Chapter 27: New beginnings



Olen sinun, jos tahdot niin olen sinun/ Kuin sydämesi poukkoileva, raivokas/ Jos tahdot niin olen sinun... I'll be yours, if you want, I'll be yours/ Like your heart, bouncing, raging/ If you want, I'll be yours... A.W. Yrjänä/CMX



Artemis Entreri opened his eyes and saw Shandara. The woman was sitting by the table, writing something. She was wearing a loose red morning gown and she had tied her hair up so that it wouldn't get in the way. Entreri looked at her calm face, the ink stains in her fingers, her shoulder and white skin. He couldn't understand how he could feel the way he did; both more contented and more confused than ever before in his life.



The past week had changed Artemis Entreri's life and he still didn't regret anything. He had slept with Shandara to get over his obsession, and he had been sure that things would be different. Things had become different, but not exactly in the way he had thought. The next morning he had left, spent the day practising and in the evening he had found himself standing behind her door. She had smiled, kissed him and pulled him into the room. That time it had been even better.



Shandara had took him to see the parts of Athkatla he hadn't seen yet. In the Slum District there was a small restaurant that served strange and exotic foods from all around Faerun. A small dwarven bar near the Council District was small, loud and comfortable, and the proprietor treated Shandara like a member of his clan. A theatre in the Bridge District was established in a cellar of a tavern, but the plays were wonderful. It was the first time Entreri had actually been in a theatre and he had enjoyed every moment, although he couldn't tell whether it had been because of the play or because of Shandara.



"I know you're awake, so you might as well make yourself useful," Shandara said, not turning her head. She finished a sentence and then put the quill down and closed the ink bottle. When she turned Entreri couldn't help but grin; she had wiped her forehead at some point and there was a streak of ink going across it.



"Are you laughing at me?" Shandara asked in an amused voice, walking to the mirror and looking at her image. "Very funny," she added dryly.



"I thought so too," Entreri said. Shandara walked to the bed and sat down, leaning close to him. A streak of her brown hair fell down and tickled his face. He pulled her close and kissed her. Shandara pulled away smiling and ran her ink-stained fingers over his forehead.



"Suits you too," she grinned. Entreri snatched hold of her waist and pulled her into the bed, rolling on top of her. "You are going to regret that," he muttered and started to kiss her neck. "Torture?" Shandara asked laughing and when Entreri looked into her eyes and nodded, she smiled sweetly. "Only if I can torture you too. And I won't..."



"Wake up, you're needed!" Mitsus's voice shouted from the corridor. Shandara and Entreri looked at each other. "I know you're there, so just come out!"



"Maybe she'll go away if we don't answer," Shandara said. "Or then she'll pick the lock," she added. Entreri sat up and pulled Shandara into his arms. "We can continue in the evening," he said, kissing her neck.



"What, you think that I don't have any plans for the evening?" Shandara asked in a teasing voice. It was a mistake, she realized it as soon as she said it and saw the look on Entreri's face. The man hated the fact that she was a prostitute and she had been careful not to say anything that might upset him.



"You're right, I can't know that," the assassin said, pushing her away and starting to gather his clothes that were spread all over the floor. Shandara got up and walked to him, forcing him to look at her.



"Don't do this. Please," she said and touched his cheek. "I'm not going to go and sleep with other men. Unless Aran tells me to," she added. "And I'm not going to start arguing you with something ridiculous like this. Right now I'm yours, whether you like it or not. We're coming!" she yelled when Mitsu started to bang on the door. Then she looked at Entreri. "Are we going?"



"Yes," he said after a while, when Mitsu started to bang on the door again. Shandara smiled, and Entreri realized he was happy to see her smile. "We have to talk about this later," she said. "We have to talk about a lot of things," Enteri said, to his own surprise. He felt that he had to tell her, needed to tell her. What he should tell, he wasn't sure of.



"I'm going to get someone to break this door!" Mitsu shouted. Shandara sighed and started to get dressed, and Entreri followed her example, hoping that the halfling wouldn't get the door open before he had found all his clothes.



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"We have to end this," Isaldora said to Jarlaxle, pulling away from his arms. They had been seeing each other less and less during the last week. When Jarlaxle had come to her the previous night, she had decided to give it a last try, but the passion had gone, and now the elf felt that everything else had to go too.



"Are you serious?" the drow asked, although they both knew the answer already. They stared at each other, and then Isalodra smiled, shaking her head. "This is not going to work. Whatever we had is over. And I have to admit that I enjoyed it," she said, kissing his cheek. "Thank you."



"No, thank you," Jarlaxle replied. "You have been the most interesting woman I've ever been with."



"I'm first on the list? I'm flattered," Isaldora laughed. "I hope we can still stay friends," she added in a more serious tone. Jarlaxle nodded, and then started to laugh. "If we're only friends, then I think I should get out of your bed and get dressed."



"That might be a good idea," Isaldora replied, still smiling. Only when Jarlaxle had left, she began to cry. She didn't know why; she was feeling both sad and happy at the same time. She had really loved the drow and she knew that she would never forget him. She also knew that now she could move on and find a new direction for her life. She wondered whether she should speak with Shandara, but realized that she would probably be with Entreri. Her best friend was on her way to fall in love with the deadliest assassin in all the land. Isaldora knew that Shandara didn't even realize it herself, she would only say that she was just having some fun. But Isaldora had learned a thing or two with Jarlaxle, and knew that Shandara couldn't deny the truth for long. Unless she stopped her relationship with Entreri soon, it would go too far to a territory neither of them - in Isaldora's opinion - knew well enough.



And neither of them would listen to any warnings, that Isladora knew for sure. So she simply decided to follow what would happen and be ready to kill Artemis Entreri if he hurt Shandara in any way. After all, that's what friends are for.



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Note: CMX again. Troubles with translating the lyrics again. Voiko se todella olla näin vaikeaa? :-) Very short chapter, but everybody was saying I should continue the story. Maybe I manage to write more in the weekend. I truly hope so, although I'm heading to a book fair and possibly also to an art gallery. Culture! Lots of it! Maybe I'll get an inspiration from modern Irish art or Norwegian writers. Stranger things have happened.