Chapter 2

Anna froze. Her eyes darted to the demon's indignant face. Oh dear. Insulting one of the devil's minions was not the brightest of ideas. Anna absently wondered what that said about her.

"I'll have you know that these clothes were made by the finest of tailors." The black demon informed her. As if to demonstrate his point the demon held out his arm for her inspection.

Still held firmly in the man's grip Anna could only nod in agreement. It seemed a wise course not to insult him any more than she already had. The demon suddenly dropped his arm. Leaning closer, he stared at her intently. His eyes were red. She shouldn't have been surprised; he was a demon after all. Yet, one look at those inhuman eyes was all it took. Anna panicked. Screaming wildly, she struggled against the man's grip. When he didn't let go she twisted around and sank her teeth into his wrist. The man yelped and shook her. Anna didn't let go. She was not going to let them drag her into the depths of hell without a fight.

It happened so fast that Anna wasn't quite sure what happened, but one minute she had her teeth fastened to the man's wrist and the next minute she was on the ground with the man's knee in her back. Anna growled—a thing no lady should ever do—and glared up at the man. Musical laughter erupted from the black demon. His red eyes sparkled with mirth as his lips stretched in a wide smile.

"I didn't know demons could laugh." Anna blurted, and then immediately wanted to bite her tongue.

"Demons?" The black demon echoed. "What makes you think we are demons?" He asked curiously.

Anna frowned. Why was the demon toying with her? Shouldn't he just take her straight to hell? To her dismay the black demon suddenly knelt in front her with an arrested expression on his face. He studied her for a long moment and then looked up at the man. A look of speculation crept into the red eyes as the black demon looked at the man and then back at her. Anna didn't like his expression, not one bit; she liked it even less when he reached out to touch one of the curls that had escaped from beneath her bonnet.

"What are you called?" The black demon asked in a gentle voice. When she didn't answer he tapped his chin with a slender finger and motioned for the man to let her go.

Anna looked at him suspiciously. Was he letting her go? Why would he do that? Anna quickly scanned the area, looking for the best escape route.

"I wouldn't try to run if I were you." The black demon said calmly as the man removed his knee from her back.

Anna didn't waste any time. The moment the man released her she jumped to her feet and took off across the grass. She didn't make it far. Pulling out a slender wand from beneath his cape the black demon pointed it at her and spoke a word of command. Green goo shot from the wand. Anna shrieked as the goo hit her, forcing her to the ground. Shrieking in desperation Anna strained against the sticky substance, trying to free herself. The goo was amazingly strong, and it seemed as if the more she struggled the harder the goo became.

"I did warn you not to run." The demon said from above her, shaking his head at her predicament. Out of the corner of her eye Anna saw the man approach as well. He had a decidedly irritated look on his face. "What are you doing?" The man demanded of the black demon. His scowl deepened when the demon didn't answer.

The black demon balanced the crystal ball on the tips of his fingers and regarded Anna thoughtfully. "I believe the young lady should accompany us. It would be a tragedy if any harm should befall her." He said, his red gaze resting on her pale face.

"No." The man said, his dark eyes narrowing.

The black demon's eyes moved to the man's hard expression. Sliding the crystal ball back into his cloak the demon reached up and removed a gold ear cuff. Crouching beside Anna in one smooth movement he clamped the cuff onto her ear. "That's better." He said, rising to his feet.

Anna lay motionless in the green goo, wondering what the demon had just done to her. She could still understand his words, though how that was possible was beyond her understanding.

The man walked around Anna and silently held out his hand to the black demon. The demon's eyes widened. The man's hand was covered in blood. The wool of Anna's uniform was so dark that the blood had blended in with the fabric.

"You are injured." The demon chided her. Pulling out another slender wand from beneath his cloak, he pointed it towards her, releasing a fine mist. As the mist settled over her the goo began to dissolve. The demon stretched out his hand. Anna didn't waste any time. The moment she could move she scrambled backwards, trying to elude the demon's grasp. The demon's hand closed over her collar. Anna jerked back, scraping the blood covered pin attached to her collar against the demon's hand. The demon made a startled sound and looked at his hand. A shallow cut ran along the palm. Blood began to seep from the cut.

The world stopped. Anna's mind reeled as she stared at the thin line of blood oozing from the demon's palm. Demons didn't bleed. The reality that he was something outside of her understanding ate at the edges of her mind. The fact that she might not be on her way to hell should have been comforting. She didn't want to accept the possibility that he might be something else entirely. Still, whatever he was, he wasn't human. If he wasn't a demon, and he wasn't human, then what was he? Anna broke out in a cold sweat and started to shiver.

"You're bleeding." Anna said softly, staring at his hand. "You're not a demon." She realized, staring at the thin line of blood on his palm. "What are you?" She whispered.

"Did you truly think I was?" The creature asked, watching her curiously. Anna nodded, shivering violently. "I am a drow." He told her. When Anna stared at him blankly, he elaborated. "A dark elf."

Anna stared at his elegantly pointed ears. Stories her grandmother had told her about the fair folk flitted through her mind. Rising to her feet Anna moved forward on shaky legs. Her entire body shook. Everything she knew, everything that she believed; was any of it even real? She stopped and dropped to her knees, shaking. It was too much. Anna reflected that it was an odd thing that seeing an elf distressed her far more than seeing a demon.

Jarlaxle watched the girl's pale face turn ashen. She was shivering and breathing so hard that she was nearly gasping for breath. Although all sane beings feared the drow, her fear was different. The drow couldn't quite pinpoint the exact difference, but whatever she feared it was more than the simple fact that he was a drow. Jarlaxle glanced at Artemis and found the assassin watching her with the same confusion that he was experiencing. There was far more going on here than a young woman lost in the woods. Deciding that the girl's panic needed to subside if they were going to learn anything useful, Jarlaxle waited until he started to see the tell-tale signs of exhaustion.

Seeing the girl's panic was beginning to subside, Jarlaxle swept the ridiculous purple hat from his head and bowed with a flourish. "Allow me to introduce myself." He said, his movement causing the long feather stuck in the side of his hat to brush the ground. "Jarlaxle, at your service." He smiled broadly and straightened back up. Motioning to her uniform, he said "We can complete our introductions after we see to your injuries."

"It's not my blood." Anna said absently. Even though the worst of her hysteria had passed she was still shaking so badly there was no way she was going to be able to get to her feet.

"Pardon?" Jarlaxle's surprised voice broke into her thoughts.

"It's not my blood." Anna repeated, meeting his eyes. They actually were red; how unnerving.

Jarlaxle stepped closer, looking over her carefully. "If the blood is not yours, then who might it belong to?" He asked, watching her intently.

"So many boys come in from the trenches that it would be impossible to know which one it belonged to." She answered. Why would he ask such a question when she was wearing a uniform?

"Trenches?" Jarlaxle prompted.

"The trenches are very close to our hospital." She said, and then added. "Though I often think the trenches are responsible for as many deaths as the war."

Jarlaxle cocked his head. "And what war might that be?" He inquired politely.

Anna gave him a confused look. "The Great War. Surely you've heard of it."

Jarlaxle looked over her shoulder and met the eyes of the man standing silently behind her. "I have not. Enlighten me."

He hadn't heard about The Great War? Anna shook her head in disbelief. "This war has spread across the entire world, yet you have not heard of it? How is that possible?" Jarlaxle tapped his lip with a dark finger. "How indeed." He murmured. "Perhaps you will be so kind as to tell of this Great War as we travel." He said.

"My dour companion is Artemis Entreri…" Jarlaxle began, only to break off as all the color fled Anna's face.

"Artemis Entreri?" Anna whispered, turning to look at the man. Hard dark eyes stared back at her. Artemis Entreri was the name of her ancestor, but her ancestor was long dead. It must be another with his name. That was the only possibility. If he were the real Artemis Entreri...Anna shuddered at the mere thought.

Two possibilities existed. One, she was mad. Two, she was no longer in France. If she was no longer in France, where was she? All she could see was forest. Maybe she had just wandered away from camp. She immediately discarded the thought. Even if she had wandered far enough from the hospital that it was out of sight she would still hear the gunfire and explosions. The only thing she could hear was the sound of birds. Perhaps if she knew where she was things would make more sense.

"Where am I?" She asked, not sure if she wanted the answer.

It was Artemis Entreri who answered. "Coldwood."

Anna had been stationed in France on The Western Front. She couldn't remember ever hearing of Coldwood. "Is that near Flanders?" She ventured.

Artemis frowned. "Flanders?" The assassin had seen many places during his travels but had never heard of Flanders.

"It's in France." Anna prompted. "It's where I was stationed." She added. Artemis shook his head and looked to Jarlaxle who merely shrugged.

"Come." Jarlaxle's sudden change of tone caught her off guard. "We have an appointment to make; we can think on this most unusual situation later." He said, reaching into a small leather pouch at his waist. Artemis did the same.

Setting a small obsidian figurine on the ground Jarlaxle stepped back and called his steed. One moment it was a small statuette and the next it was a creature from the pits of hell. Anna covered her mouth, stifling a scream. It was the demonic beast from earlier. Fire flared from its eyes and burned beneath the armored plates that ran down its neck. Jarlaxle leapt on the beast's back without the slightest hesitation. Turning the beast towards Anna he extended a hand. "You will ride with me." He said.

Anna scrambled to her feet, shaking her head as she backed away.

Jarlaxle watched the girl back away, her face white with terror. She really was the most curious little thing and she really should have listened to him. "Have it your way." He smiled cheerfully and started removing his belt. That made her face go from sheer terror to utter horror. The drow laughed and slid the belt from around his waist. Immediately the belt became a serpent.

Before Anna could run the serpent coiled around her. She stared, frozen in terror, into the eyes of the snake.

"You can either ride with me or run beside me." Jarlaxle paused as if a thought had suddenly occurred to him. "Although I do think you would have trouble keeping up." The girl's terrified eyes shot to his. The drow raised an eyebrow. "Well, which will it be?"

Author's Note: Did you like this chapter? I am always looking to improve, so if there is something you liked in particular, or something I can improve on, I would love to hear from you.

InuDustories : Hi! I have finally started! It only took about a year. I am glad you are here with me. :)

Anon: Thanks for the compliment. I haven't seen a story similar to what I have in mind. I think you will be surprised where I am taking this. At least I hope so! :)

Musingsage: Yeah, another person who loves Jarlaxle! I think you will like where this is going…Jarlaxle is in this for the long haul! :)

Iceheart Firesoul: Thank you so much for your review! You pointed out several areas that stood out to you, which is a great help! Nothing is more helpful than knowing what catches my readers' attention. :)