Serenity

Jillian accompanied Dorissa to Rut'theran Village the next afternoon. Nathaldor, Ameltha, Elathem, Eridess, Ildoren and Luridel were already waiting by the gryphon master as they had agreed upon the night before.

"Ah, welcome, Enslaver. It really is wonderful that you are one of us now," Nathaldor said in a delighted tone.

"Thank you, Nathaldor. I made the right choice." Dorissa smiled at him. She glanced at Jillian and noticed her friend eyeing up the raven-haired male with interest. Dorissa repressed a smirk. "This is Jillian Lee Jones, my closest friend. My hope is that she will be allowed to visit me once I have settled down in my new home."

"But of course. She is very welcome to do so." Nathaldor sent Jillian an intriguing smile, making the petite human blush slightly.

Dorissa hid her crooked smile. It seemed likely that Jillian would have more than one reason to visit her in the future.

"Are those all your things?" Eridess asked, gesturing towards the heavy sack Dorissa carried over her shoulder.

"Yes. I am ready to leave now."

"What's the rush?" Jillian asked absently. Dorissa noticed that her human friend's interest seemed returned: Nathaldor's eyes had not left the black-haired woman since he had permitted her to visit Dorissa.

"We are in no hurry. Actually, why do you not accompany us this time? That way you will know where to find Dorissa in the future," Nathaldor suggested. "That is, if it is alright with you?" he added, finally looking at Dorissa.

Dorissa did not need to look at Jillian to know her friend was making gesticulations to affect her answer. "Of course it is," she said with a knowing smile.

"Splendid! Jillian, you are more than welcome to come with us this time," the raven-haired elf said. His eyes turned slightly flirtatious when he looked at the human.

"Thank you very much, Nathaldor." Jillian's tongue caressed the elf's name as she sent him another obviously interested smile.

Eridess caught Dorissa's eye. Goodness, the pink-haired female lip-synched. Dorissa nodded in agreement, and they both snickered.
Nathaldor cleared his throat, seemingly slightly embarrassed with the situation. "If you do not have any unfinished business here, I suggest we leave now."

"I don't. And I'm really looking forward to seeing my new home, so I approve of your idea," Dorissa said.

Ildoren paid the hippogryph master for transportation, and a few minutes later they were on their way across the Veiled Sea to the forest of Ashenvale.

"Forgive me for asking, but who of you is who?" Dorissa had been watching Ameltha and Elathem throughout the now ended flight to the settlement of Forest Song in the north-eastern part of Ashenvale, and she had realised that she actually had no idea how to tell the short-haired females apart.

"We cannot say. We have names, yes, but we are one." Their light, feathery voices were robbed of emotion as they once again spoke in perfect synchronization.

"I have never seen elves like you before," Dorissa pondered.

"Our souls are entwined in ways you would not understand. That is how we master our magic. We cannot exist separated, and if one of us dies, so does the other."

"I see." The twins' explanation did not say anything of exactly how it was they had managed to re-obtain their powers, but something in their voices made Dorissa think it was far from the ways she and the others had found. She was not sure she actually wanted to know the details of it.

The white-haired females regarded Dorissa silently for a few minutes while waiting for Ildoren and Eridess who were the last to land their hippogryphs.

"You are not a thoroughbred elf," the twins suddenly stated.

"There have been some theories I might not be, indeed."

"We are not guessing. We know you are not."

"How do you know that?" Dorissa asked, surprised.

"We knew your parents."

"You… what?"

"Your mother was a human mage, and a very talented one. Her name was Selene Endridge. She and your father met each other at a young age and ran away together. Your father descended from a line of powerful priests. After your mother had given birth to you, they both realised their acts had been selfish, and they returned to their people, leaving you with the Cenarion Circle. Your mother was killed by Onyxia when her raid tried and failed to take the brood mother down. Your father shortly after lost his life to the trolls of the Gurubashi Empire. His name was Heldoran Darkwing."

Dorissa blinked. "… Darkwing? You must be kidding?"

"No. It may be very far up in the branches of your family tree, but you are actually related to Saphiren. Another reason we find it so brilliant you have become one of us now. Your relation to her was no guarantee you would end up like her. It is quite astonishing that you have even used the same methods as her."

"… For how long have you known this?"

"We have always kept track of the Darkwing family line. We knew you existed, but we did not know that you were like her, and neither did we know that you were half human until we met your parents. It shines through when looking at you, though. You are too short and too softly built, and your ears lack a lot of length. If you do not see, look at Luridel. She, too, is half-bred."

Dorissa eyes found the small elf waiting near Nathaldor and Jillian while her fingers absently touched the points of her ears. "You're right… I have never really noticed it up until now."

"No one else has, either. But we see things others do not." Their soft, feathery voices suddenly darkened.

"What do you see?"

"The shadows of the past haunting the present," they said cryptically.

Dorissa did not ask what they meant. She had a feeling it was not yet the time for her to know.

"Why did no one mention my kinship with Saphiren yesterday?" she instead asked.

"It does not matter to us. You are slightly unique, yes, but we do not differ between members because of who they are related to. And we did not want you to think you were obligated to become one of us because of your ancestors."

"I suppose that makes sense."

Eridess and Ildoren joined the small group waiting a few meters away from the stabled hippogryphs.

"Let us continue. Our village is not far," Nathaldor said. He gestured for the others to follow him north-east before he resumed the conversation he had been having with Jillian while waiting.

Dorissa stared at him. She turned her head and caught Luridel's eye. "Is this really the way?"

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?" the small female said.

"Luridel, we are headed straight for Bough Shadow. Don't you think the guardians of the portal to the Emerald Dream will be slightly bothered by our intrusion?"

"Oh, don't worry; we're not going near them. We are going to keep in the hills just outside their territory. Our village lies beyond Bough Shadow."

"I suppose there is no point in asking how that is possible?"

"Not really. You'll see once we arrive," Luridel said in a happy tone. It was hard to not be smitten by the optimistic nature of the aquamarine-haired half-elf.

Nathaldor led them to the left and up in the hills. Dorissa could not help but shoot worried glances down, and once in a while she did catch a glimpse of the green-scaled dragonkin guardians, but at least she saw none of the great Dragons of Nightmare that also guarded the Emerald Dream portals of the world.

The small formation of cloaked elves continued leading the way, and soon Bough Shadow lay behind them. Night was falling, and the stars cast their silvery light down on the group as they reached a wall created by large, healthy trees.

"Your new life awaits you on the other side," Nathaldor said happily. "The Sapphire Darkling is proud to welcome you, Dorissa the Enslaver and Jillian Lee Jones, to our home, Moonglen Village." His formal annunciation was agreed upon by the others. "Come," they said and led the way through the trees.

The sight that awaited Dorissa's eyes on the other side made her smile.

Moonglen Village lay nestled in the hills by the mountainside. The light of the shining stars in the night sky caressed the settlement, and the lights of the small huts glimmered in the darkness. It was a small village, and there was, as far as Dorissa could see, no actual system in the placing of the asymmetrical huts, but it was one of the loveliest places she had ever seen. As she took in the sight, something caught her eye.

"Some of these huts are built by tauren," she said, looking at Nathaldor.

"Not only elves lose their faith," Nathaldor said. "We exist alongside the tauren who share our beliefs, or, should I say, lack thereof."

"Tauren…" The information finally clicked in Dorissa's mind, and a few seconds later her theory was confirmed.

"Greetings, little one!" The familiar, soft rumble came from a large, fuzzy figure that was nearing the little group.

"Krohn!" Dorissa said, suddenly filled with joy. She hurried towards the large tauren and wrapped her arms around his waist that was all she could reach.

Krohn the Earthbinder laughed and patted her head. "I did say we would meet again, did I not?"

"That you did. And, luckily, this time I'm sober," Dorissa said, grinning at her friend.

"How did you two meet?" Nathaldor asked in a surprised tone.

"We met at an inn in the Grizzly Hills. Dorissa here challenged every male orc in the area to a drinking contest," Krohn explained with a smile.

"Oh dear, I'm no longer sure it was such a good idea to admit her," Eridess said jokingly. The others agreed, chuckling.

"How did you know back then that I was like you?" Dorissa asked the tauren.

"I am good at sensing such things. The taint in your magic clings to you like an invisible cloud."

"How odd that you're the first one to notice."

"I am not. Your death knight companion was not unaware of it."

Dorissa's brow furrowed. "When did you speak with Zaladin?"

"Right after you staggered up the stairs to your room. He asked me if I was of the Sapphire Darkling. I am quite sure he had figured out by then that you were like us."

"He never gave me any reason to believe that he had discovered my secret," Dorissa said quietly.

"He must have concluded there was no reason to do so," Krohn said in a natural tone.

"Pardon my intrusion, but would you not like to see your home, Dorissa?" Nathaldor asked.

"Of course. Will you take me there?"

"I will." Nathaldor began following the tortuous path through the village. Krohn joined them as they all escorted Dorissa further up in the hills. After a few minutes they stopped by one of the last huts. Dorissa was not surprised to find the delicately chain-wreathed crescent symbol carved in the gable of the hut.

"What do you think?" Luridel asked cheerfully.

"It's perfect." The hut was almost identical to the others in the village, but the location was what made Dorissa think there was no place else she would rather live; when turning around the rest of the village spread beautifully beneath them, and above them the velvet night sky stretched far and wide in all its glory, making Dorissa feel one with her new home.

"All that is left for us to do is give you this," Nathaldor said. He turned to Ameltha and Elathem: In their hands, another dark sapphire cloak had appeared.

They draped it over Dorissa's shoulders. "Welcome home, Enslaver," they said, smiling.

"Before you enter your hut I, too, have something for you. It arrived this morning," Krohn said and handed Dorissa a small letter wrapped in brown paper. "It appears someone knew long before we did that you would choose to join us." A knowing smile played on his lips, making Dorissa think he had a good guess as to who that someone might be.

She removed the paper and stared at the line on the parchment inside.

Tonight, the rain of rebirth wreathes the evening star

"What is it?" Luridel carefully asked.

"… A riddle." Dorissa's heart had skipped a beat. She suddenly felt dizzy and had to support her weight against one of the posts of her new home's wooden front porch.

"Riss, are you alright?" Luridel asked worriedly.

"Yes, I... I'm fine," Dorissa said, vaguely noticing that Jillian's pet name for her had already been picked up by her new kindred. "I... I need some time to get used to my new surroundings. I'm going to go inside now."

"Of course. We will leave you now, then. I am sure you will find everything inside exactly the way it should be," Nathaldor said cryptically. He smiled crookedly and then gestured for Jillian (whose seams were bursting from curiosity) to join him as the others turned around to return to their own huts.

Dorissa nodded, slightly distracted. She looked up at her hut. As she heard the others' footsteps disappear, she slowly ascended the steps up to the porch. She stood in front of the door for a few seconds, then took a deep breath and opened it.

It was dark inside. Dorissa listened. There was no sound to be heard. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

The room she had entered seemed to be a combined living and dining room. The only breaches in the traditional night elf building style were the fireplace in the left side of the room and the many closable doors in the hut, neither of which night elf houses usually had. She noticed some chairs and a table, but she did not pause for long to study them. She crossed the room and opened the next door.

After entering what had turned out to be the bedroom, she closed the door behind her. A few steps brought her to the foot end of the double bed that stood as a monument for loneliness at the end of the room. She took off her new cloak and laid it on the blanket-covered mattress. Letting her fingers slide along the wooden bed-frame, she sighed and closed her eyes. Her other senses instantly sharpened.

The whisper of a cloak was caught by her ears. A familiar cold, sweet scent filled her nostrils. She felt cold fingers travelling lightly over her back, from her waist to her shoulder blades. They settled for caressing her collar bones.

Then his arms were around Dorissa, pressing her body against his.

"You came back," she whispered. She was afraid to open her eyes, afraid he might be a product of her longing, a simple illusion of her mind.

"I promised." The sound of his double-layered voice made her body quiver.

"Is that all there is to it? A promise fulfilled?"

"No."

"Then what else is there?"

"Everything. Death. Rebirth. Life. And death once more."

"What are you saying?"

"You brought me to life. When you left me, you took that life with you. And you made me realise that it was not only life I had lost. I had lost all I ever wanted." He took half a step back and turned her around. "Open your eyes, my star," he whispered. And she did.

There he was, exactly the way she remembered. He was there, right in front of her eyes, pale white against the darkness of the room. His icy eyes were shining orbs in the night, fixed on her now tear-streaked face.

"I love you," Zaladin Grimtusk whispered.

"Is it true? Could you really love me?"

"I am still cold, Dorissa. But I can. And I do." And then his lips met hers.

The taste of his cold, sweet mouth was overwhelming.

Dorissa wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes. She let her tongue slide along his lower lip, and her fingers entwined in his hair.

He broke the kiss and lifted her up in his arms to lay her down on the bed. She reached for him, and he lay down next to her and pulled her into his embrace.

He pulled away slightly to study her face. "We look more alike now," he stated. "You are even more beautiful than I remember." He stroked her cheek gently, and his lips formed a soft smile.

"Because I look more appropriate for someone like you now?"

"No. There was always something about your face I could not define... a disorder of some sort. Once I knew your secret I realised what it was: You seemed as if you were wearing a face that was not yours. That stress of having to pretend to be something you are not has completely vanished. You look at ease with yourself now. It suits you," he said, still smiling. "Like you said it suited me to show emotions. You cannot imagine how worried I was when I had contacted the Sapphire Darkling and told them of your existence. I was terrified I had made the wrong decision and had not helped you, but instead torn apart everything you had built."

"Zaladin Grimtusk, terrified? I find that very hard to believe," Dorissa stated, cocking an eyebrow.

"Nevertheless, I was. And feeling fear gave me another fit of pain. Luckily no one but you has seen it happen. I do not think the peoples of Azeroth would have much faith in me if they knew I end up in convulsive spasms on the ground if someone makes me laugh."

"Probably not. You give the term 'unstable' an entirely new meaning," Dorissa said, giggling. "Anyway," she continued, "I thought the fits would be rare happenings by now? You seemed to handle them slightly better along the way up to when we parted."

"My guess is that this was a new type of fear. Up until then I had only experienced fear for your life in the time you were protecting me. But then I learned that there was more to the term 'fear' than the fear of you being physically injured."

"I see," Dorissa said. There was a moment of silence. "Zaladin, how do you know of the Sapphire Darkling?" she then asked. "They don't exactly seem like your average contacts."

"I crossed the path of Nathaldor in Outland. It must have been around six or seven months ago. He was ambushed by the Arakkoa of Terokkar Forest. I saved his life. He offered me anything in return to repay the debt he felt he was in. I learned of the Sapphire Darkling when I asked him of the symbol on his forehead. He also told me his name and where I could find him, should I ever need to.

A week ago I returned to Orgrimmar, and the first thing I did was travel here in order to seek out Nathaldor and ask him to find you. I was unable to come with him myself, for I still had matters to attend to in the capital, what with the battle in Icecrown having taken a turn to our advantage. But as soon as I had done what needed to be done, I came back here. I have waited in your house since this morning."

"You knew I was coming?"

"Eridess sent word of your admission. I was the one who told them of you, and I am well-respected by the people here, so they sent a courier to Orgrimmar with the news."

"I see." She let a finger slide along his right tusk. "I have longed for you ever since I returned to Darnassus," she whispered.

"As I have longed for you," he said, pulling her closer. "What happened when your people found out learned of your actions?"

"Well, their reactions were not all alike. Callan handled it quite well. I only had to promise him that I will always stand at the city's side when they need me to, and in return he would deal with Fandral Staghelm and Tyrande Whisperwind for me. Oldarion... he was an entirely different matter."

"You told him?"

"Not exactly. Nathaldor and the others must have asked him for directions to where I was staying, and he somehow got out of them what their visit was about. He didn't exactly take it well."

"What do you mean?"

"We... I fought with him. He called me a whore and a traitor and slammed the door quite hard..."

"There is something you are not telling me," Zaladin said after a minute of silence.

"Yes." She sighed. "During the fight he tried to hit me. He didn't succeed. Later, though..."

"Tell me."

"When I left after being marked as a member of the Sapphire Darkling, I ran into him... No... Saying that is untrue. He waited for me in the cover of the darkness. He was drunk, and he held me against a tree... He was going to molest me."

"What happened?"

"To sum it up, he let go of my wrists at one point, which was all I needed to make a mess of his face and run for it," Dorissa said. She assumed he sensed that she was still not telling him everything, but he did not ask for the details. She silently thanked him for that. She was having enough difficulties repressing the memory, as it were. "The thing is," she continued, "I sort of threatened to kill him if I ever saw him again. And I'm worried that it actually might be necessary one day."

"I could, technically, see to that for you if you want me to." He sounded deadly serious.

Dorissa laughed. "Don't. I'll put an end to the problem myself, one way or another."

"Do not wait too long with that. It is not unlikely that his foot might slip and send him tumbling off a cliff before you have the chance to set things straight."

"You do know that you can be quite horrible sometimes, don't you?"

"I recall you have mentioned it before, yes. I am sorry," he said quietly.

"Don't be." She sat up next to him and leaned closer to kiss his forehead. "I love you."

His furrowed brow smoothed, and the look in his eyes softened. He smiled. "Look what you do to me." Fascinated, he let his fingers run from her collar bones and down her chest, lightly touching the exposed skin above her breasts. "My thoughts were with you every minute when you had left. I fought to come back to you."

"You once said that one can only win the battle if one has nothing to return to. That caring for something or someone makes you weak."

"I was wrong."

"I have one last question for you... for now," Dorissa said.

"What do you wish to know?"

"Do you remember the day I woke up with my head in your lap in the Grizzly Hills?"

"I do." He seemed to appreciate the memory.

"At one point I said I liked Zandali, after which you spoke it to me. However, when I asked you what you said, you refused to tell me more than that you had said I had heard the language spoken thrice. I still want to know the complete translation."

Zaladin spoke the Zandali words again. He then translated them: "If it were your wish, I would forever be at your side, you who defy the veil of death itself. I would hold you, please you and speak words of devotion to you in my tongue at night. But for now, at least you have heard my language spoken thrice."

"You said that?" Dorissa whispered.

"I did."

"It was my wish, Zaladin. It still is."

"It is a wish I can grant you now."

"Forever?"

"Forever."

Dorissa's heartbeat accelerated as her death knight sat up and gently pushed her down on her back and shifted to a position on top of her. He leaned closer and passionately pressed his white lips against hers. As his ice-cold hands explored every inch of her pale body, she knew what was to come. The thought of it made her tremble with desire, and for the first time in months a truly happy smile spread across Dorissa's lips.

Author's (Long and Explanatory) Note

"I've done something, and I'm not sure you're going to be pleased about it, but I did it anyway."

Such was the opening message I received not long ago from a very dear friend of mine.

He nearly gave me a heart attack telling me that he had posted a link to Formula on , his reason being that he thought I didn't have enough reviews (which is of course ridiculous since you've all been such darlings and so sweet with all your praise, questions and comments). Anyhow, I, being a blasted perfectionist, went on a correcting rampage, so I've been sitting up late nights re-uploading the whole fic just because of a little, well-meant link. Le sigh.

This, however, also means that all my original A/N's have been lost in the process, so I have decided to rewrite some of the oddities I recall from the old notes.

Here goes:

1. In case anyone is as detail bothered as I am, I am fully aware that Conquest Hold has no actual inn, but in my opinion, any (strong)hold should have such facilities to welcome the tired adventurer on his/her way. This should be the least they could do after leaving that horrid bitch, Krenna, in charge of the place.

2. My night elf age references are still a tad… peripheral, so I still wouldn't mind if anyone who knows for certain how it works would write me a message/send a carrier pigeon/light the signaling fire.

3. It does surprise me that no one's actually flamed me for conjuring up the Sapphire Darkling and their village that does in no way derive from anything existing in the game. But anyway, I still find them a lovely addition, and I'm going to take a chance and say that I think many of you do, too.

4. I know that (besides the Sapphire Darkling) there are lore errors here and there, but I don't know in which drawer I left my careface, and I just had dinner, so I'm too full to go look for it. But what I'm trying to say between the lines of gibberish is that I am a lore whore with an artistic license, thank you.

5. I know I almost promised some of you a sequel, and I should not have done so. I would really love to be able to write one, but my plot bunny stopped hopping about the very moment I uploaded the last chapter of this story. I tried writing, but there was no soul in it. So I let it go. Who knows, perhaps one day I will suddenly be struck by insanity (once more) and start scribbling again. No promises this time, though.

So, there you have it.
And once again, thank you all. From the very bottom of my heart.