The sun's vibrant rays shined down upon the earth, giving life to the trees, grass, and all life that needed it. A silver haired blood elf sat beneath a shady tree, her eyes closed and her lips pulled back into a small smile. It was a fine warm day with gentle breezes and the sound of the river pacifying her tired and frustrated mind. How long had it been since she had a decent break? Weeks? Months? A year or two? She didn't know.
The Blood elf sighed contently, her thoughts just being whisked away until her time of peace and tranquility was over and she was to go back to work in the shop her aunt owned. She cracked her eyes open because the sun found a way past the tree's thick leaves and hit her face. Raising a hand to shield her eyes, she peered around to see if any wild lynx were nearby. Satisfied that nothing that could potentially harm her, she relaxed back into the tree and closed her green eyes to the world and delved into the world of dreams.
All was quiet and peaceful, nothing upsetting the balance that was created. That is, if you heard the sirens to flee from the safety of your homes.
The blood elf shot her eyes open in alarm, her heart hammering away in her chest as she looked in the direction to where the sirens came from. The direction to where her home was. Smoke could be seen through the sky, freezing the bones of the blood elf that resisted the urge to flee. She must know if her aunt was alright.
She quickly found herself on her feet and sprinted to where her home was. She jumped over bushes, tree branches and, to her very own accomplishment, out ran an elder lynx back to her home. Horror and dread clogged her throat as she saw the devastation of her people. Night elves were attacking nay, raiding her village for their own sick amusement. Anger pumped through her veins but she only knew a few basic tricks to fighting and a few hidden moves to keep her alive. Despite that, she had no armor to better protect neither herself with nor a weapon to even fend off attackers. She turned her head away from a violent, gory scene that transpired a couple meters ahead of her. The sight and screams would haunt her forever.
Forcing her limbs to move, the Blood Elf quickly hid from view and silently made her way through the carnage and chaos to where her aunts' store was. She was careful not to alert any Night Elves that might be scouting, praising herself for overcoming such a difficult feat.
With the skill of a well trained Rogue, she made her way into a solid building that hadn't been scathed yet by the attackers. So far the Night Elves hadn't come near the building, but it didn't stop her from scouting out the room for any signs that might lead to having just one inside. Feeling a bit more comfortable after finding nothing, she desperately looked around to find her dear aunt.
The Blood Elf checked closets, under tables, behind curtains, and even large cupboards that could hide a small adult Blood Elf. Finding nothing, she quickly went up the winding stairs, hoping to find her dear aunt there.
With luck, she found that her aunt had been up stairs, a blunt weapon ready to defend for her life. A content sigh passed her lips as she signaled to her frightened aunt that it was her.
"Katrina! Oh dear Katrina you are safe!" She wailed and rushed to hug her niece. Katrina hugged the older woman back, smiling weakly.
"I thought you were dead! Quickly, come now. We must flee from this place for we are no longer safe." The woman took her hand, tugging at her arm for Katrina to follow suit. Katrina pulled her aunt back, placing a hand over her mouth. She leaned in to whisper in her ear.
"Sh. I think we have company." She felt her aunt freeze under her hold, sweat now forming on her forehead and sliding down the sides of her face. Quietly, both woman backed up into the kitchen on the top were they hid most of their weapons.
Katrina released her aunt, letting the woman grip onto her weapon for dear life, and crawled to the drawers where the weapons were hidden. Behind a drawer hidden from the arch way, she silently took out two one-handed swords and twin daggers for her aunt. She couldn't be as quiet as she wanted to be with four weapons to worry about so her speed was slower and more cautious as she returned back to her aunts' side.
She handed the one dagger and one sword to her aunt, one who thanked the gods and disposed of her mallet, and prepared herself in case of an attack.
"I think the coast is clear." Her aunt whispered to Katrina. Katrina took a risky glance back at her aunt and nodded hesitantly. She was not her mother or father, but her luck was just as good as their skill. Climbing onto her feet, she wondered if she should put on the light weight mail armor before departing. It was better than going around in a simple cloth shirt and skirt.
"Hold on, let me get some armor first. Stay put." Her glare stopped her aunt from protesting and she nodded her head.
As quickly as she could, Katrina made her way to one of the rooms and found went to the armor rack. Quickly, she put on the chain metal shirt, leg guards, light mail boots that irritated her as she walked, heavy leather gloves, she couldn't find any more mail armor, and even found a necklace that gave her the strength to move comfortably in the armor.
Returning to her aunt, she motioned for her to guard her back while she fought off, if there were, any enemies along the way. She hid her dagger in case she lost her sword or in case they were close enough to strike a swift deadly blow.
They quickly left the building, avoiding any Night Elves. So far so good and they neared a clearing before a blood curling growl behind them made them turn swiftly and hesitantly behind them. Life was just not fair.
A tiger, a type she'd never seen before until now, was growling menacingly at them as a male Night elf leered at them with white eyes. Quickly, she pulled her aunt behind her and held a defensive stance to her enemy. The Night elf seemed amused, even going so far as laughing, saying words in a language she didn't know but assumed was that of mocking tone as he looked at her.
A snarl reached past her lips, ready to attack for the insult, to what she assumed it was, but held back. She didn't know if her enemy was stronger than her, of course he was, and she didn't know if he was going to attack. He seemed amused. Amusement turned to a wicked smirk which turned into a harsh command that had the tiger he was on pounce at her direction.
Katrina pushed her aunt away, dodging the claws by a mere inch, and rolled to her feet. She swung her sword expertly, successfully scathing the tiger a bit and went back to the defensive. A roar escaped the tiger's mouth as its eyes glared at her with a snarl. She glared back, hiding her fear since animals could sense it, and keeping her ground.
Her aunt was behind her, on the alert and ready to dodge and defend her niece in case she needed her. Katrina was grateful, but unless her aunt knew any long range spells or even had a long range weapon, they were going to need luck on their side.
The tiger pounced again at Katrina but instead of dodging like she did before; she crouched down as best and as low as she could with her sword aimed for the heart of the animal. The Night Elf didn't have time to react as Katrina used most of her strength to drive the blade into the animal without having it crushing her in the process.
"Slice its head!" She screamed at her aunt. Her aunt hesitated but quickly used her dagger to cut across its eyes. A gurgled roar escaped the beast before going limp on the blood elf. The Night elf had hopped off the beast before Katrina killed it and was now cursing in a language they knew and took out his daggers.
Katrina struggled out of the beast and went back into a defensive stance. Two against one seemed fair since both blood elves were inexperienced and relying on luck. The Night elf twirled his blade around expertly, a sinister sneer on his face while he looked upon both women. Katrina's face paled, thinking he was probably a rogue and defeating him would be really difficult.
Her aunt seemed to sense her niece's distress and said encouraging words to ease the younger elf. Taking a deep breath, Katrina was ready for the Night Elf's attack. He seemed to take cautious steps, analyzing the elves reactions. He seemed satisfied; quickly reaching to the pouch he had on his hip and threw a knife at both elves directions. Katrina used her sword to deflect the knife to another direction, but her aunt was slower so she couldn't deflect it quickly.
A sharp cry of pain made Katrina turn her head to her aunt who was grasping her bicep tightly. The Night elf took the chance to sprint at Katrina's direction and release a barrage of swift slices at the distracted blood elf. Katrina could feel a scream well up in her throat when the enemy's blade dug into her flesh and tore it open. She mustered up enough power to launch a quick kick at the elf's abdomen, effectively stunning him for a mere moment. Katrina took the chance to take out her own dagger and slice it across the elf's face.
A scream of agony coupled with spurts of blood escaped the Night elf but Katrina didn't allow him enough to time to call for help for her dagger found itself into his exposed throat and sliced it open.
The Night elf collapsed in a heap to the ground where his blood pooled underneath him. Katrina panted, tired and in pain, but she muscled up and trudged to her dead aunt. Wait, dead? Horror and sorrow coupled together beautifully as Katrina raced to her aunt who was dead on the grassy ground.
She slid her hand underneath her head and pulled her upright. Skin was tough and cold and eyes were void of life. Her aunt was dead, but how? She checked the wound that the retched Night elf caused, wincing at the blood and torn flesh. A green substance had seemed to surround the open wound, turning the skin into a horrible green color. Poison. Damn that rogue to hell.
She raised a hand to close her aunts' eyes, saying a prayer that her soul would return to God. She stood up; anger and spite boiling through her blood as she turned tucked both daggers away and gripped the handle of both swords tightly. Someone was going to pay and she didn't care if she died in the process.
She turned to the direction of the battle, determined to kill off the horrible Night elves one by one. Just as reached back to the village, her blood froze in her veins. Ghouls and undead had attacked the Night elves with the fierceness only they possessed. But how did they get here and why were they here? Her questions were answered when Death Knights had openly launched their own attack.
Katrina felt fear spike up. She was happy in a way that the Night Elves were being slaughtered but fearful because her people were rising up. Lady luck was just not on her side as one Death Knight spotted her. She barely saw the smirk on his face before she was running away. She could practically feel the pressure he gave off as he chased her. She wasn't that fast with armor on unlike him, so it was only matter of time before he caught up, blocking her path. He seemed amused, his eyes looking at hers tauntingly. Katrina held both swords close to her, sweat sliding gathering at her furrowed brows and sliding down her cheeks and down the column of her nose.
The Death Knight boasted out in laughter, highly amused at the blood elf. Katrina felt hatred directed at the bloody death knight, her pride hurt by his obvious amusement. So he thought it was funny to mock her? He found amusement in her pain? Well she'll show him a thing or two about taunting someone who didn't deserve to be laughed at for trying to survive.
Releasing a battle cry, Katrina ran at the Death Knight. His cocky smirk never left his face as he blocked her attack with ease. Not one to give up, she unleashed a barrage of well aimed strikes that he blocked. She didn't stop even though he continued to block her attacks. His booming laughter taunted her and mocked her obvious inexperience.
Humiliation and exhaustion burned behind her eyes as each of her attacks didn't contact with anything but his sword. It wasn't fair that he was in full strength and she was not. She had just finished a battle, went through an emotional pain, and had been injured just while this Death Knight was charged and ready for battle. She wished nay, demanded for a way to steal a bit of his energy so they would be able to fight a tiny bit fairer than this.
She put all her energy and strength for a final assault when her blades glowed brightly, blinding the death knight momentarily as she struck down on his chest. His armor gave way beneath the collision and her blades sliced across his flesh. She could feel power surge through her body and her wounds slowly healed on their own. She didn't waste time pondering the million of questions as to what happened. She attacked, her weapons still glowing with heaven's glow as energy returned to her.
The Death Knight, angered, let out a fierce roar and kicked her harshly in the stomach. With the wind knocked out of her, she flew across the ground until her back collided with a tree. She let out a cry of agony but she got to her feet, at least to defend herself, her eyes staring into his frosty blue ones. His lips were pulled back into a sneer and he was ready to kill her. The glow was still there, faintly, but she wondered if maybe she could harm him as he killed her.
He ran at her, sword drawn, and she stabbed both swords into the ground and willing the energy to flow around her. The earth cracked and rumbled, but sure enough energy flowed through. The ground had been blessed and she stared at the Death Knight, ready for him to kill her.
Fate was so cruel because what was once a death knight turned to a very horrible and powerful being that she only heard from stories. She tried to back away but since she was already near the tree, she couldn't go far. Her resolve and determination vanished at the sight of the Lich King before her. His frosty gaze held her frozen in place, the energy fading away and leaving her more defenseless than she already was.
"My lord, what brings you here?" The Death Knight had kneeled down, his head bowed and weapon put away. The Lich King didn't break the gaze as he answered to his subordinate.
"This Paladin has promise." Paladin? It finally clicked to her that the reason why she was sturdier, stronger, and more aggressive than the other elves of her age. She assumed she was to be a warrior or a paladin. She even assumed she was some sort of priest, what with the holy lig-. Oh she was so stupid. She could have healed herself instead of pleading with the gods.
"You are dismissed." The Death Knight obliged, shooting a glare at Katrina that promised a rematch. Katrina didn't return it, thinking she was going to die in the hands of the Lich King.
"What is your name Paladin?" His voice sent shivers down her spine as she fearfully looked up at the tall man.
"Katrina." She wasn't sure if she should call him sire, king, my lord, or be disrespectful so she didn't address him in any way or form.
"Katrina." He tested her name, instantly making the elf feel embarrassed and suddenly self-conscious. "How did you learn to fight?" Katrina fought the urge to look away, keeping her gaze leveled with his.
"My father taught me. He… he thought I had the potential to become a powerful blood elf. He never told me that I was a paladin or that I was to become one." She answered truthfully, but for some reason, she felt that she was lying. She knew she was telling the king the truth, so why did it sound like she was hiding something.
"I see." He turned his head back to the village, officially breaking their staring contest. Katrina looked down, her arms around her in a comforting hug. Her aunt was dead, she was face to face with the Lich King, and now she was going to die. At least she died fighting, somewhat.
"Katrina." She doubted that she would ever get used to his voice, but she was thankful she didn't have to.
"Yes sir?" It was like a knee-jerk reaction to address someone of a higher title with respect, despite the fact that this King probably didn't deserve it.
He seemed amused for a moment before drawing his sword and lifting it to her the left breast bone where her heart thundered violently.
"You are to become one with the Scourge and you will fight for me as a Death Knight." Before she could protest, he plunged the blade through her heart and out the other side. She coughed up blood, feeling her life drain from her body.
Katrina used the last of her strength to look into the Lich King's eyes, confusion and a bit of happiness swimming her fading green eyes. Her eyes closed and a small smile graced her lips. Before her world went black, she muttered something that confused the Lich King as he pulled his sword out from her body.
"Thank you."
Author's Note: This is my first story and if you guys like it enough to say "Hey what about chapter two?" Then I'll do my best to post it up. It's not the greatest, but I do hope it wasn't the worst thing you ever read. So after you read, review. Comments and Criticism is welcome, just actually have useful criticism that could help me instead of hurt me.
Um, if there is any misspelled words or if I might have put a word that sounded right but wasn't the right word please tell me so I could fix it.