Sarah had grown rather attached to the little cottage at the top of the hill just outside Stormwind's city gates. She had acquired it a week ago all thanks to her friend, Erik Longmaster, Supreme hunter. His self-proclamation always made her smile.

Staring into the flames of the crackling log fire, she settled back in the armchair. Sinking into the generous throws and cushions she possessively gripped the neck of a bottle of Dalaran Red. Wiggling her cold toes contentedly in front of the glorious heat, she sighed as its warmth slowly spread up her legs. She was mesmerised by the dancing flames; they were hypnotic, drawing her in, inviting her to relax and reflect on all that had happened.

Together with the soft light from the few candles she had found in one of the kitchen drawers, she felt contentment for the first time in what seemed a very long while. Oddly, it had only been three weeks in her world, Earth. But here in Azeroth, time had leapt several months and while some things had remained unresolved, others had steered off in an entirely different direction.

She shifted in the chair, frowning a little. The latter was something which she preferred not to dwell upon and quickly she shunted it to the back of her mind. Instead, she focused on her best friend, Drew Stewart, the roguishly good-looking guy who had been like a faithful puppy since the day she moved down to the Scottish Borders some five years earlier.

Also being her work colleague as well as a friend, he was a huge part of her life back home. He was always upbeat, charming, with a wicked sense of humour, matching that of her own. He had provided a shoulder to cry on when her failed marriage had left her feeling worthless, unloved and something akin to damaged goods.

She supposed that in a strange way, it was all down to Drew that she'd ended up in Azeroth that fateful day of the traffic accident. He had brought her into the magical land by introducing her as a friend to the game World of Warcraft. She smirked and put the bottle to her lips. Seemed now like she was returning the favour.

She had taken refuge in the game. Over the months she had fallen in love with it and it became her focus; all she lived for. It allowed her to be part of a community without having to actually mingle with people in the flesh. She could be whoever and whatever she wanted to be.

Drew often teamed up with her, navigating her through the various quests and continents. He ran her through dungeons and raids and kept her up on the lore. His gaming preferences had changed over time and he now preferred other games on the PS4, but he was always on call for her when she needed help with something in Warcraft. And anything else as well; given half a chance.

They went to the cinema to see the long-awaited film version. She'd come away from it at first a little underwhelmed due to the fact their gaming was so much farther along than the timeline of the film. Over the following weeks, however, she embraced it as enthusiastically as she did the game and waited with eager anticipation for its Blu-ray release date.

When she had been unceremoniously evicted from Azeroth, Drew had been the one to find her in the mud and pouring rain. Unknown to her at the time, he'd witnessed the rift between their world and Azeroth. His eyes had caught the flash of arcane beams as the rift was closed from the other side. He'd never broached the subject with her, however. For one reason, he was unsure if he had really seen what he thought he had, but more importantly, as he'd confessed recently, he'd sensed her feelings were raw about something and thought mentioning it just might have added insult to injury.

She took another slug of wine and smiled warmly at his consideration.

After the accident, having flatly refused to stay in the hospital that night for tests, she had undergone visits to occupational therapists and her doctor who insisted she underwent scans to ensure all was in good working order; physically at least. Truth was she'd never skipped a day off work. Plunging straight back in on the Monday morning, she was only absent long enough to attend the said medical appointments.

Her mood nonetheless had been sombre and she knew she was more distant after the car wreck. All that time Drew stuck beside her like a faithful puppy. He was attentive, tried to subtly encourage her to talk about her worries or concerns, but with a look from her which could have frozen the Sahara, he also knew when to back off.

She had kept her experiences in Azeroth strictly to herself. Although she relived it in her mind every day, often crying herself to sleep at night, she could not bring herself to share the entire fantastical incident. Who would have believed her anyway? Even being as close to Drew as she was, it was not something she could elucidate easily, and she believed it would be even harder for him to apprehend. He did, however, manage to coax her back into playing Warcraft, although she always seemed distracted and regularly logged off without warning.

He'd never given up on her though, even when, in a fit of rage she'd threatened to get a restraining order on him simply for checking she was alright. She inwardly cringed as she remembered that evening. She had displayed such uncharacteristic behaviour that he'd immediately left his flat, marched up to her door and hammered on it until she'd appeared. She'd flung the door open, furious at his intrusion. Then, unexpectedly, she'd thrown herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. He'd tenderly held her, steering her into her living room where he'd sat her down on the sofa. He took a seat on the pine coffee table in front of her and holding her hands, he'd simply allowed her time to release whatever pain she was going through. But still, she kept her secrets. He'd left her that night, still none the wiser, but seemed content that he'd managed to console her.

Then, there was that fateful night he'd turned up on her doorstep unannounced. A strange whirring sound coming from within had made him uneasy. She grinned as she pictured him pressing himself against the door, growing more alarmed as the noise intensified. Adrenalin made him burst through her front door without any consideration to what he might find. Her knight in shining armour!

His face must have been a picture when turning into her living room, she mused. A seamless, spinning oval of blue and sea-green spun in the middle of the room, reaching and going beyond the ceiling. It thrummed and pulsated. At its base, Sarah had been throwing things through it – food, drinks, clothing, before fastening a small rucksack on and stepping through the swirling mass. She'd never even noticed him standing there gaping. He'd then sprung into action and ran after her.

The portal had snapped shut behind him, and a rather girlie high-pitched scream escaped his mouth. Sarah had spun round and stared wide-eyed at him. "What the fuck do you think you're doing!" she'd shouted.

Drew raised his eyebrows, utterly at a loss for words. His eyes had darted about, taking in the landscape before him. He'd gulped then smiled somewhat gormlessly. It seemed his heart was hammering and he'd looked like a little boy visiting an amusement park for the first time. Indeed, that was exactly how it was.

He'd beamed as he'd heard someone shouting, "Roll up, roll up! Welcome to Darkmoon Faire."

"You have got to be kidding me!" he'd said in total awe.

Sarah had already gathered all the packages she'd thrown through the portal and moved off behind one of the many coloured tents housing various vendors and ride owners. Drew had scampered after her. "Sarah! Wait!"

She'd stopped, dropping the bags and started pulling out clothes from one of them. She'd pulled off her T-shirt and jeans. Drew's mouth fell open as he looked over her slender body and her matching underwear. She'd glared at him. "Ahem!"

He'd spun round, flustered, momentarily embarrassed. He'd tried sneaking glances over his shoulder, which resulted in his face getting slapped with a plain T-shirt and canvas jacket. "Put those on," she'd said, annoyed with him.

"Why?" He'd asked, genuinely confused.

"Because your current clothing is going to offend someone," she'd said, tightening the buckle on her jacket and throwing a cape around her shoulders.

He'd looked down at himself. His T-shirt had a coloured print of an elf chained to a certain orc warlock with "#I'm with Gul'dan" written above it.

"Point taken," he'd said, quickly removing it and stuffing it into one of the empty bags.

"Don't know why the hell you would even buy that crap!" she'd grumbled as she'd finished tying a purple scarf loosely around her neck.

"I thought it was funny, at the time," he'd winced.

Furiously stuffing her clothing into the same bag, she'd occasionally glanced in his direction. "So what were you thinking Drew; following me through?"

He'd blinked, trying to think of an answer. "I suppose I was just looking out for you Sarah. I didn't think, to be honest, I just reacted to you disappearing."

She'd put her rucksack over her shoulder and sighed. "Idiot! Well, I don't have any trousers that would fit you, so we will have to try to get some in the city... somehow." She'd started walking to the pier.

"So this is what has been occupying your mind all this time? He'd ventured.

She'd nodded curtly.

He'd laughed lightly, shaking his head. "I didn't know if what I saw was real that day..."

She'd halted and stared at him hotly. "Saw? When? What day?"

"The day of the accident. I searched for a good two or three hours for you even with all the police and rescue teams in the area, but you were nowhere. Then suddenly, there you were, in a puddle! And that ... that thing in the sky, it looked like a ... like a rip being sewn back up."

"You saw the rift being mended?" She'd stepped closer. "You knew all this time but never said anything?"

He'd taken a defensive step back. "I really didn't know if I was just seeing things, Sarah, what with all the flashing lights and the rain..."

Sarah lowered her head and shuffled from one foot to the other. "Yeah, I guess. Sorry, Drew." She'd turned and continued towards the far end of the Faire, taking a route behind the tents and stalls. He'd followed closely, still taking in the people and faire attractions from between the canvas buildings. "You were only gone for a few hours though, Sarah, so that in mind how come you're all packed as if going on holiday?"

She'd kept walking while she'd answered him. "Time is different here, Drew. To be honest I haven't worked it out, besides it's way too scientific for my brain. But last time I was here, about one and a half maybe two months had passed."

"Really?" he was stunned.

"Yes. So, now that 3 weeks of our time has gone by, I have no idea how far in the future, or past we are in now. Could be days, months, years, I have no idea. I am hoping it's not too far off the last timeline I was here though."

They'd reached the last tent and over to the right stood the portal that would take them to Goldshire. "How will we find out?" Drew asked.

"I need to see if I can find someone from my last visit. I need to find Erik Longmaster." She forged on through the portal.

As they'd emerged from the other side, Drew was stunned to find the little village of Goldshire pretty much as he'd seen it in the game; the inn ahead to his right and the blacksmith to his left. There were a number of other buildings close by also, but generally speaking, it was familiar.

It was raining lightly, so they'd set off at a fair pace towards Stormwind. They'd approached the large nesting platforms where golden brown and white gryphons roosted in their hay covered beds. The great birds started flapping their wings and emitting loud screeches as they'd passed by. The gryphon-handler stepped forward, keen for business and looked hopefully towards Sarah. She shook her head at the man. He offered a polite bow and returned to the nesting beasts.

"Can't we take a ride?" Drew had asked Sarah, excitedly.

"No money," she'd shot over her shoulder.

"Ah, of course." He'd quickened his pace to keep up with her.

They'd reached the city gates some time after, their feet starting to hurt from the rough dirt road. Drew levelled with her and drank in the view before him. She'd had no doubt it would render Drew speechless, for it still had that effect on her. It was stunning. The sheer grandeur and enormity of the stone gate posts and statues which graced the entrance to the city took their breath away. Drew had walked on, staring up the stone effigy's of Kurdran Wildhammer, Danath Trollbane, Alleria Windrunner, Archmage Khadgar and finally General Turalyon. They were still under reconstruction, however, having all been partially destroyed by Deathwing during the cataclysm. "Wow," he'd breathed. "Think we will meet Khadgar?" Sarah flinched but it went unnoticed. His enthusiasm did not pale. "Did you meet him last time?"

She'd swallowed before answering. "No. And yes. Briefly." A knot twisted her insides.

"What was he like?"

Her heart contracted and she'd fought the urge to tell her friend to 'shut the fuck up'. She really didn't wish to dwell on Khadgar, but she'd also known dismissing the subject altogether would just arouse Drew's curiosity more. He'd always been pretty astute to Sarah's ability to avoid topics she did not want to discuss.

"He is just a man whose fingers burn with arcane power now and again."

"There has to be more to him than that," Drew insisted.

"Well if there is, I do not know of it." She'd struggled to keep the pain from her voice. She'd simply wanted to express it was a pointless course of conversation. Thankfully, it had seemed to have the desired effect, as Drew had not pursued his line of questioning.

She'd pulled the scarf up over her mouth, like a mask. Drew had laughed. "What's with the ranger look?"

"I don't want to be recognised." She'd replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh? If you're worried about being recognised you must have done something impressive ... or bad, last time around." He'd grinned.

She'd glared up at him, thinking how she could skirt around his new line of thought. "Actually, it is so I stay alive, Drew. Stormwind has many unpleasant characters skulking in alleys and dark doorways, and they do not take to strangers very easily. That is what I learned from my last visit."

Drew gulped and stayed quiet. Sarah smirked. She was improving at throwing him off the mark now. Drew had then pulled his jacket collar up and buttoned the front in an attempt to mirror Sarah's lead.

They'd moved swiftly through the city. It was early evening, and the shadows were starting to creep through the streets. Drew had kept close to his friend, but still struggled to fight the urge to stop and look at things he'd found familiar to the game. He'd kept ooh-ing and ahh-ing as they'd passed guards, vendors, buildings, and crossed over bridges until they finally reached her destination. The Golden Keg.

Sighing heavily, she'd turned to him and pointing her forefinger at his face, she'd insisted he stopped with his awestruck utterings and did as she told him from then on. He'd nodded understanding and apologised.

They then entered the busy inn.

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