Disclaimer – World of Warcraft and its characters belong solely to Blizzard Entertainment. I am merely a visitor here, with a few characters that I created myself.

Sylvanas sat in a tree on the edge of the woods that bordered Windrunner Spire. She had a clear view of the road, and a clear view of the sea if she turned her head, but she herself, was well hidden from prying eyes.

She wore one of her favorite outfits, one she knew she would love. Black deerskin pants, laced up at the sides and allowing a generous amount of skin to show, along with a matching tunic that left her belly bare. She didn't wear a cloak, and so her hair flowed down her back, looking like a cascade of golden water.

A touch of makeup graced her face. She hardly needed it, but wanted to look good, especially today.

Faith's family was coming. They would, in fact, be there any moment, and she would be with them. Her beautiful Faith. The girl she loved with all her heart. Had loved for years. Decades.

My everything.

She hadn't seen her since the funeral eight days previously. But she'd missed her girl, although they hadn't been apart that long. It was funny that even in her grief, Sylvanas couldn't shake the way she felt about Faith.

Of course, it would be as it always was. They'd do their little dance, craving each other so badly that sleep would be impossible for them. And nothing would happen. They wouldn't kiss, or make love – such a thing was nigh forbidden to them.

She loved it, of course. Being with her and not being able to have her. Battling for control. But one day…

One day they would slip. One day, she would lead Faith away to a secluded glade somewhere. There, she would slowly, slowly undress her, running her hands over her body and dipping her head to lick at the nipples she'd so wanted so see and touch. She would bring her down to the grass and suckle at the folds of flesh between her legs and make her scream.

Oh, how Faith would scream for her. And she would cry out at as well. She would cry out her love for the younger elf.

She would marry her someday. There was no doubt in her mind about that. No matter what their families said. They would be together forever.

Feeling unusually warm, despite the ache within her since Lirath had been killed, Sylvanas turned her head to look at the road, and her heart leapt in her chest. There they were, Faith and her brothers riding horses, while their sister and parents rode in an open carriage.

Faith.

Sylvanas' soul screamed for her. Screamed her name. For a moment, she couldn't breathe, almost forgetting her grief.

She was beautiful, with her honey-colored hair pulled back at the side with black glittering combs, her amber eyes glowing softly. She wore leather leggings and a matching tunic that were almost the exact same color of her hair.

Her beautiful, sweet girl.

Did she taste like honey too? Sylvanas wondered about that. Wanted to find out.

As Faith passed under the tree, Sylvanas smiled, "Enter this enchanted place, yea who dare," she said softly before dropping from her branch and smoothly landing on her feet.

Faith stared at her, her full lips parted. Sylvanas was there. She had known that she would be, of course, but still, the shock of seeing her was so great that she couldn't think about anything else. Sylvanas was there.

She almost reached out to her. Sylvanas saw her hand twitch. Saw the way Faith's chest rose and fell as she struggled to breathe normally. She put a hand on the horse's saddle, less than an inch away from her thigh, "Welcome to my kingdom," she said to her quietly.

"Thank you, General."

Sylvanas smiled a little and went to Faith's parents, greeting them warmly, "We've cleared the stables for you so that you might settle the horses."

"Faith can do that," said Mayor Everstone. His voice was grimmer than it would have usually been under other circumstances.

"I'd be happy to, Father," she answered.

Going back to Faith, Sylvanas vaulted lightly onto the horse's back, behind the girl she loved, an arm coming around her to secure herself to her. Together, they rode the short distance to the stables as Sylvanas' parents greeted their old friends. The shroud of grief was still over them, and the smiles they bestowed upon didn't reach their eyes, but they were sincere in their welcome.

They got off Faith's horse, who nuzzled the two of them gently. Faith led him into the stall that had been set aside for him next to Sylvanas' own horse, a magnificent creature whose coat was as black as coal dust.

Sylvanas came into the stall with her, not wanting to be separated from her.

Faith turned to her, "How are you, General?" she asked her. Her tone of voice indicated that it wasn't a question she asked lightly.

For a moment, Sylvanas looked away from Faith, out the window where a single grave lay under the shade of the tree her brother had loved to sit in, playing the lute. The fact that he was gone tore at her heart.

She looked back to Faith, and the next moment, she was in her arms, trembling. She didn't cry, not then, because too many emotions warred within her.

"He's gone, Faith. He's really gone."

They hadn't been able to spend much time together at her brother's funeral. Not the kind of time they would have liked to spend together. They would make up for that now.

Faith kissed her cheek, "Oh, Sylvanas."

She had tried her hardest not to cry at the service. Her sister Ravenna, who had really cared for him, had cried enough for all of them, sobbing on their mother's shoulder. Faith, for her part, had sat there, rigid with shock, staring at the way Sylvanas stood in a black version of her formal general's outfit, watching as her brother's coffin was lowered into the ground.

The Ranger-General had seemed composed, as had both of her sisters. Only the fact that she'd been paler than usual had betrayed her grief. As Faith had looked, Sylvanas' eyes had locked with hers.

"Thank you for coming," said Sylvanas quietly, swallowing and calming herself down. She didn't know how she would have made it without Faith there.

Faith stroked her hair slowly, "Where else would I be?"

The horse stamped impatiently. He wanted his tack off, and to be fed and watered. Remembering him, Faith reluctantly let Sylvanas go and began attending to her task. The general helped her mechanically, for once showing that she was not all right.

They stabled all the horses, brushing them and giving them food and water so that they could settle down and have a nice rest. Once that was done, they both went into the house, where Faith hugged Sylvanas' parents tightly.

"Your presence here soothes my middle daughter," said Sanalla in a broken voice. "Thank you so much for being here."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else, Sanalla."

She swayed suddenly in Faith's arms, and her husband quickly caught her and forced her to sit down.

"Why don't I make all of us some tea?" suggested Faith, patting Sanalla's shoulder and getting her bag, in which she had placed some soothing herbs. She took them out now, brewing them into a fragrant tea whose smell alone was enough to calm everyone down. It wasn't enough to dispel grief, but everyone accepted it gratefully.

Sylvanas' fingers brushed Faith's hand as she took the mug from her, "Thank you," she whispered.

"I should make some dinner," said Sanalla absently.

"Oh no, I'll take care of that." Faith's mother hugged her friend, and immediately went to the stove as Faith followed Sylvanas upstairs with her bags.

"We've had so many people here lately that the house is a mess," said Sylvanas apologetically. "We haven't had the time to clear out Lirath's room."

"Sylvanas, you all need time. He… it only happened two weeks ago." She made an odd sound in her throat and turned away quickly, not wanting Sylvanas to see her cry.

After a while, she faced Sylvanas again, who took her hand briefly and looked at her, "How long are you staying?" she asked, sounding vulnerable.

"As long as you need me to. I won't leave your side until you want me gone."

That wasn't going to happen. Even if Sylvanas hadn't been in the midst of grieving for her brother, she would have wanted Faith to stay with her forever.

"I should take a bath or something before dinner," said Faith after a while.

Sylvanas nodded to a door that led to the bathroom upstairs, "Help yourself." It took all of her self-control to not follow her up there, and she changed into another pair of black leggings and a longer black tunic while she was gone, standing at the window to wait for her return.

She came back, wearing a long dark blue dress with short sleeves. Sylvanas couldn't help but watch her as she walked back into the room, placing her traveling clothes inside a bag.

"We can wash that," Sylvanas told her.

"I'll take care of it later on, if you want to give me your washing too."

"You didn't come here to do my laundry, Faith."

"No. I came here to be with you."

Sylvanas closed her eyes, extending a hand towards Faith, who came to her and took it.

"You can let go, you know. It's okay."

Sylvanas nearly laughed, "I'm Ranger-General. You know I can't afford to let anybody see me grieving."

"Except that you are grieving. And that's okay. It's okay to be angry."

"Don't. Alleria's already thinking about going to Draenor and killing every orc in existence."

"Draenor… she's going to go into that hell?"

"I haven't been able to talk her out of it. I'd follow her if I didn't have to see to my duties here." She wanted to kiss her. "I'm happy your family wasn't touched by this."

Faith would have replied that seeing Sylvanas grieving touched her more than anything else could have, but kept her mouth shut. As she was about to hug her, Faith's father called them down to dinner.

Despite the grim occasion, dinner was good. Faith's mother was a superb cook, and, while the food was simple, it was tasty, and there was enough to feed all of them and leave some for later, should anybody have wanted seconds.

Sylvanas sat on Faith's right, occasionally brushing her hand when she reached for something. She wasn't very hungry, a combination of being near Faith and her grief for a brother she had loved very much.

After a while, she excused herself, "I'm sorry everyone, I just… I think I'm going to go to bed."

Faith followed her immediately, as Sylvanas had known she would.

"Do you need anything?" she asked.

"I just want to change and go to bed." She wanted to be in the safety of her own room without anybody judging her. Tears were coming, but for now, she was keeping them at bay. Barely. "No, don't leave."

Having been about to get out of the room to give Sylvanas some privacy, Faith closed the door again and stayed there while she changed into sleeping shorts and a tank top. After some time, Faith did the same, and brushed her teeth alongside the general, her mind slipping alarmingly to a fantasy she'd had of the two of them married and doing exactly this.

She felt ashamed. The woman she loved more than anybody in the world was grieving, and all she could think about was how she wanted them to be together. How could she be that selfish?

But she wanted her. As she forced herself to look away from her, she imagined how good it would be to finally be with her, to taste her lips, her skin, her release. Everything.

She cleared her throat and followed Sylvanas back to the bedroom, getting into bed and waiting. As soon she turned down the lights, Sylvanas joined her, getting under the covers with her, and placing her head against her chest.

The tears fell. Faith put her arms around her, trying and failing to keep her own emotions in check. Sylvanas sobbed, knowing Faith wouldn't judge, that she was there for her.

Faith didn't say anything, only holding the woman she loved and rubbing her back in slow circles. There was nothing else she could do as her heart broke for her. They fell asleep that way, tears still drying on their cheeks, and their fingers nearly white from holding on to each other so tightly.

When Sylvanas awoke in the night, she found that Faith was awake as well, her eyes trailed on her. The grief was still there, but lust joined it. She felt fire within her, and realized she was safe in Faith's embrace. This girl who loved her back. Her ray of sunshine in a world where darkness sometimes invaded her life.

Slowly, she moved her head until her ear was pressed to the place where Faith's heart was beating. As she went back to sleep, she could almost hear it whispering her name.

The End