Chapter Twenty-One
Hyleana had lost count of time. She knew that her and Grothos could do nothing in their current situation and therefore they would be stuck going to Silvermoon City; from their position there they would devise a plan. It had been weeks of journeying to get from the portal to Eversong Woods, as they went by cart the whole way.
But Hyleana did not mind. She cried for Kazi at night, but when she thought it was day, she spoke to Grothos. The two shared tales of their families. "So what will become of your niece?" he asked her once. "Will she not outlive her mother?" Hyleana pondered for a moment. "Well, I'm not sure what happens to half-elven children. But from what my sister says, she's growing so fast. She's twelve now..."
"I truly hope you cherish your time with her. Life can end at any time for any of us. Our supposed lifespans mean nothing in this world." Hyleana thought deeply on his words and saw that she agreed with what he said. A day or so after their conversation, they had arrived at Silvermoon City. Once they heard the other carts beginning to unload, Hyleana became nervous. "Grothos, what will happen if we get separated?" The brown orc found himself smiling at her want to stay with him.
"I will find you, don't worry about it Hyleana. We have the same Master, we're bound to be together." Hyleana smiled at his reassurance and the doors opened up. They were in front of a large red estate the seemed to bleed sin'dorei in every sculpt of it's model. Hyleana found herself laughing darkly as she realized that she'd gotten everything she could have ever wished for. She was back with Lorus, just as she had dreamed the first year after their separation, only this was a demented version.
Hyleana took one last look at the orc before she was shuffled off and saw him look at her for the first time since their meeting. He smiled slightly and watched her go as she was dragged up the steps before them. Everything about the home was lavish and adorned the colors red and gold within every possible spot. She was led to an upstairs bathroom where a bitter female instructed her to bath. Once she was left alone, Hyleana noticed that clean clothes and a variety of soaps and perfumes had been laid out for her. Sighing, she knew she had to take care of herself. Not only was her family waiting for her to come home, but now her newfound friend was relying on her to help him escape.
The dress was long and silver, and most definitely not of sin'dorei fashion. The dress she wore now was outlined in white and she knew the style to be that of the kaldorei. She felt uncomfortable as to how they'd obtained such a traditional robe, but she exited the bathroom. Guards awaited her and scoffed at her still drying teal hair, marking her as a pitiful sight. "Follow us." Was all they said and she followed their commands without complaint.
She arrived in an office that mimicked the rest of the house, however it was filled to the brim with books and scrolls that were crawling with fel magic, or so she suspected. Lorus sat in a large red chair and greeted the night elf, his golden hair pulled to the side in a ponytail. "Hyleana, it is more than lovely to see you again." The elf smiled. "I wish I could say the same thing about you. What happened to needing to part ways?" she asked hesitantly. "Times change, and twelve years is far too long."
She flickered her eyes to the side bitterly and refused to his gaze. "Come now, you're not honestly still upset about that draenei, are you?" he asked. Biting her lip and holding back tears, she could not believe what she was hearing. Even if fate had not allowed she and Kazi had to be been lovers, he knew they were friends and that should have been enough to tell him how she felt about the situation. "You brought me here as a slave. Why?" she ignored his previous accusations.
"Is it not obvious?" he let his broad jaw relax against his hand. "It's very simple, actually. As a slave, you can be here with me without a threat. There's no reason for the Alliance to mark you as a traitor and there's no reason for my people to kick you out like the scum your people are."
"I regret sparing your life all those years ago." Hyleana hissed and bared her fangs to him, her eyes ablaze in a metal rage. "And I regret letting you leave with that woman. Yet here we are." He stood up and walked towards the smaller elf, resting his hand on her shoulder. "I shall not use heavy force, however you must understand that you are now my property so you will still have to do my bidding every now and then." Her eyes bared up at him like silver daggers. "Do not give me that look, love." He leaned his face in close to hers. At one time, and under different circumstances, Hyleana may have found the gesture to be romantic if not charming. Now he filled her nose with disgust.
"I shall never be any man's property." The night elf sneered in Darnassian. "And yet, here you are." He said again, only this time he matched her language. For the rest of the meeting, Lorus simply told her of her basic rights and what she was prohibited from doing. Essentially, she would not be bound such as the other slaves. She could freely roam the house, but only the house. She had her own room, however he added that it was only temporarily as he would expect her to soon share his bed as though they were still lovers; the thought made her gag. She was not allowed to leave nor converse with anyone other than him and potentially Yanbera under specific circumstances. And, above all, she must refer to him as her master.
Hyleana understood the rules and was shown to her room. I shall not be bound for long. She promised herself. While she was prohibited from speaking to anyone else, including fellow slaves, she knew that she could still find a way to free Grothos. Now all she needed to do was find the brown orc. But there has to be a catch... There is no way I'm simply free to roam the house... She suspected that perhaps there was a spell or even mere eyes that were strewn about the house to make it impossible for her to properly send word to her friend.
Hyleana figured that in the end the only thing she could do was devise a plan on her own and then find Grothos. His part would have to be told during the escape, but she knew no other way. It would be heavily impromptu and clumsy at best, but if she could work it well enough, perhaps they could escape with their lives. From there, she hoped the Eversong Woods was at least something like her home. She could help her friend escape and the two would be on their way to freedom.
Bitterly eating dinner in her room on the first night of her stay, she scoped the items in her area that she could use to escape. A knock came to the door and as it opened, she was pleasantly surprised. "My lady," Grothos stood in the door, his face looking exhausted, "The master is calling for you." Snorting, she smiled at him. "What could that pig want from me at a time like this? I'm eating."
Sighing, Grothos shook his head, "My lady, I advise you go now. I do not wish to see you get hurt." He would not meet her eyes again, so she walked over and raised his head. "I'll go if you promise to start looking me in the eyes, friend." She smiled. She was sure that they were being watched and although she was not allowed to speak to anyone, she hoped Grothos would not get in trouble. He gave her a smile and she left the food on her tray to go find Lorus.
"So you speak to your fellow slaves already?" asked Lorus as she arrived in his office. "We spoke on the way here. I simply told him how I feel." She kept her voice defiant and even; at least now it had been confirmed that she was being watched. "That's too bad for him. He's rather loyal, but I'm afraid I will have to punish him." Lorus, whom was standing beside a large bookshelf, dusted off a volume as though his sentence was commonplace.
Hyleana felt something throb in her heart; she did not want to be responsible for anyone getting hurt, not ever again. "And why not just punish me?" she asked. "Because I know you. Perhaps you have forgotten that over the years, but I do remember every bit about you. And I know that you suffer more through others than you do yourself. It is with that fact alone that I am confident his suffering will be enough for you." Hyleana did not allow tears to even form in her eyes as she stared at the sin'dorei before her. "You are cruel." She hissed. "But you will not see weakness befall me."
Sighing, he put the literature down and turned to face her. "Is that so?" he asked. His green eye birthed boredom and his voice seeped with exhaustion as though their transaction was too great an effort for him. "I grow tired of these games, Hyleana. You must learn to submit to your place. How else may we move forward?" She bared fangs at him, her eyes alight with life and fight. "Move forward? No, my dear. This is not moving anywhere. And I refuse to move with the likes of you!"
"You're stubborn as always; I figured as much. But you should know your place." She scoped the room, wishing there was some sort of object to stab him with. They were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in." The small but strong Yanbera walked in, her head held high with a massive amount of pride. Hyleana had the urge to kill this woman the most; She'd been the one to reveal her lover's hideaway, and had she just been quiet perhaps Kazi would have still been alive.
"I come to speak to my brother in private." She looked at Hyleana out of the corner of her eye with an annoyed look. Or, Hyleana looked closer, was it something else. "My dear night elf." She walked towards her and placed her hands in Hyleana's. "Did you not hear me or are your people so primitive you can't even understand that?" Her voice sounded as though it had been dipped in honey and mockery.
Hyleana tried not to widen her eyes or look awkward as she stared at Lorus and exited the room in a swift motion. Opening her tightened grip, she stared at the paper Yanbera had shoved in her hands discretely. On it, in Thalassian, it wrote:
I will come to your room tonight. Be prepared to leave.
Was her chance to escape going to come through the enemy's aid? And should she even consider accepting it? Grothos is going to be punished soon... If we don't get out of here tonight, we could be in serious danger... She made sure to hide the paper and hoped that Lorus had been too occupied to see her interaction with his sister as she turned to leave back to her room.