A Big Mistake

The guards paid her no mind as her kodo charged into Silvermoon. 
Not that they ever did. 
But today, Keola Greenmane woke up hoping that she were the same person. Physically she was the same but emotionally...she felt completely different. It was her first conflict of self and morality and she had no mother, sister, or great elder to turn to for advice. In fact, she was afraid of seeking advice. Surely she could be forgiven? 
She had woken upon the shore of the Azurebreeze Coast, sore and alone. Her fur was sticky from the encounter, and she discovered sand in uncomfortable places as she sat up. Keola sat there lost in her own mind, for how long she didn' t know. A sob escaped her lips. It was exactly as she had been told. 
Keola awoke alone. 
Tossing her loose clothing off she crawled into the surf and began to vigorously scrub. The scent of him was on her, not pleasant as it had been last night. Keola crawled back up the beach and shuffled through her packs hoping she had not been robbed. Alas, he had taken her to such a quiet and remote place, and he was as sincere a gentleman as she had hoped in that respect. Not a hair was missing. She grimaced as she reached for her bar of lavender soap. He had said she smelled good. 
Diving back into the surf Keola scrubbed herself all over but still failed to feel as clean as she needed to be. She undid her braids and dove deep, letting the sea water wash sand and tears from her mane. She briefly toyed with the idea of diving deep and letting herself go... 
"NO!" She shouted under the waves, startled by her own breath as it bubbled before her. She wasn't going to be a victim. She had made her choices, dug her grave. And now the consequences were to be had. Keola had made a bad decision. But she still walked the Earth. And the Earthmother hadn't abandoned her. She knew this as she cast a quick lifebloom over herself to be sure she was still whole and alive as she crawled back up the beach. 
Keola sighed dejectedly as she went through her bags. She had been planning to sleep soundly at the Inn last night, so she had packed light and no fresh tunic was waiting for her. Her clothing was clean enough but items felt dirty. She would have to purify her spirit in the springs at Thunder Bluff to be rid of the layer of remorse upon her. She begrudgingly pulled on all of her clothes and summoned her kodo mount, Chester. Luckily there was a road nearby and Chester was always an intelligent and resourceful creature. On auto pilot, he had brought her to Silvermoon safely. 
Once inside the city her lumbering kodo ground to a halt and she found herself back on her feet. She turned towards the gate guards and offered one a smile as cheerful as she could muster, but he stared on. She brushed her loose, still slightly damp mane from her face and trudged on to the Inn.
Keola was distracted out of her reverie of self-loathing by the elven innkeeper. The older elf woman laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and lead her to a plush lounge behind the curtain. Keola opened her mouth but the woman shook her head, gently patting her shoulder. Keola slumped down onto the lounge as the innkeeper produced a comb and kneeled behind the young druidess, gently combing out her mane. 
"You didn't come back last night." The woman said slowly. Her voice was soft and unassuming. Keola felt the weight of the world upon her again and buried her face in her hands. "I was a bit worried." The elf continued. "You usually don't go out late when you visit the city." 
Keola sobbed, trying to stifle the noise with her hands. "Why didn't you stop me?" She asked, muffled. 
The older elf woman sighed, and began parting her hair for braiding. "I see many people come and go my dear, and I can't make life decisions for them. Luckily, they continue to walk the earth. Most men don't seek blood at the end of the day Keola, just the pleasures a woman can give. Be glad that he didn't take you here. People talk." 
Keola turned to look at the older woman. "I knew he wasn't going to hurt me. I just..." She wrung her hands. "I wasn't sure what was going to happen." 
The innkeeper turned Keola back away from her and continued to braid her mane. "It's in the past, druidess. You made the decision to go with him. Whether you knew of his intent or not, you did not come back last night. It's perfectly natural. I suggest you not think twice about it." 
Keola stiffled a sob. But nodded. The elf lady pinned one braid up for her and redirected her ministrations to finish the other one. "You are responsible for your decision. If you didn't want to go, if you didn't like him, you didn't have to go. The choice was yours. Your only pain is on the inside and you needn't suffer for it. Everyone has made bad decisions Keola, and I do not believe that is your first offense either. Trust me, it's also not the worst." 
Keola sighed as her other braid was pinned up, the kind old lady giving her a gentle pat on the back. "But he smelled good." Keola murmured. 
The innkeeper got up and stood before Keola, a kind smile on her face. "That my dear, may have been worth its weight in gold." 
Keola awoke later that morning to a very empty Inn. Most customers' weren't allowed to sleep past check out, but the lady innkeeper must have taken pity on her. 
She felt pathetic. Misses went out and did things with misters all of the time. So why was it upsetting her so? Maybe it was the doctrine that the druid trainers had tried to instill in her. Silly things, like don't let a man confuse you. Don't halt your study. You do not need a partner, trust in your power. You are needed in Northrend, don't give up your talents for a man. But she had also been snooping around in the libraries in Silvermoon and had read excerpts of some of the worn novels there. About falling in love, living happily ever after, giving yourself to one person and only that person. Maybe that's all those books were...fantasy.
Keola got up and paid the kindly innkeeper her wage, and packed a little bread and cheese. The woman only smiled again as she left. All the advice that could be had was already given. She knew Thunder Bluff to be far, it would take her the rest of the afternoon to make it there, even with properly timing the zeppelin flights. She didn’t want comfort later this afternoon. She stopped by her bank to procure a fresh change of clothing and her portal scroll to Moonglade. Thunder Bluff springs could wait.
When Keola arrived in Nighthaven she expected her feet to take her directly to one of the moonwells but instead she found herself sitting on the dock of the lake, picking at her lunch. It was a quiet day and for that she was glad. She knew that there was no way anyone could have known of her deed but she was still self-conscious. 
==The memory kept playing in her head...==
He had not introduced himself, only spoke up through the curtain as she tossed and tried to sleep. He had taken a seat on the empty bed beside her and they held idle conversation. He was a hunter indeed but rather felt himself a more respectful one. He only killed out of self defense and only for what food he needed. He had spent some time in Thunder Bluff and said he had admired the Tauren ways and beliefs. Maybe that was why she had trusted him. Neither of them could sleep, so she saw no harm in talking a walk with him. They continued to idly chat as they left the city, and continued to talk about their goals. He wanted to purge the plague from the beasts of Azeroth. So, they had something in common! She hoped to heal those affected by the plague one day. Maybe the plague could be cured, and the undead could be restored in to their former lives. They finally reached formal introductions. He called himself simply the Beast Master. Whether that was his real name or not, it hadn’t been important to her enough at the time. 
They eventually reached the shore. “This is one of my favorite places to go.” He’d said.
 
“I can see why, it’s so pretty! There is so much water, look how far out it goes!” 
The elven hunter had just chuckled. “There is a better view of the water. Do you like to swim? We will have to swim to get there.”
His eyes over her body hadn’t seemed intrusive, or maybe she just didn’t pay it enough mind. When they arrived on the opposite shore he built them a fire to warm them. There was more idle chat as their clothing dried. Maybe the damp leather had clung to her person, because his eyes roamed her chest a few times. His flowing golden locks were also taking long to try, and he let her touch it. He was vocal about the tightness of his pants. Keola avoided the subject and instead played with his hair.
“Have you ever…mated? Made love?”
Again Keola answered the questions earnestly believing they were engaged in idle conversation, still combing out his hair with her fingers. He pushed the subject a few more times before she flat out confessed she really had no idea what he meant by mating, because she wasn’t married nor did she have a consort. And sure, she loved lots of things, so maybe she had made love before. At least…she had, based on the definition that had been drafted by her simple mind. When he corrected her, she was sure that he was going to laugh at her and walk away, tales of her naivety to be spread across the land.
“Wait…you mean like do sex?! Ohhh so THAT is what being loose means, it has nothing to do with their clothes!”
The epiphany should have been a painful sign but she was already sucked in. They were wet and cold beside a fire on a secluded beach. He knew what he wanted and yes she was a bit curious, but the nagging warning in the back of her mind wasn’t strong enough. He was going on about how nice it was to be loose and be free, and to be your own person and live by your own rules not those of the druid elders. It was a verbal date-rape cocktail that had sealed her fate. She had already expressed she felt she was being smothered and stymied and knew no other rules than those directed to her by her druid trainers. They had told her not to get involved with ‘misters’. That she would be throwing her future away.
The Beast Master finally had invested as much time convincing her as he was interested in spending. He asked her if she would be willing to be with him. The damage to her sheltered psyche was already done. She had told him she was going to pretend that she loved him, and he had only grinned. She had asked him if he had been with others, and he gave her only a nod. Her clothing fell to the sand and she did as she was told. She liked the touching at first. It went downhill from there. He seemed to enjoy himself very much, oddly howling like a wolf at times. He knew that this was a new experience for her, but was only marginally interested in her side of it. She wasn't sure why other misses ran off with misters' all of the time. There had been sharp pain then discomfort at first yes but...pleasure? Not in the actual act itself.
Disappointed, Keola had rolled over and gazed out towards the horizon. “The sun is coming up.” She said quietly, back towards him. The campfire had long died out and she was shivering slightly in the cold. Her clothing had been balled up into a pillow, and she gingerly tossed it over herself. Beast Master was tall and strong for an elf, but he was still only small warmth when he spooned her backside, stroking her mane and murmuring appreciation and praise. Was he trying to comfort her? Did he even realize the weight of what she had just done was slowly crushing her? Did the elf even care?
“I will see you again Keola. I will visit your land and your people.”
She was already drifting off to sleep but for some reason, reality was clicking in record time for her that night. Keola knew exactly what those words had meant. She murmured as loudly as she could through her fatigue and sadness. “I just hope that you will still be here when I wake up. That there is a morning after.”
==...to the present==
“Miss Keola.”
She dove forward, startled. She turned to see Celes Earthborne take up her post on the dock. 
“Loganaar is seeking you. More training for you, I believe he has.”
Keola sighed and handed the rest of her lunch to the night elf. “I hope this will be tastier for you than it was for me. I probably won’t be able to eat after whatever else he’s going to put me through today.”
Celes blinked and slowly took the bundle from Keola’s outstretched arms. “…are you feeling well today, Miss Keola?”
Keola shook her head and made her way towards her elder trainer. She wasn’t sure if she would fell well for many days to come. 
Tags: Keola
Category:Horde Stories