Enjoy :) and thanks for reading!
Later that day, Raylianna sat in her "prison room", looking out of her large window. Having hours to think about her situation, she was anything but comfortable with the current predicament. Firstly, she was in enemy lands – in enemy hands. Secondly, she had no idea what would happen to her should her father choose not to pay the ransom. What price had they set for her? Thirdly, her father could choose to pay the ransom. The last option frightened her the most. She would not go back. She cannot remain in this position, because this luxury imprisonment would not last her for long. Should her father not pay, would the Horde really 'sponsor' her, an Alliance prisoner with food and drinks for the rest of her life? Her only way out would be to escape this city. But how?
There were guards on every corner, and she does not look like someone allowed to walk around freely. She screams "prisoner" in every way. Well… at least she's dressed nicer than one, but nevertheless, she's human. No, running out the gates was no option. Even if somehow, miraculously, she managed to escape, Eversong Woods and the Ghostlands are crawling with Horde patrol who would take her back immediately. And even if she made it back to the Western Plaguelands, she would run into Alliance patrol which would return her to her evil bastard father. No. She needed another plan.
Raylianna thought back. She remembered reading a Pandaren book, doing comparisons of cities. They said Silvermoon was very similar to the Exodar in terms of resources. She had travelled many times to the Exodar with her family for formal events. Though not as heavily populated as Stormwind, there were still portals. There must be a portal out of this city. She was sure there is one existing. But where did it lead? It would be a dangerous risk. Imagine she ended up in Orgrimmar. She was taught to fear that place like hell itself. No, she needed to investigate. But Raylianna was getting ahead of herself. Even if there was a portal, how could she get to it by herself? Surely, her two watchdogs would be close on her heels. She decided that this is a problem she would address once she got that far. She already had a plan to learn where the portals were and where they led to.
Taking a deep breath, she approached the curtained doorway of her room. As she emerged out of it, she saw Qui'hal and Allessor sitting on the floor playing some card game she was unfamiliar with. They immediately tensed at her presence and began standing, before Raylianna held her hands up.
"Please, go on, finish your game. Once you're done, if you don't mind, I wish to go downstairs and have some food."
They eyed her carefully before Allessor spoke, "I can have Jovia fetch you something. Perhaps you would be more comfortable eating by yourself, instead of in public. You know, considering your…" he eyed her up and down, "…situation."
Raylianna glared at him. "How very CONSIDERATE of you. But if you don't mind, I need to get out of this room. A change of scenery would be nice. I've been IMPRISSONED long enough!"
"You've been here but half a day," Qui'hal chimed in. Raylianna was getting quite annoyed at their attitude.
"Your lord-guy said I am free to go about the city. All I am asking is to go downstairs! So please, finish your game and I will wait."
"No bother," Qui'hal said, getting to his feet, "He is cheating anyways," noddeding his head towards Allessor.
"Really, brother? Surely, there can be no other explanation?" Allessor remarked with a teasing amusement in his voice.
Raylianna would in fact love to just sit in her room and not draw attention to herself. But the guards would remain outside her door, and she needed to trick them into telling her about the portals. She had to tread carefully. One wrong move on her part would cause suspicion. She could not afford to attract more attention to herself than necessary.
"Alright then, shall we?" and they headed down the stairs. Thankfully, when they arrived, there was no one else there except a woman, who hurried over to them as soon as they reached the bottom stair. She immediately took Raylianna's hand in both hers.
"Bal'a dash, malanore," she said with a warm, gentle smile. "This means, 'greetings, traveler'. For a traveler you are, my dear, to have come such a long way for such a young person. My name is Jovia. I am the innkeeper here. Welcome, er…"
"Raylianna," she thought for a moment and spoke again with a small smile. "But my friends call me Rayli."
"Rayli. You are an honored guest! Please, come! Sit. You must be famished." Jovia indicated to a small table in the corner before rushing off to what Rayli assumed was the kitchen. Rayli looked at her guards. "Will you not join me?"
"No." they stated in simple unison.
"Oh, come on! You may be stuck watching me for some time. Don't you want to see if you can trick me into revealing any secrets you can spill to your lords?" she winked. The two elves looked at each other, unsure of what to do next. "or… are you afraid that YOU are not responsible enough to keep your own secrets under control?" she smirked, and at this, their pride obviously got wounded because Allessor stormed over, practically yanking the chair from under the table before sitting across from Rayli, mumbling "infuriating woman," under his breath. Qui'hal made no motion of moving. Allessor said something to him in their tongue, before Qui'hal ever so hesitantly shuffled over and took a seat beside Allessor.
"So…" Rayli began, "how long have the two of you worked together?"
The two guards looked at each other, before Qui'hal shrugged and said "Ever since our mother decided that the two of us should share her womb, this guy has been 'a piece of work' you might say,"
"You're twins?!" Rayli asked with pleasant surprise on her face.
"Can you not tell?"
"Well you got those bloody helmets on, how can I?"
The two brothers laughed before removing their helmets. Then it was quite obvious.
"Do you have any siblings?" asked Allessor. At this, Rayli's smile dropped a little. She looked down at her fingers clasped together on the table, fumbling her thumbs, before clearing her throat and looking up at them.
"I-uh… I have an older brother. 3 years older."
The twins looked at her, not saying anything. Rayli realized, if she were to get to them; to get them to trust her even a little bit, she would need to reveal something personal. So, she thought for a minute, and went on. She had the perfect trap for them.
"Ever since we were small, my brother had a ruling complex. As you know, my father is a lord, very close to the king. My brother was brought up from a young age thinking that he is a born leader. When I was born, my father would devote all of his attention to Eric, my brother, and I was always seen as a waste of time." Rayli thought of her mother, and was even able to draw some tears to run down her face. She was nowhere near to telling what she actually went through, but she needed to convince the twins to trust her. Once she was sure they saw the tears, she brushed them away quickly and smiled. "But I at least got to see many places in my short life. I've been to many cities, many lands. Of course, Stormwind has a great position. There is an underground train which travels between Stormwind and Ironforge, so I often snuck out and made the trip. Of course, when my father found out, he beat the shit out of me. But anyways. As I was saying. Stormwind is not like Silvermoon; out of the way and far from everything. I can't imagine how you all travel such distances."
"What do you mean Silvermoon isn't like Stormwind?!"
"No, I'm just saying, it's probably a lot more similar to the Exodar. I mean… it's not your capital city. I'm sure your capital has a lot more travel options. I'm just saying, Silvermoon seems… far from everything. It would take you ages to fly from here to, say, Booty Bay."
"Foolish woman," remarked Allessor. At this point Jovia and another young elf brought 4 plates and placed them on the table. They were filled with assorted fruits, breads, cheeses and jams. There was also honey, which looked richer than anything Rayli has ever seen. The young elf, once he set the dishes down, quickly ran to the bar, and fetched 3 goblets with a pitcher of… something.
"So," Jovia began cheerily, "What are we talkin' about here?"
Allessor indicated to Rayli, "This foolish woman does not like the location of our majestic city. Says its 'too far away from everything'"
"Oh nonsenses!" Jovia laughed, "Geographically, sure. But keep in mind, Sunfury Spire houses the orb!"
"What's that, like a portal?" Rayli made it sound as if she didn't have a care in the world, stuffing her face with some bread and cheese. But this orb grabbed her attention, even if she did not make it obvious.
"The orb of translocation takes the traveler to Tirisfal Glades. From there, we have Zeppelins to many places, dear." Interesting… Tirisfal Glades. She heard that it was not heavily populated, other than housing another major Horde city, but it was her best shot. It was better than a portal to Orgrimmar, so she considered herself lucky.
"Well, what do I know? I'm only thinking geographically." She mentioned casually.
"Oh?!" Qui'hal questioned with obvious exasperation in his tone, "as if from that crashed shipwreck you call a city, you can go wherever you want?!"
Rayli figured there's no way they would know. She hated lying, but she would lie to not cause suspicion. What else did she have to lose? "Actually, the Exodar has portals to Shattrath, Northrend, Pandaria and several others. They just added a few more to some… remote locations, so that the residents have more options, and do not waste as much time."
Rayli took a drink from her goblet and nearly vomited. "Bloody hell!" She exclaimed as Jovia and the twins looked at her confused. "What is THIS?!"
"It is wine. Finest wine you will find in this region." Allessor stated matter-of-factly. Rayli's eyes went wide and she went very quiet.
"Are you alright, my dear?" Jovia asked.
"I-I've never had wine before," Everyone went silent and stopped eating, looking straight at her.
"What, you serious?" Allessor asked, surprised.
"I've- I've never had alcohol before…" Rayli's cheeks went bright red. There was silence and all 3 of them stared at her. Jovia looked like she was about to cry, but then, the twins burst into a huge laughing fit. Rayli and Jovia looked at each other confused, and then at them. They were laughing uncontrollably.
"I'm so glad you idiots find this so hilarious! I've taken an innocent young woman and forced alcohol on her!" Jovia sounded sincerely upset, but that made the twins laugh even harder. Rayli gave Jovia a 'don't worry' look, and then, all of the sudden, in his laughing fit, Qui'hal fell off his chair. Allessor laughed even harder and Qui'hal was on his back with tears in his eyes. Jovia looked at the scene in front of her, mouth opened.
"Shame on the two of you! Is this how you behave in front of a lady?" she indicated to Rayli, but Rayli couldn't help it. She started laughing too.
"I'm sorry Jovia, but I think that 'lady' is the last word to describe me", Jovia raised an eyebrow before smirking. She gave Qui'hal a hard kick in the back. "Get your sorry arse up! Behave yourself in my inn!" to which he got up.
Rayli was thrilled. Not only did she get the information she needed, she also managed to create a distraction, and their conversation about portals was long forgotten. She managed to manipulate them, and not cause suspicion.
Jovia went about her business, while the twins and Rayli continued eating and talking. They seemed to relax only a bit around her. But she was definitely off to a good start. For blood elves, Qui'hal and Allessor were quite young and naïve almost, so she was able to connect to them. She told them about learning to become a healer and her familiarity with potions. It was all part of her collective plan. She knew that time was not on her side, so she had to be careful but bold.
Once the plates were empty, and they had finished the sweet cakes Jovia brought for them, Rayli decided to get some sleep. A lot has happened in one day, and she needed a clear head for tomorrow. If all went according to plan, tomorrow she would make her escape attempt. She just prayed her father has not yet gotten word from the Horde about her capture.
"It's alright Rayli, go to your room. We will remain here and have some drinks."
"I do not recall saying that you can call me Rayli," she said to them with amusement.
"Woman," Qui'hal began. "you just told us of the time you swam naked in a lake in the middle of Stormwind on a dare. I think we've earned the right!" They shared another laugh and then Rayli asked,
"Do you not fear that I'll escape?"
"We're facing the stairs leading from your room. And you've seen the view from your window. You try running, you WILL kill yourself." They were right. She would surely break her neck. Not like she hasn't thought of it. Worst case, if her father pays the ransom, and she has no other choice, she'd jump.
"Well then, gentlemen. Until tomorrow." She nodded her head at them, before walking towards the stairs. She stopped at the bar where Jovia was cleaning dishes. She needed to find this 'Sunfury Spire' they spoke of.
"How are you, my dear?" she asked warmly,
"I'm okay, but I wonder if you might have a spare map of the city? The lord guy said I can explore, and I suppose it is my one and only chance to do so."
Jovia sighed, but did not smile. She reached under the bar, and pulled out a folded paper. Hesitating at first, she handed it over slowly. Rayli, confused by her reaction, thanked her and started walking away towards the stairs.
"Rayli," she heard Jovia's voice and turned, "Whatever it is you are planning, don't do it." Rayli pretended to look confused by Jovia continued, shaking her head in the direction of the twins, "Those two fools are young and easily swayed. But others in this city are not. There is a deep hatred towards the Alliance here. If you try something stupid, you WILL get yourself killed." Rayli's face dropped with every word Jovia said. Her plan was crazy. But she had no choice. Jovia took a step closer and put her hand on Rayli's shoulder. "Do not endanger yourself more, my dear. You have your whole life ahead of you. I am sure you do not wish to spend it locked away in one of the city's dungeons. Because if you attempt to run, that is where you end up." And with that, Jovia went back to the bar, as Rayli stood there, letting her words sink in, before slowly making her way upstairs.
So, believe it or not, I actually have Chapter 5 fully written, but no Chapter 4 yet. Once I have it, I'll post both! I'll try and be quick. Thanks for reading everyone! I know there was no Rommath in this one, but I promise next chapter he'll be there ;)