-Set during Wrath of the Lich King-
Taylith smiled, her glowing green eyes lighting up at the sight of her husband. "Ithanel!" she called out, running towards him. She stopped in her tracks as she got closer, realizing who he was talking to.
"My apologies, Highlord Fordring. I didn't mean to interrupt." She gave the Highlord a bow, and took a step back. Ithanel grinned at her, happy to see her. He returned his attention to the Highlord, his wife's presence seeming to cheer him up.
"It's alright, Lady Lightfade. I was just finishing giving Captain Dawnblood his orders. I'm expecting an attack from the Scourge any minute now, and we need to be ready. I'm done now, though, so you can speak to your husband... whatever you have to say, I'm sure it's important." Tirion gave her a wink and a smile, as if he knew what she was going to say. Taylith didn't doubt that he did. News like this spread fast through the Crusade, and the medics were supposed to report immediately to the highest ranking member of the base in a case like hers. Tirion was currently helping this base, and he was the highest authority, being the leader of the Argent Crusade. "I would like you to sit out this battle, however."
Taylith nodded in understanding. It would be hard to watch the undead Scourge come into the base while resisting the urge to bash their zombie skulls in, but she didn't want to risk injuring herself.
Ithanel looked completely confused at the Highlord's remark, watching him as he left. Once the Highlord was out of sight, he turned his confused gaze towards his wife. "What was that about?" he asked.
Taylith looked like she was going to burst with excitement. "Ithanel, I'm-"
The rest of her words were drowned out by the sound of the battle horns. The Scourge was invading, and at the worst moment possible. Though it was to be expected, and the Highlord's preparations would come in handy.
"Hold that thought, Taylith... I'm sorry you can't be in this battle, for whatever reason." Ithanel unsheathed his sword, and left with the rest of the soldiers preparing for battle.
"Be careful!" Taylith called after him, her excitement being replaced with disappointment, and slight fear. She tried to get the excitement back. You can tell him after the battle, she thought, because no one ever dies from these skirmishes. They're just trying to make us tired, and it never works. Depsite her words, worry crept into her mind, ruining her good mood further.
"I'm sorry ya didn't get to tell 'im, Tay." The medic continued taking off Taylith's bloody bandages to redress an old wound. The infection was nearly gone, and the foul smell of undeath was fading from the claw marks. It would heal fully, although it would leave a scar.
Taylith swung her feet as she sat, allowing Kexxli the goblin priest to do her job. "I can't help but worry about him... he's never been very strong, but he's also never lost in one of these fights before..."
"Hun, this stress is goin' ta drive ya insane, and be bad for your condition. He'll come back, you'll see. Now, how are ya feelin'?" Kexxli looked at her with blue eyes. Goblins were normally very short, but she was standing on a chair to get a better look at Taylith.
"A bit sick, but that's to be expected. Also, horrible back aches." Taylith picked at her manicured nails absently, still obviously stressed but trying to push it out of her mind.
Kexxli jumped off her chair. "I'll go get ya somethin' for that. I know the perfect remedy for the pain. It has bruiseweed an' briarthorn - who woulda' thought a' that? I'll also get you some peacebloom tea. It's soothing." Kexxli grinned as she walked away to fetch the remedy.
Taylith watched Kexxli leave the medic tent, shivering briefly as the cold winds of Icecrown flew in through the open flap. The cold quickly went away as the flap closed, and Taylith was left alone in the tent. She could hear the sounds of battle outside, and felt a pang of jealousy. She wanted to help send the mongrels back to their graves. She glanced at her sword, and her fingers twitched as she almost reached for it.
She got up, away from the weapon, and walked outside to see the battle. She looked around for Ithanel, but she could only see waves of rotting corpses, both on the ground and attacking. And they could see her.
Three or four of the living dead began stumbling towards her, faster than they looked. She immediately regretted not bringing her sword. As they neared her, she saw a red ponytail and a splatter of embalming fluids. The ghouls walking towards her all collapsed, sliced through their stomachs and dead for the final time. She looked at her savior.
"Ithanel, thank you!" she said, smiling. He smiled back, though he seemed a bit disturbed at the violence. He shot a blast of Light magic at a nearby skeleton, killing it and a bit more relieved he could mete out justice without getting goo all over himself.
"About what I wanted to tell you earlier..." Taylith had his full attention now, as the battle moved slightly further away. They were safe for a very short time, so she had to be fast.
"Yes?" Ithanel prompted, tapping his fingers on the handle of his blade. He was ready to pull it out again at a moment's notice.
Taylith opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a horrified gasp. She sat with her mouth wide open in shock.
Right before her eyes, a purple spider-like creature, one of the undead Nerubians, leapt off of a nearby tent and impaled Ithanel through the chest with a single claw. Thick, red blood splattered from the wound and Ithanel spit out blood as he collapsed to the floor. The Nerubian chuckled as it was sprayed with the elf's blood, its voice a raspy mixture of clicks and a humanoid voice, which made Taylith shudder briefly. It raised its claw once more, ready to strike down the female blood elf.
She quickly recovered from the shock, her surprise turning into rage. She grabbed Ithanel's dropped sword and sliced the Nerubian in half, cutting off its disturbing laughter. She dropped to her knees before Ithanel and propped his head up on her legs. She hovered her hand over her husband's bleeding wound, willing the Light to heal his wound. She didn't care about his blood soaking her pants, and she didn't care that she was shivering violently in the cold.
Tears streamed from her eyes as her hand lit up with the glow of the Light, warm despite the cold winds. Although the Light complied, giving her its aid, her focus was affected by her sadness and the wound was healing too slowly.
"It won't... work..." Ithanel gasped, using his last moments to speak to Taylith. "The wound... is too bad. What were you going to tell... me..." He coughed, more blood escaping his mouth.
Taylith didn't take her eyes off the wound, willing it to close faster. She used all of her concentration, though it didn't do much.
Ithanel didn't feel the pain of the wound, as he was in shock. He was more focused on convincing his wife to give her announcement. "Taylith!" he snapped, his voice strained. "J-just... tell me.."
Taylith pulled her hands away, and tried to speak in between sobs. "I'm-" her voice cracked, and she swallowed hard. "I'm pregnant!"
Ithanel had stopped breathing before she had gotten it out, but Taylith swore she could see a tiny smile on his elven features. She let out a sob, covering her eyes with her hands and shaking her head.
Taylith didn't get the chance to mourn for much longer, because someone grabbed her and pulled her back into the tent. She saw a geist jumped to where she had been sitting, and she watched through the entrance flap as the geist grabbed Ithanel's body and began dragging him away.
Taylith gritted her teeth and struggled against her savior's grasp, trying to get to the geist to kill it. With her bare hands, if necessary. "Let me go!" she screamed, determined to save her husband from whatever tortures they had for him, even after death.
"No! You can't go out there, Taylith. You'll be killed!" The voice belonged to one of her superiors, a female orc named Jukra.
"I don't care!" Taylith yelled, surprising Jukra. "I don't care, because Ithanel's dead!" Despite her words, Taylith stopped struggling, and dropped to the floor. Jukra released Taylith's wrists, the risk of escape gone, and let the elf sit on the floor for a few minutes, crying.
"Pull yourself together, Taylith. There's nothing we can do. I don't even see the monster anymore." The orc was blunt, not uncommon for her race.
After a while, it became silent, aside from Taylith's sobs. The outside skirmish had grown quiet, with the occasional scraping of a sword against reanimated bone. Then, the battle horn was sounded again. Two notes for the Argent Crusade's victory. Jukra cheered at the victory, but Taylith didn't acknowledge the sound.
A few moments passed before Taylith finally spoke, turning to face Jukra. "Where.. where's Kexxli?"
Jukra looked at Taylith, but didn't meet her eyes. "She's... dead." The orc had always believed in the truth.
Taylith had one final question. "Where-," her voice cracked once again, and she started over. "Where will they take his body?"
Jukra looked away from Taylith. She couldn't stand to look her in the eyes as she, again, told the truth.
"I can't be sure, but... they will likely make new death knights."