World of Warcraft®

Naideen was trying very hard to be civil. After all, the King of Stormwind himself had just signed off on her release from the Stockades, and here was some bigwig noble or other across the table from her. Baron VanWhatshisname, though, was making it hard. The man had a list of, apparently, every naughty thing she'd ever done and was apparently intent on going over every entry in detail. She'd already had to sit through a discussion of her humble beginnings as a camp prostitute, move up through the unfortunate death of one of her customers and her resulting membership in a gang of robbers, and now he'd gotten past the odd fact of all of them dying but her, leaving her with all the accumulated loot, and her enrollment as a swordswoman.

"I thought I was pardoned for all past acts?" she pointed out again.

"Pardoned, yes," the Baron retorted. "Forgiven, perhaps not. Let's discuss this incident shortly after you joined the Alliance army. You were disciplined for falling asleep on guard duty, is that correct?"

"I didn't fall asleep," Naideen corrected. "I passed out. One of the other guards had just had a baby, and we were celebrating. I had a bit too much to drink, forgot I was supposed to have guard duty that night, and..."

"This happened on two separate occasions."

She shrugged. "Two separate babies."

"You were also arrested for stealing the pay for your regiment, is that correct?"

Naideen shifted uncomfortably. "Ok, I can explain that. See, one of my regiment mates and I had this bet, and..."

"Would this be the regiment mate that you were arrested for assaulting as soon as you were released from prison?"

She nodded energetically. "That's the guy!"

The Baron eyed her and turned the page. "It would appear that, upon your release from prison this time, you were about to be ceremonially drummed out of your regiment, and out of the Alliance army, when the Scourge attacked."

The humor fled from Naideen's face. "There's no real way to know that. I still had to tell my side of the story, after all. Or are you trying to imply that I somehow brought the Scourge?"

"The fact, Madam, is that your papers had already been signed and were found in a sealed chest, ready to be delivered. You were about to be dishonorably discharged. In my personal opinion, it was well past time for it."

Naideen kicked a chair with a booted foot. "Is there a point to all this?!"

"While you were a member of the Lich King's army," he went on as if she hadn't said anything, "you were personally involved in a large number of..."

Naideen pounded a gauntleted fist on the table. "Hold on! You know perfectly well that I was under the control of the Lich King. Now I'll sit here and answer for those other charges, but don't even try to call me out on the other things. I just received a full pardon because it's a known fact that Death Knights were not acting under their own volition. Or would you like to take it up with Morgraine?"

The Baron didn't even flinch. His grey eyes, identical in shade to what her own once were, met hers across the table. "If you must know, I've already had correspondence with him. He did, in fact, vouch that you were under the control of the Lich King, the same as the others. However, given your history prior to becoming a Death Knight, he agrees with the current plan of action. Would you care to hear it?"

"Do I have a choice?!"

"No." The Baron moved his paperwork aside and picked up another sheet. "Why is it you don't have a last name?"

"My mother was a prostitute. You tell me who sired me. She claims it was some high-ranking official or noble or something, but who knows, right?"

The Baron, for some reason, now refused to meet her eyes. Nobles, she thought. They could discuss acts of war in great detail, but when it came to things like prostitution, they got all flustered. She cocked an eyebrow, noting a slight flush had developed on the Baron's cheeks. Interesting. She filed the information away. It might come in handy later.

The Baron cleared his throat and pushed the paper across to Naideen. "I will require your signature here," he said. "From this point on, I will be acting as your sponsor."

She blinked. "My sponsor?" That had been the last thing she'd expected. "You mean, you provide me with money and equipment, and I work for you?"

"You'll actually be working for the Alliance," he corrected. "But yes, I will be providing you with equipment. Your armor will be made by a novice blacksmith..."

"Novice?!"

"...of my choosing," he continued as though she hadn't interrupted. "Your weapons will be made by a second novice, also of my choosing. Both will be entry-level paladins."

"Um, thanks, but I already have armor and weapons."

"Those will be placed into long-term storage until such time as you are called into battle high ranking enough that I judge it necessary to wear them."

"WHAT?!!" Naideen sputtered. "But I look fantastic in this armor! Not to mention that it's really good. What do you expect me to wear? Copper?"

"Correct." The note of finality in his voice made her blink. "You'll be provided with higher level armor and weapons depending upon three factors. First, that the paladins responsible for their creation advance in their craft to the point where they can provide you with better materials. Second, that you are given higher quality equipment as rewards for completing tasks assigned to you by me. Third, that you remain out of trouble. The first indication that you are returning to your old ways, the first legitimate complaint, and you'll go straight back to the Stockades."

Naideen glared furiously at the man across the table. "And if I refuse?"

"Then you'll be escorted back to the Stockades immediately."

She pounded the table. "The King will hear of this!"

The Baron, unmoved by this display of temper, reached across the table and tapped the bottom of the document. "That is his seal. This was his idea, Naideen. I simply volunteered, for reasons of my own, to act as your sponsor. You should know, no one else was willing to take on the job. The consensus in the room was that you were not worth attempting to rehabilitate." He sat back in his chair and crossed his hands over his chest. "This is your one chance, Naideen. You sign that contract, and you hold to it. Or you go right back to your cell in the Stockades, and this time, you don't get out."

********
Naideen nursed a mug of ale and her pride in the Goldshire inn, trying to ignore the drunken revelry around her. She wasn't sure what chaffed more, that she couldn't join in, or the gleaming copper armor she currently wore. At least she'd been permitted to etch a rune onto the flimsy copper blade now strapped to her back. Still, she felt almost naked.

A half-drunk reveler staggered into her table. He turned to apologize, then paused. His gaze lingered on her glowing eyes, marking her as a Death Knight. Then it moved over the shoddy copper armor. "Um," he began, "why are you...?"

"Because your King has no sense of humor!" she snapped. "Get out of my face, idiot!"

The man fled. Naideen finished her mug, then got to her feet and started off. She had kobold candles to gather.

((A meticulously crafted, humorous piece! Rehabilitation indeed!))

((CONCURRED! WELL DONE!))

((Aww, thank you! *blush* She's actually up to thorium armor now, but just as unhappy))