Rise of Silverpine chapter 4

I do not own Warcraft or A song of Ice and fire


Arya sighed at the girl's reaction. Just when she was starting to have a normal conversation, by her standards anyway, the girl realized who she was and freaked out.

"My apologies, your…grace?" stammered the girl uncertainly, constantly bowing.

"Stop bowing! I hate it!" shouted Arya, fisted clenched at her sides. "Now where do you sleep? You said you live here."

The elf rose up, yet refused to meet the petite girl's silver eyes. She weakly pointed down one of the ruined streets.

"T-this way, y-your grace." Said Elida.

"Arya…" mumbled the Stark queen. She has been trying to get people to call her that for so long, she had given up trying, yet always getting irritated nonetheless.

As the suddenly meek elf began leading the way, Arya was pulling her horse along, supplies strapped to its back as Nymeria trotted alongside her. They walked for a few blocks before coming to the side of what remained of a wall, the cellar entrance slung ajar.

Seeing as the horse had no way down, Arya brought the animal to what used to be the house's living room before tying it to what remained of the fireplace's chimney. She removed the saddle, leaving it on the ground next to her steed and took the small supply bag before following Elida down the stairs and into the cellar.

The cellar was all stone, a few destroyed wine barrels lining one of the walls. Arya saw what appeared to be bear fur stretched on the floor in the far end of the room, a deep red blanket with golden designs thrown over it. A few pieces of firewood were haphazardly thrown into a corner while ashes in a circle of stones were left in the middle of the stone 'room' a rather large hole directly up above them, looking as if it lead directly to the fireplace up above.

"M-my apologies, y-your grace, I d-don't have m-much."

"It's alright. It's going to get dark soon. Let's start the fire." Said Arya, taking a few brushwoods before stacking them in a pile in the middle. The elf only dumbly nodded before she kneeled besides the equally petite human and began trying to light the wood.

It took some time, yet when they finally did it, the cellar was quickly filled with smoke, making the two girls cough rather violently. Thankfully, the smoke swiftly found its way up the hole in the celling, making the air breathable again. The sun had already set and twilight was beginning to move in outside as Elida peaked her head through the stairway that led down, taking a weary look around, checking on the queen's horse, the steed already lying on the ground on its side. The horse cast a look the elf's way before laying its head down, resting from the long day.

The blond silently shut the door of the outside cellar, careful not to make any noise in the silent ruins.

Returning down to the cellar, she saw that the wolf had made itself comfortable on the bear pelt, golden eyes following its mistress as the silver-eyed queen was emptying the contents of her bag onto a wine barrel that she used as a table. A block of cheese and a piece of bread that was beginning to turn hard was all the food that Arya carried.

Seeing as her 'bed' was taken, Elida took a seat on the cold hard floor in good proximity to the fire, throwing another log as she sat down while hungrily eyeing the food that Arya brought out, the gaze not been lost on the silver-eyed girl.

Putting her bag aside, Arya strode to the bear pelt and sat down on it before frowning at how the elf was sitting on the cold ground in what was in essence her home.

"Come on, Nymeria won't bite."

The elf looked startled as there was nothing but silence for the last couple of minutes. Elida rose up uneasily, fear written all over her face as she began slowly making her way to the makeshift bed. Finally reaching it, the blonde eyed her would be spot for what felt like eternity, an irritated sigh from Arya pushing her forth.

Finally sitting down on the soft surface on the other side of Nymeria, the girl was genuinely surprised when the wolf nuzzled her sides. She was even more so when Arya offered her half of her bread and cheese, her stomach rumbling at the prospect of actual food instead of half cooked deer meat.

Taking the offered food with as much reserve as she could muster, Elida uttered a barely audible 'Thank you' before digging in greedily, tearing into the hard bread and old cheese. They finished their meals quickly, and not before long, they both fell into silence.

It was Arya that moved first, getting up and strolling over to a busted keg, beginning to remove her weapons. Her rapier came first, the hidden pistol and even a dagger all piled onto the makeshift table.

Arya then removed her long coat, leaving it stretched onto the ground before removing her single chest piece of an armor along with her thin fingerless gloves, leaving them on the coat. She dug through her bad that was near the barrel before pulling out a forest-green blanket, carrying it with her bag to the bed.

She then slipped out of the riding boots, her bare feet stepping on the soft fur. With Nymeria getting up on her own, Arya threw her blanket over Elida's one, the silver eyed girl having sworn to get a better one next time she goes for an adventure.

"Well? Aren't you going to get ready for bed?" asked the petite queen, turning to the elf who was looking uncertainly between Arya and the makeshift bed.

"Yes, of course, your grace."

The elf removed her blue cloak before slipping out of her boots after removing her belt along with her single dagger, proceeding to snuggle beneath the covers, turning her back to the queen.

They remained silent for a while, none of them moving, even as Nymeria laid along between them. It was Arya that broke the silence.

"Hey, Elida… what is Eversong like?"

The elf in question swiftly turned her head towards the petite human, seeing her peaking above the wolf's head, both golden and silver eyes meeting her emerald ones. Elida averted her gaze, falling in deep though before responding.

"It's… it's beautiful. Golden-leafed trees and evergreen fields. Breathtaking waterfall fueled by fresh streams leading to the sea, a gentle shade of blue. It is always warm, always sunny. Not like here." As if to further prove her point, the elf shivered even beneath the covers, the two blankets yet to warm up.

"Sounds nice." Said Arya.

"It was, before the Scourge, before the Horde…" the young queen did not push further, even if she was slightly confused by the second statement. With a mighty yawn, her head hit the bear pelt, snuggling into Nymeria and not before long, dreams enveloped her.


The two girls got up early the next morning, the sun barely beginning to rise before they devoured the last of Arya's supplies. They both attached their bags to Arya's steed, quickly moving towards the cave, not half an hour outside the ruined town to the west.

Tying the horse to a nearby tree, they hid in a brush, observing the outside of the cave, seeing one yeti hacking away at a Lynx corpse before going back inside the cave with pieces of the meat. With a final check on her pistol, Arya jumped out of the brush, running straight towards the cave, her hand on her sword. It took some time for Elida to compose herself before following, her dagger out.

By the time she made it to the entrance, Arya was already pulling out her sword from the back of the yeti that was outside but a second ago, the silver-eyed girl ushering her blond companion to go forth, Nymeria at her side. Thankfully, these cave yetis were smaller than their mountain brethren. When they came across a duo moving out of the tunnel, Nymeria quickly jumped and savaged one to death while Arya easily sidestepped a swipe from a hairy clawed hand, her sword finding its way to the creature's heart. As a smaller one suddenly emerged from a side tunnel, right behind the Stark daughter, it was Elida that made her first kill, throwing her dagger rather clumsily, yet the weapon finding its way to the creature's face nonetheless. Seeing as the creatures' roars had filled the caves, yet no more were coming out, both girls breathed out a sigh of relief, moving further in at a more leisurely pace.

They soon came upon the loot that the yetis have been gathering, the view only been able to be described as a pile of shinnies. Bronze pipes, tin dishes and cutlery, horse shoes, helmets and shields. Even an iron-framed inn sign. Elida quickly began digging through, looking for her brother's sword, yet also collecting anything that actually may have valuable – mainly the occasional jewels and crystals.

Finding the sword at last, she slowly ran her finger along its side, taking in the whole weapon. It was distinctly elven design, half the blade strait – the other curved, the metal polished to white while the strait part was clad in gold, the handle wrapped in red.

"It's beautiful." Whispered Arya from behind Elida. "Come on, we should get going."

A minute later, they were outside, moving back towards where the horse was tied. Just as they passed the cave entrance, a growl pierced the air, a mountain lion jumping from above and onto the petite elf, bringing her to the ground before anyone can react.

"Elida!"


Sansa was riding through the ever-growing Pyrewood towards the newly constructed village docks, a ship from Northrend anchored on the single pier. It was one of the few ships that the Silverpine kingdom had before, yet it was not a warship, merely a cargo brig with a couple of guns on the deck which were added before it was send to Northrend. This particular one carried resources from the icy continents, its entire cargo bay full of them.

Finally reaching the pier, she saw a couple of guards along with a man holding a rather large book talking to the captain. Upon seeing her, everyone dropped to their knee, Sansa quickly ushering them up.

"Can I have a list of the cargo, ser." Asked Sansa, still using the old honorific that she was used to, the people long having dismissed it as dialect.

"Certainly, your grace. Two hundred bars of Cobalt, fifty Saronite, ten Titanium and two Titansteel. Two hundred Saronite swords of varying sizes, fifteen titanium glaives and axes and finally fifty-three titanium armor sets." listed the captain.

Sansa remained silent for a while, thinking deeply on her course of action. She was receiving monthly reports from Lord Crowley and from them, she learned to be weary of Saronite. Blood of the old gods, some called it, yet unlike home, the old gods here were monsters living beneath the earth, corrupting and destroying everything in her path.

"Captain, am I to assume that yours is the first ship to leave Northrend, carrying goods back to the Eastern Kingdoms?" asked Sansa.

"To my knowledge, yes. From Valiance keep, at least."

"Here is what you will do, captain. All titanium weapons along with a matching number of armor sets are to be unloaded along with a single bar of Titansteel. Will you please assist them?" she asked, turning to the guards.

"Ofcourse, your grace!" answered a man in his early thirties his face hidden by a hood, shielding him from the morning mist. Turning back to the captain, Sansa continued:

" Afterwards, you are to sail to Stormwind where you are to sell the rest to the highest bidder." Sansa paused, meeting the man in the eye.

"I understand you and your men are no traders, but should you are successful in your task, a percent of the profit is for you and your crew. These are still rare metal with high reputation and I would imagine high demand and currently this" she gestured to the ship "is the only supply."

"It will be done, your grace!" said the man, determination in his voice. It was a while ago that Sansa discovered that while the men were loyal to her for what she and her sister had done, carrying out orders to the letter, they were even better at it if there were small stimulants along the way. She could part with a single percent if they managed to get the job done before more ships from Northrend sailed into the Alliance capitol. The wine incident had taught her many things. One of them was that the higher the supply – the lower the price. Now was the moment to act, the chance to put their small kingdom ahead of all others.

As the men got to work unloading what she requested, Sansa began making her way back to the keep, the small fortification overlooking the village.

Shadowfang keep. She still felt uneasy about it, even if lord Crowley had supposedly forfeited all his claims to the old fortress. While it has been restored and would remain an important location to her, the elder Stark daughter did not like it. It was indeed too small, the mountain's location making it so that there was sun only in the afternoon. Plus it was too out of the way, a good day's ride from the major intersection in Silverpine and a massive distance from Southshore, unquestionably the most important town in the kingdom. As a capital, it was ineffective.

Finally reaching the keep, Sansa though back to the ship that was to leave for Stormwind soon and saw a chance there, a slimmer of hope to further stabilize and enhance the defenses of the kingdom and restore the original order along the way.

She made her way to Tobias's room, the castle's mage. Few were the mages that could do teleportation, and sadly, the kingdom had none of them. Communication, on the other hand, was an easy trick with a bit of a magic to aid you.

Knocking on the door, the young man was surprised when he opened the door to his queen.

"Tobias, send a message to Southshore. Tell them for Greywind to be ready to sail within a week."


Elida awoke slowly, her back burning and screaming in protest at the slightest twitch of a movement. The last thing she remembered, was exiting the cave before feeling weight and pain on her back and then… nothing. She brought had hands around, her shoulders protesting the movement, feeling bandages wrapped, going around her entire torso. She hissed in pain when she gently touched her burning back.

Momentarily ignoring her predicament, she took a look around and was surprised to find herself in a room, on a soft bed with white sheets, her sword and dagger resting on the bedside table, her forest green bag propped on it.

The elf jumped when her left hand that was lying on the bedside was suddenly touched by the soft muzzle of Nymeria, the wolf been in the room the entire time, yet having remained unmoving until now.

Calming her heart down, Elida, uncertainly at first, touched the top of the direwolf's head before, with greater confidence, fully burring her fingers in the grey fur.

"Where is her grace, Nymeria? Is she alright?" she felt silly talking to a wolf, yet there was intelligence behind those golden eyes. The wolf suddenly blinked and but a minute later, Arya walked into the room, her hair disheveled as if she was sleeping.

"Hey Elida, good to see you awake!"

"Where am I, your grace? This does not look like Tarren Mill."

"Just call me Arya already. Getting really tired of this constant your grace this, your grace that." Elida was surprised at how casually a QUEEN was acting, yet a smile found its way to her face nonetheless. "You are in Southshore." finished Arya.

The blond's emerald eyed widened significantly. She was in a human settlement, surrounded by enemies, far away from anyone that might even remotely be considered an ally to her.

"But… why?"

"A mountain lion attacked you as we were exiting the cave. Sorry I could not save you in time." Arya actually looked apologetic, a sad look adoring her face.

"Why would you do this? I tried to kill you!" shouted Elida, clutching her sides at the sudden rush of pain.

"Yet you did not when we were sleeping later. And I can sort of understand what it means to be without a home. You said you are not welcome in the Horde territories. Why don't you stay here, with me?" said Arya, taking a seat.

The elf was stunned at the prospect, this girl, this queen, so easily offering her a place to live.

"How can I stay? The humans will kill me!" spoke Elida after a while.

"They will not. It was humans that patched you up in the first place! Plus half the town already saw you unconscious on my horse anyway…" said Arya, grinning at the way the girl blushed at the thought of been slung like a sack of potation over a horse's back in front of most of Southshore.

With her blush lessening, Elida thought about her options. Her chances with Silvermoon were not favorable by any stretch of the imagination. They were probably going to imprisoner her in the first place, yet with her running away, she would face an even harsher sentence should she return.

She could take her chances in the wilds, but who knows how long it would be before she ran across another 'adventurer' or even a group of yetis.

No, there was no choice and Elida greedily snatched her future.

"I would like to enter your service, Arya."

"Good, now get healthy faster so that we may spar." Said the silver-eyed queen, taking the Sin'Dorei sword from the table. "It would be nice to be able to do so with someone that is not two heads taller than me!"


Thank you for reading.