Note: The last chapter! Thank you so, so much for reading this story. What a riot! This is the longest holiday special I've ever worked on, haha! The MLFMP series is going to combine with The Romancer series to become the Fangirlverse, which means even more Blood Knights vs. Night Elf rogues, with Kael'thas and Illidan too. So stay tuned for the continuation of that story!
Disclaimer: The characters and settings created by Blizzard Entertainment Inc in this story are owned by their creators. I do not claim them as mine in any way, shape or form. I am not receiving monetary profit from this story and no copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 45: Sunrise
Thunderbluff. Middle Rise. Me in my best stuff (this time, it wasn't Sunwalker stuff), and a beautiful Tauren woman on my arm.
Why let the party end there? I took Cokie to be my date for the 'goodbye' ceremony with Baine on the Middle Rise. It wasn't going to be a fun time, but at least I'd have one Tauren there who didn't hate me.
Well, I'm a dog. It also ensured that we'd have one more night together before I absconded off into the land of the Elves. Forever.
I didn't know how to break the news to Chief Baine though. I also wasn't sure if I really could… renounce being a Tauren. I could go through the motions, that's how I planned to get through it, but…
Was there such a thing as going through the motions on this scale? Can you say 'I renounce my chieftan and my tribe' and not have some part of you mean it? When everyone else would hear you say that and, inevitably, take you at your word?
So then, if I was willing to put up with all that…
Did I mean it?
Was I done with being a Tauren?
I wanted their power, to learn their strategies, and someday bring it back to Mulgore. Whether or not all the Tauren ever hated me for walking out on them, I had to go through it all. But then again, the Blood Elves would never fully accept me.
I could turn back. Halfway across the rope bridge to the middle rise, I paused with Cokie on my arm. She pretended it was nothing and played with her hair in a cutesy while I lingered. Though, I could feel her hackles rise, that stardom might not come to her if I chickened out.
But it was true, I could turn back at any time. I could round out the day with a speech insulting Kael'thas, break ties with Saturna in one fell swoop… the Blood Elves would hate that. A part of me would even enjoy it. Be sneaky and twist their arms at the last moment. Indulge being a curmudgeon, at least when it came to them. Let them suffer. Hurt them, because I had been hurt. I was also afraid that I couldn't forgive so much. It felt like going into a lion's den.
But was I that same man anymore?
When I finally did say the words, it was all in a blur. Cokie was standing behind me, somewhere. Not quite in the crowd, but she positioned herself to stand out. And no doubt looking proud and striking and very pleased to be the first Tauren woman in line to have the… what did she call me? The celebrity.
Seemed more like a Goblin kind of word. Someone who was popular because of what they had, not necessarily what they did. Lots of people do great things, but how many people amassed wealth and influence for their efforts? Won admiration?
It was hard to read Baine after I said the words. I felt light, in a way. But I also felt sick. I did not want to give up being a Tauren. But this was a chance to make history. It was a chance to get access to the amazing magic and the rare knowledge that only Blood Elves had, at the highest eschelons of power in their kingdom. Then bring it all back to even the Horde, and elevate it. Save the whole Horde with that technology, that innovation. It would take time, cajoling both sides, Blood Elves and Tauren, bringing them together. But I was the one to do it. The only one, right now, who could. I couldn't hang back when I knew what I did and hope someone else might try it later on. I was Turaho Runestalker, the man, the myth, the legend.
And the Knights of the Blood Nexus were right to keep it a secret, it wasn't for the untrained, for the ones like Alessandre who, bless him… he could only turn around and use it to eliminate threats. That's what assassins did. He'd lived thousands of years but still, he was Alliance. He only saw things the way that someone in the Alliance would.
You may not believe me now. You might take months or years to see what I do, why I did what I did, as a Tauren man. But the Blood Elves were, and are, at the forefront of espionage, finding magical solutions to the world's problems. One day, Suramar might eclipse us—I'm saying 'us' already, goodness! But, the Nightborne aren't out in the world, not yet. Not now, really. The Blood Elves are. And, a bastard or not, they are being led by King Kael'thas Sunstrider, who was, and is, and will always be, as long as his faculties last and because of his bloodline, hailing all the way from Dath'remar… Kael'thas is a genius.
I mean, I can't stand him but he even convinced me. Proves it.
I wanted to be a part of all that. I wanted to use it to empower the Horde. And, maybe I'm just that Horde, I think our way of doing things would benefit the world, I'd love for us to take over. Perhaps in the same way that Alessandre would be glad to take what belonged to Kael'thas and use it for the Alliance. It made us the same. Or it made us not that terribly different. But what was the point of my life if I wasn't free to choose?
A Pathfinder makes his own way, sometimes, out of no way. An old saying. I don't think it belongs to us Tauren.
Anyway, I wanted to blaze a trail with my life. I wanted to be the first Tauren to learn the secrets of the Blood Elves and use that power for good. Maybe, someone like me might one day position the Horde so that it wasn't constantly reacting, fighting to survive, on the defense, but living, at last, as the top dog, the leader of the pack. And more people would be able to see us for what we are, admire us. Howl with us!
I ended, proud. I took my father's beads from around my neck. A small sacrifice, an offering, compared to what I would gain from joining with Saturna and the others.
And then, I went and placed the beads in Baine's hand. He looked at them. It was his turn to speak.
I looked back over my shoulder, I couldn't resist. Kael'thas, I think, didn't believe I was really going to go through with it. It was all there in his face. He was ready to comfort Saturna, reaffirm that I was an idiot and not worth her time.
Baine spoke over everyone, "Turaho. I thank you for this offering. However, it is vital that you hear this truth before you go. And take it with you, even if you feel your back must be turned." Baine fixed me with warm, golden eyes, "Mulgore can never turn her back on you."
My heart raced. I at first thought I had only imagined he'd said something so loving after all I'd put him through.
Baine looked over me then, at the others, Tauren and Blood Elves, gathered there. "A Tauren may say 'I renounce my people, I swear loyalty to Silvermoon,' but those are just words."
It's like someone shook me, then. Grabbed me by my shoulders and shook me. How obvious, how beautiful. He was right.
Baine boomed on in his voice, "Words are words. Deeds are deeds. Turaho, you will always be you and you can't undo being born from us and raised by us. Fed by your people, the very fiber of your muscles is made of the corn we all harvested as a community, the plainstriders we hunted together. The water you drank, that was of the land. And that water flows in you, child of Mu'sha. So you said whatever you needed to say, to satisfy the requirements of your allies. Fine." He chuckled, "I understand that. Well, we all heard it, didn't we? But as I say, words are just words. But you are of Mulgore. You are Mulgore, Turaho Runestalker. And Thunderbluff will always be here for you, no matter what befalls you here, or over there across the Great Sea. Turn your back on us if you must, in order to. But we will always be facing you, watching you. And we will be ever happy to have you home." Baine bowed his head, "So you lived within us, so we live within you."
I cried. There was nothing left for me to do. And Baine embraced me like a brother as I sobbed my heart out, for my people, for the terrifying thing I had just gone through and the terrifying thing I was yet about to do, for them. Baine's arms embraced me until I was myself again, breathing evenly, standing strong on my hooves.
He whispered, "You will be fine."
"No I will not!"
Baine laughed, rubbed my back until I reassured him I was alright. He was a good chieftan. A very good man. His youth made him malleable, perhaps to moldable to the whims of the Alliance, but he was also open to change. He was forward-thinking. It hit me that he was attempting to do a similar thing I was doing, just across factions. That final realization made my eyes bulge, and almost pop out of my head.
Baine said the last of his speech to the eager crowd, already pouring in around me, "The bond with the Blood Elves of the Horde has been re-forged this day. No longer will be mistrust, judge their magic or their ways on-sight. This one will be our ambassador, in spirit, in might, who will help protect the Tauren people in a new way. As a Blood Knight, as a Sunwalker, as a Pathfinder. I don't know any Tauren before who has taken on so many mantles. You are our hero, Turaho!"
Kael'thas… was… pissed.
When everyone else was done congratulating me, he finally made his way over.
Kael'thas went, "…So."
I waited. I couldn't stop myself from smiling. Hey, I found his discomfort hilarious.
He got nasty, "What are you supposed to be again? A Blood Knight? A Shaman? Gunslinger?"
It was too easy. I held my tongue a little longer, let him roast some more.
"And what, exactly, do you really think you'll achieve by swanning around my city, pretending that you care anything about Quel'thalas? I'm no fool, Turaho. I'll be keeping my eye on you."
"True. You and I may not like each other. However, I actually decided to join with you because, in a horrible way that confuses me and makes me a little ill, I'm still noble enough to admit it I guess-I admire you, King Kael'thas. A bit. I like what you do, or really what you could be capable of, if not why you do it. There was a farrier I had once that I punched out in a barfight at the Cat and the Shaman, but I was in his smithy the next day to get my shoes fixed. He was that good. So, it's like that."
Now he looked troubled.
"Well." Kael'thas winced, then shook his head as if a fly had zipped between us, "Congratulations."
"To you as well. You've made an excellent acquisition in me."
"You sound like some Goblin, saying that."
I shrugged, "I do have friends in low places."
"Indeed—" his superior eyebrow raised again.
"…A lot like you do. Illidan, for one. And I think there are more I haven't discovered yet. But oh, I will. I'll never stop being an investigator. You heard Chief Baine."
"But you are now on Saturna's payroll. If not mine."
"Yeah, right." I pointed at him, then crossed my arms to stop from maybe hitting him or something, "Your wife hired me to clean up the place. To clean up you. Go and ask her!"
Kael'thas ground his teeth. He felt his other fist, in that fancy, red and gold embroidered glove.
He growled it, "This is madness. I named us. Blood Elves, Blood Knights. I was the one who sent the Naaru to Silvermoon in the first place. If you think you're going to come live in my kingdom without me riding your ass…" he shook his head, a hard smile there. I noted that he kept his voice even. Anyone watching us might think we were managing a chummy conversation.
"Aren't you the master manipulator?" I crossed my arms, "You know, when your people inevitably find out—"
"They already know. Deal with it."
He wasn't wrong. That had been the whole point of my misadventure—Kael'thas had been pulling the strings all along, it tripped me up in the worst possible way. His highest-ranking Blood Knights, including his queen, were all working in concert with him, well aware of how unfair it was. That was how Kael'thas wanted it. I was about to make him very uncomfortable.
I sighed at him, because I really was tired of our dance. "As it turns out, I have chosen to deal with it. That, and everything else you've done up until now, Kael'thas." Then, I tried to look as resolved as I intended to be. I wondered if talking to Kael'thas Sunstrider would always put me on edge. It wasn't any easier now at the end of my mission. I cleared my throat, "You made Blood Elves for the Horde, as well as for your own people. You made Elves tough. You made the whole Horde tougher." I rolled my eyes at him still hesitating with me, "Come on, now. Not even you can deny that. Kael'thas, I meant it as a compliment."
I uncrossed my arms, tried one last time. "For the Horde, Kael'thas."
He seemed to relax as well, "For the Horde."
"And maybe one day… we'll take over the whole world together."
Kael'thas' eyes lit up, "Do you mean that? You know…" his voice dipped low, "I have several theories on conquest. With the Alliance set up the way it is now, it's really too easy. All we'd need is for Sylvanas to get Nathanos—"
I TOLD you he was a fink!
"I was joking, Kael'thas."
But he wasn't, the evil genius. And I wondered why he was so eager to share it all with me? Wasn't he supposed to be a master of secret plans, manipulation? He was only mortal in the end, I suppose. Probably, Kael'thas' close circle of Blood Knights and other friends were already sick and tired of hearing about Thalassian world domination. And Sylvanas, too, since he'd dropped her name in it as well? Yep, seemed likely.
"All I'm saying is… the Horde has options."
I kept staring at him.
Kael'thas then backed off, looking more shifty than ever. He went alone to the drinks table.
Saturna found me, she said, before we'd 'meet again for the first time' in Silvermoon. She would become my queen then, and I'd be fully under her command, you see.
Mmm, Saturna as my queen… Erm—now's not the time to get distracted.
She looked thrilled, "…So, are you ready? I'm excited for you!"
And I was excited enough for the both of us.
Uh, sorry. Even I will admit that one was horrible. And where was Cokie? Hopefully off somewhere and not noticing how overly-happy I was to be talking to this other woman.
"Saturna, I might have just insulted Kael'thas, though. Am I dead meat again?"
She didn't care, "KBN rite of passage! Don't worry, I'll butter him up for you. It'll be easier with him from here on out, I promise."
"I'm still not sure if even you have the power to do that. I mean, I respect that Kael'thas is a tough guy. An... odd guy. But always a dangerous man. I won't make the same mistakes with him again."
Saturna smiled, looked me over in my tribal gear. "Anyway, he's cute when he's off alone, being a great big dork-chastised and brooding, isn't he?"
"Who? Kael'thas!"
"Don't look so shocked, I am married to him, after all." She turned to watch Kael'thas. Kael'thas saw the wine and the cups on the reception table, but he was looking around for someone to serve him. Tauren don't exactly work like that, though. "He's complicated, and he has a very hot temper, true." Saturna smiled proudly, stepped in closer to whisper, "But he's overcome a lot. He has worked so very hard on himself, like you wouldn't believe. How many people decide to join… the Burning Legion, but then bring themselves back from the brink? That's why he protected Mavia the way he did. I was so angry with him for taking that risk, but I do understand."
She waited for me to finally approve. I couldn't meet her eye.
"Anyway… Hurting, scheming or scandalous, he's wonderful. I like my Kael'thas just the way he is."
"A real achievement. So few people do."
Her brow knit. "You will learn. You will see. Kael'thas has this ruthless, life-saving instinct. It is exactly like the roaring lion who throws himself at the hunter, knowing full well he can't stop a bullet. Regardless, the lion must tempt fate, he must try. Often enough, he succeeds." This, Saturna said as Kael'thas swore and spilled wine on himself. He set the heavy metal jug back down, tried sweeping the stain away with his gloved hands, but then cussed about ruining those as well, "…Turaho, that primal savagery is why hunters have guns in the first place."
I guess… Kael'thas did have his adorable moments. Eventually, an old Tauren granny with faded feathers in her braids tutted and went over to him. She began to weakly dab at his fancy robes with a wrinkly handkerchief. She couldn't have been doing much. In fact, I think the graying matron knew that herself and had taken the opportunity to try and feel up his robe.
Kael'thas thanked her profusely, though he was turning redder by the moment.
Wow. So this was Kael'thas in Thunderbluff. "Saturna, you might want to warn your husband to be invisible, again, during any later visits to Mulgore…"
Saturna grabbed my hand, looking sincere and near tears. I believed her, this time. I think it's clear by now that the real Saturna is a hell-cat when it comes to Kael'thas and would have no qualms with even bowling over a Tauren elder if it meant keeping her man to herself. Saturna's back was fully turned to them at the moment, though.
"Turaho, I'm very relieved you chose not to—" she started again, "I can't thank you enough for routing Alessandre, instead of helping the Alliance. Alessandre was smooth and kind to you, while Kael'thas was… busy being himself."
Nice way to put it. "Well. Alessandre was seducing me too, in a way." Wait! How did—why did I put it like that?!
Saturna winced, "Yes. My sources also tell me it could have gone either way, with the two of you."
"No, what I meant was-It's because Alessandre thinks I'm descended from some Tauren friend of his. Denkan Runestalker or something. Probably going back to the first war with the Legion."
Saturna was very unfazed by that revelation. She was too comfortable with the notion, in fact.
"Did you… somehow know this about me, Saturna? Already?"
"I might have asked someone to plant evidence of that in the Darnassus hall of records. You aren't angry about it, are you? Us cheating? It did keep you alive."
This… this was the sort of stuff I was talking about! Brilliant!
Saturna patted my hand then let it go, "I can't take full credit, though. The faked family connection was Daphne's idea. I only ordered our spies to plant it. Pyorin helped you out a bit, as the head of the palace guard… Sunthraze kept looking after you, and Light knows Tempest did her bit, keeping you sweet on us. She's skilled at sekku, like me."
"…Sekku?"
"Ah… seduction interrogation. Or, any kind of maneuvering someone, using lust. Helped that you, um… well, I didn't have to pretend all the way, with you." She hooked white-gold hair behind her ear.
So the Blood Elves even had a name for it. Damn.
And there she goes again… And looks like I wasn't complaining about it, again.
"Hey, could I learn that stuff?"
"Do you mean you want to learn sekku? Oh, that'll be fun! I'll teach you, I'd be glad to teach you… Or, Tempest. No, Daphne could. Wait, everyone's married now." She blinked several times, "Um, let's keep this quiet for now. I'll let Kael'thas know once we have all the details."
Silvermoon was going to be SO fun. Bwhahaha…
Saturna went on, "And Fennore got you through the Runestalker part, which was a relief. He and Daphne helped heal you, when you were trapped as a ghost wolf? And I like to think that I lent a hand in your coming over to our side as well."
I put in, "So, that just leaves the, uh, succubus. Of course, Mavia was the one—"
"Mavia didn't bite your head off, as she first offered to. It was a great accomplishment for her."
So they all helped. In an um… way.
"Welcome to our crazy little family." Her eyes drifted down to my mostly shirtless regalia again.
"Saturna…" I played like I was a flattered girl out on our first date, fanned myself, "You're embarrassing me."
"No, it's not that. Not really, anyway." She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Do you think I could get a version of what you have on, but more… male-Elf sized, before we leave Thunderbluff today?"
I guffawed. Saturna shushed me.
"Oh, please don't laugh, I've never seen Kael'thas in turquoise before. Or leather, for that matter. And the real reason is…" She sighed, "He doesn't want the public finding out, but he's been feeling so low. This was his worst Winter's Veil since…" that other time one of his friends stole Greatfather Winter, while at Tempest Keep? How ironic. Saturna wasn't going to put it that way, however, "It's about time I set aside being a scheming Blood Knight for a while and picked back up with being a loving wife. He misses it." She squeezed my hands again, "Pleaaaaase?"
I teased back, still in girl-mode, "But he was so sure he'd look terrible in bright blue!"
Her voice went sultry, "You mean he's into it? But he never said. Gosh—"
One day, I could swear Saturna would actually out and say 'good-goody gumdrops.' I can't believe becoming a Blood Knight made her so vicious that I never would have thought it a month ago.
"…I guess my Sunshine was so busy rivaling with you, he never wanted to admit it."
Uh…what did you just call Kael'thas? Kael'thas Sunstrider? I finally noticed it.
"Hrmm… How nice to know. Thanks, Turaho. Now, where do I go and spend the Silvermoon treasury on my cute, evil love-bunny?"
Dear people of Silvermoon… I'm so sorry.
"Saturna, you'll have to go down one level to Woven-And-What-Not."
Saturna giggled in her precious way, and then we were seriously at a sleepover party. Taking orders from her was going to be very, very entertaining. And maybe a little odd, too. But that would be better than mighty Aponi Brightmane pretending that we never slept together. Where was Aponi, anyway? She should be here. Probably, I offended her on two levels.
Saturna looked pleasantly thoughtful, "Woven-And-What-Not. The so-called baskets vendor? But I don't get it."
"It's what's inside the baskets, you know. We may be Tauren but we do have decency laws. So go have a look at that 'woven' clothing, if you can call it that. And the, um… 'what-nots'."
It didn't take much more encouragement for Saturna to go off and rejoin her husband. The Tauren granny hopped away like a new fawn when she saw Saturna coming. I'm sure some dangerous looks got exchanged.
Kael'thas flinched when Saturna suddenly appeared and tugged hard on him. True enough, those two must have been in the middle of some other marital argument. But then, Saturna hopped up on her toes and kissed his cheek. Quite sweetly. Kael'thas gave in, kissed her back. His was confident, suave. Well, I think Saturna was the one who, over the years, enabled Kael'thas to look more cool, less monster. I imagined that, before her, no other woman besides his succubus ever gave him the time of day.
In fact, I knew it! I'd have to give Bonnie a thank you gift for those amazing spy marbles.
Kael'thas then offered his elbow to Saturna and the two of them strolled elegantly together around the middle rise.
Or, they were going off to buy some kinky, his-and-hers, beaded leather Tauren gear together on the middle rise. Here, I waggle my eyebrows.
Miss Cokie Whitefeathers found me again once I was free and decided to be pretty hanging off my elbow.
I grinned so hard at the wonderful attention, my cheeks hurt, "Having fun, beautiful? I was thinking, maybe later, we could—"
She didn't speak to me, she just sort of… shimmied her answer. Then Cokie did her little beauty queen thing, blew kisses and waved to the crowd. Fine, she'd earned it. I'd earned it, too.
Also, it was good to finally cut the crap and be appreciated for what I was, at my true core.
A hunk.
Well, that was that. I was finally one of the Knights of the Blood Nexus gang. Which meant I was bound to have lots of strange, wild, salacious adventures being a Paladin with a bunch of Blood Elves. Sorry—a Tauren Blood Knight. And, of course, I'd even enjoy being mean and snooty sometimes. Nice change from rude and crochety. All easier to do in my new black and red, triple-X sized plate armor that the ladies would fall over for. I was honestly looking forward to it.
I could keep my leggy Tauren gal, my gun, my totems, and even my ghost dog.
Actually, read that last line again.
…I really couldn't be more Horde, these days.
Horde, and happy.
-The End-
