Author's note: Okaaaay so no Varian YET but at least he's mentioned. He'll make an appearance next chapter, though.
Emiracia saw the recruitment post outside of Old Town. Plange told her about the dire need for recruits in Stormwind Keep. At one time, he had posed for a guard in Gnomeregan, when they were still around, and therefore knew a bit about it. Except, the city was completely different. The Capital city and one of the largest human city in Azeroth. Random thoughts were left lurking in her mind… What if the information he gave to her was incorrect?
She spotted a guard in the Trade District beside another recruitment notice. She took a deep breath, and summoned up the courage, dispelling any last worries in her mind. "Excuse me," she said, unnervingly. The guard barely took a glance to her. "I saw the recruitment poster for Stormwind guards -"
"Ah, you seek recruitment? My name is Justine Demalier," the guard said. "Training starts first thing in the morning. You are lucky we're still looking. That's if, you want it still after the first day." She studied Emiracia up and down, adding a laugh of mockery. "Leather? Warriors don't use that. You will be using plate armor. Can you handle that?"
"Of course I can."
Justine scoffed at her. "We shall see."
Emiracia grumbled her way back to the inn, where Plange happily drank his alcohol, having not moved from his spot when she left. "You know, if this does not work out…" she said, while sitting down across from him.
Plange hiccupped and took another sip. "It… It w-will," he replied, placing his mug on the table. "Now for the tricky part. You need to actually go through the training." She would also have to somehow find a way to slip past everyone else, and somehow find where the gold was.
She sighed, her hand under her chin. There was no way out of it. Robbing a bank sounded like a good idea, but what was the point? Stormwind guards would be on her in seconds. At least with Plange's "plan", she wasn't getting to the gold right away. "Kind of figured," she replied. I will have to worry about figuring out a way to get into the actual castle later, when I cross that bridge, she thought.
The following morning had been a hustle. This is damned crazy, Emiracia thought. She woke up late, and nearly arrived on the training grounds late. To General Marcus Jonathan, who was training, was definitely late in his eyes, and already she knew she would have a great time getting along with him. He made her do pushups in front of every other recruit. She didn't want to do it, and telling him was a huge mistake. "Are you going to make a mockery out of me, soldier?" She was in no position to refuse. It was either that or not get her daughter back again.
She could hear her foster mother's lecturing voice clearly in the back of her mind. "You are far too stubborn for your own good," which had been a phrase repeated by the woman many times throughout her life. Em pictured her foster mother pointing her finger at her while saying it, too and then her sister looking down at her with her holier than thou attitude.
"Don't worry about the general," another trainee said, who sat beside her on the bench. The General had forced Emiracia to sit there and watch the others, for her outgoing attitude.
"This is going to be some fun we are going to have," she muttered under her breath.
The trainee just shrugged. "If you want this, then you should do what he says. I'm Tomas by the way."
Em nodded. "Emiracia," she replied, and added a fake smile. She didn't enjoy speaking to anyone other than people inside of Sapphire, but now she was no longer a part of it. She couldn't act that way anymore. "I… this is harder than expected."
"The first day has barely begun. We have several more weeks left."
"Don't remind me." It occurred to her Tomas may have a bit of knowledge about Stormwind Keep. Whether he knew anything, though, she had to find out for herself. "Can you tell me anything about Stormwind Keep?"
Tomas looked at her, almost in surprise as if she should have information about it. "What would you want to know about it for?" he asked.
"Stormwind will be my home for a while. I should at least know something about it," she replied.
"It's ruled by Varian Wrynn?"
She frowned at him. She knew damn well who the king of Stormwind was. How could she not when she heard about him constantly in Westfall. "Aside from that," she said. "Tell me about the inside of it."
"It has rooms. With guards."
The simple response made her fall backwards off the bench and onto the ground. Is he serious? She thought. The general spotted her and yelled, "You, rookie! Get off the ground. Just because you have been removed from the training exercises does not mean you can slack off!" Asking Tomas about it was a mistake. He would not give her a proper answer because he was either an idiot, or he enjoyed to mess around. She had to find someone who knew the Keep inside and out. But who?
General Marcus Jonathan was out of the question. He did not hold her in high regard from the moment she arrived, nor would he tell her anything anyway. She did not need him suspect her over her questions. Plange had never actually been inside, and he was not an option either.
Then I have to look around the Keep myself in order to grow familiar with it, she thought.
Training had ended for the day and Emiracia never felt completely washed out before. Even for her, the training was a lot to handle. "Where are you from?" Tomas asked her, randomly.
She stretched her legs out to remove the tight feeling from them. "Originally from Gilneas. I moved when I was ten years old to Elwynn forest," she replied, stretching her other leg.
Tomas nodded. "That definitely explains the accent."
She managed to smile a little at him. "You noticed, eh?"
"It's hard not to."
"Well, what about… you? Where are you from?"
Tomas scratched the back of his head, not responding well to the question. She wondered if she hit a nerve, and almost smirked thinking about it. "That is not so important."
Emiracia stopped stretching. "You asked me. Now out with it."
"Goldshire."
She patted his shoulders and chuckled. "See? Was that so hard?" Tomas scowled at her, making her chuckle even more.
The other trainees went to the barracks for rest. Emiracia stayed behind instead. She waited for a nearby guard who was a lone and not able to defend himself from the backside. She needed his armor to get inside Stormwind castle. She knew it would be easier to go as herself, but she would not risk getting recognized later on.
Em grinned as she stealthily crept closer towards the unlucky target, quietly observing his moves. The guard yawned and almost took a doze after a minute or two. She tapped him on the shoulder, and as he turned his head, she punched him. The man wasn't dead, but would feel that hit the next morning. Poor bastard, she thought. She dragged him into an alley removing his armor and putting it on herself.
Ve stood outside, watching her niece, Kira, playing with her dolls while sitting down on the grass. She curled the long blue hair around her tall ears. She had to hand it to the child, Kira was happy even when she was brought into the world without much. Of course, Kura would realize it as she grew older, but for the time being, Ve liked to see her innocence. Lately, watching her niece being a child was the one thing she could look at and smile.
Lady Brila, Ve's foster mother, stepped out of the house, watching Kira quietly. "Strange how her mother grew in the same circumstances, but ended up unhappy," she noted. Ve could vouch firsthand on that. Her adoptive sister wasn't the same as Kira growing up. Neither was Ve, but at least she didn't blame Brila for every mistake she made in her life. She kept her distance from Emiracia after she tried returning for Kira several months ago, and the visit, having still haunted her mind twice or more a day, did not go well.
"I don't understand how she could leave her," Ve said. "It makes no sense. She chose the life of a criminal instead of being a mother."
Lady Brila did not agree nor disagree with Ve. "Your sister has a lot issues to work out on her own. I just hope she does come through eventually. If not for us, then for Kira."
Ve nodded. The last she heard, her sister was in Westfall. She begged Lady Brila to move for Kira's sake, thinking Westfall was still too close. Unfortunately, Brila refused to move, not wanting to traumatize Kira from moving from the only home she had known. Having Emiracia return would complicate things. She hated having to explain to her niece why her mother would not come for her. Sometimes she wondered if she should tell Kira her mother was dead, but shook the thought from her mind. She would not be brought to the same level as her sister no matter what she did to deserve it.
How long is this peace between us going to last? She thought, and her smile faded. She must have looked upset for Brila said, "Ve? Is something the matter?" Ve shook her head. "Well, lunch is almost ready, call in Kira."
The three of them ate the usual soup they had every day. She watched Kira happily eat her soup as she told both Brila and Ve about the nice day she was having. Afterwards, Kira sat back in her chair, her smile no longer lingering on her lips. "Auntie?" she whispered.
"What is it, dear?"
Kira placed her fingers through her doll's blonde hair. "Will… Will I get to see my mother again?"
"Kira, you know the answer to that. Lady Brila says it's up to your mother," Ve replied. "If, and when she comes back, we will see." She did not like getting Kira's hopes up, but it killed her to see the child's smile drop every time they mentioned Emiracia. "I have an idea… How about we go for a small stroll? Would you like that?"
The child shrugged, sighing. "Not really. She said she would take me somewhere special when she comes back." She tugged on the doll's hair too hard, and the head popped off and fell on the ground. Kira gasped, taking the doll's head, and body in her hands. "No! My doll!"
"Oh no," Ve whispered. "I can get you another doll -"
"No!" Kira exclaimed, protecting the doll with her life as if Ve wanted to destroy it. "My mother gave this to me."
Lady Brila came out from the next room. "Kira, I think it might help if you go for a walk with Aunt Ve. By the time you come back, I will have it fixed." Kira glanced at the doll, and then at Ve. Brila mouthed the words 'Go' to her.
"We'll have fun, Kira," Ve said, taking Brila's hint. "Let's go." Ve took Kira by her small hands. The girl didn't want to at first, but finally managed a smile when they stopped at a nearby pond. Ve sat down on the grass, patting the ground beside her to get Kira to sit down as well. "Your mother and I used to play here.
Kira's hazel eyes lit up like a candle. "You… you did?"
"Yeah, we would have contest with each other to see who could swim the fastest to the other side of the pond."
"Who won?"
"I did most of the times, and when I did… your mother got so upset with me – " Ve stopped a moment, realizing her relishing in how temperamental Emiracia was as a child would not benefit her or Kira. "She taught me how to swim when I was unable to." It wasn't a lie, well, not a complete lie. Emiracia didn't exactly teach her. She showed her, with snide remarks about how she couldn't swim because she was a Night Elf.
"Auntie… do you think… my mother loves me?" Ve just smiled, finding herself unable to respond to Kira's question. She definitely had no clue what her sister felt any longer in that crazy mind hers.
"Excuse me – what are you doing?" a young male voice demanded. He caught her upstairs in an attempted to sneak back down. She nearly spent an hour or two around the Keep, but had no luck as most rooms were locked at night. The voice sounded like it belonged to someone of adolescence, which made her even more nervous to turn around. Regardless, she faced the person anyway to find a bright haired boy standing before her with his arms crossed. He was fancily dressed which made her conclude he was somebody important. "Well?"
Emiracia stiffened. Think. Fast, she thought. "Ad…admiring the place," she said, inelegantly trying to sound like a guard from Stormwind by removing her accent entirely. The boy raised a golden eyebrow. "You got me. I was lost."
"You were lost?" the young boy asked, baffled by her response. "It looked more like you were trying to break into this room."
Oh hell. The boy was far too observant for his own good. "Em!" she heard a voice. Tomas. Emiracia allowed herself to breathe again. "I told you to meet me in the courtyard."
She raised her eyebrows at first but nodded. "R-Right! Sorry. I was distracted."
"Why are you two going to the Courtyard?" the young boy was not going to let it slide easily. She guessed he was a bit older than Kira. Definitely in his teens perhaps. "I'm not stupid. Something is going on. Nobody wanders around here at night, and I know most of the guards within the Keep."
"We are trainees," she replied.
"I'm Prince Anduin. Do you take me for a fool? Within seconds I have you taken to my father."
Prince Anduin? Em thought. She would never have known if he did not say anything about who he was. Great timing. Not to mention Anduin was the son of Varian Wrynn, the last person she wanted to accidentally bump into. "Apologies, your Highness," she said. "I don't mean to waste your time. I thought it would be a good idea to try and get a better look at the Keep while it was empty since I may be… stationed here one day."
"Fine, but be careful next time. You two probably shouldn't be here if you are both trainees."
"Again, I apologize."
Anduin gave her a friendly smile. "It was an honest mistake," he told her.
Tomas escorted Emiracia out of the Keep where he roughly brought her to the side. "What are you doing? Trying to get yourself killed?"
She let her face drop to a scowl. "No! I wasn't. It's really none of your bloody business."
"Do you think that would have ended well if I had not intervene? Don't tell me why you were in there at night, when the guards are even more watchful than during the day," Tomas snapped. "Were you trying to steal something?"
She sighed. "Yes and no," she said, bluntly.
"You are insane and pretty stupid."
Emiracia pushed him backwards. She did not take lightly to people who insulted her. "If you knew… my reason. You would not tell me I am being stupid. I was actually trying to find a way to get a better feel for the building when I do decide to." She wondered if it was smart to tell Tomas her plans on trying to steal. "Look… tell somebody if you want. It doesn't matter to me."
"I won't tell. I could, but I will not. Well, that is if you can help me." She nearly pushed him again, but stopped herself. "If you can help me, then I will keep your secret and you do what you wish."
Oh, hell, Emiracia thought, and knew whatever it was Tomas wanted help with, it could not be good.