Just a WoW related one shot. Jaina recalls a certain memory after realizing she's more than ready to stop getting involved in political and worldly issues. Rated M for mentions of sex.

Worn Out

She lived in the floating city of Dalaran. She was in charge of the Kirin-Tor, which took up more of her time these days. Recently, she had been feeling more worn out than ever. She was very strong, and had a lot of willpower, but even the strongest flame can burn out.

It was the end of the day; the sun had just sunken below the horizon, and the stars were beginning to shine. She stayed inside of a nearby inn. It wasn't too far from the castle of Dalaran. She stayed here for her own safety. If there was an ambush attack, who'd expect her to be living in some random inn within the city? After all the tragedies she'd personally faced, who could blame her for being a little paranoid? Although, she would just say she was being extra precautious. Some people would question the difference.

She entered the inn without saying a word. She'd usually greet the innkeeper, or the worker behind the bar, but on this particular evening, she was completely and utterly silent. She slowly marched upstairs to enter her room. Her thick, white locks covered her face. From the sound of her heavy footsteps, and the way she was slouching with her posture, she was clearly upset.

The innkeeper, who was focusing on casting her magic upon a broom, had completely frozen in her tracks. She glanced over at the bartender, a human, whom she with exchanged a concerned expression. The bartender shrugged. He was good at reading expressions, but when it came to comforting someone who was upset, he was not the man you would want to go to. He just simply sold his drinks for a living.

Jaina closed the door behind her when she stepped into her room. She was grateful to receive the suite. Although, for just her, she wouldn't mind giving up the room for a person who had multiple people staying with them.

The room was nice, don't get her wrong. But she felt too prissy being in there. It just reminded her of being spoiled with royalty. And she no longer felt that way. The bed was a king's size, which blue and white sheets, and fluffy thick pillows. She never had an uncomfortable experience in this room, that's for sure. Next to the bed was the side table, which held a lantern and a small stack of books. In the corner was a bookshelf, consisting of mostly her old Mage books she'd read as an amateur. To the right of the door, not too far from the bed, was the vanity, and her dresser.

She walked over to the vanity, and stood in front of the mirror. She stared at her reflection for a good moment. Her eyes wandered, until she found herself staring at the very last streak of blonde in her hair. It was in the very front, and it was a lot smaller than it was at first, after the destruction of Theramore.

The destruction of Theramore, the reason her hair was white in the first place. She wasn't too far into her adulthood, and she already looked as though she'd aged greatly, thanks to her hair. All of the stress from the previous years made the skin under her eyes look sickly, and slightly sagged. When she looked at her hair, she was flooded by the memories of the events that took place when Theramore was destroyed. The death of her people, the ones she loved and trusted.

And then, returning to it all. After being pushed into the portal Rhonin had casted, she'd returned to the ending result of the blood bath. She could still remember the devastation she felt when she came across Rhonin's corpse. Tears hard filled her eyes, and she peered into her own eyes upon her reflection.

Her beautiful blue eyes, which now looked like milky orbs. Thanks again, to the destruction of Theramore. But the color of her eyes, reminded her of Arthas. Not the sweet boy she'd fallen in love with; the Lich King. The way his beautiful ocean blue eyes had turn to icy, blue-white orbs frightened her. Who was to say she didn't look too different from him now? She had white hair just like him, their eyes had changed from looking beautiful to terrorizing, and her skin color had even looked pigmented and sickly.

She thought of that final strand of golden blonde to be equivalent to her amount of sanity left over. It's not everyday your lover turns into a cold-hearted killer, King of the scourge. It's not everyday that a deranged lunatic builds a mana bomb, planning to use it as genocide to your entire city of residence. Then, continues to turn his back to his own people, becoming power-crazy, forcing negative and harmful spirit-like species unwilling onto his side. Again, for more power. He was supposed to share the land of Pandaria, yet he yearned for every drop of power he could get, and did whatever he could to conquer all of the land.

It's been quite some time since Jaina had a moment of silence to herself, where she wasn't left worrying about the fate of the world. Granted, she had extreme trust issues, and trouble getting along with her opposing faction nowadays. But, she was completely alone, and she wasn't getting too wrapped up in whatever was currently going on. It was as if she'd finally gotten a break, a breath of fresh air.

She took in this fresh air as much as she could in this moment. She was truly cherishing this moment. Glancing in the mirror, she began to realize she didn't like the person she was becoming. She no longer wanted to be one of the world leaders. She just wanted inner peace.

For years, she'd been struggling to live with the events she'd been put through. After Arthas, Theramore felt like it was the only thing she had left, tying her down to sanity. But after what Garrosh did to Theramore, she questioned the meaning of her existence, and from then on, she questioned every little move she made. No longer did she trust the horde. She couldn't.

When was the last time she'd actually been happy? She looked at her reflection, her cloudy eyes were faced upon that last golden lock once again. But this time, Jaina could swear she saw it glistening. And suddenly, she wasn't standing there anymore. She was in a different atmosphere. It was certainly a happier one.

It was a cool, crispy autumn afternoon. She wasn't exactly sure where she was, but when she looked around, everything was in shades of orange, and vibrant yellow. And best of all, it was extremely secluded. They were far from home. She was sitting down in soft green grass, her back was up against the trunk of a large tree. The scene was still setting in, and she eventually realized she was in the arms of other human being.

She looked up, and saw a very handsome male figure. This man was very muscular, and had his arm around Jaina as if he was her personal security blanket. She observed this man a little more, noticing how big the muscles of his arms were, how small his waist was, and how it led up to a large, broad chest and shoulders.

By the light, he's built like a prince, she thought.

And with the time of day, the sun was starting to set. All of the vivid colors of autumn were shining extravagantly in the late-afternoon sunlight. There was a ray of light that shone perfectly upon them, making the hair of this gorgeous man glisten. He had long golden hair that ended just before his shoulders. Though, she couldn't quite see his face since he was studying the scene before them.

"Isn't it just... Breathtaking?" The man asked. His voice was just attractive as the rest of him. It was very soothing to the ear.

"Yeah..." Jaina sighed. You are, she thought. Arthas.

"I'm so glad we got to get away for a moment, and just spend time together here," he said. "Now, I'm sure you can see why this is my favorite spot."

Jaina nodded, and hummed in agreement. She nuzzled her head just upon his chest, which caught his attention. He looked down at her, grabbing her hair with the hand of the arm he had wrapped around her, running his fingers through her gorgeous golden locks. She looked up at him, almost gasping at how handsome he was.

He had beautiful blue eyes, and his face looked as though it was hand crafted perfectly from the Titans themselves. His cheeks were so perfectly chiseled, and his jawline was so sharp, it looked as if it could cut through stone. He really did look like a prince. He was her prince.

"Oh, how much I adore your beauty," he groaned. "My, the landscape may be beautiful, but nothing can beat how truly gorgeous you are."

The sun reflected off of her pale, high cheekbones, making her skin look irresistible. She blushed, so sweet and young. She smiled up at him for a moment, taking in how handsome he was, along with the breathtaking setting behind them. There was so much to take in, almost as if it was too much.

He pulled her closer to him, and positioned her so that she was sitting directly in front of him. She had a leg on both sides of him, bent in the position she would have them in as if she were riding a mount. But instead of a mount, she was on his lap, both of her knees latched to his hips. She had her arms wrapped around his neck, and she leaned the upper half of her body closer to his. Their chests were against each other's, but her bottom was still on his lap.

He cupped her bottom, and pulled her closer, so that she was now sitting up by his waist. They gazed into each other's eyes for a moment, before Jaina cupped his face with her hands, and tilted it so that she could kiss him.

He had his still on her bottom, but he ran them up to her hips. Past that, was her exposed abdomen. Due to what she wore, her beautifully flat stomach was open, and then the silver and purple fabric continued, covering her breasts and chest area.

His hands trailed up her body, dipping into her small waist, and then moving up to her breasts. He slowly crept up the fabric of her shirt, and under her bindings, grabbing both of her breasts. She grinned and began exploring his body with her hands. Her hands wandered from his face, brushed against his neck, and onto his muscular chest. She fiddled with the buttons to his white shirt, before undoing them, and slowly peeling his shirt off.

He removed his hands so he could take his arms out of the sleeves of his shirt. Then, he went to remove Jaina's top. He was fast, and persistent. He gently tossed her top aside, and then played with the fabric of her bindings. A mischievous smile grew across her face as he began to unwrap them, exposing her bare chest to the cool air.

He shifted his position beneath her, making it a little more comfortable for him. She gently rocked on him for a second, readjusting to him. She felt his hardness brushing against her backside, making her blush. To refrain from making the situation awkward, she kept kissing him, and running her hands down his bare chest. They traveled down to his defined abdomen, and then, to the belt of his pants.

She pulled away from the kiss to quickly attempt to unfasten it. Though, his belt was thick, and very secure. She ended up grunting in confusion, which he thought was cute, and let out a little laugh.

"Need a little help there, princess?" He asked, his voice sounding low and teasing.

She playfully rolled her eyes in response. She placed her hands on his shoulders, out of the way, so that he could quickly, but carefully, unbuckle his belt. When he got it, he verbally let her know, and allowed her to have the pleasure of taking it off. He enjoyed watching her remove his clothes, especially his belt.

She threw the belt aside, with their shirts, and began to work on removing his pants. She unzipped them, unfastened the button, and quickly lifted her bum off of him so that she could pull them down. He kicked them off, and then continued to kiss her again. This time, he removed his lips from hers, and trailed kissed down to her collarbone, resulting in her letting out pleasurable moans.

He glanced down, looking at her pants. Boy was he happy to see her wearing leggings, instead of that long skirt she usually wore, which was a hassle to remove. He quickly removed her leggings. And she went right back to kissing him. She copied his last move, and planted kisses down his neck. Though, she lingered there, and sucked on the skin. He let out a moan, and balled a fist in her hair.

He was beginning to anticipate for her to speed things up, so he then began to moan her name. He was almost begging her to pick up the pace. She removed her lips from the crook of his neck, and let out a mischievous laugh.

"Impatient, are we, my Prince?" She teased, whispering in his ear. Her warm breath against his ear sent a small series of pleasurable chills down his spine.

He groaned, "You are so..."

She had found her way to his trousers, and hand her hand at the elastic band. She played with the waist band for a moment, causing him to yelp out with pleasure. He was trying to keep calm, biting back another moan. She easily saw right through it, and took the opportunity to tease him once again.

"I'm so, what?" She asked with a teasing giggle.

"You are so lucky that you're on top right now," he finally managed to say.

"Why's that?" She pondered. "What if I wasn't on top right now?"

He knew what she was doing, and he wasn't having it. The last thing he wanted was to be stalled right now. He was throbbing beneath her, and she was just playing with him.

"Well, I definitely wouldn't be doing all of this extra crap," he answered almost angrily.

She giggled, causing him to glare at her. But what he didn't expect, was in one swift move, her reaching into his trousers, and grabbing his member in her hand. She began stoking it, a bit slow at first, but after receiving the pleasurable moans that escaped from his throat, she sped it up, pleased as she felt him grow harder in her grasp.

"Jaina..." He gasped. He tried his best to refrain from begging.

Her thumb grazed his tip, collecting the sticky drops of moisture. She then went back to the quickened strokes up his long shaft. He closed his eyes, and hummed as it felt so good. But when she began to go even faster, he felt the muscles clenching in his lower abdomen.

"Jaina, please," he moaned, "Just take it off..."

She grinned. But before she could open her mouth and make another smart comment, he swiftly switched their positions. He knew it would just be her teasing him again if he didn't reposition them. She gasped, and she was now looking up at him. He was on top. He quickly removed his boxers, and then removed her panties. He lazily tossed them aside, nudged open her thighs with his hips.

She gasped, and now he was the one grinning. His body lingered over hers for a moment. He was trying not to put all of his weight on her, so he propped himself up on his forearms beside her. She kissed him before hooking her leg around his waist and thigh. He took this as his queue, and began thrusting inside her.

It was upsetting to snap back into reality. She was remembering one of her favorite memories with her beloved ex-fiancé. What caught her off-guard was the sound of someone pounding on the bedroom door. She made eye contact with herself, realizing her cheeks were flushed red.

She sighed, and slowly walked over to the door to open it. She looked down at the blood eleven innkeeper, who's face was softened into a frown. Jaina looked at her, and then walked over to her bed. She laid down on the comforter, staring up at the ceiling.

"Is everything all right, Ms. Proudmoore?" She asked.

Jaina silently gasped.

They laid in a tangled bunch underneath the tree. Both of them were still catching their breath, though they had finished a few minutes ago.

"That was amazing, Miss Proudmoore," Arthas said after a moment. Though there was a playful ring in his voice at the end of that sentence.

Jaina turned to face him. She was hovering above him, smiling down at him.

"I'll say," Jaina rang in with a slight chuckle.

Arthas' face fell serious, and he sat up to look at her. Jaina's face softened with concern, waiting for what he had to say. He took her hand, and kissed the top of it.

"Miss Proudmoore..." He said once again. "I like how Mrs. Menethil sounds. It's way better. What do you think?"

"Wait..." Jaina stopped, sitting up straight, but keeping a hold of his hand. "Was that a marriage proposal?"

"Well..."

"Arthas," She cried with a smile. "We just.. You know. Take me out to dinner first, at least!" She ended the joke with a chuckle.

Arthas' face remained stern and serious. He didn't intend for this to be a laughing matter. He was looking into her eyes, totally in awe. Jaina stopped laughing after she realized he wasn't. Her face melted back into a serious expression, and she stared back into his eyes, realizing they were practically sparkling.

"I thought you'd laugh a little, at least!" She cried.

"Come on, Jaina," he continued, "I'm trying to be serious!"

She lost his gaze, and looked down at his chest. She put her hands there and gently rubbed the surface of his meaty chest. She seemed to be thinking about it, at least. He looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"So, whaddya say?" Arthas asked.

"Arthas," Jaina started. "It's so sudden. I mean, we haven't talked about before. Ever!"

"I'm not looking for an absolute, definite answer 'right this moment," he said. "I was suggesting it, to see if you were even thinking about it at all."

"Arthas, sweetie," Jaina cooed, cupping his cheek with her palm, and caressing the bottom of his chin with her thumb. "Of course I've thought about it; I love you! I just don't want you beating yourself up about it."

"I just wanted to know if we were on the same path about this," Arthas answered. "I'd love to call you my queen. And I'd love to treat you like one."

His words were enough to melt her heart. She smiled in awe.

"And I'd love to call you my king," she cooed, before leaning down for a kiss.

"One day," Arthas said, after their shared kiss.

"One day," Jaina agreed.

The innkeeper had sat beside her on the bed. Jaina laid down on the opposite side, spacing out as her eyes fixated upon the ceiling. The innkeeper stared at the vanity, where there was a hairbrush on the desktop, and a locket strung over the mirror. The locket particularly caught the innkeeper's eye.

She figured she would have to strike up some kind of conversation if she wanted to know what was on the Mage's mind. She asked Jaina where the locket was from, commenting how beautiful it was.

"I found it, still wrapped around his neck, after his downfall in Ice Crown," Jaina answered, her voice sounding empty.

"Oh..." The innkeeper said with a sad sight. Of course, Jaina was talking about Arthas. Maybe that's why she was down. Maybe she was having one of those days where she missed him.

"If you're wondering why I sound so down in the dumps, I'll give you the honest answer," Jaina said eventually.

The innkeeper shifted her small eleven body to face her. She grabbed the mage's hand for comfort, and at first, Jaina held it. Jaina opened her mouth to talk, and the only thing that came out was a humming-like sound of sadness. The innkeeper caressed the back of Jaina's hand with her thumb.

"I'm just generally so worn out," Jaina eventually muttered. "It took me so long to wrap my head around the fact that my fiancé was the freaking Lich King. After his defeat, I found out that there was still, in fact, a small part of his soul trapped in him. It wasn't hope, I knew it wasn't. He still wore the locket I gave him, even as the Lich King he wore it. There was still a little bit of my prince inside. If I had acted sooner, I could have stopped him from becoming that monster."

"There was nothing you could do, Jaina," the innkeeper answered. "Arthas, the prince everyone knew him as, was definitely a soul trapped by the Lich King. I, too, think there was a part of him that was trapped in there. But I don't know if he wanted to come out. When he purged Stratholme, he knew where he was headed. You can't keep beating yourself up over this. You wouldn't have stopped him, sadly."

After a few moments of silence, Jaina nodded. She took some time to absorb what the innkeeper was saying, and perhaps, maybe she was right.

"Sometimes I still miss our good memories," Jaina added. "I was just thinking about it earlier. Did you know we were supposed to get married?"

Jaina wasn't crying, but the innkeeper heard the sadness in her voice. She internally winced just hearing it. There was a large void in Jaina's heart, which definitely needed to be filled. There was little room, if any at all, for trust. There was some room for love, as she still loved Kalecgos, but other than that, her warm heart had gone cold over these past traumatic years.

"I didn't know this," the innkeeper answered.

"He called off the engagement to focus on his duties as a paladin," Jaina said, "I see now what he meant."

"That's rough," the innkeeper said, "I'm sorry."

"I've moved on, and I'm happy once again with Kalecgos," Jaina answered, avoiding the innkeeper's empathy. "It took some time, but after Theramore, I allowed myself to trust him, and fell in love again. I won't lie, it's a great feeling. But it still doesn't make up for what happened to Theramore, but he helped me cope."

"Well I'll be damned," the innkeeper commented, "After going through that, I'd need a long relaxing vacation to somewhere tropical, and secluded. You're a strong woman, Jaina. Maybe even the strongest I've ever known. Considering what you've been through, I think you're allowed to take as much time off as you need."

Jaina smiled half-heartedly, "Thank you. All hell knows i need a vacation. I'm just done. I'm so worn out. If I'm going to continue as leader of the Kirin-Tor I need peaceful rejuvenation time."

The innkeeper nodded. She was caught off-guard as Jaina pulled her into a hug. She embraced the Mage, and even ran her hands through her white locks.

A single tear rolled down Jaina's cheek, as she whispered her thanks in the innkeeper's ear. The innkeeper returned her thanks, and kissed Jaina's cheek. Jaina smiled and pulled away from the embrace.

"Get Kalecgos," The innkeeper, "Pack some things and get going on that vacation. Take your mind off everything and just relax."

Jaina grinned mischievously, "Well, with Kakecgos, I wouldn't take my mind off everything." She winked, "If 'ya know what I mean."

The two women giggled.

The innkeeper stood up and walked toward the door. She wished the best of luck to Jaina, and dismissed herself from the room. Jaina waited for her to leave when she got off the bed. She walked over to her dresser, looking for things she'd need to pack for her trip. She grabbed a few bathing suits, and some fancy outfits.

She then walked over to the vanity, meaning to grab her brush. But her eyes wandered to the locket. She picked it up, and purposely dropped it so that it would fall behind the vanity. She then summoned a sack to put her clothing in, before teleporting herself out of the room, on the way to Kalecgos.

Thank you all for reading! Hopefully, you enjoyed reading this. In case you were wondering, this takes place AFTER MoP, before WoD. Please leave me a review!