Boats surrounded her. Everything smelled of salty water, unwashed sailor bodies, and the overwhelming stench of dead fish. Hundreds of loud, cackling birds swarmed the sky above the docks, stealing what food they could from piles of seafood. Those that did not fly around stood on the many towering masts of the docked ships. Sailors and laborers crowded the docks. And past all of the hectic activity, the vast expanse of ocean loomed ominously. Now Sapphire realized the truth. Becoming a Druid was not worth transversing the giant pond of death and despair.
She wanted to run off back to the safety of Stormwind's white walls but the docks were too busy at the moment. So she ran toward one of the tall dock pilings that stabilized all of the wooden walkways. She wrapped her arms around it tightly.
"I have changed my mind," She exclaimed. Behind her, Kiefer and Lethumo both looked at her.
Arthas shook his head, not even deigning to turn his head in her direction. "Come on, Sapphire. You are making a scene."
Sapphire was resolute. She dug her fingers into the wood. She wore her Kul Tiran long coat once more and Rot poked his head out of one of the many pockets that lined it. He barked in concern.
"I'm not about to board one of those evil things. Doomed to die as water fills my lungs."
Lethumo planted his hands on his hips. "And here I thought I was dramatic."
Arthas dropped the bags he had been carrying, shoving one into Kiefer's arms. He then approached her and attempted to pry her away from the wooden column. Sapphire hissed in response.
"No! Lemme go!" She snapped. Arthas peeled her fingers off the piling and proceeded to fling her over one shoulder. She grunted as her stomach hit his shoulder firmly, knocking the wind out of her briefly. He started carrying her to graceful, Darnassian vessel that was to bear them to Kalimdor.
Lethumo's uncle had finally responded with a letter. Apparently his name was Cerelial Nightwind and he was some kind of powerful druid that rarely traveled from him home in someplace called Feralas, but he was fond of Lethumo. He was willing to take on a student on his nephew's request, but they would have to travel to Moonglade. Cerelial would not leave the continent. It sounded like fun to Sapphire...if only they didn't have to take a boat to get there. Apparently mage portals were too expensive even for Lethumo to consider.
Sapphire tried to escape from her father's grasp but it was no use. Eventually she just relented and fell limp against his shoulder.
"I hate you," She said angrily.
Arthas smirked. "Good."
Once they were on the ship, Arthas dumped Sapphire on top of a barrel. He patted her head before leaving to speak with the captain. Sapphire watched Lethumo and Kiefer board after them, tempted to fling herself back onto the dock. There was a fair distance between the dock and the ship however. Water, murky dark, filled the expanse between them.
"Cheer up Sapphire! You will love Kalimdor, especially my people's lands. Trees that rise up to the sky, thicker and taller than the towers of Stormwind keep. Such vast arrays of colors and smells. In my own view, there is nothing as pleasant and paradisiacal as Ashenvale in the autumn!"
Sapphire was pulled out of her dark mood by Lethumo's descriptions. She turned to face him and smiled. "What about Moonglade? That's where we are going."
Lethumo clapped one hand on her shoulder and sighed. "Moonglade, where the best druids live! A pristine and unearthly place of beauty."
The night elf immediately went into a spiel on what Moonglade was like. Protected by mountains and the magic of druids, Moonglade was practically untouched nature. Trees even bigger than the ones found in Ashenvale had grown in Moonglade for centuries. No tree needed to fear being cut down. Wildlife runs abundant in the glade, both predator and prey. Its isolated location kept Moonglade safe from extreme weather.
Night elves were not even the only people who lived there. Tauren, dryads, keepers of the grove, and even great green dragons lived in the mystical retreat. Sapphire was so excited to see a live dragon up close.
During all of Lethumo's speaking, Kiefer just looked more and more annoyed.
"All of this seems to be intriguing to the princess, but none of this interests me. Nor I'm sure the Master," He uttered snarkily.
Arthas strode over just as the necromancer declared this. He folded his arms.
"Don't worry. I'm sure Felwood will interest you."
Now the necromancer looked interested.
Lethumo sighed. "Of course the two of you would prefer the demon infested woods."
Demons sounded interesting to Sapphire as well and the girl spoke up. "Ooh, can I go to Felwood too?"
Both Lethumo and Arthas turned on her and spoke near simultaneously. "No!"
That caused Sapphire to sulk once more. Rot squirmed his way out of her pocket in order to lick her hand reassuringly.
The ship's captain yelled for the near completely night elf crew to get ready to head out. Since they were all passengers and would only get in the way, Arthas directed Lethumo and Kiefer to head down to their cabin. Sapphire hopped down to go follow but Arthas scooped her up instead.
"No, you are coming with me. We can watch Stormwind slowly disappear over the horizon. Sound fun?"
Sapphire whimpered unhappily. Watching Stormwind disappear meant they would be going farther and farther away from land. The two of them went to the prow of ship. Arthas lifted Sapphire up onto the railing. Sapphire briefly panicked when she saw the water directly below her. One push could sent her straight down. But Arthas kept a firm grasp on her.
"You won't drown," Arthas assured. She did not believe him and he seemed to realize it.
He gestured toward all of the crew members that were scrambling to ready the ship.
"Oh, if the ship sinks, they will drown. Kiefer will drown. Lethumo will drown. But you will not. You cannot drown if you die before the ship sinks fully."
Sapphire looked up at him confused. Was he saying what she thought she was saying?
"A quick thrust to the heart would kill you with little suffering. Far superior to a long drawn out drowning," Arthas commented, as if he were merely discussing the weather.
Sapphire sat there, thinking about what he said.
"You promise?" She demanded harshly.
Arthas smirked. "Yes. I promise I'll kill you."
Then she hugged him. Perhaps to anyone else, they would be alarmed to hear a parent say they would kill their child. But to Sapphire it was a comforting thing to say. She really hated ships, even though she had only been on two. Both times were disastrous and she expected this one to be no different.
As the ship started to leave, Sapphire felt a little better about the venture. They watched as the ship left the docks and the sails were opened fully to take advantage of the wind. A few of the sea birds followed the ship from the land, still crying annoyingly.
When Stormwind had disappeared and the sun began to set, Sapphire felt like she had seen enough of the ocean for now.
"Arthas, I want to go down now...Carry me?" She said, holding her arms up toward him.
He gave her a skeptical look, then picked her up without complaint. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his neck.
Kiefer and Lethumo both had settle into the passenger cabin. It was a rather bare room. The dying light of the day shone through one delicate window. A small table with benches had been bolted down against the wall and only two beds were pushed against the wall. Kiefer would be sleeping on the floor. Sapphire had already demanded she could sleep with Lethumo and the night elf could hardly argue with her.
But as they prepared to sleep, Sapphire had a change of heart. As Arthas reclined on the bed, she came over to his bed. Her doll, teddy bear, and Rot were in her arms.
"Can I sleep with you instead?" She asked.
Arthas shrugged. The girl proceeded to clamber onto the bed and crawled over to him. She planted Rot at her feet and plopped onto her back. Rot immediately flopped onto his side and passed out, laying as if dead. Arthas folded his arms.
"You comfortable?" He asked.
Sapphire nodded sleepily. "Thank you. For letting me sleep here and for being nice to me earlier."
He did not react at first and she thought he was angry with her. But he wrapped one arm around her.
"I suppose that must be why I'm here. To protect you. That is what parents are supposed to do," He said darkly. At first she assumed that he meant why he was there in the ship with her, but he meant in general. Why he was "alive."
"Maybe someone wanted you to change," Sapphire suggested hopefully. Arthas shook his head and merely grunted in response. He did not seem to want to talk about it anymore so Sapphire attempted to get comfortable and go to sleep.
The ship rolled with each wave so it was hard for Sapphire to sleep. So she thought instead. Before now, she had given little thought as to why Arthas had survived his defeat. She briefly thought that Tirion Fordring had spared him, but she did not really like that idea. Sounded stupid. It was all confusing. He was alive and Sapphire not only had grown antlers but had turned into a monster.
Everything was so overwhelming to Sapphire but at least she was not alone now. Arthas. Rot. Lethumo. Even Kiefer, though she really did not like him. She had Volugg and Stub for a brief time. She missed them. In fact, she even missed the wolf boy, Grendel.
Then she thought of Gorak Tul and Adalger. Briefly she panicked, thinking that they could be sailing right to them. Imagined that Gorak Tul was reaching out to her, to eat her whole. But no, they were heading to Kalimdor, not Kul Tiras. Gorak Tul couldn't hurt her, especially with Arthas next to her. She did not need to worry about him or the Hunstman again.