Chapter 2: Troubles with the Queen
Disclaimer: I still doesn't own Baldur's gate 2 or its characters. But who can say? perhaps one day...
Jaheira was beginning to worry. The sun was high in the sky already and neither Faeryl nor Imoen had slept in the house the party shared in Suldanesselar. The druid was planning to go looking for her young wards when she heard the front door opening abruptly and the angry voice of Faeryl in the entrance, closely followed by Imoen's hysterical giggling and Dermin's indignant sounding tone.
"I just can't believe that you spoke to the queen Ellesime like that!" Imoen managed to say between two giggles.
"It was her fault! she started it all!" responded the sword dancer rather childishly.
"I think that perhaps you overreacted just a little bit don't you?" sighed Dermin.
"I didn't! all I said was true!"
"You called her a moronic weakling in front of half of her counselors!" exclaimed the priestess of Rillifane.
"And I meant it!"
"I thought that Ehlan was going to have a heart attack!" laughed the young human thief, "the look on his face was priceless!"
"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" chuckled Faeryl.
"This is not funny! people have been banned from the city for less than what you've done! you kicked Ehlan in the groin and threatened to...to feed his manly attributes to the crows!"
"He called me a drowish abomination! He should be grateful I didn't cut off his tongue right there! nindol yeunn sjaad'ur whol biu darthirii!"
"I'm sure I don't want to know what you just said."
"Could you children explain what all this noise is about, please?" intervened an annoyed looking Jaheira when the three women entered the sitting room.
Dermin gave the druid an odd look, clearly displeased to be called a child by a woman at least two hundred years younger than herself.
"Heya, Jaheira" greeted Imoen, "you just missed the most amusing show in Suldanesselar ever!"
"Good morning Jaheira," grinned the drothir, " how are you? had a good night? me too, thank you, it's kind of you to care Jaheira, you're such a sweet and loving friend!"
"Alright, alright, good morning. Now, what were you saying about Ellesime?"
"Well that she's just a kl'eril zhuanth elg'caress not worth talking about, that's all. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to my room. I had a very long night and I'm tired."
"You won't go anywhere before you tell me exactly what happened last night with the queen, child!" retorted the half-elf, glaring at the sword dancer. She was sure that something was wrong, usually, Faeryl reverted to the drow language only when she was loosing her calm.
Faeryl glared back, but Jaheira could make a statue lower it's gaze by the sheer strength of her character and the drothir was really tired.
"Okay" she sighed in defeat,"I'll tell you, but could we sit first, at least?"
"Do as you please" graciously granted the druid.
Behind her, the sword dancer heard Imoen chuckling like a crazed hyena. 'You just wait, dalninil', she thought, letting herself fall on a settee and facing her half-elven friend, while Dermin and Imoen each sat on a chair near the half-drow.
"Well,this is a rather short story in fact," began The young drothir, " I was in the forest with Solaufein and Phaere, when an elf sent by Ellesime came to give me a convocation from the queen. Imoen, who had been spying on us all the night, probably hoping to see if Solaufein would dance naked, suddenly appeared..."
"Hey! I wasn't spying! I just found myself lost in this stupid forest while looking for uh...strawberries! yeah, that's it, strawberries! shame on you for insinuate that I would commit such an evil act as spying!"
"Immy, you were spying."
"Was not"
"Were too."
"Was not!"
"Were too."
"Please, can we come back to your story, Faeryl?" snapped Jaheira.
"Err... yes. Sure. What was I saying? oh, yes I remember. Imoen decided to stop spying and asked me to come with me, so we both went to the castle. There Ellesime began to ramble about some elves who disliked Phaere and Solaufein being in Suldanesselar and then I... well... sort of lost my temper a little..."
"Yeah, sorta!" giggled Imoen.
"At this point everybody began shouting and arguing save for Dermin who was trying to calm everybody and Immy who was laughing so hard that she was rolling on the floor."
"Because you called Ehlan and his wise elves a bunch of old perverted drooling dogs!"
"They kept looking at my cleavage all the time!"
"Well, your dress IS rather revealing lil' sister..." remarked Imoen.
"I hadn't planned to be summoned at the castle, you know? anyway, in the end, Ellesime expelled everybody and we came back here, that's all."
"That's all? THAT'S ALL? Child what passed through your mind? I've seen you act thoughtlessly before, but that!" the druid exclaimed incredulously.
"She wanted to send Phaere away! just because a handful of idiots are afraid of her! Phaere is under my responsibility, she has just begun a new life, I won't let anyone interfere!"
"Did you think that angering the queen of the city against you, would help Phaere in any way?" asked Jaheira.
"I-I don't know Jaheira, I didn't really think about it. I was just so angry that I have to express it someway I think. And beside, I just can't stand, that waela jalil."
"Why is that? she had done nothing to you that I can recall."
"Nothing?"shouted Faeryl.
She let a long series of virulent drowish curses escape from her lips. Jaheira couldn't understand the words, but the venom in her tone was unmistakable. She arched an eyebrow in curiosity: what could the queen have done to deserve such spite?
"Everything was her fault!" Faeryl spat, "she created Irenicus and let him loose in the nature! If she had been less stupid and irresponsible, Imoen and I wouldn't have been tortured, we wouldn't have our soul or spirit ripped of by this monster! Dynaheir and Khalid would be alive! Even this city wouldn't have been near-destroyed if only she had been more than a criminally weak-minded bitch! even when we freed her from her cage, she let us fight the fiend she was responsible for, she was not even willing to assume her mistake, oloth plynn ilta!"
A choked cry from the entrance of the sitting room, startled the four women. There, stood Ellesime, Queen of Suldanesselar, eyes shining with tears, shaking from head to toes.
"What are you doing here? " snarled the drothir, her amber-like eyes flashing in anger.
"I-I'm so sorry..." whispered Ellesime before exploding in tears. Turning round, she ran away from the house as fast as she could.
"Ellesime! wait!" shouted Dermin, before running after her queen.
Imoen and Jaheira turned toward Faeryl, disapprovingly glaring at her.
"Hey! let me be! She wasn't meant to hear that. What was she doing here anyway?"
The thief and the druid didn't answer, simply glaring at the increasingly nervous sword dancer.
"Listen, I didn't mean to hurt her feelings, I didn't even know that she was there! You... you don't expect me going to console her, do you?"
Still no answer.
"Oh, alright, I'll go. However It's only because you two are really making me uncomfortable. Not because of any feeling of guilt or something like that. No ma'am."
Muttering something about creepy harpies, she quickly exited the house, heading toward the castle.
Imoen and Jaheira exchanged a look and the thief burst in laughs while the druid tried unsuccessfully to suppress a smile.
"It works every time!" chuckled the young human.