Amy decided she never wanted to attend another Lunar Festival again. It was supposed to have been the best time of her life. Instead, she was alone in a locked room, looking after an elven baby. How she got here, she wasn't sure. Jelune had cried out and everyone had gone to see what was wrong. Amy had stayed behind in the room, figuring the adults could handle whatever the problem was and she would be safer there.

The door had remained open and she had heard voices coming in from the hallway. That was about all she remembered before waking up here in this strange room with Adorei. By the smell of the place, she feared she was once more a captive of the undead, though she hadn't seen anyone yet.

Amy checked the door, but wasn't surprised to find it locked. As she turned to check the window, Adorei began to cry on the bed. Amy didn't know much about taking care of babies. All she knew was when they cried to check the diaper, feed it, or burp it. The diaper was wet. She glanced around but found no diapers. The windows had some tattered curtains and Amy found them easy to rip. She did so and made a make-shift diaper. Now, how to put it on.

Ten minutes later, she had the cloth secured around the infant's bottom as best she could. She then picked the infant up and held it like she was taught in order to try to burp her, patting her on the back. The infant was still not happy. She sighed in frustration at having to hear Adorei's cries. She wished Ileeya was here. The night elf would know how to make the baby stop crying.

The door opened and Amy backed up all the way to the opposite wall. It was Jerold. Amy had to look away, repulsed by the dead skin, and eery yellow eyes. She had been scared when she had been in the cell. But at least she had Kristie and Jelune to hold on to. Now, she had no one ...and she was terrified.

The forsaken stood there watching them for a minute before speaking. "You're smothering the infant."

Amy blinked and looked down to see how tightly she had been holding Adorei and forced herself to loosen her hold. She looked up at Jerold in confusion.

"She's worth more alive than dead." He set something down on a table and Amy recognized a make-shift baby bottle. "The infant is hungry. Feed her."

Amy didn't move. She didn't trust him.

"It's cow's milk. Untainted. As I said, she's worth more to me alive."

The child shook her head. "You poisoned Adam's dad!"

Jerold looked unperturbed. "He agreed to it. And had he not escaped, he would have gotten the antidote. I was teaching him a lesson. Now, feed the infant or I will take it from you and do it myself."

She didn't want to go anywhere near him. "Leave us alone!"

He leaned back against the door. "You may as well get used to me, child."

She wanted to ignore him. No, she wanted to get out of there and go home. But she couldn't do either. Adorei continued her crying and Amy knew she had to be hungry. Tentatively, she moved forward, keeping her eyes on Jerold. As soon as she was close enough, she slowly reached out and picked up the bottle, then quickly retreated back to the other side of the room.

Amy didn't like Jerold watching her with those unblinking yellow orbs. She tried not to think about it as she opened up the bottle and looked at its contents. It looked like milk. She smelled it. It smelled like milk. She then tasted it. It must have been freshly milked from a cow as it was still a little warm. She put the lid back on and glanced at Jerold. He had said he needed Adorei alive. Amy wished she were older so that she would know what to do.

"Give her the milk," Jerold ordered her.

She was getting tired of the crying and hoped the milk was okay. She gave the bottle to the infant, but Adorei refused it. Gnawing on her lower lip, Amy got an idea. She put a couple of drops of milk on her pinky finger and then put her finger in Adorei's mouth. The baby continued to cry for a few seconds until she tasted the milk. At that point, she began to suck on the finger hard as if trying to get more milk. Amy tried the bottle again. Adorei refused. Again, she put a few drops on her finger and Adorei took it. This time, she quickly withdrew her finger and put the bottle in Adorei's mouth who finally accepted it.

Amy felt herself relax for a moment now that the crying had stopped. She even smiled down at the infant.

"That's what I wanted to see."

Amy stiffened again as she threw a cautious glance in Jerold's direction, her smile fading. "What?"

"Your smile. Your laugh. You playing, skipping." Jerold moved closer to Amy who found she could no longer back up because of the wall. Instead, she moved sidewards. He matched her movement and her heart started to pound once again. She didn't understand what he was talking about. She stopped when she reached the other wall. She had now backed herself into a corner.

Jerold moved closer and reached out his hand, touching her hair. Amy whimpered as he spoke again. "You are life, child. I want to know what makes you so ….alive."

Amy turned her head away from him, trying to avoid his touch. She somehow found her voice. "I'm alive because I breathe."

"That's not what I mean." His gravelly voice sounded annoyed. "When I observed you before, you were smiling, skipping, laughing. You were alive, not just living. You are the opposite of what I am." His hand once more reached out and touched her cheek. His hand was cold and she recoiled at his touch, a tear escaping her eyes.

His hand moved away as he silently stared at her. "Forget your fear, Amy. And then you can play again. You can be happy and I can observe."

She shook her head. "No. I'll never be happy again until I'm back home with Miss Kristie and Adam."

This seemed to set him off and he turned around, walking to the middle of the room. "What are they to you? They are not your parents."

"They want to adopt me. They want to be my parents. That's what makes me happy. A family." She was relieved that he had moved away from her. "Return me to them and I'll be happy."

"No."

Amy felt the hot tears fall down her face. "Then I'll never be happy again."

He turned around and faced her once more. "I'll make you forget them. Once the infant is gone, I'll have Lara block your memories of them and you'll forget them. Then you'll be happy for me."

She shook her head violently. "No! No. No. No! Please don't make me forget them! I'll do anything!" She fell to her knees. Setting Adorei on the floor next to her, she clasped her hands to beg. The infant began to fuss again. "I'm begging you, please don't make me forget Kristie and Adam! They're the only ones who've ever loved me apart from my daddy and he died!" Tears streamed down her face. "They are my happiness and if you make me forget them, I'll have no reason to smile! If I have at least the memory of them, then maybe I can try to be happy for you." She sniffled and fell forward, her hands covering her face. She felt her hair fall on either side of her face.

There was a knock at the door and Lara stepped in. "Apothecary Lydon and the others are here. He says he wants to see the baby before the auction starts." Her voice was a little loud in order to be heard over Adorei's crying and she eyed Amy with disdain.

Jerold was silent for a few minutes as he stared at Amy. "Take the infant and her bottle." He paused as Lara picked the infant up. Amy tried to grab Adorei away from her, but was no match for the adult. Jerold spoke to Lara again when she got to the door. "After this auction is over, I have another job for you." The two turned and left the room.

Amy threw herself on the bed as a torrent of emotions flooded through her. After awhile, she calmed down and tried to clear her head. She had to get out of there. Amy got up and checked the window. She couldn't open it. Could she break it? She looked around the room and tried to pick up the heavy chair. She couldn't lift it to break the window. Oh how she wished she had a rock! She gasped as she realized that she did have a rock!

…

"The one we'll have to watch out for is High Warlord Cromush. He's a seasoned veteran and is probably the best fighter there, not to mention his keen prowess at organizing his troops. Melisara is another concern. She's a banshee. If she lets loose with one of her screams, it'll stun all of us. Hopefully, we'll not have to worry about them at all if we can get in there and out with the children without alerting them."

Mathias Shaw stood over a table with a make-shift map of Tarren Mill drawn on it. Adam, Maggie, Dormir, Ileeya, Jelune, and Kirlothenin were gathered around him. "Remember, we're not completely sure they are even there. And if they are, we have to find out where. Maggie and I will scout the place out and see if we can find them. Once found, we'll form two teams." He continued telling them the details of his plan for the next ten minutes when Adam interrupted him with a gasp.

He pulled something out of his pocket and looked at it with a grin. "Shaw, we don't have to guess where they are. We know." He slammed his hand on the table and then lifted it. There, on the table where his hand had just been was a stone that was glowing green. Shaw recognized it from their venture into Tanaris.

"Great. She just made our jobs easier." He paused as he saw Kirlothenin grimace. "You okay?"

"Apparently, Miss Alexston's stone is glowing as well. Baros just let me know."

Shaw had a feeling he was going to have to apologize later to Kirlothenin for sticking him with Baros. He pushed that thought back to focus on the task at hand. "Okay, split into teams. We leave in two minutes."

He watched Adam leave the room and he stepped into the hall to see Adam stop at Baros' room. Shaw looked away when Kristie came out and the two kissed. For a moment, he made eye contact with Maggie's bright green eyes and he considered kissing her just as Adam had kissed Kristie. But he couldn't allow himself that luxury. Theirs was a complicated relationship. Instead he gave her a slight nod, knowing she would understand.

The moment passed and Adam returned. The team took off for Tarren Mill.

…

Jerold no longer cared about how much gold he could get from the sale of the half-breed infant. He wanted to get back to the human child. That smile almost made him forget about the auction. He didn't know why he was obsessed. He supposed the child was no different than any other child. He could use any child for his experiments. But this one was the one that gave him the thought, the idea to search further into this topic. Children, this one included, were the opposite of what he was. They, better than anyone, especially most adults, knew how to live ...to be alive.

Deep down inside, even though he had no idea who he was in life, he wanted to touch that part of him that was once alive. This has been his obsession ever since he could remember. Gavor knew of it. Lara would too, if Gavor had told her. Otherwise, he told no one. He learned early on that most of the forsaken did not care about the spark of life. They merely let themselves be embittered about their lot in unlife and the curse they must endure.

Now Jerold allowed himself to wonder; Could the cure for undeath be found in a living child? Could that essence that makes her seem so alive be captured?

"Yes. This is a very rare specimen, indeed." Apothecary Lydon's voice drew Jerold's attention back to the present. Lydon poked at the infant which made it cry. "A blood elf mage and a night elf druid, you said?" Jerold nodded. "It would be interesting to see which magic she becomes adept at. She also seems to bear no trace of the fel magic her father had absorbed into himself."

He put Adorei down. "Still, there is the drawback of having to care for it until it is old enough to withstand some of the tests we would put it through."

Lara surreptitiously jabbed at Jerold and he realized he'd been thinking of Amy again. He quickly responded to Lydon's comment. "A drawback it may be, but look at it this way, you get to observe it growing, learning. You get to shape it into what you want, then do with it as you please once it can start your testing."

Lydon stepped away to stand with the other apothecaries who had come with interest in buying the infant. As they readied themselves to start the biding, Jerold turned to Lara and spoke quietly. "That job I asked of you earlier... " he started, reminding her of their earlier conversation. "I want you to erase or block that child's memory of the one's called Kristie and Adam. I need her to be loyal only to me and forget them."

Lara gave him a side-long glance. "Why? I don't know what you see in that kid."

"I ...want to test a theory."

"What theory?" she challenged.

"You don't need to know that."

"Tell me or I won't do as you ask, Jerold."

He sighed. "The child is full of life. I wish to observe her, just what makes her so ...alive."

Lara hissed in disgust. "Who cares about life! It's not what we are anymore! The closest I come to feeling alive is when I make those who are alive feel miserable. If we must suffer this curse, then we may as well make those who don't suffer just as much as we do!"

"I do enjoy those things as well, my dear, as you well know. But I'm focused on this child right now. Perhaps once I get her out of my system, I'll return to making everyone else as unhappy as we are." Jerold was tired of this conversation and turned to start the auction.

…

Shaw sat as far away from the apothecaries as possible. The potion of illusion that he had taken made him look like the undead that surrounded him. However, he had not stopped there when it came to his disguise. Before taking the potion, he had paused by the river that ran between Tarren Mill and the mountainside that Ravenholdt's Manor was located. There, he had rubbed mud over his skin, masking his body's warmth. He had also stolen some of the ragged clothes from a corpse he had killed earlier. This masked his scent as well. The forsaken were known to have dulled senses, but he wasn't going to take the chance.

Once he was sufficiently disguised, he had wandered into Tarren Mill hunching himself over as they do. He then just had to mention in orcish that he was an apothecary and he was ushered into a building where other apothecaries waited. Mathias eyed Apothecary Lydon. He was the one to watch out for in this room, along with Jerold, Gavor, and Lara.

By now, the others should be in place. Adam, Maggie and Dormir were to go after Amy. He, Ileeya, Kirlothenin, and Jelune were after Adorei. Kirlothenin was inside the room somewhere in his invisible state. Jelune should be outside in his camouflaged state along with Ileeya, prowling in her cat form.

Jerold had been talking to Lara when he suddenly turned and held up his hands to get everyone's attention. He spoke in the guttural language of the forsaken. This was the tricky part. The forsaken's language was very difficult for living beings to understand. Shaw knew a number of languages, but this was one he had been unable to understand. He watched and listened to the others, trying to mimic them as best he could. Shaw guessed the auction was about to start.

Jerold looked at each forsaken in the room and asked a question. He didn't move on until each one answered. Mathias began to get nervous now. He didn't know what the question was, nor what to answer. When Jerold looked at him and asked his question, Shaw grunted and motioned to his mouth, hoping to indicate that he had no tongue, as he'd heard happen to some forsaken.

The undead man asked him again, this time nodding his head up and down and then side to side. Shaw understood he was to answer yes or no. The two dreadguards who were standing at the door stepped closer to him now and Mathias knew he was about to be discovered as an intruder. Jerold spoke in common. "Whichever one you are, it was foolish to come here. Did you really think you could pull the same trick twice with me? Have I not proven, yet, that I am smarter than you?"

Shaw smiled at the forsaken's over-confidence. "Smart? Maybe. Smarter?" He merely shook his head, then quickly pulled out his special throwing knives. Spinning in a fast circle, he threw the knives out, keeping careful to not throw in the direction where Adorei was lying in a basket. One of the apothecaries was instantly killed, and two others were injured.

Apothecary Lydon pulled out a small vial and threw it at Shaw. The human's illusion disappeared as he blocked the vial with his short sword, shattering the glass. The contents splattered onto the sword and some on his gloved hand. Shaw had to turn and block a thrust from one of the dreadguards. He used his other sword to slash across the guard's midsection.

A noise behind him alerted Shaw to the second guard behind him. A swift motion and Shaw jabbed his sword backwards without looking, feeling it make contact. More dreadguards were alerted and Lydon began pulling out more vials. Shaw barely had time to see Gavor pick up Adorei and disappear. But he was surrounded and couldn't go after the warlock. And where was Jerold?

Mathias didn't have time to wonder as he was attacked. Lifting his sword to block a blow, he had to quickly duck instead as the vial that had broken against his sword had eaten its way through the metal, creating a hole in the blade. It was about ready to break in half. Undeterred, he kicked his leg out, hitting the guard in the knee. A flash of cold and all those surrounding him were trapped in ice at their feet. A blizzard of ice shards began to rain down on them and Shaw used the distraction to leave the circle. He found Kirlothenin near the doorway, who cast a cone of cold air in their direction, freezing their muscles and slowing them down. With their adversaries sufficiently slowed, the two made their escape from the room just as a cry of alarm warned everyone that there were intruders in Tarren Mill.

...

Lara had left the auction as soon as Jerold had turned to start the proceedings. She was not happy with his obsession with the child. It seemed to distract him from his usual diabolical plans. This search for life ….it was just wrong. She firmly believed their curse of undeath was incurable. And she frankly didn't care to live again.

There was a simple solution to Jerold's obsession. End it. Lara made her way to the child's room. She would open the door and let the child escape, but in the process, kill her. If Jerold questioned her, she would say that she tried to stop the child from escaping. However, when she got upstairs to the child's room, she saw that Zolvorn was not there guarding the door.

Lara frowned and approached cautiously. The door was unlocked. She turned herself invisible and opened the door slowly. The room was empty and Zolvorn lay unconscious on the floor. She didn't bother to see if he was alive or not. She didn't care. What she did care about was where the child was, and more importantly, who had come for her. She had no time to figure it out as a cry of alarm warned of intruders to Tarren Mill.

…

Jelune saw the demonic circle outside the building. He knew it belonged to a warlock, and almost hoped it was Gavor's. For this reason, he stayed near it. He knew Ileeya was nearby, though unsure of exactly where she was. He reflected on how much she had grown in her druidic skills. Pretty soon, she would no longer need his protection, especially with Kirlothenin around. Adorei, on the other hand, would need all the protection she could get.

He sighed inwardly and let his thoughts wander to Tamlia. His girlfriend must be wondering where he was by now. The two had met when she had been assigned to help Ileeya during her pregnancy. His respect for her grew the longer the night elf had stayed with them. After Adorei had been born, she returned to the temple and Jelune had sought her out.

A flash of green light brought him quickly back to the present. Gavor had suddenly appeared holding something and Jelune realized it was Adorei! Jelune wished he had his traps with him. He couldn't risk shooting Adorei, but he had another idea. He was still camouflaged so Gavor wouldn't see him until it was too late. Jelune silently approached the warlock who had begun to move in another direction. Swiftly, he grabbed Adorei out of the forsaken's arms. This canceled his camouflage ability and the surprised warlock could see him.

Jelune whistled for his turtle to attack the warlock, who now recognized the elf who had shot him earlier. The night elf jumped backwards, disengaging himself from the warlock. He turned around to run out of the town, knowing that getting Adorei to safety was top priority. The dreadguard he nearly ran into, however, had other ideas.

Another dreadguard joined the first and Jelune heard a cackle behind him from the warlock. He turned to see the warlock summon a doomguard. The large winged demon looked annoyed at being called by Gavor, but the warlock had the means to control it. "Kill the night elf. Bring me the infant unharmed."

Snappers, his pet turtle came in and attacked the warlock who had to divert his attention to the animal. Jelune could no longer keep track of his pet as he had to avoid the demon. He was at a disadvantage, having to hold on to Adorei. He couldn't shoot his bow. A movement was heard behind him and he dodged a sword from one of the dreadguards just in time.

He called his pet to him again as he avoided the attacks of the doomguard. He was not skilled in melee combat and he knew it was only a matter of time before they got him. He hadn't wanted to let them know of another with him, nor had he wanted to involve his sister, but he had no choice. "Ileeya!" he shouted.

"Yes, elf. Call the mother. Apothecary Lydon did say he'd be interested in purchasing the infant's parents as well." He cackled evilly, clearly enjoying the fight. "You, however, he would have no interest in. Hand over the infant now, and maybe I'll kill you."

Jelune dodged another thrust from the dreadguard's sword and backed up another step as the warlock continued in his self-confident manner. "Otherwise, I'll make sure you're not killed and once you are properly restrained, I'll hand you over to Jerold for more...testing." Jelune couldn't help but pale at the memory of being on Jerold's table, restrained and unable to stop the forsaken's injections. The pain that followed had been excruciating. A fear gripped him that made him hesitate. That was all the time the demon needed to grab him, raking his talon's down the hunter's back.

He cried out in pain and fell to one knee, crouching his body over his niece in a last effort to protect her. "It seems you are too late to make a choice. I think Jerold will be happy to have his test subject back." The warlock approached him and pulled an arrow from out of the hunter's quiver. "But, I'm afraid he'll just have to wait until you heal." He jammed the arrow into Jelune's shoulder who cried out in pain and in a vicious voice said at the hunter's long ear, "That's for shooting me!" He then reached for Adorei once more as the cry of alarm warned of intruders in Tarren Mill.

Author's Note: Sorry about the cliffhanger, but the chapter would be twice as long if I didn't cut it off here.