Chapter 15 - The Rider, The Mage, and The Throne Room

The woman that waved in greeting to them, dressed in the white robe and purple shoulder gear, was not nearly as imposing as Aeris had imagined her to be. In fact, she looked quite passive. Her face was gentle and inspired you to be calm and rational. She spoke in Common, however, so Aeris and Roul were a tad bit lost when it came to what was occurring around them.

Assistants flew about the room in a flurry, mixing potions changing chapters in books and casting spells. The power of mana was reverberating throughout the room, even without Jaina being present. Each one was a small gnome or human, dressed plainly, with short hair and a bored expression. Aeris marveled at their speed, apparent dedication, and how they could get so bored doing all these things.

Roul, on the other hand, was quite entranced by the Alliance Mage leader who stood before them, calmly conversing with Kate and Madison and the Riders. Her form was quite good, a tight waist and big breasts that threaten to find their own freedom in the world. Aeris giggled at him, shaking her head. She didn’t really care if he stared at Jaina, not only did he have zero chance of getting with her; Aeris knew where his heart lay.

Cacophonic noises ringing around them, Roul and Aeris inserted themselves into the cluster of people, looking back and forth at the speakers, but not comprehending much of anything. Kate, Aeris’s Rider, and Jaina all were talking to one another, most everyone else was just watching. Calm though their words were, Aeris could discern the obvious tension.

She leaned over toe Madison and whispered, “What’s going on?” Her voice was inquisitive, as she eyed the group.

“Well, Jaina wants to take you straight to King Wrynn, and Kate wants you to stay here and improve relations with the members of the Alliance over here. The Rider is trying to mediate, unsuccessfully.” Aeris nodded, Madison’s voice carried a hint of worry for her lover, but that went undetected. Aeris interjected her head between all three of the people speaking. They halted and looked at her, eye brows arched.

Jaina said something, Kate shrugged at her and the Rider didn’t shift. All three had their gazes locked onto her. She flushed for a moment, stuttering, before finding her courage again. “Don’t I get a say in this? Because quite frankly, it seems the best idea to get me to the King, and let him decide from there?” She kept her voice neutral.

Jaina and the Rider stared at her blankly, while Kate peered at her. “Well, I suppose it is in a way, your right to decide. I’ll tell Jaina what you think, and I can pretty much guarantee she’ll agree with you…” Kate rolled her eyes. With a soft swirl, the small Blood Elf turned back to Jaina and translated Aeris’s request in slightly broken common.

The Mage grinned in delight, nodding at Aeris. Her attention turned to Kate, and a quick stream of words came out of her. Kate turned back to Aeris. “She thinks it’s a wonderful idea, and glad that you decided to take charge. She would like to stick with her for awhile; she’ll attempt to teach you some Common, with my help. And Roul can stay if he wishes.” Aeris grinned herself, turned to look at Roul with a questioning gaze.

He shook his head, “I’m fine Aeris. This may be fun for you, but I’m feeling everything catch up, and I’m not holding it together well.” Roul sighed at her and began to retreat downstairs, with slow steady steps. They echoed for a time in the silence that followed, till he finally reached the base. Aeris wanted to go after him.

Kate held her back, “Don’t. Give him some time, he’s worn by all the events and doesn’t need communication right now. He needs to sort through what he’s going to do.” Aeris looked at the woman with worrisome eyes, and after searching her eyes for a moment, Aeris nodded.

With a huff and a redirected attention toward Jaina, “Alright, let’s learn some new languages…” She murmured, a slight smirk on her face, and a confident gleam in her eye.
~
As night began to dusk upon them, Aeris held her head, “Too. Much. Learning!” She cried out in overdramatic fashion, twirling around and collapsing to the floor. The most interesting fact, however, was that she had said it in Common, not Thalassian. Jaina and Kate laughed at her little skit.

Arcane runes that were hovering in the air began to fade, a soft purple glow diminishing into a few sparks that rained down onto the wooden floor in a soft pitter. Kate smiled, using their combined knowledge she and Jaina had infused Aeris with enough information of the Human language to give her the capability to speak it fluently. She didn’t know complex words, but she would get by.

Rising from her crashed position, Aeris donned a smile and thanked Jaina and Kate, with words and a quick hug. “How are we getting to Stormwind?” She ventured, arching an eyebrow at the great Mage and the lesser Mage. Kate grinned, and Jaina's face was split by a toothy smile.

“By teleport, how else can you travel as a Mage?” Jaina winked at her. With a swirl and a flutter, a burst of feathers exploded before Aeris. Dozens of tiny letters darted out of the room, zigzagging their way through into the night. A little dazed by the event, Aeris stared blankly at the spot where they had started. “Messages to retrieve everyone, so we can do a mass-teleport into Stormwind.” Jaina informed the two.
~
Blue pulsating waves of magic surged around those gathered. Power washed over them in a wave of pure energy. Around them the scenery changed little by little, till in a flash of that magic, they found themselves relocated to expansive woods. Aeris glanced around at the birds chirping in their trees and the tall oaks and pines rising up from the ground. She knew this place, it was Elwynn.

“I thought I’d give you the scenic trip.” Jaina remarked, an easy smile on her face, as she gestured for everyone to come with her. Taking their time, they wound their way through the forest trail, and toward the massive stone buildings of Stormwind. Aeris walked awkwardly, chaffing her wrists against her bindings. The nobles of the city had demanded that she come chained, to ensure that no one would be in any danger from her. She had grudgingly accepted the circumstances, it was the only way she was going any further in this.

She was taken through the city at a slow rate. She admired the architecture of the Humans, though she found it less beautiful than the Blood Elf designs, and a good past time she quickly found was staring at the Humans and seeing which ones would back down. She giggled after she made three of them shift their eyes in discomfort.

Splat! A tomato hit her in the back of the head. She slid forward, and stared out with an irate expression. Slowly turning around, she found one of the random peasants of the city had just chucked a rotten fruit at her. She huffed at him and as dignified as she could muster, caught back up with her troupe.

The city wasn’t too big, Aeris decided, as they walked along the canals. She could see the various bridges connecting the different districts of Stormwind together. The spire of the great cathedral loomed overhead, a constant reminder of the presence of the Light. Aeris scoffed at the idea. She was not a religious person, she believed far more in the power of the druids and shamans, of the earth and elements.

Ahead lay the great Stormwind Keep, housing the great King Wrynn and his prince son, Anduin Wrynn. Guards were in excess here, if not everywhere. Two resided at the front gate, nodding at Jaina as she passed, but leaving a glare for Aeris. She threw a pouty face their way. Their looks turned to one of confusion for a moment. Then, Aeris was inside. Two guards were posted every twenty feet, and two more patrolled up and down the hallways. Aeris was quite surprised by the vast array of defensive soldiers; Stormwind wasn’t in any immediate danger, was it?

She shrugged the question off as the throne room drew near. Faintly, she could see the top of the ridiculous throne, its golden lion roaring out from its mosaic tile form. The stonework inside the hallway was very bland, compared to the throne room. It was pale gray with a single set of blue lines every so often, and two rows blue diamond and blue squares running up and down the hallway.

The pathway into the circular room was long, and seemed to drag on forever to Aeris. It had a slight uphill tilt to it, making it appear even longer than it should. But they finally crested it into the level cylinder that was the King’s Room. And there he stood, fully armored with lion and eagle on his shoulders, his son by his side, and twin blades floating in his hands. Aeris was astounded by his armaments more than by his armor. She had been more of a weapon fanatic than most of the other girls (or people her age) and had developed a hobby of finding interesting looking gear. She had a nice stash at her home. But nothing looked quite like this, it was a hilt, followed by a semi-circle curve that held a ball of red magic, and then leveled out into a straight edge blade, but hovering above it was the back side, a jagged decapitating serration carved into the back. And he had two. Aeris was quite impressed by the Warrior he appeared to be.

His gaze, one of terrible, unbridled fury exuded a sense of preadatorial power. It locked onto Aeris, and she could feel his eyes drilling into her, examining her for uses. She felt naked, but she was wearing the woolen clothes she had been lent to appear decent. He nodded at her, and turned to regard Jaina, who had approached him. His voice was deep and smooth, a commanding voice. “I take it that this is the girl whom you spoke to me of? The Hybrid we painstakingly saved?” Aeris heard the remark, it was meant for her; to make her feel obligated to aid their cause.

The look on Jaina’s face told her that she hadn’t missed it either. She didn’t comment on it. “Yes, that’s Aeris and that is her lover Roul.” Jaina indicated the two respectively. The King nodded, and pointed at Roul. The guards that ringed the room turned and faced him. Two broke ranks and grabbed either one of his arms.

“This is what we call incentive. He’ll be fine, living in absolute luxury, but you’ll be obeying our orders. Nothing against you, just a safeguard, so to speak. You can see him whenever you want.” Varian was blunt, waving the guards to haul him off to a guest wing of the Keep. Aeris looked around in anger for something to hit, and found herself still chained. She wriggled in the bindings for a moment, and threw the King a dirty look.

“Good. There’s plenty of fight in her. I gave you every reassurance I could to his good health; you can see him later, even. The Rider will be with you all the time, an escort, guide, translator, body guard, and informer.” This time it was the Rider who looked shocked, but he didn’t reply, but Aeris caught a glimmer of a flinch when he learned his orders. Aeris felt some slight smug that even he had some disappointment in this, but it quickly faded. She thought he deserved better, the man was quite proficient in what he did, and he needed front line orders, not guard duty. Aeris examined him again from her spot, he was well muscled, as she could see through his more relaxed day-clothes.

“Now then, let’s get her out of those bindings.” He nodded at her, and two more guards broke formation, and struck off her bonds. She shook at her hands and feet, and smirked; her eyes assessing her conditions. “I would like to see her capabilities. Throw her the scythe and bring out the prisoner.” Aeris looked a bit confused as the scythe was launched at her from somewhere to her far left.

As it breezed past, she snatched it up. With a flip it was in a ready position to dismember someone. She didn’t quite understand what was going on till something thick and meaty hit her in the stomach. She flinched inward, but otherwise didn’t react too much. She turned to her right to see a large red orc glaring at her, its muscles bulging out nearly, fiery gaze locked onto her.

Her smirk did not fade. She danced away from the orc, and twirled her weapon into the air. With a few movements, she had stripped, and while doing so, armored herself in the chitin, she briefly wondered if anyone had seen anything. She dismissed the thought as the weapon landed in her hands again. She beckoned the enemy with a movement of her head.

It charged her with astounding strength, as its legs hit the ground to propel it forward, small cracks appeared in them. She side-stepped him, Scythe swirling behind, and clipped his legs.

He fell into the wall, disabled and incapable of walking. Another flash of the scythe blade had it wet with blood and the beast dead. She didn’t want it to suffer life disabled. The King didn’t smile, but he did nod in approval. “Good. Get her into the quarters with that man. You’ll have some rest before we decide what to do with you.” She dropped the scythe and picked up her clothes, but did not change.

Two guards guided her toward the same hallway Roul had been carried. They both eyed her up and down. “You going to change, miss?” One of them asked. Even though his tone was polite, she knew what he was after. She huffed at him and walked a bit faster. She had seen where he had gone, she was sure she could find it on her. The guards shared a chuckle, speeding up to guide her.

As they rounded another corner, she realized that they were getting pretty far from civilization, and that they must seriously want her and Roul locked away from prying eyes and unhappy peasants. What she didn’t realize, was that the guards were leading her further away, toward her Roul, but also closing in closely to her. She had excused herself earlier to go to the bathroom, and had returned dressed. Aeris had her own laugh at their dejected looks.

She felt her arms suddenly grasped, and felt cold stone meet her cheek. She slid down a bit, her face pushed by another hand. “Well, I told you it would be easy if we got picked, Paul.” The one to her left commented. She sighed; people could be so bull-headed sometimes. She was deciding what exactly to do, she could simply throw them off and continue on her own, release herself from them and pretend it didn’t happen, or transform and slaughter them. Decisions, decisions.

While she was debating what to do, they had moved on. She jumped into the wall a bit more when a hand started rubbing her clit through the clothing she was wearing. “Whoa! Hey, you’re an escort guard, not in your job description to have sex with your clients.” She remarked, a little nervously. She felt the desire from her transformation tint her feelings towards the situation. She would need to get out of this fast.

“Too bad Missy, job just changed.” The one to her left commented, and another hand found a job, groping her. Her resolution was deteriorating, and quickly. The hand on her pinched her nipples. These men were determined to get something out of her.

Someone spanked her. She jumped back into her own skin; she didn’t like getting spanked very much. She threw both of them off of her with a mighty shove of her arms. They didn’t go far, but they released her.

“Now then; we can continue on our way and pretend this didn’t happen, or you can leave in pain and I’ll find my own way.” Man-on-the-left stuttered for a moment, unable to find his voice. His eyes were wide and locked onto her. In their eyes, she was suddenly a goddess of War and Death.

Right-y collapsed in a heap; he was so terrified by the situation. Left-y managed to get out, “R-right this way miss.” She smirked; controlling humans with force was easy and fun.
~
Roul lay asleep at the edge of the bed. He had disrobed when delivered here, she took note. And the King hadn’t been lying when he said he would be in the lap of luxury. Everything was fancy in here, the gilded wood furniture, the velvet and silk bed sheets, the expensive spirits.

Tired herself, Aeris climbed into the bed next to her counterpart. Her clothes scattered about the room, tossed as they had been removed. The covers felt so nice, she thought in her mind. Like a warm cocoon they wrapped around her flesh. Sleep was quick in coming, and long in staying.
~
When she awoke it was night, she had slept most of the day away. Roul was still asleep next to her. She wondered if he had wakened at some point, it looked like he had, the covers were ruffled around him, and his body had shifted position. Carefully, so as not to disturb her partner, Aeris lifted herself from the bed and stalked naked to grab a glass and a bottle of wine.

The crimson fluid was just the right taste for Aeris. Decided in her mind, she enjoyed Human wine. The scent was delicious and the liquid even more so. She drank the whole bottle away, until she was red-faced drunk. A knock came at the door.

This late at night? Her drunken mind pieced together slowly, shambling over to the door. With a mighty pull, she wrenched open the door. Before her stood the Rider, and next to him a man she didn’t recognize. Vaguely she wondered if she should have put on clothes first. The Rider ignored her nudity and bustled in, “I am your attendant.” He said quietly, and found himself a dark corner to brood in.

The other man wedged himself inside. At this point, she realized he was not a man, but a gnome! “I’m the scientist assigned to study you. So I’ll be staying here for a bit to monitor you.” Aeris didn’t grasp most of what he said, so she just nodded, and fished out another bottle of wine.

She had the recognition to pull out two more glasses and offer them to the two men that had arrived. Mr. Gnome declined, but the Rider took her up on the offer. She closed the door as she went by, and retrieved a new bottle of the same style, pouring him some. He nodded, “Good pick.”

She eagerly nodded in response, “Ish real gooood.” She slurred out. The Rider stared at her, and noticed the second, empty, bottle on the table.

He sighed and rubbed his temples. “She’s drunk, good doctor.” His voice was dark, but with a bit of warmth hidden in, like someone who just needed a good friend to be happy once more.

“Lovely, she’ll agree to some obscure deals then!” He remarked jovially, and the two shared a laugh with one another. Aeris didn’t understand at all. In fact, she felt pretty tired. She crashed onto the bed, arm stretched across Roul. He was still asleep. Sleep found another foothold in Aeris, and dragged her under.
~
When morning came, along with the head ache, Aeris realized what had occurred last night. She immediately yanked the covers over her exposed body, and sat up harshly to look around. This only increased the pain in her head, and added to her embarrassment when she saw both the doctor and the Rider there, the gnome passed out. She couldn’t tell if the ‘attendant’ was awake or not.

Roul was also distinctly absent. Noises came from an off-shoot room, that Aeris hadn’t noticed the door too the other night, and Roul stuck his head out. “Heya, how'd things go?” He asked wearily. Aeris thought that there might be something seriously wrong with the man, he seemed so struck down lately.

“As well as it could go.” She replied, rubbing her temples with her hands, sighing and falling back on her pillows, a sigh on her lips. “What’s wrong Roul? You’ve been so depressed.” She looked at him pleadingly.

“A lot. I feel very conflicted. I helped slaughter hundreds of men I had lived with for so long, like the Four Horsemen we struck down all of them. I betrayed everyone in there’s trust! I’ve betrayed my own people! It’s just too much to think about Aeris.” He blurted, moving to the bedside with tears on his eyes.

“Oh.” And that’s all Aeris could say, ‘Oh’. She felt disappointed that she hadn’t realized it earlier. She herself hadn’t been plagued by the same issues, simply because she had felt betrayed in the first place. They had left her in that horrible place to live as a whore for the Silithid. The more she thought about what had happened the more she disliked those in the camp.

He sighed as well, “I knew you wouldn’t really understand, Aeris. You were far more freehearted than I. I’ll try and make it through this for you, but I’m not sure how much longer I can take the thought of what I’ve done.”

She had nothing else she could say.
~
The rest of that morning had past in silence. Aeris and Roul didn’t speak more, and she ignored the Rider and Scientist when they awoke. Dressed for the day, she alerted all three to her determination to go shopping in the city. The Rider rolled his eyes, though no one could see it for his hood, and rose up to follow her. Mr. Gnome collected a few instruments and followed her out the door.

“So, if you are to stalk me day and night, might I at least know your names?” She asked, glancing back at them. She was leading, though she had no idea of where she was going. Her eyes begged for answers, her mother had taught her tricks to make her eyes get things done for her.

The Rider spoke up first, “I am Lucas, The Rider of Death.” His tone was dark, almost with a sadistic humor to it. She snickered at his comment, but he persisted, “That is my title. We four are the designated Horsemen, and are similar to the special division you were apart of. We execute the ‘awesome’ missions. Oh, and in case you haven’t been alerted, you’re a part of us now; you get the fun job of representing Pestilence.”

“Oh, now that’s just salt in the wound.” Aeris laughed, recognizing the joke that they had tried to make of her, by naming the Bug ‘Queen’ the rider of Pestilence. “But isn’t that spot already taken?”

“Was. She resigned after this mission; decided things were getting to hectic for her.” He shrugged, “Never did like her a whole lot. Regardless, the good doctor is dieing to tell you his name.” Lucas gestured toward the gnome who was fidgeting where he was.

“I am the great and famous Dr. Mixilpixil. I distribute the legendary cure for the ‘itis’!” The doctor boasted, shoving his chest forward. The whole action looked rather silly coming from someone of such short stature. She nodded and smiled at him.

“Oh, you’re quite famous even Horde side for your skill.” She humored the little man, navigating the twisting corridors with absolutely no knowledge of where she was going, and getting more lost the further along they traveled.

“You seem to know where you’re going.” The Rider remarked sarcastically. That was one of the few hints at something other than a dark tone in his voice Aeris had heard. She enjoyed the man’s company; his snippets of emotion made moods seem much more lighthearted.

“Really? I have no idea where we are. Except that we’re in the keep in Stormwind.” He chuckled at her, and the doctor asserted himself ahead of her, and redirected them outside into the light of the day with only a few quick turns. “Hah! I was close!” She bolstered, a cocky grin on her face.

That grin was cut short by another tomato hitting her in the face. She wiped it off, an irritated expression on her face. She shouted out, “That really wasn’t necessary! Sheesh, have some manners people…” She mumbled the ending shaking her head. The Rider gestured as if nothing had happened, directing her to head toward the Trade District.

She waltzed along, looking at the beautiful scenery. She let out a sigh at the cool water running calm nearby, bringing serenity to her senses. She directed glance at the warm buildings around her, their wood and stone design giving a sense of security to those who gazed upon them. The edge of the beautiful blue sky floated into her vision, whose open appearance filled her with a sense of freedom.

When she came back to reality, they had stopped. An angry mob of peasants surrounded her, with their iconic pitchforks and torches, though a few had other odds and ends as their weapons. Some real steel glinted amongst the crowd; obviously someone was well equipped here. “What’s up? Is it time to hunt the fox?” She joked nervously, backing up into the center as they closed around, hatred burning in their eyes.