Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft. I think we've established this by now.

HAPPY SEPTEMBER 1st!

Welcome back everyone! I just want to start off by thanking all of you for your wonderful support for this story. This has reached over 6,500 views alone, and I'm just getting started! I appreciate it so much; words cannot express my gratitude! :D

Glad this update was able to come sooner than the last. Can't tell if my motivation comes from all of you guys' support or out of spite for what happened to Vol'jin. Probably 60/40.

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Now, on with the show!


Part 6: Rise and Shine

Mordriel was bored, more so than usual.

Which was saying a lot, especially since he was currently a guest of Archmage Khadgar, whose home was rumored to be the most entertaining in all of Dalaran. It was a shame really, that those rumors were turning out to not be true, as this would make the duration of this harebrained expedition at least a little bit more interesting.

The Elf glanced at the clock seated comfortably on the fireplace mantle. It probably didn't help that it was 5:30 in the morning. All this flitting about to give important people equally important information was giving him fly-lag.

He huffed and tossed a throw pillow that had been resting next to him on the couch across the room. It landed with an unsatisfying 'plop' in chair sitting on the opposite side of the room. Mordriel sighed again, watching the breath that passed his lips dissipate into the frigid morning air. Did he also mention the house was freezing?

It was time for desperate measures.

In one swift motion, Mordriel rose from the sofa, which was honestly far too fanciful for his taste (honestly, gold embroidery?) and glided toward the main entrance. The sun had not yet risen over the skyline, and what little light there was cast cold blue rays through the high reaching windows. It gave the interior of the mansion that eerie, early morning glow which only occurred during the most premature hours dawn when the rest of the world was asleep.

His footsteps echoed across the expanse of foyer as he made his way to the rather childish looking spiral staircase. Really, was it necessary to make stairs spin into their ascent? Their only purpose was for going up and down, no need to make that more complex than that.

Nevertheless, he began his climb. Mordriel passed the second floor...third floor…only stopping when he made it to the very top of the stairs. At the base of the final step was a short hallway cluttered with miscellaneous objects. This must be the attic, as a fine layer of dust covered practically everything and the significant lack of windows compared to the floors below. What little light there was being let in revealed a door at the end of the walkway.

Now, what could be hiding behind Door Number One? Maybe his day would prove to be less boring after all…

Throwing caution to the wind, Mordriel glided down the hall and grasped at the handle. He pushed it open slowly, doing his best to not make any noise. It was chillier in here than it had been elsewhere in the house, he noted. The room behind the door had that same dawning glow the downstairs had. It was a small space, barely enough area to hold the dresser, tiny table, and bed inside. There were trinkets and petite boxes sitting neatly on the dresser, while multiple books stood stacked in orderly columns on the table, taking up most of the space. And the bed…

Oh, wait; there was a person in the bed.

The Night Elf let the door shut gently behind him as he approached the bedpost, the floorboards creaking softly under his light steps. The form underneath the covers rose and fell rhythmically in time with their breathing, assuring Mordriel that Khadgar wasn't storing a corpse for magical purposes in his attic. He really needed to stop listening to tales from gossipy and bored mages…

Soft breathing could be heard underneath the covers once he reached the headboard. And there, hidden below a warm blanket and midnight blue hair, was the half-breed of the house's face. The curtain of her tresses covered a majority of the pillow on which she slept, and only her eyes and nose could be seen. A serene look clouded the parts of her profile that could be seen; she looked so relaxed, so blissful…

So boring.

Without even thinking twice, Mordriel leaned over her sleeping form and began poking her in the head with his index finger. She stirred in her sleep but did not wake up, much to his displeasure. He scowled and began to repeatedly jab her head, "Get up."

Nadia, who had been enjoying a dream, was finally roused out of her slumber. Her eyes scrunched together as she waved away whatever was poking her in the head, "Huh?"

"Get up," he repeated gruffly, flicking her in the forehead this time around.

She didn't appreciate his prodding, and finally cracked her eyes open just enough to scowl at him. The elf's luminous eyes glowered back at her when she scoffed and ducked under her blanket. "I will not get up," the words came out muffled from under the covers, "it's too early."

"I'm bored."

"Then find a way to entertain yourself."

It went quiet, and for a moment Nadia thought that he had left. She allowed her consciousness to fade as drowsiness began to take over…

And then the next moment, her blanket was torn away and something icy and wet splashed across her face and into her nose.

Mordriel found her coughing and sputtering to be quite unladylike as she flailed upright on her bed. He ignored her for the most part as he placed the now empty pitcher back on her dresser, "I told you to get up."

"What is wrong with you?" she gasped while rubbing day old, freezing water out of her face. It had soaked her mattress, hair, and sleep shirt, making her feel both uncomfortable and ridiculous.

"I told you, I am bored."

"That doesn't mean you need to dump water on me!"

"If you had just gotten up when I asked nicely –," Mordriel never got to finish that sentence, because as soon as those few words left his mouth he had to duck as Nadia chucked an Ice Lance at his head. It hit the dresser behind him with a resounding 'CRACK', shattering the wooden frame and mirror yet freezing whatever shards had broken off to the splinters of ice now sticking out from the piece of furniture.

"Get out," she hissed, hand still glowing bright white with residual magic.

The Night Elf stayed crouched for a moment longer as he tried to regain his bearings. He cleared his throat and straightened up while smoothing out his robes as though nothing had happened, "Fine. But I expect to see you downstairs within the hour."

"Why?"

"To play chess, of course"

"Oh my – you know what, fine. Just…please go, so I can change."


It took her a full hour to finally make it downstairs, much to Mordriel's annoyance.

There was no logical reason why it could've taken her so long…it's not like she cared for her appearance as much as she should. Her hair had a mind of its own; she never wore jewelry, or even bothered to put on any sort of beauty product.

He looked up just enough to glare at her as she approached him. Her hair was in a sloppy braid, of course, and her choice in clothing was atrocious, "What took you so long?"

"I was taking a bath," her response was flat and scathing. Nadia scowled in Mordriel's general direction as she purposefully avoided eye contact and walked right past him without even the slightest acknowledgment.

Mordriel, not used to being ignored, stood and began trailing after her down the long hallway, "It took you a full hour to cleanse?"

"No," she muttered without even glancing back, "It took me 20 minutes to bathe, and then an extra 40 minutes to sit there in the amazing, warm water and make you wait and freeze."

Well, Mordriel most certainly wasn't bored anymore. However, he couldn't tell if being aggravated was any better, "I suppose it makes sense to stay in the bath for an hour. I doubt you have anything else to do for the day that holds such purpose."

"Well, look at that! Got me all figured out, don't you?" She stopped dead in her tracks and whipped around to scowl at him with a speed that made him come to a jerking halt behind her, "Let me guess? You think that playing a chess game with you will be the highlight of my day?"

"I'm seldom wrong," he deadpanned. "Now, will you finally come play? I wish to finish before the rest of the house wakes."

"No," she wrenched one of the many doors in the hall open and practically slammed it in his face as she walked through.

Mordriel blinked, stunned at what had just happened, before blowing through the same door behind her like a blizzard. "You've got a lot of nerve; we had a deal."

"Could you just give me a second, please?"

He huffed but halted his assault nonetheless. The druid took a moment to take in his surroundings. He was somewhat surprised to find that he was now in the kitchen instead of another one of the various studies and sitting rooms throughout the house. It looked different than it had the night before.

Racks upon racks of shiny pots, pans, and other cookware lined the walls of the spotless room. Two stoves with multiple sized burners, a large sink, and a marble island took up most of the room. A large metal frame stood hidden in the shadows of the back wall, and Mordriel could see the frost that lined its edges and tiny window. The door stood slightly ajar, casting light into the dim room and letting tendrils of cold air spill out onto the already icy and pale stone floor.

The sound of scuffling to his left caught his ear, and he turned to find Nadia agitatedly going through one of the pantries.

"We're out of eggs. Of course we're out of eggs," she muttered to herself, completely forgetting that there was someone else in the room, "I used them all yesterday for that cake. Now I'll have to go out and get more, what a waste."

"Hardly a waste, that dessert was one of the best I've had yet."

Nadia stopped what she was doing and slowly turned around to give him a confused look, "Thank you?" She wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not; this was the first compliment he had given her where it actually sounded sincere.

Mordriel shifted uncomfortably; he hadn't meant to be genuine, he just wanted to get her attention. It was made worse by the now fading tension that had once been between them. He opened his mouth to say something when another door to the side creaked open. The Night Elf felt himself become even more awkward as Khadgar himself trudged into the kitchen. Looking back, the image of a powerful Archmage in an embroidered nightgown, slippers, and headscarf was rather comical.

"What's going on?" he yawned and rubbed his eyes, "I heard a door slam…"

"Everything's fine Khadgar, go back to sleep." Mordriel was caught off guard by her tone. Unlike whenever she spoke to him, it had become gentle and soothing. Things had gone from annoying to bizarre very quickly.

Poor Khadgar just nodded slowly and yawned for a second time before turning around and shuffling out the same door he entered through. It wasn't until after he left that Mordriel saw Nadia exhale deeply and let her entire body relax.

"Look," she began while scratching her hair, making it look even more tussled than before, "he's going to be up again in about two-and-a-half hours, and I've got to get breakfast and stuff done before then. So could the chess wait, please?"

"No," he replied shortly. He realized his hastiness as a mistake as Nadia's eyes hardened once again, and made the mental note to pace his follow-up, "As hostess, you're supposed to keep guests entertained. What am I to do if you decide to go off with such inconsideration?"

"Read a book, explore the house, count the number of windows and doors, or the number of tiles on the floor…there's plenty to do if you get a little creative."

"I think you mean 'desperate'."

"Oh, so waking me up this early by dumping water on me wasn't desperate?"

She had a point, but he wasn't going to admit it, "No, it was creative."

"So, when I come up with an idea it's desperate, and when you do it it's creative?"

"Precisely."

Nadia stared at him for what felt like ages before finally sighing and rolling her eyes in exasperation. Without turning around, she reached back to push closed the still open pantry door, "Fine, believe what you want, but I still have a job to do. So you can either be patient and wait for me to finish, or find something else to do for the rest of the day."

"…I don't find either selection very appealing," he admitted while scrunching his nose in distaste.

"Well, unless you want to help me out to make things go faster, then you're out of options."


Mordriel almost couldn't believe it had come to this.

She must have used some spell on him. That was the only explanation.

There was no other possible reason for him to be following Nadia around Dalaran's marketplace at seven in the morning carrying a basket of groceries.

One minute he was in the kitchen, and the next he was being elbowed out the front door wearing nearly all of the warm furs he had brought.

Not that they were helping, as Dalaran was currently reminding him that they were still in the middle of Northrend. He lost feeling in the tips of his ears while walking down the quiet streets after five minutes, and even the slightest of breezes felt indescribably brittle. And he was the one who was wrapped in three layers of pelts; Mordriel had no idea how Nadia was able to be completely fine in nothing more than the light coat she had on.

The young woman who was the current subject of his ire gently picked up another apple and brought it to her nose. She inhaled deeply before examining it one last time, handing a few coins to the attendant, and placing it in the basket.

"Only one more stop before we head back," she said while moving down the row of assorted produce tables.

Finally, Mordriel thought while following her. Even though they hadn't been at the market for that long, the Elf was eager to return to Khadgar's a immediately make use of a fireplace.

The pair passed by many colorful stalls as they wandered about the marketplace. Fruits, vegetables, meats, and grains were just some of the available produce displayed that morning to lure in potential buyers. There weren't many people out and about yet, as the sun had only just risen over the horizon. The druid was beginning to regret waking Nadia up this early when he started to lose feeling in his toes.

"Aren't you finished yet?" he mumbled when she stopped again to look at an array of fruits. Why did she need so much?

"I'm making pies tonight," Nadia placed a bag full of cherries into his basket. She smiled at the stand's supervisor; a bright-eyed human with freckles splashed across their cheeks, and placed a few pieces of silver into their palm. She finally looked over at her companion/bag-boy with a tired look in her eyes, "you, Kokam, and Hamuul aren't the only guests we're having. I'm going to make a bunch tonight and freeze them for later. Making brand new desserts every day on top of everything else is exhausting."

One of his long eyebrows quirked up, "What could you possibly be exhausted over? You went to bed before all of us last night."

"I didn't go to sleep," she whipped around and began walking briskly in the direction of Khadgar's home. Mordriel felt his heart soar at the thought of being in a warm house in a few minutes, "I left for my night shift at a bar."

"You work in a bar?" Now this was a new development. The more time he spent with Nadia, the more interesting she became, "What on earth for?"

Her amber eyes glanced at him from the side, "What's with all the questions?"

"…I'm bored."

That wasn't actually the reason.

Mordriel's actual reason for being a part of his scheme was to find out as much as possible about Nadia. Her likes, dislikes, personality…even the more gritty details so that he could report back to not only Khadgar, but anyone else who might want to know something to make this process smoother. If something needed to be taken care of or improved, it was his job to find out what it was and the best way to fix it.

"Bored enough to care about what I do in my spare time?" The Night Elf was brought out of his thoughts at her words. He turned his head to find her smirking at him with a playful glint in here eye. Was she…trying to banter with him?

Well, two could play that game. His mouth turned up in a half smile and he stuck his chin up proudly, "Probably, I pride myself on my ability to need constant entertainment."

Nadia blinked before breaking out into a fit of giggles. The sound echoed throughout the empty streets of Dalaran and floated off into the morning. It was a pleasant laugh, Mordriel would admit. A small part of him, microscopic really, was glad he wouldn't have to add that to his list of things to improve…

They eventually reached the tall double-doors of Khadgar's mansion. Nadia slid her key into the lock and passed through the entrance with Mordriel at her heels. She slid off her coat before taking the box from the druid, "Okay, since you helped me with my grocery shopping, I'll play chess with you now."

"Truly?" he questioned with a tone of honest surprise while shedding his layers of furs.

"Well, yeah, I said I would didn't I? Fair is fair. Go get set up in the drawing room from last night and light a fire, matches are in the chest next to that funny looking table lamp. I'll be in there soon."

All Mordriel could do was nod dumbly as she glided down the hallways towards the kitchen. He really hadn't expected her to play him this morning, though couldn't remember why he had doubted her to being with.

This girl was just full of surprises today, wasn't she?


"Why do you work in a bar?"

The sound of a crackling fire and the steady ticks from the clock were the only background noises in the sitting room as Mordriel slid his bishop across the chessboard. Nadia, who had been watching all his moves intensely throughout the whole game, chuckled and shook her head.

"You asked me this already," was her only reply as she gracefully picked up her knight and placed it four spaces from his bishop.

"You can't just mention that you work in a bar and then not elaborate," he deftly slid his bishop one space over and out from danger of her knight, "it's not polite to leave guests wondering like that."

"Well if you must know, I have to pay for school one way or another." She slowly skated one of her rooks across the board, as if unsure about her move, "It doesn't pay a lot, but people tip well."

"School?"

"Uh-huh. I went to Dalaran's Academy of Magic, graduated top of my class. I'm not from one of those rich families who usually send their members there, so I'm still trying to pay it off."

"I see…What do you do?"

"I don't think I understand the question."

"At the bar, do you make drinks? Because if so, I'm supposed to meet with Khadgar again tomorrow and something strong beforehand would be a godsend."

Nadia snickered as she watched Mordriel move one of his pawns, "No, I don't mix drinks, sorry. I'm just one of the waitresses and occasionally I'll…never mind."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're leaving something interesting out, now tell me."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Tell me."

"Fine!" she sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes heavenward. "Sometimes, and only sometimes, I'll…dance on the weekends."

Mordriel stared at her as though she had suddenly turned a different color. The chess game had been completely forgotten by both of them at this point, with Nadia beginning to blush as the druid opposite her continued gawking. Slowly, a smirk spread across his lips as he leaned back in his chair, ever so satisfied and amused.

"Really?" He stroked his beard and had to keep from laughing, as Nadia's blush intensified.

"Well, not that often –."

"Do it," he blurted out while leaning forward with such eagerness that it caused the poor girl to recoil ever so slightly.

"What?"

"Dance. Right now. Prove it."

"No!"

"I'll help you with all those desserts if you do," he offered, "it will go by faster if I aid you. You may even be able to fit in a nap before work."

He watched as she chewed at her bottom lip in consideration of his proposal. "You want to see me dance that badly?" she asked carefully.

"Very much so, yes."

If Nadia could dance, it would be a very desirable talent for her to have throughout this process. Whoever would be in charge of making her as…appealing as possible was going to be very pleased with this development. As much as he didn't like to think about it, this was his job…

After what felt like ages, she finally sighed and slowly stood up from her chair. Mordriel's eyes never left her as she moved over to the area of open floor in front of the window. What happened next surprised him more than he would ever admit.

Ever so slowly, Nadia went into a nameless and graceful dance. She arched her arms before letting her body dip backwards, and a series of alluring hand movements followed in suit. The light spilling in from the window highlighted her entire form as she straightened up into a waltz like spin and opening her arms as though to embrace someone. The Night Elf had no words as he watched her raise one of her legs behind her as though it were weightless and twist her wrist into the air before dropping both and arching her body back yet again.

This was good. Very good, the Night Elf thought as he continued to observe her unfamiliar yet picturesque dance. He doubted that Khadgar knew about this little tidbit, but once the Archmage did he could only estimate how pleased he would be.

Khadgar's diamond in the rough was finally beginning to shine.

It was time for the next phase…


Tada!

I feel like I could have done a better job on this to be honest, but I always have a bit of trouble with filler chapters. Not that I don't like them, but filling in time while keeping it interesting is a difficult scale to balance.

Anyway…I wanted to let you know that your reviews have been read and your voices heard. That being said, get your popcorn ready because in the next chapter someone's finally going to find out about all this. ;)

Now that things are starting to take off, please remember to vote in the new poll before Part 8!

Thanks for reading and remember: reviews and the like are very much appreciated! :)

Until next time!

MadMadameEm