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"That Agariel was hurt... Bullied. That's why she changed schools. And that I should ask you about it." 

Lysende turned pale from one moment to the next, much to her mother's chagrin. She refused to believe what she was seeing. No, no and no! But the evidence was written all over her sweating daughter's face.

"Darling, please answer me. Did you harass Agariel...?"

"I... No... I didn't..." The girl mumbled, sometimes to herself, sometimes to somewhere next to her mother's head, not daring to look her in the eye.

"Lys, look at me. It's gonna be okay, just tell me honestly. I need to know, pumpkin, because..."

"I didn't do it, Mom, I didn't...!" She tried to get away, but Shandris grabbed her by the shoulders pinning her back to her seat.

"Lysende! Today a girl jumped out of the other high school's window because she was being bullied!" She yelled at the startled teenager, her voice trembling with suppressed nervousness and fear.

"Mom, please...!"

"A child is dead!"

"She's dead, you understand?!! So don't mom please me...!" 

"No, Mom! I swear, I've never bullied anyone!" The girl broke down at last with crystal pearls of tears rolling down on her pale cheeks.

"Then why won't you look at me?!! Look at me and say it to my face!"

Lysende's expression turned even more hopeless as if she couldn't believe what her mother asked of her... Such a simple request, yet it put that petite girl at the edge of despair. For a long, silent moment her harrowing panting tried to bargain with Shadris" fearful heart to no avail. Finally, she raised her forlorn gaze to hers.

"I'm... I'm the one being bullied."

As if the whole world, sky and mountains had collapsed, everything around Shandris went dark upon hearing those words. The fingers that had held the thin shoulders went numb and fell next to the flesh cage of her broken heart. Lysende wrapped her arms around her as she had done so many times as a child, and bawled against her chest. Her words coalesced into an incomprehensible mass. Shandris herself wanted to cry, too, to scream, but she was not allowed. Not in front of her daughter, not when she needed her strength. Jarod rushed into the room, terrified, bringing with him the scent of citrus. Seeing the acute lights in his wife's eyes, he wordlessly embraced his tiny family. Slowly the night quieted down... 

Sleep avoided Shandris that night. Restless, she browsed the internet, reading tirelessly about school bullying, but the more she felt she knew about the topic, she found her daughter's situation increasingly hopeless. She also joined a few online support groups for parents of bullied children, but wading through the cruelty that innocent children had to endure only made her more distressed.

"My love, please, stop doom-reading." Her husband gently caressed her shoulder as he walked by.

"Jarod... It's so horrible!"

"It is. But you're not helping our daughter by gnawing at yourself. She needs us now to get her out of this." 

"But how?!" Shandris snapped. "Adult intervention almost never helps! And those girls will be her classmates for another two years!"

"Or perhaps they won't be." Jarod sat down in his favourite armchair. One of his socks had a hole in it again, but even the tiniest issue of Shandris was bigger than to try and scold him for widening the tear by sticking his big toe through it.

"Don't you understand, darling?! I just read that the school..."

"Darling, go to bed," He said with warm firmness, cutting her off, then continued. "We'll talk with the school tomorrow, she'll stay home for a few days. The winter holidays are coming up anyway." He said with the calm determination that she had fallen in love with as an orphan adolescent. Jarod Shadowsong, who had been able to lead their people in the midst of bloody chaos during the Legion's first invasion, and who, even now, when she's trembling with acute fear for their beloved daughter, is able to guide her through her deepest, most desperate moments with his staidness. Seeing that she had calmed down somewhat, he held out his hand to her invitingly and sat her on his lap.

"Everything will be all right. We'll work it out." 

"How could I not have noticed... When in retrospect, it was so obvious..."

"It's always easy to be clever in hindsight. Don't blame yourself, darling."

"Jarod... I saw that little girl lying on the concrete... Lysende... She too... I don't want...!" Shandris wept silently into her beloved's chest.

"I know. But don't worry. We're here to protect her. She'll be fine."

"You promise me?" She raised her sanguine gaze, even without the answer believing the man's words, alleviating her worries.

"I promise." The last letter had already fallen on his wife's tear-soaked lips, sealing his oath.

Self-loathing struck like a whip and split Lysende's heart with every word her mother spoke. She had never meant to cause her such pain, and now, for the second time in less than a year, she had made her stronger than diamond mother cry. Swallowing a painful sob, she slunk back languidly to the uncaring solitude of her room. That night she sent two more messages. One to Kaelor, telling him everything, and one to Agariel. 

"Please, forgive me for not noticing what you were going through." 

She got into her pyjamas and was about to put her phone on the bedside table when it vibrated. Someone messaged her. Perhaps Kaelor had already read what she wrote...? Reluctantly, she opened the conversation as no matter how much she loved the boy, she didn't want to get into a lenghty and difficult conversation about her situation in the middle of the night, but as she glanced at the text, she had to cover her mouth. She wanted to scream. It wasn't Kaelor who wrote back, but Agariel.

"Be careful with Ismi."

An opaque mist and the sound of sizzling jet filled the droplet-decorated shower cubicle. His skin gradually turned purple and as it became accustomed to the high temperature, Jarod turned it up again. The hot water gnawed at his body, but not as much as the pain in his fatherly heart. His meeting with the headmaster and Lysende’s class teacher went just as well as Shandris had warned him it would. Excuse followed excuse in an ostensibly endless barrage of flagrant words, and he thought they would never run out of them. Unlike shame as they showed none of that. It’s blown out of proportion, just a minor disagreement between the girls... There’s no bullying in our school! It’s just Lysende being too sensitive. Anyway, it’s her fault for being too unsociable... Unsociable!! His daughter was a lively, outgoing child until...! His uncontainable rage finding the perfect outlet in a punch met resistance in the tiled wall. The neighbour certainly wasn’t happy about the sudden fright, but at that moment he could have cared less what the elderly man thought. His mind kept racing in circles, searching for a solution that must have been on the horizon somewhere. He’d already called Lysende’s former psychologist, who promised to try and squeeze her into her densely packed diary. At least she hadn’t turned her back on them. That’s something. But the optimism of the night before was being eaten away bit by bit by the harsh reality, and the fear that perhaps Shandris’s despair was not as exaggerated as he had thought. An incongruous, serene chime cut through the hot humidity, further infuriating the already tense father. Then it occurred to him that perhaps Lysende had come home from Agariel’s, and, as usual, she was lazy to dig her house keys out of her bag. The indolent girl preferred to leave the door opening to whichever of her parents was home. Jarod donned his navy blue robe and hurried to the front door, accompanied by a cloud of mist. To his surprise, however, his eyes met a pair resembling his own as the door opened."Maiev!" He stared in surprise at his sister. Instead of any form of greeting, the woman surveyed the rather scantily dressed relative, giving Jarod a quizzical glance."Bad timing?"No, no, no. Come in," Jarod came to his senses, and invited the woman inside, stepping over the large puddle he had left on the floor. He led Maiev into the living room, then hurried to the bedroom to make himself more presentable. Kinship or not, he felt uncomfortable in a single-filament robe in her presence. Well, in anybody’s presence. There were only two exceptions to this rule in his entire life.When he showed up again in his comfortable, fluffy, warm pyjamas, Maiev was deep in thought, looking at the otherwise mundane and familiar wall decorations. Family pictures, a plaster cast of Kur’talos’ hand from his baby years, a drawing of Lysende from kindergarten... The defining moments, the pillars of their little family. Jarod watched his sister’s face in wonder, trying to guess what might be going through her mind, but he had to admit that in some ways Maiev would always be an enigma to him."What’s that look, little brother?" She glanced at him over the black fur of her cherry-red coat. "Are you afraid I’ll find your hiding secret lover?" she asked with a grin so sharp and suggestive that any other stranger would have confessed to even a non-existent affair. Before the accused could say anything, however, Maiev let out a bitter moan and motioned him to forget what she had said. She looked at one of the family photos. In it, Shandris was trying to hold her excitable daughter in the high chair, while Jarod did his best to spoon carrot purée into the mouth of the giggling subject, but it landed on the man’s clothing and face instead of her stomach as Lysende knocked the utensil out of her father’s hand in a perfectly caught moment. Kur’talos had a rare knack for capturing the most embarrassing family events, and this gem, too, was a tribute to his handiwork. Maiev glanced appreciatively at his brother’s family, then continued. "I don’t know a more respectable man than you."Dropping this kind of acknowledgement was not like her at all. Jarod wished to shut out from his mind the sadness that rang unbidden behind the flattering words, to ignore Maiev’s peculiar apologetic plea. He’d had enough trouble that day thanks to the spineless faculty, but if anyone, he could never turn his back on his own blood. He didn’t even need to be admonished for that. "What about Illidan?" He asked the obvious question, and his sister’s eyes quickly disappeared behind her bangs. "Don’t make me laugh, Jarod! We both know he’s not exactly a soul of honour." "And we both know that’s not what I meant." He sat down on his favourite couch, offering a seat to his sister, who was now staring at him like a wounded animal. She finally reluctantly gave up the minimal resistance her ego had forced upon her and sat down beside her brother. She had never been among the tallest of her kind, but now she looked especially small and forlorn, like a child lost in a shopping mall. Jarod suspected that she was indeed lost, but in a maze of tangled thoughts and emotions rather than an actual physical building,  and in her case, it obviously put her in a more difficult position. "Are you finally going to tell me why you’ve come to see me suddenly?"

Her lips pursed together as Maiev seemed to re-examine her prepared speech, and when at last she reached a conclusion, she raised her narrow chin, fixating her penetrating gaze on him. "There's no one home now, just the two of us. Tell me truthfully: do you love Shandris?" She asked her tantalisingly personal question with no sign of paltering. "Are you genuinely in love with her, or was it lust that had led you into her bed? Have you been able to move on from your first wife, with whom you shared a life for ten thousand years? Can you put your hand on your heart and say into my eyes that you cherish Shandris as much as you cherished Shalasyr?"For half a moment, Jarod sat there, baffled by his sister’s words. Out of all people, he expected her to be the last person to challenge his loyalty to his wife as she was among the first of those who recognized his need to open up and accept kindness into his life again, albeit her approach mostly constituted of mocking the General and her affection for him. The strange question began to make sense as he thought back to the details of her previous visit. Not only had Maiev admitted then that she had tender feelings for her former prisoner, but she had also clarified that the man was seeing someone else. It was only natural that his sister would do a not-so-veiled attempt to find out what her chances were of a new romance with the demon hunter should his relationship end. Or, perhaps she considered the situation hopeless, and this was her way to convince herself to let her hopes go."It's not so easy to answer that." Jarod frowned. In truth, he had never thought about it until then, but he didn't want to let his sister down, or her to create some false expectations. "Of course, I love my wife, otherwise I wouldn't have married her. But I'd be lying if I said I love them the same way. What I felt for Shalasyr differs from what I feel for Shandris." Maiev's face broke into a bitter smile. Obviously, she would have liked to hear a different answer, one that's more favourable to her cause, but she seemed to expect this exact outcome regardless."It's not less, or worse." Continued Jarod, putting his hand on his sister's back. "They are unique people with distinct virtues. There will always be privileges that will forever belong to Shalasyr. But it is just as true for Shandris. She gave me the joy of fatherhood. I would not trade either of my lives for the other." He added, hoping this would suffice as an answer, however, Maiev's eyes barely moved from the spot on the rug they had been fixated on. Instead, she made a feeble attempt to reframe her previous question."If Shalasyr hadn't died... if she'd only left you..."  "I probably would have opened up to Shandris eventually." Jarod offered his views, seeing the woman's struggle with moulding her thoughts into words. "Breaking up is a bit like losing someone. Only instead of mourning a person, we mourn our relationship. Or so I've heard. It takes time, but even we, Kaldorei men, can move on. Besides..." He changed tone to try and bring a little levity to the conversation. "Knowing you, Maiev, you wouldn't let Illidan be moping for long. Your devotion to duty and care for your comrades is rivalled by but a few, and I have no doubt you could reform and use those traits to comfort him in his need. That's what many people miss the most when a romance ends." He smiled at the woman finally facing him."Illidan said something akin." She murmured, but she didn't seem any happier that her brother and her beloved shared a similar opinion of her. "Perhaps that's what he's after..." She added so quietly her interlocutor failed to catch it. A frustrated sigh escaped her chest as she straightened up. Jarod followed her next move somberly. "This whole mess...!" She crossed her arms as she paced up and down. "Why, out of all people, did I have to fall for him?!" The older Shadowsong turned her gaze to the man for a moment, pleading for an answer, but soon her pride caught up with the events and took over again as she shut her eyes."That I don't know." It was the brother's turn to stand up and pour some water into the glasses on the table. "But you two always had similar qualities. Perhaps it was fate."Fate...!" Maiev snapped, almost accidentally knocking the glass out of Jarod's hand as he held it out to her. "There's no such a thing as fate! Only will! Mortals, demons, titans, gods... Their wills are in an eternal struggle with each other, and the weak will consider as fate the one that prevails momently." She took a few sips of water to wash down the taste of her bitter ideological reasoning."Then perhaps..." The younger Shadowsong put his empty glass down on the table. " It was the two of you who wanted it this way."Maiev cocked her head, and after a moment of stillness, a faint hint of a smile broke the surface of her dejected expression. "Perhaps." Jarod watched in silence as his sister dawdled to the window, showing him her back. The reddish light of the setting sun glistened like gold against her lemonade-pink skin. Her reflection showed little attention to the sprawling sea of concrete and hideous cube condominiums. Instead, she stared at herself first, then her gaze moved over to her sibling. He waited as he couldn't shake the impression that he hadn't heard half of what Maiev had come to see him about, but it would have been pointless to press the issue. He knew better than that. The prideful woman would only deflect, and perhaps even leave with her unanswered doubts trapped in the throat. His reading of the room seemed to pay off as the sibling opened her lips."He asked me to dinner. And..." She hesitated, unwillingly highlighting her embarrassment as she audibly searched for the right tone for her following announcement. "Well, he suggested it was about time I chose a mate."Jarod had a look of sheer astonishment on his face, although his better sense knew that was not the most supportive reaction to news of this magnitude. Fortunately, he kept the first question that came to his mind to himself, wanting to ask if she had misunderstood something, and instead opted for a more tactful one."The other day you mentioned a girlfriend...?"It appears that the relationship has hit a dead end. Illidan wants to settle down, but the woman is already married and his love isn't enough for her to move the scale in his favour." In an instant, Maiev turned around and looked him straight in the eye. Her long hair, in a high ponytail, fell like milky white silk back over her shoulders, and the unspoken hope in her stare softened her stern features into particularly charming, reviving in Jarod's mind the long-faded image of their mother. "What do you think?"Well..." The man turned his head to shut out his sister's gaze and not let it accidentally influence his answer. "Until we know for certain that the other relationship is over, it's not worth reading too much into it. He might have been thinking of a simple dinner with his friend, and his suggestion could have been just an innocent remark in view of the subject, and it had not occurred to him that it could be interpreted in any other way. We don't know, nor can we exclude any of these possibilities. However, I believe that if there's indeed a romantic aspect to his advances, then it must be serious as he would be aware of the consequences of setting you up, and I'm sure there would be other women he could choose for that instead with little risk." Maiev listened with patience to her brother's reasoning, then nodded. She seemed to have come to a similar conclusion before, or maybe found what she had heard to her liking. Or both."Thank you, little brother." She reached for her bag. "That's all I wanted to know. Give my regards to Lysende and Shandris." As she was about to leave, the tinkling bell rang again, and now the joyful dance of notes was greeted with a more cheerful welcome. "Looks like you can pass that over yourself, too." Jarod said as he left the living room to open the door. But for the second time that day, he was proven wrong. 

Standing in front of her home, Lysende took one last sniff of the frosty winter air and shivered as a tickling sensation of freshness flooded her lungs. It felt so good! It was like her head emerged from under the ice to breathe again. Even the stars shone brighter in the cloudless wintry sky than in recent memory! She was no longer alone with her indiscernible stigma, and that gave her renewed strength, a sliver of hope.

What she had expected when she sent her brief but all the more honest apology to Agariel, she did not exactly know, but she certainly did not anticipate forgiveness. She felt guilty for walking with closed eyes when she allowed Ismi to alienate the timid girl from her, and then Fate smiting her with a similar fortune did nothing to lift her self-blame. On the contrary...

Still, the night elf seemed open to rekindling their friendship, and soon Lysende was sitting on the grass-green carpet of a familiar bedroom as she and her companion were revealing their wounds and falling into each other’s arms, weeping. They kept embracing until the last tear had dried, and all that was left were two flushed girls who found support in each other, and for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Lysende felt being normal.

Sitting on a bench, they watched with excitement as the Winter’s Veil fair was being prepared in the main square, people bustling about with decorations, workers setting up stalls where the merchants could sell their wares. They agreed to come back together to look around, and Agariel even suggested Lysende to change schools and join her class to be close, and never let repeat what they’d been through. An idea that the girl promised to discuss at home.

The teenager fished her set of keys out of her bag, filled with optimism, and unlocked the lock. Or she would have unlocked it, but it wasn’t latched. She stared at the doorhandle, puzzled, not knowing what to make of the situation. Neither of her parents had ever forgotten to lock the door, and they kept warning her about it like some obsessed parrots that only knew one phrase. Perhaps they saw her coming and opened it for her...?

She crept into the dark hallway. Someone was at home because the light was on in the living room. Or rather, someones. The sound of talking... no, heated arguing filtered out of the room, shattering the idyllic atmosphere and replacing it with fear in Lysende’s chest. What is going on...?!

"...You think because those imbecile humans acknowledge you as an adult due to their brief lifespan, you are one?! Heck, most of them well over fifty act infantile and you’re not even thirty yet, you snotty brat!" Her aunt’s reprimanding voice thundered, leaving the eavesdropping teen confused. Why would she say that to her parents...?

"Like your age helped you to protect her from harm!"

Lysende heard a familiar voice, cutting deep into her chest. The voice that at other times had sounded as gentle as a spring breeze now talked back to her aunt in a brusque tone. She could wait no longer and hurried to the door. Inside, Maiev and her father stood side by side, both appearing rather upset. Across from them, in his long black coat and white scarf around his neck, was Kaelor. The raging storm in his eyes made him more similar to Lysende’s great-uncle than to his former Shan’do.

"You little...!" The young man’s words hit a nerve with Maiev as she was about to jump at his throat, and only Jarod’s intervention prevented the situation from escalating. Holding his sister back, his gaze got caught on his daughter standing in the doorway. "Lysende...!" Upon noticing her, the hardened expression vanished from Kaelor’s face and he hurried to his beloved. Without a word, he embraced his love in his arms, and to Lysende, it almost seemed as if she had merely dreamed the quarrel.

"Moonshine, at last!" 

"Kaelor, why are you here?" She asked, still in disbelief. 

"What do you mean, why? I'm here to help you!"

"Help?!" Maiev snorted. "Don't make me laugh! You're here to take her to mommy's house because you deluded yourself into thinking you are some sort of knight in shining armour who knows what's best for her!" She said, resentful cynicism oozing from every word of hers. Still, the insults seemed to roll off Kaelor as he turned to his startled lover. 

"You’d be much safer with me. I’ve already spoken to my former employer. They can take me back, and my mother has given her blessing for you to stay with us. I can earn enough money to provide for you and we’d find you a good private school that doesn’t tolerate bullying." The young boy caressed Lysende’s face, his touch radiating pure, tender love, easing her worries.

"I understand your concerns, Kaelor. Believe me, I do." Jarod let his sister go and turned to him. "As her father, I want the best for her, too. But I don't think such a radical move would be in her favour. Think about it! We should give some time for the situation to..."

"Time! That's what we don't have!" Kaelor rolled his eyes, anger rising again in his voice. "You old elves are so used to having all the time and none of the care of the world! Just wait long enough and things will get better! No! They won't! Time doesn't solve anything, especially not something like this! And I'm not gonna let you just sit on the issue while Lysende gets hurt even more until she sees no other way out than what that other girl did!" He grabbed his girlfriend's hand and began to lead her to her room, but Maiev stood in their way.  

"You’re not taking my niece anywhere!"

"As you have been for the last dozen years, would you please continue being indifferent? I hear you’re very good at it. At least Lysende said so." Kaelor snarled at the woman, and the blood ran out of both women's faces.

Jarod was ready to intervene as he was sure that this time the lad had further inflamed Maiev's feelings, and he was partly right. But the sparking words didn't ignite the woman's anger accumulated on the surface. They went much deeper where rage can no longer get enough air to burst screaming through the throat. Instead, it burns painfully and slowly on a mound of remorse, consuming the individual from within. 

The oldest Shadowsong cast a silent glance at her niece hiding behind Kaelor's coat in shame, then nodded and headed for the exit. 

"So be it, then."

"Where are you going, sister?" Jarod hurried after her as they both disappeared into the passage.

"Home. I’m not wasting my precious time on dreamy naïve children." Lysende heard her aunt’s griping, and then the rest was swallowed up by the closing door. Her father had gone after Maiev. Perhaps there was something else he wanted to discuss with her.

"Come on, let's get your things packed." She heard her lover's enthusiastic voice as he led her to her room, and she followed him like a newborn chick to the first barn she saw. Her face burned with guilt, and all the while her sense of duty and her own desires tried to tear her apart from the inside, and she hated every moment of it. Each tiny hand wanted just a little piece of her, but it was enough to make her want to run away. To get out, to shut out everything and everyone. To sleep.

Kaelor sat her on her bed with a kind smile and said something to her, but the words didn't reach the girl. She was too focused inward. Before she knew it, it was too late, and the boy had hurried out of the room, leaving her alone. She looked around in the place she knew since her birth as her safe space with deep, lost sighs. Was tonight really the last night she'd be there? The thought was more frightening than she had ever imagined. She had taken for granted that one day she would fly the nest, just like Kur'talos, but... Not like this.  The pain swelled in her throat. There was no way this was right. 

She kept twisting the ring on her finger, anxiously waiting for her boyfriend to return wherever he went. Suddenly, she had found herself clinging onto a sense of innocence she thought she no longer possessed nor she needed, but standing at the door of unasked womanhood, she couldn't help but tighten her grasp around the fleeting idea of her adolescence. Such puerile behaviour... 

Kaelor soon returned, a glass of water in his hand, and held it out to her.

"Thank you." Lysende whispered. 

"Don't worry." He sat down beside her. "Trust me, it's for the best. You'll have a fresh start there, and I won't let you..."

"I know." She put the empty glass on the bedside table. "Would you hear me out, please?" She asked, her voice now dripping with tears. "I know it would be nice to go with you, but... I can't. I don't dare. I'm too scared."

Kaelor pulled the weeping girl to him and stroked her back.

"I understand. Change is hard and often frightening. I felt the same when I left Stormwind to study under Shan'do. But looking back, it's not that big of a deal, really. You have nothing to worry about! And I'll be there! It's not like..."

"I know. But I'm still scared! I don't want to leave home yet! Leaving Mum and Dad, leaving my aunt...  I don't know, it's like... I think I still see myself as a kid, you see? I'm not ready yet. And it might sounds like a poor excuse, but I have things to do here. There's this girl, a friend. Her name's Agariel. She's been harassed, too, by the same girl. I... I promised to be here for her. To help each other. And I think, this is the path I want to go on for now... It's a change, too, but..."

Kaelor paid close attention to the teen’s words, and little by little a smile of bittersweet disappointment spread across his face as he realised he would have to leave without his love. He glanced at her, and with a deep sigh and heavy heart, he let go of his hasty plans.

"Not so severe. I see."

"I’m so sorry. Please, don’t be mad at me..." Lysende said, wringing her petite hands. She couldn't stand his gaze, but Kaelor gently pulled the surprised girl into his arms and answered her worries with a kiss on the top of her head.

"I could never be, Moonshine. Not for something like this. And don't forget." He raised her chin to wipe her tears. "You can change your mind later. This door isn't closed, nor will it ever be."

The smell of garlic, meat, and boiled potatoes wafted through the peaceful apartment. Excited, Lysende stirred the thick white sauce on the fire, while Shandris hummed some old tune as she set the table. Kaelor sat in the living room, staring ahead of him. A firm hand gripped his shoulder, pulling him out of his gloom, and he looked surprised at Jarod standing beside him.

"Are you all right?" asked his beloved’s father, and the lad involuntarily raised his hand to his forehead, hiding his eyes.

"Of course." He muttered with the conviction of a dying man. Jarod could not help but smile at the embarrassed boy, and took a seat next to him, putting the other in an even more awkward position.

"You see... I still have to get used to the idea that my daughter will soon grow up. But it reassures my heart to know she has a man waiting who cares so deeply for her."

"I’m sorry for my outburst earlier." Kaelor hung his head ruefully. "And when I can, I'd like to apologize to Maiev, too."

"Well, you should wait a few days with that." He said, but seeing Kaelor's confused look, he changed the subject. "Well. One of the smartest women I know once told me that no matter how much we want to help someone, sometimes we’re not the answer. It’s hard to accept, but it’s true."

"It’s a lesson I have yet to learn. Thank you, Mi..."

"Jarod." The man held out his hand to the surprised Kaelor. He stared at the outstretched limb for a moment, then accepted the handshake.

"Come and dine!" Lysende strode into the room in her flowered apron, bringing with her the delicious aroma of her cooking. That evening, a new member was added to the Shadowsong family.

The lights of nightlife were reflected like colourful shimmering pearls on the dark water's surface, broken only from time to time by couples and young people passing by the sources, walking peacefully along the quay. While most of the latter continued on towards the popular nightclubs at the end of the main road, the lovers rather tended to change direction and disappear into the narrowly built maze of the old town centre of Astranaar. The cobbled winding street led between antiquated stone houses and geranium-decked windowsills, with tiny craft shops tucked away in between, yearning for the few customers left that had not yet been won over by the shopping centre and its amenities. 

Maiev glanced frustrated at the screen of her phone, trying to keep her balance on the uneven ground while strafe enough cusses at Nabitha to be adequate for a whole corps. Her boss had insisted that the night elf wear high heels on her date, and she didn't rest until she had forced a pair of black leather knee-high boots on her subordinate. With high heels, of course, but in her book, this counted as a serious compromise given her original idea of an impossibly high stiletto, and Maiev's argument that snow was forecast for the weekend could hardly dissuade her. Finally, she abandoned her seemingly unshakable vision when Maiev tried to walk in the shoe marvel, without much success. But at least after that, it was easier to convince the blood elf that a frothy cocktail dress that showed more than it covered would hardly look good on her strong frame, so they settled on a lavender-coloured, elegant short dress. Flirtatiously slicked up, naturally. 

The fabric of the dress fit closely against her bosom with silky grace as she rounded another corner. The last one before arriving at her destination. Maiev bit the inside of her mouth. She feared this meeting as much as she had anticipated it. Even to herself, she was ashamed to admit how much she had fantasised about this evening in the days leading up to it, and how many times she had counted all the possible outcomes. She had thought of virtually nothing else. And now the time had come... She hurriedly took a last look at her appearance in one of the sleepy windows to check that the lipstick her boss had described as smudge-free indeed hadn't smeared, and then, as much as her nervousness would allow, she walked with determined steps towards the end of the street where the inviting light of the restaurant was already visible. 

She had barely stepped out of the concealment of the houses before she found herself face to face with the undeniably human-style extravagance of the building. Inside, several people were already dressed up, enjoying their dinners or chatting while waiting by the light of huge decorative chandeliers. On the crimson-red wallpapered walls hung painted portraits of famous people. In front of one of the windows, Illidan stood covered in a flood of light. He was looking at something on his phone but must have sensed her presence because he immediately turned his gaze towards her and greeted the woman with a charming smile. Maiev tried to keep her composure in defiance of her fluttering heart, but try as she may, she was unable to stop the giddy grin spreading across her face just for it to freeze as it was when her ankle twisted. She tried to hide the mishap and appear unshaken, but to no avail. Illidan chuckled to himself, then hurried to the woman, offering his arm for support. 

"May I?" He asked, but despite his choice of words, he linked arms without waiting for an answer and they began to walk towards the restaurant entwined.

After the torturous stumbling so far, Maiev felt as if she were gliding, and she allowed herself to lean even more on the strong arm. She watched their reflection slowly unfolding on the restaurant's glass window with boundless joy. Especially Illidan's, who seemed to be taking painstaking care to appear appropriate to the occasion. He had even tied the blue silk tie she had been struggling with unsuccessfully on the day of the demon hunter's job interview. It wasn't the only sign of his effort. A pervading scent of cologne wafted around him. He used far more than he should have. No doubt he was trying to suppress his own demonic scent in this way, and Maiev was ashamed that she had spoken of it so often in the past. Her words seemed to have left an irreparable mark on the man's soul. She gave the man a regretful glance, but his attention was diverted from it to open the door for her like a gentleman, and he proudly let her pass.

Inside, live music was playing, just loud enough not to disturb the guests in their cheerful conversation. The smell of roasted meat and spices permeated the air, whetting the appetite of even those without hunger. The place was just as fancy and kitschy as Maiev imagined. No matter. She could last one night.

One of the waiters noticed the new arrivals and started walking hurriedly in their direction. 

"Can I help you?" The draenei asked sternly, clutching a drinks tray. Maiev had thought that the gentleman would escort them to their table, but neither his tone nor his posture fitted the bill. She looked inquiringly at Illidan who seemed oblivious to all of this, or if he wasn't, he was not bothered by it. Maybe he was just a rude employee sulking because he hadn't been tipped enough for the evening.

"Yes. I made a reservation under the name of Illidan Stormrage," said the demon hunter with his characteristic confidence.

"Wait here, please." Said the waiter bluntly, then hurried off. Now Maiev was really starting to feel uneasy. Meanwhile, more and more of the guests" eyes got fixed on them, and a few even huddled together at the sight of the unusual pair. The grumpy man soon returned with another, who was most certainly his superior. For a human, he was rather tall, but apart from that, there was nothing about him that would make him even slightly memorable to anyone. Beneath his underarm rested the reservation list. 

"Good evening. My colleague says you have a table reservation for tonight. May I have your name?" He asked, as unfriendly as the other man, then opened the book. 

"Illidan Stormrage." The demon hunter repeated his name, with noticeably less enthusiasm now. 

The maitre d" scrolled through the names, then slammed the register shut and looked at the waiting pair.

"I'm ever so sorry, but I'm afraid there's no reservation for that name today. Perhaps you're mistaken about the date." 

Upon hearing these words, Illidan's normally hard-to-read face flushed with surprise.

"I said..." the waiter pressed the words in an almost threatening tone, "That there are no reservations for that name. Please, leave the restaurant!"