Walking with a Warrior

Walking with a Warrior
 * --by Shandra

=Part One= It had ben almost a sold week that she had laid in the bed, and she could still feel her wounds. She was sure that she would carry the scars from the last month for the rest of her life, and judging from her current condition she was right. Her last month was trying, to say the least. She had found a new definition of pain. The kind of pain that stays with you even after it is gone. That sort of hurt that trancends through the realm of the physical and reached in, to place a mark on your soul, something that will never heal on its own.... but it was over now, and its best not to dwell on whats already done... right?

She was siting atop her saber, which had ben purring like a kitten ever since she had returned, aparently a month in the stables can do alot to one of these creatures. She glanced around at the people to her left and right, just people, doing what they do when they do it, just like her.

"Lets go" she whispered to herself as she pulled back on the reigns gently and the saber spun and darted off toward the portal from darnassus, even if its misstress had not signaled it to run so fast. The saber was runing as hard as it could, through the portal, past an oncoming saber and elf, and off toward the boat.

As Shandra passed the mounted saber she could feel eyes on her back... the other rider was watching her.. she could feel those eyes and it trigered the warriors first response to everything that seemed offensive. She yanked back on the reigns, spining her mount to face the wide eyed elf, and had her monsterous blade drawn in an instant.

She glared back at her opressor, a young Kaldorei still far from finding her greatest season of training. Her oponent would die swiftly, she was sure of that...... but it was aparent to everyone around. Tatered leather and dull dagers against her war hardened plate and blade? Surely this young elf wouldn't be so foolish.... Shandra never broke her stare, she watched the young rogue as it stared back. Shandra started to speak when the young elf wheeled her mount around and disapeared though the portal.

Shandra let out a sigh, part relieve, part disapointment, and rode down the dock to the awaiting boat.

"What was that all about..." she kept asking herself as her mind wandered over the possibilities. she sighed once more and ploped down on the steps that lead up to the uper floor of the boat..... How long had it ben since she had ben able to sit like this? Her mind wandered back across her last month once more....

=Part Two= The darkness fled from her mind as searing pain took its place. She was chained to the floor, almost doubled over with an orcish guard to her left and right holding her in her hunched position. The orcs laughed in unison as the forsaken male behind her stabed a red hot poker into her side again.

Pain beat back the insuing darkness again.

No matter how broken she was these three monsters must have ben sure that they could break her even more, and they were doing a marvelous job of doing so. Shandra could only feel the burning pain for a moment, these men were calculated in their methods. The pain was almost unbarable, but they made sure not to hurt her enough for her to pass out. Yes.. they were masters of their craft indeed.

The pain fled again as the once mighty warrior sobed to herself silently. It was all that she could do and it was all that she had ben doing for the last 2 nights. The pain was constant, only stoping long enough for a new batch of guards to come and the old ones to go.

She heard the two orcish guards muttering back for a second and then the forsaken stabed once again, this time the poker broke the skin that it had pinched between a rib. Pain. Her mouth moved to scream but she could not find her voice in the face of such a pain.

The two orcs were still blabing, now their comotion was a bit louder and the forsaken man had begun to throw in his two cents. After a second the left guard jumped to his feet and began to yell at the forsaken. The only feeling that Shandra felt was the weight lifting from her left arm, her body uncoiled in response. She rolled to her left slowly as her arm slid out and she sprawled out on the cool dirt floor.

The arguing continued between the orc and the forsaken, within a moment the two steped outside. She could still hear the two yelling in the gluteral language that is orcish, but the only real though on her mind was the cool earth below her. Darkness started to creep in on her once more.

The darkness fled, but this time it was not due to searing pain. The remaining guard had rolled her over and was inspecting her naked body. She tried to open her eyes to see, but she was so broken that she could only manage to pry one of her eyes open just enough to see a grotesque orcish smile.

She knew what was going to happen next....and she could do nothing but cry... She flet something wet toutch her brow once, then again.

Her eyes shot open and she saw the face of her mount, the large saber had woken her from her nightmare and she had never ben more thankful to be awake. Her hands were shaking as she wiped the tears from her cheek and took a long look around. In the distance she could make out the shape of the lighthouse just off the coast of Auberdine.

She gently rubbed the chin of her saber as she sniffled and fought back her tears. After a few moments she had her emotions in check again and she stood from the step as the ship pulled into port.

=Part Three= "Sh...shan...Shandra....wake up girl... we have to get out of here." She recognized the voice in her head as she did her best to push back the darkness. Kneeling to her side was one of her old friends, back before all this happened. Kalaki. She could see the terror in his eyes and hear it in his voice as he pulled her up into his lap. The darkness slid back as she pryed her eyes open once more.

For the first time in weeks she managed to smile. "k..Kal.." she was trying to talk, he placed a finger over her lips. From the door came the shout of the orc and the forsaken. The booming voice of the forsaken man hit her like a brick and her body tensed up, she turned to her head away from kal as the tears pushed there way into her eyes.

She could hear the Kaldorie man growl as he laid her back on the cool earth. She could hear screaming and fighting... She also thought that she heard the sound of a head hiting the floor, but she was trying so hard to push the darkness back..... She had no clue how long she laid there, probly no longer than seconds, but it felt like a small eternity. Each milisecond she hoped that he would retun to take her from this place, and each milisecond she tried to fathom how she could explain to the spirits if he had fallen trying to save the wretched excuse for a person she had became.

Something warm and soft covered her exposed flesh as a strong arm slid under her back and under her legs. "Its over now..... ju.. just get some rest" the words were calm, from a man doing his best to be as strong as he could be, and they were much more of an invite than she needed. For the first time in almost a week she relxed and the shadows rushed in to comfort her.

For the first time in almost a week, covered in warm blankets and luled into peaceful slumber by the rocking of a ship seting sail on the open sea, she found restful sleep.