AN - there is a scene in this chapter that may be a bit intense if you have a sensitive stomach. It's not gory, but it is unpleasant.


Aveline liked the Mage's Tower. Except for the odd explosion, it was quiet and peaceful, and had an invigorating energy to it that made her feel better than she had in years. The people inside of it were also very intriguing; so studious and intense with their elaborate staffs and colourful robes.

Aveline sat and watched as Mathias confered with a group of three mages near the window, their backs towards her. None of them saw fit to include her in the conversation, which Aveline thought was rude considering they were going to do Light knows what to her. She turned her eyes to the magical circle etched into the grey stone floor, curious about what it was to be used for.

It was several feet wide and glowed bright pink, its intricate pattern of glyphs and whirls almost hypnotising in its complexity. Aveline tilted her head; the circle seemed to be humming faintly, and she couldn't decide if the sound was comforting or annoying.

"Aveline," Mathias said, walking over to her, "it's time. I'll leave you with the High Sorcerer now. Do what he tells you, and hopefully we'll get the information we need to beat Aliden to the weapon."

"Do you really have to leave?" Aveline asked, grabbing hold of his arm. She looked over at the mages who were studying her intently. Mathias nodded, prying her fingers loose.

"Yes," he said. "I have business with the King. Relax, Aveline. They won't hurt you. They know how important you are to SI: 7."

"Please, step into the circle and sit down, Miss Hart," High Sorcerer Andromath said, with a smile. He had kind eyes and a gentle face, so Aveline relaxed as she did as requested, feeling her skin start to tingle as she entered the circle.

When Aveline sat down on the stone floor, the tingling sensation intensified. It felt as if her muscles were spasming, but when she held up her hands, they weren't trembling at all. The room took on a pink tinge as the circle's light flared up, forming an energy cage around her.

Taking slow, deep breaths, Aveline focused on Andromath's face as he and his colleagues began to chant. The magic circle seemed to pulse in perfect rhythym with the mages' chanting, and she gasped as she felt an exhilirating rush of energy surge through her. Her heart began to pound within her chest, and she began to sweat.

Aveline tried to raise a hand to her face, but her whole body began to feel numb and heavy. She opened her mouth to beg the mages to stop but no words passed her lips. Her panic grew as images began to flash before her eyes; flashes of colour and movement that formed themselves into snippets of her dreams.

Her head began to ache as she once again saw herself as the naga killing her companions and the night elf fighting for her life. Aveline threw her head back and screamed as the ache turned into an excruciating pain, pressure building up behind her eyeballs. Each throbbing pulse of the magic circle was like an icepick to her brain, and the words finally burst forth from her lips.

"Stop!" Aveline yelled, hands gripping her head as tears streamed down her face. "Please! You're killing me!"

"Just a little longer, Miss Hart!" Andromath called out. "We're almost finished!"

Even as the High Sorcerer tried to reassure Aveline, the pain worsened, and she curled up on the floor. Her hand reached out and beat against the stone as the light turned from pink to red to purple and then black.

Aveline rolled onto her back, her body arching up off the floor. She tried to scream again but her voice gave out under the strain. Her vision started to fade and her body began to jerk and thrash against the floor.

In the background, the mages started yelling frantically as the magic circle started to pulse eratically, the energy level threatening to overwhelm them. Aveline was dimly aware of them running around, and one them tried to grab hold of her.

It was the wrong thing to do.

With an almighty roar that could be heard all the way in Goldshire, the magic circle exploded. The mages were thrown against the wall, and the windows blew out, every glass item in the room disintegrating.

Aveline's pain ended, the force of the explosion knocking her unconscious.


"She's alive," Mishka said, brushing some shards of glass from Aveline's hair, "and will be fine physically. Apart from that, I cannot say until she wakes up. Take her back to headquarters and let her sleep. Keep the room as dark and quiet as you can."

Mathias nodded, sliding his arms under Aveline's body and getting to his feet. The young woman seemed to weigh nothing at all as he carried her away from the Mage's Tower, giving one final glare at the High Sorcerer as he left.

They said they wouldn't hurt her, he thought to himself angrily. They told me their spell was safe!

Mathias snorted as he took in Aveline's still form. Her face was paler than usual, and there were grazes on both cheeks from where she'd been hit by flying glass. Even though she was unconcscious, her lips were twisted into a frown, and she looked deeply troubled. It was her hands that bothered him the most, though.

She almost tore her own fingernails off! And her knuckles... I've only seen cuts and brusies like that on brawlers.

Aveline stirred against him, her bandaged fingers clutching his armor as she began to tremble. Mathias picked up his pace, making for his office as quickly as he dared. Mishka said the young woman needed rest, so that's what she'd get. He'd failed her once today, he wouldn't let it happen again.

Several of Mathias' agents gave him odd looks as they saw him carry Aveline upstairs, but he ignored them. He kicked his office door open, and then the door leading to his 'bedroom'. He placed her on one of the mattresses, turning back to close the door behind them and shut the curtains.

"Mathias?" Aveline mumbled, curling up into a ball, a hand raised to cover her head, as if sheltering from a blow. He stared at her, resisting the urge to reach down and take her hand.

I told her they wouldn't hurt her. I lied to her.

Mathias stiffened as he realised that he felt guilty. He lied to people all of the time. It was part of his job. An SI: 7 agent should not feel guilty for doing their job, he told himself sternly.

He wondered if the mages had damaged Aveline's mind, and if it were something that could be healed. What if they destroyed the very information that we needed to recover? He lent against the wall, his eyes never leaving her heart-shaped face.

Mathias took a deep calming breath and tried to focus on keeping guard, but he was troubled by one reoccuring thought. How am I going to find out what she really saw in that book?


Stormwind was in chaos.

Aveline could hear people screaming in the streets, and see the flashes of orange light as building after building exploded. She clutched Nicholas to her chest; the baby was screaming, his little face scrunched up in terror. She could not calm him, just as she could not calm herself; her breaths were ragged, and her body trembled.

"Shut that brat up!" a woman yelled at her, and Aveline did her best, rocking her son in her arms and singing to him softly. It was no use. Nicholas wanted his father, but Mathias was nowhere to be found.

"Take Nicholas and follow Amber to the Keep," Mathias had told her as he strapped on his weapons. The city was already in trouble then, swarmed by the Syndicate and Defias Brotherhood soldiers who had appeared out of nowhere. "I'll meet you there when I can."

In truth, Stormwind was already lost, a victim to a strange power that no one had ever seen before. Aliden Perenolde walked the streets, Azshara's Revenge in hand, and the very earth trembled beneath his feet. A single wave of his hand, and buildings crumbled into dust. One word, and the guards turned against the people they'd sworn to protect.

But the citizens of Stormwind were brave, and even now Aveline could hear them fighting for their lives, their freedom. "For Stormwind!" they cried. "And King Varian!"

King Varian...

Aveline's eyes flitted over to where a body lay stiff and cold on the floor of the Royal Library, the floor around it awash with drying blood.

"The Keep is the safest place in Stormwind," Amber had told her as they ran through the back streets, dragging Samara behind her.

"I believe you," she'd replied.

But when they got to the Keep, the Syndicate was already there.

When Aveline had seen Montaine and Aliden in the throne room, her heart had almost exploded within her chest. "Montaine!"

"Aveline, you're here!" her ex-boyfriend had replied, stepping towards her. Nicholas had really started to cry then, and when Montaine saw the baby, he'd frowned, an ugly expression on his face.

"Whose child is this?"

"Mine," Aveline had replied, tucking her son under her chin. Her teal eyes blazed in warning as Montaine approached, but he reached out for the infant anyway.

Only for Amber to step between them.

"I guess now we know why Rell never came back," the rogue had said.

"If it's any consolation, the Night Elf did fight hard to resist answering our questions," Aliden called out from where he stood over the KIng's body. "He gave in though, they always do." He waved his staff towards Aveline. "Such a pity you aren't as familiar with Azeroth's geography as I am. You knew everything you needed to find this."

Aliden nodded at Montaine. "Kill the rogue. Do whatever you wish with the girl and her child."

Amber and Montaine had fought then. Such grace, such beauty, Aveline had thought, watching the two rogues dance around one another, blades glinting in the light.

Montaine had grunted when Amber finally mananged to pierce his heart. It was the only sign that his armor had been breached. Aveline watched as he'd hit the ground, eyes already dull and devoid of life. "What a waste," she murmured, a tear sliding down her cheek. "You were capable of so much more than this, Montaine."

Amber had coughed; a strange wet cough that had made Aveline cringe. She'd turned to find that Montaine had gotten lucky; his dagger was sticking out of Amber's left side, directly under her ribs with the blade angled upwards. Blood poured out of the rogue's mouth, a scarlet river that caused Aveline to start screaming.

"Ave.." Amber had choked out between painful, jagged breaths. "Mathias... will come."

Those were the rogue's last words. Samara fell to her knees at Amber's side, her small hands trying to staunch the bleeding. Aveline said nothing, just stood there swaying, her own breath coming out in little gasps.

"That was... most unfortunate," Aliden said, though his voice held little in the way of grief. "Come with me now, girl, and leave your sister to her grief."

For the first time in her life, Aveline had stood her ground, refusing to do as commanded. She straightened her spine, held Nicholas to her chest protectively, and glared at Aliden.

"Well, well, you do have some fire to you after all," he drawled. "A shame that it won't help you now." The madman waved Azshara's Revenge and Aveline had heard a strangled gasp come from behind her.

"Samara!" she'd screamed, as a brilliant orange glow engulfed her sister. Samara had let out an agonised yell as the light grew in intensity, only falling silent when the light flashed bright white. The light faded, and Samara had given her sister one last, confused look before she shattered like a window after it's been smashed by a brick.

"Hmmm, that's new," Aliden said with amusement, stepping forward to grab Aveline's cloak. She was incapable of saying anything, her eyes fixed upon her sister's broken body. When Aliden had begun pulling her into the Royal Library, she had not resisted, her feet stumbling backwards and sliding across the blood-soaked floor.

She was still in the library now, trying to keep her eyes focused on the contents of the shelves as she attempted to rock her baby to sleep, rather than on the bodies lying all around her.

King Varian, decapitated beneath the royal coat of arms.

King Genn, in worgen form, pinned to the wall by Shalamayne, the mangled corpse of Prince Anduin at his feet.

Queen Braelyn buried beneath an overturned bookshelf, her hand reaching out to her fallen loved ones.

"Where are you, Mathias?" she whispered, a tear trickling down her cheek. She felt Nicholas shift in her arms, and then heat up. He began to wail in distress, his tiny arms waving around in the air. When Aveline looked down, a terrified scream burst from her lips. Her little boy was engulfed in orange light; the same orange light that had killed her sister.

"Not my son!" she cried, spinning around to beseech Aliden, who was staring at her with a malicious grin on his face. "Please, I'm begging you!"

"It's too late, Mrs Shaw," he cackled. "I'm afraid I don't give people second chances."

"Mathias!" Aveline screamed in the desperate hope that her husband was nearby. "MATHIAS!"

The light in Aveline's arms turned white...


Mathias was jerked awake by the sound of Aveline screaming for him. He leapt out of bed, reaching for his daggers and rolling over to her bedside. She was thrashing about, her arms and legs flailing wildy.

"Mathias! Nicholas, no!"

"Aveline!" Mathias said, taking her by the shoulders and shaking her firmly. "Wake up!"

Aveline's eyes shot open. They were full of tears, the liquid shining silver in the moonlight sloping in through the window. Her breath was rapid, as if she'd just run a kilometre in a minute, and Mathias could feel her shivering beneath his hands.

"Mathias?" she asked in a tortured whisper. Before he could answer, she threw herself into his arms, burying her face in his neck as great shuddering sobs wracked her body. "Aliden killed Nicholas! He killed our son!"

Our son? Mathias thought, stunned. He put his arms around her, holding her loosely, not wanting her to feel caged. Her own grip was tight. He could feel her short fingernails pressing into his bare back, and he could feel her heart hammering away in her chest.

"We don't have a son, Aveline," Mathias said, stroking her back. "It was just a dream." She dreamt she had a child with me? He wasn't sure what he should make of that information.

"It wasn't a dream!" she retorted. "It was a... a premonition! A vision of what's going to happen if Aliden gets that weapon."

"What did you see, Aveline?" Maybe she dreamt something useful.

"The Syndicate joined forces with the Defias Brotherhood and they took over Stormwind," she sobbed. "They killed everyone... Samara, Amber, Prince Anduin, King Genn, the King and Queen."

"Aliden had the weapon?" Mathias asked, trailing his hand over the thin material of her nightgown. She arched into him slightly, and he smiled into her hair. "Did he say where he got it from?"

Aveline shook her head, her dark hair tickling his nose. "He just said that he... he tortured poor Rell!" she exlaimed, shuddering, and Mathias tensed. "He said that we had all the information we needed to find the weapon, we just weren't smart enough to interpret it."

Mathias sighed as Aveline disolved into tears, unable to speak through her sobbing. "I won't let Aliden win," he said. "We'll just work harder and be more cautious."

Aveline pulled back. To Mathias' surprise she freed herself from his embrace and stood up, still trembling, but with a wild desperation in her eyes that unnerved him. "It's not going to be enough," she said. "I have to go. I have to hide, somewhere he can't find me. It's the only way."

"Aveline," Mathias said with another sigh. What was this madness? She wouldn't survive five mintutes out there alone. "You have to stay here. Tell me what you know, and let me keep you safe."

"No, you can't keep me safe," she said. "You don't even care about me. You let those mages hurt me!"

"Aveline, come here... "

She didn't listen to him, running for the door without even stopping for her shoes or a cloak.

"Aveline, stop!" Mathias commanded, voice low and full of authority. She came to sudden halt, her hand resting on the doorknob. He got up and walked over to her, bending down to pick her up. He looked down at her, and even though her face was full of shadows, he could tell that those gorgeous eyes of hers had widened in shock.

Aveline didn't say a word as he carried her to his bed, placing her on the matress on the side closest to the wall. Mathias slid in after her, and she let out an embarrassed squeak. She moved closer to the wall. He grinned. It was not the usual response he got from women, but nevermind.

He reached one hand out and placed it on the curve of her hip. He heard her gasp, and felt her tense under his palm. He stroked her gently with his thumb until she relaxed, then hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her back against his chest. He chuckled. She was blushing all over her body; he could feel the heat radiating from her. She really was too innocent for words.

"I know that I seem harsh and uncaring sometimes," Mathias whispered into her ear, his breath puffing up some of her ebony hair. "A lot of the time, I am both those things, and more. I have to be, in order to do my job. To protect Stormwind and the Alliance as a whole, I can't afford to think of the needs of individuals. I can't personalise my jobs. Hell, I can't even personalise most of my agents. If I did, I wouldn't be able to send them out into the field, knowing that they could die or be tortured."

Aveline sighed, and he could feel the residual tension melt out of her body. "That doesn't mean I enjoy seeing you hurt or in pain," Mathias continued, stroking her stomach idly. He was beginning to enjoy the way she reacted to his touch, even as he realised what a bastard he was for manipulating her this way. But he couldn't have her attempting to run away again, so if he had to exploit her emotions to keep her in Stormwind, then so be it.

"You won't send me back to the mages will you?" Aveline asked, her voice wavering in fear.

"No, little mouse, I won't send you back to them," Mathias replied, placing a soft kiss on her temple. For the first time, he noticed that her hair smelled faintly of peacebloom. "Those charlatans obviously had no idea what they were doing. I'll think of another way to get the information we need."

Aveline sighed in relief, and he felt her small hands cover his. Mathias smirked. She really was the perfect size to cuddle.


AN - oh, Mathias. This is going to come back to bite you, fair on the arse.

Next chapter: Montaine returns!