Safe
"They've pushed through to the inner sanctum and are close to taking out Elisande." Victoria folded up the letter and looked over to her mother who stood nearby with a smile on her face, just happy to have her daughter back. "I love you, mom."
Sylvanas walked over to her daughter and placed a hand on her cheek. "I love you too, sweetheart." She said, sitting on the arm of her throne and hugging Victoria who hugged her back. "I don't want us to fight again."
"We won't." Victoria whispered, looking over to Athrodar who was keeping Tanadia company. "Has he said anything about Dael'Thaelas and his offer?"
Sylvanas looked over to Athrodar and saw the book in his hand, something he rarely put down as he was learning a lot about his family. The problem in her mind was, if he was becoming inspired by those stories or if he continued to read it because he wanted to know what his family had done. "He hasn't said anything about Dael'Thaelas, but he does keep that book with him at all times."
Victoria looked up at her mother. "Should we be worried?" She asked.
"Not at the moment, no." Sylvanas told her, looking down at her daughter and smiling at her. "But I will keep a close eye on him. Your sister will too."
"How has she been?" Victoria now asked, having not spent much time at all with her sister the last couple of days since they returned from Quel'Thalas. "I've been a bit too busy to talk to her at the moment, but it looks like she is coping well, having Athrodar around to keep her company."
Sylvanas smiled a little wider this time, looking over to Athrodar and having a feeling of warmth rush through her when she saw how happy Tanadia looked to be when Athrodar was near her. "She is happy again. There are times where I have caught her crying to herself, mourning her mother and visiting her grave. But when Athrodar is with her, she is her old self again."
"Well it's good to see her happy." Victoria stood up from her throne and caught Tanadia's attention with the action, smiling at her. "I suppose now is a better time than any to spend time with her."
Sylvanas stood up from the arm of the throne, watching Victoria take a couple steps forward until she was stopped by a messenger, rolling her eyes and shaking her head as once again her daughter was interrupted by something else. "Looks like your plans have changed again."
"Apparently so." Victoria said, sighing shortly after. "Liadrin has found out about Thalina and is making her way here as soon as possible. I have been told I have to meet her and take her to your mother's grave." She looked over to her sister who had changed her mood very quickly to one of despair. "Do you want to come with me?" She asked her sister who nodded slowly. "Come on." She said offering her arm out to the priestess.
Athrodar watched Victoria take Tanadia away with her, the young priestess holding onto the Queen's arm tightly. "I have not been looking forward to this day." He said, looking over to Sylvanas who made her way over to him. "Liadrin is going to blame me for everything."
"I'll talk to her and make sure she doesn't" Sylvanas told him, hugging her husband and looking up at him. "You are not to blame for her death. We both know that and she will too."
"I know." Athrodar kissed her softly, closing his eyes as they both pressed their heads together, wanting to just be close to a loved one at the moment. "So much has happened these last few days, I just want things to slow down for a bit. For us to have that slow life we keep telling each other we don't want but deep down crave."
Sylvanas smiled and looked at her husband who kept his eyes closed. "We don't want that life." She whispered, just to play on what he said.
"Yes we do." Athrodar whispered back to her, opening his eyes and looking into hers. "To settle down with our family, our entire family. Victoria included. We'll go to some far off place with a house big enough for us all, live a quiet life away from the troubles of this world, free from war."
"Sounds like you're ready to leave everything behind and let the world take care of itself." Sylvanas leaned forward and kissed him. "We aren't the guardians of this world, never have been. Perhaps letting everyone else protect Azeroth is what we have been doing to begin with." Her hand moved up to his face and brushed her thumb across his cheek. "What is this really about?"
Athrodar sighed, knowing she could read him like a book whenever he was hiding something. "I don't want to lose anyone else. I meant it when I said if I lost anyone after my mother it would break me. Watching Thal slip from my grasp..." He closed his eyes again and shook his head. "I can't do this any more. We've lost too many people over the years. Clea and Anya. Sera, Tirion, my mother and now Thal. I lost Lana'thel and you've lost your brother." He looked her in the eyes. "Aren't you tired of losing people too?"
"Of course I am, baby." Sylvanas told him, looking around the Throne Room to make sure they were alone and smiling for a second when she saw they were. "You know how devastated I would be if I lost you. If I lost any of our children."
"Then why are we still doing this?" Athrodar asked her.
"Because I can't do anything else." Sylvanas told him honestly. "After seeing Dael'Thaelas two days ago, it fueled something inside me. I knew I had to pursue that feeling of anger inside me. He reminded me that I am a ranger and that I will do whatever it takes to protect those I love. Even if that means I am forever fighting any enemy of ours."
"Are you serious?" Athrodar now asked, pulling away from her. "Even after losing so many, you want to still fight? What about our family?"
"They will be safe." Sylvanas told him, stepping towards him again and frowning when Athrodar stepped away from her. "What? Are you really going to hold this against me?"
"You know how I feel about this. If you want to keep fighting, then keep fighting. But once the Legion has been dealt with, I no longer want to be dragged into another war." Athrodar dropped his hands from her waist, taking a couple more steps back.
"Can we not talk about this anymore? I just got my daughter back after an argument, I don't want to lose you because of another one." Sylvanas stepped forward again but stopped when Athrodar looked away from her, having a feeling of anger towards him she had never had before. "Really? You're going to be a child about this?"
Athrodar shook his head. "I knew you wouldn't understand."
"What don't I understand!?" Sylvanas exclaimed, watching him walk away. "All I understand is you forgot who you married, who you fell in love with. You don't think I want to settle down with you? That I want the simple life we both want? I can't!"
Athrodar scoffed and shook his head. "Why not? Because my Great Grandfather is alive and you have to prove something to him?"
Sylvanas shook her head now. "No, that's not why."
"Then why?" Athrodar asked her, turning to face her.
"Because I'm scared that if we settle down, we will become too soft and something will take our family from under us!" Sylvanas hugged herself and looked away from him. "I'm scared if I don't continue to fight, another Arthas will come by and kill all of us."
"That won't ever happen." Athrodar told her, walking towards Sylvanas who now backed away from him. "You don't need to fight to stop another Arthas from happening, because that's what the joint Alliance between all races is for. To stop that from happening."
"You don't know that." Sylvanas told him, turning away from Athrodar and keeping her arms around her stomach. "We could never have predicted an Arthas moment, and yet we got one. Who's to say someone else won't become corrupt and kill more people for the sake of power?"
Athrodar stepped towards her again and hugged her from behind, having her break down in his arms and holding onto her tightly. "I won't ever let that happen. You know I wouldn't" He felt her spin around in his arms and held her against his chest. "I promised you the day our son was born, that nothing would take you or our family away from me. That we would protect each other forever."
"Th-this is why I c-can't stop f-fighting." Sylvanas choked, keeping her face buried in his chest. "I want the b-best for our f-family."
Athrodar tilted her head up and placed a long, soft kiss on her lips that was quickly deepened into something a lot more. When Athrodar tried to pull away, Sylvanas held onto him tighter to keep him there. "You're upset."
"I don't care." Sylvanas whispered, moving her hands to the bottom of his tunic and pulling it up and over his head. "I just want to feel safe. You always make me feel safe." She moved her hands up to his neck now, wrapping her arms around Athrodar and pushing him towards the edge of the Throne Room, pinning him up against a wall. "Please make me feel safe." She begged with both her eyes and her voice.
Seeing the pleading look in her eyes, Athrodar knew what she wanted and brushed a hand across her cheek, collecting her hair and pushing it behind her ear. "Are you sure you want this?"
"Are you really questioning me right now, my love?" Sylvanas pulled him in for another kiss. "I want you."
Athrodar smirked and picked her up, spinning around and pinning her between him and the wall. "Then you have me."
Victoria stood beside her sister, both of them looking down at Thalina's grave and holding onto each other. "When is she meant to arrive?" Tanadia asked, extending out a hand to the grave and stroking the top of it. "I didn't want to face her alone."
"You won't." Victoria told her, looking behind them and catching a glimpse of the paladin who looked at them in horror. "She's here."
Tanadia turned around to face Liadrin who was slowly making her way towards them, the priestess running towards her and hugging her tightly. "Li Li."
"What happened?" Liadrin asked, holding onto the little priestess. "How did she..?"
"Papa said the explosion knocked her off the side of the spire. He tried to pull her up but she slipped down a little further." Tanadia pulled back to look at Liadrin, both of them with tears in their eyes. "He climbed over the side to get her, but time was against them and Elaria and her scouts couldn't pull them up in time." Tanadia closed her eyes and shook her head. "That's when she... She let go."
Liadrin wrapped her arms around the little priestess in a tight hug, kissing her on the cheek. "It's okay, I'm here now. Your Aunty Li Li is here."
Victoria stepped back when Liadrin and Tanadia walked towards Thalina's grave, giving them some privacy whilst they both mourned for their mother and best friend. "Athrodar has been watching over her day and night." She said to the Paladin who was too busy saying a prayer under her breath. "He told me that Thalina's last wish was for him to look after her. He isn't to blame."
Liadrin finished her prayer, looking over to Victoria with bloodshot eyes. "I don't blame him. I blame those fucking demons who dared to take this world from us."
"Li Li?" Tanadia asked, watching a golden glow form around Liadrin as her fists clenched tightly.
"When I have finished saying my goodbyes to Thalina, I will hunt down every last demon on this planet and rid them of their heads." Liadrin told the Queen with such fire, with such confidence, that both Tanadia and Victoria had to cover their eyes as she began to glow bright with anger.
"Do you need anything?" Victoria asked, her moving her arm away from her eyes when Liadrin began to dim down.
"Just some time alone." The Paladin said, her voice returning to its natural state of calmness.
Victoria offered out her hand to Tanadia who walked over and took it. "We will leave you. Please come by the Throne Room when you are about to leave. I'm sure Tanadia would like a hug and Athrodar would want to talk to you, to make sure you're not angry with him."
Liadrin nodded her head, turning back around to face Thalina's grave. "I will come by."
Victoria made her way to the Throne Room, dragging Tanadia along with her as they entered Stormwind Keep, slowing down when she heard something that made her sigh and stop in the middle of the corridor between the entrance to Stormwind Keep and the Throne Room. "Wait here... I need to check something."
"O-Okay." Tanadia said, moving a hand to her arm and rubbing it. "Will you be long?"
"A minute, two at most." She smiled at her sister. "I promise."
Making her way into the Throne Room, she saw Athrodar's tunic on the floor and let out a sigh, closing her eyes and trying to drown out the moans coming from the far end of the Throne Room. "Can you please, for once, find a different room, a private room, to do this shit in? You may be back in Stormwind, but it's still my City and my Throne Room."
Sylvanas giggled and kissed Athrodar's neck. "We should take this to our bedroom." She whispered to him, unwrapping her legs from his waist and pull up her leggings. "I don't feel safe yet."
Victoria shuddered when she heard her mother, hearing them both leave the Throne Room and turning to face Tanadia who was stood in the middle of the walkway leading her from the entrance. "Come on." She yelled to her sister. "Make sure not to touch anything."
Victoria looked over to her Throne and hesitantly sat down on it. "I hope to whatever God is listening that my parents didn't use this..."
Tanadia stood beside her sister and saw her uncomfortable body language. "They did it again, didn't they?"
Victoria sighed and nodded her head. "Yes... They did."
"I'm sorry about, Papa. I can't say the same for Sylvanas, she seems to bring out the worst in him."
Victoria laughed, knowing Tanadia had no idea how accurate that was. "You could say that again. Though I believe Athrodar has the same affect on her. They're just... Uncontrollable when together."
Tanadia smiled though she saw her sister didn't show the same feelings towards her parents. "Aren't you happy they have that relationship? They love each other, even after being together for so long. I hear a lot of humans get divorced after a few years, some who stay together learn to put up with each other." Tanadia shrugged her shoulders when Victoria looked over to her. "If they were my parents, which I know we have the same dad, I would be so happy watching them be happy together."
Victoria sighed and lowered her gaze from her sister. "You're still young. You've not really loved someone outside of your parents and had them taken from you. After Sera died, I didn't want to see anything like that. A part of me still doesn't." She looked back up to Tanadia who kept her smile on her face. "You know, you make it really difficult to have those feelings when you're always so damn happy."
"That's because Sylvanas and Papa make me happy when I see them together. Sure, I wished my Mama and Papa were together, but that's not how life works." Her smile brightened a little and saw it was making Victoria's face begin to soften. "Your parents are happy, Vic. Be happy for them too."
Victoria groaned and stood up, taking the final few steps towards her sister and hugging her. "Fine. You've convinced me."
"Yay." Tanadia said cheerfully, hugging her sister back.
Athrodar woke up to the sound of giggling, looking to his left and sleepily watching Sylvanas play with their daughter who was in a constant state of laughs and giggles. "Not the best way to wake up," he said groggily, smiling at his wife. "But it is definitely up there."
Sylvanas looked over to Athrodar and smiled at him, bringing her daughter in for a hug. "Daddy is awake, go climb on him and give him your biggest hug."
Alleria giggled and hugged Athrodar tightly. "Morning, Papa."
Athrodar smiled and kissed her on the cheek, hugging Alleria at the same time. "Morning, little one. Did you wake up mommy just to have us play with you?"
"Yeah." Alleria said, smiling at her father. "And mommy wants to play too!"
Sylvanas walked her fingers across Athrodar's chest. "Mommy does in fact want to play too." She purred, winking at him. "But mommy also wants to make her daughter happy, which means we are going to do whatever she wants. Until she gets hungry of course."
"Is that so?" Athrodar looked at his daughter who smiled down at him. "And what does our little princess want to play this morning?"
"I know!" Alleria said with a huge smile on her face, excited to play the game on her mind.
Tanadia, walking by their bedroom, stopped when she heard her sister giggling and decided to poke her head into the room. She saw her father smiling whilst Sylvanas was tickling their daughter. "What is going on here?" The little priestess asked, shutting the door behind her and being beckoned over by Athrodar.
"Come here. Your sister is in charge and we are her royal subjects today."
Tanadia smiled when a wave of memories washed over her. "I remember this game... Victoria played it with me the day I first saw you."
"Yes you did." Athrodar said, opening his arms for his daughter to walk into and hugging her tightly. "You were so happy that day and it seems to have never stopped."
Sylvanas smiled and nodded in agreement. "I remember that day. You were my first taste of motherhood, I wanted to make you as happy as possible and you seemed to love every second of our time together." She picked up Alleria and handed her to Athrodar who resumed their game, moving to hug Tanadia now. "I have loved you like a daughter ever since that day. I know I won't ever replace your real mother and I don't intend to. But I will look after and care for you as if you were my own."
Tanadia closed her eyes and melted into the hug. "I know. I loved you like a second mother and I still do." Her breath began to shake as she began to think about her own mother. "It's been almost a week and I miss her a lot, but you have made it easy to cope with."
Sylvanas stroked her hair. "Calm down now, sweetie." She cooed, planting a kiss on her cheek. "I want to help you through this. You can come to me whenever you feel sad, okay?"
Tanadia nodded against her shoulder. "Okay."
Athrodar saw how close his daughter and wife were and smiled, walking over to them and handing Sylvanas their daughter Alleria. "Take her for a while, I just remembered I needed to do something this morning. I'll be an hour at most, okay?"
"Okay." Sylvanas said, kissing Athrodar on the cheek. "Don't get yourself into trouble."
Athrodar laughed. "You know I can't help it. Trouble seems to find me no matter where I go."
"Just... Promise me you'll be safe."
"I'll be fine." Athrodar told her, placing a hand on her cheek and leaning forward to kiss their daughter on her forehead before turning to Tanadia and doing the same. "I love you."
"I love you too." Sylvanas said, watching Athrodar leave shortly after.
He wasn't lying when he said he had to do something this morning, he was actually leaving Stormwind to do something that crossed him mind. The truth however was that he was returning to Quel'Thalas to find his Great Grandfather. The discussion with Sylvanas had prompted Athrodar to make a tough decision, one that would keep him and his family safe for, hopefully, the rest of their lives. He was offered his family's army, their hidden wealth and their lands. All he had to do was take Dael'Thaelas up on his offer.
And he intended to do just that. Riding to his family village, he climbed off the back of his horse and made his way to the middle of the broken village. "I accept your offer." He called out, looking around his old home and finding the place to be empty. "Did you hear me? I accept your offer!"
"I hear you." Dael'Thaelas said, walking out of a burnt down building with his hands behind his back, cloak swaying in the wind and hood down from his head. "So what changed your mind?"
"My wife..." Athrodar told him, looking away. "She is scared of losing our family."
Dael'Thaelas sighed and made his way over to his Great Grandson. "Women. They are our weakness and it sounds like she wants to protect our family." He smiled at Athrodar who kept his gaze away from him. "And it sounds like she has worked her way deep into your heart." He held his hands up when Athrodar looked at him with a slight glare. "Hey, don't get me wrong. Your Great Grandmother worked her way into my heart too. I wasn't always this cold blooded, do anything for our family, elf."
"Why are you telling me this?" Athrodar asked him.
"Because I want to understand who you are. What you want." Dael'Thaelas walked circled around Athrodar, inspecting him up and down. "Does anyone know you're here? I presume they don't as I've had my people follow you and your wife since before she had scouts following you. I had scouts on her scouts, spies on her spies. I made sure to keep a close and protective watch over my only heir."
"It seems I have been watched my entire life. And yet, even with all those eyes, ears and swords. I still managed to die." Athrodar shrugged his shoulders and looked over to Dael'Thaelas. "Maybe coming here was a mistake, since you couldn't keep your most valuable asset alive, why did I think you and your soldiers could keep my family alive?"
"Because." Dael'Thaelas said, placing his hands on Athrodar's shoulders. "I was dead, remember? At least that's the story I was going with. If I sent all my rangers to go find you, protect you and keep you alive. It would raise suspicions." He saw Athrodar looked away again and smirked. "Now however, since you and Sylvanas have made names for yourself since your revival. I think now is the perfect time to have a sudden following of rangers, no? They flocked to the former Ranger-General and the last surviving Sunblade, to help them rid the world of the Burning Legion." He leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "To help avenge the death of their friends and family."
Athrodar closed his eyes and had a sudden feeling of guilt and sadness wash over him as the faces of those he loved and lost raced through his mind. "I.. I tried to save them."
"I know you did." Dael'Thaelas whispered to him, glancing over to the mage that had helped him with the dreams and now helping him once more by making Athrodar see the faces of those he had lost. "It's not your fault, you didn't have the Sunblade name backing you. You didn't have my army."
"Would it have changed anything?" He asked, keeping his eyes closed as the scenes of their deaths played out before him. "Would I have saved any of them if I had our family's army?"
Dael'Thaelas shrugged his shoulders, knowing although Athrodar's eyes were closed, his mage would project the image of him shrugging into Athrodar's mind. "Who knows. But that's not something to dwell on now. Look to the future, see your family safe and your lands, your home, protected by those loyal to the Sunblade name."
The images in his mind changed to what Dael'Thaelas wanted him to see, Windrunner Village protected by a constant stream of patrols, scouting parties in the nearby woods and a handful of guards outside Windrunner Manor. "Sylvanas would sleep easy knowing her family would be safe."
"Then let her sleep easy." Dael'Thaelas said, waving away the mage who stopped the images and made Athrodar open his eyes shortly after. "Take our family's army. Tell her it's to protect you all. She will be angry that you came to me, that's a given. But she will soon ease into the idea of having an army protecting your family."
Athrodar slowly nodded. "She will see what I have done to make sure our family is safe..." He looked over to Dael'Thaelas who stood to the side of him. "Thank you."
The head of the Sunblade family smiled and bowed his head. "You are welcome. Just making sure our family name lives on just a while longer."
Deep down Athrodar knew he should have halted his movement right there and then when he got a nagging feeling that he had made a mistake. But his heart had other plans, he wanted to get back to his family and tell his wife they were going to be safe. The Burning Legion were going to be forced off this world with their new backing and they wouldn't have to worry about being in danger again.
Of course, he would soon find out how big of a mistake he made.
