Back Down to Ironforge

"I see Saurfang, Vol'jin and Baine have already arrived."

Sylvanas looked over to Menethil Harbour in the distance and the Horde fleet docked around it. "We should really change the name of that town. The name Menethil is nothing but trouble."

Athrodar smirked, nodding his head slowly. "How about Windrunner Harbour? Name it after the Queen that took it from the Alliance."

"If we're being honest, you're the one who took it." Sylvanas looked over to Athrodar who smiled and looked down. "So unless you're telling me you've taken my last name, that won't be an accurate statement." When he continued to look down at the reins in his hands, Sylvanas tilted her head a little and narrowed her eyes at him. "Have you been thinking about taking my name?"

"The thought has crossed my mind once or twice." Athrodar glanced over to his Queen and saw the raised eyebrow. "You and our daughter are the only real family I have. I know she has taken your name and since I don't really have a name of my own, I began to entertain the idea of taking yours." He shrugged his shoulders. "But at the same time I'd rather keep my name as is."

Sylvanas smiled, looking forward as they continued to ride through the Wetlands. "The choice is yours. Though I would personally love it if you took my name." She glanced over to him. "We could even take each others and make it into one."

Athrodar laughed lightly. "Sunrunner or Windblade?"

Sylvanas smirked, nodding her head slowly. "Okay, maybe not them but if you do choose to take my name, I will be forever happy for it."

"No pressure then." Athrodar said, looking behind them and towards Victoria who was sitting between Sera and Thal'ena, though her attention was mostly on the Blood-Princess. "Something is going on with them." He whispered, making Sylvanas look back at their daughter too.

"Do you think it's sexual?" The Banshee Queen asked.

Athrodar stared blankly at her, slowling blinking. "Really? You're asking me if our daughter is having sex with her?"

Sylvanas began stare at her daughter and the Blood-Princess, trying to read their lips to understand the conversation they were having. "Not really asking you if they are... I just wanted to see if you knew or not."

"That's called asking." Athrodar told her, looking back at their daughter. "But I think they are."

"Should we do something?" The Banshee Queen whispered, pulling her skeletal horse closer to him.

"If we do something, she will hate us for it." Athrodar looked forward, making it look like he wasn't paying attention to both Princess'. "But don't worry, I have Sera on it. She's keeping tabs on them without being too obvious about it."

"Spying on our daughter..." Sylvanas muttered, shaking her head. "What have we become?"

Athrodar began to smile. "Concerned parents." He said, looking over to her. "I blame you for this."

"Me!?" She cried, making everyone around them look over to the Banshee Queen. "Me?" She whispered this time.

"Well it's not my fault." Athrodar replied.

Sylvanas began to pout like a child, looking away from him. "It's not my fault either..." She muttered, keeping her eyes on the Wetlands around them.

The Forsaken and Sin'dorei continued to march down through the Wetlands and found themselves in Loch Modan within an hour, already on the outskirts Dun Morogh. Athrodar looked over to Sylvanas every now and then during the trip, smiling and shaking his head when he saw her continue to look away from him, deciding to speak up when they neared Dun Morogh. "Are you going to talk to me?"

"Not until you apologise." She said, keeping her attention off him and towards the ground.

Athrodar rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. You're not to blame, our daughter has free will and she chose to be with Thal'ena."

Sylvanas looked back at him with a cocky grin. "I knew I could get you to apologise."

The Death Knight raised an eyebrow at his Queen. "Or did I know what to say to get you to talk to me?" He began to smirk when she realised he was right, though he also knew she was right in her statement. "Let's just call it a tie." He looked back towards the rest of the two armies behind them for a second before returning his attention to his Queen. "And you can win later when we're alone."

"I like the sound of that..." Sylvanas muttered just as they began to make their way through the tunnel and towards Dun Morogh. "Though something tells me you'll still be the winner."

"Let's just agree to disagree." Athrodar said, moving his Deathcharger closer to her Skeletal Warhorse and placing a hand on her leg. "After all, we both can't keep our hands off each other." He whispered to her, looking down at his hand on her leg.

Victoria, riding behind her parents, watched them closely the moment they moved their mounts next to each other, tilting her head when they both began to laugh quietly. "Do you think I will ever have someone who could make me laugh like that?" She asked the Blood-Princess on her left who was too busy distracting herself from her growing hunger. When she didn't get an answer, Victoria looked over to the Blood-Princess and saw her shaking on top of the skeletal horse she was given. "Are you okay?"

"No." Thal'ena told her, closing her eyes and trying to stop herself from visibly shaking. "I need to feed." She whispered.

Victoria looked around, making sure nobody could hear them and moving closer to her once she saw Sera looking forward and ignoring them. "What do you mean? I thought we didn't need to eat."

The Blood-Princess laughed, scratching her arm when it began to itch. "I figured Athrodar wouldn't have told you." She looked over to Victoria who saw her fangs were standing out more than ever. "The San'layn feed on blood. When we don't over a long period, we begin to lose control of ourselves and try to find it. Even if it means hurting someone we care about."

The young Banshee frowned at her, having another question cross her mind. "How can I help?"

"Either find me someone I can feed on, or you can't help." She whispered, looking forward and towards Athrodar and Sylvanas, making sure they didn't hear what she asked. "I will be most grateful though if you did help."

"A prisoner." Victoria said, watching the Blood-Princess nod. "I will speak to my father about it, I'm sure he can help as well."

As they neared the great doors of Ironforge, Athrodar glanced back at Victoria who had a look about her that told him she needed help. "I'll meet the rest of the leaders later, I need to do something first." He told Sylvanas.

The Banshee Queen placed her hand on his arm. "Don't be long."

"I'll try not to be." He reassured her, stopping to one side of the column and having Victoria and the Blood-Princess stop by his side. "She needs to feed, doesn't she?" He asked his daughter, seeing Thal'ena visibly shake without even looking at her.

"She does." Victoria said, nodding her head and look over to the Blood-Princess. "I want to help her but I don't have anything to give her." She paused, looking down at the head of her Deathcharger. "Or anyone."

Athrodar waited until the Forsaken and Sin'dorei armies had entered Ironforge before addressing the situation. "Let me guess, you don't have anyone who she can feed on?"

Victoria shook her head. "That's why I was hoping you could help us."

Athrodar sighed,, pulling his Deathcharger around and slowly making his way down the road that led them to Ironforge. "Come on, we're going to go hunting."

Victoria and Thal'ena began to follow him back down the mountain road leading to Ironforge, the young Banshee looking over to the Blood-Princess who was becoming increasingly agitated. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find something."

"Is Athrodar not joining us?" Lor'themar asked after making his way to the front of the column.

"He has a personal errand to run. He will be here when he's finished." Sylvanas looked over to the Regent Lord who sat upon his hawkstrider. "Why, were you worried?"

"Of course not, I was just wondering why your King wasn't coming to the meeting with the rest of the Horde leaders."

Sylvanas narrowed her eyes at the Regent Lord. "He's not a King."

"No?" The Regent Lord now asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "How long have you two been married? Almost six months now?"

"Coming up to that, yes." She let out a sigh, looking down at the ring on her finger. "I have asked a few times to let me name him King, but he refuses each time."

Lor'themar began to smile. "Wow, sombody who actually says no to you. That must feel really annoying."

"You have no idea." The Banshee Queen said, entering The Great Forge in the middle of Ironforge. "And I can't do anything about it because it's his choice not mine. Though I would prefer it if he did accept my offer of naming him King." She looked over to the Regent Lord. "Then we would be equal and I would be okay with that. I don't like that I am still his superior even though we are together."

Lor'themar began to grin at the Banshee Queen, both of them climbing off their mounts once they were outside the great hall housing the rest of the Horde Leaders. "You're sounding more and more like you did when you were Ranger-General of Silvermoon." He saw her look away and smile a little, tilting his head. "Have you had any word from Velen about your deal?"

Sylvanas shook her head. "None, so I can only assume he's unsuccessful so far."

"Have patience." Lor'themar reassured her. "He will find your sister, I am sure of it."

The rest of the Sylvanas and the Sin'dorei leaders all joined the rest of the Horde leaders in the Great Hall, the Warchief sitting at the head of the great table and glancing over to Moira who sat in the closest chair to her whilst the other was left empty for when Athrodar returned. "How are the siege engines coming along?" She asked the Dark Iron Queen.

"They are ready and prepared, Warchief. We can move them towards Redridge Mountains when you give the command."

Sylvanas smirked. "Good. Soon as this meeting is over, send them down to Redridge with the rest of your armory." She looked over to the other end of the table, looking at Saurfang who was talking to Baine. "Saurfang, have your scouts reported anything?"

The High Overlord looked over to the Banshee Queen, nodding once at her. "They have. They tell me that the Alliance are pulling back from Lakeshire, Darkshire, Sentinal Hill and Goldshire, setting up a defence in Stormwind."

Sylvanas began to tap a finger on the desk, nodding slowly at the High Overlord. "So they are pulling back all their soldiers to make Stormwind as impenetrable as possible." She sat back on her chair, smirking at the Alliance's plan. "No matter, we have the numbers to crush them five times over." She looked over to Lor'Themar who sat beside Moira. "Any ideas on how to break their defence for our entire army to enter the city?"

"Warchief, if I may." Moira said, sitting forward. "The siege engines we have designed here in Ironforge should punch a big enough hole in their walls that we don't need any other plan. The moment their walls fall, the war is over."

Sylvanas began to smile, knowing her faith in the Horde's new ally wasn't misplaced. "I trust your siege engines, Moira. But it wouldn't hurt to have another plan if they should fail."

"We have our fleet at Menethil Harbour." Baine said, looking down the table and towards the Banshee Queen. "We have more than enough to take Stormwind harbour and attack from a separate flank." Baine then began to look around the rest of the table. "We can storm the city and attack the defenders on the walls from behind, quickly allowing our warriors to flood the rest of the city and get vengeance for Garrosh's death."

"Athrodar told me about their defences whilst he was their prisoner." Sylvanas raised her hand up to stop the chatter the moment she said it, only just realising that they weren't told he was a prisoner of the Alliance. "Their cannon towers are positioned high up and overlook the harbour. Unless we can take them out quickly, they could tear our ships apart."

"Athrodar was imprisoned by the Alliance?" Liadrin asked, finding it hard to believe. "How? Why?"

Sylvanas sighed, lowering her hand. "We both discussed a way to get into Stormwind and assess their defences. Although I wasn't a fan of the final plan, it was the best we had in such a short time." The Banshee Queen tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair. "What does it matter anyway? He has seen their defences and when he returns he can give us a detailed overview of them."

"Why isn't he here now?" Saurfang asked.

Sylvanas looked to the two empty chairs on her left, one for Athrodar and the other for Victoria. "He is on a personal errand that shouldn't take too long." The Banshee Queen looked over to the High Overlord. "Now unless you're telling me you need him here instead of your Warchief to plan out the siege and what happens after, then this meeting is over."

"No, we don't need him." Lor'themar said, bowing his head to the Banshee Queen. "We can continue without him, though I think they would like to know where he is or what he's doing, seeing as he is the High General of the Horde."

Sylvanas looked over to the two empty chairs again, shaking her head a little. "I don't know."

"There." Athrodar said, pointing towards the distance. "A camp of Frost Trolls."

The Blood-Princess groaned. "You know I hate the taste of Frost Troll blood." She glared at him when he began to smile. "You deliberately chose them."

"Isn't there something else?" Victoria asked, looking around the frozen forests of Dun Morogh. "A bear or a boar, something other than a Frost Troll."

"We could, but then we would be here a lot more often." Athrodar looked back at the Blood-Princess who was hugged herself, noticing her fangs were sticking out and crying for a neck to sink into. "It's these or nothing. You're not touching a soldier of the Horde."

"Fine." Thal'ena said through gritted teeth, letting go of herself and casting shadowflame in her hands. "Stay here."

Victoria watched the Blood-Princess charge into the camp, capturing all of the Frost Trolls in her spell. "Have you seen this before? The.. process?" She looked up at her father who stood there silently, seeing in his eyes that he had. "What's it like?"

"If she's hungry enough, painful for the victim. If not, there is some mercy in the process as she numbs their entire body." He let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "Though it's not done for mercy's sake, it's to keep them calm and to not put any fear into their blood."

Victoria frowned at him. "Why, what does it mean if they have fear?"

"I guess it doesn't taste as sweet? I don't know. Her mother explained it to me once whilst we were... Anyway my point is; the first two might be in pain, but the rest won't be." Athrodar began to walk towards the Blood-Princess the moment she began to feed on one. "It's safe now."

Victoria made her way to the Blood-Princess to watch the whole thing, becoming instantly fascinated by the process and crouching down beside her. "So how does it work?"

Thal'ena glanced over to the young Banshee, taking her fangs out the Frost Troll's neck and not stopping the blue blood from rolling down her chin. "I stick my fangs in here." She said, pointing to the neck. "And then I use one hand to forcefully pump their blood around their body whilst the other soothes them so they don't struggle." She moved her mouth back towards the neck of her first victim. "Makes the whole thing a lot easier."

Victoria shuffled a little closer to her, watching the blood drip from her chin and land in the snow. "How does it taste?" She asked, ignoring Athrodar who stood a few feet away, making sure they weren't being watched.

Thal'ena removed her fangs from the Frost Troll's neck once again, looking at the young Banshee's lips and leaning forward. "Why don't you find out?" She whispered, kissing her whilst her lips were still bloody and allowing her to taste the blood still fresh on her tongue when she gently stroked it against the young Banshee's. "How did that taste?" She asked when they pulled away, removing the spell from her hand that she had tried to keep up whenever possible, forcing Victoria to fall for her.

"Mmm, not as bad as I thought it would." Victoria said, licking her lips.

Athrodar looked over to them, noticing some of the Frost Troll's blood on his daughter's lips. "Victoria, let's go." He waited for her to stand up before beconing her over. "She knows where to go when she's finished." He glanced down at the young Banshee when she wiped away the remaining Troll Blood on her lips. "You should know that your mother doesn't like her very much."

"She will have to put up with it because I do like her."

The Death Knight raised an eyebrow at her. "What happened to Viraleth? We haven't found her yet, but I believe Nathanos will get her location from the Admiral soon. Just give it time."

Victoria sighed, lowering her head. "I know he will... I want to find her too, it's just... She could be anywhere and I don't want to tie myself down to one person whom I may not see for years."

"I never said that." Athrodar told her, narrowing his eyes at his daughter. "Why, what are you doing with her?"

Victoria widened her eyes, feeling her cheeks become hotter as she became embarrassed with what she just said. "N-nothing! I am just interested in her and her kind. Honest!" She began to bat her eyelashes at Athrodar, smiling sweetly up at him in an attempt to convince him. "I wouldn't lie to you."

Athrodar, deciding to play along just to make sure she didn't think he knew what she was doing, smiled and hugged her tightly. "Okay, I believe you." He kissed the top of her head, helping her up onto her Deathcharger. "Let's return to Ironforge, your mother will be wanting to know where we are."