Those Three Words

Athrodar stood in the main room of the town hall in Ambermill, closely inspecting a painting of a human standing tall and proud, surrounded by soldiers of the Alliance whilst standing on an old Horde flag. "It's funny." He said, glancing over to Sylvanas who was walking over to him. "Go back fifteen - twenty years and this was us, standing with the Alliance and fighting back the Horde."

"A lot has changed since then." She told him, looking at the painting. "The old Alliance was weak. Their human kingdoms were never agreeing on the same thing outside of a common threat, which is what drove them apart." She looked over to him, seeing his eyes drop down from the painting. "Their weakness is what made the Scourge strong."

"And our natural greed for power is what let them in." He responded, seeing her eyes drop from him this time when she thought about it. "We all had our weaknesses."

She looked back up at him, seeing his attention return to the painting. "We are stronger now. Our weaknesses were torn away when we died."

"Were they?" He asked, glancing over to her again. "You're telling me you no longer crave power? That you don't want to conquer everyone and everything?"

"I would say they're more of a desire than a weakness." She took hold of his hand, seeing him fully turn his attention to her. "We're returning to Undercity. If you still want that promotion to Captain of the Royal Guard, the offer is still there."

Athrodar placed a hand behind her head, pulling her in close and lightly kissing her. "If I still want to remain by your side?" He asked, kissing her again.

Sylvanas wrapped her arms around his neck, firmly kissing him and stroking her tongue across his. "I want nothing more than to have you by my side." She whispered to him, being lifted up and wrapping her legs around his waist. "To see you all the time and know that you will be keeping me safe." She felt a table appear under her when he placed her down, hearing several objects hit the stone floor when he swept them off. "A part of me is telling me to tell you that we will be interrupted within the next five minutes." She pulled on his tunic and brought him down for a long kiss. "But the other part of me really wants this."

Athrodar grinned, moving down to her waist and slowly pulling down her leggings. "Then I will make this quick." He continued to pull her leggings down, grinning wider when he saw her curious stare as he left his armour on. "You wanted to know more about my past seven years? Well I learnt this during a long stint in Shattrath whilst I was on a mission as an assassin." He began to kiss her inner thighs, working from left one and moving over to her right one before lightly kissing the mound between her legs. "The Draenei have been around for centuries. They pick up a few things that they are willing to share behind closed curtains."

Sylvanas placed a hand on top of his head, letting out a long moan of pleasure and biting her bottom lip when he began to lick between the legs, pushing one finger inside her in the meantime. "By the titans..." She managed to say, involuntarily clamping down his head with her thighs. "You need... to share... more of.. this past.. with me."

Athrodar broke free from her death grip, moving up to kiss her whilst replacing his tongue with two fingers, locking lips with her to keep her quiet whilst massaging her between her legs. "This specific type of thing?" He asked, grinning when she nodded profusely whilst covering her mouth with the back of her hand to keep quiet. "If you react like this, and if we have the free time, I will gladly share the many things I have learnt around the world."

She placed a hand on the one between her legs whilst hooking the other around the back of his neck, keeping him close to her. "I'm going.. ah.. to pay you back for this."

"There's no need." He told her, hearing her whimper followed by feeling her shake on his hand before digging her nails into his back and biting down on his shoulder, letting out a loud moan as she hit her peak which quickly drew out a silent moan. "This was to de-stress you, my Queen." He told her once her head had stopped spinning, smiling at her when she placed a hand on his face. "We can't go back to Undercity with you on edge now, can we?"

Sylvanas placed both her hands on his face, pulling him down once more for a long kiss. "I love you." She said, widening her eyes when she realised it was said out loud. She sat up and extended a hand out towards him when he backed away from her. "Athrodar wait..."

He shook his head, walking backwards until he hit the wall behind him. "What did you say?"

She hopped off the table, pulling up her leggings in the meantime and began to step closer to him, only to have him back away somewhere else. "Nothing. I said nothing."

He shook his head. "No, you said you love me."

"Okay, yes. I did. But I didn't mean it." She stopped walking, closing her eyes and sighing when she realised that sounded worse than she meant. "What I mean is, I do love you." She groaned not meaning to say it like that either. "This is difficult to explain, so bear with me."

Just as she was about to explain, there was a knock at the door which was shortly followed by Viraleth entering the room. "My Queen, we are just waiting for you now."

"Not now, Viraleth." She said, holding out a hand to Athrodar. "Listen, I know what I said has shocked you, but that wasn't my intention."

Athrodar scoffed. "Right..." He shook his head, turning away from her and catching a glimpse of Viraleth looking both confused and curious. "Were you ever going to tell me? Or were you just going to keep it to yourself?"

"If I knew you would react like this, I wouldn't have said anything."

Viraleth looked over to Athrodar then to Sylvanas, opening her mouth to speak but remaining silent when she saw Athrodar face the Queen. "But you did." He glanced over to Viraleth who continued to watch them. "They are waiting for you, my Lady." He said, pointing towards the exit.

"Are you coming with us?" She asked, standing in front of Viraleth.

"I'm not sure that's the best idea." He looked over to the painting he was inspecting earlier. "I'll return to Undercity once I've thought over a few things."

"Okay." She replied, walking out the room and having Viraleth follow her closely behind. When she mounted her skeletal horse, she glanced over to the Dark Ranger by her side and sighed deeply. "I made a big mistake, Viraleth."

The Dark Ranger tilted her head. "What happened, my Lady? He looked very shaken."

Sylvanas slowed down her pace and dropped back from the rest of them, having Viraleth shadow her actions. Once they were alone, she looked pained and for the first time in years – at least to Viraleth – she looked scared. "I told him that I loved him."

Viraleth widened her eyes. "My Queen, that's... that's not good."

"I know."

"I mean. He's just finding his feet and getting comfortable around us after spending the last two years in that frozen continent. Telling him that now... It may scare him away."

"I can't have that, Viraleth. I need him to stay here."

Viraleth frowned, knowing that Sylvanas wanted a response but was trying to think of something to say that will make her less worried than she seemed. "There's a chance that he will stay."

"But?"

The Dark Ranger sighed, not wanting to say but ultimately having to tell her. "He doesn't feel at home in Undercity. I can see it with how on edge he is when we're just walking around the canal, he's looking for any threat that could attack him." She looked over to Sylvanas, seeing her take everything she just said into account. "He doesn't like being alone, especially after killing Arthas." She lowered her eyes, looking down at the reins in her hands. "I don't know what it was like being that close to that monster, but Athrodar was connected to him in a way we won't understand." She looked back over to Sylvanas. "I think for the first time in a while he is truly alone. He doesn't remember his past with us and he has left those he does remember." She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what he is thinking, but I know telling him that has shaken him greatly."

Sylvanas remained quiet for the rest of the journey back to Undercity, taking in everything Viraleth said and realising just how much she had messed up. When they did arrive in Undercity, she had told everyone to leave her alone in the throne room though she kept Viraleth with her, pacing back and forth on her dais and thinking about every possible outcome from her mistake. "What if he just disappears? Leaves Silverpine and even the Eastern Kingdoms. He may return to Northrend."

"And what? Join the Scourge again? My Lady, no offence but I don't think he will do that."

"You're right, that was stupid." She continued to pace, realising something when it crossed her mind. "His Deathcharger... did we bring it back with us?"

Viraleth shook her head. "No, my Queen. It didn't want to leave without him." She watched Sylvanas continue to pace, wondering if what she said was actually true or if it just slipped out. "Did you mean it when you said you loved him?"

She stopped pacing and looked at her throne, her lips twitching when she thought about it. "I did." She groaned, continuing to pace back and forth. "But I think I blew it by telling him way too early."

"Maybe not, my Lady."

Sylvanas frowned at her. "What do you mean?"

"You may have startled him by telling him those three words, but he may not run off."

"I don't follow."

Viraleth rolled her eyes. "If I talk to him I can convince him to stay, but he may be on edge a lot more if he does decide to stay."

Sylvanas sighed. "This is why I tell everyone to forget their past and focus on the future. It just messes things up."

Viraleth took a couple of steps towards her, standing at the foot of her dais. "But if you did, you wouldn't be as happy as you are now, my Lady." She saw Sylvanas look over to her. "If I leave now, I can bring him back to you."

She nodded. "Yes, go. Bring him back to me."

Anya opened the doors to the throne room, almost walking into Viraleth as she was about to leave. "My Queen, Athrodar has returned only to step through a portal to Silvermoon."

Viraleth looked back at Sylvanas who widened her eyes. "Dawnstrider..." She muttered, focussing on her chief scout. "Viraleth, go find him before he does something he will regret."

"I'm sorry I haven't visited." Athrodar said, looking down at the floor. "I've been distracted and I know it's no excuse but I just needed to see you."

Viraleth ran through Silvermoon trying to find the Death Ranger, being told by Halduron that he had left the spire the moment he arrived in Silvermoon, seeing him make his way towards the graveyard. "What is he doing there?" She asked herself as she made her way towards the graveyard, seeing him kneel down in front of a headstone.

"I don't know what to do, Lana'thel. Sylvanas told me she loves me and I panicked. I hadn't been told that since you told me you loved me before you died, and it brought back some painful memories." He clenched his fist into a tight ball as he thought about his final moments with the Blood-Queen. "I should have taken you out of the citadel weeks before we assaulted it. Perhaps you would still be here."

Viraleth slowly made her way towards him, trying not to startle the Death Ranger as he placed a hand on the headstone. "Athrodar, I've come to take you back to Undercity."

He shook his head. "I'm not ready to go back yet."

Viraleth took a couple of steps towards him. "But you are going back, right?"

"Yes." He replied, keeping his focus on Lana'thel's headstone. "But I feel like things won't be the same." He smiled a little. "No doubt she has told you."

Viraleth nodded, though she quickly realised he couldn't see her. "Of course. Which is why it shouldn't be a surprise that I came here to tell you she meant it. And to bring you back to her as, once again, you've made her worried she might lose you."

Athrodar leaned forward and kissed the top of the headstone before pressing his forehead against it and whispering his goodbyes. When he pulled back, he stood up and looked over to Viraleth for the first time since her arrival. "Did she really mean it?"

Viraleth gave him a slight nod. "Of course she did." She saw he still wasn't buying it, rolling her eyes and sighing. "Think about it from her perspective. Here's a woman who was more or less promised to you for the last few years of her life before her death." She held up her hands. "Granted you weren't told this at the time, but after her death she tried her best to forget about you and move on, which was difficult since you were one of the rising stars in the ranger corps and were constantly spoken about by higher ups in Silvermoon" She smirked. "Not that it mattered since you died, along with us."

Athrodar scoffed. "Thanks... That's a real boost to my morale."

"I mean... after you died and then was resurrected by Arthas, they seemed to forget you were that good. Just like you forgot about them a few years before hand." Viraleth placed a hand on his shoulder. "But not us. We remembered your worth."

"Convenient."

Viraleth shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, I didn't write it."

Athrodar sighed. "Look, I came here to get away from everything and clear my head." He looked back at Lana'thel's grave. "And to talk to someone who I cared about and is no longer with us."

Viraleth looked over to the grave, nodding her head slowly. "You could have that with the Dark Lady." She said, turning her attention to him. "Would it be that much of a stretch? You're practically together already. You just don't have a label on it."

"But I hardly know her. I've been with the Forsaken for a few months and I feel as if it would be too early to even have such a commitment."

She frowned at him. "Who said anything about a commitment? Just humour her for a while and if you do want to have that sort of... commitment... you could just take that extra leap." She nodded over to Sunfury Spire. "What do you say? Come back to Undercity with me and at least try it?"

Sylvanas sat on her throne, picking at the arm rest with her nails and waiting an agonisingly long time for Viraleth to return. Anya and Clea had come and gone, giving her reports on Silverpine and Gilneas as well as gathering their forces in Undercity to be refitted with armour as well as reattaching limbs the Forsaken had lost in the fighting.

"The Alliance ships were last seen in Southshore, my Lady."

She looked over to Clea who stood in front of her, reading from the many sheets on parchment in her hands. "What else?"

"Our scouts have reported the soldiers were staying there for the night, several of them visiting the inn as well as patrolling the streets. They didn't look to be recruiting any of the citizens there, only resting for the journey back to Stormwind." Clea moved on to the next sheet of parchment, pausing momentarily before looking up at her Queen.

"What does it say?"

Clea skimmed through it, trying to understand it fully before telling Sylvanas. "It says Athrodar is banished from Silvermoon until Grand Magister Dawnstrider sees fit to allow him entrance." She continued to read it, trying to understand the Grand Magister's reasoning. "What did Athrodar say to his daughter?"

"That she needs to move on and grow up." Sylvanas smiled a little, thinking back to that incident and relishing in the fact he chose to stay with her and not go back to the Magister.

Clea looked around the room, noticing the lack of Death Rangers about. "Where is he anyway?"

Sylvanas looked around the room too, widening her eyes when she remembered exactly where he was, forgetting momentarily he was gone. "He's in Silvermoon." She stood up off her throne. "They may have taken him prisoner if this was sent to us the moment the Grand Magister arrived in Silvermoon."

Clea nodded, making way to the throne room doors. "I will gather a handful of rangers and meet you in Silvermoon. We will get him back."

Sylvanas began to make her way to her chambers. "Be by the orb in ten minutes, I need to get my bow and swords as well as leave Nathanos in charge in case we are gone for much longer than we thought."

As she entered her chambers, she realised how weak she had been acting every time Athrodar had been gone for a prolonged amount of time or had been in danger. She knew she had to stop and focus on the task at hand each time, but knowing he was out there and not by her side keeping her safe, she began to worry as it meant there was a chance he wouldn't return.

She opened a nearby wardrobe and took out a new set of armour she was saving for the next real fight, as well as something that would not only show off her elven figure, but also something that would entice him to stay loyal to her.

She rolled her eyes when she though about it, knowing it wasn't something she would have done for anyone else. She put the armour back and picked up her bow, quiver and swords nearby, placing them on her person and hearing a knock at the door as she pulled up her hood. "Not now. If you need anything, talk to Nathanos."

There was another knock at the door which began to frustrate her, telling them to leave or she would have their head. When the knock happened for the third time, she stormed over to the door, unsheathing a sword and opening it up. Just as she was about to swing the blade at the intruder, she dropped it on the floor and shook her head in disbelief. "You're here? But.. I thought..."

"That I was still in Silvermoon?" Athrodar asked, nodding his head and letting out a small laugh. "Yeah, Clea told me as I ran into her." He placed a hand on her face, feeling her wrap her arms around his neck when he kissed her lightly. "I know you meant what you said back at Ambermill." He told her, placing both his hands on her waist. "But right now I don't feel the same way."

She shifted her gaze from his eyes to his chest, keeping her hands on the back of his neck. "You know, no woman wants to hear that."

He placed a hand under her chin and lifted her head up so she was looking at him once more. "I know. Which is why I was going to suggest that you keep hold of those feelings for now." He placed a hand over her unbeating heart. "I will stay here with you. No doubt Viraleth told you I may leave."

Sylvanas smirked. "She said I frightened you by telling you I loved you."

"Well, in a way you did." He told her honestly, brushing a few strands of hair back into her hood when they fell in front of her face. "But I have to move on from that past and look to the future. Though I may be slow to getting where you are, don't think I'm not working my way there."

She smiled at him, pulling him in for a tight hug. "I know you will be trying your best." She pulled his hood down, keeping him held against her tightly with one hand around his waist whilst the other gripped onto the back of his tunic tightly, not wanting to part from him. "About that promotion we spoke about the other day. Do you still want to be Captain of the Royal Guard?"

"Definitely." He whispered in her ear whilst working on taking off her breastplate. "But first, I thought I could show you what else I learnt from those Draenei in Shattrath."

Sylvanas watched him throw her breastplate to one side, giggling when he lifted her up. "So soon after our last encounter?"

Athrodar threw her onto the bed, taking off his cloak and tunic shortly after. "Well, last time was to de-stress you before coming back here, but then I left and must have made you both worried and more stressed." He took off one of her boots, kissing the top of her foot when she pointed her toes at him. "This time however, I will make sure to satisfy all your needs whilst removing any stress, anger, worry or any other negative emotion you have about me."

"And if I have none?" She asked, watching him take off her other boot and kiss the top of her other foot before making his way up to her lips.

"Then you are in for a very enjoyable time, my Queen." He said, taking off her cloak followed shortly after by her shoulder guards. "That is, until we get interrupted."

"Then I'll tell them to handle it themselves." She stood up from the bed, pushing him down onto it and sitting on his lap, pushing him back slowly until he was laying down. "Now, however. We are going to go through every, single, thing you have learnt."

"And if it takes longer than a day?"

"Then that's a day well spent." She whispered to him, biting his bottom lip before giving him a long kiss whilst taking off his belt.

Two days had passed since anyone had seen the pair of them, only getting to hear from their Queen when they had a problem that needed to be sorted by her, though she just yelled at them for interrupting and told them to figure it out themselves. Whilst it had taken Athrodar a day and a half to show the Queen everything he had learnt over the years, it took Sylvanas half a day to fully recover and make sure she could stand without falling over after three steps.

Though most of their recovery time was spent with the two of them in silence, reliving the past day and a half whilst also enjoying each other's company, Athrodar did ask one question that crossed his mind. "So, you remember when you said your need for power and to conquer everyone and everything was just a desire."

She nodded against his chest as she laid on top of him. "I remember." She sat up a little, looking him in the eyes as he looked down at her. "Why, what are you about to ask me?"

"Let's do it." He said, rubbing her arm.

Sylvanas tilted her head. "I'm sorry?"

Athrodar smirked. "You heard me and I know you did." He held her against him, spinning her around so she was on her back and placing his hands on either side of her, keeping himself up over her. "Let's conquer all of Lordaeron. Then move on to the Dwarven lands and then the lands of Stormwind. Take all of the Eastern Kingdom now whilst they have been weakened by Deathwing."

"For the Horde?" She asked, placing a hand on his face.

He moved her hand from his cheek to his lips, kissing her palm. "For the Dark Lady."

"It will take some time to even plan for such a thing." She told him, seeing him smile a little. "I'm serious. It's not something we can just start now and get done within a month."

"I know." He replied, laying down beside her. "But it could be our little side project until everything else is dealt with." Putting an arm across her midriff, he pulled her a little closer. "We just have to plan in stages when we get the chance outside our normal duties. When we get a base for our plans, then we start inviting Clea and Nathanos and Koltira to join us and allow them to start adding to it."

Sylvanas rolled over onto her side, backing up until her back was pressed up against him, holding onto his arm that he wrapped around her. "We will need a spy in Alliance territory, giving us updates on everything to do with their defences and where their armies are." She sighed, taking hold of his hand. "But to even get that close, we need someone to infiltrate their towns and cities. Something that is impossible for us."

Athrodar kissed her shoulder. "Leave the spy to me. I know a Kal'dorei woman who can blend in with the dwarves as if she was one of their own, as well as charm her way into the higher reaches of human nobility." He continued to kiss her shoulder, making his way up to her neck and hearing her quietly moan as he hit a sensitive part of her neck.. "I just need to find her then we can begin the first stage of our plans."

"Where do you think she is?" She asked, turning her head slightly to look at him.

He smirked, knowing exactly where he might find her. "I think I have an idea or two."