Sylvanas was gone for nearly a month, refusing to go via portal and instead taking two ships with orcs and tauren who wanted to go home.

I hated being away from her. Varimathras ruled in her stead, but he didn't like me at all, so I kept out of his way as much as I could, although, as per Sylvanas' orders, I had to be at court every day, and most people didn't mind talking to me directly.

Twice, I nearly made a portal to go to Orgrimmar, although that would have resulted in Sylvanas being furious with me, something I wanted to avoid, as she and I hadn't parted company in the best spirits.

"She'll be home soon," said Felicity to me. She and I had become good friends since I'd come back from Dalaran, talking every day before and after training. I owed her a lot, but from what I could see, she was simply glad to have a friend.

"I know." I smiled a little at her. We had just been through an intense training session with the new recruits, and I was happy about what we'd been able to do. Felicity and I had combined our fire and arcane abilities together to create an attack that had nearly demolished our training wall.

I had just taken a shower and was changing into a new black dress with a red and silver trim. It had a low scoop neck that showed the barest hint of my breasts, and was fitting me well from the neck down to my waist while allowing me freedom of movement.

Felicity whistled, "Now there's a dress I wish I could wear. You look beautiful!"

"More to the point, the material's warm," I grinned. We left my chambers to go to the throne room.

"Imagine if Sylvanas were to come in and see you looking like that, I'd like to see the look on her face."

Something stepped out of the shadows, "I imagine it would look something like this."

The two of us froze in our tracks. I contemplated screaming, but only some kind of mewling sound left my throat.

"My Lady!" If Felicity could have paled, I'm sure she would have. She bowed quickly, "We weren't expecting you home today!"

I could barely breathe. She was here, right here, in front of me. My Sylvanas, my love. I raised a hand to my heart, hoping that the movement would still its frantic beat, but it did nothing. Nothing mattered. Sylvanas was home. I took two steps forward and wrapped my arms around her, closing my eyes. "You're here," I whispered. Tears threatened to spill from my eyes, "You came back to me." I knew I had maybe two seconds before she moved away from me, so I took that time to memorize the feel of her against me. Chill against warmth. Death against life.

Sylvanas stepped back, looking down at me. The light was dim, or I might have seen a clear expression on her face. "You look better than you did when I left," she said to me.

"I love you," I whispered.

"Less than a minute. I was wondering how long you'd make it without telling me that." She ran her finger down my jaw and I stopped breathing.

"Are you going to kiss me?" I asked. In a moment, I was going to snap out of the stupor I'd gone in when she'd appeared out of nowhere.

"Faith." Sylvanas slapped me gently, but it was enough for me to blink and focus. "Are you back?"

"Yeah. But I still love you, and I'm happy you're home."

"Yes, I gathered that."

"I want to hug you again."

"Once was enough."

"But I –."

With an exasperated sigh, Sylvanas took my hand and brought me to her chambers. In the four years I'd lived in Undercity, I hadn't been inside her private domain yet, and my breath caught in my throat. It was an exact replica of her room when she'd been alive, except that the style was Forsaken instead of elven.

There was a high ornate bed in the corner covered with a beautiful deep purple bedspread that had only just begun to decay at the edges and a small wooden chest at its foot. A small couch was nestled between a tall wardrobe and a chest of drawers, both painted black. There was a large bookcase by the door, containing dozens of books and a framed picture that I recognized immediately, although it didn't look quite the same as I remembered: Sylvanas, Vereesa, Lirath, Alleria, and myself at the shore near Windrunner Spire.

"You painted that yourself," I said in a choked voice. She'd always been good with a paintbrush, although she'd never showcased her talents to anybody but a select few.

"What?" she followed my line of sight, "Oh yeah. It passed the time when I was angry."

I nodded. I remembered the day she had painted. The sun had been bright and warm, and we'd all spent the afternoon playing in the water like a group of kids. After a while, Sylvanas and I had lain together on the beach while the others swam as far out as they'd dared. We'd both buried our hands in the sand and had taken a hold of each other's fingers. I closed my eyes, letting the memory wash over me. It was so strong that I could almost smell the salty air and the musky scent of Sylvanas' body.

Lirath had died less than a year after that.

"Lost in memories of times past?" she asked me, coming close to me.

"You used to say that to me all the time."

"Yes, I know."

I turned away from her, looking at the rest of the room. There was a vanity table, because even when dead, I'd noticed that Sylvanas always had to look her best, as well as a desk strewn with papers and a chair. Her weapons were on the wall, polished and inviting.

"I realized something when I was in Orgrimmar," she said to me. "I missed you. I didn't like being away from you. Why is that?"

"I don't know, Sylvanas." I watched as she sat on her bed and looked at me.

"I didn't miss anybody else. I wanted to be back in Undercity to get back to work, sure, but mostly, I wanted to see you. I haven't missed you since I was alive, Faith, and it's not something I want to feel often." She paused, "Except that I will be."

My heart sank, "You're sending me away."

She nodded, "I talked to Thrall about letting the Blood Elves joined us, and he agreed, except that the Scourge is too active there, and he won't send anybody to Quel'Thalas until that problem's been addressed."

I didn't like where this was going. Already, I could feel my body growing cold with dread. "No, Sylvanas. You can't be asking me to –."

"Yes. It's time you went home for a while. See what the situation is there. I've written to Lor'themar – he's the Regent Lord now, you know, Since Kael'thas went to Outland, and he's waiting for you."

I'd known that Kael'thas had gone to Outland with a large bastion of Blood Elves, but I hadn't realized that Lor'themar was the ruler of Silvermoon again. I shook my head – I should have realized that. But that wasn't my most pressing problem.

"You want me to go back to Quel'Thalas."

"Yes. You know the land and the people, and you know us. You're the perfect person to send as an ambassador."

"I can't."

"Of course you can."

"Sylvanas, I cannot go back to the place where I lost… I can't."

"Every time you look at me, you remember what happened. I see it in your eyes. Going home won't be that big of a stretch."

I went to her and knelt before her, crying this time. I couldn't go back. "Please don't make me. I'd do everything for you, you know I would, but please don't ask me to do this."

"The warchief has already agreed that you will be going."

"Because you suggested it, Sylvanas! You know I can't go back there!"

"Do I need to make it an order?"

"I won't follow it."

She grabbed my wrist, "You are going to go back to Quel'Thalas, or you can leave these lands right away and never return, do you understand me?"

"You're exiling me?" I cried, both outraged and dismayed.

"If you want to stay with me, you'll do as I say, when I say it, and without question."

"Sylvanas –."

"Not another word. If you decide to obey me, good, then you'll leave next week. If not, you can pack your bags and never set foot on Forsaken land again."

I got to my feet, shaking after she released me. My hand lashed out and slapped her face hard. "I wish you were dead, Sylvanas. That you had really died. Then maybe I could remember you as you were, rather than know you as the monster you've become. You don't even realize what you're asking of me."

In a flash, Sylvanas stood up and backhanded me so hard that I fell and skidded back several feet. She came to me, looking as she must have looked when she confronted Arthas after she got her body back. Fear pulsed through me, and I was suddenly afraid that, in her current rage, she was actually going to kill me. She knelt over my body, her armored hands going around my throat.

"You dare to hit me?" she screamed. "And you question me? I ought to kill you and raise you into a Forsaken so that all choice would be taken out of your hands!"

"Do it, then!" My voice was barely a whisper, but she heard the defiance in my words. "Raise me as one of your undead." I kicked her in the stomach and sent a wall of arcane energy towards her so that she'd release me. Gulping down air, I slowly got up, "You want to do to me what Arthas did to you. You want to take my life away and raise me? Who the hell do you think you are, Sylvanas? Go back to the Scourge and be his queen while you're at it, you're better suited to it."

I saw shock register on her face, but I was feeling too many things to care.

Sylvanas had threatened to exile me from Forsaken territory, and to raise me as an undead. She had threatened to raise me. To do to me what Arthas had done to her.

I opened the door to find that thirty deathguards and several members of the magi corps were there. By the looks on their faces, I could tell that they'd heard what I had just told her. Trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill down my face, I pushed past them and went to my room, where I started packing my bags.

"Faith…" it was Felicity. "You can't…"

"Can't what? That… thing in there isn't my Sylvanas. I knew it before, but I guess I hadn't realized it until now."

"You still love her."

"She threatened to raise me!" I cried.

Felicity gaped at me. Being a Forsaken, she couldn't do that very well, because her jaw was screwed together, but I saw enough. She was as stunned as I was. "She… she probably said it out of anger."

"No. She meant it. I'm out of here."

"Think of what you're doing!" She turned, seeing Rotvine in the doorway, who was looking less than impressed with the situation. "Tell her she can't leave!"

"The Dark Lady will hate it if you do."

"To hell with her," I snarled.

"She wouldn't have raised you."

"You think I'm completely blind to the fact that she has the graveyard at Deathknell set up as a Forsaken raising ground?"

Rotvine looked at me, clearly surprised by the fact that I knew about this.

"I know the kind of being she is."

Sylvanas appeared in the doorway, looking more furious than I'd ever seen her.

"I'm placing you under arrest."

Everyone turned to look at her.

"What, for hitting you? Fine. Take me away then."

She looked at one of her guards, "Go on. Take her to the lower levels."

"My Lady."

"Do it."

He didn't have much of a choice but to take me into custody. Three other guards flanked me as we walked down to the Undercity Dungeons, the only place here I'd never been to. The place was darker than the cave I'd been held in by Fangore, and it was absolutely freezing. I knew one thing, if Sylvanas left me down here for more than two days, I would die. I felt magic permeating the walls, and realized that I wouldn't be able to use any magic at all, unless I wanted the spell to backfire on me.

"I'm so sorry, Lady Everstone," said one of the guards as he deposited me in one of the cells. "We'll plead your case to the Dark Lady."

"Don't bother," I told him. "It's done."

"This is probably a scare tactic. I will come and get you out in the morning, I promise." He brought the torch he was holding inside, so that I could choose a corner to sit in, but there wasn't much there. It was a small cell made of wet stone. There wasn't even a bed of straw for me to sit on. Nothing. I didn't care. I sat in a corner and curled up on myself as the guards left, taking the light with them.

Minutes later, I was shaking so hard that with cold that it was difficult for me to catch my breath. My nightmares came in full force as I lay there on the stone floor, screaming. I clawed at my wrists, hoping to gouge them out enough to die, but my fingers were too numb with cold to accomplish the task. Sylvanas wanted me dead. I didn't care about anything anymore.

I suppose time went by, although I couldn't tell in the darkness. My screams died down when my voice gave out on me, long before I stopped seeing horrors in the darkness. I think I might have thrown up at some point when I saw Sylvanas being raped and killed by the Scourge. Raised as a banshee.

The door to my cell opened, creaking ominously. I saw red eyes in the darkness and shrank away. Sylvanas. I didn't want to see her. I whimpered. "No…"

She came in. None too gently, she pulled me to my feet and into her arms. I would have struggled, but didn't have the strength for it.

"Leave me alone…" I begged. How could she have done this to me?

"You're going to be fine," she said impatiently. "The magic's a part of the prison. It stops anybody from using magic to comfort themselves, and makes the prisoners see and feel their worst terrors. Hit me again, and you'll spend more than twelve hours in there."

"I'm leaving," I said, coughing once.

"No, you're not going to leave. Eventually, you'll do as I asked you and go to Quel'Thalas. You want to know how I know?" She looked at me. From that close, she was still the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, but she was terrifying as well. "You screamed my name for most of the night. You hated me, and I think you're going to hate me for a good long while, but you still loved me in your hatred."

"How do you know that?" We were now leaving the prison area, and the chill that had come over me was receding quickly.

"Because I was sitting right there, listening to you, to make sure you got the message."

"What message? That you're insane?"

"Mmm, yes, there is that. But I meant the one about you defying me. It's a message I wanted everyone to get, because they think me soft when it comes to you."

She brought me back to my chambers as I thought about that. She had done this to me – put me in a terror-infested prison – to send a message to everyone regarding defiance? So that people would know that she wasn't above putting me through something like that? A small part of me had to admit that it was a brilliant move, if she wanted to scare the hell out of her enemies. But the rest of me… I felt betrayed, cut to the bone.

"I'm still leaving. You've taught me a valuable lesson." I wriggled out from her arms and she nearly dropped me to the floor.

"What's that?"

"That the integral part of you that I loved, the person who loved me with all her heart, the person I gave that ring to," I nodded to her left hand, "she's dead. And she's never coming back. You, I don't know what you are, but you're not my love."

"Of course I'm not your love. What is it that you were thinking when you found me again? That I would love you and we'd pick up right where we left off? Were you really that naive?"

"I guess I was, and that was my fault."

"When did you find out about Deathknell?"

"When did… I dunno, three years ago, give or take a couple of months."

"Right, so you knew what my nature was three years ago, and still you didn't leave. I think part of you knew, but your inability to let go of the past kept you here. And the fact that you reacted the way you did down there, you didn't cry out your mother's name, or your father's. You were screaming for me."

"The Ranger-General of Silvermoon, not the banshee."

"You were screaming for me."

She began to undress me, and I wondered what she thought she was doing before I saw the tub of steaming hot water in the center of the room.

"That doesn't matter," I said finally, stepping into the tub.

"Of course it matters." She picked up a sponge and began to wash my body gently, "You still love me."

"You threatened to raise me."

"You really think I would have done that to you? To you, Faith?"

"You put me in prison! What the fuck am I supposed to think?"

She blinked. "I put you in prison because you struck me. You openly defied me. Anybody else would have been executed for doing what you did."

That was true. It had happened a couple of times since I'd arrived, although I hadn't attended either of the executions.

"I'll give you a few days to get ready to go to Quel'Thalas," she told me.

"I already told you, I'm not going! I wasn't going to go before, because I didn't want to relive that nightmare. Now I don't want to go because I sure as hell don't want to do you any favors. Get off me, I can finish on my own." I moved away from her, rinsed the soap from my body, and stepped out of the tub. My throat hurt and my jaw felt as though it had very nearly been broken.

I wasn't going to Quel'Thalas.

I wasn't.