A/N
Since I have already begun writing chapter four, I have decided to put this out there today. :3
Am I free?
The water glittered under the light of the wisps of light floating around Darnassus. Moonlight was faint, seeing how it was merely a new moon.
Few people travelled through the already rather under-populated city, giving it its trademark serenity associated with night elves, but still Runa would notice almost all of them, especially at night.
"Winona?"
Runa flinched at the sound of the powerful male voice, jumping up and hiding up the nearest tree. She would always hide there, yet the others could never find her. It eluded her; after all, worgen had a superior sense of smell. Especially he.
Had it been daytime, she would have scolded her hunter for using her old name, which she threw away upon entering Darnassus. Since it was past midnight, she was in hiding; he would want to drag her back into their refuge home where all the worgen resided. Or at least most.
The tree by the lake, the farthest from their refuge she could find, was her refuge. Sometimes, she would not even wait for them to head out to find her; she would just climb the tree the moment she reached it.
Believing she was not there, he left. She was not even entirely sure if it was one twin or the other. They looked the same, sounded the same… they just did not act the same. However, when looking for her, they were identical. Perhaps one was more annoyed than the other, but she could not tell which one. She did not really even care.
Left alone, Runa crossed her legs and stared into the distance. She could see people moving about Darnassus on their mounts or on foot, either late travellers or night-owls. A large black sabretooth tiger sped past the tree she was in, carrying its rider further into the night. It stumbled for a moment, eyes flicking to Runa before returning back to the path before it, its rider scolding it. Every sound they made shattered the silence of the night like glass. The proud beast emitted a growl before continuing on its way.
In the slight commotion she apparently caused by her presence, Runa noticed the rider dropped something with a soft blue glow. She slipped off the tree, an action she had perfected over the days, and reached for it in the grass, just beside the path.
It was just a slightly larger stone, purely white and shaped like a bit deeper oval box, though not perfectly. On both flat sides it had a single spiral carved in and filled with something warm, solid and bright blue. Runa could not tell what it was, but it was magical. She traced it with her forefinger, nearly burning herself.
Even when she was trying not to touch the blue substance, it emitted warmth all around on her touch, the once cold stone slowly filling up with warmth. A warmth that was calling out to her.
She cupped it in her hands as if holding water to wash her face. The glow seemed to brighten in her hands. Do you wish to go home?
Her hands trembled for a moment, eyes staring widely at the object resting on her palms. Was it the stone that spoke those words? Magic was quite able to do so, Runa believed. She was no mage herself, but she believed they could mix up words well enough to make items talk.
She left the stone on her left palm as her right hand instinctively touched her left forearm, eyes resting on the erratic black-reddish lines marring her pale skin. She had been told what those lines and larger circles were. They, apart from the name she chose to change, were the only reminder of her previous life. Life in Gilneas. Well, there were other worgen, their presence reminding her of how they were forced to leave, their kingdom destroyed. There was also Darnassus itself, a place where she did not fit with her small, pale, human figure.
She could never lose the scars. She had already lost her name. However, she dreamed of leaving Darnassus behind, perched atop the elven tree. Of leaving the worgen she knew behind; she would no doubt meet more in the outside world, but those would be new faces. Faces she did not know. And they would remind her that she was free. She wanted to be free.
Do you wish to go home?
The question echoed inside her head again as she traced the blue spiral.
Somehow, she knew that home was not the home she wanted to leave behind.
Yes.
Warmth ran through her. She felt renewed. There was darkness around her, streaks of blue light appearing and disappearing before her eyes. It was really warm. And comfortable, relaxing. She had never felt that relaxed.
A yelp startled her awake, or at least she thought she was dreaming at that moment. She was not; she stood next to an unfamiliar person, in seemed.
"You… you are...?"
It took Runa a moment to shake off the blurriness before her eyes, shoving the odd rock into her pocket. The frightened woman seemed not to notice the speedy action. Would she know what and whose the item was?
"I… am Runa," she replied, eyeing the short-haired woman. Her hair was too red for her to be Gilnean, as much as Runa knew about her people. Black to copper with dark brown-red colours, but never too red like this woman's.
The woman did not seem to calm down. "I am Allison. The innkeeper," she squeaked in a scared voice. Runa held back a snort. She doubted her tiny pale self looked menacing.
"Nice to meet you, Allison," she said, spinning around quickly to take in her surroundings.
A single wooden table with a few chairs, several chairs around a bearskin that unnerved her on the floor, a chandelier that resembled a ship's helm in her eyes. Bookshelves lined the walls, but the books seemed rather unorganised and toppled over, an instinct to bring order kicking in but being shot down soon enough. Things like those made her believe in the remnants of clean Gilnean blood running throughout her - she had nothing to with books in the part of her life which she remembers. Or neatness. The entrance to her left was open into was seemed a bustling city with the floor being of large stone blocks.
She found herself facing the innkeeper again, forcing a wide smile. "An innkeeper, you said?" Allison nodded, her red curls bouncing.
"Where?" Runa asked with a tilt of her head. She did not know why she thought it just may feel friendly to the woman, but she did. The woman did not seem relaxed, but she also appeared confused. "What city?"
"Stormwind City," Allison finally replied, an eyebrow still arched, standing alone in its heights on her forehead.
Runa tossed the name around her head. She had to admit it sounded big and important, kind of. Perhaps even familiar, overheard from some conversation in Darnassus. "The human capital city?" she tried. Allison nodded, a bit hesitant, still confused. "And that is… where exactly on the map? In relation to Darnassus." Allison's eyes were wide with the befuddlement overwhelming her. At least she was relaxed, her body deciding Runa was harmless.
She decided to reply. "Darnassus is far in the west… We are in the Eastern Kingdoms. There is an ocean and a continent between us and them, going in that direction, and most do."
Excitement bubbled up inside Runa, eyes wide, the smile now sincere. "Amazing," she said calmly. She again felt like it was the Gilnean within. A noble race, indeed. "Thank you for the information, it is of great meaning to me." She kept a small smile as she waved lightly and hopped down the stairs of the inn. She turned to look back at the shocked woman. "We may meet again in my travels. Someday, maybe." She grinned like a child who got their favourite broken toy back like new. "For now, I am free. Fare thee well!"
It was a big exaggerated, she believed, but she had long not felt such joy.
A/N
As you have reached the end, I can only suppose you have read the chapter!
I hope you liked it and/or that you are feeling kind enough to leave a review of what you thought of the chapter.
Till chapter two,
Sour Skitts xD