Arien walked brusquely along to keep in step with Jarvis, who was walking up the dirt track that terminated in a small wooden house. The elf looked around the long fields of crops once more, shading her eyes from the midday sun that beat down on them. There was not a soul in sight.

"Are you sure this is the right place? It looks empty."

Jarvis shook his head.

"No, they're all inside. It's lunchtime."

"Ah."

The assassin slowed and stopped in front of the wind-weathered door, a little horseshoe on a nail adorning the ancient wood. Arien's sensitive ears could hear laughing voices and the sound of forks clinking against pottery. Jarvis hesitated and knocked three times. The sounds died away and she heard a chair being pushed back, footsteps walking up a hall and the door opened. Jarvis's oldest brother stood before them. Arien could instantly tell they were related by the jet black hair and blue eyes that regarded them. He was built much the same. Thin, limber, lanky, but his skin was tanned from working in the fields and he stood a little shorter. He stared at Jarvis for a long moment, his face a mask of anger.

"You." he spat quietly

Jarvis remained impassive.

"Me."

"Why did you come here? I have not forgiven you, Nor will I ever!"

"Can't a long lost sibling pay his family a visit?"

"You are no brother of mine! You are a cowardly murderer."

At the sound of raised voices the rest of the family came running down the hall and crowded into the passageway, looking to see what the cause of the commotion was. Arien saw three women and another man, all of them were no older than twenty five summers, and all looked somewhat like Jarvis.

The youngest girl stepped forward into the doorway, her eyes a little wide, staring at Jarvis in disbelief.

"Jarvis? I-Is that you?"

A sad smile creased Jarvis's lips

"Ellen! You were only up to my shoulder when I left."

"Where have you been?"

"Here and there, making a living."

"At the expense of others." The older brother said

Ellen's eyes turned to Arien

"And who is she?"

"A friend. We were just passing through."

One of the women at the back spoke up

"No doubt a woman of ill-repute, your tastes haven't changed Jarvis."

"Claire! She's not-" Ellen started but the older sister silenced her with a look.

A flush of anger crept into Arien's cheeks and she swept off her cap, exposing her pointed ears. Those assembled stared in amazement. The older brother rounded on Jarvis.

"An elf? Here? How dare you bring trouble to my doorstep, the Empire could ride in here at any moment!"

"We have been discreet, there's no need to worry."

"Of course. Clever Jarvis, always finding a way around the rules he doesn't like. You show up here, after what you did to our parents? They loved you right up to the end Jarvis, what have you done to deserve that?! Did you think you could just disappear for years and years and just show up one day and just expect us to have forgotten? You never cared what our parents di-"

Arien had to step back as Jarvis blurred past her and grabbed the oldest brother by the throat, lifting him clear off of the ground and slamming him against the side of the house.

"You can curse and scream at me all you want you feckless yellow maggot, but don't ever tell me I didn't care about what happened!"

It was surprising how loud the assassin could yell, and Arien was taken aback, as were the rest of his siblings, who all took a step back except for Ellen.

"Jarvis, please, just let him go and come inside, we need to talk."

Jarvis threw the older brother to the dirt, where he lay, coughing and sputtering. The assassin turned around to face Ellen.

"No. There is no more need for talk. I can see you have made up your minds."

Jarvis turned his back to the house and began to walk away

"Jarvis! Just come back for a moment! Please, I just want to talk to you, we missed you!"

Ellen seemed on the verge of tears. Jarvis's walk turned into a sprint and he was off down the dirt lane. Arien looked at the family once more, the older brother picking himself off of the ground, the three sisters standing in the doorway, the younger brother looking out balefully at nothing in particular and Ellen, her lower lip trembling, watching her older brother get smaller and smaller.

"You should go after him."

Arien nodded and turned to follow, but a hand laid on her shoulder and she looked back. It was Ellen.

"Keep him safe, and... Come back, someday."

The elf looked briefly into her eyes and then sprinted after Jarvis.

***

After a long run Arien caught up with Jarvis outside of an Inn, smoking his pipe. She approached cautiously, but Jarvis's face was a mask of stone and betrayed no emotion.

"Come, we should get a room for the night. And I need a drink."

"I don't blame you. What was that all about? Why were they angry?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Not right now. Lets just get a place to sleep. I'll tell you once we leave."

Together they stepped into the bar and sat down at a table in the corner. The barkeep sidled up and greeted them.

"Good afternoon! What can I-"

He paused a moment and looked at the assassin

"Jarvis?"

Jarvis didn't even flinch.

"Who?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have had you mistaken, my apologies!"

Jarvis put on a forced smile.

"Anyway, what can I get you?"

"A mug of mead if you have it."

"Sorry, we don't serve that anymore, grain rations and all."

"Oh, well, something strong then."

"An ale perhaps?"

"Sounds perfect."

The rather rotund barman whisked away twirling his moustache and returned with a mug of amber liquid.

"And for mi'lady?"

Arien smiled graciously

"Nothing thank you."

Human brewed alcohol had never sat well with her, and she wasn't one to enjoy being drunk, not after all the pathetic individuals she had seen intoxicated. The barman returned to his post. An old man sitting at the counter started up conversation that carried over to their table despite the low hum of talking.

"Someone you know Amsden?"

"Oh nothing, I just had someone confused is all."

"I see. Who with?"

"Oh, there was a young boy around here about, say, fifteen years back. He was a nice lad, always quick to help around the bar here, but he got into some trouble and no one's seen him for ages. Might be dead, but something tells me otherwise."

"What'd he do?"

The barkeep began polishing the counter with a clean rag

"Well, he got involved with some queer folk from out of town, this, this "Guild of Blades"."

"Ah, hired ruffians no doubt, I know the type."

"Yeah, except these ones were worse. They had their hands in, well, killing. You could have another man wake up dead if you had enough gold about you. Anyway, Jarvis started hanging around with them, and one day a rider came into town from Uru-Baen, says that Jarvis is involved in the death of some earl's son over in that mansion on the hill. Well they tore up the place looking for him, but he was long gone, fled over west to Feinster probably or maybe even Surda till the heat wore off."

"Bet that didn't sit well with the Empire."

"No it did not. They got so mad in fact, that they came over to his farm, and rode off with his parents. We haven't seen them since, and none of the soldiers would talk to us about it, so they're most likely dead."

The old man shook his head.

"What a shame, what a damn shame."

Arien looked across at Jarvis. His face was still impassive, but his fist was white around the handle of his mug.

"Yeah, poor kid came back a month or so later thinkin' he had put one over on them, and low and behold, he comes back to his farm to find out that the oldest person there is his brother."

"How did he take it?"

The barkeep stopped polishing the wood and looked pensively down at the rag.

"Harder than you can imagine. He came in here once, after the rest of his brothers and sisters wouldn't let him stay and... and... Well, he was just tore up good, let me put it that way. Left the next day and no one's seen him since."

Little waves slopped against the sides of the mug as Jarvis's hand shook. Without changing expression he stood and walked over to the barman.

"Can I get a room for the night?"

"Sure can. It's two and twenty."

Jarvis reached into his pocket and laid twenty five coins on the table.

"I'll have another mug of that ale."

Silently, the barkeep filled another mug and passed it to him over the counter.

"Just make sure you bring the mugs back in one piece alright?"

The assassin nodded and ascended the stairs. Arien paused for a moment and then got up from the table and followed him. When she got to the room, Jarvis was already sitting in a corner, his pipe lit, looking out the window. Arien was at a loss for words.

"Jarvis, I-"

His voice came out a little hoarse

"You can take the bed."

Arien walked over and sat next to him. Quietly she whispered in his ear.

"It's big enough for two people."

Slowly she took his hands, pulled him upright, and led him over to the bed. She pushed him down onto the mattress and removed her hat, letting her pointed ears and long brown hair free. She joined Jarvis on the bed and pulled the tunic over his head, throwing it into a corner. Their lips met and Arien closed her eyes as his hands slowly pulled the robe from her shoulders.

***

Arien opened her eyes and looked around. It was still dark, and Jarvis was no longer lying in bed. Almost every human Arien had known needed eight hours of sleep, so it was unusual for one of them to be up this early. Blearily she turned over and spotted Jarvis. The assassin was sitting on a small table near the window, clad only in a pair of breaches, two mugs previously full of ale now lying on the floor next to him. Occasionally his pipe would glow in the darkness and light up his face. He looked haggard, years older than he was. His eyes were red rimmed and she swore she could see tears glinting on the edge of his face. It was a windless night, and he had opened the shutters to let the moonlight in. Quietly she got up from the bed and put on her traveling robe. Jarvis said nothing as the elf seated herself on the desk next to him and lay her head on his shoulder.

"They still love you Jarvis, no matter what happens they are your family, and no amount of words or bad blood can change that."

Jarvis wiped the tears from his face and blew out a fragrant stream of pipe smoke that curled its way slowly out the window.

"I just-"

He paused for a moment

"I just thought that, somehow, there was a chance that when I came back everything would be okay. It was foolish and I am paying for false hopes."

"Ellen doesn't hate you."

"Ellen doesn't know me."

"Nonsense she's your sister."

"My youngest sister. I spent most of my time in the fields with my brothers or helping in the kitchen with my older sisters. We never really talked, there was too much work to be done."

"Regardless, she doesn't hate you."

"Does it matter? My parents are dead because of me. They have the right to hate me. All of them, her included. The fact that she doesn't just means-"

Jarvis fell silent and squinted against the tears, but they came anyway, rolling down his cheeks and curling under his chin. Arien put her arm over his shoulder.

"You're a good man Jarvis."

"And how do you figure that? I shouldn't have gone. I kill for money, I ended my own parents in a dungeon somewhere to die... There isn't a word in this or any language for me."

"Go back to bed and sleep off the ale. You'll feel better in the morning, I promise."

Jarvis slid off the desk and put out his pipe with a thumb.

"Yes, but do I deserve to?"

Arien did not answer. It took Jarvis only seconds to fall asleep, the soporific effect of the alcohol dragging him deep into private dreams. The elf remained perched on the desk like a cat, dressed only in a cloak, watching the sun rise over the horizon.