I'm sorry for being confused, my love. But he suddenly came out of the blue and offered me a chance to get things back the way they were before. I'm trying hard to remember the things we shared, how much you loved me, but please understand--

Tears stinging his charcoal eyes, Valeur de Villefort crushed the parchment in his hands, feeling the metal of his steel-reinforced gloves actually crumpling under his intense strength lent to him by his utter rage.

In the middle of the night, an almost inhuman howl resounded throughout the sparkling night of Geffen, prompting Kobolds who resided near the city to join the heartwrenching symphony.

"There goes another one," Elfienne murmured as she wiped the newly rinsed glasses before setting them on the wineglass rack, arching an elegant brow towards a similarly-grinning assassin, smiling sardonically as he lounged in a loveseat set beside the counter she worked on. "I believe The Guild will have one more member soon," she said--quite affectionatrly--while absently touching the Bleeding Heart emblem embroidered on the black scarf tied on her right arm.

Leon Heartman laughed--a short but piercing laugh--while pawing Elfienne lazily as he watched the young alchemist/barmaid work. "I always wonder why it always have to be the hard way before they would learn their lesson," he mumbled drunkenly, having finished off quite a number of Scotch, just more than a healthy elephant could handle. "So needless, eh, pet?"

Elfienne Floreria shrugged noncomittally. "If you think about it, some people would rather die for that kind of pleasure, I should say. Poor Sir Villefort," she sighed theatrically. "He should have looked away from Alfrieda's big puppy eyes when she was obviously pining for that rather fetching codpiece-wearer," she said, licking her lips.

"Naughty wench," Leon slurred as he playfully slapped the alchemist's scantily-clad derriere. "Dicks in codpieces probably are no bigger than my thumb." He smiled at his longtime bedfellow, running his thumb across his thigh suggestively, all the while not taking his steel eyes from her hazel ones.

"For godssakes guildmaster," Elfienne said in mock exasperation, "Haven't you made your point about your equipment over and over again?"

"What equipment? I haven't showed you my Infiltrator yet."

He was about to show it to the rather worked-up drink-and-potions brewer when the pub door slammed open. Another assassin, clad in midnight black, face hidden in red scarf, came trudging in, his double katars strapped to his back, still dripping with blood. A misted look glazed his eyes, and the long silver hair partly covering his face was tipped with crimson, as if his head was used as a paintbrush on carmine ink. "Guildmaster," was all he managed to say as a greeting, nodding his head almost imperceptibly.

"Someone looked as if he had a good time," Leon remarked as he set Elfienne on his lap. "Were the rest of the Guild with you?"

"Yes. Blaise, Sapherin and Lycaon are still having a good time in the Schwarzbaum Manor," Fontaine said as he threw his hair back, giving the others a good look on the scratches on his face. "Put up a fight, that silly slut." But instead of wincing, Fontaine grinned. "The bitch deserved it. Sapherin had a fun time dragging her off from her uncle's marriage bed."

"Sweet revenge, indeed." Leon said, trying to ignore Elfienne's wanton touches. "Someday Fontaine, you'll do the same to the girl who broke. Your. Heart."