Chapter 18

Alyna pulled back on the reins of her bat, forcing the creature to fly higher to get over the white mountains before them. A pair of arms tightened around her waist to ensure the owner did not slide out of their shared saddle. She smiled under her frost-caked mask as the snowy terrain passed beneath them.

It had taken her and Sylvanas most of a day to get back to Vengeance Landing, the name eventually given to the Forsaken base. Waiting for the queen was an orc messenger. He had orders for Sylvanas to report to the magical city of Dalaran to explain to the warchief why she had attacked the Alliance. After some initial confusion as to why the warchief was in a human city in the Eastern Kingdoms, it was explained that the magi had cast a powerful spell that had somehow brought the entire city to Northrend. They had declared it neutral ground, and had welcomed both the Horde and Alliance inside to discuss how best to deal with the Lich King.

The only catch was, Alyna could no longer open a portal to the city as she had been able to do when alive as the new location had nullified her attunement. With Alyna as their guide, they were now flying there with several royal dreadguards. The city was now located near the Lich King himself in the province of Crystalsong Forest. They had passed through the fjord, had cut through the southern perimeter of the temperate Grizzly Hills, and were now at the northern edge of the frozen zone referred to as the Dragonblight. Just over the mountain was the forest that long ago had been literally turned to purple crystal by desperate Highborne elves several thousand years ago.

Not that she was really focused on their destination. Sylvanas had insisted on taking as few bats as possible, and she was now sat very snugly behind Alyna. The arms around her waist were her queen's, and they had been there for most of the twenty-eight-hour non-stop journey. The wind in their faces had made conversation almost impossible, but that had not mattered. Neither of them had felt the cold beyond a dull ache, but both had felt the comparative warmth of each other.

As they rose over the top of the mountain, even Alyna felt shocked by the sight revealed to them. Floating near the level of the mountain top, was Dalaran. The ground it sat on was visible beneath, and she could even make out the exit of an underground sewage pipe sticking out of the floating soil. At the furthest point from their position, was a great tower that soared into the sky, the Violet Citadel. Alyna knew that was where the ruling Council of Six spent most of their days.

But, even that paled with the sight behind the citadel and the floating city. In the distance, rising out of a mountain yet taller than what they had just flown over, was the black visage of Icecrown Citadel. The highest points disappeared up into the clouds, and the dull metal appeared to absorb all light that hit it. Alyna knew, at the very top, was where Arthas ruled from on the Frozen Throne.

A shudder went down Alyna's spine. The arms around her waist squeezed slightly as if Sylvanas had felt the shudder and knew why.

I am not alone, she thought. It settled her as she scanned the city for somewhere to land. As they flew around, she saw a large platform that appeared to have been set up for that very purpose, and they swooped down, the four bats landing with lopping gaits. Sylvanas immediately slid off the back, and Alyna suppressed a chuckle. It would appear her queen was still not very fond of flying. As she removed herself from the saddle, she heard the delicate sound of cracking and splitting. She looked down and realised she was covered in ice and it was now falling to the floor. When she looked up again, she could see several magical staves pointed in their direction, held by nervous humans.

"Scourge are not welcome here!" cried one of the humans.

The six royal dreadguard immediately surrounded Sylvanas, shields raised. She then ordered them to stand down, much to the confusion of the human magi, and the dreadguard.

As Alyna moved towards her queen, Sylvanas raised her voice for everyone on the platform to hear. "We are not Scourge! We are the free-willed undead of the Forsaken."

A tall figure suddenly materialised between the Forsaken and the armed mages. Alyna realised by his ears that he was an elf, though his face was completely covered by a hood. He looked at the mage-guards, who had already lowered their staves at seeing him.

"Lower your weapons! You were told they would be arriving, and this is no way to greet the ruler of the Forsaken, and an ally." He turned to regard the undead, and bowed deeply. "Lady Sylvanas, my sincerest apologies." He rose and gestured to the visible black citadel behind them. "Our proximity to that abomination has made everyone nervous. I am Archmage Aethas Sunreaver, of the Kirin Tor."

Sylvanas gave him a curt tilt of her head in greeting as the mage-guard finally retreated back to their posts, some reluctantly. "Your arrival was timely, Archmage."

"In truth, I was expecting something like this, my Lady, though I did try to avert it. It will be … difficult … for the local inhabitants to look at your people and not immediately see our enemy. I hope time, and exposure, will change that."

Alyna knew it wouldn't change for many of them, but so long as they were treated with civility she really didn't care how they felt.

Sylvanas' eyes flashed with impatience. "If you were expecting us, Archmage, then you know why I am here."

"Yes, indeed. The Warchief is waiting for you in Sunreaver Sanctuary. I also lead the Sunreavers, so if there is any accommodation or comfort you require as you make use of the Sanctuary, please do ask." He then looked directly at Alyna. "I would expect your companion will wish to attune herself to the city? It was wise to bring a mage to facilitate faster travel in the future."

Sylvanas and Alyna exchanged a glance before the queen looked at Aethas. "This is Ranger-Lieutenant Alyna Darkfury. I would have you extend your offer of aid to her as well. She acts in my name."

Alyna bowed her head slightly in greeting. The archmage was wearing a hood, but she did note his body stiffen slightly. His words became guarded. "Interesting. And, of course, my Lady. Please, follow me? The portal room is nearby, so we can get that out of the way first."

She followed her queen, remaining close, as they left the landing platform and entered the city. The royal dreadguard followed, their armour rattling and clanking. Despite the inhospitable location, the city was bustling in a manner Alyna had never seen before. Her previous visits had shown her a city full of humans, with a small number of high elves. Now she could see every Azerothian race she had ever met, and even some she hadn't.

They all stopped and moved aside when they saw the Forsaken. She made it a point to not avert her gaze from them, and she found the results interesting. Most had various degrees of undisguised fear and disgust on their faces. She could hear the unmistakable sound of retching as well. She couldn't blame them for that as she knew some of the royal dreadguard reeked of rotting flesh. Some though, were clearly curious and were edging closer for a better look. One was a small human girl who managed to wrestle away from her mother's grip. She ran straight up to Alyna.

"Miss! Miss!" came the small voice, in Common. A few gasps of shock flew up from the onlookers. Alyna stopped to look down at the girl, guessing she was about eight or nine years old. The child looked up at her with pale blue eyes, her light blonde hair in two large plaits each side of her head. "Mommy says you're bad, but you don't look bad."

Alyna flicked her eyes up to regard the mother who had followed her child. She looked scared, and slightly embarrassed. She looked down at the girl again, and knelt on one knee to be more at her level. "Why does your mother think I am bad?"

The girl giggled. "Your voice sounds funny. Is that because you're dead?"

Alyna blinked in surprise. "Yes. You are well informed, little one."

The pale face wrinkled in concentration. "So, if you're dead, then you're bad. But you don't look bad."

The darkfallen tilted her head slightly. The child was blunt, but not unpleasant. "I am … different. And what's different isn't always bad, but … it is always wise to be cautious and make the decision for yourself."

The girl blinked a few times, processing the words. "Different can be fun. The same is boring." She squinted her eyes, peering at Alyna. "Why do you wear that mask? Can I see?" She started to reach for Alyna, but she apparently remembered her manners and stopped, tucking her hands behind her back shyly.

Without any real thought, Alyna reached up and gently tugged down the black cloth hiding her nose and mouth, very conscious of her fangs slightly showing.

The girl's face lit up. "Oh! You're so pretty! You should stop wearing it."

Before Alyna could figure out what to say next, an adult hand planted itself on the girl's shoulder. She looked up to see the trembling mother. "That's enough, Lizabeth. These people need to get on with their day."

Taking her cue from the parent, Alyna looked at the girl. "You should go with your mother, Lizabeth."

Sad blue eyes looked directly at her. "It was nice to meet you …" She trailed off, realising something was missing. She gave Alyna a begging look.

"You may call me Alyna." She felt her lips smile slightly. There was something about the pure innocence of children she had missed the past few years.

The girl repeated her name a few times and then hugged her mother as she was led away. Alyna stood, and replaced her mask. She turned to see Sylvanas looking at her. Her face was impassive to most, but Alyna knew how to read her; her ears, her body language, the glint in her red eyes, and the very tiny raised corner of one side of her mouth. Her queen was highly amused.

As Aethas waved for them to continue, Sylvanas dropped back. Her voice was light-hearted as she quietly said in Thalassian, "The child is right. You should stop wearing it."

Alyna just grunted her response. She could feel Sylvanas grow more amused. Thankfully, they had reached the portal room and it stopped all conversation.

Portal attunements ranged from the very simple, to the ludicrously hard, depending on local factors and the mage in question. As Alyna had been previously attuned to the same portal stone in a different location, she had to break the connection first before she could move further. The problem was, she had been a living elf the last time she went to Dalaran, and now she was dead. The portal stone recognised her enough to not allow her to attune, but didn't recognise her essence to remove her prior connection. It took two specialist archmages and the portal keeper to figure out a workaround, but eventually she was attuned.

With great relief, she stepped back outside. Sylvanas' impatience had got the better of her and Aethas had suggested he show her around the local area. She had been completely disinterested, but had agreed to follow if only to give Alyna space to concentrate. Alyna looked around. Her exit was on the corner of two streets, but she couldn't see Sylvanas or her guards down either street.

Recalling where the Sanctuary was, Alyna turned left and immediately bumped into someone. She heard a surprised 'umph!' and a couple of high pitched squeals as she stepped back, holding her hands out to ward off anyone who may be falling on her. "My apologies," she started, and then she froze. She looked at the man who had just walked into her.

"Zendarin …? Is that you? It's Alyna."

The male elf had stumbled back. She looked down and saw the source of the squeals. He was holding the hands of two little boys with flaming red hair and light grey-blue eyes. Their ears were elven, but shorter than she would expect for children of five or six years old.

"Alyna?" He regained his footing and looked at her, shock on his face. "You're … here? How are you here?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but she suddenly found her lower legs encased in ice. The children had also been rooted to the floor, and were starting to wail. Zendarin gave her a wide-eyed look, and ran away. As if that wasn't odd enough, two very familiar people spotted her from further down the street, and sprinted in her direction. She had not expected to really see either of them again.

Vereesa Windrunner ran to one child, and Rhonin Redhair ran to the other. They were both frantic. Vereesa looked up at her with the same eyes as the boys, anger and fear on her face as the archmage removed the frost spell. "How dare you! What the hell did you think you'd accomplish taking our sons?"

Alyna blinked and looked at the two boys again. They were about the right age, she realised. "I didn't take your boys, Vereesa. But you should talk to Zendarin. He was the one with them when he froze us to the floor."

She felt a presence at her shoulder, and without looking she knew it was her queen by the slight widening of Vereesa's eyes.

"What is going on?" Sylvanas asked, though it sounded more like a demand.

Alyna sighed. "I was looking for you, my Lady, and bumped into your cousin, Zendarin. Literally. He had these boys with him. He then froze us, and ran away. Your sister seems to think I took them."

Vereesa was standing protectively in front of her family as her husband held their boys. "They were taken from the nursery about ten minutes ago." She narrowed her eyes at Alyna.

"I was here, attuning." She gestured at the portal room.

Aethas stepped forward. "Ranger-General, it would be a simple matter to check her alibi if you wish to proceed, but I can vouch for her."

Alyna glanced briefly at Sylvanas. Ranger-General? Sylvanas gave her a brief nod. She would explain later.

Rhonin leant forward and gently rested his hand on his wife's shoulder. "Come, Vereesa. I'll have the guards search for Zendarin. He won't get far."

As Rhonin started to pull the family away, Vereesa glared at Alyna. "Stay away from us," she spat.

As they watched them leave, Alyna said quietly to Sylvanas, "You said nothing to her."

"And she said nothing to me. That is how she wishes it to be." Her voice was cold.

She turned to look at her queen, who was staring down the street the family had just disappeared down. She wanted to ask what happened, but knew this was the wrong time and place to do so. Instead, they followed Aethas to the Sanctuary.

The meeting with Thrall was shorter than Alyna would have expected. When the Kirin Tor had invited the Horde and Alliance into the city, the Alliance's leader, King Varian Wrynn, had complained the Forsaken had attacked his fleet using underhanded means. With Alyna's help, Sylvanas explained what happened, and who the Kvaldir were. The Forsaken had not attacked the Alliance, but had defended themselves instead, and were still doing so. The Alliance sailors that had been shipwrecked had tried to loot the stricken Queen's Reprisal instead of just retreating and leaving the Forsaken to the land.

With the situation clarified, they had been dismissed, and were now strolling through one of the small gardens within the Sanctuary. As it was a secure area, Sylvanas had released the royal dreadguard to their barracks.

"When do you wish to return to Vengeance Landing, my Lady?"

Sylvanas' ears flicked as an insect dared to buzz around her. "You'll head back soon. I will not be joining you."

Alyna looked up at her queen. She knew Sylvanas was not used to sharing her plans with anyone, but she risked asking. "What will you be doing, my Lady?"

The queen followed the offending invertebrate, and then suddenly reached out to grab it. Alyna could no longer hear the buzzing. "A portal to Undercity has been established, so I will be returning home." She brushed her hand on her cloak. "Since the Warchief has decided to try and work with the Alliance, I wish to have a diplomatic team permanently here in the city to … keep an eye on things."

Alyna stopped walking and turned to her queen. "Will you be re-joining us at Vengeance Landing?"

Sylvanas stepped forward into Alyna's personal space. After gently lowering her black mask, she lightly took her ranger's chin between her thumb and forefinger. "Will you miss me?" came the quiet question.

Alyna smiled slightly at the familiar gesture. She had spent so much time with her ruler lately, it would be strange to not have her presence nearby. She was still wary around the queen, but her guard was slowly lowering. Perhaps their separation would help keep her cautious.

She was about to reply when she heard a horrified gasp. As she turned her head towards it, Sylvanas quickly dropped her hand and did the same.

Across the small garden, Alyna's father, older brother and younger sister stood watching the two Forsaken. Lirea's pale-green eyes were wide in surprise, but her brother and father looked guarded. Typical, Alyna thought. Her father had told Galanir of her existence, but not Lirea.

"A-Alyna?" The young elf looked at their father, and then back to her dead sister. "You're … here. How?" She looked back at her parent. "I don't understand. You're not surprised, Father."

The eldest Salonar looked down at his youngest daughter. "I'm sorry, Lirea. I wanted to protect you from what she's become. I knew you two were … close." He seemed to stumble over how to define the sisters.

"Protect me? From seeing my sister again? No." She shook her head firmly. "No, you don't do things for others, only for yourself."

The vitriol in Lirea's voice was surprising to Alyna. She exchanged a glance with Sylvanas, who appeared equally curious. The quick turn of her head meant she missed Lirea rapidly closing the distance between them, and the next thing she knew two arms pulled her into a hug. Too surprised to react, Alyna just stood there with her arms hovering in the air. It didn't last long. A moment later, Lirea broke away and took a step back. She was frowning.

"You're … cold. Too … cold …" She looked at Sylvanas, and then back to Alyna.

Part of Alyna felt for what Lirea was going through as she watched the realisation show on her face, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Pale hands flew to an open mouth as Lirea gasped again. Behind her, their father slowly closed the distance between them. "You're dead. Aren't you? By the Sunwell, this can't be! Not you." Her head shook as tears appears in her eyes. "Not you!"

"Lirea," Athanos started with unusual gentleness, "let's find somewhere quiet. You've had a bit of a shock, child."

He tried to pull her into a hug, but she rejected him. He settled for placing a hand on her elbow to guide her away. With a look of disbelief, Lirea allowed it, and the three left the garden by the way they came in.

Alyna looked after them, unsure how to feel.

"It's easy not to say a word to them," mulled Sylvanas. "No matter what you do say, it can't make up for what they are seeing. I'm sorry it happened that way for you." Alyna's eyebrows narrowed slightly as she looked at Sylvanas. Only then did she realise she truly had not said a thing to her sister. Her queen continued, though she tried to soften her words. "We cannot comfort them, Alyna. If she's kind to herself, she'll rationalise you're not her sister, and move on."

She looked at the colourful array in the garden as Sylvanas spoke. She would have adored this space in life, but now it felt one-dimensional. She could see the colour, but she couldn't smell the flowers. She could hear small birds calling to each other, but the sounds gave her none of the joy she knew she used to feel. She knew Sylvanas was not being unkind. She was right. If Lirea tried to connect with her, she might never move past and accept what Alyna was now. That would just lead to anger and hate.

She felt a hand on her lower back, and turned her head to look at her queen.

"I have been assigned quarters here," Sylvanas raised her eyes to Alyna's. "Would you accompany me to them?"

Alyna replied with a nod, and followed her queen out of the garden. It suddenly felt wrong to be there, like she didn't belong amongst something so alive. With Sylvanas, she belonged. They shared an awful reality that was now more bearable because they were no longer alone in dealing with it. As they entered the queen's quarters, Alyna came to a decision. As the queen hung her bow and stowed her quiver, Alyna moved up behind her.

When Sylvanas turned, her eyes widened slightly at the close proximity of her ranger, but she didn't object. She also didn't object when Alyna slid her hand round to the back of her head and pulled her closer for a searing kiss.

She couldn't smell the flowers, or find cheer in birdsong. But kissing Sylvanas was a sensation she could feel and find comfort in. It allowed her to experience sensation in an existence that generally felt like she was not a part of the world. While their sex was loveless, there was a familiarity and tenderness that could replicate it if not entirely. And when Sylvanas made her climax … her body felt alive, and almost whole.

Alyna pushed her queen up against the wall and broke their kiss, their bodies pressed together. She smiled rakishly at the slightly dazed and turned on look on Sylvanas' unguarded face.

"Is that what you want?" she husked.

The low chuckle she got in reply vibrated through her body. "It's a very good start." Sylvanas leant forward to resume the kiss, but she found two fingers pressed against her lips instead. She opened her eyes in confusion.

"I'll give you what you want … but I want something in return." She quirked a white eyebrow as her grin grew wider.

Sylvanas lifted her head and raised her own eyebrow. Her open expression became more guarded. "You're making demands of me?"

Alyna pressed her thigh up into her queen's crotch. Sylvanas glanced down a moment before meeting her ranger's eyes again.

"I will not be your subject in your bed any longer, Sylvanas. If that's where you want me, then I am your equal."

She could see the queen thinking her words through. Her eyes remained dilated with desire, which Alyna thought could only be a good thing. Eventually, she started to slowly nod. "Okay, Alyna. When we are alone … I am not your queen." Her red eyes flashed with power briefly, and Alyna understood. So long as she did not abuse her privilege, Sylvanas would keep her word.

Without breaking eye contact, Alyna slowly trailed her fingers down the front of Sylvanas' stomach, slipped them into the woman's pants and down to her crotch. As she began to touch the woman intimately, she watched as Sylvanas' eyes struggled to maintain focus. Taking pity on the woman, she smiled slowly. "I'm glad we could come to an agreement."

Sylvanas half-laughed, half-moaned as she leant into her.

Birds be damned, thought Alyna. She now knew what sounded like music to her ears. She chuckled huskily as she made Sylvanas sing her tune.