Author's Note: Nathanos is a woman in this story, so don't get confused by this chapter. Enjoy it!
Chapter Nine – Another Problem
Lady Liadrin took a long breath and opened her eyes. She walked out of the elevator and followed the corridor until she came in the main hall of Undercity. She pressed her left hand on her face, trying to prevent that the disgusting stench reached her nose. It didn't work as well as Liadrin hoped it would work but at least it insulated the intensity of the stench by a lot. She started to walk towards the royal quarter were Sylvanas Windrunner would sit on her throne and would be bored by the requests of the citizens of Undercity. A few Forsaken greeted her and she greeted them back but most of the undead citizens ignored her. Sometimes Liadrin thought that they did that because they thought they were better than the living people. Liadrin was sure that some undead shared this mindset but not all Forsaken thought that they were a better being because they didn't need to eat or sleep anymore.
Liadrin came to the royal quarter and waited for the guard's permission to enter. A female Forsaken with long grey hair, whose skin was covered with several holes through which her bones were visible, gave her the permission through a simple nod with her head. Liadrin nodded too and walked through the main gate then she followed the long corridor until she came to the throne room.
In the middle of the room sat Lady Sylvanas Windrunner on her throne, next to her stood her champion and adviser the undead, female human Nathanosa Blightcaller. For Liadrin, Sylvanas' light blue skin colour was really beautiful, her beautiful red eyes gave the impression that the Banshee Queen was a very dangerous person, who shouldn't be annoy or caught on the wrong foot. But Liadrin knew that whose eyes could also send out loving, caring and comforting glares. Sylvanas wore her typical armor which looked like a dark version of her former Ranger General uniform. Her pale blond hair was mostly covered by her purple hood, out of which her long elven eyes, through small holes, poked out.
Nathanosa's look was quite the reverse to her Queen. She was also a ranger but she wore thick leather armor combined with a long cape. She had long brown hair which reached to her shoulders and covered her human ears, which were pretty small compared with Sylvanas' long ears. Nathanaosa's skin colour had a very pale green tone and her lips were covered with green lipstick. The only similarities to her Queen were her crimson red eyes.
Liadrin had always asked herself if the two women had a relationship together, an opened one like Liadrin had with the Banshee Queen. Liadrin knew that Sylvanas couldn't be satisfied by only one woman, she knew that she had a selection which was large enough to be counted as a harem. Sylvanas didn't like that word but it was fitting perfectly in this case. Liadrin didn't mind that the Queen of the Forsaken had other lovers, she was just glad that they were also women so that the chance, that Sylvanas could choose a male lover as her only partner one day, wouldn't exist. At the beginning of their relationship, Liadrin had feared that she was only one meaningless sex toy for the Banshee Queen but over the years she had become really important for her and she had become one of Sylvanas' most favourite members of her harem. She was pretty sure that she and Nathanosa were Sylvanas' two favourites.
Sylvanas turned her head towards the blood elf as soon as Liadrin had entered the room. She looked back at the queue of inhabitants which waited since hours for an audience. Sylvanas looked back at Liadrin, her facial expression was unchanged but her eyes lightened up as she saw the scroll in Liadrin's left hand. Sylvanas lifted her left hand a bit and directed a small wave at Nathanosa. The brunette understood and walked to the queue, telling them that Sylvanas will be busy for the next few hours. The inhabitants were not happy about that but Nathanosa told them that she will take care of their requests. Nathanosa turned around and nodded her head slightly. Sylvanas' lips were formed to a small smile as she looked at Liadrin and signalled her to follow.
Liadrin did as she was told and walked behind Sylvanas until they came to the Banshee Queen's private chamber. The guards, which stood in front of the chamber's door, opened it and closed the door after the two elves had stepped inside. Sylvanas didn't hesitate and threw her arms around Liadrin's neck, pulling her close and captivated her in a passionate kiss. Liadrin closed her eyes and kissed her back, inserting her tongue and fought for dominance. She lost the fight but they kept kissing for a few minutes until Liadrin pulled away because, unlike Sylvanas, she had to breathe.
"It's nice to see you. I've missed you" Sylvanas said and smiled.
"I've missed you too" Liadrin responded and smiled too.
"I thought first that you came because you missed me and my body but it seems that you are here because of your duty" Sylvanas said a bit disappointed.
"I really missed you. Don't worry, we can have some fun together after we are done with the duty" Liadrin said playfully then her facial expression became serious as she placed the scroll in Sylvanas' opened left hand. Sylvanas opened it and read it carefully.
"So this report says that one of my abominations had gone mad and acted on its own. In the end it had slaughtered at least a dozen innocent citizens of Quel'Thalas. That's not good. If Lor'themar finds that out he will rush to Undercity and give me a never-ending telling-off. We both know that I don't have the time and the joy for that. This occurrence has to be kept as a secret is that clear? Sylvanas said with a demanding tone.
"Yes but I'm not sure if it's the right decision. Why shouldn't we tell the truth?" Liadrin asked.
"Because the blood elves would never trust me or the Forsaken again"
"We could explain that as an occurrence which would never happen again because you would strengthen the control of your Forsaken and abominations or we could explain it that this was an abomination which was under the control of the Scourge" Liadrin suggested but she knew immediately that Sylvanas didn't like these ideas.
"The Scourge was defeated years ago. It still exists but it isn't active anymore, not under the lead of Bolvar Fordragon. They wouldn't believe us. Trust me the best option is to not talk about it and hush it up. Who else knows about this occurrence?"
"A few soldiers, beneath them are a lieutenant and a commander. Don't worry. I will take care of them and guarantee that nobody will say something about the abomination and the corpses" Liadrin responded and looked at Sylvanas with a self-assured expression on her face.
"Is that all?" Sylvanas asked.
"No" Liadrin said and performed a spell. A brown bag appeared out of nowhere and she gave it to Sylvanas. "We found this in a bush in the Eversong woods.
"What is so special about this bag?" Sylvanas asked and opened it.
"I'm not sure but I think that this is the haul of a thief who plies his dreadful trade here in Silvermoon.
"The thief had gathered a lot of expensive items" Sylvanas responded. She pulled a black crystal, which had the form of a malformed skull, out of the bag and handed it to Liadrin.
"What is this?" Liadrin asked curious.
"This is a rare, expensive and powerful summoning stone which could be used to summon powerful creatures if you perform the right ritual. This has a gold worth of at least one million coins.
"One million?" How can lonely thief steal such a valuable item?"
"How do you know that the thief is alone?"
"I have heard reports about a thief in the near of the border of Quel'Thalas. The reports said that it was a female human with black hair" Liadrin explained.
"A human in Quel'Thalas? Are you sure?" Sylvanas asked.
"According to the reports and the witnesses, yes"
"Do we know more about this woman? Appearance? Age? Characteristics?"
"Until now not really but the questionings of the witnesses are still in process so we have to wait for more information"
"Fine. You could already tell Lor'themar and the military that they should look for a human woman with black hair. We will send more people to look for her after we know more about this woman" Sylvanas said.
"As you wish" Liadrin responded.
"Do you want to inform me about another matter or is this all what you wanted to tell me?"
"Yes this was all" Liadrin replied.
"Good. We have talked enough about our duty, now we can have some fun" Sylvanas said and pushed Liadrin on her bed.
Janelle yawned and rubbed her eyes one more time. She had woken up a few minutes ago and she was really tired. She was not sure how late it was but she didn't want to get out of the bed, especially not because the sleeping Cairaeleen laid on her, her head rested on the half-human's shoulder and she nuzzled up against her. Janelle stroked the blood elf's head softly and watched her while she was sleeping. She caressed the elf's soft cheeks with her left hand, her gaze hung on Cairaeleen's belly which was a bit exposed because her top part had ridden up during the sleep. She was able to see beneath it and spot the elf's red bra. Janelle suggested that the elf's breast were really large and she couldn't wait to fondle them one day. She imagined how they looked like without the bra and her thoughts become more and more perverted with each second she spent thinking of Cairaeleen.
Janelle was brought out of her thoughts as she felt that Cairaeleen's body moved. She blinked a few times and noticed that the blood elf had awakened and looked at her with a warm smile on her lips. Cairaeleen leaned in and kissed her softly. Janelle kissed her back and also smiled after the taller woman had pulled away.
"Good morning" Cairaeleen said with a sweet and lovely voice.
"Good morning" Janelle replied and came closer. She leaned in and placed another kiss on the blood elf's lips. Cairaeleen kissed her back and the two women nuzzled and kissed for a while. Cairaeleen was the one who pulled away and asked "Are you hungry?"
"Yes I am" Janelle responded, smiling shyly.
"Okay then I will make something to eat for us" Cairaeleen said and stood up. She walked out of the room and came back five minutes later with four plates. The first plate was filled with vegetables and fruits and the second plate was filled with slices of bread which were smeared with different toppings. The two other plates were smaller and empty and their purpose was that the two women could place their selected food on them.
Cairaeleen said next to Janelle and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. She placed the plates between them and gave Janell one of the smaller empty plates. Janelle thanked her and put an apple, a few strawberries and a slice of bread smeared with lubricating cheese on her plate. Cairaeleen had picked up a few pieces of a pear and other fruits and had placed them on her plate. She smiled and watched Janelle eating the strawberries while she was eating her own food.
"Do we have all what we need for the journey?" Janelle asked and put the last strawberry from her plate in her mouth.
"I need to buy the three horses in Silvermoon City. We have all what we need besides the horses. But…" Cairaeleen said but then she stopped and collected her thoughts. She was unsure if she should tell Janelle or not
"But what?" Janelle asked curious.
"I've a friend who is a strong mage and she is very good in creating illusions. She could try to manipulate your appearance with an illusion, so that your eyes would look like the eyes of a blood elf. That would mean that you don't need to wear a mask. We could also make that your ears look longer. Although I guess they are fine. They are a bit shorter than the ears of the average blood elf but you are smaller than the average blood elf so that would fit perfectly. We just need to prepare your hood a bit so that it doesn't bother your ears" Cairaeleen explained and pulled a knife out of her belt. She took Janelle's hood in her hand and cut two small holes in it through which Janelle's ears could fit perfectly.
"Hmmm… that's a difficult choice. Can we trust your friend?" Janelle asked and put the hood on, guiding her ears through the holes.
"She is my best friend and I know her since my childhood. I'm sure that we can trust her. You may have to sleep with her but…" Cairaeleen said and looked at the half-human whose facial expression changed suddenly.
"I was just joking" Cairaeleen said with a large grin on her face. Janelle's facial expression calmed down immediately. "Of course you don't need to sleep with her. I guess you got the humourlessness from your human parent" Cairaeleen added jokingly.
"What do you mean?"
"Most of the blood elves think that the humans have no real humour. They think that humans take all things and jokes too seriously. I know it's just a cliché and it's not true for all humans but you didn't get that this was meant as a joke" Cairaeleen said and stroke Janelle's chin, with her left hand, softly. Janelle smiled back and didn't respond so the taller elf continued speaking "My best friend is fine, she is just a bit weird sometimes. She is a really fine person, you just need to ignore her quirks".
"So we will go to her right? When will we go to her?"
"I guess now because I've to go to my duty in a few hours" Cairaeleen responded and stood up, pulling Janelle up with her. Both women got dressed, Janelle covered her face with the mask and followed the taller woman. Cairaeleen waited until the hybrid had come out of her house then she closed the door and locked it. She looked at Janelle who nodded her head slightly. Cairaeleen smiled and started to walk westwards. Janelle followed her until they came to a small house which was made out of bricks. Janelle noticed that the house's walls were covered by a blue coloured rendering.
They stepped in front of the door, Cairaeleen hesitated for a moment before she knocked at the door. The door was opened thirty seconds later and a head with short brown hair poked out of the small slit between the door and the door frame.
"Hi" Cairaeleen said and smiled.
"Hello Cair" Daynlia greeted back and opened the door. "Come in" she said and hugged the taller elf quickly. Cairaeleen did as she was told and entered the house with Janelle. They followed the smaller blood elf who guided them to her living room. The house's interior furnishing was held simply, the furniture and the decoration were not expensive but solid instead. Daynlia pointed at a table with four chairs. She sat down on the first chair and waited until her guests had sat down.
"Who is your friend? And why is she wearing a mask?" Daynlia asked curious, observing Janelle thoroughly.
"Listen Daynlia. I need to ask you if you could do me a big favour and keep what I will you tell now as a secret. You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone about what I'm telling and showing you now" Cairaeleen said and looked at her best friend who was silent for a few seconds. Daynlia nodded after she had thought about it.
"Good. Let's see how I will start this conversation…hmmm…I guess the best method is to show you what you have to keep as a secret" Cairaeleen said and pulled the mask off Janelle's face. Daynlia's eyes widened in surprise and curiosity, she was excited and started to observe the hybrid's facial features.
"She is a half-elf right?" Daynlia asked and looked at her best friend whose respond was a simple nod. "This is so awesome" Daynlia said and stood up. She rushed to Janelle and started to touch her ears and her face. She toyed with Janelle's ears a bit and regarded the rest of Janelle's body. She also noticed the magical tattoos behind the half-human's ears.
"I guess you understand now why we are here. We need your help to make her eyes look like ours" the taller blood elf said.
"It is possible but it would be more difficult than hiding her ears. I'm not sure where we can hide the sigil or the tattoo which would be needed to keep the illusion alive for a long time. I've heard that people graved them in the back of their eye balls through a complicated magical ritual but this would be too difficult and painful. I couldn't do it alone and as I said it would be really painful. So I guess we have to choose an alternative and use a powerful artefact. Don't forget that she has to carry the artefact all the time as close to her body as possible and if she loses the artefact, the illusion will weaken until it fades after some time" Daynlia explained and walked to one of her wardrobes.
"Do you have such an artefact?" Cairaeleen asked.
"Yes but I need to look for it, it's here…somewhere. I also need to prepare the ritual. Let's meet again in a four hours okay?" Daynlia asked without looking at her best friend while she searched through the first drawer.
"I have to go to my duty in a threw hours"
"Fine then we will meet in two hours and I will hurry" Daynlia responded.
"Thank you Day" Cairaeleen responded and stood up. She walked to her best friend and hugged her tightly from behind.
"See you later Cair" the smaller blood elf responded. Cairaeleen smiled then she took the hybrid's hand and walked with her out of Daynlia's house, closing the door behind them.
"I guess that we will buy the horses now and then we will go back to her" Cairaeleen said and looked at Janelle, a small smile was visible on her face.
"Sounds like a plan" Janelle said and covered her face with the mask.
