V.

"You are letting her words eat away at you."

Signe had an uncanny way of making everything she said sound like a lecture, and right then it was grinding on Sylvanas' nerves. "Your powers of deduction are astounding, sister," the banshee bit back through a clenched jaw, her frantic pacing causing Brynhildr to get fed up rather quickly as she inserted herself directly in front of Sylvanas' path. She ground to a halt before she collided directly into the much larger figure, and Sylvanas slowly and dangerously raised her line of sight so that she could look up at the val'kyr who had decided she had had enough of her dizzying coping mechanisms. "Move."

Of course Brynhildr did not oblige her, although truthfully, Sylvanas did not expect her to. "I know you do not wish to hear this, but the mage's theory may hold merit."

She was right. Sylvanas did not want to hear it. "I thought you didn't trust her."

"I don't, but I do not trust anyone around you; she is not special in that regard," Brynhildr responded blatantly, her large wings beating rhythmically as she hovered before her. "That does not mean that she didn't make a good point though; we have run on assumptions or information directly fed to us from the Jailer for a long time now, but just because his explanations sound feasible, does not make them true. With the introduction of the mourneblade, it is beginning to look as though—"

"I am already well aware of what it looks like!" Sylvanas snapped, cutting the val'kyr off as she did not wish to give the theory more validity than it already had. Truthfully, Sylvanas could not stomach the reality of it should it be true, nor the implication that she had been so blinded with her singular focus that she had not seen it coming. It made her feel sick, it made her feel ashamed. She was supposed to be better than this, more tactically intelligent than this, and yet perhaps she really was far more broken than she realized, if she was so easily taken advantage of.

It was a disgusting weakness, and it honestly made Sylvanas want to strip the flesh from her bones in some desperate attempt to claw it out of her. She was unraveling again, her shadowed form seeping from her unnaturally pale skin as she stared down at her palms. It was strange; her skin was now closer to the color it had been when she was alive, yet instead of bringing her comfort, the more that she faded the more Sylvanas missed the strange periwinkle tinge it had been. She had felt far more alive then than she did now. Now she just felt hollowed out as the Maw stripped the last remaining bits of life from her, and suddenly, Sylvanas felt unsteady on her feet.

"Breathe," Signe reminded her, already knowing where this would lead if Sylvanas did not get a hold of it. Having her autonomy and control stripped from her had scarred Sylvanas since her first death in a way that she could not even begin to describe. The violation was such that whenever she felt herself losing control of her life, she tended to succumb to the fight or flight response it invoked whether she wished to or not.

"—I cannot."

"You can; you just do not need to in order to survive," Signe gently countered, situating herself behind Sylvanas and placing her hands on her biceps, strengthening their tethers just as Kyra had done the last time she had felt unbalanced. "But you know as well as I that it will still help calm you. Do not argue."

Truthfully, Sylvanas did not have the strength to. That ended up mattering very little, however, as she was only able to close her eyes and take two deep breaths before Kyra returned with the report from the Mawsworn. "We have a problem. We have… multiple problems."

"Anar'alash denal!" Sylvanas swore as she opened her eyes, giving up on reining in her shadow. Her banshee form was half out of her body, some of her shadowed tendrils wrapping around her corpse's wrists in order to keep herself from abandoning her body completely in Signe's grip. Sylvanas' voice was echoed, distorted. "What is it now?"

"Something pressing, but not an emergency. It is upsetting when you are like this— rectify it," Kyra requested, but that last part was not to Sylvanas as her line of sight was pointed toward Signe. The val'kyr matriarch inclined her head and strengthened their tethers, the connection allowing her to help Sylvanas pull herself back into her physical body once she was able to take a moment and remind herself that she still had options; she still had a plan that did not involve that blasted mourneblade, or the horrific idea of becoming the Lich Queen. Truthfully, this place made everything so much worse. At least when she was on Azeroth, her trauma responses did not make her physically separate herself from her body. She felt as though she were being ripped apart bit by bit the longer she was down there, and Sylvanas did not know how much of herself she would be left with at the end of it all.

It took a few long moments, but after Signe had helped anchor her to reality and Sylvanas' thoughts no longer swam with the overwhelming desire to flee from herself, from her uncontrollable life, the banshee's gaze connected with the youngest val'kyr. "What happened?" she asked again, her voice much steadier this time.

"The Maw Walker helped Baine and Thrall escape their prisons," Kyra revealed, but before Sylvanas could even hiss out her displeasure, more bad news came. "A hoard of Azeroth's champions have also overtaken Castle Nathria. Sire Denathrius has been taken prisoner."

"—Shit."

Sylvanas detested swearing in Common, as it sounded so terribly barbaric, but truthfully, there was no other word for how utterly screwed they were; their situation was now both ugly and unpleasant, just like the language. Sylvanas wished she was able to speak her mother-tongue more often, but the last time she tried to speak Thalassian to her val'kyr, Kyra had countered with answering in Vrykul, and that was the end of that. Common was common for a reason, after all. Sylvanas had hoped they would have picked up the language just by being tethered to her, but apparently that was not how it worked.

"They will come for her next."

"I know that!" Sylvanas exclaimed, as while the King was arguably more important than Jaina, she was in a much more accessible level of Torghast. She could not let them save her— she needed Jaina. Quite frankly she no longer trusted the Jailer, and due to recent revelations decided that she did not wish to be within ten feet of that goddamn sword. "…We have run out of time," she resigned, her words weighing heavy. "I will not let them have her— out of my two options, she is the far more appealing one, and I will not lose this opportunity."

"Sister!" Signe called out with exasperation, as Sylvanas did not take a moment to think or to plan, and just left. There was a sense of urgency that had laid root inside of her though, as Sylvanas did not know what she would do if she no longer had this choice. So the banshee whipped through the halls of the damned, seeping under the small crack in the door of the chamber before she appeared in front of Jaina, her form a mess of shadows and tendrils before she pulled herself back to a physical body, her very visible val'kyr not far behind her.

Jaina exhaled a sound of surprise as the three large battle maidens surrounded Sylvanas. The mage's eyes were wide as she noticeably took a step back, whatever she was going to say to Sylvanas' unexpected appearance dying on her tongue in the wake of having more company than she expected. "I— oh." And that was as far as she got as Jaina blinked, staring at the three creatures behind her newfound ally as though she was half-expecting them to strike out at her. Her grip on her staff tightened as she stood tall and resolute, her breathing shallowing in such a way that it made her breasts noticeably heave.

Now that she was in front of her and thus knew for certain she had made it to Jaina before the rescue party, Sylvanas visibly relaxed, a lot of the tension draining from her body as she allowed her line of sight to dip briefly downward.

"Jaina," Sylvanas stressed in a languid tone as she dragged her gaze back up to the mage's eyes, using her name both as a greeting and as a way to tear the woman's attention from her val'kyr. It had the desired effect and Jaina's gaze immediately found hers, the low decibel of the banshee's voice causing her cheeks to tinge a dusty rose. This, predictably, seemed to irritate her, and Jaina's expression leveled as she exhaled a frustrated breath of air.

"Are you physically unable to say my name like a normal person?"

One of Sylvanas' long brows quirked in response; truthfully, she had come to enjoy this. It had been a very long time since a woman reacted to her in this way, and even though Sylvanas knew that it was more of a physiological response on Jaina's part rather than a conscious one — as the woman's conscious mind clearly did not like her very much — it made her feel… something. It made her feel something rather than nothing at all, and that was enough. "I suppose that depends on what you consider normal."

"Like you aren't trying to bend it over and fuck it, for one."

Whatever Sylvanas had been expecting, it certainly was not that. Kyra laughed, Signe furiously shushed her, and Brynhildr's expression got, if possible, even more displeased by this interaction. Sylvanas' brow rose, hoping she did not look as off-kilter as that comment made her feel. That was certainly not what she was used to but, then again, most of her frivolous flirtations in life had been with other high elves.

"I forgot how blunt humans can be," Sylvanas responded, trying to come off as though she was displeased by the comment even though, on some level, it was interesting to be confronted with something she was not used to. The Lord Admiral did, admittedly, have a way of putting enough effort behind the word that it felt as though it had managed to burrow inside of Sylvanas, igniting something deep within her abdomen. Still, Sylvanas feigned disinterest.

"Ah, yes, because the elven way of doing things is always far superior," Jaina responded with an exasperated eye roll. "Shame on me for forgetting."

Sylvanas' lips quirked. "At least you're aware of your shortcomings."

"You're insufferable. Why are you here?" Jaina demanded, still looking a bit flustered. "I did not send for you, so if it's a plan you're looking for, I'm still falling rather short since you have yet to give me an accurate picture as to what the hell we are even up against. At best, all I have are half-baked theories, so thank you for that."

"Yes, well, half-baked theories will have to do," Sylvanas responded, her own mood souring as the reality of their situation washed over her now that they had gotten away from… other distractions. Now wasn't exactly the time or place to be having frivolous enjoyment, no matter how badly she needed the distraction from how easily it seemed she was falling apart these days.

"What happened?" Jaina asked, pushing her irritation to the side as actual concern wrapped around her words. Her eyes searched Sylvanas', but her gaze felt intrusive and the banshee broke eye contact as she chose not to divulge the real reason she was speeding things along.

"The mourneblade is nearing completion," Sylvanas told her, which was not a lie, technically. "If we are to act, it must be now. If I refuse his sword, I fear it will prematurely show my hand, and that is not something we can afford. What do you need to see this through?"

"Anduin," Jaina responded without hesitation, and truthfully Sylvanas should have seen that coming. But while she may have an agreement with the mage, that did not mean that it would automatically extend to the King. Jaina noticed her hesitation, and pressed, "The Jailer wants to control you both for a reason, Sylvanas, and I'm willing to bet that's because you both are dangerous to him. If we are to defeat him, we need to release what he is going to great lengths to keep chained up."

Sylvanas lightly bit down on her tongue, looking apprehensive. "The pretty mage has a point," Kyra interjected despite Signe's furious look at her to be silent. Unfortunately, the illusion of the val'kyr as merely being her weapons had already been shattered by Kyra laughing earlier, but Sylvanas still did not wish Jaina to know how close she truly was with them.

Jaina blinked, looking unexpectedly flattered. "I… thank you."

"That's because you're as blinded by her beauty as she is," Brynhildr scowled at Kyra before turning toward Sylvanas, who's jaw clenched at how the battle maiden had worded that. Jaina's physical attractiveness was not at all relevant to how Sylvanas chose to make tactical decisions, and frankly she was offended by the implication. "Who's to say she will not turn on you once she has gotten her King freed?"

"Enough, both of you!" Signe snapped, losing her temper as she grabbed onto her sister's hands and forcefully shrouded them from sight, effectively stealing their voices as when the val'kyr were invisible, they existed somewhere between this plane and the next, and their communication was limited to the tethers that bound them. Not that it mattered though; Sylvanas could always feel what they were feeling, so she was more than aware of how displeased they both were with Signe silencing them.

"Ignore them," Sylvanas requested, trying to stay her own temper. Brynhildr especially was going to get an earful later. "Continue."

Jaina still looked a bit shocked at their unexpected scuffle though, and her gaze lingered on where the val'kyr had resided before they had shrouded themselves from sight. "I didn't realize they were so… opinionated."

Sylvanas narrowed her eyes at the other woman, not liking how she worded that. "They are not my pets, Lord Admiral; they are a noble and sentient race capable of complex reasoning and sometimes an irritating amount of judgment— as they have clearly chosen to demonstrate."

"I wasn't trying to be offensive," Jaina assured her, looking a little guilty that that was how Sylvanas perceived her comment. "I'll admit myself ignorant when it comes to their race; I had only ever heard of them in passing during my studies. I know they are sentient though, believe me— one of them already took it upon themselves to threaten me, although I am… not entirely sure which one," she admitted, looking a little perplexed, and probably rightfully so— all of the val'kyr looked and sounded identical to one another, and the only reason Sylvanas could tell them apart was because they each felt different. "I'm going to assume the one who believes I'm using my 'beauty' as a weapon against you."

"Incorrect."

It had been Signe, not Brynhildr, that had visited Jaina before, but Sylvanas decided the mage did not need to know the specifics and chose not to elaborate; it was already disconcerting that Jaina knew as much as she did.

"…Are you going to correct me then?"

"No. My val'kyr are not your concern, nor do we have time to discuss them," Sylvanas shut her down, choosing instead to move toward the reason they were even having this meeting; the longer they lingered here, the more likely it was that the Maw Walker and the other champions of Azeroth would find them. "If it is the Boy King you desire, then you shall have him. But be warned that my freedom takes precedence to his. If you cannot guarantee—"

"How— how am I supposed to guarantee you that?" Jaina asked helplessly, looking exasperated by the other woman's demands. "Sylvanas, I do not know how the afterlife works! I do not know why the Arbiter is dormant, I do not know what will wake her, or what deactivating her permanently would do to the realms. I cannot and will not move to disassemble a system without first having done my research. Do not ask me to; you must know how unreasonable that sounds."

Disappointment and fury twisted in Sylvanas' gut as suddenly she felt trapped in the inevitable all over again. The thought suffocated her, and she had to step away from Jaina as she hissed, "Then you will rot in here," despite knowing that either way, she would not, and that was the worst part of all of this. Either Sylvanas helped her escape, or the champions of Azeroth did. Either way, Jaina won, and Sylvanas was left with nothing.

"And you will become Lich Queen," Jaina countered strongly. "Don't play games with me, Banshee— you and I both know that an alliance with me is preferable than what you will be put through if you continue with the Jailer. I am asking you to trust the agreement that we made— I told you I would help you, and I intend to honor that."

Sylvanas scoffed at the tone in the other woman's voice. "You also admitted that you had planned to betray me once, so you'll excuse me if I find it hard to believe your sentiments."

"As if you would not have considered it if you were in my position. Regardless, one of us is going to have to trust the other eventually—"

But Sylvanas was stubborn to the last. "Then perhaps you should be the one to trust me."

"I would, if I could give you what you want first, but I can't! Sylvanas, there is only one way this can go right now— do not make us go in endless circles when you know very well how this ends." Jaina took an imploring step forward. Her tone actually sounded genuine which was truthfully the most unnerving thing, and it made Sylvanas trust her even less because she was well-aware that Jaina had little reason not to stab her in the back.

She was right though— they did not have time to endlessly argue this, and unfortunately Sylvanas was at a disadvantage with the Champions on their way. It was this or nothing, and as Sylvanas did not want to be left with nothing she chose to oblige the mage, but not before she stepped further into the other woman's space, the unexpected proximity causing Jaina's breathing to gently shallow as Sylvanas allowed her lips to hover just next to her ear.

"If you betray me, I'll cut out your heart."

The words were low, as though she were whispering a great secret, and if possible it made the reverb of her voice even deeper, which seemed to give Jaina a conflicting reaction as her muscles tensed and her pupils dilated. Although she was not touching her, at this distance Sylvanas could feel the heat from Jaina's body; a heat that only seemed to intensify as Jaina turned her head to meet her gaze, nearly causing their noses to brush against one another if Sylvanas hadn't instinctively flinched a fraction of an inch away. The corners of the mage's lips curled in victory as she briefly glanced down at Sylvanas' mouth before finally finding her eyes.

"And if you threaten me one more time, I'll freeze and shatter yours," Jaina breathed like a secret of her own, and the echoed disapproval of Brynhildr and Signe put a strain on their tether that frustrated Sylvanas because this… this was interesting. In the end though, the excitement this brought Kyra was louder, more intense, and as Sylvanas echoed the youngest val'kyr's feelings, she found it easier to ignore the other two.

"I'm dead, Jaina," she reminded her, keeping her voice soft yet not caressing the other woman's name like she usually did with her tone. Not that it mattered, in the end, how she said it— it seemed to elicit the same reaction in Jaina either way as the mage pursed her lips, looking at Sylvanas furiously like it was her fault that she reacted that way, even though the elf truly did try this time not to sound as though she were fucking it. "I could live without one. I'm sure many would argue that I already do."

The tension between them was both palpable and terribly tempting, but Brynhildr in particular was practically screaming at her, and Sylvanas had to step away from Jaina to make her stop. She would certainly be dealing with their ill-timed interventions when she had a moment to; while Sylvanas understood their concern on the matter, she was still capable of making her own damned decisions. Sexually antagonizing Jaina was probably stupid, yes, but it was also frivolous and harmless, and Sylvanas enjoyed how it felt.

That did not, however, mean that she did not know when to stop.

And so Sylvanas dropped her tone, stepped out of the mage's space, and got back on track. "Come— I will bring you to your King."

[x]

Jaina had sunk to many lows in her lifetime, however she was fairly certain that finding some kind of strange sexual gratification out of antagonizing a murderous banshee had to be one of her lowest. There was something dangerously appealing in flirting with the enemy though, which probably meant that she should seek professional help of some kind when she got back to Azeroth. Truthfully, Jaina was a little concerned about her choices lately, but there was also the fact that she had been imprisoned to consider. Solitude, especially for extended periods of time, did strange things to people; perhaps in the end, this was merely a byproduct of Jaina's desire to interact with someone, and Sylvanas just exuding an exuberant amount of effortless sexual energy caused it to become warped so that she could instinctively match the other woman's aura.

It was an unconscious reaction on her part, and as such it wasn't as though she was able to control it.

Still, no matter what Jaina told herself, she could not ignore the bitter sting of disappointment when Sylvanas had stepped away from her. Which was ridiculous, honestly; how else could it end? While the mounting tension between them admittedly gave Jaina some sort of strange high, she didn't want to touch Sylvanas. Not really. Well…

Tides. No.

"Don't touch me," Jaina snapped defensively, still on edge. Sylvanas had looked as though she was reaching for her hand in order to guide her in whatever means she used to travel, but the unexpected gesture unnerved Jaina as she pulled her hand out of the other woman's reach. The mage realized her mistake a little too late though, and tried to backtrack so Sylvanas did not realize she had managed to fluster her for a second. "I just mean that I can teleport us. Hold on."

"You do not know where we are going, and the second you use your magic in this chamber a demon appears," Sylvanas reminded her in an impatient tone, looking at Jaina like she was being ridiculous. But then she seemed to suddenly realize why Jaina had blurted out those words, and the corners of Sylvanas' lips curled into a smirk, her gaze trailing down the curves of the other woman's body as she attempted to make the mage even more flustered, as this game apparently brought her great amusement. The bitch. "I won't bite, if that's what you're concerned with."

This woman truly was insufferable, but Jaina was not going to rise to the bait this time. She did at least have a minimal amount of self-control, after all.

In a demonstration of something… well, adjacent to self-control, Jaina almost violently grabbed onto Sylvanas' hand, feeling the sharp contrast of the banshee's cool skin against the warmth of her palm. The feeling seemed to have given Sylvanas pause as well, as suddenly her cocky look had washed away, and she was left with a strange expression on her face. "Let's just go," Jaina demanded, and Sylvanas did not hesitate before she delved them both into a mess of shadows.

Jaina felt as though Sylvanas was both nowhere and everywhere, and the conflicting feeling made the mage's heart race as the world swam around her through clouds of darkness. She wasn't entirely sure if she was corporeal, or what Sylvanas had actually just done until suddenly her feet were on solid ground and they found themselves pressed together chest to chest, the banshee's surprisingly solid-feeling shadowed tendrils slowly uncurling from around Jaina's arms and thighs. The mage, who's head was tucked beneath Sylvanas' chin, blinked and exhaled, not really processing what had happened or where she was until it suddenly hit her and she nearly stumbled back in her haste to put some space between them.

At least she did not seem to be the only one who was uncomfortable; for all her bravado, Sylvanas suddenly looked as though she were chewing on glass. The banshee immediately wrung out her hands as though she were trying to shake Jaina's touch off her, which would have been offensive if not for the fact that Jaina decided she desperately wanted it off her as well.

"Aunt Jaina?"

Anduin's chains rattled as he moved, and Jaina spun around to see the boy she saw as a nephew on his knees in the center of the room, chained to the floor in the midst of what looked like a circle of runes. Jaina's heart dropped into her stomach as she saw the confusion and mistrust in the boy's eyes— although perhaps that was to be expected, as she had Sylvanas in tow. "It's me," she tried to assure him in a warm tone, before she looked at the floor to decipher the runes that surrounded the section he resided in. Entrapment spell— should be easy enough to dispel. "Are you alright?"

But Anduin was not looking at her anymore. He was staring at Sylvanas who lingered back while the mage sprung forward to free him, a mistrustful look in his eyes from the rescue party he was being presented with. "Whatever this is, whatever she's promised you, you cannot trust it. The Jailer is probably already on his way— you should go. Please, listen—"

"I wish I had time to explain, but you are right about one thing: the Jailer will no doubt be on his way soon. Therefore, getting you out of here must take precedence," Jaina responded, as she knew her disappearance would eventually be noted by the guards. She stopped just outside the circle of runes, summoning the arcane that lay deep within her as she began to unweave the complex series of spells that had created the King's prison. She could feel Sylvanas' gaze on her as the banshee eyed her with interest, but Jaina ignored her and focused on her work until the entrapment spell had lifted, and the runes faded into obscurity. Good. Now the only thing left was the King's chains, which should be easy—=

Except, the spell that should have broken them did not work.

"Jaina, please— this does not feel right," Anduin pleaded with her in a whisper, not wishing to be overheard by the woman hovering in the back of the room. "She is too far gone; maybe once she could have been reasoned with, but those days are long past. Leave me; take her back in chains to Oribos, you could use her as leverage—"

Jaina was only half-listening to him though as her brow furrowed and she continuously tried stronger and more complex variants of the spell and yet still, the chain held strong. "What is this?" she demanded, whipping around to face Sylvanas, hoping that for once the woman might have an actual answer for her.

And she did.

"The chains are designed so that the living cannot break them," she told her, yet made no effort to move.

Jaina stared at her. "Well? Out of the two of us, you are the one who happens to be dead, so." She looked at Sylvanas expectantly, but the elf still did not move, and Jaina's stomach sank in her gut as disappointment pulled violently within her chest. This could not be happening. She had believed her.

"I knew it," Anduin muttered, sounding so terribly resigned, as perhaps he had hoped, for Jaina's sake at least, that he would have been wrong.

Sylvanas' reluctance to help her did not, at least, seem calculated. However, the banshee's response – or lack thereof – did not bode well either as the woman pushed herself off the wall and hissed, "I am not going to break his chains so he can turn around and put me into some of his own! What do you take me for, human?"

"What?" Jaina asked, legitimately confused until she realized Sylvanas had heard them, of course, even from across the chamber. Jaina exhaled an exasperated breath at Anduin's foolishness in airing his suggestion of betrayal. "Sylvanas— he is wary, and he has a right to be. You were the one who put him into those chains, and you have yet to explain why you are breaking him out. Of course he's not—"

"I am not releasing him," Sylvanas furiously insisted and Tides, they did not have time for this. Jaina looked at her helplessly, wishing the woman would save her stubbornness for when they weren't moments away from being hunted down by an Eternal One. "Figure out another way."

"Sylvanas, think about what you are saying. We need him. You know we need him. You are being unreasonable—"

"No, you, you are being unreasonable!" Sylvanas ranted, closing the distance between them, shadows beginning to leak from her form as she lost hold of her temper. "Expecting me to trust you on blind faith— I gain nothing from his freedom, and I will not stand here and wait for you to decide that helping me is no longer worth it once I have done my part!"

"Do not make assumptions. I have told you—" Jaina tried, but Sylvanas had already made up her mind as she got into the mage's face, her eyes wild and fangs bared as she practically sucked the air straight from Jaina's lungs with the ferocious passion behind her words.

"I. Don't. Trust. You."

Jaina's eyes searched hers, her frustrated sense of helplessness morphing into frantic desperation because they could not do this now. If they were caught before they could free Anduin, they would all be killed or imprisoned again, and this would have been for nothing.

She didn't understand how Sylvanas did not see that, but perhaps it really had been unreasonable for Jaina to expect the other woman to blindly trust her. The easiest way to solve this would be to give Sylvanas some kind of guarantee, but Jaina didn't know what could convince her; words were meaningless, apparently, and it wasn't as though Jaina could offer down payment on their plan to circumvent the woman's terrible fate, as they had no idea how they were even going to go about it yet.

The mage wracked her brain for another solution, yet every magical solution that came to mind she knew would immediately be shot down, as it was doubtful that Sylvanas would know the spell, and therefore trust that Jaina was even doing what she claimed.

It came to her in a flash then; an answer both magical and known to the quel'dorei standing in front of her, and before she had the chance to second-guess herself, Jaina blurted out, "Diel fin'al thalas!"

Sylvanas froze, her entire body tensing as she stared at the woman in front of her as though she had just been physically assaulted by those words. "…What did you just say to me?"

Tides, she hoped she pronounced that right. Truthfully, Jaina's Thalassian could be… better. Though she knew enough to get by, she had learned it primarily for research purposes, and thus was better-versed in reading it than speaking it. She hoped Sylvanas was looking at her like that because she was merely surprised by her knowledge, and not because she had butchered her native tongue and insulted her.

"The ritual— that is how it's pronounced, right?" Jaina pressed, hoping she did not sound as desperate as she felt. They could not stay at this impasse indefinitely, and Jaina was concerned that the more time they wasted here, the quicker the Jailer would find them, and it would all be over. "If you truly do not believe that I am concerned about your fate, then let me tie it to my own for the time being. Would that convince you then?"

"Jaina…" Anduin interjected in shocked horror as he shifted from his place on the floor, his chains rattling in the otherwise silent room. He clearly did not like the sound of that, but Jaina would not even look at him; this was between her and Sylvanas, and so her attention did not divert from the other woman as she held her breath, waiting for Sylvanas' response.

Sylvanas looked as though those words had winded her and she took a step backwards, her eyes wide and lips gently parted. "You do not know what you are suggesting," she warned her, and while that might technically be true, as she could not remember all of the minute details of the agreement off hand, what Jaina did know was that it was binding enough that it should give Sylvanas peace of mind. More importantly though, Jaina remembered reading something to the effect that it could be broken once their 'journey had ended,' which meant that it would only be temporary until they could each uphold their end of the bargain. It was maybe an extreme solution to their problem, but elves did have a flair for dramatics after all. Besides, they did not have time to debate, so if an elven accord was what they needed to agree to, then so be it.

"I do." Sort of. Mostly. "I know I'd be binding myself to you until such time we see our bargain through. I understand this is not something to be undertaken lightly, but it is something I am willing to do should it get us to trust one another. Sylvanas—" Jaina stressed, her eyes searching the other woman's imploringly, "we need to trust one another. If we don't, neither of us will get through this. Help me, help us, and I swear to you, I will return the favor."

Because no matter what the woman had done, no matter how much she may deserve to rot in the Maw now, Jaina still found that she could not get past the injustice of how Sylvanas had come to be the woman she was now. That after being enslaved, tortured, and controlled by another, her yearning for peace through oblivion had only been met with more pain and suffering. Sylvanas was right— if that was how the system worked, then it wasn't just.

So despite a part of Jaina wondering if she was doing the right thing, if perhaps the forgiveness from her mother and her people had softened her back into that naïve girl she had been before Garrosh had taken Theramore, Jaina was resolved to do what was honorable, and uphold the agreement they had made.

Before Sylvanas could answer though, one of her val'kyr reappeared, a grave expression on her face. "—Sister," the battle maiden warned, her large wings beating heavily behind her. She looked apologetic. "They are coming."

Sylvanas exhaled, the crease between her brow deepening as she too realized they were running out of time. "So you wish to… solidify our agreement," she clarified, and Jaina wasn't entirely sure what the woman's tone meant, but it sounded as though the mage's words had brought her a bitter sense of amusement.

Sylvanas' gaze shifted toward her val'kyr, and then the other two faded into view just slightly behind the first. "No," said one of them almost immediately, and Sylvanas looked to the remaining two— apparently she valued their opinions, which made Jaina wonder if they were more than just arrows in her quiver after all.

"Yes," said the second.

Sylvanas exhaled a long breath, looking at the one in the middle who had yet to speak. "Signe?" she implored, and Jaina had to wonder how she could even tell them apart. The one called Signe was silent for a long moment, the corners of her lips pulling down into a frown as she considered, and Jaina began to wonder if perhaps this was more than she realized, if Sylvanas was deliberating on it with her val'kyr. The base of her abdomen fluttered with nerves, and Jaina swallowed.

"…Yes," Signe finally decided, causing the first to hiss her displeasure. Signe held up her hand to stay the other val'kyr's temper though, reminding them all, "There is no time to argue, and her safety must be a priority. Do it."

Jaina didn't know how safe it would make them when they went up against an Eternal One, but perhaps the val'kyr merely meant that Sylvanas would be safe from betrayal, and that was true at least. Tides, maybe this was foolish, but Sylvanas had already moved to release one of Anduin's hands from his bindings, and Jaina knew she did not have time for second thoughts.

"You will do it," Sylvanas dictated to Anduin, her tone not leaving any real room for him to argue while the poor boy stumbled trying to pull himself to full height now that he had more room for movement. "Your connection to the Light will allow you properly bind us. Repeat exactly what it is that I say, and do not let go of our hands; you will need to keep one on the top and on the bottom." Anduin just stared at her like she had to be joking while he violently pulled on his remaining cuffed wrist, causing the chain to clang loudly against the stone floor. An amused smirk curled the corners of Sylvanas' lips. "We can shift, if this is not a good position for you, Little Lion."

Anduin did not look happy, but he turned his attention to the mage who had approached him. "Jaina… I don't think you've thought this through," he implored to her. The val'kyr looked as though they were guarding the door now though, and Signe's ominous warning of, "They're coming," echoed in the back of the mage's mind as she grasped for Sylvanas' outstretched hand, clasping it tightly within her own. "There must be something else you can offer her; this sounds…"

"There isn't, and even if there was, we would not have time to debate it. Anduin— please," Jaina pleaded, her brow creasing as she looked at the boy— no, he was a man now, a King. Honestly, Jaina felt terribly for not taking his words into consideration more, as she both trusted and respected him, but they were under enormous pressure and this could not wait. "I need you to do this for me— it is the only way we all get out of here alive."

Anduin still looked hesitant, but one glance at the val'kyr who looked as though they were steeling themselves for a fight caused the rest of his protests to die on this tongue. In the end, he wished to for his freedom and for his life as much as the rest of them did, and this was the only way it would be allotted. He gently nodded his head, encouraging them to get closer to him so that his limited movement with his one remaining chain allowed him to place his hands where he needed to. Sylvanas' hand tightened around hers once Anduin had his in place, and if Jaina did not know any better, it suddenly looked as though her expression had masked over with anxiety.

"Are you alright?" Jaina asked softly, but Sylvanas wouldn't even acknowledge her as she looked at Anduin instead, ignoring whatever it was that she had felt in that moment as she focused on what they must do.

"Ask us if we consent to this binding."

Anduin exhaled through his nose, looking apprehensive. Still, he did as instructed and met his aunt's gaze. "Jaina, by the Light that guides us, do you consent to this binding agreement with Sylvanas Windrunner?"

"Yes."

"You must look at me when you answer," Sylvanas told her, voice uncharacteristically soft. Jaina's gaze found the other woman's, and suddenly the mage was hit with how terribly intimate this all felt. As such, it felt very awkward to hold the banshee's gaze as she answered, but Jaina kept eye contact as she looked at the woman across from her, her heart pumping in the base of her throat.

"Yes, I consent to being bound to you, Sylvanas." A beat, and Jaina did not know why, but she felt the need to blurt out, "In order to see our agreement through," as though it were important that she reiterate this. It all felt suddenly far heavier than Jaina had expected, and it made her nervous.

The elf exhaled, Jaina's answer in the informative apparently seeming to elicit more anxiety from within her as Sylvanas' jaw clenched and her nostrils flared. Her grip on Jaina tensed, and the mage's breathing shallowed a little as she had the intrusive and frightening thought that perhaps there was more to this than the historians of the Kirin Tor had recorded.

"Of course… for our agreement."

Jaina was fairly certain she did not like the way Sylvanas had said that.

But Anduin had looked to the Banshee Queen next, moving forward with the ritual, "And do you, Sylvanas, consent to this binding agreement with Jaina Proudmoore?"

Sylvanas moistened her bottom lip, the moment of silence she took feeling deafening as she searched Jaina's eyes. For a second, Jaina hoped that she would say no; that perhaps if there really were more to this binding than Jaina had been lead to believe, that Sylvanas would have the good sense to decide to trust her on her words alone. However, no such escape came as Sylvanas had made her decision, her gaze boring into Jaina's as she breathed, "…Yes. Anar'alah belore, I consent to this binding."

Everything blurred after that.

Sylvanas did not break eye contact with her while she directed Anduin through the complex string of Thalassian required, and her gaze felt… intrusive, yet not unpleasantly so. It was as though Sylvanas was seeing into her, and Jaina found she could not look away as her mind wandered to strange thoughts, such as… if she held on to Sylvanas long enough, would the woman's body temperature rise to match her own? The banshee's hand no longer felt cold and unfamiliar in her grip. Or was it the way Sylvanas was looking at her that had caused Jaina's skin to flush to a degree that she could no longer feel the other woman's chill?

As Anduin finished his speech, Jaina's distracted mind recognizing and understanding only a few words, the Light enveloped their clasped hands and Jaina felt a strange tug in the center of her chest. She exhaled, feeling… oddly fuller.

It was a strange feeling, and in her surprise, Jaina immediately dropped Sylvanas' hand and stepped away, her breathing shallowing as she looked at the woman across from her. Sylvanas had a strange expression on her face as well as they locked eyes again, but it seemed the banshee was able to shake it off much quicker as she chose instead to look at Anduin, a brief wave of her hand allowing the last of the King's bindings to release, and she got back to business.

"Let's go."

TBC…