Ethan gingerly carried Sapphire over to Invincible. The horse let him put her on the saddle, but trotted away from the boy to his master, who was still brushing snow off of him. Arthas patted the horse's head. Lethumo just complained.
"Great job, Dog boy. Where the hell are we?"
"Alterac," He muttered, walking off. He looked around the area. Pine trees around them meant forest, so there wouldn't be any ruins probably around. He had only been here for the first few years of his life, and once when he was ten. He looked up at the sun, and directed himself. There were high up in the mountains too. Summer would have melted the snow lower down, near the more settled areas.
Ethan wondered if any of his relatives would be willing to house three deathknights and a...whatever Sapphire was. He was frightened by the power Sapphire had shown back there in Naxxramas. That voice had terrified him.
Lethumo looked around, trying to find out where they were. Arthas scowled though.
"I've been here before..."
Ethan rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you have. You are royalty, surely you would have visited-"
"Strahnbrad is that way," Arthas pointed north. Lethumo and Ethan both blinked in surprise. The man frowned.
"We should leave. It is not good to remain exposed. And Sapphire is in no condition to spent a night in the cold."
Ethan scoffed, "I'm sure she would not feel it, but it certainly wouldn't be good for her. Let's head south. If Strahnbrad is that way, then my family's province will be southeast. We need to be careful though. Ogres and worse things are abound."
Arthas and Lethumo followed him. Invincible sprinted ahead, and Rot struggled in the snow. After he lagged behind forty feet, Ethan went back and retrieved him. He put Rot into one of Invincible's saddlebags, and the puppy poked his head out, tongue exposed. He woofed.
"What province did your family have?" Arthas questioned curiously.
Ethan said nothing. Lethumo smiled.
"That must mean one of the good ones. Funny, I am no expert on nobility, but Calwood isn't really one of the higherup ones, is it?"
"Calwood is not..." The boy said matter-of-factually. Arthas came to walk alongside the boy.
"I don't remember Calwood. That your father's side?"
"Yep."
"What was your mother's family?" Arthas probed.
"Arthas...You made me kill my family. You should know!" Ethan growled.
The man grabbed the boy by the arm. "I did not. Anything I did...before...is unable to qualify now! I don't know half of the horrors I committed! But I am truly sorry. If I could go back and fix it, I would!"
Ethan yanked away from him, and continued walking. The rest of the way was silent except for feet and hooves crunching the snow.
They came upon a clean, dry road. It was very much neglected, cracked and non existent in some places, but swept of snow. In the dirt, there were footsteps and hoof tracks. Ethan bent down and examined them.
Not fresh, perhaps a couple of days old. The boy knew fully well that Alterac was not completely abandoned, but still he was surprised of the traffic on the road. The remaints of his family were still fighting to win back Alterac city, but it was a half-hearted attempt last time he was there, when he was only ten.
He saw Arthas in the corner of his eye. The man looked alive. His skin was tanned, and looked weird in his deathknight armor. His hair was still white, but it disturbed the boy.
Ethan looked at his own skin, pulling off his gloves. Pale peach. What the hell was happening? What had Sapphire done to him? She had said to tell her if he heard a heartbeat.
Doubtful, he checked his pulse. Nothing.
No, She could not possibly bring them back to life. Arthas did not even have a heart anymore. Sapphire must just be able to make them look alive. If Arthas were evil still, he might find that useful, tricking the living by placing deathknights that looked alive in cities.
Lethumo was complaining again.
"Man, Can I ever get a break? Where's your rich family's estate? I want a hot bath."
"Shut the hell up, elf! And you most certainly are not getting a warm bath if my mother's family house is still intact."
"Oh! So it is your mother who was the noblewoman. Hey, she have any sisters still alive...Or maybe undead?" Lethumo asked hopefully.
Ethan looked to Arthas. "You hold him, and I will knock him unconscious. Leave him to the yetis."
The elf stopped walking. "Yetis! Whoa, you said nothing about yetis."
"Oh, yeah. Loads of them here. They love the taste of night elf."
Arthas had a small smile on his face.
The elf did not find it amusing, and shut up. Which everyone liked.
Ethan looked to Sapphire. She looked so fragile, limp in Invincible's saddle. Not at all the vicious monster he had seen a bit of. He went over to check on her.
"Sapphire..."
He nudged her, but no response. Her breath came out shallow, and the boy checked her pulse like he had just done to himself. It was beating hard. The boy sighed, and then looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to go down, starting to go to streaks of orange and red in the sky.
They kept walking, Ethan getting a little nervous. Night was more dangerous that day.
The sky grew dark, and they were still walking. Stars glittered up above. They came to an end to the forest, and were in a wide valley. Ethan could see in the darkness that snow had melted where there was no tree cover.
"Are those lights?" Arthas asked. The boy looked to where he pointed.
There were small pinpricks of light flickering in the distance. In Ethan's mental map, it must be the small village that his family had a summer house at. Odd. The boy had not expected people to actually live there. The manor was a little farther off, and the boy could see lights there too. Great.
Lethumo scowled. "Is that your house? You told me the house in Stormwind only could fit your family. That monstrosity could fit that entire village inside of it. Why would you want to live in Stormwind."
Ethan scowled, and his voice was cold. "Because. Exactly what you said. An entire village of people could live in this house. Why the hell should I be so selfish and greedy?"
Arthas frowned. "Who is your family anyway?"
"Nobody."
Before Arthas could demand a real answer, there was a moan. Ethan looked to Sapphire, who was stirring. Arthas pushed past the boy and went over to his daughter. Ethan just looked on.
"Sapphire. Are you all right?" Her father asked worriedly. The girl sat up, and put one hand to her head.
"I...I think so. Are you afraid at me?" She asked, a childish whimper in her voice.
"What? No, of course not!" Arthas helped her off Invincible, and she hugged the man tightly. Lethumo went over to Ethan.
"Your hands are clenched up really tight. Are you mad, Calwood?"
"Fuck. You."
"Ooh, sensitive," Lethumo said, clearly enjoying himself.
"If Ni'kua was here, you would be dead."
"Well, he is not. So, now that we know there are people down there...I'm having a nice warm bath."
Sapphire went away from Arthas, and sprinted to Ethan. She pounced on him, and he fell backward.
"I'm so sorry! I'm not mad at you. Please don't be mad at me!"
Ethan blinked. He had already guessed what she was, but how could he be that upset? "I could never. Your Maje-"
Sapphire slapped him. It actually hurt. "Don't call me that! Don't ever call me that!"
"But that's what you are, aren't you. The Lich-"
"No!"
He was clearly making her upset, and he stopped. "Okay...okay, Sapphire. Calm down. We're about to head to a safe place. My aunt's house. You want to meet my aunt?"
Sapphire blinked at the change of subject. "Oh...I guess so. What's your aunt like?"
They were coming up to the entrance of the village. Ethan saw dark objects swinging from rope on a large tree just outside the town.
Ethan scrutinized the hung corpses. "You'll probably like her."