Chapter 22: Consequences

*Kidnapped?*

*Your father has reported to us that you have kidnapped your mother and your younger siblings.*

These were the words Captain Verosa had said to him. Kelrian blinked, wondering if he was hallucinating this situation. Unfortunately, he wasn't. That meant this was real. His father had accused him of having kidnapped his mother and his younger siblings against their will.

If someone who knew Kelrian would have heard that, that person would have burst into laughter. Kelrian was a friendly person who was not the biggest fan of violence. He would never force anyone to do anything he didn't want to do. He wouldn't do that to anyone, especially not to his family. He loved his family, at least those who didn't treat him like rubbish.

He couldn't believe that his father had done that. His father was a lot of things but Kelrian had never thought he would give the guards false information. Kelrian didn't kidnap his family. His mother, Cincia and Sindor had followed him voluntarily. They could have left Liadrin's house at any time but they didn't because they didn't want to return to their father. But his father was seeing things differently. He didn't know the truth, so he thought Kelrian had kidnapped them. He had told the guards so they had come to Liadrin's house to find out what was going on.

A loud sigh escaped Kelrian's lips. "Of course, he did that" he muttered. He took a deep breath, regarding the guards for a moment before he spoke. "There must a mistake. I didn't kidnap anyone"

"We believe you" Verosa said, pausing for a few moments. "Nevertheless, your father sought us for a reason. We haven't accused you of anything, we just want to find out what is going on"

"I understand that" Kelrian responded.

"May we come in?" asked Jen.

"This is not my house, I'm only living in it but I don't think my cousin has anything against it" he stepped aside, signalizing them to come in. They didn't hesitate to enter the house, checking their surroundings as they followed Kelrian. He brought them to the living room where Liadrin was sitting on an armchair. She got up as she saw the guards entering the room, making a surprised face. She walked over to them, greeting them by their names.

"What is going on?" she asked.

Captain Verosa explained everything.

Liadrin shook her head, showing everyone that she didn't believe Kelrian could kidnap anyone. "That's a lie" she said. "Kelrian didn't kidnap them. The joined him voluntarily. They are in the backyard so you can ask them if they got kidnapped"

"We will do that" replied Verosa. "But first we want to know why they have been living in this place for a few days. They lived in their father's house until a few days ago, so it surprises us that they change places from one day to the other"

Kelrian explained to them what had happened in the house. He emphasized his father's negative behaviour, telling the guards what a kind of an asshole he was. The guards were silent at first, not knowing what to say. Then Verosa spoke after she had found the right words. "I can understand your decision and we approve it as long as your mother and siblings came with you voluntarily. We believe you, nevertheless we want to ask your family a few questions. We hope that is okay for you"

"It's fine for me, go ahead. As Liadrin said, they are in the backyard.

Kelrian followed them, watching them questioning his family. As expected, his mother, Cincia and Sindor told the guards that they weren't forced to live there and that they could to return to their original home whenever they wanted. They also told them that they didn't want to return there because of the way Xenarion was behaving. Liana also told the guards how he had intimidated her and forced her to do what he wanted. She mentioned that she had been always afraid he would have hit her if she wouldn't have agreed with him.

According to her, his misbehaviour had begun a few years before Kelrian had attended the first priest examination. He had changed over the years. He had become a different person. A person Liana didn't recognize anymore. He was not the man anymore she had fallen in love with over one hundred and fifty years ago. The smart, sensitive, funny and just man she had known was gone. Replaced by an arrogant, abusive, narcissistic and violent asshole. With tears in her eyes, she told the guards everything she knew.

The guards understood the sorrow she was feeling. They understood that she hated herself because she had allowed that her husband would treat one of their children like rubbish. She felt guilty. She was angry at herself that she hadn't stopped her husband, that she hadn't been brave enough to stand up to even called herself a terrible mother.

Kelrian approached her as she was done speaking. He hugged her and whispered soothing words in her ears. He embraced her until her insecurity, self-hatred, sorrow and all other negative emotions had vanished. He held her a few minutes longer than necessary, only letting her go when he was sure she was alright.

He turned to the guards, noticing that they were regarding them with weak smiles on their lips. They told Kelrian and his family they will report to their superiors that no one got kidnapped and everything was alright. Kelrian gave them a thankful nod, smiling at them. Verosa returned the smile, looking at her subordinate who signalized her that he was ready for departure.

They excused themselves for troubling Kelrian and his family but he told them that everything was alright. They were only doing their work after all. There was no reason to be mad at them. The guards said goodbye and left the house eventually, leaving the family at peace.

---

It was almost midnight when Kelrian walked through the side streets of Suncrown Village. It was so dark that Kelrian barely recognized his surroundings. He had to narrow his eyes and stare longer at a spot to recognize what was there. That meant he needed more time to walk through the side streets.

He regretted that he had made a trip to the nearest lake. Everything would have been fine if he wouldn't have fallen asleep while sunbathing. He wouldn't need to wander around in the dark, hoping that he would find the right street which would lead him home if he would have returned home before the sunset.

But now it was too late to change anything. He could only give his best to get home without getting lost. Taking the wrong turning would only cost him lots of time so he had decided to find out first where he was before he would choose a path.

He walked for a while, noticing that he had gotten lost again. He was near the market square which he had crossed three times within the past hour. He wished he had a torch with him. A light source would really help him. He was also wishing that he had the abilities of a priest or a paladin so he could create a small sphere of light which could lighten up the area. Unfortunately, he was not able to do that.

Kelrian had never seen a night before which was darker than this night. He found it odd, wondering why the sky was so much darker. Unlike every other night, this night showed a sky without stars. For some reason not a single star was visible. Kelrian had never witnessed such a dark night before. Even though he was not superstitious,he was worried about the meaning of such a rare occurrence. The total dark sky was some sort of a phenomenon which wouldn't happen again so soon.

He muttered a few words to himself, then he averted his gaze from the sky and started walking. He returned to the main street, following its course. He knew that he would need longer to get home if he would take the main street. He would arrive earlier at home if he would take the side streets during day time. The side streets were not enlightened so it was easy to get lost which had already happened three times. He regretted having taken the side streets. He would have been already at Liadrin's house if he would have followed the main street but he had been too impatient so he had decided to follow the side streets instead. He shook his head about his own foolishness, increasing his tempo as he left the market square.

He walked for half an hour, coming to a crossroad. He followed the left path, ignoring the scary sounds which could be heard from time to time. He was a brave man so he didn't get intimidated by the weird sounds which echoed through the air. He arrived at the district where his father, older brother and older sister still lived. Three weeks had passed since Kelrian's mother and younger siblings had moved out. He hadn't heard anything so far from the rest of his family.

He was glad that he hadn't seen his father during the past weeks. He didn't want to meet his father. He was not afraid of him, no matter how loud and violent he could be. He was only afraid that his father might come with some of his friends and drag his mother and younger siblings back to his house. He couldn't even be sure if his father wouldn't be violent. He feared he might hit his mother if they would meet again one day.

Fortunately, more guards were stationed near Liadrin's house so they would notice when Kelrian's father would try something. Nevertheless, Kelrian felt a bit uneasy when thinking about what his father could do. At least, his family never left the house alone so the chance, that Kelrian's father would spot them and drag them to his house, was a lot smaller.

Kelrian rushed past his father's house, not deigning to look at it. He followed the bordering street, coming to a smaller, much thinner street. Normally the street was enlightened by street lamps but today, for some reason, the lamps which stood along the street were out. Not a single street lamp radiated light. A quiet sigh escaped Kelrian's lips as he realized that he had to walk carefully again. He slowed down his walking speed, his eyes rested on the ground to make sure he wouldn't stumble over something. He followed the street until he came to the district where Liadrin's house was.

Only a few houses stood in the district, all of them were a lot larger than most houses in the village. Liadrin's house was on the opposite side of the square which was directly in front of him. Kelrian noticed that even the large lamp in the middle of the square was not functioning. He also noticed that no guards were near the square which was very odd. Normally, about six guards were stationed in the near of the square but on this day, no one was there.

Kelrian walked to the square's middle, stopping as he heard footsteps. He turned around slowly, trying to recognize who had followed him. He needed a few moments to recognize the vague shapes of three persons.

It was too dark to see who they were. He wasn't even able to recognize what they were wearing. He only recognized their shapes so he interpreted that all of them were males and all of them carried long and thick objects. He didn't need to think twice to find out the purpose of these objects - Their purpose was to hurt someone very badly.

"Who are you guys?" asked Kelrian loudly. One of his hand wandered slowly to his belt, checking if his daggers still hung on it. For some reason, he could only find one of his two daggers. He must have lost the other somewhere... Maybe it was lying near the lake. Maybe he had lost it when he had stumbled over a root in the forest near the lake.

He didn't know where he had lost it but that didn't matter anymore. He had left his bow and his swords at home. He wasn't even wearing his uniform, instead, he wore casual clothes. A green vest and brown trousers. There was no armour which could protect him and he had no weapon which could keep up with the long objects.

Kelrian turned his head a bit, looking at Liadrin's house which was three hundred feet away from him. He looked back at the shapes, assuming they were about one hundred and fifty feet away. He didn't know what they wanted from him but he assumed the worst. He had two options. Talk to them or run. He was a pretty good sprinter so he assumed he would reach the house and unlock the door before the strangers would catch up to him.

He made a few steps backwards, asking them again who they were and what they wanted. They didn't answer but they started to move as they realized that he was moving away from them. Kelrian turned around, running as fast as he could. He turned his head from time to time to look at them. They were following him but they weren't as fast as him. He came closer and closer to the house, leaving half the distance behind him in short time.

He turned his head again after leaving behind a third of the remaining distance. He noticed that his pursuers were still after him but the distance between them and him had been increased. He was running faster than expected. He turned his head eventually and looked at the house which was not far away from him. He saw the stretched-out arm, which was one the same height as his chest, too late so he ran directly into it. He expected that his body weight would push the arm away but it didn't. Instead, he fell to the ground.

A pained scream escaped Kelrian's lips as his head hit the floor. But not only his head hurt, his entire back hurt as well. Kelrian writhed in pain for the first few moments. The pain didn't vanish but at least his body had gotten used to it quickly so Kelrian was able to move again. He tried to get up but the man who had thrown him to the ground pushed him back.

Again, Kelrian landed on the ground. This time he didn't hit his head but that didn't make his situation better. He was lying on the ground, a muscular elf, whose face was hidden behind by a white mask, stood right in front of him and regarded him curiously. Kelrian's pursuers arrived a few moments later, surrounding him.

Kelrian turned his head, scrutinizing them quickly. Half of their faces were covered by scarves but their blue glowing eyes and their long ears weren't covered. Even though their faces were half-covered, Kelrian was able to recognize one of them. One of these men had a scar above his left eyebrow. This scar had a unique form, which he had seen before. Kelrian knew who this man was. It was a friend of his father. He didn't know his name but he had seen him more than once before.

Kelrian came to the conclusion that his father must be responsible for this attack. maybe because he wanted him to suffer for taking his family. These men were armed with clubs and their eyes told him Kelrian they will hurt him.

He covered his head with his arms as they started to assault him with their fists, feet and clubs. They hit him and kicked him, their lips under their masks formed pleased smiles, as they heard his screams. Bones broke, blood flowed, screams echoed through the air. Lights in some rooms of the surrounding houses were turned on, shapes of persons looked out of the windows but no one dared to come out.

No one except for Liadrin and Liana. Liana was holding her sword in her right hand while Liadrin held Kelrian's swords in her hands. The light which was coming out of the house was bright enough to enlighten the area in front of it, in which Kelrian and the attackers were.

Liadrin's and Liana's eyes widened as they saw the scene. They held their weapons in front of their bodies but they hesitated to attack. They scrutinized their opponents, realizing that they were superior in number. Their opponents had stopped to injure Kelrian, expecting that he wouldn't dare to attack them.

But they were wrong about that. They may have injured him badly but he was not defeated. He was just waiting for the right moment to strike. And the right moment came when an arrow appeared out of nowhere and hit the man with the mask in the back of his knee, causing him to cry out in pain. Kelrian managed to get up quickly, even though his body hurt like hell, and bashed his elbow in the face of the man with the scar.

The man cried out loudly, covering his broken nose with his free hand. Kelrian took advantage of the fact that he was distracted, snatching his club away. He turned around and hit one of the attackers in the belly. The man staggered backwards, colliding with another man who had also been hit by an arrow. Another arrow swooshed through the air, hitting the last man who hadn't been injured yet. The arrow hit him in the foot, piercing through flesh and bones with ease. The arrow had even pierced through the ground so the man couldn't lift his foot.

Liana and Liadrin had rushed to the attackers in the meantime. Only a few exchanges of blows were enough to make them run but they didn't get very far because they got hit by more arrows. They were either hit in the knee, in the feet or in the back of their knees, causing that they were unable to move very fast.

Kelrian and his family managed to catch up to them, knocking them out. Kelrian regarded the defeated strangers for a few moments. He turned around, looking at his mother and cousin who were giving him worried looks. Everything was fine for the moment but suddenly his surroundings blurred out and everything became dark.

---

Sylvanas sat in her office, on her chair behind her desk on which a few very large stacks of documents laid. She put a small stack, she had worked off recently, in the highest drawer of her filing cabinet which stood next to her desk. A loud sigh escaped her lips as she realized that she would need at least half a day to work off these documents.

It was already late and she was pretty tired so it would be better if she would get some sleep and finish the rest tomorrow. But she wanted to finish more of them today so she could enjoy more of the sunny day tomorrow. She held her hand in front of her mouth as she yawned. She didn't hesitate for too long to embark on the next stack of documents.

She finished the next stack within an hour, putting it in the cabinet. She was about to take the next stack as she heard knocks at her door. "Come in" she shouted as she placed the next stack right in front of her. The door was opened a moment later and Verena came in, not hesitating to rush to her best friend. She lifted her out of her seat as she pulled her in a tight hug, placing a kiss on her forehead. She pulled back eventually and grinned at the amazed Sylvanas.

"What was that for?" she asked, regarding Verena curiously.

She smiled. "I have barely seen you over the past weeks. Am I not allowed to be happy to see you?"

"Of course you are but I didn't expect that you would fling me through the room when you visit me"

Verena rolled with her eyes. "Ah c'mon, don't exaggerate, Sylvie"

Soft laughter escaped Sylvanas' lips.

"How are you doing?"

Sylvanas tilted her head a little. "How do you think am I doing?"

Verena let her eyes wander through the room quickly, then they landed back on Sylvanas. "You look pretty tired and a little thinner than before. Are you doing some sort of a diet?"

"Not really, to be honest. I just forget to eat sometimes"

Verena raised an eyebrow, taking a closer look at Sylvanas' body "Sometimes?"

"Okay, maybe more than just sometimes. I have so much work to do that I barely have the time to eat and sleep"

"That's not good, my dear"

"I know, I know. I'm not a child anymore, you don't have to tell me to take care of myself. You are not my mother"

"Some things which happened in the past would have been really awkward if I would have been your mother"

"What do you mean?"

Verena smirked. "You know exactly what I mean" she said pointing at herself, then at Sylvanas. Sylvanas' eyes widened when she realized what Verena meant.

"Don't put unwanted images in my mind" scolded Sylvanas. Verena laughed. Sylvanas was so easy to tease, at least if you knew how to tease her. Verena knew Sylvanas since they were little girls. She knew everything about Sylvanas and Sylvanas knew everything about her. So, it was very easy for Verena to find something she could use to mock Sylvanas. Of course, Sylvanas knew that Verena meant nothing serious when she teased her so she didn't hold it against her.

"Should I rather put 'wanted' images in your mind" teased Verena, wrapping her arms around Sylvanas' hips.

"Wanted images?" she asked, raising a brow.

Verena came closer until her mouth was only a few inches away from Sylvanas' right ear. "Images about us or about you and Kelrian"

"No thanks"

Verena raised an eyebrow, giving Sylvanas a confused look. "No thanks? Did Kelrian visit you recently"?

Sylvanas shook her head. "The last time I have seen him was a week ago"

"A week? Oh dear. Your body must be really tensed up then after working for an entire week without enough pauses. Let me help you out" said Verena, putting Sylvanas on her chair. She walked her and put her hands on her friend's shoulders, starting to messaging them carefully. "Your body is so tense... I don't think a simple massage will help there"

"Do it rougher and everything will be fine" responded Sylvanas as she leaned back, closing her eyes. Verena didn't need to be told twice. She started to massage Sylvanas' shoulders roughly, smiling as she saw the relaxed expression on Sylvanas' beautiful face. Verena knew that the other woman was enjoying what she was doing so she didn't stop. Sylvanas didn't know why Verena's hands worked wonders on her but she was glad about that.

She didn't know how much time had passed as she opened her eyes again. Verena was still standing behind her, massing her shoulders and parts of her back. Sylvanas leaned forward so Verena had access to her entire back. She closed her eyes again, allowing Verena to continue. Her best friend's skilled hands really helped her.

Sylvanas felt better within a short time. Verena was not sure if she had heard a quiet moan escaping Sylvanas' lips. She couldn't say it for sure, it could also be possible that she had just been imagination. She didn't really care if she had heard something or not because Sylvanas' facial expression was enough to convince her that her massage was really helping the overworked woman.

Sylvanas closed her eyes, letting her thoughts drift off. She forgot what was going on around her, what was troubling her and what she needed to do. She faded out everything unnecessary and thought about the really important things in her life. Her family, her friends and her lover.

Kelrian.

She was wondering what he was doing at the moment. She assumed that he was already sleeping but it could also be possible that he was still awake. Maybe he was even thinking about her at the same moment.

He had had an early shift this day so he had the afternoon off. She was wondering what he had done for the rest of the day. Maybe he had met up with Zetai or other friends. Maybe he had spent time with Liadrin. Maybe he had trained. Maybe he had spent his time on the market or he had done something else. There were lots of things Kelrian could have done. Maybe he had gone for a walk.

She could only imagine him returning home in the evening, sweaty and exhausted from the hard training. She imagined him walking to the bathroom, removing his clothes which stuck to his skin. She imagined him entering the shower and turning on the water. She saw him clearly as if she was having some sort of a vision. The water drops came out of the showerhead, falling on his sweaty body. She could watch the water drops flowing down his body in slow motion. The scene was really enjoyable to watch.

Sylvanas was brought down out of her thoughts as she noticed that Verena's hand rested somewhere where it was not supposed to rest. She opened her eyes looking down at herself, only to find out that her ex-lover's hand was cupping her left breast. Her blouse was open and Verena's hand was beneath it. Sylvanas was still wearing her bra but that didn't seem to stop Verena from touching her. Sylvanas looked up, frowning at her best friend.

"What do you think you are doing?" Sylvanas asked, her voice was louder than intended.

"I help you to relax" spoke Verena, her face reflected confusion.

"I don't need this kind of relaxation" spoke Sylvanas, making an annoyed and slightly angry face. Verena removed her hand but she didn't apologize to her best friend. "Your body seems to share a different opinion about that, otherwise, it wouldn't have acted on its own"

"What do you mean?" asked Sylvanas, the confusion in her voice was unmistakable.

Verena didn't say anything. She just lowered her head, signalizing Sylvanas to look down at herself. Sylvanas did that, her eyes widened as she realised that her left hand rested between her legs. But it didn't only rest there. Her hand had managed to sneak in her panties without her noticing. She pulled it out quickly, noticing that sticky stuff stuck to it. She ignored Verena's laughter, cleaning her hand with a handkerchief.

"You know, I would always help you out if you need to relax. Kelrian is not always here when you need him, just like today"

Sylvanas turned her head, her narrowed eyes regarded her ex-girlfriend closely. "Be careful with what you say"

Verena frowned "What do you mean?"

"I will not cheat on him. I love him and you know that"

"You told me that you love me as well"

"I know but I don't love you the same way I love him. I thought you have accepted that I am not gay. I'm not bi either. I'm straight"

Verena laughed amused. "Do straight girls moan the names of their best friends when they made them come?"

Sylvanas blushed but she didn't break eye contact. "Fine, I might not be straight but I'm not interested in anyone else. I only have eyes for Kelrian. No other man or woman interests me"

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him" Verena tried to convince Sylvanas but she didn't succeed. The Ranger-General was too stubborn and too loyal to her lover to give in. A defeated sigh escaped Verena's lips as she sat down on the chair next to Sylvanas.

"It was worth a try"

"Don't you dare to try it again"

Verena lifted her hands, admitting her defeat. "Fine, I surrender. I won't try it again"

"Good"

"What about a threesome?" Verena asked after a few minutes.

Sylvanas gave her a confused look. "A threesome? You are not even interested in men..."

"Well, as long as he doesn't touch me, I'm fine"

"How should it work then?" asked Sylvanas, giving her friend a confused look.

"You can't tell me Kelrian wouldn't enjoy watching you making out with another beautiful woman. Men are all the same"

"Kelrian is not like other men" responded Sylvanas, regarding her best friend with narrowed eyes.

"You may be right about that. Nevertheless, Kelrian is just a man. Men like it when two women make out in front of them" explained Verena.

"It seems you are speaking from experience"

"I have gotten so many free drinks from horny men. I only needed to make out with my girlfriends in front of them to make them buy us so many drinks for us"

"Strange, we never did that"

"We kept your relationship secret, silly" replied Verena, smacking Sylvanas' forehead playfully. "Don't you remember?"

"I do remember" grumbled Sylvanas, rubbing her forehead softly.

"So, what do you say?"

"No"

"Ah, c'mon, Sylvie. You don't know how much fun you are missing"

"Get yourself a girlfriend if you want to fuck someone but don't bother me whenever you are horny"

Verena groaned. "Fine, I'm leaving then"

"Where are you going?"

"Visiting someone who doesn't reject me"

"And who would that be?" Sylvanas asked interested.

Verena smirked "Elonis is always up to have some fun with me. She doesn't live far away from this place so I'll check if she is still up"

Sylvanas sighed, shaking her head. "Have fun"

Verena's smirk became wider. "I will. Trust me"

Sylvanas got up, hugging her friend before she said goodbye to her. Verena kissed her cheek, waving at her before she left her office and closed the door behind her. Sylvanas stared at the door for a few moments, a loud sigh escaped her lips as she sat down on her chair. She was about to continue working as she heard knocks at her door. She got up, wondering who was it this time.

She opened the door, greeting the familiar ranger who was waiting there. "Vara. I didn't expect you to be awake at this late hour"

"Normally, I would have been already home and sing my children to sleep but instead I returned to Silvermoon to report to you"

"You want to report to me? About what? What happened?"

"A ranger was attacked by a group of mercenaries in the near of his home. He was brought to the next hospital where he is currently treated by the best priests and doctors who live in the near of this area. His condition is critical but the healers are certain he will make it"

"Who is it?" Sylvanas asked, expecting the worst.

All the colour was drained from Sylvanas' face as she heard the name.

Ranger Kelrian Sunsinger.