There was a line.
Iyvee stopped dead in her tracks as she ran across the old cobbles of the Undercity, which once held the mighty Lordaeron until the Scourge befell it. Her shoulders slumped, her expression mildly pained. She'd been to this place more than she'd like to admit and had never seen such a thing. What did they think this was? The line to see Greatfather Winter? Sylvanas didn't grant wishes.
She stood in the line for all of five minutes before becoming more and more frustrated and desperate as the seconds passed. Finally, she started for the front of the line, acting oblivious to the complaints from behind her and only stopping when a guard she'd assumed used to be towheaded stopped her by pointing a broadsword at her neck. She blinked and skittered to a stop. "'Ey," he grumbled. "Get back in that line, mage."
"You don't understand!" Iyvee held her ground as best she could. Granted, she could set him on fire or freeze him on the spot to give herself a good running start to Sylvanas, but that could also get her instantly killed. "It's an emergency! I have to talk to Lady Sylvanas."
The Forsaken guard looked at her incredulously. "And it's an emergency for the hundred people in front of you." He shook his sword at her. She imagined his name was Gerald, for some reason, and she managed to calm herself enough for him to lower his sword away from her throat. Her features, however, were still panicked.
"My friend is in danger. It's because of Arthas." Iyvee looked pained. She already hated this. The guard missing most of his teeth and a couple of fingers on his left hand wasn't making this particularly better. He glared at her as the name exited her lips and gave what Iyvee imagined was a sneer of a sort.
"Arthas?" he spat (or might if he had lips). The wheels were turning in his head: If it was some stupid blood elf making random half-assed pleas about some friend out on the battlefield, it'd be her head and his job if he let her through. However, if Arthas was up to something that might have the world end up worse for wear (far worse than it already was) and the Lady found out about it, it would be his head, instead. "Speak, mage." Some folks in line had taken an interest into the strange mage who appeared to be more bardic than arcane and her story. The line had grown mildly quiet.
Biting her lip, Iyvee take a deep breath. "Arthas has kidnapped my friend." Her green eyes were pleading.
"Arthas has kidnapped a lot of people," said someone in the back. "Why should your friend be any different than the rest of us?"
Iyvee shot a sidelong look. "Why would Arthas give a damn about one warlock in a world filled with others just as good or better? And make a point to invade minds and realities to make the point known?" She shook her head. "Arthas Menethil doesn't pay random visits. Who do you know who dreams about him at night? Even in nightmares? When he wants to make a point, he makes it. You all know it to be true." As she spoke, her melodic voice carried lightly, but it was strong. Those who hadn't understood her before were now listening. "I don't know a soul who has never crossed Arthas to have dreams about him. Those who have crossed him in life, in death, and in battle—" Iyvee paused, looking down the line that was slowly becoming a group. "You have! He will haunt you for the rest of your days until his soul is destroyed because he feels that he owns you! If he knows you, he knows your loved ones and he feeds on their spirit and fear as well!" She ran a hand through her long, now messy strawberry blonde hair and sighed. "And because he knows Valari, he knows me now, too. I don't know why he's haunted her so, but I know that he has. She has spoken of it in the past. And I don't know why he's taken her, but I know that he has. I haven't seen her in ages and I worry for her so.
"I came here to plead my case to Lady Sylvanas because I know she hates Arthas with a force that I cannot begin to fathom and has more reason than anyone here to do so. I ask for her aid because I don't know what reason he would have to hold my friend. As a warlock, she holds great power, but she would never use it for ill." A deep sigh moves Iyvee's body as she fights back tears she's only just noticed. "I don't know where else to turn." And it was true
Iyvee glanced down at a skittering cockroach who'd decided that making a run for a tiny hole in the wall right now was a good plan. No one really said anything or was entirely sure of what to say. This small elf had made a powerful impression that no one could argue with. Many of them knew of the horror that Arthas brought to them and to their loved ones. No one in their right mind would willingly make up stories of the Lich King to gain audience with Sylvanas. And if they did, they were a fool and well deserved to lose their head.
A tauren death knight who looked as though he'd seen better, simpler times huffed. "Let her see Sylvanas," he said solemnly. Iyvee blinked up at his rumbling voice through the few tears that had spilled. "She has pleaded her case to us and has no quarrel with me. I have no reason to not believe her words. Arthas took whatever enjoyment I may have had in death and now in this unlife. Go, little mage. I fear that you may be correct in his using your friend to usurp whatever peace we may have currently before we are able to defeat him. May the spirits keep you well."
Iyvee watched in a calmed awe as the line who'd listened to her story parted the way for her. Nothing else needed to be said by anyone. Gerald half-sighed with a short nod toward Syvanas's court. "C'mon, then," he muttered. "Follow me. Don't dawdle." And with that, Iyvee wiped at her face, knowing well that Sylvanas wouldn't likely take kindly to tears and would probably see it as a sign of weakness. She fell in behind Gerald and kept in step with him. She had to make Sylvanas understand!
Very soon, they came upon a great entryway that revealed a circular chamber. Sylvanas was seated, speaking in low, hushed tones with what appeared to be one of her advisors. Gerald bowed low as he entered and elbowed Iyvee to do the same. The Banshee Queen raised an eyebrow and placed a hand up to her advisor to cease the conversation for the moment. "What is it, guard? Why have you this blood elf following you?"
Gerald half-stuttered before finally spitting out who Iyvee was and why she was there. "She believes Arthas has, er, taken her warlock friend prisoner, m'lady," he said while eyeballing Iyvee. By the Light, this elf had better be right. "And that there may be more to it than just a kidnapping."
Sylvanas eyes Iyvee up and down and says nothing for a few moments. The few conversations going on amongst her court had since silenced themselves. Who in their right minds would petition Sylvanas for this? Arthas generally took who and what he wanted and killed just as simply. Iyvee holds her chin up, her jaw firmly set and has enough gumption to look Sylvanas in the eye. Her heart was pounding.
Finally, the Lady spoke. "Come forth, mage." She stood up in all her regality as Iyvee closed the steps in between them, stopping just feet from the banshee. "Your friend is a warlock?"
"Indeed, Lady."
"And you fear for her safety as well as your own?" Sylvanas kept a cold exterior, as was per usual. She had no time for games and weakness.
Iyvee nodded. "I do, my Lady. And for everyone else's." Sylvanas's eyes grew slightly wider, though a thin eyebrow remained lifted. "I know not for what reason Arthas would pick just one warlock out of so many. And I do not know what his intentions are, but I do know they are for his own evil gain and purpose. He has invaded my sleep, Lady. He stays silent no more."
A pregnant pause filled the air with an uncomfortable silence. The two of them looked each other in the eye, though Sylvanas stood so much taller than Iyvee's five-foot frame. As the Lady took in Iyvee's presence, she seemed to know all that the blood elf had to say was true and her fears were not without merit. Finally, the Lady spoke in a rather unusually softened tone. "I know your concerns are great, mage, and I, too, fear for the safety of us all. However, as a leader, I cannot risk sending troops to Icecrown to save one, and I would not suggest you go yourself."
Iyvee felt her defeat immediately and released a soft cry. "But, Lady Sylvanas! You have more reason to attack Arthas than almost anyone! He's going to destroy her and use her to kill us all!"
"Silence, mage." Sylvanas's voice was firm, but far from a yell. So far. "You must understand my position as I understand yours. You have my sympathy." And she was determined to say no more. As she turned to walk away, Iyvee made what could have been a fatal mistake: She grabbed Sylvanas's arm and pulled her back. The entire interior of the court gasped.
"No!! Don't do this!" Two guards were on Iyvee like bees on a hive, both of her arms pulled back painfully. Struggling was futile and they began dragging her out. "Please, Lady!"
Sylvanas, amazingly enough, did not strike Iyvee, nor did she make much of an attempt to stop her guards. Her eyes narrowed slightly in what seemed to be a flash of compassion mixed with annoyance. "You'll do wise to live your own life, mage. Don't let Arthas take what you have left." She watched as Iyvee was literally dragged out, mostly kicking and with more frustration than screaming.
As they were heading out, a soldier who appeared to be on official business was heading in. He'd heard the random whispers amongst the line waiting to see Sylvanas about some little bardic mage who had a friend in danger and something to do with Arthas. People were mostly crazy and would want to see Lady Sylvanas for the strangest of reasons. And he would've ignored the guards removing the insane person from the court if he hadn't caught a flash of a recognized guitar strapped to the mage's back. Wide-eyed, he stopped and turned to verify what his gut was telling him. "Iyvee?"
She heard her name echo from the stone walls and stopped struggling against the guards who held her steadfast. She couldn't believe her eyes and wondered for a second if Arthas wasn't playing his game. "Vaspien?!"
Vaspien's mouth opened and closed like a fish while he tried to figure out what he was supposed to say or do. Iyvee had never been one to get herself in over her head and surely not with a leader of Azeroth. "STOP!" he yelled to the guards. "Wait!" He turned to Sylvanas and wondered just how he was going to get Iyvee out of this one. He hadn't seen her since… well. It had been a long time. "My lady," he said, bowing at the waist. "I come with word from the front, but please let her be. I know her well and she means no harm."
The guards stopped and turned to await Sylvanas's word. Vaspien was a member of the Argent and working in the plans for an assault against Icecrown. He was seen often delivering word to Sylvanas so no one usually questioned his motives.
Sylvanas sneered at Vaspien. "She asked for help in rescuing her friend from Arthas in a maneuver we can ill afford." She lowered her hand at the guards, bidding them to release Iyvee. The girl nearly fell as they roughly put her on her feet.
"A friend, Lady?" Vaspien narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Iyvee who met his gaze with her own. The expression in her eyes told him all he needed to know. The whispers from the people in the walkway about Iyvee and her friend. The nightmares that had him in a death struggle with Arthas for the last few nights. It was Valari.
"He knows you, too, Vas."
And he had abandoned both her and Iyvee for the good of Azeroth. But now, it was different.
Vaspien's jaw clenched as he turned back to Sylvanas. "Lady, I know Valari well. And I know Iyvee speaks the truth. He has begun his onslaught. We cannot allow Arthas this."
Sylvanas looked between the two of them thoughtfully, catching on to something she likely would not have noticed before with a casual glance. After a beat, she nodded. "Fair enough, Vaspien. I will not send in an army to save one. You well know that this cannot be afforded. However…"
The next thing Iyvee and Vaspien knew, they were heading out of Undercity on order of Lady Sylvanas to capture their objective on a reconnaissance and rescue mission. Their chosen path on their way to Icecrown would be by way of Dalaran. Vaspien glared at Iyvee. "Have you fucking taken leave of your senses?" he whispered harshly, walking past a pair of priests.
Iyvee looked up and glared just as fiercely. "Apparently."
"How the fel are just the two of us supposed to do this?"
"I don't know, Vaspien," she spat, turning a corner to find a reagent vendor. "Your boss gave the orders, not me. Rest assured we have some time between here and Icecrown. You're the soldier. You tell me."
Vaspien gritted his teeth and leaned against a wall as Iyvee made her purchase. He wanted to hate her for getting them into this, but he very well couldn't. He was just as worried about Valari, but had to push it out of his mind to keep it from driving him insane while he worked. He hated it, too, because Iyvee was involved now. And he hated it all because he gave a damn.