Sapphire rolled over onto her side, and hugged her pillow. The blanket was soft, and the room was warm. She moaned, sleepy. It was still dark, but she couldn't sleep well.
She heard a creak outside of her room. Her eyes opened slowly as she heard the door unlock. The door opened, and footsteps moved toward her. Sapphire moved her hand gingerly to her knife, and gripped it. When the feet got too close, Sapphire sprung up, and whipped her knife at the intruder. Her wrist was grabbed, and twisted back painfully.
"Cultist runt, How are you?"
Sapphire whimpered. "Let go."
Lethumo released her, and scowled.
"Come on, get your things. We need to go."
Sapphire stared at him, trying to determine if he was really serious. He looked like it. He was not even smiling.
"Ethan told me you are the Lich King's daughter. And unless you want to go back to Daddy, Come on."
Sapphire gaped at him. "...Ethan? You know Ethan?"
The night elf groaned in frustration. "Yes! Now, we need to go!"
He grabbed her money pouch, and put it on his belt. Then, he picked up her boots, and tossed them at Sapphire. She yelped and caught one, but the other hit her in the head. Lethumo smirked, and kicked the girl's bow away.
"That is useless without arrows. Come on, come on! Put those boots on!"
He watched her put on one boot, and then the other. He hissed at her, and grabbed her arm. They went downstairs, and straight out of the inn.
"Why are we leaving? Where are we going?"
The night elf said nothing. Sapphire stopped, and folded her arms. Lethumo noticed, and turned around.
"What are you doing?"
"I...I don't trust you. Where are you taking me?"
The deathknight smirked.
"Somewhere."
Sapphire scowled. The night elf grabbed her arm, and pulled her close.
"Once the paladins know you are Arthas Menethil's daughter, they'll kill you. Most likely."
"And you won't?" Sapphire whimpered.
"No. You're no threat."
"And how do you know Ethan?"
"Let's see...He's currently a prisoner of the Knights of the Ebon Blade and told the Highlord about you."
Sapphire's heart sank. Ethan had told an enemy of the Scourge about her.
She tugged away from Lethumo, but he held her tightly. Smiling, he pulled her forward, and pressed her against his breastplate. She jerked away, unable to get away. The night elf curled his fingers around her collar.
"I would remove this, but that would take up time. Ever flown before?"
"Well-"
He didn't wait for an answer. With Sapphire being forcefully pulled, the two left Valiance Keep. There were some undead attacking, but Lethumo wasn't concerned. He steered clear of them. He took her to the town near the Keep, and stopped. He stood there silently, and Sapphire looked around. The girl heard a bark, and she frowned.
Ni'kua ran up, and bared his teeth at Lethumo. The night elf pushed Sapphire away, and unsheathed his runeblade. Sapphire scrambled back to her feet, and put herself between Lethumo and Ni'kua.
"No! He's Ethan's dog."
Ni'kua snarled at the deathknight, and tried to get at him. Sapphire dug her hand into the plaguehound's fur, and grabbed a fistful.
"No, Ni'kua! He knows where Ethan is!"
The dog snapped his teeth at the deathknight, and shrugged Sapphire away. She fell to the ground. Rot came up, and yipped.
Ni'kua attacked Lethumo. The night elf swung his sword against the plaguehound, but he jumped back, growling. Teeth glistening, the plaguehound circled the deathknight, seeking an opening. Lethumo just watched calmly, matching the plaguehound's movements. They moved in turn. Ni'kua growled, and hunched his back, as if to pounce.
Rot came near, silently. He approached the night elf, and barked as fiercely as he could.
The deathknight flinched, and Ni'kua pounced, snarling.
The large plaguehound pushed Lethumo to the ground, and Sapphire hid her face. She heard the night elf shout. The crunch of bone, and a yell made the girl break out a small sob. She curled up, and flinched when Ni'kua yelped in pain.
Then, the ring of sword on sword. Sapphire whipped her head up.
Another deathknight, hood pulled up over his head, stood there, and pulled away, swinging his sword to the side. Lethumo blocked it with his own, and thrust at the other deathknight. Ni'kua limped closer, but the hooded deathknight told him to stop. In a deathknight voice, the Alterac accent was still distinct.
"Ethan..." Sapphire said numbly.
The hooded deathknight kicked at Lethumo, but the night elf sidestepped. Ethan savagely lunged at the night elf, and as the deathknight tried to parry, but Ni'kua, wounded, pounced. He bit down on Lethumo's arm. The deathknight cried out.
Ethan turned to Sapphire. His eyes glowed under his hood, and he stalked toward her. Sapphire stood up, and ran to him. She flung her arms around him. The boy returned the hug, squeezing her tightly.
"Ethan! I've missed you so badly! How did you get away?"
The boy said nothing, and Sapphire pulled away. He grimaced.
"Later...not here."
Sapphire nodded, and backed away. Ethan took her by the hand, and they walked off, leaving Ni'kua to deal with Lethumo. The girl felt a little bad about the night elf dying, but reuniting with Ethan overpowered such a negative feeling.
Ethan limped. The girl hadn't noticed it when he had fought. He was limping badly on his right leg, and he also favored his left arm. His sword arm. How had he been able to fight with an injured sword arm? It looked painful, the way he held it close to his body.
"Ethan! You're hurt...What happened?"
The boy shook his head. "I am fine."
Sapphire scowled, and went over to him. She slipped her arm around his unhurt right arm, but he jerked away. He glared at her.
"I said I was fine!"
"Okay..."
They walked on. The girl remembered coming this way. She saw a group of large hairy animals in the distance, and the village she had passed on the way to Valiance Keep. It was on the ice, and large carved stones sat on the cliffs above. She had ignored the village, for she had no idea if they were Alliance or not. Sapphire was human, and she had learned that the Horde did not like humans and killed them on sight, usually.
"Ethan...Is that a Horde town, down there on the coast?"
The deathknight shook his head. "No, that's a tuskarr village. Their indigenous to Northrend, and they are fisherman."
"Oh."
Rot trotted ahead, and occasionally hopped happily. His tail wagged happily. Then, there was a snap, and a yelp. Sapphire gasped, and ran to him.
A large, jagged metal thing had snapped shut when Rot had touched it. Luckily, he was quick, and avoided being crushed in the metal trap. He trembled, and ran into Sapphire's open arms.
"Oh, Rot! Are you okay, sweet baby?"
The puppy licked her hand, and shook terribly. He whimpered. Ethan came up, and looked at the metal thing.
"A bear trap. Hunters use them to catch animals."
Sapphire buried her face in Rot's fur. He barked, tail slightly wagging. Ethan scowled.
"He's fine. Come on. I think we are far enough away from Valiance Keep." The boy took Rot, and stuffed him into a bag, which the dog soundly protested. Sapphire frowned.
"Far enough away for what? That night elf told me you were captured by Knights of the Ebon Blade."
The boy scowled.
"We'll talk about it later," He growled irritably.
Sapphire looked down. Guilt came over her. Ethan was in pain, and she was demanding answers.
"Of course, Ethan..."
He looked up at the sky, and did not reply. He waited silently. Sapphire wondered if Glacier was okay.
A black speck showed up in the sky, and Sapphire watched it with Ethan. She reached out, and touched his hand. He looked back at her.
"Sorry, Sapphire..."
The speck grew larger and Sapphire saw that it was indeed Glacier. Then something dawned on her. He had apologized.
"You aren't taking me back to Icecrown, are you?" The girl asked, turning to look at him. He eyed her with an unreadable expression.
"I am."
"No!" Sapphire recoiled. "I'm not going back!"
Ethan growled, "You are! And the Master will reward me for bringing you back..."
Sapphire looked at him. She was horrified. Ethan was going to take her back to her father...
She ran, but that did not help. She felt a horrible weightlessness, and was flung backwards. Ethan grabbed her by the collar.
"I'm a deathknight, sweetheart. Haven't you ever heard of Deathgrip?"
"Ethan...I don't want to go back! Please!"
Glacier landed, and the boy dragged her to the Frostwyrm. She started crying, but no amount of begging or pleading affected Ethan. He kissed her, but she yanked herself away. Wordlessly, he helped her onto Glacier, and sat behind her. He wrapped his uninjured arm around her waist, and tightened his grip. Probably to make sure she did not jump.
Sapphire didn't notice Glacier take off. The girl wiped her eyes so her tears wouldn't freeze on her face.
Ethan laid his head against her.
"I'm sorry..."
Glacier veered right, along the water's edge. She was soon following along the place Sapphire had deemed "woods." What had taken Sapphire a couple of days to walk, Glacier flew over effortlessly in an hour or two.
But instead of heading straight north, she continued past the woods, following the water. Sapphire saw a large hole in the earth, with blue dragons flying around it, but Glacier flew quickly past, and flew up to the mountains. She landed on a relatively flat area on top of the mountains. A large skeleton lay exposed, ribs, spine, and head poking out of the icy ground. Glacier landed, and Ethan slipped off of her, and held his hands out for Sapphire.
"What-"
"Shh! After Glacier leaves!" Ethan snapped.
Chastened, the girl reluctantly dismounted and Ethan helped her down. Glacier did not wait for a verbal order, and took off without them, gusting wind over them. Sapphire watched her leave.
"There were Scourge spies nearby, watching to make sure I actually got you. The Lich King will not think to check on Glacier for a while."
"What's going on!" Sapphire yelled at him, and she tried to push him. The deathknight wasn't even fazed.
"I'm not Scourge."
The girl stared at him, incredulously. Ethan grimaced, and rubbed his arm.
"Arthas has known that though, probably since he first saw me...I thought I was clever, to outwit the Lich King. After I told him not to let you go fighting, he had me sent off to the dungeon."
"Not...Not the frontlines?"
Ethan shook his head. "No, to the dungeons. To be tortured. Then he told me how he had played with me...Light, I was an idiot. Arthas just made me think I outsmarted him..." He sounded disgusted with himself, and the girl moved as if to hug him. He held a hand out, stopping her.
The boy had his cloak bundled around his throat, and now he pulled it away. Sapphire recoiled in horror, covering her mouth with her hands. The skin was red, as if burnt and bumpy with ooze filled pustules. Large slashes exposed dead, black blood. When he took his glove out, she saw the same treatment had been done on them.
"Is that..."
"All over my body? Yes."
"Oh, Ethan! You must be in terrible pain!" Sapphire cried out. The deathknight nodded.
"I'd prefer you not hug me anymore right now. Right now, we need to get you somewhere safe. Arthas sent a San'layn to capture you, dead or alive, and bring you back to Icecrown. I begged the Lich King to let me prove my worth and get you myself. He agreed, but I think it's a trick. Lethumo was a friend of a sort. He will be meeting up with us soon."
All this information made Sapphire's head hurt. She felt light-headed, and Ethan noticed.
"Come on...I know a place to keep you warm."