Chapter 2
5 Months Later...
The Moon hung high in the night sky. The stars were their brightest ever, and provided a vivid mosaic of swirling figures and constellations. Calm waves met glistening beads of sand and sediment. It was a beautiful night in Eversong Woods. The wind blew a warm breeze, that gave an enormous feeling of comfort to the land. Two figures walked on the beach on Sunstrider Isle, admiring the sky.
"Its wonderful, Thire..." said Lilena
"I know, I know..." remarked Thire, quite abashed.
The blood elves sat on the coastline, pointing out Warriors and Beasts created by the celestial bodies. The wind blew golden leaflets towards the couple, furthering the majesty of the scene.
"You never lost your charm, Stutters.." quipped Lilena.
"Stutters? You're still using stutters??" inquired Thire with a chuckle
"It fits you. I bet you still get it from Warden Silas."
Silas had become the warden at the Prison where Thire was assigned duty. Thire was a prison guard, charged with keeping tabs on Silvermoon's most dangerous. His job, however, was not absent of the usual interrogation or possible torture. Thire reassured himself, saying that he was cleaning up Silvermoon's streets of these wretched dogs no matter what it takes.
"The warden is a great man. It doesn't matter if I get the occasional 'review' or scolding, because I understand the stresses of his job."
Lilena admired Thire's growning sense of duty and understanding, and she was wooed by his natural charm and integrity. Thire was completely intrigued by Lilena, and had a virual feeling of ecstasy around her. They both knew that they were to spend their lives together, it was just a matter of when he was to pop the question.
"Err... Lilena, I've got to ask you something, and I hope you give me the right answer .." stuttered Thire. "We've only know each other for a few months but, i really think we have a connection stronger that time itself. I feel like our destinies have been intertwined, our fates joined."
Thire reached into his tunic pocket, and pulled out a small black box, gilded in silver.
"Lilena...will you..uh...will you..." Thire struggled to get the question out. "Will you... marry me?"
Lilena sat awestruck. Tears swelled in her eyes, and she went over to the Knight's ear and whispered,
"Yes...Yes, I will.."
And with that, they embraced..
2 Months later...
Thire sat in the guard's room, sipping a small cup of fine tea. His fingers tapped in rhythm, four in a row, as he waited for his shift to end. The room was well lit, with portholes in the ceiling to allow sunlight to illuminate the space. In the absence of sunlight, blue arcane crystals glowed brightly, providing a wonderful shade of azure to everything. This was unlike the rest of the Prison, which was dark, damp, and poorly lit by a few misplaced torches. Thire watched the small mechanical clock tick: 20 minutes, 15 minutes, 10 minutes... He was almost out of this light-forsaken place and back home to his wonderful spouse...
Until...
A fellow knight burst into the room, starling the other five or so knights.
"Another knight has been injured, quite possibly fatally!" he shouted at the top of his lungs
Thire dropped his tea as he sprung from his chair. The small porcelain cup shattered, sending its contents everywhere.
"What area was this Knight patrolling" asked Thire, with a certain fierceness in his voice.
"I...I'm not certain... some people say she was patrolling the Northern end of the Bazaar..but we don't know exactly.."
Thire stood silent. Thousands of scenarios passed through his head, but in the end he thought of only one thing.
Lilena.
Thire burst out the door and towards the exit. He had not earned his Charger yet, so he ran as fast as he could towards the bazaar. Several crowds slowed him down,but he regained his former speed and sped himself towards the crime scene. Thire broke through the surrounding crowd, reaching the taped off area.
Thire looked in shock. His wife laid on the ground, a large gash in her stomach. Blood was everywhere. She struggled to hold on to life, and by the time Thire had reached her, she had taken her last breath. Thire stood there without words... He could barely believe this was happening. He tried to tell himself that this was some insane dream or hallucination from all the stress his job afforded, but no, this was real.
One of the Knights trying to treat Lilena spotted Thire, and called him out.
"Knight Blackdawn, get over here, we need to tell you what happened exactly."
Thire slowly walked over to the Knight.
"What...h-h-happened exactly..."
"Knight Sunrunner was about to arrest a civilian who had murdered and herbs salesman. In her struggle to apprehend him, he took out his blade and...well, you can imagine the rest."
Thire was soon overcome with not sadness or remorse, but extreme anger.
"I want patrols searching across the city for the man who did this. When you find him, don't kill him... leave that to me.."
Thire went home, blaming himself for her death. He didn't sleep well that night. No one would have slept well that night.
