1.22

"What?! How?!" Huifang was thunderstruck.

"I don't know yet. Fenrir has tasked me with returning to the kingdom to investigate and control the situation. I'll be leaving now with Taemor, Anastasia and a few others. I just wanted to tell you this Naya."

Wind ruffled the gold strands of Illidan's hair. His eyes were dark with a heaviness that made him appear older. Huifang once again remembered what Aini had told her.

"Why can't you stay here?" Her voice was so low he almost didn't hear it.

"Fenrir cannot leave. War is at our doorstep Naya. I have to go." He rubbed his tired eyes. Illidan hadn't slept in 26 hours. And now he had to fly all the way to the kingdom.

Huifang had to let him go after all. She was leaving this world anyway so why did she care that Illidan was going to die?

She took a step closer and hugged him, something Lanaya had never taken the initiative to do. When Illidan's strong arms embraced her in return, Huifang's tears soaked through the linen of his shirt. Having never known the love of a sibling herself, to have met Illidan allowed her to experience something wonderful. How lucky Lanaya had been to have this man as her brother. How lucky that she had the chance to be Lanaya!

"Why are you crying? I'll come back Naya." His gentle voice vibrated through his chest. Illidan was flummoxed by the sudden tears. Huifang wished she could tell him. This would probably be the last time they would ever see each other.

"You have to be careful brother. Please always wear the armor I gave you." She raised her head and looked at him. Blue eyes turned up in a smile. "Big brother knows. Watch over Fenrir for me will you? I'll come back in no time Naya." He patted her head and let her go.

"I must leave. It's late."

Huifang watched his familiar back disappear as he went down the staircase.

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The next day, the station was swathed in a depressive mood that choked any liveliness amongst the soldiers. Reports had been steadily arriving about the tragic happenings in the kingdom. One among the few soldiers that had barged in when the screams began in the Royal study, had survived the attack and related what had transpired. The attacks were carried out by tree men while the King and Queen met with the Duke Aldamiel. The last thing that the soldier had seen was the terrible sight of the Duke bloodied and being dragged away by the tree men. He had shuddered at the thought of what they wanted the Duke's body for.

The famous adage - when it rains, it pours, struck Lanaya as she watched the night elf encampment that was being setup in the far distance. They were here.

Fenrir's routine remained despite the death of his parents. He went about his duty as the Supreme General of the pass whose defense mattered the most right now.

He spent long hours behind the glass dome watching the night elf soldiers arrange themselves far from where they could be attacked. Huifang watched his lone figure and hoped that he was dealing with everything better than she was. After all, the soldiers all looked to him for morale. Fenrir was the pillar that held them all up. He couldn't afford to collapse at this crucial junction of time.

Huifang refused to think about either Illidan or her missing father. And when she thought that nothing could get worse, more grim news reached the General's desk. The barricade between elves and humans had disappeared. It meant either of one of the two - the meddlings of humans, or a disturbance of the elf magic that sustained the barricade. Neither was good news. Fenrir was stuck at the pass, turtled into a shell that he couldn't get out of. Huifang felt frustration and despair. The depressing and heavy atmosphere was choking her and making her restless. She hoped the night elves would attack soon just so she would have something to do.

"Huifang.. " Aini fluttered to her shoulder and landed gently. With a shudder, the Raven closed its eyes and spoke to her. "Aini sees Fenrir with arrow in heart. Huifang, future is changing. Death is closer."

How? Nothing could penetrate his shield. How would an arrow hit him?

"Aini, when did you see this?" Huifang had a bad feeling.

"Just now.. Aini saw."

Was this her fault? That armor that she took from Fenrir, was it supposed to have saved him? Huifang had meddled in Illidan's fate and now Fenrir had been implicated.

"Aini, does that mean Illidan will be saved?" The hand of sorrow slowly cupped her heart in its cold fingers.

"Huifang, sometimes fate cannot change." The Raven replied gravely.

No, she did not believe that. "Fate can always be changed Ai. Its just that I am not powerful enough to change his fate." She spoke the last line with a sorrowful finality of her acceptance.

The Raven quietly watched Huifang thinking about what she had just said. Huifang was not powerful enough to save brother.

The night elves began their assault when the full moon reached the sky. Huifang cast aside all the plans she had to join the battle. Her priority had changed. But she couldn't understand was how it would happen when Fenrir was constantly surrounded by a shield that nothing was able to penetrate. He had already mounted his wyvern and was amongst the first to reach the battlefield.

The pass was a tight passage but beyond it stretched out a plane land carved out of the violence that erupted during the hundreds of wars that had taken place. Only the rocks underneath the snow knew how much blood had been sacrificed into their crevices. Fenrir glided with his wyvern just above the lines of soldiers that waited at the foot of the fortress. His shield encompassed his footmen in a wide arc while his archers in the backlines sent volleys of arrows into the air towards the approaching night elf army.

Huifang watched the enemy raise their shields to block the incoming arrows. The mages were all ready for when the enemy came closer. They did not have as much range as the archers after all. Aside from minimally disrupting the ranks of the enemy infantry, the archers had only managed to take out a few lines of soldiers. When the mages began casting, the night elves linked their shields and a glow of magic surrounded them. Fireballs rained from the sky and exploded on their shields. The war had truly begun. Huifang disregarded whatever instructions she had been given about staying away from the battle. She sat atop Raka and silently took to the sky.

The scent of blood enveloped the air while the cries of war pierced through the sounds of explosions and steel. Huifang watched on in distress as the night elves took massive casualties. They were pushing forward and throwing their bodies into the battle with single minded focus. They did not fear death. She could not join the battle yet because she was on high alert watching for anomalies. Fenrir was casting light spells that felled ranks of night elves. Spears of searing hot light fell from the sky burning anything they touched, and melting the snow completely around the battlefield. His soldiers' morale began to rise as they watched the lines of suicidal night elves fall. Huifang's intuition was screaming its warning of a danger lurking. She cast her senses wide and observed the battle with a laser focus. The night was deeply hiding the secrets of the enemy in its cloak.

Aini was flying high above her and scouring the enemy ranks with his vision. When Huifang finally spotted the archer, it was almost too late. His arrow head burnt white and hot, not with fire but with magic. She heard Aini's urgent voice, "Arrow is not simple magic!" Huifang urged Raka into a dive down towards Fenrir as the arrow flew towards him. She leapt off her Thunderbird and her eyes met with Fenrir's shocked ones. Huifang fell into his arms and as they tumbled off of his wyvern together, a hot pain spread through her shoulder.

They weren't high up in the air but Huifang hadn't expected their landing to be soft. She wondered if they had fallen on some unlucky infantry. She vaguely noticed dark shapes and people shouting. Her shoulder hurt so much. A hand gently pried her mouth open and poured in something that immediately made her numb. Huifang was starting to feel sleepy. She tried to fight the feeling but sleep took over quickly and she closed her eyes.

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Staring up at the ceiling, Huifang felt a sense of deja vu. She seemed to be using up her lifetime's quota of passing out fairly quickly. The world was quiet. She wondered about the battle. Huifang had almost forgotten her injury. Feeling around with her fingers, she found her shoulder area wrapped in thick padding. She was no doubt drugged up on painkillers.

A healer did a brief check up on her and left the room. Nearly after another hour, Fenrir showed up. The battle had left its dent on him. His hair was messy and tied back hastily. Nevertheless, the man still managed to look like every inch the elven prince he was.

"How are you feeling?" He sat at the edge of her bed and looked at her bandaged shoulder.

"Fine." She replied remembering what had happened the last time they were in a room like this. It wasn't a good memory. Her mood dipped even lower.

"Lanaya, I just wanted to say thanks. You.. saved my life." Head bowed, he appeared disquieted and confused. "I-"

Huifang didn't need his thanks. She interrupted him, "I didn't do it out of kindness for you Fenrir. The kingdom needs you. I did it for the people. Don't thank me."

Fenrir's eyes quickly turned steely. He sat quietly digesting her words. How heavy those words felt to him. When he understood the sacrifice Lanaya had made to save his life, it had awoken something in his heart. He had only been interested in the surprises that she had been giving him. But the latest incident had changed things. He truly felt gratitude and a feeling he could not understand. The hurt and confusion clouded his rational thoughts and it came out as anger.

"Lanaya, do you hate me so that you must say these words?"

Huifang scoffed, "When have you ever been likeable Fenrir? When you bullied me with your power? Or when you used me? How about that time you forced me to open that chest on your desk? I don't like you Fenrir. I never will! I really dislike people like you the most." Huifang let out everything she had wanted to say and it felt cathartic. Yes he gave her that armor for free but she wasn't grateful enough to forget his misdeeds.

"Consider the arrow I took as compensation for the armor I deprived you of Fenrir." She added. She belatedly realised she wasn't acting like herself. Huifang wasn't one to lose her cool like this. She blamed it on her bad mood and the drugs that she was on.

Her outburst had shaken the man before her. She could see his thoughts churning like a storm in those furious eyes. Would he threaten her? Use his powers again? Or would he just kill her right now? He looked mad enough to. Trembling black lashes finally blinked and Fenrir walked out of the room without a word. Huifang breathed a sigh and felt like she had won a small victory.