Burden of the Heart

Another day, another chapter done. I am glad people are so far enjoying the story! The reason it is a little late is because I was busy grinding to level 77 with my warrior. Oddly enough, the fun part of WoW for me is the mindless quests and fishing. Causing a genocide weekly of undead in Northrend does wonders for your stress levels!

I would like to extend a big thank you to both Jennifer Hack and Boar Charges Down The Mountain

for their kind review as well as all the people that have added this story to their favorites and story alerts. They are the fuel that kept this chapter rolling.

As always,

Le Pomme

Chapter 3: Understanding

The riding had been going slow but at least they had made Tirisfal Glades with little issue. The Bulwark guards had glared openly at the priestess of course until a simple cool look from Darion had them looking away. He wasn't about to let Taynia suffer any indignity while she rode with him. Such a thing would not look kindly upon his reputation or the reputation of his order. They were now camped on the shores of Stillwater Pond, a fire crackling merrily and their mounts tethered to a nearby log.

The Highlord though was not pleased and not in a good mood. He had forgotten how slow and stupid living horses were. They got tired, the damn things, and Taynia had started to lag behind his furious pace. This was going to take longer then he had hoped. He watched her brush the mane of the stupid animal that was now the source of all his dislike. The priestess was ignoring or perhaps not even noting his displeasure.

Taynia just smiled a bit talking low to the horse giving the muzzle of the beast a pat. Then she reached into the pack and pulled out some sugar cubes feeding it to the eager horse. Darion's deathcharger turned its head ears perked up at the scent of the sugar. Taynia laughed a bit as the undead mount nudged her giving a demanding whuffle. She turned to the mount patting its head lightly and offered it sugar as well. Darion frowned and rolled his eyes. Feeding an undead horse...what stupidity would this world indulge in next?

He was equally irritated with his own mount now for taking the sugar and acting like it was alive...and the fact it kept making whickers at the damn priestess's mare.

"If you keep scowling like that your face is going to stick like that Darion," Taynia said turning to look at him offering a teasing smile, "What has you in such a bad mood?"

The Highlord frowned more and hunched over staring at the fire, "Nothing," he growled.

She meekly looked away the smile fading from her face as she petted the two mounts slowly, the deathcharger quickly talking a liking to her. Already the beast was nudging her and trying to keep her attention on it, "Well...uh...anything you want specifically for dinner?"

"Anything other then to get this over with? No. I don't eat, "Darion said with a scowl.

"You don't eat?" Darion cursed himself for telling her that tidbit. No doubt now she was going to insist he eats food and pretends to be alive and doing living things. He raised a hand already rubbing his temples in annoyance, "That is what I just said isn't it?"

Taynia looked away again busying herself with taking the satchel of food off her mare's pack, "...you should eat. I mean it could help to keep your strength up and your mood up. You aren't so dead as not to be able to do such things. You just choose not to,"

"I choose not to because I am dead," Darion drawled, "and I'm not going to delude myself with pretending to be alive,"

The priestess took a seat next to him and began to go through the pack, "Well you are more alive then you think. Real undead can't act moody and grumpy all the time...and I bet real undead can't grow facial hair,"

Darion just stared at her for a bit, reaching a hand to scratch at his beard, "...what does that have to do with anything?"

"Undead can't grow facial hair so you must be alive still in a way...and you would look better without that facial hair. Makes you look old," Taynia said lightly.

Darion blinked at that and for the briefest moment, he considered her words. He wasn't that old, at least when he died he had been a young man. He had never really thought about the fact that he had grown a beard since the time of his death...and it never occurred to him that it made him look old.

"I look...old?" Darion glanced at her stroking at his beard nearly self consciously. He had lost everything upon his undeath... everything, he thought, but his youthful appearance.

"Yes, the beard makes you look like ...like Tirion Fordring I think," Taynia said.

The Highlord blinked. Tirion Fordring? He looked like bloody Tirion Fordring with a beard! That statement was all that Darion could take of this discussion...he got to his feet and stalked down to the pond leaving Taynia blinking in confusion, "What did I say? Darion? Where are you going?"

"I'm going to shave! Nothing against Tirion Fordring, he is a great man, but I don't want to be the dark twin of the man!"

"Uh...what are you going to shave with exactly?" Taynia asked, honestly confused by how rash the Highlord was being.

Darion paused and turned to stare at her, scowling. That was perhaps the smartest thing that had come out of the priestess's mouth this entire trip. He glanced to the handle of his runeblade and quickly dismissed it. He wasn't into having that close, or cold of a shave. He reached a hand up to scratch his beard and scowled even more. There was no way he was going to admit that he, the Highlord, had not thought this action through!

Almost as if sensing his dilemma, Taynia routed about in her bag and pulled out a small skinning knife and a bar of soap, "here, let me help you. I'm quite good at shaving beards. Traveled about with a warrior who couldn't do it without nicking himself. He wasn't too terrifying with cotton balls stuck to his face!"

She gave a chuckle coming over to him, taking his hand pulling him to the edge of the pond before he could even protest, "Just let me help you. It is the least I can do for all the trouble I've caused you,"

Darion let out a low growl but didn't say anything. Might as well let her. At least she would be doing something useful! What really irked him was the fact she shaved another man's beard...like anyone deserved to be touched by such a fair creature. The Highlord blinked a bit at that thought but quickly pushed it out of his mind. He was getting delusional in death at times.

Taynia lathered up the soap and started to apply heavy amounts of the lather to his whiskers making him feel like some deranged father Wintervale. Before he could growl or complain she had tilted his head back and started to run the knife along his chin slowly starting to shave off the thick beard.

It took longer then he thought but soon she sat back with a smile admiring her work, "Well now! You are a very handsome young man under all of that fur Highlord! Who knew?"

Darion ran a hand over his clean shaven face idly finding it odd to not have a beard but at the same time...it felt almost liberating. Also she did just say he looked...Darion felt a heat rise into his face, a bizarre heat that he couldn't place.

"Oh my! Are you blushing Darion?"

He stared at her and raised a hand to his right cheek feeling a very faint feeling of warmth. Blushing? He could...blush! Darion scowled trying to rub at his cheek as if that would take care of the offending bodily response he didn't even know existed, "No, undead don't blush!"

"But you are! Your skin is so pale it shows up really bright!" Taynia protested.

Darion turned around quickly stalking back to camp rubbing at his cheek more cursing, "I am not blushing. Darion Mograine does not blush!"

Taynia stood by the pond looking at him before sighing, "Alright. If you insist..."

"I do, " he said with a growl taking a seat next to the fire hunching over running a hand over his clean-shaven face again.

She only sighed taking a seat across him going through her bag putting away the knife and soap and then getting food out. It was silent between them now. It was uncomfortable. He shifted running a hand over his smooth face and carefully regarded Taynia as she busied herself with getting dinner warmed up.

As if sensing his gaze, she looked up. Then she smiled and he felt something in him squirm about like a maggot, "You want some dinner? I know you don't eat, but a taste couldn't hurt,"

Darion frowned but finally sighed, "Fine. Just so you'll give me some peace about this topic,"

The look of delight in her eyes and the smile that spontaneously spread across her face made Darion's stomach start that weird churning feeling. He frowned and figured it was just ready to vomit up whatever horrendous pile of slop she was going to have him swallow. He sat and stared into the fire moodily as the priestess prepared the food. Almost as if the black shade of his feelings was a plague, soon Taynia was looking down avoiding eye contact with him working over the meal looking crestfallen again. Damn her for making him feeling like a criminal for having a bad mood!

It was the longest most uncomfortable silence that he could remember in a long time. He kept looking about, looking at her, staring at the fire, anything to try and calm his mind. His gaze kept going to her as she worked. Every time his eyes fell on her, she would look up and he would look away scowling like he hadn't been looking. It just was making things more...weird.

"Dinner is ready, "

Darion blinked as those simple words shattered whatever crazy silence was between and looked at her, "...what did you make exactly?"

"Just a hearty stew of some vegetables packed for the trip, "She said with a shrug, "I spiced it up with some of my own herbs. It should be a real treat for the taste buds!"

Taynia gave him a hopeful smile as she poured out two helpings into wooden worn travel bowls and offered one to him, "Eat up. You can put some meat on those bones!"

"For your information, I do not suffer from decay priestess" Darion said with a slight air of indignity taking the bowl and eying it a bit, "Thus my "meat" and flesh have stayed on my body just fine,"

"I meant no offense...it was just a figure of speech," Taynia mumbled looking away with that light-damned hurt look on her face.

"...stop looking like that. Makes me feel awful," Darion growled turning to the bowl of soup again. He picked up the spoon and scooped up a large portion and brought it closer to take a sniff. It smelt...alright. It looked fine...why was he inspecting it like it was poison anyways? Poison in his food was probably the last thing he should be worrying about with this priestess.

Sighing he finally took a bite with a frown. He paused. He frowned, eyes narrowing slightly. Taynia, who had been watching him hopefully crumbled at his reaction. She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, "I know it isn't the best...I didn't have any bait for my fishing pole to catch some meat to put in it. Here I'll just take it back..."

She reached toward the bowl. Darion' gave her a glare and he shifted moving the bowl away from her and hunched over...and began to eat like a man that was starved. He knew the priestess was staring at him in confusion but he wasn't about to stop and explain. Food. Light above, food! He had forgotten how it tasted!

All those wasted days of refusing rations and meals at Northrend and scowling at whoever tried to offer him such things...all because he had figured that he had no need for food. Oh he had a need of it now. It tasted damn bloody good and the warmth of the soup flowed into his body warming him up in a delicious way. This crazy woman had unleashed a terrible monster. She had unleashed the new found appetite of the Highlord of Acherus.

He held the bowl out and gave her a demanding look and Taynia blinked before moving to refill his bowl and watch him devour that portion, "...I guess you do like it?"

"I haven't eaten any sort of food since I died, "Darion said between mouthfuls, "and I've been dead for a good bit...I forgot how good it could taste,"

"Well, I'm not the best cook but I'll do my best! If we ever go to Stormwind, there is this Inn near my home that serves the best roast boar with glazed vegetables all topped with a brandy sauce!"

Darion let out a groan trying not to imagine what such a marvelously described feast would taste like. He ran a finger about the bowl picking up the last remnants of the soup, not wanting to miss one delicious bite of it. Like hell she was not a great cook! To the Highlord she might as well be the damn master chef of Azeroth!

"I'm glad you liked it. I'm glad I could do something right for you," She said with another shy smile.

The Highlord paused regarding her before giving a curt nod, "...it was good. You were right and I don't like to admit to being wrong about things,"

She only smiled a bit more and he scowled trying to put up his gruff front, "But I will not admit anything else,"

"Alright Darion. Fair enough, "Taynia said with a small smile as she took the dishes to clean them in the pond. He watched her go frowning and then turned back to the fire scowling, "Damn woman..."

He sighed and got to his feet to check on the mounts one last night time before she went to sleep and he kept watch. Being dead meant sleep was a thing of the past although some death knights still followed the silly practice of sleeping.

Darion raised an eyebrow slightly at his deathcharger. The animal had never been friendly but now it was...standing close to that damn mare. And if his eyes weren't deceiving him, was his mount even knickering and nudging that Priestess's damn mare in ways that were not just being friendly? He fixed the animals with a glare as he got to his feet and roughly pulled his stallion deathcharger away with a growl, "Damn animals! A dead horse doesn't hit on a live one. By the light what is this world coming to?"

He was seriously considering that the fall of the Lich King had meant to some that the world was going to go nuts with crazy ideas and everyone acting like fools. All that was needed now was a crazy dragon flying about burning the world up and an uprising of elementals. That was what would make him admit that the dead and living could co-exist peacefully, Darion decided. The chances of that happening though were like a snowball's chance in the camp of the Burning Legion.

He looked back as he heard dishes clinking. Taynia was putting them away and moving to roll out her bedroll. She glanced his way with a smile, "You getting your bedroll? I didn't see it with your things,"

"I didn't bring one. I don't sleep," He said staring at her, a frown on his face. The frown was starting to stick on his face this trip he was doing it so often it seemed.

"You don't ...by the light Darion! You don't have to act like a corpse! You have a lot more to you then just being a moving body..." Taynia said getting that look in her eyes. That self-righteous look that he had seen in the eyes of Tirion when he was ready to go into a rousing speech.

Darion waved a hand with a deeper scowl, "Bah, I have to keep watch tonight anyways. Someone has to make sure nothing eats you in your sleep,"

"I can do the watch as you take the first watch Darion. I'm not a helpless little girl..." She grumbled looking down with a flush to her cheeks, "I'm sick of being treated like an unwanted weakling by you..."

For a long moment he stared at her as she sat curled up on her bedroll head down, her hood and hair covering her face. She looked like a kicked puppy and she was making him feel light awful guilty again with that look and her words. How could such a woman have this kind of affect on him? No one had made him feel bad about things in a long time. Darion let out a frustrated sigh, "Fine. You take first watch but if I wake up and you are being gnawed on by some ravenous zombies, don't come crying to me again," he snapped.

He moved over to sit back down near the fire, then moved to lie down. He pushed up his cloak into a makeshift pillow and laid flat on his back arms crossed, scowling, "I don't see the point of this. I can never get to sleep anyways. I would rather stay up..."

Taynia gave a small smile as she sat arranging her robes a bit to get comfortable to keep watch, "Try counting sheep. Always works for me,"

Counting sheep? Darion snorted but closed his glowing eyes and took her advice. As long as she would just shut up and stop making him feel guilty and weird, he would do what she wanted, for now of course. The sheep counting was up to twenty and it was getting dull. Maybe the goal was to count them until you bored yourself to sleep. Maybe he should start counting something more interesting like murlocs or that damn Arthas being impaled by multiple swords and count the swords. Or maybe try to count the times Taynia had said something ungodly stupid in the past week...or think about how pretty she was when...

his train of thought ended there. Taynia sat watching him as his breathing steadied and he rolled over and then went still like a fallen log in the forest. She smiled a bit and moved over taking off her cloak and lying it over him. She took the time to look at his face. No frown was present and he looked calm for once. He was attractive and the pale hue of his skin did little to take from that unearthly beauty. It seemed to so odd he thought himself less than human and more a corpse.

Taynia gave a sigh and sat back on her bedroll, pulling the blanket up around her shoulders. The night was dragging on and her eyes were heavy. She was tired from the ride, but she didn't want Darion to think her useless. Plus he looked so peaceful for once sleeping and he slept deep. Who knew when he had given in to sleep last. She didn't want to wake him...

She yawned and laid down closing her eyes. She would just rest for a bit. Yes. Just a bit and then would wake up and wake up Darion for his watch. Just a bit of rest...

Soon she was out like a light leaving no one to watch the camp. But there perhaps was a little mercy tonight for nothing came by the camp and the night remained balmy and pleasant enough not to disturb the two as they slept. It was a prelude of calm to a wild, unforgettable trip.