Title: Cracks in the Crystal Ball

Author: TheTemplarsWetDream

Summary: Sequel to "Pledging her Allegiance." Raineigh's obsession with the late Sun King, Kael'thas Sunstrider, has reached an unhealthy point. Delusions not plague her in her waking hours, though not every little day dream is a nightmare.

Disclaimer: I own only Raineigh and her backstory. Everything else is copyright of Blizzard Entertainment. This story is rated R/M for sexual content and violence.

The sun had long since retired beneath the blanket of night, ushering many of Silvermoon City's inhabitants off to bed along with it. A few vagrants remained in the streets, unable to afford rooms, while the diligent Blood Knights and city patrol changed guard and continued their peaceful watch over the inhabitants. As much as Raineigh knew she should have been on the streets, she wasn't. She was able to return to an inn with a warm bed and bath, all thanks to the money of a friend that she'd taken for granted more than she cared to admit.

Still, she looked at the Sin'dorei sleeping near the bushes of the inn, broken bottles surrounding him, covered with nothing but a few pieces of parchment for warmth. Idly she wondered if Kael'thas would have stood for such a thing in his city of crimson and gold, if he would have let his people go hungry as the war between the Horde and Alliance grew to a boiling point. What would he have had her do? Take him in, give him her room? The clothes off from her back?

An indiscernible pang hit her, and she hardened suddenly. What did it matter? Kael'thas was dead, and they were on their own. Survival of the fittest. If he was just going to lay around and take the misfortune that the world laid on him, then he deserved no more than that.

The warmth of the inn was welcome on her tired bones, a precursor to just how much she was going to enjoy soaking in a hot bath later on. She'd trained harder than she had in awhile with the Blood Knights, actually making a bit of progress with her prowess with a sword and shield. The change from mage to warrior had been difficult, especially when spells had just become second nature to her anymore. Today though, something had awakened in her, and that sword was nothing more than an extension of herself.

The dream she had of Kael'thas had played a rather large part in that, she was sure, her frustrations-both carnal and other-had needed a place to be vented, and the wooden training dummy was perfect for her to release it on. But there was something else within her, hollow and solemn, that ached no matter how hard she swung that sword.

The addiction.

Even as she tossed her weapons haphazardly in the corner, she couldn't help but to realize the subtle shake in her hands. Earlier she had tried her damnedest to write it off as simple adrenaline, but here and now she knew there was nothing more she could use as a scapegoat. She hungered for magic, and she was bound-both by cursemark and word-to stay from it.

The bath momentarily forgotten, she tossed herself amidst the navy blue satin sheets of her queen sized bed, and closed her eyes against the urges. "Meditation," she told herself. "Meditation is key if I'm going to get through the night without slipping."

Though alone as she thought she was with her thoughts, she heard a tisk'ing sound from a far dark corner of her room, as if someone had heard her mind's idle reminder. She didn't look, she didn't have to. She knew she was alone, there was no one who cared enough about her to visit her, as much as she wished it was otherwise.

Raineigh allowed herself to relax until the only thing she could hear was the beating of her own heart, sinking deeper into the bed.

"The addiction isn't a weakness, Raineigh."

Her green eyes snapped open, the silk voice sounding as if it was right outside her ear. Sitting up quickly, she scanned the room for an owner to it, only to find darkness still surrounded.

"Why are you so eager to forget who you are?"

This time the voice came from behind her, the bed sinking beneath the weight of a heavier body, the breath warming the flesh of her neck. Goosebumps popped up quicker than she found herself scampering away from the phantom sensation, and toward her weapons. Her heart was racing now, her senses piqued. Yet even as she wheeled around to swing her blade, there was no one there.

"If you're looking to rob me, rogue. You'll be sorely disappointed!" She called out into the room. "My room is paid for by a friend. I don't even see the money change hands."

There was a chuckle then, rich and deep, on the air. Before she could keep herself from doing it, she closed her eyes, letting it into her own soul. A little of that hole she had filled.

"You disappoint me, Raineigh. After all that talk last night of confidence, of taking what you want...and here you are," a pause, as she felt a single soft index finger trace a line down that vein in her neck. "meditating...trying to forget it."

Her breath hitched, she stood stiff. Suddenly she felt like a school girl again, being scolded for daydreaming in the middle of her lessons. It was the Violet Citadel all over again, and yet she found solace in the memory of knowing just who it was she was dreaming about then.

"My Prince..."

The title rolled off from her full lips before she could fully realize she was speaking at all. Was she honestly so lonely that her mind was creating delusions for her in her waking moments too? Desperate as she may have been, she had taken one too many walks down that fine line that separated crazy from just plain sad...she had no mind to finally trip over the side.

Moving away from the sensations, she took to the window, gazing out over the desolate streets of the Royal Exchange. After a moment of silence, she thought that perhaps the episode had passed. "I'm overworking myself. I should take it easy tomorrow, maybe take a walk. If I get out a little, it'll pass."

"It doesn't simply...pass...as you so foolishly hope it does." She jumped, not seeing the pale hand on her tanned skin until she was being yanked up into a standing position facing the taller Blood Elf. She was close enough to him to smell the magic on him, to feel is buzzing through his veins. "And here I thought you were the one Sin'dorei left with the faith to save our people. My 'oh so faithful' follower."

His grip was crushing, the other arm coming around to pin her against his body so tightly she could feel his heart beat against hers. But that...that wasn't possible. He wasn't here. "You're...not real."

"I'm as real as that hunger in your soul, Raineigh."

She ached as she felt him take a taste of her mana through the hand at the small of her back. Chancing a look up at him, he sneered down at her, pushing her away from him with enough force that she stumbled back into the bed. "What kind of foul trickery is this?" He reached forward, grabbing the thin linen shirt she wore, and tearing it halfway down the front. A cursemark, bound with blood, glowed bright crimson at the center of her chest. Her breath quickened. "You would go as far as to drain your own magic to escape who you are?" He sounded disgusted. "You sicken me."

Kael'thas turned to leave, and suddenly she was the one reaching for him, grabbing his wrist with a desperation she wasn't aware that she had. "No, please...I-I didn't do this to myself."

He didn't turn around to look at her, wrenching his arm from her grasp. "Maybe so, but you haven't done a thing to stop it." Again, he started for the door, but she forced herself between him and the exit. She couldn't let him leave, not yet, not while he was upset with her. She needed for him to understand, she needed for him to not be upset with her.

Sometimes, it was just the confidence those dreams and fantasies gave her that got her through the day. "I-I'm sick. You don't know what the addiction does to me, what I was becoming. I would have become a Wretched had he not saved me."

He stared down at her, fire behind those emerald eyes. "If you let the addiction rule you, then perhaps you deserve your fate."

The more he spoke down to her, the more she felt that need for him to accept her turn into an anger and irritation that he had the gall to lecture her at all. The Fallen Prince of the Sin'dorei indeed. "I am the one person alive who believes that you could have been saved, that you were even worth saving. I believed in you, my faith in you never wavered even when I knew you were wrong-"

"You were nothing but a foolish child harboring even more foolish fantasies from your worthless childhood."

"I would have moved continents for you, Kael'thas! I would have, I would have given my very life if I thought it would have changed things!" She was steaming now, actually poking him in the chest to punctuate her point. He grabbed that hand, forcing it away from him.

"You would have done as you've always done, run when the times got too tough. Hid behind your addiction, trade the blame for pity from people who thought you a friend."

She slapped him, hard across that shaven cheek. The force of it resonated in her own hand, stinging like the tears that now stung her eyes. If she had magic at her control, it would have been likely to say there was fire on her fingertips as she did so. Alas, nothing was there but sheer brute force. His head snapped to the side, whether from her surprising strength or surprise of being caught off guard.

It was with no hesitation that retaliation came in the form of a strong hand against her throat, pinning her hard against the door, another hand coming up with fire on encasing it. The punch he threw landed just an inch from her face, the wood of the door smoldering beneath the heat. She jumped at the loud sound, having actually expected to be on the floor in pain rather than still standing as sweat beaded on her flesh from the flames. Raineigh looked at him, frightened enough for that fight or flight instinct to kick in a little later than what it normally would.

She struggled against him, landing a punch in the gut that got her released, and she ran passed him and for the only place she could exit: the window. But he was faster, recovering in time to grab her ankle, tripping her face first onto the floor. She kicked at him, but he was the stronger one and in climbing up her body, managed to effectively pin her to the floor. Unable to move, unable to get away, she looked up into the eyes of her assailant only to be surprised at what she found looking back at her. It wasn't a look of anger or hatred there, but of pain, betrayal...idly she wondered if that was how he had looked when he realized his own people had abandoned him and taken up arms against him.

But why had he even cared about her?

"You...were the only one to have loved me. To understand what it truly meant to be a Sin'dorei. You embodied those values, the weakness and the strength...you followed me more faithfully than any. And now..." He paused, his breath hitched and she felt something warm and wet drip onto her face. Was he crying?

"I love you..." His pain was unbearable, she couldn't stand to watch this pillar of strength before her crumble right before her eyes. "That never stopped."

"You don't even love yourself." He moved off from her some, and she regained use of her hands. She could have escaped then, but she found herself distracted at the moment. Reaching up, she cupped his cheek in her hand, the tears still blurring her vision some.

"My Sun King..." She bit her lip as he recoiled from "What's happened to us?"

Kael'thas sat back wordlessly, and she found her place beside him, both leaning back against the side of the bed. He brought a strong hand through those thick blonde locks of his, breathing a solemn sigh. He said nothing, only staring lost into his hands as if he couldn't contemplate how he'd let things get so bad. Her heart broke for him.

"It's hard...to be alone," she began, her voice shaking a little. "I-I've always been alone, but looking back, it's always been my fault. After losing everyone, I'm frightened to go through that feeling again. I can't bear to feel the loss of someone I love all over again." She leaned her head back, looking up at the tapestries that lined the walls. "It's like a knife in your heart, piercing you to the very core of the person that you are."

"Did you feel that way...when you found out...about me?"

She nodded. "My entire world had crumbled, I didn't know what to do with myself. Certainly, I had wanted to stop the destructive path you were on, but I didn't want you dead!" Raineigh turned, her eyes pleading for him to believe her. "You need to understand that while your intentions were noble, it only means so much in this world we live in now. People are frightened, impatient. If something is wrong, they want it fixed then, they don't wait for second chances."

This time when she reached out for his cheek, he didn't move away. Though he swallowed hard against the emotions within him, he leaned into her, very much needing the reassurance that her touch gave him. "I wanted to save you, more than anything in this world. If nothing else, please believe that."

"I knew..." Emotion caused his voice to sound deeper than usual. "...even then, when you would pass me in the halls of the Violet Citadel, those fleeting glances." Her heart sped, he'd noticed? "You were only a child then, and a foolish one at that. But I knew there was something different about you. More than others, you listened more than you spoke. You truly heard, when others only interpreted." He reached out to her then, thumb and forefinger holding her chin. "You cared about me, my wants, my needs, even then."

"I never stopped."

He smiled sadly, hanging his head with shame. "I'm a fool, even now...Raineigh..."

"Shhhh."

He had once told her to be confident, to take what she wanted, and right then, she did. Her lips found his, moving timidly at first, and with each second grew more confident. At that moment, she wanted him to know that he'd always been loved, that he'd always been needed. If not by those he'd sworn to protect, at least by the lone elven girl who'd grew up idolizing him. Even as her heart pounded in her ears, she kissed him with nearly a hundred years of unspoken affection, and soon he found his own heart ached for it.

Firmly, he let his hands come to cup her backside, lifting her and moving her over before him so that she straddled his lap where they sat on the floor. Never once did he let her lips stray from his, their rhythmic kisses setting a tempo for their dance of emotions. The night had been a huge catharsis of things Raineigh had repressed in her solemnity, bringing thing out of her that she'd just as soon forgotten were ever there at all. They knew it was only a matter of time before this had surfaced as well.

Raineigh's desire grew from an ember to a roaring flame, and she found herself feasting on his kisses as eagerly as he'd give them, frantic hands burying themselves into his hair to ensure he'd never pull away. Granted, that was the last thing on his mind as he reached up to tear her shirt the rest of the way, leaving it hanging until she was ready to shrug it off to the floor. It was that action, that exposure, that caused her a moment's pause. She pulled back, gazing at him through hooded eyes, he returning the gaze as they worked to catch their breath.

If that was where he wanted to take it, who was she to argue?

Cherry red lips came crashing back against his pale ones, no restraint behind her, and he let a hand come up to cup the side of a modestly small breast. She could feel him growing hard beneath his robe as she absently grinded on him in a rhythm that needed no music. It was to the song of their passion, their desire, and she had never needed anything more in her life than she did him in that moment.

His heart pounded against his chest, threatening to burst through should it be forced to beat any faster, and he let his hands roam her body, taking in the soft texture of her caramel skin. Her flesh was warmer to the touch than he had thought it would be, reflecting the fire that raged inside the both of them. Once, he brought that thumb across her taut nipple with a single flick, and was pleased to feel her rhythm stagger and her breath hitch. He repeated the gesture, this time eliciting a mew of delight from the younger woman.

Her desire for him continued to climb until it reached a fever's pitch, causing her to break their kissing in favor of ridding him of that robe. Raineigh felt like she was wound tightly like a ball of twine, and unless he relieved her tension, she was sure she was going to break in half. Kael'thas had no qualms about shedding his clothing, and stood to assist her in both that, and removing her own. Once freed from their cloth prisons, he hoisted her into his arms and laid down with her on the bed, she trapped between his hardened body and the mattress. His lips hovered just inches above her own, his warm breath causing them to tingle with anticipation.

"Kael..."

He answered her plea, slipping between her legs and slowly easing inside her. She groaned softy as he filled her entirely, working up a steady pace, increasing in speed little by little. Closing her eyes, she focused on where they were joined, as one, and realized she no longer felt alone in this world. He understood her, and she him, in a way that only two tortured souls could that had suffered the same.

She bucked against him, and his head lulled back with the pleasure he felt. It was a feeling of completion, of pure unadulterated need and desire shared between them, that he never wanted to forget. His mind didn't wander too far, staying in the moment, not ready to think of what would happen after this. For now, he felt like he was home for the first time in a very long time.

Burying his face in her neck, he placed small kisses along the lines and contours. Holding himself up with one hand, he allowed his other to slide up to her breast where he kneeded in time with his thrusts. She arched her back into him, begging between laboured breath for him, telling him how badly she needed him. Each word, each little plaintive sound that left those ruby lips of hers caused a surge of pleasure through the Blood Mage, edging him closer and closer to his climax.

He groaned into her flesh, thrusting himself deeper still into her core, wanting to lose himself in the fog of their frantic lovemaking. Soon her cries of climax were met with his own, and he emptied everything he had within her.

Kael'thas kept the most of his weight suspended, laying gently atop her, kissing her eye lids, her cheeks, her forehead...anything that he could reach, almost frantically. As if he needed to make sure he left no inch of her without being touched at least once by his lips, he closed his eyes tight as he felt her clutch to him. She was shaking, frightened perhaps. They both knew where this was going to end tonight, and neither wanted to speak it.

"I love you...more than-"

"Shh...I know." He kissed to into silence. "I know."

"Please don't leave me." Her voice was small, frightened that she would open her eyes and find that once again she was alone in the world with nothing but her own misery.

"You're not alone, Raineigh. You're never alone..."

She went to squeeze him tighter, refusing to let him go, only to wake herself up with the effort, the sun pouring in through the still open window. Coated in sweat, Raineigh sat up quickly, looking around the room for any sign that he had been there, that she hadn't dreamed it all up. This time though, there would be none. She remained on her bed where she had lay last night, her weapons still in the corner, no sign of the spectre of her affections anywhere.

Bringing a shaking hand to her mouth, she did the only thing that she could in that moment, she sobbed.