By the time the fear wore off, Braelyn was isolated from her friends and the rest of Goldshire's defenders. She started to run back towards the village, planning to use her distance as an advantage.

As she ran past a particularly large oak tree, Braelyn heard a faint rustling, followed by the soft twang of a bow being fired. She dodged to one side, but the arrow wasn't aimed at her, but at the ground. A second later she was stunned as she reached the edge of the binding shot's area of effect.

When her mind cleared, Braelyn looked around for the enemy hunter. "Why do you guys insist on raiding Goldshire? There's nothing here of any use to you," she called out.

"It be the challenge, mon," a voice replied from the tree behind her, and Braelyn had the weirdest feeling she'd heard it before. There was the rustling of branches as a troll jumped down, landing in front of her. "All dem brave heroes of da Alliance in one handy location."

Braelyn stared at her opponent, chewing her bottom lip. There was something about him... He was tall, like the rest of his people, with a vibrant teal mohawk, and eyes almost the same colour. His tusks were long and elegant, jutting forward from lips curved in a smug grin.

A memory of her drunken shenanigans in Silvermoon flashed before her eyes, and Braelyn blushed in mortification. Of all the trolls that could have raided her home town, it had to be the one she'd made a fool of herself in front of.

Noticing her embarrassed recognition, the troll's grin widened. "Nice ta see ya remember ol' Tal'lin, little miss," he laughed.

"I wish I could forget," Braelyn muttered, drawing her bow.

"No need ta do dat, I ain't gonna hurt ya," Tal'lin said. "Let's just have a little chat, maybe a dance?"

Braelyn shot at him, but the troll rolled out the way with a delighted laugh.

"I was so happy ta see ya runnin' along here, girl," he said. "I was hopin' ta see ya again." Braelyn decided she needed to get back to the village, so started moving to one side.

A high-pitched screech almost deafened her, and two brightly coloured raptors burst out of the undergrowth, hemming Braelyn in.

"Damn," she mumbled, trying to find another way past Tal'lin. His pets weren't attacking her, they weren't even intimidating her, but they were watching her every move, and Braelyn knew that if she tried to go past them, they would go her.

"Don' be leaving so soon, mon," Tal'lin said, sauntering up to her. "Tell me, do ya little friends know 'bout how ya danced for meh? Do dey know 'bout what ya got up ta with the Grand Magister?" He trailed a finger down her face, just like Rommath used to do. The memory of her love, and the threat contained in the troll's words caused Braelyn to snap.

With a swift movement, she buried her knee in Tal'lin's groin. As the hunter was wearing mail armour, it hurt Braelyn quite a bit, but she took advantage of the troll's pained grunt to slam the same knee into his face. When Tal'lin hit the ground, his breath laboured and wheezy, she took off.

"I call that my knee-to-jerk reaction!" she said, doubling her pace as she heard the raptors take off after her.

Fortunately, Braelyn wasn't as far away from the village as she thought; a couple of druids fighting near the merchants' caravan, rooted them to the spot.

"Thank you, thank you!" Braelyn cried as she jumped the fence and whistled for Bitey. It was time to send these raiders home.

Braelyn had been afraid that if her parents ever found out about what happened between her and Rommath then they'd disown her.

This wasn't the case.

When Ellysan received a reply from Aethas Sunreaver, she had to reread it many times before she could accept what the Archmage had to say. The Grand Magister and her daughter? It was impossible! Both she and Jasper felt that there had to be some sort of mistake.

But Aethas would never lie, not to her. If he said Braelyn had fallen in love with Rommath, then it was the truth, and they had to accept it. No matter how much the idea scared them.

And it did scare them.

"If anyone finds out about this..." Jasper said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"She'll be mocked as a naïve fool at best," Ellysan replied, "accused of being a traitor at worst."

"I won't let them hang my baby girl!" Jasper said hotly. His wife laid a hand on her arm.

"It won't come to that. We need to speak to her; if we can convince her to accept the King's offer, and to work hard, then her loyalty may ward off any of the more outlandish accusations."

"She'll never go for that, love," he said. "You know how stubborn she is about not joining the Alliance."

"We have to try, Jasper! We have to do something."

"Where is she now?" Jasper asked.

"At the Lion's Pride with her friends."

"Then lets go speak to her there. She'll be more reasonable if there's an audience, and she'll listen to her friends. Andorien, at least, will see the wisdom of what we say."

As they walked into Goldshire proper, Ellysan and Jasper noticed that the town was in an uproar. They grabbed a passing Stormwind guard, who informed them of the raid. Inquiring after their daughter, they heard that Braelyn was guarding the few Horde raiders they'd managed to capture.

The prisoners were being held in large cage next to the blacksmith, awaiting transportation to the Stockades. Their mounts were nearby. Braelyn was the only one on guard duty, and it looked like she was attempting to tame a large raptor that was inside the cage.

Ellysan looked at her husband in concern. "Didn't Braelyn say that if a hunter tried to tame the pet of another hunter, the beast would become enraged and go crazy?"

"Yes, she did," Jasper replied. He was eyeing his daughter with confusion, she was really concentrating on the beast, despite the jeers and angry muttering of the Horde.

"Then why is she..."

Ellysan's words were cut short as the raptor let out an ear-piercing shriek and launched itself at the cage door. It head butted the cage, then kicked it, before completely losing its cool. It rammed the door, again and again, until the door gave way in a screech of twisting metal.

Braelyn had to disengage quickly to avoid the raptor's talons, and the rush of Horde prisoners as they ran for their mounts. A guard managed to take down the raptor, but the raiders all managed to get away.

"I'm sorry!" Braelyn declared. "I'm sorry! I thought with its owner being dead*, it would accept me!"

"It's all right, Braelyn," Marshall Dughan, Goldshire's leader said calmly. "It was an honest mistake, if a rather costly one."

But Ellysan and Jasper knew the truth. They'd seen the look on their daughter's face when the prisoners made their escape. It wasn't anger, or fear, or even embarrassment that she'd made such a terrible mistake.

It was relief.

As soon as Braelyn turned around and saw the way her parents were staring at her, she knew she was busted. Her father looked so disappointed in her, and her mother was clenching her jaw so hard she could hear the older woman's teeth grinding from where she stood.

Her mother raised her hand and crooked her finger at Braelyn, then stalked off in the direction of their house. Braelyn contemplated just running away, but Violet was still at home, and she could never abandon her pet. With a sigh, she followed after her parents, joining up with Odariah and Andorien who had also seen everything.

"Do you realise what you've done?" Andorien asked with concern.

"Yes," Braelyn said, checking to make sure they weren't being tailed. "I saved those raiders' lives. They'll go home knowing that not all humans want their heads on pikes. Maybe they'll return the favour one day."

"Or maybe they'll go home and laugh about the stupid hunter," Odariah hissed. "Or maybe the next time they hit Warsong Gulch or Alterac Valley they'll taunt all the Alliance there about the gullible human in Goldshire who set them free."

"I... didn't think about that," Braelyn confessed.

"Obviously."

The rest of the walk home was done in tense silence, Braelyn lost in thoughts about how she could explain all this to her parents.

Ellysan and Jasper asked their niece and her boyfriend to leave them alone with Braelyn as soon as the trio crossed the threshold. They complied, Andorien sparing Braelyn a sympathetic glance on the way out.

"What were you thinking?" Ellysan demanded as soon as they were gone.

"I was thinking how tired I was of all this bullshit," Braelyn replied. "This endless cycle of..."

"Oh, not this nonsense again!" the mage exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in frustration.

"It's not nonsense!" Braelyn shouted.

"They were going to kill people, Braelyn!" Jasper declared. "Women, children, our elders!"

"Don't we do the same?" his daughter retorted. The paladin sighed.

"It's not the same, child."

"It's exactly the same!" Braelyn hissed. "And you know it!"

"Is this Rommath's doing?" Ellysan demanded roughly. "Did you do this because of him?" She would have made more accusations if she hadn't caught sight of her daughter's face.

Braelyn looked as if she'd had the air stolen from her lungs. Her face twisted in pain, eyes welling with tears. Her hands pressed against her chest, as if she was trying to put her heart back together.

"No, he never would have asked me to do something like this," Braelyn whispered. "If he ever hears about it, he'll be furious, knowing the danger it puts me in." She looked at her mother. "He told me to come home because he feared the Alliance would hunt me down and execute me for treason if I stayed with him." She shook her head angrily.

"I assume you've spoken with Aethas?"

"Yes," Ellysan said with a nod, tone softening. "I didn't want to pry, Sweetie, but I could tell you were grieving about something. You wouldn't have told me, and Odariah and Andorien refused to. I feared you'd been raped or something."

Braelyn's head snapped up and her eyes blazed with anger. "Not rape," she declared. "Never that." She looked from her father to her mother. "Do you hate me?"

"Of course we don't hate you!" Ellysan said. "Angry about your actions tonight, maybe, but you're our daughter. We couldn't hate you if we tried. And considering my past with Aethas, I'd be a bit of hypocrite to condemn you for giving your heart to a blood elf, even if your choice is rather... interesting."

Jasper knelt by his daughter's side, wrapping an arm about her shoulders. "Braelyn, now more than ever, you need to join the Alliance, if only to try to protect yourself."

"No, Papa, I can't do that!"

"Would it really be so bad?" Ellysan asked. "Your father and I enjoyed it."

"I don't see the world like you two do, Mum," Braelyn replied. "I don't see everything as black and white, right and wrong. I see so much grey, and so many beautiful colours.

"Please, don't ask me to betray myself."

"Braelyn," Jasper said in tortured tone, "I know what you did today, you did with noble intentions, but if the wrong people find out about it... And if they also find out about you having an affair with the Grand Magister of Silvermoon, they'll have you up on charges of treason."

"Our reputations won't save you," Ellysan continued. "Joining the Alliance is the only thing I can think of to try to save you, and it's not guaranteed to work."

"Please, pumpkin, for our sakes."

"I can't," Braelyn sobbed. "I can't be his enemy. Please don't make me!"

"We have to do something, child," Ellysan pushed.

"I'll think of something," Braelyn said. "I promise, just give me a few days."

Jasper and Ellysan exchanged a brief look of concern. They nodded. "All right," Ellysan said. "But don't take too long, the sooner we get you some protection, the better."

Braelyn sighed in gratitude, before burying herself in her father's embrace.

Braelyn rose at dawn the next morning, eager to get out in the forest and escape her parents' worry. She also thought it best to spend some time away from Odariah, who tended to hold on to her anger, which was surprising given that the woman was a priest.

She decided to head over to the Stonefield farm to visit her childhood friend Tommy, and see if he needed any help, or just someone to talk to. On Braelyn's return to Goldshire, he had confided in her about his love for Mable MacClure, the daughter of his father's most hated enemy.

Given her own situation, Braelyn was sympathetic, but also amused. They think they've got it bad, she thought with a wry chuckle.

"Good morning, Braelyn," Ma Stonefield said when Braelyn knocked on her door. "I'm afraid you just missed Tommy."

"Oh, that's a shame," Braelyn replied. "I was hoping we could go hunting together. He said he had a new gun he wanted me to check out." She grimaced. She'd never liked guns, they were too noisy for her tastes.

"Yes, he loves that thing!" Mas replied, shoving a piece of toast into Braelyn's hand. "But if you're looking to do some hunting today, would you mind doing me a favour?"

"Of course."

"Good, good. Those Brackwells have this enormous pig named Princess who keeps getting into my vegetables. I've asked them several times to make sure she stays on their farm, but they refuse to do anything. Would you mind dealing with it? The season's been bad enough as it is, we can't afford to lose what little we have managed to grow to that damn pig!"

"I'll go take care of it now, Ma," Braelyn promised, heading out the door.

"Thank's, Braelyn," the old woman said. "You're such a good girl; you'd make a fine wife for my Tommy."

Fighting hard not to blush, laugh, or cry, Braelyn said thank you before walking away as quickly as she could. Poor Ma, she thought, that is just not going to happen.

Princess turned out to be the biggest pig Braelyn had ever seen. It was huge, reaching up to Braelyn's breasts, at least. There was no way she was going to kill such a magnificent creature unless it started killing people... but, she also didn't want the Stonefields being reduced to poverty.

"Hey, Bitey," she said, patting her lynx on the head. He answered with a happy growl. "I'm going to try and tame this pig, so I need you to stand back, okay? Don't attack her unless she tries to gore me."

Bitey let out an angry, huffing sound, and stalked off sit next to a tree, as Braelyn began the taming process.

It was a long, drawn out affair; Princess being as stubborn as she was big. In the end, Braelyn's will won out, without her receiving more than a scratch along one arm.

"Princess is a stupid name for a pig," Braelyn told her new pet. "How about a new one?" The pig made a happy snort, before head butting Bitey. "Okay, now, don't take this the wrong way, but you're kind of ugly, so how about I call you Denaria?"

The pig looked at her for a moment, before making an odd snuffling, snorting sound that Braelyn interpreted as an 'I guess so'.

"Excellent! Let's head into town and get you a nice collar."

While they were in town, Braelyn stopped to chat with Remy Two-Times. The merchant had a beautifully made gun holster in stock that she decided to purchase and send to King Greymane as a thank-you present. She was sure that she could make one just as lovely, but she didn't think she had the time to craft it considering her parents were so hell-bent on sending her off to fight somewhere again.

A group of adventurers were hanging around the inn, so Braelyn hired one of them to take the holster up to the King. She threw in some extra coin, telling him to make sure to put the gift directly into Genn Greymane's hand himself. She smirked as she thought about how annoyed that stupid advisor was going to be.

She hired another adventure to run some gold over to the Brackwells; compensation for stealing their pig. The Brackwells were a little... unhinged, and Braelyn didn't want to cause any trouble.

After her business was concluded, she decided to step inside the inn for a drink. The barkeeper offered her a shot of rum, which she quickly refused, fighting a sudden bout of nausea. She settled for a nice bottle of Stormwind Stout, settling into one of the chairs by the fire.

She heard a man sigh sadly as he sat down on her right. She was surprised to see her father's friend, Anders, sitting there looking depressed.

"Are you all right, Anders?" Braelyn asked with concern. The crusader turned and gave her a small smile.

"Well enough, lass," he replied. "I thought I'd come see how you and your family are faring, now that my work in Stormwind is done."

"Did things go badly?"

"Yes," Anders sighed. "Crusader numbers are dropping and we need to bolster our ranks. Yet now that Arthas is dead, everybody seems to think that the war with the Scourge is over and everything is safe, so there's no need to sign up. In fact, a lot of people are saying that the Argent Crusade should disband and join the Alliance."

"But the Crusade is not just made up of Alliance races!" Braelyn protested.

"I know, lass. We are a big family representing the best Azeroth has to offer. As if we could just ignore all that and start fighting each other." Anders sighed again as he took a long swig of his ale. "And the truth is, there are still Scourge out there that need killing, and land that still needs healing."

He turned and looked directly at Braelyn. "You know, you'd make an excellent recruit, Braelyn," he said. "I've long known about your skill as a hunter, but your recent experiences in Darkshore and Quel'Thalas prove you are also brave and tenacious, with great fortitude."

Braelyn was about to refute what Anders was saying, but paused, thinking furiously. Joining the Crusade might be the solution to all her problems. As a Crusader, it would be difficult for the Alliance to arrest her, as she would be under the protection of an independent organisation, and residing in a land that was essentially a separate country.

More importantly, she'd have the opportunity to put her beliefs into action. That epiphany she'd had in Silvermoon about working to combat racism, to overcome prejudice... she'd finally be able to honour it. It's true that crusaders from Alliance races weren't always welcomed with open arms in Horde cities, but they were still respected. As were Horde crusaders by the Alliance.

She bit her lip. Could she really do this?

Yes. I can.

"Well then, Anders," she said, smiling at the crusader, "how do I sign up?"

*as far as she knows, Tal'lin is dead. Whether or not he actually is dead...

AN- I kind of feel like this shouldn't be much of a surprise. The Crusade is a pretty easy out for things involving cross-faction problem solving. Special thanks to Bohmz for her last review, it made me realise I was handling the raid all wrong.

I always enjoyed doing the MacClure/Stonefield quests. It makes me a bit sad now that it's so easy to level, you end up missing some great things/areas. Back in the day you pretty much had to go everywhere to level up - Desolace, Felwood, Feralas, Silithus, WInterspring. And forget about Eastern Plaguelands until you were lvl 50+.

Next Chapter: Braelyn bids farewell to Goldshire to begin her new life in Eastern Plaguelands. Just when she thinks she's moving on from Rommath, she receives word about what's about to go down in Orgrimmar.