Destiny

The Dark Portal has closed? Nathanos and Alleria stood there for a long time, seemingly oblivious to the battlefield behind them.

"Who did this?" Alleria asked instinctively, but when she saw the dizzy Dwarf, she immediately understood, though it still seemed unbelievable.

"Not really... I didn't expect it at all." Nathanos said weakly, not even noticing the complicated look in the Female Elf's eyes. He then looked at Female Elf with the same expression and said, "Once this Dwarf wakes up, we'll know what happened!"

"We have to help them!"

"We can't." Nathanos stated the harsh reality, surprised that he could still speak calmly, but he knew he was just as tense and anxious as Alleria. What happened to the people behind the portal? What was going on over there? How could they be contacted? Perhaps these questions would be answered, but they weren't the ones to answer them. "None of us are...mages."

"The Dark Portal!" Rexxar shouted, pointing at the portal. "Something's not right!"

"What's wrong?" Grom asked, then turned to look.

"No!"

"Grom! The portal is gone!" one of them cried out.

"What should we do?"...

Grommash calmed himself; fortunately, he was still conscious. "Assemble the troops quickly!" Grom shouted. "Rexxar! Let's go warn the others! Move towards the valley entrance!"

Rexxar jolted awake, nodded, and quickly walked to the other side to complete the task Grom had given him. He briefly relayed Grom's orders to each Orcs he encountered. When Rexxar reached the valley entrance, Grom arrived as well. All the remaining Horde members in Azeroth were there. The vast majority of them appeared panicked.

"The portal is gone!" Grom roared, a harsh reality he wanted all the Orcs to accept. His eyes were fixed on the humans now clearing the battlefield before the Ruins of the Dark Portal. "The Alliance is gathering its forces! We must head north immediately," he said, his red eyes sweeping over the Horde before him, then he raised his Gorehowl. "We must survive."

Rexxar looked at the Orcs, the last remaining force of the Orcs Horde, and a clamorous shout echoed through the sky. Grom seemed to have rekindled the fighting spirit of the other Orcs. But in his eyes, Rexxar glared at Grommash, the Warsong Clan chieftain, who yearned for revenge.

One day later, Honor Hold

"So, it was Khadgar destroyed the Dark Portal over there?" Nathanos muttered to himself, gazing out the window. A light rain began to fall in the Blasted Lands. Alleria had told him that she would gather the troops and leave that night. It sounded a bit hasty, but in order to return the artifacts that the Alliance Expedition had risked their lives to retrieve to Dalaran as soon as possible, the Female Elf believed that the sooner they set off, the better.

The Wildhammer Dwarf who had escaped had awakened and told them everything. Whether Turalyon, Khadgar, Danas, Kurdran, and many others were still alive remained unknown. But the Dwarf's uncontrollable tears filled the others with despair. He didn't rest; instead, he mounted Gryphon and soared into the sky, determined to tell everyone of his heroic deeds.

Nathanos sighed, the long-suppressed feeling vanishing without a trace with the white breath he exhaled.

"It's all over? I hope so." He closed the window. In a few days, a new commander will arrive to guard this land.

A week later, Hillsbrad

"I don't like this place."

Nathanos heard Alleria's complaints.

"Why?"

"This is where we fought Orgrim, right there!" The Female Elf pointed to a tree with two huge rocks below, an excellent shooting position. "I climbed up there to fight the Orcs, and it was here that we first encountered the Death Knight, but you weren't there that time."

Her words contained no blame, but rather a recollection of a brief fact.

"It's all in the past!" Nathanos smiled, looking at the meticulously dressed Alleria, just like when he first met the Female Elf. Only this time, Nathanos took a good look and concluded that she was indeed very beautiful.

"General!" Ranger Verina rushed to Alleria's side, her tense expression severely disrupting the atmosphere.

"What's wrong, Verina?" Alleria caught her adjutant, who nearly fell. This seasoned Female Elf was always mature and composed, and she wouldn't be so flustered in a crisis. Alleria realized that something must have happened to make Verina so anxious.

"Tell me slowly."

"Yes, General." Verina took a couple more breaths, glanced at Nathanos as she looked up, frowned, looked around again, and then whispered something in Alleria's ear.

Nathanos wasn't really listening; perhaps Alleria would tell him soon enough. But the reality was quite the opposite. Verina took a step back, her face pale as she stared at her Ranger-General. For a fleeting moment, Nathanos was astonished to find that Alleria seemed to have stopped breathing. She was motionless, her back to him, and only Verina could see her face.

"Alleria?" Nathanos called softly, but the Female Elf did not respond. The human frowned, then placed his hand on her shoulder and called again, "Alleria?"

"Ah?" The Female Elf was startled and quickly turned to face Nathanos. Her eyes, lips, and cheeks all betrayed her emotions. Her makeup remained, but it paled the moment she turned. Alleria smiled, silently telling Nathanos that she was alright. However, her eyes betrayed her feelings; her emerald green pupils trembled slightly, filled with sadness, anger, despair, and other negative emotions. If it weren't for this human standing before her, she probably would have exploded.

"What's wrong?" Nathanos asked, squinting, but Alleria shook her head, still maintaining that bitter and fake smile.

"It's nothing," she whispered, but the hoarseness in her voice startled both her and Nathanos. Unbeknownst to her, she had clenched her fists tightly, her hands trembling uncontrollably.

"Tell me, Alleria. Tell me!" Nathanos gripped her shoulders tightly. The Female Elf shook her head again, saying nothing more, but a sudden longing flickered in her eyes, pleading with Nathanos to stop asking.

A wave of sadness washed over the man. He wondered why Alleria hadn't told him—did she not trust him? No! He dismissed the thought; it was suspicion of Alleria. Nathanos took a deep breath, calming his unease. Finally, he nodded and replied, "Alright!"

Alleria felt a great sense of relief and buried her head in Nathanos's arms, hugging him tightly.

What happened? Nathanos looked up at Verina, who noticed his gaze. The Female Elf lieutenant bowed to him, then stiffly turned and left.

A long time passed.

"Are you done?" Nathanos asked. Alleria released him, pulling her hood down low, but Nathanos could still see her haggard face. He wondered what could have made Alleria like this.

"Shouldn't you go home?"

"What?" Nathanos exclaimed in surprise.

"I mean, your family must be waiting for you. You've been gone for so long, you must miss them terribly. You should go see them right away. But I have to go to Dalaran, which might take several days."

"It's alright, I..." Nathanos wanted to continue saying something like, "I can stay with you," but he didn't expect Alleria to refuse him. She said softly in a very cold tone, "You don't belong to me alone, Nathanos. Go now. We'll meet again, won't we?" She spoke with a glimmer of hope, but more than that, it was an escape. What was she running away from?

Nathanos stood there for a long time, then finally asked weakly, "Now?"

The Female Elf nodded without hesitation, without glancing at him once from beginning to end.

"Alright!" Nathanos said, sensing that this time Alleria didn't intend to keep him. Perhaps the Female Elf genuinely wanted him to leave, or perhaps she didn't want Nathanos to witness something.

As Nathanos turned away, Alleria forced herself not to reach out and grab his arm, nor even dared to look up at his retreating figure. With each step Nathanos took away, her breathing quickened, until she was certain Nathanos was far enough away, and anger and hatred once again overwhelmed her.

"Verina, take some people to confirm this news!"

As night fell, Nathanos realized he could no longer reach the town of Sepulcher in southern Lordaeron, so he pitched his tent in the wilderness and gathered enough dry firewood to keep warm during the downpour. It was the rainy season, which wasn't unusual, but why? Nathanos asked himself countless times. Why did Alleria want him to leave? What had happened?

Despite Nathanos's reminders to get a good night's sleep, he couldn't sleep. Alleria's expression kept replaying in his mind.

His throat tightened suddenly, and he vaguely heard the whispering of raindrops on the tent. When he heard Alleria whispering to him, he initially thought he was just hallucinating.

Nathanos?

He looked up. In the dim, orange-red light of the fire, Nathanos saw Alleria, standing right at the tent entrance. "Alleria!" Nathanos jumped to his feet. "What are you doing here?"

The Female Elf was soaked to the bone and trembling, her flowing golden hair clinging to her head. Her eyes, burning with a dark fire of fear, stared at Nathanos.

Nathanos had a ton of questions for her. What was wrong with her? What had happened? And more importantly, why was she here, all alone at the entrance to her tent?

These things could be considered later. He could feel that she was almost frozen. He immediately pulled her in and said, "Come in quickly! I'll go find you some clothes."

The Female Elf wanted to speak, but in the end she just nodded, opened her small hands, and placed them over the still-glowing pile of embers to warm herself.

Nathanos found only a shirt and a pair of trousers in his pack.

"Change quickly," he said softly, biting his lip and forcing himself not to ask any questions. "Change into these dry clothes quickly," he said, gently turning her body so that her back was to the brazier. "Then, then... you rest for a while."

Nathanos placed the clothes in her hands, turned around, his face slightly flushed. He heard a soft thud of clothes falling to the ground behind him, waiting for Alleria to tell him when he could turn around.

He gasped for breath as a pair of small hands wrapped around him from behind, and a slender figure leaned against him. For a moment, Nathanos didn't move. Then, he slowly grasped those cold hands. Nathanos trembled as he felt her kiss his shoulder.

"I... I'm cold..." she whispered. "So cold."

Nathanos could no longer bear it, and he turned around and embraced her tightly.

In the dim light of the brazier, Nathanos could see that her skin appeared soft and had a golden sheen due to the firelight. Alleria looked up at him, her eyes filled with deep emotion through her tears.

"Alleria," he called, his arms tensing to pull the Elf close to him. "What happened?"

She raised her hands and touched Nathanos's face, not answering him, but whispering, "Nathanos, my dear Nathanos. Vendel'o eranu."

The human, panting, looked at her with surprise and heartache, and said, "I understand, Alleria. Whatever hurt you, whatever terrified you, let me take it away. I won't let you continue to suffer." He cupped Alleria's face in his hands, feeling her delicate cheekbones, and slowly, tentatively, kissed her. Alleria immediately responded frantically, wrapping her arms around Nathanos's neck. She whispered, "Cold, so cold..."

Nathanos lifted her up in his arms. She was incredibly light. The two of them settled onto the canvas bed.

Alleria felt dizzy. A pair of calloused hands, calloused from years of training, caressed her silky smooth back. She closed her eyes, letting Nathanos warm her, warmer than a bonfire...

The next morning, the rain had lessened considerably. Nathanos, wearing only his leg armor, sat on the ground chewing cheese. He draped his wolfskin cloak over Alleria, waiting for her to wake. He believed Alleria would tell him what had happened, and he was prepared to face it with her.

"Hmm?" Alleria woke up groggily, and the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Nathanos looking out of the tent.

What are you looking at?

"You're awake?" Nathanos turned his head, immediately smiled, placed the dried clothes beside her, and took her hand.

"Mm." The Female Elf didn't get up, but simply nodded and said, "Thank you."

"Thank you?" Nathanos asked, somewhat surprised, "Thank me for what?"

Alleria placed her other hand on the back of Nathanos's hand and gave him a sweet smile. "Thank you for helping me again. I almost broke down."

"Is it about what Verina said to you yesterday?"

Alleria nodded and sighed silently.

What did she say?

"She told me..." Alleria bit her lip, a flash of anger in her eyes, "She told me that Orgrim escaped!"

"What!" Nathanos nearly jumped to his feet, shock and disbelief on his face. The Female Elf nodded to him, confirming that it was all true.

"I've already sent people to confirm it; it's true. It's just that Terenas has had the news blocked," Alleria explained through gritted teeth. Nathanos finally understood why she had insisted he leave back then; she didn't want him to see her consumed by hatred again.

Why have you come looking for me again?

Alleria struggled to her feet and replied, "Only you can help me, to let go for now. I don't want to lose myself. If you do, you'll be very disappointed in me."

Nathanos shook her head, hugged Alleria, and whispered in her pointed ear, "I won't. I won't let you face this alone again, I swear. You told me you couldn't refuse me, and so can I."

All the gloom in the Female Elf's heart dissipated at that moment, and they lingered tenderly for a long time before getting dressed and leaving. Alleria entrusted the three artifacts to Verina, whose lieutenant led the main force to Dalaran. She herself decided to go to Lordaeron with Nathanos.

On the way, they found out the details.

Orgrim Doomhammer, the powerful Horde leader, initially feigned defeat in the face of human contempt and hatred, but in reality, he was far from being as incompetent as he appeared. Finally, the cunning Orcs escaped while the humans were off guard. From his cell to the stinking Sewers, countless corpses marked his escape route. Among these corpses were guards, civilians, and criminals. At this moment, the seemingly calm situation tensed up once more. Would Orgrim return with a new attack? Only time would tell.

Three days later, Nathanos and Alleria were strolling through the streets of Lordaeron. The Female Elf seemed curious about everything, from jewelry to children's food; Alleria would linger in a shop for a while each time. Nathanos patiently accompanied her. He knew Alleria would eventually leave and return to Quel'Thalas to continue her duties as Ranger-General. Their time together was brief yet precious.

Nathanos?

"Hmm?" He turned his head and saw Uther, but the Paladin wasn't alone. Uther was leading his mount, Ironhoof, but there was a boy on horseback, who looked no more than eleven or twelve years old. He looked a little nervous, but his eyes were full of anticipation.

"It's Uther," Alleria reminded her.

Nathanos went to meet them, the Female Elf followed behind him, and the four of them eventually gathered together.

"It's been a long time. I'm glad to see you here, child," Uther greeted him, clearly having heard about the Dark Portal.

"Me too, Uther." He smiled, then frowned slightly as he looked at the blond boy.

Uther noticed his gaze and smiled slightly, "Nathanos, do you remember what I told you?"

"Certainly."

Nathanos had never forgotten that deal— Uther helped him join the Alliance, and in return, he would... So, this boy is...? Nathanos and the blond boy exchanged a glance.

"Hello!" The boy extended his right hand, his palm slightly sweaty. "I am Arthas!"

Alleria smiled at her lover and nuzzled his back with her shoulder— the Prince of Lordaeron awaited his response. He extended his hand. The moment their hands met, Nathanos gasped sharply, a chill washing over him. The hand was still warm, but Nathanos sensed something else, something he couldn't escape...fate!