For The Whored: Beyond Ch. 28

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Lydia put her hand on Darguni's cheek. "Elunara saved me, as usual."

"What is going on here?!" Varian's voice boomed. He marched forward. "I get reports of four more assassinations, and then I find my WIFE has been SHOT at AGAIN!"

Elunara yanked at her hair. "This is getting ridiculous!"

Up on the stage he plowed his sword point down into the wood.

"Hey! Don't damage the floor, I basically built this thing, you know."

"I don't care about your precious stage. I care about my wife's life!"

"Your "wife" is immortal, you know."

Varian crossed his arms. "Actually, we don't know. Have you ever been shot in the head?"

"I've had a sword through my heart, or did you forget that point?"

"I won't risk it. You will confine yourself to safety until these assassins are found."

Elunara's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You will have an escort at all times, and you will limit your activities to home, whichever one that happens to be."

She put her hands on her hips. "Don't try that shit with me."

"I am the king, and my word is law. You will listen to me!"

"Bull fucking shit. I am the goddamned queen, and MY word is law. Fuck queen, I am the fucking goddess, and MY word trumps yours."

His eyes narrowed. "You want to turn this into a competition?"

Neither one noticed the small sniffling noise as both of their voices raised, nor did they notice the crowd watching. Grogek and Darguni quietly watched the exchange with eyebrows in the air.

Elunara tossed her hands in the air. "You don't know the meaning of competition! You want to fight about it, I'll give you a damned fight about it."

Varian was interrupted by a loud shrieking wail. Everyone on the stage stumbled backwards, and Elunara grabbed her large ears. Emaline sat on the stage, wailing at the top of her lungs, the force of her noise knocking those around her back.

"By the goddess!" Elunara stooped down. "Emaline! Ema. Sweetling, please stop, you're hurting Mommy's ears."

Tears ran down Emaline's face as she continued to sit and wail. The noise reached a fever pitch, as Elunara stooped down and tried to wrap her arms around her child. Emaline flailed her legs and shook her head.

Varian held on to the hilt of his sword for stability. "Stop that this instant." He commanded.

The wailing turned to shrieking and even Elunara was knocked on to her ass. Elunara scooted over on her butt and pulled Emaline into her arms. "Hush now, hush my sweetling."

Emaline gasped for air and buried her face into Elunara's shoulder. Emaline hiccupped and sniffled. "No fight. No fight."

"We'll stop. See? We're fine. It's just a misunderstanding. Right?" Elunara eyed Varian.

Varian grit his teeth and rolled his upper lip in a snarl. "We're not through."

"I think we are."

Emaline began to cry hysterically again. "No lose mommy! No lose daddy! No go away!"

"Oh, honey, we're not breaking up. We're having a strong disagreement on policy."

"Policy my ass." Varian crossed his arms again. "I'm worried for your safety; can you not see that?"

"And how is posting guards going to do me a damned bit of good?" Elunara stood up, Emaline in her arms.

"It might have done Tiffin some good." He whispered.

Some of the fight went out of Elunara. "Oh, Varian..."

"It was Defias poison they found in their necks." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Your own agents delivered this to me just after you left with Ema."

Taking the sheet of paper, Elunara read the report and swore.

"Baby, what is going on?" Jordan gasped as he made it around the entrance to the amphitheater. "I heard yelling, and then shrieking, and all kinds of noise coming from over here. People say you were shot at again..."

"You!" Varian jerked a finger at Jordan. "Where is that woman?"

"Woman? You mean my mother? She's right here." Jordan looked behind him. "She moves a little slow, you'll have to forgive her, but..." He reached out and took Margaret's hand and helped her through the entrance. "She does her best."

"And where has she been lately?"

"Me?" Margaret clung to Jordan's arm. "I've... I've been exploring. Now that I know my son is alive and well, I am trying to catch up on what I've missed for so long."

"A likely story." Varian narrowed his eyes.

"What?" Margaret jerked her head up.

"Oh, you can't be serious, Varian..." Elunara sighed.

Varian twirled on Elunara. "We haven't had Defias activity in years, and suddenly she shows up and this happens? I don't buy it. She's under direct suspicion."

Elunara sat Emaline back on the stage and shook her head. The small child clung to her leg. "Margaret can barely move without assistance. She's been escorted most of the time by Jordan, and now by the few friends she has."

"Who are these friends?"

"Some of mine, some of hers. People she knew before she was kidnapped. People she's met now. Varian, I know your distrust of the Defias, but Margaret is not Defias."

"You trust too easily."

Elunara choked on her laugh. "Did you forget who the fuck I am? Assassin, SI:7 leader, paranoid nutjob? I barely managed to learn how to love, and you're telling me I trust too much?"

Varian snarled and Emaline ducked behind her mother. "Fine. You give me a list of soldiers to watch her, and then we'll talk."

"Wait, what?"

"If you want my number one suspect to roam free, and you won't accept protection for yourself, then you will concede to my demand of guards for her." He jerked a finger in Margaret's direction.

"Hey!" Jordan held his arm up as if shielding his mother from Varian. "Are you out of your mind?"

"If it'll calm your nerves, I'll do it."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Jordan protested.

Elunara sighed and turned to Jordan. "Think of it like this. Your mother needs help getting around as it is. Now she'll have big, strapping male soldiers to tend to her, escort her from place to place. If she needs physical help, who better to do it?"

"See it is done." Varian dislodged his sword from the stage and walked away.

--

Sunwood ignored the various stares, whispers, and inspection upon his character as he made his way through Stormwind with the empty picnic basket. Finding Tippy's inn, he pushed his way inside. All conversation stopped and everyone stared. Some, used to Sunwood, ignored him and went back to their lunch. Others began whispering frantically to their tablemates.

"Sunwood!" Tippy exclaimed. "You don't often come this way."

"I've come to ask you about your new servant girl." He put the basket on the counter. "I have not seen her before."

Tippy's ponytail bounced as she shook her head. "Not my servant. Elunara's newest rescue project."

"Rescue?"

Tippy lowered her voice and looked around. "Her father used to beat her. Attacked her right at the training yard. You know Elunara doesn't stand for that shit. Now Elunara pays her room and board and is having her work on a novel."

Sunwood considered. "I never even got her name."

"Katie. Sweet little thing. Helps clean tables for the hell of it. I can't make her stop."

"I see."

A shriek had the entire room jolting. "NO! I SAID NO!" Tammy was standing at the bottom of the stairs, her hands on either side of her face. "I WON'T HAVE A TAUREN! I JUST WON'T!" She continued in that obnoxious shriek. "I TOLD HER! I TOLD ELUNARA NO!"

"I should go." Sunwood turned and walked out of the inn, leaving Tammy shrieking.

Tippy growled and, marching over to Tammy, grabbed her by the hair and yanked her forward. Grabbing one of Tammy's arms, she yanked the arm behind Tammy's back and began hauling her out. "Enalla, watch the inn."

"Yes, Momma."

Tippy hauled the squalling, shrieking Tammy down to the training yard, where everyone turned to watch the spectacle, even Grogek's special Corps. "Where is Elunara?" Tippy demanded of Susan.

"Umm, everyone went down to the amphitheater... there was... an incident."

"Come on, bitch." Tippy snarled at Tammy. You're coming with me until we find Elunara."

"Let go of me! You're crazy!"

"I'm pissed. No one treats my customers that way, and no one... I don't care who you are, why you're here, or what protections you have... will stay at MY inn when they act a bitch like you have."

"I won't date a disgusting Tauren. I only fuck humans!"

"I don't give a shit who you fuck, you pitched a temper tantrum in my inn, ran off my friend, and made a gods damned scene about it."

They reached the amphitheater in time to pass Varian who gave them a strange look. "What in the...?"

"I need Elunara." Tippy gestured with the hand holding Tammy's hair.

Varian held out a hand, gesturing to the stage. "Through there."

Tippy nodded and shoved at Tammy. Pushing her through, she called out. "Elunara!"

"Oh, what now?" Elunara sighed.

"This bitch is not welcome in my inn any longer. She pitched a shit fit over Sunwood, and I won't have my customers treated like shit."

"Is this true?"

Tammy shrieked again. "I won't date a Tauren! She's crazy! You're crazy! You sent him after me, and I told you no!"

Elunara's eyebrow shot up. "Tippy, you can release her, she won't bother you any longer."

Tippy dropped Tammy where she stood. Tammy collapsed to the ground.

"I didn't send Sunwood anywhere, if he showed up to Tippy's inn, he was probably hungry. He knows she is a safe space for him. As for the other thing... I will find you a place to go, and then you will collect your shit from Tippy's inn and you will never go there again."

"I don't want to stay there anyway." Tammy sniffled. "All the single men go to the bars anyway."

Elunara snorted. "You have a point there. I should have never trusted a prostitute like you to a family establishment like Tippy's. Find your benefactor, or don't. I don't even care. I tried to help, and you rejected me, and that's fine. But, I do not like finding out you've been cruel to my friend."

"She's the one hauling me around by my hair!"

"I'm talking about Sunwood. He is my friend, and a guest of the crown. He lives here in peace, and you, quote, "pitched a fit" and "treated him like shit". That's enough to set me off. I told Tawdry I'd see you taken care of, and I hold to that, but afterwards, you're on your own. Go gather what little shit you have and tell what ever bar you crash at that Elunara sent you. That is more than I feel like doing for you."

Tippy wiped her hands together. "I'm done. I need to go see about getting Sunwood his food for the day. Since he left without it." She gave Tammy one last glare and turned and stalked away.