Spending the better part of the day in bed did not prevent Jaina from feeling, aptly enough, bone tired by the evening, and it was telling that not even the prospect of going over captain Bones’ notes about the earlier journey managed to prevent her eyelids from slowly dropping. Jaina knew well enough that she would have to study the log meticulously later on but for now she was itching to just skim through it and see what life was like onboard a Forsaken ship. She stretched out to put it back on the desk but found her reach to be just a book-length too short. Not at all wanting to get out of her warm and cosy nest under the blankets Jaina tried to will her arm to temporarily grow just a little more but the uncooperative appendage showed no sign of obliging her.
Without looking up from her own reading by the desk, Sylvanas reached out and put the book on the desk.
”You’re welcome, Lady Proudmoore.”
”Thank you.” Jaina said and felt a little sheepish. She burrowed herself a little deeper into her hammock and enjoyed the pleasant scent of salt and ships timber and a trace of metal and leather she was starting to recognize from Sylvanas’ armour. The elf had removed her shoulder pauldrons but were otherwise unchanged from earlier. She was reclining in the one chair of the cabin with a stack of documents in her hand, illuminated by the warm glow from a single lamp. Her legs were stretched out and the silver and dark red armour lacquering went exceedingly well with them, Jaina had to admit. She wondered if Sylvanas carried knives hidden in those boots like Anya.
Anya was such a piece of work that Jaina could not even begin to place her. Who in their right mind greeted visitors with a knife throwing contest across their bed? But Jaina hadn’t been able to help herself from being a little moved by the obvious enjoyment shared between Anya and Sylvanas, and she would bet her last mana potion that there was a great deal she was unaware of between those two. For a moment Anya had looked just like Jaina felt after her first frost bolt had cleaved Master Antonidas’ desk, and his hearty laughter and applause had shaken Jaina out of her momentary fear of being promptly expelled form Dalaran. Anya looked up to Sylvanas in that very same way, was Jainas distinct impression, and Sylvanas was obviously proud of her. Sylvanas’ apprentice, or Sylvanas’ protégé, but more than that. Her trusted comrade, and confidant maybe.
At least enough to be entrusted with dangerous archmages, Jaina noted, and almost wished that Anya would be with them right now. There was something so heart wrenching over how the delicate elf had solemnly declared that she would end Jaina if she had to and wept at the thought – that had been a tear, Jaina was sure of it – at the next moment that Jaina found herself most of all wanting to comfort Anya, deadly enemy assassin or not. And it would probably feel quite nice if Anya were to card her hair like that right now. Not having asked Pained to do so sometimes was starting to seem like an outright dumb decision, Jainas pride be damned.
Or she could be reading far too much into it and Anya could have reacted to a surfacing memory of something entirely different for all Jaina could tell. Tides knew the Forsaken probably had more than enough traumatic experiences to last anyone a lifetime, and beyond in their case. And Anyas fingers running through her hair might as well have been her method of calming her hostage from having a nervous breakdown and not any particular sign of affection.
Perhaps she could ask Sylvanas? Jaina laughed inwardly at the thought. ”Lady Windrunner, I believe your lieutenant is in acute need of a hug, please summon her now. I would also like to request that she comb my hair until I fall asleep.” Jaina might as well ask Sylvanas to rock her hammock while she was at it.
Jaina returned her focus to Sylvanas, which came easy enough. Her thoughts were just going around and she needed to think of something else.
”What are you reading, Lady Windrunner?” Jaina asked drowsily.
”Reports.”
”What about?”
”Are you in the habit of sharing your military correspondence with heads of hostile nations, Lady Proudmoore?”
”I hardly have any, as of now. If they asked really nice, maybe…” Jaina mused, too tired to care if she sounded ridiculous. ”But it is rather note…I mean moot…isn’t it?”
”How so?”
”Well, I am here as your prisoner and can hardly do anything with the knowledge” Jaina yawned ”and since it must have taken you a few weeks to sail here the information will soon be quite outdated anyway.”
Sylvanas had shifted her full attention to Jaina, who felt pleasantly warm under her gaze. The elf tilted her head slightly as if Jainas sleepy reasoning amused her.
”But there must be a limit to how much paperwork your Forsaken can produce, and I would guess that you have already had time to go through it all on the way here.” Jaina continued.
”And what would you deduce from that reasoning then, Lady Proudmoore?”
Tides, Jaina was getting tired.
”That…that the report would be about, or connected to, a recent development that you want to check on. Obviously something related to Theramore…but you would surely have studied it extensively already since you intended to establish diplomatic relations with us… So, if it’s about something that has happened recently and not about Theramore itself…” Jainas shutting eyes widened a little. ”Are you reading about me?”
Jaina was too tired to tell, but it was almost like Sylvanas had stiffened a little.
”If you…hypothetically of course…were reading reports about me, what would they say?” Jaina mumbled.
”They would say that the hour is growing late and if you intend to serve as my navigator I would prefer to have you rested enough not to plot a course straight into the maelstrom. Good night, Lady Proudmoore.” Sylvanas said dryly and blew out the flame in their lamp.
”Good night, Lady Windrunner…” Jaina was already dozing off.
Sylvanas’ red eyes glowed in the dark above her and Jaina dreamt that the banshee queen was in fact rocking her hammock.
***
Sylvanas did not consider herself a scholar in any sense of the word. She could, like any commander worth her salt, be said to be a student of military strategy in a more practical sense but elven academics rarely managed to hold her interest. There was a distancing sort of indifference, bordering on condescension, that permeated Quel’Thalas’ scholarly works.
Proudmoore was an entirely different breed, she had noticed. Over the last couple of days she had practically glued herself to Captain Bonecarver and interrogated him about the ships specifications, construction, rigging, supplies, crew organisation and most of all every conceivable detail he could recall about their previous crossing of the ocean. She had just about fallen asleep with the captains log in her arms and her own notes scattered across her lap. When she reported her conclusions and calculations she did it eagerly and hell-bent on making her listeners understand her reasoning for themselves. As far as Sylvanas could tell it all made a good deal of sense, but she was prepared to trust her captains assessment in any case, and if nothing else it would in the end be Proudmoore herself who would starve to death if she got them lost at sea.
While Proudmoores thoroughness in navigation was respectable, admirable even, her enthusiasm when speaking of magical matters was nothing short of captivating. The mages eyes lit up like little lanterns and the words tumbled out of her mouth when she delved into her favourite subjects. But the biggest difference between her and the scholars that had formed most of Sylvanas’ opinion of academics was how Proudmoore genuinely cared for her listeners. She didn’t want to impress, she wanted to be understood.
”Strictly speaking there are no clear cut boundaries of where and how you can teleport.” her mage explained, looking out from the reeling towards the barely visible coastline. ”It’s more of a slippery slope toward greater and greater risks of disaster. To put it short you want something to latch on to, something that is visible or can be sensed in some other way, such as with the portal anchors. You can teleport blindly but it is extremely risky unless it is to a location you know intimately. Master Antonidas always likened it to walking around in a completely dark, great mansion filled with steep stairs and trapdoors. You can maybe find your way to your own bedroom in the dark but otherwise it’s better to bring a light with you.”
”Does distance play a part?”
”Yes, certainly. Technically it’s not harder to pinpoint an intended destination far away, it’s just that most times your well-known locations tend to be those nearer to you. But the amount of mana and mental effort required increases with distance, unless you can draw upon a leyline or some similar source of energy. It’s rather like the difference between rowing your boat on a still lake compared to rowing with the current of a river.”
Sylvanas did not let anything reveal that she was well aware of the things Proudmoore explained. Teleportation magics’ uses and limitations were crucial knowledge for a general of such a magically gifted people as the high elves. But she had to admit that none of the stiff elven magisters had explained things nearly as eagerly and with such colourful metaphors as her mage.
”You would make a fine teacher it would seem, Lady Proudmoore.”
The mage actually blushed at that simple comment. Sylvanas had to admit that it was quickly becoming a pleasant distraction to see how flustered she could make that delightfully impressionable woman. Who would have thought that human ears turned red along with their cheeks and throat?
”We will be coming upon a place with a stream and some of us will disembark to provision.” Sylvanas continued in a serious tone. ”The drinking water we have gathered will not last you to Lordaeron and we can not rely solely on fishing during the crossing to keep you fed. I am extending my invitation to you to go ashore with us. However, your magical abilities present a complication.”
”You are afraid I will teleport away at the first available opportunity.”
”Indeed.”
”And you would like to have safeguards against that.”
”Naturally.”
The mage sighed a little and suddenly looked unhappy.
”There are no foolproof ways of ensuring that that I know of, short of throwing me into some kind of dungeon heavily warded against arcane magic I suppose. You have some options. You can keep me blindfolded, which would make it harder for me to teleport to a spot within sight. You or a ranger could keep holding my arms to make it harder for me to cast and theoretically it would also make me teleport you along with me if I succeeded, so you could kill me upon arriving. You could force me to lie on the ground or something, as most mages are unaccustomed to casting complicated spells from strange positions, and it’s likely going to be harder for me to maintain my sense of direction when lying down. That’s what I can come up with right now.”
Sylvanas had watched her intently and as far as she could tell Proudmoore appeared sincere. If anything, she seemed genuinely disappointed with the fact that she could not come up with more ideas to keep herself secured, as if it was all some test given by her Master Antonidas.
But Proudmoore seemed to have something more on her mind. She looked down and swallowed, her hesitation obvious.
”Is there something else, Lady Proudmoore?”
”I could give you my word that I will return to the ship with you, Lady Windrunner. Would you trust that?”
”No.” Sylvanas tone was curt, unnecessarily so she admitted. But asking her to blindly put her trust in the head of an enemy nation was ludicrous. It was insulting. And Proudmoore should understand that and not look so damned beaten down for it. It was insufferable.
”Very…very well. I give you my word anyway, in the hope that it will be good enough one day, Dark Lady.”
Sylvanas flinched, momentarily rendered speechless. A small smile played at the corner of her mages mouth.
”Nobody has ever broken a promise made to the Dark Lady, have they? So long as you don’t hurt me I promise to return to the ship with you.”
”I have already said that you will not be harmed as long as you do not attempt to escape or attack anyone.” Sylvanas said very stiffly. ”I do not break my word.”
Proudmoore had the audacity to look at her meaningfully.
Irritated, Sylvanas turned on the spot and stormed off, assured that the half dozen rangers in close proximity would be enough of a deterrent if her mage got any reckless ideas.
Her rangers were starting to take after Sylvanas in keeping Proudmoore on her toes by suddenly appearing in close proximity to her and subtly revealing themselves. Sylvanas wouldn’t be surprised if they had made it into some sort of contest of who could elicit the most shocked reaction out of her.
She found her lieutenant hiding – probably out of habit as much as anything else – behind the main mast.
”You heard it all, I presume.” Sylvanas said and motioned for Anya to come with her towards the relative privacy by the bow.
Anya nodded.
”Do you think I should trust her, Anya?”
”Would you like to trust her, Dark Lady?”
Sylvanas reflexively tensed up. It didn’t matter what she would like, you didn’t get to choose if you were betrayed or shunned by the world. And after all the…
Anya lightly brushed her thumb across Sylvanas’ lips and silenced her inner rant with a single steady look. Tension bled out from her through Anyas hand when it cupped her cheek.
”I can practically hear your inner voices telling you what you are allowed or not allowed to do. But that is not what I asked.” Anya gently stroked her fingertips along Sylvanas’ jawline. ”Would. You. Like. To trust her, Sylvanas? Would it be worth something if you were able to truly depend on at least one living person?”
Sylvanas sighed and looked away. It was not that she… No. That was not what Anya had asked.
With Anya by her side she needed to look neither left nor right. She was safer in battle with Anya at her back than in her own quarters alone. There were rangers who had many centuries of experience on her lieutenant, rangers who were better shots, quicker fencers and one or two who could match her in stealth. But it was Anya who meant the world to Sylvanas.
What would it be like if she could one day trust Proudmoore like that? Her ranger at one side and her mage at the other. What a strange thought. And nothing but a stupid fantasy. A…not unpleasant fantasy.
”If I could trust Proudmoore or anyone else the way I trust you, Anya, I would count myself very fortunate.”
”Then my answer to your question is yes. And I will keep watch over Lady Proudmoore for you.”
***
Sylvanas and her rangers had taken Jainas advice to heart and as they lowered a rope ladder to the waiting longboat below she found herself blindfolded by Anya. Climbing a ladder down a ships side was nothing new to Jaina but doing it without seeing and with another person beside her proved to be quite impractical. Sylvanas’ ghostly lieutenant was however very attentive and made sure Jaina had a firm grip with the arm she held her by before taking another step down herself. Jaina was led to the aft of the longboat where Anya handed her arm over to another ranger.
”Clea, you have the watch while we row.”
Apart from when they were sneaking up on Jaina the dark rangers had kept largely to themselves, always near but never close to her. She didn’t know which one that was Clea, who held her much firmer than Anya so that Jaina almost winced in discomfort. The ship had anchored far from the shore, not daring to take any chances with the rocky Kalimdorian coast. It would be a long rowing.
”Ranger Clea, do you think you could lighten your grip a little? I’m sorry, but it hurts my arm.” Jaina said as politely as she could.
Clea said something but she spoke so low that Jaina did not catch it. She did however release her grip a bit to Jainas relief.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The trip ashore was progressing less than pleasantly though, for along with Jaina being blindfolded and unable to enjoy the scenery Clea tightened her grip time and again, until Jaina started to remind her with a gentle tap on the knuckles from her other free hand. She couldn’t figure out why until it dawned on her that Clea tended to do that as the longboat rolled in especially strong waves. To Jaina it was second nature to shift her weight and parry the movement, it even made her relax. Boats and ships were Jainas cradles, rocked by the sea and lulling her to sleep. But maybe the ranger did not share her comfort.
”Clea…are you seasick?”
Clea whispered something Jaina couldn’t hear.
”I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. Tiny human ears, you know.” Jaina excused herself.
She could feel Clea leaning closer to her.
”I am sorry, Lady Proudmoore. My death and undeath stole my voice from me.” Clea whispered so close to Jainas left ear that she could feel her breath. ”We do not get sick like the living do. But I will admit that I am not comfortable at sea. It was not my intention to grab you overly hard.”
Clea spoke Common in the same formal way Sylvanas did, as if she had learnt it a long time ago. Her whispering voice was slightly hoarse, but Jaina found it gentle. Even the ghostly echo was very toned down. Perhaps it was exactly that, an echo, and tied to the owners actual voice in some way.
”You should be rowing.” Jaina said with conviction. ”The best cure for seasickness is having something to occupy yourself with.”
”Perhaps Anya thought that keeping watch over an archmage of formidable skill should keep my thoughts occupied enough.” Clea mused, and Jaina could swear there was a smile behind those words.
”Well, better keep that archmage close at hand then. You never know with those.” Jaina suggested.
Very slowly, careful not to alarm the dark ranger, Jaina put her right wrist against Cleas hand. She understood Jainas meaning and allowed her right wrist to replace the left in her grip. Jaina resolutely put her freed arm around Cleas back, and almost wanted to whistle or something equally immature upon feeling the toned muscles of the elf.
To Jainas dismay Clea stiffened at the touch.
”Lady Proudmoore, remove your left hand from my back now.” she whispered sternly.
”I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
”No. Not that.”
Realisation dawned on Jaina.
”You’re afraid I would cast something behind your back?
”In your own words, you never know with those formidable archmages, Lady Proudmoore.”
Jaina almost felt like laughing. The whole situation was absurd on so many levels. She gently wrapped her arm around Cleas instead, and tried not to be too distracted by the flexing biceps against her hand when she pulled the elf a little closer.
”There. Better?”
Clea didn’t answer. But Jaina could feel her leaning a bit more into Jainas side, and she didn’t hold Jainas wrist so hard when the next wave hit them.
She could smell it in the air when they were nearing the shore, the scent of salt and seaweed and wet earth. The weather was clear and it was turning into a warm day, perfect for a little picnic Jaina thought ironically.
Clea wasted no time getting her and Jaina off the boat. In one move she stepped into the water and before Jaina had time to react in any way she found herself lifted under her arms without further ado and carried ashore like a child. Just as Jaina was about to argue that she was neither child nor damsel someone took hold of her shoulders and spun her around on the spot. It was all so ridiculous – the grim, silent and obviously lethal undead rangers playing with her as if she was their tiny little sister – that Jaina couldn’t stop a nervous, bubbling fit of giggles from overtaking her and sit down in a heap as her wobbly legs gave out.
”Archmage on the ground.” Jaina gasped eventually and lay back on the smooth rock. ”Well done, top marks for everyone in archmage keeping it seems.”
”We have taken your advice seriously, Lady Proudmoore.” It was Anyas voice, so pleasantly melodic. ”You have been most forthcoming.”
”Ah, but it seems you have forgotten to gag me, lieutenant Eversong. What if I utter some terrible old troll curse at you that I’ve picked up from my Horde neighbours?”
Jaina started to declaim in her best dark and ominous voice, which was unfortunately ruined by her lingering fits of giggles.
”Meeny, miny, magic mood…Anya shall become a toad!”
Jaina pointed forward at random.
”A little bit to your right.” Cleas amused whisper told her.
”Traitor.” Anya muttered.
”Clea” Jaina said more earnestly in the direction of her voice. ”I was thinking, if you’d like I could show you how to splice rope when we get back. It might help to keep your thoughts from the waves.”
”So, Lady Proudmoore, you intend to both curse my rangers and press them into your service?” There was no mistaking that voice.
”I find myself quite outnumbered, Lady Windrunner, and forced to resort to shameful methods. Divide and conquer, as they say.”
”They do indeed, Lady Proudmoore.” Sylvanas drawled. Tides, how did someone manage to sound like a purring cat when pronouncing Jainas last name? ”Shall I need to worry about how you intend to…conquer us all, perhaps?”
”You never know, maybe all that has happened is part of my master plan to do just that.”
”And maybe I have you exactly where and how I want you, Lady Proudmoore…” Sylvanas’ voice caressed her ears and sent a shiver along Jainas spine, midday sun notwithstanding.
Jaina was suddenly very reminded of the fact that Sylvanas and a half dozen or so of her almost equally perfect elves were standing over her prone form. Her prone blindfolded form.
And there it was. Jaina blushing from head to toe, or at least she felt like that. Heat was certainly pooling somewhere in her middle, but it might be due to the sun.
”Please sit up, Lady Proudmoore. I will remove your blindfold now.” Jaina could swear Anya was at least half singing when she spoke Common. Jaina couldn’t wait to hear what Thalassian would sound like from her.
She blinked in the sudden light as Anyas deft hands freed her eyes from their constraint.
”We can’t have you blinded for the entire day without robbing your trip ashore of any meaning. Be warned however, that the woodlands around are patrolled and that two rangers will keep watching you with their bows drawn at all time, Lady Proudmoore.”
”Charming as always, Anya.” Jaina sighed. She hadn’t talked to Anya since her crazy way of introducing herself and scaring Jaina half to death in the process, but Jaina found that she wanted to. Although preferably without any knife throwing this time. ”Feel free to join me for lunch if any of you tire of skulking in the shadows all the time.” she added dryly to the dark rangers and sat down to open the wrapped up fried Kalimdorian redfin filet.
Of the rangers Jaina did know the names of she found it easiest to recognize Velonara. The elf was definitely young – which could mean she might be only slightly older than Jainas late grandmother – and had an impish manner which probably accounted for her getting on well with captain Bones’ daughter.
”Tell me, Lady Proudmoore, what’s your preference when it comes to dinner? Eel or clam?” Velonara asked and sat down next to Jaina.
”Eel or clam? They’re both good, I guess.” Jaina said a little absent-mindedly while munching on her lunch. ”Pretty much anything from the sea works for me. We Kul Tirans have at least a quarter of sea gull in us in that regard.”
”Is that so?” Velonara asked, deceptively innocent.
”Mhm…actually there’s a rather nice soup you can make with clams, button mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and a sprinkle of lemon juice.”
”Ah, so you prefer your clams warm and wet then, Lady Proudmoore?”
Jaina opened her mouth to point out that it was rather obvious if the dish in question was a soup, but faltered when she noticed Velonaras too wide and too sweet smile. Jaina was obviously missing something.
Before Jaina could ask Velonara to elaborate Sylvanas had called her up.
”Velonara, go and see what you can find of shellfish by the shore since clams appear to be firmly on your mind. I am going hunting in the hills ahead. I would hate to run into someone who was not supposed to be there.” she added in Jainas direction.
”Thank you for your kind invitation Lady Windrunner, but as it happens I prefer the beaches for my time off.” Jaina said and tried to match Velonaras smirk in sweetness. ”Would it be acceptable for me to take a bath in the lake? As you know the living prefer to be able to wash up from time to time.”
Sylvanas stood silent and her features gave no hint of what went through her head.
”The water will hardly hide me” Jaina indicated the crystal clear surface ”and I will likely be even less inclined to escape without my clothes on, wouldn’t you agree?”
”Very well, Lady Proudmoore.”
The rangers appeared to be organized into some kind of shifts, which meant that three of them were for the moment without assignments, or perhaps they were standing by as a reserve force in case Jaina would attempt to escape. Whatever the reason, it meant that apart from Jainas two guards there were four more elves lingering close to her, as Velonara apparently had yet to get going with her fishing.
It also meant that Jaina would have to undress virtually in front of six uncomfortably fit rangers who had nothing better to do than watch her.
Jaina sighed. She normally kept herself too busy to pay much heed to how she looked but she couldn’t help thinking that in the present company she would somehow manage to stand out as both skinny and flabby at the same time. Ever since settling in Theramore, and especially the last months when she had practically hidden herself away in shame and grief, Jaina realised she had spent far too much time behind her desk. Tides, she really had. But there was nothing to be done about it at the moment and she could really use a bath.
Jaina did honestly appreciate how Sylvanas’ dark rangers were going out of their way to gather food and water for her, it was in fact a little touching even if she was their captive. But she would have appreciated it a lot more if they could have kept their comments to themselves as Jaina tried to get in the water as fast as she could, and in her haste just entangled herself even more in her clothes.
”Not a bad view on this trip.”
”Who knew mages had so much to show?”
”I feel enchanted already.”
”Clea would probably have liked to be here and hold onto more of her.”
”A shame to hide such pretty things under those rags, wouldn’t you say?”
”I can see why the Dark Lady would want to capture that one.”
Jaina knew they were mocking her, they were even speaking Common, and it shouldn’t bother her but somehow it still did and she felt her face burning by the time she was far enough out to submerge in the pleasantly warm water. The lake was a kettle-like large hole that the adjoining stream had dug out in the sandstone over untold ages. It even had a miniature island in the middle made up of a few boulders of varying size, and was deep enough for Jaina to swim comfortably in. She was starting to feel a bit better. Swimming was one of the things apart from magic that Jaina was actually good at and it was a relief to be able to stretch her arms and legs in the water.
Jaina could faintly hear Anya shooing Velonara off to her tasks.
”Be careful Anya, don’t let yourself be dragged down by the sirens. I hear they are especially alluring in this lake.” was Velonaras parting remark.
”I make no promises.” Anya answered.
Something was different, Jaina noticed, and realised the next second that they were now speaking Thalassian for some reason. Jainas grasp of the language was decent, good enough to get through elven magic literature but she had rarely had reason to practise speaking it.
The next thing she noticed was that her clothes were gone.
Jaina cursed under her breath, damning all rangers and their twisted ideas of humour and normal courtesy. Well, if that was it she might as well keep swimming for a while and let them waste more time squinting at the sunny water surface. Although she wasn’t sure if undead eyes were as bothered by it as living ones. The thought gave Jaina an idea however, a much more dangerous one.
She started to repeatedly swim out underwater, surface to catch some air and then swim back to the shoreline as if following some kind of exercise, making sure to kick up lots of splashing water when diving. When she stole a glance at her watchers they appeared slightly wary at first but the settled back into their usual postures.
Teleportation was a spell that relatively speaking took a lot of effort, time and concentration to cast.
Invisibility was not, and together with frost and portal spells it was one of Jainas best fields.
The next time she dove, she kicked up as much water as she could and headed for the bottom of the lake. Letting herself slow down she focused her mind, drew upon her mana, and disappeared from sight.
Jaina wanted to cheer but being underwater that was of course less than optimal. Instead she tried to aim as best she could for the far side of the small isle and took off, keeping below the surface and being careful to disturb it as little as possible. Invisibility was highly useful but there were countless tales of mages who squandered the benefits by their inability to stay discreet. Footsteps in the snow or ripples in the water would reveal anyone no matter how cloaked.
Her lungs were crying out for air by the time Jaina crawled halfway out of the water and tried to breathe as quietly as se could while listening for any signs that she had been spotted. She thought she could hear fragments of rapid Thalassian and suddenly a large splash. That had to be good, at least one ranger had bought into the idea that Jaina had disappeared deep into the lake. Now was the time. She drank in as much mana as she could hold and reached out with her mind across leylines and the obscure arcane signatures of Kalimdor, leading her to the familiar ones of Theramore and her own tower and her own bedroom in front of the desk. There. Jaina kept her focus on that specific spot as she weaved her portal spell. A portal was almost similar to a teleportation spell but the fact that you stepped through the portal instead of instantly being moved by the spell itself made it a little slower to use and a little safer if you were unsure if you had targeted the right destination. Walking into a cliffside was after all marginally safer than hurling yourself into it, to put in bluntly.
Jaina let the portal grow to half her height. If she was right she could crawl across it well enough but if she was wrong it would perhaps not alert the rangers. Portal spells were many things but discreet were not among them. It was ready. She just had to move now. She would hardly get another chance like this again.
The sun was warming Jainas back. In the distance she could hear the waves rolling over rocks and the calls of the gulls. And more than that, unless the birds had suddenly learned to speak Thalassian in frantic voices.
”…supposed to watch…”
”…swear we saw no portals or flashes!” Anya cried out.
”Damn the portals! What about the woods?! What about the river?! What if she’s fucking drowned!” That was Sylvanas’ voice. And she was furious. And…worried?
”I’ll check again!” Velonara did not sound the least bit smug or mischievous this time. And there was a second splash.
Jaina was wasting precious time. The dark rangers could find her at any moment and there was no telling how Sylvanas would react to finding her hiding from them. Slamming Jaina into a wall with her clawed gauntlet at her throat and eyes burning through her would probably be the least. Jaina shook her head. Where had that image come from?
”Jaina!”
Jaina froze. That was Anyas voice and it cut through Jainas heart.
Jaina stretched across the portal and found that she had done everything right. She snatched up a paper from her desk and her ever-ready pen and scribbled hurriedly with horrible penmanship and big splotches from the dripping water. Then she withdrew herself and let the portal close.
Jaina dove and swam out around the other side of the isle, heading for the shore. She was met by Sylvanas who looked just as fuming as Jaina had imagined. Tides, she looked impressive from below.
”He-hello, Lady Windrunner. I hope your hunt was successful?” Jaina stuttered, and prayed that her shakiness would be attributed to being winded from swimming.
”Indeed it was. I hope your swim was satisfactory, Lady Proudmoore.” Sylvanas said with icicles growing from every word.
”Indeed it was. Lovely day for a swim.” Jaina said flippantly just as Velonara and another ranger were crawling out of the water a little to her left, looking somehow like wet dogs with their tails between their legs.
”Apparently.” Jaina added with a raised eyebrow towards the pair.
”Dark Lady.” the taller one acknowledged Sylvanas with a hoarse whisper.
Clea.
”You are…nimble in the water, Lady Proudmoore.” Velonara said slowly, as if she didn’t quite know what to say. ”I would be inclined to trace your lineage from seals rather than gulls.”
”However that may be I retain my very human need for clothing and would require mine returned promptly.” Jaina pointed out, rather sternly.
Sylvanas ceased her scrutiny of Jaina and looked around irritably.
”Anya?” she demanded.
Anya hesitated. Jaina looked closer at her. She did look tense. And there was a thin, faint dark line running down from one eye.
”Dark Lady. Lieutenant.” another ranger begged their attention. Jaina could see little of her except the hood of her cloak that was pulled forward and two curtains of shiny dark hair, black like ink so it appeared almost blue. ”Lady Proudmoore, I have your clothes here.”
The ranger set them down carefully in front of Jaina, neatly folded, and the jacket looked like it had been brushed a bit. And the shirt and pants now sported well sewn stitches where there had before been tears and holes.
”Thank you…I don’t know your name, dark ranger.” Jaina said, surprised and not needing to pretend to sound grateful.
”Lyana. And you’re welcome, Lady Proudmoore.”
Jaina only caught a glimpse. But somewhere behind those curtains there was a small smile.
Clea and Veonara were shaking off the worst of the water and retrieving their bows and quivers. As eager as Jaina was to try out whole clothes for a change she was less inclined to have them soaked the first thing she did.
”I didn’t know seals needed towels when there are so many sunny rocks to lie on.” Velonara smirked, back to what seemed to be her usual self Jaina noticed. Anya however knelt and removed her cloak, and held it out for Jaina to wrap herself in.
***
Jaina leaned against the mizzen masts shrouds and watched Kalimdor disappear beneath the horizon. The afternoon was turning into evening and the sun was setting all quicker each day. Autumn was approaching, which meant that the weather here was warm rather than scorching hot.
Had she done the right thing? It would have been so very, very easy to crawl through that portal and be back into her tower like nothing had happened. It would have been wise, probably, and safe, and proper, and in every way what Jaina should have done.
Except.
Except things could not be like nothing had happened because something had happened and Jaina was in the middle of it. And she had given Sylvanas her word. Her Dark Lady, Jaina smiled to herself. No, the Dark Lady of course, she corrected herself. Just a minor mental typographical error after a long day, nothing more.
Sylvanas still frightened her, of course. But she had stayed true to her own promises and in her own demanding way she had cared for Jaina, and the same had to be said of her rangers despite all their antics. They were still wary of her, and their hands never seemed to linger far from their weapons, but perhaps there were more than Anya who would not relish drawing them.
About half the regular crew had approached at some time to mutter their names so far and Jaina had returned their greetings with all the politeness she could muster. She’d had little time to get to know anyone except the captain as they were always busy with something, but Jaina had decided that she wanted to rectify that.
There was no denying it. Jaina was curious of the Forsaken.
Whatever captain Bones lacked in off-shore experience he made up for in deck work. Jaina had seldom seen a better drilled crew weighing anchor and readying the ship for their departure. There were some differences from living sailors that stood out. One was how the Forsaken would double up when pulling ropes, even if they did not seem too heavy to pull and Jaina had seen them all carry burdens with an ease that matched the brawniest human deckhands. The captain had explained how most Forsaken had difficulties healing their injuries without help, and even minor scratches or bruises were troublesome of they piled up. Pulling ropes was one of those everyday task that now presented a risk and not just a hassle. Jaina had suggested gloves for them, custom-tailored and lined with silk or something of equal strength and smoothness. Sylvanas had nodded at the idea but dryly told her that she would have to get in line before the Forsaken leatherworkers.
Be that as it may, tomorrow Jaina would ask if she could teach Clea how to splice and help the crew fix up some of the ropes at least. It was a long time since Jaina had tried out that kind of work but she was sure she could catch up and she would need something to occupy herself with during the journey. Maybe Clea and Anya could become friends in time. Maybe Lyana too – Jaina really appreciated not having to feel like she was dressed in a sieve when the wind was blowing – and even Velonara if she could get used to her teasing. Jaina would just have to grit her teeth and endure the jabs at her human clumsiness she guessed.
There was a certain word that brash and reckless mages like Rhonin or Master Antonidas in his younger days (not Jaina of course because she would never even think of sailing across half the world to battle demons alongside orcs and night elves) would use in her situation. They would call it an adventure, Jaina thought, and a small smile tugged at her lips.
***
”Dear Pained
Am alright. Gone on mission I believe vital for peace and safety of Theramore Azeroth. Will contact you report when able. Keep desk area clear.
Tell people not to worry. Delegate tasks.
Jaina”
Pained put down the letter for latest of…how many times she couldn’t say. Jaina was alive, and unharmed enough to open a portal and drop this atrociously scribbled and splotchy note. That was what was important. And if she had opened a portal it meant that she was able to cast, and if she was able to cast she would not be kept wherever she was against her will. Anyone attempting that would soon have cause to regret it.
Pained bared her teeth. If she found out that Jaina had so much as scraped a knee, or worse been allowed to malnourish and mistreat herself further, she would rend whoever was behind this limb from limb. But Pained also knew how impossible it was to stop Jaina from doing what she had set her mind upon, and perhaps a ludicrously dangerous diplomatic quest was what she actually needed instead of caging herself inside her tower.
Just not alone.
Pained looked miserably around the little room. How empty the desk and bed looked without Jaina in it. How quiet the towers upper floor was.
”Come home soon, my lady” Pained whispered.