Xeron's eyes opened. It was like any other morning, at first. He remembered nothing of the night before, and likely wouldn't have for several hours, had he been alone.

However, he wasn't alone, as he quickly discovered. Stepping out of bed, he narrowly missed stepping on the elf resting on the floor near his bed. The memories all flooded back at once. His entire existence was in question once again. It certainly wasn't the way he wanted to start the morning.

He glanced about the room, seeing his sword. Just to toy with the idea, he picked it up, holding it to her throat once more. He saw her recoil slightly, her expression showing slight fear. It was as if she sensed the possible danger, even in her sleep. Xeron frowned at this. He tossed the sword aside once more. If he couldn't take her life before, how was he supposed to do it now? She looked so innocent, resting there, so beautiful

Why exactly couldn't he kill her? Necromancers were supposed to be heartless and cruel. They were supposed to hate innocence. They were supposed to destroy beauty. They were supposed to be evil. Xeron was evil, wasn't he? This didn't make any sense. He had killed many in the past. What had made this one different?

An even better question: Why was she still here? Any sane elf would have killed him and left, or at least just left. Yet she had spent the night in this castle. Xeron found himself taking a bit of pity on her. It must have been hard for a wood elf, sleeping in a stone tower. It was so high, so far from the Earth.

Xeron knew all this from information he'd discovered about Wood Elves. But why did he care? What did it matter whether she was uncomfortable or not?

Xeron didn't know the answers to any of these questions. It had been so long since he'd had any of these feelings that he had almost forgotten them. Frustrated, he got back into his bed, hoping sleep would take him again. Perhaps, he thought, if he just curled up and went back to sleep, it would all turn out to be one big nightmare.

The next thing he remembered, however, was exactly the opposite of this wish. His eyes opened, finding two little green ones staring back at him, only a foot or two away. The sorceress had awoken, and was sitting next to him, hovering over him. She had been waiting like that, who knew how long, for him to awaken.

Xeron drew away quickly. The elf seemed to be suppressing a giggle.

"What is wrong with you?" asked Xeron with alarm.

"I'm sorry," replied the elf. "I guess we got a bad start."

"A 'bad start'? Tell me, how many 'good starts' do you have with necromancers? Is this a regular thing for you?"

The elf shook her head. "Look . . . this is as strange for me as it is for you. I normally just go and kill evil. But I saw something else in you. I just want to help you."

"I don't want your help, okay? I don't know what's going on, but I'm pretty sure it'll just go away if you do the same. So please do . . . just leave so things can go back to the way they were."

"I'm sorry . . . I can't do that. There's something about you, and I'm not going to leave until I figure out exactly what it is. The only way to prove me wrong is to kill me, and I think you would have done that a long time ago, if you were going to. So are you going to listen to me or just sit there and be all stubborn?"

Xeron sighed deeply, turning away from her. "Stick around all you want, then."

He heard the elf sigh with frustration. After a long silence, she spoke again.

"I'm sorry. Like I said . . . I didn't make the best first impression. The reasons are obvious. But I'd like to change that. Start over, if I could. I feel like there are two different people here. There's the Xeron I came here to kill, and the Xeron I found here. One is heartless; the other seems to have a heart. The first one doesn't really exist, but I thought he did, which is why I came in as I did. Now, I just want to start over. I want to start over, the way I would have if I'd known the second one existed. Please . . . just give me a chance? It will make it a lot easier on both of us." She smiled a little, adding, "And you're not getting rid of me until you do."

Xeron paused. Finally, slowly he turned around.

"Fine," he said. "Fine. You don't leave me with much of a choice."

The elf smiled a little. She seemed proud of her stubborn persistence.

"Well, if we're starting over, I guess a proper introduction is in order. I'm Linalia."

Xeron muttered a bit. What had he gotten himself into?