Disclaimer: I do not own 'Shadows of Amn', the 'Forgotten Realms' or any characters therein. Wizards of the Coast do, at my last check. Lucky them.
I do, however, own Fritha and certain other characters and plot points. Basically, if you don't recognise it from the game, it's probably mine.

– Blackcross & Taylor

Scarlet soaked sleeves

Anomen awoke to the song of unseen birds and the low murmur of voices. It had been a clear night as Fritha had predicted, though the edges of his bedding were damp, soaked with dew from the ground. He stifled a yawn, sitting to stretch the stiffness from his muscles and take in the others about him. Minsc and Nalia were nowhere to be seen, while Aerie and Haer'Dalis were still in their beds, awake and talking quietly. Jaheira was up though, stood over the fire and stirring her old iron pot, the contents of which smelt to be porridge.

Anomen rolled his shoulders, glancing to the girl across from him, Fritha sat up in her bedding, straightening out her clothes and attempting to tidy her hair all with her eyes closed as though trying to trick her body into thinking it was still asleep.

'Ah, Anomen, you're awake,' came a voice before him and he turned to Jaheira, the woman gesturing to the pot with her spoon as she continued. 'Good, this will be ready soon.'

Fritha stretched where she was sat before slowly standing and Jaheira turned a sharp eye upon her.

'And where are you going?'

'For a wash,' answered Fritha, through a yawn.

The druid frowned. 'Now? Wait until after breakfast.'

Fritha shrugged, crouching to root in her bag. 'I don't want any, start without me.'

Anomen saw a nerve in the woman's temple twitch. Though it had seemed to begin as a little friendly teasing, Fritha and Jaheira's differing views on what constituted a proper breakfast had, over the last couple of days, become a battle of wills that seemed to have little to do with the meal anymore, and one in which neither was prepared to back down.

'Nonsense,' Jaheira continued firmly, turning back to the fire, 'and this is almost ready, so if you are still set on going, leave your bowl. I've no intention of keeping it over the fire for you; porridge is hard enough to clean off without it being burnt on.'

But Fritha just mumbled something incomprehensible and stumbled off though the trees, her bag slung awkwardly over her shoulder. It was only moments later when Nalia and Minsc returned and Jaheira began to serve the porridge. She was one bowl short.

'By Silvanus, that girl!' the druid raged, throwing the spoon back into the iron pot with a resounding clang, the fire hissing as a splatter of porridge rained into it.

'She probably, ah, just forgot,' reasoned Aerie nervously and Jaheira looked like she would have made quite the reply to that. Anomen screwed up his courage and for the sake of peace cut in.

'Indeed, I shall go and remind her,' he offered, and before either could say another word, he set down his bowl and rose to make a swift exit.

Anomen sighed to himself as he walked. He was quite sure Fritha did not forget to leave her bowl, but he could understood how the druid's constant coddling could have been annoying and he was glad to get away from the camp himself, even if just for a few moments. Learning that a ransom had been demanded for Helenya had been worrying enough, but finding the boy, Lirsand, dead had been unexpectedly distressing and Anomen realised he felt more for the couple's plight that he had first admitted.

He shook his head; the further they seemed to get to the truth in this, the more horrible things got. He would have to try and distance his mind from the matter and prepare for all eventualities, even the worst.

The place where he had collected the water the night before was up ahead and he could see a blur of copper through the undergrowth, Anomen halting to draw a breath, preparing to announce himself in case she was not decent when he suddenly stopped, the girl's voice ringing clearly over the chatter of the brook.

'Good Morning, Fritha! How are you this morning? Oh, not bad, not bad. Yourself? Ah, you know how it is. A bit wet, bit cold, but ultimately all right.'

Anomen frowned and took another step forward, pushing through the undergrowth to see her sat alone with her bag open at her feet, pulling a comb through her hair. It was a hand's width longer than she was, being sat, and trailed slightly in the long grass, the curls being slowly pulled out to long wavy tresses, though it seemed the effect was not permanent, the hair already slyly springing back, the girl seemingly oblivious as she stared into the river, keeping up a constant chatter as she worked.

'I haven't seen you in a while. No, no, we've been kept busy in the city, I-'

'My lady, to whom are you speaking?'

She started at his voice, whirling back to find him stood there, but she did not look particularly embarrassed and just turned back to the water with a shrug as he approached.

'The girl in the river. We always seem to come here at the same time, so we say hello, have a bit of a chat; we have a lot in common, you know. Oh, look,' she smiled as he took another step towards her and his image suddenly appeared rippling in the water next to hers, 'today she has a friend.'

Anomen smiled slightly. Fritha might be odd, but at least she was pleasant with it.

'Indeed…' he answered eventually, before he recalled the task which had brought him there to start with. 'Jaheira is back at the camp serving the porridge,' he sent Fritha a measured look, 'she was making quite a bit of noise about your lack of bowl.'

'My bowl is where it belongs,' she smiled, patting her bag pointedly. 'Please tell Jaheira that I am not hungry and do not want breakfast today –and that if she makes any fuss I shan't be having lunch either.'

Anomen had no intention of doing anything of the sort, especially when Jaheira looked to be in a mood where she would quite happy blame the messenger. He smiled diplomatically.

'I believe it would be a much more convincing argument if you yourself told her, my lady.'

'Oh, do you?' confirmed the girl, not fooled for a moment it seemed and going back to her combing with a wry smile, 'I thought you Helmites were supposed to be brave.'

'Brave, yes, but we are not fools.'

Fritha laughed delightedly.

'You're sharp this morning. Please tell Jaheira I shall return in a moment. I will explain the rest myself.'

He nodded once, suddenly wanting to say something else, but he was unsure as to what and so he turned and started back, a deep sigh and the girl's voice drifting after him.

'What do you think? Jaheira will likely scold you into eating something, whatever you say. Aye, true; so you think I should just give in gracefully then? I seem to have been doing quite a bit of that lately.'

He returned to find the camp in silence, all eating under the watchful eye of the druid, and Anomen settled on his bedding with his own bowl, the contents now cold and slightly congealed, though he didn't much care; he had never liked porridge anyway.

Fritha appeared a few moments later as promised, bowl already in hand and hair still down, a blanket of wispy curls that fluttered out behind her slightly as she walked.

'Here Jaheira, sorry I forgot to leave it before,' she smiled, handing the woman her bowl in gracious defeat, a small smirk pulling at her lips as she caught Anomen's eye. Fritha received her bowl back from the now mollified Jaheira and returned to her bedding next to Minsc, Haer'Dalis glancing up as she moved to sit and they both suddenly stopped mid-action, openly staring at each other, Aerie looking back and forth between the two, silent but watchful.

'Oh, don't you look different with your hair unbound,' Fritha said at last, her voice decidedly neutral as she moved to sit and Anomen could not tell if she approved of the change or not; the tiefling sat in his bedding, his strange blue hair falling across his shoulders, still noticeably kinked from where it had been tied back.

'You can hardly comment, my raven,' the bard countered, his tone as carefully indifferent as hers had been, though his eyes lingered on the curls that hung to her waist and Anomen could understand why; it did look quite pretty in its own way. 'I had no idea your hair was so long; do you always wear it pinned up?'

'Always,' Fritha confirmed nonchalantly from the depths of her bag, her attention caught up, it seemed, in finding her spoon, 'but you can blame the gnolls for that, right Minsc?'

The ranger nodded gravely.

'Right. Boo says they have much to answer for.'

Fritha smiled, giving Minsc's arm a playful shove and her sigh was barely audible as she scooped up her first spoonful of cold porridge. She glanced to Anomen, sending him an apologetic look when she noticed his was just as unpleasant, before taking the congealed lump off the spoon with her teeth and he had to fight against a laugh at her revolted expression as she swallowed, Haer'Dalis seemingly forgotten as he returned to his conversation with Aerie.

xxx

They broke camp a few hours after dawn, following the trail back to the bandit's campsite that they had discovered the day before and finally taking the tracks south. It was early afternoon now, a warm light filtering through the branches above and Jaheira smiled, the quiet talk of the girls behind her pleasing her as much as the surroundings.

It seemed today Nalia was refusing to take no for an answer when it came to Fritha and her brooding, and the girl's persistence had finally paid off, the pair behind her now and deep in talk, broken only by the occasional laugh, though whenever Jaheira glanced back to investigate, the girls' gaze would inevitably be focused on the group's first and only couple, and she suspected the source of their amusement may not have been particularly nice.

But, the druid considered practically, such things were usually a part of the healing process, especially in the young, and it was not as though the couple in question had noticed anything, so caught up in each other as they were and, as long as it remained that way, Jaheira was not particularly worried.

Aerie heard it first, the sound of others ahead of them, and Fritha halted the group soon afterwards, sending Jaheira and Minsc to scout ahead, the pair returning to confirm it was more than like the group they sought. A camp of about ten bandits in a clearing up ahead; mostly men but a couple of women were among their number, one of whom being a dark-haired girl who did not look used to the life.

'Is she being held hostage?' came the elf tentatively, looking frightened of the answered, but Jaheira just shrugged.

'If she is, she is quite unconcerned by it. From what I saw of her, she was laughing with some of the older bandits and making a start on dinner.'

'Could it be,' began Anomen, looking usually hesitant, 'that she perhaps sent the ransom note herself.'

'And sided with the bandits when they killed Lirsand?' Fritha shrugged. 'Maybe. I suppose we shall just have to ask her.'

Fritha did not want to arrive in numbers, believing it would only exacerbate matters and the group divided, Minsc and Jaheira both taking Haer'Dalis and Nalia back to surround the campsite and wait for any sign of trouble. Those left remained where they had first stopped for a few moments to ensure the others were in place, before Fritha started forward, Aerie and Anomen just behind her, and making no attempt to conceal their approach.

They were closer now and through the undergrowth Fritha could see shapes moving about, the sounds of people talking and the smell of burning wood. Fritha slowed her paced, holding up a hand to warn those behind her and rounding a tree to finally catch a glimpse of the girl who had been the root of all this trouble: Helenya.

She was taller than Fritha had imagined she would be, clad in a simple green dress with a broad handsome face, dark hair curling to just past her shoulders. The girl was currently bent slicing vegetables into a pot hung over the fire, though she straightened at the noise of their approach, the other bandits glancing up warily and a lean dark-haired man Fritha took to be the leader drew his sword.

'Lirsand?' came Helenya, eager and hopeful. Fritha closed her eyes; so the girl didn't know yet…

The armed man shook his head taking a step closer to the fire, eyes scanning the forest before him warily.

'No, flower, he'd know to give the bird call. Who's there?'

Fritha carried on walking, finally stepping into the clearing with a friendly smile.

'No need for that, mate,' she began, holding her hands up to show she was unarmed, before turning to the girl to add gently, 'Hello, Helenya.'

The girl frowned, though she looked more confused than angry.

'Who are you? How do you know my name?'

'I am Fritha, a mercenary of sorts. This is Aerie, Anomen. Your parents hired us to find you and ask you to return home.'

The man next to her suddenly looked wary, but Helenya just snorted, something about her manner hardening.

'Why? They didn't particularly care about me when I was there and they were planning to send me away anyway, I merely saved them the bother.'

Fritha shrugged, Anomen stepping forward slightly, his voice quiet and grave.

'You are quite wrong, my lady, at least about them caring for you, as well you may have been willing to exploit. What were you planning to do? Pretend to have been kidnapped and trick the money for a new life from them?'

Fritha had no idea whether Anomen truly believed his words or merely said them to gauge her reaction though whatever his intention it soon became clear, Helenya suddenly no less than furious, her heavy-lidded eyes wide as though she could hardly believe what he was suggesting.

'No! I wouldn't have accepted anything even if they had offered it freely. Money, money, money; it's all they talk of now. Well, let them keep their gold, I want nothing from them! Lirsand and I will manage on our own.'

Fritha fought against a wince, pushing a hand into her pocket to draw out a worn square of parchment and the look of wary recognition that crossed the man's face spoke volumes.

'Really,' Fritha continued, sending the man a dark look as she stepped forward to hand it to her, 'and do your companions share your ideals? Here, look over that. Do you recognise the hand?'

Helenya shook her head, dark curls bobbing as she read it over before looking up to catch her with a confused gaze.

'A- A ransom note… for me?'

'That could have been written by anyone, Helenya,' came the man quickly, taking another step closer to the girl, and Fritha could see the others about them tensing, hands hovering warily over their weapons. 'It's just your parents trying to trick you into returning home.'

'Not unless Avis was part of the deception as well,' interjected Aerie, Helenya glancing up sharply at the mention of her friend and Fritha nodded, her voice even as she continued.

'Who do you think delivered it to us along with tales of your distraught parents, though to be fair, they are still content to blame it all on Lirsand-'

'Lirsand would never do this!' cut in the girl angrily, more than willing to defend her love and Fritha sighed; she would have to be told.

'No, I don't believe he would, and that is probably what cost him his life.'

'What?' Helenya cried, paling instantly as Fritha whirled on the man next to her.

'What did you do? Broach the subject with him and then when he refused, had him killed lest he take the girl away?'

Helenya was trembling now, her eyes full of fear as she turned to the man next to her.

'Givan?'

'She's mad!' the man shouted angrily, the bandits about them standing, some drawing weapons, others glancing about as though contemplating retreat. Fritha ignored them all, turning back to the girl before her.

'How do you think we found you? Sestus gave us your whereabouts. He was worried, Helenya, because Lirsand was supposed to meet him days ago, only he didn't arrive. We found him just north of your last campsite. Helenya, I'm sorry, Lirsand is dead.'

'She is lying, Helenya!' Givan shouted, finally turning to the girl, Helenya slowly shaking her head, a trembling hand held before her thin mouth, her voice shrill with emotion as tears began to fall.

'No… no… You said he was just reporting back to the city to spy on the caravans as usual…but I knew he should have returned by now, I knew it.'

Givan shook his head, something about him changing and he suddenly held a predatory look as he took a final step towards the girl.

'Lirsand was a fool! We would not have sent you back to your parents once the ransom was paid. We could have had money enough for the winter and you both would have been free to go where you wished. But he would have none of it. Threatened to take you away if we tried. He left us no choice!'

'How could you?' Helenya sobbed, still shaking her head. She took an unsteady step backwards and he made a grab for her, the next few moments seeming to blur as the girl pushed out with the knife that was still clutched in her hand and sank it into his stomach.

Givan stood, blinking down at her with an almost comical surprise before slumping over. Someone screamed and suddenly the camp erupted about them, Fritha darting forward to defend the girl from an attack, her friends appearing around the campsite, some of the bandits staying to fight, others turning to flee into the forest, the shouts and clash of weapons filling the air. Fritha killed the bandit before her, throwing an arm across Helenya and turning to defend her against another, though she was not needed, the man falling like a stone as Anomen's mace collided with the back of his head and finally it was over.

'Is everyone uninjured?' Jaheira called out, and Fritha nodded as the druid approached, the others moving from various corners of the camp to gather before her and the girl. Helenya had fallen to her knees next to Givan's body, sobbing hysterically, the knife still clutched in her hand and Jaheira approached her cautiously, though her wariness was not needed, the girl barely registering it as the druid crouched down beside her and gently pried the knife from her fingers, throwing it lightly away from them both and beginning to gently rub her back. 'There now, hush child.'

Fritha turned away from them feeling suddenly empty.

'How many ran off?' she questioned to no one in particular, Anomen answering.

'There are six bodies including Givan, so about four I should say; do you intend a pursuit?'

Fritha shook her head.

'No, we'll take the food and anything else vaguely useful from here to make life hard for them, and we can just give the Watch their general whereabouts once we get back to the city.'

'I want to see the bodies,' came Helenya suddenly, raising a determined, tear-stained face to her. 'If you let me see who is dead I can give you descriptions of the ones who fled… in case they come back to the city…'

Fritha nodded to Jaheira and the woman rose, steadying the girl as she stood as well, before leading her off to the first corpse. Fritha looked down at the body she left, Givan curled on his side, blood staining his tunic just as Lirsand's had been and she felt a surge of hatred shudder through her. Fritha drew back her foot and gave the body an almighty kick.

xxx

The group walked back to where they had camped in near silence. Helenya had stopped crying just as suddenly as she had begun, quietly packing up what few belongings she had and following them from the camp without another word.

Anomen sighed, having to stop himself from turning back to check the girl for what felt like the hundredth time. He could not help but feel a certain responsibility for her, not just from the promise he had made to the Cornwells, but he had been concerned with her safety for so long now, it was difficult to distance himself from his worry now she was retrieved.

He had tried to speak with the girl when they first set off, tried telling her how worried Avis had been, how glad her parents would be to know she was safe, but it was all for naught. Helenya had been polite but clearly unwilling to speak with him and in the end he had given up, the girl drifting to the back of the party were she remained still.

Anomen glanced back to where she was walking with Fritha. Neither was speaking and the pair looked very different as they moved side-by-side, Helenya tall and dark, Fritha gracile and bright, but somehow united in their melancholy.

Anomen had been sure that when their path had returned them to the bandit's previous campsite that Helenya's composure would falter, but the girl barely seemed to notice her surroundings and they passed through and continued northwards without incident, another half hour finally bringing them back their own campsite.

'Ah, and we return to our old nest-' sighed Haer'Dalis, gratefully dropping his pack beneath the nearest tree, 'I wonder if that earwig's still about,' he added with a sly glance to Nalia, the girl paling slightly, looking uncomfortable.

'Oh, don't,' scolded Aerie, lightly smacking his arm as he laughed, but Nalia just scowled at them both and stalked off to fetch some water.

'You camped here last?' came Helenya suddenly, not particularly loudly, but it was so unexpected that everyone seemed to turn to her as she continued absently, 'north of our old campsite… Lirsand would have come this way on his return to the city…' She turned to Fritha. 'You found him near to here, didn't you?

Fritha nodded, her voice coming quiet and slightly hoarse after so long silent.

'Yes, it was a bit further north where we buried him-'

'You buried him? Helenya repeated, her surprise evident and Anomen wondered for a moment if they had done something wrong when she nodded once. 'Thank you, I did not expect you to have bothered, it was… kind of you… May I see him?'

'I- I can take you, if you like?' came Aerie softly and the girl glanced to her and nodded again, the two disappearing off northwards as everyone returned to their tasks. Nalia appeared with water after a moment, Aerie returning alone not long afterwards, looking pained.

'Oh, poor Helenya,' she sighed as she set down the firewood she had thoughtfully collected on her way back, 'it was awful. She wasn't even crying, just knelt looking at the grave. I tried to comfort her, but it was as though she could not hear me.'

Nalia muttered something that Anomen did not catch but suspected wasn't very nice, because the elf flushed scarlet and was very sharp with everyone bar Haer'Dalis as they finished setting up the camp.

The fire was roaring merrily now, the water for the tea hung over it heating, but still there was no sign of Helenya, Aerie wondering aloud if she should return to check on her, Nalia pointing out that if she wanted company she would come back to the group and another quarrel began.

Anomen sighed and as much to distract himself from his own worries for Helenya as ignore their squabbling, turned to the girl next to him, Fritha knelt a pace from him in the circle, seemingly oblivious to the rest of them as she stared up at the amber-stippled leaves with fathomless eyes.

'What are you doing, my lady?'

'Hm?' she murmured absently, glancing to him. 'Oh, just trying to hold the image of it in my mind. It's all so fleeting, soon the leaves will have fallen and winter will be upon us.'

'Yes, but then comes the spring,' he counted, his voice sounding unpleasantly hearty.

'I suppose so,' agreed Fritha, but she didn't sound too pleased about it.

'My lady?'

'Oh, just ignore me, Anomen,' she sighed, waving an absent hand beside her head as though dismissing herself, 'I woke up in an odd mood.'

'You were born in an odd mood,' interjected Jaheira, turning back from where she had been tending the fire to give Fritha a scowl, the girls' argument no longer providing a distraction, it seemed. 'Make yourself useful and go and fetch some more wood.'

'My lady,' he reproached the druid as the girl rose and wandered off through the trees without a word, but Jaheira would not be rebuked.

'My nothing, I've no patience for such purposeless brooding.' She snorted crossly. 'All this over a boy.'

'Jaheira, he is dead,' Anomen reasoned, but she merely sent him a pitying look and turned back to the fire.

xxx

Fritha ambled through the trees without haste or purpose, just glad to be away from the camp and its heady round of chores and quarrels. She knew exactly what Jaheira thought she was moping about, but she was wrong, at least in part.

Fritha knew life was unfair, but why did everything have to be so utterly hopeless? Though she was not having a particularly easy time of it watching Aerie and Haer'Dalis play at love's young dream, her talks with Nalia had helped, the girl's amusing, if spiteful wit succeeding in distracting her from her melancholy.

But all that hardly mattered now, not since she had been presented with Helenya's misery. A very small part of her had even hoped the girl had been responsible, at least then she would have been spared such sorrow. But it had not been so and Fritha could recall with unpleasant clarity Helenya's tortured sobs as she had knelt in the campsite, the knowledge of Lirsand's death overwhelming her. And then the journey back, the girl just walking next to her, silent and composed, as though her grief was beyond tears.

Fritha sighed miserably. She would have helped the couple return to the city, stay hidden, even escape to Waterdeep if they had wished it, though it would have meant forfeiting the money promised by the Cornwells. But, no. Lirsand was dead and Helenya was broken-hearted, and all Fritha could do was return the girl to the family she had run away from in the first place.
Life was just so horrible sometimes.

Fritha shook her head, glancing up to find herself at the river, the form of Helenya visible through the trees, sat where she had been combing her hair but a day before. The girl was crying again, though not as she had been at the camp. There was no sobbing, no sound even; Helenya just sat staring into the water, silent tears streaming down face. Fritha shifted her weight slightly, unsure of whether to stay or go, when something cracked underfoot and the girl whirled back to her sharply.

'Sorry, I was looking…' Fritha trailed off uncomfortably. She had been about to say 'to be alone' but it seemed that was exactly what the girl had been doing and since Fritha did not plan on leaving now she had discovered her so, she could not really finish.

Fritha sighed, just sinking down where she had been stood, the girl turning back to the water as though she was not there.

'Helenya-'

'Please,' the girl cut in before she could even begin, her voice wavering and brisk, 'if you hope to comfort me, I would rather you did not. The elf has already spent long enough assuring me it's better to have loved and lost, than never loved at all.'

'What a load of rubbish!' Fritha scoffed before she could stop herself, angry that anyone had even tried to console the girl with such empty platitudes, best of intentions or not. 'Those who have never loved can't miss it, can they? Those who have never loved have it easy!'

The girl glanced back at her angry tone, her expression softening slightly.

'Have you ever lost anyone?'

'Well,' Fritha began and hesitated, a dim memory of warm hazel eyes hovering just on the edge of her senses, and she wondered whether the benefit the girl would gain from such reminiscence would be worth the pain it could mean for her. 'I lost my father not long ago,' she finished eventually, dipping her face slightly, ashamed she was not strong enough to say more. Helenya sighed, leaning forward to rest her chin on her knees.

'It's not the same,' she said finally, her voice coming free from any petulance, but full of a mature resignation that only experience could give.

Fritha shook her head, leaning back against the trunk behind her and drawing her own knees up to her chest, feeling suddenly miserable.

'No. No, it's not.'

Silence fell between them again, the bright chattering of the brook a mockery of the weight upon her heart.

'Helenya,' began Fritha, suddenly desperate to break the silence, to try anything to shift the oppressive air of melancholy over them, 'I understand you and your parents have been having some trouble and that they've plans to send you for your education in Waterdeep, but we can speak with your family, if you wish. They hold Squire Anomen in a high regard, I am sure they would listen to him if he were to speak against you being sent away to school,' she offered, hoping suddenly that Anomen would be willing to advise such a course; he might agree with her parents, after all. But the girl just shook her head

'It is kind of you to offer, but I am really not sure I care anymore. Everything feels so different now, so small and petty.' She smiled absently, glancing back to her. 'To be honest, I rather hope they send me away. How can I live there now? In that house, in that city, where every cobble and brick and tile all hold some memory of him.'

Helenya gazed at her a moment longer before turning back to the water. Fritha said nothing though; what answer could she give?