Arthas stared at the half-naked elf with a mixture of disgust and amazement. She twirled around a pole atop the stage.
"Uh...Lethumo. You do remember the both of us are married right?" Arthas asked, turning to the night elf.
Lethumo handed the man a drink, and directed him over to a chair. "Doesn't mean we can't look and appreciate. Besides, my Meizhen doesn't get jealous."
"Yeah? Well, Jaina would skin me alive and rip out my organs if she caught me doing something like this," Arthas growled.
"Why? You aren't cheating. Just being a passive observer."
"Passive, my ass!" The Lich King said, voice taking on a dangerous tone.
Lethumo sighed. He sat down, and looked over to the woman on stage. "You're a man, aren't you? Besides, I thought human men liked elven women."
"I do not. To be truthful, I don't really like elves in general. You are tolerable."
The night elf turned to look at Arthas, turning up a grin. "You're right. Why do you think I married a pandaren? Meizhen is cuter than any night elf woman."
Arthas scowled, and drank what Lethumo had given him. He nearly spit it out.
"What the hell is this stuff?" Arthas demanded.
"Liquor. Far more dependable than any mana-bomb crazed mage. I think you should just dump Jaina into a frozen lake. When's the last time you had sex?"
Arthas drank more of the repulsive liquid. "None of your business, Lethumo."
"I bet several months...Isn't it?"
Arthas sighed. "Eight."
"Aw...Poor you. Ever think about mistresses?"
"No. I love Jaina."
Lethumo threw his head back. He drank the whole glass of his drink, and looked back at Arthas. He looked like he was very serious.
"But does she really love you?"
Trees rose up around Ethan. He smelled a lot more pleasant scents out her into the forests than he could smell in New Alterac. Ethan walked through the forest.
Ethan headed into a village in a clearing of the trees. It was his old home, the lodge that Sapphire and him used to live in. Now it was used as a hunting lodge only. Hunters now used it as a headquarters for them. The hunters are the scouts, game wardens, and border patrols of Ethan's kingdom. Most were worgen, but there were some of other races.
He walked into the village. Smoke drifted out of the chimneys of some of the small houses. A large field held a herd of horses, tamed from the wild horses found nearby.
Ethan walked up to his lodge. He entered it, and went to where the body had been laid.
The body lay on a table. The arrows had been removed from the wounds, and were next to the body. Ethan picked up one, and examined it. The make was not one he knew of.
There was a whimper. Ethan turned around.
A plaguehound was curled up in the corner of the room. She was one of the dogs Ethan had raised. A nice brown color with green eyes. Ethan was very proud of his green eyed dogs that he had been breeding. She was looking at the body sadly. Ethan put the arrow down. He approached the dog calmly.
"Hey, sweetheart. You're a good girl. Yeah...Come here."
The dog whined, and rose up onto her feet. The plaguehound knew him. All plaguehounds knew Ethan. She slowly went over to the kneeling boy. Ethan pet the dog, saying calming and reassuring words.
"Don't worry, baby. He'll be all right. I will have him resurrected as soon as possible."
Ethan whistled. Ni'kua came trotting in a minute later. The plaguehound woofed softly, and sniffed the female one. She sniffed back.
"Go on, sweetie. Ni'kua will take care of you."
The plaguehound hesitantly went with the male. Ethan stood up and looked at the body.
He sighed. Nothing to do but wait for the necromancer he had asked for previously.
The woman came in without ceremony. Ethan smiled unhappily.
"Hey, Nicci. Sorry we are meeting today on such circumstances," He said apologetically.
Nicci smiled, and gave him a hug. "How are you, Ethan?"
He shrugged, and looked over to the hunter's body. "Better than most."
"How true. He's in for a rude awakening. I'll get to work."
The necromancer went over to the body. Ethan nodded. "I will see a friend about those arrows. I am not good with identifying weapons as far as the difference between a sword and an axe."
"Don't ask me. Mar knows things like that," Nicci said.
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Marwyn? Since when did you start calling him Mar?"
The woman looked up. "Since he and I..."
She seemed at a loss for words. Ethan just grinned. "Ah. Well, it's about time. Marwyn has been a little lonely."
He picked up the arrows, and saw that Nicci was blushing.
"Don't worry. My lips are sealed," Ethan promised.
"Thank you, Ethan."
The boy smirked, and kissed her on the cheek before leaving.
"Come now, Terenas. Ya not be feeling da music."
Terenas sighed, and looked at the troll. Junaujinthul was annoying, but Terenas had to deal with him.
The troll was tall, with a crest of bright red hair and large tusks. He was beating on some drums at the moment, happy and having a good time. Juna was a friend of Ethan's, after the two had met in Booty Bay. Ethan had been looking for someone to be a good bodyguard for Sapphire. That had been when she had gotten pregnant for the second time. Ethan was incredibly protective. He met Juna, and was impressed by the troll's resourcefulness. He questioned the troll. Finding out the troll was a loner, did not have any friends, and had been down on his luck financially, Ethan suggested that he start a new life. In Northrend.
Juna was Sapphire's official bodyguard, but Sapphire never really needed him. He was just a guard now, but Ethan and Sapphire had befriended him. The troll was very smart, and friendly.
And, whenever both parents were away, Juna would watch over the kids. He seemed to have a knack for babysitting. Serenity loved Juna. Terenas never knew what the troll was saying, the way he talked confusing to the young man.
"I don't want to feel music. I want to be with my father."
"Ya too serious, boy. Look at Rot. He be feeling the music."
Rot, the plaguehound puppy that Terenas had known forever, was hopping up and down in tune with the troll hitting the drums. He punctuated each beat with a bark.
"I am tired, Juna...I am going to bed," The boy said, faking a yawn. He stood up, and walked away.
Before he got two steps, Sapphire came walking in with Terenas's siblings. The boy smiled.
"Terry!" Sapphire cried out, going over to him. She hugged her son.
"Hi, Mom! Sorry I didn't want to go."
"That's all right-"
Serenity interrupted. "You missed the ice cream, Terry! I got butter pecan, Arty and Calia got chocolate, and Cousin Angelica got strawberry! we put nuts and sprinkles and hot fudge on our ice creams. We also saw Uncle Charcoal, Grandpa, Aunt Autum. We went to Icecrown Citadel and Scourgeholme!"
Terenas smiled. "Sounds like fun."
"Where's your father?" Sapphire asked.
"Investigating. Someone shot a hunter in the Grizzly Hills. Twice."
Serenity gasped. "Oh no! I hope that hunter is okay! Wouldn't that hurt, being shot?"
Terenas looked at his mother. He could tell she had guessed that the hunter had been killed. But they couldn't say that to sweet Serenity. Sapphire replied.
"Don't worry. I am sure that hunter is fine."
The girl sighed in relief. Serenity was very sensitive.
Calia raised her hand. "I want to be a hunter. I want to kill things."
Terenas scowled, but before he could reprimand her, Sapphire gave him a dark look. Terry closed his mouth.
"How about we all make dinner for your father when he gets back?"
The children brightened up. "Cool!"
The doors opened up slowly. Ethan walked into the main hall. He groaned as he went through his castle. He wanted to curl up at Sapphire's feet and sleep for hours. She might want a little more than that, but hopefully she would see just how exhausted Ethan was.
After he had left Nicci, he had went to a weapons expert that he knew and shown the arrows to her. Her identification was not reassuring. Ethan had went around warning all hunters to keep a watch out. Someone was here in Northrend...killing Ethan's people.
Ethan had become very attached to being a worgen. Sapphire had suggested once that she could look for a cure, but Ethan had refused. There was nothing wrong with him. In fact, he could protect Sapphire much better as a worgen than as a human. So he stayed fluffy. And Sapphire used him to write a book about worgen, since he was a very impressive specimen of a worgen.
He stood over most worgen, seven feet tall and weighing around three hundred pounds. Only one worgen that Ethan had found was bigger, one that he had fought while trying to save all of the worgen in the Grizzly Hills. That worgen had been much taller, and weighed at least four hundred pounds. He had been mad, infected with rabies. They could not help him, and had to put him down.
Ethan had midnight black fur, thick and soft. His teeth were sharp, and Sapphire brushed them for him making them a clean white, while other worgen had yellowed or even brown teeth. His eyes were bright green. His ears were large and pointed.
Sapphire had not yet found a worgen more impressive than him, but Ethan supposed that was a good thing.
He entered into the communal dining room. Large wooden tables ran the length of the room. Ethan sniffed. He smelled food. Going down onto all fours, Ethan trotted into the kitchen.
"Daddy!" Ethan was attacked by his children. He woofed in surprise.
"My cubs," The worgen said affectionately. They grabbed at his fur, and hugged him tightly.
Sapphire smiled, leaning over the kitchen counter. "Hello Ethan!"
"Sweetheart...Have you been cooking? Who are you planning on poisoning this time?"
She scowled. "We made you dinner, but if you don't want it-"
Ethan perked up at the mention of dinner. "Yes, please."
Sapphire stood up straight. She went over to a plain table. Ethan saw the food. Serenity yanked at her father's ear.
"I made you cookies."
He nuzzled her face with his wet nose. "Thank you, honey."
She then looked at him seriously. "I dropped a lot of eggshells into it, so chew carefully."
Ethan resisted the urge to frown. Just like her mother.
It was later that night. Ethan was curled up with Sapphire. The kids were asleep, and the Keep was silent. Nothing to worry about. The open curtains of the window showed a rising full moon. Ethan was watching it slowly rise in the sky. Sapphire had her head on his chest, eyes closed.
"Ethan...I forgot to ask. The murder?" She asked sleepily.
"Oh. Not good, sweetheart. But don't worry. I have all the hunters out scouring for the culprit. And the guards on night duty ordered to arrest anyone suspicious."
"That's good," Sapphire murmured. "Who did it? Do you know?"
"Uh...A dark ranger. Should be nothing to worry about. Just one. We would have noticed a larger group. Some adventure-seeking Forsaken. He or she won't be able to hide from my hunters."
Sapphire opened her eyes, and kissed Ethan on his nose. His ears flicked appreciatively.
"I'm sure. I brought a stupid Forsaken to Mom yesterday. Never did ask her why she wants me to bring some back alive."
Ethan snorted in amusement. "Jaina's gone crazy."
"She's my mother. And what she does, she claims helps the Scourge. I'm not going to question it. The only bad thing is that I wish I could tell Dad. He's so unhappy all the time."
There was a loud banging noise on the door. Sapphire and Ethan both sat up in astonishment. Ethan growled, hackles raised. Sapphire felt her magic tingle.
"Come in," Ethan snarled.
The doors opened, and Falric came in with the one they had just been talking about. Arthas was half-dragged, half-carried in by Falric. Autum came in, looking as cheerful as ever.
Sapphire gasped. "What's happened!"
"Arthas got drunk, had a hissy fit with the Bitch...I mean Lich Queen. And got promptly kicked out of his own Citadel. And of course your Mommy took custody of Marwyn, leaving me stuck with this drunk piece of-"
"Don't yoush insult me, deathknight! I'm your Master," Arthas growled, voice slurred. He sat up slowly. The man was holding a brown bottle. He looked around.
Sapphire stared at her dad. "Damn, He is drunk. I didn't think I would ever see that."
She left the bed and went over to Arthas. She knelt down next to him. He smelled strongly of alcohol. "Dad...How many of those bottles have you had?"
"Uh...I dunno. Losh count."
Sapphire glared at her father. He smiled at her. The girl stood up.
"Autum. Come here."
The girl came over to her, and Sapphire whispered into her ear. "Go make some tea. And find something for him to eat."
"All right!" Autum bounced off. Sapphire returned to her father. She tried to take the bottle away from him.
"Hey, Dad. Give me that...No, no. That's stuff is bad. Autum has gone to fetch you some bourbon. You want that?"
"Ssssure...Who are you?"
Ethan was having a hard time not laughing. Sapphire was having a hard time not smacking both Arthas and Ethan. Falric took the bottle that Sapphire had taken from her father, and sniffed it. Then, he started drinking it. The girl turned to him.
"Really? Must you?"
"Hey, I am helping. I am getting rid of it so Drunkard over there doesn't get any ideas."
"You talking about me?" Arthas said, a dark tone in his voice. Sapphire saw he had his sword with him, and decided to stop him before he did something.
"No, Dad. Of course not. We are talking about Lethumo...He's always drunk."
"I am ash soberest ash anyone here!" Arthas retorted.
"Of course you are. I never said you weren't," Sapphire knew how to deal with drunk people now. It was just best to tell them what they wanted to hear, and trick them. It was easy to trick a drunk person.
The man relaxed, and looked around.
She gave Falric a sidelong glance. "How are the undead acting?"
"Oh, they are fine as long as he doesn't do this again."
Sapphire was relieved about that. She looked at the sad thing sitting on the floor.
"Well, I will handle it from here, Fal. When Autum comes back, you and her can just go find a guestroom. Sorry you had to deal with him."
"No. I am sorry that you have to deal with him now."
Autum came in, holding a tray. Sapphire thanked her gratefully, taking it from her. Falric took Autum by the arm.
"I'm tired. Let's go find a bed."
Sapphire scowled as the deathknight dragged Autum away. The girl waved at Sapphire before the doors shut.
"Here Dad, eat this."
Arthas scowled as the tray was set down next to him. "Ain't hungry. That's ain't bourbon, ish it?"
He looked at the tea suspiciously.
That was the last straw. Sapphire got her stern mother voice, and even Ethan did not like it. The worgen crouched down, ears pressing against his head. He whimpered.
"Light Damn it, Arthas Menethil! You eat your dinner and you will go to bed before I-"
She started telling Arthas all the things she would do to him if he did not do as he was told. The drunken man lowered his head, thoroughly chastened.
"Soorrie..." He picked up a bit bread and started eating.
Afterwards, with Ethan's help, Sapphire took her father to a guestroom. Ethan helped him take off his armor, and then Arthas slowly made his way into the bed. He pulled the covers over himself. He was less drunk as before now that he had eaten and drank warm tea.
"Sapphire?" He asked.
"Yeah?" The girl asked, a bit annoyed. She wished he would just go to bed.
"I love you..."
The girl softened. She smiled, and leaned down. Kissing him on the forehead, Sapphire told him she loved him too. She bid him goodnight, and he in turn told Ethan what a good son-in-law he was. Then, Arthas fell asleep. He started to snore instantly.
Ethan sighed, and turned to Sapphire. "He's going to have quite the head ache in the morning. I do not envy him. Let's leave him. He should be fine."