Setting Sail
Sylvanas made her way towards her office, tilting her head a little when she saw Athrodar sitting in the corridor with his back to her office. "What are you...?"
Athrodar stood up and moved out of the way so she could open the door to her office. "We need to talk." He told her, watching her face turn from confusion to instant concern.
"Come in." She told him, walking into her office and holding the door open for him before closing it when he entered the room. "I'll say this now so we can make this quick if it's what I'm thinking of, I don't want you to dance around the conversation, trying to find a way to word it that wouldn't hurt me. If you have to tell me something, say it."
Athrodar took a deep breath and nodded his head. "Okay." He said, looking her in the eyes. "I have been given a year by Lord Sunblade to both marry and put a baby in you otherwise he will do everything in his power to stop us from being together." He watched her face carefully, noticing her eyes move as she began to think about what he just said but her face itself gave away nothing of what she was feeling.
"I'm going to kill him." Sylvanas said, placing a hand on the hilt of one of her swords and making her way towards the door, only to be stopped by Athrodar who held onto her arm.
"Don't. If he even thinks you are going to kill him, he will put a stop to this, to us." Athrodar told her, watching her remove her hand from the hilt of her sword but kept her body stiff in anger. "And I don't want to lose this."
"He can't just give you a year to fulfill his wishes after toying with me for almost three decades!" Sylvanas yelled, not at him but just in general. "I should have known he had another reason outside of just a political marriage." She said to herself, rubbing her temple and slowly pacing back and forth in her office. "Just when I thought things were looking up for us, your great grandfather steps in and pushes us back down."
"Look at me." Athrodar said, standing in front of her and waiting for the General to look at him. "We have a year. Anything can happen within that year." He slowly moved his hand up to her face, watching her close her eyes and lean into his hand when it was near her cheek just to feel his touch. "I just don't want to lose you."
"I don't want to lose you either." Sylvanas told him, moving his hand to her lips and kissing the palm of it. "If we have no other choice, we may just have to do what he wants. Unless you can think of something?"
Athrodar shook his head. "I know him enough to know whatever we have planned, he will have a way to undo it."
Sylvanas sighed and stepped towards him, wrapping her arms around Athrodar and hugging him tightly. "There has to be something we can do. Something that will force him to rethink that one year deal." She began to slowly smile when something crossed her mind. "I think I might know what we can do." She pulled back to look at him. "But it will change our relationship a lot."
Athrodar tilted his head a little and frowned at the General. "Why, what is your plan?"
"Well, Ranger-Generals are really well known throughout Quel'Thalas. Outside of the royal family, we're the most well known and loved elves in the Kingdom. If the people know I am seeing someone, they will publicly have our backs no matter what. So if they catch wind of what Dael'Thaelas is forcing onto us, he will get so much heat from the public he will have to cancel that one year deal thing." She smiled a little at him when she saw Athrodar begin to think about it. "I know that wasn't part of the deal and I've told you to keep this a secret, but I can't think of anything else that could harm his reputation enough to drop his plan."
"Are you sure you're okay with that?" Athrodar asked her, watching Sylvanas shake her head a little. "Then we shouldn't do it."
"But I love you and I'll willingly take this option every time over losing you. Like I've said, three decades is a long enough wait just to be with you and I will never let you go now that I've told you everything." She held onto him tightly again, pressing her ear against his chest just to hear his heartbeat. "And I'm sure in time, we will get married. I just think a year is too soon."
"And have a kid." Athrodar reminded her, smiling and kissing the top of Sylvanas' head when she nodded it and squeezed him a little tighter. "All when we want them, not Dael'Thaelas."
"Exactly." Sylvanas whispered.
"How do we plan to let the people know we are courting?" He asked, looking down at Sylvanas who looked up at him with a smile.
"We just show them. We no longer try to hide it and maybe we do things in public together." She saw him begin to smile mischievously, rolling her eyes and hitting him on the chest lightly. "Not that."
"Okay, so what... Going to parties and formal events?" Athrodar suggested.
"To name a couple, yes." She cupped his face in her hands and smiled at him. "Or if you want to really send a message, kissing me in public, coming home with me every night and spending a lot of time near me... As my Lieutenant."
"Is this you officially moving me into your company?" Athrodar asked, watching Sylvanas' smile brighten. "Just so you know, my second has to be there too if I'm to join. You have Anya and Clea, but Melonara... She might be willing to join in on whatever it is they plan to do."
"Are you trying to talk your way out of joining me?" Sylvanas asked jokingly.
"Of course not." He whispered to her, leaning down and kissing the General lightly. "I'm warning you about her character and willingness to mess with me."
"That just sounds like a problem for you." Sylvanas told him, getting a small laugh from him and laughing in return. "If you want, I can protect you from one of them. Anya and Clea are down to you."
"Great, so you protect me from my second, but I have to protect myself from trouble and trouble two?" He heard Sylvanas continue to laugh, sighing to himself. "Nice to know you're going to enjoy it."
"I have to get some fun out of it." She told him, placing her hands on his face again and tiptoeing up to kiss him. "But know that I love you."
Athrodar laughed and picked Sylvanas up, having her wrap her arms around his neck and legs around his waist, giggling in his ear. "I love you too." He whispered to her, kissing her again and feeling the kiss deepen as they both lost themselves to the feeling of the kiss and their admittance of love for one another. "My beautiful, sexy General." He whispered to her when they broke off the kiss, watching her smile shyly at his compliments. "Who also becomes very cute when she gets flustered."
"Stop making me feel so damn special then." She told him even if she never really wanted him to stop.
"Never." Athrodar told her, looking into her eyes when she pressed her head against his.
Whilst they continued to gaze into each other's eyes, there was a knock on the door to Sylvanas' office, making the pair of them look over to it. "Who is it?" Sylvanas called out, not climbing down off Athrodar who continued to hold her up too.
"Kael'thas."
"Come in." Athrodar said, holding onto Sylvanas when she tried to stand on her own two feet. "Nope, you wanted people to know."
"Please." Sylvanas begged him the moment the door started to open. "Not like this."
Athrodar chuckled and kept holding her up. "Too late." He whispered, glancing over to Kael'thas who began to smile at the pair of them.
"I hope I'm not interrupting." The Prince said, laughing lightly when he saw how uncomfortable Sylvanas looked.
"I..." Sylvanas began, not knowing what to say.
"Okay, I'm done teasing you." Athrodar said, letting Sylvanas stand on her own two feet. "But one more thing." He added, leaning forward to kiss her and planting the kiss on her cheek when she moved her head to the side. "Don't sulk." He whispered to her.
"I'm not sulking." She whispered back, folding her arms and looking away from him. "I'm punishing you for not listening to me."
"Well, punish him on your way to the harbor." Kael'thas told them. "Your company is there waiting for you, along with Lor'themar and his company."
"O-oh..." Sylvanas looked over to Athrodar and felt her heart tighten in her chest at the thought of leaving him for so long. "I.. I don't know how long we'll be gone."
"Don't worry about it." Kael'thas said, placing his hand in his pocket and pulling out a folded piece of parchment. "My father has already placed him and his second in your company."
Sylvanas looked down at the parchment in Kael'thas' hand and took it off him. "Why?" She asked, reading through it.
"I asked him to." Kael'thas told the General, smiling at her. "I know about you two and your relationship, the Lieutenant is an excellent scout and unless I misunderstood his reasoning to help the humans escape death, he cares about them."
"I didn't want innocent people to die." Athrodar said, having Sylvanas look back and smile at him. "Turns out we're in the same company after all."
"Let's get going to the harbor then." She said, taking hold of Athrodar's hand and looking over to Kael'thas. "We're going to come out to the public and show them that we're in a relationship." She told him, getting a smile from the Prince. "Glad you agree."
"Makes life easier for you both I suppose." Kael'thas told them. "No longer have to hide. Though you only hid for two weeks, I'm impressed you managed to keep it secret for that long."
"I'd yell at you for thinking I couldn't keep this a secret," Sylvanas said, looking over to Athrodar again, "but I get to have him with me almost all the time now that he's in my company."
"Talk on the ship." Kael'thas told them, nodding towards the door of the office. "Come on, you have the one with the cabin because, well... You know."
Sylvanas began to go bright red, making Athrodar laugh and slowly push her along. "We get it, she just doesn't feel comfortable talking about that sort of thing." He kissed her on the cheek to try and calm her down. "This is what I mean by really cute when you're flustered." He whispered to her, laughing again when she elbowed him in the stomach.
"Stop calling me cute!" She whispered back to him, glaring a little at the Lieutenant.
"Make me." Athrodar whispered back to her, wearing a cocky grin on his face and watching Sylvanas roll her eyes at him.
"I think I've made a mistake with my choice of partner." She said, hearing Kael'thas laugh. "Should have given him a couple more decades to mature."
"You couldn't wait a couple more decades." Athrodar whispered to her, wrapping his arms around the General and feeling her lean back against him. "And you know it." He added, planting a kiss on her temple.
"You're right." She whispered back to him, watching Kael'thas continue walking. "But let's discuss this more on my ship."
The three of them made their way out of Sunfury Spire, Silvermoon and then through Eversong Woods, all the way until they arrived at Sunsail Anchorage and met up with the General's company, Ranger Lord Lor'themar's company and the humans they were escorting to Kalimdor.
"How many ships exactly?" Athrodar asked, counting six in the harbor.
"Eight ships." Kael'thas told him. "Six here and two bolt slingers further out at see to keep us safe on the open ocean."
Sylvanas looked around at the ships in front of her and glanced over to Kael'thas when she felt a little lost. "And my ship is...?"
"There." Kael'thas pointed to the second biggest ship out of the six. "The big one has Lor'themar's company and most of yours. Your one is for you two and the rest of your company."
"What about you?" Athrodar asked him.
"I'll be going from ship to ship. But if you're asking where I'm staying, its on one of the bolt slingers." Kael'thas told them. "As leader of this escort mission and the Prince, I have been told I have to stay where I'd get the most protection, so I'm on one of the bolt slingers."
"Let's go see my cabin." Sylvanas said, walking through the two companies and several humans just to get to her ship, dragging Athrodar along with her and ignoring all the curious looks she was getting.
"If your plan to tell the public about us is dragging me through the crowds of rangers and humans and then locking me in a cabin with you, then I think its working."
Sylvanas looked over to the two companies and let out a small, nervous laugh when she saw them all staring at her. "What do I do?" She asked Athrodar quietly.
"Hide in the cabin?" He suggested, feeling her drag him along again and hearing the door slam behind them once they entered the cabin. "Didn't think you'd do it, but okay."
"What!?" She screamed. "This was your plan!"
"You realise this just confirms everything they are probably thinking right now." Athrodar told her, looking over to the door they just walked through when two knocks were sound, followed by Melonara poking her head in.
"Heeyy, uhm... What are you guys doing and did you know that everyone out here now thinks something is going on between you two?"
"Told you." Athrodar said, being punched in the arm by the General.
"This is all your fault." She told him, looking over to Melonara. "We're planning to come out to everyone that we're in a relationship. So... If you could... You know..."
"Tell them?" Melonara asked, getting a nod in return. "Alright." She said, closing the door again.
"Okay, that should make life a little easier." Sylvanas said, looking over to Athrodar and watching him close his eyes as he laid on the bed behind her. "What are you doing?"
"I didn't sleep last night and I'm really tired." He told her, getting into a comfortable position.
"What about me?" She asked.
"You can join me, the bed is big enough for three people." He told her, patting his hand on the space next to him.
"But I'm not tired." She told him, making her way over to the bed and sitting down on the side of it.
"Then come back when you are." Athrodar now told her, yawning and closing his eyes again. "I'm sure you have a lot to do now that your entire company, Lor'themar's company and the humans know about us."
Knowing he was right and that everyone here now knew about her relationship with Athrodar, Sylvanas slowly began to lay down on the bed beside him. "Maybe I'll stay here for a few days, just until we arrive in Kalimdor."
"I'm not going to judge you for that." Athrodar told her, moving his hand to her stomach and leaving it there when she placed her hand over the top of his. "We're both so very tired." He muttered, quickly drifting off to sleep shortly after.
"Not a bad idea." Sylvanas muttered to herself when she saw him fall asleep, shuffling closer towards Athrodar and moving his arm around her so she could cuddle up to him as close as possible. "Goodnight, Athrodar." She whispered, not expecting an answer as she closed her eyes and focused on sleeping.
"It should take us no more than a week to get to Kalimdor." Kael'thas said, standing opposite Sylvanas and Lor'themar and beside Jaina. "We'll sail up and down its coasts until we can find a suitable place to drop anchor. Until then, you need to brief your officers of the dangers we may face on the continent."
"What dangers exactly?" Lor'themar asked for the rest of them.
"It was no coincidence Arthas and his army of the dead showed up at roughly the same time Jaina was told to head to Kalimdor. I fear the Burning Legion have returned and are biding their time over there." He looked over to Jaina who looked a little shocked at this news. "Our main priority though is to make sure Lady Proudmoore and the humans with us find a new place to call home."
"I can send a few scouts out to find the Burning Legion and to make sure we stay clear from them until they become our mission." Sylvanas suggested, getting a nod from the Prince.
"That could work." He said, smiling a little at her. "We don't want to accidentally run into them, so as long as they're okay with the task, that shouldn't happen."
"They'll be more than up for it." Sylvanas said confidently, glancing over to Lor'themar who watched her keenly. "What?" She whispered to him, watching him slowly grin.
"Nothing." He whispered back, knowing that she knew he had something on his mind and deliberately trying to annoy her by keeping it a secret. "Though I'd like to say that it's about time."
Sylvanas let out an exhausted sigh, knowing this week long trip to Kalimdor was going to be hell for her with both Anya and Clea as well as Lor'themar now knowing. "Please don't make a big deal about it." She begged him, praying he would listen to her but also knowing he would never drop it whilst it was a guaranteed annoyance for her.
"I can't promise anything." Lor'themar told her, chuckling lightly when he saw the vein on her forehead begin to pulse a little, knowing she was getting annoyed.
"Inform your officers." Kael'thas told them, having both Lor'themar and Sylvanas bow their heads to him before walking off in the same direction.
"So, Lieutenant Sunblade." Lor'themar said, grinning when he heard her sigh again. "Are you trying to find someone younger to make yours and have fun with, marry into a powerful family or is this a genuine relationship?"
"It's genuine." Sylvanas told him, stopping by the entrance to her cabin and looking over to Lor'themar who began to smile warmly at her now, making her smile a little too. "I've loved him for years from afar." She saw him tilt his head a little in confusion. "It's a complicated relationship on the outside, but I have known he is the one for me for almost three decades. I only told him three weeks ago about my feelings and he has rarely left my side whenever he's had the opportunity to visit me."
"What did you do, threaten him whenever he tried to leave?" Lor'themar asked jokingly, watching the General roll her eyes.
"Of course not. He has even admitted that he loves me the other day." She began to smile brightly and looked over to the door of the cabin. "It made my heart sing just hearing those three words."
Lor'themar watched Sylvanas' gaze remain on the door, narrowing his eyes when he began to think she could see through the door. "You're serious, aren't you?"
Sylvanas continued to smile and looked over to the Ranger Lord. "I am."
Stepping forward, Lor'themar placed a hand on her shoulder and stepped forward again when he saw how happy she looked, hugging her and feeling her hug him in return. "I'm happy for you, Sylvanas. We've known each other since the academy and I have to say I've never seen you this happy. Even when you were made Ranger-General, you didn't look this happy."
"I really like this, but I do want to see him." Sylvanas told Lor'themar when the hug went on for longer than she expected.
"Okay, fine." He said, letting go of Sylvanas. "Go be with him."
"Thank you." Sylvanas said, entering her cabin and looking over to Athrodar who had remained asleep since they set sail three hours ago. "Hey, wake up." She said softly, sitting on the bed beside him and shaking him a little. "I know you've not slept much, but I want to be selfish and make you cuddle me for a while."
Athrodar slowly woke up and smiled up at the General when he saw her sitting beside him. "What time is it?"
"Only midday." She told him, watching him sit up and leaning on him. "Hold me." She told him, closing her eyes and smiling when he moved an arm around her. "I just had a conversation with the Prince, Lor'themar and Lady Jaina about our task on Kalimdor and I could feel so many eyes on me and almost hear them whispering about us." She felt him kiss the top of her head when he pulled her hood down. "I'm not sure if I'm happy or scared that everyone here knows about us."
"Whatever their reaction, just know that I am happy I am with you." Athrodar told her. "And if they're happy, great. We will have their support when the news of us reaches Silvermoon and Dael'Thaelas, if he's smart, will have to rethink his plan."
"I hope you're right." Sylvanas said, resting her head on his chest and keeping her eyes closed whilst he drew on her back with his finger lightly, sending chills down her spine. "This is really nice." She told him. "Being alone with you, listening to your heart beat in your chest and knowing we won't be interrupted until we arrive on Kalimdor." She moved her head just to looked up at him. "Let me show you something."
Athrodar watched Sylvanas sit up and take hold of his hand, tilting his head a little when she placed it on her chest and over her heart. "What are we doing?" He asked her, just getting a smile in return whilst she placed her hand on his chest over his heart.
"Trust me." She whispered to him, closing her eyes and focusing on the beating of his heart.
"What are you..?" He began to smile when he noticed what she was doing. "How did you learn this?"
Sylvanas removed her hand from his chest and smiled at him in return. "What? Weren't you ever taught how to make your heart beat at the same time with someone you love?" She watched him shake her head, feeling a little sorry for him but at the same time loving that she could teach him something they could use. "It's an old elvish trick, something that has been around since before the Great Sundering. As far as I know, only elves can do it. Sometimes you can feel what they're feeling too, if you do it often enough." She began to smile at him a little brighter. "There have even been cases of couples being able to do it just by looking at each other, but I don't know if that's possible."
"So my heart... It's beating at the same time as yours?" He asked, watching her nod and looked down at his hand. "That's... Incredible."
"I'm surprised you didn't know about it." Sylvanas told him, shuffling forward and sitting on his lap. "Didn't your mother ever try to each you it?"
Athrodar shook his head. "There was next to no room for that sort of thing in our family. I'm sure she would have liked to, but love normally came second to family duties, especially around Dael'Thaelas."
"Wow... I didn't think your family was so cold." She muttered, widening her eyes and placing a hand over her mouth. "I-I'm sorry, that just slipped out."
Athrodar waved away her concern. "It's fine. I've heard much worse from people who hate our family." He took hold of her hand and watched her look down at the action. "Who taught you that heart thing?"
"My mother." Sylvanas told him. "She taught all of us. I would use it on my sister Alleria a lot whenever we would nap together and she would use it on me too, my brother Lirath would use it on everyone whenever he had the chance and Vereesa would only use it whenever our mother returned home." She began to smile at the memories of Alleria, Lirath and her mother, but it was a sad smile as most of those memories, especially about her brother and mother, were tainted with death and dark times. "I wished I used it more on them, before they died. It's the only way you can truly feel what someone feels without being them."
Athrodar saw she was distracted by the memories of her family, noticing she was looking more and more upset and began to lean forward to both kiss her and make her feel less sad than she already did. "You can use it on me any time you want." He whispered to her, watching her smile a little. "Even if we're in the middle of a fight because I done something stupid or you won't admit you're wrong." He chuckled when she gasped and hit him. "You can use it on me to make yourself feel better, or to just reassure yourself that I still love you, since you said you can even feel what the other person is feeling if done often."
"I don't need to do that to know you still love me." Sylvanas whispered to him, leaning forward and pressing her head against his. "I'll know you still do because we were meant to be together."
Athrodar chuckled, making Sylvanas narrow her eyes at him. "I didn't take you for someone who believed in destiny."
"Well I do, okay? I believe I was destined to be Ranger-General, destined to go on this mission to Kalimdor and destined to fall in love with you." She moved a hand up to his face and placed it on his cheek gently. "Like I've told you before, you're stuck with me now. I am never letting you go and if we can't get Dael'Thaelas to back off, I will always try to see you, even if it means my life is in danger because I have waited too long to be with you and I won't let him stand in my way."
"More of a reason to love you." Athrodar whispered to her, moving forward and pressing his lips to hers, slowly pushing her onto her back but keeping the kiss going as Sylvanas looked to introduce her tongue to the kiss. "Your heart is beating faster." He muttered, hearing her chuckle and kiss him again.
"I'm getting really hot too." She told him, gazing into his eyes. "We're going to be stuck in a cabin for close to a week, I think we'll go mad if we don't do something about this." She told him, stroking her knee across the bulge in his ranger leggings.
"What happened to wanting it to be special?" Athrodar teased, moving down to kiss her again and slowly making a trail down and across her neck.
"This is as special as it will get." Sylvanas told him, gasping when she felt him move his hands up the inside of her tunic and squeeze both her breasts lightly. "Oh... I am going to punish you later for that."
"What about now?" He asked, smirking when she began to bite her bottom lip.
"Now? I want you to leave me panting." She commanded him, placing a hand on the top of his head and pushing him down to between her legs. "Show me how you serve your General." She purred, biting her bottom lip the moment he pulled down her leggings and began to serve her.