Author's Note: So, this story has been on my damn mind for ages it seems. I don't know why... I have to get it out. Anyway, I sincerely hope you guys like this. It's my first WoW Fanfic!
"You are positive the money is in there?" Emiracia said to Plange, the gnome who seemed a little antsier than normal. He nodded, keenly showing her the abandoned house Corson constantly went to. The abandoned house was perfect to place a chest in. Nobody would want to step inside in fear of it being haunted, or perhaps afraid of bandits, which seemed to be the case nowadays. And in Westfall of all places, a place where there was once agriculture had diminished to a poor land with many starving people. She never understood Corson's reason for wanting to stay in such an ugly looking atmosphere
Plange gulped, his hands fidgeting. "I have seen him go in there before," he said. "I followed him without him noticing." His eyes shifted to the ground. It was abnormal for Plange to act this anxious. "I will stand outside, and make sure Corson or anyone else doesn't come in. I'll tell you if I see them."
"Plange?" she said before he left.
He stopped, turning around. "Yes?"
"Thanks for the help. I appreciate it."
He gave her a half-smile. "I understand why it is so important to leave the organization," he replied, and disappeared from the room. When she told him she wanted to leave 'Sapphire', Plange did not give her weary looks like anyone else, he supported her decision. There were not many members in Sapphire but Corson kept it that way on purpose. He didn't want a lot of members in fear of a betrayal or a rebellion.
Emiracia wished to do neither. She simply needed to leave Sapphire for plenty of good reasons she did not want anyone else to know. Especially not Corson. Not even Plange knew and she planned on keeping it. She knew how bad he wanted to leave, too. As badly as she wished to have him with her, it was not a stable idea. If Plange came along with her, Corson would get suspicious and the gnome got in more trouble than she did and one more strike may cause death. She was unsure of what Corson would do with her if he found her with the gold, and decided not to spend her time thinking about it.
The man didn't think too hard about his own members stealing the gold, did he? It almost made her want to laugh out loud. His stupidity would get the better of him one day. Not to mention being a rogue made it even easier to pick a lock in the first place.
Just a few more rotations, Emiracia thought, opening the treasure chest with a pick lock until she heard the miraculous click sound. She carefully lifted it open, and blinked once she looked inside.
There was literally nothing in the chest. Only emptiness. She slammed it shut. "That greedy… son of a…" The stupid gnome she talked to earlier lied about the entire thing to lead her the wrong path and gain the money for himself. She kicked the chest a couple of times, swearing every possible insult under her breath. She promised herself the gnome was going to get it should the two ever meet again and for her sake, she almost wished she'd never see him again. The gnome had long since fled from Westfall, probably already towards Stormwind. If there was any possible way to catch up with him…
Without warning, a strong muscled hand seized her by the arm, throwing her against a wall. "You did not find it, did you?" a voice growled and a shadowy figure emerged from the darkness. Corson. No. He wasn't supposed to even be in Westfall. "You tried stealing the gold for yourself without telling me, hm?"
"The gnome tricked me!" she snapped back. "There was no gold - "
Corson twisted her arm in response. His grip on her was astonishing and she never realized how strong he truly was until then. His eyes were turning into a strange color she hadn't seen in anyone before. A yellow, almost orange color poisoning his iris'. "You are really going to blame it on a gnome? The Emiracia I know would never have allowed it to happen," he snarled. He slammed her against the wall again. It only made Emiracia laugh at his attempt to act tough. "Your little act is fading, woman. I know who you really are. You are under my command."
"Says the fool who believed it," she chuckled, and kneed him in the stomach. It may not have done too much damage but it was enough to make him stagger back. There was no way to fight him alone, with or without daggers and it did not appear like she could say or do anything to make him understand why she needed the money. It would never matter to him.
Emiracia stopped short before she noticed Corson getting up, but he was no longer himself. He did not have his usual unkempt golden hair. Instead, it was replaced with, much to her surprise, a mane of brown fur and claws to boot. The rest was hidden in the darkness and she had no time to study it more.
A worgen? She thought, wanting to prepare her daggers for a fight but she noticed his growling becoming more intense and loud. She slipped out of the house quickly as a worgen, his sense of smell only strengthened along with his speed. Moving into a crowd of people may help hide her scent. If not, Corson may delight more than just killing her, and she was not willing to take any chances. People screamed, scrambling in terror as some were thrown out of the way. Corson was on a destructive path to get to her and it hardly mattered if innocents were in his way, as she expected of him.
"Em!" she heard a familiar voice. She would have stopped if Corson was not on her trail. She knew who the voice belonged to. Plange, and he was in his 'chopper' as the Alliance engineers called it. Emiracia rebuffed him. Whatever he wanted or intended to do, she did not wish to have any part of it. He betrayed her once, and she would never give him the chance to do it again. "I can explain."
She whirled her head around to the chopper beside her at a slower speed. "Save it!" She snapped. "Can't you see I'm busy? If you want to boast about how you defeated me, go do it somewhere else."
"That is not why I am here, Em." She almost tripped over self when Plange moved the chopper in her way. "Do you want to be his feast? Or do you want to have a chance?"
She grumbled. He was right. As much as she hated him at the moment, dying at Corson's hands didn't seem right. And it was far too soon. She sat in the sidecar, looking back to her former boss, who was running still and not far behind. Plange stepped on the gas pedal, and the Chopper roared forward. "What changed your mind suddenly?"
"I will tell you. Just not here. We need to get to Stormwind, first."
Emiracia shifted her head. "Stormwind?" she said, almost in disgust. She could barely stand the city, let alone what it stood for. "You better have a damn good reason for this, Plange, or I swear to hell, your head is mine."
Plange gave her a wide grin. "I know, and I will."
"Just… just keep your eyes on the road," she muttered, trying to ignore his grin. She did not understand how the gnome would be able to explain it to her. He left. With the money, and left her in the hands of Corson to nearly die. It seemed odd he came back for her just for the purpose of changing his mind. She was hardly able to complain, though. He did save her from a horrible death, but not without earning some injuries of her own.
It was a long ride to Stormwind, and even when they arrived at an Inn, the silence became long. The city of Stormwind while there was a lot of things about the people she disliked, the city itself was unimaginable. She had been once, and got practically kicked out of nearly every inn for causing fights. The first visit was ten years ago, when she turned eighteen, and not one to forget. She hoped nobody recognized her, and if they did, well she knew she held an unforgettable face.
The inn must have been new or redone, because she swore she never went into that one. Em sighed in relief. Those days of causing fights were over at least she tried not to make any more happen.
Plange sat down at the nearest table after ordering them both drinks. Emiracia did not touch hers. "Explanation, please," she demanded. "Or I'm leaving right now."
"Damn you… You humans are so… annoyingly impatient," Plange said. She rolled her eyes. "I know you're pissed off at me, and want my head right now, but I beg of you, it would probably be a bad idea."
She crossed her arms, waiting for him to continue, but he did not. "Plange, I have been perfectly patient with you. Tell me what the hell is going on," she said, her tone of voice rising loud enough to grab attention to some bar patrons. She instinctively lowered her tone. "You lead me to the chest, left, and nothing was in there. Why? Did you want it for yourself?"
"I took it because I am sick to death of your selfishness. I came back because it would be stupid to let you die from Corson. Everyone knows that bastard isn't doing well."
Emiracia was hardly able to listen to him lecturing her. As if she did not have enough people doing that, and now, her partner did it too. "Oh, I am the selfish one."
He shook his head. "You only hear what I called you, but you have no idea. You knew I wanted out as much as you did, but you didn't take me! Why? Because I'm a pathetic excuse for a criminal?"
"Give me a break. I did it because Corson would have killed you."
"He would have killed me anyway. So, pray tell, what is the real reason you wanted to leave?"
Emiracia sighed, brushing back her black hair. "What's there to know?"
"We're friends."
She slammed her hand harshly on the table, causing people to look at her again in fear. "Friend's don't leave each other!" she snapped, finding herself standing up, and gazing down at the gnome.
He kept calm, and collected with her, not budging from his seat. "And friends don't keep secrets either. Settle down, and quit drawing attention to yourself," Plange responded.
Was he ready for the truth? Would he understand unlike Corson? She was unsure if trusting him was wise, but what choice did she have? He had the money. "Fine. You want to know?" she asked, taking a big deep breath, as Plange patiently waited for her to continue. She didn't like sharing the information with anybody not family and she didn't have any friends except for him. "The truth? I have a daughter."
Plange's eyes widened, not saying anything for a while. Emiracia could barely look at him in the eye. "You have a daughter?" he whispered at last. She nodded. "And you never mentioned… Well, I understand. Corson would have used her against you. How old is she now?"
"Eight."
"Wow. Where is she now?"
"I believe she lives in an isolated house in Elwynn forest. It was where my foster mother brought up my sister and I. She should s till be there, but…" She lowered her eyes, not wanting to continue further into the conversation. Her daughter, Kira, had never been brought up before, but the thoughts of her remained throughout her mind every single day. Kira was definitely safe with Em's foster mother and sister. Still, it killed her to realize she was not allowed to see her at all. "I cannot talk about it."
Plange leaned in close enough for her to hear. "You want gold? You are going to have to find a way to steal it. I don't have it. Corson would never keep gold in an abandoned house. With the Defias around? They would be sure to have their grubby little hands on it."
"What? Are you damn serious? Did you trick me?"
"Yes."
And he says it so bluntly, too, Emiracia thought, beginning to regret letting him talk to her. Plange was not so willing to do anything for her until she mentioned she had a child. "You don't need to help me," she said. "I can take care of myself."
He raised both green eyebrows, his light, cool blue eyes glancing at her. "I'm not giving up on you so quickly. At least, not right now," he told her. He drummed his fingers on the table with silence between both of them. Plange sat up straight, smiling at her. "I know exactly what you can do. It may involve… playing a part." Emiracia gave him a 'what do you mean' look, which he responded with clasping his hands. "That's if you are willing to go that far."
"You want me to what?" Emiracia exclaimed, when Plange explained to her the plan in the inn keep room. "Bloody hell, Plange, you might as well have me thrown off a cliff." She shook her head at the amused gnome, who probably delighted in hearing her reaction to his idea. She kept pacing back and forth in the room, mumbling to herself how she would even go about doing it.
"It will be fine."
"Fine?!" she practically yelled. "You want me to pretend to be a guard at Stormwind castle! How is it going to be fine? I am a rogue, not a warrior! There is no way I can do this."
Plange frowned. "Pretend to be a trainee then? I'm sure nobody would care to notice."
"Let me get this straight. I need to become a trainee, find where they stash the gold, and then somehow make it out of there?"
"You're a rogue. It shouldn't be that hard."
It's only not hard when there aren't guards, she thought. There is no way to get around them and try to find time to steal 'gold' if I even know where it is. Stealth or no stealth, they would notice something was off. She knew well enough the Stormwind guards weren't stupid enough not to see through the charade. She simply shook her head at him in response and added, "Sorry, can't do it, Plange."
"Do you want to see your daughter again?"
The question made her stumble a little with her words. She would do practically anything to see Kira again, illegal or otherwise. He did not even need to ask her if she would or not. "Of course I – "
"Do it, then. For her."
Without making a fuss, Emiracia nodded, her anger subsided for the time being. The plan was not fool proof. She could be caught at any moment, but she wondered if there was another way to get the gold. Sitting down at the edge of one of the beds, she said, "Okay, what do I need to do first?"
