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Shattered	By : Koori Category: +S through Z > World of Warcraft Views: 8001 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter Fourteen – Sara Conway
She startled awake, her heart racing. For a long moment she lay still, the sun was low in the sky, the water lapped against the shore a few feet out. Free, she was free, blinking back tears with a promise to shed them later she carefully sat up, her head had fallen into Nathaniel’s lap at one point. Who was still sleeping in Foster’s arms, they both looked to still be asleep at a glance. Though it was hard to tell with her oldest brother, he slept with his helm on, hiding his death marked face. She took the coldness she felt as a blessing; it meant she was still alive. Thirsty she found the canteen Foster had shared yesterday; frowning at the light weight she took a small sip. Glancing over at the slumbering men she allowed herself to truly look at them, neither was as they had been. Nathaniel, poor Nathaniel, was rail thin and covered with thousands of scars minus his face which had been left unmarked … well physically. Sara was truly frightened his mind was completely lost to them. She frowned and shook her head, no he was a Conway he had been lost before and found his way back, and he would again.
The gauntlet against Nathaniel’s stomach was moving in a small circle. “I don’t think that will work, Big Brother,” she whispered.
“It’s all I know to do,” Foster replied, his voice was as cold sounding as he felt to the touch. At the sound the elf on his lap blinked and glanced around. The insipid eyes were hard to take and Sara looked away toward the lake. “We should continue,” Foster said. “Though I doubt we will be truly safe regardless where we go.” His armored cover finger slid under her chin as the thumb brushed her cheek. “Damn them for marking you, people will shoot first and ask questions later.”
“We can burn it off,” she said, her stomach clenching. “Heat the blade of your dagger …”
“By the Light, no!” Foster gasped, “There has to be another way. Not only the scarring, it could blind you. We’ll find another way, for now wear my cloak and we avoid … everybody.”
“To what end, Brother?” She asked securing the cloak around her neck. “Where are we going?”
“Home,” Foster said, “Pa will know what to do about … everything.”
The bone griffon hopped down from the stony ridge it had been sitting on, the creature was disturbing to look at but seemed loyal to her brother. Without being asked she climbed into the saddle. She watched Foster offer Nathaniel a drink from the canteen before taking a small one himself, he too frowned at how little was left. Afterwards he climbed astride Knight and pulled Nathaniel up to sit behind him. At a whispered order, the elf slid his arms around Foster’s waist. Sara sighed; orders were the only way they could get Nathaniel to respond at all.
“At least he listens,” Foster said, the grief clearly heard in his voice. “Stay grounded, Sis, we don’t want to catch the attention of any of the dwarves in the Hinterlands …”
“They are our allies!” She insisted.
“They would kill you outright for the monstrosity you ride, blaming you for the noble beast’s condition. Don’t forget that, Little Sis, they will not give us time to defend ourselves but we have no other means to reach Stormwind …”
“We could walk,” Sara said thoughtfully. “We’d just look like refugees … well at a distance if we could find cloaks for you two. You are right the beasts we ride now scream ‘Scourge come kill us!’”
“Do have any idea the distance we would have to cover? Elwynn Forest lies far south, you would add months to our travel.”
“Months to heal ...” she gestured toward the elf behind Foster, “time to see if that bastard spoke the truth …” her hand moved to her belly. “He never got the confirmation he wanted but it is my fertile time … I could be carrying that man’s child …”
“If you carry any child it is your child,” Foster said helping Nathaniel down and then dismounted.   He took out what meager supplies they had and put them in his shoulder pack. “Are you sure about this?” he asked as he chanted. A dark portal opened up and Sara gasped.
“What is that?” she asked as the griffon she had been riding and Knight stepped through it.
“A death gate,” Foster said as it vanished leaving no trace.
“You have such pleasant names for everything,” Sara said as she fell in step beside Foster. “If it was me I’d call it the fluffy bunny doorway!”
Foster snorted and shook his head. “Glad to see you haven’t changed, Lil Sis.” Nathaniel walked silently beside them; his hands worked the fabric of his tunic as they hiked. “I know why Nathaniel fell into their hands,” her brother continued.
“He wanted to bring your body back home,” Sara said. “He made me promise not to tell Mama and Pa, he told them he wanted to return to Silvermoon. That he had matters to attend to. So when weeks to turn to months they weren’t concerned.”
“However,” Foster said, helping her over a large rock. “You knew better … so came looking?”
“When an opportunity happened to come up to travel with a band of clerics from Cathedral of Light to Light Hope, I came along …”
Foster chuckled, “you don’t look to be one to take the oath.”
“Never said I was one of them,” she replied, “I came along as a body guard. I’ve been training under Ilsa Corbin; she’s a great warrior, though I have much to learn. We were taken by surprise, we didn’t stand a chance. Those that lived were brought to Acherus; one by one they took people away. Those which left never came back. I’d been there a week, it felt much longer before that man came in.” She shuddered at the memory. The surviving women had been forced to strip, weakened from lack of food her attempts to resist had been met with fists and seemed to excite the lecher. “Once he chose me we left the cell and his anger erupted.   In time I came to realize he had expected to find Nathaniel, he had been taken.”
“Taken?” Foster asked, “by who?”
“He cursed about some darkly fallen guys …”
Foster startled and stopped, pulling Nathaniel to him he did a quick check. Sara seemed more alarmed than the elf that stood silently as Foster checked over his neck and arms. “Little Brother, did you spend time with the Darkfallen?”
“Yes,” Nathaniel answered; his voice as dead as his eyes.
“Did they bite you?” Foster frowned at a couple of scarred over spots on the slender neck.
“Yes,” Nathaniel said again.
Foster’s hand trembled slightly. He pressed his cool fingers against the neck of the elf and seemed reassured by what he found. “I don’t think … they changed him,” he said to Sara as he brushed his lips against the elf’s forehead.
“They said I wasn’t worthy,” Nathaniel answered.
“Thank the Light for that,” Foster said. “Let’s keep going, we have a long way to go.”
They hiked in silence for a time; the way up the mountain was treacherous as they were forced to say off the well-worn path which led to the Hinterlands. Sara cursed aloud as a sharp rock cut through the thin fabric of the slippers she was wearing. “Not exactly the best footwear,” Foster said apologetically as he helped her sit and knelt down to slip the shoe off. Removing his gauntlets, he massaged the wound with healing salve until it closed, then from the bag he took out the dress she had worn for their escape and tore it into strips. These he wrapped around the foot to give her more padding.   After both feet had been wrapped he went do the same for Nathaniel. Sara frowned as the bloody feet of the elf was revealed, he had never complained. Cursing Foster healed both with the ointment and then as he had done for Sara, wrapped them in bindings.
“Baby Brother,” Foster said standing, “if you are hurt, or need anything … sleep, food, water … anything, I want you to tell me … do you understand?”
Nathaniel nodded but said nothing. In her eyes the elf looked even more stricken, as is if the mere thought of independent thinking was beyond him. Sadly, Sara had to think it was and the elf would continue to suffer in silence, they would have to guess his needs. “Bathroom,” she said … “I need to go,” she replied with a sheepish grin. She glanced at Nathaniel, “I’m guessing I’m not the only one.   Good luck with that, Big Brother.” She moved away from the pair to give herself some privacy. Afterwards their hike continued, the sun was high in the sky by the time they topped the mountain. Sara took a moment to take in the view below. Behind them the mist of wrongness covered the once fertile lands of her birth. However, it never reached the land before them; tall healthy pines could be seen. “Beautiful,” she said, before Foster could reply her stomach growled loudly.
“Aye,” Foster said, “we need food, wish I was as good as a hunter as you, Baby Brother.”
“Let him do it,” Sara said and her brothers looked over at her. She walked over and took Foster’s knife from the sheath. “Nathaniel, I order you to go find us something to eat. Use the Ranger abilities I know you still possess to move silently and swiftly and return to us.”
It was hard to tell which man was more stricken by her words; Nathaniel looked over at Foster for direction. For a moment Sara thought her older brother would refuse and then he nodded. “Go, you have thirty minutes, it doesn’t have to be big, even a rabbit is fine. Don’t make me come looking for you.” Nathaniel took the knife from Sara and glanced around for a moment before picking a direction and disappearing into the bushes.   “This is one of your crazier ideas,” Foster said, sitting down. “My heart is in my throat … these lands are not like those we grew up in … dwarves aren’t the only beings that call this forest home.”
“More reason to send out someone who can avoid being seen …”
“Six months ago that would have been guaranteed,” Foster said, “he’s not the same …”
“He is,” Sara said, “he just doesn’t realize it yet.”
“He’ll never be like he was,” Foster replied, his voice growing dark, “no more than I will be.”
“Everyone changes,” Sara said, her hand moving to her stomach. “Ours just come in more vicious bursts.   What doesn’t kill us …” her voice trailed off as she glanced over at Foster, “sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he said with a shrug. “I am what I am, there is no going back.” To their surprise Nathaniel returned then, gone no more than minutes. In his hand was a pair of still bleeding hares.
“Told you he was still a Ranger,” Sara said taking the rabbits from him, along with the knife so she could start cleaning them. She kissed the pale cheek, “thank you, Brother.”
Her praise fell on deaf ears as Nathaniel stood there, seemly waiting for something. “Sit,” Sara said, and the elf knelt on the ground.    “Like a puppet,” she said sadly as she started to skin the kills. Her hand rubbed the soft fur. “I can cure these pelts to help Nathaniel and me on the journey.”
Foster found some dry kindling for a smokeless fire; she was relieved they wouldn’t have to eat their lunch raw. Soon they had the pair of rabbits on a spit over the fire. “Baby Brother,” Foster said, “I need you to go scout around the camp, make sure we’re secure. Be wary of anything that walks on two legs.”
Nathaniel remained where he knelt, his hands in his lap. Sara sighed softly and raised her voice. “That’s an order,” she said. The elf flinched and stood, after a quick look in their direction he once again moved into the low bushes that surrounded their camp. “It feels so wrong,” she said, as she turned the spit. “Like we’re no better than that monster, but he has the abilities to help us … just no longer the will.”
Foster reached out and squeezed her hand, she knew he meant well but it felt like the touch from a corpse and she flinched. He pulled back and stood. “I’m no Ranger, but think I’ll take a quick look around as well.” He slipped his gauntlets back on as he walked the direction Nathaniel had taken.
When the rabbits were done before the men returned, Sara let out a whistle that Nathaniel had taught her. A short time later Foster, with the elf in tow, walked into the clearing. “Nathaniel didn’t pick up any signs of danger,” her brother said as he joined her at the fire. “I can’t help but think we’re being watched, let us eat and be on our way.”
“You are a … presence,” Sara said offering him a chunk of rabbit on a stick. “They would be foolish to attack us; maybe they are just hoping we pass through.” She offered the other half of the rabbit to Nathaniel who took it, before enjoying her own lunch. After a half-dozen bites she noticed the elf stood held his untouched, his eyes darting between Sara and Foster. As she went to say something her older brother waved his hand.
“Let him ask,” he said, his eyes moved to the elf, “is there something you want, Baby Brother?”
The elf looked between his brother and the rabbit, and a low pitch whine escaped his lips and Sara frowned. “I’ve never heard a being make such a sound,” she said, “that sounded more like a wounded puppy.”
“You wouldn’t be far off,” Foster said as he continued working on his rabbit. Sara endeavored to the same, but couldn’t help but watch Nathaniel’s struggle. At one point, a trickle of salvia dribbled down the elf’s chin, he was drooling but still unwilling to feed himself.
“Foster, please,” she begged.
The Death Knight reached for another piece of rabbit, tearing off a hind leg. “This is really good,” he said, “thank you, Little Sis.”
Another whine escaped from Nathaniel followed by a soft, “hungry.”
Foster nodded toward the rabbit the elf still hold, “then eat, Baby Brother.”
Nathaniel’s hand shook and after a long moment he threw the spit he still held into the fire, rabbit and all. That caused Foster and Sara to shout, the elder reached into the flames with his armored hand and rescued the meat. “Well, that didn’t go as planned,” her brother said, as he tore a piece of meat off and after checking it for ashes offered it to Nathaniel. “Open,” he said, his voice defeated. Nathaniel’s lips parted and he put the rabbit inside. “Swallow.”
Sara watched as Foster handfed the entire serving to Nathaniel. “By the Light,” she whispered, “that monster took away everything … he’d starve …”
“We’ll get him back,” Foster said, “until then, we’ll just have to be his keepers.”
Sara nodded and took a drink of water, the canteen was near empty. She held it up to Nathaniel’s lips, “drink,” she said. “We’ll take care of him,” she promised.
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