Chapter 17

"Ow…my head…"

"You can thank Elune your head is the only thing hurting after what you've done."

"What are you talking about woman? I did nothing?"

"You put all our lives at risk by treating Merrilynn that way. Now hold still."

A strange scented wet cloth was put on his forehead and he hissed as the moistness came in touch with his wound. He couldn't remember what had happened after that blasted Troll had stopped him. But he had a feeling it was all the fault of that half-breed.

"Merrilynn? She is weak, what danger can she put us in?"

Jalane scoffed. She was growing tired of people treating her kin like filth, not knowing that that is the key to the terrible acts they do. Many innocents lost their lives, their friends turning mad as they saw them hang, turning into monsters as the shadow overtook them. How much longer would it take the world to realise that the truly evil ones cannot be caught, or hanged the way the innocents are?

"And you call yourself a paladin…"

Sitting up faster than intended, Creton felt the room spin as he grabbed her arm forcefully.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Aren't paladins supposed to be kind to all, servers of justice, hand of the law, knights in shining armour, the all knowing super warriors that cannot die? Yet you know nothing of the dangers YOU put us in by treating Merrilynn badly just because she is a warlock?"

"I don't dislike her because she is a warlock."

"But then why do you?"

"Because she is a half-breed."

"And what have those people ever done to you?"

"They exist! Nothing but bad ever comes from them."

"And what about all the 'pure' humans that are criminals? First and foremost, Creton, Merrilynn is a young woman who is going through a horrible period. And warlocks, no matter how experienced need to be treated gently in those times."

"And why is that?"

Jalane sighed and absentmindedly kept dabbing the wound as she explained it to this unknowing paladin. Wasn't one of their ground rules, know your enemy?

"In every human there is a frail balance between light and shadow. When you are a warlock, the shadow has a stronger presence, but that doesn't mean the light has left us entirely. And there is an endless battle within us to maintain that distorted balance, because the shadow wishes to conquer us, turn us into slaves. That is why we are taught to manipulate it, to control part of it. Right now the shadow is gaining control inside of her, because she was vulnerable. Because you put her in danger."

"I only slapped her. If she can't handle that…"

"You've done more than just slap her and you know it. Luckily she was already weakened before it took her over, or she would have destroyed you and the ship. No matter how weak you think warlocks are, when the shadow gains control their powers are unlimited."

"This is why warlocks should be eliminated from civilisation."

"How can you think that way? Can you not see the way we suffer because of that? Don't you think we are punished enough by the hate we see in the eyes of our beloved? Or did you think we have no family, that we are unable to love?"

The fatigue Jalane felt in her heart increased. She had been raised in a loving family, and once the Burning Legion was defeated, they were one of the first to embrace the Horde and honour the peace established between them. When she was discovered a warlock, barely a week after she had found out for herself, her own family had cast her out. The same father who taught her everything about equality and compassion, now gazed upon her as if she was plagued.

She was overtaken by grief and pain, and the shadow was inside her head, trying to gain control. Every waking moment, it was there, driving her near madness. She would have destroyed her whole family if it hadn't been for her friends in the shadow lore. They saved her from certain death, and showed her there were ways to silence the constant calling of darkness. At the time she couldn't be grateful, the pain and grief eating at her, the shadow increasing those feelings tenfold, hoping to gain control after all. And now she was forced to see another of her kin going through a similar experience. The look in Creton's eyes as he spoke of Merrilynn was the same her father had when she saw him the last time. It still hurt to see that look in anyone's eyes. But it hurt even more that hardly anyone even tried to understand.

"My father taught me to be kind to every one, even the Horde. When I was a child I honoured that, and even gained some friends of the opposite faction. As I grew up and learned the ways of the mage, I learned to accept the pain and be kind to those that scolded me for being weak. Even as I discovered that I was one of them, an outcast, I remained kind, and no one ever noticed. But when one day, they realised I was a warlock, the kindness changed. It seemed to my father that warlocks did not deserve to be treated kindly. After all those years of love and kindness, he didn't even seem affected that he was beating his own daughter, throwing the first stone and casting her out to live in a hostile land with no way to defend herself. I never heard from him again, but I'll never forget his face as he declared that he no longer had a daughter. It still haunts me."

She didn't really intend to say it out loud, murmuring it more to herself.

"It sounds like you were just as vulnerable as you claim she is now."

"I was… but I had friends, fellow warlocks, to guide me and help me. I didn't end up with a crazy paladin"

"It's not like I suggested her to be left in my care. At times I wish to comfort her, but at other times everything she does makes me so mad."

"Your heart is in battle with your mind."

"She will never belong in my heart."

"Maybe not, but you feel sorry for her, and feelings are still ruled by the heart."

Creton no longer felt about talking about his heart or his feelings. "Where is she?"

"Asleep in her cabin. Her wrist looks terrible and her cheek is already bruised. Can you find it in yourself to be kind enough to tend to her wounds tomorrow?"

Creton nodded, feeling tired and even more confused than when he had first gotten the girl under his care. He couldn't be nice to her because he, well, he just couldn't, and he couldn't be rude to her because it would put them all in danger. This girl was worse than one of those dodgy bombs the dwarves kept making. You didn't know if she would blow up in your face or if she would turn out to be a dud.

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Originally I'd planned this to become a Jalane x Creton chapter, but that just seemed too sudden and out of the blue. So I turned it into a little background story for Jalane and details about how she feels, since she is quite an important character in the story. The chapter with the troll and our sleeping warlock is still in progress, but I'm hoping to get it posted by the end of next week.

Gameplaya: by the troll I assume you mean Unkie Troll (as you still don't know his name :p). Well, he's an odd shaman who thinks they'd all get along if they just started being nice. So seeing a girl get beaten by one of her own kind got his sympathy. Don't worry, she's not gonna pair up with Unkie Troll…I can safely say that he is more than old enough to be her father.

Thx to Gameplaya, Uruquiel2, Orannis4, troll and someone for reviewing. You guys roxxors :D

Read, review, flame…ur choice.