Khadgar entered Grommash Hold, flanked by two Forsaken guards. His eyes cut left and right, seeing Sylvanas sitting on the warchief's throne, and Faith sitting beside her on what appeared to be a new chair made of black hide. And he could not fail to notice that, while they were both facing him, they had their chairs angled slightly towards each other, and were nearly touching, as though hating to be even mere millimeters apart.

"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice," he said, bowing to Sylvanas. "I'm afraid that we unnecessarily upset your wife during attempted negotiations in Dalaran, and wanted to make sure that everything was all right."

Sylvanas made a small noise in the back of her throat. "One of the Kirin Tor accused my wife of treason, and you're asking me if everything is all right. Keeping in mind the fact that you are the ones who asked us to come to you."

"You have every right to be angry about this."

"I'm glad I have your permission," said Sylvanas softly.

"I understand that the Battle for the Broken Shore was a difficult one for each party involved. We all lost friends and leaders, and family members, and this has made us all a little… hotheaded."

"And yet my queen came to see you in good faith, so to speak. As far as I know she showed absolutely no aggression towards any of you."

Khadgar nodded, "That is correct. The aggression came from our side."

Sylvanas sat back, crossing her legs and reaching out to take Faith's hand. Her skin hummed as her wife touched her, and she had to force herself to keep from moaning. "What can the Horde do for you, then? Assuming you're willing to trust us."

"We are. Look, I'm very sorry about the way Jaina acted. You should know that she's left the Council of Six and has been replaced by Archmage Kalecgos."

"Another dragon as a member of the Council," mused Faith, her voice quiet.

"Yes. And one who speaks quite highly of you."

"It's good to know that he thinks highly of her," said Sylvanas. "But you're not really answering my question: what can the Horde do for the Kirin Tor?"

Khadgar took a deep breath, "You know Faith is one of the strongest mages of the Horde. Undercity's First Magi Corps has been instrumental in various wars, most significantly in the war against the Scourge. Dalaran could use these mages once again. Please, Warchief. It was wrong of us to blame the entire Horde for the actions of just one individual, but we didn't all see clearly after what happened in Theramore."

Sylvanas blinked, squeezing Faith's hand tighter, "Yes… I didn't see very clearly either after the events of Theramore."

Faith looked at her, wishing she could hold her. She rubbed the pad of her thumb over her fingers, saying nothing.

Khadgar cleared his throat, "Of course. I know that must have been a very difficult time for you. What I'm trying to say is that we would like to repair these relationships. Faith and I worked really well on Draenor, and most of the members of the Alliance were happy to have her with them."

"Most of them?" wondered Sylvanas, raising an eyebrow.

Faith chuckled, "There were a few ruffled feathers here and there."

"Whose?"

"It's not important now."

"It is to me."

"The matter was handled, Sylvanas," Faith told her, her voice soothing. She turned back to Khadgar, "So you're asking for the Horde to come back to Dalaran, is that right?"

He nodded, "Yes. We need help with… several things, actually. Most pressing, of course, is finding a way to stop the Burning Legion, which I'm sure we should be able to do."

Sylvanas nodded in turn, "And how would you propose we do that?"

"I don't know yet… that's why we need the Horde. Jaina won't bother you, I promise."

"Faith has always said that we all need to work together to defeat a common enemy," said Sylvanas. "One wonders, however, what will happen when we no longer have a common enemy to fight." She looked at her wife, "Would you be willing to do this? Work with Khadgar, and with the Alliance in particular, to help defeat the Burning Legion?"

"If it is what you wish of me, Sylvanas, I will do it," said Faith.

"I'm asking you what you want to do."

"I will not let the Burning Legion destroy my home again."

"Then you'll work with the Alliance." Stop being so stubborn and say yes already so that we can get this over with!

Faith nearly smiled. "I will."

Relief flooded Khadgar's face. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you for agreeing to this. The Burning Legion won't know what hit them."

"I suspect that we'll be the ones not to know what hit us if they keep up these attacks," she said.

"Tell me about it. They hit Westfall just yesterday, at the same time as Kharanos. It was lucky for us that you were there to help the dwarves, because it freed more members of the Alliance to combat the Legion there."

Sylvanas frowned, "Tarren Mill, Kharanos, and now Westfall. I wonder where else they're going to strike."

"I suppose we'll find out soon," said Khadgar. "In the meantime… welcome back to Dalaran. Would you like to send anybody over there now?"

"Rommath," said Faith. "He can take some of the Silvermoon magisters there. Rotvine will go as well with several members of the First Magi Corps."

"We'll let the rest of the Horde know that Dalaran is open to them again," said Sylvanas. "I'm sure they will be happy to hear it. From what I know, they've been adversely affected by the loss of contact with the Kirin Tor, although they were masking well."

Khadgar bowed his head respectfully as Sylvanas and Faith got to their feet. "I'm glad to know that we'll be working together again," he said.

"The pleasure will be all ours, I'm sure," Faith told him. "What kind of research will you be conducting?"

"I honestly have no idea where to begin. I was hoping you would assist me."

"Assist you in finding a way to defeat the Burning Legion… Khadgar, people have been trying to defeat them for millennia, and they haven't managed it yet."

"I know. But perhaps we have something that nobody else has. We have to try."

"We'll do what we can," said Sylvanas. "We have no choice anyway."

"I'll go back to Dalaran now and prepare for the Horde's arrival. We're going to have to rebuild some areas, I'm afraid. But we'll have everything ready for when your people come to us."

"I'll see you later today, Khadgar," said Faith. "Or, well, tomorrow since it's getting late for you."

He nodded and accepted the portal that Faith and Rommath made him back to Dalaran. A minute later, he was gone.

"That was quite a display of power, Faith," Sylvanas told her the moment the portal had closed behind him. "I didn't think you had it in you to react like that."

"It's true, you've always seemed so sweet and caring," said Lor'themar.

Rotvine chuckled, "You didn't see her when she was facing Arthas, my friend. She wasn't sweet and caring then, quite the opposite."

"I mean towards the Alliance."

"Put me in front of Greymane, and I'll show you sweet and caring," said Faith, shaking her head, "I'm just sick of them treating us like dirt all the time. I know we have conflicts with them, and we probably always will, but I'm not going to stand for it anymore. They act all sanctimonious when they did a lot to bring this upon themselves."

"Such as?"

"Turning the Forsaken away after they broke free from the Scourge, for one thing."

"Okay," said Sylvanas. "But even I can give you a reason for that one."

"The worgen turning us away as we were escaping Quel'Thalas."

"But they weren't part of the Alliance then," said Rotvine reasonably.

Faith glared at him, "Really, Carrick?"

Sylvanas rubbed her temples, "All right, all right. We all have dozens of reasons to hate each other. It won't help us to rehash them now."

Turning to Sylvanas, Faith put her fingers over hers, massaging gently.

"Does it help at all when she does that?" asked Lor'themar.

"Faith's fingers on any part of my skin always make me feel better," answered Sylvanas, closing her eyes.

"You walked right into that one," commented Thrall in a low voice, struggling not to laugh.

Ignoring them completely, Faith kept massaging Sylvanas' temples, "What do you need from me?" she asked.

"The assurance that you will come back to me as soon as you possibly can. Sooner, actually."

"You've got it. You won't even have time to miss me."

"Of course I'll have time to miss you. I miss you the second you're away from me."

"I won't be long," she whispered.

"Yes you will. It's always too long." She pulled Faith closer to her and held her, feeling Faith's fingers dropping from her head as she wrapped her arms around her. By the time the two of them stepped apart, they were alone in Grommash Hold, everyone having left so as to give them some privacy.

Faith stroked Sylvanas' ears gently, enjoying the way they twitched under her touch, "Does it feel different to you, now that we're married?"

"What, being with you?"

A slow nod.

"It's definitely more intense. You touch me and I want to crawl out of my skin and into yours."

Faith blinked, "That just sounded incredibly eerie, Sylvanas."

Sylvanas laughed softly, "Yes… I suppose it did. Sorry about that."

She pressed her forehead to Faith's, closing her eyes. "You don't have to leave immediately, do you?"

Faith shook her head, "No, not immediately. I guess I can go at around nine o'clock in the morning, so you've got me for the night."

"I like the sound of that," murmured Sylvanas, kissing her again. Part of her knew that she and Faith had to get ready for the war, but… oh, it was so good to feel her right there. "I love you."

"I love you," said Faith, kissing her back. She was just about to drag Sylvanas back to their chambers when she heard a guard clearing his throat. She pulled away, reluctant, and turned her head towards him.

"What is it?" Sylvanas asked him.

"We just got news from Ironforge, My Lady. It appears that Magni Bronzebeard is alive."

"What?!" exclaimed Faith, her voice echoing throughout at throne room.

"Alive?" asked Sylvanas. "What do you mean he's alive? He was turned into a diamond, how can he be alive?"

The guard shook his head, "I don't know, Your Majesty. We just heard that he was alive and walking around."

"Anduin will be beside himself," whispered Faith. "Do you think we can send envoys to Ironforge? I mean, we did just go to Khaz Modan to help fight a demonic attack."

Sylvanas pursed her lips, "If I were just queen of Undercity, I wouldn't bother. But considering the fact that I'm now the leader of the entire Horde, I suppose it would be diplomatic for me to at least send a letter on behalf of the Horde to tell them that I'm happy to know he didn't actually die." She glanced at Faith, "Is that what you'd like me to do?"

A nod, "That's perfect. Would you prefer I write the letter and have you sign it?"

"I would." She turned to the guard, "Thank you for the message. We'll take care of this right away." She waited until he'd gone before taking Faith's hand and walking with her to their office. Leaving the door open in case any other messages needed to reach her, she leaned against the desk, watching as Faith began to write a letter, addressing it to the entire Council of the Three Hammers.

"I don't know what kind of reception this letter's going to get. I know the Council was very close to Varian."

Sylvanas shrugged, "If they reject our overtures, I don't think we'll get far in the fight against the Legion. Maybe you want to work some of that in the letter."

"I already am," said Faith. A few minutes later, she was done. She handed the letter to Sylvanas, who read it over and gave a nod.

"Good. Thank you, love." She signed it, waiting for Faith to add her own signature to it before rolling it up tightly and sealing it. "We'll send this immediately."

They didn't have long to wait for a reply. Moira Bronzebeard herself answered them about an hour later. The handwriting was rushed, but she seemed sincere.

Dear Faith and Warchief Windrunner,

Thank you for writing. We meant to write to you sooner to thank you for your help in Kharanos against the Burning Legion. You didn't have to help us, but we appreciate what you did for our people there.

My father is in high spirits and says that he has spent all this time communing with Azeroth. He didn't give us many details, but he is aware of the Burning Legion's invasion and apparently has ideas as to how to stop it. He is on his way to Ulduar now. We have already sent a message to Khadgar about this, so perhaps you will be able to meet him there.

I wish I had time to write more, but we are currently mobilizing for the war. We're not quite sure where to begin, or even when we will begin, but I hope that it will be sooner rather than later.

Faith finished reading the letter aloud to Sylvanas, who nodded. "At least she wrote back," she said.

"It's as good a result as we could have hoped for. I suppose you're going to go to Ulduar now?"

"I think I should. I'll check with Khadgar, though."

Dalaran was bustling with activity. It was almost as though nothing had changed, with several members of the Horde there, mingling with members of the Alliance and renewing old contacts. Several parts of the city were under construction, which Faith had expected. Work seemed to be moving along well in the new Windrunner's Sanctuary, which would be the Horde's headquarters in the city.

She found Khadgar in the Violet Citadel along with the rest of the Council, who were apparently expecting her.

"You heard that Magni Bronzebeard was alive?" Kalec asked her.

Faith nodded, "We did. We sent word to Ironforge about it. It's great news."

"Great news indeed. Khadgar is getting ready to go to Ulduar now, will you join him?"

"Yes. I suppose the Alliance is sending someone as well?"

"Yes, a gnome priest named Imise Deepcog. I think you'll like her, she's feisty."

"I look forward to meeting her."

"I'm right here!" squeaked a small voice by Faith's hip. She looked down, seeing a female gnome standing there holding a small staff that looked more like a scepter to Faith. She had bright pink hair that she had coiled into two braids that lay flat against the sides of her head, and huge green eyes that were constantly in motion as she took in her surroundings. She looked at Faith, "You're a tall one, aren't you?"

Faith raised her eyebrows at her, but nodded, "I suppose I could be considered tall in certain circles, yes. Hello, Imise."

"Hi!" she squeaked. "Pleased to meet you. Should I call you Your Majesty or something?"

"Let's not stand on formality, since we're going to be working together for a bit."

"Practical, I like it. Is Khadgar ready to go?"

Kalec inclined his head, "Nearly, yes. His chambers are this way if you'd like to wait for him."

"Oh, we don't need to wait for him in his chambers," said Faith. "But we can wait just outside it." She walked deeper into the Violet Citadel and took a seat on one of the many chairs that had been placed in a hallway for visitors. Opening her bag, she took out some arcane powder and began rubbing the shimmering substance onto her spellblade, murmuring incantations as she did so.

Imise watched her for a bit, sitting in a chair next to hers. "So… I heard you got married to Sylvanas, finally. How does that feel?"

"Surreal," said Faith in a low voice. "I mean, it just happened, you know? It difficult for me to get used to the idea that Sylvanas is actually my wife." She smiled, light seeming to shine upon her face, "But it's amazing."

"You really love her…" whispered the gnome.

Faith's smile brightened. She didn't say anything, but her heart almost quivered in her chest. She closed her eyes for a moment, and a tear slipped down her right cheek before splashing onto her hand. Yes, she loved Sylvanas. And Sylvanas loved her, she really loved her. It was a love as pure and sweet as a morning rose unfurling dew-tipped petals. It had its thorns, of course, and they sometimes drew blood, but it was a strong and beautiful thing.

"Helloooo?" laughed Imise. "Come back to us, Faith, you're a thousand miles away!"

A blink. "Hi… sorry. Khadgar, where did you come from?" she asked, for the archmage was standing there with an indulgent smile on his face.

"I just arrived," he said. "Do I want to know what, or who, you were thinking about?"

Faith chuckled, "Not really." She got up, "Are you ready to go?"

"I'm ready if you are," he said. Will you help me with the portal to Ulduar?"

"I would be delighted."

They walked away from the chambers wing of the citadel and made their way to the upper floors, where a small portal chamber was located. Faith had been there on several occasions, using the crystals there as a focus for some of her more complex portals.

"Have you ever been to Ulduar before?"

She shook her head, "I'm afraid I never took the opportunity, so this is going to be something completely new for me. I look forward to it."