Everything happened all at once. Fire totems sprung up and the glint of knives flashed but Ava's eyes didn't move from Darshan's as he sprang towards her. Will grabbed her out of the way just in time and the night elf stumbled forward. In an instant, Ruaran and Caruur were on top of him holding him down, with some effort despite their combined weight. Darshan was still in his night elf form but roaring like a wild animal.

Will frantically looked around but couldn't see any sign of the troll they had called Za'zera. Next to him, Ava was standing completely still, gazing calmly at the scene in front of her.

"Why didn't you run?", he asked.

"Huh?", she said, shaking her head as if coming out of a stupor.

"I said, why didn't you run? Move out of his way? I saw you today, I know your reflexes!"

"I...I don't know." She looked ashamed. "I guess I just froze."

Will pulled her tight towards him, hugging her close. "It's ok. You're safe."

She gazed over his shoulder, still looking at Darshan on the ground. Despite his discomfort, he managed to keep eye contact with her, his expression fierce and hateful.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Eshara and Amber looking on passively, from a distance. Where were they when he was attacking all of them? And where the hell was Za'zera?

Raenysa froze Darshan's legs into a block of ice and he was dragged into a holding cell, in a quiet spot in the west of the campsite. The bars were frozen shut and Caruur swiftly cast some protective elemental spells around it. Ruaran began shouting a rota of names to guard the cage. All the while, Ava and Will hung back from the well-ordered action. While Will's attention was on Ruaran's leadership, Ava watched Darshan as he desperately tried to break free from the mage's ice.

"Will you be ok if I leave you alone for just a moment?", Will asked.

Ava nodded and he removed his arms from around her, moving towards the male blood elf. She immediately began to shiver, despite the warm humidity of Feralas at night, regretting her agreement. She watched her boyfriend begin talking to Ruaran, himself wearing an annoyed expression at being interrupted from his organisation. She watched Caruur reverentially cast his shaman spells and Raenysa glare through the bars at the captive, muttering incantations all the time. She spotted the retreating backs of Eshara and her husband Malik disappear further into the trees. She noted Amber's continuing absence. She looked around at everything she could to avoid looking at Darshan's silver eyes glaring at her.

Until she couldn't avoid them anymore. Like the memories she tried to repress, they gnawed at her, focusing her attention until she was driven to look up and meet their harsh gaze.

Everything she had been trying to avoid over the last couple of days rose up and hit her square in the chest. The feelings she once had for Darshan had been trickling in, first slowly and now all at once. The great bundle of emotions that had been nagging her now revealed themselves in all their glorious mess. The sharp pain of betrayal, the bewildering feeling of being left alone, the panic of an animal caught in a trap, the shock of an unexpected tragedy. And, shining through it like a golden thread, the bright and violent light of a love unfinished.

She stumbled back slightly but kept her eyes focused on the night elf. Darshan had stopped struggling, his broad back slumped down in the cage, the features of his face even softening slightly as he met her gaze. She had been spared this weight of feeling for years, had he been carrying it around all this time? His feverish anger suggested the years had done nothing to dim his feelings for her, only twisting them into something dark and unrecognisable.

She sucked in a ragged breath as she fought an irrational urge to hold him, to tell him how everything would be ok, to try and remove that haunted look from his eyes. A tiny voice spoke up inside her head; I should have been there. I should have been the one to comfort him after his family died. We could have gotten through this together.

She knew they could have. Instead, they tried to kill each other and ended up universes apart. She backed away from the cell, finally turning to run for the cover of the jungle on the far side of camp. Before she retched her dinner up in the comfort of solitude, she had one more thought. I will find whoever did this and I will kill them.

It was nearly an hour later when Will found her seated back at the dying campfire, a blanket wrapped around her and a steaming mug of vine tea in her hands. She was staring blankly into the embers and he was overcome with a rush of protective love.

He knelt down behind her, wrapping himself around her back and she jumped.

"Sorry baby, I shouldn't have startled you like that."

"Oh..." Ava replied, flustered. "No, no, I like having you here. I'm sorry, I was miles away."

Will turned and sat next to her. "How can you cold in the middle of the jungle?"

"I...I just feel a chill", she replied weakly.

Will frowned. She looked worse than when she had woken up in Orgrimmar. Pale, tired and, most of all, sad.

"Hey, I won't have you worried, ok?"

"Worried?", she murmured.

"Worried about Darshan. He's not going anywhere. I had a long talk with Ruaran about the security measures around the cell. Between magic and manpower, there's no way he's going to be able to break free. Even the fight seems to have left him now, he knows he's been beaten."

"What are they going to do with him?"

"Don't worry about that now. I'm sure Caruur has a great plan. But I can promise you he won't hurt you. Y'know, for such a pain in the ass, Ruaran does know his stuff."

She nodded vacantly.

"Ava, you don't look well. Maybe we should get an early night."

She hesitated. She wanted to remain out here in the open air, where she felt she could breath. She needed space, to be truly alone with her thoughts and start sorting out her memories, not lying in a makeshift bed next to Will. When she looked up at his concerned features though, she relented. This was Will, her partner and protector. The man who followed her to Azeroth and proudly carried his new sword at his hip, despite only having the vaguest idea how to use it. All for her. She leaned towards him and said softly "let's go to bed."

"That was a brave move."

Darshan didn't react to the familiar voice. He continued looking down at the spot of his cell he had been focusing on for the last few hours. Ever since she had turned and fled into the darkness, there was nothing else to look at. He remained looking at the dirt, if only to keep the memory of her eyes firm in his mind.

"You must have known you couldn't succeed. Did Za'zera know that too? Is that why he isn't here?" Caruur continued.

Her eyes, her real glowing green eyes, had locked on to him and the worst of the burning hatred had dampened. He could not afford this kind of distraction, he had to remain focused on his family.

"I believe there must be a way to end this. I need to see the letters you received about Salandria."

Her eyes. He must not think of her eyes.

"What did Silvermoon give to you?"

Darshan looked up in surprise at the tauren and Caruur's impatience vanished. He had his attention now.

Ava remained awake for many hours after going to her tent. Will's arm was around her and she refrained from moving so not to wake him. She stayed , gazing into the darkness until she fell into bittersweet dreams of mossy smells and whispered promises.

A/N: Well let's hope I haven't mixed up anyone's names in this chapter! Thank you to eagle-eyed reviewers who alerted me early :)

Yup, updates have been slow. New job, etc. etc. I can promise you this story will be finished, I love writing it and I love seeing new people follow & favourite it.