Hey there! Finally getting out this update that I've been trying to get out forever. It,s not a very good chapter, just a filler for until more events happen. Pretty soon there will be some time jumps, once these two get to the place where they'll be for a long while and traveling is over.
Reviews:
Shayde F. Revelle: The first sentence is supposed to be that way because it's Taluulai telling us the story as if we were her, and also reliving the story in her mind as she remembers it, so we are sort of remembering it with her, through her eyes... Sort of as her? Does this make sense?
Ihsan997: I feel guilty for being proud of the fact I made you feel that way lol. Am I mean? xD
Silverquis: I'm glad you like it so much! I hope I continue to do make you like it :D
Alright, enjoy this chapter... At least I hope you will because I didn't lol. It's so boring :P
The air smelled salty-sweet when you opened your eyes the next day. The rain had stopped but your torn clothes were still damp and clung to your skin uncomfortably. You shifted slightly, wincing at the pain in your head and hands, to your momentary horror you wondered if you might lose fingers. They were numb, though whether from cold or lack of circulation you were unsure. Kaurin lay still beside you, eyes closed, the bruises on his face looking more painful than ever. He was still warm, the heat radiating off of him almost unnaturally. This slightly startled you. Were even Orcs supposed to get so hot? Was there something wrong with him, some internal damage?
You felt off as you laid there. The air was still around you, like Kaurin, and then you noticed it. You were still too, the entire cart had stopped, and the two of you were alone. You could hear no footsteps around the cart, and from what little you could see outside of the cart it seemed that no one was around. The driver was gone from the driver's seat of the cart, too. You were alone... You had a chance to escape. You scrambled, trying to sit up, slowly trying to make some progress with your throbbing head. The whole world twisted in front of you when you finally managed to come to a sitting position, nausea seeped through you and you vomited over the side of the cart.
There were still black spots, like splotches of indigo ink or the dye of Father's shirt, splattered across your field of vision when you stopped retching and looked around. The cart was parked just off to the side of a dirt-paved road. The trees are smaller here, you note, and then you see why. Down the road, where it bends and begins to curve out of sight, you see the coast. The sand is gold, and the dune grass that fades away toward the beach is the palest shade of honey-green you've ever seen. It would be beautiful if not for the patches of blackened earth and the looming, red and black ships puffing poisonous clouds into the pristine sky, oil into the brilliant teal waters. And the armies of Orcish, Iron Horde soldiers piling onto the mainland out of smaller boats. There are numerous tents and piles of supplies dotting the beach already, just out of reach of the tide. Guards and soldiers and what you guess are workers mill about, some busy, others resting, some merely idle. You can't see all the way down the beach from your position inside the cart, not that you care to. You want to leave, flee as soon as possible, find help or at least hide.
You turn to Kaurin, finding him groggily waking up. His eyes look tired and empty, far off. It worries you when he at first doesn't respond to your touch, belatedly flinching after what is almost a minute of your hand resting on his shoulder. His skin feels like fire, like smoldering coals but soft. It doesn't quite burn you, but it is much too hot for you to keep your hand there comfortably for too long. He glances up at you briefly, his gaze only locking with yours for a second before he goes back to staring straight ahead at nothing, as if even looking elsewhere is too much strain. You inspect him a bit more closely now, in the end not even needing to think back on your limited knowledge of first aid to know he's ill. You can see it all about him. In the way his skin has paled, in the emptiness of his eyes, how weakly he lays there saying and doing nothing. At first you think it's his head injury doing this to him, but when you search for other wounds you see another possibility of what could be causing this. His back, which you had just healed only two or so nights ago was ripped open again, covered in gashes and bruises and puncture wounds.
The sight of it made you grimace, and you tried to call upon the Light again, only to remember you could not. You inspected his damaged back again, noting the obvious infection already forming. Helplessness crept over you. What now? You couldn't carry Kaurin, he was too heavy, and you could never bring yourself to leave him there- even after all of this. You heard footsteps then, the cracking of twigs under heavy boots and the clinking of plated armor. With no other choice than to duck down into the cart, you pulled Kaurin close to you and burried his face against your neck and closed your eyes so they could not see that you were both awake.
When you dared to peek, you saw the cart driver climbing back onto the front of the cart. And then you were moving again. You felt sick, horror blending with the helplessness. You had just missed your one chance to escape. You would perhaps never get another opportunity like that unless it was death now. You forced yourself not to cry and stared at the ground through the floor of the cart again as you had done the previous day. But you didn't have to do that too long because within less than an hour the cart stopped, loud, new sounds replacing the rumbling of the cart all around you.
The worn dirt path had given way to sand, and the shadows of Orcish soldiers danced across the soft paleness. Voices spoke in low, harsh tones, and you watched the ground become flooded by pairs of black, armored boots around the cart. Now you closed your eyes tight and tried to act unconscious once more, praying they wouldn't notice your panicked, near hyperventilating breaths.
Suddenly you were yanked away from the warmth of Kaurin's fever-wracked body by rough hands and thrown down onto the sand. Something prodded you sharply in the side, a foot you supposed.
"Get up Draenei!" A female Orc said in Draenei. The command made you flinch and carefully you opened your eyes and stood. You were surrounded by soldiers of the Iron Horde, each and every one of them sneering or glaring you with eyes filled with contempt and hatred.
Kaurin was suddenly dumped beside you, he landed with a heavy thud and a groan of pain. It took everything in you to stop yourself from coming to his aid, lest you provoke the hundreds of orcs around you. But then the woman you'd told you to stand kicked his already ruined back. And you could stand it no longer.
"Please stop this!" You pleaded, "He cannot fight you and is already down, there is no need for this."
The woman that stood over you was one of the most beautiful and most terrifying people you'd ever seen. Her skin was an ashy color and her eyes a feral yellow in color. Long red hair hung straight to her mid back and she was dressed full in black armor, a huge axe in her right hand. She stared down at you, face betraying no emotion beside ire. Those yellow eyes of hers tore into you when they met your own, the instinct to hide behind the very person you were defending was overwhelming.
"Funny that you defend one who could have been your enemy, little Draenei." The woman yanked her away from Kaurin and shoved her nearly into the wall of soldiers that surrounded them. "You are two things for going against me... Brave... And very, very foolish." Before you even knew it happened she'd kicked you in the chest, all air leaving your lungs, leaving you a gasping mess on the sand. The Orcs around you laughed.
"You will learn your place here, slave, as we all learn must learn our place. Now get up, be silent, or you will lose the tongue that spoke against me!"
You scrambled to your feet as best you could and stood beside Kaurin who was now kneeling rather than laying, finally somewhat awake. He was staring at the woman with golden eyes that were both tired and angry. The woman barked something at Kaurin in Orcish. He tried to stand but couldn't and you helped him to his feet, his heavy form leaning on you. Your chest, where you'd been kicked, screamed against Kaurin's weight. But you held him. You were prodded from behind once you had both settled, and the crowd of Orcs parted when the woman snapped at them too, creating a pathway that lead to a small boat. On the boat were other Draenei, all of whom looked as terrified as you. When they saw you approaching with Kaurin leaning on you, they made room for you.
You were both shoved into the boat, almost landing on the others. Slaves, you cringed at what she'd called you all. This is what you were now... Slaves... You couldn't wrap your mind around this yet as you sat in silence on the boat. No one around you dared speak so long as the woman was around, but that all stared at you and Kaurin, though mostly at Kaurin. Most of your people on the boat were older than you, though there were some your age and even a few that were younger. All of them stared at Kaurin in obvious fear and nervousness. You wanted to tell them that he was a victim too, but you were too afraid to speak now. The woman's earlier threat echoed in your mind and scooted a bit closer to Kaurin.
After a few minutes of sitting there, and a couple other Draenei joining on the boat ride that would lead surely lead them to death, the woman climbed into the boat with a couple other soldiers who began to push away from the shore toward the ships.
Now more than ever you wished to call upon the Light, to bring its wrath down upon this Iron Horde, to save all these people, to save yourself. But still nothing would come when you tried, nothing but emptiness and hollow fear. You hung your head, staring down at your still bound hands and your loosely bound feet that were barely given any leeway to walk. You held back tears that threatened to spill into the blue waters beneath you. Beside you, Kaurin slipped his hand into yours and gave a weak squeeze, as much comfort as he could offer.
You squeezed back, for all it was worth.