Nikolas Leaves His Family, Part II

(Be proud of me- I typed probably two-thirds of this with one hand, on account of my bum wrist)

An hour after leaving his mother’s home, Nikolas had nearly finished packing his belongings. He had scant few things besides that which he needed for his scouting work, so it would only take a knapsack and a couple of satchels to bring what he needed.
He was in the process of packing some spare daggers and arrows when the door to his small cottage practically flew open,
“You’re leaving?”
Nikolas’ sister, Katia, had evidently just come from their mother’s house. He turned to face her and the expected look of shock/frustration on her face.
“Yes,” was his simple reply.
“Why?”
“It shouldn’t be hard to figure out,” he answered.
Katia stared for a moment. “Because of him? Because of Isillien?”
Nikolas scoffed. “Why do you and mother think it’s just because of Isillien? It’s more than that- it’s the whole bloody Scarlet Crusade!”
“But we’re winning! You can’t leave!” The passion in her voice was strong.
“Winning? Is that what you call it?”
“What else is it, then,” she spat back, glaring hard. She had been sharper than Naya in their debates with Nikolas over the Crusade and its ways. “Highlord Mograine is wreaking havoc on the undead near Stratholme, General Abbendis is advancing on the Scourge from Tyr’s Hand, and we’re getting our foothold here in the Western Plaguelands. What more do you want?”
“You really want to ask me that? You’re not winning anything. Yes, you’re gaining ground and bashing the skulls of undead left and right, but at what cost? Killing innocent people, just because they don’t agree with you, is no victory. And I’ve already been through this with Mother, so I have no desire to go over this again.” He returned his attention to packing.
“So you’re abandoning us, then?”
Nikolas remained silent for a moment, which Katia took advantage of.
“It’s just like you playing troll-slayer with the elves. If you’d stayed with us, then you’d have been there to help us fight from the start. But since you don’t like the situation, you’re running away.”
Nikolas drove the dagger he was holding into the table halfway to the hilt. He turned to face his sister again, breathing deeply to contain his anger.
“Believe what you want, little sister, but I have never and will never abandon this family-”
“Then why-” Katia began to interrupt.
“-As long as I believe we are doing the right thing. I have no objection to fighting the undead, and I believe that their complete annihilation should be the goal of every free and living man, woman and child.”
“Then why-” she tried to interrupt again, so Nikolas cut her off even louder.
“But I don’t agree with nor believe in the way the Scarlet Crusade is trying to fight this war. The Crusade and its leadership is corrupt and full of hate, vengeance, and darkness, killing hundreds and thousands who stand in their way, all on the chance that they might be collaborators. The thought of any living soul collaborating with the Scourge is insane! And I can not and will not condone or support the murder of innocent lives, just so you can say ‘better safe than sorry,’ even if it means going a separate path than you and Mother.”
Katia was ready with her answer. “If you loved Father, you’d stay and help destroy those who murdered him.” But Katia was not ready for his response.
Nikolas crossed the distance to his sister in a half a second, burning holes into her plate armor and face with his look.
“Don’t you dare accuse me like that! I loved Father more than you’ll ever know! I was there with him when he died! I saw him murdered! And I have lived with that pain every day since!”
Katia was silent as Nikolas began to pace around the room. He came back to her after a moment.
“No, I didn’t spend as much time around Father as you had. Yes, I was off learning something different than what he wanted. But he respected me and my decision enough to recognize that was what I truly wanted, that I wanted something other than the path he and you chose. He was so proud of you for following the same path he did, for following the Light! And you don’t even recognize that!”
Tears had begun to well up in his sister’s eyes. She was silent for a moment.
“We honor Father by carrying on the battle he fought and died for. And you’re running away.” There was more than a touch of resentment in her voice.
“I’m not running away, little sister.” Nikolas was consciously trying to use a soft tone- he wanted nothing less than to leave on a bitter note. “But the way you and Mother are fighting this war, the way the Crusade is fighting it, is not honoring Father. Isillien claims to teach the Light, and the Crusaders claim to fight by the Light. But if Father were alive, he’d barely recognize the “Light” they use, because their “Light” is riddled with darkness and corruption and murder.”
“How would you know to recognize the Light?” Katia was trying to hold on to her anger, Nikolas thought. “You were never around to study it.”
“I learned it by watching Father. And I know that if he were here, he wouldn’t fight with the Crusade. Not like this. Father wouldn’t want you or Mother to lose yourselves to this corruption for his sake. And you know that’s true.”
Katia turned away to hide her now-flowing tears. But her sobbing gave it away. Nikolas walked over to her and tried to hug her, but she shrunk away from him.
“You’re wrong. You’re wrong about the Crusade, Isillien, Father, everything. And running away only makes you a coward.”
Nikolas’ tone became almost pleading. “Listen to yourself- I’m your brother, Katia. I’m not running from the war, I’m choosing to fight on a different front. I will fight the Scourge, but I will do so as I see fit, as clearly you must do. I hope, I will pray daily that the Light will bring us together again. But while you and Mother choose to walk a path dictated by evil and darkness, our paths must be separate.”
He gripped her shoulders and turned her to face him, although she still looked at the floor.
“Katia, I know that you believe you are doing is right. And I know you and Mother want revenge for Father’s death- I do as well. But I believe that although the Scarlet Crusade may have started by following the tenets of the Light, I can’t help but feel that somewhere along the way they lost sight of it. They’ve let dark thoughts and deeds and motives take over, and all that’s left is a shell of the Order of the Silver Hand, one that even Father couldn’t recognize.”
Katia looked up at him finally, and Nikolas thought he saw both pain and resentment.
“You’re wrong, you know. About everything. You think we’ve forsaken the Light? We battle against the Light’s very enemies. What greater threat could there be to the Light than creatures, abominations whose masters are the element of darkness, demons of the Shadow? And we will defeat them. We will drive them from existence itself, and we will do so by whatever means. We, the Scarlet Crusade, will be the saviors of Azeroth by defeating the Scourge down to the last monster. And on that day, you will see how wrong you were, how scared you were, and how small you are.”
Nikolas stared at her in disbelief- he knew she believed in the Crusade but until now had no idea how deeply its ideology had ensnared her mind. He nodded.
“Time will tell, like you said, little sister. But I fear for you, fear for what this…Crusade…will make of you, and I fear that I won’t recognize the little sister I love and try to protect.”
“I don’t need your protection. By the Light, the Crusade has all the protection I need.”
“Except from yourself.”
The siblings fell silent, Katia staring at Nikolas with cold eyes, he looking back with pity and sadness. Finally, Nikolas spoke.
“I’m leaving as soon as I’ve finished packing. I won’t have to worry about the Crusade arresting me, will I?”
His feeble attempt at humor dispelled some of the tension. Katia shook her head, “I wouldn’t dally if I were you. You aren’t going through the main gate, are you? The Crusade will ask a lot of questions if you just ride up with a bunch of stuff on your horse.”
“Dusk is only an hour away. I’ll go during the evening service.” Part of Nikolas was wary at telling her all his plans, but he felt he had to trust his own sister not to betray him. She wouldn’t, despite the argument they’d just had. “There’s a tree near the wall I can climb. You might want to cut it down after I’m out- easy way for spies to get in.”
“Just take care of yourself. I need someone to argue with after the war is over.”
Nikolas smiled, glad they weren’t leaving on bitter terms.
“I’m not out of this war, little sister. I’ll see you yet.”
“I’ll pray for it. You do the same, okay?”
“I plan to. You take care of Mother, alright?”
Katia nodded, finally calm from their row. She surprised Nikolas by hugging him and delivering a kiss on his cheek, which he gave to her in kind. One last look, then Katia turned and left.