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Old Enemies	By : Alzadea Category: A through F > Forgotten Realms Views: 5897 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Forgotten Realms series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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A/N: My humblest apologies for the long delay in posting the final (yep, final) chapter of this fic. I found myself utterly confounded as to what these two characters should say to eachother the following morning. What resulted was my re writing this chapter several times. I''m still not sure I''m happy with what follows, but then I thought "hey, it''s just a stupid fanfic, and there are a lot of things about it I don''t like anyway. Won''t it just be nice to say I finished something?" And so, we have this, such as it is. I do, actually, have an idea for a sequel, if I can get myself to write it (writing makes my brain hurt). If anyone is interested, let me know…. Anyway, this is it for now!
Chapter 4.

Sunlight seeped with ruthless cheerfulness through her eyelids, igniting a sharp pain in her temple and announcing early morn. Catti groaned as a bird began cheeping delightedly outside the window, rolling onto her back and brushing against the warm body lying beside her. Awareness returned with an almost brutal abress:ess: no blessed bout of amnesia for her this time, Catti mused. No indeed, she was all too aware of her present location and who the warm weight occupying the space beside her was. Catti sighed.
She determinedly kept her eyes shut a few more moments as the man beside her stirred. She felt him rise, and couldn’t refrain a small smile as she heard him quietly offer a rude suggestion to the happily chirping bird. ''Not a morning person, I guess''e the thought. Catti cracked her eyelids and watched him surreptitiously through her eyelashes. Entreri looked at least as well used as she felt, with his hair in tangles over his eyes and a shadow of beard darkening his face. His fine, angular features were wan, as though he needed several hours more sleep. ''Well, that’s not so surprising'', Catti thought,'' he''s not as young as he used to be.'' He looked amazingly human in that moment as well, and it occurred to Catti that, were he not the extreme bastard she knew him to be, she could grow accustomed to the sight of him with amazing ease. She watched as he sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing at his forehead and brushing the strands of hair out of his face. Finally, he cast a sidelong glance over his shoulder in her direction. As his gaze fell on her, Catti saw some intense and unnamable emotion flash briefly though his eyes, then va jus just as quickly as it had appeared.
"Good morning." Catti said, opening her eyes fully and meeting his. The calmly spoken normalcy of the greeting seemed peculiar once heard aloud.
Entreri eyed her cautiously, as if expecting some more hostile greeting. "Good morning." He responded at last.
There was an awkward silence between them. What to say to eachother now, after all? Apparently nothing, Catti thought as the man turned away from her again and stood, walking to the chair where his clothing was piled. She watched him silently from the bed as he began to dress.'' Well, what was I expecting?'' she thought as she pulled her still-weary body into a sitting position, ''A declaration of his undying devotion?'' Groaning aloud she stood, realizing as she did how sore and battered her body felt. A somewhat silly grin found it''s way to her face as she thought on the reasons. Entreri chose that precise moment to glance up at her, and Catti found herself blushing again as she briefly met his dark eyes. Thankfully, he continued dressing without comment.
Looking around for her own things, she realized they were scattered all over the floor again. Grimacing, she stooped to retrieve her tunic and pants, shooting the man an irritated glare. Catti frowned; the silence between them was strangely maddening. She yanked the tunic roughly over her head. Something needed to be said, she decided as it stretched on. She pulled up her pants, her eyes never leaving the man as he sat, studiously ignoring her. Moving closer, Cattiyes yes narrowed in thought. After a moment, the question that plagued her most about their time together found its way to her lips.
"Why''d ye do this?"
Entreri looked up at her sharply. "What do you mean?" he asked, seeming genuinely startled that she wanted to converse with him.
"This." Catti stated. By way of clarification, she added."Why''d ye take me up on me offer?"
He gave her a look, "I would think that would be obvious."
Catti stared down at him thoughtfully for a moment. "No." she said. "It''s not. Other men might bd abd about by their nether regions, but I''ve never known ye to be such a one. Why''d ye do this?"
Entreri snorted at that, but continued dressing without further comment, seemingly intent upon dismissing her question. He had never been one to discuss his motives with others and one night together was hardly enough to change it. However, Catti''s tenacious natwoulwouldn’t allow her to let the subject pass so easily.
"Come on now, Entreri," she goaded," I gave ye my reasons last night, can’t ye at least do the same for me?" He snapped a well-practiced glare in her direction. "And surely", she added, "We''re past the part where ye threaten me by now."
He sat back in the chair and gazed at her, his expression unreadable. Catti suspected he was about to tell her to mind her damn business again. Instead, he asked, "Do you, by some chance, recall the mention of "infuriating habits?"
Catti''s eyes narrowed, her lips thinning into a mulish expression. "Are ye telling me to shut up?"
A ghost of humour flitted through his eyes. "If I were, you wouldn’t have to ask."
"Then please, answer me question, Artemis."
The sound of her using his given name again seemed to have an odd effect on him. A troubled look came into his eyes. Quietly, he said, "What we did last night can''t be altered, no matter how you may wish it so today. Why do you need to hear my reasons?" The man seemed honestly bemused.
Catti considered this. Why indeed did she need to hear his reasons? He was certainly right in that nothing they did could be changed. And more importan and and surprisingly, she found she didn’t regret anything that had passed between them. Her remorse from the night before had seemingly fled with the coming of dawn. It was only when she thought of her friends, of Wulfgar and Drizzt and her father, that she felt a pang of something that drove her to try to make sense of the experience. "Because", she replied after a moments thought, "I''ve got to go back home sometime, and when I do I need to be able to respect meself and to look the people I love in the eyes."
His eyes narrowed dangerously. She could tell that he assumed she was referring to Drizzt and noted with interest that the notion didn’t well please him. "And to do that, you need to know my reasons for "this", as you so delicately phrase it?" Canoddnodded. Entreri''s expression took on a slightly ominous look as he asked, "And you think I owe you this, because of one night spent together?''
Catti shook her head emphatically. "No, but I''m askin'' ye for it anyway. Is it so much to expect?"
Several things seemed to pass across his face." I suppose not.," he said at last. Entreri sat back, his expression becoming carefully closed, as he seemed to consider her question. Finally he asked her, "Why do you not think to wonder if I bedded you just to get at Do''Urden in some way?"
Catti had anticipated the conversation would eventually take this course. The man was purposely trying to anger her to the point that she would drop the subject, but Catti hadn''t been raised amongst dwarves for nothing. Though her temper was indeed beginning to slip, she still managed to hold his gaze steadily, meeting his eyes with and intensity to match his own trademark glare. "Because", she answered coldly, "That would be beneath ye."
Entreri''s eyes widened in a flash of surprise. "I''m amazed you think anything beneath me."
"An'' most likely I''m a fool for thinkin'' it, but I do!" Her patience at an end, Catti''s deep-blue eyes flashed angrily. "Now, will ye answer the damned question!?"
Entreri took her measure for a moment longer, and Catti could have sworn an expression of admiration lurked somewhere in his eyes. Almost, it seemed to her, he was truly seeing her for the first time. "The answer you seek is no simple thing." he began softly,thouthough speaking to himself.
"Will ye try?" Catti prompted.
It was a long moment before he spoke again; when his words finally came, they held a level of introspection and honesty that she never expected him to share with her. Looking away, he began, "Until now, my entire life has been grounded in a few simplencipnciples with but one goal in mind: absolute independence." He paused, considering his next words carefully. "An impossible goal, I''ve come to realized ond one that can only result in…." He glanced up at her, his dark eyes holding a deeply troubled look that Catti recognized with sudden and amazilarilarity, "emptiness, I suppose. What has all of the self-denial and discipline in my life brought me? Nothing I''ve done for the past twenty-no, going on thirty years has left me with anything of genuine value, not even a good memory." He shook his head, and Catti was stunned by the admission.
With a shock, the woman realized what he spoke of went much deeper than the simple question she had asked him. After a moment of silence she commented, "Ye don''t like it, do ye?" He stared at her curiously. "The killing, I mean." She clarified.
Entreri looked away from her as he answered. "Not specifically."
"Then why keep doin'' it?"
The assassin met her eyes again, the touch of unmistakable pain quickly submerged beneath his customary stare. "Because I''ve a gift." He answered, his tone grim. His voice dropping to a murmur, he added." And, as someone once chided me, it is a sin to squander ones God-given talents." Catti didn’t understand his meaning, but she could tell from the bitter and sarcastic way he spoke the words that they held some deeply personal meaning for him. She found herself wishing there was more time to know the man, to understand the forces that had shaped him, but alas, she could feel their time running out. He went on. "Besides, it was the side benefits of the trade that held appeal for me when I became an assassin."
"And what might those be?" Catti asked, wondering why a man, especially a man gifted with an inordinate level of intelligence and talent, would choose to become a killer.
Entreri shrugged, as if the reasons for a life lived in such a way were inconsequential. "Respect, I suppose, fear really, but they were one and the same to me. Pride as well, but mostly, I wanted control over my own destiny."
"And wha ye ye want now?" Catti asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
There was a long pause before he at last answered. "The same things, I guess, though I''ve come to realize of late that no one controls destiny, their own or any one else''s." His eyes remained distant and troubled and Catti thought he might regret revealing so much of himself to her. Finally, he looked up at her again. "But I think we have strayed from your original question, and the truth of it is that I have no cleaswerswer to give you."
"I think ye did, though." Catti stated." Ye just wanted a good memory." One to make up for too many bad ones, Catti added silently. It was an over simplification, she knew, but it did give her an answer she could live with.
Entreri nodded, watching her closely, "I never thought of it in that way ''till now, but I suppose that is the gist of the matter." He shrugged again." The only other explanation I have to offer is that my traveling companion has begun to wear off on me."
Catti glanced down at him sharply. "What do ye mean?" she asked, suddenly suspicious at the reference to Jarlaxle.
He laughed a little, his mood seeming to lighten."Jarlaxle has a rare taleor eor enjoying himself no matter what the situation. He keeps telling me I shouldn’t always pass by the little pleasures life has to offer." He looked pointedly at her - there was no mistaking the expression in his eyes now. Catti felt her face heat under the stare. He contd. d. "And while I can''t bring myself to chase after every prostitute and tavern wench I come upon the way he does, I''d be a plain fool to resist something of genuine value when it''s so temptingly offered."
It w com compliment. From Artemis Entreri, a man to whom kind words were utterly foreign. Catti was speechless, and before she fully realized what she was doing, she found herself leaning over him. The man looked up at her questioningly, as if unsure of her purpose. As she looked into his dark eyes this time she realized that what had once been void and soulless to her was now anything but. Turmoil and pain were there, as was anger and memories of things past bearing. And perhaps, Catti thought, perhaps there was a tiny, hidden spark of goodness and humanity still alive within those depths.
Reaching a hand to lightly stroke his face, she watched him tense as though anticipating a blow, then visibly force himself to relax under the caress. Leaning in further, she brushed his lips with hers. He hesitated a moment, then reached up to cradle her face between his hands, pulling her towards him and deepening the kiss. The world seemed to spin crazily around them and Catti could feel her knees begin to weaken. Entreri simply pulled her to sit across his lap, continuing to kiss her with a passion she could scarcely credit him capable of.
Again, she was amazed at how easily she could become lost in the man''s touch. Distantly, she wondered if he felt the same, and knew that such a loss of control must frighten him, even as it was beginning to her. The thought was quickly forgotten in the sensation of his hands caressing her, stroking her face and throat and down to her breasts, his lips following hungrily. They would fall out of this chair soon, Catti thought vaguely his his hands found their way under her tunic, she realized she didn''t care one bit.
There was a rap at the door.
Startled, they parted. Breathing ragged, Catti stared at him a moment longer, before looking to the door. There was another, more insistent series of knocks, and the sound of Jarlaxle''s voice came from behind it.
. "Artemis, are you in there?"
"So, what do we do now?" she asked him quietly.
"Answer the door, I suppose. "
"That''s not what I meant."
" I know, but I think it''s best."
Catti saw, with more than passing regret, that the mask was back, cold and empty as before. She certainly hadn''t expected anything else, realizing he had already given more to her than his bankrupt soul could spare. Who or what had left him so bereft was as great a mystery to her now as before, and the time had run out to ponder it. The sense of sadness and loss she felt was astounding, nonetheless.
They both stood and Entreri walked to the door, his face utterly expressionless.
Jarlaxle popped into the room, outrageously dressed as usual and seemingly untouched by whatever debauchery he had indulged in the previous night. Catti blushed when his eyes fell on her, knowing she certainly couldn’t say the same about her own appearance.
"Ah… I could return later." Jarlaxle suggested mildly, his eyes darting between the two.
Entreri cast him a glare that challenged him to comment further.
"No, it''s time to be on the road." He said gruffly.
Jarlaxle''s face took on the pained expression a person assumed when they were fighting the urge to smile in an inappropriate situation. "Uh, is she coming with us?" He questioned tentatively.
Entreri snapped an unusually evil look at him from where he stood now by the nightstand, strapping on his dagger and sword. "No, she''s on her way home." His eyes slid to Catti and she knew it was not a casual suggestion.
"Am I?" she asked, meeting his gaze.
"Yes, before you end up in more trouble."
Catti looked down. "Wass trs trouble?" she questioned softly.
"Most definitely."
"Well, then I''m touched by your concern, Artemis."
The drow was watching them both closely, a slightly uncomfortable expression tightening his handsome face. Entreri glanced at him, then back at her. "Don''t be." was all he said as he snatched his cloak from the bed and walked out the door.

Catti and Jarlaxle stood staring at the door for a moment longer in silence. Finally, Jarlaxle turned to her, his expression apologetic.
"Save yer breath", Catti said before he could comment. "I''m hardly goin'' to burst into tears." Her tone was defensive, and she realized to her humiliation that there was indeed a familiar wetness forming in her eyes.
Jarlaxle looked at her, his eyes not unkind and therefore maddening to the woman. "I was just going to ask if there was anything we could do to speed you on you way."
Catti spun away, gathering up the last of her possessions from the room. ''No, nothing. " She said, fighting to keep her voice calm, "I''ll be on me way quick enough."
"And are you going home?" The drow questioned her.
Catti froze, her back to him and tears threatening to choke her. "Yeah", she said, voice rough. "I think I am."
"Then safe journey. "
She turned back to regard him. Jarlaxle stood at the door and the look of complete understanding in his eyes was unsettling. He looked as though there was much more he wanted to say, but was uncertain as to whether he should proceed.
"To you as well." Was all she offered.
The drow nodded, then followed his companion out the door.

A/N: there''s still an Epilogue. It''s done but too embarrassingly corny to post. I''ll get over my shame in a few days and post it anyway. Thanks for reading!
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Old Enemies