Melinda's pet

It was in the fall that Melinda would return home. She had stayed home with Horu for about twelve years; her guild once again needed her for a battle of utmost importance. It broke her heart to leave Horu. He was everything to her, but age had caught up to him. His black pelt was now a dark gray, his eyes, though still bright, were hazed over, his vision not what it once was. He had difficulty walking and had to use a cane, his right knee had given out on him one winter as he was working to clear the snow from the path to the barn. Melinda did most of the work on the farm now, it wasn’t that Horu didn’t try, or want to, it’s just that he couldn’t anymore. Forty-five years of toil on her farm had earned him a retirement. His place was in the home now, and Melinda was happy to do her share for once. Horu still cooked and cleaned, the house always smelled of some delicious creation, and the air was always laden with his humming. He also lost a few steps in the bedroom, but that was what came with age. His appetite for sex was less, but when they did have it, it was just as loving and passionate as the first time when he was seventeen. Melinda didn’t care about the sex really; it was his companionship that made her heart sing. They’d talk for hours on end over cups of tea and meals. They still sat by the fireside and held each other close. She though that she’d finally settled down and was ready to live her life with Horu, but that wasn’t the case.

For a year and a half she had been back in Blackrock Mountain, laying siege to the keep of Nefarion, their conflict taking them all the way to the great black drake himself. His death was celebrated by feasting for days in Iron Forge and Stormwind. His head on display for all the village folk to see. Her guild was immortalized as the greatest heroes in the land, but Melinda was nowhere to be found. She had taken the first ship back to Darnassus that she could find. She wanted no part of the festivities, she wanted her Horu.

Immediately she knew something was wrong. Where normally there were lit candles in the window and smoke from a fire coming from the chimney, the house was dark. Pushing open the front door, she could see no sign of a struggle, the house was silent.

“Horu?!” she called, to no reply.

“HORU?!” she called out again, a sense of panic coming out as she searched the house.

She opened the door to the bedroom and saw Horu lying in bed, on his side, eyes closed, seemingly asleep.

“Horu! You old bull! Get your bones out of bed! I’m home!” she said. But Horu didn’t move. Melinda’s veins went ice cold.

“H-h-horu??!” She begged, her voice shaking.

“Horu! This isn’t funny! Wake up!” she walked towards the bed on shaking knees. Tears began flowing freely down her face.

“No! No! Please Elune! No!” she pleaded. Reaching out she cupped his peaceful face in her hands. He was cold to the touch; no breath came from his nostrils. Melinda sobbed freely as she cupped his lifeless head to her bosom. “Nooooooooooo!” she screamed. “You were supposed to wait for me Horu! You promised me you’d wait!” she blubbered, kissing his head. She sat in the bed holding him to her as she cried, wishing, and praying, by some miracle that he’d wake up. That he’d hold her close and kiss away her tears, but it never happened. Eventually she had cried herself to sleep, still holding her precious Horu close.

“Mistress!” a familiar voice called, her eyes opened to focus on Horu’s smiling face, he lie in bed next to her. She smiled at him and pounced on him, arms holding him tighter than ever.

“Oh Horu! I had such a terrible dream! I dreamt that I’d been called away! And you died!” she began to cry.

“Oh Mistress…” Horu sighed as he held her. “I am dead…” She looked up at him, unbelieving.

“B-b-b-but I’m holding you right now! We’re talking!”

“Yes, I know. This isn’t real though…”

“It’s a dream?” she asked, noting that Horu was as she remembered him from his prime. Dark black fur, thick muscles, bright youthful eyes.

“Yes. This is a dream.”

“Oh Horu! I don’t want to wake up! I can’t live without you!”

“Yes you can Melinda…” It was the first time he’d called her by name. “You must! You’re stronger than you believe. You must go on, see those places that I could never see, fight battles I could never hope to win. I’ll be here waiting for you. Live your life! And know that no matter where you are, I’m right beside you in spirit.”

“Horu…”

“Yes mistress?”

“I never told you I loved you… I always regretted that…”

“You didn’t have to. I knew you loved me. You showed me nothing BUT love after all.”

“Will we always be together in my dreams like this?”

Horu chuckled. “They’re your dreams mistress! I’ll be here whenever you wish me to!”

“Hold me Horu! I need you now more than ever!”

Morning came all too early. The sunlight shone through the window, waking Melinda. Woefully, she set to the task at hand. As with the customs of his people, Melinda built a pyre. Lovingly she cleaned Horu one last time in the bathtub, braided his hair, adding the most fancy, decorative baubles she had. She brushed his fur to the softest it had ever been, and placed a final kiss on his lips before she lit the funeral fire. For most of the day and all through the night she watched it and kept it burning. Occasionally she had to go back inside to cry, but she made sure that Horu’s fire burned strong and proud. The fire burned high and bright, a beacon of light in the night sky, a fitting tribute to the love they shared.

The following day, she gathered his ashes into an urn, placing it on the mantle above her fireplace. Every morning she’d give him a kiss, kissing her hand and touching the urn, before bidding him good morning. She kept his garden clean; his herbs that she’d given him grew plentiful and strong. There were still nights where she cried herself to sleep in her lonely bed, but she knew that she’d heal eventually.

She’d never been to Mulgore before, but she could understand why Horu was homesick sometimes. It was a beautiful place. Long sweeping plains of grass with mountains surrounding it. The wind blew soft and gentle, carrying a rich scent on it of flowers and grass. After a couple days of searching she found what she was looking for. Buried deep in the woods was a simple tent. Outside an elderly tauren watered her plants. She was humming a familiar tune as Melinda approached.

“I have no money and I’m too old to fight. So, if you’re going to kill me, just get it over with! These ninety year old bones ache too much anyways!” the tauren spoke, startling Melinda.

“I’ve not come for money or your blood.”

“Then why are you here? I’m nobody of importance. Just an old shaman living the last of my years.”

“I wanted to bring you something.”

“And what is that?” The old tauren asked, her brow rose in curiosity.

Melinda reached into her knapsack and removed Horu’s urn. Cautiously she handed it to the tauren.

“Where did you get this? And why give it to me?”

“The ashes belong to someone you know.”

The old tauren closed her eyes and concentrated, her face softened and she began to smile. Tears welling to run down her cheeks.

“Oh my boy! My baby boy! I thought he was lost!”

“He lived for sixty five years…” Melinda trailed off.

“Ah, I see. He speaks to me you know? From the next world. He tells me he’s sorry for yelling at me, that he loves me. You have given me a great gift. You have given me closure of one of the most painful wounds I have. I can die in peace now.”

“I….. I kept Horu as a slave…”

The old tauren embraced her. “No my child, you kept him as a lover. You took my boy, a lost, confused, angry boy, and made him a man. You gave him a purpose, you made him feel wanted. And most of all, you kept him pure for me. That’s all I could ever want for him. His happiness and love for you and yours for him are all a mother could ever want for her son. Though your kind may not have been the same, your spirits were destined for each other.”

“Can you speak to him?”

“Of course child, just as he does me.”

“Tell him I love him, and I’ll be with him soon.”

The old tauren smiled and patter her on the shoulder.

“He knows child, he knows… Now go! Before some fool guard comes upon you! Go live your life so you can meet your Horu in the next world!”

The sands of Silithus stung as they carried in the wind. Melinda had never seen such a place. She sat on a rock, away from her guild, collecting her thoughts and daydreaming as their leaders worked on the gates to the city of An’Qiraj. Inside was sure to be monsters of immeasurable power and treasures of incredible value. Reaching down into her shirt, Melinda pulled out Horu’s collar. She wore it as a necklace now, it was far too big for her neck, the soft velvet inside was worn down and stained with years of Horu’s sweat. The leather itself was worn and aged. In place of the amulet, Melinda had put Horu’s carved wooden charm. In the center, where there was a hole, she had placed a small crystal vial, inside was a tiny portion of Horu’s ashes. Holding the collar up to her nose, she inhaled deeply. His scent was still there, even after four years, she could smell his scent and remember his touch, the nights spent in his arms, listening to the beat of his heart.

“Hey Mel!” a voice rang out, snapping her from her daydream. She turned to face a little gnome, a fellow rogue. “They got the gates open! C’mon! We’re going in!”

“Ok Roderick, I’ll be right there.” Melinda said. Placing a kiss on the charm, she stuffed it back down into the safe confines of her armor. “Let’s go Horu! There’s much to see and much to do!”