Tic...tic...tic...

"What is that sound?"

The darkness enveloped everything around her in a black veil. There were shapeless forms moving around, dissolving in to nothingness, like strings of smoke. The stinging, persistent smell of burnt flesh invaded her nostrils. She was suffocating. She drew short, inconsistent breaths. She felt the air heavy and hot. Her throat was coarse, and every gulp of air was anew shot of pain. An invisible weight was pressing her chest, pushing mercilessly, crushing her ribs.

Kyra heard her own heartbeat. Slow, erratic, pulsating in her ears. She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt heavy, sticky.

Suddenly, she was falling , sounds and images were flashing before her eyes. Old images, painful memories, pleasant moments. It was all there, an amalgam of shapes and sounds . She knew every one of them, she remembered every second . But she could not stop. The fall seemed without end, her body felt limp and powerless and fear crawled in her soul. Wind was sweeping her hair, hot and cutting, invisible strings were biting at her flesh. She tried to move, but her entire body felt like clay. She gasped for air, and nothingness embraced her.

The smell of medicine awoke her briefly. She inhaled it hungrily, allowing for it to invade her senses. She tried to open her eyes again. Slowly, painfully, she tried to make her eyelids to obey. This time she succeeded. She groaned softly. The images were a blur. She tried to ask something, but forgot what. She felt her head throbbing painfully. She frowned. It hurt. Everything hurt. She whimpered.

A silhouette got closer, with careful steps.

"Who is that? Go away..."she thought

A warm hand touched her forehead, and for a moment, the pain was gone. But so was her lucidity. Moments later, she passed out again.

Kyra felt light caressing her face. Somewhere must be an open window. She turned her head towards it, and slowly half opened her eyes, her eyelids still heavy. A dark haired woman was resting on the window frame...

"Let the moon kiss your hair..."

The song echoed through the walls like a handful of dropped marbles. It was children song, she remembered, a nursery rhyme. The woman's voice was warm, sweet and pleasant. And somewhat familiar. But, for some reason, subtle notes of sadness and incredible sorrow could be felt in the music. She felt her eyes fill with tears and she gasped in surprise. It seemed like a strange outcome given the circumstances.

"Let the stars guide your dreams"

The song was soothing, calming. The voice was warm, pleasant. She slowly opened her eyes fully, feeling drawn to the sound of that voice, and carefuly rose up.

She was in her bed, in Darnassus. To her surprise, she could feel no pain. She knew she dreamed of something, but she could not remember what. She brushed the thought away, as the sound of the dark haired woman' voice filled her head. She glanced towards her, feeling entranced by the music, the moonlight , the peace.

"All the world will guard your sleep..."

She slowly descended from her bed. Her steps felt light on the warm wooden floor. She gently walked towards the singing elf, and smiled. Now she remembered the lyrics. She touched the woman's shoulder, and sang the last part along with her, their voices intertwining perfectly:

"Sleep tight, child. Sleep tight, baby..."

"Yaressa ..." Kyra smiled at the dark haired elf. The woman cupped her hand, but did not look at her.

" Did you sleep well, sister?" Yaressa brushed graciously a dark strand from her eyes.

"Yes...But I did have a strange dream. I can't remember what was it about."

"Dreams..." Yaressa smiled. "What a strange thing..."

"Indeed..." Kyra whispered for herself. "I think I dreamed that I was a... warrior. What a silly thing to dream about..."

Yaressa looked at her, her icy eyes piercing her very soul.

"Silly indeed"

Kyra shuddered. Her eyes widened. A shiver ran down her spine. She did not know why, but tears started running down her cheeks once more.

"Did you watch me sleep?" she asked, her voice shaky. Yaressa smiled and cupped her face.

" I always do, silly... I always do..."

Kyra took a step back. Her body begun to shake, and more tears pooled in her eyes.

"I don't want to go, sister" Kyra whimpered. "I want to stay here with you..."

Her sister rose up and moved close to her. She wrapped her arms around her, pulling her in an embrace. The hug felt comforting, and the familiar scent of flowers she used to wear invaded her senses. Kyra' eyes released a new stream of tears and her violent sobs shook her to the core. She buried her face in her older sister's neck, letting all the pain out in her muffled weeps.

"I don't want to go back, Yaressa..." she whispered again, barely audible

Yaressa pushed her gently with one hand, releasing her from the embrace ,and took Kyra's palms in to hers. Her piercing gaze held her stare for one second, and she smiled.

" You have to..."

Kyra squeezed her hand, and to her horror, she felt nothing. She looked up, and Yaressa's frame slowly turned in to a blurry smoke, slowly vanishing in thin air

"No, no, no, no, please!" she screamed, trying to catch the dissipating form, but her hands touched nothing. "No...Please...stay..."

But her words fell on deaf ears, as her sister's image disintegrated before her very eyes. She felt her tears running down her cheeks, and collapsed on the floor.

"Yaressa..." she wept uncontrollably, swinging her upper body back and forth. Everything was crumbling inside her, leaving only a void, that slowly was filled with pure despair.

Her palms felt sticky and wet all of the sudden. She slowly brought them to her eye level. A wave of terror washed over her as she saw blood smeared on to her shaking palms. Fear took over in an instant, and she tried to wipe them of her white robe.

But the blood stayed. She took one glance at her hands and froze. It was all dried up now. She tried to wipe it out again, and again, and again, but to no avail. The bloodstain won't go away.

A scream in the distance made her turn around. Someone needed help. She rose up, her legs shaky, and ran towards the sound. She swung the door open.

A beaming white light from the outside nearly blinded her. She quickly covered her eyes. The brightness was burning her skin mercilessly, leaving small gushing wounds where it touched her.

The scream echoed again. This time, more desperate, more dire. It sounded closer now, and despite the pain from the light, she tried to move towards it.

She took one step outside, her arms covering her eyes still. The brightness was whipping her body with rays of pure agony. She roared and started running.

The scream reverberated again. But this time it did not sound neither human, nor animal. It was a howl of pain, a wail of despair. She heard that sound once before... She ran towards it though the flicking light tongues that were biting her skin. The voice was calling for help.

To her surprise and relief, the blaze merciless assault calmed down. It was still hot, but it was not burning. She slowly lowered her arms. A house materialized before her eyes. She cautiously entered the room.

In the middle of the room, in a small bed, was a night elf female. Her body was twisting and turning, whimpers and eerie sounds of pain were erupting from her throat. She was covered in a dirty white sheet, entangling herself in it in a fever induced convulsion. Her face was hidden by the cloth.

Kyra slowly moved towards the woman. The smell of sickness could be felt in the air, and it was getting stronger as she approached. Her stomach turned. She covered her nose. She gently stepped closer. The woman seemed to calm down as Kyra was getting closer. Silence filled the room. The wheezing sounds of the sick elf's erratic breathing was the only noise filling the calmness. Kyra reached towards the bed, grabbing carefully the sheet from the female's face with two fingers, revealing her face. Their eyes met.

Kyra's breath got stuck in her throat. She could not move her legs, they seemed to be glued to the wooden floor.

The woman lying in bed was her.

She extended her hand towards the woman, shaking. She gasped in surprise as the woman grabbed her unnatural scream erupted from the lungs of the sick version of herself.

" Run!" she yelled"Run!"

Her eyes widened in horror as a black swirl formed in a instant at her feet and before she knew it, she was falling again.

"She can see her later. I cannot allow her to leave her bed, High Priestess summons or not!It will undo my entire work. In this kind of...cases...caution is advised."

"But..."

"I said no! I am not risking"

"Where am I?..."

The cool air of the night swept over her body. She was cold. She started shivering. Her entire body was covered in cold sweat and felt sticky. She smelled medicine and burnt incense. She slowly opened her eyes.

This time, she almost opened them with ease. Her vision was still blurry, but she could make an idea of where she was.

She was at her home, in Darnassus, in her room. She slowly moved her left arm, as to see if that was another dream, another torment from her mind sent to haunt her.

She slowly moved it, and it hurt, the sensation way to real to be part of an illusion. It was the first time when she was truly happy that it hurt. But she lacked strength, she could feel that. Her muscles seemed sore, as if her body was made out of cotton and to top that, her head was spinning. She gritted her teeth, and tried to get up. She could not, and she merely grunted in frustration.

Small hurried steps were approaching her. She slowly turned her head in the direction of the sound, her tired eyes trying to make sense of the approaching form.

It was a blond human priestess.

"Shattrah..."

Kyra's eyes went wide in shock, her lower lip started twitching. It was another dream, another nightmare, another torment... She whimpered, one hand trying to cover her freezing body, her legs frantically moving, trying to get up.

The woman quickly laid a hand on her chest, calming her.

"Easy now, you are awake...You are awake. You are in Darnassus. Shattrah was a long time ago. You are not imagining things...Easy..."

"But you...You are not supposed..."

"I got summoned by your Priestess. Easy...Calm...Breath in...Breathe out... Slowly..." she said and added in a calming tone "I fixed you once...I'm supposed to fix you again... Easy...You are safe...Breathe..."

Kyra started to slowly breathe as instructed. Surprisingly, she gradually calmed down her racing heart, the woman's eyes never leaving her face. As she was calming down, her eyes closed at their own will. She felt sleepy again and succumbed to the soothing, tricky feeling with her entire being.

"No, no, no, Kyra...Listen to me! Don't fall asleep again...You have to stay awake..."

She opened her eyes with great effort, clenching her jaw. But as she did so, a gush of cold air sent a shiver down her spine. She shuddered.

"I think I am cold..."she murmured, as an icy feeling embraced her. Her teeth started an uncontrollable dance, and she clenched her jaw once more, but it seemed to make matters worse.

"That is good. That means you fever is down. Let's pray that it stays this way..."

The woman moved soundless, took a blanket and carefully placed it over the shaking Night Elf, covering her with caring gestures.

For some time, the only sound that interrupted the silence was her shaking, shallow breathing. The human priestess was silently watching the wounded Night elf, murmuring unknown prayers under her breath.

"Why?"

Kyra's raspy voice startled the woman.

"Why what?" she asked, confused

"Why did Tyrande summoned you? "

The woman smiled and waved her hand.

"To save your life, silly" she added, smiling.

"We have healers" Kyra said in an even tone

Kyra's relentless stare was piercing. The woman's smile priestess exhaled loudly, and bit her lip.

"Why...you? Of all people on Azeroth, why you?"

"Well..." he priestess said in a hushed tone. "I lend my services to Tyrande from time to time. "

Kyra puffed and rolled her eyes. The woman shifted uncomfortably and changed the subject.

"You were a piece of work, I'll tell you that. At one point, you have given up. I thought you were a goner. The nightmares seemed to interfere with your will to live, so I gave you dreamless sleep potions. They helped. The Light helped. I helped. But if Tyrande would have chosen to not summon me, believe me, you would have been long dead. So, Tyrande helped. Don't forget that."

Kyra did not react. She pulled the blanket further under her chin and rolled on one side, her back at the human. She was starring at the wooden wall. The motionless image was calming to her.

"How long was I in bed?" she asked

"Six full days" the priestess responded.

Kyra felt like her heart skipped a beat.

"You were here the whole time?"Kyra asked

"Oh yes, of course."

"Was I...the only one you had to heal?" Kyra asked, her words sounded strange, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Yes."the Priestess responded calmly.

"You don't care anyway..." Kyra added, puffing.

The Priestess tilted her head on one side, and an slight smirk appeared on her face. She kept her gaze fixed on the wounded elf, and added :

"You would have been dead if I didn't."she made sure she emphasized every word.

Silence.

To break the strange, uncomfortable moment, the priestess cleared her throat.

"I actually noticed something... rather...peculiar while healing you..."

Kyra's brow went up, and she slowly turned to face the woman.

"You have a binding of sorts, dare I say - embed in your very soul. I has to be a priest's doing. I heard stories about it...It seems fascinating...It creates a link..."

"I know what it does." Kyra interrupted her

The priestess smiled.

"I can remove it."

"Don't."

Kyra's cold stare made the priestess's words freeze mid air.

Slowly, silence descended once more over them. They were both quiet and reticent.

Kyra puffed, and removed the blanket. She planted her elbows in the sheets, and tried to get up. The priestess panicked, an in mere seconds grabbed her by the shoulders.

"What are you doing?" she whispered, confusion dancing in her eyes.

"Let me go or I'll break your arms..." Kyra hissed under her breath

The concern in the human's eyes gave way to fear. She slowly retracted her hands and sat down.

Kyra's face held the anger for a brief moment. Her eyes then moved to the wall in front of her. She slowly got up, sitting, grabbing the bed board for support. This action took great effort, but she did not want the other woman to suspect that. She exhaled, removed the sheet from her legs and planted her legs on the wooden floor.

They started to shake, and she lost her balance. She fell back on the bed, still sitting. The priestess quickly rose up, prepared to help her, but Kyra waved one hand, and the woman stopped.

"You are still weak..." she mumbled

"I'll be the judge of that."Kyra retorted.

She rose up, her teeth clenching. Her shaky legs finally listened, and she took one painful step. She straightened her back, and took one more. She tried to do one more step, but her right leg gave up. In mere seconds, she lost her balance, and her hand looked frantically for something to grab on. She gasped when another set of hands caught her. The Priestess was fast to catch her.

"Let me go!" Kyra hissed, trying to escape from her grasp, moving her body from side to side.

"Stop acting like a child!" the Priestess retorted, annoyance clear in her voice.

"I can stand on my own!" Kyra yelled. She planted her feet on the ground, heels digging in to the wooden floor,all that while trying to break free from the other woman's grasp.

She was struggling to hold Kyra still, to help her, but the Elf kept moving her weakened limbs as to force the Priestess to let her go. The Priestess screamed as Kyra's teeth caught her exposed arm, and she let go, instinctively. The elf fell with a dull thud on the wooden floor.

The Priestess noticing quickly her slip in focus, rushed to raise her up.

"Touch me and the next thing I bite is your jugular."

Kyra's icy tone made the priestess freeze.

She sighted. She simply looked at the elf that was sitting on the floor, dressed only in her nightgown, dry, sticky hair covering her forehead. Her frame looked weak, slightly shaking. Pale, skinny legs and arms were holding just a hint of muscle. At the first glance she looked like a shadow of her former self. Gone was the warrior. In it's place was a normal, sick woman, trying to get up, her trembling hands scrambling to lean on the bed. She rolled her eyes at the sight. And then...She saw it.

Kyra turned her eyes towards the Priestess. Her eyes were narrowed, her gaze piercing. There was no pain there, no trace of tears. Only anger. Pure anger. And she was the enemy. Regardless of her body state, her eyes were cold, and her mind seemed unusually rational. Looking in to her eyes, she saw the warrior. And that was enough to keep her at a safe distance.

"Please, let me help you, Kyra..." the Priestess pleaded

Kyra rose up, slowly, feeling her legs shaky still, but more steady that before. She took a few careful steps, and when she was sure of her stability, she started to slowly walk away. The Priestess eyes went wide. She blurted:

"Would you please rest? You will undo everything I did"

Kyra stopped, her back at the priestess.

"I saved your life..." she continued in a tiny voice

"What makes you think I wanted that?"

The Priestess inhaled sharply, and her jaw slightly dropped. The Elf's words made her shoulder sink, and she let her head down, not believing her ears. She felt the pain in her words, and she shook her head, a sad smile spreading across her face.

Kyra straightened her back, and walked slowly, carefully, distancing herself from the other step hurt, but she will not show the pain, her jaw clenched.

"Tyrande wants to see you..." the Priestess said. Her voice was tiny.

" I will see her.I need to eat first." Kyra answered, and continued descending the stairs towards the kitchen.