Forbidden
The characters and events in this story are my own, the setting belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.
Chapter 1: Savior
All Keiyna could remember was pain and fear... even now she was afraid to open her eyes... for fear that whoever they were would notice her again. She took stock of herself, she felt fine... better than she would have believed possible. There was a slight throbbing in her left leg and her head felt like so much primordial ooze... but otherwise well. She cracked open one pure white eye, taking stock of her surroundings. She was in a small dwelling, it was dark and the smell of decay invaded her nostrils. She could hear footsteps from outside the door and down the stairs and the smell of delicious cooking drifted into the room. She must have been found by a human... had her wounds tended... a priest or paladin perhaps. She smiled, happier by this turn of events. She heard the footsteps come up the stairs, the smell of good food wafting more into the room.
"Knock knock..." Whispered a strange voice "You awake yet?" It spoke common and seemed, despite strangely wet sounding, to be human, as she suspected.
"Yes... I am." She called, sitting up and curling her hooves close to her. The man opened slipped into the room, a tray laden with sweet smelling food, it was only when she looked up and saw the slightly rotting flesh and horrible yellow eyes that she squeaked and shuffled back.
"Easy... I am not here to hurt you... or trust me, I would have done so already... shhh... it's all right." He placed the food a little way in front of her "You should eat... the fever is not yet broken." he smiled, almost kindly in the lamplight. He sat opposite her, cross legged and gestured the sweet smelling food.
"What... are you?" She whispered, staring at the food warily.
"I am forsaken." He said simply "You may eat or not... though, I hope you do... it would be a tragic waste if you died here." He stood up. "I am downstairs if you need me." He walked from the room with the usual hunched gait of many of his kind. She sat for a moment before the fever claimed her and she fell into unconsciousness.
~~ . ~~
Robert sat by the fire downstairs and sighed softly. He was used to this reaction from many, especially paladins... especially Draenei... and especially Draenei Paladins... they could almost be as fanatical as the Scarlet Crusade over the undead. He grimaced and stared into the flames. He considered checking on her many times, waiting several hours before finding the food untouched.
" A pit... no..." He breathed, rushing to the Draenei's side.
~~ . ~~
Keiyna awoke with a cool hand on her fevered brow and the sound of grinding. She opened her star white eyes, glancing at the hand on her brow, bones kept firmly away from her skin. She saw the pestle and the bottle as he mixed a potion with his other hand, all the while muttering in a language she did not know.
She looked up into his concern filled yellow eyes and bit her lip, watching as he tried healing her without the use of the light. He worked calmly and efficiently, mixing three potions to give to her and using bandages and various salves to re dress her wounds. He sat back, clearly tired.
"You should have eaten..." He whispered. She felt guilty almost instantly, feeling that a being that would poison her would not work so hard while she lay in the grips of a fever.
"That was... kind of you..." She rasped.
"Don't talk... just rest... and eat..." He nudged the now cold food towards her and she tucked in ravenously. He smiled and loped from the room, bringing up some cold milk and placing it beside her. She touched her forehead.
"My name is Keiyna, who may I call my saviour?" She said, respectfully, once she had finished,
"You may call me what you like... a rose by any other name and so on..." He smiled slightly again "Though my name was once Robert." he added. "Here, let me help you..." He gently carried her to the bed she must have fallen out of before she awoke and lay the cover over her. "Sleep... we can talk later." He lay his cold hand on her forehead, palm up, and watched as she drifted into fitful sleep.
~~ . ~~
Robert sat at the fire once more, staring into it's destructive depths. As a forsaken he received a certain stigma, although his humanity was hard leaving... he was left in some accursed half way house between bloodthirsty undead and noble human. He sighed and prodded the flames before glancing at the southern corner of the room, where his armour stand and weapons stood. This was his home when alive and he was loathe to leave it even in death, the armour stood there and gathered dust over his second life... he felt it somehow wrong to wear it now. He sighed and sat in his old armchair, closing his dead eyes and falling slowly into a dreamless sleep.