Fate was often a concept that theorists argued over, they wasted hours of their lives on the subject.  Some declared it to be mere coincidence while others would argue until their grave that everything happened for a reason. Chizuamaya had never been entirely certain about which suited her most – there were times when things really did seem to be mere coincidence.  However, she held so many strange occurrences to be more than just coincidence now.

She had remained at the lake until late in the night that day, her friend had chosen to leave her be and had ensured both mount and helmet were safe. With no disturbances she had been given the opportunity to calm down and to recover her composure.  She’d done reasonably well too and had taken her ‘vacation’ much more seriously from that point forward.  Some might call it denial but it was much easier to distract yourself than to continue to think of what you had or hadn’t done.  Therefore it was unsurprising that she had stripped most of her armour and sealed it away before returning to a hobby she found most relaxing.

Fishing.

Ah, the thousands of individuals that had screamed and sworn bloody murder at the scaled creatures were comical.  However, Chizuamaya had always appreciated the activity and the observations she made while she sat and admired the stillness of the water’s surface. For one, fish were completely unaware of the outside world and their scraps and disputes were settled in seconds.  Their ‘disgruntled’ behaviour was nothing more than ticklish nibbles upon a leg.  If any race managed to live peacefully it tended to be those fish that lived within the leg.  It made her a little envious…

Nevertheless, her observations and envy of the carefree life of her fish were enough to settle her and cause comfort. It was a rare opportunity for her to sit back, to relax and to enjoy the soft breeze that caressed her cheeks. She would have stated that nothing could ruin such a moment but given the current state of affairs she was not about to chance it.  Too much had happened for things to be taken as coincidence, she was wary and on guard to a point…the aura alone was enough to discourage the fish from biting her hook.

Alas her assumptions were right, a few days might have passed between her outburst and the revelations she had received but that didn’t necessarily mean it was over.  While she may have found her solace by the lake, something had drawn another individual to the lake too.  It wasn’t a friend or foe – what it was, was a memory.  A memory that stared at her in quiet disbelief while she feigned ignorance and continued to watch the occasional ripple upon the water’s surface.  It was only as the minutes progressed and the stare continued that she lifted her gaze (though it remained directed ahead of her).

“It is rude to stare,” she pointed out coolly, lifting her rod to recast it out deeper into the water.  Ensuring the line was secure, she lowered the rod back to its position partially suspended above the ground and leant back in her chair. “If you have something to say, then spit it out.”  

“You – Chiz…?”

A stiffening of shoulders had occurred once before, but a blanching of ones complexion was a once in a blue moon occurrence.  The voice reached her ears and caused them to twitch, she knew the tone all too well.  Something cruel, unkind and spiteful had finally decided to rear its ugly head and continue the tale it had started a few days ago. To say her facial expression contorted into something bordering on pain and disbelief was an understatement.

How did she reply?

He had replaced her, had chosen a younger and more naïve model to start a family with and now he was here! What nerve did he have to be so surprised by her existence, by the fact that she was alive and breathing?  There had been no reports of her death and the Shattrath Military would have been honourable enough to inform those she desired of her demise.  If she had died, they would have notified him and yet he had moved on simply because she had been working.

Such thoughts continued to echo in her mind, each repeated as though a broken record as she sat back in her chair and stared hard at the horizon and the murlocs on the shoreline. They were oblivious to the tension and yet, with one final repetition of the words in her head something cracked and her eyes narrowed to mere slits.  Her glowing gaze lost its lustre and she finally knew what was required of her – he had no right to act so innocently.

It was his fault.

“You have a habit of vanishing, a cry for attention is it not?” she ensured her voice remained controlled, turning her head to face the astonished expression of the Night Elf that stood on the shoreline.  His ‘oblivious’ behaviour and lack of guilt simply made her smile more cruelly.  Perhaps it was the realisation that he had made a mistake that caused him to look so uncomfortable, but there was a certain amount of sadistic pleasure to be had from it. “You got a little more than you bargained for, didn’t you?” Lifting her right hand she rested her chin against her palm and raised a brow, the sly smile still lining her lips.

“Congratulations on your child, and your marriage.”

“It…” He seemed to consider taking a step forward, then hesitated and held his ground. His hand lowered and his eyes narrowed uncertainly as though he hadn’t deemed it possible that she could have found out so quickly.  While the thoughts that flowed through his mind remained a mystery to her, his expression told her so much. He had misjudged and he really had gotten more than he’d bargained for – she was never meant to come back, she was meant to be dead…missing in action.

“Well?”

“After all these months, why did you come back?” he whispered softly, clenching his fist as he circled round to receive a better look at the shaman.  Without her armour on she looked as small and as vulnerable as she had been the day he had met her.  However, the lack of lustre in her eyes and the cruel smile indicated that the time spent on the field had taken its toll.  Looks could be deceiving and Chizuamaya was most definitely not vulnerable anymore. Unfortunately he hadn’t taken in to consideration how utterly ridiculous his words were to the woman who should have logically speaking, been his fiancée!

“You mean that I am not entitled to return to my lover when I am granted leave?” her brow rose higher at this and she released a chuckle.  Her head shook slowly and she pushed herself from her chair with an abrupt clop of her cloven hooves. “Really darling, did you honestly think I would die quite so easily? I may be small but I am not weak.”

“You disappeared.”

“I was at war.” Her words were plain as she approached the Night Elf, he towered above her given how stunted her height was and yet seemed to cower as she placed her hand on his chest.  Had she the option of tearing out his heart she might have taken it, just to let him experience exactly how it felt.  Alas, the flinch and his wary expression would suit her for now.  “What was your excuse, was she speaking to another male friend?”

”What?”

“I am merely making an observation, what exactly is it you want from women other than a family?” her pacing began again and she circled the Night Elf slowly, her head partially tilted towards him and her expression ironically…seemed playful.  “Complete and utter submission, eyes only for you? Do tell me Raniero I really am curious because there is only so much a woman can do to prove her love.” She came to a halt after making a complete circle of the male and folded her arms across her chest.

“I thought you were dead, I needed to move on.”

“That wasn’t the question, male.” Her pacing began again and she lifted her gaze to the sky. It wasn’t so much an attempt to admire what lay above, simply ‘body language’ that made her seem as though she was considering his words.  Truly her behaviour indicated that she was simply toying with him now.  The more he denied, the more she accepted the darker and more cunning side that hid beneath her skin.  Was this how the Eredar fell, that intoxicating power that one received when they succeeded and were in absolute control?

Now she understood.

“Even when you vanished I came for you, now it appears you are running away from more demons.  Are you trying to find a replacement for your wife, perhaps?” His expression darkened considerably and she shook her head solemnly. Her brow furrowed and then she smile again, a small snort escaping from her nose.  No, it was clear that while he was a coward in regards to her, he would not abandon his blood and she was with child after all. It was a little more complex than that, he ran from responsibility but at the same time…

Something within her snapped and she came to the conclusion that such a coward could not be permitted to escape yet another union.  He had disappeared again, fled from battle and this time no one had come to rescue him.  On the contrary he had returned home to be cornered by his wife (who embraced him lovingly of course) and to that which he had declared his love for.  A rock and a hard place but one had been so scorned that what love had remained had transformed into something more warped and distasteful.

He had left her, but he wouldn’t abandon his child.  He would step up and this shaman would force him to prove his honour to her…even if it killed him.  While she had never excelled at playing the ‘evil’ role in any play, that peculiar pull deep within her partially surrendered to temptation.  It permitted her to warp her sense of honour to her advantage and allowed her to make threats that she would have otherwise deemed punishable by death.

“If you are that scared I can deal with it,” she began to speak again after allowing the tension in the air to increase just a little more.  “Really my methods are quick, simple and easy – she is fairly far along, if it petrifies you that much I can kill the child with ease.”

“Pardon?”

“Push her down the stairs, or when it is born simply take it into my hands and set it ablaze.  The spirits would not be adverse to taking another into their embrace and the squeals would only last for a few moments.”

“You would kill a child because I thought you were dead!”

“You cast me aside!” She hissed bitterly and shook her head, halting she spun round and lifted a hand to motion towards him in an almost theatrical manner.  “As if I was nothing while I fought for anything I cared for, I fought for you – do you have ANY idea how much it hurt to have my heart torn out?”

“Chiz, I –”

“To return in the hopes of seeing your lover again only to find you were replaced by a younger and more naïve child?” A cruel laugh escaped her lips and she shook her head, turning so that her back faced him.  She approached her fishing rod and inspected it briefly before opting to continue, “You see you don’t seem to understand just how much you took from me.”

“You weren’t replaced…”

“You made…a family,” she whispered softly before regaining her composure. Bending down she lifted the rod from its tripod and began to wind the line back into its reel.  “You couldn’t wait…a creature that should find time to be irrelevant…couldn’t wait for the right time.”

“It wasn’t like that!”

“You took everything from me, Raniero.” Clearing her throat the shaman rested her rod against her shoulder and shook her head. “You took my chance at a family, at that happy fairy tale and you didn’t even have the courage to say you didn’t want me.”

“I didn’t know where you were!”

“All you had to do was call and I would have heard you, just like last time,” her expression grew solemn once more as she shifted her weight from one hoof to the other. “But of course one like you would not understand through simple words so let me make this as simplistic as I possibly can.” She paused at this and began to walk away, waving her hand dismissively towards the night elf as the distance grew between the pair.  “I’ll take everything away from you, enjoy the company of your child while you can -”

“You don’t meant that…”

“Know that I will come for it.”

“You are not the Chizuamaya I once knew,” his eyes widened in horror as the Draenei turned round and flashed a wicked grin towards him, the glow in her eyes grew more vibrant and colour returned to her face.  Something had been born within her and it seemed completely unnatural.

“You are right, this is just one side of me,” she agreed softly and began to saunter away.  “When the child is born Raniero… You will prove your honour to me, both as a man and a soldier. I expect you to be ready.”