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Belumaan walked the Stormwind streets, careful to avoid the loose cobblestones and the other members of the Alliance who were here to conduct their own business. It was a familiar atmosphere, the bustling streets never quite seeming to empty, no matter the time.
He approached the trade post, one of the busiest parts of the city, intending to check their goods for this month. Most things they sold were cosmetic, but in all his time wandering he had decided that not everything had to have a definitive purpose. He approached the vendor, he never remembered the man’s name, and asked him what they had this month.
As he browsed the goods he felt a prickling on the back of his neck, that uncomfortable chill you got when someone was looking at you. That instinct had kept him alive more than once, well, as alive as he could be anyway. He kept calm, forcing himself to act normal as he slowly turned, scanning the crowd.
It didn’t take long for him to notice a Draenei woman staring at him. She was beautiful, her skin an icy blue and her muted purple hair tied up, burnished gold ornaments shining in the sun. She seemed shocked, her eyes wide and mouth agape.
“Can I help you,” Belumaan asked, addressing her directly after deciding she wasn’t a threat.
“By the Light… It really is you…” Her voice was light, and full of relief and a quiet grief, like she’d been holding onto something for a very, very long time.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’ve met before.”
“Is your name Belumaan?”
He hesitated at that. How did this woman know his name, and why did she seem to know him? Had she known him before he’d died? After so long, he thought he’d picked up as many pieces of his past as he would ever be able to, but now this strange woman had shown up and seemed to have another for him.
“Yes. That is my name. Have we met before…?”
“It’s me! I know it’s been years since we’ve last seen each other but you have to remember your wife!”
That was a shock. He had a wife? He supposed that explained the ring he’d had on a small necklace when he woke. He’d assumed it was just an accessory, but he kept it anyway.
“You scared me so badly! They told me you’d died fighting the Scourge!”
“I did die fighting the scourge… I was raised as a death knight and lost all my memories…”
Now it was the woman’s, his wife’s, turn to be shocked. She gasped and rushed forward, looking him up and down, taking in the cold blue glow in his eyes where there used to be shining gold. She took in the familiar axe he’d used when he became Lightforged and the way his hair was still tied up messily to keep it out of his face. She took in how he was so similar but now different.
“You idiot! You promised me you’d come back safe, and you had the gall to die?! This is why I never let you do anything!”
He jumped at her outburst, getting a sense of odd deja vu from the situation. He did wonder why he’d head off to a dangerous war when he had a wife and potentially child too. From what he’d pieced together from old comrades and records he was an optimist to the end, always trying to fight for a better world. It had made sense before, but now it didn’t.
If he was without any connections he wouldn’t have to worry about leaving anyone grieving for him, and in this world of death and pain, something was bound to happen. Why would he do that? He could have lived in peace, but he went to fight instead. Every time he learned something new about himself he wondered why in the world he thought like that.
“I’m sorry… For forgetting you and… Dying, I guess…”
“Well I don’t forgive you! Do you even remember your own child?!”
He was in deeper than he thought. This woman was truly not giving up on making him feel bad for something ‘he’ hadn’t even done!
“No…” He hesitated before asking a question he knew was going to get him shouted at. “What’s your name…?”
Thankfully, the woman was done being surprised, and now just seemed annoyed. “Mystaliia. Thankfully you remember your own name, or I would've never found you…”
That jab made a sliver of indignation stir inside him and he thought to make a smart retort but decided against it. He knew when not to test his luck, and he wasn’t stupid. They stood there awkwardly for a moment. Well, Belumaan was the only awkward one, Mystaliia was staring at him expectantly. During the silence he reflected on the conversation thus far. It wasn’t hard to see why he would have liked her. She was beautiful and something about her was magnetic even if most of what she had done was shout at him.
“So… You found me, yay…?”
“You’re an idiot, Belumaan… You’re coming home with me now.”
She grabbed his hand, which was probably a bit cold, and started walking. He followed, deciding he should probably just give in to the domineering woman as he followed her back ‘home’.