Chapter 36 – The punishment for treason is death
Jaina sat silently in her chamber. She thought it was colder than usual. Time was moving slow, then fast, the slow again.
Two weeks had gone by since the encounter in the Emerald Nightmare. The dream had returned to normal and the affected had been awoken. Malfurion had sealed the dream and reinstated protectors.
She had been brought back to Undercity shortly after the fall of the Nightmare. Most of her time she had spent in her chambers crying. She had barely eaten or spoken to anyone and the only two people she had allowed into her room were Senior Sergeant Grimsford and Tawny.
And Vereesa. She had visited once. She had mourned with her. Attempted to comfort her by sharing her story of losing Rhonin. Jaina knew Vereesa had lost her sister, but to her, it felt like she was the one with the greatest loss. Vereesa had been unable to ease her own pain and let alone Jaina's pain and was forced to leave with no luck.
Jaina breathed heavily and nervously. Her heart raised and she placed her palm on her chest to feel the hard and rapid beats. Because soon, she would not be able to.
She bit her lip hard in order not to cry while her eyes filled with tears. She glanced at her perfect skin and ran her fingers through her blonde hair. Upon closing her eyes she could not keep the tears back and without a sound, she let them fall down her cheek.
Clenching her robe with her fists she sobbed quietly.
She had been provided with a dark purple silkcloth robe to wear and its embroidery was of the finest black embersilk. Ashed coloured lace covered the front of the robe to symbolise a dark future. A white lace of the same style was carefully sowed to the back like a veil to remind her to let her past rest in peace.
A hard knock on the door made her jump and she inhaled sharply.
"They are ready for you, Lady Proudmoore". Senior Sergeant Grimsford almost whispered as he opened the door and stood outside her chambers, eyes facing the floor.
Jaina rose from her chair and looked at the Sergeant who kept staring into the floor. The young mage was about to walk past him, when Grimsford grabbed her hand. She jumped and turned to meet the Sergeant's eyes. Never had she seen him so miserable, his eyes filled with hopelessness and deep sadness.
"It is a great honour to be named the Forsaken Queen my lady. But it saddens me it had to be you. You are so young and beautiful".
Jaina gritted her teeth, not sure whether to scream or cry. The Sergeant let go of her hand.
"Please forgive me, Lady Proudmoore, I do not mean to make this harder for you. It is what she wanted. She would have been so proud".
Jaina had been through this in her head in every possible way. She wanted to honour Sylvanas' wishes with all her heart, but this… This was irreversible, terrifying and Jaina could not believe Sylvanas had ordered this. At the same time, she knew she was the only one Sylvanas would trust the future of the Forsaken with.
She cleared her throat and wiped her tears. This was not the time for weakness, if she was going to do this, she had to be strong.
"I am honoured, Sergeant. I shall do my best to lead in her glory".
"But, my Lady…"Senior Sergeant Grimsford reached for her again, but she slapped his hand away and his eyes lowered to the floor in shame.
"Enough. We have to respect her wishes. It is the last thing that should be granted a dead Queen, right? If it is raising me as the new ruler, then so be it. I will give it my all".
Senior Sergeant Grimsford watched as Jaina continued down the corridor. He could almost smell her pain in the air and the little he had left of a conscious broke. How could Lady Sylvanas have commanded such a horrible duty? And Jaina had loved her so much she was willing to do it!
The Sergeant sighed and started following Jaina, but stopped. His eyes started moving frantically from side to side as he was reading invisible scripts on the floor.
"What is the matter, Grimsford?" Jaina turned.
"I… I… Ehhhh…" He started fiddling with his fingers. Jaina knew him well by now and recognised this behaviour from other times he had withheld information from her.
"Spit it out. I know there is something you're not telling me"
The Sergeant coughed.
"I have to… Run an errand, my Lady. Please excuse me". He turned around to leave.
"Don't you dare leave. You are not excused! Your new queen commands you to stay!" Jaina surprised herself by saying such thing. But she was scared and Senior Sergeant Grimsford was the only one she really trusted.
He spun around and glared at her.
"You are not my Queen… Yet".
Senior Sergeant Grimsford mumbled to himself as he strolled down the corridor. He was nervous. He fiddled his fingers again and slapped his forehead repeatedly.
"No… it will not work. Honour the Queen. I need to honour my Queen. Lady Sylvanas is my Queen. It will work. No it will not work. Will it work? Save the Queen. No no no no…"
He slid through the hallways further down into the ruins of Undercity until he reached a sealed door. The Sergeant knocked and was allowed to enter.
Tawny and Apothecary Jezel greeted him.
"Well?" The Sergeant looked at them. Tawny and Apothecary Jezel swallowed hard and looked at each other.
"Well… So… We don't know. It may or may not". Tawny reached for a pot that was hidden underneath some rugged throws.
She handed it to Apothecary Jezel who filled a small vial with its content.
Senior Sergeant Grimsford got the vial handed to him and he studied it closely.
"May the old Gods be with our Queen today". Tawny and Apothecary Jezel nodded respectively and saw him out.
Jaina walked slowly across the bridge over the sewage passage and entered the Magic Quarter and she felt yellow glowing eyes glare at her from every possible angle. Some hissed and she knew in her heart that many of them would never accept her. She had never felt more insecure in her life and all her fears came streaming towards her. She closed her eyes and silently whispered to herself.
"I will honour Sylvanas. I will become one of the Undead."
"I will honour my love. I will become the Queen of the Forsaken."
"I am the love of the Banshee Queen, I will be her successor".
She opened her eyes and although nothing felt different, she felt a little braver.
The ceremony was to take place in the Temple of the Damned. It was well known for carrying out necromantic rituals. Jaina knew that during the third war these kinds of temples had been used by the Scourge for the augmentation corpses and that it now had a significant meaning to the Forsaken. It was where new undead were made for service. And now she would fall in line as one of them.
She stepped onto the podium where a throne had been placed. It was fashioned with flawless detail. The finest steel in Azeroth had been designed into a perfectly shaped seat with silver casted arm rests. Spirals of steel had been forged carefully around the throne in an oval shaped boarder to protect its conqueror. Jaina stared at it long and hard.
"Proudmoore". Nathanos Blightcaller stepped up beside her. He had refused to address her in any noble way after Sylvanas had passed. He hated that his Queen had named Jaina as her successor rather than him. In his eyes, she was not worthy and never would be. Not even when she was dead. She had pleaded that this was not what she wanted, but Nathanos was having none of it. He was deeply offended and in mourn over the loss of his Queen.
"Sir Nathanos". Jaina bowed. He pointed at a large anvil in the middle of the room. That was where it would happen. That is where she would be killed. And raised.
Jaina took a deep breath and walked towards the anvil. She slid her palm across its cold surface. This was where she was going to die.
"Lie down". Nathanos commanded.
Jaina felt a tear fall down her cold cheek, but obeyed and grabbed her robe to avoid tripping and laid down. She shivered as some of her bare skin touched the cold, cast iron.
She stared up at the ceiling as she laid there. Memories flooded through her mind about her early years as a trainee sorceress in Lordaeron. It was such a strange feeling thinking that she was about to die in the ruins of Lordaeron.
Nathanos had been chosen to fulfil the deed. She looked around, hoping to see Sergeant Grimsford, one of the only comforting faces. But he was nowhere in crowd. Maybe he could not watch.
Sudden feeling of abandonment filled her. She wondered if the Alliance knew about this. If Khadgar knew.
The Forsaken had run through the process with her, but Jaina had not paid attention. She did not want to know. All she hoped was that it would be quick and painless.
As Nathanos placed his undead hand on her chest she felt a cold blade touch her throat.
Her heart raised and fear froze her. She closed her eyes. She was not ready, but she had to be. For the love she had for Sylvanas, and…
"For the Forsaken"… She whispered as she surrendered herself to her fate.
Senior Sergeant Grimsford ran as fast as his skeleton feet could carry him. He left a trail of drool as he sprinted through the corridors, deeper into the catacombs of Undercity. Reaching the depths underneath the Apothecarium, he stopped in front of a locked door. Only he had the key.
The Sergeant placed the key in the lock and twisted, opening the heavy oak door. It squeaked as he opened it and entered. He entered respectfully.
On a table before him, covered by a woven, black silk blanket laid a body. Her body.
He grabbed the blanket and pulled it off, revealing the dead Banshee Queen. Sergeant Grimsford squealed and yelped at the sight of her, but he refused to flinch.
"Ouhfff… My dear, Queen, oh forgive me, please". The Sergeant fiddled with his hands and slapped himself.
"Bad, bad, bad, idea. Bad, bad, bad". He repeated to himself.
Upon calming down, he fished out the small vial he had been given by Tawny and Apothecary Jezel.
"Please, don't be mad. I tried to help, please don't punish me". He whispered as he stepped forward, carefully opening Sylvanas' mouth.
Slowly, he poured the silver liquid into her mouth. When the vial was empty, he stepped back. His bony arms were shaking and he shivered repeatedly.
He waited.
One minute passed.
Then two… three… five…
Nothing happened and he listened to the silence.
Senior Sergeant Grimsford exhaled sharply and sighed in disappointment. He started to sob.
"I am so sorry, my dear Queen, I did everything I could. Please forgive me, I failed you".
Weeping into his hands, he turned to leave the room. He sniffled and went to twist the door handle.
Suddenly, a loud howl filled the room and a blinding light knocked the Sergeant straight into the wall. It baffled him as his back slammed towards the concrete and the screech was so loud he crawled together in fear as he yelped and covered himself.
"No, no, no, no… What have I done?!" The Sergeant closed his eyes to avoid being blinded and shook his head frantically in panic.
Thirty seconds later, the flash died out and the howling stopped abruptly.
Senior Sergeant Grimsford sat clenched to the wall in the corner of the room shaking with his eyes still shut covering his ears.
"Rise".
The Sergeant froze and flung his eyes open. He turned and shock ran through him at what met him. Throwing himself to the floor, he cried more than before. He folded his hands and smiled as he wept.
"I am yours to command".
The speech in gutterspeak had stopped, and Nathanos Blightcaller announced that the ceremony was about to come to an end.
Jaina still had her eyes closed. She had closed herself off from the whole arrangement and tried to relive her joyful memories the best she could in order to ignore the circumstances.
"And with that, I give you, the new Forsaken leader, Queen Proudmoore. May death grant you strength". Nathanos' voice was slightly aggressive, but his words expressed he had finally resigned to the fact that this was the reality now. Her reality.
The blade had been at Jaina's throat the entire time, and she knew that the slash was coming any second now. She was going to bleed out and be drained. All Undead were free of blood.
She wished to have some final words as a living breathing human, so she whispered:
"May my death be the symbol of peace and love". With that said, Jaina Proudmoore inhaled and clenched her fists.
She was as ready as would ever be…
Nathanos grumbled and tightened his grip around the dagger as he pressed it harder to her throat, making Jaina gag.
Just as he was ready to carry out the sacrifice, he bowed down and whispered in Jaina's ear so silently no one else could hear.
"I will slice you open, bitch. Nobody will suspect me, it will just be another failure to a rise an undead. It has happened before. And nobody will care that you die and perish. And then, they will turn to me for a King. Their rightful King. Goodbye Proudmoore. It has not been a pleasure".
Jaina froze and was just about to scream when a loud noise broke Nathanos' concentration.
"STOP THIS IMMIDIATELY!"
Squelches filled the air as the undead present at the ceremony fell to the ground in praise.
Nathanos released the grip of the dagger and let it slide out of his hand and fall to the floor. The room was so silent that when the blade hit the ground all that could be heard was cold, sharp steel against solid stone.
Jaina flung her eyes open and rushed to an upright position. She gulped as her eyes widened at the sight before her.
Her heart stopped, and it felt like someone hit her in the chest with a sledge hammer.
Was she dead?
The past hour was all a blur to her.
She stared at the person in front of her.
Before her, stood Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, alive, breathing.
Only… Her eyes were not red and her skin was not purple. Her hair was not grey and her lips were not black.
Was this a dream? No… She had to be dead.
Without taking her eyes off Sylvanas, she carefully pinched her arm. Surely it felt real enough.
When Jaina looked at her, her chest pumped. Pumped like an explosion that did not reach through to the centre of her brain. It was a feeling that could not be described. A feeling of confusion, devastation, love and pure devotion streamed through her, all at once. It was undeniable, but yet so surreal. Jaina Proudmoore had never with her bright, young, azure eyes witnessed anything so beautiful.
The Dark Lady was no longer compiled with darkness, the Banshee Queen no longer withheld her screeching howls and the Warchief was no longer a living corpse.
Sylvanas Windrunner looked at her with shining, blue high elf eyes. Her skin glowed in a smooth honey colour, golden locks of hair rested on her shoulders and her cherry lips moved softly as she opened her mouth to speak.
"Get her down from there". Sylvanas said in a cold voice.
Senior Sergeant Grimsford stepped out from behind Sylvanas, obeying his order and ran to Jaina. He helped her down from the giant anvil and led her down the short set of stairs and towards The Dark Lady. Although, she was The Dark Lady no more, she was Ranger-General Sylvanas in all her glory.
"Am I dead?" Jaina whispered and carefully reached out to touch Sylvanas' cheek. She noticed a long scar across her throat and she gasped. Xavius' claws had left its remark.
Sylvanas took a step back, avoiding her touch. Her sight moved quickly from Jaina and to Nathanos who looked traumatised.
"What is the meaning of this?! Abomination!" He said and spat at the floor.
"You…" Sylvanas started.
"Were you were going to raise her? Or were you going to kill her?" She tilted her head.
"What?! She was going to be the Queen! Honouring the great Banshee Queen's last wish!" He stared at Sylvanas in disbelief of her new found existence and his voice started to shake.
"You fool. You expect me to believe that? You were going to kill her and take her place. Perhaps I am the fool. Trusting you to honour my memory".
Nathanos gulped and fell to his knees.
"Please, I beg you, I wanted the Forsaken to have a rightful heir. Someone of their own kind, not like her. Alliance scum! Crowning her would be treason! She is unworthy!"
Sylvanas face filled with rage.
"The only treason witnessed here today is yours. Seize him!"
Several Forsaken instantly threw themselves at Nathanos and held him to the ground. Sylvanas walked up to him and looked down at the petty advisor she had once trusted.
"Take him to the dungeons. See to that he rots there. And when there is nothing left of him, burn his corps to ashes".
"NO, NO, MY QUEEN, I BEG YOU! I WAS ONLY DOING THE RIGHT THING! FOR THE FORSAKEN!"
But Sylvanas had already turned around and exited the temple elegantly and with authority, leaving the rest in shock and disbelief.
Was the Banshee Queen back or had she changed completely? Who was she now?
Jaina could not think. Her world went dark and before another thought entered her mind, she felt her knees weaken, her feet going numb and she fell to the floor and fainted.
A/N: Ok, so hopefully nobody hates me for making Nathanos the bad guy! And also, is it only me or is Senior Sergeant Grimsford a right legend? ;-)
