Chapter 15
Mother and Father,
I am alive. I am okay. Anduin brought me to a safe place to learn to control this…power.
I love you.
Jadearra.
No, that didn't sound right. I crumpled the parchment into a ball, groaning and tossing it to the ground, along with the other twelve attempts that had failed.
"It's alright if you can't find the words, Princessling-you can write them tomorrow if you have to. You've had a long day," Anduin said from where he was in the back of the house, cooking something in the small kitchen.
"I feel filthy," I whined, my skin still in fact caked with apparently four-month-old grime.
"Well then take a bath-we have one in the house, and there's a fireplace in there," Anduin said, and I sighed, slipping off my dirty boots and setting them by the door, taking my cloak off and setting it on the chair I had been sitting at-Anduin's cloak.
"Okay," I said tiredly, my head hurting as I took off the dirtied headband and caressed the faded lion emblem there, feeling that missing time, and a weird emptiness-
Teir.
"Anduin?"
He came running, looking concerned, and I felt worried, "Why can't I feel Teir?"
He breathed in relief, and gestured for me to follow him back to the kitchen.
"Teir was…a wreck, after you went under. She was having a hard time regulating her own temperature, and your spirit seemed to be trying to…hijack her body." Anduin said, and guilt crushed me as I remembered visiting her, trying to get warm again.
"She…she constructed a hatch of sorts, that kept you in your own body and kept her from being possessed entirely. She said it was one that she would've constructed with you after the War, but…" he trailed off, and I nodded, leaning on him.
"I'm going to take that bath. Being this filthy for four months sucks," I said softly, walking out of the room and to the door across the small hallway, entering the cool bath chamber.
I went to grab a match to light the fire, when I had an idea.
I focused on my finger, imagining it was a candle, and my nail lit. I stared in awe of it, mouth open, and I held it to the wood in the grate, pulling back as it came to life, crackling and warming the room quickly. I did the same to the bath, filling it with water then holding a small ball of flame to warm it. I laughed as it worked.
I put my hand out by dunking it into the water, before I stripped out of my ruined armor, cloth clothes, and under clothes. My skin prickled as air touched it for the first time in far to long, and I let myself moan quietly as I slipped into the warm, perfect water.
There was a tray of soaps beside the tub-Anduin had to have set that up ages ago-and I took advantage of it, taking a bar and scrubbing at the filth that coated my arms and chest, smiling as I finally saw my own pale skin begin to shine through.
I can't believe that I was a statue for four months, the epitome of war. Gory, tired, aching.
Terrified of death and losing Anduin.
My eyes flashed, showing the insanity of the vortex around me for a moment, and I grabbed the sides of the tub, closing my eyes and forcing it back, tears trickling down my cheeks.
I focused on washing, scrubbing at my skin as the water got extremely filthy extremely quickly, and I stepped out for a moment to empty it and refill it with clean water, warming it again. I shivered, my damp skin reacting with the air, and I shuddered as the feeling of stiffening haunted me.
I slipped back into the fresh water, relishing in the warmth, and I scrubbed at my hair with another bar of soap, scrubbing and combing and rinsing and lathering until I looked like a drowned rat with platinum hair.
I stepped out of the water, wrapping myself in the warm, fluffy towel that waited on a rack on the wall, and I dried off quickly, wanting nothing more than to be warm.
Then I realized I had a predicament.
"Um…" I looked around.
I have no clean clothes.
I opened the chamber door, poking my head out into the hallway and looking around confusedly.
"Problem?"
I jumped, nearly slamming my head into the door, looking to see Anduin watching me from the kitchen, eyebrow raised.
"I have no clean clothes in here," I said sheepishly, and his expression shifted, pupils dilating and lust pooling in his eyes.
My own arousal decided to finally show its face, but I couldn't focus on that right now.
"Um…just a moment," He said, stepping into the hallway and walking towards the main room, opening a chest there and pulling out a set of cloth clothes-clothes from home.
"I should've told you those were there, sorry," he said, blushing as he brought them to me, and I stuck an arm out and snatched them away.
"It's bloody freezing in this house," I said, and he smiled.
"Get dressed, Princessling. Your first meal's almost ready and I'll light the fire."
I closed the door, soaking up the warmth of the fire in here as I dropped my towel; slipping into the clothes he had given me. A set of under clothes, thick cloth pants, and a blue cloth shirt that was warm. I didn't have any shoes, but that's all right.
My hair was drying, and I used the towel to speed the process up some, before placing the headband in front of it, looking into the mirror.
Tired green eyes that sparked with energy stared back, paired with soap and dirt scoured skin, and an underfed frame that had been still for far to long.
I put out the fire in the chamber, stepping out into the rest of the house, and smiling as I saw the fire roaring in the corner. Anduin was carrying two bowls, each with hot stew in them.
"I thought some hot food would be allowed," Anduin said, and I smiled, taking the bowl and inhaling the scent. My stomach growled savagely.
"I'm thinking that tomorrow we can start figuring out your limits, magic wise. But for tonight, we can just…be," He said, and I smiled.
"I can hold fire," I said, recalling the chamber, and he looked at me odd.
"I used it to light the fireplace, and to warm the bath. It didn't even hurt my skin to hold it," I said, smiling.
"That's fairly simple magic, according to the books I've been studying-"
"You've been in Silvermoon."
He stopped, staring at me in surprise.
"I heard you speaking with Jaina…before I woke up. How did you get in?" I asked, and he settled into the cushion beside me-the comfy couch that sat before the fire was big enough for three, but we managed.
"Your parents…Elynae wanted to murder the Kirin Tor, because they couldn't find anything to help you. They grew desperate…and Teir retrieved me. She thought…I had a little more motivation than the Kirin Tor, and I knew you better." He said, looking into his stew.
I drank up the last of the broth, having inhaled it, and stared at his hungrily.
He held it out with a huff of laughter, and I took it, eating it up.
"So they gave me access to the Libraries, everything the Court had on magic…and I met Elvira. She thought I was quaint." Anduin said, and I laughed softly, heart aching for home.
"Did you see the sky?" I asked, looking at him, and he nodded, his eyes distant.
"You were spot on when you told me about it. I've never seen something so…" He stopped upon seeing the emotion in my eyes, and took the bowls of stew from me, setting them on the small side table, and pulling me to him.
"I promise we will get through this. You will get to go home again, Jadearra," Anduin spoke, his fingers massaging stiff muscles and arms comforting me.
We sat there for a while, watching the fire, and I heard Bandit howl outside.
"Do you want to sleep?" Anduin asked, and I nodded, making no move to pull away.
He lifted me from the couch, cradling me gently as he pulled the duvet on the bed back, setting me down carefully.
"Do you…do you want me to stay?" he was so uncertain, worried and cautious.
I nodded, scooting over towards the wall and patting the bed.
He smiled, slipping under the covers beside me and pulling them over both of us, sighing happily as I snuggled into him.
"I missed you, Princessling," He said, his fingers caressing my back.
"I missed you too," I whisper, before drifting.
The vortex was ripping through the hold, and I was dying.
Anduin was trying to get to me, and I panicked.
"No! Get back!" I screamed, and suddenly, a fatal blast of fiery wind caught him, sending him flying back with a crack, and he was still.
"Anduin?!" I screamed, my panic skyrocketing as the vortex began to tear at the walls.
"Anduin!"
I rocketed out of the bed, landing on the opposite side of the main room in a blink, hyperventilating.
"Jadearra? Jade!" Anduin spoke tiredly then urgently, and my hands started to spark.
I crashed through the front door, fleeing the house and running into the woods.
I fell in the clearing, panicking as my hands continued to flicker and spark, arcs of magic ricocheting in and out of me.
"Jadearra, calm down!"
"No! Get back Anduin!" Power and magic was slipping through my voice, and I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
"Dammit-!"
Something hit me hard, and I was out.
Ow, my head hurt.
I pried my eyes open, painfully aware of the bump on the back of my head, and that voices were in the room.
"How hard did you hit her?" I was shocked and delighted to hear Teir speaking, and I felt her poking around in my head, a welcomed yet strange presence again.
"She was getting out of hand and the vortex was beginning to reform, and we haven't found an alternative way to bring her back from that," Anduin's voice answered, and then Teir inhaled sharply.
"She's waking."
I sat up slowly, opening my eyes fully and taking in the strange sight in front of me.
Teir sat, looking more alive than ever. Her hair actually looking longer, and fuller. The blue reminded me of the Icecrown glacier, sparking with life but still an eerie blue. It no longer was confined to a stiff braid at the nape of her neck either, but it flowed in waves over her shoulders and down her back. Her skin glowed with a peace that was a welcome sight, the cracks around her eyes and lips non-existent. Instead of her traditional armor of the Forsaken, or even her royal garb, she wore furs and leathers, like she had been travelling. She wore a medallion with the Whisperwind crest on it, nestled among the fur that covered her shoulders and chest, and a ring that glowed with power and life.
"Hello, Jadearra," Teir said, and I realized that even her voice was stronger, more peaceful.
She waited patiently as I continued my mental poking and prodding, now that I could feel her again. She was completely sane, the screaming void that she kept tied down no longer present, but replaced with a vault that was locked shut. Her inner mind was far more organized, and it glowed with happiness.
"You're…different," I said, returning from her head to mine, and she smiled warmly, her eyes brightening slightly.
"As are you, kid," She said, and I huffed a laugh-I felt far older than 'kid' but she still had at least a lifetime on me.
"Teir has volunteered to return to civilization in order to keep you safe, as well as assist in gaining control of your power." Anduin said, and I heard the hidden message.
"Why are you leaving?"
Anduin stiffened, taking a deep breath and smiling sadly, "I have business to attend to in Stormwind. Peace summits to attend and nobles to appease-and there is the matter of organizing the trial for after the Winter Veil celebrations."
Oh, right. The War trial.
"I thought we could catch up, I've been away…and I think you could use a little familiarity here." Teir said, helping me to my feet.
"I have to be going, Princessling," Anduin said, and I pulled him to me in a hug, pressing my lips to his shoulder gently.
"Be safe."
"It's my city, of course I'll be safe," Anduin chuckled, and I smiled, not willing to go into it.
He is royal, and I am a liability.
Unless Azeroth has changed overnight, he'll never be safe.
He pressed a kiss to the top of my head, before pulling away and nodding to Teir, turning and leaving the house.
I made a keening noise low in my throat, already missing that which I was deprived of for four months, and Teir patted my shoulder in understanding.
"Well, let's get to work on that magic of yours."
She exited out the front door, and I followed, not bothering with boots and letting my toes squish in the cool ground. I looked around for Anduin's cloak, but it was nowhere to be seen.
"He took all of what you wore during your…nap, to Stormwind with him. For repairs and cleaning and such. Here," she tossed me one of her fur cloaks, and I realized she was wearing multiple.
I clasped it around my neck, basking in the warmth of the fur that was vaguely familiar.
"Teir…is this from the Storm Peaks?" I asked, and she grinned, nodding.
"Just after Garrosh fell, My lady deemed me ready to receive my memories…all of them," her face darkened slightly, and the vault twitched in her mind, "Kenlora and I left for Northrend that night, and only returned for you. She is with her family in Darnassus now," Teir finished, smiling again, and I noted that her twin axes were shown plainly at her sides.
"Did you spend your time killing?" I asked, following her as she walked, and she scoffed.
"We did a bit of killing, yes. For food, and for fur. But we spent most of our time thinking, and talking, and well…other things," I squeezed my eyes shut and wrinkled my nose at the images that she conjured up, and she laughed-a warm, comforting sound, no longer rattling and hollow.
"Mostly…Kenlora helped me piece my three different selves together, and suffered willingly through the avalanches I would cause with my temper tantrums, until I finally just came together…and I feel alive again," Teir sounded so happy, my chest ached for her, and I felt her happiness spilling over.
"Now, I'm closing that off again, keep all mental hands and feet to yourself," Teir said, and I felt a slamming thump in the back of my mind, and suddenly Teir was completely separate from me again.
"I constructed a hatch of sorts, that you can learn to open later. For now, it remains shut. Especially while you are gaining control of your powers," Teir said, and I nodded silently.
Suddenly, Teir came charging at me, axes out and swinging, and I reacted.
"Teir, what-?" I ducked one swing, sidestepping and rolling, my muscles warming and falling into rhythm, but I was confused.
"Fight me, Jadearra-use that power of yours!" She snarled, lunging.
I rolled between her legs, turning over and sending my feet flying up to hit her backside, sending her away off balanced, "Are you nuts?"
"Used to be," she grinned savagely, throwing her axe like a boomerang and causing me to have to roll backwards, "Now fight me!"
"I'm not fighting you!" I exclaimed, flabbergasted by this.
"Fine then," She snapped her teeth at me, an utterly me yet not me mannerism, "Maybe I'll march into Stormwind and get your little pet to fight me, hm?"
My confusion ran hot, morphing into rage, "You wouldn't."
"Oh really?" She gave off a laugh that almost emulated her insanity, "Watch me! I'll gut him like a fish, and make you the loveliest necklace from his intestines-"
"No!"
A sonic wave shot out from me like a rocket, flattening trees and sending Teir flying back, crashing into a pile of them and knocking the breath out of her, but she wasn't done.
She popped back up again, grinning wickedly, her eyes alight with the joy of the hunt, "Don't want that, do you? Maybe I'll make you a good luck charm-rabbit's foot! But instead of a rabbit…it'll be his!" She cackled, swinging her axes lazily, "Then I'll use that blonde hair of his to make his father a handkerchief, and those eyes could be used for-"
I roared, charging her, and she knocked me back with the flats of her blades, smirking, "Nuh uh uh! You want to stop me? Use your magic!" She danced around in a circle around me, smiling devilishly, "I know! We'll disembowel him, and then we can pull him open enough that he can hang off the top of your Spire-"
No.
I felt something in me snap, and the smile on her face went from manic to fascinated as I reached out with a hand, and squeezed.
A twisting arc of crystalline energy, spiraling in thousands of colours, formed, ending in a fist that was crushing Teir. I felt a miniature vortex swirl to life around me, magic lapping at my legs, demanding use, and my hair lifted from my head, floating around me as I tried to kill her.
"I'll bake him a bloody cake now drop it!" She snarled suddenly, a cold wave of clarity overcoming me, and I realized what I was doing.
The vortex died instantly, my hair falling and the fist falling away, and Teir thumped to the ground, wincing a little and breathing hard. I stepped back from her, eyes wide and breathing erratic.
"By the Sunwell-Teir, I'm so sorry-" I was terrified, but she waved it off, pressing hard on her chest and groaning as the sound of bones moving made me want to vomit.
"It's all good, kid. I deserved that…bloody hell do you have a strong grip," She laughed a little, straightening and rolling her shoulders, more bones going to their places, "Up for round two?"
"Teir, I could've killed you!" I exclaimed, shocked at how calm she was about this.
"You wouldn't have," She said, and she revealed the runic crystals embedded in the hilt of her axe, "Ken and Anduin forced me to come equipped. Concentrated Ice spell. You would've been stoned, and by the time you thawed, I'd be good as new!"
Horror ran cold in my veins as I stared at her axes, "Teir…are you sure you're not still insane?"
She laughed loud, throwing her head back and letting the sound carry her, "Sane as can be kid. Now are you up for round two?"
"I don't think that's a good idea, Teir," I said, running a hand through the tangled wreck on top of my head.
"So you're saying that If I went up to Silvermoon right now and started skinning…Elvira and Delevenia now, you'd be cool with it?" Teir asked, and I growled hard as my rage returned in a blink of an eye.
I lunged, sending magic swirling around, and Teir dove into the fray, and we spent the better part of the day clashing, words and magic and axes, until I was shaking with sweat and exhaustion, and I had managed to finally scratch her.
"I'll burn down every tree until there's nothing!" Teir roared, grinning, and I lost it.
"You want desolation? Let's see how you do with overgrowth." I growled, switching my feet and clawing at the air, lifting what felt like pressurized air.
A briar patch sprang into being, growing quickly from previously barren ground and surprising Teir. She was surrounded, and she started swinging at the rock hard vines, eyes on the large, needle sharp thorns that blossomed from their sides. I felt a sick and twisted triumph in my chest at having finally outwitted her, and I brought them in just tight enough that one thorn scraped her cheek, black oil oozing from the wound slowly. Then I let it sit there, so that she was tensed and forced to be still.
"Feeling murderous still?" I asked, giddy over this sudden control of this hungry power, and Teir was staring at me, at a loss for words.
"Well done, Kid. You beat me and clearly have a druidic element to whatever cocktail we dumped into you. Now could you kindly banish your nature trap and let me breathe?" Teir asked, and I smirked in satisfaction, flicking my hands and bringing them down, and Teir sprang into motion again as the clearing cleared.
"Now, you only really got to this point of control after hours of picking and enraging you. Can you do anything unprovoked?" Teir asked, and I shrugged, unknowing.
"Maybe a different emotion stimulates a different reaction-rage generates destructive magic, fear generates a vortex shield. I wonder…"
I had no warning as she opened the door into my brain and flooded it with images.
Wondering around Half Hill with Anduin, laughing and casually holding his arm to stay together in the madness.
Running through the Krasarang, smiling and reveling in the feeling of warmth that held me captive.
Reminiscing in the Temple of the White Tiger, curled together in the dim light.
Managing to be enraptured by that damned smile, even as his hands beheaded orcs.
"Look around, Kid."
I blinked, returning to the-this isn't the clearing.
"Where are we?" I asked, looking around at the heavenly paradise that we stood in.
Vines grew from the ground, but they didn't sprout thorns. Instead they sprouted beautiful blossoms, which bloomed to release lightning bugs that glowed all kinds of colours. The ground was a mess of flowers, and trees hung high overhead, smelling of pure life and magic. It was a paradise.
"I pulled up images of happiness from your brain. This was stimulated," Teir said, and I realized that she had subtly closed the door to her head again, and we were separate selves.
"It's…beautiful," I said, catching a falling cherry blossom, which bloomed on contact with my hand, turning into a ripe, delicious smelling apple.
"This is…" Teir reached out, catching a falling blossom of her own, and watching in awe as it morphed into moon lace in her hand-a plant native to Teldrassil, "It seems that you have created a physical manifestation of affection, Kid."
