A Strange New World?

"Lydia...Lydia...wake up child", came a voice from outside a very strange, bedroom. A small girl of around six sat up looking very confused. 'Where am I?' She was laying in an oval shaped bed with red coverings and different colored curtains hanging on top of it. The bed was in the middle of a large white and gold colored room, with large cushions dropped around it. There was a desk under one large window, a wardrobe on the other side and a balcony across the bed. What was really unnerving, was that the room was oval shaped as well. She never remembered being in any room like this before, except in...no, that is impossible, appealing as the thought was, it was just a game, and not real life. Suddenly the girl felt dizzy, her head started spinning as memories of her growing up here from the cradle until now. 'So my life force, soul and memories were transferred here from the cave of Davelis, but not my actual body. Interesting!' Lydia thought.

"Lydiaaaa"... Her new mother called again, "please get up, we are going to be late."

"Yes Minn'da", Lydia answered jumping out of bed and running to the en suite huge bathroom. 'Minn'da? Where the fuck did that come from, since when do I speak Elvish?'. What she saw in the mirror took left her speechless. She was definitely not human anymore. Her face was no longer oval shaped, it was more angular. Her eyes were larger, still almond shaped, but emerald green, making a stark contrast with her pearly white skin. She had long auburn hair, braided down the side of her waist, but what really shocked her was her big pointed ears.

"I'm an Elf", Lydia exclaimed loudly.

"Well, of course you are sweetheart, what else will you be?", said her mother, as she walked in the bathroom. "Come child, stop playing around, we need to get ready now, or we will be late for the welcoming garden party your father and I have put together to honor King Terenas' visit to Quel'Thalas. Queen Lianne, Princess Calia and Prince Arthas will be there, and as the only child in the Sunstrider royal family who is remotely close to their age, is you, so it is your duty to keep them entertained. I think Calia is ten and Arthas is eight, so you will all have a very good time. Do not feel overwhelmed by them, they are just Human after all, don't let them intimidate you, you are High Elven Princess with more royal blood in a single strand in your hair than they have in their entire body. Too bad that your brother is in Dalaran, I have hoped he would take his Crown Prince duties more seriously." 'So I am King Anasterian's younger daughter, cool! The game never mentioned any other members of Sunstrider Dynasty, other than Kael and his two deceased older brothers, Eldin and what's his face now? I really don't remember, but I do know that they died by some mysterious disease', Lydia followed Queen Serena to her bedchamber.

It was spring in Quel'Thalas, the flowers were on full bloom, and all kinds of birds were chirping. The gardens between Falconwing square and Sunstrider island were lavishly decorated with floating lanterns, while banners bearing Quel'Thalas and Lordaeron's crests were hanging from poles all along Dawning Lane. Standing outside the gate of the square, was King Anasterian and Queen Serena Sunstrider with Lydia between them, their hands resting on her shoulders. On either side of them, stood the Ministers and Magisters of Quel'Thalas, as well as the Knight General, Lady Lana'thel, and the Ranger General, Lady Sylvanas Windrunner. Lydia almost gasped when she saw her, in the game she was an undead bitter bitch, twisted by her hatred for Arthas, who killed her and raised her as a Banshee. But here and now, she was a very beautiful, calm and dignified woman with blue eyes, long blonde hair twisted in an elaborate ponytail, while a serene smile graced her ivory face. A very handsome Ranger was standing right next to her, who looked like he was her second in command. "That's Lorthemar Theron.", Lydia concluded feeling very excited from seeing World of Warcraft characters in flesh and blood.

A horn was sounded and Lydia saw six set of horses pulling a large carriage with the Lordaeron crest engraved on each side of the doors, coming from the direction of Fairbreeze village, in the south. As the horses reached the gate, they turned and stopped. The door opened and Terenas, High King of the Alliance, stepped out. He helped Queen Lianne down, while a blonde girl and boy followed. The High Elven royal family, stepped forward and welcomed the Humans to Silvermoon City.

Lydia waited patiently through all the formalities, while she studied the future Lich King's face. Arthas Menethil at the age of eight looked exactly like Mathias Lehner, the boy who showed the players glimpses of Arthas descent into darkness and his eventual rise as the Lich King.

Calia had blue eyes and long flowing blonde hair pulled half up with a tiny sapphire tiara resting on top of her head that matched her robes in color. Queen Serena had placed a similar one on Lydia's hair after the servants had brushed her long red hair straight, with the tiara keeping her bangs from falling in her eyes. The gems were emeralds matching the color of her eyes and robes perfectly. Both Queens were elaborately, yet elegantly dressed for the occasion, Queen Serena wore the traditional red and gold robes, with a ruby adorned, golden crown placed on top of her long auburn hair, while Queen Lianne wore silver colored silk robes, and a white gold crown with diamonds was placed on her head, while her graying blonde hair was flowing freely behind her back. The two kings, wore their military uniforms signifying that they were the leaders of their respective armies, while Arthas more a miniature version of his father's uniform.

After they were finished with all their formalities, King Anasterian introduced Lydia to Calia and Arthas, who both were very relieved that there was another child to play with, in this otherwise boring gathering. They soon broke into a conversation about the walking trees they saw in Eversong woods on their way here, with Lydia trying to explain as simply as she could the intricacies of arcane magic, that transformed them into moving sentient beings, and the role of the Sunwell in making this miracle happen. Soon the children became bored with all the technomage science that was involved in the operation of Quel' Thalas and started playing, chasing each other around the Silvermoon City gardens.

Ten years later

Lydia straightened for what seemed the millionth time, her white Communal Priestess robes and head piece. She was very nervous, for she was representing her people at the court of King Terenas. The Priests at Sunstrider island and her mother at the Sunfury Spire have taught her everything they knew, about being a Discipline Priestess, and now it was up to her to find a wise Priest or Priestess outside of Quel'Thalas to further her knowledge and experience while serving her people's interests in the rest of the Alliance Kingdoms.

Since Lordaeron was the largest kingdom in the Eastern Continent, Terenas was recognized as the defacto High King by Alterac, Stormwind, Kul'Tiras, Ironforge and Gnomeregan, so the ruling council met at the Lordaeron Capital City. Though friendly towards the Alliance, the citizens of Gilneas preferred the isolation that the Greymane wall provided them, so there were no representatives from that human kingdom in the Menethil court.

Even though the Elven kingdom of Quel' Thalas did not recognize Terenas as its High King, since humans were just children in Elven eyes, King Anasterian held King Terenas in high regard for the decisive role he played in the second war, so he was more than happy to pledge allegiance with him and the rest of the younger kingdoms, and send his only daughter to represent him.

Lydia stepped out of the portal that a Mage created for her from the Sunfury Spire to the enclosed courtyard outside the palace of Lordaeron. She was about to turn then corner when she was nearly knocked over by Arthas who was running up the stairs towards the courtyard. Arthas quickly caught Lydia in his arms before she fell back with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Forgive me Lydia", he said rubbing the back of his head, "I was only now informed that I am supposed to greet you here, and escort you to the throne room. That was why I was running like a bat out of hell. And instead of being a gentleman, I almost knocked you off your feet.".

"It's alright Arthas, I was so excited by this assignment, that I came earlier.", Lydia looked up at his face smiling.

"You are excited by the prospect of listening to long winded nobles making boring and uninspired reports about the Orcs in their kingdoms, demanding that my father should just exterminate them all, instead of placing them in interment camps and rehabilitating them? Wow, it must be really boring at Sunstrider island!" Arthas said laughing.

"You have no idea Arthas", Lydia joined him in laughter.

"Come my, lady", Arthas offered his arm to Lydia, "The court await you".

"Thank you my Lord.", Lydia snaked her arm around Arthas', and walked with him towards the Menethil court.

"Princess Lydia Sunstrider of the High Elven Kingdom of Quel' Thalas", Lydia heard her name being announced as she entered the court. She walked in the middle of the room, in front of the throne of King Terenas and bowed graciously in front of him.

"King Terenas, my father sends you and the rest of the kingdoms his regards and has appointed me as his permanent representative in your court."

"What is this?", a pompous and irritated voice sounded, before King Terenas had the chance to formally welcome Lydia to his court, "The fate of the Eastern continent is hanging by a thread, and the Elven King sent his whelp to represent him? This is a farce, I knew that the Elves could not be trusted!".

Arthas scowled at this, but before he had the chance to berate the rude Human for his insolence, his father's voice boomed throughout the Hall. "Silence Lord Prestor, how dare you insult our greatest ally in the north and disrespect his daughter like that in my court?"

"Forgive me sire, I was merely voicing my concerns", Daval Prestor bent his back deeply before the King, who had not only gave him refuge in his court, but had betrothed his only daughter to him.

"It is not just my father that you should apologize to, Prestor, but to the Princess you have just insulted!", Arthas hissed at his soon to be brother in law, stepping forward next to Lydia, hand placed at the hilt of Light's Vengeance. Clearly, just like his sister, he was not pleased by the prospect of that match.

"It's alright Arthas", Lydia placed her hand on the Paladin's shoulder, there is no need for a confrontation, we live in dire times, and are all very concerned about the safety of our realms, so tempers are quite flared at the moment.", she felt Arthas relax under her gentle touch.

"Spoken like a true diplomat, young Lydia", King Terenas smiled at her, "clearly Anasterian made the right choice sending you here to represent him. I formally welcome you to my court, Princess Lydia Sunstrider, please take a seat at our council and feel free to voice your opinion and concerns about any matter.", Lydia bowed her head again and walked towards the seat that Arthas had pulled for her next to him.

"Well, if I have to sit through these boring meetings, I rather have you next to me. We can keep each other awake.", they both chuckled at this, earning a scowl from Lord Prestor from across the room, who clearly was not happy about being embarrassed in front of a full court, by two "children". Lydia shrugged at his reaction and focused her attention towards King Terenas who was about to address his court. 'Deathwing will not dare to show his ugly face here, it's too early and he "is not prepared", yet', she chuckled inwardly as she remembered Illidan's trade mark line. "Frostmourne Hungers!" is much cooler, she concluded.

"Welcome my Ladies and Lords to the first council meeting of the New Year. There is much to discuss. My scouts have reported some Orc sightings in the mountains of Alterac, though they did not show any sign of aggression. They appeared to be a hunting party of young males and females. My scouts followed them from a safe distance, but when they turned around a large boulder, they vanished without a trace. The scouts combed the entire area, but could not find any evidence that the Orcs were ever there. Their trail ended at that boulder. I believe that further investigation is required. Arthas, gather some forces and try to discover were these orcs have disappeared to. Lydia, I want you to accompany them, and help with the investigation. Consider this, your very first assignment", Terenas smiled at her.

"I am honored my lord" Lydia bowed her head and exchanged grins with Arthas. 'Finally, I will get to see some real action outside the safe and controlled boundaries of Quel'Thalas, and I will get to quest with the future Lich King.'

"This is going to be fun Lydia", Arthas whispered at her, "I will bring Falric and Marwyn with me, it's going to be a riot".

"Excellent idea Arthas, with those two around, there will never be a dull moment.", Lydia agreed with him.

"Moving on to further business, There's been unusual activity around the Dark Portal, It hasn't re-activated yet, but demons have been spotted, and that is never a good thing. I was informed by King Varian Wrynn, that he has already sent a party to investigate. I expect a full update soon Lord Fordragon."

"Rest assured my Lord, my Sovereign will keep you, and the rest of the Alliance informed about the expedition.", Highlord Bolvar Fordragon, the emissary of Stormwind replied. 'Hm, Varian's been married to Tiffin for two years now, she's due to give birth to Anduin in a month, so that makes it six months before she's killed by a rock to the head, during the Mason's guild riot. All part of Onyxia's plan. Convincing or better yet, coercing them to deny deny their rightful wages, causing them to riot, and kill Tiffin by mistake. That puts Varian to a ten year long depression, he get's abducted around the end of the third war, on his way to Theramore by the Defias Brotherhood, get's imprisoned at Alcaz island, Onyxia splits him in two, but doesn't get to kill the strong willed Varian because the Naga attack and abduct the weak willed one, giving the other the chance to escape. He swims to freedom, gets washed out at Durotan, he's captured by a slaver, and becomes the Lo'gosh, the ghost wolf of the Crimson Ring in Dire Mall. So how do I stop all that from happening?', Lydia felt a headache creep up on her, even thinking about it was painful.

"And finally, Muradin Bronzebeard has informed that there have been skirmishes between the Dwarves and the Dragonmaw Orcs residing around Grim Batol. I suggest that an Alliance envoy should be sent to the Orcs and determine what they want, before we sent troops."

"Aye, that seems to be the most sensible course of action, King Terenas", Muradin Bronzebeard, the dwarf representative nodded at Terenas.

"Is there anything else that needs to be addressed?", Terenas asked.

"Yes my Lord", Milhouse Manastorm, the Gnomeregan representative piped in, "There has been great progress with the Zeppelins in Gnomeragan, and soon we will be able to use them to travel great distances in half the time than regular ships take.".

"Excellent work Lord Manastorm, but I want all the engineers to double check their plans and ensure the safety of the people traveling on them.", Terenas ordered the Gnome.

"Of course.", Milhouse nodded and sat down.

Lydia leaned towards Arthas and whispered, "Well, that has to be the largest Gnome I have ever seen, he is almost the size of Muradin. I thought that most Gnomes are the size of giant nipples, but this one differs.", Arthas roared with laughter upon hearing that, causing a dozen pairs of eyes focusing on him and shaking their heads in disapproval.

"Excuse me", was all that Arthas could say between bouts of howling laughter, before leaving the Halls very fast. All that Lydia could do at that point, was place her palm over her mouth and snicker.

"Well if that is all, I call an end of this meeting, everyone please help your self to the refreshments", King Terenas gestured towards the dining Hall, where servants were bringing platters of food and drinks. Lydia stood up bowed at the King and almost run towards the courtyard where she saw Arthas disappear to. He was sitting on a bench at the gardens, his face completely red, but in control of him self once again.

"You shouldn't have said that, now everyone thinks that I have gone completely mad", Arthas shook his head at Lydia.

"Well not any madder than usual, Arthas", Lydia grinned.

"That's it, you're gonna pay for that, Missy", roared Arthas lunging at her. Lydia squealed and casted a quick "Power word Shield" on her self, that gave her the supernatural speed she needed to get away from him. She run through the gardens of Lordaeron looking for a place to hide. She was not very familiar with the layout of the place, and got lost. She looked around her to see if Arthas was still chasing her, but he was nowhere in sight. Just when she was about to retrace her step back to the courtyard, a pair of strong hands grabbed her, span her around and lifted her of her feet and over his shoulder.

"I got you now, little girl" Arthas grinned, "I am going to kidnap you now, and take you to an undisclosed location, where I am going tickle you until you wet your self". He started walking down toward lake Lordamere.

"No, Arthas.", Lydia squealed between giggles and started tickling his sides while she was hanging upside down over his shoulder.

"Stop that.", Arthas laughed, losing his footing causing them to roll down the hills, with Arthas trying to shield Lydia from getting hurt. They landed mere feet from the freezing waters of a large pond, with Lydia on top of Arthas, while he had his arms locked tightly around her. They were both laughing their heads off until they stared at each others eyes and the laughing stopped abruptly. Arthas' hand moved from Lydia's waist to the back of her head and started to pull her head gently towards him. Lydia's heart started pounding in her chest. 'Oh my God, I'm about to be kissed by the future Lich King.', just when their lips were about to meet for the first time, a cough forced them to leap on their feet. Calia Menethil was standing just a few feet away, along with Darion Morgraine.

"Calia, what are you doing here?", Arthas asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing, little brother", Calia smirked. "Hello Lydia, it is good to see you again", Calia smiled at Lydia, and hugged her.

"You too Calia"said Lydia with a deep blush on her cheeks.

"Why are you wearing traveling cloths, Calia, and why is Darion carrying a huge traveling bag?", Arthas raised an eyebrow.

"Well isn't it obvious Arthas? We' re eloping! Did you expect me to marry that pompous ass, just because Father wishes it?", Calia scoffed.

"No, I suppose not" ,Arthas run his fingers through his hair. "So where will you go and who is going to perform the ceremony?"

"We will go to Loch Modan, there is a very beautiful spot by the lake, where a Dwarven Priest will bless our union. Care to tag along? We need two witnesses. You'll be back by midnight, nobody will notice that you are missing, everyone thinks that you are taking Lydia to a tour of the city and the lake."

"And why would they assume that, Calia?", Arthas raised an eyebrow.

"Because I told everyone so, you thought that I would go and get married without my brother giving me away?", looked at her brother expectantly.

"No, of course not sweetheart, I would be delighted to watch my sister get married to the man she loves.", Arthas hugged both his sister and soon to be brother in law. He turned to Lydia.

"Lydia, are you coming?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world", Lydia grinned.

"Let's get going then", Darion urged. "Calia will create a portal to Thelsamar, and when it's all over she will create one for you to Brill, we mentioned to the King that you will take Lydia there, so that she can sample Aunt Mollie's world famous frozen scones, so don't worry if you return home very late. She's been informed about this, she'll be waiting at the inn for you with the pastries, and Invincible will be in the inn's barn, waiting to take you home. Falric and Marwyn will take care of that".

"You two thought about everything, didn't you?", Arthas grinned.

"Of course Arthas, you only elope once.", Calia winked at them.

An hour later, they were standing at a cliff overlooking Loch Modan, where a Dwarven Priest was standing in front of Calia and Darion chanting wedding blessings. Calia wore simple low cut white silk robes. Her waist long blonde hair were flowing freely down her back, covered by a sheer long white veil that was held in place by a wreath of white flowers on the top of her head. Darion was wearing his Captain of the Lordaeron Guard uniform and was holding Calia's hands while they were exchanging their vows. The Priest had a small surprise in store for the couple, his numerous relatives had not only come to witness the ceremony, but have decorated the place by building a flower arch were the ceremony was taking placed, hanging white lanterns on the trees around there, and preparing a traditional Dwarven wedding dinner. So after the ceremony they all ate and drunk with their new Dwarven friends, and then danced with them their traditional dance, which reminded Lydia of Irish River Dancing.

"It's great that you moved to Lordaeron, Lydia, Arthas has not been himself since that whole mess with Jaina.", Calia sat next to Lydia to take a break from dancing.

"Yes, we were all shocked with my brother's behavior. I mean, the Crown Prince of Quel'Thalas, not only seduced the former betrothed of the Crown Prince of his closest allied kingdom, but got her pregnant as well. Never in the history of my people had a royal wedding taken place so fast. My father was so furious with Kael. I had never seen him like that before. He was roaring at him for hours, he could be heard all the way to Murder Row. He was afraid of the diplomatic episode it would cause with Lordaeron. To be honest, I was quite surprised that your father did not sever all diplomatic relationships with us. Not only that, but he even came along with you and Arthas to attend the wedding. And Arthas did not seemed bothered at all."

"Oh but he was in the beginning, Lydia. He wanted to challenge Kael'Thas in a duel for the insult he had suffered, but Uther and my father calmed him down. He may have broken off the engagement three months ago, but it was only so that they could focus on their studies. Though I do believe that he wasn't that sure about her being the one anymore. Then he decided that Jaina was not worth his time, and when he saw you at your brother's wedding, he was convinced that letting Jaina go was the right thing to do.", Lydia was surprised by this.

"What do you mean by that Calia?" Calia chuckled at that.

"Well isn't it obvious Lydia? He is absolutely smitten with you, and judging by the way you act around him, you are smitten with him as well!" Lydia blushed at that. "Don't worry Lydia, I'll say no more about this. You will work this out when you are both ready", Calia smiled reassuringly at Lydia, and looked up at Darion and Arthas who were approaching them.

"So where will you go from here, Sister? The Capital or Tyr's Hand are not an option at the moment. If Father doesn't skin Darion alive for pulling a stunt like that, Alexandros will.", Arthas seemed a bit worried about this.

"Don't worry about that Arthas, first we will spend our honeymoon at the the cape of Stranglethorn, and then we will settle in Stormwind. Varian has already hired Darion and I, to replace the old Warrior and Mage trainers at Northshire. They have both decided that after years of service to the crown, to buy a farm in Westfall and raise their children there. Varian is more than ecstatic that we are going to be training his people from now on, and Father values his allegiance with Stormwind too much to cause any problems. Alexandros Morgraine has no clue about what his son is up too, so Father can't blame him about any of this. This is all his fault after all, ever since he discovered that mother was a Necromancer, and was forced to banish her form Lordaeron, he became more susceptible to Prestor's influence. He had Father convinced that only he can ensure that I will not follow Mother's steps, and by marrying me, he will keep me in the Light's path.", Calia snorted at that.

"Well, you have it all figured out then sister, I hope that it all works out in the end!", Arthas grinned and lifted Lydia of her feet and started dancing with her again. Darion did the same, and they continued to party for hours. It was not until that early hours of the morning that Lydia and Arthas returned to Brill. Arthas got on Invincible, and pulled Lydia in front of him. They rode to the Capital with Lydia resting her back on Arthas broad chest and his arms around her. They were both very happy about that, and they spent the hour long ride talking about the wedding the newly weds' plans. They sneaked past the palace guards, and Arthas escorted Lydia to her new quarters.

"Thank you for a wonderful time Arthas", Lydia smiled.

"No Lydia, thank you for taking part in my sister's happiest day!",Arthas leaned his cheek towards Lydia so that she can give him a peck, but when she moved closer to him, he turned around, and kissed her in the lips. Then he run off with a mischievous grin on his face. Lydia just shook her head, amused by his behavior, closed her door and leaned on it. She touched her lips. 'The Lich King just kissed me...wow!'