Ganked V 2.0
Chapter 13 The Face of Love
The next day, Neiana woke in the busy inn to three women standing by the inn's entrance. Their dark silhouettes casting shadows on the smooth golden walls. She recognized them immediately as Geldie the dwarf, Daela, the elf, and Lorenna, the dirty tramp. Well, that was the assignation Neiana had given her at any rate.
"He said he'd be here," Lorenna said.
"Well, I did see Gearshift near World's End. Maybe you should go talk to him," Daela replied.
"Tsk, I don't know what it is with guys I date having pet gnomes," Lorenna said with a sniff.
"Well, ya better watch..."
"I know! I know!" Lorenna interrupted. "You sound like a broken record."
That is when Geldie turned to Neiana, and noticed she was staring.
"Ah! Ya finally woke up lass! 'Tis nine 'o clock ya know. Ya must-a been spoiled 'ere wit'out a care in tha world," Geldie remarked.
The other two girls turned to her as well.
"Are the rest of them here, yet?" Daela asked.
She looked very pretty in her expertly Moonglade Raiment armor, without the helm. Neiana could see that the uniform had been washed recently. Clearly, there was someone she was hoping to impress.
"No, they'll be here tomorrow," she replied. "And what are you doing here, Lorenna? Have you no shame?" Neiana demanded, glaring at the woman with contempt.
"I can go wherever I please," she replied defiantly.
Geldie noted with concern that Neiana was poorly geared, especially since she'd been there for six months. All of the girls were well geared, most of it from wandering around, delving into deep dungeons. Comparatively, Neiana was absolutely ragged. Neiana deflected the conversation by stating that she'd been spending too much time with the Draenei to have noticed. And where were they? Geldie wanted to know. She frowned disapprovingly when she'd learned from Neiana that they'd gone to Azeroth.
"They 'ave different minds, they do! They 'ave got all tha time in tha world. Makes them thoughtless..."
It was then that two guys entered the Inn, a Rouge and a Warlock. They were the two that Neiana had encountered the day before at World's End, Faelden and Gearshift. She suddenly wanted to escape, since she'd been a little ashamed of her behavior from the day before. Unfortunately, they were headed straight to her party.
"Babe!" Lorenna cried, flying to the elf.
He gave her a tight squeeze and a peck on the lips. As Lorenna raised her arms to hug the tall elf around the neck, Neiana observed that her belly was slightly swollen. Perhaps she'd eaten too much in Netherstorm. From what she remembered at her stay at Winterspring, Goblin food was pretty good.
"Sprockets and Springs! Hey, Faelden, it's the girl from yesterday," Gearshift exclaimed, pointing to her.
The three girls looked at her curious.
"You've met?" Lorenna asked.
"Yesterday, at World's End. She told us quite a tale, didn't she Gearshift," Faelden said.
"It was riveting. Love and betrayal, trust and treachery, the story had it all! We even got challenged to a duel in the end by the very elf she was talking about!" the gnome interjected.
"It was quite exciting. So, Neiana, did you find that elf yesterday after you left?" Faelden teased.
"Well, I...no... I left and came straight here. So where is Julius?" she asked, trying to steer the conversation into safe waters.
"Oh, he's gone back to Allerian Stronghold. That elf was some sort of lieutenant in the Third War and he got all shell shocked over it and left," Gearshift replied dismissively.
"Apparently they knew each other back then, although more in passing," Faelden explained.
To her relief, no one asked for further explanation. Geldie guessed that it had been Sol, but kept her thoughts to herself. That whole day was spent catching up , watching Gearshift dance on tabletops, playing tricks on the Arakkoa who lived in the city, having shooting contests, drinking copious amounts of beer, and even fishing at the very spot where Guntag and Huron had spent the day before. The day went by fast, and Neiana was happy for the company.
They stayed up much later than she was used to. At the end of the night Faelden offered them the rest of Bloodthistle he had left from his time at Allerian Stronghold. Geldie and Daela abstained, giving Neiana the strength to do so. Since she knew that it would increase her magical ability, she was secretly curious to try. She wondered how that extra magic would feel coursing through her veins. It must have been an incredible feeling, even those not magically attuned were aware of the effects.
As Lorenna, Faelden and Gearshift lay on the grass, watching the stars and lost to the world, Neiana was finally able to talk to the other two without interruption.
"Thanks for the note, Geldie. It saved my life," she said.
"Dun mention it! But I suppose it's only right fer me ta say..." Geldie began, but then changed her mind. She didn't want to complicate matters. It was clear to her that this girl was a little lovelorn.
"Mention what, Geldie?" she asked, once she noticed that Geldie's speech had trailed off.
"Oh, nothin', jest ya gotta be careful is all," she said.
The next morning, all six young party goers were suffering from severe headaches and three of them had Bloodthistle withdraw. As they lay sprawled on the floor, they didn't notice Skinflint, Denevell, Cyrus and Wigget enter the Inn. The recent arrivals scanned the surroundings, looking at their passed-out companions, and two extras, with a bit of amusement.
"Oh, look Wigget, you can have a friend at last," Cyrus teased, pointing to the pink haired Gnome who was laying on the floor, a bubble coming out from his nose while he slept.
"Gearshift!? As if! That guy is no good. I remember him from Allerian Stronghold. A lady like me has standards, after all," Wigget retorted.
Skinflint gazed fondly at his adopted daughter. "I got just that thin' fer 'angovers! If that's somethin' we dwarfs know a lot 'bout, besides stone n' steel!"
Cyrus smiled and walked over to Neiana. Lorenna was not even in sight, even though she was obviously lying next to the very elf who had disrupted their lives only four months ago. He bent down beside her and shook her shoulder gently.
"Neiana, wake up," he whispered.
"Hmnn…" she murmured as she turned her head.
"Wake up you silly girl," he pressed.
She opened her eyes and stretched.
"Cyrus? You got here? What time is it?" she asked, her eyes squinting in the light.
"Ten o'clock. Must have been some party last night, huh," he said with grin.
After everyone had woken up, and greetings and introductions were passed, Skinflint served them all some Soothing Turtle Bisque, which he swore would cure any hangover. As they ate, Skinflint and Denevell noted that she was also shabbily equipped, compared to the rest of them. But they didn't concern themselves too much. There were only so many places one could find or buy real good armor. Most of it had to be made, and she hadn't been staying with any good tailors at Telaar.
But there was much to discuss. They had news that would be pertinent to everyone. Cyrus and Wigget waited for one of the senior members to break the news.
"Well, now that we all are rested and fed, we have some news that may be of interest to everyone here," Denevell began.
"Oh? What's that?" Daela asked, as she slurped on her soup.
"We participated in the raid which took down Illidan Stormrage," Denevell said with a hint of pride.
Daela's face beamed with pride. Neiana was shocked. She could have kicked herself for not going with them when she had the chance. She spied Wigget's Shadow Council set with jealousy. It was quite pretty, even if a little disconcerting with that face plastered on the chest.
"But didn't you go to Zangamarsh?" she asked, trying to mask her blah.
"One of Skinflint's associates asked us to join him on his quest," Wigget explained. "Something about a hunter...I don't know. I wasn't listening. I just got these neat robes"
"They look great on you! You should die them pink! Perhaps if you were to give them to me," Gearshift said, reaching for her.
She slapped him on the hand. "Keep your greedy sprockets away from me!"
"At any rate, now this is the real news," Skinflint said, trying to distract everyone from the rowdy gnomes. "I 'eard from tha folk at World's End that Northrend is open fer business! On account o' Arthas o' course."
"You sound absolutely devastated," Lorenna remarked.
"Eye, 'tis bad. 'e calls 'imself King n' will brin' back tha Scourge," Skinflint said, trying to sound solemn. But they could all see he was excited at the prospect of exploring and making a fortune. "So we 'ave na choice but ta go! Tomorrow, or as soon as we can, we will go back ta Stormwind n' plan our expedition!"
They all cheered, except for Neiana. Geldie noticed that she was not cheering.
"What's wron' lass? Is thare somethin' tha matter?" Geldie asked.
"Oh, I'm excited about going, it's just that...I have plans for tomorrow. So I can't go tomorrow. But maybe I'll be able to join you later."
"What could possibly take precedent over adventure?" Wigget asked, curiously. She really wanted to know.
"I have a duel scheduled for tomorrow night," Neiana explained.
"A duel," Cyrus asked flatly. "A duel! With the way you're dressed. You couldn't duel a Quill Boar!"
"You are just like him, you know," she yelled without thinking.
Cyrus' eyes narrowed. "Like who?"
"Like the elf we met yesterday! Sol!" Gearshift declared, happy to add to the conversation.
"So you did meet him after he left. You lied, how human," Faelden observed. "You shouldn't have challenged him to such a thing. You will most certainly die."
At that moment, the friendly discussion was over. A silence passed over their parties, and Neiana she felt waves of anger, disappointment, and regret emanating to her from her team. Geldie, once again aware of the social cues, motioned to her team to leave, as she did in Winterspring. They all got the hint but Gearshift, who was intensely curious about what was going to happen, until Geldie glared at him. Then he meekly obeyed. Wigget left as well. Although she'd become part of the group, she realized this was more of a family matter, so she left it at that.
Once it was just Neiana, Cyrus, Skinflint, and Denevell the real fireworks began. Cyrus was incensed that she'd agreed to such a thing in the first place. She countered that she was getting back at him for his behavior at Winterspring. But he told her, flatly, that being concerned about something that happened so long ago was creepy and obsessive. Everyone gets ganked, at least once, she was one of the lucky ones that made it, and that was that. Denevell agreed with Cyrus, and Skinflint was sure that she would be the death of him. And he was too old for this sort of thing. And where were the Draenei that were supposed to be helping her? Azeroth? She's been there for a month? Why didn't she just go to Zangamarsh once they decided to leave for Azeroth?
That question was not suddenly answered, as Neiana sat at the table, trying desperately not to feel like an awkward, naughty little girl.
"Geldie wrote me and told me there was a bounty on our heads, so we had no choice but to come here for sanctuary. Once they got here, they decided to go to Azeroth, and I was left here alone," she finally answered.
The reaction to her admission was not what she expected. Instead of yelling and other explosive behavior, they sat very still and quiet, no one making a sound or moving for several minutes. It wasn't until Cyrus broke the silence that someone spoke.
"And why was there a bounty on your head?" Cyrus asked.
"Because I was hunting Blood Elves with the Draenei and humiliating the corpses by taking their clothes. It was a joke! They were all resurrected! So it's not like anyone got..."
She was going to continue, and say that no one really got hurt, but the faces of the men around her became very grave.
"Nina," Skinflint began, using her childhood name. She knew she was in trouble. "Ya know jest 'ow prideful 'lves can be, especially tha Blood 'lves!"
"You should have just hung a sign that read, 'Please kill me, I want to die,' around your neck, because that's pretty much what you did," Cyrus said.
"At any rate, even if that is true, I need help. I made an agreement," she began, pleading her case.
Everyone knew what she was going to ask. She was going to ask for money to buy gear, but they wouldn't give an inch.
"No! Ya made yer bed! Now ya gotta lay in it!" Skinflint roared.
"But I'm not equipped," she pleaded, desperate.
"Ya shoulda thought o' it before ya went gallivantin' with blue 'lves n' makin' a mockery o' tha Alliance wi' yer silly games!"
She looked at Cyrus. He shook his head. Finally, she glanced at Denevell, pleading for help. He merely got up, turned, and began to walk away.
"You lied to me, Neiana, I'm disappointed," he scolded.
Skinflint followed Denevell with a huff, leaving Cyrus there, still seated beside her.
"Well, I hope you're happy. I hope that you get to spend a lot of quality time with this Sol guy tomorrow," he said. "Where is this taking place, at any rate?"
After she gave him the location and the time, he nodded. "It's a good place. Hardly anyone goes there anymore since all the Lost Ones have been killed off. Good luck trying to find a healer when the night's at its deepest, though."
He patted her on the shoulder and got up and left, leaving her all alone to contemplate her fate. Her head slumped on the table and she sighed.
"I really am going to die tomorrow," she groaned.
With no one to talk to and nothing to do, she left the inn and wandered around Aldor's Rise. She spent most of the day by the crystal clear waters, listening to the birds and watching the clouds go by. As the evening fell, she spied Denevell and Daela walking along the pool, hand in hand. She hid, not wanting to interrupt them.
As it turned out, after they left the meeting, Geldie's team had one of their own. Geldie decided to take her team Stormwind, and from there, take a boat to Northrend. Since her group now comprised of Faelden and Gearshift, she had enough people to travel most of the dangerous areas without having to worry about death. She hoped Lorenna wouldn't tire of him as quickly as she did with Cyrus. Daela was brokenhearted, and begged to stay longer. Geldie relented, and so they delayed their departure for the next morning, instead of that very day as she had originally intended.
Daela wasted no time and spent most of the day with Denevell, walking in the forests and exploring the deep lakes that lay far away, and above the high rises of Terokkar. As evening approached, they returned to Shattrath and spent the last remaining hours together strolling about the beautiful Aldor Rise. Neiana watched as the woman bent down and grazed the surface of the water with her fingers, creating small ripples that interlaced as they traveled away.
"Do you accept my love at last?" Daela asked, still gazing into the still pool.
"I accepted your love in Winterspring," he replied.
"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, do you accept my heart," she pressed. "Do you accept my feelings? What I desire?"
"And what is that, Daela?" he asked.
"My desire is to be with you, and you with me, and none other," she replied evenly.
"I don't know if I can love as I did once, but I promise you that one day we will dance beside the cool waters of Mystral Lake, and bathe in silver light by the moonwells of Ashenvale."
Daela lifted her head and stood, her pale, luminescent eyes earnestly seeking his. Neiana noticed that her teal colored hair was longer now, falling below her shoulders and resting right above her breast. He caressed a strand of her hair, starting from the top of her head to the bottom of the strand, barely skimming her neck and chest as he did. She breathed deeply, affected by that slight touch. He then bent down to kiss her.
Neiana discretely walked away, feeling very cold and empty. She was not a dwarf. She was not like Geldie, who thought of nothing but hunting and steel. No, she was a human, with a human heart. And that which she saw, she desperately wanted to have: a man who would love her and none other.
After Geldie's team was seen off the next morning, Neiana made her way to the Inn and began to plan a way to survive the night. She began to consider different possibilities. An ambush was good, if he didn't see her coming, she could sheep him and then run away, call it a day. Or she could use Frost Nova, freeze him in place, and then blast him with Arcane Missiles, and Fire Blast... no Fire Blast would counter the freeze. She couldn't do that.
She was busy thinking planning an attack, that she became startled when someone poked her on the shoulder.
"Ah!" she yelled and looked up. Then noticed it was Cyrus and frowned. "Oh, it's only you."
"'Only' me, huh? Well, forget it then," he said and began to walk away. He was holding a small package in his right hand.
"Why should I want to have anything to do with you after how mean you were yesterday?" she said haughtily as she went back to work.
Cyrus froze in mind-stride. His face became red with indignation. The man had had about enough. He swiftly pivoted around, facing her, grabbed her left shoulder, and flipped her around, forcing her to face him.
"Mean? We were mean? Well, excuse me, but I don't recall anyone here ever warning you about going off on your own because of danger, have we, oh wait, we did," he began.
"But…" she tried to interrupt but he wouldn't let her.
"And you never listen! Remember when you were a kid? Skinflint warned you about wandering off on your own because of the Defias? What did you do? Did you listen to him? NO! You wandered off on your own. And what happened then?"
"Well, that was different..."
"And then at Hillsbrad, you completely ignored our warnings about going off on your own in the most notorious ganking spot in the Continent. But did you listen? Oh No! Not Queen Neiana. She's too good for advice. She knows better. Well, I had to save your ungrateful mage's little ass then, and you promised, you promised, not do it again."
Neiana bit her lip. Cyrus continued, now that he could. He needed to get that weight off his chest.
"But did you keep your promise? No! You ran off, again, not even a year later just because it was that fool elf again! And once again, it was up to us to save you! And now this? You're spoiled, is what."
"I am not spoiled! I barely had anything as a child!" she retorted.
"This has nothing to do with stuff. There are different kinds of spoiled, and Skinflint and I, we've been too easy on you. You just know that no matter what you do, how stupid you get, you will always have us to fall back on. Well, what will happen if we aren't there? Then what will you do? Who will be there for you to blue eyes or flash you lovely smile at and come flying to your rescue then!?"
Neiana caught the compliment, but was too indignant to think it was anything but mockery.
"You hate me and you think I'm weak," she said, unable to think of a better retort.
"No, if we thought you weren't any good, we would have just sent you packing to Elwynn Forest. But it's not about weakness, it's about reality. If Skinflint or Denevell, as strong as they are, were to do what you've done, and run off on their own, they'd have been just as stupid!"
By now, Cyrus was yelling, and some of the other people at the Inn could hear the argument. A few of them began to stare. It was upsetting to be called out like that, and her eyes began to water. But she would not cry!
"And you know what, you don't even know how easy you've had it. How is it that you think we found you in time in Winterspring? It's because of that fool elf. I watched him point to Darkwhisper Gorge as he rode by. It got me curious. He didn't even kill you, you know that? Everyone's been saving you! Even the Horde!"
Immediately upon saying that, Cyrus knew he'd made a mistake. Now she would stop listening to him and think only of him.
"Oh by the Light! This whole time I've hated him..." she murmured, stunned.
"Your careless, selfish behavior has put everyone at risk! Including, and especially, you. This is real life, not a fantasy tale where some village girl can just run off on her own for adventure without considering the risks or responsibilities."
"Why would he do that?" she murmured, no longer paying attention.
Cyrus breathed deeply, realizing that he'd lost his audience. It was just as well, it was not as though she ever really looked his way.
"Neiana, listen to me," he whispered coldly. "We've decided that if you survive the night, this will be your last chance. You will not get another. If you ever get into another scrape like this again, we will kick you from the team."
That got her attention. As her blue eyes met his green eyes, so luminescent, they seemed to glow, her heart became arrested. She'd never seen such distance from them before, and it stung her. It was then that she realized that she wanted nothing more than to feel warmth from them once again.
"I won't do this again. I promise."
"I've heard that before," he said, his tone still dripping with disapproval. He took the bag he was holding and flung it to the floor. "Now have this."
She opened the package as she watched him walk away, and gasped at what she saw. Inside, where beautiful, violet, interlaced robes sewn together with silver thread. They were almost an exact replica of Tempest Regalia. Although not as strong as the original robes, they were still an improvement. He had it commissioned months ago, he must have. There was no way those robes would have been made in one day. It must have cost him a good deal of gold to pay for the work and supplies.
At that moment, the full weight of her thoughtlessness and selfishness became glaringly apparent. Here she was, always thinking of herself, rushing headlong into danger, compromising herself and her group, just to follow her whims. And for what? For a charismatic elf? Because of some silly rejection? What did she expect to win from such a paltry fight? What kind of sell sword was she? She would have kicked herself out of the group after Winterspring.
And then came a wave of embarrassment. Staying in Nagrand to fight him. She was a liar and a fool. The reality was that she only wanted to see him again. She wanted him to see her, and be with her, and only her. It was a selfish, impossible dream.
She sighed and she folded the robes neatly upon the bed. If she could, she would have canceled the duel. But she had some honor. A duel among warriors was not to be trifled with. If she did not go, she would be going back on her word. And if she didn't have that, then as an Alliance fighter and mercenary, she had nothing.
Once again, she grimly set herself to die. But this time, it was to salvage whatever she had of her honor, not to sate some thrill seeking impulse.
AN: The next chapter will be the confrontation! Thanks for the reviews!