Zelkath Veilstrike sighed as he stepped into the spacious library that was Saenaria's reception area. A polished marble fireplace of pure white provided light and warmth. A mahogany table was at the center of the room. Saenaria walked, almost glided in a moment later. She was wearing a dark blue dress and matching open-toed mules.
"Hello, Zelkath," she said softly. "I hope you're hungry…"
Zellkath smiled gently. "I am," he said, "but I'm more concerned about you. You sound like you haven't slept a wink."
"I slept well enough, but spent all day with the rest of the Circle trying to work on this, ahhh… dragon project."
"I honestly don't think that it's as complicated as it seems," Zelkath replied. "This dragon's attacking Kerralt for a reason. A dragon doesn't just attack people for the sake of it. Oh, some might… but those dragons are the exception. But, you probably don't want to discuss that now."
"Actually, I find that I agree with that… Your way does seem like the better option… but if it doesn't work…"
"Then you need a second plan of action, I understand."

The two sat down, and Saenaria uncorked a bottle of a dark green liquid.
A stamina potion.
She drank the small vial's contents in one gulp, exposing the soft, delicate skin of her neck for a moment, and sighed. "My second one," she said, Noticeably perked up as the potion began its work. "At any rate, how was your day?"
"I met Shadow," he replied, "the soft black kelvar."
"He's the king's baby," she said softly, smiling gently. "He seems to think he's entitled to all the petting."
"Thinking something and knowing it are two different things," Zelkath countered, sipping his wine.
"Well, yes…" Saenaria gently kicked off her shoes, crossing her ankles. "Ooh, those things are too small."
"Use your magic to enlarge them by a size," Zelkath suggested.
"They were a gift from my aunt… she seems to think I'm younger than I am, and therefore my feet are smaller… but I can't bring myself to get rid of them or alter them." She sipped her wine.

"My parents aren't exactly rich… or at least they weren't. My father was a woodcutter, and my mother a huntress."
"I assume that her prey wasn't always, ah… four-legged?"
"Right… she was a bit of an adventurer, but she never adventured far."
"I used to be a mercenary captain," Zelkath replied. "While I enjoyed getting paid as much as the next guy, my boys and I at least had morals… and that actually caused us to be hired more than our competition. Turns out most people don't like sleazebag mercs who'll cut your neck if you're a copper short on payday. Who'd've thought?" He smirked and took another bite of his food.
"Well, I can see where you get your mannerisms," Saenaria replied, "but at least you have a good heart."
"The reason I became a paladin was because… well, there was this enemy city we had to take. We'd been besieging the place for half a year, and honestly, it hurt to see those people starve, but I knew we had a job to do. So we decided that somebody had to play saboteur and find a way to open the city gates. Guess who got picked for the mission."
Saenaria giggled.
"Anyway, I disguised myself as a priest of Corellon, because who in their right mind would suspect a priest? I opened the gates, and then I headed back to camp. The next part was easy. Enter the city stealthily and take out the guards; piece of cake, easy win. The only trouble was that once we'd done that and taken the city, the wizards, as a last resort, summoned a demon straight from Avernus to take us out."

Saenaria gasped. "What?! A user of the arcane should know better! That demon could've turned on its summoners!"
"Oh, it did, Saenaria. And therein lay the problem. We were able, well those of us who weren't petrified with absolute terror, anyway, to lure the demon away from the city and send it packing without killing too many civilians. You know how demons love to murder the innocent, so some deaths couldn't be helped." Zelkath sipped his wine again. "When we returned to the city to assess the damage and the condition of the population, I found this little blonde girl crying her eyes out. Her dress was torn to ribbons, and she wasn't wearing any shoes… I figured that she was an orphan, which she confirmed. Next, I told her that I was taking her to the nearby temple of Corellon. She was a half-elf, but I didn't care. This kid obviously needed help."

"Is… is she a priestess now?"
"Yes… her name's Karenda, and she still serves there. The city's not part of this kingdom, so you might not know it. Whitebridge?"
"Can't say I've been there… but isn't it known for this white limestone bridge? And the bridge is heavily reinforced, because people live on it?"
"Yes, it's a 'residential bride' as they're called, and they're very rare. It's grown a lot since I was there… around twenty years back now. Anyway… it's where I was made a paladin. I'd felt I had a higher calling than mercenary work since I saved Karenda, and so I transferred command of the company over to my second-in-command and decided to stay at the temple. Twenty years later, here I am."
Saenaria shrugged and sighed. "I wish my story was that glamorous," she replied. "My parents were poor and couldn't afford to take care of me… so they sent me off to be trained as a wizard. They told me they loved me… and after they'd sent me off, the college gave them a large sum of money…" Saenaria's eyes started to fill with tears.

Zelkath gently took Saenaria's hand. "D- Don't cry, Saenaria," he said gently, "please don't cry…"
"They… they sold me…"
Zelkath couldn't help himself… he slowly walked over to Saenaria, gently taking her in his arms. "Shhh…" he whispered, gently stroking her hair as Saenaria leaned into him. "Come here." He gently set her on a small couch, sitting next to Saenaria and continuing to hold her as she trembled.
"I'm sorry…" she whimpered. "I shouldn't… I shouldn't burden you with…" Her next words were cut off by her sobs.
Zelkath said nothing, simply rocking Saenaria gently.
"I should be… I should be over this… I should… this shouldn't…"
"Losing your parents isn't something you just get over, Saenaria," Zelkath replied softly. "Did the school treat you well, at least?"
Saenaria just nodded.
"I know… they're not your actual parents, but…" He cut himself off. "Are… are you tired, Saenaria?"
She nodded. "In more ways than one," she said, half-jokingly.
Zelkath looked into Saenaria's eyes as he wiped her tears away again, cupping her cheek.
Saenaria smiled weakly. "You're sweet," she said drowsily, leaning into Zelkath.
"I try to be," he quipped.
"I'm just… worried about this… dragon…" Her eyes began to close. "What if… if…" She let out a soft hum.
"Saenaria…?" Zelkath shook her gently. "Sweetie…?"
However, all Zelkath received in response was slow, deep breathing.
Saenaria had fallen asleep.