Dreams of the past

[Waldonnis]

"Much time has passed, but soon I shall return, Verissina…"

Verissi woke and leapt to her feet, shaking. Few amongst her current Clan knew of her history, and she could not recall ever revealing her human given name to any of them. "Verissina", yes, she was sure he said that in the dream. Only her cousin Waldonnis could possibly know, and even he would never be so cruel as to mimic that voice.

"It cannot be him. It simply cannot. He was lost long ago…", she muttered and sat down to meditate, searching for an answer.

A tide of memories flooded Verissi's mind as she conjured a vision of her former life…

"Mother, I do not want to go! I would much rather stay with Walter and study my magic here!", Verissina exclaimed to Velindre in a huff. "And what of the celebrations and festivals that I will miss?"

Velindre smiled and brushed her daughter's hair out of her eyes, "Your cousin Walter needs some time to study as well and he certainly will not do that with you always dragging him away from his books. Besides, your father will not settle for his only daughter becoming a simple debutante to be married off. We both know that he wishes you to follow his example in service to Lordaeron. Let us not forget how much you impressed the Archmagus at Dalaran. He was very anxious to see you study with them."

Verissina scowled and absently tossed her hair back over her eyes. Gently patting her daughter on the head, Velindre urged her daughter, "Now go get dressed while I prepare for our dinner guests. Your father is coming home tonight and I am sure he would like to see the fine young lady that you have become since he was last home."

Velindre watched as her daughter floated out of the room with the grace that only ladies of fine breeding exhibit. Verissina was barely a girl of sixteen years, but she took to manipulating magic…and the hearts of would-be suitors… as naturally as a fish swims through water.

"She would be a fine Lady to a lucky Lord," Velindre sighed to herself, knowing that Verissina would never settle for the realities of such a choice. As much as she disagreed with her own husband's desire to see their daughter in the service of Lordaeron, Velindre could not help but recognize that Verissina's desire to leave home was growing…as was the desire to follow her father's military example. She may have denied wanting to leave, but Velindre knew the words were hollow.

"Would he even know me? It has been so long…," Verissina thought as he returned to her room to bathe and pick out her dress for dinner. She was so nervous that she had begun to shake. Her father had been away for many years, serving as a lieutenant under Prince Arthas' command. His assignments rarely brought him close enough to home for family gatherings of any length. If it had not been for the required apprenticeship testing at Dalaran over a year ago, she would not have seen her father at all in the past two years. Even still, he had barely made eye contact with her during her testing, which upset her greatly. She hoped that she had not disappointed him.

" I am sorry to disturb you, cousin, but we must speak immediately." Waldonnis' voice brought Verissi out of her meditation and back to the present. She opened her eyes to see her cousin sitting nearby, flipping through her diary.

"You know better, Walter! Give that back! You may be older now, but you are still that nosy boy from our younger days." Verissi smirked at her cousin and snatched her diary out of Waldonnis' hands. Her smile dropped slowly as she notices the concern in her cousin's eyes. "Is there something wrong? What brings you here in the middle of the eve?"

"Yes, and…well, I am not sure," he replied solemnly. "My meditations are troubled and my dreams more so. I believe that I heard the voice of…"

"You heard him too?", Verissi quickly replied with surprise. "Could it be that he is still…alive? Could he be coming back home?"

Waldonnis' brow furrowed. "I am not sure, cousin, but you know how I feel about him and what he forced you into. If it had not been for his insistence, you would have been spared from the plague…and what the Alliance 'training' did to you is equally unforgivable. I would just as soon kill him as hug him for what he did to you."

Verissi bolted upright at her cousin's final sentence, leering at her cousin. "You and I both know that it was my choice, not his, to go to Dalaran to train. We have been over this too many times, Walter. I would never have been satisfied just being some Lady in a keep with nothing to do but brush my hair, waiting on my Lord's latest whim." Verissi tried to maintain her composure, but knew inside that she wasn't speaking the entire truth to her cousin.

"Still, if it had not been for them…and him…", Waldonnis sneered and muttered to himself, then sighed heavily. "Let us just hope that you see him before I do if he shows his face in camp,", he spat bitterly.

"You will do nothing to him, Walter, and that is that. You may be stronger now, but you need to forget the past," Verissi sternly replied. She knew her cousin would never change his mind nor accept the truth behind her past, but she would never stop trying to correct him. Even still, she knew it was futile and decided to turn the topic to a lighter subject. "Say, Walter, remember the magic lab we set up?"

Waldonnis chuckled and grinned. "What I remember was how angry your mother was when you turned her beloved puppy into a pig. I doubt she took too kindly to her dresses dancing down the street on their own either."

They both laughed and smiled at each other, recalling the simplicity of their youth. "We both should rest, Walter. Perhaps we are just haunted by echoes from our younger days. Besides, he was reported lost in Andorhal, so our dreams were probably simple fantasies." Verissi was still shaken, but tried to put up a convincing front with her words. She did not want her cousin to brood over something as unlikely as…

"Echoes and fantasies indeed. Your wisdom has always exceeded my own, dear cousin. I am weary from battle and could probably use the rest" , Waldonnis relented, touching Verissi's shoulder. "Rest well, Verissina."

"You as well, Walter," she replied smiling. As Waldonnis left her tent, she could not help but think of her father again. His voice speaking her human given name, "Verissina" echoed in her mind. It had been so long since she heard anyone but Waldonnis use her name that she had nearly convinced herself that it was a nickname. "Walter" and "Verissina" were names that her and her cousin had left behind them long ago, only to be used when they conversed in private. No longer were they the carefree children they once were.

With a heavy sigh, Verissi curled up on her bed, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep…the sound of her father speaking her name haunting her as she did.

[Waldonnis]

(( Waldonnis' story will mesh with Verissi's often, but I'll be posting them in different threads...enjoy blending them together as you read each Much more is coming...they're building to something, but you'll have to wait and see what that is ))

[Scryll]

::falls out of his chair in shock:: Damn V, I didn't think you'd ever get around to posting your own material in here. Hells man, you've only spent 3+ years in here *teases*

Very nice.

[Wendie]

Wow...very engaging...

You have talent *hugs*