Faith turned around. She was there. Her Sylvanas. Her love. Bursting into unexpected tears, she ran to her, collapsing in her arms. "Oh, Sylvanas… Sylvanas…"

Alarmed, Sylvanas looked down at her before holding her, "What's wrong?"

But Faith couldn't speak. She tried, but all that came out with more sobs.

"Come on, Faith, I thought you were done crying all over the place. Pull yourself together."

Faith shook her head, and Sylvanas gently pushed her away so that she could look at her.

"Pull yourself together. That's an order."

"I killed you…"

"Oh, not this again. How many times do we have to go through –."

"No…" Faith swallowed and looked up at her, "When we went to the future… I had to kill you."

A blink. "Oh. Well, all right then."

"I didn't… I… you weren't yourself. It was as though you'd reverted back to what you were when you were with the Scourge. You wanted me dead."

"I wanted you dead?"

Faith nodded, wiping the tears from her face. "You know I would never hurt you, right? Not… I wouldn't."

"Of course I know." She placed a kiss on her forehead, "We can talk about that later. In the meantime, we have things to tell you."

"Did you kill Murozond?" asked Rhonin, briefly glancing at Faith and Sylvanas.

"We did," replied Chromie. "But I daresay that Nozdormu told you about that the moment it happened."

"He's actually been pretty busy, so we didn't get a chance to talk to him. The Aspects have taken back Wyrmrest Temple. It turns out that the Twilight Prophet was Archbishop Benedictus."

"Archbishop… but isn't he the leader of the Church of Light?" asked Faith.

Sylvanas pushed a lock of hair away from Faith's forehead, "How do you know that?"

"I make it my business to know the leaders in Azeroth."

Rhonin gave a nod, "He was, yes, which is why we never saw it coming." Leading them to a room off the main chamber, he brought refreshments to them as he explained what had happened during the four weeks they had been absent. "The druids of the Cenarion Circle report that they were victorious in the Firelands. The elemental lord Ragnaros has been destroyed. So was the lord of air, Al'akir."

"Both good news," said Daegon, accepting a mug of ale.

"Yes. Now the only thing we need to do is kill Deathwing."

Kill Deathwing. That was easier said than done. He had destroyed more of Azeroth in a single day than the Scourge had done in ten years. As Faith went back to Undercity with Sylvanas, she wondered whether they would actually manage to kill him.

"Killing Arthas was one thing," she said, changing out of her clothes. "But this… Deathwing is an Aspect."

"You killed Nozdormu's future self, didn't you?"

"That was different, and I didn't have much to do with it. I was knocked out for most of the fight, remember?"

"So, what, you don't want to go?"

"They don't need me for this, and frankly, I've had enough of war to last me a lifetime."

"You're really not going to go. Deathwing is summoning the Old Gods all over Dragonblight, and you don't want to fight him?"

"Do you want me to fight him? I would have thought that you wouldn't want me anywhere near this."

"I don't, but the principle remains the same." Sylvanas sat on the bed and pulled Faith to her, "Look, if you don't want to go, I can keep you home. But I want you to really think about it."

"Sylvanas. It's not that fighting Deathwing scares me. At least, with him, I know that if I die, I'll remain dead. I didn't know that when I was fighting Arthas. It's just that I realized that I don't need to be everywhere here. You did fine in Gilneas without me, they did great in the Firelands without my help, and they managed to help Neptulon in Vashj'ir, again without me."

"So, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I want to hang up my spellblade. I don't want to fight anymore, Sylvanas. I'm too tired."

"You can't just retire because you think that nobody needs you. Are you kidding? Undercity needs you. I need you."

"For what? You don't need me to battle the Scourge anymore."

Sylvanas stared at her, "You do realize that we had this same discussion when I jumped off Icecrown."

"That's not the same. You're the queen of the Forsaken, Sylvanas. You've made the Forsaken what they are today."

"Yes. And you make me a better person every day. Look at me." She waited until Faith raised her eyes to hers, "I still need you. You've done so many things for me, for all of us. I don't mean just for Undercity, but for Azeroth in general. You killed my future self because I was a major threat to everything."

"I didn't want to kill you…"

"Well, of course you didn't want to kill me. But it was something you needed to do, and you did it to keep all of us safe. I'm not saying that you have to join the task force against Deathwing. I just want you to really think about your decision. Talk to Thrall."

"Talk to… I can't talk to Thrall, I've never been able to refuse him anything."

"And why is it that you refuse me every other day?"

Faith shrugged, "I dunno. He's just got a way about him that makes it hard to say no. You've got a completely different approach to things, one where if someone says no, you rain down fire and brimstone on them."

"Fire and brimstone. Honestly, you make me sound like some kind of demon."

Faith rested her arms against Sylvanas' shoulders, "But a very, very pretty demon." She kissed her, "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to do what you feel is right. You've helped the Aspects get one step closer to the Dragon Soul, and you helped Alexstrasza out of her grief-induced catatonia. Don't you want to help finish everything? The Aspects may have gotten Wyrmrest Temple back, and it might have been temporarily rebuilt by magic, but the forces there are under attack. Deathwing could easily kill them off one by one, and then we'll find ourselves with nothing to hold on to."

"I can't believe you're telling me to go fight after I let you know that I'd like to give everything up."

Sylvanas smiled, "You're too good to quit. And you'd be bored to tears in Undercity with me. What would you do all day?"

"Oh, I can think of a lot of activities I could do with you all day, Sylvanas."

This time, Sylvanas laughed, "Fiend. And who would run Undercity while we're in bed, pray tell?"

"Nathanos could run the city. He dotes on you."

"Over my dead body."

"Sylvanas, baby… you're already dead."

"Not dead enough to let Nathanos run this city, I promise you that."

Faith rested her forehead against Sylvanas', closing her eyes. "Sylvanas, I don't want to fight Deathwing. I don't want to leave you again. Every time I do, I almost die, or you actually die, or I end up killing a part of you."

"That's because you get yourself stuck in impossible situations."

"Me? I do no such thing."

Sylvanas snaked a hand over Faith's inner thigh, "Is that so? How many times have you needed to be rescued over the past couple of years?"

"My ship sank and I was kidnapped, that's not my fault!" She looked down at Sylvanas' hand with interest as it pulled up her robe until her thigh was exposed.

"Mmm. Maybe it wasn't your fault, but you still got yourself in that situation. And in Naxxramas." She moved her hand higher.

Faith shivered, "Also n-not my fault. Sylvanas."

Sylvanas ignored her, focused on what she was doing. "I've had to rescue you more times than I care to count. And I've just realized that I never asked you for anything in return."

"Except for un-unwavering loyalty… Sylvanas, if you keep this up…"

"What? What will you do?"

Faith arched her back as Sylvanas entered her, "For one th-thing… I'll climax all over you."

"I will only let you do that if you agree to talk to Thrall."

"You were always a good negotiator," hissed Faith, kissing Sylvanas fully and wrapping her legs around her waist.

Their lovemaking was intense. Sylvanas didn't stop until Faith was completely sated beneath her, quickly drifting towards sleep.

"You've become a lightweight, my darling," said Sylvanas quietly.

"I told you that I'm tired. It's a general feeling I have."

Sylvanas chuckled, "Rest up. You can go talk to Thrall in the morning."

"Fine. I'll go talk to Thrall. But if he ropes me into going to war and I get killed, you'll have nobody but yourself to blame."

The former warchief of the Horde now lived on a windswept rock close to the Maelstrom. It was a terrifying place, in Faith's eyes, where one could constantly be tossed into the churning waters below. She had no idea how he could live in such a place. Then again, she supposed that if she were as in tune with the elements as Thrall was, she wouldn't find it so bothersome.

He had built a comfortable hut on the rock, one big enough to accommodate him and Aggra, his life mate, a female orc he had met on his journeys in Nagrand. The two of them welcomed her warmly, inviting her inside and shutting the flap to the hut tightly so that the wind wouldn't bother them.

"Hi, Faith," said Thrall quietly, giving her a hug. "I hear that you did a good job when you went through the timeways in the Caverns of Time."

Faith smiled a little, "I didn't do much, to be honest. I'm happy that the others did all right without me." She turned towards Aggra, introducing herself. The brown-skinned orc nodded at her, smiling at her.

"I have heard much about you, Faith Everstone," she said. "You're quite a warrior."

"See, that's what I've come to talk to you guys about. Sylvanas said you wanted to see me about Deathwing, but…"

"You don't want to fight anymore."

Faith shook her head, saying nothing. She knew that for orcs, not wanting to fight was a mark of great dishonor.

"This happens in the life of every warrior," said Aggra, taking her arm and leading her to a low wooden chair. "Sometimes, one questions everything one has done. But the journey isn't over yet for you. Surely you must know that."

"Is there anything wrong with my wanting to live a quiet life with the woman I love?" Faith sighed, "Sylvanas and I never got a chance to live quietly. She became general before I was born, and after that, we never had much of a chance to be together. By the time we did, it was too late to live quietly."

"You were a champion against the Scourge," said Thrall. "People looked up to you, and they do that still. Just having you there in the fight against Deathwing would greatly enhance their courage in battle. You must trust me on this."

What could Faith say? That she didn't want to leave Sylvanas again? The thought of it was painful, but she knew she couldn't refuse Thrall. "I told Sylvanas this would happen."

"What?"

"That you would talk me into fighting Deathwing with you, even though I really don't want to. It's not that I'm afraid, although, yes, in a way I am afraid, like everyone else. I just, I don't want to be away from her anymore."

Thrall smiled, looking at Aggra with a kind eye, "I wouldn't have known what you meant before I met Aggra," he said gently. "I understand how difficult it is for you to be away from Sylvanas. You love her so much that the thought of being away from her is physically painful for you. But you've done it before."

"I know I've done it before, and I know how selfish I sound right now. But damn it, Thrall, don't I have the right to be a little selfish after everything that's happened?"

"Of course you do. It's a normal feeling to have. But Sylvanas still needs to run Undercity, and isn't it better for the two of you when you reunite after some time apart?" His eyes glinted mischievously.

Faith blushed, "Thrall!"

"So, will you come?"

She ran a hand over her eyes, "Fine. I'll be there."

"Thank you, Faith. We'll meet at Wyrmrest Temple tomorrow."

So soon. Faith nodded and made her way back to Undercity, bypassing the Throne Room altogether and going to her chambers to get ready. She didn't take much, only a cross-shoulder bag, her staff, and her spellblade.

One last battle,, she told herself as she snuck away from the city, not wanting to see anybody. Just one more and you'll be home.

"You know, you really need to stop leaving without saying goodbye to me."

Faith jumped out of her skin as Sylvanas jumped down from one of the ruined walls in the ruins of Lordaeron.

"By the Sunwell, Sylvanas, are you trying to scare me to death?"

"Why are you sneaking away?"

"Because I don't want to go, and saying goodbye to everyone will just make this harder for me to leave."

"You'll come back soon. If everything goes well, and I think it will, you'll be home tomorrow."

"Unless Deathwing kills me, in which case I won't be home at all."

"Stop dramatizing."

"Sylvanas, I'm going off to face the biggest threat Azeroth has seen since the Burning Legion last invaded us. I don't think things can be more dramatic than that."

"We both know that they can be." Sylvanas took her hand, "I'll see you soon, all right? Don't be scared."

Faith nodded, "Yeah, all right."

"I love you."

Faith looked at her, "You've never told me that first…"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that whenever you tell me you love me, it's usually in response to my telling you that I love you."

"Is it? Well, I love you. There, I said it again." She kissed her tenderly, "And I will see you soon."

"Maybe."

"I will." Stealing another kiss, she watched as Faith created a portal to Dalaran and stepped through it, forcing herself to stay where she was and not follow her.

It was never easy to know that her lover was away from her. She would get news, of course, she always did, but it wasn't enough.

"Why did I force her to go, Carrick?" she asked Rotvine when she was back in the throne room. "She wanted to stay home, so why didn't I just let her do that?"

"Because it's not in her nature. She might enjoy being home for a few days without doing anything, but Faith isn't the kind of person to just sit idly by while everyone else goes off to protect the world. She wanted to be a ranger, didn't she?"

"No, that was only because of me, not because she had any sense of adventure. But I know what you mean. She wouldn't like just sitting here running a city. It's not her thing."

"But being with you is. I understand what she means when she says she wants a quiet life with you."

"She's been thinking about that ever since I mentioned the future I'd envisioned for us."

"You can't blame her, after almost twelve years of war."

Sylvanas said nothing more, settling down to wait for Faith to return.

She got some news throughout the day, hearing that Faith had safely arrived at Wyrmrest Temple, which had been under siege. She and a group of fighters had stayed there with Alexstrasza's forces to fight off the Twilight's Hammer and the minions of the Old Gods, while another group went to fight Deathwing directly, led by Thrall.

She could almost see it happening. Faith giving out orders efficiently and getting people where they needed to be, while magic swirled about her. A force to be reckoned with, she was sure of it.

Night had fallen by the time Sylvanas got more substantial news about the fight. Faith was alive. She was fine. She and her group had fully retaken Wyrmrest Temple and stopped the siege. She'd suffered yet another injury, but it wasn't life-threatening and she hadn't lost a limb, so she was going to be okay.

And Deathwing was dead. From what she heard, it had been a little anticlimactic, considering everything he had done. Thrall had devised a plan to remove the armor from Deathwing's back in order to use the Dragon Soul on him, after which his group and the Aspects had been able to kill him. It had been a long battle, and three dozen people had lost their lives during the fight, but it was over.

Faith returned home, as Sylvanas had predicted, the following day. Her robes were torn again and she had half a dozen new cuts on her face that were still bleeding because the shaman hadn't had the time to heal more than the main injury on her abdomen.

"Can I stop fighting now?" she asked Sylvanas, sitting at her feet and leaning against her throne. "Please?"

"You've definitely earned your vacation, my darling," Sylvanas told her. "After you get healed up."

"I don't need to be healed."

Sylvanas pressed her fingers against one of Faith's cuts. "What's this, then?" she asked softly, showing her the blood.

"It'll heal on its own."

"Nonsense. I don't want you to scar."

"Oh, you wanna see a scar? Come here." She stood up and led Sylvanas to their chambers before she stripped the robes from her body, tossing them aside. On her abdomen was a new scar, about four inches long, that was still an angry-looking red. "Courtesy of a black drake who tried to wear my guts as suspenders."

Sylvanas knelt and gently licked at the scar. Faith made an incredible sound in the back of her throat, causing Sylvanas to do it again. "Oh, I'm going to have fun playing with this if it's going to remain that sensitive."

Faith backed away from her to preserve her sense of sanity, "Maybe when we're on holiday together. I'll let you do whatever you want to me then."

"When you put it like that… we'll leave immediately. Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know. Somewhere remote."

"There are no shortages of remote areas on Azeroth, my love."

"What about Grizzly Hills? The Scourge is gone, so we should have a good time there. Plus, it's a forest, and I know how much you love that."

Sylvanas thought for a minute before she nodded, "All right. We'll go to Grizzly Hills. Just give me a bit to settle things here and figure out who I'm going to leave in charge here, and we'll go. And no, I won't leave Nathanos in charge."

Faith giggled and cleaned herself up while Sylvanas was gone. By the time she'd returned, she'd already packed the two of them a couple of bags.

"You're not wearing robes," said Sylvanas to her. "Wait, are those my old leggings?"

Faith looked down at the black suede leggings she was wearing, "Yes."

"Where did you get these?"

"From your room in Silvermoon. I got the whole outfit."

Sylvanas stared at her for a while. Seeing Faith wearing her old clothes was amazing. It made her feel like they were… real. A real domestic couple.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Faith asked her.

"Because I'm trying not to get emotional."

Faith put a hand on her face, kissing her cheek, "Do you want me to take this off?"

"Yes I do, but not here. Once we get there. You have no idea the things I'm going to do to you."

"Hey, I owe you some as well."

"You usually give as good as you get. So long as you have the stamina for it."

"What makes you think I don't have the stamina for it?"

"You've just been through a battle. And if we're going to Grizzly Hills to have what I think will be a lot of sex, you're not really going to rest."

"Of course I'll rest."

Sylvanas chuckled, "We'll see." Picking up their bags, she took Faith's hand and, together, they went to the portal room, where Rotvine had already created a portal to Grizzly Hills for them.

"Have a good holiday, you two. See you in a week."

"Maybe," Faith told him, grinning. "I may not give her back to you now that I have her all to myself."

"And here I thought I wasn't a prize to be shared between people," said Sylvanas absently.

Rotvine shook his head, "Whatever antics you two are going to get up to, have fun, and make sure to keep the details of this trip to yourselves. I don't want to be scarred for the rest of my undeath."

Author's Note – This brings us to the end of the Cataclysm expansion! I didn't think I was going to manage that before Legion came, but I've had a really quiet August, which allowed me to write a lot more than anticipated! I can't be sure that I'll be able to post anything else over the next couple of weeks, as I'm going to be rather busy with World of Warcraft: Legion. But I'll definitely try! Thank you so much for reading until this chapter! I really appreciate it!

Love,

Lunarelle