Chapter Eleven
Naedriel would arrive in two weeks time; her planned escape was to be as discrete as possible. With this in mind, Lorus felt a rush of insecurity fold chilling arms around him. Soon, he and his night elf companion would not have privacy, which was his main concern. While nothing had happened in a drastic manner, Lorus still found that their romantic interludes during the day were something he found comforting and slightly necessary. But he dare not speak a word to the night elf; he needed to be selfless in this if he were to show he truly cared.
"I cannot believe my little sister would do such an uncharacteristic things..." Hyleana finally spoke the words that had ruffled in her brain for quite some time. "What do you mean?" Lorus looked up, slightly understanding but still fogged on what had prompted the conversation. It was late at night and a campfire settled the two. "It's just that she made love to a man that she hardly knew, and she is a woman of such strong faith and tradition. Her emotions must have been strong. Or there is much I don't know of my own sister..."
The sadness in Hyleana's made Lorus feel uneasy. "Your sister is her own woman, Starfall. There is no need for you to stay concerned about her, for she shall make her own choices." Hyleana simply nodded and allowed her silver eyes to be enchanted by the fire's seducing flames. Her sadness continued for up until her sister finally did arrive.
Her sister arrived the at the designated time on a hippogryph from Darnassus. "Sister!" Hyleana embraced Naedriel with a long hug. The elf had a darker hint of purple to her skin and long purple hair that was pulled into two braids; the spitting image of their father, many had told them. Holding her sister for a few more moments, a familiar voice interrupted them. "A heart warming reunion! I'm glad to see your sister has faired well." Kazi was now behind the duo staring fondly. Grabbing her sister's hand, she smiled at her friend, "As am I. Naedriel, this is my friend Kazi. She's treated me very kindly since my arrival here." Hyleana smiled as she introduced the two. Bowing, Naedriel thanked the draenei for taking care of her elder sister.
"It is nothing. And if there is anything I can get for you, please do not hesitate to come and visit me." Her eyes sparkled as her musical accent filled their ears with warmth. Hyleana had never caught on to why the woman was always being so kind to her, but she was always slightly wary of her presence; Kazi was the only other being on the island with whom she was close to, and if anyone were to find out about her secret, she had the best chance of revealing it. The two said their goodbyes and headed off into the lush forest.
"Sister... Your letter concerned me..." Naedriel admitted as the two came to the stop. The air around them had now become serious and the two were secluded from any prying ears. "As you are entitled..." Hyleana put her hand behind her head and gave her sister a worried look. She worried even more when tears began to pool in her sister's amber eyes. "Sister... Do you hate me for what I have done?" As the soft light kissed the tears that rolled down her dark purple cheeks, Hyleana rushed her younger sister into a hug. "By Elune's light, why should I? You followed your heart. I could never condemn you for that. I was more worried that I did not know my sister well enough!" Despite being older, her sister was just a bit taller than her by about half an inch and Hyleana found her chin rested against her shoulder slightly.
"But Hyleana... I will bear a half-elven child..." she wept into the older elf's shoulder. "Do you know how they are treated around the world? How harsh their lives are? They seemingly fit in nowhere... They grow too fast for elves and stay too young for humans... There is nowhere my child..." she trailed off as tears fell. "That's not true." Hyleana pushed her sister back to face her, silver eyes ablaze with an unknown passion. "Your child will always have you. I will not allow you to abandon them. And neither shall I. Even if you were somehow lost to us, that child will always have me. We're a family, Naedriel. And we're different. Think. Our mother kept us close to her side and although we were raised communally, we still shared a special bond with our mother and each other. So please... Don't feel like this child will live such a cold and relentless life. For when there is doubt, they will have us..."
Her sister's tears seemed to stop at her words. There was some sort of life renewed to them. "Hyleana... I knew you would know the right thing to say... You just... Always have..." She smiled slightly. "I sent word to the father before I left. And I told him where I would be. Perhaps... If we both agree on things... Or if he even comes to look for me... Perhaps we can bring our child into the world together... I know that I will outlive him but perhaps it's best to just focus on the time we will share together now..." Ruffling her purple hair Hyleana smiled. "That's my sister."
Wrapping her arms around her very small, barely visible baby bump, Naedriel looked at her sister. "And what of your news? You had me worried that perhaps there was something wrong." Hyleana slouched again; she had no idea how she should proceed with telling her sister the news. Of course, her sister was not one to talk in her situation, so she figured she might as well come out and say what she needed to. "Sister... I have met someone as well... But they are not of our race... Necessarily... Nor our faction..." she sighed, feeling the shock reach her sister. "What... Do you mean by faction?" Naedriel began slowly.
"He's a blood elf..." Hyleana sighed and looked at her hands. She clenched them together and awaited her younger sister's response, hoping that whatever was to come would not be too terrible. "I see... And you're not..." Naedriel left the question to be left to her sister's accurate interpretation. "No, I am not with child." Hyleana blushed. She finally found the courage to look her sister in the eyes, bewilderment adorning her face at her sister's initial thoughts. Naedriel was holding her left braid with two hands and staring at the ground in nerves. "Mother would be considerably distraught if she found out the lives her only daughters were leading. Perhaps it is our blood?" Naedriel smiled.
"You are not upset?" Hyleana asked. "Yes... I cannot lie that I feel a sense of unease and slight betrayal... I understand the taboo that I myself have committed, but he's a blood elf!" she looked at her sister with heated amber eyes. "They are traitors to us! His green eyes are a symbol of that. I don't understand. To not be of our race anymore is one thing, but to be a traitor of it is another." Naedriel's eyes were confused and filled to the brim with anger. "Think what you want, but he is not the same. Much like you and I, he does not concern himself with the teachings and political stances that his race has shoved down the population's throat anymore." Hyleana chose harsh words, but did not have a matching tone; she knew her sister would have to come around at some point and had no right to speak in her situation.
And, as she began to settle, Hyleana could see that she was thinking it over. "I suppose... You said that I followed my heart, yes? Well... If you are following yours and I suppose I cannot condemn you as well... I want to meet this man and I hope he is what you say he is." Hyleana rushed her sister into another hug. "Thank you, my young sister. I promise... I promise that your burdens will lessen so long as I am near."
Lorus had been waiting for quite some time, nervous to be meeting Hyleana's family. She'd been gone for some time now and he worried that perhaps her reveal had not gone as well as planned. "Please tell me this will work." He rushed his hands through his ruffled blonde hair, which was now growing considerably long. A ruffle in the shrubs told him that the moment of truth had arrived.
Turning around, her faced a night elf who was about his height, but slightly taller. "Naedriel, this is Lorus Sunblade." Hyleana smiled. The purple haired elf gave a disgruntled look, but came up to him and bowed. "Thank you for taking care of my sister." When she came back up to meet his green eyes, he smiled at her, "Yes, well she is truly a handful, that is certain."
