Authors Note: At the moment I am doing my own proof reading...I tried to catch my errors, but I am not very good at proof reading and I probably missed some. So, I'll apologize ahead of time for my crimes against grammar.

Chapter 12

"I have something that I need to tell you." Waiting for their reaction, Anna fidgeted with her skirt, a nervous habit she had never quite broken. Jarlaxle noticed she was fidgeting and wondered why she was nervous. Anna glanced at the other patrons, "Though, I think it might be a good idea to wait until we leave."

"Indeed?" Jarlaxle murmured. Anna nodded, she had a very bad feeling about what this might be, and if her suspicions were correct it could cause a panic.

Leaning back in the chair, Jarlaxle regarded her out of narrowed eyes. He had thought she knew more than what she was letting on. What exactly did she know, and why had she waited until now to speak of it? For that matter, what was it that frightened her so? A smile played along the drow's lips. This day was turning out to be very interesting indeed.

Anna looked from the elf to the assassin. Silence. Why didn't they say something? Tapping her fingers against her leg, she waited anxiously for them to respond.

Watching her shift uneasily in the chair the drow found the desire to tease her was too strong to resist, "If you wished to be alone with me, you had but to ask."

"That wasn't what I meant and you know it!" She growled struggling to keep her voice down. Laughter danced in the drow's eyes, she was so entertaining!

"If you keep taking the bait it will only encourage him," Artemis shot the drow an annoyed look and pushed his plate away.

Artemis was right. She shouldn't let him get to her. Stupid elf, why did he have to make everything so hard? Her appetite gone, Anna pushed the food around her plate wondering how she was going to explain her suspicions.

Jarlaxle reached under his cowl to adjust his hat. He feared the brim was terribly squashed by now. "If you two have finished your meals, perhaps we might leave?"

They left the tavern trying to draw as little attention to themselves as possible. Killing the locals never ended well and the drow was curious to hear what his young guest had to say. Once they were out of sight, Jarlaxle steered Anna to the nearest rock and motioned for her to sit. Sitting down, she avoided the gaze of her companions.

Crumpling the skirt's heavy fabric in her hand, Anna gathered her thoughts. Maybe she was wrong and the deaths had nothing to do with the soldier. No, they were related. It was too coincidental that the deaths started right after she had arrived. Wait. Had there been deaths like this before? Her eyes darted between the drow and the assassin, "Have you seen deaths like what happened to wererat in the past? Perhaps to humans, or elves?"

"No." Artemis grated impatiently.

"I was hoping it had nothing to do with me, but I think that I encountered someone carrying a plague and brought it back." Anna stared at the ground miserably.

"I believe you said that only humans existed in your land?" Jarlaxle remembered. Anna nodded, confirming that he was correct.

"Human illness does not affect the other races." He reminded her.

"Yes, but you are talking about illness from around here. I don't know exactly what had happened to bring me here, but where I come from…it's like a different world." She still couldn't bring herself to accept the idea that she might have traveled into the past. Something like that was impossible. "Where I come from there are no other races. There is no magic. It simply doesn't exist. Like elves, orcs, and wererats; magic is only a story passed down from generation to generation. I don't know if my world and your world are the same place, but if they are…why are there no other races in my world? On the other hand, if this is some magical realm, how do you know that a plague brought from my land would not affect you?"

Dead silence. Anna fidgeted with a loose thread, winding it around her finger. Daring to look up she found both of her companions staring at her. It was the assassin who broke the silence, "What manner of plague do you think this is?"

"The Black Death." It was the only plague that she knew of that could be so deadly. Anna's family loved England's history. Actually it was more of an obsession, but who was she to judge? She hadn't shared her parent's fascination, but the Black Death had been seared into her memory. The only problem was; she couldn't remember the symptoms, and why would a soldier have the ancient disease?

"What's the Black Death?" Jarlaxle asked, all traces of humor gone.

"It is a disease that killed a massive amount people around 500 years ago." The plague had actually started earlier, but it hadn't hit Europe until the 1300's.

Jarlaxle didn't recognize the terms she used but judging from her tone it must have been long ago, "500 years is a long time?"

Anna had forgotten that the way they judged time might be different. "Yes, it was a long time ago. A human life span is usually around 75 years." Perhaps the comparison would help.

"A long time indeed. Why would you think what we are seeing is this ancient plague?" The drow asked.

The elf had voiced her thoughts, "I don't know for sure that it is the Black Death. Though, I do know that this plague is killing people as quickly if not quicker than the Black Death."

The assassin interrupt her. "If not the Black Death, what else could it be?"

Anna shook her head, "I don't know of anything else that kills as quickly as the Black Death." The implications of something more deadly than the Bubonic Plague was unthinkable.

Jarlaxle was considering his next move when the assassin spoke, "One of us should investigate the boy's story."

"Agreed. You shall go." Jarlaxle said, his cheerfulness back. Artemis shot the drow a hard look. "After all, you are far less noticeable than I. Are you not?"

"Agreed." Artemis growled, he couldn't argue with the drow's logic. "What will you be doing?" he demanded of the elf. Jarlaxle grinned, and looked at Anna. "Our guest is not fully recovered and will need some time to rest. While you are gone I will see if there is anything else she knows that may be of assistance." The assassin almost felt sorry for the girl, but not enough to want to stay. With a short nod he headed into the forest.

Noting Anna's uneasy posture, Jarlaxle sidled closer to her, "Now." He tapped her nose with a dark finger, "What shall we do?"

"Do?" She squeaked. The elf's eyes lit up mischievously. Leaning forward he rested his hands on the rock, one on either side of her. His glittering eyes level with hers. For a moment he thought she might dive off. "I…uh…" Anna panicked. How was she going to get out of this? She couldn't run. Not with her ankle swelled like it was. Of course, even if she could run she probably wouldn't get far. Her eyes darted around the elf seeking an escape route. Then she noticed that the elf's shoulders were shaking. Her eyes widened. He was laughing. He was teasing her again and she fell for it. Outraged, she leveled her most severe stare at him. A stare that had worked on the most hardened of soldiers; it didn't have the effect she was expecting. The elf burst into laughter.

Wiping his eyes, he straightened, "Artemis was right you know."

Anna glared at him while struggling to keep from fidgeting with her skirt. Why did he delight in making her uneasy? He really was a vile creature. "Right about what?"

"Taking the bait." Laughter barely held in check, he offered her his arm with a flourish and said, "Come, there is a stream nearby where we can set up camp." Anna glowered fiercely, and then thought better of it. His lips were twitching and it looked like he might lose control again. Sliding off the rock, she shook her skirt into place and took his arm. He was still grinning ear to ear, but she ignored it. She knew trying to walk might prove difficult. She hadn't had a chance to look at her ankle and she was concerned about how bad the swelling was.

They didn't have to go far. The stream was just past the trees. Crystal clear and inviting, it bubbled over shining pebbles. Letting go of the elf's arm, she carefully made her way to the edge of the stream and lowered herself to the ground, dipping her fingers into the cool water. "It's so clean it looks like you could drink it." She said to herself.

"You can't drink from the streams in your land?" The drow asked, sitting down beside her.

Anna glanced over at him, "No, since the war began much of the water isn't safe to drink."

The elf digested this surprising bit of information. "Tell me about your land." What manner of place did she come from where you had to fear drinking the water?

"The land itself looks a lot like here, but the cities are different." Anna's eyes took on a faraway look.

"How so?" he prompted.

Anna thought about it for a minute, "The buildings are much bigger than what you have here, and we have sewers." She said, remembering how people had dumped all manner of waste into the street. "The lights are powered by electricity and water is piped directly into the buildings." There were so many things that were different, Anna barely knew where to start.

She had the elf's interest now. "What is electricity?" Jarlaxle rolled the strange word around on his tongue.

Hm, now how do you describe electricity? Anna thought about it for a few minutes, "I guess the best way to describe it would be to say that we have learned how to control lightning."

The elf's eyes nearly popped from his head. "Truly? Your people can control lightning?" The mere thought of such a thing was insane, yet his young guest had acted as though the control of such power was…normal.

Seeing his expression, Anna laughed, "Yes, though it some time to figure out how to use it."

"Amazing." He murmured, more to himself than to her. What gain could be had from such a thing? The possibilities were endless.

Anna wished she had a picture. It would be so much easier than trying to explain. As the saying went, a picture was worth a thousand words. Wait…maybe she did. Digging in her pocket she pulled out a small wallet she had managed to keep with her. The post card she had been going to send home was tucked away in the folds. Gently pulling it out, she handed it to the elf. Jarlaxle stared, running a slender finger along the smooth surface. "What is this?" he asked.

"It's called a post card. This one is of France, the country where I was stationed. The building is the Eiffel Tower. I was going to send it to my grandpa. He always wanted to see it." Of all the people in the world, Anna loved her grandfather the most.

"Your grandfather?" Jarlaxle watched her eyes soften and a slight smile play along her lips. "My father was often away on business so I spent a lot of time with my grandpa." She said softly.

"He raised you." The elf surmised.

"No, my mother raised me, but it was grandpa that showed me that having dreams of my own wasn't wrong." How could she begin to explain what her grandfather was to her? It was her grandfather that had told the tales about a frightening ancestor called Artemis Entreri; delighting her with stories of the infamous assassin's adventures. He had opened her mind to world of possibilities and dreams. Something her socialite mother had never done.

The elf was quiet for a long time. "This is your home?" He finally asked.

"No, my home is in America. France is one of our allies. When I enlisted, I was sent there to help out." Anna paused, a sad look entering her eyes, "It is such a beautiful place, but the war has ruined a lot of it."

Jarlaxle studied the building in the postcard. It looked like it was made of metal. How extraordinary. "This building still stands?" the thought of such a beautiful structure being destroyed didn't sit well with the elf. Anna smiled, "Yes, the last I heard it was still there." He nodded and looked back to the picture. Stretching his legs out in front of him, he leaned on one elbow and regarded her thoughtfully, "May I keep this?" Anna smiled a sad little smile and indicated that he could. Secreting the postcard away for further perusal the drow went back to questioning her. A short while later Anna was beginning to think that she should never have given him the postcard. One little picture was all it had taken to fascinate him, and a fascinated Jarlaxle was a curious Jarlaxle. She had created a monster. He asked about how things were built, about the food, about the government, about America, about France, the questions went on and on.

He wanted to keep asking questions but he could see she was tiring and he still didn't know much about this Black Death she mentioned earlier. The drow forced himself to concentrate on the subject at hand. He could continue questioning her at later date he told himself. Right now there was a disaster at hand that needed addressed.

"This plague, the Black Death you called it. What do you know of it?" he asked.

"It killed a large portion of the population." She wasn't sure what he was asking. Jarlaxle sighed, and cast his eyes skyward, "How?"

"Oh." She giggled, feeling like an idiot. "You mean what were the symptoms." Anna gave it some thought and then said, "I am not an expert, but I know that the plague caused painful boils, fever, and in many cases death."

"What about the bleeding?" he asked.

A disturbed expression settled on her face. Her parents had often talked about the plague, but she couldn't remember them ever talking about bleeding from the eyes or ears. She would have remembered something like that.

Watching her, Jarlaxle surmised, "What we have been seeing is not this Black Death, but something else." Anna stared at him. He was right, but if not the Black Death, what had she brought back with her?

"Whatever it is, it is deadly." A stony voice said from behind them.

Jarlaxle tilted his head back to regard the assassin, "Ah, you're back. What news have you?"

Artemis looked even more serious than usual, if that was possible. "The boy was right about the wererats, but it isn't just the wererats that are dying. Bodies are being brought out by the wagon-load."

general zargon: Anna's just stressed, she's had a few pretty bad days, but I think she will bounce back soon. Yeah, sorry about the typo's...sigh...I went over the thing like 5 times too. I wonder if I did any better this time...

Musingsage: I'm glad to be back! Thanks for reviewing. :)

Surreptitious Chi X: Thanks for the kind review. It's amazing how simply hearing from your readers makes a difference. Even more so when they enjoy the story!