She spotted them as they walked up the dock from the ship, arm in arm. Damn! He does have a wife. A troll, too. I should have guessed – the way he blew me off. So I was just one of many interracial conquests. What a hustler. Damn!
She shrank back into the shadows of the alley, then ducked into a nearby store. Best not to give him the satisfaction of seeing me.
The little voice in the back of her head reminded her, But you were the one who pursued him. It's not fair for you to turn that around on him now. Maybe you should confront him – find out the truth.
Shut up.
Lith'atal looked around with wide eyes. This was her first visit to Booty Bay, and the entire setting was foreign. Her head felt like it was spinning, there were so many new things to see at once.
"I'm going to start at the inn, to see if anyone knows Auryon or has seen her recently. Why don't you go check out the shops? Just be careful, and don't trust anyone."
"Okay, daddy. It's a small town - I doubt I can get very lost."
Auryon glanced up as the shop bell jingled. It was his troll. She lowered her head and pretended to study the pottery more intently. From the corner of her eye, she watched the troll wander around the store, eyes wide. He must not let her out much. I'm surprised that he's letting her wander around on her own.
She started to brush past the tall Draenei woman who seemed so intent on the store wares. But something made her pause. That bow. Daddy had a bow like that. He said he gave it to...
"Auryon?"
The woman turned, a look of disdain on her face.
"Are you Auryon? I am Matosawitko's daughter, Lith'atal."
The troll knew her name? Had he bragged about his conquest to his own wife? That was low, even for an uncivilized Tauren. The only words that she recognized were "Auryon" and "Matosawitko", but the anxiety in the girl's voice was obvious. Did she harbor the same resentment that Auryon now felt springing up? Was she going to attack, unprovoked, in the middle of town? Auryon looked her up and down. Not much to be worried about, there.
Auryon replied in Draenei, "I'm sorry, I don't think I know what you're talking about." She stalked from the building.
Lith watched her go. It was Auryon – it had to be! Even if it wasn't, Daddy needed to know. If she wasn't Auryon, maybe she knew her.
She raced up the street toward the inn. "Daddy, daddy!"
He was talking to the innkeeper. The news apparently was negative. He turned as she burst into the room. "Daddy, I think I saw her! Hurry!"
She had reached the platform in front of the tunnel when she heard him calling her name from below. She stopped, but did not turn.
"Auryon, please! I've been looking for you."
"And you've found me. Talk fast, before I put arrows in you and your little hussy. You've got a lot of nerve coming here, much less to bring her along."
"I don't understand. I'm so glad to see you. I realize that we didn't part on the best terms. But I thought..."
"No, you didn't think. Tauren." She spit the word like a curse. "As if a bow could make up for the fact that you drove me away so that you could be with another woman. With her. Goodbye, Mato."
"What? I don't... Wait, where are you going? Auryon, come back!"
She was gone, running through the tunnel. His voice trailed off behind her. She felt tears stinging her eyes – tears of rage, self-pity and sadness rolled up together. How could he be so cruel? How could I have not seen it? I was such a fool to let him into my heart, and my bed.
For somebody who thinks her honor has been offended, you sure didn't give him an opportunity to defend his own.
Shut up.
"Daddy, what did she say? What happened?"
He stood silent in the middle of the street, mouth agape as he stared after her. What happened? Finally he turned to Lith'atal, his face tight against the tears.
"She's gone. I don't understand!"
"What did she say?"
"I... She said something about how I drove her away to be with another woman. But I haven't. She was the only woman I have had in... has it really been ten years? Where did she get the idea that I had another woman?"
He stood quietly for a moment, then he continued in a voice thick with anger and sadness. "This was a mistake. We should not have come. Clearly I mistook our relationship or assumed too much. Another woman?"
After a pause, Lith spoke in a small voice. "Daddy, when I saw her – I talked to her. I tried to tell her... I don't know any language that she would know. I spoke in... Orcish, probably. I don't remember. But I called her by name. I was nervous. Maybe she thought I was angry with her? I don't know."
Mato wrapped his arms around her. "Lith, it's not your fault. I was taken off guard by her hostility; maybe if I could have explained the situation – who you are – she might have understood."
A muffled voice came from near his chest. "Daddy, where does that tunnel go?"
"Nowhere in particular – it just opens up into the Stranglethorn jungle." He held her out at arm's length. "Why?"
"So... she can't have gone far. Daddy, you have to go after her!"
Hope dawned on his face again, then it fell. "But what about you? You can't follow me - the beasts here are too difficult for you to handle."
"I'll wait at the inn, or explore the town. Don't worry – I can take care of myself, Daddy."
The crumbled stones of Gurubashi Arena loomed through the jungle mist when he found her. She sat beside the road, head buried in her knees as sobs shook her body. Around her lay the corpses of a dozen trolls. He dismounted and started toward her.
"Stay away. Leave me alone. Haven't you hurt me enough already?"
"Auryon, I don't know what is going on. What happened to you? To... us?"
"Like you don't know. Showing up with that little troll woman of yours hanging on your arm, and then pretending like she doesn't matter. Like I don't matter. I don't want to share you. I can't..."
"Lith? What does she have to do with us?"
She looked up sharply. "Didn't you hear what I said? I can't be with you when you're already with..."
He sighed. "I see it now." He squatted down next to her, taking her hand. "Auryon, Lith'atal is my daughter."
His... "daughter?"
"Yes. It's... a long story." He smiled. "Come back to town with me – I want you to meet her. I'll tell you on the way."
"Oh, Mato – I've been such an idiot. I should have known that you..."
"No! Really, it has been my idiocy all along. I should have never sent you away. I should have told you about Lith. I should have..."
She laid her finger on his lips. "Clearly we have some communication issues to work out. Let's just both take equal blame and call it finished."
"Oh, I almost forgot!" He rummaged in his pack for a moment, then held up a bunch of flowers with an apologetic shrug. "They're kind of wilted now."
"They're beautiful." She buried her nose in them, then took his hand. "I'd like to go meet Lith'atal now. If she's anything like her father, she must be a wonderful person."
"As I understand it, she's got a lot in common with her future stepmother, too."
She giggled, wrapping her arm around his waist. "That's not good..."
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