The anchor weighed heavily in Sylvanas's palm, cold like the heart that didn't beat in her chest. Slowly, she rubbed her thumb across the silver finish, back and forth, back and forth.

It was dark, the candles and lanterns snuffed out when she'd swept through the residence like a whirlwind, throwing furniture and tipping over bookshelves, but even so she could sense the cat cautiously approaching her. Slowly, she held out her other hand for him to sniff. He did so, then licked her middle fingertip a few times before hopping up into her lap.

He pressed in against her stomach, his small body shaking. Slowly, surely, he calmed down and began to purr. Sylvanas rested her hand on his back, stroking idly in time to the motion her thumb resumed over Jaina's pendent.

Even in death she couldn't escape burying those close to her. It was something that would only get worse with time, and with only enough Valkyr left for one person…

Sylvanas wondered if she could choose just one sister, or if she would have to content herself with having them around in less than a whole state, assuming she didn't discover another solution.

Damn Greymane. Damn that fleabitten mongrel for taking away the best solution she'd ever found for her people's dilemma. With Eyir under her control she could have had her sisters at her side eternally. She wouldn't have to worry about herself, about Nathanos or Kalira. The same ritual she'd gifted Nathanos his new body with could have been used for Tyra and indeed, the whole of the Forsaken. And at the relatively low cost of every human in Stormwind.

She could have had Jaina...

No, perhaps not. The course of history would have led to some other destination and the marriage might not have been necessary. Which would be … regrettable.

"Dark lady?"

Too lost in her own turmoil and rage, Sylvanas ignored the voice. She continued to stare at the anchor, fuming at everything from Greymane to both Wrynns to the way Jaina's cheeks had dimpled when she'd smiled.

"Mother?"

Cursing, Sylvanas turned around and glared angrily through the darkness at Kalira. "What do you want?"

Kalira lit a candle, and in the dim flame Sylvanas could see that she was not alone. Standing behind her were Alleria and Vereesa.

"Why are they here?"

"Why do you think?" Alleria said, her eyes following Sylvanas's movements as the Warchief stood, still cradling the cat. Alleria's brow furrowed as she saw the dangling gem that had been exposed when Sylvanas had pulled the pendant out.

While her sister went on a face journey about Sylvanas still wearing the gem she'd gifted her so long, Sylvanas tucked it back under her tunic. In the face of the only family she had left, she snarled, "The memorial is not in here. Leave me. All of you."

Vereesa exchanged a look with Alleria, then stepped forward, holding up her hands in an appeasing gesture. "Sylvanas, we're here to talk."

"Just two minutes and then you can return to brooding in the darkness," Alleria added.

"You're one to talk about darkness," Kalira murmured, smiling when Alleria bristled.

Ah yes. Family was just so delightful. The pendant dug into Sylvanas's hand as she gripped it tightly, and she used the pain to center herself. Varian scrambled up to her shoulder and curled around the back of her neck as she closed the distance between her and her sisters. Jaina had been trying to get them all to mend fences and so, on this day only, Sylvanas was willing to listen. "Two minutes, then."

"None of us are the same as who we once were," Vereesa said, looking between her sisters. "We have all been victims, we have all lost nearly everything."

"Yes," Sylvanas replied. Did they really want to play the who had it worst game? "You're victims just like I am."

"I lost all three of you," Vereesa hissed. "I lost our people. My husband. And now Jaina. I have watched everything I loved fall apart."

"You have your children," Sylvanas pointed out, eyes flicking to Kalira just once. She couldn't help but add, "And that woman you've been spending time with in Stromgarde. Interesting how she's a redhead, just like Rhonin."

"We're closer than I'd like, you and I." Alleria interrupted. She folded her arms, shifting on her heels and avoiding Sylvanas's gaze. "The madness of the Void is my constant companion. I'm shadow more often than I'm not. Turalyon cannot even touch me any more without burning me, even if he wished to."

Interesting. Her spies had not informed her of such a falling out. Sylvanas tilted her head and used her silence to encourage Alleria to keep talking.

Alleria finally met her eyes. "We've all lost our people, Sylvanas. We've all lost the people we loved, to death or otherwise, because of who we are and the circumstances that changed us."

"Get to the point." Sylvanas feigned boredom.

"We can't be as we were before," Vereesa said, visibly upset, either at the subject matter or Sylvanas's comments earlier. "But I'd like to try to find out what we can be now."

"For Jaina?" Sylvanas asked.

"For us." Alleria dropped her hands to her side. "Just think about it. It can't hurt."

Vereesa looked around, as if noticing the destruction for the first time. She lifted her head, staring at Sylvanas as her sister turned to go.

"Are you coming?"

"Just give us a minute."

Alleria nodded and strode out.

Kalira gave Sylvanas a questioning look, and Sylvanas inclined her head. Looking at Vereesa one more time, she followed her other aunt out and closed the door behind her.

Sylvanas pulled Varian off of her shoulder and dropped him onto the floor. "What now, favorite sister of mine?"

Looking again around her, Vereesa wet her lips. "You loved her."

"You're being ridiculous." Sylvanas said, clasping the anchor back around her throat and ignoring the pointed look she received in return. "I do not love. Not you. Not her." Varian weaved around her ankle and she added, "And not this cat."

Vereesa didn't look convinced. "Can I ask you a question? Just one, and then I'll leave you to your temper tantrums."

Sylvanas gestured in the direction of Vereesa's everything. "Since I doubt you'll take no for an answer, go ahead."

"If they'd found Jaina's body, what would you have done?"

It was not a question that Sylvanas had expected, nor one she was prepared to answer. She hadn't even asked it of herself, afraid of what the answer could be and what that answer could mean. It was all a moot point, anyhow. She brushed past Vereesa, voice barely loud enough for her sister to hear. "I guess we'll never know."

Outside and down the stairs, Alleria and Kalira were still waiting in the late afternoon light. Sylvanas narrowed her eyes, descending the steps and joining them. She grabbed Alleria by the arm and shoved her. "The funeral is not here either."

Alleria recoiled, pain, fear and panic on her face. Only when she'd put twenty paces between them did she calm down. "Don't touch me!"

Sylvanas stalked towards her. "And why is that? Can it be that you're afraid of me?"

"I'm not afraid."

"No. I can see that you're not. What you are, sister, is angry. It is the thing we share most in common. Our anger. I am quite happy to see that you have embraced it." She stopped just out of arm's reach. "The thing that fears me still lies within you. Interesting how the Void fears death. How death is the one thing it cannot corrupt. Do you wish to know why, dear sister? Death is the one constant in this universe."

Shadows flickered across Alleria's face, her skin shifting and her eyes turning a rich shade of purple. "The only reason I came here was because of Vereesa. Because I promised her I'd try to get along with you. Because…. a part of me still loves you."

She stepped into Sylvanas's reach, grabbing her by the front of her shirt. Kalira started to move but Sylvanas held up her hand.

Alleria pulled out the sapphire, and let it dangle next to the anchor. "And this is proof that no matter what you say, no matter what you believe, you're still the sister I left behind, just a little bit."

Sylvanas wanted to rip the gem off and throw it in Alleria's face, but something stilled her hand. The memory of the day Alleria gave it to her. The memory of how close they'd once been, the persistent and irritating desire to have them close once again. "It means nothing."

"Keep lying to yourself." Allera shook her head, then turned around and started to walk away. "But if you weren't so sentimental, would Kalira be standing here today?"

Sylvanas's bow was in her hand and an arrow drawn before Alleria finished her sentence. "Do not call me sentimental, Alleria."

Alleria continued to walk, her back to Sylvanas and her bow, as if daring her to let it loose. Sylvanas tried to find that rage to fuel her, tried to think of one reason, just one to put an arrow into Alleria's back.

But she lowered it, and looked at Kalira, shoulders slumped and expression tired. "Let's go. It's almost time to send off your stepmother."

Kalira fell into step next to her as they walked towards the gates. She was silent, and Sylvanas found herself asking the question before she could stop herself. "You hated me, when I returned you to my side. Do you still feel the same?"

"Yes." Kalira inclined her head towards Sylvanas. "I will always hate you for this existence. For violating me. For robbing me of the peace I'd felt in those final moments, for the agony that consumes my soul every single moment."

"And yet, you are still here. You are not bound to me, Kalira. Your will is your own. Why?"

"Because I still love you."

Sylvanas's expression grew darker. Kalira hated her, and yet loved her enough to stay. Alleria and Vereesa hated her, and yet loved her enough to reach out. The only one that didn't seem to hate her and she could always count on was Nathanos, and she had never loved him the same way he loved her.

The irony was not lost on her, and she ruminated over that as she approached where the pyre had been built. The Horde was getting antsy, she knew. Even waiting a whole day before holding a funeral was unusual. Unlike the Alliance, they moved forward and honored the legacy of the dead by not stopping the world to mourn. But three days, nearly four, was too fast for the Alliance. Even now she could feel their eyes on her, as though they questioned what the rush was. What she was hiding. To the Alliance, Jaina was missing and only presumed dead.

In the true spirit of compromise, they had honored Jaina's determination for peacemaking with a solution that ensured absolutely everyone was unhappy.

The honor guard was exactly where they were supposed to be, Tyra standing stiffly at the front as Kalira joined her. Sylvanas scanned those gathered without moving her head. Go'el stood next to the covered figure that represented Jaina, hand resting where her head would have been and his head bowed. It gave Sylvanas pause, though she didn't allow that pause to be noticed by anyone else.

Spying some of them in the crowd, Sylvanas made a mental note to give the Kaldorei who'd come to Orgrimmar's aid a fitting reward. Nothing like the honors she would bestow upon the defenders of the Horde that day. But something. Jaina would have made her do so. Sylvanas felt a momentary flash of anger and dismissed the idea immediately-she wouldn't be ruled by a dead woman.

King Wrynn stood with her sisters and several others of the Alliance as well as representatives from Dalaran. Khadgar and Kalecgos, Modera and a few others. She recognized the mage who'd retrieved the Focusing Iris, holding a child of all things.

Even Greymane had shown his grizzled face, positioned between Wrynn and the survivors from the Alliance legion who'd remained to help with rescue and recovery. Nathanos was probably losing his mind; even Sylvanas would have been a little concerned over security, if she actually cared about anything right now.

This time, she moved her head to scan the crowd, recognizing the champions and soldiers who were assembled. There were children too. She watched, curiously, as one half-orc girl approached the pyre and placed a doll on it. She looked up at Sylvanas and said, "The one I gave her didn't protect her. But maybe this one can protect her in the afterlife."

She bowed her head, and then returned to her mother's side. Sylvanas nodded at Minuial, musing on that before the sound of bells drew her attention to the east.

Katherine Proudmoore marched towards them, accompanied by only her son. The woman's eyes locked onto the necklace around Sylvanas's neck, then back up to her face. Sylvanas could see the anger and grief that flashed through Katherine like a storm at sea. Such an expression had been beautiful and alluring on Jaina's face.

On Katherine Proudmoore's it lacked something. Respect.

After the situation with Wraith's Shadow, Jaina had told Sylvanas of a peculiar custom among Kul Tirans, to describe ships lost at sea. The eerie, slightly morbid tradition had greatly appealed to Sylvanas.

So when the Lord Admiral took her position with the Alliance, Sylvanas raised her voice for all to hear. "Jaina Proudmoore is gone, but not forgotten."

She protected our city with honor and grace. Sylvanas frowned and dismissed that thought. That was ridiculous and not … right. She hadn't really put too much thought into this; she hadn't wanted to and could barely remember most of the past few days as it was. Shaking her head, she finally spoke. "She fought like a warrior. She fought like the Horde! She cut the enemy down without fear or hesitation and when the end came she faced it as bravely as any of you."

Her eyes met Katherine's. "She called to the sea, and the sea claimed her. In the tradition of her homeland, she will be forever listed on the official Horde records as still on patrol."

Katherine said nothing, but her lip quivered and eyes became watery. Sylvanas looked away from her, then picked up a torch. "And in Horde tradition, we will send her off with fire. Suiting, as Jaina so often burned like a flame."

She turned, and stared into the crackling flame. There was more she could say. More she should say but she found herself oddly starved of words.

When she lit this torch, Jaina would be gone.

So she hesitated, and in the space of the heartbeat nearest to her, something else crackled, a swirling vortex of energy that twisted into life before the pyre. Sylvanas barely heard the sound of weapons being drawn all around and behind her as a figure appeared and then stumbled out of the portal.

She dropped the torch, catching a gaunt and half-dead Jaina in her arms. Sylvanas stared down at her in abject disbelief.

Jaina looked like she wanted to say something but instead pulled Sylvanas's head down and kissed her.