It's been a short while, but I have not forgotten this story. Here is chapter three. Enjoy.
Once again, I found that, at least on the outside, the Astranaar dance hall was much different than the one in Stormwind. I made a note to myself so that I wouldn't think about it anymore. These buildings were ones I grew up in, and I shouldn't have been thinking of them as if I were an outsider.
Sakeran led me in to the hall. The layout was actually familiar to me. Even with not having been in there for more than a few years, it all seemed like a second home. As if I had done something in here once…
"There's Rethian and my brother," Sakeran said, pointing them out to me. Rethian was wearing an ornate woodland-colored outfit, which somewhat complemented his dull purple hair. Sakeran's brother was wearing something quite similar to what Sakeran had put on. They both had night elf girls with them, and they looked quite content talking to them.
"I'll have to introduce you to my brother properly, but later," Sakeran said.
"Who's that with you, Sakeran?" someone asked from behind us. I turned around and saw a woman with light blue hair, wearing a simple black dress.
"Oh, hello," Sakeran said. "Tarania, this is Alannaria Nightwind. Alannaria, this is Tarania Moonrise."
Alannaria's eyes widened a little. "You don't mean… moon priestess Tarania?" she asked in surprise.
I looked at Alannaria hopefully. "Do I… do I still hold that title?" I asked.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, you do…" Alannaria said breathlessly.
Sakeran raised an eyebrow. "She didn't tell me," he said.
"It didn't even occur to me," I said. Once again I felt ashamed at myself for totally losing my touch with Ashenvale. I had even gone so far as to have completely forgotten about my status.
"We're old friends," Alannaria said to Sakeran.
"I might never have guessed," Sakeran mumbled. I smiled.
"What's changed since I left Ashenvale?" I asked.
"Oh, not much… nothing ever changes in just one year," Alannaria said to me, smiling. "You've changed, though… I almost wouldn't recognize you if you passed me in the street." This made me more uneasy than anything. I was suddenly very thankful that she hadn't seen me in the condition I was in at Ratchet.
"Sakeran, if you wouldn't mind, there's something I want to show Tarania," Alannaria said to Sakeran.
He nodded. "Please, take all the time you need," he said. Alannaria smiled one of her playful smiles and skipped out of the building. I followed her at a much less lively pace.
Alannaria's house was in the same place that it had been before I left; it was right next to the lake, not too far from the rest of Astranaar, but far enough away to warrant some privacy. Alannaria stopped in front of the door and turned to me.
"We're going to have to make this quick, otherwise we will be late for the dance and our partners will be all alone," she said.
I nodded. "Whatever it is you have to show me, you should show it to me now."
Alannaria opened the door and peered inside. She went in for a couple of moments, and then came back out, leading something with her.
"Say hello to Tarania," she said, stepping aside.
Could it be…? I looked down at what Alannaria had brought out with her. It was a nightsaber… the nightsaber I had before I had left for the Eastern Kingdoms…
"You'll have to leave her behind, Tarania," a druid said. "She wouldn't do well on the ship, and it's possible that she would die."
Tarania was on her knees in front of a brown and black striped nightsaber cub. Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes. "I know…" she said sadly. She hugged the cub tightly to her.
"She'll be taken good care of," the druid continued. "I could look after her, or somebody else, if you'd like."
"Please… just let her be here when I return…" Tarania sighed. The cub was beginning to squirm in her arms. Tarania let go of her and she jumped out of her arms. The nightsaber settled down on the ground.
"The ship will be arriving soon," the druid said. "You'd best get ready."
Tarania stood up and took one final look at the cub nestled in the leaves. The wing-like markings around her eyes were streaked red with tears. "Goodbye, Arillia."
I found myself on the ground, hugging Arillia to me. After all this time away, she was still here in Ashenvale, alive and well. I wanted nothing more than to be able to just sit and cuddle with Arillia.
"I took good care of her while you were gone," Alannaria said.
"I have no doubt," I murmured.
"Now, I know that you love Arillia… but we'd best be getting back to the hall, or else people will start wondering where we are! That wouldn't be good, would it?" Alannaria said brightly.
"May I take Arillia with me?" I asked.
"Certainly! I don't see why you even had to ask," Alannaria said. A pang of guilt stabbed me. How long would it be until I became accustomed to the Ashenvale lifestyle once again?
I got up and walked with Alannaria. I called to Arillia, and she followed me closely.
"You won't believe how long it took for me to get that just right," Alannaria laughed. "She wouldn't go anywhere with me until I got the call that you used mastered. You trained her very well."
Before too long we arrived back at the dance hall in Astranaar. I went inside with Arillia at my side. It didn't seem like anyone had gone in to dance yet. I didn't even know when the dance was supposed to formally start. I saw Sakeran and walked toward him. He smiled at me as I approached.
"Is that what Alannaria wanted to show you?" he asked.
"Yes," I said. "This was my nightsaber before I left Ashenvale for the Eastern Kingdoms."
"Speaking of which, did you find Therinan while you were there?" Alannaria piped up from behind me.
The blood in my veins froze like ice. I turned to Alannaria and opened my mouth to speak, but the only thing that came out was a sort of hoarse croak. I gulped and tried again.
"I… I don't want to talk about it," I said, looking away.
"Oh…" Alannaria said, frowning. "I guess I'll leave you then." She walked away.
I wanted to do nothing more than grab Arillia and cry to my heart's content. I turned back to Sakeran and wiped my face. Sakeran looked at me sympathetically.
"What was Alannaria talking about?" he asked.
"I'll tell you later," I muttered. He nodded in understanding. The last thing I wanted to think about right now was Therinan… I had tried so hard to drive him from my mind. But, in the end, it was impossible to totally forget him.
I went outside in a hurry. I sat down and cried into my hands. I needed to let this out somehow, and I couldn't think of any other way. Arillia rubbed against me and lay down by my side. She understood how I felt, even if she had never known Therinan.
I heard footsteps in the leaves and looked up. It was Sakeran.
"Tarania, what's wrong?" he asked. He could not have asked a more complicated question if he had tried. I looked up at him. My cheeks stung from the tears that had been pouring down my face.
"Please, don't tell anyone else about this…" I said, looking down at the ground again. Sakeran sat down beside me.
"If you tell me what's wrong, maybe I can help," he said.
I didn't want to talk about it. It was so hard for me to explain this to people. It got harder every time, so eventually I had stopped trying to even start. Then, when I did explain it, all they said was "oh, what a sad story." It wasn't worth it to me.
"Swear that you'll take this seriously," I said, looking at Sakeran.
"I swear that I'll take this seriously," he said reassuringly to me.
"Good…" I said. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. There would be plenty more tears streaming down my face by the time I was done, I was assured.
"I have a brother named Therinan," I said, trying my best to keep my voice from cracking. "We were very close. If I ever needed someone to turn to, he'd be there, and he'd understand everything I told him. We went everywhere together and did everything together. We were inseparable.
"Two years ago, he decided to go to the Eastern Kingdoms in search of new lands and work to do. I wanted to go with him, but our parents would hear none of it, because they thought it would be too dangerous for me, and I was needed to continue my duties as a moon priestess. So he went on a boat one day. I tried to keep him here as long as possible, but inevitably he had to leave with the boat. I watched the dot on the horizon until it disappeared.
"I gradually got used to him being gone, but everything seemed so empty without him there. He did send frequent letters to me, which was nice. He kept me updated on how he was doing, and sometimes he'd send me a package through the mail."
I took off a silver, heart-shaped pendant around my neck and presented it to Sakeran. "Therinan got a dwarven silversmith to make this for me. He also found the rarest stone he could and had the dwarf put it in the middle."
"It's beautiful," Sakeran said, as he looked it over.
I tried to smile. "Therinan said that it matched my eyes. He also said that the dwarf was very good, and he apparently sent him my regards.
"He kept in touch for me for a long time, but then the messages stopped for a time, and I became worried. It was nearly two months before I received another message. I was overcome with joy when I got it, but when I opened it, it wasn't from Therinan. It was from one of his companions, named Falkrist. The message said that Therinan had been killed in the Arathi Highlands by a patrol of an undead faction named the Forsaken.
"I could tell from the way that the message was written that Falkrist had been a good friend of Therinan's. He said that they had tried their best to hold them off and escape, and Therinan had distracted them so that the rest of them could escape. It's… really the kind of thing Therinan would do for me… at the end Falkrist said that he was sorry that my brother was dead.
"I was overcome with not only sadness, but also hate for the Forsaken, and shame because I was convinced that if I had gone, he might not have died. Despite the fact that I was to stay in Kalimdor, I found a way out of my duties, and got onto a boat to the Eastern Kingdoms. I was told that I would be welcome back at any time, even if I didn't find Therinan. I told myself that I wouldn't return until I had avenged his death.
"I spent four months searching for the Forsaken who killed my brother, and searching for his body. I don't know how many undead people I destroyed… ten, a hundred… it didn't matter to me, I just killed every single one I came across. I must have seemed crazy to anyone who watched me at the time. Despite all of my best efforts, I'll never know if any of the undead I killed was one that helped slaughter my brother, and I never did find his body.
"I did eventually realize that what I was doing was madness. I couldn't bring myself to keep killing the Forsaken, even if they were just undead. The futility of my goal discouraged me, and eventually I went to Stormwind and stopped. Going back to Kalimdor didn't even occur to me. I didn't send any letters to my family throughout my entire stay in the Eastern Kingdoms. The only reason I'm here right now is because I had decided that going to Ratchet for a little while would be a good idea… then you told me to come here…"
I closed my eyes and took heavy breaths, trying to stop the tears from coming back. I felt arms around me and I opened my eyes. Sakeran was hugging me to him.
"I'm sorry," he said to me. "I've never lost a friend or a family member… but it must be hard living without someone you knew all your life."
"I'm glad that you don't have to live with it," I said.
"Are you feeling any better?" Sakeran asked.
"A bit," I said.
"Are you feeling well enough to go back inside?" he asked.
"Yes, I suppose I am," I replied.
"Then let's go. The ceremony is going to begin soon." Sakeran released me and got up. I stood up beside him. He walked back inside, and I followed him with Arillia dogging my footsteps.