Author's Note: I had wanted this story to be longer, but I felt this was a good place to close. May I make a second? Who knows, depends if I get the inspiration again. I left the ending open just in that case. I enjoyed writing this story, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it just as much. ^_^

Chapter Eight

Showdown

Dalaran Sewers, Dalaran City

2:45 PM

Sedisa's form appeared down within the sewers of Dalaran, cloth slippers stepping into the magic laced water once she landed. She gave a disgusted look, pulling her robes up out of the water and stepping out of the small stream. Sedisa was furious, her normally pale face was glowing red with blood pressure.

"I can't believe this!" She scowled, glaring down at her reflection in the water. "First that annoying little wench comes back, and now she's brought along that half-breed mongrel too!"

She began to pace back and forth, trying to think of something, a plan to forever rid herself of these people that seemed to plague her. She had already dealt with Audric once before in her life time, she did not want to again. She ground her teeth in agitation, then suddenly it struck her. For this, she might lose her place among the mages of Dalaran. She might even get thrown in the prison, but it wouldn't matter. She would escape because she ran things around here. She was one of few of the most powerful magi, she could do anything she wanted.

"Soon, soon they will be out of my hair for good." She smirked as her head lowered, hair falling around her face to cast a shadow to the point where only her teeth pierce the darkness. She snickered, her sounds quick and jerking before she tossed her head back, laughing fully at the thought of a pest free life.

Dalaran City

3:15 PM

Rosette stood in the doorway of the Jewelery Shop, smiling brightly as if nothing was wrong with her. The jeweler kept looking up at her every once in a while with an odd look as he worked. What a request from an odd person, a naked woman with the ears and tail of a cat, covered in only a thick woolen cloak. She had requested something normal, one of the crystal leaves she brought in be turned into a clip for said cloak. The other, while fitting, was something he never really got. The second request was to attach the crystal leaf to a charm and fit it to a collar.

Perhaps all those days spent as a cat had knocked something loose in her head. The idea of attaching the leaf to a collar rather then a necklace was more appealing to Rosette now. The man continued to work on the objects once he was finished he dusted them off, smiling at the work of his perfection. Rosette's eyes widened at the craftsmanship.

"Such fine work!" She smiled brightly as she approached, causing the man to lean back a little.

"Yes, I don't often get the chance to work with material like this. Now, that will twenty gold." He said with a wary smile.

"Sure!" Rosette reached for her coin pouch, frowning suddenly when she realized she had nothing under the cloak. She looked up, gritting her teeth slightly.

"Is there a problem?" The jeweler asked, looking at her from over his spectacles.

"I well … I seem to have left my coin purse-"

"In her other birthday suit." Audric cut her off, grinning as he held a gown over one of his arms. Rosette whipped around with relief, her hand moving up to her chest from under the cloak. "Twenty Gold was it?"

"Hrm, yes." The man grunted, finishing the wrapping on the two pieces. Audric handed him the gold as Rosette quickly took them, hiding them against her nudity under the cloak. The jeweler accepted the payment and went about his business, Audric turning to face Rosette with another smile.

"Here, I bought a gown for you to wear instead of my cloak. Care to try it on?"

"Thank you Audric." She smiled, reaching out with one hand to take the gown. She handed him the two packages to hold onto while she tried to work the dress on while hiding under the cloak. Once she had done so she slowly detached to clip holding the cloak around her, unveiling a beautiful green gown.

"You look beautiful, it matches your sparkling eyes." He said, giving her that smile that could melt all the snow in Northrend.

"T-Thanks..." She smiled, looking down for a moment before reaching out, taking one package from him and leaving the other in his hands. "Open it!"

Audric looked down at the tissue wrapped object. He used his fingers to pull at the ribbon surrounding the box and pulled the paper away before lifting the lid. His eyes widened softly as he slowly took the pin out, smiling as he immediately began to replace the old one with the newer one he had just received. Rosette did the same with her own, reaching behind her and hooking the collar around her neck, the leaves both shimmering in the daylight.

"I love it." Audric grinned up at her. "So this is what you were doing up in the trees."

"Yes … well … wait how did you know I was up there?"

"Kamp went sniffing around for you once you were gone for so long, he followed your scent to the tree. How you got out though, neither of us are sure."

"I just … hitched a ride." Rosette looked off to the side, then blinked a little as Audric reached out, pulling her into his arms.

"All that matters is your safe." He whispered lightly to her, resting his chin atop her head. Rosette smiled, closing her eyes as she blushed softly and let her body lean against his in the hug. The two stood in embrace for a time, the world around them simply vanishing before they were brought back to reality by the sound of Ashaldan's voice.

"Ehem … not wanting to ruin this moment, but I've located our mage." She crossed her arms, looking between them as they stood apart.

"Where is she?" Audric asked, almost holding his breath.

"She's down in the sewers, I'd hurry though, it sounds like she's planning something." The elf motioned with her hand, and the two of them quickly followed, moving down to the sewers below.

While the sewers were normally bustling with some kind of underground activity, it was strangely empty. There was no one else around and strange sounds came from the Ring of Trials. The three made their way down, the closer they got, the brighter the room was starting to get. They could even hear the faint sound of what could be a harpsichord. Rosette looked to Audric, who was silent as he observed the scene before them.

The light was coming from a swirling portal, within it the image of the icy grounds of Icecrown could be seen. Ashaldan narrowed her eyes as she and the others slowly approached. What as a random portal to Icecrown doing in the middle of the sewers of Dalaran?

"This is a trap." Ashaldan muttered, glaring around and taking a few steps back from the portal.

"There's no one here though." Rosette responded.

"Oh, there's certainly someone here." A voice carried over the sound of the swirling portal before the water under their feet crackled. None of them had time to react as the water rose up around the and closed in, freezing to trap them each in their own icy prison. Sedisa smirked, clapping her hands as she stepped from the shadows.

"Very well done, you followed me all the way down here, intent on making me do a simple task." She growled under her breath, circling around the ice sculptures she had created. "However, you see each and every one of you have been a pain in my side from the day I met you.

Sedisa smirked, stopping next to Audric's tomb.

"You are the first, ever since you even came into my life. You think you deserve special treatment because your father couldn't keep it in his pants? Windel was a fool for falling for a human, and you are following in his same doomed footsteps. Don't you see the pain you will cause yourself, HER?" Her hand struck out, pointing an accusing finger at Rosette's icy block.

"You will far outlive her, do you wish to see her die before you are even close to that stage in your life? You are exactly like the moron your dear old dad was. And even before you met her, you dare tried to even look at me in the same light? You are nothing, you will never be anything. You are just a filthy … half-breed."

Sedisa moved to Rosette's block, glaring in at the frozen look of surprise she had on her face.

"And you, the famous cat that was running a muck around the Eastern Kingdoms. Oh you don't think I knew what you've done? I saw it all. Duskwood, Westfall, I watched your story unfold even after I threw you across the planet. Eventually I got bored and stopped watching, you're like a bad drama. Perhaps I should have kept watching, I could have prevented you from coming back.

"It doesn't matter anymore though. Your journey ends here, I will see to it. I will spare this animal of having to outlive you … and kill you all myself." Sedisa gave a sigh of satisfaction as she stepped back With a flick of her hand the three ice blocks vanished into the portal, Sedisa slowly following through after them.

Icecrown

6:22

Hours had passed since they had been trapped in ice, the solid water starting to melt, giving what little freedom it could to the group. Audric was the first one to thaw, falling to the ground as the remains of the ice around him shattered like glass. He landed on his knees, taking in deep breaths before surveying the area around him. The room was dark, only source of light was from the skylight above. Snow fell down gently in pile through the hole in the ceiling. Audric wasn't sure where they were, but that didn't stop his first instinct which was to free Rosette and Ashaldan.

"Well well, good morning sleeping beauties." Sedisa's voice echoed across the room as the ice broke off the final prison which was Ashaldan. Rosette held onto Audric as he held her protectively against him to give her warmth.

"Where are we Sedisa?" Audric growled as he reached for one of his daggers.

"I would say my domain, but that would just be silly. Only the dead walk here." She slowly stepped from the shadows, watching as they gathered their resolve. "This will be your resting place, yes. The Mages of Dalaran can not follow me here, and they will not find you once I'm done with you."

"You don't have to do this, there's no reason for it." Ashaldan growled, taking both her daggers in either hand.

"That is where you're WRONG." Sedisa roared out, the walls of the area shaking with what sounded like a distant dragon roar. "There is more then enough reason for it. Your kind make me sick, walking the planet like you and you alone are it's owners. You are just a smaller step to a much greater plan."

"What … what are you talking about?" Rosette blinked, then stepped back as weapons seemed to float from the sides of the room. There was a longsword stuck in the ground in front of Rosette, while an arrow and bows laid at the ground before Audric and sharpened daggers struck the ground at Ashaldan's feet.

"I will provide your weapons for your defense. It wouldn't be very fun to roast you if you didn't fight back." Sedisa smirked, holding her elbow in one of her hands while her other hand let her fingers rest under her chin. Audric leaned down, taking the bow while Rosette and Ashaldan grabbed the blades offered to them.

"What's wrong with them?" Rosette glared over at the shadowed figure.

"Nothing, I just don't think it's fair for you three to fight me on your own. I like a little entertainment before a kill."

"Fair advantage, you're not too bad." Ashaldan sheathed one of the blades into a pouch, secretly coating the blade with poison.

"Well, no sense wasting time. I will make sure your deaths are quick." With her eyes lighting up Sedisa tapped her staff on the ground. The floor rippled with energy as purple mist slowly lifted from the ground, swimming to the group like eels through water. They began to solidify into long tendrils of mana, swirling around the group at an alarming speed. Rosette used the sword to try an slice through them, succeeding but only ending up producing more. Audric ignore the magic that surrounded them and instead began firing arrows towards Sedisa. He smirked as they tore through the magic and glided through the air to the mage, but lowered his bow once he saw them get smacked away by a large blue dragon wing.

"W-What in the..." He muttered, causing Ashaldan and Rosette to turn around as see what he was so baffled about. The wing moved away followed by another that had formed a shell of protection around the mage … or was she?

"I suppose I couldn't keep it a secret forever." Sedisa mused, the wings going behind her back and folding with a small flap. "Surprised are you? How do you think one person could be so powerful? I have to admit, my High Elven disguise worked for a long time, no one suspected anything, not even those idiots of that city knew."

"So we're dealing with a dragon?" Ashaldan smirked. "Shouldn't be too hard to kill."

"Sedigosa, it will be the last name you will hear." Sedisa grinned, her form changing, shifting and growing larger till she took the form of a large blue dragon. Rosette stared up in awe, her ears going back against her head. Sedigosa turned her body around, whipping her tail at them and causing the three of them to slam back into the wall into the darkness. Rosette cried out as she slammed into the wall, Audric quickly reaching over to shelter her while the dragon's laugh bellowed through the room.

"Don't tell me this is all you've got! I gave you weapons, do you not even know how to use them?" She scoffed, holding a large clawed hand up to her chest. Ashaldan was the first to respond. She got up, fading around the darkness within the room while she made her way along the shadows towards the dragon. Audric moved to help Rosette up but was surprised when his help was refused.

"Dragon slaying is my specialty." Rosette smiled at him, helping herself up by resting her weight on the sword. She got up, holding her sword up in offense and rushed towards the dragon. Sedigosa turned, giving a toothy grin as she whipped her tail around to hit her again. Rosette was prepared this time, jumping and stumbling just a little before rushing at the dragon's leg. The sword rose in the air, getting ready to stab into her side before Rosette yelped out, the dragon's claws catching her and tossing her into the air.

Sedigosa laughed, throwing Rosette into the wall full force and causing the stone walls to crack from the force. Audric called out to her as her body slid limp from the wall and hit the floor, kicking up dust around her. The dragon turned, grinning as she glared at the half elf.

"You see, Audric, you and I have a lot more in common then you think." She growled, wings flaring out and bursting the ceiling above. "I knew your father before you were even born, before he met that … excuse for a living creature. Perhaps it is against my better judgment to fall for someone like that. I knew it would never work. A dragon and an elf? Do you know how much hatred would spring from that? I wasn't going to bring that upon him, I loved him too much to have him go through that.

"So I waited, bide my time and watched him from afar. I waited too long it seemed, for he had run off and met that whore you called mom. He moved on, started a family and you were born. Did you know I was there? I watched you grow up into the slime you are today.

"You … YOU are the bane of my existence, the embodiment of everything that went wrong. For years I kept quiet, silently crushing these feelings of reject and humiliation. It's funny, isn't it? Why would a dragon have all these feelings of love? All these emotions? Maybe I'm slowly going insane? It doesn't matter now though. I will crush the remains of this hatred, just like I did your mother..."

Sedigosa lowered herself to the ground as she spoke, Audric looking in shock as he listened to the story. His feet felt like they were iron, he couldn't move from his spot. The dragon growled low before opening her mouth, deep within her throat flames made of mana began to build, burning and getting ready to leave nothing but a smear of ash in place of where he stood. The flames grew till suddenly the burst out, but not at Audric. Sedigosa's head tilted upward as she roared out in pain, behind her Ashaldan's daggers dug deep into the scaled skin of her back.

The Kaldorei held onto the daggers as the dragon lashed around, trying to buck the elf off her back. Ashaldan hung on like a bur stuck to an animal's fur, the more she struggled the deeper the daggers cut. Finally Sedigosa let out a loud roar, throwing her back into the wall and creating a large hole in the building's side. Ashaldan fell among the rubble remains of the wall, cringing as she struggled to push herself up. The dragon turned, glaring at the elf before trying to smash her with her tail.

Ashaldan quickly jumped to the side, trying to avoid the swipes of her tail while working with an injured leg. It was amazing how quickly she could move even when under the pressure of pain. Audric was still in shock, standing there, watching as his friend fought for her life. Why was he so shocked? His mind was turning into a complete blank, he couldn't think of what to do next. It was only when Rosette's haggard voice called out to him that he snapped out of his daze.

"Audric! Help her!" Rosette pulled herself along the floor, using the sword to brace herself. Audric turned, looking at her before looking towards Ashaldan as she jumped left and right to avoid the dragons claws.

I will crush the remains of this hatred, just … like … I … did … your … m o t h e r. . .

"SEDIGOSA!" Audric roared out, causing the dragon to pull her attention away from the elf and back to him.

"Finally woken up I see?" She hissed out, stomping towards him with a smirk.

"All these years … I thought she had died of old age, when you KILLED my mother out of jealousy! You have given me reason, not only for Rosette, but for my mother!" Audric pulled the strings of the bow back, firing off arrows and shooting them towards her face. Sedigosa scoffed at his foolish attempts, raising her wings to deflect them but roared out as the arrows pierced through the wings and into her neck.

"Filthy little mutt! You and your half-breed kin HAVE NO PLACE IN THIS WORLD!" The dragon roared out, slamming her claws down at him before moving her head in to try and bite. Audric pulled his daggers from his side, using them to deflect her teeth and stab at her nose. Fire flared out of her nostrils as she roared out, the dagger cutting deep but singeing Audric in the process. She caught Audric on her nose once he stabbed her with the dagger, her snout lifting up and slamming him into the ceiling.

The wind knocked out of him, blood spattered across the dragon's snout as it came up from Audric's hacking cough. Swinging her head around, Sedigosa whipped him off of her face and into the wall across from her. The wall dented with the force of impact, Audric sliding down it as he grabbed for something to brace himself.

"Is this all you've got?" The dragon roared out in laughter, shaking the very foundations of the building. "IS THIS ALL THAT YOU HAVE? ALL THE POWER YOU CAN MUSTER?"

"He's not alone!" Rosette called out from behind the dragon and before Sedigosa had time to react her long blade stabbed into the dragon's leg. Roaring out in pain, Sedigosa whipped around to snap her teeth at Rosette and be finished with it.

"Now Ashaldan!" A blur of black flew past Rosette as she yelled and before the dragon knew what was upon her, Ashaldan's dagger stabbed into one of Sedigosa's eyes. She moved for the other eye as the dragon roared louder in pain, but was caught by her leg as the beast reached up and grabbed her.

"You … are the pain in my side the worst. No more games!" The dragon growled, glaring at the elf with her good eye before she flipped her into the air. It was like slow motion as Rosette watched helplessly, Ashaldan's body, struggling to move away from danger, fell before becoming skewered on the dragons claws.

"ASHALDAN NO!" Rosette looked on in horror, watching as the dragon grinned, then like she was simply a piece of trash, tossed the Kaldorei's lifeless body to the side as she slid off her claws. She then turned to look at Rosette with her good eye, growling as she stomped closer to her.

"Looks like it's only you left. I will make your death slow and painful as I wipe away the disease that you are. I will not allow you to contaminate the gene pool any longer!" Sedigosa smirked as she spoke, raising her claws to crush the human under her feet. She lowered her foot slowly to induce more pain, but flinched, roaring out as arrows struck at the back of her head. She turned, unable to see but she knew who it was.

"You are harder to kill then a cockroach." The dragon growled before simply, smacking Rosette away. "I can not fight if I can not see, hardly a fair advantage."

"You're not going anywhere Sedigosa!" Audric fired off arrows again, the dragon roaring out and flapping her wings to send them off course.

"You haven't won Audric, I promise next time I see you, you will die!" Sedigosa roared out before flapping her wings, taking off through the hole in the ceiling she had created earlier.

Blood stained the floor where the fight had taken place, Audric stumbling over to Rosette as he made sure that the dragon was gone from sight. He took notice that the injuries they had caused Sedigosa must have caused her magic to falter, Rosette's feline ears and tail were gone. Once he approached her she was sobbing into her hands as she sat up, a deep frown on his face upon hearing it. Rosette cringed, pointing over at Ashaldan's body as Audric helped her to a stand. His heart dropped when he saw the body of his friend.

Prologue

The cold wind whipped over them as Rosette and Audric stood outside of the crumbling building. The structure began to fall apart from all the damage it went through and they had to leave before they could recover their friend's body. It was a sad day, Rosette turned to sobbing into his chest while Audric held her in his arms. They may have won the battle but as for getting out of here, they were out of luck. It would only be until hours had passed that they were found by an Alliance soldier making rounds on patrol.

They were taken to the flying ship to recover, the morning would bring their travel back to Dalaran. Greeted by Ashaldan's mount Tula, Rosette threw her arms around the animal, holding it close. The Hippogryph could tell right away that something went wrong, and her master wasn't returning. As for the whereabouts of Sedisa, after her fight she wasn't seen or heard from. The mages of Dalaran were shocked to find out a member of the blue dragonflight had walked among them for years.

Audric would never forget what had happened that day, and he took great care in making sure their trip back home would be safe. The mages of Dalaran were grateful for the information provided, and offered to send them home through a portal. Sedisa's words of warning would never be heeded, for the love Audric had for Rosette was strong enough to look past the faults it would carry with them.

Even with the birth of their first child...