A/N: Welcome! Sorry for the delay. This chapter went in a whole different direction than I had originally planned. I hope you like it! There will probably be a rather big time jump after this as I don't see the need with filling a chapter or two with meaningless stuff. :) Thanks to those that have clicked follow or left a review. It means the world! :)
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Sparky: Thanks!
Torndar: Thank you so much for your review. I look forward to each of them. I hope you like what I do with Gaige in this chapter.
Petal: Thanks! I'm glad to hear that since I know you aren't familiar with the game. :)
0shiva0: I'm glad you're liking it! There's more exciting stuff to come as we move along.
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It all belongs to Blizzard Entertainment. Only my OCs and their place in Azeroth is from my brain.
2 years later ...
Snowflakes fell gently, silently around her but she was hardly aware of it. Her footsteps made little noise as she hurried over the cobblestone streets. Finally back in Stormwind after being sent to Stranglethorn with some of the other mages she was anxious to get to the Orphanage. Her birthday had come and gone, she was eighteen now, and was desperate to finally see her sister after their years apart. Rae could feel her anticipation rising as she crossed into Cathedral Square and her destination was before her. A few of the smaller children were outside, dancing around with their arms out while trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues. She wondered if Brynn, now nine, still played around in such a manner. Hurrying up the steps she took a moment to shake the dusting of snow off her hood before lowering it and looking around for someone to speak to.
"Can I help you?" a pleasant looking woman asked.
"Yes. I mean, I hope so. My sister was brought here about three years ago. I was told then that I could have no contact with her until we were both older. I've come now to see her."
"What is your name? And your sister's?"
"Raegan and Brynn Eastcroft."
"I will find the head mistress and see what we can do for you. Will you wait here?"
She nodded eagerly, stepping back against the wall. After a span of time that was much longer than she would have expected the same woman reappeared though she didn't look quite as pleasant as before.
"I am afraid you cannot see your sister."
"Why?"
"Our policies state that no family member can see a child unless they intend on adopting that child and removing them from our facility."
"That is not what I was told originally. I was told I needed to be at least eighteen and that birthday passed for me a few months ago." Rae was trying to keep from becoming angry; there had to be some misunderstanding somewhere. "I have not seen Brynn in three years and I'm very eager to see how she had grown."
"I am sorry but that is what the headmistress said. We thought to make an exception since you are eighteen but your sister stated that she had no wish to see you."
She glared at the woman as ice seemed to flow through her veins. "You are a liar. There is no way Brynn would ever say that."
The woman shrugged slightly. "I'm sorry but that is the final decision. When your sister reaches her majority she may seek you out if she so wishes. Now if you would please be on your way." Her fingers tingling Rae didn't budge. The woman glanced at her in alarm and she didn't have to look to know that sparks of arcane magic were twisting around her hands. From the corner of her eyes she caught movement as two armed guards slipped in one of the doors.
"We are prepared for your magic here. It is time for you to go, Miss Eastcroft." The woman's voice was much more forceful this time though Rae caught the hint of fear behind her words. With a final withering glare she strode back down the stone steps, barreling her way across Cathedral Square. She needed some space to think before she exploded in anger.
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The festive Winter Veil decorations twinkled happily but she was oblivious to it all. The stone bench underneath her was cold but she didn't care. Behind her Stormwind's citizens strolled up and down the streets, enjoying the company of their friends and family. Rae almost hated them. As she sat there, quickly growing colder, she felt incredibly alone. Her parents gone, Lane constantly away with the army, and now her sister refusing to see her (or kept from her most likely), she wondered why the Gods felt like continuing to punish her. What had she done to deserve this?
"Hey, there you are."
She sighed before lifting her eyes to where Gaige stood by her side. A sarcastic retort sprang to her lips but was halted by the concern on his face. The more rational side of her brain told her there was no reason to snap at him; he had nothing to do with the tatters of her life.
"Yes, here I am. Were you looking for me?"
He sat down next to her. "Mila said you left almost as soon as your group returned to the Academy."
"I came to see my sister."
"Ah, of course. You're both old enough now, right?" he said with a smile.
"So I thought but they wouldn't let me see her. They said it was her choice but I doubt that. For whatever reason they still don't want me to have contact with her."
Gaige was silent for a few moments as the two of them stared at the water in the canal. She was mentally cursing Myra Grinstock and the Orphanage when he put an arm around her and pulled her into his side. For a moment she stiffened then - deciding she just didn't care - rested her head on his shoulder. They sat like that for some time without saying a word.
"I am sorry, Rae. I know how much you have wanted to see your sister again. I don't know what I would do if someone was keeping me from my family for no reason. What happened to the two of you was cruel and unfair but ..." he paused and she glanced up at him. His brows were drawn together in thought.
"But what?"
"But have you considered that all of this happened for a reason?" Her own brows came together in a mix of anger and confusion. "Now don't get all pissy with me. If your parents had not died and if Brynn had not been taken away would you be in the Academy right now?"
He wasn't trying to be insensitive, she knew that, but it took her a bit to master the flash of anger that wanted to burst forth. Would she be in the Academy? While part of her wanted to say it was certainly possible she knew, deep down, that if Evelien and Durrant were still alive there would have been no chance of them letting her train to become a mage, not with all the trouble they had gone through to erase her memory of the past. And if Brynn hadn't been taken? It hurt her to admit it but she knew that the two of them would still be struggling to survive on the small farm outside Goldshire.
"Would you prefer to be here, doing what you're doing now, or working on your family's farm?" With the question put before her like that Rae knew she couldn't say she would rather be home. Even if her family was still alive she had always dreamed of getting out of Elwynn Forest and seeing what Azeroth held. Gaige seemed to see her answer in her eyes. "Maybe you are supposed to be here. Maybe there is something important you're supposed to do in the future."
She snorted with laughter. "Don't be daft. There is absolutely nothing remarkable about me or my future."
"Don't underestimate yourself. You know I've never had the best understanding of spell flingers but you seem to have a good grasp of your magic. From what you and Mila have mentioned you're starting to outpace the other students in your classes." He squeezed her arm. "Just keep that in mind when you are feeling all glum. And even if you don't go on to have some amazing adventure I'm glad you found your way here."
Rae sighed inwardly. He would have to steer the conversation in that direction. His pursuit was just as in earnest now as it had been after their initial meeting. She had been resisting, adamant in her argument that she was too young and too busy in her studies to think about such things. While the second part of that defense was still true could she really say she was too young to think about a relationship? Lots of other girls her age were already married or at least very close to it so why was she dragging her heels?
"Because you don't like Gaige in that way," a little voice whispered in her head. Had she really given him a chance? How would she know if she didn't? He had been nothing but kind and considerate to her, even if it sometimes was annoying. The fact that he was by her side now, sitting on a cold bench in the frigid air after searching her out spoke volumes about what was in his heart. And it wasn't like he was hard on the eyes. Gaige could almost give her brother a run for his money in the good looks department. So why did she keep resisting?
"I'm glad I'm here, too," she said with a small smile. "Its certainly better than sitting all alone day in and day out in an empty house."
He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. "You don't have to be alone ever again, Rae." While she frantically tried to come up with a response to that Gaige leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. Stepping back almost immediately he took in her widened eyes and laughed. "Come on. Its freezing out here. Let's go get something to eat."
Rae thought on his words for several days, turning them over in her head repeatedly. It was frustrating that she couldn't pinpoint exactly how she felt. Her heart told her she should be slightly upset that he would even suggest her parents dying and Brynn being taken away was part of some big design fate had for her but logic argued otherwise. She wanted to believe that her parents would have let her forge her own path once she was old enough, that they would not have held her back once they'd seen the potential she held ... the truth staring her in the face was hard to ignore, though. Evelien and Durrant had chosen to erase their children's memories rather than talking to them about what was so horrible in the world and why following in their footsteps was not something they would wish for them. Had they even stopped to consider what else they were wiping away along with the memories of their leaving for battle? That was a question Rae had no answer for but she hoped the thought had at least crossed their minds, given them pause, before they'd made their final decision.
"You need to stop worrying over this," Mila said one evening after a late dinner. "I don't know what has been worse: your obsession with Khadgar or your desire to torture yourself with this unanswerable 'what if.'"
"It's important."
"Why?"
"Because ... " Rae sat on the edge of her bed, mouth open to answer, and could think of no good response. Her friend looked at her a bit smugly.
"No matter how many times you look at what happened and ask yourself why it all happened nothing is going to change. You are here now and worrying over what your parents did years ago is just water under the bridge."
"It feels slightly ... I don't know, like I'm disrespecting my parents by questioning their actions. They did only want to protect me and Lane."
"There are lots of ways to protect your children that doesn't include erasing their memories. Disagreeing with the choices your parents made isn't disrespectful nor does it make you love them less, it makes you human."
Rae was silent for a few minutes. That was the crux of her jumbled emotions on the subject. She knew her memory and affection for her parents wasn't changed by admitting they had made a poor choice, it was just getting her heart to realize that as well. As Mila had said, this constant agonizing over the past had to stop and the only way to move past it was to take a first step, then another, until she broke the habit. With that in mind she went to her wardrobe and dug around in the top drawer until she found something she hadn't really thought about since before coming to the Academy.
"What is that?" Mila asked, peering over her shoulder.
She slipped the silver ring on her finger. "Not long before papa died Brynn and I came to the city to sell the vegetables from the farm. It was the first time either of us had been here and we wanted to look around. Before we could an older lady came up to me, she had been a friend of my mother's and had known me when I was little. She gave me this and said mama had left it with her to keep safe until it could be given to me." Tilting her hand so they could both inspect the blue stone in the center she smiled a little. "I don't know the significance in this ring or why my mother felt someone else needed to keep it safe but perhaps its a small sign that the decision to wipe our minds wasn't made too easily."
"It's pretty," Mila remarked as she turned to get ready for bed, though she threw a sly look over her shoulder. "I'm glad Gaige finally pushed the right buttons to get you to move on from the past."
Rae couldn't hold back the sigh. Mila had been absolutely ecstatic after hearing about what had transpired between them that evening by the canals and, contrary to what she had hoped, instead of backing off the subject her friend ramped up her efforts to further their relationship. To her own surprise she found it was kind of nice knowing there was someone waiting just to go for a walk with you or that wanted to take you to dinner or just enjoyed your company. Even the little things he did - the little gifts that appeared without a word or his ability to just know, when she was in a foul mood, that all she needed was someone to just sit with her - showed over and over that a true heart beat in his chest where she was concerned. It was touching and appreciated and her resistance was slowly beginning to melt. She still wasn't exactly sure of her own feelings towards Gaige but she had given up trying to fight it; they were friends and she supposed other relationships had started with much less. If this was something she needed to explore then she would ... and she could only hope she wouldn't lose someone again at the end of wherever the path took her.
The Deeprun Tram came to its usual abrupt halt. At least she was more prepared for it these days and no longer landed on her face on the floor. Gaige took her hand with a smile and the two of them followed Mila and Rainier into the thoroughfares of Ironforge. It was the final day of Winter Veil and they had decided to come receive gifts from Grandfather Winter. Mila had convinced them to come, stating that since they were all back safely after their latest missions they should take the time to have some fun. Rae had not felt much like celebrating the season after what had happened at the Orphanage but her friend - and Gaige - pulled her along with them ... and she was glad they had. Their joking and laughing put a smile back on her face as did Rain's insistence that they all purchase and wear the silly red hats that always showed up during Winter Veil. When they passed a drink vendor the smiling red headed dwarf gave them each a mug of hot apple cider. Its warm, spicy tartness reminded her of happier days at home. As they reached where Grandfather Winter sat outside the Ironforge Bank and joined the line to get their gifts Rae came to the realization that she was rather content. Despite everything she wasn't unhappy. Disappointed certainly but she couldn't bemoan where she now found herself.
"This beats studying about Illidan Stormrage, doesn't it?" Mila whispered beside her.
She nodded with a wry grin. "On that I can agree with you. Why we have to learn about him is beyond me. Maybe they're all afraid we'll make the same bad decisions and are hoping this will deter us?" The two of them chuckled at the thought. Their lessons about the fallen night elf did not rank up there with their favorite topics. The gifts placed in their hands brought that conversation to a halt and the four of them stepped out of the line, eagerly pulling at the ribbons. Gaige and Rain cheered as they each pulled out a new crashin' thrashin' robot. She couldn't help but laugh at their childlike glee as they sat them on the floor and began trying to wreck each other. Mila's gift, a pattern for a red coat to match their hats, caused her to laugh even harder as her roommate couldn't sew on a button let alone make a coat. Looking in her own box she thought was a pile of smashed up metal until she noticed an activation switch. Flipping it on she grinned as the pile of metal sat up into a squirrel.
"It's a ... mechanical squirrel," Mila said, poking it with her finger.
"He's kind of cute."
"Talking about me I hope?" Gaige sauntered over and she rolled her eyes.
"As unbelievable as it sounds our every conversation does not center on you," she replied with a smirk.
"It should." Rae jabbed her friend in the ribs before she was hardly done with her whisper. Mila just laughed as she took Rain's arm. "We're going to go have some drinks at the Stonefire Tavern. Will you two be joining us?"
She shook her head. "I can't tolerate dwarven ale; it goes straight to my head. I'll head back to Stormwind but you have fun. I'll leave the door unlocked for you, Mil," she said with a wink.
"Please do. I don't want to have to try and get by Quinn again."
"You're not joining them?" she asked as Gaige stood by her side watching their friends hurry away.
"Do you even have to ask that question?"
"No, I suppose not."
He took her hand. "Let's get you home." Taking a step forward he looked back a bit surprised when she didn't move.
"I have a much quicker way than the Tram." He looked at her a tad skeptically. "That is, if you're not afraid to try it?"
"Of course not," he scoffed.
"Then hold on," she replied with a grin. There was still some skepticism in his expression but he tightened his grip on her hand. With a laugh she threw her arm around his waist and they were surrounded by a shimmering, violet light. A quick rush of air, a split second sensation of suction, and they were standing outside the Keep in Stormwind. Rae tried not to feel smug; it was rare that she got to use any of the teleport spells they'd been taught and she still worried occasionally about getting it right.
"Well, that was ... different," Gaige said, shivering as the cold air hit them.
"You've never taken a mage teleport?"
"I've managed to avoid them."
"You are more than welcome to take the long, slow means of transport from here on out."
"Now I didn't say that!" She laughed again and began making her way down the stairs. "Where are you going?"
"Home. It's rather cold out here if you hadn't noticed."
He quickly caught up with her, their steps muffled in the snow and their cloaks brushing against their legs. They had almost reached the Mage Quarter when he pulled her to a stop. She knew what he was going to do, telling herself to just let go and let whatever was supposed to happen just happen. Gaige's lips were warm and by the way his arms quickly tightened around her Rae knew he was enjoying himself. She kissed him back, hoping to feel something that would tell her this was what she wanted ... but there was nothing. Her response seemed to spur him on, however, and the kiss deepened, one of his hands shifting lower on her back. His embrace and even his kiss was pleasant but she didn't feel anything beyond that.
"I told you a couple weeks ago that you don't have to be alone. I meant that."
"I know you did."
"Come back to my quarters with me," he whispered as he brought his lips to hers again. She let him kiss her while desperately trying to come up with an answer. The offer was tempting in a way, she'd never experienced any of those particular activities, but at the same time it didn't feel right to lead him on in such a way. If she truly couldn't return the affection he so obviously held for her then it just wasn't fair to make him believe she did ... or could eventually. But would her feelings change? Maybe all she needed was more time? Either way she knew she couldn't take such a drastic step right now; Mila might hold such things in less importance but Rae had never thought what went on between a man and a woman was to be taken lightly.
"I can't, Gaige."
"Are you sure?" His voice was husky, his chest rising and falling as he tried to control his breathing.
She nodded. "I'm not ... ready. I want to be sure of my feelings before I ... do that."
He bowed his head momentarily, took a deep breath, then looked back at her with a smile. "I understand and I wouldn't want to force you to do anything you're not comfortable with. Just know that I'm not giving up on you Raegan Eastcroft."
"I wouldn't expect anything different," she replied, returning his smile.
"You fight the hardest and wait the longest for the things that mean the most to you," he said as they headed into the tunnel leading into the Mage Quarter. "And you are definitely worth the wait, Rae."
