I recently went back over the earlier chapters, fixing up some inconsistencies (turned out I'd mistakenly called Aps's huntress friend with the same name as her youngest sister, so I had to fix that of course!) and you might have noticed that I also changed my username. It is now the same one I use all over the internet – I'm standing behind this fic with my most used username. Hells, I'm spending so many hours writing it, and I'm proud of it; I'm going to stand tall with it! *makes a heroic pose*

Thank you for your patience, favorites, follows and of course, reviews.

White Bishop: you were entirely right about the skirmish. It's like you're reading my mind... ;) Does that mean I'm too predictable, I wonder? Hmm.

Lyonidah: I'm so happy you're enjoying the story. Sorry about the lack of proofreading - sometimes I get so excited I post things before I've gone over them many enough times. *cough*

This chapter is a BIT more action-y, with a dash of the simmering attraction between our little Apsara and Baile. Speaking of simmering, if you'd like to see what I am making when I'm not writing, pop by my Tumblr (Search for Sissadora on Tumblr) and see my latest Era of Chaos-related sketches. :3

Enjoy!

Bright white morning light filtered through the narrow window of their shared room. Apsara blinked against the brightness as she lay on her back, allowing herself to slowly drift awake.

Turning her head, Apsara saw an empty bed across the small room, as she expected. Whenever Baile wasn't training her in board game matches or quizzing her about tactics, he'd taken to training with the Frostwolves, both on foot and mounted on one of the huge, black war wolves the orcs favored as steeds. Occasionally he would join a mounted patrol that roamed the roads between the Fortress and the Coldtooth Mines to the north, leaving Apsara to help heal the soldiers with minor injuries left over from skirmishes with the Alliance weeks before, mostly small cuts and bruising. She bordered between acceptance and frustration at the way Baile seemed hell-bent on avoiding her whenever he could. The paladin would sneak in after she'd fallen asleep and leave again before she would wake up.

What did I expect? Apsara sighed and pushed herself up. She had most likely crossed a line with the hug she'd given him. Possibly made him uncomfortable. Embarrassed, even.

As she sat up, her attention was drawn to something peeking out from under Baile's pillow. The corner of a leather-bound journal was not as carefully hidden as the rest of it had been. Apsara stared at it, curiosity flickering in the back of her mind like a moth drawn to a flame.

I should not even be considering this.

She resolutely stood up, bare feet against the cold stone, and turned her gaze away as she tried to ignore the journal. Humming to herself, she pulled out a hairbrush and a fresh robe from her bag. Carefully brushing her long hair and freeing it of tangles, she ran through the motions of something that had quickly become a routine. Fastening the clasps in the front of the long vest she wore above her plain grey robe, she couldn't help but glance at the journal again.

Apsara had seen Baile bent over the book with a compact quill in hand, writing with an unreadable expression on his face. Those pages contained words penned by the paladin himself. Possibly about who he was, where he had been, and what he thought on a daily basis. All the secrets that Apsara hadn't been able to coax out of the secretive Baile.

Apsara absent-mindedly looped the string keeping her enchanted lace bracelet secure into a knot and tugged it tight. She should head out and forget about having seen the journal. No excuse would be good enough for her to intrude on Baile's privacy.

Ignore the journal. Ignore the journal. Ignore the journal.

Repeating the phrase in her mind like a mantra, Apsara pulled her hair back and with practiced movements clicked her hair ornament into place, tying her hair back neatly. Tugging on her boots, she had all the intention of simply leaving the room without looking back.

She took a step towards the door and hesitated. Apsara half turned, glancing over her shoulder.

A loud knock almost made her jump out of her boots.

"Apsara? Are you awake?" Baile's voice called out on the other side of the door.

Trying to calm down the panicked drumming of her heart, Apsara whirled back towards the door and smoothed down the front of her robe. "Yes – I… yes. Come on in."

Baile pushed the door open and stepped into the room. He was not wearing his armor and had donned on his usual tall, fitted boots, leather breeches and a dark grey shirt.

At the sight of him, Apsara's heart skipped a beat and suddenly, she felt weak in her knees. She neatly folded her hands in front of her to stop her hands from visibly shaking. With a steadying breath, she smiled at Baile who seemed to be either ignoring – or oblivious to – her agitation.

"Ready for some combat training?"

Not quite trusting her voice at that moment, Apsara simply nodded.

"Good. Meet me in the training hall – but only after you've changed out of your robe. I don't want you to trip and destroy your shoulder for good." Baile smiled grimly at that. "A long tunic, leggings and your boots should suffice."

Apsara couldn't help the fact that she was staring, now.

The mere idea of training with him in leggings and tunic is...

She sputtered for a moment, looking for words that wouldn't come. Apsara could feel her face heat up, blush painfully obvious.

Baile was already turning and leaving the room as he called over his shoulder, "Trust me, Apsara. Your robe will only be in the way. Meet me in the training hall in 10 minutes."

The door closed with a soft thud.

Apsara buried her face in her hands and sighed. This training session was going to be interesting.

Apsara stood on the stone tiles of the training hall, not sure if she should feel insulted or empowered. She tugged on the hem of her long tunic, pulling it lower in an attempt to cover her slender legs better with it. It didn't work. The tips of her pointed ears, already pink and hot with embarrassment, flushed further. She felt naked without her robes.

The space itself was quiet at this hour, most Frostwolves currently out on patrols or just relaxing. Apsara was grateful for the lack of audience that she knew Baile's training sessions usually gathered.

"Don't fidget, Apsara. Put up your shield." Baile smirked at her from several paces away. He held a heavy wooden sword one-handed with ease, the tip pointed down unthreateningly. On his other arm he had strapped a small round shield - a buckler.

"Easy for you to say…" Apsara mumbled quietly, unwilling to let go of her tunic in fear of the hem simply being lifted way beyond what was proper and polite. Even if it was for the sake of training – and she'd seen orc women train more revealing clothing – she felt horribly exposed. It's because you need to be able to move, she told herself, and took a deep breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" She reluctantly unwrapped her fingers from around the tunic's hem, letting the fabric settle against her thighs.

To Baile's credit, Apsara never caught his gaze wandering down past the tunic that reached halfway down to her knees. The skin-tight leggings she wore were covering her skin – but the unfamiliar feeling of not wearing something flowing all the way to the her ankles made her anxious. He simply lifted his sword and shield, waiting for her.

Apsara slid her left foot forward, bending at the knee, and pivoting her right foot ever so slightly to point towards the side. As she raised her hands, palms forward, a golden shield winked into existence. The familiar hum of magic surrounded her.

"Now, then… We're moving from defense-only to combined offense and defense," Baile announced, his eyes narrowing. He lowered his stance, swaying on the balls of his feet. "You may attack with whichever type magic you prefer."

"What - no! - Baile, you saw what I did to that spi…" Apsara stammered, her embarrassment forgotten. Without paying heed to her protests, the paladin was already advancing. He stalked closer in a slow, measured creep while Apsara was wrecking her brain for a way to convince Baile that letting her attack him would not be a good idea.

Shield leading, Baile charged.

All her thoughts flew out of the window as she braced the impact. The wooden buckler hit her magical shield, sending golden sparks flying out wide from the contact point. Baile's eyes above the edge of the buckler were fierce as he pressed with all his weight against Apsara's shield.

His sword came out from behind the shield in a flash. Apsara adjusted her shield accordingly, deflecting the mock weapon with ease. Baile sprung back, grinning at her. Apsara drew her hands back, holding them close to her chest in order to start casting an offensive spell. Her shield would start fading out on her own, but first she needed to gather enough magic for-

Baile sidestepped, swinging at her from the side. Apsara interrupted her spellcasting to reinforce the shield that had almost faded into nothingness. Baile's sword hit her shield with a dull clang, pulled back and came back for a furious stab that shattered the magical aura. She was forced to tumble back to avoid the next thrust of the wooden weapon.

"Move, remember?" Baile called out, his breath coming harder now, shifting his stance to lift his shield. He prepared to ram at her with it.

The priestess growled in frustration. The dance between them felt so much like their board game matches – Baile was utterly dominating the play, pulling her every which way and seemingly enjoying every moment of it. He seemed to anticipate all of her movements and it was driving Apsara insane.

Breaking out from her steady stance, Apsara began retreating from Baile as he advanced, keeping an equal distance at all times – just beyond the reach of his sword, even if he were to overbalance himself by charging forward. The paladin's eyes twinkled in delight as he watched her watch him and especially his footwork.

"Good. Now, attack!" Baile lifted his shield.

Apsara bit her lip. Steeling her resolve, she backed up another step and then fell into spellcasting.

Calling upon the Light, Apsara flicked her wrists outwards. A streak of light hit Baile's shield hard, sending him skidding backwards on the tiles. He simply laughed as he lowered the shield. The priestess suspected the shield had been enchanted to withstand magic, and for a moment she felt quite foolish for thinking she might actually hurt Baile.

"You can do much better, Apsara!"

At his provocation, Apsara grit her teeth and began casting again, sweat running down her temple. Simultaneously, Baile suddenly broke into a run. As Apsara finished her spell, Baile briefly raised his shield to receive the blow that slowed him only for a moment. Within several strides he was close enough to slice at her and Apsara was forced to back away, quickly conjuring another shield at the last second.

Baile bent low, throwing all of his considerable weight and muscle behind the tackle as he struggled against her shield. Making a split-second decision Apsara half jumped, half dove to the side, realizing her shield would not keep the paladin tossing her into the air like a ragdoll. As she finished her dodge, she was already casting another spell that hit the surprised Baile squarely in the side, sending him careening wildly as he tried to find his footing. As he finally regained his balance, he turned to face her again.

Both of them were out of breath now. Panting, the elves stared at each other until Baile burst into laughter. Apsara chuckled half-heartedly, adrenaline still keeping her on the edge of fight-or-flight response.

"Seems… I need to make you angry… to get the best out of you, Apsara," Baile noted as he caught his breath, lowering his sword.

Apsara laughed and shook her head. "I… I thought I was going to blast your shield… to kindling, to be honest."

"Well fought. We're done for now."

Suddenly, someone at the entrance of the training hall started clapping. Baile and Apsara turned to look. Nayanna was leaning her back against the door, staring at the two sin'dorei with a smirk on her pale face. The scent of decay was strong in the air.

"Brilliant. You're training the priestess to become some kind of a hybrid warrior?"

The paladin didn't let her jab bother him. "Simply teaching the basics of what might save her life one day," he answered coolly as he wandered to the weapon wall to put away his sword and shield.

Nayanna harrumphed and shifted her weight from one foot to the other, impatiently. "Well, you might get to use those skills. Today even. A cavalry unit was just sent out to answer to a possible raid on Tower Point."

Baile turned towards the warrior, his posture projecting alertness. Apsara's eyes were now locked on the Forsaken, realizing just how close by the Alliance must be for a unit to be sent out from the base of operations.

"Kremor is with them, and he asked me to find and bring you both to help repel the pests. Rumors are that the Alliance brought one of their dwarven lieutenants."

"When are we expected?" The paladin asked, his voice low. Having dropped off his mock weapon and shield by the wall, he moved to stand next to Apsara.

Nayanna grinned, her eerie glow of her eyes intensifying. "Immediately."

"We'd better comply then," Baile muttered darkly. "Come, Apsara. I need my sword and armor… and you need your robes, at the very least."

"Meet you outside. I will have mounts prepared for the both of you."

Slipping out of the training hall door, the elves set out at a brisk walk towards their room, Baile looking grim. For a while they walked in silence.

"You don't like the fact that they want me there, do you?" Apsara found herself asking as they walked.

The paladin shook his head. "I will give you this much; you've improved much since our first training session… but I'll be damned if I'm ever happy to see you face danger such as this."

"Why?"

Baile opened his mouth to say something, then decided against it. Rounding a corner, he marched on towards the part of the fortress their room was in. "Be sure to grab the belt pouches you need," he said instead, refusing to meet her eyes.

Feeling defiant in that moment, Apsara grabbed Baile's wrist as she came to a sudden halt. "You wanted to say something. Then say it, damn it!"

Exhaling sharply, the paladin finally locked his gaze with hers.

"Because you are too important." He paused, the strict line of his eyebrows softening, and finally added, "To me."

Apsara found herself frozen in that moment, unable to formulate a response. Pulling his wrist from her suddenly loose grasp, the paladin turned and continued walking briskly down the hallway.

Half-melted snow was sent flying on all sides as Baile, Apsara and Nayanna galloped northward, mounted on massive, armored wolves through the evergreen forest. Sun shone from a cloudless sky, sunlight reflecting in brilliant colors off the glittering snow and casting blue shadows across the melting masses of white. Soon the trio joined a column of riders also heading towards Tower Point, and they fell into disciplined formation, riding as pairs side by side. The wolves snarled and snapped at each other, but didn't break the line.

Apsara leaned over the neck of her wolf mount, holding onto fistfuls of coarse black fur and trying to ignore the odd looks Nayanna was giving her and Baile as they rode side by side. The priestess tried to push down her swirling thoughts and only focus on the present. Despite the way her heart lurched in her chest and the butterflies in her stomach had seemed to go out of control the moment she remembered his words, her attention was needed here and now.

Apsara could see smoke in the distance between the trees, swirling skywards. As the icy road under them started snaking up towards the cliffs beyond the tree line, the riders broke away from the cover of the tall trees.

An errant fireball exploded in the air above the structure perching just beyond her line of sight behind the crest of the hill.

They have at least one mage, she found herself thinking. Apsara could hear yells, roars, growls, hissing of powerful magic and general tumult of battle. A cold shiver ran down her back and she gritted her teeth to stop them from chattering.

Riders all around her sounded a battle cry and urged their mounts onwards harder. The priestess clung on for dear life as they near-skidded into a canyon that would lead them up to the hill where Iceblood Tower was located. Straightening in her saddle to survey the scenery better, Apsara saw one tower to the northeast almost entirely engulfed by flame. This tower was lost, but one more still stood.

The canyon flattened out to a plateau where a battle was on in full. The forces of the Alliance, a swarm of combatants that blurred into an unrecognizable mass in front of terrified Apsara's eyes, were driving the defending Frostwolves back. The mounted forces broke formation, charging into the enemy soldiers with a crash that made the frozen earth beneath Apsara's mount shudder.

Baile turned away from the main crowd, using his mount to guide Apsara's wolf towards the tower that still stood. Defenders within the tower had climbed to the top and were now attacking the invaders with arrows and magic both. As Baile's mount stopped, he nimbly jumped off and hurried to help Apsara down. The wolves, thus freed of their riders, joined the melee. One great wolf pounced on a nearby dwarf, toppling him and ripping at his armor with his claws. Apsara turned her head away, trying to not look at the spray of blood as the wolf finally sank his fangs into the dwarf's neck. Her legs felt wobbly and she wondered if she would faint then and there.

"Listen to me, Apsara," Baile told her as he squeezed her shoulders, hard, his eyes visibly intense from the slits in the helmet he had put on before they left the fortress. His booming, powerful voice easily carried over the din around them. "You will help the injured within the tower. Do not take unnecessary risks. Do you understand?"

Apsara nodded and turned on her heels, sprinting for the relative safety of the tower. Running past the two hulking guards posted at the door, she arrived in a large, circular room that wrapped around the central base of the tower. Despite the fact that they were indoors, Apsara felt cold – the stone walls around them didn't quite keep the chill out, and her breath puffed out in white clouds. Along the walls, orcs were slumping against crates or each other for support. A single dark-colored male tauren, dressed in green-tinted leathers, was crouched near an orc laying on his back on the floor. Even crouched as he was, the tauren easily towered over the dainty priestess, the great sweep of his horns making him even more imposing. Magic that smelled like rain and wild flowers poured from his large hands as he tried to suppress the flow of blood from the orc's hip.

Rushing to the tauren, Apsara kneeled by the orc and resisted an urge to gasp. Something had ripped straight through the orc's armor, crushing most of his hip and leaving a large, strongly bleeding gash along his side. The orc's green skin had gone pale, and his eyes were firmly closed against the pain.

"I'll make him comfortable before the inevitable. Go to the next one," the tauren said quietly in a low, somber voice, glancing at her.

Bile rose in her throat. Pragmatism kicked in; if she were to use all her magic on healing this one, the rest would not get a fighting chance. Tears rose to her eyes and she nodded, refusing to let them fall as she stumbled to the next patient in line – a purple-haired, blue-skinned troll, sitting on a crate, staring at her dying friend with an empty look in her eyes.

Quickly examining the troll while holding back her tears, Apsara quickly spotted the broken wrist she cradled. Ever so gently she laid her hand on the troll's, letting the healing magic flow free.

"I'm so sorry," Apsara whispered, almost choking on her words and not quite sure what she was apologizing for. The troll did not react even when she carefully lifted her arm to let the healing spell set the bones. With a painful-sounding snap, the wrist finished healing.

Outside, the fighting continued. Every so often an explosion would rock the tower to its foundation, making the mostly sturdy building sway slightly. Apsara thought she heard Baile's voice over it all - a shock, like an electric current, ran up her back and her instincts screamed at her to run outside - as she moved to healing the wound on the troll's leg. As soon as she was done, the troll's face became a mask of rage and she grabbed for her weapon, a two-handed axe. Before Apsara could ask her if she was feeling better, her patient stood up and brushed past her to rejoin the fray.

And so it continued, one grievously injured patient after another. Tirelessly and selflessly, Apsara poured every single bit of magic she had into the wounded in the freezing tower. Ignoring the sounds of battle and the aching worry in her heart, she focused solely on the needs of the people around her even as she could barely feel her fingers anymore.

The continuous use of her magic was tiring Apsara out. Trying to ignore the weakness in her legs and the dizziness that was making it hard for her to walk straight, she pushed herself to the limit. Dark spots danced in her vision as she finished healing yet another fighter. Only at the gentle touch of the tauren druid at her elbow did she realize that the sounds from outside were fading, and she had healed the last wounded combatant – for now.

A long, clear note of a horn in the distance called the retreat of the Alliance.

Apsara slumped down on the rough floor, trying in vain to wipe off the blood from her hands. Looking out through the doorway for the first time since she'd been ushered in, she saw corpses - both of Horde and Alliance fighters - littering the ground that had turned from white to red. The smell of fire, ash, sweat and blood were overpowering. The priestess bit back a sniffle. The patients who Apsara and the druid had healed had long since left the tower, leaving the healers alone with the bodies of the ones they could not save.

The druid wrapped a blanket around her shoulders - where he had gotten it, Apsara had no idea - and sat down next to her. The two exhausted healers sat there for a long time in silence, listening to distant victory hoots. Too tired to even cry at the uselessness of it all, Apsara gave up her futile attempts at cleaning her hands and simply sat there, pulling the blanket tighter around herself in an effort to stave off the cold. It felt as if she was cold to her bones, and all she wanted to do was to curl up and sleep.

Finally, the tauren spoke. "Rest here. I'll go see if I can find us wolves to ride." He heaved himself up clumsily, his hooves scraping against the uneven stone floor. Swaying on his legs, the druid exited the tower into the bright sunlight outside. His dark grey fur and mane were matted with blood; his own or his patients', Apsara did not know.

Trying to resist the siren song of sleep, Apsara fought with all her might to stand up. They might still need her; what if Baile had been injured and she would be entirely depleted of all her magic or worse, unconscious? Her strength failed her and she tumbled backwards, ending up on her backside again.

"Look at yourself. Too weak to even stand," she hoarsely whispered to herself.

A scraping sound from just outside the doorway made her ears perk up. The druid must have come back with her ride back to Frostwolf Fortress. She could really use a bath in the hot springs and long, uninterrupted sleep.

Only, nobody turned up in the door opening. A shadow briefly blocked the sun, and as soon as it was gone, the priestess realized something was wrong. The sense of alarm hit Apsara's tired brain like a hammer. Listening closely, she heard nothing more than distant yells and the wind whistling.

But someone was in the tower with her. She could feel herself being watched. The way the hairs at the back of her neck stood up convinced her she was in danger.

Should she shield herself? Should she try to call for help? How had the intruder sneaked past the lines of Frostwolves?

Forcing herself to stay calm, she pretended like she had heard something and then had dismissed it as a figment of her imagination. Discreetly she shifted the blanket around her shoulders, hand inching closer to the specific bag she had put her wand away in.

If she was lucky, she would get at least one shot of arcane energy off, and then be able to stumble out of the tower to find someone who could help her. As she was now, she had almost no reserves for casting magic. Maybe a shield and an offensive spell – that was all, and she would surely collapse afterwards.

Making a show of letting her eyes droop closed, she tuned to her other senses and listened intently. Adrenaline forced her to focus over the sound of blood rushing in her veins. The softest hiss of a boot against the rough stone flooring sounded somewhere to her right. Her breath almost hitched in her throat at the realization she had indeed not imagined things.

As something cold and sharp slowly pressed against her neck, she understood she had made a grave mistake.

It wasn't a singular intruder. It was two.

HOW'S THAT FOR A CLIFFHANGER HUH?!

And yes, I actually went ahead and took screenshots in Alterac Valley just to get an idea of what Tower Point looks like. I felt silly, but it was worth it. :D

Lately I've been cementing the actual storyline with the help of about a million post-its stuck to several large pieces of paper, figuring out where our little priest and paladin go from here. Little less plot bunny drama, and more building towards to actually figuring out Baile's big secret. ;) In fact, if there is someone who would like to proofread my chapters with me and toss suggestions my way, and help me make this story even better, please send me a message!

As always, thank you so much for reading. I'm going to pass 1000 views for this fic anytime now, and I'm beyond proud. I'll get to working on the next chapter ASAP. :)