Disclaimer: I own nothing, including some dialogue, which is occasionally taken straight from the game.

Standing on the stairs above me was a woman with long brown hair. She wore a long dress, and held a rifle. Two mastiffs flanked her. The woman eyed me. I slowly dragged myself up from the floor.

"Are you alright?" she asked

I held my wrist slightly behind my back. "Yeah, thanks to you. Who are you?"

"Lorna Crowley," she answered. "Our king is looking for you."

I nodded and slipped past her up the stairs before pausing and glancing back at her. "Go on, I"ll keep the artillery safe," Lorna said. I just nodded again and headed out of the basement.

In the alley, I paused to look at my wrist. Several angry puncture marks ringed it like a bracelet. The skin around them was swollen and pink, like the beginning of an infection. I wrapped it quickly in linen bandages from my small belt pouch. Hoping it would be alright, I headed back to King Genn.

When I got there, I found Crowley standing there talking to him. Crowley nodded when he saw me. Prince Liam was standing near his father. He smiled openly when his eyes met mine. I saw so glad to see that he was alright. I came over to them, listening to Crowley and King Greymane talking about evacuation plans. Liam came to me.

"Are you alright?" he murmured, eying me anxiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I smiled at him. I was more worried about his safety than mine. "And you?"

His eyes caught sight of my wrist. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"Huh?" He grabbed my arm and pulled it up so he could see my bandaged limb better. "Oh no, no I'm fine. Liam, what's going on?" I asked, pulling my arm away from him. I didn't want him to know what had happened in the cellar.

He didn't answer.

There seemed to be more and more worgen around us every moment. There was no way we could evacuate the rest of the city without worgen picking people off at every turn. I watched Crowley talking to the King, who suddenly seemed very tired. Liam, too, looked worn, older than I knew him to be. I thought of the townsfolk, looking to those two for strength. Maybe it was time for someone to be strong for them.

"If we can make it past the gates into Duskhaven, we'll be safe. The eastern mountains are virtually impassable," King Genn was saying.

"We need to keep the worgen's attention in the city, Genn. It's the only shot we have for the survivors to make it to Duskhaven," Crowley said.

"I'll stay behind with the Royal Guard, Father. It is my duty to Gilneas," Liam chimed from beside me. My stomach knotted.
Crowley turned to him, frowning slightly. "Not a chance, boy. Gilneas is going to need its king's undivided attention. Can't have your father wondering whether his child is alive or not." Liam frowned., but said nothing to that. I was glad that Liam wouldn't be staying behind. I had another plan forming.
"My men and I will hole up inside the Light's Dawn Cathedral. I've already given the order and the cannons are on their way. Lead our people well, Genn," Crowley finished.
"We were fools to take up arms against each other, Darius. The worgen would've never stood a chance," King Genn said sadly.

It seemed as though Crowley was smiling a little. "I"ll need someone to help me get the worgen to follow to the cathedral." Crowley said.," Crowley said.

"I'll help," I said. Crowley smiled, as though he had known all along that I would be the one to help him.

"Shain!" Liam gasped.

I just looked up at him and smiled. "We have to help the townspeople get out. Lord Crowley is right, you're needed outside of here. At least I can do this to help."

He gripped my hand. "No, I don't want to lose you," he said lowly, quietly enough that no one else seemed to hear.

I placed my hand over his and squeezed it gently before pulling it off. "Things will be fine." But I knew I was lying.

Liam looked at me for a long time, frowning. Then he sighed deeply, turned his back on me and walked over ot a small group of evacuating townspeople. It hurt to watch him turn his back on me. He was my prince, my friend, the man I loved, and he just walked away during a very tough time for both of us. Did he think I wanted to go off to my probable death?

Idiot.

My temper and annoyance toward Liam pushed me to Crowley again. The older man was watching me curiously. My hurt feelings pushed aside any uneasiness I felt. I was determined now to help if only to prove that Liam couldn't push me around.

"You don't have to do this, Shain. You've done more than enough already," Crowley said. "But if you decide to stay...I'd be a fool to turn you away. My men have fortified their position inside the cathdral and are ready for what comes next. I'm about to head there and take as many of these flea-ridden devils with me as I can. You're welcome to come along for the ride."

"What do you need me to do?" I asked.

Crowley twisted around to pick up a torch and a bundle of smaller sticks. "While I'm getting us to the Cathedral, light and throw these at packs of worgen to get the demons to follow us."

I nodded and took the two items from him. Crowley grabbed the reigns of a nearby horse and swung himself up onto its back. I climbed carefully up behind him. Juggling the torch and tinder, and trying to hold on to the horse and Crowley, I glanced over my shoulder. Liam was watching me, his mouth a thin, set line. I felt like smiling at him, or blowing a kiss, or something but I didn't. I just looked away. Crowley called something back to me, but I did not hear him, and then we took off. We tore through the narrow streets choked with worgen. I prepared the first little torch and threw it. Angry, burned worgen turned to follow us. My wrist burned. I was afraid to even look at it. I tried to focus only on throwing the torches, not my wrist and most certainly not the look in Liam's eyes as I left.

"I'm out of torches!" I called to Crowley, tossing the last one at four male worgen.

"We're almost there," he shouted back. I grabbed onto the back of his shirt as he pushed the horse faster. A worgen snapped at us and just barely missed. I prayed we really were getting close.

I glanced ahead and saw the spires and stained glass of the Cathedral rising before us. There were several cannons at the steps leading to the building. Crowley barreled up the stairs I fought to hold on. He stopped and I slipped to the ground, stumbling when I hit the hard, white marble steps.

"The time has come, Shain. If we're going to put a dent in their numbers, the time is now. We have the position. We have the firepower. All that remains to be seen is whether we have the courage... and I sure don't see a coward standing in front of me," Crowley smiled grimly.

I reached one of the cannons t a sprint and threw myself onto it, grabbing a torch from a nearby man to light it. The roar was deafening, and the cannon rocked back with the force of the blast, nearly taking me from my feet. I heard the squeals and whimpers of wounded worgen above the cannon blasts and my heart wrenched. I tried not to think of how much they sounded like dogs. I liked dogs.

Several men scrambled to reload my cannon and when they were out of my way, I fired it again, only slightly more prepared for the cannon's recoil. More worgen fell, an more scrambled forward to take their place. A few cannon blasts later, I heard the call to fall back and reluctantly left my cannon, turning to Crowley.

"You've done well," he said "You've done more than could be asked of any Gilnean. We're running low on ammunition. It's time to regroup inside now."

I glanced around at the worgen before following him and the rest of his men inside.

"We've got a good chokepoint here," the lord addressed his men when we were all assembled inside. "Feel free to say a prayer if that 's your sort of thing. Take courage and let's kill these mutts."

We didn't have long to wait. Worgen pushed into the chapel and we met them head on. I helped several of the defenders take out a few before squaring off against a female worgen on my own. Female worgen were oddly pretty with their lupine faces and curvy feminine figures. They were not nearly as stooped or vicious looking as the men. They were just as strong though. She swiped at me, and I blocked quickly, rolling my sword around to cut at the worgen's side. She jumped back, giving me more room to maneuver. I slashed her deeply across the chest. She squeaked and jumped back more. I followed her, dogging her. It was her or me, and I didn't really want it to be me. I lunged forward with a shout, my sword burying deep in her belly. She dropped to the floor when I pulled it out. I felt somehow strangely numb.

The chapel was silent, no worgen in sight aside from those that littered the floor as I joined Crowley once more at the front of the room where he stood by the large, stained glass window. He frowned, looking around. "They...They've stopped coming." I began to smile a little, and he frowned more deeply at me. "No, Shain. That's not a good thing."

A dark shadow began to grow on the stained glass widow behind him. I gasped. As if I had shouted a warning, Crowley turned toward the widow as the glass shattered inward. The worgen landed heavily on top of him. A rain of crimson glass shards, like blood, fell around us. People were screaming. Wrgen were snarling. But all I could see was the full moon beyond the shattered window.

All I could hear was a worgen's howl.