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Arthas opened his eyes. He instantly shut them when he was blinded by light. Flashes of pain lanced through his head. He wondered if he was dead, and then slowly reopened his eyes.
The light still hurt, but the man regained his vision.
He looked down, and saw Sapphire curled up against him, sleeping. No, she was still in that disturbing coma. Arthas weakly moved his hand to stroke her hair. The girl did not do so much as a change in breathing. Nothing showed that she had felt anything. Arthas felt a dull ache in his chest, and sighed.
His chest was wrapped up in linen, the cloth pink and yellow where his wound was. He rubbed it, and felt a bit of pain, but nothing serious. He grunted, and lifted himself up into a seated position.
The room was very nice. He and Sapphire lay on a couch, and bookshelves lined the walls. A small desk was tucked into a corner, and a large, four-poster bed had...
Jaina slept on the bed, collapsed into an exhausted slumber. She wore robes that were bloodstained, but dry. She looked so vulnerable, and the ache in Arthas's chest grew. The man gingerly got to his feet, and went over to her.
"Jaina...Jaina, wake up."
The woman moaned, eyes still shut.
"I'll go over the reports later...Wake me in an hour."
"It's me, Arthas. Jaina!"
She opened her eyes, and jerked back in surprise. She sat up, and then went over to her desk, picking up papers.
"Morning. I need to go see to my people. Ethan and Lethumo can take care of you until later."
"But Jaina-"
The woman left, shutting the door in Arthas's face.
The man sighed, and turned around to look at Sapphire. Medivh, in his raven body, was asleep on a shelf, head tucked under a wing. He too, it seemed, did not want to wake up.
Arthas growled, and moodily returned to his daughter. He looked at her hopefully, but seeing her in such a state just angered him even more.
He looked up at Medivh.
"Old man!" He snarled.
The raven opened its eyes in surprise, and lifted its head. It cawed at Arthas in annoyance.
"Can't you fix Sapphire?" The man said, gesturing to the girl.
The bird shook its head, and Arthas narrowed his eyes.
"The great, all powerful Medivh cannot do anything to help her?" He scoffed.
Medivh glared at him, and flew up. He swooped at Arthas's head, but the man ducked, and the prophet flew out of the window, which was open.
"Damn it..." Arthas hit the wall. He hated feeling so angry. He looked at the door, and wondered if anyone was outside the door. Jaina had not locked it, but the man did not want anyone to see him. Might cause a panic, or cost Jaina's reputation. A man sneaking out of her bedroom is highly suspicious.
Taking a deep breath, he turned the door knob, and peered out.
There was not anyone in the near vicinity, and the man sighed in relief. He left the room, and quietly closed the door. He turned around.
"Ah!"
A girl looked up at him, younger than Sapphire. Arthas backed up against the wall.
"Hello! My name is Autum! What's yours? Why were you in Lady Jaina's bedroom?"
Arthas opened his mouth to speak, and could not think of a reply. The girl frowned, and just continued.
"You look familiar. Do I know you? Hey, have you seen my sister's cats?"
"Uh...No."
Autum blinked. "Is that your answer to all four questions?"
"No...The first two questions are none of your business, and no is the answer to the other questions."
The girl scrunched up her face.
There was a crash, and an angry meow. There were barks, and the sound of claws on the floor.
Rot and Terra ran away from three cats. One was gray, and the others both white. The two puppies raced over to Arthas, and hid behind his legs. Autum grabbed both of her cats, and the grey one hissed at Arthas. The girl held the struggling cats in her arms, and looked at the two puppies. She then looked up at Arthas, and back at Rot and Terra.
"Oh! That's why you look familiar! Are you Sapphire my bestest best friend's father?"
Arthas looked at her in horror, but he was saved by Ethan, who came walking by.
The boy just looked at the two, and the look on Arthas's face.
"Autum, leave that man alone."
"But he's Sapphire's dad, Ethan!" The girl said excitedly.
"I do not care if he's the king of Stormwind. Leave him alone!" Ethan growled.
The girl just sighed, and walked away. Arthas instantly felt bad. He looked at Ethan.
"You did not need to be so harsh."
"Oh, she's fine. Say good morning to her, and she'd forgive you for anything."
Arthas frowned, but Ethan was more concerned about other things.
"Is Sapphire...all right?"
The man shook his head. "The same."
Ethan sighed, and Arthas put his arm around the boy's shoulder. Ethan looked up in surprise, but the man just nodded to the stairs.
"You and I need to talk...No, no. You're not in trouble. Just come on."
The boy was hesitant, and a bit fearful, but went along willingly. But he did grip his runeblade so hard as to make his knuckles turn white.
Sapphire woke up again, and did not even get up. She just lay there. Her eyes stayed shut, and she refused to look, in case Bolvar showed up again. Just thinking about him made her chest tighten, and made breathing difficult.
The jewel that had appeared before her was clutched in her hand. She wondered why Bolvar had decided to give it to her. For it had been from him, created by him. The girl surmised she must be deep in the man's consciousness, which of course made her feel vulnerable.
The man could do whatever he wanted to her. Maybe even kill her.
Ethan and everyone must be worried sick. She wanted to go back...
A strange smell came, and she wrinkled her nose. It was sickeningly sweet, and overpowering.
Sapphire opened one eye, and she frowned in confusion.
Once, this might have been a garden. But everything was dead. Pale grey petals fluttered around the girl. The ground was ashes underneath, but it smelled like a garden in full bloom.
Sapphire just looked around in sadness as she saw the depressing death around her.
"Bolvar!" Sapphire cried out. She looked around the dark, blackened garden, and walked around. She passed by a murky pond, where dead fish floated on the surface, rotting.
"Bolvar! I want to talk to you!"
She looked around, but he was no where to be found.
Then, Pain shot up in her chest, and Sapphire gasped.
Argh!
Rain fell, dark heavy blotches. One drop landed on Sapphire's hand, and she saw it was blood. It was hot, and steaming rolling down her arm. Sapphire yelped.
"Bolvar! What's wrong? I'm...I'm sorry!"
The...ice. On the Frozen Throne. It's cracked too much, and is now falling apart. My powers...
Sapphire felt guilty. She had messed up, and taken some of the Lich King's powers, and now Bolvar was incredibly weakened.
"What can I do?" She asked. Blood fell on her more. Her clothes were soaked with blood, and her hair streaked with red.
Nothing.
"There must be something!"
No! There is nothing. I will use what's left of my power to send you back to your body...If I can. I don't know.
Sapphire was frantic. "No! Please, Bolvar. I can't just leave you like this. It's all my fault!"
But the garden was disappearing. She cried out as the dirt underneath sunk, and she fell down.
The girl snapped her eyes open, and jerked up into a sitting position. She was in a place she had never seen before. A bedroom, with filled bookshelves, a messy desk, and a large bed. Sapphire looked around, and saw a window. She gingerly got to her feet, and stumbled. Clumsily making her way, she got to the window, and looked out.
Walls surrounded a city, and Sapphire saw ships, massive ones with billowing sails, at a major array of wooden docks. She watched people below, and armored soldiers drilling at some kind of keep. She groaned, and felt a gnawing hunger. Her throat was parched.
Sapphire went to the door of the bedroom, and sneaked out.
No one was near, so Sapphire headed to some stairs. She went down, but heard people coming up.
Sapphire dove into the shadows, and peered out. She bared her teeth, and prepared to pounce, and use her magic to boil the blood of anyone who came up.
She heard the creaking of the wooden steps. The girl tensed, her rumbling stomach coiled up.
A wrinkled, age spotted hand took hold of the railing, and all Sapphire saw was an elderly woman. The girl relaxed, and watched the woman climb. She was muttering to herself, and as soon as she left, Sapphire bounded down the stairs.
She got down to the bottom, and saw groups of people. Sapphire wondered if she should hide, or just act normally.
Choosing the later, the girl gently navigated herself through the throngs of people, and made it to the entrance of the building. She grinned, and ran out.
Looking back, she saw that it had been a tower she was in. The air was hot, and humid. Sapphire remembered the Swamp of Sorrows, when she had been alone with no one but Invincible as company. That is what it felt like, and already the girl was starting to sweat.
She looked around, and wondered how she was going to get to Icecrown. She couldn't make a deathgate like a deathknight could. She had tried before, but all it did was fizzle and sputter. Sapphire had not even risked going through the dangerous thing.
The girl saw a gateway out to a dark forest. Sapphire went off in that direction.
Invincible lifted his head, and snorted. He trotted away from the stables without capturing attention. He smelled his friend and little master, and knew she was going away. He wanted to go with her. Run free and fly fast. She was getting away from him, on her two legs, but he would be able to make her go quicker on his all four.
He hid in the shade of buildings, and carefully followed after her. No, she was getting away.
But...His true master. His beloved master and best friend. He lie in the other direction, closer to the water where all those nasty smelling slimy animals were piled up in boxes, and large wooden things floated next to equally floating wooden walkways.
The skeletal horse turned to look both ways, wondering what he should do.
The little one was more fragile, not quite a mare yet. Invincible did not want her to get injured. His true master could take care of himself, but the horse saw the young filly getting hurt. Breaking her leg, or being attacked by hungry predators.
Now determined, the horse broke into a full on gallop, and probably terrifying every human that he passed as he ran out of the gates of Theramore into the swamp.