Providence
Part Three
Chapter Three
The next morning, Reich found the elf and troll under Garoul's blanket. He sighed and kicked Adelian awake, putting a finger to his lips when the druid sputtered to life. The human pointed at the two still asleep and his friend nodded. They rose, working the morning chores as quietly as they could.
Garoul thought she must have been dreaming when she opened her eyes and smelled the familiar smell, and saw blue before her eyes. She looked up and sure enough, Hanzar was fast asleep, one arm flung over his eyes while the other wrapped tightly around her waist. Her belly was pressed against his stomach but comfortably so, and she did not dare move for fear of ruining a moment she would never have dreamed possible.
When she finally did decide to get up and moving, she lightly prodded the troll's shoulder. He growled in his sleep, but did little else, so she instead kissed him on the neck. At this he opened one eye, looking delusional for a moment before he saw her with one eyebrow raised. "Good morning."
They sat up, and Garoul noticed her two friends were nowhere in sight. She got to her feet and walked to the fire they had started, and saw they had already cooked and gone. She shrugged. "I go bath," she said and, still somewhat nervous about him, began walking out of the grove. A hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"I'll go too."
They walked the few minutes to the large creek she knew was there from the last time they camped here. She had to support him as he walked, for his leg was still bloody and she guessed, also very painful. The group was working on a trek through Ashenvale, from where they would cross to Auberdine. They were plotting a path around Felwood and out of the way of the Alliance's advancing armies. After Reich found her still in Booty Bay after the months of winter had cleared and heard her problem, Garoul had wanted to return to Darnassus and seek hidden solitude there. Now, her plans had changed—at least, she hoped. She didn't want to be alone, but despite Reich and Adelian's offers to stay with her, she had adamantly refused. They had lives to live. Hers was gone.
That's how Garoul thought of it, anyway. The absolute last way she had wanted to spend her years had fallen on her like sack of bricks. But with the nature of her situation she wanted to return to a place somewhat friendly where she would be able to keep her strange child away from the world. She felt sorry for it already.
When they reached the creek the elf turned away before removing her clothes. Then, without looking back she stepped into the cool water and shivered some. Once she had mostly submerged and adjusted, she heard a loud splash and turned to see Hanzar come up, spluttering. The hair that was usually bound fell down his back, richly red and straight as straw. What his ears did not keep back covered his eyes, and with annoyance he brushed it away, only to have it drift back again.
While he was blind she swam over and stood on her toes, reaching up to brush away some of the long bangs. He stared down at her.
The sight was rather unfamiliar: her belly was large but smooth, not misshapen in the least—for some reason, he had always suspected such, but was glad to find it not to be true. He looked at her and, not having kept very decent track of time, asked, "How long has it been?"
She gave him a worried look and replied, "Almost six month." He furrowed his brow. It looked very large, but then again, he knew little of elves. "Will be ten month." He was surprised.
"Trollses are twelve," he told her, and leaned down to inspect her. Her breasts looked normal still, and he kneeled in the shallow water to press his ear against her belly button. There was the faintest hum of something, and Hanzar stood up once more. His elf's face was red and she was staring at him. "What?"
"Too big," she said, turning her back to him to walk to deeper water. There she leaned forward and dunked her head in the water to soak her hair. When she looked back and saw the troll's quizzical expression, she made a circular motion at her belly and said, again, "Too big. Ten month will be too big."
He understood. Following her into the deep water he wondered how nature dealt with such things—surely elves and trolls weren't that different, if they were capable of interbreeding. He had gone into the adventure fairly sure such a thing wasn't possible. She scrubbed her scalp with her fingers, and the troll sighed, pulling her hands away. She gasped when he piled her hair on her head, and beginning at her neck, began to massage upward. A satisfied sound escaped her lips when he ran his fingers down her ears and up, then worked down her neck to her back. The muscles that had become so tense melted in his hands. Her lower back was the worst, strained from the weight she carried, and when he moved to her hips she let out a sigh of relief. Finally he stood and put his arms around her shoulders, leaning forward to rest his chin on her head.
"Sorry," he said.
"Sorry?"
"That this happened to you. I didn't know."
"I, too." Her Orcish gave him a slight chuckle.
"Beautiful," he whispered in her ear in Common. She inhaled. "I now have question."
"Oh?" she asked, her heartbeat galloping with him in such close proximity.
"I stay," he began, "or go?"
For this, Garoul had not been prepared. She turned around then and stood on her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck and tentatively kissed him. Hanzar returned it, his hands resting on her hips, and when they parted they stood for some time in the same position.
"Do what you want," she said then, and walked out of the creek. There she squeezed the water out of her hair with one hand and stood for some time, waiting for the cool breeze to dry her. The troll came out a minute later, following suit, still limping heavily. He put one hand on a tree and used the other to sloppily braid his hair. There was an awkward silence.
"I can't go back," he said suddenly. She looked at him curiously. "I won't be able to walk, after this. I can't fight. I can't..." He trailed off and Garoul slowly nodded her head.
"Me neither."