What Happens In Moonbrook
"You look awful." Sylvanas said, getting a faint smile from her sister.
"Thanks..." Vereesa muttered, letting her sister into her home. "Who would have thought raising twins would take it out of you, huh?"
Sylvanas laughed and looked back to Anya and Clea who had appointed themselves the General's personal babysitters and caretakers whilst Talanas was still too young to look after himself. "I have these two who are like twins, only worse because they're grown adults who still act like they're five."
"They at least help with looking after your son, right?" Vereesa asked, looking down to Talanas who was holding Anya and Clea's hands.
"You'd think so." Sylvanas said, getting a beaming smile from Anya. "Instead they play with him and keep him distracted. But the moment he is no longer interested in whatever it is they're doing, or he actually needs to be taken care of, they're nowhere to be seen." She sighed and hugged her sister, getting a hug back. "We weren't made for this. Alleria would be the Queen of looking after children if she were here. She looked after us when mother was too busy being General."
"We're managing though, right?" Vereesa asked. "I've got my Rhonin and you've got..." She looked over to Anya and Clea who were now playing with not only Talanas but Veressa's twins Giramar and Galadin. "... Them."
"We're managing." Sylvanas agreed, hugging her sister tightly. "Before you mention him, I am still thinking about and missing him."
Vereesa kissed her sister's cheek. "Luckily I wasn't going to mention him then." She told her, hearing her sister chuckle lightly. "How are things with the Kaldorei?"
"I sent Lord Sunblade to help them deal with the Orcs in their lands." Sylvanas told her. "And seeing as they love him so much, Lor'themar is going with him."
Vereesa smiled at the choices. "Get rid of the threat to your son and the one elf who seems to have all the women falling at his feet wherever he goes. Makes sense."
Sylvanas tilted her head a little at her sister. "Theron doesn't have women falling at his feet." She narrowed her eyes at Vereesa who continued to smile at her. "Does he?"
"All the time." Vereesa told her, laughing at her sister's surprised reaction. "You went to the academy with him, grew up with him and have fought side-by-side with him for decades. Surely you would have noticed?"
"Apparently I've been blind to it..." Sylvanas muttered, hearing her son and nephews laugh and smiling when she looked back to the three of them. "I think they're distracted enough to allow us to sneak away for a few minutes."
"Are you hungry?" Vereesa asked her sister, getting a smile from Sylvanas in return.
"I am." She told her.
"Then come with me." Vereesa told her, looking over to her twins and nephew as well as Anya and Clea. "They'll be fine for at least ten minutes." Her gaze fell to Sylvanas' hand for a second, tilting her head at one of her fingers. "Is that a new ring?" She asked her, getting a smile from Sylvanas in return.
"Yes and no. For you, yes, it's the first time you've seen it. But I've had it the day Talanas was born." Sylvanas looked down at the ring and smiled. "It's Athrodar's. He left it so I can have something of his to remember him? I can't exactly remember, but he was adamant that I wear it and I have yet to go a day without it."
Vereesa looked at the ring on her finger and smiled a little. "Well... It looks really nice and if he really gave it to you so you can have something of his with you all the time, then all I can say is don't let anything stand in the way of getting him back." She placed a hand on Sylvanas' arm. "He clearly is thinking about you enough to give you a personal item of his."
Sylvanas continued to smile as she looked at the ring and nodded her head slowly. "I'm working on something. Hopefully I can win him over or at the very least make him think about me some more."
Vereesa laughed lightly and nodded over to the next room. "I'm sure it will work. Knowing you, whatever you set your mind to works out in the end."
"Problem."
Both Melonara and Athrodar looked up and over to Lana'thel who sat at the bar they were both behind. "What's up?" Melonara asked her.
"The King's gone." Lana'thel told them both, looking over to Illana who walked into the room after overhearing her.
"I'm sorry, did you say the King is gone?" She asked, watching the mage nod.
"What do you mean, gone?" Athrodar asked her now.
"As in he's gone. Vanished. Disappeared. Nowhere to be found." Lana'thel told them all.
"Hang on." Melonara said, walking around the bar and standing opposite Lana'thel. "There's one more way to say that." She told her, getting a slight glare from the mage.
"I'm serious here." Lana'thel told her, looking over to Athrodar who looked to be thinking.
"Wrong." Melonara told her. "The correct answer was 'The King's location is currently unknown'."
Illana watched Melonara take a flame engulfed fist to the stomach, collapsing down beside Lana'thel who began to smirk at her. "You don't have to always push her buttons, hun." Illana said, crouching down beside Melonara and slowly helping her up onto her feet. "Sometimes, you just can't leave well enough alone, can you?"
"He was on his way to Theramore, right?" Athrodar asked, looking over to Lana'thel who nodded at him. "Who knew about it?"
"Outside of us? Only those who were present in the meeting." Lana'thel watched Athrodar tap his fingers on the bar, placing her hand over the top of his and squeezing his hand to get his attention. "I think we both know who is behind this."
Athrodar nodded his head. "Lady Prestor." He said, looking over to Melonara who held onto her stomach as she sat at the bar. "Are you good?"
"I'm great." Melonara told him, wincing at the pain in her stomach.
"Have you learnt your lesson?" Lana'thel asked her, getting a nod and a thumbs up from Melonara. "Good." She turned her attention back to Athrodar and looked him in the eyes. "I may need your help in the next few days."
"Okay. With what?" He asked, watching Lana'thel smile a little at him and knowing it wasn't going to be a simple task.
"You were a top scout before you hung up your bow. I may need your tracking skills again, or at the very least have you as my backup and personal bodyguard." Lana'thel squeezed his hand again when she saw him think about the proposal. "I can't do this alone."
"Do what, exactly?" Melonara asked.
"Investigate Lady Prestor." Lana'thel told her. "I know she is behind the King's disappearance, I just need help proving it."
"And what happens if she isn't behind it, they find out we're trying to pin this on her and then we're proven wrong?" Athrodar asked, watching Lana'thel look away to think of her response. "I don't want to be kicked out of the city, or even thrown in the Stockades because she wasn't involved."
"Hey," Lana'thel said softly, making her way around the bar and taking hold of his hand. "Have I been wrong before in the two years you've known me?"
"Of course not." Athrodar whispered to her, moving her hand to his lips and kissing the back of it. "I just don't want to risk being locked in the Stockades and leaving my mother to run this place with Mel." He closed his eyes when he pressed his head against hers, feeling Lana'thel place her hand behind his head to keep him there. "I want them to be safe."
"I know you do." Lana'thel whispered back to him, kissing him lightly and looking him in the eyes when he opened them. "I wouldn't ask you to do anything unless I knew they would be safe and nothing bad will happen to you." She kissed him again and moved both her hands to his face. "I don't hurt those I love."
"What about your daughter?" Melonara asked, getting a slight glare from Lana'thel as an immediate response.
"I love my daughter more than anything. She has been given more freedom than most in our society because I don't want her to be held back by Silvermoon's societal norms. Like right now, she is roaming the Eastern Kingdoms in search of new magics and spells." Lana'thel's attention returned to Athrodar, smiling at him a little and stroking a thumb across his cheek. "I love your mother as if she were my own. Granted we're similar in age, but I still care for her nonetheless. So I will look after her and make sure nothing bad will happen to her or this family of ours."
"She's a part of this family now?" Melonara asked, rolling her eyes when she got another glare from the mage. "Can't even speak without having a dirty look or two." She commented, standing up and making her way to the back room, still holding onto her stomach. "If you need me, I'll be recovering back here."
"Hey." Lana'thel said softly to Athrodar, grabbing his attention once more. "Kael'thas has told me all about you and your scouting ability. I need you to check out Moonbrook in Westfall and report back to me if you find anything." She kissed him again and pressed her forehead to his chest, feeling him wrap his arms around her before doing the same back to him. "I don't know anyone else I trust to do this and I can't do it myself without being caught."
"Okay." Athrodar said quietly, kissing the top of her head. "I'll go." He told her, feeling her pull back from the hug and brushing a thumb across her bottom lip. "But when I come back, I want you to know that I will have a lot of pent up..." He looked over to his mother who remained in the room, smiling a little at her. "Frustrations." He then said, a little quieter so she couldn't hear him.
Lana'thel chuckled and kissed Athrodar again. "I'll deal with that when you return." She told him.
"Lord Theron. It's good to see you again."
Lor'themar looked over to Captain Elaria and smiled at her. "It's good to see you too, Captain."
"How's the young Lieutenant holding up?" She asked, watching Lor'themar frown for a few seconds as he tried to think who she meant, but quickly realising it was Athrodar.
"He's no longer a ranger. He and Melonara both quit and moved to Stormwind to open up a tavern. At least that's the story from the General. Whether or not it's true, I couldn't say, but she has no reason to lie about that." Lor'themar looked over to Lord Sunblade who was talking to the Kaldorei General. "That's his great grandfather over there. Their relationship is anything but good."
"I think I should avoid him then." Elaria muttered, getting a laugh from Lor'themar.
"I would. Unfortunately, I have to report in to him despite being the same rank." He saw Elaria frowned at him and smiling a little at her confusion. "He has the age on me as well as a close friend to our King. The only people to outrank him are the General, the Prince and the King."
"So definitely avoid him?" Elaria asked, getting another laugh from Lor'themar and laughing herself. "I'll take that as a yes."
"All I will tell you is to not get in his way. When he's dedicated to something, he will get the results he is looking for, even if it costs lives." Lor'themar looked over to Lord Sunblade who was still in talks with General Feathermoon. "He's the leader of the most powerful family in Quel'Thalas outside of the Royals. He doesn't believe in failure. He has his flaws, but I really admire him in his commitment to get things he wants."
Elaria slowly nodded her head. "I suppose it's a good thing he's here then. Our goal is to drive off the orcs and keep them in their lands to our south. If he knows that's the plan, and if your description of him is accurate, I can see this being relatively easy on our part."
Lor'themar kept his focus on Lord Sunblade and General Feathermoon, frowning at his fellow ranger who looked to be in a deep conversation with the General. "He hates the orcs, more than most. His wife was killed by the orcs and Amani trolls. He has more reason than anyone to hate them, along with the Royal family who lost their Queen to the orcs and trolls as well."
"If it comes to it, we will need to wipe out the orcs in our forests if they refuse to leave." Elaria told the Ranger Lord, looking over to him. "If he is the one to do it, my General won't hesitate to put him in charge."
Lor'themar nodded his head slowly. "Then we best get ready for a full out attack on the orc stronghold in this forest."
"Grandmama!" Talanas yelled, hugging Illana who smiled the moment she saw him.
"Hello little one." Illana said to him, kissing him on the cheek. "You're getting so big!"
"Where's papa?" Talanas asked, looking around the tavern for Athrodar.
"Yes, where is he?" Sylvanas asked, looking for him too.
"About that..." Illana said, looking over to Lana'thel who entered the room shortly after she began speaking.
"He's doing something for me. He'll be about a week." Lana'thel the General, watching Sylvanas narrow her eyes at her and slowly smiling back. "So this is the General that let him go?" Her gaze dropped to Talanas who looked sad that his father wasn't here. "And their adorable little son."
"What is he doing? It's his week with his son." Sylvanas asked the mage, watching her crouch down in front of her son.
"He's scouting out a group of bandits for me." Lana'thel told her, smiling at Talanas and pulling funny faces at him, making him laugh. "I can't go into any more detail, otherwise I would be giving away sensitive information."
"You're a spy for the Prince." Sylvanas told her. "You'll tell him the sensitive information the moment you speak to him."
"And do you see him here?" Lana'thel asked, looking up at the General who glared at her. "I didn't think so."
"Is Mel with him?" Sylvanas asked, looking over to Illana.
Illana shook her head. "She's sleeping after entertaining some late night drinkers." She held up her hand when she saw Sylvanas raise an eyebrow at her. "Not like that. She sat with them and kept them drinking until the early hours of the morning, well past closing time."
"So he's on his own? In a foreign land?" Sylvanas asked, showing her concern for him.
"It might be foreign for you, General, but not Athrodar." Lana'thel told her. "He has lived here for two years."
"Just because he's lived here for two years, doesn't mean he knows this place off by heart." Sylvanas told her. "If he gets caught out there, he will need to know all the exits and ways back to the city. And I have a feeling he has lived in the city for two years, not wherever you have placed him." She looked over to Illana then back to Lana'thel, getting nothing from either of them and knowing she was right. "I thought so." She said, crouching down in front of her son and kissed him on the forehead. "Illana is going to look after you for a few days, okay? I'll return with papa."
"You can't bring him back so soon." Lana'thel told the General, standing in front of her just as she began to leave. "You don't even know where he is."
"I know." Sylvanas told her, taking hold of Lana'thel's wrist tightly. "You're taking me to him. He will need all the backup he can get in a foreign land. Even if you want to come back to the safety of Stormwind once you take me there."
"Anything I can offer you that will make you rethink this?" Lana'thel asked her, looking down at her wrist that was being squeezed tightly by the General.
"You can give me Athrodar back." She offered, getting a laugh from the mage and smirking at her a little.
"You let him go, that's something you have to live with." Lana'thel told her, looking the General in the eyes. "He's mine now and I'm his. Turns out I know what he wants and doesn't want a lot better than you ever did. Even after the three decades of spying on him."
Illana watched the two of them participate in their own staring contest, slowly pushing Talanas into the back room so he couldn't see the potential fight between his mother and Lana'thel. "Come on, little one. Let's get you something to eat." She said, making sure she was loud enough for both women to hear her.
"Your son is out the room now, so feel free to hit me." Lana'thel told her, grinning at the General. "We both know you want to kill me for winning his heart after you broke it." She saw Sylvanas clench her fist tightly as if she was going to punch her. "But remember, if you leave a mark, I will tell him it was you."
Sylvanas held onto her wrist a little tighter before letting go of her entirely. "Just tell me where he is. I'll help him with whatever task you set him, I just want to make sure he is safe."
"Fine." Lana'thel took out a map of the human lands and placed it down on a nearby table, pointing to Moonbrook in Westfall. "He's going to be here. Not sure where exactly, but he is scouting it out for me."
"Thank you." Sylvanas said, looking back to her son who she could see in the back room with Illana and smiling to herself. "Look after him for me."
Lana'thel look over to Talanas and nodded her head. "I'll treat him like I treated me daughter."
Sylvanas let out a small laugh and shook her head. "Not my son. I mean Athrodar." She looked over to the mage who looked confused. "I know Athrodar, more than most. He is like a pet at times, he can be very loyal to those he cares about as long he knows they care about him." She looked down at the ring Athrodar gave her and smiled at it. "He could have just ignored me completely and only visited to look after our son, but he stays for a few days at a time, makes sure I'm okay whilst spending time with Talanas."
"He's told me about his times with you." Lana'thel said, letting out a small laugh. "I hate them because he doesn't come straight home to Stormwind where I know he will be safe. But I can't stop him from spending a few days there because it's our true home and his son is there." She sighed and looked to the front door of the tavern. "He is stubborn mind you, so bringing him back like you plan will be tough. Especially if it's before he's completed his task."
Sylvanas smiled a little at the fact. "I know he is. But I think telling him that his son is here might sway him to return sooner than we both think."
Lana'thel shrugged her shoulders and made her way towards the back room. "Then be my guest." She said, gesturing to the door. "Just means I get to have him back sooner with whatever information he has found."
"Well I'm not bringing him back for you." Sylvanas reminded her, opening the door to the tavern. "He's coming back so he can be with his son." She told her shortly before leaving.
"Where are you going?" Athrodar muttered to himself, watching several humans walk into the entrance of the Moonbrook mines.
He had found an abandoned room in a rundown building on the outskirts of the town and had made it his own for the time being. Nobody had come or gone into the building, or if they had, they had never been up the stairs to the floor he was on, so he was certain eh was safe. Of course, he made sure to place traps around to alert him should someone try to open the door to the room he was in. It wasn't anything violent, only a noise that would give him enough time to capture and tie up the intruder.
"They are definitely using that mine for something." Athrodar told himself, closing the curtain to the window he was looking out of and spinning an arrow around in his hand. "Probably to build their ship, or use the resources for trade or to make weapons."
He sat down on a chair and pulled his hood off his head, closing his eyes and sighing to himself. "This is taking forever." He said to himself now, looking out the small gap between the curtains and watching as the sun was setting for the day. His ear twitched when he heard a sound from one of his traps, looking over to the door and taking hold of his knife which he unsheathed from his belt, making his way towards the door and hiding behind it when it began to open. "Don't move." He said, not noticing the ears poking out of the hood they were wearing and placing the knife across the intruders throat.
"You kill me now, our son will be without a mother." Sylvanas said, feeling the knife drop from her throat and turning around to look at him. "It's your week to look after him."
"What are you doing here?" Athrodar asked her, placing his knife back and cupping her face shortly after. "Y-you shouldn't be here."
"I came to bring you back." Sylvanas told him, leaning into one of his hands. "Or at the very least to help you should you need it." She took hold of one of his hands and held it tightly. "I also finally met that mage of yours." She smiled a little at him when he sighed. "I hate her."
Athrodar began to laugh a little and shook his head. "Well, I doubt she is very fond of you." He said, looking over to the curtained window. "Did anyone see you?"
Sylvanas shook her head and looked out the window. "Did you forget I was and still am the Ranger-General? Of course I didn't get caught." She closed the curtain and looked back to Athrodar who sat back down on his chair and began to close his eyes. "Where do you sleep, by the way?" She asked him, looking around the room and frowning at all the broken tables, chairs, drawers and other furniture, failing to find a single bed or place to sleep. "Surely not on that chair?"
"Of course not." Athrodar said, laughing lightly. "I sleep on the floor."
"That's hardly better." Sylvanas told him. "What have you found out here anyway? What is this place?"
"Moonbrook." Athrodar told her, watching Sylvanas roll her eyes. "There is a bandit group here. The Defias Brotherhood are very prominent here and I have a feeling they're the only people here since I have yet to see anyone else." He made his way to the window again and looked down at the town below. "There's a mine shaft just over there that they walk in and out of at least ten times a day."
"How big is this group?" Sylvanas asked, looking over to the mine entrance.
"They're here in Moonbrook, most other places in Westfall too as well as Elwynn Forest." Athrodar told her, closing the curtain again. "There's not much more I can get from this place unless I go into that mine and see what's happening for myself. But since even I know that is suicide, I think it's time to leave."
"Good." Sylvanas said, smiling brightly at him. "But before we go." She said, cupping his face in her hands and gazing into his eyes. "Our son has been asking for you since you left. I don't know what to tell him anymore now that he is becoming aware of you being away most of the time."
Athrodar stepped forward and closed the gap between the two of them and placing his hands on her waist. "I don't like lying to him and I can see you hate it too." He whispered, feeling her hands move around him now and pressing their heads together. "I don't know what to do."
"Come back home with me." Sylvanas whispered to him. "You don't have to be a ranger for me to love you, Athrodar." She then told him, kissing him lightly. "You could come home and live with me as my live in husband."
Athrodar chuckled at her offer. "We're not even engaged. Plus I'm with Lana'thel now."
"I can protect you from her when you tell her you're coming back to me." Sylvanas suggested, getting a proper laugh now from Athrodar. "Besides, you've given me a ring already. I won't be angry or upset if you ask me to be your wife and have no ring to give me because I have this one." She placed one hand on his face again and pulled him towards her, kissing him again but keeping him in place as they both deepened the kiss. "And it will be easy because we both still love each other."
Athrodar smiled and brushed a thumb across her bottom lip. "I do." He admitted, getting a smile from her. "I've not stopped thinking about you since the day I visited for three weeks and that was two years ago. But I love Lana too and I don't want to break her heart."
"I understand." Sylvanas told him quietly, sighing and hugging him tightly. "We could have been married by now and happy together in Quel'Thalas if I told you about your father." She held onto him a little tighter. "They haven't even attacked or done anything after that. They're just waiting in the Hinterlands for the Horde to accept them in their ranks."
Athrodar heard the frustration in her voice and pulled back from the hug to look at her. "Look at me." He said softly, smiling when Sylvanas looked up at him. "I want to make a deal with you, right here, right now." He saw her frown and kissed her on the nose. "I love Lana and I don't want to rub it in any more than I have, but that's the truth." He tilted her head up so she was looking at him again when she looked away. "But I will promise you that if things don't work out with her, I will tell you the day that happens and if you still want to be with me, I will come back to you."
"You know that I will now go out of my way to make her leave you now, right?" Sylvanas asked him, getting another laugh from Athrodar. "I'm serious!"
"I know, which is why I'm laughing." Athrodar told her. "Because I know you plan to do it, but you know if I find out you did push her away from me, I will never forgive you."
Sylvanas smiled and kissed him again. "That's true." She purred, moving his hand under her tunic and grinning mischievously at him. "How about a treat before we head back? Nobody has to know."
Athrodar swallowed when she moved his hand to her breast. "You really know how to persuade me." He whispered, hearing Sylvanas giggled just before she kissed him again. "You've been dying to sleep with me again, haven't you?" He asked, watching Sylvanas bite her bottom lip.
"We've only been together three times." She told him, looking down at his lips then back up to his eyes. "I know you've missed me too."
"I have." Athrodar told her, moving to kiss her on the neck and hearing the General let out a small moan. "Like I said, I've not stopped thinking about you." He whispered, lifting her tunic up and over her head and throwing it to one side. "How much I want to have you against me again."
"I'm all yours." Sylvanas whispered back to him, being lifted up so she could wrap her legs around his waist and kissing him hard on the lips when she leaned down to kiss him. "Take me and break me." She told him. "I want to be the only thing on your mind when I return to Silvermoon. Just like you'll be the only thing on my mind."
Athrodar placed her on her back on the floor, making sure she was laying on his cloak and kissing her once again. "I'm going to make sure we both remember this day." He told the General, feeling her wrap her legs around him again just as he pushed himself inside her, both of them letting out a moan in unison. "The day we were both back in each other's arms."
Sylvanas stroked his face lightly, gazing into his eyes once more. "Hearing you say those sorts of things makes me want to jump for joy and cry at the same time." She told him. "I'm so happy that you feel those feelings for me, but at the same time I want to cry because you're not mine as you belong to someone else now."
"I am yours. A small part of me." He chuckled when he saw Sylvanas raise an eyebrow at him. "Not the part that's currently between your legs, but the ring on your finger and here." He kissed her chest and directly on her heart. "I love you and I love her, but we have a son together and she doesn't." He felt her rock her hips and smiled a little. "And we have this, right now."
"Yes we do." Sylvanas agreed, pulling his head down so he was kissing her on the neck again and letting out a small moan when he hit a sensitive spot. "I love you too, Athrodar. I never stopped." She held his head against her neck some more, loving every second of their time together. "You belong to me and I belong to you. No Magistrix will change that."