Of all the things he could have felt, betrayed was the most illogical. Nevertheless, Rommath was feeling exactly that as his hands tightened around Braelyn's arms. I was beginning to think she was different, he thought, that she wasn't deceitful like the rest of her kind. More fool me.
The young human whimpered slightly, and he noticed that, for a change, she didn't look angry or rebellious. Instead, she looked distressed, avoiding his gaze as she tried to free herself from his grasp. "Stop struggling or I will bind you," he ordered, and Braelyn complied immediately. He could feel the tremors racking her body.
She's right to fear me.
"It was just a ploy, wasn't it?" he asked, and Braelyn finally raised her eyes to his. She had the gall to look confused. "Who do you work for, Miss Hawke? SI: 7? The Kirin Tor?"
"Wh... what are you talking about?" Braelyn stammered, wincing as Rommath tightened his grip and glared down at her.
"Stop taking me for a fool!" he yelled. "Your arrival here was no accident! You were sent here as a spy, weren't you? How much did you have to pay that death knight filth to bring you here? As much as Halduron did to 'free' you? How angry he's going to be when he hears how he threw so much wealth away for the sake of a liar."
"How dare you?!" Braelyn cried. "That man killed my friend, and would've killed the others if he could have. He kept me like a slave, wanted to use me as bait to kill other Alliance! I wanted to die, rather than go with him." She tore herself out of his grip, throwing herself into a corner. She curled up into a ball, and began rocking herself back and forth. Rommath paused, surprised when the human began to sob loudly. He had never seen her in such a state, and he felt a small pang of regret that it was because of him. Shaking his head, he quashed the feeling ruthlessly. She did not deserve any mercy from him.
"Rommath, dear, do you really think this wretched creature is capable of being a spy?" Denaria interrupted. "I know spies are meant to be good actors, but, really," she added, gesturing at Braelyn's shuddering form. "Pathetic."
"She knows Thalassian, Denaria," Rommath said, "something that she conveniently neglected to mention." The warlock shrugged her elegant shoulders.
"You said her mother is a mage," she replied. "Lots of mages know Thalassian. Perhaps Mummy dearest passed the knowledge along to her sweet little girl. Language skills are a very useful thing for adventurers to have. Besides, if she were a spy, don't you think she'd be more interested in getting close to Lor'themar or Halduron?"
Rommath paused. Denaria had made a good point. Braelyn had never expressed a desire to spend time around the Blood Elf leader; in fact, she seemed to want to avoid him as much as possible. While she did spend a lot of time wandering around the city, she was nearly always with Lorelai or the Goblin Ambassador, and the guards always had her in sight. Even if she were memorizing the city's layout, it wasn't anything that the Alliance was unfamiliar with anyway. Raids were rare, but they did happen.
He sighed, a great deal of his anger fading away as he realised he had overreacted. "Why did you not say that you could speak our language,' he asked Braelyn in Thalassian. The woman sniffled and raised her head.
"Because I was afraid," she replied, a tear trailing down one cheek. "I thought that you guys would immediately think I was a spy and kill me, or that you'd keep me in the dungeons. Please, don't send me back to the dungeons," she begged.
Rommath sighed. "It's all right," he said. "I won't send you to the dungeons. However, I think it's best that you retire for the night; we will need to speak to the Regent-Lord tomorrow." He watched as Braelyn nodded, then bent down to help her to her feet. The human backed away from him, getting to her feet unassisted. She looked at him hesitantly, as if about to say something, then shook her head. She was silent as she disappeared through the door.
Behind him, Denaria let out a mocking laugh. Rommath ignored her, calling for Auriel and asking the chef to fetch the priestess, Lorelai. The Grand Magister could not shake the feeling that he had made a terrible mistake.
Lor'themar Theron had not been pleased to hear about Braelyn's unexpected language skill, but after making her drink a truth serum and answer a few questions, he was content to let her remain with Rommath. Halduron thought it was hilarious, especially when he realised that Braelyn knew he'd bought her off Lethallan, but had been unable to say anything. He didn't stop teasing her about it until Rommath got angry and threatened to set him on fire.
The hunter and the Grand Magister did not speak of that night, falling back into their old patterns of behaviour. If not for the catty comments of Denaria Daybreak, and the fact she now spoke mainly in Thalassian, Braelyn may have thought the whole thing nothing but a dream.
Braelyn thought at first that the fragile feelings that she had developed for Rommath had been crushed, but after a few days she realised that they had not disappeared. If anything, they appeared stronger, as she realised that her greatest fear that night had not been that she would be killed, but that she had somehow disappointed Rommath. That she had proven herself as dishonourable as Rommath considered most humans to be. Her emotions were becoming harder and harder to deal with as she could not be certain how the man in question felt, or if what she felt was even real, and as wonderful as Boxer and Lorelai were, she found it difficult to talk them about Rommath. She desperately wanted to see her cousin again, and Andorien. Andorien, in particular, always seemed to find a way to make the most troubling of situations easy to resolve.
She was thinking of her friends as she stood on her balcony, staring up at the White Lady. It was a warm night in Silvermoon, the summer seeming to last longer in this past of Azeroth. Braelyn headed back into her room as the town clock began chiming 11 o'clock. She tied her hair back in a bun before donning her silk nightgown and sliding into bed. She was exhausted, and fell asleep almost immediately. But there was to be no peace for her in dreams.
Something is wrong, Braelyn thought. They had arrived at the Master's Glaive together, but when she turned around to talk to Andorien, her friends were gone. The sky was stormy, but the air was strangely still, and it was so damn quiet. She couldn't even hear the sound of her own footsteps.
"Bitsie? 'RIah?" she called, disconcerted by the lack of response, or echo. "Andorien?" She swore as a group of Twilight's Hammer appeared at her left, but they didn't seem to notice Braelyn, continuing on their way as she if she were invisible.
What is going on?
Braelyn felt a very heavy body bump into her legs. She looked down, and had to fight the urge to scream. Growly was staring at her with pain-filled eyes, his jaw dislocated, and nose bleeding. Perched on his back was Giggle, her eyes gouged out, and great clumps of feathers missing from her coat. The bear growled at her, nudged her leg again, and took off running.
"Growly, wait," Braelyn called, following them. Even though she was running, too, it felt like she had been hit with a Frostfire Bolt. It seemed to take forever to round the small copse of trees her pets had vanished behind.
Braelyn froze in astonishment. She was no longer at the Master's Glaive, but in Warsong Gulch. Now realising that this was a nightmare, she moved to where she had been found by Bitsie. The dreamscape was every bit as horrifying as the real thing had been, the only saving grace being the absence of smell. She felt her stomach twist painfully as she went past the still form of the Blood Elf rogue, wondering if she had made it out alive. Her head snapped up as she heard a soft sobbing sound coming from up ahead.
"Bitsie!" she called out happily, as she saw the pink-haired gnome kneeling up ahead. Oh, how she'd missed the little rogue. Braelyn stopped short when she saw her own body laying in front of her friend. Logically, she knew that this was a dream, knew that she had survived this battle, but what she was seeing startled her.
A long, jagged piece of wood protuded from false-Braelyn's chest, and the ground around her was saturated with blood. A thin red stream trickled out of her mouth and nose and stained her hair, which had come loose from its binding. Bitsie was crying, small hands shaking as she poured potion after potion down the dead hunter's throat. The 'real' Braelyn shuddered in horror at all the blood.
She blinked, and was back at the Master's Glaive.
She heard Bitsie scream, and looked up to see Lethallan impaling the rogue on his sword. "No!" Braelyn cried, but was swiftly silenced. She looked around for her cousin, falling to her knees when she saw Odariah slumped over by a tree,arrows sticking out of her eye and neck. She felt herself begin to dry heave as she recognised the arrows as coming from her own quiver. There was a roar of primal fury as Andorien came charging out of nowhere in bear form, slamming into Lethallan, and ripping the death knight's arm off.
Lethallan merely laughed, viciously stabbing at the druid with his other arm. With an agonising bellow, Andorien transformed back into his normal form, staggering backwards to land beside Odariah. The death knight chuckled coldly as he faded out of existence.
"Brae... lyn," Andorien said with a ragged breath. "Where are you?" Braelyn stumbled over to the Night Elf, falling to her knees and attempting to hold his hand. It passed right through him. She tried again and again, each time failing to make contact.
"I'm here, Andorien!" she cried desperately. "I'm here, I'm here!"
The druid didn't hear her. He reached a hand above his head, as if beseeching the heavens. "Why... did you... leave us," he said, voice fading out. "How could... you forget about... me, Brael..." With a deep, shuddering breath, Andorien's life ended, those burning silver eyes snuffed out, hand falling to the ground with a heavy thud.
"ANDORIEN!"
It was a rare night that Rommath got to bed before midnight, and he planned to make the most of it. Donning a pair of silk sleeping pants, he climbed into bed as the clock struck eleven and extinguished the lamps. As he lay down, he attempted to put his human guest out of his mind. It was clear to him that something was eating away at her; she had started to avoid him after their argument in the kitchen, and since the incident the other night, she had become so quiet and compliant. It was unnatural seeing the woman without that headstrong tilt to her chin, ready to challenge him about anything and everything.
Rommath wasn't sure he liked her acting like this. Was she plotting something?
An hour later, and he had to admit defeat. Muttering under his breath about troublesome humans, he stalked out to the library. If he couldn't sleep, then he may as well get some reading done. As he walked by Braelyn's room, he overheard her cry out, as if in pain. Rommath paused, body tensing. There was a few seconds of silence followed by another cry, this one more intense than the first.
Without thinking, Rommath flung the bedroom door wide open. He strode inside, noting that the lamps were still on. Wimpering drew his attention to the bed, where Braelyn had kicked her sheets to floor. The human was in the grip of night terrors, her long legs kicking madly against the mattress as if she were trying to run. Her arms flailed wildly, clutching at her chest as if she'd been stabbed. Rommath walked over and sat by her, carefully gathering her arms in his hands as she mumbled incoherently, tears streaming down her face.
Rommath frowned. What could be terrifying her so badly? She let out a shriek, her torso arching up off the bed, and he decided that he needed to wake her up before she hurt herself. "Braelyn! Wake up!" he commanded firmly, giving her a gentle shake. The woman remained asleep, struggling even more. "Stubborn, even in her sleep," he mused.
He heard her mutter something about arrows, before she screamed again. Her body slumped back towards the mattress, and Rommath guided her to her rest. Thinking that the nightmare was over, he stood up, only to sit down again as Braelyn flung herself forward with a heartbreaking wail of grief, her eyes widening in terror.
"ANDORIEN!"
Rommath slid his arms around her as Braelyn tried to get out of the bed. He had the feeling that if he didn't stop her, she'd go running through the house, if not the city. Her hands beat wildly against his chest and arms, but he held firm, and eventually she calmed down, her hands coming to rest on his chest as her head fell onto his shoulder. He adjusted his grip, so that she was comfortable against him, and patted her head. It was probably not the appropriate thing to do, but the last thing he needed was to be seen chasing a half-dressed human woman through the streets in the middle of the night. Halduron alone would have a field day.
"It was just a dream," he said softly when he was sure that she would hear. "You are safe." He felt her nod against him, but she made no attempt to leave his embrace. This puzzled him at first, but then he was sidetracked by the memory of what she'd screamed as she woke up.
Andorien.
It was a name; the name of a male Night Elf by the sounds of it. Her lover, perhaps? Rommath frowned, not liking how uneasy the thought made him. Lovers tended to do stupid things to avenge their mate... like launch raids in order to recover them.
Absent-mindedly, his arms tightened around her. He started stroking her hair again, marvelling at how soft it was. Just as soft as any Blood Elf woman's. He was oddly pleased when she leaned into him. It made a nice change from being yelled at and constantly challenged.
He pulled back slightly, enough so he could look Braelyn in the eyes. They were red and puffy, but she was calm. "Who is Andorien?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow when she looked like she had been punched in the face.
"He was... is,a... friend," Braelyn said, but the way her blue eyes darted to the side suggested that she wasn't being entirely truthful. Rommath was intrigued by her stumble over past and current tense.
He raised a hand and trailed a graceful finger down the woman's cheek. He smirked slightly as Braelyn blushed, feeling her delicate skin heat up under his.
"No," he murmured, "more than a friend."
He wondered why he felt so disappointed.
"Am I crazy, Lorelai?" Braelyn asked after telling her friends about what had happened the night before. "I mean, I must be crazy. I'm his hostage, he's keeping here against my will, and yet when he held me I thought I was going to spontaneously combust!"
"You're not crazy," Lorelai replied firmly, glaring at Boxer as the goblin started laughing
"Nah, ya crazy all right, B. Crazy in loooooove," he hooted, slapping his knee.
"I am not in love with him!" she hissed. "It's just a stupid crush or something."
Lorelai patted Braelyn on the back. . "You're under a lot of stress right now, so you're bound to suffer a bit of emotional confusion. Besides, as a Blood Elf, I can attest to how attractive Rommath is. He's probably the most eligible bachelor in town, after the Regent Lord, of course."
"Oh, well, that's great!" Braelyn said sarcastically. "If I have to have the hots for a Blood Elf, then it's nice to know I have great taste. Makes me feel all better."
Lorelai stared at Braelyn, nonplussed. "I am just saying."
"I just wish I knew what was going on with him. Although, even if he did feel something for me, it doesn't really change anything. I'm human, he's never going to be happy with that." Braelyn rubbed her cheek in frustration. "I need to go home guys. I need to go to my parents and yell at them for getting me into this mess. Then I shall tell the King he can take his job offer and shove it, before moving to a cottage in the middle of a forest with my three hundred cats, where I can forget all about the Grand Magister of Silvermoon. I shall forever be known as Braelyn, the Crazy Cat Lady."
"It won't be long now, Braelyn," Lorelai soothed. "The Regent Lord will find a way to compromise with the Alliance, you'll see."
"But it's taking so long," the human whined. "It could be years!"
"How about Friday?" Boxer asked. Braelyn snorted, while Lorelai looked doubtful.
"Do be serious!" the priest said in exasperation. "That's highly unlikely, even for the most silver-tongued of diplomats."
"Hey, I'm completely serious," Boxer said, and Braelyn was startled to see that he had indeed assumed a more serious stance. For the first time since she'd met him, the Goblin didn't have a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, and he wasn't smiling.
"How could I leave by Friday?"
"Remember me telling ya about my cousin, the traveling merchant?" the goblin asked. Braelyn nodded. "It just so happens that he'll be set up at the crossroads in front of Silvermoon Friday morning, waiting for some suppliers to come through."
"How is that going to help Braelyn?" Lorelai inquired.
"Well, it just so happens that he has in his possession numerous items that a young hunter might need on a journey through the Ghostlands to, say, Light's Hope Chapel," the Goblin explained, twiddling his thumbs. "Now, it may be that a certain Goblin diplomat, out of the goodness of his heart, has paid for those items, and asked the travelling merchant to wait until a particular hunter comes along to claim them."
Braelyn gaped, unable to fully comprehend what Boxer was saying. "Are you saying that you want me to make a run for it?" she asked. Boxer nodded.
"I can't take watching ya drive yaself crazy, B," he said. "And I know ya; if ya don't go soon, ya heart will force ya to stay."
"Are you out of your mind, Boxter?" Lorelai hissed. "Do you know how dangerous it is out there, even for the Horde? Eversong Wood is heavily patrolled, yet we still lose Outrunners on a daily basis, and don't even get me started on Ghostlands! The Lich King may be dead but that place is still rife with the Scourge. It's madness!"
"I know, elfie," Boxer said, "but she has a chance out there. Here, she's just waiting for the axe to fall."
"That's not true!" the priest protested. "There's still a chance!"
"Do you honestly believe that?" the goblin challenged. Lorelai opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. "I thought not."
"But, Boxer," Braelyn whispered, hope beginning to take root, "you're job... this is treason!"
"I know, toots," he said, "which is why we're gonna have to be real careful, make it look like theft."
"Why are you going to all this trouble for a human?" Lorelai questioned.
"Hey, I ain't got no problems with humans," Boxer said. "I'm quite fond of them, actually. I remember when all the Goblin cartels were neutral; had some great times out in Tanaris and Ratchet with the Alliance races. Made some good coin, too, as part of the Steamwheedles.
"But I married a Bilgewater, and one with connections to Gallywix, so here I am."
"Oh," Braelyn said. "I would've thought that what the Alliance did to the Bilgewaters would've made you hate humans."
"Hey, not all humans are Alliance, B. You ain't."
"No, not me," she agreed, then frowned suddenly, her forehead wrinkling in concern. "But it's useless... there's no point having gear waiting if..."
Braelyn's words were cut off as part of the Bazaar exploded. Thick black smoke filled the air, and a shockwave sent Lorelai and Boxer flying backwards. Braelyn was flung into the fountain, and she started choking as ice-cold water flooded her mouth.
She hauled herself up and out of the pool, and panted heavily. The smoke began to clear, and she saw Silvermoon's citizens running madly for shelter as the guards called for backup. Arrows and magic flew through the air, and her eyes widened as she discovered why.
"For the Alliance!" a human warrior yelled before flinging himself off his mount and unto the nearest guard.
A raid? Braelyn thought. A raid! With excitement she started to run towards a group of Alliance healers. She opened her mouth to scream at them, when she was yanked backwards.
"Oh, no you don't, bitch!" Denaria Dayback said, pushing the human away from the raiders. Braelyn pulled herself free, and punched the warlock in the face. She had the satisfaction of seeing the elf hit the ground hard, stunned but not unconscious.
"Nice hit, lassie!" a male voice said in Common, and Braelyn found herself standing next to a Dwarf paladin. They had to duck and weave as a couple of guards ran through them to get to a druid.
"Are you real?" Braelyn asked, not entirely convinced she wasn't hallucinating. It seemed rather convenient to have an Alliance raiding party magically appear right where she was. From what she heard, they usually headed straight for the Court of the Sun to challenge the Regent Lord.
"Aye," the Dwarf laughed. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way of a Draenei shaman. "Very real. Now, would ye happen to be Braelyn Hawke?"
"Yes," she replied, pushing the dwarf forwards so he missed an arrow to the head.
"I'm Declan Hammerhand, I know ye pa."
"Who doesn't," Braelyn muttered. She looked around anxiously. More and more guards were appearing, and she knew it wouldn't be long before Lor'themar appeared with Halduron. And Rommath, she thought painfully. The raiders would have to leave soon, or else face being trapped. There wasn't enough time to open portals, and flight was out of the question here. Something in the air prevented all but official Horde mounts from getting airborne.
"It took a bit o' hard work and spyin', but Lady Proudmoore found ye, and sent us," Declan said, sidestepping an ice lance. "Oi, Severen!" he yelled at a nearby Night Elf hunter. "I found 'er. Get 'er outta here!"
Declan pushed Braelyn at the elf, who picked her up and threw her over his shoulder before heading to where a chestnut coloured horse was kicking at a few Horde heroes. She let out a sharp rush of air as she was dumped unceremoniously across the horse's back. Severen hoisted himself into the saddle, then reached back and helped Braelyn seat herself properly.
"Hold on tight, dear," he said, then spurred his horse onwards.
"Victory for the Alliance!" the raid leader screamed, and with a loud cheer, the raiders began to make their escape, fighting their way through to their mounts. Braelyn noticed that they were heading in separate directions, scattering so the guards would not know who to go after first.
The Blood Elves did not seem to notice that Braelyn was being carried off. Or perhaps they do, and they just don't care, she thought. She let out a startled cry as Severen leapt over a few fallen Silvermoon guards. "Do you even know where you're going?" she yelped.
"Not really!" Severen laughed. "But we'll get there!" Braelyn pointed to a pathway that would lead them out of the city. The horse raced forward, only to rear in panic as a wall of flame suddenly blocked the way.
"Shit!" Braelyn swore as she was nearly unseated. She tightened her grip on her Night Elf rescuer as he wheeled the frightened steed around. Her heart leapt in her chest as she saw a lone figure step into their path. "Rommath... "
The Grand Magister looked magnificent as he stood in the midst of battle. His long black hair whipped around his head with the wind, and he held one hand in front of him, flames licking at his fingertips. His green eyes blazed with fury, and his other hand held his staff at an angle behind his back.
"Release her," Rommath commanded, voice colder than the Void. His eyes narrowed in distaste as Severen's hand dropped down to cover Braelyn's. "I will not tell you a second time, Kal'dorei."
"I don't think so," Severen said. "I wouldn't leave my dog in your company, Sin'dorei, let alone a lady." He kicked his heels into the horse's flanks, urging it forward. It charged right at Rommath, veering sharply to the right at the last moment.
Rommath's hand shot forward, and for a moment, Braelyn felt him grip the hem of her pale green dress. She looked him in the eyes, and felt an almost overwhelming urge to throw herself into his arms. She heard Severen urge his horse to move faster, and then she was racing forward, free of the Grand Magister's grip.
She was still looking into his eyes when they rounded a corner and disappeared out of the city.
AN- I had a lot of time on my hands today, so you get an early update.
Raiding Silvermoon is kind of fun, especially with the no flying thing.
Next Chapter: Braelyn finds out just how dangerous Quel'thalas can be. And Lor'themar decides he won't let Jaina win.