Lost On A New Land

"Woah..." Tanadia muttered, watching as a herd of Dreamrunners, white horses with green tails, legs and manes as well as a horn on their heads, walked passed her. "They're so beautiful..." She whispered to Snow who was prowling beside her. "Don't attack them. We're looking for deer or something like that... Not these beautiful creatures."

Moving further into the grassland they were both in, Tanadia kept low when she heard voices, unfriendly voices at that and keeping to the few trees in the area to listen in on their conversation. "The Illidari are here." A Doomguard said in a harsh tone. "We cannot afford to have them push back our plans!"

"They won't." A second Doomguard said. "They are few in number compared to us. The Burning Legion will see that this world is destroyed."

Tanadia watched them both begin to fly off, placing a hand on Snow's head and looking down at him. "Demon Hunters? I have read about them... Elves sacrificing themselves to fight demons on the frontline." She scratched behind the nightsaber's ear. "Come on, let's find something to eat before we return back to Victoria."

The Queen pulled herself up by using the wall beside her, looking down at her leg that was in a splint and slowly putting some weight onto it, gritting her teeth when a screaming pain shot through her after placing a small bit of weight onto it. "I hate this..." She muttered to herself, breathing heavily to fight through the pain. "I need Sera... She will know what to do."

"Vic?" Tanadia whispered loudly, returning to the cave after being away for a couple hours.

"Tana! What did you get?" Victoria asked, sliding back down until she was sitting on the floor, her leg stretched out whilst the other was tucked up beneath her.

"It's not much... I had to feed Snow." Tanadia showed her the four fish she had managed to catch, thanking the Titans at the time that Athrodar and Elaria took her fishing. "How are you feeling?" The Priestess asked, placing her hand gently on Victoria's leg, pouring some holy magic on it to try and help it heal.

"Other than hungry, I am a little in pain." Victoria told her sister, watching her focus more on her leg. "We need to get moving soon, we've been camped in this cave for long enough."

Tanadia nodded her head, keeping her focus on the leg in front of her. "I know. We are leaving tomorrow to find a new place to set camp and hopefully find someone who can help us." She looked up at her sister who watched her work. "I overheard a couple demons talk about Demon Hunters whilst I was out there. Maybe we could go looking for them."

"One thing at a time, Tana." Victoria told her. "We have return home to Stormwind. Getting me healed or at the very least finding someone to help us is our main priority." She saw Tanadia was about to argue, lifting up her hand to her. "Finding those Demon Hunters may prove to be costly if they're fighting on the front lines."

"Fine..." Tanadia muttered, sighing a little. "Do you think our parents are looking for us?" She asked when she had finished healing her leg for the day. "Do you think they know we're still out here?"

"I'm sure they do." Victoria said, moving an arm around her sister when she sat beside her. "If I know our parents, they will do anything to make sure we're returned home. They're probably on their way to find us this very second."

"We should head back to Dalaran." Athrodar said softly, standing behind Sylvanas who was looking out the cave they were in. "Thalina is exhausted, Elaria isn't in the best state and Luna is almost spent."

Sylvanas closed her eyes and sighed, pressing her head against Athrodar's when he kissed her on the shoulder. "You're right... We'll pick this up tomorrow." She whispered to him, looking back at Luna who was trying to keep Elaria calm. "All of her guard were there, Athrodar. She doesn't have anyone to protect her now."

"I know..." Athrodar looked down at a small patch of fur that seemed out of place. "What is that..?"

Sylvanas' gaze fell to the patch of fur on the ground, crouching down and picking it up. "They were here!" She exclaimed, looking up at Athrodar. "This is Snow's fur. I'd recognise it anywhere." She laughed lightly, looking back down at the clump of fur in her hand. "He sheds so much around this time, this could be key to finding them."

Thalina watched Athrodar walk out the cave, frowning when he crouched down nearby. "What's going on?" She asked, looking back at Sylvanas.

"I think we've found a lead." Sylvanas told her, placing a hand on Elaria's shoulder when she walked towards her. "Your sister did her job, Elaria... She protected Victoria until her last breath and they managed to escape."

"You don't know that..." Elaria muttered, rolling her shoulder to remove Sylvanas' hand from it. "They could have been captured and she would have died for nothing."

"No." Athrodar stood up and looked inside the camp. "Some more of this fur is out here. It leads towards the water." He looked back at the body of water between him and a distance land mass. "They must have used a raft to get off the Broken Shore and over there." He pointed towards the body of water. "They escaped, I know it."

Thalina began to conjure a spell, pulling herself up onto her feet. "Let's... Let's get back to Dalaran." She said, trying to keep her eyes open as her mana pool was almost empty. "If.. If.. If they're safe... We should r-rest up and look again... Tomorrow."

Luna placed her hand on Thal's arm and the on Elaria's shoulder. "I agree. If you are sure they aren't here and are somewhere else, we should look for them when we're all rested."

Athrodar made his way towards them, taking hold of Sylvanas' hand whilst her other one rested on Thalina's arm. "We're ready." He told the Magister, being ported to Dalaran soon after and catching her before she fell. "Get her some help!" He exclaimed, placing Thalina down slowly and watching Luna begin to heal her.

"It might be longer than a day until we are all ready to leave." Sylvanas told Athrodar when he stepped back from her, letting a few Kirin Tor guardians look after Thalina now. "We should tell Khadgar what we found and where we think our daughter's might be."

Athrodar nodded, looking back at Sylvanas who hugged his arm. "And probably find an inn to spend a night or two in before we head back out." His attention turned to Elaria who remained sat down in the middle of Krasus' Landing. "El, are you coming? I am going to find an inn to stay in whilst Sylvanas talks to Khadgar."

The Night Elf sighed and nodded her head slowly, wiping her eyes to clear her vision. "Yes..." She muttered, looking up at Athrodar and for the first time in his life, saw how broken his best friend looked at the loss of her sister.

"Come on.." Athrodar whispered, helping her up onto her feet and keeping an arm around the Night Elf as they made their way further into the city, leaving Luna with Thalina to help heal her whilst they made their way to the priests. "We will find Victoria and Tanadia. You will see that your sister died to save them, she will be remembered as a hero by the people of Stormwind before this war is over, trust me. A statue to remember her by too."

"She would have liked that..." Elaria told him, walking into the inn Athrodar took her to. "Leave me at the bar. The one thing I am good for now is drinking away my feelings until we are ready to go."

Athrodar sighed, knowing she would have stayed at the bar no matter what he said to her. "Okay. Let me just get our rooms for the next few days."

"Leave Thalina with us." Elaria told him, sticking up her hand to get the bartender's attention. "Luna can look over her and assess how quickly she is recovering."

Athrodar thanked the innkeeper, patting Elaria on her back. "Here, give this to Luna when she arrives. And don't drink yourself into a coma. I still need you, friend."

Elaria smiled a little, taking the key off Athrodar and pocketing it. "I won't.. I just need to be alone at the moment."

Tanadia rode on the back of Snow, pulling Victoria along on an abandoned cart they had found, making it easier to transport the Queen with her broken leg. "We have to head north." She told her sister who asked where they were going. "The demons I saw earlier began to make their way south, which can only mean that's where their army is."

"Or they're north and those demons are pushing south to take more of the land." Victoria told her, feeling the cart stop moving. "Just keep your eyes open for anything odd and we'll be fine." She told her, watching Snow begin to move forward once more. "For all we know, we could be walking into the most friendly village in the world."

"I hope so." Tanadia said, smiling brightly. "They could help you with your leg and feed Snow properly." She pat the nightsaber on the belly. "He's hungry, I know it. I have kept him away from hunting these beautiful horses, they remind me a little of Quel'Dorei steeds."

Victoria smiled when she saw the exact creature she was talking about in the distance. A small herd of white horses with green mains and legs and a white horn on its head. "Good. I don't want him to kill such a beautiful creature. But he will have to hunt for himself soon, just to keep his strength up."

"I know, I just wanted to find a place where he can hunt and not kill them." Tanadia squinted as she looked further ahead of them, seeing something in the distance that caught her attention. "There's something in front of us."

Victoria tried to move around so she could look in front of them, only seeing a small part of what Tanadia could see as Snow was in the way of most of it. "What is it?"

"It looks like.. a portal?" Tanadia tilted her head a little, widening her eyes slowly when she saw demons flooding out of it. "Oh no..."

"Find somewhere to hide!" Victoria yelled, holding onto the cart tightly as Snow began to move quickly out of sight of the portal. "We need to wait until it's dark, or for something to get their attention before we can move on." Victoria told Tanadia when she climbed down from Snow. "We have to play this smart now, we only have each other to rely on."

Tanadia nodded her head in agreement, keeping behind the bushes she stopped Snow behind and looking down at Victoria. "And with your leg being as it is, we can't move far very fast."

"I know.." Victoria looked down at her leg. "I think Sera is dead." She told her sister, looking up at her now and seeing her eyes wide with shock. "Something inside of me tells me that she was killed saving us."

"Then she died a hero." Tanadia said quietly, not liking the idea of another friend being killed the same day as the others. "I wished we were in Windrunner Village... not Queen and Princess of Stormwind. We wouldn't be here, your leg wouldn't be broken and we would be safe and happy with our family." She hugged herslf whilst sitting beside Snow, curling up into a ball. "I want dad... and my mom..." She muttered, hugging herself tighter as she began to weep to herself.

Victoria wanted to do the same. She felt the same as her sister at the time, wanting to trade this life right now for one where she was with her family, but she didn't have that luxury, not yet anyway. She had to look after her sister and get herself to safety at the same time, something that was becoming difficult the more the Princess sacrificed herself to her emotions. "Tana, you need to be quiet." She told her, hearing some rustling nearby and having her ear's twitch to the noise. "Tana, please!" She whispered to her, pleading with her sister who was too far gone.

The rustling continued, making Snow stay low to the ground and flapping his ears back to his head, waiting to pounce on the intruder. "You shouldn't be here..." A voice said, stepping out from where they were hiding, looking over to Victoria who acknowledged the intruder. "You has been affected by a demon. There's not much trace left of them, but I can see you has been near one recently." They narrowed their eyes, at least Victoria thought they did as there was only a green glow behind the thin black cloth over their eyes. "A succubus no less."

"That was... a personal thing." Victoria muttered, shaking her head and glaring at the intruder. "Who are you? Why do you know something about me before we've even met?"

The intruder smiled a little at the Queen, though it wasn't a happy smile, more of a cocky grin. "I'm a Demon Hunter named Marius Felbane, and this is..." The Demon Hunter looked back to an empty spot beside him groaning and using his fel gaze to find his friend. "Tehd! Get your damned Forsaken body over here!"

Victoria looked over to where the Demon Hunter was looking, watching a Forsaken Warlock step out from where he was hiding and looked down at the Queen. "Victoria? Where is Sylvanas and Athrodar?" He asked the moment he recognised her.

"They are..." Victoria sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. What are you doing here anyway? And why are you with this Demon Hunter?"

"I recently arrived from Dalaran, my Lady." Tehd said, bowing his head to Victoria in respect, despite her no longer being Forsaken. "I ran into this blind buffoon when he was struggling with a demon. Two spells and a bit of coin later and I've been stuck with him for the last two days."

"It's no picnic for me either." Marius mumbled. "Yes we hate each other, if you haven't guessed. But he is good at tracking and containing demons." He began to grin. "And I am good at killing them."

"Sounds like a good team.." Tanadia muttered, wiping her eyes. "Can you help us?"

"Where do you need to go?" Tehd asked her in return.

"Somewhere for my sister to get healed. I don't think we can get to Dalaran from here, there are demons everywhere to our south."

"And Naga." Tehd told the Priestess. "I saw them swarming in to the south of here as well."

"Plus the demons flooding out that portal to our north." Marius added. "Wherever you two were going, you will run into an enemy no matter what."

"Which is why my sister asked for your help." Victoria looked up at the Demon Hunter. "Can you help us?"

"I hope they are safe." Sylvanas whispered to Athrodar, sitting up on her knees behind him as they both got ready to sleep, hugging him from behind and pressing her ear against his back. "I can't imagine being out there on their own, at night and possibly surrounded by the enemy." She hugged him a little tighter when she thought about their daughters being alone out there. "We always had squads of rangers, or an army with us when we were surrounded by the enemy... It's just two of them and a nightsaber."

Athrodar placed a hand over Sylvanas' and stroked the ring on her finger. "Victoria knows to keep safe. She will find a place to hunker down and wait for help."

"I know, I still worry for them though." Sylvanas sat up and kissed Athrodar's shoulder when he removed his tunic. "Can we just lay here and you hold onto me? I don't think I can sleep knowing they're out there, but I want to try whilst I'm in your arms."

"Of course." Athrodar said with a smile, laying down and wrapping an arm around Sylvanas, stroking her golden hair with his other hand. "And I will stay awake as long as I can just to make sure you sleep tonight."

Sylvanas smiled in his protective hold, planting a kiss or two on his chest before pressing her ear against his heart, listening to her favourite song to help lull her to sleep. "We should try to convince them to come back to Windrunner Village with us when we find them, keep them away from this war for as long as possible."

"Until the Stormwind council get wind of our plans and demand to have their Queen back." Athrodar planted a couple of kisses of his own on Sylvanas' head, taking in a deep breath and getting a scent of her hair, smiling when it reminded him of the forests back home. "I hope we find them soon. I want to get back to our family, our forests and our own bed."

Sylvanas chuckled and nodded her head against his chest, smiling to herself. "So do I. I want to hold our son tightly in my arms and listen to him complain about being embarrassed by us, I want to sleep and having our daughter Alleria sleep inbetween us because she is still at the age where she loves doing that." Her smile brightened a little. "And I want to hold our youngest, Cedani, in my arms. I want to watch her grow up and become something special, someone who isn't a ranger like her brother wants to be, who her sister looks to be going towards." Sylvanas smiled just a little brighter. "I want her to decide what she wants to be and I will stand by her every step of the way."

Athrodar smiled and held onto her tightly. "Just don't tell her brother or sister that... They'll see it as favouritism."

"Please... Like we have favourites." Sylvanas looked up at Athrodar who looked down at her, raising an eyebrow at his grin. "Which one is yours?" She asked him.

"Cedani." Athrodar told her, making Sylvanas laugh.

"Look at that, we have the same one." Sylvanas smiled and hugged Athrodar tightly, pressing her ear back to his chest. "But I agree, we can't tell the other two... They will hold it against us forever."

The two of them now laid in silence, holding onto each other as their room darkened due to the night sky rolling in. "I want her to come back with us." Sylvanas whispered to break the silence. "If I can convince her, I want Victoria to come home with us and stay at home."

"I want her to come back with us too." Athrodar told her, feeling Sylvanas' grip on him loosen a little and knowing she was slowly drifting off to sleep. "For now, all we can do is sleep and start again tomorrow." He whispered to her now, stroking her hair again and planting a kiss on her temple. "Just sleep now."

"Only if you do..." Sylvanas muttered, loosening her grip on Athrodar and drifting off to sleep, being followed by Athrodar shortly after.