For the Whored: Stormwind Ch. 77

Barbara crossed her arms and growled. "THIS castle?"

Charles pulled out a sheet. "Yep, this is the one. I've studied the blueprint."

"Gods, let's get this over with." She shoved at the door. "Damn, she's locked it."

"Hold on." He shoved his sword in the door frame and popped it. Opening the door, he bowed. "My lady..."

Rolling her eyes, Barbara shoved her way in the door. "Gods, look at all this shit."

"The kid's room should be this door here."

She shoved the door open. Narrowing her eyes, she spotted the pictures on the wall. "That's the whore's work alright. Two beds, her little shit must be in here too."

"OW!" Charles whacked the large cat with his sword. It yelped, but continued to attack. "Stupid thing." Kicking the beast in the side of the head, he spat at the thing. He jammed the end of his sword into its paw, and kicked it again. "Damned thing, stop attacking me." He grabbed it by the scruff and shoved it in the other door. He slammed the door closed. "Fucking beast."

Barbara yanked the pictures down and smashed them open on the bed post. Yanking the pictures out, she shredded them with a snort. "Worthless." Looking around, she frowned. "Stairs?"

"Yeah." Shredding a bed sheet, he bound his injuries. "According to the blueprints, the kids have a three tiered bedroom, ending in a room with a 360 view."

"No child is worth THAT!" She pointed at the ceiling.

"Well, it's the fastest way up to the main bedrooms."

She marched up the stairs. "Completely ridiculous."

"Spare room, spare..." He eyed the room. "That's a crib."

"MY BABY!" Barbara ran over and pulled the sheets back. "Damn that bitch, she has MY baby!"

"We'll get her back." He ran a hand down her arm.

"Not worth it." She shoved the crib over. "Brat is tainted now."

Charles blinked at Barbara marching past. "Well, anyway... the room you're after should be next." He tapped his chin. "Should be the biggest one."

"Of course." Barbara snorted and shoved the door open. Looking around, she put her hands on her hips. "And of course she put her pornography on the walls."

"Damn." He whistled. "That must be the Draenei, Tulani." He eyed the various pictures. "Niiice." Wincing, he eyed Barbara yanking pictures off the walls and smashing them. "Hey..." Licking his lips, he ran a finger over some of the Draenei pictures. "You want to REALLY piss her off?"

"Huh?"

"Let's fuck on the beds."

Barbara rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever."

"Oh, don't be like that." He stepped behind her and slid his hands down the front of her dress. "It'll be hot."

She hiked up her skirt and laid in the big bed. "Well, get it done with."

Yanking off his shirt, and tugging himself out of his pants, he grinned. "That's what I'm talking about."

Bradly held his wrapped hand and winced. He really should take such a minor injury down to Ina, but he preferred having his mother do it. It was just something he would keep to himself. His momma was the best, and that's all he cared about.

Staring at the broken front door, he froze. Panic screamed at him. Shoving it down, he pulled his practice dagger out of his sheath. He should have left the dagger at the yard, but he'd been focused on the cut in his hand. Noises caught his attention. Slipping in, he decided that he'd find out who it was... so if they got away while he was getting his dad...

Rubbing his hand over his mouth, he crept up the main stairs. His body shook, but still he pushed on. They were in his momma's room. She wasn't going to like that one damned bit. Once he pushed the door back, his mind snapped.

"YOU WORTHLESS BITCH!" He screamed. "HOW DARE YOU DIRTY TULANI'S BED!"

Barbara jolted up and blinked. "Bradly?"

Charles blinked back. "That's your kid?"

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Bradly held his dagger up.

Charles snorted. "Kid, what are you going to do with a DAGGER?"

"I'll cut your nuts off, for one." Bradly growled. "GET OUT OF TULANI'S BED! NOW!"

Barbara marched over. "Once again you chose that WHORE over your OWN MOTHER!"

"FOR THE LAST TIME!" Bradly slashed the dagger across her face. "YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER!" He lunged at her.

Charles kicked Bradly in the side, and grabbed up his discarded sword. "Ungrateful BRAT!" He swung the sword.

Thanks to Bradly's training, he was able to dodge the blade. He slashed out with the dagger and caught the man's sword arm. The man roared and kicked Bradly in the arm, slamming him back against the doorframe. Bradly heard the snap of bone, and his vision went near black. He struggled against the pain and switched his dagger to his weaker hand. Stumbling, he took a blade hit to his hip, even as he tried to lunge.

"Stupid brat, I'm a trained soldier, and you're just a whelp." Charles lunged, as Bradly swung.

Elunara shoved the door open and screamed up at the scene above her. She bolted up the stairs, taking them three at a time. Tugging Bradly into her lap, she gasped. Reaching over, she dislodged the small dagger from the soldier's chest. "Oh, my sweet baby..."

Varian reached the scene, and looked in the bedroom. He yanked Barbara up by the arm. "Well, then."

"My poor baby." Elunara began to channel her energy into Bradly's body. "He fought so hard."

"I'll handle this bitch for now. You tend to your son."

"MY SON!" Barbara hissed.

Varian punched in her in the face. "Shut up." He dragged her out of the bedroom. "She'll be in the Keep when you want her."

Elunara scooped Bradly up, channeling energy into his body as she moved.

"Momma..." He groaned.

"Don't talk baby, I've got you."

"She was... in... Tulani's bed..."

She froze. "It's not important at the moment."

"I couldn't... let her... ruin something else."

"That's my good boy." She stopped on the stairs, and frowned at the destruction in the boy's room. "She..." With a sigh, she laid Bradly in the bed. "Why is there blood...?" Elunara yanked open the door between bedrooms.

The cat limped out, blood caked in his wounds.

"Oh, JARVY!" She cried. "Oh, your parents were out and you tried to defend home..." She ran her hands over his body. Lifting the cat, she laid him beside Bradly in the bed. She climbed into the bed and tugged them both into her lap, pouring out all of her energy.

Jordan burst into the room. "Varian said Bradly was injured."

Darguni and Lydia ran in shortly after.

"His mother brought in a soldier..." Elunara swallowed the rock in her throat. "He killed the bastard."

"Oh, poor Bradly!" Lydia gasped. She put her hands on him. "How can we help?"

"Just give me energy."

"What happened to Jarvy?" Darguni ran his hands over the cat.

"Please get me some of my wet towels. We need to clean both up."

"Of course!"

Tulani stuck her head in, "Everyone is appearing out of the woodwork, whatever happened?"

"Where have you been?" Elunara asked quietly.

"I ran out of pattern sheets, I had to go get more."

"Barbara broke in. She brought a soldier... from what I understand, Bradly caught them in... your bed, and attacked."

"My..." Tulani jolted back.

"I'll burn the damned thing."

Tulani sighed and sat on the bed, running her hand through Bradly's hair. "Poor child."

Jordan picked up some of the ruin in the floor. "That stupid bitch can't let... him... just be happy."

Elunara took the towel and began to wash away the blood. "No, she can't."

"Momma..." Bradly groaned.

"I'm right here."

He reached out and ran his hand on Jarvy. "Momma..." He whimpered. "Don't... kill her. I want... her to remember..."

"I'll do as you ask." She cuddled him into her arms. "The arm's going to take awhile, my love. My energy can heal bones quicker, but it still takes time."

"That's fine, momma." He closed his eyes.

Once Bradly was dealt with, and the family began to clean the house, she marched her way into the keep.

"I have her this way."

"My son has requested that she live."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I ALWAYS do as my family requests..." She turned down the corridor. "However, he didn't say what condition she had to be alive in." Her grin was feral.

His expression matched hers. "I don't suppose I get to watch this time..."

"The more the merrier." She winked.

An hour later, she released her dagger. "Pitiful."

"She'll be here as long as you need her to be. In fact, I'm having a special cell in the Stockades constructed in order to hold her. I won't have a repeat of this."

"Thank you, love." Elunara kissed his cheek. "I'm going to go tend to my home."

"Let me know if you need anything more."

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬"When I get through with the bitch, she'll be too afraid to attempt another escape."

"As you will."

Darguni ran his hand over Bradly's wrapped arm. "Man, you're going to have all the cool scars."

"Oh, Bradly, you're so brave." Lydia laid her head on his shoulder.

Bradly went bright red. "I... I... I guess..." He swallowed.

"Don't downplay it." Elunara leaned against the door. "What you did was kind of stupid, but also incredibly brave."

He fiddled with his arm. "I was only going to get their identities and run, but... when I realized they were... using Tulani's bed... I kind of snapped."

"I saw what you did to her face." Elunara sat on the bed and wrapped an arm around Bradly.

"I'm so sick of her calling herself my mother." He grumbled.

"Well, Varian is having a special cell created just for her."

"I... I want to see."

"When it's finished."

"Alright." He sighed. "She destroyed my pictures."

"I'll redo them. I have copies."

"You do?"

"I always have copies." She winked.

"Will this... delay the wedding?"

"Why would it?"

"Dunno."

"Do... you want it to?" She brushed his hair back.

"No! I just... I don't want to..." He gestured to his arm.

"Ah." She kissed the top of his head. "Nothing will delay this sucker; it's a steam train on a collision course."

"I think it's so cool that you're marrying the king." Bradly grinned. "No one can top that."

"Hey!" Jordan leaned against the door.

"Sorry, dad. You're awesome and all..."

"But not King. I SEE how it is!" Walking over, he put his hand on Bradly's head. "Pfft, see if I try to teach you anything anymore. Already facing real combat before I clear you to."

Darguni crossed his arms. "YEAH!"

"I had to defend Momma Tulani." Bradly blushed. "Her bed is sacred."

"That it is." Elunara said quietly.

"I appreciate that you understand that." Everyone looked up at Tulani. "Thank you, but it was foolish to put yourself in danger for me, when I wasn't even there."

"Sorry, Momma Tuly."

"The Wedding is soon, do you think his arm will be healed by then?"

"I don't know. I've never tried to heal someone else's bones. I know that, since my abilities had to deal with my ankle that I can heal it faster, but I just don't know."

"Then I'll have to modify his outfit just in case. I'll just make two jackets."

"Can you handle all of these clothes by yourself?"

"I've got Eloise and Gingy. On top of that, I've been subletting pieces out to other tailor shops. We've got it well in hand." Tulani winked.

A few days later, Bradly made his way down to the training yard.

Jordan raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"Train me on my weaker side."

Jordan blinked at him. "That's actually an admirable idea... but-"

"Train me." Bradly insisted. "I want to be able to defend myself if I'm disabled some other way. It's just logical sense."

He rubbed his neck. "Have you asked your mother?"

"No. This is my body, my life; I should make my own decisions."

Jordan grinned. "Good man. However, I want your mother's opinion as a HEALER, if your arm is stable enough to tolerate it."

Bradly sighed. "Fine." He looked around. "Where is she?"

"Probably in the keep."

Nodding, Bradly left.

Grogek put his hand on Jordan's shoulder. "They grow faster than we expect."

"That they do."

Bradly marched up into the Keep, ignoring all else. "Momma?"

Elunara blinked. "Are you alright?"

"I want Dad to train me on the weaker side, so that if I'm disabled..." He held up his broken arm. "I can still defend myself."

"That's..." She rubbed her throat. "That's a brilliant idea. Hold on and we'll head down to Ina and get her to bind your arm in a more stable position."

"Thanks."

Afterwards, Elunara pulled Jordan to the side. "He's so grown up."

"I know, right?" Jordan rubbed a hand over his chest.

Sighing, she laid her head on his shoulder. "I hope this doesn't hurt him. He's only fourteen and he's already had to kill someone just to survive."

"I'll watch him. Believe me, I will."

"I know." She whispered. "We did good."

"That we did." He kissed her forehead.

Darguni crossed his arms. "Now I want special training..."

"You already GET special training." Bradly snorted. "You're in Grogek's elite taskforce. I'm just trying to catch up." He wiggled his fingers. "I need to get Momma to check my arm again. It feels funny."

"Ah, well. At least you're finally getting attention from Lydia."

Bradly flushed. "Shut up."

"Oh, please." Darguni rolled his eyes. "You turn into a sniveling puppy every time she says "Oh, Bradly!"." He gave a girly voice.

"Ugh, she spends all her time singing with Bryan." He grumbled.

"Bradly! Enough rest!" Jordan waved his hand.

"On my way, sir!" Bradly hopped off the platform.

When he approached, Elunara ran her hand over the arm. "Binding is too tight." She shifted it around. "There. Alright, if you need me, I'll be swamped with details." She sighed, even as she pumped energy into the arm. "Looks like you'll need that modified..."

Varian stepped on to the platform. "Elunara, General Jordan, Bradly, could you three come here?" They made their way on to the platform, and Varian smiled. "I would like to present Bradly with the Medal of Heroism, for stopping an escaped felon, and the traitor that set her free." He held open the small box. "Ordinarily there would be a ceremony in your honor, and quite frankly, I'll correct the oversight later. However, with the upcoming wedding taking everyone's time, attention, and resources, I wanted to present it before it was accidentally forgotten."

"Holy mackerel." Bradly whispered. He held out his good hand and stared down at the box. "This is so cool!" He gasped.

"Varian..."

He held up a hand and grinned at Elunara. "He deserves it on his own, doesn't he?"

"That he does." She whispered.

"Good job." Jordan put a hand on Bradly's shoulder. "Though this doesn't mean you can start hunting down EVERY escaped felon you hear about."

"Can I show her?" Bradly looked at his mother. "Can I show that miserable wretch? That she can't beat me... ever again?"

Elunara's grin was feral. "We can do that right now."

"In fact, she was just moved into her modified cell." Varian nodded.

Elunara helped to get the medal on Bradly's neck and adjusted it on his chest. Together, they walked down to the Stockades with Varian. Bradly held his head high, and ignored the rest of the prisoners, as they made their way through, they stopped at a cell and a mage lit it up. On the back wall, Barbara's wrists were chained to the wall on either side of her. She wore a plain, tattered dress. The nasty gash across her face had not healed well.

Peering at them, she groaned. "No more." She whimpered. "No more. Please."

"As you can see, we've taken extra precaution." The mage gestured. "Normally, with a non violent prisoner, we don't use such restraints and the cell is rather plain. However, this prisoner has a long standing history of mischief, so we've magically enhanced her walls, they cannot be damaged through normal human means. A typical prisoner is chained, but this one has been isolated to a localized area, as to reduce her capacity for trouble. We've posted extra guards as well. Quite frankly, if she manages to escape or cause trouble outside of her walls again... I think I'll just retire to the Burning Steepes."

"Thank you, Malfred." Varian nodded.

Bradly stepped forward and reached out.

"No, I wouldn't touch those." Malfred held out a hand. "You'll get a nasty jolt."

After a moment, Bradly nodded. "Barbara!" He called.

She blinked at him. "Brad..." She hissed at the pain in her wrists. "...Ly?"

"That's right." He licked his lips. "I wanted to let you know... you can't hurt me anymore."

"You... misremember..." She struggled against the bonds.

"I do NOT!" He stomped his foot. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself. "YOU!" He jerked his finger at her. "I am sick of you, and I am DONE with you! You can't hurt me anymore, I won't let you." Pointing to himself, he glared. "I have a mother, and she's not YOU. I have a family, and you're not in it! I have proven myself, and YOU can't take that away from me."

"You... little..." Barbara shook her hands. "I'll..."

"You'll NOTHING! Do you hear me? NOTHING!" Turning, he stomped away.

Elunara blinked at Varian, before turning and following after Bradly.

Malfred blinked. "That was her... son?"

"He hasn't been her son for a long time now."

"Oh, I get that." He looked at the prisoner. "What kind of woman can cause that kind of reaction, in a child she gave birth to?"

"A worthless one."

Elunara caught up with Bradly. "Are you alright?" She fell in step beside him.

"I'm better than I was." He smiled up at her. "I'm free. I'm well and truly free. She doesn't scare me anymore. I thought about it, and thought about it, ever since... and when I stood up to her that day, everything kind of changed and shifted." He gestured vaguely. "I had to see her one more time, just to be sure..." He shook his head. "I'm no longer small." He said quietly. "She always made me small, and now she can't anymore."

Elunara wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "That's MY son." She grinned.

"And you're my mother." He wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Come on, let's get your brother, and go annoy Tippy for something sweet."

"Can... can it wait until after today's training?" He fidgeted.

Laughing, she kissed the top of his head. "THAT'S my son!"

Varian met her on the edge of the yard. "Everything alright?

"Everything is beautiful." She smiled. "My son finally shed the last of that yoke that's held him down for so long." Popping open the small box, she ran her fingers over Bradly's name engraved on the medal. "And YOU gave him the final push to do it."

"No," He wrapped his arms around her waist. "He did that himself. I just rewarded him for it."

"Hope you don't need me today. After training, I'm going to spend time with my children."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."