A/N: Reese is not named after the candy, pronounce it like you were to say Reese Witherspoon. I did not name my character after candy XD, just wanted to make that clear. Anyway thanks for the private messages and hope you all take the time to tell me what you think and sorry about the errors I try to catch them.
Chapter 2
Booty Bay
(Anna's POV)
I kept a pretty close eye on Cyrus the entire way to Booty Bay and the entire way there I wanted nothing more than to shut him up. His small talk with Reese was starting to annoying me in every way possible, even the glances he shot in my direction every once in awhile got on my last nerve, this all seemed to good to be true. It felt like we were stepping into a trap with every step we took, but Cyrus was cheerful, cocky and really rude, but not once did he change his story when both Reese and I continued to ask him about his intensions. We were headed towards a large Pirate city that was nestled at the very tip of Stranglethorn Vale and god only knew what type of people we were bond to encounter. Cyrus had shared most of his food and water with the three of us but it still wasn't enough to last three days so we took our time in climbing trees to pick fresh fruit, kneeing in front of streams to gather water and even attempting to hunt down one of them so called 'big cats' that he had been hunting.
Relief flooded through all of our bodies as the entrance to the Pirate city came into view. Two small green goblins stood at the entrance of The large bony bleach white skull of a shark with jagged white teeth. They were chatting happily amongst themselves and hadn't acknowledged our presence until we were merely a few feet away from them. They examined us firmly, taking in every inch of our horrifying appearance, refusing to say one word to us. My heart thumped in my chest, this was it , taken out by a bunch of short miniature goblins. This was supposed to be a neutral area but these goblins looked at us like we had just stolen their supplies. The looks subsided once Cyrus stepped in front of the tiny creatures.
"Where u been?" One of them squeaked.
"Out" He replied vaguely. "Brought some homeless humans with me too, found them on the road. Thought maybe we could use more hands to run this shit city since you cant do your job" Cyrus chuckled.
"Your teeth are going to get kicked in one of these days" The goblin growled in a high-pitched tone.
"You cant even reach the top shelf in the inn kitchen without a ladder, the highest that short green stump would go is my shin" Cyrus teased.
"Whatever elf just shut up and go talk to the boss,"
Cyrus grinned and motioned for us to follow him through the large mouth of the shark. The city was large settling into the cliffs and surrounded by a lagoon. The waterfalls that surrounded the city were absolutely breathtaking. I have never seen anything like it before in my entire life. Oh course we have heard stories of the great Pirate city before, but have never ventured there until now. It amazed me how many buildings there were all lined up next to each other. I looked back at my brothers who were just as amazed as I was. Kale had an excited look on his face and Reese had an intrigued expression. I frowned, as breathtaking as this was it still didn't make up for the fact that Cyrus was up to something and I wasn't going to stop until I found out what it was.
As we walked the wooden path of the city many merchants, pirates and by-standers all glanced in our direction, some of them with curious look and others with disgust. I felt uneasy as we passed a group of Taurens. They were incredibly huge and intimidating. I moved closer to my older brother walking side by side with him, feeling slightly better. Cyrus led us to an extremely large building that sat on the end of the pier.
We followed him through the double doors and into a large room. There was a fire in the hearth, a desk and chairs that littered the room and papers scattered the desktops. A pleasant feeling engulfed my body as soon as we entered and I relaxed. Cyrus led us up a pair of steps and suddenly stopped and grinned at a large man standing atop the steps. He had long dark hair which was pulled back into a hair-tie, his eyes or should I say eye because he was missing one were a deep chocolate color, he was tall, a bit round with a big scruffy beard.
He peered at Cyrus and rolled his eyes "Where the hell have you been boy? Things needed done around here you know. We got a neutral action house to run, this place needs maintain and I am unable to maintain it if my lead man keeps wandering off like a child, and who are these people?"
Cyrus rolled his eyes "Ya, Ya Thomis, I get what you are saying but you know a young Elf like me needs to let loose once and awhile and let his daggers do the talking."
Thomis rolled his eyes "You fucking rogues are so annoying."
"Where is Baron?" Cyrus questions.
"There was a bit of a disturbance yesterday and he had to take leave"
"What kind of a disturbance?"
Thomis rubbed his temples in frustration "If you were here doing your job as my main guard I wouldn't have to explain now would I"
"I was saving the homeless" He said gesturing to us. If he called us homeless one more time I swear on all that is good and holy I was going to punch him.
Thomis turned to us and examined every inch of us "I'm Thomis Daleron, commander and champion of this city. Tell me what brings you here"
Reese stepped forward "I am Reese Vamoore, this is my sister Annasta and my younger brother Kale. We are from the Elwynn forest, south of Goldshire and have been traveling the Eastern Kingdoms for 6 months now scrounging for work and a place to settle down"
"Tell me..." Thomis looked intrigued "Why did you three flee from your home."
Reese bites his lip so hard that it looks like its about to crack wide open. He clears his throat and began pacing back and forth "Well...my...my good sir I cannot discuss the gruesome details of what happened to us, all you must know is The scourge is deadly and evil, and they take every shred of happiness away from this world."
"Fair enough, Are you looking to stay here or are you passing through?"
Reese looks to us "We are In dire need of work, we have barely nothing and been scrounging for months with little result."
"Very well," He turns to Cyrus "They can stay as far as I am concerned, make sure they know the rules of the city and when Baron comes back make sure you talk with him." He turns back to Reese "Baron Revilgaz is the leader of the city, if it weren't for him this city would still be under the control of the forest trolls. He brought this city back together and the inhabits that reside here. This is a neutral zone for both Horde and Alliance to pass through onto their next destination, should either one disturb the peace they will be shot dead immediately. The Forest trolls. the legion and the Scourge are forbidden to step foot in this city that is why we have guard watch at all hours. Cyrus will see to your needs."
Cyrus frowned the tips of his long pointed elven ears twitched "Why me? I figure since I have brought you help I would at least be rewarded."
"Rogue, do as I say" Thomis commanded.
Cyrus let out a groan and motioned for us to follow him back out into the bright and sunny afternoon. The heat was no longer a problem for me since the waterfalls gave us a nice misty, relaxing breeze. I inhaled the heavenly scent of the Lagoon and for the first time in a long time I felt relaxed, content and so did my brothers.
"We have an inn, stables where you can buy mounts, but from the looks of you guys that's off limits."
"Why do you have to be such an asshole" I hiss.
His ears twitched again and he turned to face me with that shit eating grin "Anna, Anna, Anna, must you come at me, cant you appreciate the things I have done for you?"
I glare at him hatefully "Can you not be rude all the time and have some sort of compassion."
He laughs loudly "Um no" He turns his back to me and resumes his walking pace and I had half a mind to try and push his ass of the pier and into the watery depths below. "Ok bums" He shot me a look "We have a bank, Auction house where you can buy new clothes, weapons, armor and so on. An anvil and forge. Class trainers and profession trainers, Flight master, portals, and the usual residential house which you will not be receiving. You will stay in the inn"
The inn keeper gave us two bedrooms to stay in and relief filled my body as Cyrus bid us goodbye and stalked out into the afternoon sun. I plopped down on the smooth surface of the soft mattress and sighed in contentment, it felt so good to be able to sit on a bed again, after 6 long months of sleeping on the hard earth, the soft mattress was going to feel like heaven. My brothers would share a room while we were here, giving me my own bed and a connected wash room. Reese poked his head into my room and chuckled at my spread-eagle position on the bed. I sat up and gave him a small nod.
"You know we owe that idiot" Reese says moving completely into the room, his eyes examining every inch of it, right down to the decorations on the walls. The large bed took up half the room, a small dresser in the corner, a chair, and end tables that settled on each side of the bed. Reese was right about one thing we did owe Cyrus as much as I hated to admit it and as rude as the elf might have been the entire way down here, he never once showed any signs of hostility towards us. Even Kale had a small conversation with him during the trip and my younger brother has barely said a word since our parents died.
Perhaps I have been just a tad bit too hard on him, but who could blame me after everything I have been through, why should I trust the elf or anyone for that matter. I wont ever trust again, not fully, not even my own siblings. Asper had proven to me that betrayal exists amongst family. I kind of found it hard not to think of Asper and what he was like before all of this started. He was the most peaceful person you would ever meet.
There wasn't a violent bone in his body when he was human, Now I am not so sure what he has become, but the man I saw that night was not my brother or even human for that matter. We tried not to play favorites amongst us siblings, but Asper was always there for me as a big brother. I was the third sibling out of four children and the only girl my mother had and Asper being the oldest naturally watched out for me a little more than the other two.
I want so much to preserve the good memories I have of my brother, all the good he did in the world, for our friends and family, our neighbors, all the quests he had taken to help father make the gold. Nobody would of guessed he ever would of fell to The Lich King's control and turn on everyone. All the people he helped, all the friends he made, mom and dad, he killed them all in the scourges attempt to overthrow Stormwind and gain a southern section of the Eastern Kingdoms.
Tears fell from my green eyes and I hadn't realized I was lost in thought until Reese cleared his throat, dragging me out of my thoughts. It hurt way to much to think about Asper and every time I did think of him my heart broke into pieces.
"Anna" Reese took a seat next to me on the bed and wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders "I'll help you heal from this, None of us are having an easy time with this"
"If Asper was here right now back to normal what would you do?" I question him intensely.
"I'd kill him. There is no forgiving for what he has done. He's my brother too Anna. I just didn't lose mother and father, I lost a sibling and a friend."
"What bothers me the most was how he turned like that. He was going to his trainer everyday. You got to be truly evil to become a Death-Knight and he wasn't..." My voice begins to break and more tears flew from my eyes "He...wasn't."
"I know Anna I know" He soothed me.
"How does someone born to be The greatest paladin ever turn into something like that" I cry.
"We will never know, but the most important thing is that You, Kale and I made it out of there, who cares if we lost the house, the farm, the cows and chickens, and the gold. We survived the Scourge attack and that's all that mattered. My gut was right in telling me to come here and as much as I know you cannot stand the Elf I think you should thank him or do something nice for him."
I scoff "Ya right"
"Anna" My brother says strictly.
"Ok, ok I'll thank him, but if he says anything rude I'm hitting him."
Reese chuckled place a delicate kiss on my forehead and rose from the bed, leaving me to my thoughts again. He shut the door as he left and I lay back down on the mattress this time falling into a deep and peaceful sleep.
I woke up a couple hours later feeling like a million gold. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon. Pulling my rested body off the bed I padded my way over to the washroom and pulled my filthy clothes from my body. The heated water was paradise against my skin and I spent an hour scrubbing the dirt and scum from my skin. Once I was done, a towel wrapped around my body and hair I padded back into the bedroom and dug through my pack in search of something to wear. I didn't have much to choose from, but after much debating I pulled my mothers old blue cotton robe from the front part of the pack. I desperately needed new clothes, a new pack, maybe even some boots.
After I was all cleaned up and finished dressing I popped my head into my brothers room and discovered they were not there. They probably hadn't wasted time on sleeping like I had and was out exploring the city in search of quests and work. The Inn keeper bids me goodbye as I hike past her and I give her a friendly wave and venture out into the cool mid-afternoon.
I kind of felt exposed as I walked the wooden path of the city, below me the waves gently crashed against the cliffs and the sound of the thundering waterfalls fill my ears. The night was going to be beautiful and I was curious to see what the Lagoon would look like when the moon was at its highest and the rays shined on the water.
Leaning against the wooden railing that littered the city, in hopes to stop some poor soul from falling off the side and into the lagoon. I peered out into the ocean and sighed contently to myself, it was beautiful here, so quiet and peaceful. I could actually get used to being down here.
A piercing screech came from between my lips as a hand came to a rest on my shoulder I whipped around and pushed the offending limb off me, coming face to face with a pair of crystal blue eyes, dark black hair, pointed ears and a slim build. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.
"Why so jumpy Anna?" He questions with a laugh.
"Because I don't like people sneaking up on me and grabbing me" I frown.
"Sorry guess I should of made you aware of my presence."
"What do you want?" I ask in irritation.
"Nothing I was coming back from collecting crab-meat and saw you leaning against the railing , thought maybe you wanted company."
"Well I don't"
"Ok We'll sorry I disturbed and scared you" I looked into his deep crystal blue eyes and found that his apology was legit and there was no humor of any kind in his eyes. Remembering Reese words of being kind to him and thanking him for everything he had done for us.
I sighed in frustration, took a step towards him as he began to walk "I'm sorry" He turns around to look at me, the bag of crab-legs over his shoulder.
"What?" He grins.
"I said I am sorry for being a bitch. I just don't like to be scared or touched."
"I understand and I'm sorry too" He strolled back over to me, set the bag of crabs on the ground and placed both large hands on the railing gazing out into the ocean in front of us. For the first time in 4 and a half days since I had met him, there was not a ounce of sarcasm, ignorance or humor in his voice as he spoke to me.
"I think this is too soon to be telling you something like this, since we both just met. My mother she was human and my father was a blood elf. I favor my mother more than my father in looks obviously, I'm far from being a normal blood elf. My mother died giving birth to me and my father stricken with grief and wanting nothing to do with me put me into an Orphanage and went off to join the Horde. I grew up in Silvermoon City's orphanage since that was where my father had taken me, and every day I grew and the more I grew the more I'd get the shit kicked out of me by other orphans, the more the adults resented me, looked at me with disgust. I truly did get the living shit beat out of me by the kids and sometimes by a particular adult " He paused and stared out into the ocean.
"Cyrus?"
He takes a deep breath and continues "I know now it was because I look more human than Elf. One person cared for me during my entire childhood, she was my best friend and even my first lover and I watched her die because of the Scourge, because people in this world care so much about gaining and winning they don't stop to think and realize the destruction they leave behind in order to achieve that goal. I don't claim to know what happened to you or your brothers, but just know there are still good people out there willing to help, this war has broken so many people apart and its time for us to come together as one faction to instead of many."
"I'm sorry"
He turns to me and grins "Ah hell Fuck the heart to heart, your still a bitch Anna." He makes me smile and its something I haven't done in months, the last person to ever bring a smile to my face was Asper. "Wow you smiled; very well done, you've leveled up form an ogre to a banshee."
"Your an asshole" I smirk.
"Yes I know" He kneels down to scoop the bag of crabs, slinging it over his shoulder "Night Anna"
"Night Cyrus"
With that he walked away leaving me completely stun at how serious the idiot could be. I don't fully understand why he would tell me anything about his past when we pretty much are strangers with each other, maybe it was because he was trying to explain to me why he decided to stop and help us out that day. One thing was for certain he was still an arrogant idiot, but I hated him a little less.
To be continued...
