Extrication

The paper stared at me from the floor, as if it were living, and taunted me with its gently curved characters. It couldn't be possible. It had to be a mistake. For her name to appear on this list... it meant... it meant she had to have died...

I paused, my thoughts taking a dark turn. About a year prior, all letters had ceased from the Argent Dawn coming to our family. The last letter we had received had been short. Curt. Very unlike Crysanthemum. What if... what if she had died before then? It would have explained the letter at the very least, in addition to the lack of communication after. My mind was reeling, spinning in different directions, trying to find ways to deny the facts, the evidence, anything. I tripped over the hem of my robe and landed squarely on my backside, but was not bothered by it. I was too busy thinking about that name.

My thoughts and visions of horror were short lived however, as footsteps and loud voices broke through the once silent air. Xaedrienne was speaking louder than usual, giving me a warning that my time was up, and that I needed to get out. As soon as possible. Wasting no time, I quickly cased a fel charm, one that would copy the contents of the papers onto a parchment of my choosing, and quickly placed the originals back into their spots, shifting out of the back of the tent as stealthily as I could.

I didn't wander far, wanting to hear the conclusion of Xaedrienne's conversation and make sure she could find me quickly. We had a lot to discuss, and it was news I dreaded to give. I heard her laugh happily at something Dos said, and their footsteps came to a stop outside his tent.

"I really appreciate the intel Xae." Dos said, his voice silky. "Perhaps the next time you come by it won't be all business, eh?" Xaedrienne giggled and I felt my impatience beginning to kick in. They were flirting, but there were bigger, more important things to take care of. I scolded myself, admonishing my impatience. Xaedrienne deserved a little happiness this night. I knew I was being selfish.

"It was good to see you, Dos." Xaedrienne replied shyly. I heard her shuffle her feet in the dirt. "I'm sure we will cross paths again soon. This is good-bye for now." I could only imagine how Dos's face looked when Xaedrienne sent her signature smoulder his way. The man was probably melting in his steel toed boots.

"Goon night, Xae." He said. Indeed, his voice did sound... wobbly.

Footsteps resumed, this time towards the exit, and I knew this was my cue to intercept my sister as she was exiting the camp, so that we could discuss what we'd found. I choked hard on my words, not knowing how I would tell her what I had seen. My hands trembled as I rolled the parchment containing the names and attached them to my belt. Xaedrienne rounded the corner, and, like a hunter, did a quick sweep of the area, spotting me easily among the brush. I kept my face down and my hands busy, unable to look her in the eye. But I still heard her approach, and she crouched down on her haunches, peering into my face.

"Are you feeling alright?" Xaedrienne asked in concern. "What did you find? Did you get the list?" Slowly, I raised my eyes to meet hers. I couldn't keep the agony from showing on my face, and instantly I regretted ever having made the plan to infiltrate the camp to begin with. At first the color on Xaedrienne's face paled, her pupils dilating and a small gasp escaped her lips. It would seem the shock rendered her limbs useless, as she fell back onto her backside, her hands covering her ears, rocking back and forth.

"No, no, no, no!" She whispered, looking at me again as if to catch me in jest. My face was grim however, and her panic only grew. "No!" Her voice was slowly rising in volume in her histeria, and I quickly placed my hand across her mouth, grabbing her arm.

"Shh!" I said, pulling on her. "We need to get out of here, we can panic later! If were caught by the guard, we'll have more issues on our hands."

We quickly ran through the brush, finding a small cleaned out area to settle before settling on the ground, allowing Xaedrienne to resume her panic-stricken posture.

"Her name was on the list?" She asked, her voice squeaking. I hesitated, but pulled out the copy of the list, and slowly, hands still trembling, handed it to her. She slowly reached forward, taking the list gingerly, as if it would crumble into dust if she touched it, and slowly unravelled it. Her eyes widened as she immediately registered the last name on the list.

The sounds of agony coming from my sister, I had never heard before. It was almost impossible to describe, and the sadness that I'd been holding back came gushing forth, unable to be stopped by my naturally stoic nature. Xaedrienne sobbed, clutching the list to her cheast and heaving in breaths like she had been underwater for hours. Tears streamed down her face unchecked and her shoulders were hunched in defeat. I slowly approached her, and knelt down, embracing her to share the grief. Our sister had died. And her body had been risen by the Lich King.

I could never have anticipated something of this magnitude to happen to our family. It was... disturbing, at best. What perverse nature would subject such a gentle goblin to undeath? One so in tune with the light? It was almost impossible to believe.

I heard Xaedrienne muttering to herself under her breath, and strained my ears to hear her clearly. She was saying, "This can't be happening... This isn't real... How could this have happened?" I was asking myself the same questions. There was so much we didn't know. And I had no idea where to even start looking for the answers.

"She was with the Argent Dawn." Xaedrienne said quietly, her voice hoarse. My mind suddenly jolted. Of course! The Argent Dawn! They had a registry, we would have to travel to the Eastern Plaguelands, likely by Zeppelin...

It would be a lot of work, but if we could get answers, if we could find Crysathemum...I paused, taking a moment to turn my attention back to my sister. Plans could wait. I had to help Xaedrienne get a hold of herself first. Her panic would not allow her to think clearly, and thus, would make it hard for me to sell my plan. I grabbed hold of her arm, and pulled, well, dragged, her further away from the camp.

"Xae, calm down." I told her, carefully keeping my voice as neutral as I could. The plan was still forming in my head, though now it had some direction. It would require a lot of resources, and a collaboration with her to do what I was planning to do. Inside, I could feel the tendrils of betrayal, fear and devastation, trying to take hold of my heart. I ignored them, knowing they would eat at me until I received closure. Something I could not get by crying until my eyes were dry. No, my grieving process would begin when our sister was finally put to rest.

"This is impossible." Xae continued, looking off into the distance. It was as if she hadn't even heard me. "Not Crys... Not Crys..." Her sobbing was choked now, broken, as her heart was. I leant down and again embraced her.

"You have to stay calm Xaedrienne." I told her, firmly as I could. I hesitated. I hadn't even told her the worst part. My stomach seemed to drop, as if a stone had been cast unto it. I didn't know how to tell her that not only had our sister been risen as undead, but... I sighed.

"We have to stay calm." I repeated slowly, forcing her to look at me. Her eyes were rimmed red. "Because... there's more to it than just her name on a list."

Xaedrienne looked puzzled, and rightly so. I felt a lump growing in my throat, and the dread was again at the forfront of my heart. Images of my nightmare came howling back, Crysanthemum's dead eyes staring harshly into my own as she plunged her sword through my body. An echoed laugh resounded in my head that was malice incarnate, and I tried my best not to shiver. An image of Lypson, attacking tirelessly, reminded me of the danger we faced. The real Lich King's power.

"More?" She asked, breaking me from my reverie. I shook my head, trying to clear it. "What else could possibly go wrong?" She threw her hands up in the air, allowing them to fall like dead weight into her lap. Her green hair was frazzled, loose from her usually immaculate ponytail. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Her name was on the short list Xae." I told her, watching her reaction carefully. "When I was... eavesdropping, on Commander Dos, I heard the emmisaries talking to him about that list. He said the names on the list were possibly some of the most dangerous Death Knights anyone has ever encountered... One of them, he said that... That they'd taken on batallions. Entire towns. Obliterated everything in their path. Killing without remorse." I swallowed hard on that. Killing so many people without even batting an eyelash... such was the horrors that the scourge awaited. "She's not just an undead scourge... she is one of the Lich King's right hand men."

A brief silence followed, a dumbfounded look upon my sisters face. She blinked, tilted her head, and gave me a strange, horrified look.

"Right hand man? Entire batallions? Tristee, do you know how... how... insane that sounds?" She asked me, her voice on the brink of hysteria. "I mean... That is so many people... hundreds, thousands! Crysanthemum... Crysanthemum wouldn't hurt a fly on someone's head!" I paused.

"You know how Death Knights are, Xae." I reminded her gently. "You and I have both encountered them. They are merciless. They kill without reason. Without regret. They're so strong and-" I cut off, suddenly, another image had come to me in my head. My jaw went slack and my eyes large. Xaedrienne looked at me concerned, but I wasn't really seeing her. No, I was seeing Copper, holding up Lypson as he expired, apologizing, once again himself, if only for a moment.

"She's in there somewhere." I whispered, so low even I was surprised I could hear it. Xaedrienne shifted closer to me, shaking me with her hand.

"What did you say?" She asked, her voice hesitant. I looked up at her, a wildness about me that I knew would scare and normal person. Xae only recoiled slightly, looking more surprised than anything, and awaited me to speak.

"She's in there somewhere." I repeated, this time with more confidence. "When Lypson was dying, after we had dealt him a fatal blow, he seemed to... come through." I paused, verifying that Xaedrienne was following what I was saying, before continuing. "It was like he was almost himself again." My thoughts were running wild again, the plan I had been forming coming to fruition. "Maybe... maybe there's a way to get them back. Maybe we can turn them back into themselves!" Xaedrienne shook her head.

"Tristee, the only way death knights are released from the Lich King's conciousness is death. True death." She said, her eyes full of sadness. "No amount of us, talking to her, trying to reason with her, will bring her conciousness free of his Horrible curse. If she truly is a Death Knight, then there is no alternative for her. She has to be destroyed."

"You don't know that for sure Xae." I replied. "We've only encountered a couple of Death Knights. Crysanthemum was so strong. She has to be able to break free from the Lich King. She just has to!" I began to pace, thinking further. "I have a plan in mind, one that might-"

"A plan? Tristee." Xaedrienne held my shoulders, stopping my pacing mid stride. I looked at her curiously. She looked weary. "Let go of whatever you're thinking right now. You've seen them Tris. They're nothing but soulless shells of their former existance. Nothing we say will change that. Nothing! You are going to try to put yourself at risk by confronting her?"

Xaedrienne had already seen right through my plan, knowing me well enough to know where my thoughts had taken a turn. But I was tenacious, and I wouldn't be steered from my course.

"Whatever... thing, inhabits our sister's body," She continued, adamant. "It isn't her."

"That can't be true Xae." I told her, gently removing her hands from my shoulders. "Crys has always been a fighter. She could never just stand by idly while people were dying. You know this better than any of us. She was so strong, so brave. Too loyal. Somewhere inside, she's still there, fighting for control of herself again." I could feel it. A glimmer of hope beneath the dread that had been trying to suffocate me. Xaedrienne shook her head sadly at me, sighing.

"I have seen how it works Tristee." She said slowly. "Only once a fatal blow is struck to they even seem to regain a ghost of their conciousness." Tears were welling up in our eyes, and I realized she too was reliving her experience with her fallen comrade.

"I don't want to kill my own twin, Tris." She said, her voice breaking. "I can't kill her. I can't watch the very life drain from her eyes after my arrow has pierced her dead heart."

I knew how she felt. I had avoided imagining having to kill my own sisters. It was unfathomable. During training for the divisions, we were always reminded that scourge did not think, did not feel. They could not be reasoned with and they would never hesitate to kill us if given the opportunity. Despite this, I felt so strongly about Crysanthemum that I couldn't justify just letting the opportunity pass. And if that meant having to kill her ourselves... I shuddered at the thought. I swallowed hard and steeled myself. This wasn't the time for doubts. I had to stay firm in my resolve.

"We need to at least keep this quiet, for now." I said slowly, pulling out a scroll from my pack. " No one needs to know what we've found out here tonight. Not ma, or pops, not Azerieh... no one." Xaedrienne nodded, but opened her mouth as if to protest anyway. I lifted a hand to stop her before she could even begin.

"We'll keep it to ourselves, and we will start looking for answers. Hints to her location, last known waypoints, contacts, scourge hideouts, whatever it takes to find her." I paused, delibrately looking into my sister's eyes.

"You know if we don't, we risk never seeing her again, right?" I asked her, playing on her feelings cautiously. "Even if she is... gone, wouldn't you rather be the one to do it? I wouldn't want someone else to... to end her, and never get the chance to say goodbye." Xaedrienne hesitated. I could tell my logic was working on her.

"We can find her, Xae." I said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "All we have to do is a little hunting."

...

Hello readers! So the plot thickens! Now that two of the sisters have discovered what is going on, the real quests can begin. Some things to note, Tristee and Xaedrienne are both a part of guardian division in Everlook, whos main job focuses on protecting Everlook from danger. This being a neutral aread, the divisions are not only made up of goblins, but other races from Horde and Alliance alike. Crysanthemum at this point in the story, has been a Death Knight for approximately one year. The next perspective will be a fresh one, Azerieh. For all intents and purposes, Xaedrienne's point of view will not be followed in this story. I hope you are enjoying it so far, and please remember to stay tuned!