Sylvanas stood in the doorway, and Jaina glanced at her. Her presence made her next frostbolt a little more powerful than intended; Jaina had been on edge for some time now and she had been trying to work out her aggression and anger in a healthy manner.

"Aren't you supposed to be in Thunder Bluff?"

"Baine had something come up that needed his attention, and wandering around Thunder Bluff unaccompanied was not an option." The dummy spun around as another of her bolts hit it.

"You understand of course that I will be confirming this. If you'd like to change your story, I suggest you do so now."

Jaina's dummy burst into white-hot flames in lieu of an answer.

"Pathetic." Sylvanas chose the other dummy, picking up a practice bow.

"Would you rather I destroy part of Orgrimmar?" Jaina asked, before jerking her chin at the bow in Sylvanas's hand. It was far less powerful than her normal weapon and Jaina knew she was just trying to avoid putting a hole in the wall or pulverizing the dummy. Still, she mocked. "And what is that, a child's toy?"

"I forgot about your complete lack of self-control." Sylvanas picked an arrow up, then flicked her wrist and put it through the eye marking on the dummy. She took another, nocking it. "I am practicing aim, not power."

"At fifteen yards?" Jaina snorted. "Such is the vaunted skill of Sylvanas Windrunner."

The bow in Sylvanas's hand snapped, and she tossed it aside in disgust. "I had hoped you'd be in a mature enough mood to talk, but I'm clearly mistaken. I am going elsewhere."

Jaina let her active spell dissipate, turning towards Sylvanas and squinting at her. She wasn't sure what Sylvanas would want to talk about; they hadn't exactly been on speaking terms lately. But she was suddenly curious enough to make an offer, and drew up a portal. "After you."

Sylvanas raised her eyebrow, before a grim smile formed on her face. She stepped into the portal, and Jaina grabbed her staff, quickly following.

Lightning crackled in the sky and wind ripped at Jaina's cloak. There were Kaldorei ruins all around them, plenty of places to use as cover or obstacles and she could hear the ocean down a cliff to the east. She spun her staff. "How did you know I wouldn't portal you into the Molten Core? Or worse, Genn's bedroom?"

"You are a cruel woman, Lady Proudmoore, but not that cruel." Sylvanas unslung Deathwhisper and shot a blast of dark energy into a fallen pillar, obliterating it.

Jaina smirked, a blast of fire destroying the pillar next to it. "You wanted to talk, so talk."

She watched Sylvanas go through a complex series of trick shots, then replicated it with a combination of fireballs and frost bolts that she could easily cast in her sleep, even managing to ricochet a shot off of a ruined wall and into another. If Sylvanas wasn't going to go full power, then she certainly wasn't going to. It was much more fun to discreetly mock and mimic the Warchief then try to outdo her today.

Sylvanas said nothing about that display and made no comment in response to Jaina's demand. Locking eyes with her, Sylvanas drew another arrow, charging it with dark energy. Jaina tensed as the arrow was drawn back, the ground rumbling behind her as Sylvanas's eyes drifted to Jaina's left and then back to Jaina.

Jaina dove to the left as Sylvanas let the arrow fly, inky blackness trailing in its wake. It struck a sea giant in the chest with a resounding blast of air and magic, sending it crashing down the cliff to the ocean below.

"That's still not talking," Jaina pointed out. Her magic crackled as all Sylvanas did was smirk at her. She scowled. "Gods, you're frustrating."

She flung a spell at the base of a ruined tower, obliterating a murloc that had the unfortunate timing to wander between Jaina and her target.

Sylvanas chuckled. "A murloc seems below your skills."

"Would you prefer I take a shot at you?"

"You'd never land it."

Jaina balled up her fists, counting to ten before speaking as calmly as she could manage. "I will not be baited. If you're so eager to talk, maybe you should start."

It was driving her a little mad, this game Sylvanas was playing. Jaina had been on edge for weeks waiting for the other shoe; now that it was poised to drop, she just wanted it over and done with. And there was Sylvanas, silent and deadly as she continued to reduce rubble to… more rubble.

Jaina watched her a moment, then stalked over, grabbing Sylvanas by the shoulder. Before she could say anything, Sylvanas had grabbed her arm and flipped her hard onto her back, pressing the heel of her boot onto Jaina's throat.

The anger in Sylvanas's eyes was welcome. It was better than the silent calmness that had preceded this moment. She grasped at Sylvanas's ankle and hissed. "Do it, snap my neck. I know it's what you want."

"You are delusional. Say it." Sylvanas pressed harder, an uncomfortably pleasurable pain shifting to just painful, and Jaina gasped.

"I don't-"

"Say it."

Jaina dug her fingers into Sylvanas's leg, calling up her magic until her hands were hot enough to burn. Sylvanas bared her teeth, but the cold pressure never wavered. It was a pointed statement-we can stay like this all night-and when shoving her off failed again, Jaina gave in.

"I was wrong," she rasped, and the pressure released. She sat up and rubbed her throat, Sylvanas still towering over her. "I was wrong to go behind your back."

Stepping back, Sylvanas undid the buckles on her gauntlets, shedding them to the side. Her pauldrons, boots and chestplate soon followed. Only when Jaina pulled herself to her feet did she speak. "The entire compact is predicated on trust. How can I trust you now?"

"I promise-"

"If you think I can take you at your word again, you really are delusional." Sylvanas propped her bow against an outcropping, then removed her cloak, and two thin daggers. "I can't be sure that you won't do this again. Worse, I have no way of knowing this was the first time you've met with someone in secret."

"Now who's the delusional one?" Jaina studied Sylvanas, then removed the dagger she kept in her boot and stuck it into the ground next to her staff. "I'm followed everywhere. I can't breathe, Windrunner. I'm so stifled that I can't breathe!"

"What a poetic excuse for treason."

"People need their secrets! Their privacy, their friends!" It was suffocating her. Even here, away from everything, Jaina felt as though a great boulder were resting on her chest. "One thing, I just wanted the one thing…"

"We are not people." Sylvanas said, voice low and dangerous. "We are figures. We are pillars and statues and we tower over the masses who cower at the potential that lays beneath our skin. We are not allowed the luxury of breathing."

Jaina could feel herself start to shake. She wanted to scream at Sylvanas, or worse. "Easy enough for you to say."

Sylvanas held her arms up in the traditional gesture to start a duel. "No weapons. No powers. Just you and me."

"What's the point?" Jaina asked. Whatever Sylvanas might think, she was not actually delusional enough to believe a handful of training sessions would let her match Sylvanas Windrunner in hand-to-hand combat.

Sneering, Sylvanas replied, "Maybe there is no point. Or maybe the only way through this is each other. Does it matter? Your poorly buried anger has done enough damage in Orgrimmar. I'm offering you a chance to leave it here, with impunity. In the unlikely event you actually land a strike, of course-"

Jaina was moving before she even registered what she was doing. Her left hook went wide, and Sylvanas slammed an elbow into her face.

She stumbled back, reeling and tasting blood. Enraged, she jabbed Sylvanas in the ribs; unable to dodge a retaliatory swing she threw an arm up to shield her temple. The blow still struck hard enough to rattle her teeth; blinking away stars, she grabbed the Warchief's outstretched arm and snapped an open palm into the elbow, resulting in an audible crack.

Sylvanas grappled for her; Jaina slammed her thick-heeled boots down her shin, crushing her foot and distracting Sylvanas enough for Jaina's palm to impact her nose. Sylvanas stumbled back; Jaina, in a fit of vindictiveness, hooked a foot around the back of her knee. Sylvanas knew how to fall, barely landing on her back before rolling to her feet again. Black blood oozed slowly down her face, a dark mimicry to the red that ran down Jaina's.

All she could see was red, an anger that burned through her blood and made it easy to ignore the pain in her face. Voice breaking, Jaina screamed. "Come on!"

Her voice echoed, and then Sylvanas moved so quickly that she barely saw her coming. Fingers tugged hard in her hair and a knee rammed into her chest, knocking the air from her lungs. The knee hit her again, and then she managed to grab it before the third blow. Jaina twisted hard and sent them both tumbling down a section of shattered marble roof. She cracked her head off the base of a broken pillar, retaliating for the pain by throwing a blind knee in the general direction of Sylvanas' stomach.

They hit the ground hard, the impact jarring Jaina's shoulder, but she managed to land on top of Sylvanas. Acting on instinct Jaina grabbed the Warchief's bad arm and braced to block the strike that had to be coming-then stopped.

She stared down at her, every breath like agony as blood dripped onto Sylvanas's face, mixing with the black ooze. There was no satisfaction on Sylvanas's face. She just seemed tired. Weary. Like Jaina's actions of late hadn't just wounded the Warchief but somehow driven a knife straight through to the woman who wore the mantle. And that, more than anything, extinguished the anger.

Sitting up, Jaina wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. Her ribs screamed in protest as she rolled off of Sylvanas and half-sat, half-laid next to her.

She reached out, pulling Sylvanas up too and then sagging against her. "Just because we're these pillars doesn't mean we don't make...errors in judgement."

Sylvanas was silent a moment. Her left arm hung limply at her side and she favored her right knee as she shifted her position. She looked at Jaina. "Our mistakes are amplified by the degree of our power and positions."

"I'm aware of that." Jaina snorted, then groaned as her face objected. "I'm just not used to being scrutinized in how I handle my friends."

She screamed when Sylvanas straightened her nose unprompted, cursing her vividly. Sylvanas just chuckled. "Who knew the great Lord Admiral could be so naive. I don't actually believe that she was there to spy. But it does not matter what I believe. She was there, alone with you. An uninvited representative of the Alliance in my quarters. What do you think would have happened if Nathanos had caught you?"

"We wouldn't be having this conversation, because he'd be trying to put my head on a pike." Jaina's voice was muffled as she covered her nose with her hand. "Wait. He doesn't know?"

Sylvanas shook her head, and very carefully got to her feet. "What assurances can you give me?"

Jaina looked up at her, then down at the rings on her finger. She stood cautiously, then pressed the Windrunner crest against the anchor around her neck. "I swear on these that I will not intentionally deceive you again."

She caught Sylvanas when her knee buckled, and slung her right arm over her shoulders. Truth be told, they needed to support each other if they had any hope of getting anywhere. Sylvanas just accepted it the way a cat might accept being picked up, hanging limply off of Jaina.

"Sylvanas?"

"Clever woman." Sylvanas looked between the necklace and the ring. Windrunner and Proudmoore. She took Jaina's hand, running her finger over the ring.

"You let me win." Jaina started to call up a portal, swallowing hard.

Sylvanas smirked, the expression ghoulish with the red and black blood on her face. "I was feeling generous."

"... Let's go home."

Anduin was woken from a pleasant dream by the sound of knocking at his door. He sat up, illuminating his room with light from his hand as he called out, "Come in."

A page peered her head in, flushing slightly as she realized the king's state of undress. "Lord Shaw wishes to speak with you, your majesty. He says its urgent."

Anduin nodded. "Thank you, tell him I'll be with him shortly."

She bowed, then closed the door behind her as Anduin pulled back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He rubbed his face. "Think positively. If it was truly an emergency, Genn would have come through the window."

Ten minutes later, dressed and armed with a conveniently pre-brewed mug of coffee, Anduin arrived in the war room. The only one present besides Shaw was a tall human woman with red hair. She appeared to be a warrior, sporting a red bandana, her matching armor battleworn, two massive claymores strapped to her back. There were scars on her impressive biceps and her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail.

She looked familiar and Anduin searched his memory to find her name and where she'd been assigned. "Cenengel, wasn't it?"

She nodded, giving him a grin and a bow.

"What's the word from Stromgarde?"

"The walls are strong and the people stronger, your majesty." She said.

He nodded. Among the many projects that had spun out of the Compact, restoring Stromgarde as a joint effort was among the most risky. A place for both Horde and Alliance citizens that was jointly administered. "And the collaboration with the Horde?"

Cenengel wrinkled her nose. "Do you want my honest opinion."

"Yes."

She sighed. "I expected the whole thing to be a disaster. But except for a few stubborn mules it's been working out."

"Are you sure you're not one of those stubborn mules," Shaw asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Not any more."

Anduin laughed, and inclined his head. "I'll let you go, Shaw and I have something to discuss. Thank you for the update."

Cenengel bowed, and then quickly exited the war room. Anduin watched her go, then turned to his chief of intelligence. "You said it was urgent, but clearly not so urgent that I couldn't chat with our Champion."

"She's our chief liaison to Stromgarde, I thought you'd appreciate the update. She brought another plan to my attention, but I'll brief you on that later."

"I do." Anduin leaned on the war table, looking at Shaw and waiting for him to explain, staring at the markings on the map. An anchor sat in Orgrimmar, and he hoped this had nothing to do with Jaina.

"As I briefed you last time, the situation has been tense in Orgrimmar. An argument between Jaina and Windrunner; over Vereesa's visit. But two nights ago, one of my spies saw a healer enter the Warchief's quarters."

What exactly had happened between them to make this argument last so long? Vereesa hadn't seen enough to provide any real information and his own personal source hadn't reported to him yet. Anduin's heart sank into his stomach. "That could mean anything, Shaw."

"A Sin'dorei priest; a powerful one at that." Shaw continued.

His hands clenched at the table as his imagination ran wild. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. "Watch, don't act. And whatever you do, make sure this does not reach the ears of King Greymane-or especially Lord Admiral Katherine Proudmoore. I'll not have either of them go ballistic without some kind of proof that Jaina is being mistreated."

"What other explanation could there be?"

"Training injury? Any number of things." It sounded weak to his ears, and he knew it. Anduin sighed, heavily. "She told Vereesa she was fine. She told me she was fine. We have to trust her, Shaw. If she wasn't fine, Orgrimmar would be gone."

The old spy regarded his king. "And if she isn't fine and unable to act?"

Anduin's blood chilled. "Then Stromgarde will only be the first to fall apart."

He straightened, turning back to Shaw as a shadow passed through his mind. Whispers and doubts threatened to drown him, and he did his best to banish them. "Get some rest, Mathias."

Mathias Shaw nodded. Once he was gone, Anduin turned to the war table and stared at it. The Joint Administration of Stromgarde. The rapidly growing tree off the coast of Gilneas. Orgrimmar. Stormwind. Each of these and more had never been more at risk.

All those people-and he might have to weigh them against a single woman's suffering. Burying his face in his hands, he only hoped Jaina could forgive him.

Even after hours of healing and a week of recovery, Jaina's ribs were still sore. Her nose and face were better, at least, if one were to look on the bright side.

Things with Sylvanas weren't back to the way they had been before, but they were … better. They talked, Sylvanas was home more, and Jaina felt comfortable being in the same room as Sylvanas again, most of the time. But while that tension had eased it was still there, like some kind of charged current between them that buzzed at the back of Jaina's mind and made her entirely too aware of everything. And she hadn't yet dared to venture into Sylvanas's sanctuary.

A day or two in Kul Tiras might make her feel better, and she resolved to ask Sylvanas that night if she could go. But for now, she was wandering the Drag with no particular destination in mind, being trailed discreetly by her two 'favorite' shadows.

"Lady Jaina."

A voice made her turn around, and she smiled when she saw who it was. Minuial had been the priest who'd healed them after their little tit-a-tat, and had tersely scolded them both the entire time, which had been somewhat amusing considering her stature and slenderness.

Jaina supposed even Sylvanas hadn't been in the mood to find fault with Minual's tone; or at least she had no desire to punish a woman practically bursting with child.

"Minual. It's good to see you. I wanted to thank you again."

Minuial rolled her eyes, shifting one child on her hip as another spun in circles around her. "It's fine. I'm used to being called to heal people who do not know how to take care of themselves. I married one."

Jaina smiled, remembering Minuial's rant about her own husband for about twenty minutes of the healing. "I'm feeling fine, thanks for asking."

"Good." Laughing, she handed the younger child to Jaina. He looked up at Jaina; like his older sister his skin was green and his nose large and flat, though his frame was slender and his ears much longer than a typical orc. The girl, barely five years of age, already had piercings, one in her lip and another on her left ear.

As always, when presented with children, Jaina felt distinctly uncomfortable, though the girl at least was old enough that Jaina didn't mind so much. She looked at Minuial in alarm. "Uhm."

"Please keep an eye on them, my husband senses are tingling." Minuial winked one golden eye and then waddled with alarming speed towards the Valley of Honor, leaving Jaina alone with a toddler and a five-year-old.

She looked around, wide-eyed, as if someone might be able to save her. Her shadows seemed to have mysteriously disappeared. "Why does this keep happening to me?"

The girl started to run in circles around her, the boy grabbing at her hair and chewing on the end of the braid.

They were two bundles of sheer chaos and Jaina realized that this was some kind of revenge on Minuial's part, though she really couldn't blame her for wanting a break.

She spotted a familiar troll leading a mule train towards the gates and tried to catch her gaze. Surely there was some pity to be had for the woman who'd helped with Millet?

Ihz took one look at her and the girl that was now spinning like a gyrocoptor, called her dog to a sharper heel, and urged her beasts on faster.

Jaina sputtered. "Really?!" She held the boy up, squinting at him. "Do I have some kind of matronly air, is that it? Is that why people hand me their mules and children?"

The boy blubbered something, straining to get ahold of her braid again. While she was distracted by that, the girl suddenly took off like a rocket and Jaina was barely able to keep up with her, grabbing her by the back of her shirt. "Oh no you don't! Minuial would have my hide if I lost you."

Any non-orc who married an orc had to have a spine of steel and Jaina wasn't in the mood to cross this one, no matter how angelic she might appear. "What's your name?"

"Alami," she said, lifting her chin proudly. She pointed at her brother. "Khalmir."

"At least I won't have to call you 'hey you,'" Jaina mused, giving up on saving her braid from Khalmir. She would just have to suffer this until their mother returned and despite her complaints, she didn't mind at all.

Alami seemed to be vibrating with nervous energy, and it gave Jaina an idea. She tugged with her magic, creating an invisible leash of arcane energy that she then looped around Alami's waist. It would keep the girl within a few meters of Jaina while giving her plenty of room to run around and hopefully exhaust herself. Had she really wanted children of her own, once? Jaina didn't think she'd have the energy for it now.

She moved into the shade of the drag proper, musing as she watched Alami run and play. Two worlds, brought together in her blood. A bond not born of malice or hate, but of love. She doubted it could be easy for them, even now.

Her heart ached. Though she no longer had desire for children of her own, these two chaotic creatures symbolized that thing she couldn't have. And when she saw Minuial on Galnir's arm, that was driven home. As different as they were, as separate as the world of Orcs and Sin'dorei actually were, they looked so happy.

Spotting them, Alami darted in their direction and Jaina let the magical leash fade. Alami jumped and was caught by Galnir, who lifted her onto his shoulders with a boisterous laugh.

Jaina approached them, grateful to hand Khalmir over over to his mother. "You have to tell me your secret about how you can keep up with them."

"We're always tired," Galnir said. Minuial elbowed him, and he added. "And thanks."

"Just give me more warning next time," Jaina replied. She let Minuial's bright smile soothe her, and watched as the family turned to go. But they'd only gone a few yards before Alami made her father put her down, and she ran back to Jaina.

Jaina knelt in front of her. "What is it?"

She pulled something out of her shirt and held it out. It was a little doll made of steel wire and canvas cloth, with a crooked nose made from a button and eyes from some kind of stone. "Protect."

"You want me to protect her?"

Alami shook her head. "No. Protect you."

Jaina's vision blurred, and when she blinked them dry, Alami had already rejoined her family. Standing, Jaina looked down at the doll before she started to walk home.