This is the final chapter for this particular adventure of Seraphita and Ren. As a forewarning, this is a long chapter and there is no smut.
***
As she ventured forth, back straight, well dressed in her purple corset, skirt, and boots with her hood shading her face, she found that Silvermoon City was just as brilliant as she had left it, if not more so. An absence from something loved tended to foster within the self a sort of nostalgic longing, and she felt the full force of that now as she moved.
The Sin'dorei capital was a jewel, and not even the familiarity of living there for hundreds of years or its partial destruction could take that away from it. The harbor was carefully maintained, the city streets alabaster, the tall buildings festooned with gold and ruby-like fixtures that glinted with the ever-present light of the sun. There wasn't another city like it, but unfortunately she couldn't enjoy it as much as she would have liked. After all, she was a wanted criminal within its walls, and the paranoia she felt over potentially being recognized set her on edge.
With this in mind, Seraphita pulled her hood further down over her face and hurried along, leaving the harbor behind and slipping into areas she assumed would be less frequented by the general populace. It was unlikely that she would be recognized, but there was no need to take unnecessary risks. Getting caught and thrown in a cell after all this time, and before even reaching her destination, was the last thing she wanted.
Expectedly though, no one paid her much attention. Beautiful as she was, she was still just another elf, and as she ventured closer and closer to her goal, the question of securing a cheap room at an inn or hedging her bets on the hospitality of her hope-to-be savior pressed at her mind. Her and Delanna Fairweather had been friends--not the best of friends--but friends nevertheless, and the woman was, if anything, just. Unlike the rest of the members of the Council, she had not immediately condemned Seraphita, and in fact had ruled in her favor due to the simple lack of substantial evidence. Unfortunately for her, the rest of the Council had not been quite so shrewd, outvoting her 6-1.
Visiting the councilwoman could easily lead to the unceremonious end to her quest to clear her name, but it was too important not to seek out her help. She didn't have many other options and, somehow, Seraphita felt as if the woman would actually listen to her.
The inn could wait.
Delanna had lived in the same home for over three-hundred years, tending to it, renovating it, and adding on to it. Her address was no secret, but unfortunately getting there was another matter. She lived in an affluent area far, far from the harbor, and while Seraphita didn't want to waste any of her money, here she would be forced to make a concession.
So, flagging down a little cab pulled by a single hawkstrider with resplendent purple and blue feathers, she hopped in and instructed the driver to take her to Delanna's residence, trying her best not to think about where Ren was, or what the fel he was up to.
***
She was clutching the note Ren had left her that morning when the cab came to a final stop, the three-story home of Delanna Fairweather gleaming down at her through the cab's tiny window. On the side of the house she could make out a figure, tall but womanly, weaving what seemed to be a spell that was causing a number of white flowers to grow in twisting curls around two pillars on either side of a fountain.
That's Delanna all right.
Seraphita thanked and paid the driver, then got out and swallowed down her anxiety. Delanna's house was big, and so was her lawn. With each step across it she became more and more nervous, but there was no going back now.
Breathe, girl, breathe.
"Go away!" a voice called when she was half-way across the lawn, and Seraphita nearly jumped out of her boots.
The woman tending the flowers glanced at her and waved a hand dismissively, her blood-red hair catching in the sunlight.
"Delanna!" Seraphita called. "It's me."
Delanna used a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, inspecting Seraphita for a moment before she began to blink in such rapid succession it appeared as if she was malfunctioning. "Seraphita?"
She nodded, and the councilwoman frowned, her head darting left and right to see if anyone was watching. There was no one in sight. Big surprise considering how extensive her property was.
"Come inside," Delanna said, motioning towards a door on the side of the house. "The midday sun is hell on my complexion anyways, and you have much to explain."
It was Seraphita's turn to be surprised, but when Delanna opened the door and slipped inside, she followed, praying that she wouldn't be confined to a prison cell in an hour.
The woman's home was a colorful palette of reds, purples, golds and greens. Everything from chairs to sofas to the very walls looked plush and expensive. All, no doubt, locally made from the best Silvermoon had to offer. It was open and spacious, with plenty of sunlight that beamed down upon a number of verdant plants that were housed within what looked like vases of crystal.
Delanna gestured to a chair at a little circle of a table and ordered Seraphita to sit down. She did so, folding her hands atop the table's redwood surface. There was a smooth purple crystal hovering a few inches above the center of the table, making her skin glow a pale lavender. Her nerves were on fire, unsure of what to expect, and when Delanna didn't move to sit down she couldn't help but squirm in her seat. Instead, the councilwoman stood with her arms crossed, her eyes cool green pyres within the contours of her elegant face.
"Go on then, explain yourself, Sera. I don't have time for tea and crumpets."
Seraphita took a deep breath and nodded, then told her story as best she was able, glossing over her first voyage by boat to Gadgetzan, but going into great detail over her time spent in the deserts of Tanaris, of her capture, and the eventual death of Kaerys. She recited his confession, the conspirators she had come to be aware of--at this, Delanna's brows furrowed--and then of her attack on her trip back to Silvermoon. She told the red haired woman everything. Everything, except for Ren and his involvement with her. Partially because she was mad at him, but mostly because she figured it may be for his own good. Perhaps hers as well.
When she was finished, Delanna looked troubled. That was good. It meant she hadn't simply dismissed her story as a jumble of self-serving lies. Better yet, it also meant that she was still likely on her side.
"This is a lot to take in, especially from a convicted murderer."
"You voted in my favor!"
"Yes. I did." Delanna looked into the floating crystal atop the table as if she could see something Seraphita couldn't. "You know me, Sera. I'm not on the best of terms with the rest of the Council, and while I have had suspicions of corruption,
this
is something else entirely." Delanna sighed. "It's hard to believe, really, and if they
are
corrupt they will fight me."
"You think Vya'thaes will try to kill you?"
Delanna snorted as if it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.
"I am not frightened by Vya'thaes or those he may have influence over, but if his influence is deep enough, there will be no alternative but to approach the Regent Lord. Provide me the evidence, and I will deliver it to Lor'themar."
Uh-oh.
"I don't exactly have any physical evidence," she muttered, peering up through her lashes. "I was hoping you could taker a deeper look into things."
Delanna splayed her hands atop the table, leaning forward so that her hair curtained her face like fire. "You want me to risk my career for one little priestess who has already been convicted?"
Seraphita pursed her lips in what was supposed to be a look of defiance. "You swore an oath. You are bound to pursuing truth and justice."
"Indeed I did, and indeed I am," she said, her eyes narrowing in such a glaring way that Seraphita thought she would arrest her on the spot. But then her lips twisted upwards into a cat-like grin and her eyes twinkled. "It's good to have you back in Silvermoon, Sera."
