A/N:

Hey all! Thanks again for all the reviews. I've decided to rewrite the last couple chapters so there may be a small delay before the next ones are up. Sorry!

Kintaraheart: It's definitely a popular pet name. I had originally planned to go with something else, but this one just seemed to fit a bit better.

ForGG: She's been pretty confused as it is; I think she just had a hard time coming to terms with her own feelings and didn't handle it too well. :)


Twisted Fate
Chapter 15

Nariel and Solarius had stayed the night at his old home where they had spent the evening hours going through the chests and drawers of the furniture there. Each box seemed to hold another artifact from his past. Every item had a story - some humorous, others serious - but it had been oddly refreshing to both of them. In one night, the uneasiness of their encounter in the Ghostlands was forgotten, lost in the relics of years of her friend's history.

When Solarius had finally passed out, draped unceremoniously over a broken couch, Nariel had remained awake for a little while longer thinking over her own story. The inn had been painful to visit, but she had known it was something she needed to do for a long time, and he had been there with her. Solarius had always been there with her. Since the very first time they met, he had saved her life, comforted her, lifted her up when she was sad, and more. Her grateful eyes drifted to his quietly sleeping form. She knew now she had made the right choice in staying.

Visiting Fairbreeze had been one of the last in a long line of steps for her. The memories still hurt, but compared to what she had felt before meeting the pair, she was alive again. She wondered what might happen if she actually saw Sath'rovok. A few months ago perhaps she could have guessed with accuracy - lots of pain - but now, she just felt relieved.

She could think about what had happened, and rationalize it. She could consider everything she had been through and comprehend the pain and the loss and why she had felt that way. She never doubted that it had been unavoidable – Sath'rovok was everything to her, and when he had been torn away it had left a raw gaping hole. The pain had been inescapable, but now it was as if she were at the end of a marathon. She was exhausted and her emotional energy was depleted, but she was relieved that it was over.

She also knew that she still didn't want to see him. For all that she had come to terms with about her own experience, he had still caused it. He had still betrayed her; that she could think about now it without crumbling did not excuse that.

Nariel shook her head.

No matter. She thought, glancing at Solarius with a smile. As long as I have my friends, I'll be ok.

As she curled up on one of the broken beds, she watched the stars through a small gap in the ceiling. Nariel had originally been unsure about returning to Silvermoon. She had considered waiting here until her friends' business was complete and then meeting them outside the city when they were ready to leave, but as a small violet wisp of light trailed carelessly across the sky, she smiled.

Maybe she would go back after all.


"You can't be serious?!" Nariel exclaimed.

"I am, absolutely." Solarius said. "I've only been to Silvermoon once before in my life." He repeated as they stood before the gates.

"How?" She asked, incredulous. "You lived a day and a half away!"

"Yes well, that's about a day and a half farther than I was willing to travel while I was here." Solarius said.

Nariel only shook her head as they nudged their mounts forward.

"Welcome to Silvermoon then." She said as they passed through the gate, the sun just beginning to set. "My home." She added.

Solarius laughed as he took in the sight of a city of elves moving to and fro, lost in the task of trying to finish their daily errands before the evening drew to a close.

"How are we supposed to find Molikor in all this?" He asked.

"I presume he'll be at the inn." She said. "And probably the one with the least elves."

Solarius grinned. "Just like him to ignore our fine culture." He said.

As the pair made their way through the streets, it wasn't long before Nariel's hunch was proven correct. They turned down a side alleyway into a dark corner of Silvermoon known as Murder Row, and there sleeping quietly in the stables was Frostbite. Nariel nudged Solarius and pointed to the tiger before slipping off her mount and stepping inside of the inn.

"About time!" Came a gruff voice.

"Did you miss us that bad?" Nariel asked with a smile.

"How do you elves survive here?!" Molikor replied, ignoring her. "All pretty buildings and fancy magic." He said, throwing up his arms in frustration. "If I don't get real alcohol and someone to argue with soon I'm going to lose my mind!"

"Silvermoon wine is the finest around." Solarius teased, making his way to the bar.

"I mean it!" Molikor called out, turning to yell after him. "I can feel the demon's curse returning!" he threatened.

"Yes, I'm sure you would go absolutely feral." Said Nariel sarcastically as Solarius returned, placing a mug before the Orc who glanced at it momentarily before inhaling it. When he had finished the drink he slammed the mug down, letting out a loud belch before grinning widely.

"Ha!" he cried out as his breath returned. "You're a lifesaver."

"Lesson one: Don't insult the bar if you want to get your drinks." Solarius replied simply, patting him on the shoulder.

Nariel glanced outside, noticing that night had fallen. She turned back to her friends, lost in thought.

"I'm going out." She said finally, to the surprise of her companions.

"Everything ok?" Solarius asked, noticing her expression.

"Yes." She nodded. "Just…something I want to see." She added, slipping away from the bar and out the door. In her excitement she didn't notice the quiet gasp from the person she passed on the way out, or the footsteps that turned hastily to follow shortly behind her.

She made her way through the streets, recalling the map of Silvermoon she had formed in her head years ago. In time she arrived at her destination. Nimbly she hopped from box to box, and before long she found herself back up on the roof of the Bazaar for the first time in ages.

The one part of Silvermoon I did miss she thought to herself with a smile, stepping up to the edge. It was just as she remembered it. The streams were just as alive, the colors just as vibrant and the movements just as chaotic. It was all there, so perfectly similar that for one brief moment she felt like she had stepped back in time to that night. Before all the pain. Before she knew she had lost him. The only thing that would make it more complete was-

"Nari…" Came the quiet voice of the footsteps that had followed her from the bar.

Her breath froze instantly as she gave a surprised gasp. She knew that voice; it was soft, smooth, and inviting. That voice was the one she had grown up with. The one she had known every day until five years ago, and every night as she slept since then. It was a voice she had hoped never to hear again.

Slowly she turned. She had run through this a million times before, never desiring for it to become a reality. She had imagined what she would think, what she would do…how she would remember her vow. But as her eyes landed on him and she stood there, cornered where he had held her in his arms so long ago, the final promise she had made to herself - the only one she still clung hopelessly to - shattered as the man she had vowed never to speak to again heard her painfully submit to fate, her voice just a whisper.

"Sath…" She said.