Soft rays from the autumn sun meandered into Tiene's room the next morning coating the walls and floor in a mellow haze. Her eyes fluttered open to the new day but immediately scrunched up against the brightness. She covered her eyes with her forearm and started to play the previous night's events over in her head. She smiled.

Her stroll with Dar'Khan had been pleasant. She was well pleased with the way she had handled things. There had been something so deliciously satisfying, holding that blade to another humanoid's throat. She giggled as she recalled Dar'Khan's face when he felt the steel point on his skin.

The feeling of power she experienced at that moment was indescribable. She had never felt that before. If she were candid with herself, it gave her more pleasure than she thought a kiss would have given her. However, that little thrill could be collected in future, if the magus played along with her.

Then it dawned on her just what a risk she had taken. Dar'Khan was not some feeble little elf she could sneak up on and scare (as she had done to a fair few on many occasion in and around Silvermoon). He was a powerful mage, adept in sorcery. If he had been so inclined, he could have polymorphed her to teach her a lesson.

He was probably humouring her though. Yes, she found him extremely attractive, and his attention made her blush, but she was not stupid. Well aware of his standards and ambitions, she knew they meant a simple girl like her would merely be a plaything for one such as he. He would easily discard her when he became bored. Still, she liked this game. It would be interesting to see if he would indeed play along.

Her light-heartedness waned once she remembered her father's face at the dinner table following her announcement. She had not meant to hurt or humiliate him. She had just thought it was the perfect opportunity to let him know that she had seriously been considering her future and what she wanted to do with her life.

It was necessary that he, and her brothers, realised she was not a silly little girl anymore. She didn't want to stay at home doing all the chores. Furthermore, her absconding to the woods wasn't just for the thrill of it. She had been honing skills out there.

The revelation that she knew about her mother had hit all her family hard, though, particularly her father. She had known about her for six months now, and it had all come about quite by chance.

Oddly enough, it had been while she carried out some of those tedious chores, that she happened across a loose floorboard in her father's room. She was going to hammer it down in place when she noticed that it was the only timber which was not secured at all; this struck her as a little odd.

Further investigation revealed that it was loose for a reason. Hidden underneath was a metal box. She had to manoeuvre it carefully to slide it out from the narrow gap between the boards, but she managed.

Sitting cross-legged, she opened the box, and that was when she truly met her mother. Inside had been a few oddities, trinkets, letters, dried flowers pressed between parchment, small notebooks which going by some of the encrypted content may have been concealed orders. The sender's name was Commander Sa'themar Nightflame.

But the thing which captured Tiene's interest the most was not in the metal container. It was something wrapped securely in soft leather, further along from where she found the box. Unfolding the protective covering, she discovered two highly decorative scabbards housing stunningly crafted, and no doubt deadly, daggers.

The blades gleamed when she held them up at the window, captured in the sun's rays. Their keenness could still slice her hand open if she were in any way careless with her handling of them.

They were curved, fashioned like claws. Towards the crossguards, the blades possessed their most intricate work; serrated almost halfway with another claw-like mini blade just above. This claw, however, was crafted differently, it was hollow as if it could contain something.

Scrutinising it closer, Tiene could smell something very bitter, and the hollow claw was ever so slightly discoloured. She had heard that assassins coated their blades in various poisons. Perhaps that was what this hollow claw was for, to "feed" the blade. She made a mental note to thoroughly wash her hands after, although she doubted it would have maintained its toxicity after all this time.

The handles were bound in sturdy, burnished leather, pleated to the pommels perfectly. The work was exquisite with cleverly crafted small lynx heads, their eyes - rubies. She smiled. So, her mother loved lynx too.

She knew she could not divulge her findings. Not yet, anyway. But, she would, over the months to come, revisit this little box of memorabilia and the daggers, and learn a little bit more about her mother's other life.

She did wonder why all the secrecy, but she was not put out by it. She respected her father immensely and knew he would have a sound reason for keeping this all quiet. 

He rarely spoke of her mother, other than to tell Tiene that she had been beautiful, a kind and loving mother and wife. He told her also that she served as a constant reminder of her mother, her mirror image in more ways than one. Other than that, he did not mention her. Tiene put that down to heartbreak, assuming that stirring such memories would cause him too much pain.

Her brothers never spoke much about her, either. They were young when she died too, but not as young as Tiene had been. They must have some memories of her. But, Tiene thought perhaps that was typical of boys.

So, now it was morning. Now Tiene had to face them. Her future was about to begin -hopefully.

Once she had bathed, dressed and tied her hair back, she walked through to the living area and was not entirely surprised to see her father, Inaris and Duthan sitting around the table with the breakfast dishes at the ready, with some poached herb eggs, moonberry muffins, pomegranates and some refreshing spring water in a jug. 

What surprised her was the metal box on the table and the leather-covered daggers. Well, she thought, perhaps Dar'Khan and my little role-playing will be unnecessary. Her brow furrowed as she tried to ascertain whether that realisation vexed her or not. Strangely, as her eyes rested on the box again, she knew it didn't.

"Tiene," her father said softly. "Come sit down." He gestured to the chair next to him. Her brothers sat opposite.

Taking her seat, she looked over at Duthan and Inaris. They both looked so severe. Inaris also seemed a tad annoyed. "Enjoy your evening stroll?" he said. That explained his irritable manner. He had been out-ported last night, and he didn't like it.

"Yes," Tiene replied. "No need to get all huffy, Inaris. It was rather rude of you to try to follow and spy."

"I was making sure you were alright."

"No, you were suffocating me, as you always do!"

Annoyed by her comment, Inaris folded his arms and sunk into his chair.

Duthan intervened. "Come now, Tiene. Dar'Khan is undoubtedly charming..." Inaris and Yathas stared at him wide-eyed. He shrugged and continued, "...amongst other things, but you are our sister, and we don't want you being taken advantage of."

"Anar'alah!* What are you implying!" Her brows knitted together again.

"You know full well what we mean," Inaris said, still put out by her interpretation of his caring about her.

"Really? Did you think I went walking with him, unprepared?"

"What?!" Inaris was up out of his seat, fists clenched.

"Oh, honestly! Inaris! I took a blade with me."

All three gaped. "You see!" Tiene went on, gesturing at the three of them. "You are all guilty of thinking I'm still a little girl who doesn't know how to look after herself."

Yathas sighed, signalling for Inaris to sit back down. The warlock continued to stand, however, as his father spoke. "Yes, Tiene, we are guilty, but it is not because we do not believe in you. We do very much. But more importantly, we love you; it is as simple as that. And whether you like it or not, we will always care and look out for you. You are precious to us."

Her father's words and comforting tone calmed her down. "Sorry," she sighed. "I love all of you too. But please allow me to grow."

Inaris finally sat back down; his mood soothed slightly. A little reassuring smile from his impetuous sister, however, made everything alright again. The whole family relaxed once more.

"Yes, you're right Tiene." Yathas agreed. "You are no longer that slip of a girl. Just understand that we do what we do because we care, not because we want to restrict you."

Tiene nodded, smiling, ruefully.

"Now, let's eat." She studied her father carefully as he dished up the eggs, offered the muffins around and poured everyone their drink. His dark brown hair was turning grey at the temples, and though he wore it long, it was always tied back.

He was a handsome man, rugged - some might say - with a little v-shaped nick just under his right eye, borne probably from a childhood accident. His beard was shaped close to his strong-lined jaw, like his hair, it too was flecked with grey, but made him look refined.

His eyes though they possessed the customary sapphire flare of the high elf, you could still see the pupils and irises which had a deeper blue tint. When he smiled, his eyes always lit up brightly, but when he was sad, or lost in thought, those eyes became deep pools you could drown in.

She took a moment to study her brothers too. Duthan had the same colouring as Tiene, and therefore he took after their mother, but he was the more muscular of the two brothers and clean-shaven.

Inaris was a younger version of their father and had his build, lean and athletic. He even sported a beard too, but unlike Yathas', it was concentrated mainly on the chin, tapering to fine accurate lines to the back of his jawline.

Both of the Firefury brothers attracted many admiring glances from the young ladies in Silvermoon. And Tiene knew they had, between them, broken a good few hearts too.

She did sometimes wonder though, why her father did not pursue getting the boys married off to make him a proud grandfather. Seemed a tad unfair, especially as at least they would carry the family name forward. She almost laughed out loud, thinking of herself as Tiene Drathir but managed to keep it under wraps.

Once they had all eaten and the dishes to one side, Yathas reached out and moved the metal box, so it sat between him and his daughter. His lips set in a melancholy smile. His long fingers drummed the top of the box. "I gather you found this, Tiene," he said. There was no objection in his voice. He looked at her from under his long lashes. 

Tiene lowered her head a little, in the way of confession. 

Yathas laughed, soft, light. "I know because I had the contents in a certain order and now, well they are a bit muddled up."

"Sorry, father."

"No need, Tiene. It is past time I told you everything. Your brothers, so that you know, had already decided to talk to me about your possible training as a rogue."

She looked at Duthan and Inaris in surprise. "You did?" she asked them.

Duthan answered. "Yes, Tiene. We knew you were not the type of girl who wanted to stay home to cook and clean. Early on, though I tried to show you, you did not take to the bow, and Inaris, who regularly ventures into the woods looking for you, took it upon himself to teach you stealth using an incantation, therefore, keeping you safe during your - exploits." He grinned, as did Tiene. "Lor'themar was the one, however, who suggested you train as a rogue, and we decided to speak with father about it."

Tiene suddenly felt guilty for always being so angry with her brothers, especially Inaris.

Yathas heaved a sigh. "It is only right that you know why I have never told you about your mother's life as a rogue. Simple enough. Selfish reasons. I had lost your mother during a mission she was on. Although you were very young when she died, you nonetheless already possessed startling similarities to her. I made a vow to your mother's spirit that I would not risk your meeting a similar fate as she, so I kept her life hidden in this box along with her trusty blades." He gestured to the leather-covered daggers next to the box. "I realise now, that was not fair to you."

Tiene's hand covered her father's. She understood.

With his sons and daughter paying attention, Yathas began. "Your mother trained under one of the finest rogues I have ever known. He was called Sa'themar Nightflame." There was something in the way he spoke that conveyed an immense relief in his finally being able to share the truth with his children. "And, in case you are wondering, I too trained under him."

"You were a Crimson Blade?" Tiene asked, stunned by this bit of news. She had always thought her father had just been a leather merchant. Nothing shameful in that, in fact, he had a very lucrative business, but a rogue? Even Duthan and Inaris were surprised.

"Eventually, yes," Yathas smiled wistfully. "It took a while." He laughed. "The training was extensive. At times it seemed pointless, even a little boring. But everything Sa'themar taught us was paramount to perfecting the skills of a rogue, an assassin. And on occasion, a thief."

"Thief?" Inaris smirked at the thought of his father doing anything remotely criminal.

Yathas laughed lightly. "Oh, it was not for personal gain Inaris, although there were a few characters who did a little skimming now and again. Mostly, we stole documents, plans, blueprints, things like that." He opened the metal box and carefully laid out all the contents on the table.

Tiene pointed to the little notebooks. "Diaries?" she asked.

"Yes. She wrote them in a code that only she and I could understand. She liked to catalogue the missions. Some of the entries were also mine when your mother had to stay home to nurse you."

Duthan opened one of the folded parchments. "Are these orders?"

"Yes, again in code, but that of the Crimson Blade. Admittedly, we took a risk keeping these, even though they are encrypted. Had anyone found them..."

"What about these?" Tiene selected the pressed flowers and sniffed one. Its scent was faint.

Her father smiled fondly. "Simply tokens from a man who loved a woman. Your mother was so fond of flowers, so I would often pick them for her, and she would preserve some, like this."

"Why did you stop being a rogue, father?" Inaris asked.

Yathas smiled. "I had you three to look after for one thing, something I would never wish to change. But apart from that, being a rogue was no longer in my heart. It did not feel the same without your mother. Other Blades were skilled fighters, but without her, I found no reason to continue. I had my family, and you were and are, all that is important."

Tiene felt all warm inside, hearing her father talk so lovingly about her mother. Although she never really knew her, she wished she was here, for her father's sake more than anything.

Without her realising it, her eyes had settled on the leather wrap, and her focus did not escape Yathas' attention. "Yes, Tiene. These belonged to your mother." 

He unfolded the leather cover and placed the daggers carefully on the table. Duthan picked one up and pulled it from its scabbard. His eyes widened at the quality of the steel and intricate work of the weapon. 

Yathas informed his family that Sa'themar Nightflame had the blades commissioned for their mother as a reward for her outstanding skills. Tiene never took her eyes off the dagger as Duthan studied it. "Where is Nightflame now?" she asked.

"He died a few years ago. He sustained injuries from the very same mission on which your mother died. He never fully recovered from them, and I think the guilt he felt over your mother's death, haunted him." Yathas' voice was tinged with sadness. He saw the disappointment in his daughter's face and knew why she had asked. He took a deep breath. "But, his son, Sauren, now leads the Crimson Blade."

Tiene looked up, hopeful. Her father smiled and stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. "Yes, Tiene. I think we know it is in your blood too. I will write to Sauren and inform him that you wish to train. Then we will need to wait for his response."

Inaris winked at Tiene. She was excited by the prospect of training to be a rogue and could not contain it. She hugged her father.

"I will make you, mother - all of you proud, I promise," she said.

Her father put the contents back in the box, and the re-sheathed daggers were once more secreted away in their leather covering.

Duthan left to join the Farstriders at the lodge. Last-minute arrangements were required before he left with Lor'themar on their mission to finish the Amani trolls.

As Tiene made her way towards her room, Inaris lightly caught her arm. "I have to ask, did you need to use it?"

She looked at him, confused.

"The blade. Last night." He prompted.

"Oh!" She grinned. "I didn't need to, no. But I threatened him with it, anyway." 

 Her brother's eyes widened.

"Worry not, Inaris," she continued. "I am well aware that I am beneath Dar'Khan's standards. I do think he's attractive and has style, but that is not enough for me neither. I had suggested that we pretend there was something between us, so father would send me to train, but after this morning, well..." She sighed and bounced excitedly on her toes. "...That will be unnecessary."

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*Anar'alah - By the Light

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