Domi: Thanks for the comment! Have no fear; a lot more character background is coming. It may seem backward to have what usually serves as the build-up to a romance happen after they get together, but it's pretty much intentional. From J & A's perspective, they didn't see this coming at all, so they're definitely having to play catch up to figure out what they feel about each other.

Chapter 3

Jaheira awoke late, aching in body and uneasy in mind. Breakfast was difficult for her; despite repeatedly assuring herself that it was impossible, she could not shake the feeling that somehow, everyone must be able to sense what had happened the night before. Anomen's presence at breakfast made matters worse. Although he did nothing overt enough to raise suspicions, he had a way of looking at her that both warmed her and alarmed her at the same time. Ironically, it was Jaheira who came closest to revealing that there was something between them when she caught a smile from Anomen that was obviously meant just for her. It reminded her so vividly of one he had given her the previous night that she started and blushed at the memory.

Anomen seemed to take the situation in stride, chatting animatedly with the others, but Jaheira reacted to her discomfort by being distant and short-tempered. Even Imoen felt the sharp side of her tongue after making an innocent comment about Jaheira arriving late to breakfast. After what seemed to be an interminable time, the others moved to leave the table, and Jaheira was seized with panic at the thought that Anomen might try to speak to her alone. Her feelings about him were far too confused and her thoughts too disturbingly likely to turn to memories of their night together for her to risk seeing him again so soon.

Jaheira engaged Dani in conversation on some pretext to cover her retreat, and at the first opportunity fled back to her room, hoping that solitude would help her calm her disorderly thoughts. Why was this happening? She had gotten what she wanted and had no regrets about her tryst with Anomen—it had been wonderful feeling that way again. She sighed in aggravation. It was supposed to be so simple; she had shared a night of passion with Anomen and her need for a man's company should be satisfied. Jaheira felt that she should be content, but somehow, she was not. Something still seemed…incomplete. Even worse, she found that being near Anomen now was profoundly disturbing to the equilibrium she had regained with such difficulty after the loss of her beloved Khalid.

Unconsciously, her thoughts turned to Anomen. Was he thinking of her, and remembering their time together? Stop. She told herself firmly. There is no point to this. It is done, it is over, and it meant no more to him than to me. It was clear to her that if she wanted to reclaim the sense of balance in her life that she so valued she must have as little contact with Anomen as possible. In time, she told herself, Anomen and their night together would be become a less intrusive and frequent presence in her thoughts.

But that was little comfort now, when the memory of the light in his eyes when she told him she would remember their time together kept appearing, unbidden, in her mind.

Jaheira had disappeared immediately after breakfast, so it took most of the day for Anomen to find an opportunity to speak to her alone. Although if he had been asked it would have been difficult for him to articulate clearly why he needed to speak to her again, but he felt he must. In truth, he feared that if he did not speak, the tenuous connection that he sensed had been established between them the night before might be lost.

Their night together was a revelation. Not just the lovemaking—though Anomen was unable to suppress a grin to himself when he thought of that—but the fact that the time he had spent with her had revealed a side of Jaheira that he had seen only the faintest glimpses of before. Alone with him in the safe confines of her room, she had been warm, relaxed, and surprisingly ready to laugh, and Anomen had enjoyed her company more than he had ever dreamed possible. Although Jaheira had made it clear that she was only interested in him as a lover for just the one night, perhaps their night of passion could open the door to a more lasting friendship.

He found her on a secluded platform in the eastern end of the city, looking pensively out over Suldanesselar. He waited until he had approached her closely to call her name, not wanting to draw unwanted attention.

"Jaheira?"

"Anomen, what are you doing here? What will people think if they see us together?" Jaheira asked sharply.

Surprised by her tone, Anomen forced himself to reply evenly, "I wanted a chance to speak to you in private, if I may. I believe no one else is nearby, but if others did see us together, most likely they would believe we are just two friends conversing." He raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Unless of course, you have something else in mind."

One glance at her face told him that his attempt at humor was not appreciated. "I thought you understood what my wishes were in this matter. Please respect them." She replied, with a steely look in her eyes.

"Jaheira, I was jesting. I know what your wishes are, and have every intention of honoring them. But even if we are no longer lovers, could we at least be friends? I enjoyed your company very much last night, so perhaps…"

Jaheira cut him off with an angry gesture. "No. That will not be possible."

"Not possible? Why not?" Anomen groped for an explanation. "If you are concerned that the others will guess what happened between us if our relationship changes suddenly, we can always proceed more slowly."

"I think I have stated my wishes clearly enough, Anomen. I have no desire to spend time with you, either as a friend or a lover."

Anomen looked at her in surprise and dismay. He could not reconcile the hostile woman standing in front of him with the woman he had held in his arms and laughed with the night before, but it was clear to him that further discussion was pointless.

He felt the familiar rage rising inside him at yet another rejection, another betrayal by someone he had trusted. No, he thought as he suppressed the anger and tried to compose himself. I will not give her the satisfaction of seeing me angry.

"As you wish, Jaheira." He replied, and strode away without a backward glance.

Several days had passed since Jaheira's night with Anomen, and she was feeling pleased with herself. Although at first she had been unsettled about what had occurred, now she felt she had resolved the issue in her mind and could move ahead with her life. There was still a pang of regret whenever she remembered the hurt on Anomen's face when she had rebuffed him the next day, but she was sure that a clean break was what was needed. Someday Anomen would come to realize it also. Certainly they had exchanged nothing but polite monosyllables since then.

Jaheira rounded the corner of the corridor she was using and noticed in passing that one of the benches placed intermittently along its side was occupied. That in itself was not an unusual occurrence, for the corridor was not a heavily traveled one, and the benches were often used by couples looking for a little privacy. This couple caught her eye, however, primarily because the man's size immediately marked him as human—a large human—rather than an elf.

As she passed them, she realized that the man's dark hair and bearded profile were all too familiar. Anomen was deep in conversation with a very pretty elf woman, their heads bent close together, her hand in his. The woman did not seem in the least perturbed by this familiarity, on the contrary, to Jaheira's eyes, she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying Anomen's attention.

She could not suppress a soft cry of surprise. "Anomen?" The last thing she remembered of the scene was his head jerking up, eyes wide in shock and recognition, as she fled back down the corridor the way she had come.