BLOOD LEPRECHAUN by J Cae

A/N: Long time no see, long time no me!!! My finals are OVER and my summer break has just begun!!! (Ah well, to hell with summer semester which will begin shortly...Oo so sad. Just packed up and moved out of dorm and went home (and lost 7 pounds in a week...well, guys, don't ask us girls what's with the thing about losing weight.) Anyhow, I'm glad to be back, and I think I can update a little more often.

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I've tried like you to do everything you wanted to

This is the last time I'll take the blame for the sake of being with you

-Linkin Park, "Pushing Me Away"

PART III

I saw a single tiny flower amid the verdant meadows, a pretty white bell swaying among the ordinary weed and grass. I picked it and wore it in my hair. Its sweet scent filled my heart with such delight, I danced with joy.

But aleck! When night came, my hair began to fall out strand by strand, and my scalp was blue and sore. The blossom fell, too, stained with my crimson betrayal. A beautiful efflorescent--poisonous, traitorous!

As the venom seeped through my disease-stricken veins, and my death inched agonizingly near, I ripped the flower apart and crushed its petals between my teeth. With what strength that I have left, I would find its Creator.

And I would betray Him the same way he did me.

CHAPTER I: POISONED

When Sylvanas decided to leave Quel'dara thirteen years ago with Illidan, there was only one thing in her mind--regret. She wished she had allowed Kael'thas to convince her and stayed with him. She wished she did not have to do what she must. But she had little choice.

Sea breezes blew in her face as she was standing on the deck of the ship. The hood of midnight blue kept slipping down her silken hair, and she kept pulling it back up. Silently. Without complaint. There were shadows of greater worries lurking ahead of her.

A while before she boarded the ships, Ner'zhul and the Scourge ambushed her at the port. Perhaps she underestimated her enemy, But she was certain Illidan had done everything he could have to prevent the assault. She had been horribly sick, and as a result, her telepathy was greatly weakened. The lich king took advantage of her slighted hold over the Forsaken to boost his own forces, and she barely managed to make it with her life and drove him back--thanks to Kael's selfless rescue, Vashj's timely aid, and Elma's sacrifice.

Yet the constraints of her own mortality pulled her down, and she found herself unbearably exhausted after the battle--it had been a very long time since she felt that way. She parted with Kael, to whom she had, almost on a whim, admitted that she loved him. She did not regret it--rather, in her heart was a strange kind of relief. At least he knew her feelings now...As soon as the coastlines were out of sight, she collapsed unconscious in her own cabin.

And when her senses returned, it was around midnight. She went to the front of the ship and stared out into the bleak dark mist surrounding them. She did not look back--there would be nothing to see in this moonless night. She thought she would leave the past behind her for a while and concentrate on the task ahead of her. It never once crossed her mind that it would take thirteen years of endless pain and torture to realize that she could never go home again.

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Now King Kael'thas looked upon that tortured face he had been thinking of for the last thirteen years, "Did Ner'zhul follow you? Did he..."

"No," she reminded him sharply. "With the Naga guarding our course, he had enough sense not to pick another war--especially one at sea."

"Then, you arrived safe on the shores of Kalimdor?"

"The Desolace, to be exact," her expression never changed as her voice trailed off, "where our child was born."

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After almost seven months of sailing across the vast seas, the Forsaken's ships arrived on the south-eastern shores. Their supplies were running low, and in order for the living troops to last through the unbearably hot summer, they travelled across a desert to the nearest city in search for shelter, water, and resources.

Orgrimmar.

Not wanting to stir up a commotion, Illidan accompanied Sylvanas to the Orc Warrior City while their army waited in hiding.

The orcs never doubted her when she introduced herself as a Windrunner--she a heavily pregnant high elf, a semblance of life itself. Illidan, who made up a false name to hide his identity, explained that Sylvanas would need a roof over her head until her child was due. They, by no means, wanted any quarrel with the Orcs. They were granted an audience with Thrall the Warchief. Rokhan the Shadow Hunter was also present at the meeting.

Immediately, Sylvanas could see that Thrall was hesitant to trust her, but he politely asked her to stay--it would be dangerous for a woman in such a delicate state to travel, he said. She did not tell him that she came all the way from Quel'dara on the other side of the world. But she knew he sensed power about her and Illidan, and he felt threatened--intimidated. Rokhan, on the other hand, was harder to read--or perhaps he was oblivious to the danger so close to him.

"I come in peace," she reinforced innocently, fabricating a story to tell. "My lover Terrorblade and I, as you can see," she indicated Illidan, who said nothing to blow her cover, "are much more liberal in mind than the rest of our people. A high elf, and a night elf--our races would have called it unthinkable. So the two of us wandered in the wilderness, away from them and their slating eyes."

Thrall nodded, not questioning what she was saying.

"And we came across a few Orc warriors earlier on our way. They told us that your people have been practising shamanism, and that it has brought a very positive effect on your people," she continued, putting on an eager face. "Terrorblade and I wish to learn more about it, and the warriors pointed us this way."

Illidan smiled at the wit of the Dark Lady. He had never thought of that as a means to lower the Orc's suspicion. Thrall probably took that amused grin for agreement.

The shadow hunter sneered and asked Sylvanas a question, "Human ally, be you?"

"Ally to the Humans?" her blue eyes widened in genuine surprise. "I wouldn't call myself that." She learned only a little from Illidan's scouts about the alliance and recent political tension between the orcs and humans, but the anger and despise she harboured for the humans seemed to relieve both the warchief and the shadow hunter. And she let out a sigh and softened her tone, "My lover and I have been away from the rest of Kalimdor for so long. We have seen too much--wars, bonds, broken oaths. We only wish there is something we can do to help."

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It was already evening, and Thrall settled the two travellers into a hut--since they said they were lovers, he assumed they preferred some private space to themselves. They thanked him, but he had a secret feeling that the night elf was not as grateful as he tried to sound. Anyhow, that was hardly any of his business.

"Rokhan," he said to the shadow hunter when they were alone in his lounge. "The two visitors--who do you think they are?"

"I know not," Rokhan shrugged. "But they be not from here. They know not many things. Elf be prideful and they ask not help from orc. Up to something, they be."

"My friend," Thrall sighed. "I am glad you noticed it too. Normally elves do not care to show up in an orcish city. If they really were that in need for help, I think they would have gone back to their people. And if the night elves would not accept Sylvanas, she could have asked for a place in the human alliance. It is not natural that they should come to us Orcs first."

"Shamanism, they say, but know anything about it, they be not," the shadow hunter analyzed. "If they say they wander in forest, how they know Durotar?"

"Good point, Rokhan," Thrall nodded grimly. "They must have had scouts. If they are not alone, then they are definitely up to something. They could be spies, but I just can't seem to think of any reason now. If the humans sent the woman to spy on us, I definitely would understand. But together with a night elf? That is indeed a mystery."

He stopped speaking abruptly as someone entered his hut without warning--he certainly prayed that it was not either of the visitors. Although most elves do not speak Orcish, he was still worried that the two might have 'talents' for language. But in came Manai, one of his women servants. She came in with a deep bow and never once lifted her eyes. "Pardon, Warchief. Samuro brings urgent news from the borders."

Thrall nodded and thanked her, "Tell him I will see him right away."

She retreated, allowing the warchief to finish his thoughts, "Whatever this means, Rokhan, I'd like you to travel to the Moon Glade and inquire the identity of the night elf. I think you are right. There is definitely more to our two visitors than meets the eye."

The shadow hunter bowed and took his leave.

Thrall sighed.

He wished things were simple. He wished he could have believed that his visitors were really a pair of liberal lovers who came to him for aid and asked him to teach them about shamanism. Then, he would gladly do so. But the truth was, he knew, they were not, yet he dared not say he did not believe them. Not before he came to know what laid behind all that.

Now Samuro had come to him, bearing ill news from the borders. He did not know how he was to handle it. Ever since Daelin Proudmoore was killed and his enraged son Railen Proudmoore took up his position as the admiral, there had never been peace. Jaina might be trying her best to convince her brother that the orcs were no longer a threat to them, but her pleading went unheeded. Especially after Thrall realized that Jaina's sister, the powerful dark archmage Brysta was backing Railen. He had not heard from Jaina for quite a while now. (A/N: Recognize bits and pieces from my other fic Listen? Some events will be different though).

One way to test out the visitors, a thought suddenly came into his mind, was to get them involved in the tension. If they chose to take sides, or if they showed any hesitation, he might be able to tell if they were spies. With Sylvanas pregnant, she probably would not get too far. But this Terrorblade person definitely looked like he could help out on the battlefield.

"Warchief, Thiong Son of Bekspad sent me," Samuro the blademaster greeted him with concern etched in his face. "The humans raided our supply vault again late last night. Our night watch were slaughtered--they did not warn us in time. We put up a fight with the humans, but a third of our warriors were slaughtered, and much of our rations destroyed. We managed to drive them away, but we require reinforcements."

"I grieve for our lost warriors," Thrall placed a fist on his heart--a gesture of tribute to the lost souls. "I will supply Thiong with three hundred more men. But the supply vaults must hold."

"Aye, warchief," Samuro bowed and assured him. "The defences will hold."

Even though he said nothing else, Thrall could read him like a book, "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me, blademaster?"

Breathing in a deep sigh, Samuro spoke his mind, "I know you have your reasons, warchief, to not attack the humans. But this certainly is not getting us anywhere. We have been repeatedly subject to ambushes. Why don't we just strike back and wipe them all out--" He caught himself, "Just...we will pull Jaina Proudmoore out of there and send our troops in."

"Because I gave word to Jaina that I will not endanger her people without good cause," Thrall was on the verge of losing his temper. How many times must he explain this? How many times must he make his stance clear that he did not want war with the humans? What must he to make them understand that he was not a threat to them? But he knew--the hatred between their nations ran too deep to be reconciled in just a couple years. The humans were unwilling to let go of it, and he also, as the warchief, had the responsibility to protect his people. "Samuro, not all humans are against us, and Jaina is not our only ally. Railen Proudmoore is our enemy now, so we will strike at him, but not at the people around him. We have no right to endanger innocent lives."

"I understand, warchief," Samuro nodded, but deep inside, Thrall knew he did not.

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Illidan sat in a corner of the hut away from Sylvanas. He let her have the mattress--after all she was pregnant. All through their journey at sea, the sound of her retching in the next cabin became his daily wake-up call. He could not tell how bad her conditions were--since she never let anyone else but Mondelv near her, but he could be certain she was not all right. He wondered how anyone--even for a headstrong woman such as she--could have endured all that suffering and still be so charged with braving the impossible tasks ahead of her. She seemed glad to finally have her feet on the ground again, though he could tell she was still weak and tired from the journey, she made no complaints.

And that evening after they were given the hut, she felt so ill again she had to lie down. They did not speak--he had nothing to say.

But suddenly, she sat upright--he heard the shifting of her mattress.

"What is it?" he muttered half-heartedly, expecting her to probably get sick again.

But there was no illness in her voice. It rather betrayed her excitement, "The blademaster seems to want to strike at the humans."

"What are you talking about?" now she had his full concentration.

"I have been...observing the conversation between the Warchief and the blademaster who came just now to report," she told him in Elvish. "That damned beast is planning to disregard the Warchief's orders and send men to Theramore Isle."

"So?" he shrugged. "We best not get involved in their political scandal. Quit spying on them."

"This is a good chance for us to step in and prove ourselves useful. I can manipulate the people around Samuro--certainly he would be more than willing to advance into the human territory if he had the support from his followers. You can stay with Thrall and tell the blademaster off," she seemed to already have a plan inside her head. "And probably the warchief will become our ally and can supply us with military aid after we wiped out the humans."

"Military aid? Illidan stood himself up and faced Sylvanas. "What are you thinking? Oh...Ner'zhul, isn't it? If you could get the warchief to trust you, you'd be able to get forces from him and fight the lich king. But why wipe out the humans? Why do you have to do that?"

"That will be a way we could get the Orcs to trust us," Sylvanas replied, almost on impulse.

He protested, "You can't annihilate the humans just because you want to gain trust from the orcs! That's wrong!"

"This from someone who would murder for magic," she mocked.

"What I do with my life is none of your business," he argued, preparing to leave the hut. "Well, I know I can't control what you do, but just leave me out of your games."

"Well, Terrorblade, a scout has been sent to the Moon Glade to find out your identity," Sylvanas merely said. "It appears that the Orcs already find it hard to trust you. And if they realize who you are, I do not even want to know what they'd do to you--some blind night elf who wandered in the woods with a pregnant high elf woman. Not like your brother would recognize this description."

Illidan's face turned livid, "What do you want?"

"Your cooperation."

They both knew perhaps a little too well that she could go reveal his identity to the warchief--and that would give her control over him.

"You're insane. You've been coped up in the boat for too long."

"No, I know exactly what I am doing."

"I am not obligated to help you."

"You are, because you have no choice."

-

The black warden had been waiting for quite some time already.

Days and weeks would only underplay her patience if they were used to describe how long she had been concealing herself in the shadows. But it would not be too much longer--she comforted herself with that thought when all she had been preparing for shall finally become hers. She consoled herself with visions of Illidan lying dead in his own pool of blood.

But nay, she quickly reminded herself and pulled her mind out of that blinding ecstasy. She must wait for the opportune moment when her enemy should suspect the least--then she would strike out and kill him. But not now. For now, she must be prudent.

She waited until the hooded figure passed her by, wading through the foul stench of the swamps of Felwood clumsily. She followed him, soundlessly moving on top of the damp layer of humus--almost glad that this special ability of her former elven self had been retained.

She did not forget that he had a keen sense of smell. Though she could meld with the shadows, she could not fool his nose. Her presence could not completely escape him and so she knew what she must do. She made sure he never even had a chance to draw his weapon.

Creeping up against him as close as she could get, she waited until the creature paused to sniff the air, turned and reached for his weapon--when her bladed arm cleaved cleanly through his neck. He grabbed his own broken throat, his lifeblood spilt freely form the fresh cut. His haunted yellow eyes beamed behind that war mask in a mixture of disbelief and fear as he stared into the face of death.

The black warden did not like much the way he looked at her, punctured his spirit's door and let him slide lifelessly to the forest floor. She stripped him of his weapons and armour--commodities for sale and a means to keep herself alive, and she thought about leaving him to die half buried in the swamps, but figured the message would not have been strong enough. She would ask her servitors to bag the corpse and take to the Warchief's base camp.

The warning had been given. As to whether or not they could save themselves, it would be solely up to the demon hunter.

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Coming up next: Ah, another one of my truncated chapters. I didn't have enough time to finish it. But in the next two chapters, Leprecha will be introduced, as well as the kid of our two favourite heroes.

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J A/N:

--...tossed my boyfriend out the door cuz I needed to write. Oo Eek...

Anyway, the lyrics I quoted at the beginning of the chapter belong to Linkin Park. I will be doing quotes for at least 10 of the chapters by different singers--unless otherwise stated, they don't belong to me...I find this chunk of lyrics particularly funny...considering what Illie has to do for Syl.

FlAsHy Ad: Anyone interested in reading a modern 'mafia' story that my friend Vee and I are co-writing (that explains my weeks of absence on ff.net)? Our story will cover (at least) two fictional weeks (it takes much longer than that to write) and I've currently completed up to the fifth day plus the seventh day (sorry, nothing on the sixth day yet). Once the first week is done I might try to get Vee to create a new webpage for it (she's a hell lot better than me in that area. I simply can't build websites...). But if she's busy, we'll probably content with plain html files...or Fictionpress.com (phew, what a lifesaver). See if that works.

DemonGod86: Haha, thank you. Don't we all wonder where Arthas is? Things are going to get a little more complicated, and I think I am running the risk of being assassinated here...well, until the mystery unveils. Until then. And surely, Nerz would get beat up so bad if he went to Kalimdor, so he didn't...I think he stayed home and watched TV.

Weirgate(You were Implode, right?!): Yay Canadian! I don't and won't ever spell 'colour' without a 'u' either, unless I'm drunk...but when I'm drunk I can't spell at all -- zzzzZZZ. ¡Vgasp- You really really read my mind. Definitely Leprecha is the sorceress. And as for Khecomo and Iria...

Eternity: Thanks!! Well, yeah, I guess the prologue would have shaken up someone who thought Syl'd soon be safe at home with Kael. Nope...but I'll be going back in time and trying to explain what happened in those thirteen years. Thanks for your invitation. I don't mind posting this on SE.

Tom: Thanks . I always have weird things on my mind, and I know it.

Crimson Paladin: Thank you. I will be answering those boggling questions in future chapters . -shakes head- I wouldn't say it is the end of Syl x Kael though. Thanks for your second review too (I know I've been taking my sweet time...). Yes, indeed Syl is terrified of becoming Nerz, and that's the reason she wanted to destroy him so that she would never become him. Yes, you're right, she'd become him even if she defeated him. We shouldn't be surprised this is how things turned out, should we? But I WILL MAKE YOU ALL SURPRISED.

Jackal2332: What happens when Syl and Illidan landed on Kalimdor? You're exactly right. They'd run into the Orcs, and then the Night Elves. I think I've mentioned quite a bit about humans in RG and I am currently writing another fic on the political tension between them and the orcs, so I'm not sure I'll be focusing them. Of course, there will be humans appearing now and then. You mean if I play Warcraft online? I did. Not anymore though. My computer is sort of nearing its end now, so I don't think it can afford that sort of stimulation...

Inaam07: Hey!! Thanks for your support. I kinda found Arthas's (should I say?!) change of allegiance too quick and I didn't really have enough time to sympathize with him. I wasn't in the least bit surprised he'd turn bad in the end when he said he was going to purge the entire village (Hearthglen? I forgot already. It's really TOO long ago ) and relieved Uther of his duty when he did not cooperate. And yeah, if he died in that final duel with Illidan, or even get killed by Nerz, I wouldn't feel sorry for him.

GG Crono 4: And it will be explained. Thanks for reading.

Darth: Thank you for reading.

I)Void: I really did enjoy your review...-consults psychiatrist-...ugh...Shrink said nothing's all right with my mind anyway with all that extreme paranoia and split personalities...but thanks for your review. I ¡Vknow- how jet-lag feels like, and I wonder how you could have typed so much stuff . But anyhow, I've been through some bad jet-lagging cuz I've flown home too ...Yeah, happy birthday to you too, whenever it is.

San: Thanks.

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