"Where will we go?" Amaria asked Thaelan.
"I say we try Silverwind Refuge. The orcs will have passed that area by now, and it's secluded enough that we should be safe. Besides, there are more sentinels there to defend it." Amaria gave her husband a concerned look, but agreed.
Thaelan quickly gathered some venison jerky, Darnassian bleu and small bottles of moonberry dew into a leather pack. Amaria shuffled some vials of ink, her quill and her parchment into yet another pack. Though it didn't seem essential to Thaelan, Amaria wanted to be prepared. A scroll of stamina or some such may just come in handy.
Naiela was crying now, hungry and tired. There was no time for a feeding though; the orcs would be upon the village soon and food would just have to wait for all three of them. Thaelan mounted his black saber, Rin, while Amaria climbed upon her black saber, Misha. Amaria closed her cloak around Naiela and clutched her against her chest. The five of them departed and, Thaelan and Amaria looking back one last time at their beloved home, disappeared into the forest.
Rin and Misha were swift and silent on their feet. They effortlessly leapt over and darted under fallen trees. Neither quel'dorei could be bothered to marvel at their feline companions' grace, however. They both nervously scanned their surroundings, watching for any suspicious movement. While the main army of orcs would most likely keep to the road, there were certainly some scouts lurking in the forest to watch for escapees such as themselves. Thaelan spotted some smoke rising in the distance, and directed Rin deeper into the forest, further yet from the road.
"Aaaah!" Thaelan suddenly cried, his voice piercing the silence. Misha stopped in her tracks and Amaria spun to see what had happened. An arrow, orcish in design, was protruding from his left shoulder. "I'm fine," he whispered, and pointed to a nearby dense thicket of trees and brush. Amaria nodded, and Rin and Misha began to run as gently as they could so as not to aggravate the injury. Once inside the thick foliage, the two quel'dorei dismounted. Amaria was a priest and knew some basic healing spells. Thaelan grasped the arrow with a shaking hand and wrenched it from his shoulder, making not a sound. Amaria passed her hand over the wound and a soothing light spilled forth, mending the flesh. The real problem, though, was that they had been spotted. A scout must have seen them, and they knew their hiding place would be discovered soon. The orcs likely knew where they intended to go, as well, so proceeding to Silverwind Refuge was out of the question.
Thaelan stared into the eyes of his beloved, and grasped the handle of his shortsword. "We'll never make it," he whispered, tears forming in his eyes. Amaria didn't want to believe it, but she knew in her heart her husband spoke the truth.
After thinking for a moment, she replied, "Then we need to give Naiela time." The baby she held in her arms whimpered, as if she knew the events that would shortly take place. Briefly pleased with herself for bringing her inscription supplies, she retrieved them from the pack upon Misha's back.
"What are you doing?!" Thaelan asked.
"Whoever finds Naiela needs to know what happened here," she explained. She found her quill and some moonglow ink, and hastily scribbled a note upon a piece of parchment. The two parents embraced, holding their daughter between them one last time before placing her, and the note, in the now-emptied pack. Amaria fastened it upon Misha's back, who gave her a mixed look of love and concern.
"Rin, Misha, you must listen carefully," Amaria began. "The orcs know we're here and will be looking for us. But you - you are swift and silent and can easily escape. They care not about you, but about us. You must take Naiela away from here! Find someone to care for her, and once you do, do not return to this place. Our fates have already been decided by Elune, and your return would only mean two more needless deaths." Rin and Misha stared at their masters, and nuzzled their noses against their necks before making off for the woods.
Thaelan and Amaria held each other for a few moments. Speech, in times like this, is not always needed. Wiping the tears from their eyes, they stood to face their fate. Mere moments later, they spotted a band of about ten orcs rapidly approaching atop snarling, vicious-looking worgs. Thaelan readed his blade as his wife cast a shield spell upon him. The orcs' philosophy this day seemed to be, "Shoot now, ask questions later," for the two quel'dorei were immediately bombarded by arrows. The shield spell held fast, and the arrows bounced harmlessly off of Thaelan. The orcs nearly upon them, Thaelan charged, stabbing one mounted orc in the gut, who collapsed and fell dead from his mount. Thaelan spun and swung again, deflecting a descending axe just in time. Amaria cast a holy spell that lashed the attacking orc, stunning him long enough for Thaelan to decapitate him.
"Thaelan!!!" Amaria suddenly shouted, as two orcs fired their bows. The shield could hold no longer. The arrows met their mark, one hitting Thaelan in the chest while the other plunged into his thigh. Thaelan collapsed, gasping for breath, no longer able to fight. Amaria, tears in her eyes, summoned the strength to cast pillars of holy fire upon the two bowmen simultaneously, killing them instantly. Six orcs were left, and only Amaria was left standing. The orc now in front grinned wickedly and spoke in his savage tongue. Evidently unwilling to grant her a swift death by the blade, he and the other five drew back their bowstrings, and fired.
Amaria collapsed to the ground and with her last remaining breaths, grasped her husband's now-lifeless hand. A thick blackness swirling down upon her, her only thoughts were on her beloved husband, with whom she had shared countless lifetimes of men; and their baby daughter, whose fate was now left to Elune, the swiftness of Misha's steps, and the unknown family who she prayed would find Naiela and call her their daughter.
...to be continued...
Edited subject description to make it clear that it's writing rather than art
