For One Day

[Hellista]

It was midnight, and Hellista sat alone in her dorm room at Silvermoon University, staring at the walls. The chimes of the clock in her room ticked down until the twelfth ring had finished, and she sighed and put her list back in a drawer.

The list was actually a large book, filled with scrawls and notes from the past year. As a practicing sensate, Hellista was bound to try everything at least once, so that she may know enlightenment through experience. And there were so many things to try. Today, starting right now, she would try one of the things in her book.

She stood and walked to her clothes cabinet, dressing herself modestly and smiling as she looked in the mirror to brush her fiery red hair. Her emerald eyes twinkled a bit as she thought of the insanity of what she was about to do. Once finished, she left the dorms and walked onto the street, heading toward the offices of the Blood Knights.

As Hellista approached, several Blood Knight guards tightened their grips on their weapons. They knew this girl well. Although she had somehow been able to get a full pardon for her crimes, they looked for any excuse to cut her down. She was a murderer, a cannibal, and a practicing member of some evil and vile troll voodoo cult, at the very least.

Hellista greeted the guards with a smile and walked past them, heading straight to the office of Champion Vranesh. In her hands was a large volume of legal texts, which she had perused the night before. Several pages were bookmarked. Vranesh sat in his office, his stern and heroic visage looking upon Hellista with curiosity as she entered the room. He spoke in a deep and hateful tone. "What the fel are you doing in here, Lok'Tharis?"

Hellista sat the book down on his desk with a thud and went into her prepared speech. "Noble Champion Vranesh, I am here to turn myself in for questioning regarding the state of your prisoner Lovely Nex'Cruor, in the hopes of freeing the poor girl from bondage most unfair."

Vranesh blinked and rubbed his eyes. "What was that you said?"

Hellista smiled and spoke, her eerie childlike voice sounding innocent and creepy at the same time. "Lovely Nex'Cruor, sir. She has been arrested for murdering me, and has been found as delusional by the High Council. I am here to prove to you that she is in fact sane, and has acted only in the most pure fashion and within the laws of the great city of Silvermoon."

Vranesh stuttered in disbelief. "Umma umma wha...?"

Hellista opened the book to a marked page and continued speaking. "Lovley Nex'Cruor had been under a voodoo curse of mine when she was taken into custody. I have taken the liberty of marking in this book of laws the outlines regarding people that have not acted of their free will. I can assure you that she is in fact sane, and was under my influence when she attacked me. Your punishment to her should in fact legally be put on me."

Vranesh smiled giddily and nodded. "Well yes...I never wanted that poor girl to suffer anyway. I knew if you were involved you had some kind of hand in it. Not sure why you are stupid enough to turn yourself in, but this is just what I've been waiting for! Guards!!!"

As the guards entered the room, with manacles ready, Hellista held up her hand. Her soft voice was somehow heard above their curses. "If I may interrupt, Vranesh. I direct you to look at page 274 of the book, which I have plainly marked."

Vranesh sighed and rolled his eyes, turning the page and reading the book. He blinked a few times, trying to comprehend the legal terms outlined in the section Hellista had marked.

Hellista smiled innocently. "Let me translate for you, Vranesh. According to the laws of Silvermoon, Anything that was done before my pardon went into effect is considered null and void, and I cannot be prosecuted. So while I can prove my involvement, and Lovely's innocence, there is absolutely nothing you can do. Lovely walks, and so do I. Both of us free women."

At this point one of the guards lost his temper, hitting Hellista in the back with a plate gauntlet and sending her sprawling forward onto the desk. His voice was a shrill yell as he glared at her angrily. "Bitch!! I saw what you did to guard Cha'Varr!! Paper or no paper, I will kill you where you stand!"

Vranesh stood and slammed his fist on the desk, looking sternly at the guard. "Enough! Stand down, guard, this woman is not to be touched by order of the High Council!"

Hellista stood and composed herself as the guard looked at her and fumed. Hellista smiled and glanced at Vranesh as she spoke. "According to page 169 of the book, assault on a citizen of noble blood by a guard is punishable by public flogging and/or death. As I am one of three members of House Lok'tharis left alive, I demand my honor be defended. I ask that you arrest this man, Champion Vranesh."

The tension in the room was thick, and the guard lunged for Hellista again, only to be stopped by his partner. He spit on Hellista and uttered a string of curse words that never seemed to end. Hellista calmly wiped her face and looked at Vranesh. "I will be going now if you have no further questions."

Vranesh glared angrily at Hellista. "Get out of here, girl, before this hornets nest becomes something I can't control."

Hellista walked from the room as Vranesh put the manacles on the enraged guard, and winked as she spoke. "Tell Blood Knight Leoren of this. I'm sure he will be interested to know that his friend Lovely is innocent, and that I stopped by."

[Hellista]

After leaving the headquarters of the Blood Knights, Hellista pondered what her next course of action should be. She thought of it for a moment and then went to a bench to compose a letter....

"Dearest Baron Skafloc Ran'Deau,

I am turning over a new leaf for a day, and ask a favor of you. Tamora, the orc warrior prophet, has been a bit down in the dumps for the past two days. She is worried about your sister Lovely, and has other things on her mind as well. It is imperative that you speak with her and assist her in solving some of the issues she is having.

I also wish to inform you that I have worked some legal magic, and your sister Lovely will most likely have all charges against her dropped, and will be declared sane once more.

Give my love to the rest of your family, and please tell Izrail that I am sorry I angered him.

Yours,

Hellista Lok'Tharis"

Hellista looked the letter over, confident that she hadn't missed anything, and then gave it to a courier to be hand delivered to the baron. She was a bit hungry now, and it was lunchtime, but the requirements of her list meant that she would have to fast for the day. She grumbled to herself a bit and then turned her face into an innocent smile once more. It was time to take care of the rest of her duties today. She had much to do, and only til midnight to do them.

[Skafloc]

(( Midnight, thats when she turns back into a rodent. right? ))

[Hellista]

((Bwahaha. You'll see. I've been planning this all morning. Writing more now!))

[Mortica]

((I think I'm scared. Someone hold me. A helpful Hellista??? ))

[Hellista]

It was early afternoon as Hellista stood near the Royal Exchange Auction House. She stood in a corner, unseen by the people of Silvermoon as they walked to and fro the house to purchase their overpriced items. She spoke to a ragged Sin'Dorei, unseen by anyone else as this was a ghostly apparition of a ranger who had died defending the city against Arthas and the Scourge.

"You will find him, and tell me where he is," Hellista said in a whisper to the ghost. The ghost nodded and rushed off, heading south out of the Royal Exchange toward the walk of Elders.

Hellista then composed herself, and walked up the stairs to the tower overlooking the Royal Exchange Auction house, taking a deep breath before knocking on the door to her sister Ehlina's quaint abode.

Ehlina answered the door and immediately fell back in shock. Hellista reached forward and caught her older sister, keeping her from falling as she spoke. "Ehlina.....Please, I promise you I mean no harm. I wish to speak with you."

Ehlina staggered for a moment, and then punched Hellista square in the nose, sending blood flying upward as Hellista fell onto her back. She immediately began to cast a spell, but stopped herself, taking a deep breath and smiling.

Ehlina watched with anger as Hellista stood and dusted herself off, setting her nose in place and healing it with a healthstone. Hellista spoke in her eerie voice once more, a smile on her face. "Sister...I came by to talk. I owe you an apology, and I wish to set things right. May I come in?"

Ehlina scowled and snapped "I don't suppose I could stop you now, little one. Your power is great....I can feel it. Come in then, and lets get this over with."

Hellista entered the immaculate apartment, which overlooked the auction house and was decorated modestly. The walls were a light beige color, and all traces of color in the room were subdued, as though in decorating it Ehlina had chosen to make her environment as stress free as possible.

The only thing off in the room was something not visible to Ehlina. Hellista blinked as she saw the ghost of her dead sister Solayma rushing toward her, shrieking loudly in a rage through her skeletal frame. "Fucking Bitch!!! Fucking Little Bitch!!! Die!!! Die!!!!!"

The ghost screamed this at the top of her nonexistant lungs, flailing about Hellista in a wild rage, but unable to touch her without passing through. The sound was deafening, but Hellista had been accustomed to this type of ghostly activity for years, and had trained herself to drown it out. She ignored her dead sister as best she could, focusing on the living one that stood before her.

For the next two hours, Hellista and Ehlina talked, debated, talked some more, and finally Hellista was asked to leave. She had been as good as she possibly could to Ehlina, explaining what had happened to her, and why she had killed her mother and other two sisters...and why she had eaten them. Ehlina was not impressed, and Hellista had been forced to heal herself several times during the family reunion.

Now, it was time to leave. The ghost screaming in her ear for the past two hours nonstop had given her a headache and left her shaken, and Ehlina didn't seem very receptive to Hellista's attempts at making peace. But Hellista was happy with herself for trying. It was things like this that were good about what she was doing this day, and even though Ehlina felt anger and pain, Hellista knew that over time she would look back on this day and know that Hellista had at least tried.

Hellista walked from the apartment, shutting the door on her sister and the screaming ghost. She took a deep breath and gathered her bearings, glad to get that over with.

It was mid afternoon, and Hellista was starving. She walked downstairs and looked about the courtyard, watching the people and the ghosts mingling about. Finally, the dead ranger made itself known to Hellista, speaking through a spectral mangled face as it attempted to smile. "I have located him, milady. He is in a small house at the eastern edge of the Ghostlands. You will recognize it by the pigs that are kept fenced in near the home."

Hellista smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Jartannis. I will see to it that your heir knows of your fate so that you may rest after all this time in peace. I will tell them where your bones lie so you can be buried next to your wife."

The ghost bowed graciously and gave Hellista thanks as he shuffled off to the other side of town. Hellista braced herself mentally for the next part of her day. It was time to meet her father.

[Hellista]

The trip to the Ghostlands took longer than it should have. Hellista made several stops along the way, helping young travelers who were under attacked by the scourge from the Dead Scar. She also stopped at Falconwing Square, and handed out gold coins to the masses that flocked her way, telling each and every one of them how proud she was to have new adventurers training to fight the evil Scourge and the Burning Legion.

It was already dark when Hellista finally made it to the Ghostlands, her black Hawkstrider chirping as the sky darkened around them. She rode calmly through the tainted forest, her mind on many things, until finally she reached the edge, and a cabin by the waters. A large fenced in area of swine told her that this was the place. Her father had made his home here, hiding from his responsibilities.

Hellista took a deep breath as she knocked on the door. A moment passed, and then finally the door opened and a figure looked at her with curiosity.

Gharlos Lok'Tharis was a large man, standing nearly seven feet in height. His frame was large all around, and years of hard work on this hidden farm had given him muscles that Hellista normally only saw on orcs. His unkempt red hair hung about his bearded face, and his dirt covered overalls had stains of red about them from slaughtering hogs. He blinked at his daughter and stepped back, speaking in a soft voice. "Hellista....I knew you would come here one day. I knew you would find me."

Hellista smiled and walked into the shabby cabin, looking at the plain and dirty decor. "Thats right, father. I have found you. The ghosts of Eversong are my friends, and there is no secret kept from me if I don't wish it."

Gharlos nodded and walked inside, sitting in a chair and motioning for Hellista to have a seat. "I heard about your mother...and your sisters. How could you have done such a thing?"

Hellista grinned. "I did it easily. And I did it without conscience, because I had no father figure to discipline me."

Gharlos shifted uncomfortably, his eyes showing a bit of fear. "And....I suppose you have come here to kill me...Is that it?"

"No," Hellista said with a smile. "I will not be killing anyone this day. I merely came to establish communication with you, and to apologize to you for being a difficult child. I know my "gift" is what drove you away...made you run away. I know that mother's nagging and my screaming kept you on edge. I was a small child and didn't yet know how to deal with what I thought were monsters."

Gharlos nodded. "Hellista, you don't know how many times I wanted to come back. Or how many times I watched the family from a distance, hoping that someday things would be set right and I would be able to return to a sane environment. I even fought against the Scourge when Arthas came, hoping that perhaps if I became a hero, I could afford better care for you and the family."

Hellista chirped a bit. "Afford? Father, we had money....and would have had more if you had been around. Mother was paid well for the use of my gift, but she spent it all on Ehlina."

Hellista could feel herself becoming angry, but she closed her eyes and breathed, calming herself. She would not lose her temper this day.

Gharlos then went on to explain where he had been. He and Hellista talked for hours, sometimes recalling good memories, other times debating bad ones. As it grew later, Hellista looked at the clock. "Father, I must be going. I have to return to Silvermoon."

Hellista's father smiled half heartedly. "I see. Shall I expect you again, then? You coming back anytime to talk to me....to tell me where I failed, and how imperfect I am because I couldn't deal with you and your sisters?"

Hellista stood, looking a bit hurt. She had been moving toward the door, but stopped as she answered. "Father, I have spent this entire day trying to do good. I made a vow to spend twenty four hours helping rather than hurting, and vowed to put vile thoughts from my mind. This is something I have never tried before, not since you left and my only source of security vanished from House Lok'Tharis. Now I need to go."

Gharlos nodded and walked to Hellista, embracing her in a hug. "Hellista, I know that I have wronged you. I know I should have been there instead of running. Maybe I can help you...and be there for you from now on."

Hellista hugged her father tightly, pondering his words. His lies. She knew he was a coward, and a liar. Otherwise he would have stood up for her when no one else would. She felt anger growing within her, and then her eyes caught the clock on the other side of the room. It was three minutes past midnight.

Hellista left the small cabin two hours later. With a full stomach, she climbed aboard her Hawkstrider, and guided it northeast toward Tranquillen. As her eyes flashed wickedly in the tainted dark, she chuckled and spoke to herself. "Thats right, father. You will be a part of me from now on."

THE END

[Hellista]

((Yes, she ate him. Bwahaha))

[Qabian]

((Okay. I changed my mind. Q never wants to meet Hellista. Hahaha!))

[Skafloc]

(( Hellista is Hannibal Lechter's and Lizzy Borden's love child. ))

[Izrail]

((Awesome. ^^))