DO NOT OWN ANYTHING – DO NOT COPY WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION

Time passed quickly for Seeli, until the mysterious man she followed seemed to become a distant memory. Her wounds healed, although her memory did not, but she had begun to embrace her new life as Dwahvel's servant. She cared to the needs of her keeper dutifully, and earned some measure of the halfling's trust. Seeli was still not permitted in the tavern below, and much less outside the protective walls of the halfling guild, but she was permitted outside Dwahvel's chambers and given a room of her own. Even now, however, she always felt the eyes of the guards on her, monitoring her every move. If she had thought to consider escape, she would have known it was impossible.

Enteri never came to see her again, and the woman began to think he had forgotten about her, or she had been given to the halfling for good. Either option pleased her, as she felt safe with Dwahvel in a different way than she had with Enteri. She did not think Dwahvel would kill her, but she also was not sure the halfling could protect her in the way that Enteri was able to. Despite this, she felt safe in the guild, and tended to their overabundance of little halfling children, where she practiced her growing grasp on the Common tongue. She laughed with the children as she chased them through the fairly large common hall, with her peasant skirts trailing behind her. It was in these moments she missed the sunshine and the deep forests and open fields, although her memory of these was hidden somewhere in her brain where she could not grasp it. She had stopped trying, knowing it would only break her heart if she tried too hard and failed. Dwahvel asked her questions about her past fairly often, but she was never able to answer, and eventually the halfling stopped asking so frequently. Seeli asked on occasion about Enteri, but the halfling never told her the truth of the assassin. Some part of Dwahvel perhaps enjoyed the sweetness of Seeli's ignorance, although she knew that the girl could never be released from the guild with such innocence, for it would be the death of her on the harsh streets of Calimport. Although ignorant, Seeli was not stupid, and was perhaps even clever, and possessed a loyalty of iron that slightly impressed the halfling. Dwahvel did not allow herself to form too close an attachment to the young human, however, because she knew that at one word from Enteri she would have to kill her.

It was this thought that always plagued her mind when she went to see Enteri each time he visited. He would casually ask about the girl, but he had never asked to see her. She suspected he waited until she knew the language effectively enough to communicate with him, but she hoped in her own small way that it was because he had lost interest. Tonight would be different, though, she knew. She could feel it as she spoke with him that night, until finally he came to the topic.

"What did you name the girl?" He asked, leaning back in his chair with his feet on the table. It was a rare glimpse into Artemis that few saw, him at ease, but she could still feel a dangerous hint in his tone at the mention of the girl that followed him. Or perhaps she imagined it.

The halfling smiled slightly, wondering why he had never asked before, "Seeli Loredes."

"Is she so unfortunate?" He asked with a raised brow.

"To have her life in the hands of an assassin, perhaps," She said with a drink, grinning at her friend.

"And does she know?" He asked, a definite edge to his voice.

"No, but she does ask about you at times." She replied, soberly.

He said nothing for a time, but he leaned back farther in his chair, seeming to enjoy his ability to relax. "And the second part of her name?" He inquired after a time.

The halfling shrugged, "She is pretty, for a human, although it was hard to tell when she first arrived. It was a joke to start with, but she has lived up to her name."

He nodded indifferently, never one to be beguiled by beauty. A beautiful woman was, perhaps, more dangerous than an ugly one, but both died the same way.

"And her speech? I wondered if she were simply dumb," He stretched casually, and again the halfling marveled at her strange friendship.

"Greatly improved. She can carry on a conversation effectively enough. I would wager against dumb. I would rather think she is too intelligent for her own good. But dangerous? I do not suspect she knows anything she shouldn't, or has a devious purpose."

"I will judge that myself, but I warn you if you are wrong or deceiving me" And his boots rolled from the table to strike the stone ground, and at once he was standing. "I think I will pay this unfortunate girl a visit."

Dwahvel felt her heart skip a beat, and realized that perhaps her attempts at keeping distance from the girl had failed. In this same realization, however, she knew that she would do nothing to stop Enteri from killing her.

Seeli slept in her bed peacefully, oblivious to the shadow that loomed over her bed. His halfling friend has been correct in her appraisal of the girl's appearance. Especially in sleep, she appeared as an angel wrapped in a halo of long, clean brown hair. Her pale neck lay perfectly exposed, an easy target, if he chose. One could tell a great deal from the nature of one's rest. She slept with the unguarded nature of the pure, a nature of rest that he had not seen for as long as he could remember. In Calimport, innocence died young.

It was her purity that distracted the assassin, not her beauty. It would not thwart his need for answers for long, however, as he could not leave her without knowing that without a doubt she was not a threat to him. He nearly laughed at the thought of the frail elfin creature that lay before him being a threat. He turned to leave her to her rest, when a slight gasp caused him to turn back to look down at her now wide, open amber eyes. His hand was out and covering her lips before she had even the chance to think of screaming her fright.

"Do not scream, or I will silence you myself," He threatened icily, although his voice did not have the effect he expected. Her eyes seemed to calm when she realized who he was, when normally his presence would have caused his victim to become even more frantic. He slowly moved his hands from her mouth, and she shyly smiled up at him blindly.

"I thought you gone," She said, her Common sufficient, but marked with an accent he had never heard before.

"Disappointed?" He asked indifferently, his face shrouded in the darkness of her windowless room, although his eyes glowed a slight red from his night vision. Night vision she did not have, however, so his form was only a slight outline to her.

She seemed to consider her words carefully, and said with an honesty he could not overlook, "I haven't decided yet."

He simply nodded, although he knew she would not see the gesture, and took a seat at the foot of her bed, unclasping his hood and setting it on the bed beside him, and then making a move to adjust his boots. At the gesture, she sat up immediately, clutching the blanket to her bare chest with a slight rosy flush on her cheeks. She looked so different than the dirty, bloody creature he had rescued from the giant in the tavern by the docks. And she was calmer, as well, despite her barely covered nudity and his close proximity. He could faintly hear her heart beat, though, but he was unsure as to the cause of her anxiety. He waited for what seemed an eternity, simply watching her face in the darkness, as her eyes stared forward blindly.

"Your silence unnerves me, Artemis." She finally whispered, the truth of her words apparent in the slight shaking of her hand. It was not her shaking that struck him, but rather the sound of his name on her lips. It was rare his name was not spoken in disdain, or terror, or pleading. But she spoke it in such a curious mixture of sadness and hope.

"Why do you shake if you are innocent, girl?" He growled, his tone dangerous, not letting himself be fooled by her. "Do you know why I am here?"

Her eyes looked elsewhere, and for a moment he was sure of her guilt, and his hand moved to his dagger. Her voice came to him as barely a whisper, "I am not so young as to be ignorant as to why a man such as you might come to my chambers in the cover of night."

Her response surprised him, although he did not let it show, even if she could not see his response in the dark, as it were. It did not take much imagination to comprehend what her fears of him were. "And have many men, such as I, came to your room?" He replied in his typical tone, although a touch of fury had come to him at the thought of men touching her pale flesh and looking into the eyes he had perceived as pure. If there was one type of woman he hated more than any other, it was a whore.

"No, Artemis," She whispered, although a distant memory seemed to come to her that she could not fully place, "That is why I shake, because I have never known a man. And even as you saved me from that giant, I would ask of you…" Her voice trailed off, although her eyes remained glued anywhere but at his outline.

He felt his calm return, and some part of him knew she was not lying to him. He knew a lie when he heard it, and it was her sincerity that calmed him, although he could not identify as to why. He could almost laugh at the thought process her mind was taking, but he allowed her to continue, curious to see what she would offer him in return for his "rescue," knowing it would echo of her character.

"Yes?" He prodded, seeming half bored.

Her skin blushed deeper, and he saw it trail down her neck and under the sheets. "I would ask that you do not make me pay my debt in…that way. I would give you anything else"

He moved quickly to place himself beside her, with his hand possessively holding her jaw roughly, just inches from his face. He knew she could see him then, if her eyes were open. Instead they were tightly shut, just as her arm still held her blanket to her chest tightly, and she shook despite her will, but she did not struggle to get away from him.

His voice was low and deadly when he spoke, "Do I disgust you, little one? Does the idea of my hands on you make you shake in terror?" Her eyes opened then, and she seemed to look at him for the first time. He was handsome, but he terrified her in the same way he made her feel safe. She could tell from the strength in his hands that he could snap her neck, and likely had to many others before her. But he did not disgust her, which was perhaps why she trembled at the thought. His face was hard and angry, an emotion he permitted to display on his face, whether he meant it or not.

Behind his mask, he was able to look at her beautiful face, twisted in fear and confusion, and something else he could not place. She had an ethereal quality to her, he allowed himself to admit, but should she answer him incorrectly even once, it would not save her, as it might from lesser men.

"No," She spoke in barely a whisper to his masked surprise, once more her honesty winning over her terror, "but you frighten me, and I would be nothing more than a passing distraction."

He laughed at her, despite what else he might think, a soft, mocking, horrible sound, which caused her eyes to widen and despair to flood the amber orbs. Her body was limp, and when he released her from his grasp, she fell back into her pillow, her hands still concealing her body under her blanket. One of his hands traced her neck in a gentleness she would not have expected, and her eyes tightly shut as if in an attempt to deny the pleasantness of his touch. "You are a lovely creature, Tristen," He said her name purposely to remind her that he knew of her identity, "But you are foolish to think you would ever be anything more to any man than a passing distraction. You amuse me, for now. Anything you have, I could take, with or without your permission. Do not forget that you belong to me, little one, and no one else, not even Dwahvel. No matter how much affection she has for you, she will kill you at my command. If you serve me faithfully, I will let you keep your maidenhood, but if not, I will take more from you than that." At that, he stood, and he left her. He could hear her gentle sobs as he left, and a part of him felt almost dirty for what he had done to the girl. He knew he had stricken fear of him into her, however, and that was his aim. The relief that had appeared in her eyes when he had first appeared before her haunted him, and he shook his head to erase the image. Enteri learned a great deal about his stalker that night, and every bit of it he would use to his advantage.