Elunara stepped out past the barrier and looked around. The camp had practically turned into a village.
Charnak met her. "Is it to your liking?"
"Yes. I am pleased."
"May I ask you something?"
She eyed him. "What now?"
"I saw you the other day... with a Draenei female."
"On the hill?"
"Yes. I... didn't want to disturb you, so I left."
"That would be Tulani. She is my wife."
"She..." His eyes went wide.
"Before you ask, she is my only wife and the only woman that I love. Should anything happen to her, it would be the same as Grogek, I would go completely ballistic."
"Is she... a warrior?"
"No. In fact, to best describe our relationship, it would be that I protect her. She was taken by slavers, and I rescued her. She has been mine ever since."
His mind ran rampant as he considered this new information. "You protect her, and she is yours to protect."
"I love her. I do not JUST surround myself with men who have earned my favor. I surround myself with those that I can protect, those that I take under my wing and shelter from harm. You call me the goddess of war and mercy. This is the mercy I show. Tulani is just the closest to my heart of any of them."
"I am..." He licked his lips. "I am amazed by your kindness."
"I would do anything it took to protect my people. Even if it meant slitting your throat, or slaying every last one of this magnificent army you have brought me. So long as you are no threat to the ones I love, you can continue to earn my favor."
"Tell me what I must do."
"There is a village to the west of here that has been taken over by demons. They summon an endless stream of them via dark gates. Destroy those gates and bring me pieces. Of course, continue your treatment of your dead. It will be very important here, because the demons will consume their souls. Those demons must be stopped. Those gates must be closed." She laid a hand on his arm. "It will be dangerous, so stay safe." She turned and walked away.
He stared for awhile. She was concerned for his safety.
Elunara scrubbed the kitchen table. She tossed down her rag at the knock on the door. She blinked at Lucy.
"I'm going to do it."
Elunara looked at a calendar. "Your one month starts today?"
Lucy nodded.
"Ok, since you have a strong arm, I recommend asking the blacksmith if he has any work. At the very least you should ask him for a tour or demonstration as to what happens there. Tell him Elunara is calling in a small favor. He'll know."
Lucy nodded before turning and walking away.
"MOMMA!" They called in unison.
She sighed and leaned against the door. "What, you little monsters?"
"You have to come quick!"
"Lydia broke her arm!"
"WHAT? Weren't there like a dozen people along the way?"
"She's this way!"
Elunara ran after the boys, behind the house and down into the orchard. The little girl was lying under the tree, crying. Without waiting for an explanation, Elunara scooped up the girl and started running for the healer building, channeling her energy as she ran.
"Your momma is fast." One of the kids eyes went wide.
"Night Elf speed bonus." One of the others replied.
Darguni and Bradly ran into the healer building.
Ina turned on the both of them. "Weren't you told to stay out of those trees?"
"Yes."
Elunara sighed and held the little girl's hand while Leslia set the arm and began to heal. "What in the world were you doing in that tree?"
She sniffled. "The boys didn't want to play with me. They said I was too girly. So I wanted to show them I could do anything the boys did too."
"Darguni, Bradly... did YOU tell her she was too girly?"
"Well, no." Said Bradly.
"But she was taking forever,"
"And she never keeps up."
"So we have to wait on her all the time."
"We didn't mind,"
"Cause Momma Tuly walks slowly,"
"But the other guys were getting annoyed"
"And Aaron said it was because she was a girl"
"But WE said that our momma was a girl"
"And she was the best in the whole town."
"But then Rick said we had to give Lydia a test"
"To see if she wasn't too girly to play with us."
"And then they came up with the trees..."
Elunara gave a loud sigh. "You're both still idiots for going along with it. That tree sap is poisonous. If she'd been scratched, there'd be a whole different problem!" She put a hand on her hip.
"Momma..." Bradly whimpered. "You called us idiots."
She sighed. "Your friends did something incredibly mean, knowing full well they could hurt somebody, and you went along with it. That is just stupid. Your behavior ranked under the category of name calling, because you KNEW better. If the other kids are doing something mean, you have to either try to stop them, or come get me."
"I'm sorry." Lydia bit her lip.
"You're not to blame here sweetie. Hell, these two aren't to blame. It's your dumb friends." Elunara sighed.
"But if I was faster..."
"Has Grogek ever gotten around to that junior training?"
The boys shook their heads.
"Well, now he's an idiot." She sighed.
The kids giggled.
"So, maybe we'll work on helping you get faster. How about that?"
"You mean it?" Lydia squeezed her hand.
"Sure kid. Gotta learn early. We'll work on form and stuff, after the healers clear you for it."
"We've bandaged the arm to keep it stable. Children's bones are so malleable; it's difficult to heal all at once. She'll have to come back for a few days." Leslia smiled.
"Sure, let's get you home and then I'll bring you over for your arm, and we'll start work."
Elunara got Lydia on her shoulders and followed her directions home.
Several days later, Elunara opened the door to let Lydia in. She frowned as she watched her walk to the living rom.
"Kid, why are you limping?"
Lydia froze and stood up perfectly straight. "I'm not limping."
"First of all, you lie to me and I'll kick you out of here so fast the town will think you've sprouted wings. Second, I know bodies and you, madam, are limping."
Lydia turned around, tears in her eyes. "You CAN'T tell anybody!"
"Sweetie, my house is a safe house. Anything you tell me stays here; unless otherwise needed. This has always been my policy, and it's not changing any time soon."
She pulled up the edges of her big heavy skirt and showed off legs that were deformed.
"Ah. I've seen that many times before. We can still work with that." Elunara pointed to the couch and took the chair for herself. She popped out the board. "I understand you not wanting to tell your friends, kids can be mean little shits. But, I also understand being isolated because of how you were born."
"You have a deformity too?"
"According to some people? Yes. According to me? No. The truth is, I could not follow the expectations put on me, and people made fun of me, called me awful names. I decided I didn't care, and through my actions, have proven myself time and time again. Now, we can still work on building those leg muscles and get it so it's not so painful to run around. However, I think that you should at least tell my boys about your legs."
