeshka, even though I don't like it, there is nothing we can do for them, it's best to escape while we still can." Casavir said looking at Neeshka. Neeshka hung her head for a moment. When she looked up again, everyone could see the tears flowing down her cheeks. Guinevere was shocked for it was the first time she had ever seen Neeshka cry, not even Black Garius' torture had affected her like this.

Angrily wiping the tears from her eyes, Neeshka turned around and began leading them towards the exit. Pulling themselves from their own thoughts, Sand and Casavir quickly followed. Guinevere made sure that she was holding Elanee securely then sprinted after them. They ran quickly through the meandering halls, hoping to reach the exit before they were trapped within the ancient ruins, all the while Guinevere worried about her brother, memories of their childhood flashing through her mind. The times they would play in the Mere of Deadmen, the times they would enthusiastically talk about their plans to become Heroes of the Sword Coast, just like Raven Cesa, Elgost Tyrefram and Roran Drageras. The way Maeniel's face always shone with pride when he said he would become a Paladin to protect the weak and all the people he cared about. The day he was recruited to join the Paladin order of Torm, and the excitement that was on his face from hearing that he had been accepted. All these and more flowed through her mind as she ran after the others. She was pulled out of her thoughts at Neeshka and Sand's yells of disbelief. She looked ahead, and watched in horror as the door that would lead them to the place they were transported to by the Tome of Iltkazar was slowly closing shut. Neeshka and Sand suddenly put on a burst of speed both managing to get through the door in time, followed closely by Casavir. Her heart pounding, Guinevere desperately tried to run faster, but because she was carrying Elanee she couldn't move fast enough. She watched as the door slowly slid lower and lower. She wasn't going to make it. Then suddenly everything seemed to go into slow motion as she saw Casavir standing in the doorway, holding the sliding door up, stopping its movement. She could immediately see the strain on his face as he struggled to keep the door up. Not wasting any time, Guinevere sprinted as fast as she could through the door. As she passed through the doorway she suddenly heard the snapping of bones and the sound of tearing flesh followed by a hoarse scream and the sound of the door thudding shut behind her. Guinevere, a horrified expression on her face turned to look back at the door and the sight made her stagger back. Lying there in a pool of his own blood was Casavir, half of his body missing. Before she knew what she was doing, she had placed Elanee to the floor and ran over to Casavir. Avoiding looking at his entrails which could be seen where the other half of his body had once been. She gripped his hand tightly as she realized that he was still alive, tears flowing down her face as she looked into dying eyes of the one she loved.

"Gu-Guinevere…" Casavir said the strain of talking obvious in his tone.

"Shh…save your strength, your going to be fine you'll see." Guinevere managed to choke out knowing full well that there was no chance for him.

Casavir managed a sad pain filled chuckle at that and just looked into Guinevere's eyes, the pain in his own suddenly replaced by tenderness. Straining himself, Casavir reached to the holy symbol of Tyr hanging around his neck. With one quick yank that filled him with more pain, Casavir broke the chain holding it around his neck. He then managed to open the hand Guinevere had used to grip his own and slowly and painfully placed the symbol of Tyr in her hand, closing her fingers around it. He then managed to push himself to place his hand on her cheek, rubbing the tears out of her left eye.

"I…Love…you Guinevere…" He managed to push himself to say before the life finally left his eyes and the hand place against Guinevere's cheek began to fall to the ground.

She stopped that hand from falling and held it back to her cheek, wailing over the loss of the one she loved. Sand and Neeshka stood behind her, their heads bowed in sorrow as Guinevere's wails of loss echoed throughout the entire room.

End of Flashback

Guinevere's thoughts turned to what had happened after Casavir's death. She had never felt so much pain before in her entire life. It had felt like something had pierced her heart. That pain only increased a few hours later when Khelgar had smashed through the door with the Hammer of Ironfist, his head bowed in despair and neither Maeniel nor Ammon Jerro anywhere around him. He explained to them how the Gargoyles had fooled him into running in the wrong direction and how he and Ammon had gotten separated. When Elanee had awoken and heard the news, her wails of despair much like Guinevere's could be heard echoing throughout the entire room. After another hour or so of drowning in sorrow for the loss of their companions and leader, the five of them had managed to escape Illefarn structure and had made their way back to Crossroad Keep, reporting to Lord Nasher himself about what had occurred in the structure. Though he had been ecstatic about the death of the King of Shadows, his joy soon turned to despair when he learned that over half the party, including the young Knight Captain had been lost.

After a few moments of regaining her composure and pulling herself away from her painful thoughts, Guinevere took a step back away from Elanee. She wiped the remaining tears from their eyes and watched silently as Elanee did the same. Only then did Guinevere realise that Tarek was crying. Cradling him, Guinevere wordlessly made her way past Elanee and walked down the stairs.

"So this is your home village…I suppose it is passable, nothing like the villages in Rashemann though." Gann said studying the village in front of him, the sound of the villagers going through their daily routines and the children running and playing reaching his ears. When Gann didn't get an answer, he turned his head to gaze at his silent companion. His companion wore the armour of a Paladin of Torm, and though it was evident that the man was not muscular, you could tell he was a seasoned veteran from battle. On the mans back was a scabbard containing a magnificent Great sword, a Great Sword the man had claimed to have been granted to him by his God to fight against the evil that had once plagued Faerun. On the mans belt was another scabbard, however, a piece of cloth covered the weapons entire hilt, hiding it from view. The man's facial features were hidden behind a helmet that was also given to Paladins of Torm. Gann realised that his companion was probably lost in his memories of this village and decided to give the man some time to his own thoughts. Gann's own thoughts thought back to the long journey the two had gone on since leaving Rashemann. After Safiya, Okku and Kaelyn had said their good byes to carry on their lives or life goals, Gann, Raven, Linu and the one standing beside Gann had left Rashemann, catching a boat that took them to Sword coast. They had arrived about a month ago, in the port of Waterdeep, where Raven and Linu had said their goodbyes, stating that they would tell Lord Nasher that their mission had been a success. Those good byes had been hard for his companion, for Raven had once been his teacher who had taught him the ways of the Paladin. Gann and his companion had then left Waterdeep, heading to West Harbour. It had been a tough journey, but now they had finally arrived at their destination. Gann stood silently and waited for his companion to collect his thoughts. He did not have to wait long.

"It has been three years since I was last here, and the last time I saw it, the village was in Ruins. Now look at it, it's like it was before my journey even began." The man sighed, and then stood a little straighter.

"Come on, let's head to where my…Daeghun's home used to be, maybe that has also been rebuilt."

"As you wish" Gann replied following his companion into the village.

After placing Tarek in the cot that was kept in the kitchen, Guinevere leaned against the wall and lost herself in her thoughts. Elanee had gone back into her-no Maeniel's-room after their grief filled session. It had been obvious to Guinevere that Elanee needed some time to herself. Guinevere sighed heavily as she placed her head against the wall. Three years had past since she lost both her brother and her lover in the Illefarn ruins. Though she had accepted it, Khelgar and Neeshka had refused to, stating that Maeniel must still be alive. Since then the two, along with Daeghun had travelled the Sword Coast, searching for Maeniel. Guinevere knew it was useless, but they refused to listen, and in the end Guinevere gave up and just let them have their false hope. She realised then with a start that today was the third remembrance day of the King of Shadows defeat. For everyone else along the Sword coast, the day will forever be remembered as the day that the Knight Captain of Crossroad Keep and his companions had defeated the King of Shadows, the day that they all became Heroes. However, for the survivors of that group, it would forever be a day filled with grief for the loss of their companions. Guinevere clutched the holy symbol of Tyr that Casavir had given her and looked towards her sleeping son, smiling ruefully. If she had not found herself pregnant with Casavir's son, she would not even be alive today. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she heard a knocking sound coming from the front door of her home. Sighing in irritation, Guinevere made her way towards the front door.

"Good morning wha-" she stopped her greeting and frowned as she opened the door and took in the sight of the two strangers. Her eyes immediately took in the sight of the man wearing the armour and helmet of a Paladin of Torm, his features hidden from view. Seeing the Paladin of Torm brought back painful memories of her brother and she abruptly brought her gaze to the other man. The other man had grey skin and dark grey hair, his eyes were a deep onyx colour and he wore animal skin clothing. She wondered what they were here for when suddenly it came to her. She felt anger well up inside of her. Couldn't Lord Nasher just leave her in peace?!

"Look, I have already explained to Lord Nasher that I am not interested in replacing my brother as Knight Captain of Crossroad Keep. I'm sorry that you have wasted your time coming here but-"

"Is this her?" The grey skinned man interrupted, turning his head to look at his companion. The Paladin slowly nodded, seemingly not taking his gaze off of her. The grey skinned one smiled, his gaze turning back to her and roaming up and down her body. Guinevere was just about ready to lose her temper and give them a verbal bashing of a lifetime when the grey skinned one's next words froze her in place.

"I must admit, your sister is quite the beauty. It makes me wonder if she really is your sister." The grey skinned one said slyly not taking his gaze away from Guinevere.

The Paladin snorted, and took his gaze away from Guinevere to stare at his companion.

"Keep your eyes where they belong Gann, my sister hasn't got the best of tempers, and she is a Monk of Lathander." The Paladin replied in an eerily familiar voice. Guinevere's face paled and her eye's widened as she took a step back.

It can't be, it isn't possible…There's no way…Guinevere thought, her thoughts a chaotic whirl.

The Paladin returned his gaze to Guinevere and then slowly lifted his hands to his helmet, slowly beginning to pull it off. Guinevere didn't take her gaze off of him, half hoping and half dreading that the Paladin was who she thought. When the Paladin's helmet was off, Guinevere had to grip the door for support as a face she had not seen in three years looked back at her. The man gave her a wide smile.

"How have you been Gwinny?" Maeniel asked her slyly.

Before Guinevere knew what she was doing, she had rushed forward and thrown her arms around her brother, crying into his armoured chest. Surprised at first, Maeniel soon smiled and dropping his helmet to the floor returning his sisters embrace. Gann smiled warmly as he watched the two half-elf siblings hold each other tightly. After a few moments, Guinevere pulled her head away from her brother's chest to look up at him, tears of joy flowing down her face.

"Y-you're alive, you really are alive…" Guinevere managed to choke out before returning her head to his chest and holding him even tighter. Maeniel's smile was slightly pained as he thought about what his sister must have gone through. It had been three years after all…everyone must have thought he was dead.

Well, maybe not everyone…Maeniel thought ruefully remembering that Raven had explained that his and his wife's mission had been to find him. Evidently, Lord Nasher had somehow found out he was alive and on Rashemann and had sent Raven and Linu, Raven's Moon Elf wife to get him. After a few moments longer of embracing his sister, Maeniel finally stepped back and looked down at her, gripping her shoulders.

"Gwinny, what happened to-" Before he could finish his question, the person he had wanted to ask about had stepped through the door. She stopped abruptly, her face turning pale and her eyes widening as her gaze met Maeniel's. Wordlessly, Maeniel let go of Guinevere and walked towards her, stopping a step away from her. Guinevere and Gann both watched as Elanee hesitantly lifted her hand and pressed it against his cheek. Revelling in her touch, Maeniel lifted his hand and placed it on her cheek. They stood like that for a few moments until finally, moving at a speed that surprised both Gann and Guinevere, they were kissing passionately. Both Maeniel and Elanee had waited for a moment like this again for three years, and it was all being conveyed as they continued to kiss. Gann blinked several times as he realized that this must be the Elanee that Maeniel had talked about.

"Excuse me, Gann wasn't it?" Guinevere suddenly asked, looking at him.

Gann nodded wondering what she wanted to say to him.

"How did Maeniel…" Guinevere didn't finish but Gann knew what she had wanted to ask.

"I am afraid that that will have to be something Maeniel will need to tell you. Thought I will tell you this much. He has been through a lot since the defeat of the King of Shadows." Gann answered turning his gaze back to Maeniel and Elanee. Guinevere nodded in acceptance and smiled, happier than she ever had been in a long time.

Well hope you all enjoyed that little One-shot. Please Review and tell me what you think. Now some of you may have noticed that Guinevere's son name is Tarek, the same name as my OC in "The Wielder and the Container". This was done on purpose as this story has a plot connection with "The Wielder and the Container" that will be explained later on in that story.