Golden Eyes

9 - Save the prisoners

"Come back alive".

"I'll come back to you, Anduin Lothar, I promise".

She was re-living the scene again and again in her mind, late that night, as the human army was riding towards the Black Gate. She missed Lothar. His presence was highly comforting to her. And by the looks on the soldiers' faces, she was not the only one missing the Commander.

"Lady Karandra!" a soldier who was riding just ahead of her called her.

Her head snapped up. It was Karos, the soldier that listened to her singing, when they went to spy on the Orcs, before the trap.

"Come and ride with us," he offered with a kind smile.

She kicked her horse lightly and placed herself flank to flank with the soldier.

"How are you?" he asked casually.

Her eyebrows shot up. No one ever asked her that before. No one ever cared. She blinked, remembering she wasn't with the Orcs anymore.

"I am good. What about you?"

"I'm fine, thanks. Though I would have much preferred to have Lothar with us".

"Me too," she replied in a soft tone. "He's a good war chief," she added to cover the tenderness in her voice in her previous words.

"He would march into Hell for any of us, as we would for him," another soldier piped in. "He's the greatest Commander Azeroth has ever seen".

"He is a good man," Karandra agreed. "And one Hell of a warrior".

"You speak our language remarkably well," Karos chuckled. "How come?"

"From as far as I can remember, I've always been in charge of feeding prisoners, translate what they say, and so on. I've come to understand every language used in the Orc world. It wasn't hard to learn yours with all the prisoners the Orcs took when we arrived".

The few that were listening to her nodded.

"So, you had a good status in the Orc society, I guess?" one of the soldiers asked curiously.

She scoffed at him.

"Ever since I was able to walk and talk, I've been enchained," she said with a blank expression. "I've always been a slave to Orcs. Half-breed, they called me, at best. I didn't have a name. I didn't have anything. I've spent my life in the demonic claws of Gul'dan, doing his biddings and hoping not to get too beaten up when he would throw me to his minions when not content with me".

Everyone gulped visibly around her, coughing awkwardly and stealing glances towards her blank face, pity showing in their eyes.

"You've had a tough life since you were born..." Karos muttered. "You're very brave to still be fighting".

"There is no bravery in fighting for survival," Karandra shrugged. "It's a basic instinct of most animals, really. It's the nature law: kill or be killed".

Karos' eyes widened slightly at her harsh word but nodded. Karandra kept silent for the next minutes, looking right ahead of her, her expression still blank.

"Lady Karandra?" Karos cautiously called her.

"Why does everyone call me 'Lady'?" she asked with a frown.

"It's... a title. A distinction for women that have a high social rank," Karos explained as best as he could.

"Do I?" she continued. "Have a high social rank?" she added in front of his puzzled expression.