Chapter 14

Somewhere along the flight I must've dozed off. I don't know how long it took us, because one moment we were passing Goldshire and the next I see nothing but jungle.

"Where are we?"

"Halfway in Stranglethorn Vale."

My stomach starts to turn again and I can hear myself groaning. Why people prefer this way of travelling over horses, I don't know. Feeling my stomach revolt I take a big gulp, hoping to keep it down.

"Are you alright?"

I don't need to answer as I can no longer hold the contents of my stomach. I sincerely hope that there was nobody standing beneath that. I can hear him chuckling behind me.

"Not the gryphon rider, are you? Don't worry, we're nearly there."

I weakly nod and do my best to keep whatever is left inside. Watching the moving scenery isn't helping so I close my eyes. Then I hear some sort of growl below us. The gryphon ascends without warning and I'm thrown into Creton. This is certainly not helping me to keep my stomach inside my body. Trying to hold on as the beast keeps flying higher I scream.

"What's going on?"

"Raptors."

That's all he says, and opening my eyes I can see that he is struggling to hold onto the bird as well. There's something missing…but I can't put my finger on it. I look around and see nothing. Then I realise there should be something there.

"Where's Jalane?"

"She was the only one riding her gryphon. She's probably in Booty Bay by now."

Not long after the insane ascend, the gryphon starts to lower. In the distance I can see rooftops. But as the gryphon lands I don't have much time to see the city. I can only catch glimpses of little green men and shop signs. Jalane grabs me by the wrist as the three of us run through the city. Well, they run, I'm being dragged along like a dog. Creton puts my hood on as he walks behind us in an equal fast stride. What is the hurry all of a sudden? A giant creature rushes past us. I don't know what it is. It's big, furry and has horns. Somehow it reminds me of a cow, only bigger and walking on two feet. It's headed towards a big ship, and it seems we're going the same way as well. Jalane's grip on my wrist tightens and I hiss at the pain. Has she forgotten I'm still healing? She's pulling me forward even faster and I can do nothing but stumble as I try to keep up.

"Wait!" Jalane yells as Creton picks me up by the waist and starts running. I try to wiggle free and demand an explanation, but he is holding onto me in an iron grip. They stop as soon as they're in the boat and Creton lets me down. I can feel the anger coursing through me. The entire run they treated me like I was five. Suppressing the need of stomping my foot and proving they were right I glare at their sweaty faces and cross my arms.

"Just what was that all about?"

"It was running or missing the last boat and spending the night in Booty Bay."

"And what is so wrong about that?"

"This is neutral area, Merrilynn, and it is close to Alliance territory, meaning that if Benjamin had sent scouts for you by sundown, they could carry out their sentence without consequence."

Oh right, the banishment. I didn't even have time to think on what that actually meant until now. Never to set foot on Alliance ground again. What am I going to do? It's not like the Horde is going to accept me. Banished or not, I'm still not one of them, not to mention I'm a warlock. And something tells me they are just as heart-warming towards the shadow lore as my own faction. Seeing my downcast look Jalane puts her arm around me and guides me inside. Creton is following by the sound of his laboured breath. It appears that the mighty paladins are a little too accustomed to sitting on their horse. As I want to pull down my hood Creton yanks it up again.

"What the..." But he silences me as he hisses in my ear.

"Did you forget that there are still two trolls on the loose? Do you want them to recognize you?"

Saying nothing I let them steer me towards a shadowy corner. I'm afraid that if I even open my mouth to breathe, Creton is going to yell at me again. He makes me feel like I can't do anything right. Like I wasn't born right. I squeeze my eyes shut to hold back the tears as I think about it. Some people hate me because I'm a half-breed; others because I'm a warlock. The alliance hates me for being both, the Horde hates me because I'm from the Alliance and Creton seems to hate me altogether.

For a fleeting moment I thought that he cared about me. When he defended me against Benjamin I actually thought he had changed his opinion about half breeds, but he's been so mean now. Jalane is asking me if I'm alright, but I don't want to answer. I don't even want to listen right now. I just want to curl up in a ball somewhere and cry. I can still hear Jalane's voice, but the words are blurred as I try to keep the tears at bay. I can feel myself being picked up, carried and tucked under a cover. I can feel a hand on my shoulder and comforting sounds near my ear, but I don't want to hear or feel any of it. I wish they would just all go away. Sensing nobody is nearby anymore, I finally let my tears fall. Why is the world so mean? What have I ever done wrong?

#-# Normal POV #-#

"Could you have been any nicer?" Jalane asks with glare directed towards the paladin as she softly shuts the door, not missing the sob coming from the girl's direction.

"What?"

"Merrilynn. She's been chosen as a warlock, discovered as one and banished by her own faction in less than a day. And instead of offering kind words you berate her for futile things. Why did you force that hood upon her? Couldn't you see she was in enough grief already without your harsh words?"

"I'm only trying to protect her."

"From what? It seems to me that the only thing she needs to be protected from is your attitude and your paranoia!"

"You don't know what else she is running from!"

"Enlighten me!"

Whatever secrecy Creton had hoped for, he single-handedly ruined it by yelling at the woman, who answered back with equal harshness. Some would call them very foolish, for fighting in a boat filled with tired Horde is an unwise thing to do. But the Horde travelling with them seemed too tired to even pay attention to the squabble. The ones that opened a tired eye only confirmed their idea of humans being strange creatures. One pair of eyes however was watching them with interest. Not really because of what they were saying, but what had happened prior to the fight. He hadn't missed the purple eyes or the red hair the fleeting second the hood had been removed, nor did he miss the bandaged wrists.

"Merrilynn eh? I had a feelin I'd be seein' her gain soon."

A grin plastered firmly in place, he closed his eyes and tried to get some rest. He would surely need his strength tomorrow, now that he knew she was on board. It felt nice knowing that the redhead would have nowhere to run to now. Or that anyone would be able to intervene this time. Her two 'guards' would be disposed of easily, the male anyway. The woman would make a nice plaything as well, he thought happily before dozing off. Oh yes, his dreams would be pleasant.

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I seem to bash an awful lot on paladins… Oh well, not like they'll die from it. Merri is going through a rough time, but she might find very suprising allies soon.

Thx to Gameplaya,Orannis4, Shelyne and Fgee for reviewing

Hope you liked the chapter

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