"Listen, Honey, Stranglethorn Vale is no place for a sweet little night elf like you."
Elunara sighed. "Look, I'm on commission from the SI:7, here are my orders." She held up the paper. "All I'm really asking; is for you to get me to my drop off point."
"Aw, let her, Robert." Another man snorted.
Robert rubbed his neck. "We just don't have the man power to protect her." He put his hands on his hips.
"I don't need protecting." Elunara shook her head. "I have orders, and I intend to follow them to the letter. Either you let me on yours or I'll go on someone else's."
"Fine!" He yanked the sheet out of her hand and skimmed it. "But you stay in the center of the wagon and you stay quiet. I won't have your whining drawing attention to us."
Rolling her eyes, Elunara climbed into the back of the wagon.
A few days into their trip, one of the men leaned over to Robert. "Sir, I know... I know what you said, but... she's starting to freak me out, and I'm not the only one. She just sits there, never speaking, barely blinking. It's... weird."
Robert sighed. "I'll speak to her."
He made his way over to where she was sitting, quietly drawing on that sketchpad of hers. "Elunara?"
"Hm?" She didn't so much as flinch.
"I didn't mean for you to stop existing."
She blinked up at him. "Huh?"
"Well, it's just... when I told you to stay quiet..." He fiddled with his hat. "I didn't mean for you to shut down on us. You can... communicate."
"Oh." She shrugged. "I didn't want to be a bother."
"Well, I..." He blinked down at her sketchpad. "Is that what you've been doing this whole time?"
She went back at her sketchpad. "It's all I ever do." She shrugged. "My assignment is to chart the area with my work."
"I... I can see how important that is." He breathed. He sat down next to her. "Show me more."
She gave him a cat smile. "Oh, I'll show you plenty."
Sitting up front, she catalogued the scene as they worked their way through. When the cart broke an axle, she helped get it fixed. When one of the horses came up lame, she helped nurse it.
Robert leaned up against her. "We should keep you around." He wiggled his eyebrows.
Giggling, she pushed him away.
The other men noticed the exchange and rolled their eyes.
"Looks like Robert finally found his match." Said one.
"Five gold says he proposes by the end of our run." Said another.
When they stopped for the night, he made his bed next to hers. She rolled her eyes at the arm around her waist.
She awoke to rough hands yanking her up. The entire caravan was hauled away. As she looked around, she grinned, her targets had found her. Her months of studying the troll languages in Durotar was about to pay off.
"We found seven men and one woman." The trolls stopped in the center of a ruin.
The largest troll turned from his position at a giant slab. "A weak haul." He began to examine the prisoners. His attentions turned on the female night elf. He tugged at her ears. "Fascinating creature." He turned her face back and forth.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!"
He turned his attention to the men. "Hm." He sniffed. His attention went back to the night elf creature and gave her deep sniff. He laughed. "Do ya smell that, mon?"
The troll holding on to Elunara sniffed. He began to laugh. "That I do."