A Plan For The Future

"How did it go with Athrodar?" Kael'thas asked, visiting Sylvanas a few hours after she returned home and noticing a permanent smile on her face. "That well, huh?"

"Let's just say that he won't be forgetting about my visit any time soon." Sylvanas told the Prince, smirking at him. "And I definitely won't forget about it."

"Did you forget he's seeing Magistrix Lana'thel?" Kael'thas asked, hearing Sylvanas laugh now. "Of course you didn't forget. You're just evil."

Sylvanas smiled and nodded her head. "Oh yeah, I'm evil alright. But it's all for a good cause." She told him. "I'm trying to win him back and it's working."

"Of course it is." Kael'thas said, laughing and taking a sip of wine. "He has Talanas for a week now, right?"

"Two this time." Sylvanas told him. "I have to be prepared for the reports from Kalimdor and the Hinterlands now, so two weeks with his father was the agreed length of time." She saw the Prince look away and tap his ring on the glass of wine in his hand. "Why?"

"I needed to talk to him, but seeing as he has his son with him, I didn't want to put any stress towards him." The Prince smiled a little at the General who was frowning at him. "Don't worry about it."

"Normally when people say don't worry about it after telling me their plans have changed, makes me worry about it." She leaned forward and looked at him closely. "What's going on?"

"Vandellor believes my father has a few months left." Kael'thas told her. "I needed to speak to Athrodar because I need him with me when I take the throne. I was going to make him an advisor and a member of the Convocation. In the meantime I was going to remove Larysa from the Convocation until Lord Sunblade passes, then she will be reinstated."

Sylvanas slowly nodded her head. "The two family members per house thing is still in place, isn't it?"

"It is." Kael'thas told her. "I would rather be rid of Lord Sunblade, but he is the head of the Sunblade house and it would be a reckless move if I remove him without a proper reason."

"Surely being Lord Sunblade is enough of a reason." Sylvanas said, getting a laugh from the Prince and laughing along with him. "Tell you what. When Athrodar comes back with our son, I will tell him to find you as soon as possible."

"I would appreciate that very much." Kael'thas told her, looking over to Grand Magister Belo'vir who entered the room shortly after he finished speaking. "Grand Magister." He said, bowing his head to the Convocation member.

"My Prince." Belo'vir said, bowing to him and looking over to Sylvanas. "General." He then added, bowing his head to her too. "How are things with the Lieutenant?" He asked, smiling a little at the use of the title and placing a hand over his heart. "My apologies, he's not a Lieutenant any more. But my question remains the same."

"We are good." Sylvanas told him. "Actually, we were just speaking about that." She looked over to Kael'thas who smiled and shook his head. "I have a plan to win him over and let's just say it's well under way now."

Belo'vir watched Kael'thas continue to smile and shake his head, slowly smiling himself. "I take it that it's not an orthodox way of winning him back? Judging by the Prince's reaction."

"It's the furthest thing from it." Kael'thas told him, looking over to a smug Sylvanas. "But what do you expect from the Ranger-General?"

"What can I say? I had a son with him for a reason." Sylvanas told them.

"Don't tell me it's because you're good in bed, because I'm going to have to find a different General to sign off on this." Belo'vir said, holding up the reports in his hand.

"What's it about?" Sylvanas asked him, making her way over to the Grand Magister.

"I need you to sign off on integrating mages into some of your companies as a trial run." Belo'vir told her, watching the General frown and take the reports off him. "I ran it by the King a couple years ago after the undead attack. He said to draw up the plans and get to training a handful of mages who can fight beside your rangers without getting in their way."

Sylvanas continued to read through the report as well as the names of the mages in the list. "Who exactly are going to get these mages?"

"Aerinan, Halduron and Tahnir's old company." Belo'vir tilted his head at the General. "Who runs that now?"

"Alina. I promoted her shortly after we returned from Kalimdor. She just hasn't had many tasks to do, so she's kept her company in and around Silvermoon as a local patrol unit." Sylvanas looked over to Kael'thas who was reading through the list of names when she handed him the report. "Anyone there we should look out for?"

Kael'thas read through the names and began to frown when he came across one he didn't expect. "When did she come back?" He asked, pointing to a name and showing it to Belo'vir.

"A few months ago." Belo'vir told him.

"Who is she?" Sylvanas asked, reading the name.

"Someone who means the world to a friend of ours." Kael'thas told her, watching Sylvanas frown at him.

"A few scouts have returned from Moonbrook." Lana'thel said, watching Athrodar pour a few drinks. "They've only reported what you told me. The Defias are definitely using it as a base of operations."

"And Lady Prestor?" Athrodar asked, placing the drinks on the bar and pouring a couple more. "Anything on her?"

Lana'thel sighed and placed her chin on her fist, still watching him pour the drinks. "No. Which is really annoying me because I know she is up to something."

Placing down the rest of the drinks once he had poured them, Athrodar smiled and looked into Lana'thel's eyes whilst she pouted and was lost in deep thought. "You look adorable when you're concentrating." He told her quietly, getting her attention when she registered what he said and smiling at him. "Now you look beautiful." He then said, making her laugh.

"It's almost like you're saying I'm not always beautiful unless I smile at you." Lana'thel teased, making Athrodar look really guilty. "I'm pulling your leg." She told him, kissing him softly. "I know you mean well."

"Your teasing is going to give me a heart attack one day." Athrodar told her, pressing his head against hers and smiling when she placed a hand on his face. "When is your daughter meant to be here? She sounded very excited to finally meet me in her letter."

"Any minute now actually." Lana'thel told him, pulling back and cupping his face in her hands. "Now I have to warn you. She is very much like her mother."

"A beautiful mage?" Athrodar asked, getting a roll of the eyes from Lana'thel.

"Exactly that and more. She will flirt with you even if she knows you are mine. It's in her nature to take what is mine because she wants to one up me all the time." She smiled a little at him. "For instance, I am a fire mage and she was very prolific in the arcane arts, but chose the fire path because she wanted to be better than me."

Athrodar looked over her shoulder and began to smile a little too. "Does she also have black hair, tanned skin and a similar frame to yours?" He asked, getting a frown from Lana'thel.

"She does. How did you know that?" She asked him.

"She's behind you." Athrodar told her, watching Lana'thel look around and face her daughter.

"Thal'ena!" Lana'thel practically yelled at her daughter who stood only a couple feet away, hugging her tightly. "I'm so happy you're here."

"Mother." Thal'ena said back to her, eyeing Athrodar up and down whilst she hugged her mother. "So is this him?"

Lana'thel let go of her daughter and span on her heel to face Athrodar. "This is Athrodar Sunblade. Athrodar, this is my daughter Thal'ena." She smiled and watched Athrodar and Thal'ena shake hands, moving two fingers to her eyes and then to her daughter, mouthing the words; watch out.

"Sunblade? As in that super rich family full of assholes?" Thal'ena asked, looking over to Lana'thel who pinched the bridge of her nose. "What?"

Athrodar held up his hand to Lana'thel who was about to speak, smiling at her then at Thal'ena who looked over her shoulder towards him. "Yes, as in those super rich assholes." He told her, getting a smirk from her. "Though we're not all like that. Just the ones in Silvermoon."

Thal'ena chuckled and made her way around the bar. "I like this one." She said, taking hold of his hand and smiling up at him. "I might just make him mine..." She muttered, hearing her mother clear her throat. "What?"

"What did I tell you in the latest letter I sent you?" Lana'thel asked her, watching her daughter shrug her shoulders.

"I don't know." Thal'ena told her honestly, taking the letter out of her bag and showing her that it was unopened. "I haven't read it yet."

Lana'thel sighed again and slumped her shoulders, looking over to Athrodar who looked to be a little lost on how to feel about this situation. "See what I have to deal with? I tried my hardest to raise her the best I could and this is how she turned out."

"And you love me more than anyone." Thal'ena told her, looking up at Athrodar and smiling at him. "I hear you have a son." She glanced over to her mother and smirked at her. "I hope it's not hers. I don't like competition."

"I do have a son and it's not your mother's, no." He looked over to Lana'thel who looked to be apologising to him. "He's in the back room with my mother if you want to meet him." He said, watching Thal'ena smile brightly at him.

"I would love to!" She said, making her way into the back room before Athrodar could show her the door.

"I am so sorry about her." Lana'thel told him. "She gets like this after long trips with no contact. And by contact, I mean -"

"I get it." Athrodar said, cutting her off and laughing lightly, cupping Lana'thel's face in his hands. "She will be distracted by my son now. You don't have to worry about her unless my mother can't handle her and I've seen her handle Mel when she's drunk." They both looked over to Melonara who was too busy talking to a group of humans to have realised what has just happened. "Wait until she finds out there's a younger you in the back room. She could just about put up with the better version."

Lana'thel let out a small laugh and hugged Athrodar. "Better version... You're cute sometimes, you know that? Coming in with the compliments even after I've already slept with you." Her smile turned sad when she had just reminded her of something she was given a couple days ago. "I'm going to miss this place..." She muttered, feeling Athrodar let go of her.

"What was that?" He asked, looking down at Lana'thel who kept her gaze off him. "Lana?"

"I received a letter two days ago. I was going to bring it up once my daughter had come and gone, but I remembered what you said about wanting to be told things the moment I found out, so I figured two days was long enough." She searched through her robe to find the letter, handing it to Athrodar and keeping her gaze off him. "After all the time I have spent here, it slipped my mind that I'm actually not in charge of where I get to call home."

Athrodar read through the letter quickly, frowning and getting increasingly angered by the contents of it, stopping himself from balling it up when he reached the name of the elf who signed off on it. "Why?" He asked, watching Lana'thel shake her head. "Why is he doing this?"

"I'm his personal spy, Athrodar. You knew that when we first met." She sighed and pressed her head against his chest. "I don't want to go back, but it's my job." She felt him place a hand on the back of her head and wrapping her arms around him shortly after. "Especially now that the King's health has deteriorated quicker than we thought it would." She looked up at him and kissed him lightly when he leaned towards her. "I also have reason to believe you're going to be called upon by Kael'thas soon."

Athrodar frowned at her and brushed a thumb across her bottom lip. "What makes you think that?"

"I received another letter. This one speaking of a reshuffle of the Convocation and a couple of potential new members." Lana'thel told him, handing him the letter. "You're on the shortlist."

"Why?" He asked, reading the letter. "I am the least qualified person on this list." He said when he reached the bottom.

"The Prince trusts you. He says as much every time we speak." Lana'thel told him. "If it's true, maybe we will be together again in Silvermoon after only a few weeks apart."

"I would like that." Athrodar told her, smiling at her for a few seconds before hearing laughter from a group of humans and Melonara, bringing him back to reality and making his sigh. "But this place... I can't leave it to just my mother and Mel."

"Of course you can." Lana'thel told him. "You can also hire someone to run this place whilst you're in Silvermoon. Sort of like they're working for you and you pay them depending on what this place earns." She smirked at him. "You know, like a business."

"I could..." Athrodar muttered, looking over to Melonara who smiled at him from a distance.

"And who knows, if this place is that successful, along with the gold you bring in from being a member of the Convocation, you could open more taverns around Silvermoon and other cities." Lana'thel snaked her arms around his neck and got up onto her tiptoes to kiss him. "You will bring money in that isn't connected to your family other than by your last name. Which will give you more freedom than you can ever imagine." She kissed him lightly and felt Athrodar kiss her back. "I don't want you to take him up on his offer though if you don't truly want it."

Athrodar smiled a little when he thought about the offer that hadn't even been offered yet. "I could take him up on it... It would be easier for me to see my son if I'm in the city again and with you there and reporting to the Prince, maybe I can convince him to keep you in the city if you would want that."

"So I don't have to leave and be away from you?" Lana'thel asked him, getting a grin from Athrodar and smiling herself. "I could work with that. It's just finding something for me to do."

"I don't see why you can't be a part of the Convocation too. Who knows, we might have fun being on the council together, stopping anything my great grandfather or grandmother want to do because we are against it." He heard Lana'thel laugh and began to laugh with her. "I thought you'd like that idea."

"Hey." Thal'ena said, poking her head out from the back room. "Can I get that bottle?" She asked, pointing to one of the many bottles on the shelves. "Turns out I can only be around kids for a few minutes before I need to drink."

Lana'thel sighed and picked up the bottle. "If you'll excuse me, I need to watch over my daughter whilst she is in the same room as your son." She laughed lightly and patted his cheek. "Think about it, okay? I know he'll speak to you soon so you best be ready."

"There's fifty orcs." Lor'themar said, looking over to Dael'Thaelas. "Maybe sixty."

"And their defences?" Lord Sunblade asked, cracking open a couple of nuts and eating their contents.

"Just a few log walls, couple of watch towers." Lor'themar then told him. "Nothing too advanced that we couldn't handle."

"Good." Lord Sunblade said, signalling over his second and looking up at Lor'themar. "Do the Kaldorei know this?"

"Not yet, I was going to tell them soon."

"Don't say anything to them. At least not yet." Dael'Thaelas told him, looking over to his second. "Send a few scouts to interrupt the orcs. Let them know they are being watched closely."

Lor'themar frowned at Lord Sunblade. "Why aren't we telling the Kaldorei?" He asked, getting a glancing look from him.

"Because our Prince and General might trust them. You might even trust them, but I don't." Lord Sunblade told him honestly. "Until then, I want to keep information like this close to my chest. Especially if it has anything to do with the orcs or the Amani trolls." He told him.

Lor'themar, although not agreeing with him, bowing his head a little. "Very well." He said, looking out the building they were both in. "I'll send a few scouts out too, just to make it look like we are both keeping watch on the orcs."

Dael'Thaelas smiled and lifted up his goblet of wine. "Good. I was thinking the same thing."

"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice." Kael'thas said, gesturing to a nearby chair and smiling when Athrodar made his way towards it.

"When the Prince and a friend asks for you to visit him, you don't normally turn him away. Especially when we haven't spoken for almost a year." Athrodar sat down on the chair and smiled at him. "So what is this about?" He asked the Prince, already having a good idea of what this conversation was going to be.

"As you know, my father is dying." Kael'thas told him, sitting opposite Athrodar and on the other side of the desk between them. "Sooner than we all thought."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Athrodar said to him, sounding sincere and having the Prince wave away his concern.

"Everyone is." Kael'thas told him, exasperated with all the talk about his father's illness for the past several months and reaching into one of the drawers in his desk to pull out a sheet of parchment located within. "When he dies, I am to be given the throne as the new King, something I am not looking forward to at this current moment in time."

"I don't suppose you would be, given the circumstances." Athrodar said, looking at the parchment in Kael'thas' hands.

The Prince smiled and tapped a finger on the edge of the parchment, handing it over to Athrodar and interlocking his fingers when he saw him begin to read it. "I need you to come back to the city the week after he has died. For both the funeral as my guest and to join the Convocation as a close advisor to the throne."

"I thought as much." Athrodar said, reading through what looked to be a contract. "Lana'thel told me last week that this conversation would happen."

"It's hard to keep anything from her at the best of times." Kael'thas said with a laugh. "Though I suppose giving her a shortlist of all the candidates for the position of new Convocation member doesn't help."

"Outside of us three, does anyone else know?" Athrodar asked the Prince, placing the parchment down on the table.

"The General knows." He told him. "She was the only other person I told as I was hoping you would be visiting a week earlier, only to be informed you had your son for two weeks instead of the usual one."

Athrodar smirked at the Prince. "I'm sorry that I got to spend an extra week with my boy." He looked back down at the parchment in front of him and began to frown at it. "Who would be kicked off the Convocation if I accept?"

"Larysa." Kael'thas told him without hesitation. "Only two family members on the Convocation at a time."

Athrodar nodded his head slowly, looking down at the blank space where he would put his signature. "And if I was to ask you to put Lana'thel on the Convocation with me? Would that deny us any opportunity to marry since that makes us family at the end of the day?"

Kael'thas sat back in his chair and looked Athrodar in the eyes, seeing he was serious about his proposal. "Does she know you feel this way?"

"About joining the Convocation, yes. Not about marriage. It was just a hypothetical." Athrodar told him, looking out the nearby window and at the many spires of Silvermoon. "We discussed at length about the two of us joining the Convocation over the last couple of days, but it never occurred to us that there was a two family member limit."

Kael'thas sat forward on his chair again. "Well to answer your question, I didn't think she would want to give up being a spy, but if she so wanted it, I think I can find room for her on the Convocation when I take the throne." He looked out the window too when he saw several dragonhawks in the distance. "No doubt you two have made plans already if you both join."

"I wouldn't be thinking ahead if I didn't discuss such plans." Athrodar told him. "Though I do have to ask you one question. Why me?"

"I was waiting for that one." Kael'thas said, almost laughing a little. "It's quite simple really. I need someone who will agree with my future plans of working with the Kaldorei, Theramore, Dalaran and anyone else who wants to work with us without absorbing us into some sort of Alliance like the humans of Lordaeron, Stormwind and the other kingdoms had done in the past. Despite all their faults, the Convocation were right in not trusting the Alliance in the long run. Especially with the reports Lana'thel has given me from Stormwind." He sat back again on his chair, tapping a finger on the arm of said chair. "I also want you to join my Convocation because you had two years of experience in Stormwind with my personal spy. Yes, it was to run a tavern, but she had the unknowing task of making you accustom to the life of politics."

Athrodar began to slowly smile, laughing and shaking his head slowly. "You sneaky bastard. Was this your plan all along when you found out I was going to Stormwind?"

"Not entirely." Kael'thas told him, standing up and walking towards the window now, placing his hands behind his back and looking down at the citizens below. "But it doesn't hurt that I could give you that experience via Lana'thel and her mission for me." He looked back to Athrodar and smiled at him. "So what do you say? You already know how cutthroat this business is at the best of times, how much worse can it get with a friend on the throne and a lover beside you?"

Athrodar raised an eyebrow and made his way to the Prince's side, looking out the window with him. "So is that an agreement to Lana'thel joining the Convocation if I accept?"

Kael'thas moved his finger to his nose and tapped the side of it, watching Athrodar smile and nod his head slowly. "I look forward to having you back in the city again. Maybe this time, we will get along better than we have the last several decades."

"That's entirely your fault. Staying in Dalaran and not visiting your soon to be friend who had no idea you existed outside of your title." Athrodar said, both of them laughing together. "It shouldn't be too hard to build a stronger bond."

"My thoughts exactly." Kael'thas said, watching the city with Athrodar beside him.