Chapter 8

Benjamin motions me to follow. Before I can even take one step forward they had already left. I guess nobody ever taught them the meaning of the word patience. As I turn the last corner before I'm outside I trip and land face forward in the middle of the square. I can feel hundreds of stares on my back as I turn my gaze toward my foot. Trying to get from underneath my ankle is a little chicken. I groan. Who in their right mind lets a chicken run loose in the middle of a town? I get back on my feet and scan the surroundings. I'd never been outside of Eastvale before. My mom told me a lot of stories about the rest of Elwynn though. But now that I see Goldshire with my own two eyes I have to admit I'm a little bit disappointed. Somehow I imagined it…bigger. And more graceful. It looked like somebody just dropped the houses in the middle of nowhere.

And then I look at the company of soldiers that was obviously waiting for me. Looking at Creton I see him trying to hold back a laugh and his eyes are filled with mock and glee. I clench my fists and I bite my tongue. If this guy is going to be my guardian I'd best hold my tongue or I'll be in deep trouble. That Benjamin guy is coming towards me again. He looks a little apologetic, though amused by my fall as well.

"I'm sorry; I should've warned you about the chickens."

I can hear his men snicker. Relax Merri; if I'd seen someone fall I'd do the same thing. Count to ten and all will be alright. A little calmer I glare at Benjamin and ask what happens next.

"Well, we go to Stormwind of course. I'm afraid we don't have an extra horse available. You don't mind sharing, do you?"

I shake my head and he leads me to one of the horses in the middle. I feel sorry for the poor thing. Being all covered in heavy armour. You could hardly see what colour or breed it was. I gently pat its nose when I hear a cough above me. I look up and wish I hadn't. He couldn't be serious. I turn my gaze towards Benjamin, hoping he's going to say 'you should see the look on your face' or something like that. But the seriousness of his face tells me it's no joke and that there are no other options. I look at the rider again. He doesn't seem too happy either. But at least he doesn't look as sour anymore.

I put my one foot in the hoop and notice that my dress isn't going allow me to mount it properly. It's just to long for that. I groan and look up. Why do the gods hate me? I just take one side of the dress and rip it until the tear reaches a little higher than my knee. Just as I'm about to put my foot in the hoop again someone grabs my waist and starts to lift me. Not checking who it is I lift my foot and hit a sensitive region. Lucky for whomever it was that he had armour on. Damn that hurt my foot. But he got the message and leaves me alone. And finally I'm on that bloody horse. I don't dare to look around as I realise that a large portion of my entire left leg is visible. But looking in front of me was no option either unless I wanted to be blinded by the paladins armour.

What was up with that anyway? No matter how peaceful it was they always needed to wear those over buffed tin cans they call armour. Like they wanted to pretend they were the knights in shining armour that swept the lands on their grand white steeds and rescuing damsels in distress wherever they went. My father always called them poor excuses of healers or warrior wannabes. It seemed like he was right. But then again, he hadn't really been fond of tem either.

As the company finally starts to move several of the other soldiers pass by and make very crude remarks. I really wish I could hurl a fireball at them without hurting my hands right now. It was like they'd never seen an exposed leg before. Some of them were old enough to be my father. Figure of speech of course, my father was 112 after all. Was, it's so strange to talk about my father in the past. Like he was just something that happened. But besides feeling strange about talking in the past I don't feel much else. Even though I'm alone now and they are dead. I should be feeling grief and pain now. I should be crying, why am I not? Creton must have felt something because he suddenly starts talking to me.

"Grief doesn't always come directly after loss. Sometimes the heart and mind needs time to process it. To fully understand what happened. But it will come.

He sounded kind, empathic even. Hadn't I seen the sour look he had given me earlier I would've actually believed that he was caring for me. I snort in response, what does he know about it anyway.

#Creton POV#

She snorted! I can't believe she snorted. There you have it, you try to be nice and then this happens. I looked at the mop of red hair in front of me and glare at her. Normally when people say something nice, snorting is not a response. But then again. I haven't exactly given her any reason to care of what I have to say.

But who can blame me, who wouldn't react like me if they suddenly had a spoiled half-breed to take care of. I need to stop saying half-breed. She was a girl, and furthermore a victim. But I just can't help feeling hate rise up whenever I think of them. They were freaks of nature. Sure, a night elf and a human looked ok, and a dwarf and a gnome were acceptable too, but any other mixing was just plain wrong. Not to mention their behaviour. They always acted like they were both, and that caused a lot of conflict before. I hope this girl learned that being half-half is not a good thing. I might not like the thought of them, but there are people who hate them all together.

I guess I have to give her a chance, seeing as I'll be babysitting her for the next couple of days. The gods must hate me or something. What was Benjamin drinking when he shoved her in my care? He knows how I feel about people like her. It must've been what I said in the tavern. Trying to teach me a lesson the hard way.

But I have to admit she's pretty tough for a spoiled brat. Not many would just rip up a dress to be comfortable on a horse. And she's pretty strong too. I had seen parts of her injuries and she didn't look too pained.

"Ah nearly there" I sigh relieved as I see the first gate of Stormwind in sight. I hear a gasp in front of me and see the girl straightening up. As we pass through the primary gate she looks around heftily at all the splendour the bridge has to offer. If she was amazed now, how would she react once we got in the city? A gryphon flies neatly over our heads and she follows it with her eyes. I quirk an eyebrow at her as her face has a childlike awe written all over it.

"By the way you're acting I'd start to think you've never seen a gryphon or Stormwind before."

She blushes and quickly looks forward again, obviously trying to suppress her urge of looking at the statues again. If I hadn't been holding the reins I would've slapped myself. I never meant to sound so berating. I was exactly the same when I first came here, this city is overwhelming. I put my head next to hers and whisper.

"Wait till you see the church or the castle. They're even better."

She just nods as we stop on the bridge. Of course, inspection and briefing. Telling us all how we did a good job….blablabla. I wonder if that guy even has a hobby, he always seems to be waiting in front of the last gate for any soldier that returns from their mission. I see the girl cringing, like she is suffocating or something. Putting a hand on her shoulder I want to ask her if she is alright, but the look on her face answers the question before her voice can. She's battling something inside her. I don't understand.

#Merri POV#

That aura, too strong, it's way too strong. I have to get out of here; I need to get out of here. I can't breath, and that guy is still coming closer. I can't breathe. Come on girl breathe, I have to take a deep breath. I need to calm down. Why does he have to come here?

"So this is our little survivor. Horrible what happened. My condolences."

I say nothing and grip my throat. I need air now. I beg him to leave with my mind, but he seems oblivious to the fact that his aura is suffocating me. As he leaves air comes back to my lungs and I take several deep gulps. Creton's hand is on my shoulders.

"Are you ok?"

I nod my mouth too busy taking in air. As the troops start moving again I feel the aura fading and I can finally breathe easy again. I've never experienced something that strong. One of the younger men comes to ride next to Creton's horse. He tells me that it'll take a while before I'll get used to that guy's power. I hope so; I don't want to experience that feeling again. He then tells me that he's amazed I'm still alive. I looked at him with a frown. Creton coughs behind my back and the young mans gaze flickers wearily.

"What happened?" I ask, hoping I'll finally get some truth.

"Your village, the raid, your horse. If you hadn't escaped in time you would have died you know."

I groan. I get it already; I'm not supposed to know what happened to me. Soon we arrive at the stables where Creton offers me a hand. Puh, who needs courtesy. I just jump down from the horse. And then I regret it yet again. I really need to get some shoes.

"You should really stop doing that. The healing Benjamin offered was only a light one, you could easily get hurt badly again."

"No…really?" I can practically feel the sarcasm dripping. He just glares at me and finishes tying up the horse. After that he leaves the stables. Now what am I supposed to do? The next moment he sticks his head back in the stables with an impatient look on his face.

"Are you coming?"

Do'h. Of course I'm supposed to follow. Smooth Merrilynn, very smooth. He leads me through the city and I feel so lost. Compared to Eastvale this place is huge. He looks behind him from time to time, telling me things about the city and that I'll get used to the size soon.

"I live in Old Town. It's not that far from here, but it's a pretty tricky place to move around."

"Old Town?"

"Yeah, it's what they call that district. Stormwind has 6 of them. There's the mage's district, the dwarven one, that's where you'll find the tram to Ironforge and then there's the night elven one. You also have the trade district, that's the one we just passed, you know with the blue rooftops. And as last ones we have the cathedral square and old town where I live. All these districts are connected by the canals. Lots of tailors live around the canals."

"Why exactly are we going to your house?"

"Well, I am your guardian, so that means that my house is your house now."

Made sense. He looked a little less sour and his voice was less mean. Maybe it was just the travelling that made him so mean? I don't know. Once inside I notice how little this looks like a home. A house yes, but home…it looks too emotionally unattached for that.

"You live here alone then?" he nods

"Do you have any family?" I can't help myself from asking, especially since there are very few pictures. I grab one that has two soldiers on them. One is Benjamin, and the other seems to look like a younger Creton. I snigger a little. He looked a little cute in that oversized armour.

"The only family I know of died when I was 4. Horde raided my village."

I put the picture back. Shit… I turn to see him sitting in the chair, obviously bothered by the memory. Smart move I made.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's ok, you couldn't have. But now you know that you're not the only one that has been through your pain. Well some of it any…"

And then he stops. I can feel anger again and I nearly hit him in annoyance.

"…I get it already, something terrible happened to me and you're not telling. Do you mind if you tell me why I'm the only one that's kept in the dark?"

"We'll talk tomorrow, you need to rest, let me show you to your room."

I sputter, I object, but I can't get another word out of the guy. So I grudgingly follow him to the room that was going to be mine. He bids me a goodnight and says that he will tell me all he knows as soon as he thinks I'm ready for it. Once he's gone I huff. When's that going to be? When he's on his deathbed? Seeing as there's nothing else to do I get into bed. As soon as my back hits the soft and fluffy mattress I realise just how tired my body really feels. I fall asleep quite fast.

Laughter…cruel unearthly laughter…pain. My wrists are bound; they're bleeding from the rough rope. A knife comes in front of my face and I want to close my eyes. I can't why can't I close my eyes. Someone is in my head. I hear him talking. I hear him forcing me to keep my eyes open. But I don't want to, I want to close my eyes. Stay out of my head, get out. Leave me alone. Shadows all around me laughing at me again with that laughter. They're looking at me like I'm going to be their dinner. Don't look at me, don't touch me. And then pain. Pain like I've never felt before. I want to scream, but I can't.

But as I sit upright in the bed I realize that I did scream, because Creton is standing in the doorway with a candle in his hand. A look of concern on his face.

"Are you …"

But before he can finish I already pushed him out of my way and run. I don't know why I'm running, but I know I must. It's not safe there. For some reason it's not safe. I let my feet guide me and see that I'm running next to the canals. I can see the different entrances to the districts and still my feet keep running, crossing bridges and water. Suddenly, as if they had been struck, my feet stop and I fall in a patch of grass. I look around, not entirely sure if I'm still inside the city or not. In front of me I see a winding path going up towards a tower. That must be the mages training tower that my mom spoke so fondly about. The aura of it is faint, but I can still sense several mages in there. Maybe they can help me. Benjamin said he was going to find me a trainer didn't he? Why not look for one myself.

But just as I'm about to put a foot onto the path I sense something different. A stronger aura, one I haven't felt before. It seems alluring, guiding me to another place. Maybe I should follow it. My head disagrees; one should not be following strange things if one doesn't know what it is. But my feet and heart follow the strange aura. It leads me to an old inn and it goes further still. The place looks deserted and I notice a small hallway straight across from me. I'm not really sure whether I should be doing it, but I have to know where that alluring scent comes from. Going down the winding path I can feel the place become warmer and brighter, a fire is crackling somewhere. All of a sudden I come face to face with five conjurers. That's the only way I can describe them. They weren't mages, their scent was too dark for that, but they seemed too nice to be necromancers. not that I know what necromancers feel like. Nice mess I got myself into I hear my mind scold myself. I want to turn and go back up the path and pretend this never happened, but my escape route is blocked by something.

I don't know if you could even call it an it. It was red, had spikes, horns and furthermore a lot of teeth. Startled I put a couple of steps back and collide with one of the people. He looks at me questioningly.

"What are you doing here, girl? Do you not know that it is very unwise to disturb a meeting amongst warlocks?"

He flashes me a dangerous grin and I cringe. I really should learn how to keep my nose in my own business. I could've been in the mages tower by now.