Jarlaxle looked at the sleeping form of Jori Entreri and sighed. He would soon be married to her. He had to admit that she had already proven to be intelligent, resourceful, and beautiful. The drow could see how she was related to Entreri though, in looks and attitude.

Her hair and eyes definitely came from her father, but the curl must have come from the mother.

"My dear Jori, it is time we awoke and enjoyed a breakfast."

Jori rolled over and looked at him. "Do we have to?"

Jarlaxle grinned and kissed her. "I guess not."

Zavian lightly knocked on the door to Entreri's room. He had been invited to dinner and wished that he could hide his nervousness.

"Come in," came Entreri's, no, Artemis's voice from behind the door. Smiling, Zavian opened the door.

A simple meal had been laid out, and Entreri sat on his bed with a plate on the nightstand.

"I was going to invite Jori as well, but I couldn't contact her," Artemis said, motioning Zavian in; the elf complied and closed the door behind him. He'd heard horror stories about what happened to male assassin lords who left their door unlocked.

"Indeed, but I wanted to be able to spend some time with you alone due to the fact that I don't know how much you have told her."

Entreri nodded to the logic. Then, Zavian slapped his head and went to open the door.

"I can't believe I forgot! There's someone else who wants to see you," he said smiling, then he opened the door.

A huge beast, which looked much like a gaunt panther, walked in. Although she had black fur and cat-like grace, she had six legs and two fanged tentacle-like appendages protruding from her body. There seemed to be three of her, and it was hard to pinpoint where she was.

For a moment Entreri just stared at it as it pounced upon the bed and began licking his face. "Mover?" He said softly. Purring, it rubbed against him.

"I thought you might like to see her again," Zavian said smiling as he sat down.

Artemis smiled sadly and shook his head as Mover jumped off the bed and pulled some food off of the table. Zavian took the moment to move closer. "What is troubling you?"

"It's just…my past is catching up to me so fast. First I encounter Sahide, then my family, then you, and now Mover." The man put his head in his hands. "Why is everything moving so fast?"

"It's just getting done with all of the things it knows has to happen," Zavian said quietly. "I have come to realize that we all have the things in our lives that are planned to happen. We can choose how we react to change them, but some will happen anyway. Maybe this war was caused by how you reacted to something, but your past was bound to one day catch up with you."

Entreri looked at Zavian. "I suppose an elf would know a lot about life."

Zavian grinned, then his face turned to one of sorrow. "I realized this when I left a small boy. It was the first time I had had to leave someone that I can honestly say I felt was my son. Because of me, he had nearly died and I could not face him. I understood how Jarlaxle had felt." Entreri got more interested when Zavian mentioned Jarlaxle, but the elf didn't seem to notice. "When Tarim died I told him that he hadn't really loved him. It was not my place. He didn't cry, and I cried for days." Zavian looked closer at Artemis. "When I left that small boy, when I left you, I realized that if you love someone like that, when you loose someone like that, you go into denial. You refuse to acknowledge their death; you refuse to acknowledge their love."

"Is that really how you felt?" Entreri asked, his voice choked.

"Yes," Zavian said quietly as he wrapped his arms around Artemis and cried.

Elven and human tears blended together. Fire and water were united.

Ali watched the sandstorm through his scrying. It was a beautiful sight, except that Memnon was growing weaker. It bothered the cleric that Memnon, his most prominent ancestor and the source of many of his abilities, was growing weaker.

It was because of Artemis's defiance. Angered at this thought, Ali turned the scrying over to Artemis's room. Artemis Entreri was crying and not only that, he was crying on a far too familiar elf's shoulder.

"Zavian," he said quietly, remembering that moment very clearly. If it weren't for Zavian, Artemis would have died, multiple times. Indeed, the two had developed a truce. Zavian and Ali basically had been ignoring each other under the assumption that they both wanted Artemis's survival, even if they wanted the man to do different things with his life.

As he watched Ali could almost hear Marilak's blood boil with hatred. With a smirk he dismissed the scrying and turned to the drow.

Marilak had always intrigued Ali, even when he had first been introduced to the drow upon becoming of age at sixteen. Indeed, there had always been a dark curiosity to figure out exactly how far was too far, exactly how to control the unpredictable assassin. Out of sudden inspiration the man cast a protection spell and approached Marilak, gently touching the drow on the cheek.

He then whispered in Marilak's sensitive ear, "What is it you most desire from this war?"

Marilak seemed to jump. "What is it I wish to gain?" he said harshly in drow.

Ali grinned. It had been a very long time since he had heard the drow so nervous. While most people threatened others with a harsh tone, he knew that from Marilak it was a sign of fear, almost as if his throat were choking back the air. Indeed the drow took on an almost seductive voice when he was threatening people with torture.

Ali bit the drow's ear. "What do you want more than anything else? What is it that this war can give you? What tells me that you won't betray us?"

Marilak was as stiff as a board, and his breathing became labored. Indeed, what was there to stop him from betraying the Sharites? Then he realized his answer and wisely bit his tongue.

"Should I kill you for possible betrayal?" Ali asked in a slightly amused voice. He could tell that he had put Marilak to the very edge of control, a dangerous and yet beautiful position. Once you caused Marilak to lose control you owned him.

"I want the blood of Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle Baenre on my hands," Marilak said finally.

Ali stepped back and asked, "Baenre?"

"Yes," Marilak said with new determination.

"Why?" Ali asked truly curious.

"Drizzt Do'Urden and his friends deprived me of the chance to wash my hands in the blood of my grandmother, so I will wash my hands in the blood of one of her surviving children. I will wash my hands in the blood of one who has controlled me far too much."

Ali nodded, understanding the warning behind Marilak's words. Besides, he didn't need to ask why the drow wanted Artemis dead.