A|N: I know I have not updated but not once did I ever forget about this story. I took my time writing it.
As the tram crashed, her hair blew into her face, ducking for cover. She could not tell if the noise came from her screaming or the tram crashing and spinning out of control off the tracks. A couple of dwarves came rushing into the scene to investigate while nearby civilians watched in horror as one pointed out the mangled body of Opherite. Emiracia covered her mouth, nausea filling her stomach.
She stepped forward, observing the scene. One dwarf shook his head. "I'm sorry, ma'am. But this tram is officially under repairs. You will have to find another way of transportation." Emiracia left the site without argument. She thought back to Tomas, and the way he fell. Did he go up there purposely? What was the point of it all? All she could think about was how someone was after her.
They need you.
It was a lie. Nobody outside of her relatives truly needed her.
She made it back to Stormwind Keep on time to hear about the tram incident. Word travelled fast in the city, and it did not take long before she was confronted by Varian. "You heard I was there," she said. "I was, and the woman there jumped herself."
"Do you know her identity?"
"Her name is Opherite apparently." Emiracia handed him the letter she found in her bedroom that very morning, "She is related to Tomas somehow. She threatened me that I needed to join her or something would happen to Kira." Varian gave her a worried look. Emiracia knew he was more than concerned. He worried she would go off to them to save Kira. Well, he was right. Almost.
"You're planning on joining this group?"
She crossed her arms. It wasn't what was planned, but if they ever hurt her… "If nothing is done. Yes."
He shook his head, as if he already made up his mind. Emiracia's temper flared. He would do nothing? "No. You and Kira stay here. In Stormwind. Corson is locked up and we do not need any more fighting."
"Coming from you, that is rather surprising," she replied.
He groaned in annoyance. "What would you know of war? You think it's something to ridicule?" Emiracia could tell he was trying his best to stay patient but the next word coming out of her mouth may be her last.
She didn't care anymore because an organization greater than Sapphire threatened her daughter. They even knew her daughter's name. How could he stand there and not understand how she felt? He was a parent, too. "I know that if we sit on our arses while a child is in danger, then starting war doesn't sound like such a bad idea."
"That's what you think. Do you even know what war is?"
"I do know!" Too late to back out of the conversation now. She did not know what war was like, even if she did fight in combat before. War was something completely different.
"Have you ever had to defend a city from being wiped out from existence? Or watching as a dragon nearly destroys the world and the only thing you can do is watch because you can't fight it by yourself?" Emiracia didn't answer. Varian continued on, adding, "No? Then Shut… Up." She kept quiet for once. The word obviously got to him for someone who seemed to want war so easily these days, or maybe she was out of the loop. She did not keep track of what happened in Azeroth, only caring about what was in front of her. She wondered if maybe it was about time she cared about everything around her instead.
"You don't know me," she added, after thinking about the conversation.
"I could say the same for you," he replied.
Halyone was outside of the courtyard, watching Kira play with one of her dolls. Emiracia contemplated on leaving him alone but he looked upset about something. "You two are getting a long really well," Emiracia said, genuinely impressed Halyone was good with his daughter. The comment went out one ear and out the other, but he gave her a faint smile.
"I wish you had told me earlier," he said. He referred to not telling him about Kira being his daughter. "I would never have avoided you."
"How could I? You weren't close enough for me to find… Finding you in Green Hill might have been pure luck. Without Varian or Jaina, I probably would not have gotten this far," she replied. "You're with her now… that should be enough."
He sighed, rubbing the brown haired stubble on his chin. "Were you planning on taking her eventually? Without Lady Brila or your sister knowing? You seemed to be on the run from something or someone."
"Yeah. Corson…" she said, narrowing her eyes at the rain falling down beneath her. "An old enemy of mine."
"What did you do to piss him off so much?"
She shook her head at his indication that she may have angered him. "He pissed me off first."
"So he declares you an enemy… He was obviously targeting Kira. Why would you sacrifice their lives because he angered you?"
He had it all wrong. Jumping to conclusions was practically his talent. Then again, he might have a point. "He never knew I had a family. Someone told him. I don't know who. I thought it was Tomas… but I think I am wrong, because the pieces don't fit."
Halyone sighed, allowing his head to slightly hang. "I wish Kira was not dragged into this."
He didn't need to remind her of how Kira got involved unintentionally. The whole plan was to keep her away from Sapphire. "You and me both, Hal. Just happy to know the bastard is stuck in a cell," she said. There was no words left to say between the two of them. Emiracia continued to watch Kira play with her dolls in complete silence. Watching her was something she could definitely become adjusted to eventually. Adjusting to Halyone returning to her life was not the most welcoming feeling, bringing back the memories she did not want to see. "You're quiet today," she noted.
"Is that a problem?"
She nodded. "Are you thinking of leaving? Because Kira is going to get attached to you."
"No. I am not going to leave. I may stay a while longer." She hoped he wouldn't say that. It was selfish of her to want it. He saved her… their daughter by giving the required blood, but he wanted to cling onto Kira… like she was his, too. And it made her want to scream. "This may not be the ideal situation but I can manage."
"All right… what really changed your mind? Did Lady Brila bribe you to stay?"
He cocked his head to the side, confused. "No, she didn't."
"Then, why?"
"You have to ask?" Halyone said, shaking his head impatiently. "I want to because Kira is my daughter, too and she should get to know her father."
Emiracia hated how genuine he sounded and acted, like he actually cared about Kira. It sickened her to have such extreme nasty thoughts about him after all he had done to save her. She put her hands up, noticing how tense he became. "Okay, okay. Fine. I believe you."
"Look, I don't need you to like me. Trust me."
Trust you… how, she thought. "I can try but don't do anything to make me hate you again."
"Oh, you'll find something to hate me for," he teased. "I should try talking to her."
"What… are you nervous?" Emiracia teased him back.
"She's my daughter. Of course I am. I never imagined what it would be like to have a child in the first place."
"It's not easy," she said. She missed a number of years in Kira's life, while being there for her birthdays and making an effort to visit her every couple of months. When she made enough money from a contract, half went towards Kira's expenses. She lowered her head down, realizing she was in no position to judge Halyone for not being there when put priority over her daughter for a criminal organization. "Nothing ever is."
Emiracia tensed up, stepping into Kira's room. It was empty. She called for daughter but nothing happened. Don't panic. She was probably still in the courtyard, except day turned into night and she would never stay out that late. She checked to see if Anduin knew where she was, but he didn't know either. "I haven't seen her since supper," he said. "Before, I saw her talking to her father. Maybe he took her out?"
Hell! She thought. No. No. "Do you know where he is?"
Anduin shook his head. She cursed under her breath and made a dash for the courtyard anyway. He wasn't there and neither was Kira. He wouldn't… take her. Would he? She tried not to think such things as Emiracia attempted to trust Halyone again.
Brila was in one of the inns in Stormwind, drinking and speaking to the bartenders. She set her mug down when she saw Emiracia. "What's wrong?"
"I… I can't find Kira!"
"What? She went missing?"
"She… She was with Halyone before and after supper, I went to see how she was doing. But she is not in her room."
"Okay, deep breath, Em. She has to be somewhere."
"Kira. Is. Missing!" Emiracia shouted. She was loud enough to make the entire Inn stop and look at her. Brila took her outside of the inn keep to speak to her instead. She hated when Em acted out in public. "Do you think someone took her? Or maybe she ran away?"
Brila put her hands on Em's shoulders. "Relax. You don't know if she is missing. If Kira did run away, she would not get very far. The guards are literally everywhere in Stormwind Keep… They would have seen her." She couldn't stop for one moment without seeing the image of her daughter on the ground dead. Was that dream I had about Kira a vision or a nightmare?
Her foster mother managed to convince her to search again in the Keep. The one thing she never understood about Brila was how she convinced Em to do anything. She always realized Brila was right eventually. Emiracia panicked when she saw no signs of Kira anywhere in the castle. Where is she? And where is Halyon? She didn't want to think it or even say it but it returned to her mind once more. He didn't take her. Did he?
"Someone took her," she said, after she realized the search was in vain. "She wouldn't run away, but it is easy to capture the attention of a child if someone wanted her."
"I know," Brila responded. "We will find her, Em. I promise."
She did not want to have to ask for help… but for her daughter, she knew she had no choice. She would have to ask for Varian Wrynn's assistance. He showed her how much of use he could be. Emiracia balled her fists at the thought of having to disturb him from whatever he was doing to help her search for her missing daughter. For the umpteenth time it felt like.
Anduin would help her without a doubt, as he showed her before. However, she believed leaving the prince out of it was a good idea. He did not need to deal with her problems and while he still could, she thought he should stay live his life as a teenager until the time came to become the King of Stormwind. Hell, I almost sound like I am his mother.
Brila offered to come with her to ask the king, but she refused. It was something she had to do on her own. What bothered her the most was how calm Brila sounded about the whole situation. Kira was missing. She cared about Kira as if she were her own, and raised her as she did for Emiracia. For the first time she wondered if her foster mother had something to do with the kidnapping.
Before she was able to talk to enter the room, she stopped to listen to Varian, who was at his desk, speaking to Greymane. "The woman is trouble." Emiracia knew her Gilnean roots would not matter to him. Maybe Brila and Greymane's friendship ended before she moved to Elwynn Forest, or Em got off on the wrong foot when they first met.
"I know, Greymane. I have told myself this since I met her." The comment did not surprise her in the slightest. He looked down at her when they first met and continued. Even though he helped her twice, he didn't see her beyond the criminal scum people thought her to be.
"A shame she keeps bringing you into her damn business."
Varian sighed. "If I could, I would have her locked up. Criminals such as her taint Stormwind and it has to be stopped."
And he still thought of her as a criminal.
"And she has Anduin nearly wrapped around her finger."
The sentence was enough to make Emiracia stop listening. So much for asking for his help.
Another idea came to her, and nobody, including herself, was going to like it much less accept it. She would have to go to Corson. He wasn't sentenced to die just yet. Varian wanted him on trial first. The bastard would never help her… unless bribed with the one thing he wanted the most: Freedom.
She began to despise herself for thinking up the plan. It was an easy enough task to get him out, it would be convincing him to help her. His worgen abilities allowed him to find people with a certain sense: smell. A long shot, and worth the cost.
She managed to knock out some of the guards around the dungeon. It wouldn't take long before they figured someone broke into it, or broke out. I could have done it the easy way but that's boring, she thought. She brought along Kira's doll she played with all the time. She hoped Corson would be able to sniff out who took her, if that was even possible.
"You're here," Corson growled. "Announce it. I'm not stupid."
"I think you damn well know who this."
"Emiracia. What a surprise. Come to gloat about my situation?"
"I would but I can't. I want you to smell this doll, and tell me if it belongs to anyone you might recognize."
"Who do you take me for? I will not do anything for you."
She brought her face closer to the bars. She watched as Corson didn't even move a muscle from his stance. "You might after you listen to what I offer you." He chose silence as a response. Good. She needed him to shut up for a moment to explain. "I will give you freedom but only if you do this one thing."
"You got yourself a deal," he replied. "But it's painfully obvious who took her."
"How would you know?"
"The doll is your daughter's. I saw her holding onto it - but the person who took her is someone you know."
"Who?" But she didn't want to know.
"It's her father. You are the biggest fool I have ever met. You trusted him with her and look at where that got you."
Emiracia almost threw the doll to the ground, but held her head up high. She grasped onto the toy so hard, she was sure the arm would snap in half. Halyone took her. Why would he do that? After everything - why? She almost disbelieved it for a moment until she remember how he wanted to talk to Kira by himself. "That piece of shit," she whispered. She had to head back to Brila as soon as possible.
Corson grabbed onto the bars. "Well, will you free me now?"
She turned sharply towards him. "You were a damn fool to believe I would for a second ever release you from your chains." She ended the conversation with an arcane finger gesture, and slammed the door shut. She could hear him yelling by the time she reached the main floor. Bastard deserved it. The person who deserved her anger the most, was definitely Halyone himself, and he would be extremely sorry for what he did.
Several guards caught her by surprise, as they all appeared at once with their weapons in hand. "Move out of my way," she said, not in the fighting mood. One of them grabbed her by the arm. "Let go of me!"
"What's going on here?" a voice roared among them.
"Your Majesty, this culprit snuck into the dungeon, and knocked some of our own out," one of them replied.
The guards side stepped to allow Varian walking through. "You are also to blame. Your jobs are to protect the Keep from people like her, and instead you failed."
Emiracia twisted her arm out of the guard who held her. "Get out of my way," she hissed at him. "I am in no mood." She attempted to walk past him but his arm physically stopped her from moving further. The man was strong, and it made it hard to get away.
"All of you leave!" Varian ordered them. He didn't loosen his grasp on her until all of the guards returned to their posts, leaving them alone. Emiracia didn't feel like speaking to him after what she heard. "I should have you back in the dungeon. I let you stay and this is the thanks I get?"
"At the moment, that is the least of my worries."
"You better have a good damn reason."
"I don't have to listen to you," she snarled. "Leave me alone!"
"You want me to have you arrested? Tell me what you were doing sneaking around the dungeon."
"I wasn't sneaking! I had a good reason, but it really isn't any of your business. I got my answer and now all I have to do is leave. So be happy. I won't be here for much longer. Once I am through with Halyone, there won't be anything left of him."
"Wait!" Brila called out. "Em, Halyone wasn't the one who took her. He… He had nothing to do with it."
"What are you talking about? Corson told me -" Brila looked like she had done something terrible. Emiracia could read it all over her face. "What did you do?"
"I… I let Kira get kidnapped."
"You did what?" Emiracia shook her head, turning her back to her foster mother. I don't believe that for a second. Brilas loves Kira. Why would she?
"I decided maybe if they took some of her blood, they would leave the two of you alone."
She violently turned around and pushed Brila. Varian stood in between the two women to stop the fight before it happened. "That is not your bloody decision, now is it, Brila?!" she yelled. Her foster mother was a very lucky woman to have Varian protecting her from Emiracia's wrath. "You sold out my daughter!"
One thing was for sure… She would never let Brila get away with it.