Author's Note:

Hi everyone! I know, you guys have been waiting quite some time for an update here, but as you know, I've been quite busy with the Evermore series! Anyways, I hope that you enjoy this chapter! It was a lot of fun for me to write!

Love,

Lunarelle

Chapter 9: Birthday Surprises

Rain was falling in sheets outdoors when Sylvanas burst into the cafeteria, looking excited and happy. Her hair was plastered to her head, but she didn't seem to care, even though she was dripping water all over the place. "I got it!" she exclaimed, placing a kiss on Faith's cheek and sitting down next to her.

Faith grinned, closing the book she'd been reading, "The job at the stables?"

"Yes! Okay, so I'll only be cleaning saddles and stuff at first, but it's a job!"

Malfurion, who had been sitting with Faith, shook his head, "You must be the only person in the world who's happy about cleaning saddles."

"Everyone's gotta start somewhere," said Faith. "That's great, Sylvanas, I'm proud of you."

"Thanks! It won't exactly be fun, but it'll be good to have more pocket money."

"You're going to spend it all on Faith, aren't you?" asked Malfurion.

"Oh, I already have her birthday present, so I get to spoil myself for once."

Faith put a hand on Sylvanas' knee, squeezing gently, "Thank you," she whispered, leaning over and kissing her temple softly.

"It's really no big deal."

"It is to me."

"All right," said Malfurion. "Stop looking at each other like that, you're going to make me vomit."

Sylvanas started to laugh, "We're not even doing anything."

"You're looking at each other like you're melding minds or something, it's creepy."

"Melding minds?" repeated Faith. "Is that what we're doing?"

"It's what it looks like from where I'm sitting. I mean, I know you really like each other, but…"

"Do you think we're moving too fast?" wondered Sylvanas. "Because, really, we're not doing much."

Faith nodded, "She's right. We just, you know…" she blushed.

"I'm sure you two have meaningful conversations."

"We do, actually. We were talking about the meaning of life the other day. And about the Dragon Revolts the day before that. You know, in between making out and groping."

Malfurion's jaw slackened, "You… really?"

"We definitely didn't talk about the Dragon Revolts," said Faith, looking the picture of innocence. "Now, the groping, yes, that was fun, really. We should do that more often."

Sylvanas looked at her, "We should, shouldn't we?" She glanced at the night elf and burst into laughter, "Relax! We're kidding! There's been no groping –."

"Or at least not a lot of it."

"Stop it, Faith, you're scandalizing him."

Faith giggled, "All right. Look, if you really must know, we don't really do as much as people think. We hold hands, that's pretty much it. And we spend a lot of time together."

"You don't," he swallowed, rubbing his cheek, "make out or anything?"

"Well," said Sylvanas, "not in public."

"Isn't it weird for you? To kiss another girl?"

Sylvanas shrugged, "I don't know. Faith was the first person I ever kissed, so I don't have anything to compare it to. But I do like kissing her. A lot, actually."

Faith cleared her throat, her cheeks as red as apples. She murmured something unintelligible, hanging her head, but Sylvanas put an arm around her, bringing her closer and kissing her forehead.

"Enough, enough, I beg you!" cried Malfurion, laughing. "I don't have a girlfriend right now!"

"So… get one?" said Faith. "I've seen you looking at one of the priestesses."

"Priestesses?" asked Anduin, sliding into the booth next to Malfurion. "Are you talking about Tyrande? She's cute."

"Cute…" Malfurion closed his eyes. "She's more than cute."

"Oh, there's definitely interest there," said Sylvanas, her tone teasing. "Look at him, he's blushing."

Malfurion refused to say anything else, merely putting his head down on the table and groaning. Anduin pat his back with a laugh, "You know, I could talk to her for you if you'd like. Maybe mention your name once or twice, and see what her reaction is."

"I don't think you're gonna get him to talk again," said Faith. "Besides, I'm sure he can speak to Tyrande on his own."

"Probably. But anyways, I came here to talk about your birthday, Faith. Have you planned anything?"

"Not really. I don't want to make a big deal out of it."

"It's your birthday," said Sylvanas. "Of course it's a big deal."

"Not really. When I turned eleven, I threw a party for maybe ten kids who went with me to the sports center, and nobody showed up. They didn't even write to me to say they weren't coming. I was really excited, and I ended up celebrating my birthday alone in my room."

There must have been some pain in Faith's voice, because Sylvanas pulled at her enough to get her on her lap, "That's horrible. I would have come to your party if I'd known you. But you wouldn't have invited me then."

"I would have invited you," Faith told her quietly. "Anyways, since that day, I haven't had parties for my birthday. I don't even know how you found out about when it is."

"I have my ways," said Sylvanas. "And you should celebrate it."

"You don't celebrate yours either, do you?"

"Well, no, but I'm a Tal'dorei, so –."

Faith kissed her. "I'll celebrate it with you…"

Sylvanas blinked a couple of times, "I… what?"

"One kiss, and she scrambles your brain?" wondered Anduin, his eyes wide. "Way to go, Faith."

"What can I say, I'm good." She rubbed Sylvanas' knee, "You okay?"

A nod.

"You want us to go be alone for a little while?"

Another nod. Sylvanas licked her lips.

"What about your birthday?" asked Anduin. "It's next week, we have to plan something!"

"I don't really want to do anything big. Celebrating it with you guys will be plenty, trust me. I mean, I'm only turning fifteen." She got to her feet, and Sylvanas followed her, keeping her hand in hers. "Your clothes are still wet, you should go change."

Sylvanas looked down at herself, "I'm not going to get sick."

"No, but you'll be more comfortable once you're dry."

So they went to Sylvanas' room, where Sylvanas put on dry leggings and a warm tunic. Faith's heart stuttered in her chest as she caught a glimpse of Sylvanas' bare back, her body flashing hot, then cold. She looked away, pretending to glance out the window, even though she could see very little in the pouring rain.

"You can look at me if you want," said Sylvanas, coming to stand next to her.

Faith jumped out of her skin, not having expected her to be so close. "What?"

"I'm just saying. If you want to look at me when I'm changing, you can."

Closing her eyes, she took Sylvanas' hand, "Don't say that. I can barely kiss you without falling apart at the seams… I don't think I'm ready for that."

Sylvanas tilted her head to the side, "You fall apart at the seams when you kiss me?"

"I just mean that… when we kiss, I…" Faith licked her lips and swallowed, "I can't think. I can barely breathe."

Heat flushed Sylvanas' cheeks, "Oh," she said quietly. "I'm… it's the same for me. I don't know why I feel like this. You know, people say we're too young for this but…" her voice trailed off.

Faith's thumb rubbed Sylvanas' hand gently, "I know." She looked up at her and leaned closer, giving her the softest kiss. Both girls gasped at the contact. "Oh… you see?"

A nod, "Yeah." Sylvanas moved away, but that had the effect opposite effect of what she was hoping for, her body instantly wanting to be close to Faith's again. Instead of going back to her, however, she went to sit on her bed. "You really don't want to do anything for your birthday?"

"I don't know," she looked over to where she was sitting. "Your birthday is the week after mine," she stated.

"How do… how did you find out?"

"I asked Alleria."

"Why?"

"Because it's something that I wanted to know about you. I wish you had told me on your own."

"It's no big deal."

"That's what I say about my birthday, but you didn't listen to me then."

"That's different. It's you."

"And it's you."

Sylvanas laughed, "I guess then that we can celebrate each other's birthday instead of celebrating our own, but it'll pretty much be the same thing." She held out her hand, and Faith moved so quickly to take it that it would have been comical to see had Sylvanas not wanted to touch her so badly.

They stayed together for a while, not joining their friends again until it was close to dinner time.

"What in the world did the two of you do alone all afternoon?" asked Minnah, her big eyes wide. "Or do I not wanna know?"

"Oh, nothing," Sylvanas told her. "We just talked about our birthdays and stuff."

"Birthdays? As in more than one?"

Faith told them when Sylvanas' birthday was, and Anduin jumped, "You two have birthdays so close together, and you didn't tell us?"

"All right then," said Sylvanas, "when's your birthday then?"

"June 3rd. But we're not talking about me, we're talking about you!"

Malfurion sat down with them, producing a sheet of parchment and a quill, "Why don't we all write down our birthdays here? That way, we'll have them handy, just in case."

"In case of what?"

"Just so that we can know." He passed the parchment around so that they could add their birthdays, after which he took it back, "Great. I'll ask someone to multiply this so that we can each have a copy."

"That just sounds ominous," said Minnah. "You're not planning something strange, are you?"

"No, of course not," he grinned. The look in his eye was the most mischievous thing Faith had ever seen.

A sliver of moonlight fell upon the nubile body of the Tal'dorei, revealing her nakedness. She was beautiful, more so than anybody the girl had ever seen. Her silver-white hair seemed to glisten in the night, and her red eyes glowed as embers in a fireplace. Her hand was on her pale gray breast, long fingers gently stroking the skin there.

"Won't you come and play with me, Faith?" she asked. "Please. I need you so badly…"

Faith opened her eyes with a gasp, the remnants of the dream clinging to her like a cloak. It stayed with her as she got dressed, its images making her feel abnormally warm. In her closet sat a small wrapped box that she intended to give to Sylvanas the following week. Her heart began to beat wildly as she thought about her girlfriend. Was she awake yet? Was she thinking about her? Her head spun, forcing her to sit down for a moment.

She'd never had a dream like that before. It had been so… sensual. So vivid. Her voice…

"For goodness' sake, get a grip on yourself," she said to the room at large.

"Talking to yourself, Faith?" asked Sylvanas from the other side of her door. Faith jumped, as though scalded, and went to open the door, pulling her inside the room quickly. "Whoa… hi."

Faith wrapped her arms around her tightly, burying her head in her neck and inhaling her scent. "Hi."

Sylvanas hugged her back, rubbing her back, "Are you all right?"

"I am now. Sorry, I just had a weird dream last night."

"What kind of dream? Was it about me?"

Faith's cheeks turned cherry-red, "Yes…" she said slowly.

"It was?" Sylvanas grinned, "What was it about?"

"I… we…" Faith swallowed and refused to say anything else.

"Were we having sex?"

Somehow, Faith's blush deepened, "Not… not exactly, no."

"Not exactly? What does that mean?" Sylvanas looked at her, "Were we sort of having sex? Was it good? Was –."

Faith put a hand over Sylvanas' mouth to quiet her, "I didn't get that far into the dream to know what it was we were doing. But you were… I was…" Faith took a deep breath, "You weren't dressed."

Sylvanas' red eyes widened, "And?"

"And I woke up after you told me that you needed me."

"Wow. Really?"

Faith bit her lip and tried walking away from her, but she kept a firm grip on her arm, "I shouldn't have told you."

"Yes you should. It's awesome that you're dreaming about me."

"Not these kinds of dreams… We're too young."

"Hey, we're going through puberty. Having those kinds of dreams is completely normal. It's not like we're going to do anything but kiss anyway."

Faith blushed again, "Right."

"Speaking of kissing…" Sylvanas pulled her closer, "Happy birthday, Faith." Their lips touched, and for a moment, Faith forgot everything but the girl in front of her. She made a small noise when the kiss deepened. Sylvanas held her tighter, trying to take another step towards her, but the two of them were as close as they could physically get.

They pulled away, a little out of breath.

"I have a present for you," said Sylvanas, her voice husky.

"That kiss wasn't the present?" She licked her lips, "Because, wow."

"Mmm, it was good, I know. But here." Sylvanas handed her a box not unlike the one Faith had in her closet. "It's not much," she said quickly.

Sitting on her bed, Faith tore the wrapping paper off the present, and opened the wooden box. She blinked.

It was a pewter ring. Comprised of a wide band that had been beaten until it shone like silver, it had been engraved with a crescent moon and several little stars. "It's beautiful," she whispered. "You didn't… did you make this?"

"Yeah. I don't really sleep much, so I have a lot of spare time on my hands. The blacksmiths allowed me to use the forge once they realized that I could handle it on my own." She put a hand on Faith's face, "You're not going to cry, are you? Faith… come on."

A tear fell from Faith's face, and she leaned forward until she was resting against Sylvanas' hip, "Sorry… I don't mean to get emotional."

Sylvanas ran her fingers gently through Faith's hair, "It's okay. I just don't want to make you cry, even if they're happy tears." She knelt in front of Faith, "You do like it, right?"

"I love it. Thank you, Sylvanas." She took the ring out of the box and handed it to her, "Put it on my hand?"

"Sure." Taking the ring from her, Sylvanas slid it gently on to Faith's left middle finger, "I now pronounce us girlfriend and girlfriend," she said, trying to make a joke out of it, except that her heart was beating a little too fast in her chest. She raised her eyes to Faith's, and before she knew it, they were kissing again.

By the time they made it down to breakfast, they only had ten minutes to spare. Most of the food was gone, save for a few pieces of toast and some apples, which they grabbed quickly before going to sit at their booth.

"Happy birthday, Faith!" cried Anduin loudly, hugging her and causing half the cafeteria to turn around. "How does it feel to be fifteen?"

"Emotional," she said truthfully. Next to her, Sylvanas chuckled.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," said Sylvanas. "She… I gave her a present and she teared up, that's all."

"You did?" asked Malfurion.

"That's so cute!" exclaimed Minnah.

"What did you get her?" wondered Anduin.

Faith held out her hand.

"Wow," said Minnah quietly. "That's a… wow. Doesn't a ring mean that you're serious?"

"Yes," answered Faith and Sylvanas together.

The others were silent for a moment, watching them.

"You thought we weren't serious about each other?" asked Sylvanas just as the bell rang.

"Well, I mean, we know you both like each other a lot. But if you're really serious…" Minnah's eyes widened, "What does that mean?"

"Just that we're together," Faith told her, lacing her fingers with Sylvanas'. "There's really nothing else for you guys to know. At least, not for now."

They walked out of the cafeteria before separating to go to their classes. Sylvanas gave Faith a lingering kiss on top of the stairs, not wanting to let her go, even for a moment, "I'll see you later?"

"Of course you will." They shared another kiss.

"Ladies, get to class!"

Sylvanas jumped away from her, smiling sheepishly at Master Rhonin. "Sorry." She disappeared a second later, leaving Faith to go back to the Undercity.

The day went by quickly because they were so busy. Being as they were already in mid-March, the teachers were already starting to talk about finals, which set everyone on edge.

"Didn't we just have midterms yesterday?" grumbled Minnah as they sat down to dinner, bleary-eyed and tired.

"Feels like it," growled Dane.

"Hey, at least you guys didn't have to run through an entire obstacle course while trying to hit targets," said Faith. "That really wasn't easy."

Sylvanas took a seat next to her, dropping her head on her shoulder and groaning, "I can barely lift my arms."

Faith rubbed her back, "It's okay. You can go to bed soon." She kissed her cheek and put some of her chocolate cake on Sylvanas' tray, "Go on, eat some. It's good."

"It's your birthday, not mine. You should eat the cake."

"Your birthday's in six days. Besides, it tastes better to me if I get to share it with you."

Sylvanas turned her gaze towards her, all traces of weariness gone from her face, "Thank you," she said quietly, leaning over and kissing her gently.

The sound of vomiting reached them, followed by raucous laughter coming from a table not far away from them. Arthas and Jaina were watching them with disgust visible on their sneering faces.

"You two should give them a show," said Rega, who had just pulled up a chair to sit at the end of their booth. "Really give them something to scream about."

"Here?" asked Faith. "I dunno, I wouldn't want Vol'jin to summon us to his office."

"Hey, it's just kissing. I mean, if those two seniors over there can devour each other's faces, I don't see why you can't do the same." She pointed to the seniors in question, who indeed seemed glued to each other at the lips.

Sylvanas looked at her, raising an eyebrow, "You want to?"

"Sure I want to. But we really sh –."

Sylvanas kissed her, practically pulling her into her lap. Her arms locked around Faith's waist, and Faith, unable to resist, kissed her back, wrapping her arms around Sylvanas' neck.

"Wow," breathed Minnah.

The cafeteria had fallen silent. Someone cleared their throat very loudly, and Sylvanas gently pulled away from Faith, "Happy birthday, Faith," she said, paying no attention whatsoever to the fact that Master Medivh stood there.

"Thank you, Sylvanas."

Master Medivh cleared his throat again, "Happy as I am to see the two of you getting along, perhaps I should remind you to keep such displays of affection a little more private?"

"Sorry, Master," said Faith quietly, getting off Sylvanas' lap. "We'll try."

"What about those two over there?" asked Anduin, gesturing to the seniors, whom, they saw, were night elves.

"Already being taken care of."

He was right about that. As they watched, Master Wrynn walked over to them, nearly wrenching them apart when they didn't listen to him. Several people chuckled nervously, but Arthas and Jaina were looking revolted. Arthas stood and walked to Master Medivh.

"Wait, you're not going to punish them?" he cried. "It's disgusting to see them like that!"

"No more disgusting than you and Miss Proudmoore making out in the broom closet yesterday."

"Broom closet?" asked Faith, Minnah, Sylvanas, and Rega together.

"Breathing cleaning fluid?" wondered Anduin, looking completely innocent, except for the twinkle in his eye.

Arthas glared at them, but couldn't say anything in the presence of a teacher. He went back to his table, draping a possessive arm around Jaina.

"Those two deserve each other," said Malfurion.

"You think they've done it?"

Sylvanas stared at Minnah, "Now there's something I want to think about, Arthas and Jaina sleeping together. Please, let's go ahead and talk about that while we're having dinner."

Faith laughed, taking a bite of cake, "I guess they could be cute together."

"If they weren't such a pair of conceited jerks," finished Sylvanas, taking Faith's fork and eating the piece of cake there. "You're right. That is good cake."

"All right, stop it, you two, I mean it," said Malfurion. "You're adorable, but you're making me sad."

"Oh, honestly." Anduin got to his feet and walked to where Tyrande was sitting with her friends.

"What's he doing?" Malfurion sounded shocked.

"She is really pretty," said Sylvanas. "Look at her, Faith."

"Very pretty indeed. And she's a priestess, and she's looking over this way. Smile, Malfurion. Now wave at her."

His movements a little robotic, Malfurion nevertheless did as she told him.

Sylvanas grinned, "Good try."

They watched as Anduin said a couple more words to Tyrande, then came back to sit down. "Okay. You two are going to have lunch alone the day after tomorrow."

"We're… what?" exclaimed Malfurion as Rega sniggered.

"She said she'd be happy to have lunch with you, so tomorrow, you guys will go to the booth closest to the lunch line and eat together." He looked at Malfurion patiently, "Look, it's simple. You do what Faith and Sylvanas did. They started talking, and got to know each other."

"But I…" he shook his head.

"You like her. So you talk to her and get to know her. Easy."

"The worst she can do is say no," said Minnah. "Besides, if you don't show up, everyone will think you're no better than Arthas, and you don't want that."

Malfurion looked over at Tyrande, his cheeks a darker violet than the rest of his skin. Nervous, he swallowed.

"I can't wait to see this," said Sylvanas to Faith later. "It'll be fun to see how they interact." She smiled secretly, as she had another reason to get to that day.

She had planned a surprise party for Faith. The others had agreed to plan it with her, having noticed that she was looking a little sad because her family hadn't even written to her to wish her a happy birthday. They had even asked the kitchen staff to bake cupcakes for them.

"I hope I get done at the store in time to see them together."

Sylvanas put an arm around her shoulders, "I'll come and pick you up."

True to her word, she showed up at the store just before lunch a couple of days later, and took Faith to the cafeteria, where Malfurion was waiting like a nervous rabbit sensing predators close by.

"You need to calm down!" said Rega, shoving him playfully. "Everything's going to be okay. All you have to do is have lunch with her and talk to her. It's stuff you do every day: eat and have a conversation."

"But never with a girl."

"What are we, ducks?" asked Sylvanas.

"No, but I mean… Tyrande's… gorgeous."

Sylvanas glared at him, "Okay, you want to be quiet before I hit you."

"You see? I can't do this, I'd better leave." He started walking away, but Faith pulled him back, laughing.

"Okay, look, you'll be fine. Just say hello, tell her she looks nice, grab lunch and maybe make a comment about the food before you get back to the table. Once you're there, just start talking."

"About what?"

Faith shrugged, "Summer's coming up, you could talk about that. Ask if she's doing anything for the holidays, if she likes to travel, stuff like that. Then just see where the conversation takes you. If you're really pressed for a subject, talk about classes."

"Will you come rescue me if you see that I'm in trouble?"

"Sure. Now go on, there she is." She gave him a gentle push before linking her arm with Sylvanas' and going to get herself something to eat.

Evidently, lunch went well for Malfurion and Tyrande. Faith tried not to watch them too closely, but from what she saw things were working out, and when it was over, he happily told them that she had agreed to have dinner with him the following evening.

"See? I told you it would be easy," said Anduin, clapping him on the shoulder.

"She's easy to talk to, like you guys." He smiled sheepishly, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Faith smiled at him before kissing Sylvanas on the cheek, "I have to go back to the store. I'll see you later?"

"Definitely. I'll come and bug you soon."

"Bug me, you don't bug me." Shaking her head, she kissed Sylvanas again and left, opening the store for that afternoon's shift.

She was surprisingly busy, taking inventory for the rest of the day and completely losing track of time in the back rooms as she counted how many books, notebooks, and pens they had left over.

"That looks incredibly boring."

Faith jumped, looking over to where Sylvanas was leaning against the doorframe. She had changed since lunch, and was wearing black canvas pants and a blood red shirt that was striking against her skin. She had braided her hair, and it fell over one shoulder, almost glistening.

"It kept me busy," she replied, shamelessly looking her girlfriend up and down. "You look amazing. Going somewhere?"

"I wanted to make myself pretty for you."

A smile, "Good job." She held up a finger, made a note in the notebook she had on her lap, and got to her feet, dusting off the seat of her robes. Putting the notebook away, she walked to Sylvanas and wrapped her arms around her, "You know, I like you more and more every day."

Sylvanas kissed her, "I didn't know that. I like you a lot too."

"I hope so, or kissing me would be a little awkward. So, where are you going?"

"I thought I'd take you somewhere tonight, just you and me."

"A date?!" exclaimed Faith. "I need to change."

"You don't, you look beautiful."

"You're my girlfriend, you have to say that."

Sylvanas shook her head, "No I don't. If you look like crap, I'll tell you. But if you want to change, you can. Or, actually…" She handed her a black leather cloak lined with soft pale gray fur, "You can just wear this, as we'll be outside."

"You want me to wear your cloak?"

"Please?"

Faith nodded, "Okay." She turned, and Sylvanas fastened it on her. It was heavier than her own cloak, and very warm due to the fur. She immediately felt cozy. "Won't you be cold?"

"One of the advantages of being a Tal'dorei is that I don't feel cold like other people do. I could be naked in a snowstorm and not feel uncomfortable. And it's snowing out tonight, which is why I want you to wear this. I don't want you to be cold."

"Thanks," whispered Faith, putting an arm around Sylvanas' waist. Sylvanas kissed her cheek and grabbed Faith's cloak, slinging it over her shoulder as the two of the left the store.

They walked a short way, towards the edge of Eversong Woods, where Faith could see that something had been set up: a long table on which had been placed several high candelabras. Torches lit the area, and Faith noticed immediately that some kind of barrier had been set up so that snow wouldn't fall on the table.

"Sylvanas… what did you do?"

Sylvanas only smiled at her, leading her closer.

As soon as they stepped through the barrier, Faith gasped. So did Sylvanas.

The magical barrier had hidden the fact that the table had been laden with presents wrapped in brightly colored paper. Dozens of cupcakes were there, along with plates of delicious-looking sandwiches. Over the table, a banner hung in midair, on which had been written the words 'Happy birthday, Faith and Sylvanas!'.

"Surprise!" cried the people assembled around the table: Anduin, Malfurion, Tyrande, Rega, Minnah, Dane and Izzy, all of them grinning.

Sylvanas nearly took a step back, "This… I… it was supposed to be for Faith, not for me…"

"Yeah, we know," said Izzy, winking at her. "But since your birthday's next week, we figured we'd include you in tonight's celebration."

"But…" she didn't get to finish her sentence as Faith kissed her so thoroughly that her mind spun. "Whoa… hi."

"You did this?" she asked, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Originally… yeah, I planned it. But these rascals over there pulled a fast one on me, I think."

"We got them," said Anduin gleefully. "Look how stunned Sylvanas is!"

"I think that's because Faith kissed her," said Dane. "Can we eat now? I'm hungry."

It was an amazing evening. The food was delicious, and the birthday girls, overwhelmed, stayed close to each other, opening various presents.

"It hasn't been easy getting stuff for you two, you know," said Anduin as he handed them gifts. "You're always around the store."

Faith hugged him, "Thank you. I haven't had a birthday party in years."

"You deserve one. And we're lucky the teachers allowed us to have one. But Master Rhonin actually likes Sylvanas, so it was easier than we thought. He set this up with Master Medivh."

"It's great. You guys really did a good job."

He smiled, "We'll have to figure out a way to surprise you two next year."

"No more surprises," said Sylvanas. "I'll admit though, you guys really got me."

"We did, didn't we? That's all that matters."

The party wound down a couple of hours later, when the barrier dissolved around them and the kitchen staff came by to clear everything away. A little giddy, everyone went to bed, although Faith felt, for the first time, that leaving Sylvanas was painful. Part of her felt a disquieting fear at being away from her girlfriend, even if it was just for the night.

This feeling scared her, but she didn't know who to talk to about it. She didn't want to speak about it to Sylvanas in case it would scare her, and she didn't think their friends would understand.

"Faith, honestly, I would appreciate it if you could pay attention to me while I'm teaching," said Master Medivh to her one day, as she thought about that very thing.

Faith jumped, embarrassed as the rest of the class laughed. "I'm sorry, Master," she said quietly.

"Just because you're the strongest warlock in the year doesn't mean you can slack off." He stared at her sharply for a few seconds, before continuing his lesson on voidwalkers. Faith tried to pay attention, but her mind kept slipping in such a way that it was impossible for her to concentrate.

"Stay here a moment," he told her once the bell rang.

Faith sat down again, a little apprehensive. "I'm sorry I wasn't more attentive today," she said. "I'm just a little distracted."

"More than just a little, I think. What's wrong?"

"It's Sylvanas…" she said quietly.

"Are you two having problems?"

"Oh no, it's nothing like that. It's just that I… I don't like to be away from her, you know? When we leave each other for the evening… I hate it. I have to force myself not to beg her to stay with me all the time. Is that normal?"

She looked so young and innocent right then that Medivh smiled and took a seat next to her. "It's a new relationship. It's normal for you to feel that way for the first few months. When that feeling starts going away, that's when you'll have to start worrying."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that for now, you always want to be with her, which is a good thing. It's possible that this doesn't change, just like it's possible that after some time, the two of you will grow apart."

"But… I don't want us to grow apart."

"Well, I'm not saying it's going to happen now."

"Should I talk to her about it?"

He nodded, "Yes. You should always talk to her about the way you feel. It's a good policy to always be honest with each other. If start to lie to her, it's time to rethink your relationship."

Faith bit her thumbnail, "What if she laughs at me?"

"Has she ever done that?"

She shook her head, "No."

"Then there's no reason for you to think that she's going to do it now. Just let things happen naturally." He stood up, "Now, go. You have a few things to make up in order to be up to date for the quiz I'm giving you on Friday."

"You're giving us a quiz?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"Maybe. Now, go study."

She thanked him, and left the classroom, finding herself alone in the corridor. She wound her way through the halls until she reached her room, but instead of sitting at her desk to study, she changed into dark blue robes made of smooth cotton with a low rounded neckline and long sleeves. Once she was dressed again, she took Sylvanas' present out of her closet.

When she opened the door to leave, she found Sylvanas there, her hand raised to knock on the wood. "Oh! Sylvanas! Hi."

The ranger looked at her, a gentle smile on her face, "Hi. Were you going somewhere? I know that we were supposed to meet for dinner but…" she kissed her. "You look beautiful. I love your dress."

Faith kept her eyes closed for a second, savoring the taste of Sylvanas' lips on hers, "Thank you. You weren't supposed to see it until tonight, though."

"Sorry. I wanted to see you. Do you want me to leave?"

Shaking her head, Faith pulled Sylvanas into her room, "No. I never want you to leave."

"I never want to leave either," whispered Sylvanas, pressing her forehead's to Faith's. They kissed, slowly at first, then a little more intensely. Moments passed, and each of them forgot everything else for a time.

"Mmm. I had something else planned for your birthday, but if you'd rather we stay in here like this, I don't mind." Faith rubbed Sylvanas' sides gently, kissing her again.

"Planned? What did you have planned?"

"Dinner. You planned a whole party for me, but I was going to make you dinner."

"Make me dinner? As in cooking? You cook?"

"Well, I bake."

"I didn't know that."

Faith smiled, "I'm not going to tell you all my secrets at once. Anyway, I was on my way down to the kitchens."

"Can I come with you?"

"You don't have to study or anything?"

"I can study after dinner." Sylvanas looked at her, "What? You don't want me to be there?"

Faith bit her lip, "I wanted everything to be a surprise… but I'd rather have you with me."

"I promise I won't look at what you do," said Sylvanas with a smile.

"I don't mind you looking," Faith told her. "Come on."

Hand-in-hand, they left Faith's room and made their way down to the kitchens where a couple of the cooks were waiting.

"Miss Everstone," said one of them. "We got the ingredients that you asked for right here."

"I hope it wasn't too much trouble."

The sous-chef shook her head, "Not at all. Your meal was actually an excellent idea, so we're making a version of it for everyone tonight."

"A version of what?" asked Sylvanas.

"Chicken pot pie."

Sylvanas' eyes got very wide, "You're making me a chicken pot pie?" she asked Faith.

"Yes. I hope it's good. I've only made it twice before with my mom."

For the next couple of hours, Sylvanas watched as Faith worked, wanting to help her, but unable to do anything besides peel the vegetables and set the table in a separate room. By the time they sat down, she was starving: the food looked amazing.

"You know, you didn't have to go through all that trouble for me, right?"

Faith took her hand, "I wanted to." She handed her the present, which contained a set of small onyx hoop earrings, "Happy birthday, Sylvanas."

Sylvanas leaned across the table to kiss her, "Best birthday ever," she whispered.