Prometheus
Dislaimer: I do not own any characters of WoW.
ON WITH THE STORY
Quiet moments were few and far between during war against undead and gods alike. But for one brief moment Jaina simply got to sit on the rocks of the bay and breathe. The waves pulsed below her perch lapping at the salty earth along the shore and sometimes splashing her with droplets as if bestowing kisses on a beloved one.
Almost unconsciously she began to hum an old lullaby, gently elongating notes until she was crooning to the tide a love song.
Beneath the stars I lay to rest
In your embrace
A dance of water sprites circled her as she sang, sparkling in the setting sunlight. Lifting a hand Jaina used a finger to twirl one of the sprites higher into the air, smiling when the mischievous elemental used her arm as a slide to splash against her face before jumping back into the dance with its fellows.
One song turned into two, then three, then more. Little shanties of rum soaked revelry, songs of longing for both sea and lover, and lullabies to the stars now peeking out from their places in the heavens. When day fully gave way to night, the songs softened to humming and the sprites returned to their home, laying kisses along her skin as they left.
"Here you are," a voice called from the trees. "I have been looking for you, Jaina. The others are waiting at the Keep." A wry smile greeted the elf as Vereesa cleared the last tree.
"I appreciate the reminder and am thankful it is you and not Tyrande who came to find me."
Long ears tilted forward in curiosity. "I thought you and Tyrande get along well."
Standing and brushing off what silt from the ocean spray clung to her, Jaina nodded. "We do. I just don't want to hear her pining over the First Arcanist for the thousandth time."
Veressa smirked at that as they headed towards the walls of the Keep. "Ah, yes. Elves in love generally cannot help but continue to return to their favorite subject at every point in conversation."
Jaina laughed. "I'm surprised Thalyssra hasn't put her out of her misery yet."
A wicked grin sliced through the night as Veressa laughed too. "Oh no. The First Arcanist is enjoying Tyrande's torment too much. This could go on for centuries."
The mage mock shuddered and shook her head. "Tides be praised most humans do not have time for such lingering torment, no matter how sweetly tortured loves rides a person."
Clearing the cover of the forest, the Keep loomed broadly in view. People of all sizes and cultures roamed just inside the gates, hawking their wares, collecting bounties, and working to end their day with a tankard of ale.
"So, no one has caught the Lord Admiral's eye yet?" Vereesa played at nonchalant but Jaina still threw her a pointed look.
"Between the war and destruction of N'Zoth and my reinstated duties as said Lord Admiral, when would I have a chance to even breathe let alone look in someone's direction who did not meet their end on an ice spear?"
Eyebrows fluttering, Vereesa led the way through the gates when they reached the Keep proper. "From what I've heard, at least one former enemy did not end up impaled by your spear...not yet anyway."
The double entendre did two things much to Vereesa's amusement. Jaina's face got red. Really red. And she stuttered out denials.
"That's...! Not quite...the – same thing! Ugh!" Jaina ended up with her face covered by one hand while the other one landed with a thud against her friend's leather armor. "Please don't. She will never let me forget that kiss as it is."
Vereesa grinned, fangs fully on display, and wrapped an arm around her friend. "I don't know who was more surprised, Sylvanas or everyone else who witnessed your 'surprise' attack."
Stopping before the doors to the meeting hall where negotiations and lunch go hand-in-hand more often than not, Jaina rolled her eyes. "In my defense, I hadn't a proper night sleep in over a month. I must have been delusional."
The elven woman laughed then pushed open the door.
Delusional or not, Jaina couldn't meet at least one pair of eyes that looked their way when the duo entered the room.
"Aunty," Anduin smiled and rose to give her a hug. "You look well. How was your journey from Boralus?"
Giving the younger king and beloved friend a squeeze she replied, "Full of sleep. I was grateful for the opportunity to rest. And you, Anduin?"
Releasing the hug he escorted her to a chair sitting next to his own. "Stormgard is well and rest has been a godsend these last few days."
Genn snorted from the other side of the table. "Don't let the boy fool you. He was celebrating as hard as he was sleeping. I don't think I saw him once in his armor."
Jaina grinned. "I have no doubt you encouraged him, Genn. I remember your daughter once called you a 'party animal'."
"He certainly smells like one," Sylvanas never missed an opportunity to put in her two cents and needle her greatest (and loudest) detractor.
Genn, predictably, growled and bristled, standing from his seat to loom over the long table. "As if your dead nose would be able to sniff out anything!"
Jaina couldn't help it, she snorted and quickly tried to cover up her aborted laugh with a cough into her gloved hand.
"As far as insults go, pup," Sylvanas drawled from where she virtually sprawled in her seat, red eyes bright with wicked glee. "That was almost a compliment. No one, dead or alive, likes the smell of wet dog."
The Gilean leader's snarl rattled the table but Anduin's hand stayed his instinct to return insults with blood.
"And your needling sounded almost fond, sister," Veereesa said from beside Alleria, who smirked and couldn't help but add to the comments.
"Perhaps you have softened your razor tongue on a blunt object recently."
Eyes that sparked with Fel energy teasingly squinted in Jaina's direction and more than one meeting participant choked, coughs echoing through the hall.
Sylvanas bared her fangs in a humorless mocking smile but Jaina noticed her ears had flattened back against her head. "Careful, Lady Sun. It won't be words that I strike with."
This incised Genn once more and others joined the fray this time. Jaina simply put her face down into her hands and used a smidgen of frost magic to cool her fair skin, ignoring what amounted to a gossip session over her moment of triumphant weakness.
It was Baine's gentle bass voice that rumbled out a halt to the nonsense. "Regardless of what the Warchief and Lord Admiral have done or continue to do to celebrate our joint victory over the Void, we still have much to discuss about lines of trade and territory. In light of that I wish to congratulate my Warchief and the Lord Admiral on their union and get to other matters."
It seemed all of Azeroth was holding its breath at that moment.
Claiming the kiss was a heat of the moment action was one thing, but it was an entirely different thing to consider a more permanent union was the cause of the victory kiss. All eyes ricocheted between the deathly still elf and the overly pale, wide-eyed mage.
"What?" Jaina faintly asked.
Baine just smiled and said, "Congratulations, Jaina. I know you will bring honor to the house of Windrunner just as you have the house of Proudmoore."
Air seemed to leave Jaina's lungs with a wheeze as answer but that did not deter the Tauren who then turned to Sylvanas next to him and offered a slap to her back. "Well done, Sylvanas. I had doubted you would ever gather the courage to approach Lady Jaina, but I am happy to see I was wrong."
Sylvanas had lurched forward under the broad hand then rocked back upright like a Goblin's mechanical toy.
Vereesa let out a very un-elven like sound and stood abruptly from her chair to launch herself at Jaina. "You sly sea witch! How dare you keep this a secret from me! Had I known sooner I would have brought the appropriate gifts to Kul Tiras as befitting a marriage between our houses! Have you had a party yet? Oh, of course you haven't. Sylvanas never was one to make a big to-do but I know you might want to celebrate with your mother and brother! She won't say no to you, you know, now that you are joined. You just have to get past all the hisses and scowls but Sylvanas is a baby dragonhawk when it comes to those she loves – MMP!"
Vereesa was unceremoniously cut off by a snarling older sister who proceeded to drag her away down the hall, furiously whispering in Thalassian. Alleria followed with a smug smile and then Jaina was the sole focus of the meeting occupants.
"Um..."
It took a lot longer than she had ever thought it would but, finally, Jaina convinced everyone that she had just been carried away by the rush of victory; that she would have grabbed just about anyone nearby and laid a hearty Kul Tiran victory kiss on them.
What she kept to herself was that she was glad that body had been Sylvanas. The Banshee Queen had never been ugly even at the height of her war crimes. There was just something delicious about her crimson gaze that both pierced a soul and warmed it.
Or, at least, Jaina felt warm when the undead elf swept her gaze over her body.
Suppressing a shudder, the Archmage slumped back in her chair, book languishing in her lap, forgotten in the wake of her daydreaming.
'That kiss...' Subconsciously pressing her fingers into the plush skin of her lower lip, Jaina mentally returned to that moment of triumph.
[When the reality of their victory finally hit her, Jaina dropped her staff and launched herself at the exhausted undead elf who had fought back-to-back with her.
"Jai - !" Sylvanas had not time to react to the warm mage who had grabbed her around the neck and pulled her into a blistering kiss.
By the time Jaina pulled back she and Sylvanas were surrounded by Champions and a smattering of soldiers and sailors and rangers who had followed them into battle. Sylvanas was slack in her arms, somehow losing feeling in her legs, forcing Jaina to change her grip mid-kiss to support them.
Jaina noted with amusement that even Sylvanas' ears had melted and were twitching sporadically .
"Thanks for helping," the Admiral breathily said smiling widely.
Sylvanas worked her jaw but nothing came out.
Smirking now, Jaina slowly lowered the General to the ground to sit and cheekily snuck one more peck before grabbing her staff and leaving. "I'll take your silence as a return of thanks."
With one last wink she opened a portal and all who wished to travel stepped through with her.]
Jaina sighed as the memory floated by.
"Such a deep sigh, Lady Proudmoore. What could possibly have caused such melancholy today of all days." The sibilant dual tone of the Forsaken Queen disrupted her reverie.
Jaina yelped, jumping from her seat holding an ice spear at the ready.
Laughter greeted her glare. "Damnit, Sylvanas! You fucking elves and your inability to make noise!"
Casually leaning against the bookshelves enclosing the study alcove Jaina had sequestered herself in, the Forsaken elf kept grinning, her fangs flashing in the smug smile. "We only make noise when we want to." Crimson eyes focusing hotly on the human before her, Slyvanas pushed off and stalked closer, ignoring Jaina's ice projectile still aimed at her. "I could give you a demonstration, my lady, if you are interested. I wonder how loud we can be together."
She watched with delight as the ice spear practically evaporated and the Kul Tiran's freckles disappeared under the force of a blush that encompassed her entire face.
"Don't promise anything you aren't willing to follow through with, Warchief," Jaina growled and crossed her arms over her chest. "I am not in the mood for an interrogation by the factions again should rumors fly."
Her eyes flared with intensity as Sylvanas rose to the challenge and Jaina supressed a shiver. "Oh, I never promise anything without following through, Jaina." Slowly, ever so slowly, Sylvanas reached out and tucked a wayward strand of mana-shocked white hair behind Jaina's round ear. "So, shall I consider promising something to you?"
Her heart fluttered and a bashful smile tugged at her lips even as she met that red gaze with her own sea blue eyes. "What would you promise me Sylvanas?" Jaina asked.
"Devotion. Home. ...Love, if you desire." Sylvanas' sibilant voice had softened so much the natural banshee echo was not heard. She was just an elf offering all that she had to the one that she wanted to share all of that with.
And Jaina definitely desired to promise in return. "Sound perfect," she whispered, leaning in and accepting with a kiss.
The End