Adult-FanFiction.org : Games

Timeless: a Wranduin Story	By : flagfish Category: +S through Z > World of Warcraft Views: 4143 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Warcraft nor any of the characters,nor do I make any money or profit from writing this story.

Chapter List
- 21
- 22
- 23
In the time Azshara kept Kael in her bedroom, she had found unexpectedly that they'd got on quite well; they had more in common than Kael'thas might have anticipated, but it hadn't been something to which he'd given much thought.
The queen put up no pretenses of untouchable majesty or cunning manipulation, she was sat with her feet on the bed and was casually trimming her toenails; she spoke to Kael about her duties as monarch, and all the work she'd put off till morning because there was never enough time.
He wouldn't tell her how it was that he knew Illidan, but she understood well enough that Kael's taste in men was similar to hers; she tried to extract from him what information she could, and became aware that he liked speaking about Illidan.
"I've always wondered," she said, still turned the other way; "What's he like in bed? Is he really wild?"
At that, Kael actually chuckled; "I wish," he said softly, "You'd think so, wouldn't you— just looking at him, doesn't he looks like he could completely pound you senseless?"
Azshara snickered in disbelief and turned around rapidly; "You've really slept with him?" she asked with audible fascination, "Like— with Illidan? Did you, really?"
Kael's eyes were closed, his mouth stretched in a serene smile; she watched his right hand trail absently over his naked abdomen. "Yeah," he said, "Yeah, I did."
"You massive slag," she laughed in surprise, he now had her undivided attention; "That's hot, what was it like?"
Kael'thas hummed fondly at being called a slag, how long had it been since last he'd done anything worthy of that title...?
He grinned toothily while glancing back at her, like he was trying to decide if he ought to say more; when he spoke, his voice came low and tender. "He's actually weirdly gentle," he said, "not like what you'd expect."
Azshara's brow furrowed; she regarded him with something like disbelief. "Gentle?" she asked, she sounded almost disappointed. "Illidan? Really?"
Kael laughed again, like finally someone understood; "I know, right?" he replied, "It was so weird! He's like utterly crazy with his magic, and then in bed he's suddenly gentle."
"Huh," Azshara said, like she was deep in thought; she said nothing for a while after that, and quietly went back to her toenails.
"So that's it, then?" Kael'thas smiled, "You don't wanna get with him anymore?"
She turned around rapidly and gave him a playful shove; "You dickhead," she laughed, "Nah, I'd still do him. Goddess, I'd totally do him."
"Yeah," Kael laughed, "me too."
"So it's still worth it, then? Even if he's not— you know— all wild and that?"
"Yeah, it's still worth it."
She turned back toward him, her face alight with enthusiasm; "I wanna see," she said, "I wanna see you get with him."
Kael'thas laughed outright; "Pff... yeah, I'd like to see that too, but I can't just—"
"Yeah, I know," she said with a bout of disappointment; "It's not that simple... well, it would be if I spelled him, but... you know, Vashj— my handmaiden— she keeps saying I ought to spell Illidan. Maybe she's right, I can just hear my mom..."
She waved her hands around and spoke in shrill tones, "Well what did you expect, Azshara, you didn't spell him like I said...!"
Kael'thas chuckled incredulously. "You were gonna spell Illidan?"
"Oh, not you, too," Azshara rolled her eyes; "I don't know, with him, it's like— it's like I can't... do you think that sounds dumb? Like, do you think it's selfish of me? It's supposed to be better for guys if they have some kind of structure..."
"I don't think it sounds dumb," Kael'thas said, but he wondered if he was just speaking with the voice of his own time period; might Illidan have been happier if he'd been spelled? He certainly hadn't been happy the way he was.
They both went quiet for some time after that, and then the queen turned again toward him. "So tell me other stuff," she said with visible interest, "details, what's he like? What did you guys do?"
Kael regarded her with a mixture of amusement and disbelief; he laughed outright and stretched back his arms, "By the Sun," he said,"you really are too much like me— you really want me to tell you?"
Azshara thought that sun comment sounded a bit weird, but said nothing of it; she wasn't certain why it struck her as unusual somehow. "Quit stalling," she nudged him, "Spill it, come on."
He couldn't tell her everything. He couldn't tell her about how, during their time together, Illidan was far larger in stature than he was now— that he wore a blindfold, and had enormous wings and horns; and it was a shame he couldn't tell her all this, because he'd thought Illidan's demonic attributes were some of the hottest things about him.
He couldn't tell her how he'd liked tracing his horns with his hands, or how, at times, he'd rouse late at night to find himself lain beneath the enclosure of one of his wings; but he told her what he could, it started as something he spoke of for her benefit, but soon it occurred to her there was in his voice unmistakable longing.
"Illidan took care of me," he said, "He called me Little Prince."
Azshara grinned at that; "Oh, that is so cute."
Kael smiled toothily, his eyes were still closed; "Little Prince...!" he said in a soft imitation of Illidan's Darnassian, and Azshara laughed. She asked, "So what happened? How come you guys aren't still together now?"
Kael'thas remained quiet for a long time; his eyes opened slowly and he stared absently at the canopy of the bed, at the elaborate patterns that spiraled there in purple and gold;
"In the end," he said, "he couldn't protect me— from the things I did to myself."
--
When Anduin and Wrathion returned to the party, Jaina and Aethas were nowhere to be found; the princes had exhausted themselves circling through the gardens and lawns, they'd even gone up to the balcony where they'd been sat with Ysera before— but they'd only found Eranikus there, flanked by a number of Ysera's brood.
"Oh, look there, Merithra," Eranikus whispered to his preadolescent daughter, "There's that black prince you like."
"Dad!" Merithra sputtered in embarrassment, "Seriously, can you not...!"
She flushed horribly and sank into her chair, then sulked there with her enchanted dream journal; she wrote to her friends, My dad is so lame, you guys are so lucky you don't have to be stuck here.
But neither Wrathion nor Anduin had heard their conversation, they walked in hand in hand and both appeared to be in quite a good mood; Anduin thought he didn't even mind having moonberry juice. "Has my Aunt Jaina ever come back?" he asked, "We couldn't find her or Aethas anywhere."
"Oh, you guys didn't see it?" Eranikus asked, he passed a basket of pastries toward them; "Malygos came by and attacked Aethas."
Anduin blinked; "Wait," he asked, "What...? He attacked him? Where's Aunt Jaina?"
Wrathion looked up with visible interest from the roll he'd been stuffing into his mouth; out the corner of her eye, Merithra was watching him stealthily.
"Yeah," Eranikus said, "it's pretty bad; the queen had to take him in for treatment, I think Jaina went with them."
"For treatment," Anduin repeated, "Wait, when you say attacked him— like— how bad do you mean?"
"I wasn't there, I don't know; didn't you guys see it? I could see from all the way up here—"
At that, Wrathion flushed; he and Anduin exchanged timid glances, Anduin coughed and replied, "No, we— went on a little flight—"
Merithra looked up at that, she bit her lip and went back to writing in her journal.
At what age do you guys think it's okay to like a drake? She asked her friends, Like if he's really cute, though— but I think he might already have a boyfriend.
"At no age," Eranikus said aloud, he was reading over her shoulder; "What dream page is that? Did your mother say it's okay for you to chat on there?"
"Dad! Oh my titans...! None of my friends' parents are this nosey...!"
"Well, so what happened?" Wrathion asked, "Is Aethas okay? Why did Malygos attack him?"
Eranikus sighed, he let the whelp he'd been holding climb down from his lap and unto the chair beside him;"You'll have to ask Ysera, she's dealing with him right now— but yeah, she's pretty upset."
"Malygos is a freak, dad," Merithra said, still focused on her journal; Eranikus turned to her with one finger pointed. He warned, "You watch your tongue, that's an aspect you're on about."
"Well, he's a pretty creepy aspect, I'm not even surprised he attacked that mortal."
"That's it," Eranikus said conclusively, "Give me that journal."
"Dad!"
"No, that's enough— hand it over and go find your mother. I want to know what she intends to do about all this."
Merithra frowned sulkily and then quickly wrote to her friends, I have to go now, my tyrannical dad doesn't ever let me have any fun, ever. She rapidly cast a dream enchantment that caused the page's contents to vanish, it was a sort of modern emerald spell that baffled adult wyrms like Eranikus, and she knew he wouldn't figure out how to undo it.
After handing over her journal, she sank moodily in her seat and crossed her arms at the sheer injustice of it all; Anduin grinned at her compassionately and said to Eranikus, "Would it be all right if she came with us? I'd like to go find aunt Jaina, maybe Ysera would know where they took Aethas."
Eranikus noticed that Merithra glanced up at that, his eyes narrowed suspiciously; Merithra said, "I know where she is, I can take you guys."
"No," Eranikus said, "I don't want you out there without adult supervision."
"We're adults," Wrathion said without missing a beat, he sounded very defensive; "How are we not adults? Trust me, we're definitely adults."
He nudged Anduin, who flushed, and Eranikus rolled his eyes at that. "I meant like, wyrm adults."
Wrathion huffed and rose to his feet, he couldn't believe this bullshit; "We're as much adult as any wyrm," he said, "What— you think we're immature and dumb? We're not a couple of little whelps."
Up until then, Merithra had been watching him in silent admiration, but now her face soured; not all whelps are that little, she thought, I'm almost a drake, I'm not some baby.
Anduin tugged gently at Wrathion's sleeve, he nudged him and said very softly, "Dude, careful what you say— there are all these whelps here."
"Oh, shit—" Wrathion whispered back, he regarded Merithra and smiled badly; "I didn't mean it like that," he said, "I meant—"
"No— no, it's cool," Merithra stammered, she sank into her chair and wished she had her journal to hide behind; "Yep, I'm a little whelp, I get it."
Wrathion, who for years had resented the small stature he'd had, hadn't meant to make her feel bad for it; "I'm sorry," he said with genuine regret, "I know how much it sucks to be called little, and what it's like when no one takes you seriously—"
Anduin huffed at that; "What the hell, dude," he said, "when has anyone ever not taken you seriously?"
"Shut up, no one was talking to you."
"Yeah, whatever..."
Finally, Eranikus spoke up; he said, "All right, fine— Merithra, you can take them to your mother— but no funny business, Wrathion, don't you guys let her do adult things, she's not allowed to have wine or dance with any boys—"
"Dad, could you please just stop! Like any boy would ever want to dance with me anyway!"
"If any boy does, I'll devour him," Eranikus replied.
"Could you please just stop embarrassing me!"
Anduin grinned empathetically at Merithra, he motioned for her to come along; "I think some whelps are very mature," he said while meeting her gaze. "Well— Wrathion wasn't; in fact, I'm pretty sure Merithra is more mature than you are right now..."
"You are so dead," Wrathion replied, but they'd got Merithra to smile; she finally rose from her seat and tried to act very mature while leading them to the steps.
--
One end of the lawn was enveloped in a thicket of tall trees, and in their midst Ysera was sat beside Malygos, both in their true forms; Malygos was curled miserably at her side, visibly sore after the prolonged punishment he'd received. His head was lain on his front limbs and he seemed to have retreated into the introverted sort of solitude for which he was known.
Ysera appeared to be guarding him; she seemed irritable and upset, like she was too tired for this shit— this was supposed to be her night to take it easy.
Because of the tall trees, Ysera and Malygos' sheer size wasn't quite discernible until Merithra had led the princes closer, they were larger than even the wyrms Anduin had seen in his own timeline— but then again, even those wyrms hadn't been aspects. He remembered that Neltharion and Nozdormu had appeared almost overwhelmingly large as well, when he'd seen them sleeping in the lair.
Their small group had got most of the way across the lawn when Merithra spontaneously asked, "Are you guys boyfriends?"
At that, both Wrathion and Anduin stilled; Anduin felt his heart skip a beat, his ears hurt from how hot they had got. For some moments, he didn't even breathe, he waited to hear how Wrathion would respond.
But Wrathion was equally horrified; his entire expression remained frozen, like he didn't know where to run. Somehow, he felt thoroughly betrayed by this bratty little whelp, who would ask such an embarrassing thing after they'd tried to show her kindness.
"Little whelps sure ask the stupidest questions, don't they?" he stammered, and now Anduin blushed even more; he had hoped very much that Wrathion would say that, yes, they were boyfriends, and he'd now felt incredibly stupid on hearing what he'd said instead.
"Yeah," he laughed badly, "That was kind of a... funny... question... wasn't it...? Ha...ha..."
As for Merithra, she was utterly crushed to hear Wrathion call her a little whelp, after the princes had stood up for her before; she hated being dragged to big parties like this, and just wanted to chat with her friends— but, of course, her father just had to confiscate her journal...
They journeyed the rest of the way in very awkward silence, until finally they approached Ysera and Malygos; "Well, there's my mom," Merithra said sulkily, "Have fun talking to her..."
After the boyfriends comment, Anduin felt that walking beside Wrathion had become almost unbearably uncomfortable, he was vastly relieved now that his attention could be invested in something else; he tilted his head up to regard Ysera's daunting presence, but even large and formidable as she was in her true form, she nevertheless appeared decidedly kind.
And decidedly annoyed.
He and Wrathion greeted her with an air of respectful familiarity, and then Anduin got to the matter at hand; "I heard—" he said, but then briefly paused; he regarded the enormous blue dragon curled sadly at her side, and thought better of his next words. "I heard my aunt Jaina had gone away somewhere? I'd like to go see her, would you know where she went?"
At his side, Wrathion gazed upon Ysera and Malygos with sheer envy, he was devastated and overwhelmed; it felt like no matter how large he had got, he was never grown up enough. For a little while that evening he'd thought he was pretty impressive, especially after what Anduin had said before— but now, once again he was painfully aware he was nothing compared with these two. They were some of the most majestic dragons he'd seen, and he felt completely convinced he'd never, ever be that cool.
"Oh, little he-priest," Ysera sighed, like she was terribly weary; she put on a visible effort to appear patient and gentle. Out the corner of her eye she watched Malygos, aware of the difference of opinion between him and Anduin in regard to Aethas.
"And the Black Prince— Merithra, were you showing them around?"
"No," Merithra said indignantly, "Dad wanted me to take them to you. So I did. He wants to know what you intend to do about all this."
At these words, Malygos rolled his eyes and huffed; he said, "I don't have to answer to your consorts, Ysera."
"You shut up," Ysera snapped, "Just you wait till Alexstrasza deals with you, I'm sure she'd love to hear all this about answering to consorts after you and Korialstrasz."
She was referring to Krasus, of course; Malygos shrank in embarrassment.
At that, Merithra became certain beyond the shadow of any doubt that she hated this entire world; Korialstrasz wasn't even that much older than she was, and he was already a consort— and to the queen of the dragons, at that— it was so unfair.
"How come I can't have a consort?" she sulked, and Ysera proceeded to rub at her temples with her front limbs; "Seriously, Merithra, I'm way too tired for this right now..."
"Korialstrasz is already a consort, and he's—"
Yeah, Wrathion wondered, what is up with that, anyway? He can't be more than an adolescent drake at the most...
"Merithra, please—" Ysera said, in a tone that meant conclusively there was no argument to be had; finally her daughter piped down.
"I'm sorry," Anduin grinned with almost strained decorum, "Would this be a bad time...?"
Ysera turned back to regard him and then sighed with very great exasperation; "No, no... now's as good a time as any... I'm sorry, you wanted to go and find your aunt. Azshara took her and Aethas into the palace, you'd have to go and ask there."
Anduin wanted to know whether she and Aethas were all right, but he didn't much fancy asking right in front of Malygos.
"You wouldn't happen to know where in the palace they went, would you?" he asked instead, "I mean, it seems like a pretty big building..."
"I couldn't tell you, I'm afraid," Ysera said; "you'll just have to go ask around."
"Right," Anduin replied; "Well— thanks so much, I guess I'll go and try to find them..."
It was really freaking awkward, asking all that with Malygos only a few yards away; Anduin wondered if the blue aspect completely hated him by then.
After the small group's departure, Ysera momentarily paused; she gazed around with something like confusion, and then murmured absently, "That's odd; I could've sworn it felt like the priestesses had just come near—"
She finally glanced back at Malygos, then glared and muttered aside; "Why am I even talking to you about this, you wouldn't know jack shit about Elune."
--
Back at the palace, after the portal had closed Jaina remained stood in place, vaguely aware of Vashj's grasp on her arms; even if Vashj hadn't been far taller than she was, Jaina was well aware she was overpowered in terms of sorcery, even as head of the Kirin Tor.
"Milady, please," she said with quiet composure, "My friend is injured—"
"Your friend?" Vashj inquired with great interest, "And here I thought you said he was your love servant."
Jaina could tell by her tone that neither she nor Azshara had bought that story.
"Please," Jaina said again, "He is no shape to— to be spelled—"
Finally, Vashj released her hold; "Her Majesty knows this," she said, aware Azshara wouldn't want Illidan to think her cruel. "Do not underestimate the queen, she is the most proficient spellcaster in the land." She eyed Illidan subtly and added, "I've never seen a boy complain, I'd say your friend is quite lucky."
Lucky, Jaina thought; who would want to be subjected to that...?
Vashj was uncertain whether Azshara wished to have the other guests kept there, she was aware certainly she wouldn't have wanted Illidan dismissed— and, in truth, Vashj didn't really want to release Dath'remar, either.
It was a shame Azshara had been so adamant about not wanting to spell Illidan, because Vashj imagined enchanting him and Dath'remar to make out for the next twenty minutes would make for an entertaining show.
Jaina, for one, became aware Vashj had no intention to help with releasing Kael'thas; of course, she would be fiercely loyal to the queen.
I have to get Ysera, Jaina thought, and wondered why the hell she worried for Kael so much.
He's an utter fool. He got himself into this completely on his own, what with his recklessness and his irresponsible games— who would march into Azshara's court directly and then toy with everything there—
But, somewhere inside, she knew: the bit that had got Kael in trouble was not his reckless behavior from before. It wasn't how he took on his true form in plain view, or how he'd helped himself to Dath'remar's harp, or how he ran out to get a look of Illidan; when Malygos had come to attack him, Kael really hadn't been doing anything unusual.
That bit really wasn't fair.
She'd been about to ask if she could at least go back to find her party when a brief knock came at the door; a servant had come to say that some dragons had arrived and were looking for Jaina Proudmoore and Aethas Sunreaver.
"Jaina, that's me," Jaina stood at attention, but Vashj had got to the door first; she had gathered from the servant's words that Aethas must be some other name for Jaina's friend.
"Her Highness is preoccupied with the boy," she said, and now Jaina approached the door; "Please take me to the dragons who have come for us," she said, did they give their names?"
The servant replied that he did not know, and Vashj wondered if a party that would come looking for Jaina and Aethas would consist of actual dragons, or of more mortals who appeared to be dragons, but weren't; after some thought, she ultimately decided to let the visitors in.
While Wrathion and Anduin were led through the palace before, they gazed curiously all around the halls and corridors, and both inwardly had to admit Azshara really did have a fantastic sense of style; the palace wasn't merely designed with ostentatious luxury, but with clever attention to space and form, it was almost humbling somehow.
But Anduin's thoughts did not linger long on such things, he was impatient to see Jaina and worried for her, and even while he'd not been much acquainted with Aethas, the prospect of him being injured was frightening all its own; Anduin knew, after all, the terror of restraint at a large dragon's clutches.
Jaina soon turned at the distant sound of approaching footsteps, and finally Illidan rose to his feet, as well; he said only the single word, "Tyrande," it came softly but with audible anticipation. He craned his neck to look when the small group of dragons was allowed in, which included two boys and a young Kaldorei girl— but Tyrande wasn't among them.
"Anduin," Jaina said, "By the Light, look at your uniform— what in hell have you lot been doing?"
She strode toward him and started dusting the dirt from his clothes, and Anduin flushed hotly at her question; "Aunt Jaina—" he said, and gently got his hands on her wrists, "Could you stop that, please— we heard Aethas was injured, are you all right?"
Behind her, Illidan appeared somewhat confused; he gently stopped the servant at the door and asked, "Was anyone else headed this way? Like maybe some priestesses?"
On overhearing this, Jaina leaned closer to Anduin; she spoke to him in hushed tones, even though Vashj and the others wouldn't understand Common either way.
"Don't say anything about being a priest," she whispered, and subtly tilted her head in Vashj's direction; "If they ask anything, say you know nothing about that."
"Wait, what?" Anduin whispered back, "But I thought the whole reason we came here—"
"Yeah, I know— I'll tell you more later."
This had got Anduin worried; did it mean he wouldn't be able to meet with the priestesses tomorrow...?
The servant at the door informed Illidan that no one else had come along with the three dragons, and Anduin looked over Jaina's shoulder to survey the room.
"Aunt Jaina, what's going on?" he whispered back in Common, "Where's Aethas? Is he all right?"
"Listen, we need to go get Ysera," Jaina said, "the queen had taken hold of Ka— of Aethas— and I think she wants to enchant him or something."
"What's this about Ysera?" Vashj suddenly asked; she had taken Jaina and Anduin by surprise, because they had been speaking in Common and didn't expect her to understand; Jaina now cursed herself mentally for her negligence in using a name that of course any night elf would know.
"Well—" she said to Vashj, "As I've explained before, we've arrived here in Ysera's company..."
"And Ysera is also my mom," Merithra added casually; she sounded terribly bored.
Vashj hadn't expected that there would be actual dragons in Jaina's group, and it was difficult for her to detect such a spell when it involved natural energies such as those of the green dragonflight.
All eyes fell on Merithra, who was disguised in the form of a young Kaldorei girl; Vashj proceeded to apologize and bow, and Wrathion observed the scene incredulously.
He wanted to bust with indignation and call attention to the fact that he was a dragon, too, and a pretty important one at that— but, obviously, that would look incredibly childish and dumb. He leaned toward Anduin instead and whispered, "What the hell, how come she's suddenly so important...?"
"Dude— were you just seriously competing with a whelp?"
"Oh, you know what— screw you..."
Merithra appeared tremendously pleased; finally someone treated her like an adult.
Anduin leaned gently toward Merithra and said softly in draconic, "Hey, do you think you could maybe help us with something? "
But, in return, she glared back out the corner of her eye; "Oh, so now you want my help?" she whispered loudly, "I thought I was just a dumb little whelp."
"Wh— I never said that!" Anduin discreetly pointed to Wrathion and whispered, "That was totally Wrathion! He's the one who called you a little whelp, I said you were really mature...!"
"You think I'm that dumb?" Merithra now turned to face him directly; "I know you guys are boyfriends, you're in on it together; you think I'm just a stupid little whelp."
"Boyfriends?" Jaina suddenly asked, "What's this all about?"
Anduin had all but forgot she was there, the comment had caught him off guard and he stiffened completely; his entire face had gone red. A short distance away, Wrathion was stood wide-eyed with horror.
"Aunt Jaina," Anduin hissed angrily through clenched teeth, "Could you please not say stuff like that?" His eyes darted in Wrathion's direction and he nudged his head toward him subtly.
"They're totally boyfriends," Merithra announced without mercy, "They said they flew somewhere together, I'll bet they were kissing—"
The rest of her words came muffled when Wrathion's hands both slammed on her mouth; he then seethed through a forced smile, "Jaina, you've met Ysera's very mature and tactful brood, Merithra— a real charmer, this one—"
He rapidly turned Merithra's chin up toward him and muttered, "And she's going to stop making stuff up about other people before I fly right back to her father and tell him about how she's been drinking wine and dancing with boys."
Beneath Wrathion's hands, Merithra stared wide-eyed, the Black Prince really seemed scary just then; Anduin nudged him and whispered, "What the hell, dude, she never did any of that stuff—"
"Yeah," Wrathion said casually, "I know."
He slowly released his hands from her face, and Merithra stepped a safe distance away from him afterward; maybe he wasn't all that cute after all.
Around that time, Illidan's voice issued suddenly, like everyone else had forgot he'd been there; "Your Ladyship," he said to Vashj, "If our services are no longer required, then I should like to take my leave."
Vashj really wished Azshara had just given her the go on spelling these guys, now it would be way more complicated to try and keep him around...
"Oh— " she replied, like she was trying to plan as she spoke, "I'm so sorry— I think her Majesty still intends to make use of your help— if you'd only stay a bit longer—"
"Aunt Jaina, what's going on?" Anduin asked in Common quietly; it occurred to Jaina then that Anduin would be familiar with the history of both of the guys still waiting at the side of the room.
She subtly directed his attention toward them and whispered their names at his ear.
Anduin stilled; he tried as best he could to mind his courtly decorum, but it was very difficult not to stare.
"Shh," Jaina whispered, "not a word; we have a lot to talk about."
--
When finally Azshara made her return, she appeared to be in brilliant spirits; she also appeared to be dressed far more casually than before, and she didn't have Kael'thas with her.
Vashj approached her and leaned closely to convene, she said, "Az, finally, what the hell? I had to keep all these people here, I didn't know what you wanted me to tell them—"
"Woo!" Azshara sighed good-naturedly, "Crap, sorry, you're right— I totally owe you— but—" She lowered her tone and whispered, "I can't tell you right now, I'll tell you later— oh, shit, is Illidan still right there? Fuck, I have to go change—"
"Of course he's still right there! Where did you think he'd go, do you know how hard it is to keep guys around without spelling them...!"
Jaina rapidly took two steps in their direction, she bowed impatiently and asked, "Where's Kael'thas? Is he all right?"
"Did she just say Kael'thas?" Wrathion whispered to Anduin, and Anduin whispered back, "Oh... yeah, I'll have to tell you about that."
"What does she mean, Kael'thas? Wasn't he that guy who—"
"Dude, I just told you— I'll tell you later...!"
"Oh, he's fine," Azshara grinned at Vashj, she leaned close and whispered at her ear, "Did you know he totally slept with Illidan?"
"What?!"
"I know! He told me everything...!"
"What?!"
"I know!"
"Are you serious? Shit, that's so hot."
"I know!"
They were now both subtly eyeing Illidan, who appeared to have had about enough of being made to wait around.
"Girl," Vashj whispered, "I was like this close to spelling those two to make out, but you with your no spelling bullshit—"
"Oh my goddess, Vashj, don't tempt me... Anyway, listen, I've decided to keep him in my room for a while, turns out we actually got on really well—"
"Az, but what about—" Vashj subtly indicated Illidan; "Also, this friend of Kael'thas really wants him back—"
At that, Azshara finally paused; she regarded Jaina momentarily. "Oh... oh yeah, that's right," she said, "I actually wanted to talk to her—"
Jaina appeared terribly uneasy when the queen pulled her aside; by that point, she really just wanted to be out of there, and also she didn't like that Anduin was left in the room with Vashj and without her supervision.
"Jaina," Azshara said, "Please have a seat."
"With all due respect, your Highness— I really would like to see my friend again— we ought to regroup with Ysera—"
"Yeah, I'll get to all that."
Jaina regarded her pensively, the way she was dressed so much more casually than before; she assumed the worst, that she'd got Kael'thas spelled and probably slept with him.
Well— so what...? She thought, Why should I care? Some years ago I locked him up at the Violet Hold, I was probably far more harsh with him than the queen had been tonight.
Yeah, but— I didn't do it for my own pleasure, and it isn't something I enjoy doing at all— it had been a very hard decision to make, and I ultimately did it because I truly believed he was dangerous.
As though Azshara had read her mind, she then leaned close and said to Jaina quietly, "I didn't enchant your friend, if that's what you're worried about." Jaina glanced up in confusion, and Azshara continued, "I didn't do anything to him, we just talked."
Does she honestly expect me to believe that? Jaina wondered— but then something else occurred to her: why would the queen feel compelled to ease her thoughts about whether or not she had taken Kael'thas, after earlier she'd already informed her conclusively that she'd decided to take ownership of him...?
Could it be that she really hadn't enchanted Kael'thas, and that he'd told her about his feelings for Jaina...? That would be so typical, she thought, he probably told her everything, like he'd learned nothing from all that other crazy shit he'd pulled tonight.
But now Azshara started on about something else; "There in the other room," she said softly, "that's the boy in your charge, isn't it? The male priest?"
Jaina paled at the question; spelling guys was horrific in and of itself, but she was fiercely protective of Anduin.
"Your Highness, please—" there was audible fear in her voice; "—he's really still a very young boy—"
"Wow, okay," Azshara said, like she was offended by the accusation Jaina never made explicitly; "you really need to just chill—"
To just chill?! After how you just grabbed Kael'thas and left— you expect me to just chill...?
Azshara spoke up again; "Forget all that, okay— I have no intention of enchanting that boy, or whatever it is you're thinking—"
"Your Highness...! With all due respect, you just—" Jaina made a sweeping motion with her hands; "—you just took Kael'thas away—"
"Jaina— I knew he was bullshitting me! What— you think I'm that dumb— that I'd buy that bogus story about how he was supposedly someone's love servant— a boy of his status—"
Jaina now stared at the queen in horror and thought, What the hell? She knew this whole time that Kael was of privileged status...? But how...?
"Oh, don't look so surprised," Azshara huffed, "Yes, I figured out he's heir to the Sunstrider line, I'm not some dumb airhead—"
"Your Highness...!"
Azshara waved her hand dismissively and laughed; "I know what a lot of people say about me— that I'm probably like really conceited and vain— but they still all come to my parties, don't they— whatever, who cares about that... Anyway, listen; Kael'thas is fine, you can come see him— between you and me, that boy really loves you, won't tell me a thing about it, though. But, I thought about it, and I'd like to help you out."
Jaina regarded her tentatively; she was filled completely with distrust, but she could not deny that the queen had a point about how they had tried to bullshit her before; after all, Azshara had been trying to figure out why Kael was imprinted with the mark of Sunstrider, which must have seemed very suspicious considering he looked nothing at all like a night elf.
"Jaina," Azshara said, "You said you intended to bring that male priest before the Sisterhood."
"What of it?" Jaina asked hesitantly, she really didn't want her to screw all that up.
"I'm on your side in this," Azshara said, she let her shoes slip from her feet and brought her legs in a crossed position on her chair. "I get that wherever you guys are from, boys can be priests or whatever— but here, the Sisterhood won't take that too well. It's something I can't do anything about, you understand— I have no hold over the Sisterhood of Elune."
Jaina really didn't like the sound of this; she regarded the queen apprehensively, but she definitely had her attention now.
"Your Highness," she said, "But can't you— I don't know— can't you spell the priestesses or something— like the way you enchant men—"
Azshara now appeared highly amused; she actually leaned back in her seat and laughed. "Spell them? Oh my, no. You can't enchant women, especially priestesses— why, is that something you can do where you're from? Wow, I can't imagine how horrific that would be..."
Somehow, this knowledge gave Jaina relief; it did her good to know that at least there wasn't danger of anyone spelling her. Still, though, Anduin...
"But back to the point," Azshara said, "so anyway, I can't control the Sisterhood or anything— but I can help you prepare that boy in your charge— we can make him very appealing to them."
Somehow, Jaina didn't like the sound of this.
"Appealing to them...?" She asked, and she liked the smile on Azshara's face even less; "Appealing how, exactly...?"
(On to Chapter 23)
- 21
- 22
- 23
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Timeless: a Wranduin Story