Disclaimer: I don't own World of Warcraft, or anything Blizzard, only my original creations.
Hello everyone!
Boy, it's been a long time since an update. I'm deeply sorry for the extreme delay, but I'm gonna be transparent. About to be talking about mental health here in a sec, just as a courtesy foreword.
I've had major depression since I was a teen, and now at the age of almost 27 I'm only finally starting to recover. I've been dealing with that in addition to burnout, anxiety, and general life, but I'm trying and am resolved to complete ALL of my writings.
I'm still tired and worn and have a lot of work to do to get better. But, I'm not going to let that keep my down or stop me from achieving some goals.
Thank you to everyone for your amazing support and for being such a great readership. There's no way I would have gotten this far – or be inspired to keep going - without all your enthusiasm and dedication, and I thank you with all of my heart! I still want to do a double update sometime in the next couple of months so keep an eye out for that.
Our thank you's for this update go to FrozenWolves, Slushy8668, Nantono, Immortal Bubblewrap, lalige, SliceOfPye, Nogitsune96, Larizu, Grimrawr, BlackMoonWhiteSky, CaveiraTimida, Cristobal Alvarez, Metamorphoiseis, Persona Jay, Taerianogos, sayurisakura2, and all the guests for their special support!
And lastly, be sure to have some questions ready for our author Q&A that'll accompany Chapter 20's update! You can either send them to me in a DM or include them in a review. Either works! One note: since FF doesn't allow Q&As anymore on its platform, however, all answers will be posted on our Archive page and our socials pages instead so we don't violate any TOS.
Enough shop talk, though.
Let's get to it!
(P.S. - Also, I WANTED to update on Saturday, but FF was apparently down. Go figure, lol.)
Part 16: Words Not Spoken
Soh'shagon loped down the dimly lit halls of Grommash Hold in his usual aloof manner. To the average onlooker, it would appear that he had not a care in the world. But they could not see the gears that were turning in his head as he made his way around corners and past closed doors.
The mischievous glint in his eye sparkled as he patted the already opened letter in his pocket, and the troll's grin broadened as he continued his musings.
He had a theory.
Technically, he had two theories, but the first was what occupied him the most.
He had always liked puzzles, ever since he was a small thing. He was the youngest of four; something of a completely unexpected - yet welcome, nonetheless – surprise. His parents had kept him entertained with all sorts of riddles and rhymes and stories disguised as lessons and legends, until he finally grew enough to keep up with his older siblings.
But his fondness for puzzles stuck. He enjoyed figuring things out, finding the meaning behind words and tales, and pinpointing the true catalyst that had set something off.
It came as no shock to anyone who knew him when he joined the ranks of Horde rogues, and then later one of his Chieftain's personal informants after the Siege of Orgrimmar ushered in a change of guard. Soh'shagon was eager to be of use to his people, to do his part for a world that never seemed to stop being threatened by one force or another. And if that meant dealing in the secrets of enemies, and even allies, than by all means he was game.
After all, what were people's secrets other than pieces of puzzles just waiting to be solved?
Which led back to his theory that he continued to ponder, even after leaving the floating city in the sky and returning to the red earth of Durotar with a message in tow.
His newest charge had secrets… and a lot of them.
And they were interesting ones, too.
But, that would have to wait for now.
Soh rounded the corner that was just outside of the Warchief's quarters and came to a full stop. The first thing he noticed was the sound of muffled arguing on the other side of a tall set of doors with two rather uncomfortable looking guards posted on either side. The second thing was the other person, not a guard, standing nearby who was clearly trying to listen in on said argument. He recognized them immediately, and felt the smile that had just been on his face return instantly.
"How you doin', Ru'ma?"
The woman's attention was drawn away from her intensive eavesdropping to look around for who had called out her name. Her once curious expression contorted into a frown, and she rolled her eyes as he approached.
"Well, if it ain't Soh da Sneak."
"I prefer da nickname 'Slinky Soh' but I don't mind bein' called a sneak if it be you sayin' da words. But it seems like you be the sneak today," his childhood friend did not appreciate his overly jovial demeanor and pinched his shoulder teasingly once he was in reach.
"I could hear dem from two halls over, 'course I wanna know what's goin' on. Not like dey be makin' any effort to keep it down," as if on cue, the voices from behind the doors suddenly raised to a volume that made even Soh flinch involuntarily.
"How long dey been going on like dis?" He questioned, not entirely sure he wanted the answer as he heard some particularly foul language slugged out in Zandali from what sounded like Rokhan. The second voice, in what could only be Vol'jin's deep timbre, returned the favor and bit out a rather nasty curse.
Ru'ma exhaled sharply through her nose and crossed her arms, "Almost 20 minutes." She then glanced huffily between the two guards who stared unblinkingly ahead, "I be wantin' ta press my ear to the door so I can make out what dey be sayin', but dese two won't let me."
"Dat so?" Soh'shagon grinned cheekily before turning to address the guards, one orc and one troll, with feigned seriousness, "Murg, Olu. Ya heard da lady; let 'er snoop correctly."
"Now ya know I can't just do dat, Soh," the troll, Olu, responded without humor.
"Not that it matters," Murg added in gruffly when the arguing escalated in loudness again, "bet the kitchens can hear 'em by now."
"Dey be talkin' about her, ya know."
Soh'shagon did not have to ask for clarification on who Ru'ma meant by "her", given that he could guess on his own and by the way that Olu grunted and Murg's frown deepened. However, he was curious as to why exactly she cared so much about Vol'jin and Rokhan's most recent topic of debate. She wasn't usually this nosy, at least not outright.
Olu grunted again, "What makes ya so sure about that?"
"Well, what else be anyone talkin' about nowadays?" The pretty troll flipped her hair over her shoulder, "An' seein' as how me an' da others are gonna have ta be puttin' up with dat woman the most, might as well know what I be gettin' into."
Her rogue friend didn't say anything, but he mentally filed the information away for himself as the voices on the other side of the door turned from shouting to more of a normal, yet still very tense, volume. Soh knew from the gossip that circulated amongst Hold's workers that there were already a handful of candidates that had been fielded who would possibly become personal attendants to their Warchief's surprise bride. Reactions had been mixed: some were excited at the prospect of gaining an important position above that of most of their peers, others were huffy that they would have to serve a half breed.
But most had been desperate for more information, and it seemed that his friend fell into the latter group.
The spy felt his senses begin to itch as a set of feet began to approach the door…from the other side. In one smooth motion, he tugged Ru'ma by the arm to stand by him right before the doors burst open, startling both his friend and the two guards that jerked back to attention.
Rokhan stalked out of the Warchief's quarters, frustration and anger billowing around him like a cyclone. The shadow hunter radiated both emotions in a way that Soh could almost feel snake across his skin, and he could see Ru'ma bristle and take an involuntary step back out of the corner of this eye. Rokhan glanced at them briefly, a glower set deep into his face, before blustering out a sigh that sounded a lot more like a snarl and striding down the hall and out of sight.
"You can come in now, Soh'shagon." The Warchief's voice cut through the angry haze that his fellow shadow hunter had left in his wake like a sharpened blade, "You too, Ru'ma."
The two trolls glanced at each other, one in shock at being summoned and the other trying to decipher why his friend had been called in at all, before hastily making their way inside. A tense Murg and Olu glanced at them briefly as they passed, but both silently agreed not to dwell on it as they shut the doors and resumed their posts.
While Soh was honored to serve his faction and people, and while he had a decent amount of experience as a rogue and informant, the troll still hadn't quite gotten used to being in the Warchief's presence. Perhaps it was because the man had been looking up to Vol'jin ever since he was much younger, or because of the shadow hunter's rather famous deeds for both the Horde and his tribe, but he always felt a certain sort of awe whenever around his Chief.
Except for right now, where all he felt was wariness upon seeing the Warchief's aggravated visage. The blue skinned troll stood behind his desk, both hands braced palms down atop the flat wood, and glaring daggers at the missive covered surface. He did not look up as Ru'ma and Soh'shagon approached, but his ears twitched at the sound of approaching footsteps and his posture relaxed, if only slightly.
Ru'ma was the first to step forward, picking up her pace slightly as to stop a few feet in front of the desk a few second before her friend and angling her head low in a respectful bow.
"How can I be o' help, Warchief?" Vol'jin considered the young woman for a moment before straightening his posture ever so slightly.
"I'm sure ya both be aware," he began with a roll of his shoulders, as if to try and shake off the tension that still lingered from his 'discussion' with Rokhan, "dat we be workin' on a ceasefire with the Alliance."
Soh felt his friend glance at him nervously; he had known Ru'ma long enough to tell that while she liked to talk and swap stories more than most, it made her uncomfortable to directly address said gossip. Especially when the subjects of said talk were involved.
"I…Yes." The attendant shifted her weight from foot to foot with uncertainty under Vol'jin's gaze, "But no mo' than what everyone else knows."
"So den ya also have da knowledge dat we be lookin' for someone ta fill a certain role 'ere at Grommash Hold?" the Warchief pressed without skipping a beat. He noticed that the woman seemed nervous and let out a breath as he lowered himself into his seat, hoping that this would put her somewhat at ease now that he was no longer staring down at her, "Ya higher ups told me dat you have da skill, and dat ya been eager for somethin' new."
Ru'ma tilted her head to the side, some of her earlier nervousness giving way to curiosity, "Dat be true. But…ain't she gonna have her own people? An' why ask me?"
"Hm. It be one thing ta let her into Orgrimmar, but another if we let in those from da Alliance who might be wantin' ta write things back to wherever dey came from. Things dat might not be theirs ta share." Vol'jin leaned back into his chair as he picked up a rolled up parchment that lay on the table with a half-grin, "An' I technically haven't asked if ya want the job yet."
"I be a hard worker," the woman began while standing up straighter, and Soh wondered if perhaps she wanted the role more than she had been letting on, "I get along wit my peers an' have served otha highborn ladies from our tribe before. An' I'll do my best ta represent da Darkspear, an' da Horde!"
"I 'ave no doubt. But I also be trustin' ya ta make sure dat if she accepts an' comes here, ya will help her find her footin'…an' report ta me if ya get da sense anythin' be wrong." Vol'jin extended the parchment out to Ru'ma with a tilt of his head, "We can be workin' out details later, an' we're gonna be needin' ta find ya someone ta work with, but how do dese terms sound?"
"I get ta be first attendant, tho, right?" Ru'ma asked without missing a beat, and she elbowed Soh in the stomach when he snorted in amusement. Vol'jin also seemed to be amused by the question, though his reaction was more muted than that of his informant's.
"Dat's right," no sooner had the words left the Warchief's mouth than the woman eagerly accepted the scroll. She unfurled it right then and there, already scanning over its contents that provided more specifics of her new job.
"Ohhhh, I hope it ain't Ondi dat I be getting paired wit…" A few seconds passed before she remembered where she was, and Ru'ma rolled the paper back up while bowing with an embarrassed flush on the tips of her ears. "Thank ya, Warchief. I accept dis offer an' will fulfill my duty da best I can."
Seemingly satisfied with her response and the way the conversation had gone, Vol'jin nodded and then gestured towards the doors that led back out of the room. Taking the hint that they were done for now, the woman nodded once at the Warchief and flashed Soh'shagon a beaming smile before walking away purposefully to no doubt return downstairs to tell her peers the news.
"Why her?" Soh questioned without preamble once Ru'ma was out the door and no longer within earshot. He knew it wasn't necessarily his place to question who the Warchief did or did not appoint, especially for those roles in his own household. But Ru'ma was his friend, and if there was something he needed to know about what she might be getting herself into without realizing it he wanted the information. The shadow hunter glanced up momentarily before returning his attention to the missive he'd just opened.
"She's got da skill and da knowledge. 'An I be needin' someone I can trust." Vol'jin made the mental note that while he had chosen one of his own Darkspear, and would prefer to choose another too, he would very likely need to pick someone from a different Horde faction to be second attendant. After all, he was Warchief to all his people, not just the trolls, and the other leaders would take offense if at least one of their own were not represented.
"I thought dat ya already got me an' Morren watchin' da girl," was Soh's only response, though Vol'jin got the sense that there was something else he was trying to say with those words. He glanced up again to find that the young rogue looked a touch uneasy.
"Don' worry none, Soh, she ain't gonna be doin' anythin' dangerous." The shadow hunter said in an attempt to reassure the other man, "At most, she'll just be reportin' any gossip she may hear an' travelin' from time ta time. I'll not be puttin' her in a situation she wouldn't be prepared for."
"Ahh, I be knowin' dat," he sighed out while running his hands through his short cut hair, "but after I learned what da Lady did ta Rokhan, I be more concerned with her and Ru'ma havin'…er, clashin' personalities."
Vol'jin hummed thoughtfully, his expression darkening slightly as he recalled his earlier heated discussion with the other shadow hunter, "Rokhan had some strong words about dat."
"Way I see it, he had it comin'." Soh'shagon partially regretted his words when the Warchief began to eye him critically. Thankfully though, he didn't seem to be curious enough, or was maybe too wrung out over the whole thing after his encounter with Rokhan, to press the topic further.
"Ku'nanji said dat ya be havin' something for me."
The other troll's ears perked up, and he swiftly reached into his pocket to retrieve the item he had come to deliver. Soh stepped forward to place Nadia's letter on top of the other papers and scrolls that covered the Warchief's desk. Vol'jin paused for a moment, tapping one of his claws on the armrest of this chair contemplatively as he stared at the letter before picking it up and examining it in his hands.
It stood out from the other documents. The shadow hunter didn't know what to expect, but he certainly wasn't a bright pink envelope with an even more crisply colored teal ribbon pasted on the front corner. The seal – now broken and silver in color – bore no insignia or emblem to indicate who had sent it, even though he already knew. And…what was that?
The Warchief blinked before slowly bringing the envelope under his nose and inhaling sharply.
Was that…sugar?
"Yes, da letter smells like candy." Soh tried to supply more information at seeing his Chief's confused expression, not that doing so would make it make sense, "No, I dunno why it be smellin' like candy."
"Hmm. Ya already read it."
"It be part o' da job." And it was, as protocol demanded that the Warchief's correspondence be checked for foul play before reaching his hands. Plus, in this case he had been told to look it over beforehand anyway. The shadow hunter fell silent again, and Soh eyed the man curiously as he tried to decipher his neutral expression, "Chief?"
Vol'jin said nothing as he turned the letter over in his hands a few times, as though moving it around might change its appearance or the contents within.
This is what he told himself he had been waiting for. This is what he thought he needed to help him make up his mind about what he wanted.
So why did he feel so…
"Tell me 'bout her, Soh'shagon."
The rogue was clearly surprised by the question and wasn't entirely sure how to answer. Soh knew for a fact that Vol'jin had read the report that had been sent regarding the mage; he'd read it too, as had Ku'nanji, Rokhan, and a majority of other Horde leaders, "Watcha wanna know?"
"Anythin', really," Vol'jin tossed the envelope back onto his desk and began drumming his claws onto his armrest again.
"Well," Soh ran his hand through his hair again, taking a moment to consider his next words, as if he hadn't been vigilantly studying the woman himself over the past few days, "she be…interestin'."
"Ya wanna elaborate on dat?" The Warchief waited for the rogue to say more, and Soh breathed out slowly as he searched for the most accurate thing to say.
"I still be lookin' into some things, an' haven't spent too much time around her yet, but what I know so far is dat, unlike you, she got a bit o' a short fuse. Though, I also be thinkin' dat she be puttin' up with a lot. She also be smart; must be, ta be an apprentice to an Archmage. Good humored, seems nice, yet…jumpy."
"Jumpy?" Vol'jin raised a heavy brow, both wondering if that is what Soh meant to say as well as indicating for him to say more, but the rogue just shrugged. While the younger troll was skilled, he was still young and didn't quite have the skill of speaking his observations into existence that was so necessary in more experienced informants.
"Eh, she be tryin' ta ask me some questions, but she almost seemed…nervous. Probably didn't help cause I was teasing her." Soh saw his Chief look at him somewhat critically and tried to backtrack, "Was tryin' ta find out more on the low at first, but den it was too easy. Plus, she got a cute blush, couldn't help myself."
"Cute," Vol'jin repeated with narrowing eyes. Soh'shagon glanced away and fixed his gaze firmly on the wall to his left as the Warchief growled slightly, "Don' be gettin' attached now. She ain't ya friend, she's ya charge. One dat ya be spyin' and digging for secrets on. We need ta approach dis armistice, an' her, carefully if we wanna do what's best for da Horde."
"Yes, Warchief." Soh peeled his gaze from the wall to meet Vol'jin's eye and pressed a fist to his chest in a firm salute. The shadow hunter continued to hold his stare for a moment longer before giving an affirming nod and returning his attention to the missives that were in front of him.
"Go find Ku'nanji an' give him a full report o' what ya found in Dalaran so far," the Warchief opened up a scroll that must have gotten lost in the day's shuffle without so much as looking back up, "after dat, return there and keep up ya digging. If ya find anything else, tell da Night Stalker. An' stay as close as ya can to her without givin' yaself away. You said dat she be in da Violet Citadel now; might mean she ain't gonna be in the mage city for much longer. We gonna need a plan for when dat happens sooner or later."
"An' what if she got more letters when I get back?" The troll's impish grin returned to his face, "I don't mind playin' messenger, is kinda fun, but somethin' tells me ya don't want me distracted from my task."
"For now, send em' ta Ku'nanji. I doubt she's gonna make it a regular thing, but I'll think about what ta do if she does."
"Ya gonna write back?" Soh regretted the question almost instantly as Vol'jin scowled and glanced up from the paper in his hands.
"No," he said, his tone leaving no room for further inquiries or discussion. The Warchief then sighed and closed his eyes, his scowl lightened up slightly, "Ya done good, Soh. I'm sure it ain't easy, havin' such a strange assignment, an' I appreciate all ya hard work."
"Eh, I've had stranger. If dat be all, I should be findin' mah other boss, let him know what I know." At Vol'jin's curt nod, Soh'shagon saluted once more as his signature grin spread across his visage once more, "Happy reading."
The Warchief had to resist the urge to groan at the double meaning behind those words as Soh exited the room. He glanced down at the letter on the table; it's color such a stark difference from all the others, before placing the scroll he was trying to review back down. A beat of silence passed before Vol'jin yanked open a drawer on the side of his desk, snatched up the offending envelope, shoved it unceremoniously into the compartment, and then snapped it closed.
With a final sigh, the shadow hunter returned to more pressing matters at hand, picking up the missive he'd been trying to read three times now and settling back into his chair. He had work to do; anything else could wait.
Though, he swore he could smell faint wisps of something sweet in the air as he forced himself to think of anything other than that damn letter.
…
By the time Vol'jin had finished catching up on the missives from those throughout the Horde's territories and allies and news from Draenor, it was nearly nightfall. The shadow hunter huffed and slid a bit lower into his seat, rubbing at his tired eyes and trying not to think about how sore his neck was.
"I gotta start delegatin' or somethin'," he muttered to himself while moving a hand to massage one of his shoulders. Paperwork, while it kept things moving along and from falling apart completely at the seams, was never an enjoyable experience. But at least now it was done.
The Warchief stood and made to round his desk when he paused.
Ya been puttin' it off all day, mon.
The voice in the back of his head was equal parts teasing and censuring, and Vol'jin wasn't entirely sure it was his own. But whomever it belonged to, they were right.
He was putting this off. And the pettier part of him screamed that he could keep putting it off as long he felt like it.
Up until now, the whole concept of this proposal had felt distant. Probably because he had deliberately been putting distance between it and himself, trying to make it seem like this was just business or politics or whatever he wanted to call it except for what it was. Which felt like everything.
And now, here was a letter that made it all feel so much more real. So real and physical and heavy that the bulk of it felt like a crushing grip on his lungs.
With a reluctant huff, as if to try and free his chest from the invisible constriction that he felt, Vol'jin reopened the desk drawer to take out the envelope before stalking over to the small table that housed some bottles of wine and other drink near a circle of chairs and sofas on the other side of the room.
"I ain't gonna do this sober," the shadow hunter grumbled as he fixed himself a glass of…something and then quickly downed half of it. Content with the burning sensation that tingled his throat, the Warchief let himself more or less collapse onto one of the sofas as he set the glass down on the floor and proceeded to open the envelope.
The letter itself, unlike the covering that it came in, was written on two pieces of normal parchment and, thankfully, had no sickly sweet scent. Vol'jin noted as he quickly scanned over the words that they had been scribed out in Common in a neat, clean hand, making the sentences seem effortless and almost delicate. His mind traveled back momentarily to the sketch of the writer, but he waved the thought away as quickly as it came. The troll settled as best he could into a comfortable position before reluctantly beginning to read.
To Warchief Vol'jin,
At first, I thought that this seemed like a strange idea. Writing a letter to you that is, before having ever met or spoken to you. But, then I realized that out of all the strange things that have happened over the past few weeks, this is probably the last thing I should be worried about.
None of this seems real, even though everything and everyone around me is telling me that it is. Are you feeling the same way?
I'm not really sure what to say, or write, I suppose, or really where to begin with this. So I guess I'll just start with the simplest gesture of them all.
Hi.
Vol'jin couldn't stop the short laugh that bubbled up from his chest, momentarily disappearing the tightness that had just been there. Catching himself, he cleared his throat and reached down to take another sip from his glass before continuing.
Don't think that I need to tell you my name, something tells me that would be a little redundant at this point.
I can't even begin to write to you how I'm feeling right now, even if you were interested. All I know is that I'm feeling a lot of things lately. A little bit confused, a little bit upset, about a lot of different things…but mostly I'm nervous…and scared. And I can't possibly imagine what's going on through your head. Maybe a little confused, too? Maybe disappointed. You're the Warchief of the Horde after all; you could have picked anyone to marry. I'm sorry.
You see, I don't know much about you at all. I don't know what you look like, or what you enjoy doing, or what kind of thoughts pass through your mind as you go through the day. And even though I know you have a nice little guidebook on all there is about me, I don't think that you really know me.
We're complete strangers to each other. Two strangers who have been asked to do the impossible to try something that has been attempted by others before us for years.
It makes no sense, none at all, and yet I can'thelp but find myself here…about to do something that frightens me to no end.
I am not weathered or wise, I don't have any experience as a leader or in a position of influence, and whatever higher power might be watching me has hopefully decided that I will have many years ahead of me, meaning that I still have a lot to learn and do.
But I have seen much. I've seen war and what it does to the people who have fought in them and the land that it is fought on. I've seen pain and suffering, both needless and the kind that you look back on and realize that you are stronger for it, not that it hurts any less. I've seen hate in so many forms. The kind that makes you sad or angry or both, and the kind that makes you wonder what's the point in keeping on moving. That makes you just want to stop.
And then I've seen things that remind you what it's all for, what keeps you going and fighting and getting back up again. Like friends that might as well be siblings and family that teaches you the true meaning of sticking together and about love. And all the wondrous things that are out there in Azeroth.
Vol'jin paused here for a moment, wondering what exactly she meant by that second to last line at the mention of family, seeing as from what he had gathered she didn't have much in the way of family to speak of. And then there was the realization after that, in which he felt like he understood what she meant by finding a family.
This was not what he was expecting to read, and he couldn't quite tell how he felt about that. Rather than dwelling too long on this, the troll swallowed the last of his drink and braced himself for whatever remained in the letter.
Which is why I have come to a decision.
But there are a few things I still need to say before I put that decision in writing. I doubt you'll agree to all of them, but at least I'll be able to say that I mentioned it.
First off, I don't appreciate being spied on. I mean, I get why you would do it, but that doesn't make it okay. If you want to know something about me, just bloody ask!
Second, I'm not going to stop being an apprentice. Being a mage is a part of who I am and there's no way I'm giving it up just because I'm getting married and having a little change of address. I'll figure out a way to make it work. So…please.
And lastly (but probably not because I'm sure I'll think of something later, after all this is my first letter) I want an apology from Rokhan.
I couldn't begin to guess why you sent him, or the others for that matter, all the way to Dalaran just to be rude. Maybe they really did just want to see me for themselves or have a chance to ask me things face to face, but it definitely didn't go that way. The last time I saw Rokhan was during the Northrend campaign, and I remember that he could be a bit of rough around the edges but, his disdain for me a few days ago was shocking...and hurtful. I don't think he recognized me, but I wonder if that would have made any difference.
Vol'jin jerked upright and read that paragraph again. And then he read it again, and then a fourth time just to confirm that he had not imagined it or that perhaps the woman had written the wrong words by mistake.
But no, there it was. Clear as crystal and just as sharp when shattered. Which is exactly what he felt had happened to the small semblance of peace that he'd found in those few minutes of reading: shattered.
The Warchief let the letter fall into his lap as he ran his hands over his face and sighed out a tired yet still agitated curse.
That explained a lot when Rokhan skulked into his office after Vol'jin had summoned him shortly after making his return trip from Dalaran. The older shadow hunter had been inexplicably irritated and, for some reason, even more against the mage than before. And even though he knew about what had passed between the woman and Rokhan, there was something else. Something in Rokhan's temperament and refusal to give any details that had started their arguing which wasn't adding up; something that was more than just a one-time encounter between two people.
And that's because it wasn't a one-time encounter. Rokhan had, at one point in his past, already met her.
With a rueful shake of his head, Vol'jin forced his attention back on the letter, telling himself that he and Rokhan needed to have a conversation – a real conversation – but not before he was done here.
So yes, I want an apology. Because even though everyone's on high alert and nerves are frayed, I know that I don't deserve to be treated like that.
But I won't ramble on. I'm sure I've already taken up too much of your time. So let me get to what I'm sure a lot of people, you included, have been waiting to hear.
Even though I'm frightened, and even though I don't know how I could possibly be the right person to do this, I want to try. Because I've seen too much pain, and I want to try and make a world with maybe just a little less of it for the people I care about if I can. That's all I've ever wanted. And now I have the chance to do that.
So, Warchief Vol'jin, I will marry you.
Ah.
And there it was.
The Warchief let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. It seems he had gotten an answer to the question that had been troubling him for days, if not weeks.
Vol'jin wasn't sure if he felt relieved. He certainly wasn't happy or upset. He just…was.
The shadow hunter began to put the letter back in its envelope, seeing as he had gotten the information he needed out of it, but he noticed there was a little bit left at the end of the second page and let his eyes trail over the remaining words.
I never thought that I would ever find someone to marry in my existence. But life has an odd way of presenting you with unexpected outcomes from options you didn't know you had and choices you didn't know you would need to make.
We probably won't be romantic, and I would count it a blessing if we were to, somehow, become something like friends. But what I think we need to be first, what Azeroth needs us to be, is allies.
Even though I am not and will likely never be the spouse you had in mind, I will do my best to be your ally.
And now I'm not entirely sure how to end this letter, so…
Until next time, Warchief.
Yours,
Nadia
P.S. – I'm sorry about the envelope. I don't have any except what I had leftover from some notes for friends for Noblegarden, so…yeah. Hopefully I'll be able to get something new soon, but maybe you like pink…and the smell of sweets…probably not though, so, sorry again.
The shadow hunter snorted at that last part. Ironically, out of everything that had occurred earlier that day and then now, this at least was the least shocking out of it all.
Finally at the letters end, Vol'jin pressed it back into its cover and stood.
Even though his experience with them was somewhat limited, he would never understand the need that human's had to say everything that was on their mind. This was the primary thought on his mind as the troll slowly moved back over to his desk and tossed the pink envelope onto the surface. It was an unimportant and small thing to focus on, but it was what he wanted to focus on.
Not the swarm of complicated and contradictory emotions that were causing a very inconvenient racket inside of him.
He still couldn't believe that she had written to him. Unprompted and without a reason, she had just gone and done it. And then to say what she did? It had been much too long; she could have just written accepting the proposal and been done with it. Kept it to the point, no added frills or a glimpse into her psyche.
Vol'jin was sure that is wasn't her intent to reveal as much as she had to him, which was worrying in a way. She had mentioned she was inexperienced in the ways of policy, and that much was clear. The mage would need guidance and to be taught, but honestly, that wasn't what worried him the most.
It was that the letter had been so…sincere. So honest. So trusting in him with her words.
It made him feel…feel…
With one last huff, the Warchief made to leave his rooms in search of two things.
The first, someone to send out urgent missives to the other members of the Horde Council with the news that the mage had accepted and they would need to make proceedings for an armistice with the Alliance.
The second…some damn coffee. It was time that he stepped in and took some semblance of control over all of this.
And it was going to be a long night if the shadow hunter wanted a solid outline of terms for this treaty and his marital agreement by morning.
And, that's a wrap on Part 16!
Thank you all for reading, and for those of you who have waited a long time for this, thank you for returning! I hope that you all enjoyed it.
Definitely am still shaking off some author cobwebs, so I feel a little nervous posting, but nothing to it but to do it!
I'll be back towards the end of the month with another update, this time from Nadia's perspective as we see what she's about to find herself up to.
In the meantime, I hope you'll check out my new AU story "How Much the Heart Can Hold" as well! I just started it earlier this year featuring everyone's favorite characters and some new ones as well set in a separate world than this one.
Additionally, I hope that you'll take a second to visit my twitter, / WarcraftNadia for some special artwork I've had made for this chapter! They are SignoreRatto on Twitter if you want to find them, and there's an image on my AO3 page for this chapter!
Going to wrap up for now, but thank you all so much!