m: Special thanks to The Phantom of the Opera. 'All I Ask of You' belongs to Andrew Lloyd Webber. Special thanks to 'What Women Want' as well. And 'Thelma and Louise'

Chapter Three

Nearly four years had passed. Ilivarra sat in a tavern, finishing off her fifth drink. Though she had spent the past few years in the city, this was the first time she had been to this particular tavern. The drow placed several gold on the counter. "Another bloodrazor."

The bartender blinked. "You sure? This'll be your sixth…"

"I'm well aware of my own limits." Ili snapped as she lit a cigarette.

The man frowned and refilled her glass.

Ilivarra took a sip of her ale as she scanned the room. Her gaze fell upon a couple. They were both surfacers—not uncommon in the dark and seedy city—and were dancing together. A memory formed in Ili's mind.

Ili hid a smile as she walked into the room. Corran had his guitar out, and was singing a new song.

No more talk
of darkness,
Forget these
wide-eyed fears.
I'm here,
nothing can harm you -
my words will
warm and calm you.
Let me be
your freedom,
let daylight
dry -your tears.
I'm here,
with you, beside you,
to guard you
and to guide you

Ili arched an eyebrow. "I haven't heard this one."

Corran looked up and grinned at her. "Its new. I wrote it for a story I know."

"Oh? What story?"

"You wish to hear the tale do you? Alright then." The bard cleared his throat. "There once was a man. He was brilliant in every sense of the word, but the world shunned him due to his hideous face. You see, he had been born with a face infection so awful, that his mother fainted at the very sight of him. He had to wear a mask to conceal his ugliness and always dressed all in black. After he escaped from a life of mockery and shame, he came to a Cormyran city that held all the beauty that his features lacked. His brilliance allowed him to build a small world of his own, underneath a musical theater. He often came to the theater to watch the performances in his personal seat. People were unaware of who he was, and thus called him 'The Phantom.' One day, he heard the most beautiful, sorrowful voice he'd ever listened to. It was the voice of a new performer, a young woman by the name of Christine. Her father, a great violinist,had died recently, and she was in the theater in order to make a living for herself.Captivated, he met with her and even became Christine's teacher. She believed him to be the so-called 'Angel of Music' that her father had informed her of years before."

"Let me guess, the phantom feel in love with her."

"He did. Unfortunately for him, Christine's childhood sweetheart, Raoul, had returned and wished to pursue her. She was afraid to let herself love him, fearful of what the phantom would do. Now then, the song I wrote is about Raoul's love for Christine and her fear. Some of the parts are from Raoul's point of view and some are from Christine's point of view." He shook his head. "The song just doesn't sound right."

"Well that's because you're trying to sing something that requires a female voice, stupid." Ilivarra stated, rolling her eyes.

"Are you saying you could do better?"

"I probably could."

Corran grinned. "Great!" He gave her a sheet of paper. "Sing the next verse."

"What?"

"Sing the next verse."

"Are you serious?"

"You said you could do better than me. Prove yourself right."

Ili sighed. "Fine." She cleared her throat and began to sing, sounding beautiful and melodious. It took her a few tries to get the song to sound perfect, but her voice remained beautiful throughout the entire time.

Say you love me
every
waking moment,
turn my head
with talk of summertime . . .
Say you need me
with you,
now and always . . .
promise me that all
you say is true -
that's all I ask
of you . . .

Corran grinned. "That was incredible! Where did you learn to sing like that?"

Ili gave him a wry smile. "It was the only thing that shut up my younger sister when I was her wean-mother. It worked excellently on my younger brother as well."

"Would you like to finish?"

"Sure."

Corran began to sing.

Let me be
your shelter,
let me
be your light.
You're safe:
No-one will find you
your fears are
far behind you . . .

All I want
is freedom,
a world with
no more night . . .
and you
always beside me
to hold me
and to hide me . . .

Then say you'll share with
me one
love, one lifetime . . .
Iet me lead you
from your solitude . . .
Say you need me
with you
here, beside you . . .
anywhere you go,
let me go too -
Christine,
that's all I ask
of you . . .

Say you'll share with
me one
love, one lifetime . . .
say the word
and I will follow you . . .

Share each day with
me, each
night, each morning . . .

Say you love me . . .

You know I do . . .

Love me -
that's all I ask
of you . . .

Corran smiled. "I admit I'm a bit glad you never decided to become a bard. I don't think I could take the competition."

Ilivarra laughed. Her violet eyes locked with Corran's own brown.

Such a warm brown, Ilivarra thought. She continued to look into his eyes, idly wondering if the pretty color ran in family or if he was different, special in the way of color. Her own eyes widened when she realized what she was doing. "I should get the scrolls I came here for." She stood up and walked over to the shelf.

"You find it?" Corran asked, standing up.

"Yeah." Ili turned around just as Corran was jamming his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

Oh dammit, I just looked at his crotch. I hope he didn't notice. He'd never let me live it down, Ilivarra thought.

Corran took that moment to begin rocking back and forth on his heels. "You need some help with something?" He asked innocently.

Shit! I just did it again! "No I'm just...uh...admiring the scenery--of this room! Yes, it's a nice room, don't you think?"

"It's decorated beautifully. Oh! I just remembered, you were about to leave without your book." Corr walked over to the small table by the door, bent over, and picked up the book.

Ili's eyes drifted towards his backside. Realizing what she was doing, shetore her gaze away from him. There is no justice in this world. "Err…I should go." Ili stammered. The drow rapidly grabbed the book out of Corr's hand and quickly left the room, hoping the bard wouldn't see the blush that had formed on her cheeks. She almost never blushed, but something about Corr made her face turn a deep cherry red.

Corran quietly chuckled as she left, knowing very well what had made her blush.

Tanamtor was outside the room, smirking at Ilivarra as she approached.

Ili glared at him. "What are you laughing at?"

"Your brilliant use of subtlety back there."

Ilivarra frowned, even more embarrassed than before. "Do you think he noticed?"

"I think he would have to blind not to notice."

Ili sighed. "There'll be no living with him after this." She glared at her familiar. "And you are positively foul."

XXXXX

Ilivarra paid for her final drink and slipped outside of the bar. As she peered into one of the alleyways near the bar, she could see the human couple that had been dancing earlier. Now that she was closer, she could see that the girl was approximately fifteen years old. The man was at least twenty or thirty years older.

"Come on, kiss me." He urged, pushing her against a wall.

"I-I don't know. I-" she was cut off by his lips forcefully pressing against her mouth. His hands began to slide up her thighs and under her skirt, groping greedily. The girl responded by slapping him across the face. "I said stop it!"

He looked at her with utter shock. This was soon replaced by anger as he struck her across the face. "Don't you dare hit me!" While she was in a daze, the man shoved her against the wall, starting to undo the ties of her skirt. The girl let out a whimper, powerless to stop him.

He immediately froze as the cold iron of a kama was pressed against his throat.

"Get your fucking hands off her, asshole." Ilivarra hissed.

The man let go of the young girl, taking a step backwards with his hands held up to show that he was unarmed. "We were just having some fun."

Ili waited for the girl to move away before she lowered her kama. "A little lesson for you, dip shit. When a woman's crying like that, she's not having any fun. Get out of here before I change my mind about hurting you."

The man sneered at her. "Suck my cock."

Ili smiled. "Say that again."

"Suck my-" He never finished his sentence, for Ili's kama had buried itself it the front of his chest. She dragged the blade down to his navel and then yanked it out, causing stream of blood to spray onto the front of Ili's shirt.

"Lesson number two. Never insult someone who will kill you without a second thought." She spat, glaring at his corpse. The drow used the front of hisshirt to wipe the blood from her kama before turning around. The young girl stared at Ili, her blue eyes wide with amazement.

Ili raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"T-That was incredible. Could you teach me to do that?"

"I'm not much of a teacher-type. Though I will tell you this; Quit fucking around with older men and go home to your mother. Go on! Get!"

The girl scrambled to her feet and ran off. Ilivarra shook her head. Fucking teenagers.

XXXXX

Hours later, Ilivarra was once again searching through her endless piles of scrolls. A smile curled her lips as she looked at another location. I've found you.