Author's Note!! For those of you who are going through my FF.net portfolio, you've probably noticed there's a lot of Warcraft going on here, namely focusing on Maiev Shadowsong, the infamously bitchy Warden. I am in love with her character; she is so much fun to write, so believe me when I say, I'm nowhere near done with her yet, even if all my fics are going to be stupid 20 minute ones.
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Her teeth were bared, a pained expression painting her face as sweat and tears rolled down it. She had failed in her duty, and let down Shan'do. It was most disgraceful, the worst failure she could possibly imagine.
Maiev Shadowsong had been extremely reluctant to return to Kalimdor and her brethren after coming so close to recapturing Illidan. She had had no choice, however; her forces were slowing dwindling in numbers from the repeated attacks from the Scourge and Illidan's steadily growing army and would have been completely destroyed if they had remained much longer in the realm of Draenor. She had set out to avenge her sisters and had failed in that also; instead of vengeance, she had only awarded them more death and murder.
Her eyes closed in the humiliation and rage about the whole situation; she could not bear to look Furion in the eyes.
Furion stared at her grimly from behind his ornate table. Despite the horrible decisions she had made in the past few weeks, he could not help but feel a twinge of pity for his most favored Watcher. He was perfectly aware of how hard she drove herself to perform her tasks dutifully and completely, yet her dedication sometimes took the ugly form of obsession, which propelled her to make rash decisions that threatened lives other than her own, and, in some cases, claimed those lives. Or came close to it; an image of a bedraggled Tyrande flickered through his mind.
"Maiev-"he started.
"I know I've done numerous things wrong, Shan'do," she interrupted through clenched teeth. "I lied to you about Tyrande and made my own orders to follow the Betrayer through the portal to Draenor." Her head shot up, her eyes burning madly as they attempted to pierce his. "But it was all in your best interests! Illidan must be captured! I came very close, I had him in my very grasp until his bloody minions stole him from me!" Her curled lip twitched slightly as her old nervous tic began acting up. "Let me go again, with the rest of my sisters! I know where he is, we will not fai-"
"Warden Shadowsong," Furion cut her off curtly, his voice tight. "The number of your sister Watchers grows few. You are not adept in battle, only Watching. Your insane attempts at capturing my brother have only led to the death of your sisters, and the near-death of someone very close to me."
Maiev rose suddenly, slamming her hands down on the table. "SHE DESERVES IT!" she screamed, spittle flying from her mouth. "IF YOUR WENCH OF A PRIESTESS HADN'T FREED THE BETRAYER, ALL THE WOMEN THAT HAVE BEEN LOST WOULD STILL BE ALIVE! IT IS HER FAULT! ALL THE DEATHS ARE TYRANDE'S DAMN FAULT!"
"Sit down, Maiev!" Furion snarled, in a tone uncharacteristic of him. "You are in no place to criticize what the High Priestess deems as right or wrong!"
"YOU ONLY SAY THAT BECAUSE YOU TWO ARE ALL LOVEY-DOVEY!" she retorted loudly, sarcasm dripping from her words. "TYRANDE THIS, TYRANDE THAT! Do you even consider putting aside your personal feelings to do what is right??"
"Leaving a fellow Night Elf behind to die and not allowing anyone to aid her is not right," Furion responded, feeling suddenly weary.
"She deserves it, Shan'do," Maiev hissed. "For murdering my Watchers who were doing their job. For sending them to their deaths to search for the very criminal she murdered my Watchers to set free. If anyone has a twisted sense of right and wrong, it is she."
"Fine." Furion's arms crossed on the table as he leaned toward her. "I will call you and your Watchers off the hunt and instead send Tyrande and her band of Sentinels after Illidan. Does that sound fair to you? Ring true to your sense of justice?"
Maiev's eyes narrowed. "No."
"How can we reach a compromise, Maiev?"
"I want to try and execute her for her crimes, Shan'do. And I want to carry out her sentence myself."
He looked at her in mute horror. The left corner of her lips was turned upward slightly, her teeth bared as though she was wild panther who had just caught the scent of blood. He shuddered inside. She had lost her mind and become completely sadistic.
"And I want put back on his trail. Illidan is mine, Furion. I will not rest until I have him back."
"And what are your motives against Illidan?" he asked tiredly.
"To avenge my sisters and bring him to justice!" she snarled in response, but Furion noticed the deep purple flush in her cheeks. He smiled gently.
"You two cannot be kept apart now, can you?"
"How dare you make that statement!" she shrieked, rising again to her feet. "I wish for nothing more than to see him executed for his crimes! He is a traitor and a murderer, and he needs to face the consequences of his criminal actions!" Her fist slammed onto the table.
Furion chuckled, which caused the color in her cheeks to darken further. "You would never execute him, Maiev. You'd steal him in the very middle of the proceedings and run away with him to somewhere far away where we could never find you. I know your secret, there's no need to hide your intentions about Illidan from me."
Maiev opened her mouth for an angry retort, but nothing came out. Heated thoughts ran through her head; how dare he assume such a thing? Granted, he did have the right idea, but that still gave him no right to draw such conclusions! Besides, that sort of thing had no place in their conversation; this was an important business discussion, and personal matters should be kept completely out of it. Her opinion on Tyrande was not personal; she had substantial reason behind it, and believed that her reason was sensical enough to justify a punishment for the Priestess. Illidan was a criminal, a criminal on the run who needed to be captured and brought to justice.
The little voice in the back of her head began acting up again. Here conflict your professional and personal selves again, it said mockingly. You want to put him to death, yet you know you won't. Hypocritical woman.
Maiev began to cry.
Furion was mildly startled by the tears that began to slide down the Warden's already slick face. Not once in the millennia that he had known her had he ever seen such a thing. "Maiev, Maiev," he said gently, standing and reaching across the table to comfort her.
"DO NOT TOUCH ME!" she screamed, violently shoving his hands away. "You do not know what it is like, wanting something so badly, but knowing you'll never get it! Illidan would understand, but not you! Illidan and I, we are not so different! We share so much rage and hatred, so much contempt for the world, for each other. So much neglect and misunderstanding..." She trailed off as she slumped back into her chair, her face in her hands. "Our own race despises the both of us," she whispered hoarsely. "He is the Betrayer and I... I am a cold, lonely bitch who loves nothing more than the suffering of others." She looked up at him with wet, narrow eyes. "Imagine your life without the touch of a lover, Shan'do. Could you do it? Could you live knowing that you are unloved, completely alone in a world where companionship is almost a necessity to live?"
"Your sisters..." he started.
She laughed sharply. "Sisters? They bear me no love! They follow me out of duty, yet in a heartbeat, they would abandon me! If our land was not so deep in war, my sisters would be busy living their own lives with their loves. Love for me? There is no love for some of us, Furion, don't you understand??" She wanted nothing more than to grab something by the neck and shake it violently til it died. "We are alone. Outcasts. We have only one reason to live." She bit her lip. "I cannot figure out which reason is mine now. All I know is that I am dedicated to this hunt now. If you take me off it officially, I will leave and continue on my own." She did not mask the tiny hint of threat in her voice.
Furion shook his head and sighed. "You know, I doubt anyone else would care to lead the mission anyway. So, I will make this fair. I am commanding you to take up the hunt for Illidan again, as your punishment for your rash decisions of the past few weeks. Be thankful that Tyrande was not harmed," he ignored a mutter, "because otherwise, you would have received an actual punishment." He smiled at her warmly. "Rally your available Watchers and also a small group of Sentinels. You leave tomorrow at nightfall." He eyed her fondly. "Do not disappoint me, Warden Shadowsong."
"Although I am still bitter about the lack of action against your Priestess's own rash decisions," she said distastefully, "I will accept your punishment with grace and set about my task as you command. Thank you, Shan'do." She bowed stiffly, and turned to leave.
"Oh, and Maiev, before you go," he said, halting her. "I wish you luck, in every aspect."
She turned slightly and made eye contact with him briefly, before giving him a smug smile and marching out of the temple.
You are mine, Illidan, and I will stop at nothing to have you back... Head held high, she began calling for her sisters. The hunt would begin anew.
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Her teeth were bared, a pained expression painting her face as sweat and tears rolled down it. She had failed in her duty, and let down Shan'do. It was most disgraceful, the worst failure she could possibly imagine.
Maiev Shadowsong had been extremely reluctant to return to Kalimdor and her brethren after coming so close to recapturing Illidan. She had had no choice, however; her forces were slowing dwindling in numbers from the repeated attacks from the Scourge and Illidan's steadily growing army and would have been completely destroyed if they had remained much longer in the realm of Draenor. She had set out to avenge her sisters and had failed in that also; instead of vengeance, she had only awarded them more death and murder.
Her eyes closed in the humiliation and rage about the whole situation; she could not bear to look Furion in the eyes.
Furion stared at her grimly from behind his ornate table. Despite the horrible decisions she had made in the past few weeks, he could not help but feel a twinge of pity for his most favored Watcher. He was perfectly aware of how hard she drove herself to perform her tasks dutifully and completely, yet her dedication sometimes took the ugly form of obsession, which propelled her to make rash decisions that threatened lives other than her own, and, in some cases, claimed those lives. Or came close to it; an image of a bedraggled Tyrande flickered through his mind.
"Maiev-"he started.
"I know I've done numerous things wrong, Shan'do," she interrupted through clenched teeth. "I lied to you about Tyrande and made my own orders to follow the Betrayer through the portal to Draenor." Her head shot up, her eyes burning madly as they attempted to pierce his. "But it was all in your best interests! Illidan must be captured! I came very close, I had him in my very grasp until his bloody minions stole him from me!" Her curled lip twitched slightly as her old nervous tic began acting up. "Let me go again, with the rest of my sisters! I know where he is, we will not fai-"
"Warden Shadowsong," Furion cut her off curtly, his voice tight. "The number of your sister Watchers grows few. You are not adept in battle, only Watching. Your insane attempts at capturing my brother have only led to the death of your sisters, and the near-death of someone very close to me."
Maiev rose suddenly, slamming her hands down on the table. "SHE DESERVES IT!" she screamed, spittle flying from her mouth. "IF YOUR WENCH OF A PRIESTESS HADN'T FREED THE BETRAYER, ALL THE WOMEN THAT HAVE BEEN LOST WOULD STILL BE ALIVE! IT IS HER FAULT! ALL THE DEATHS ARE TYRANDE'S DAMN FAULT!"
"Sit down, Maiev!" Furion snarled, in a tone uncharacteristic of him. "You are in no place to criticize what the High Priestess deems as right or wrong!"
"YOU ONLY SAY THAT BECAUSE YOU TWO ARE ALL LOVEY-DOVEY!" she retorted loudly, sarcasm dripping from her words. "TYRANDE THIS, TYRANDE THAT! Do you even consider putting aside your personal feelings to do what is right??"
"Leaving a fellow Night Elf behind to die and not allowing anyone to aid her is not right," Furion responded, feeling suddenly weary.
"She deserves it, Shan'do," Maiev hissed. "For murdering my Watchers who were doing their job. For sending them to their deaths to search for the very criminal she murdered my Watchers to set free. If anyone has a twisted sense of right and wrong, it is she."
"Fine." Furion's arms crossed on the table as he leaned toward her. "I will call you and your Watchers off the hunt and instead send Tyrande and her band of Sentinels after Illidan. Does that sound fair to you? Ring true to your sense of justice?"
Maiev's eyes narrowed. "No."
"How can we reach a compromise, Maiev?"
"I want to try and execute her for her crimes, Shan'do. And I want to carry out her sentence myself."
He looked at her in mute horror. The left corner of her lips was turned upward slightly, her teeth bared as though she was wild panther who had just caught the scent of blood. He shuddered inside. She had lost her mind and become completely sadistic.
"And I want put back on his trail. Illidan is mine, Furion. I will not rest until I have him back."
"And what are your motives against Illidan?" he asked tiredly.
"To avenge my sisters and bring him to justice!" she snarled in response, but Furion noticed the deep purple flush in her cheeks. He smiled gently.
"You two cannot be kept apart now, can you?"
"How dare you make that statement!" she shrieked, rising again to her feet. "I wish for nothing more than to see him executed for his crimes! He is a traitor and a murderer, and he needs to face the consequences of his criminal actions!" Her fist slammed onto the table.
Furion chuckled, which caused the color in her cheeks to darken further. "You would never execute him, Maiev. You'd steal him in the very middle of the proceedings and run away with him to somewhere far away where we could never find you. I know your secret, there's no need to hide your intentions about Illidan from me."
Maiev opened her mouth for an angry retort, but nothing came out. Heated thoughts ran through her head; how dare he assume such a thing? Granted, he did have the right idea, but that still gave him no right to draw such conclusions! Besides, that sort of thing had no place in their conversation; this was an important business discussion, and personal matters should be kept completely out of it. Her opinion on Tyrande was not personal; she had substantial reason behind it, and believed that her reason was sensical enough to justify a punishment for the Priestess. Illidan was a criminal, a criminal on the run who needed to be captured and brought to justice.
The little voice in the back of her head began acting up again. Here conflict your professional and personal selves again, it said mockingly. You want to put him to death, yet you know you won't. Hypocritical woman.
Maiev began to cry.
Furion was mildly startled by the tears that began to slide down the Warden's already slick face. Not once in the millennia that he had known her had he ever seen such a thing. "Maiev, Maiev," he said gently, standing and reaching across the table to comfort her.
"DO NOT TOUCH ME!" she screamed, violently shoving his hands away. "You do not know what it is like, wanting something so badly, but knowing you'll never get it! Illidan would understand, but not you! Illidan and I, we are not so different! We share so much rage and hatred, so much contempt for the world, for each other. So much neglect and misunderstanding..." She trailed off as she slumped back into her chair, her face in her hands. "Our own race despises the both of us," she whispered hoarsely. "He is the Betrayer and I... I am a cold, lonely bitch who loves nothing more than the suffering of others." She looked up at him with wet, narrow eyes. "Imagine your life without the touch of a lover, Shan'do. Could you do it? Could you live knowing that you are unloved, completely alone in a world where companionship is almost a necessity to live?"
"Your sisters..." he started.
She laughed sharply. "Sisters? They bear me no love! They follow me out of duty, yet in a heartbeat, they would abandon me! If our land was not so deep in war, my sisters would be busy living their own lives with their loves. Love for me? There is no love for some of us, Furion, don't you understand??" She wanted nothing more than to grab something by the neck and shake it violently til it died. "We are alone. Outcasts. We have only one reason to live." She bit her lip. "I cannot figure out which reason is mine now. All I know is that I am dedicated to this hunt now. If you take me off it officially, I will leave and continue on my own." She did not mask the tiny hint of threat in her voice.
Furion shook his head and sighed. "You know, I doubt anyone else would care to lead the mission anyway. So, I will make this fair. I am commanding you to take up the hunt for Illidan again, as your punishment for your rash decisions of the past few weeks. Be thankful that Tyrande was not harmed," he ignored a mutter, "because otherwise, you would have received an actual punishment." He smiled at her warmly. "Rally your available Watchers and also a small group of Sentinels. You leave tomorrow at nightfall." He eyed her fondly. "Do not disappoint me, Warden Shadowsong."
"Although I am still bitter about the lack of action against your Priestess's own rash decisions," she said distastefully, "I will accept your punishment with grace and set about my task as you command. Thank you, Shan'do." She bowed stiffly, and turned to leave.
"Oh, and Maiev, before you go," he said, halting her. "I wish you luck, in every aspect."
She turned slightly and made eye contact with him briefly, before giving him a smug smile and marching out of the temple.
You are mine, Illidan, and I will stop at nothing to have you back... Head held high, she began calling for her sisters. The hunt would begin anew.