- Reforging Alliances -

Over the hours following their escape from Southshore, Alaric paid little attention to where the elf led them. He was vaguely aware that they were riding deeper into the hills, and at some point he realized they had ended up near the river he had mentioned earlier. He said nothing the entire time, and Kiri'el understood why. It was little more than random chance that he had stumbled across her, and in trying to save her life he had given up his own. Kiri'el pulled up on the reins, bringing the mount to a halt. They had been riding harder than she intended for quite a while, and if the horse was to be any use to them tomorrow it would need rest.

"We'll stop here for the night." She said, looking around.

Alaric nodded quietly, climbing down from the saddle. Kiri'el searched the bags of the charger, and upon finding the fishing pole she set out to test the river for fish. Alaric for his part attempted to busy himself with mind numbing chores. He tied the horse to a nearby tree, then began to toss a few sticks and logs into a pile. After a few minutes he even managed to start a small fire.

Just as the flames began to crackle the elf returned, two large Sagefish hung neatly on the hook of the fishing pole.

"Take this." She said softly, handing him the rod while she got to work cooking.

Alaric stepped over beside the fire, dropping down to sit on the ground beside it. Quietly he closed his eyes, trying to comprehend how everything had gone so wrong so fast. He needed it to make sense. He needed a reason for what had happened, something to latch on to that would let him know that the loss of his life, his status, his people…that it would all make sense in the end. He trusted in the light; if it would only give him a reason to believe that it would all make sense one day, he knew he could weather any storm.

He took a deep breath, eyes still closed as his desperate search for answers echoed through his mind.

Perhaps this was a test? He wondered.

He could live with that. The light had tested those before him and surely it would do so after him as well. Maybe it was just a trial of his faith, and redemption awaited him. Alaric was not one to crumble in the face of adversity; if that was the case, he would take anything that might come his way in stride.

Or maybe it wasn't.

Perhaps this was simply fate's roll of the dice. Perhaps he was destin-

No. He thought firmly. This is a test.

Deep down he didn't truly know, but he had been down this path before. He understood well that now was not the time to worry about the specifics. A trial made sense. A trial justified his loss. And so a trial was what he now faced, Alaric decided. Reality be damned; he would wrestle with the details later.

Illusions had served him well in the past. It had been soul crushing when Orcs tore through his village as a child, slaughtering his parents where they slept. That had been the reason he left to join the war in fact. When he had come upon their torched house after a day of fishing, he had told himself that it was fate guiding his hand towards his military calling rather than his parent's poor luck to be in the path of an Orc warband.

His brother had spoken of the Defias with reverence only months before he disappeared. When the Westfall Brigade finally stood victorious over the gang in the Deadmines, Alaric hadn't dared ask if his only sibling could be found among the bodies of the group's misguided mercenaries. He'd never wanted to know. He'd simply told himself that his brother had been a victim of their scheming; that his death was a sacrifice to purchase security for the people of Westfall rather than that the boy had simply chosen his allegiances wrong.

He had lost friends in the war, seen children orphaned, heard stories of soldiers tortured and much more. Suffering wasn't new to him. Each time he could understand the loss and comprehend the destruction only because he was able to attach it to a cause, real or imagined. It was a strange thing, but it kept him sane.

It was a small comfort. He would be ok in time, perhaps. Perhaps not. For now, he knew that it was pointless to fight the feeling of emptiness. Time was the healer of all deeper wounds. He could think, and rationalize, and try simply to cope, but nothing could substitute the simple passing of time. In quiet contemplation he stared into the fire, tossing the odd stick in as his mind wandered. Across from him sat the elf. She watched him think, understanding all too well what was on his mind.

"This is my fault." She said finally, breaking the silence.

Alaric shook his head with a sigh.

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is." He said quietly.

"If I hadn't been out in the woods for you to find me-" She began.

"-Then you would be dead." He interrupted. "Not exactly a desirable outcome either."

He sat a moment more before adding with a sigh "I don't regret saving your life."

She sat for a moment, thinking nothing in particular.

"What now?" She asked, after a pause.

"Now" Alaric said simply, "you go on to Tarren Mill."

"What about you?" She asked.

"I don't know." He said, shaking his head slowly. "I'll survive."

She sat quietly, feeling sick. It wasn't right. She should be dead, and he should be safely in Southshore enjoying a warm meal by the fire of the inn, or in Stormwind, or wherever else he would have been if not for fate's cruel intervention.

She let her gaze wander to his expression. His face was strangely pacified. He was sad, she saw that much, but she also saw a strange determination in his eyes as they glimmered in the firelight. It would have been unthinkable to her before, but she felt a certain trust towards him now. He was nothing like she had thought of humans. The Horde was indoctrinated to believe that the Alliance would be merciless, would steal from them, kill the men and do worse to the women. She had no doubt the Alliance told their people the same of the Horde, yet when reality struck, it was the exact opposite.

"My name is Kiri'el." She said quietly, unsure what inspired the revelation.

The Paladin looked up for a moment, a hint of surprise in his eyes before looking back down to the fire.

"Alaric." He said simply.

"Alaric." She repeated, her head tilting slightly to the side as she processed the name. It was interesting, the way it rolled off her tongue.

"How did you end up in the forest where I found you anyways?" He finally asked.

She paused for a moment, cringing inwardly at the memory of her beating. It wasn't a thought she enjoyed. Still, it was only fair that he know, she supposed.

"An Orc tried to kill me." She said. "His name was Karzak; a slave trader."

"Why did he want you dead?" Alaric asked.

"Owning or selling slaves is outlawed among the races of the Horde. It happens, and everyone knows it, but that doesn't change the punishment if you get caught." She said. "I caught him, by pure accident."

"Accident?" He asked.

"Wrong place, wrong time. I stumbled into one of his chats with a goblin baron about it." She said.

"I see." Alaric replied.

"He held me for hours before finally instructing his follower to kill me." She said, shuddering at the thought.

"I remember it clearly." She said. "I felt myself die. I know it, and I remember that part perfectly, yet there's a gap after that. Something happened that kept me alive until you found me, but I don't know what."

"Anyways" She continued, dismissing the thought "the next thing I remember is waking up in the room with you. You know the rest." She said, motioning to his leg.

"Mmm." Alaric grunted.

"So where is home?" He asked her.

"Tranquillen, before the scourge overran it." She said, drawing a confused look from the Paladin.

"It's in southern Quel'thalas, a place I believe the Alliance calls the Ghostlands." She clarified. "But I don't get back much."

"Why not?" He asked.

"It's overrun by Scourge." She said, sadness overtaking her voice.

"I'm sorry." Alaric replied.

It was odd to her, thinking about so many things that had brought her sadness, and yet speaking about them here, with this Paladin on this night felt…right. She knew the distractions would comfort him; conversation brought a sense of normalcy that he badly needed right now, and her own revelations felt like a long overdue release.

"Where will you go now then, if not back there?" He asked.

"I don't know." She said.

A strange pause filled the air between them for a moment before a thought struck her. It surprised her, seemed impossible to even consider, and yet…why not?

"Maybe…" She said, her voice trailing off slowly as she debated whether it was worth speaking aloud.

"Hm?" Alaric asked.

"I could stay with you for a while." She said. It seemed crazy, and yet for some strange reason the thought of being on her own again – or was it the thought of not being near him? – saddened her.

"What?" He asked, surprised.

"You heard me." She said.

"You want to stay with me?" He asked again.

"Sure. Why not?" She pressed.

"Given the last few days, I'm not sure if that's in my best interests." He said grimly, but the telling hint of amusement snuck into his voice.

"Come on." She said, perking up slightly. "Neither one of us has anywhere to go."

"And besides" she continued, "I owe you. It'll be hard to repay you for saving my life if I don't know where you are."

"You have lots of places to go." Alaric corrected her. "We're within a day's ride of a Horde town."

"Yes, and spending time around the Horde worked out so well for me last time." She replied sarcastically.

"Either way, you saved me from the guards, so we're even." Alaric said.

"Hardly. You practically pulled one of them off of me." She added with a mock groan. "I may even owe you double now."

Alaric grunted in amusement. He sat for a moment, thinking it over. Alliance traveling with Horde? It was preposterous, if not downright dangerous. And yet she was right. Why not? As far as the Alliance was concerned, he was already a traitor. What did he have left to lose?

"There's just one problem." He said finally.

"What's that?" She asked.

"Kiri'el is a mouthful in battle." He replied, causing the elf to grin.

"How about Kiri." She suggested. It was a name her mother had called her long ago.

"Kiri." Alaric said slowly, as if he had not already made up his mind.

"Ok." He said simply. "Let's do it."

For the first time that night, Alaric broke into a small smile.

Across the fire, Kiri'el exhaled, a breath she hadn't known she was holding. They were staying together. It was crazy but somehow, unlike so many other things the past few days…

It felt right.

A/N:


Wow, I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter. Emotional swings are tough. They've had a proper conversation now though, back to the action soon! ;)

I've gone back and cleaned up the last chapter ("Gone"). It was sort of incoherent at times and oddly paced. I guess that's what I get for rushing through without editing it properly. Anyways, the plot is the same, but if you had trouble with some of the strange errors it may be worth a quick re-read.

Zarabethe: I'm glad you're enjoying it! His inability to use the light was a combination of exhaustion, panic, and the fact that the guard was already beyond saving. In WoW, all Paladins can resurrect, but in the interest of preventing superhero-syndrome where every problem could be solved with the wave of a hand, unnamed guardsman #5 had to die. His sacrifice was noted.

Finally, thanks again to everyone who's read and reviewed so far!

PS – Longer note than I intended. I'll try to keep them shorter in the future!