Two Hearts Entwined Together, Two Hearts Torn Asunder

[Natasha Ebonlocke]

(( In which Nat and Celeste share a powerful morning (warning: brief hints of mature themes) that draws them closer together than ever, though the evening’s events are something else entirely. ))



Natasha Ebonlocke hummed happily as she exited the Scarlet Raven, Darkshire’s only inn and tavern. In her right hand was a bag with two boxes of food. In her left was a thick lock of her own hair, which she pulled down over her lips, eyes half-closed as she went over the events of her incredible morning in her mind, smiling broadly, but bashfully, occasionally blushing and giggling. She looked utterly smitten as she strode into the dusky evening.



Darkshire had never looked more beautiful to her. The cobwebby trees that blocked out so much of what bit of sun ever shone in (besides when it was directly overhead) seemed to her brighter, more cheerful. The torches of the Night Watch and the lampposts along the fences looked festive. The fountain in the town square seemed to play with every bit as much giddy excitement as her heart was, the sound of the splashing water and the happy patrons of the tavern barely holding a candle to the happiness she felt inside. She trod along the hard stone road, feeling as though a breeze were blowing through her hair, even though the air at the Duskwood forest floor was always seldom stirred. She smiled around, stopping for a moment to breathe deeply. The damp, earthy scent of her home was a source of tremendous comfort throughout her life, but it seemed heavenly now. The smell of salad, steak, and loaded baked potatoes issued forth from the sack. The intermingling fragrance of late-season blossoms (Duskwood being on the edge of a muggy swamp, a muggy jungle, and a blasted desert did not make for the coldest region in the world) reached her nose next. She opened her eyes. Flowers! That would make this dinner even better!



She turned, taking a detour. She directed her steps for the narrow alley between the town hall and the blacksmith, heading for a border of forest where she knew a few of these blooms to be. She smiled even more broadly than before as she made her way through the familiar path. Her rather thicker form wiggled in an even more alluring (though she never knew it) fashion than usual in her happiness, the fashion that had always felt awkward to her and made her fall down when she ran for more than twenty steps or so, but her mind wasn’t on that. It was on Celeste.



Celeste had come to spend the night last night, the third night in a row she had done so. Nat had been exhausted from the stress of events that had transpired since the Dalaran sewers, not to mention that night itself and three fourteen-hour shifts of work in a row. Having Celeste come by for the sleepovers had worked wonders for them both. She smiled as she remembers trading written notes back and forth, starting from when Nat had left Celeste a note on the bedside table about leaving for work, and leaving her some coin to get breakfast from the Scarlet Raven.



This morning, however, they had woke up almost at the same time, as Nat hadn’t had to work today. She blushed intensely as she remembered the brief conversation that led into words and actions that sparked the most intense, intimate time she had ever experienced in her life. This was intensified still further by Celeste, who had been generous and giving the other night before sending Nat off to sleep (it being a worknight, and the selfless Celeste not wanting to keep Nat up late) and refusing any return attention in return. She had accepted it this morning, for the first time ever, giving Nat something precious, something she could never get back. In all that had entwined that morning, their hearts had entwined the most. Their time together had been mind-blowing and utterly amazing. She still felt warm. Happy. Her heart melted. She could not stop smiling, and she wanted to shout her happiness to the world, ensure they heard it from Northrend to Pandaria.



OW! OW! PAIN! PANIC! CAN’T BREATHE! TERROR! SHARP! HELP! HELP! HELP!

[Natasha Ebonlocke]

Nat’s mind took a fraction of a second, a sliver of time, to register what was really happening to her. SHARP! A knife! A curved blade, sharp metal, digging into the skin at her throat! CAN’T BREATHE! A hand, a hand attached to a wiry arm that was stronger than it looked, was digging into her abdomen, crushing the air from her! An attempt at a gasp did not work, as she was unable to intake air. The bag of food had instantly fallen off to the side.

“I’m not surprised my dear sister picked a -woman- to f**k. I just expected one that didn’t look like a sow,” a man’s voice spat maliciously. She next felt the hot breath of a mouth speaking right next to her left ear. The pressure of the blade on her throat increased, creating a red line underneath, though the pressure on her abdomen was eased up on.

Nat felt tears well up in her deep purple eyes as the man’s cruel jibe cut deeper than his blade did. A belated realization hit her next.

“D-dear s-s-sister… B-but… but that would mean y-you… you’re… “

“So, you’re not as dumb as you look,” taunted the voice at her ear. She could hear his smile. “Well, my bright little sow, I think you will manage to understand this then. Stay away from my sister.” The hold on her tightened again, making breathing quite difficult now, and likely bruising her ribs. “Stay away, or else I will be forced to do things that you will regret.”

Nat’s tears intensified as she felt fear surge through her. Her breath was squeezed out of her from the less-than-fond bear hug. “Hhhhhhhyyyuuuuulllkkk… e-eck… nnnnggghh…. a-… aaa… “ was all she can manage back.

“Now, I know you will run to my sister to tell her you saw me, but… No. You won’t do that. Oh, I could slit your throat right now, carve my name into all that blubber,” he jeered as he gave her belly another harsh squeeze, “but that’s too easy. You touch my sister again, and I won’t come back for you. No, no no, tsk tsk tsk.” His tongue clicked. “I’ll find the people you love, the things you like, and I will take them all away from you. If you still persist, then I’ll just find my sweet, innocent sister… and carve her eyes out of her face.”

As if to emphasize his point, Tomlin McCullough drew his blade up from her neck, along her jaw, until the tip rested on the right corner of Nat’s right eye. Nat squealed in fright.

“Am I making myself clear?” he asked next, loosening his hold on her just enough to allow her to speak.

Nat’s tears had intensified by an order of magnitude at the man’s directive for her to leave Celeste, the brightest star in her sky. Her heart shattered into a million pieces at the very thought. The pain that caused was far greater than the pain at her throat, from which rivulets of red blood trickled down the front of her chest. Leave Celeste?! As well carve her own heart out and toss it to the feral worgen in the woods! The pain in her heart, her soul, was already beyond description.

In the meantime, she had frozen, holding completely still, let she make a wrong move and impale her own eye on that terrifying blade. When she was released, despite being prompted to acknowledge the scary man’s directive, all she can blurt out is, “Why? Why are you doing this? Why don’t you want her to be happy? Why can’t I be with her?!”

“She’s my sister,” Tomlin hissed. “MINE! And I’ll decide who she loves. It sure is s**t ain’t you, sow. Now, tell me you understand, or I’ll take the simpler path and drag your corpse to the river and make it disappear. I. Won’t. Ask. Again.” He punctuated each word, his left hand reaching up to grab a handful of Nat’s black hair, yanking it cruelly to force her eyes up into his own hazel orbs, so heartwrenchingly similar to Celeste’s. His blade remained at her right eye throughout, clear indication of his skill with a blade. What broke Nat’s heart still further was looking into those eyes, those familiar, usually comforting and happy hazel orbs, and seeing only hatred and cruelty and loathing and disgust. Celeste’s eyes… Celeste…

Nat hesitated, not responding at first. She was clearly thinking fast.

“SAY IT!” Tomlin ordered into her ear, the tip of his blade digging into the skin next to Nat’s eye, drawing more blood from her.

“OOOWWWW!” Nat squealed in pain, tears still pouring. She sobbed heavily, finally being forced to say what the man wants, not wanting Celeste or her father or any of her friends hurt. “I… I w-won’t t-t-touch her a-again...”

“Say it like you mean it, sow!”

“I… I promise you… I promise never to touch Celeste again…” Nat’s sobs wracked her body after that, setting what she now saw as her sow-like chunk aquiver. She sobbed in shame and fear and pain, but, most of all, in indescribable agony of heartbreak.

“Good… Great! Good chat!” Tomlin’s tone became deceptively light as he spoke. It was oddly cheerful. He lowered his blade and suddenly kicked Nat square in the back, launching her headlong into the stone wall in front of her. Her forehead smacked off the unforgiving surface, and she went down like a ton of bricks. As he left, for good measure, he stomped on the bag containing Nat and Celeste’s dinner.

“I’ll be keeping an eye on you,” Tomlin promised next, his tone deadly again, and then, just as quickly as he had arrived, he melted into the shadows and out of sight.

Nat struggled to her feet, sobbing in heartbreak and terror and agony. She gathered up the bag of food, for some reason that eluded her, and made her trembling way back out of the alley. Remembering Tomlin’s promise to keep watching her, she silenced her sobs as she made her way back into the town square, lowering her face to allow her hair to form a curtain around her two wounds and her heavy tears. Quickly, she crossed the square, went up the eastern hill road, and strode to her house. Unlocking the door and letting herself in, she slammed the door behind her and locked it, looking for Celeste, unaware she was still holding the smashed food bag. The large, merry fire crackling in her hearth illuminated a dirty, disheveled young woman with a bleeding throat and a bleeding hole next to her right eye, holding a smashed bag of food.

Nat stood there sobbing loudly, waiting for her lover to appear so she could annihilate her heart as thoroughly as hers had been.

[Celeste]

After Natasha had left, Celeste had lingered in bed, reluctant to leave. The day, so far, had been perfect. She was elated, floating on a cloud.



What had started out as a lazy morning spent lounging comfortably in bed with her girlfriend had stretched and ended into passionate lovemaking. Just thinking about it, hours later, still made her heart beat a little faster. Natasha had lavished her with attention and for once she had been able to let go and just let someone else take control. The freedom and the love had overwhelmed her. When she had finally given her virginity to the woman that she just couldn't see herself living without anymore, she had been unable to prevent the tears that had flowed from her eyes. All of the trials that she had suffered through during her existence had melted away along with those tears. None of it mattered anymore. There was only Natasha



After the lovemaking they had simply held each other close and let the time pass them by without a care. Celeste had fervently hoped to remain like that forever, to be left alone by the outside world. Unfortunately a stomach had growled and reality reared its head.



Now she stood in front of a mirror in Natasha’s bedroom, brushing her short strawberry-blonde hair as she waited for her lover to return. Tonight promised to be no different then the morning. Dinner together, relaxing with her girlfriend and maybe more if their moods and energy permitted.



When she heard the front door open and then slam shut she frowned a bit but figured it had just been an accident. There was no reason for Natasha to be angry with her after all. She adjusted her vest and checked herself in the mirror again, noting the bright smile that seems to have taken root on her face since the morning and strode out of the room to join Natasha.



‘’Nat!” She started to say as she left the room and walked down the hall. “I just thought about this funny story from my time in the army that…”



She stopped abruptly when she saw her standing in front of the door, holding the crushed remains of a dinner that still smelled delicious despite its obviously unusable state. Noting the state of her clothing, her beautiful dark hair now dirty and messy and the blood on her face and neck, her youthful features twisted with worry.



“Nat, what happened?” She said, concern in her voice. She moved closer, holding both of her hands out to hug her lover. “C’mere...” she offered. “It’s ok. We can have dinner later. I can go pick something up just as soon as we get you cleaned up, ok?”

[Natasha Ebonlocke]

Nat stood there in front of the door, her crushed food bag in hand. Her disheveled hair and dress shed crumbles of dirt onto the floor. Her red, bloodshot eyes sent heavy torrents of tears down cheeks streaked with dirt that colored her tears’ paths. The hole beside her eye and the cut along her throat dripped freely with blood. Yet there was nothing more wrong with her usually primped, clean, happy appearance than the heartbreak on her face, the heartbreak that churned out those twin rivers from her eyes and the awful sobs that wracked her body.

The sobs intensified as her girlfriend, her lovely girlfriend, came to her with that smile she had come to cherish so much lighting the entire room up. She didn’t want to do this. Not like this. Not because of this. Not to this woman. Not after this morning. Not after what Celeste said… Light, what she said… Celeste had said something this morning that had elated them both. She had spoken a trio of words that Nat hadn’t seen coming.

I love you.

Nat, having loved and lost once before, was slower to allow her heart to reach that point. She expressed her deep feelings in return, had told Celeste she cherished her, told her that she meant the world to her. She had also told her she didn’t want to utter those words simply because they were spoken to her. She wanted to say them because she -meant- them, and not allow words that precious to be a lie. She had said she wanted to wait until they were true to say them.

Now, she would never get to.

To crush this woman, to never get to love her, to have to explosively blast that cherished smile off her precious face, ripped Nat’s shattered heart into even more shreds.

Celeste approached her, holding her hands out to hug her, to… to touch her…

You touch my sister again, and I won’t come back for you. No, no no, tsk tsk tsk. His tongue clicked. I’ll find the people you love, the things you like, and I will take them all away from you. If you still persist, then I’ll just find my sweet, innocent sister… and carve her eyes out of her face.

You touch my sister again…

Celeste approached closer, hands outstretched to touch her…

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Natasha shrieked at her favorite person in the world outside her blood family. “Don’t TOUCH me! GET AWAY!”

Nat lurched right, ducking around Celeste without touching her, darting toward the fireplace. Shrieking those words at Celeste ripped the shreds of her heart in half yet again. She sobbed into the fireplace, the thought occurring to her to just fling herself in.

It would certainly be far less painful than this.

[Celeste]

Celeste stopped in her tracks as Nat shouted at her to get away. Confusion flashed accross her features while dred assailed her heart with mercilessly savagery.

She turned to face Nat's back, moving again to comfort her but stopping just short, hands now hanging limp at her side. "Did you fall down?" She said softly, concern in her voice again. "It's ok I won't laugh at you. Don't worry about it." The contrast in her lover's mood was so startling she couldn't begin to understand what had happened. Surely they could get passed this together. "You're bleeding. Let me check those wounds." She moved closer, reaching up to touch her, to get back the happy mood they had been sharing not so long ago. "Hey... hey..." she said gently, smiling again, convinced that whatever this was, they would laugh about it later.

[Natasha Ebonlocke]

Pure terror welled up inside Natasha, swelling to engulf her fully. Terrifying images swam into view, images of Celeste with empty, bleeding eyeholes, twin sockets gaping at nothing as her searching hands reached sightlessly out to touch her. Images of her father, lying in a pool of his own blood. Images of all her friends, half of Stormwind, the Cheshire Cats, Blackflag Imports, Windy’s resort, all her Deathrolls regulars, all her favorite people to hang out with. Madame Eva. Mister Daltry. Mister von Indi. All of Darkshire. All dead, all bloody. Darkshire itself, burned to the ground. Celeste again. Celeste, injured, crying, hurt, bleeding. Celeste most of all…

Celeste reached out to touch her again.

“STOP! I SAID DON’T TOUCH ME! GET AWAY! GET OUT! OUT!”

Why was she approaching? Why wasn’t she stopping? Why didn’t she understand?! Nat sobbed harder as it became evident that she would have to say the hardest thing she can possibly imagine saying. She knew it would be the only thing to get Celeste to safety. Anything else would brook further argument… and… and then… Celeste would touch her…

No.

Celeste must remain safe. Heartbreak was the worst pain ever, but, with time, one could heal from that. She couldn’t heal from having her beautiful hazel eyes enucleated. She’d never get that back. Light, she couldn’t allow Celeste to get HURT!

“GET OUT! I DON’T LOVE YOU! I DON’T! I DON’T WANT YOU ANYMORE. GET OUT! GET! OUT!”

[Celeste]

None of it made sense.

Try as she might, she just couldn't fathom why Natasha was so suddenly and violently pushing her away.

"Nat... you're not making sense." She tried again, just as gently. "Whatever it is, we'll get through this, I know we can." The feeling of bliss that had permeated her being was dissipating at an alarming rate. Her heart yet refused to understand what her mind was telling it. "It's ok if you don't love me. I know it was too soon for me to tell you. I can wait. We'll be ok but you have to talk to me..."

She knew she wasn't getting through though. Her mind was screaming urgently as it watched the shattering of her heart in excruciatingly slow motion. Tears streaming from her eyes in a steady flow she stopped just short of touching Nat. 

"Please..." she said in a hoarse whimper. "Please I'll do whatever you want, please don't abandon me... You're everything I've ever wanted in this world. Please..." Celeste begged, at a loss as to what she could do as hopelessness invaded her mind.

[Natasha Ebonlocke]

Celeste’s pleas ripped through Natasha’s tattered heart. What remained was a million shreds of loss, despair, and pure agony. The more Celeste pleaded, the worse it got. Her sobs only increased in intensity as she continued.

The forceful demolishing of not only her own heart, but also the heart she cared about most, was rapidly sapping the energy from her. She could no longer shout. She could no longer do anything but lie there on the hearth, cringing away from Celeste's touch. She sobbed at length, noisily, knowing what she had to do. Knowing what would not only get Celeste out to safety, but would, as pointedly as possible, pass along Natasha's lifelong dismissal. Something Celeste knew that Nat knew would drive the point home with irrefutable finality.

Something Natasha might never be able to come back from.

She looked up at Celeste, her purple pupils beginning to glow from within the bloodshot whites of her eyes that were now anything but. Her ring glowed as well. The million tiny shreds of her heart ripped themselves in half, leaving her with two million shreds.

She spoke three words.

[Erudun] "Mirlia, re."

A dark portal opened, right there in Nat's front room. A seductive fragrance proceeded a lithe, yet curvy succubus that strutted through the portal and into the room as she shook her long black hair out from beneath her horns. She eyed the two women, biting her lip and smirking.

[Erudun] "Gular."

The succubus' smirk widened, and she turned her gaze to the young woman standing over her mistress, casting the Charm spell on her as ordered.

Nat uses the charm spell to direct Celeste's steps to her door, unlock it, and step outside. She even went so far as to turn Celeste around to face her door. She summoned the energy to pick herself up from the hearth. She knew she had to do this next bit herself.

Nat crossed her front room, took hold of the handle of her door, and released Celeste from the charm spell. She wanted her to know what had just been done to her. She also wanted her to watch Nat close the door in her face and lock her out. She did so, Mirlia standing behind her with a malicious grin on her face.

Nat next took a pail of water and threw it over her fire, causing the light Celeste would see in the front window to be snuffed out, and the house go dark. Clear indication that Natasha Ebonlocke was done seeing anyone that day.

The light in Nat's home was instantly snuffed out, just like the one in her heart.

[Celeste]

Celeste blinked and found herself standing outside, staring at Nat's tear-streaked features and wondering just how she got there. When the smirking succubus came into view, something snapped within her.

Celeste's fell on her knees as the strength drained away from her limbs and tears flowed from her eyes. Her expression was a mask of sorrow, betrayal and regret. She didn't say a word, her mind a blank as her thoughts abandoned the battlefield in utter defeat.

When the door finally closed and the lights went out, Celeste took a deep breath and finally stood. She wanted to be gone. The humiliation burning through her. She felt increasingly cold, the void where her heart had been sucking the fire out of her. She wrapped her arms around her as she started trembling and still, she remained rooted in place. Celeste looked at Nat's door, hoping against all hope that it would open back up and everything would go back to the sweet reality she had cherished.

But the door remained closed. She thought of shouting Natasha's name. To make one, last desperate plea. To do something, anything. To fight for what she wanted.

Celeste had been thrown aside or ignored before in her life. Though that experience did not make it any easier now, it had heardened her heart a little bit every time.

Looking at Nat's house, the place she had been so eager to return to each night to find solace in her lover's embrace, Celeste stiffened and squared her shoulders. Her gaze grew hard and she stiffly turned and walked away into the evening gloom...