Chapter 2: Fire

At the very beginning, I would like to thank you for all the kind words and reviews I have received from you.

You encourage me to continue.

Finally, another short story from Sword Coast this time showing my point of view on the developing feeling between the kensai warrior Esme and Anomen. Writing took a lot longer than I thought (much much longer), but I will try to add parts every now and then, not necessarily in the chronological order of the game.

Enjoy.

Warning: some graphic violence, strong language and blood.

At first glance, when the bandits attacked, the matter did not seem too serious. The hot Amnian sun was terribly warm, and the entire team was sweaty, tired, and very hot as they were ambushed. They were still halfway up to Trademeet in the terrible heat and dust constantly picked up by the passing carts, and Esme was more irritated than worried when a band of thugs came to meet them.

"This is the only thing we lacked for happiness" she thought then, wiping the sweat from the back of her neck to which her leather armor stubbornly stuck. Young and crazy bandits, apparently inexperienced in combat, were not supposed to cause much trouble and their only advantage was their larger numbers. The mage, who was most likely their leader, even had a decent cloak and traveling robes, but the rest had badly put together armor, and only two of the bandits had quite good swords. Two thugs had short bows of very poor quality and the rest had wooden clubs. Everything would go smoothly and the bandits would be defeated quickly and efficiently, yet in the meantime Esme was hiding behind the big boulder, avoiding the acid arrows of one of the archers and the spells cast by the mage. The goddamn trickster was the most troublesome and needed to get rid of him as quickly as possible, but it wasn't that easy to get close to and take the final blow. Esme looked around for the rest of the teammates to see how they were doing. Jaheira stubbornly repelled attacks on the left, Yoshimo slashed his katana next to the druid, and Minsc with his huge sword protected Edwin who cast spells and who, judging by the sour face and movement of his lips, cursed at all the bandits present, their families and all future generations.

"My lady, are you okay?"

Esme turned right after hearing Anomen's voice, who had just hid from another magic bullet behind the same stone right next to her. The warrior was glad to see him and smiled broadly. With the priest's support beside her, she felt more confident. Esme was extremely grateful for their recent encounter at the Copper Coronet. Anomen's combat abilities were invaluable in their adventures and although at the beginning of their acquaintance, his explosive temper was causing them to clash between them, the fighter now could not imagine her team without him. Less than three weeks ago, Anomen finally passed his Test, before which stress and fear haunted him, and Esme had the impression that when this burden finally fell from his shoulders, the newly-made knight had become a different man. He was much happier, he joked more often and laughed much more, and Esme found more than once that she liked the sound of his laughter very much and more and more often followed the cleric with her eyes or hoped that there would be an opportunity for them to talk. The girl had the impression that Anomen himself looked at her differently than before, but she told herself that it was definitely only because of the time spent together during the journey and joint fights. After all, they survived a lot, even for a short time, so it definitely brought everyone on the team closer together. On The one hand, Esme wanted it different and a tiny part of her hoped to experience something new that she had only read about in books until now. The glances in her direction or the sudden flashes of heat that accompanied her at the sight of Anomen were not a figment of her imagination and somewhere inside she felt something completely unknown. Unfortunately, the other part of her psyche, the much quieter and hidden in the darkness, often whispered that she should not waste time on an ordinary worthless mortal and her personal whims did not matter here. Esme knew this was not the time and place for any feelings or relationships. She was the daughter of Bhaal himself, Lord of Murder, and her number one priority right now was finding Imoen and getting Irenicus. Until now, only death and misfortune for those close to her had followed her, and it was better to put her personal feelings aside and suppress them so that they would not get in the way, affect her judgment and distract her thoughts. It was better and safer for everyone that way.

Another arrow flew past Esme and Anomen's hideout.

"I'm fine" Esme replied. "Though the situation is starting to get on my nerves. Let's raise the number of our allies a little while you can safely cast spells here.

"-Time for a little diversion."

"That's what I meant too, my lady," replied Anomen with a smile, and began to recite the words of the spell at once. For a brief moment, Esme focused on the rhythmically moving lips of her companion.

"This is not the time for such things!" She chided mentally and turned her attention in the direction from which she heard another spell flowing from Jaheira's mouth. A few seconds later, the forest nymph and three skeletons appeared on the battlefield and immediately moved towards the enemy mage and other opponents.

"All right," Esme turned to Anomen. "Let's clean up these bastards."

Helm's cleric nodded and both, taking advantage of the fact that the nymph and the skeletons had attracted the attention of their opponents, went into battle. The kensai wanted to get rid of the magician who was casting spells and prolonging the fight unnecessarily. Were it not for him, they would have dealt with the rest of the bandits much faster without having to hide like rats. She efficiently shortened the head with one of her long swords to the bandit who swung at her from the right side. With the second sword she parried the blow coming from the left, with a solid kick in the chest she knocked the opponent to the ground, she finished off with a quick thrust of the blade and continue without slowing down. The mage was getting closer, his protective spells were buying him some time, but they weren't meant to last forever. Panic began to form on his face as the companion standing next to him fell from the blows of the axes belonging to the skeletons. The mage watched in horror as his allies fell one by one, and he realized that this time their attack would end much worse than he had planned. Tears of rage and fear that were flowing into his eyes, he wiped the sleeve of his robe and turned his gaze on Esme, who was almost there with him, and shouted:

"-Damn it! I won't let you kill me that easily, You bitch! Let the Nine Hells devour You!"

The skeletons kept pressing, trying to break through his protection and the man, knowing that his time was running out, began to recite a spell.

"Holy shit" Esme said through her teeth. She stood still and turned around, shouting at her companion from Kara Tur, who had just nimbly killed one of the opponents with his katana.

"-Yoshimo!" Esme shouted. "Disspeling Arrow! "

The thief looked to where his name had fallen from and nodded his head to signal that he knew what was going on. Yoshimo quickly drew his bow and arrow with a gold quiver-tipped head and took aim. Esme no longer had time to travel the distance between her and the mage who was just finishing a spell, and she threw one of her swords right at him. The magic arrow fired by Yoshimo dispersed the defensive spells and stabbed the mage's arm, and in the next second Esme's sword stabbed his chest. The bandit leader choked on his own blood and fell, but before Yoshimo's arrow reached him, he was able to complete the firebomb spell he was reciting, and a huge flaming ball was now flying towards Esme. It was too far to a safe hiding place behind the nearest boulder, and it was much too late to drink a potion of protection against fire.

"It will sting a lot before they heal me," she thought, feeling the heat rising. Unexpectedly strong arms gripped her tightly and pulled her. Anomen shielded her with his body from the flames, pressing her tightly against him, and Esme was sure it was not the flames raging around them that made her so suddenly hot. The roar of a fiery explosion as if it did not exist. On the battlefield, Esme was sure, nothing else could be heard except her heartbeat pounding in her chest like crazy. The girl had the impression that everyone would look in her direction in a moment to see where all this noise was coming from. Anomen's face, despite the helmet he wore, was closer to her than ever and his whole body pressed tightly against hers, and despite his full plate armor, it made her barely breathe.

"-My lady, are you hurt?" – Anomen asked when he released her from his embrace, looking worriedly as the flames finally died out. "-If it hadn't been for my protection against fire, it would have been bad for sure."

Esme tried to look as indifferent as possible and straightened up. Her throat went dry unexpectedly, so she cleared it slightly before she could speak. This sudden closeness had thrown her off balance, and she felt like her whole face was on fire.

"-I'm allright. Thank you for the rescue, Anomen." – she said finally, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible –" Admirable reflexes, indeed."

"-Are you sure the fire didn't burn you, my lady? " Knight asked again still with worry in his voice.

"-No, thank you again, Anomen"- Esme replied and smiled at him, and Anomen beamed all over. Esme wasn't sure if the joy on the cleric's face was due to her gratitude or rather to pride in her courageous deed, but she had no chance to think about it any longer, Jaheira's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"You should be more careful," the druid said with a sharp note in her voice.

Esme sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. She was too tired and dirty to listen to this. The girl sighed heavily, pushed the unruly strands of hair from her forehead with the back of her hand, and turned towards the elven companion.

"I know Jay, I know," she said calmly. "Everything was supposed to be completely different, just take my word for it. I recalculated it all in my head, but well, it looks like I'm poor at math."

The joke Esme was about to lighten the atmosphere didn't seem to make Jaheira laugh. Only somewhere on the right side she could hear Yoshimo's snort, which the thief quickly turned into a cough, not wanting to direct the druid's anger at himself. Jaheira's expression grew even more serious.

"-You know very well it's not funny, child." Jaheira took a few steps towards her and Esme quickly raised both hands up to stop her.

"-Yes, I know Jaheira," she said in a calm voice. For a second she felt like one of the trainers she had seen on the Promenade speaking to an enraged wild beast.

"-Let's make a deal that you will give me a lecture during the stop. We are all tired and irritable. We'll set up camp earlier, I'll get your reprimand from you, then we'll have dinner and leave at dawn tomorrow. And now we're going to search the bodies of these idiots and collect everything that can be sold, just to cheer ourselves up a bit. Deal?"Esme smiled as wide and pretty as she could. Jaheira rolled her eyes and nodded.

"-All right," she replied shortly, and turned to search the nearby bodies of the bandits. Esme held up her hands in triumph. Anomen shook his head slightly, smiled at her and whispered.

"-I am afraid, my lady that your joy is unfortunately short-lived."

Esme raised a finger to her lips.

"-Shhh, a few more precious minutes of peace is definitely a thing worth celebrating," she replied so softly that only he could hear her and, happy at the postponement of her punishment, she moved to the nearest body.

After a few minutes, Esme's purse was heavier by a few coins and gems, and in her hands she was holding a robe of a dead mage, for which she could also get a reasonable sum of money from the merchant. Each item sold increased her team's budget and brought her closer to raising the amount needed to save Imoen. Esme was still searching the pockets of one of the bandits when she heard Yoshimo's long whistle. Companion from Kara Tur held the unrolled scroll in front of him and looked at it pleased, and under his arm Esme noticed a few more. Magic scrolls or those with spells were always in price, and the delighted girl ran to Yoshimo.

"-What spells do we have?" She asked cheerfully, looking over the thief's shoulder, but the smile immediately faded from her face as she looked at the contents of the parchment Yoshimo admired.

"T… this .. These are not spells," she said in surprise.

Yoshimo looked at her smiling:

"-This, my dear friend, is also worth a nice sum. Although, frankly speaking, it would be a pity to get rid of it."

Esme raised her eyebrows and pointed at the scroll with her finger.

"-THIS is worth some money ?!"

Edwin, interested in the commotion, stepped closer and immediately picked up the scrolls and looked entranced at them.

"-Yes, yes … these are sketches by an artist named Pubert Hard Hammer (Yes, definitely some collector could pay a nice sum for it)"– He whispered rubbing his chin – "(It is strange that this monkey recognized something like that)."

Esme snatched one of the scrolls from Edwin, when wizard began to examine the originality of the caption under the drawing and, unable to decide what to think about it, she looked at the paper with mixed feelings. The sketches were beautiful and all the details were carefully and remarkably accurate. Unfortunately, the subject of the sketch was something Esme had never seen before and she felt intimidated.

"-It's a bit of a different kind of magic"- Yoshimo laughed and nudged her with his elbow. – " I dont remember the last time I saw something like that."

Esme tilted her head slightly as she continued to starecuriously at the drawing.

"-But … People are really doing something like this? I mean, I know what it's all about, but something like that? Is it normal? It's hard for me to believe that this woman is comfortable in this position…"

The girl tilted her head to the other side as Yoshimo whispered in her ear:

"-You are holding it upside down."

Esme blushed even more and immediately pushed the scroll into the hands of her companion, who was cackling now at the best, and quickly walked away. Sex and its mechanics were familiar to her in theory, but such vulgar drawings were too much and she didn't feel comfortable watching them, especially in company. All the sketches were promiscuous and the couple she watched were in an exceptionally difficult acrobatically and exceptionally exposed position. When Esme heard Anomen's and Jaheira's angry voices behind her, kensai began to seriously consider whether resurrecting the mage so that he could burn her to death was such a bad idea.

The whole team breathed a sigh of relief when they finally set up camp. It was only 6 pm, but the sun was still warm and no one wanted to continue walking. Everyone gladly shed their armor and dirty coats, staying only in light clothes. Esme and Jaheira were setting up their tent when Anomen and Yoshimo had just returned from the forest, carrying wood for the fire, which Edwin had lit up with magic. Esme looked up from the strap with which she was supposed to attach one of the corners of the tent, to look at Anomen who just passed her by. Full armor, which he usually wore, covered his muscular figure and the girl looked at the well-defined broad back of the cleric as she looked lower and lower towards another equally shapely part of the body.

"- At least close your mouth, child. One more moment and you'll start drooling" Jaheira's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and Esme discovered in horror that druid was now right Next to her.

"- I'm just tying the knot Jay. The most tied knot you've ever seen in your life haha" Esme choked out quickly, cursing in her mind. Jaheira opened her mouth to speak when Minsc returned to the camp at the same moment, carrying three large wild ducks.

"Thank you gods for this distraction !" Esme shouted in her mind.

"Minsc and Boo were very lucky," giant said, smilingbroadly and showing his prey.

"-Great job, Minsc!" kensai answered him.

"I caught them by the lake, over there," Minsc replied, showing the direction from which he returned.

"-Lake !? " Esme beamed even more and she looked at Jaheira. – "We can take a bath!"

Jaheira nodded approvingly.

"-That's indeed a very good idea. Mother Nature is especially kind to us today" said the druid, and walked briskly to Minsc. She then took the prey from him and handed it to Yoshimo.

"-Me and Esme will go first, and you can start preparing dinner," she said sharply.

"-Why me? It's not mine but Anomen's turn today "

Yoshimo objected. Hearing his name, the cleric looked up from his backpack and opened his mouth when the druid interrupted him with a wave of her hand.

"-You know very well why" Jaheira replied, and turned to get her bath stuff. Esme covered her mouth with the back of her hand trying to hide her laugh seeing Yoshimo's face expression, and she even saw a soft smug smile on Jaheira's face.

"-When we get back, you guys go take a bath and we'll finish dinner preparation," Esme said and slung her bag over her shoulder. Jaheira took her things as well, and they both happily headed towards the lake Minsc had pointed out.

The place turned out to be calm and quiet and the shores of the lake were covered with dense reeds, which gave a sense of privacy. Birds chirped cheerfuly somewhere above in the trees and the clear water was at the perfect temperature, and both Esme and Jaheira breathed out loud with satisfaction as they sank into it enjoying their bath. Even close to the shore, the lake turned out to be quite deep and the water reached both their necks and gave them a pleasant relief on such an exceptionally hot day.

"-How wonderful," Esme whispered, wiping her wet hair when she and Jaheira finally came ashore, "-I could sit here until the very evening, if I hadn't been so hungry."

Receiving no answer, however, she turned her head and looked at Jaheira beside her. The druid was standing near her things, frowning slightly and seemed to be thinking about something intensely.

"-Jay?" Esme asked. "Are you okay?"

Jaheira sucked in a breath and looked at her seriously.

"-I think we need to talk," she said.

Esme gritted her teeth and cursed silently. The time has come for the sermon she had requested to postpone. There was no other option but to finally get it over with.

"- It's okay, Jay. You're right, sorry for today" – said Esme waiting for the crowd of words from the elf's mouth, which, however, surprisingly still did not come. Instead Jaheira rummaged in her bag and pulled out a small package and handed it to Esme.

"-It's for you"

Girl was very surprised, she picked up an unexpected gift, not knowing how to react. She looked once more at the brown paper tied with string, and again at Jaheira.

"-I was expecting a punishment, not a gift," Esme said and started opening the small package with more and more curiosity.

"-I have already told you what I had to tell you before" Jaheira replied, looking very gently to Esme's surprise."-In a fight I can't teach you anything anymore. You don't need my advice and teachings on this matter, but you are already an adult and I only realized it today, even though I see you every day."

Esme did not know how to respond to such an unexpected confession from her friend. She smiled slightly and peered inside the small package, which she finally managed to untie. She pushed the paper closer to her face and sniffed.

"-Herbs? " – She asked a bit disappointed.

With the content. Not wanting to cause unnecessary pain, she wanted to thank as much as she could "– Er … thank you, Jay. I really don't know what to say."

Jaheira shook her head.

"-It is understandable that you do not know what to say, since you do not know what this is for "said the elf-" These are herbs that may be useful to you in the near future, when you decide to have… hmmm… a little more serious relationship with a man. You drink this to prevent pregnancy. We women must take care of each other and I am angry with myself for noticing just today how much you may need me and my advice outside the battlefield."

Esme tried to wake up from the shock she had just received from her friend's statements about pregnancy prevention. She didn't think she would live to see Jaheira talk to her about such topics. In her head, her scream rang urging her to flee. "Instant retreat!" Her inner voice shouted.

"-Forgive me, but I don't think I understand Jay. After all, I don't need anything like that. My current task is to save Imoen. My life is a constant struggle lately and this is what I focus on. I just want to survive until the next day. This is what Gorion taught me"

"- You are good in battle, even very much. " – replied the druid- "It is true that Gorion made sure that you could defend yourself, but he did not take care of everything. Candlekeep was a great library and you, being there, were cut off from the world to protect you. But training in combat is not enough to cope with adult life. You didn't have a mother who could explain… some things to you. I doubt that Gorion would ever bring up "this" topic with you, and today's situation with the drawings Yoshimo found, woke me up a bit."

Jaheira was staring intently at Esme, who was still sitting dumbfounded and increasingly embarrassed.

"-Wait a minute okay, just wait a minute Jay," kensai said quickly and looked carefully at the sitting elf- "Are you kidding or you really want to talk to me about birds and bees?"

Jaheira shook her head, chuckling slightly.

"-By Sylvanus, no. My child is not that bad with you yet. I just want to make you aware of a few things that you may not have had the opportunity to talk to anyone about and you have questions that bother you. I want you to know you can count on me" Jaheira replied. Esme took a deep breath and fell back onto the grass.

"This day won't be so terrible, after all" Esme thought.

"-I also want to talk to you about Anomen" Jaheira finished and Esme froze.

"It will be much worse" she corrected mentally and slowly raised her head to look at her friend. Esme put her weight on her elbow. Playing with a blade of grass and trying to sound indifferent, she asked:

"-And what exactly is it that you would like to talk about?"

Esme looked up to meet Jaheira's eyes, who was watching her closely.

"-It's not hard to notice that you two like each other" elf said.

"-That's a nonsens. What are you talking about?" Esme protested, feeling her face flush.

"-Really? " Jaheira lifted one eyebrow, clearly amused. "-When you think no one is looking you are like a pair of calves. Both he and you, but neither of you know what to do about it."

Esme looked at Jaheira, knowing there was no point in pretending otherwise. Apparently her secret glances towards Anomen weren't as secretly as she thought.

"-I might like Anomen a little bit, but you know it doesn't matter." – She said softly and hung her head low. Her desires and feelings were irrelevant and she had to try to forget them. The conversation with Jaheira suddenly became extremely irritating for Esme, and the blade of grass she was holding unexpectedly deserved destruction in her eyes and she crushed it in her hand. Tiredness and bitterness were starting to take over her. She took a deep breath and continued:

"-It's not a good time and I'm not the right person for a relationship, Jay. Wherever I go, someone or something is trying to kill me or I have to kill. I doubt that I will ever be able to settle down in any city and live a peaceful life if I am what I am. Who would like to be with… something like me. Why bond with the Murder Lord's child when you can be with someone normal and ordinary. I only bring death" Esme finished in a whisper.

"-You know perfectly well that's not true," Jaheira said sharply.

Esme just shook her head and felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"-I'm the reason Khalid is dead, Jay! If it wasn't for me and the fact that you traveled with me he would be alive for sure! You could say that I killed him" she finished, letting the tears flow freely. Unexpectedly, she felt Jaheira's arms around her and she held her tightly. After a moment elf pulled away slightly and looked at Esme carefully.

"-It was he who killed him, not you," the druid said gently.

"-What?" Esme asked trying hard to tidy up. Elf continued her speech, still watching her closely. Kensai was angry with herself for falling apart and letting her emotions take over.

"-Not so long ago, I heard you talking to Anomen and telling him that the fact that he has a drunken father does not define who he is."

Esme shook her head.

"-This is not the same. A drunkard father and Bhaal as father are two completely different things. I know that my destiny is not predetermined and I can try to shape it myself, but … Being a child of the God of Murder is so fucking hard and I wouldn't want anyone else to suffer from it. I.. I just don't want us to lose someone else, Jay, that's all. I feel that something like this would break me." Esme said and looked at the druid who was listening carefully to her.

Jaheira nodded.

"-I understand," she said. "-But that doesn't mean you don't deserve happiness."

Esme opened her mouth to protest, but Jaheira held her hand up and Esme closed her mouth for elf to continue.

"-Me and Khalid were very happy and we loved each other very much. Sometimes it's hard for me without him. I still find myself preparing a place for both of us to sleep, and only after a while I realize that he will not lie down next to me on this or any other night. I remember his face and that that he always smelled of forest and blueberries, but it is getting harder and harder for me to recreate the fragrance. All the blankets have lost his smell already and it is now only in my head. I don't even know if I remember it correctly. The smell that I used to fall asleep and wake up for years is gone, and it hurts… By Sylvanus, sometimes I feel like my chest is missing a piece of my heart. " Jaheira took a deep breath, which was now starting to tremble a little.

Esme had spoken to her from the heart many times. They had known each other for years, but Jaheira had never spoken of her feelings so openly, and girl was honored that Jaheira had chosen her as a person to open up to. So she sat quietly and continued listening to her.

"-Losing Khalid has taught me that the time we have to share with loved ones is never long enough. You never know when the last "See You" will turn out to be a broken promise. Therefore, if you feel something for someone, don't wait, because the next opportunity may never come. Enjoy every moment and try to remember it as well as possible. To hell with the fact that Bhaal is your father, Esme, "Jaheira said and smiled slightly. – "You deserve happiness. Don't put out the fire in your heart."

Esme felt a huge lump in her throat and felt like she was going to cry again. She just nodded, unable to utter a word, and tightened her fingers around the package of herbs Jaheira had given her earlier.

"-On the way to the camp, I will explain to you how to properly brew and drink them," the elf said, pointing at the herbs with her finger. She picked up her things from the ground – "Let's go back or they will finally start looking for us."

The dinner was delicious and filling and the whole team went to sleep in good spirits. Esme took the first watch, which Anomen was trying hard to seize from her. He agreed to take a second watch only when Esme reassured him that she was not tired and that she would not be able to sleep anyway because of the still high temperature. Now Esme looked up from her journal, listening carefully if there were any unusual and disturbing noises hidden among the noises of the night, snoring and Minsc mumbling in his sleep, that might herald danger. Since her capture by Irenicus, she had always listened more closely and watched the shadows of the night, fearing that one of the shapes would suddenly turn into an attacker.

"Just a fox," she said to herself, and returned to her journal. However, she did not have time to write down a word when she heard a noise to her left and to her surprise she saw Anomen sitting next to her on a log lying by the fire.

"-Are you okay, my lady? Did your watch run smoothly?" He asked, adding some wood to the fire.

"-Peace and quiet," she replied. "You got up to early, Anomen. It's not time for you to change me yet. I would wake you up soon."

"-I know, my lady. But today's night is so hot that it is hard for a deep and restful sleep."The cleric replied and looked at Esme "-Why fight unnecessarily and keep turning in frustration from side to side, when you can spend this time much more pleasantly and keep you company, my lady."

Esme smiled slightly embarrassed and looked down at her journal.

"Get a grip," she thought and,l taking a deep breath She smiled:

"-Well, your company is always welcome." Anomen straightened a bit pleased with the answer he had received and smiled as well. Esme noticed that Anomen looked incredibly fresh and handsome with a bit tousled hair, and when he straightened, his chest was very impressive under the fabric of his tunic. Esme was grateful for the glow of the fire masking the blush on her face.

Wanting to quickly change the subject, she said, waving a leather-bound notebook in her hand:

"-Besides, you came just in time. I just finished my journal entries and we can talk freely."

"-It is good indeed to clear your head and put your thoughts on paper. Perhaps also, I could try this method to calm my nerves. Although, to be honest, my lady, my thoughts have been circulating restlessly for some time and to tame them they would have to have their outlet not on paper but in conversation or action" – he said, looking at her carefully.

"-I think I know what you're feeling, Anomen. The most recent entries in my diary are more of a storage function than a diary. I haven't had my head for anything lately" – Esme admitted in front of him, but also in front of herself. Until now, she had denied even to herself that her daydreaming had some other explanation, and confession made Esme feel extraordinarily light for the first time in a while.

"-During dinner you seemed to be lost in thought," noted Anomen with a slight concern in his voice. "-Is something bothering you, my lady? If you need a pair of ears to let go of your worries or you are looking for advice on a problem that bothers you, I am here to help."

Esme shook her head slightly.

"-Thank you, but it won't be necessary. I apologise if I was lost in my own mind at dinner, I didn't want you to worry. We just spoke with Jaheira before, and I thought about what she said."

"-I understand," replied the cleric. "-Forgive me for my directness, my lady, but if the words of the elf still bother you, I offer my help. I may not be as skilled at giving advice as you are, but I will do my best to ease your conscience."

Esme looked gratefully at her companion sitting next to her.

"-Thank you. The topic we have touched on does not bother me anymore. At least not more than usual. It was about my origins, who I am and how it affects my life."

"-My lady, I really do not believe what I hear" – said Anomen a little louder, slightly shocked – "I know from experience that the question of a father in life can be very difficult, but you should not have doubts about yourself and your deeds. I am sincerely surprised that you still have any doubts about yourself."

"-Anomen, this …" Esme tried to speak, but Anomen would not let her finish. He moved closer and grasped her hand to prove the authenticity of his words even more. Esme looked a bit surprised at the hands holding her firmly and, slightly enchanted, allowed Anomen to continue his speech.

"-I would be lying if I told you that I had no doubts about your righteousness upon learning of your ancestry. In the eyes of the Order, you would be an abomination that wreaks havoc and deserves only elimination. However, you, my lady, with every deed and decision, proved that you are following a path that every paladin and priest could proudly walk on. You are the commander of this small group, and I have no doubts anymore about the direction you are leading us in, despite your dark heritage. You illuminate every place with your person and you go boldly forward and I will happily and without hesitation follow you everywhere" Said Anomen almost breathlessly and only now Esme noticed how close he was and her how dry her mouth was as she continued listening to his words –" You are like a beautiful dark flame, which tantalizes and attracts me. I know I can burn myself and yet I do not care. "

Anomen whispered the last sentence, and Esme gasped as she watched his face come closer and closer. She stared into his eyes and could almost feel his breath on her. His lips were getting closer to hers, she opened them slightly, not knowing what to do, but the inner instinct took over and she tilted her head instinctively so that Anomen could come even closer. She could almost feel the soft touch of his lips against hers. She closed her eyes and …

"-Go for the eyes Boo! " Minsc shouted in his sleep and Esme and Anomen moved away from each other, immediately surprised. They both looked at a giant turning in his sleep and giggled at the whole situation. Esme felt a little embarrassed and disappointed. The whole mood was ruined.

"-I think it's time for me "– she said softly to Anomen, who nodded his head with understanding and a slight sadness on his face – "Thank you for the conversation "

"-It was my pleasure, my lady. I hope there will be an opportunity for … another conversation soon. I think I would like it very much" replied the cleric, taking her hand gently and kissing its top.

"-Me too," Esme whispered, barely able to find the right words in her head. "Good night, Anomen ."

"-Good night, my lady," he replied, and released her hand, letting her go.

Esme returned to where her bed lay, her heart pounding loudly in her chest. She covered herself up to her ears with a blanket, looking one last time towards the fire where the perpetrator of those heart palpitations and sensations that she felt around her stomach sat. She wrapped the blanket tightly around her, and with a broad smile that imperceptibly apeared on her face, she thought "To hell with my heritage."

Jaheira was right, and Esme felt she had finally made up her mind. A fire burns in her heart, which with each passing moment was getting bigger and she didn't want to extinguish it for nothing in the world.