The night before had probably been Sapphire's worse experience in her short life. She had no clue how it happened, but somehow she had been turned into some kind of monster. Not only that, but a horribly violent one. Completely tearing off a man's arm was not something Sapphire would ever do of her own volition. She definitely would not proceed to consume it. Even now the taste, which reminded her of the salt pork that Volugg had fed her most days, lingered in the back of her mouth.
Somehow she had even injured her own father. It seemed implausible, but that morning as she went to wake him, the evidence spoke for itself. The fresh jagged marks along his forearm told her she had really tried to kill him. Or atleast eat his arm as well.
Next time, she might succeed. But it might end up the same way. It might be Lethumo whom she harms. Or even Rot. She can see herself rampaging through the streets of Stormwind. Blood would flow through the gaps between the cobblestoned roads. Guards would pile up with armor and flesh alike shredded apart. She could even imagine her newest friend Scarecrow's body laying on the ground.
Her chest ached. It had been aching all night. She briefly rubbed at the pain, which radiated around her own heart. Sapphire reached out and shook her father's uninjured arm.
"I'm awake," He said, not even opening his eyes.
The girl bit her lip, hesitating on what she was planning to say. He might get angry at it. But she did not know what else to do.
She whispered. "I...I think I need to run away again."
At this, Arthas did open his eyes. He slowly moved to his head to face her. A few agonizing seconds seemed to last hours.
"Yet you are telling me about it. Does not seem like a very good plan if you intend to run away. Now I know."
Sapphire nodded. He was seeming to take it well, so she continued to explain herself. Tears started to build up in her eyes.
"I do not want to hurt you again."
Arthas slowly rose to a sitting position. He smirked. "Concern for me? That's not how a parent child relationship works."
Sapphire started to sniffle. The dam broke and tears started to run down her face. Arthas reached out with one hand, but Sapphire recoiled. He stopped briefly. Then he continued and started to wipe away her teas with both of his heads.
"You mildly inconvenienced me. Look at the wound. It's practically gone." With that he showed off the wound fully. It looked bad still, but like he mentioned it was healing fast. A plus side for being undead. Sapphire tried to wrap her hand around his forearm, but her hands were too small.
He pulled her into his arms. Sapphire pushed herself up against him. He had not bathed the night before. Did not even remove his own armor. The smell of blood clung to his body.
Again, her chest thobbed with pain. She absentmindedly rubbed it again, wincing. Arthas saw the motion.
"What's wrong?"
Sapphire just shrugged. "My chest has been hurting for hours. It's ok."
Arthas scowled and proceeded to examine her chest. He pulled her shirt down. Sapphire looked down herself and saw a blackened bruise just near the center of her chest. Underneath, one of many scars marred her skin.
"Where did that come from?" Arthas demanded, not harshly.
Sapphire shook her head, confused. She did not remember hitting herself there hard enough to bruise. In fact, she could not even remember when she had received the scar. Most scars she had came from Arthas and those were chiefly located around her chest.
There was a soft knock on the door and Kiefer peeked in.
"Master, you summoned me?" He asked.
Arthas nodded toward Sapphire. Kiefer looked at the girl, then at the bruising. The two seemed to exchange a kind of silent conversation. Sapphire immediately scowled at being left out, but she quickly got her attention from them snatched. Lethumo came in, all decked out in his finest.
"Ah. There's Sapphire! I was wondering where you went. I'm starving. Want to come with me?"
The sound of food immediately caught her attention. All dark thoughts seemed to fade. She got to her feet.
"Yes please!"
She briefly looked back at Arthas. He nodded, allowing her to go free. Sapphire sprinted over to Lethumo and grabbed his hand.
"I want orange juice."
The night elf smiled. "Oh, I'll get you a whole barrel of it if you want."
After a day of formulating the spell required, Arthas and Kiefer got to work on it. Kiefer made a sleeping draught to mix into some hot tea. Sapphire drank it without suspicion. They might have been able to do it with her being conscious, but Arthas preferred her to not know. She did not need to know what they were doing.
Lethumo too got a heavy dose of the draught. He might cause some objections if he remained conscious.
Soon both were deeply asleep. Kiefer carried Lethumo to his room while Arthas make a circle of magic around Sapphire's prone form. Kiefer returned, looking only mildly annoyed.
"Master, I would never want to question your-"
"Say whatever you are thinking," Arthas commanded, annoyed at the distraction.
The cultist nodded toward the elf's room. "Why keep the mortal bard alive? He seems useless."
Arthas shrugged. "He did prove himself useful last night. Kept Sapphire from consuming my arm."
With that, any objections from the cultist ceased. The two quickly turned to the task at hand and raised both their arms for the spell casting. They were attempting to find whatever spell or curse that caused Sapphire's transformation. And Arthas considered the bruising on her chest was a tell tale sign of where to look for.
Kiefer was a mediocre spellcaster, so Arthas had to be the hard working one. The spell seemed to not work as intended.
There, above Sapphire, a dark object started to materialize. Arthas scowled, confused at first at the image. Like the center of a raging storm, the image was nothing but a swirling mass of black, purple, and blue. Arthas had expected to see her heart, or some part of her chest cavity. This was not it. It was Kiefer who finally spoke his thoughts.
"What if...what if that is her heart?" He asked, shifting uncomfortably in his own stance.
Arthas attempted to pierce the veil. Suddenly he heard her heart beating faster. He looked down at her physical body. It was powerful, whatever it was. Rather than try and pry it open, he instead attempted to at least peer inside. Suddenly the mists of darkness dissipated. And there her heart lay.
Around every heart was a thin layer of fluid. It reduced the friction between the muscles of the heart and kept it healthy. But usually the fluid was clear, white, or even yellow. For Sapphire's heart, the fluid was like the dark cloud. Veins of purple and dark cobalt swirled around the heart, pulsing with each heartbeat.
"By all that is unholy..." Kiefer whispered, clearly not expecting that.
Arthas looked at the image without showing his true emotions. He too was taken off guard by the appearance, but it did not shock him as much. Still, it disturbed him that such dark energy could surround Sapphire like that without his knowledge. The only time she had been without him had been before he found her with the orc shaman, and the brief time with Gorak Tul. The scar tissue around her chest looked too old to be from the time in Thros. And she would no doubt remember it. However, the time from Arthas's fall to when he found her with Volugg would be within the time frame.
Then, Arthas remembered the devious spirits from the night before. They said he was the cause. Or at least, his own actions led to the cause. The scar was not large. It looked as if something...had been inserted into her body. Something sharp. Broken.
Arthas suspected the cause now, but he definitely needed to confirm his suspicions.
"Kiefer, do you think we could glance inside the heart?" He said, still maintaining the spell. The cultist was obviously starting to struggle, but he nodded.
They tried their best, but it was difficult. The darkness around her heart seemed to be resisting attempts to look inside. But just as it seemed that Kiefer might collapse from the effort, they slowly got past the resistance and then Arthas could see for himself.
There, imbedded within the thick muscles of the septum, where the two halves of the heart were connected, was a dark chunk of metal. Rather than continue looking at the heart, Arthas focused on the shard. It was rough and jagged. It almost looked completely unremarkable except for the obvious rune etched and glowing brightly in the metal. It was unmistakable. Arthas looked upon that rune and others for years. Even blind Arthas would have recognized the feel of the rune and the coolness of the metal.
Somehow, a shard of Frostmourne had been shoved into Sapphire's heart. Slight anger came to him. Why would she not tell him of this? It seemed like pertinent information. Unless she did not know herself. She did not remember the wound. The anger did not go away, but merely directed itself toward himself. The specters did not lie. He was at fault, even if indirectly.
He ended the spell. Kiefer finally collapsed. Sweat pored down his ratlike countenance.
"What was that?" The cultist sputtered.
Arthas bent down and scooped Sapphire into his arms. He took her to her bed and laid her down. Strands of white hair fell down into her face. Arthas brushed them back before sitting down next to her.
All night he sat like that, deep in his own thoughts. He refused to go to sleep. When morning came, Arthas left Sapphire. He went off to the kitchen. Despite being a prince and then king, Arthas knew some things about cooking. He lit a fire and took out some pans. Lethumo himself did not know how to cook, but there was some supplies. Arthas took out flour, butter, and eggs.
Lethumo woke and left the apartment before even noticing him. Kiefer lay passed out on the sofa. By the time Sapphire roused, Arthas had managed to create some passable pancakes. He set the plate out on the small table just as Sapphire entered. She saw the pancakes.
"What're those?" She asked, curiously.
"Pancakes," He said simply. That was all she needed to know. Sapphire dug into them like she had not eaten for weeks. She ate so much that Arthas needed to make more. He could not feel very flattered at the thought. She would wolf down anything.
Her assumption that she should run off was not unfounded, and Arthas agreed with it partly. If not for others' safety, then her own sanity. But she could not just go off alone. Whether she liked it or not, she needed Arthas.
"Still thinking of running away?" Arthas asked casually. Sapphire slowed down her eating. She then nodded, rather subdued.
Arthas handed her another stack of pancakes. "A good plan, but rather impractical. I think my plan is better."
The girl frowned, confused. Arthas sat across from her and folded his arms.
"I thought you wished to be a druid. You can't become one without being taught. And most druids live in very isolated, light populations. So, even if you were to give into your inner monster, there wouldn't be as much harm. And I could keep an eye on you as well."
She wanted to leave but Arthas would not let her go so easily. He shrugged and turned away, continuing the spiel. "But what do I know after all? You would make an awful druid."
Manipulating her in such a playful manner seemed so easy, Arthas wondered why he never thought to do this before. Sapphire immediately started to confront him.
"No I wouldn't! I would be the best druid ever, even better than that one guy. Mulfarian-"
"-Malfurion," Arthas corrected.
Sapphire hissed at him. "Better than him! You will see!"