Chapter Text
The morning sunlight demanded Jaina awake, streaming in from the balcony and bathing her room in a glow. She was sprawled out upon the bed, nude as the day she was born, one hand resting on the empty spot beside her.
Jaina blinked her eyes open and squinted at the light of day. It was a nice change to awaken without the call of her mentors at the door, summoning her to study their endless books and heed their deep wisdom.
Here, within the walls of Silvermoon, exciting new knowledge was at Jaina’s finger tips, no other burden brought with her. Here, away from prying eyes, she could explore anything and anyone.
Jaina rolled onto back her back and thought of long golden hair like woven sunlight, strong arms lean from archery, and the way Sylvanas would look at her as if nothing else existed. She wondered if she should fear the iron hold Sylvanas had upon her, a hold unlike anyone else had ever had.
There was no doubt in Jaina’s heart that she had loved Arthas and the hurt she had felt upon his ending of their relationship had been palpable, like a wound upon her skin. But like the touch of a priest, Sylvanas had healed that wound without leaving a scar, entering the empty spot in her heart and planting a seed that had taken deep root.
For the very first time in longer than she could remember, something else mattered to Jaina. Someone else. She chased that feeling and held onto it without remorse.
She had packed lightly, a few day robes and one set of dress robes, nothing too fancy. Jaina dressed lazily, her mind not yet present to her task. From her tower balcony she could see down to the great fountain that stood before Sunfury spire. People were milling around, some pushing carts of goods to sell, others brandishing books and heaping scrolls. Occasionally a troop of guards would march passed, swapping with those positioned upon the steps. It was all perfectly quaint.
Once dressed she left her room without further delay. At the foot of the stairs, eagerly awaiting her when she finally emerged from the tower, was Jaina’s host. Kael’thas beamed at her, bowing deeply so that the collar of his extravagant robes flopped forward. He stood up, battering it away with an awkward chuckle as Jaina reached the bottom step. Poised and perfect, positioned a few feet away from the prince, her eyes on Jaina the moment she had appeared, was Sylvanas.
‘I trust you slept well?’ He asked, dipping to chastely kiss her cheek.
‘Peacefully and with the sweetest dreams,’ replied Jaina, her eyes moving beyond the prince to look upon the stoic Ranger-General behind him, her lips almost quirking at her words. Jaina allowed herself a moment to blatantly admire Sylvanas her polished armour and smart cloak.
‘Won’t you great our guest, General?’ Kael’thas snipped, looking over his shoulder to follow Jaina’s gaze.
Sylvanas bowed her head in acknowledgement, ‘good morning, Lady Proudmoore.’
Kael’thas sniffed, missing the smile Jaina beamed as he adjusted his robes and offered an arm, ‘breakfast awaits.’
Breakfast was a relaxed affair, the two of them joined only by Sylvanas and few other household members. Fruits of all verities laden the table, a few of which came from the far away land of Kalimdor, as well fresh pastries and warm breads. Jaina enjoyed herself, speaking with a narrow faced man named Sathein, whom was the mayor of Tranquillien, a settlement in south Quel’thalas.
‘I imagine there is much you’ve yet to see of Eversong woods,’ Sathein said as he handed Jaina several more pastries.
‘I was going to suggest a trip to our most prominent locations,’ Kael’thas butted in, leaning across the table to do so. ‘Would you like that, my dear?’
‘Very much so, Prince Kael’thas,’ Jaina nodded. ‘I have always been interested to explore more of the kingdom.’
‘I return to Tranquillien today,’ Sathein said, ‘you’d be welcome there.’
‘Thank you,’ she smiled, catching Sylvanas’ eye whom was smirking from behind her goblet at Kael’thas as he still awkwardly hovered over the table.
After breakfast Kael’thas whisked Jaina away to meet with the mage council, a prospect she was giddy about. Sylvanas and two other guards flanked their walk to the mage sanctum within Sunfury spire, walking as close as she dared so that Jaina could nearly feel her every time Kael’thas stopped them to talk about an ancient painting hanging on the wall.
The mage’s sanctum was a vast, domed room that hummed with arcane energy. The moment they stepped through the archway door Jaina felt it brush against her skin like the wind, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
‘And here we have our crowning jewel, the very heart of knowledge in Quel’thalas,’ Kael’thas announced, arms spread wide as they entered. The mages within all looked up upon his loud arrival, converging before them. ‘Council, allow me to introduce Lady Jaina Proudmoore of Kul Tiras, Archmade Antonidas of the Kirin Tor’s student.’
Each of the mages bowed humbly. ‘Welcome, Lady Jaina, we’ve heard of your great promise here,’ said one of the elves, a rather short woman with raven hair.
‘This is Archmage Amorea,’ Kael’thas introduced proudly. Jaina extended her hand and shook Amorea’s firmly.
‘Allow me to show you around,’ she offered.
Amorea took Jaina first through the various rooms of the inner sanctum, most of which had apprentices and novices like herself studying various schools of magic. They stopped a moment to observe one of the archmages practicing arcane conjuration. Jaina was fascinated by the display, almost having to be dragged away by Amorea.
‘You weave your hands so differently to us,’ Jaina pointed out as they looked in on another class, ‘it’s something I’ve never noticed before in the elves around Dalaran.’
‘The city of Dalaran promotes joint minds and partnership in the practice of magic,’ Amorea replied sagely, ‘upon arrival I imagine you soon find yourself mirroring others without realising it.’
Amorea ended the tour in the vast library, domed like most other rooms with a moon shaped window at the top. The shining sun outside streamed down through the glass, lighting the archway where they entered in. There were many mages within the library, most buried in their books. Jaina was impressed by the fever in which they seem to devour the knowledge before them, as if they did not literally have all of the time in the world.
‘Might I ask you something, Archmage?’ asked Jaina, turning to address the elf beside her. Amorea nodded, arching a long brow. ‘How old are you?’
‘Don’t humans find such a question offensive?’ Amorea replied, flashing an amused smile.
‘Do elves?’
Amorea shook her head. ‘I celebrated my twenty hundredth birthday just last month.’
‘And your students?’ Jaina asked, nodding her head towards the intently studying elves.
‘Most are anywhere between one hundred and a thousand years old,’ Amorea said. ‘Elves mature slower than mortals, I suppose we have the time to do so. It is rare that a young elf pursues or even discovers their raw talents any younger fifty years old.’
‘And yet here they still study with such-’
‘Obsession?’
‘Passion,’ Jaina clarified. ‘Is there truly no end to knowledge?’
Amorea smiled a sincere smile, the look in her eyes aging her eternal features for a moment to mirror her years, ‘no, I don’t believe there is an end, not so long as we possess free will and freedom of thought. You might practice another’s spell everyday of your life, trusting in its efficiency, until one day you discover a better way. We are all capable of developing new, more profound ideas, Jaina.’
‘What if your ideas won’t be heard?’
‘Oh, I believe in a simple remedy to making yourself heard, dear,’ Amorea smiled again. ‘Shout.’
*
Amorea and Jaina returned to the mage’s sanctum after a little while longer of roaming the halls, the latter churning out question after question, hanging off of every word. Jaina wanted to crack her mind open and peer inside, seeking answers to questions she hadn’t yet even thought of. She wanted it all.
They found Kael’thas lounged on a sofa, Sylvanas hovering beside him with a bored expression on her face. They both perked up at the sight of Jaina as she nearly skipped back into the room.
‘Ah,’ Kael’thas greeted, ‘you’re back. I thought Amorea had done away with you.’
‘I can’t thank you enough for your time, Archmage,’ beamed Jaina, feeling so giddy she might hover off the ground.
‘It was my pleasure and, please, call me Amorea,’ Amorea took Jaina’s hands in her own, squeezing gently.
A towering elf appeared behind Amorea then, a long, pointed beard hanging around his thin face. ‘Antonidas’ prized student,’ he said, extending a hand to her, ‘he and I have worked together many times. I am Archmage Krenn’nir.’
‘Master Krenn’nir, of course,’ Jaina shook his hand, ‘I’ve read all of your books and the papers you’ve written with Master Antonidas. You have a brilliant mind.’
Krenn’nir stroked his beard, a smug look on his face. ‘Yes, Antonidas is a fine teacher, though you would learn a great deal more from me. I moulded much of his mind, after all. I am always surprised when the exceptional is found within humans.’
‘I believe Lady Proudmoore has proven exceptional is her first nature,’ Sylvanas replied loudly, making all heads snap in her direction. Kael’thas scowled as if he had wished to say so first while Jaina felt her heart stammer. Sylvanas didn’t smile, looking intently at Krenn’nir.
‘Certainly,’ Krenn’nir cleared his throat, ‘I was only observing the…stereotypical.’
‘Krenn’nir’s mind is clouded to talent after having taught the most exceptional of all,’ Kael’thas boasted, ‘me.’
Jaina caught Sylvanas’ eye roll from the corner of her eye, smirking to herself. Krenn’nir smiled tightly, ‘of course, my Prince.’
‘Come now, dear Jaina,’ Kael’thas ushered her along, ‘Master Vor’theon is giving a lecture on arcane conjuration, I am sure you do not wish to miss it.’
She was whisked away from the other mages, Kael’thas dragging her along as he spoke of his years of studying within the very halls around them. Jaina feigned interest, her mind still in the mages sanctum.
The lecture was interesting, Vor’theon was an engaging speaker and Jaina found his lecture insightful but rather irrelevant to her own interests. By noon she was taken again to dine with a different set of elven nobles, the table seemingly getting bigger and Sylvanas being pushed further away from her.
Jaina didn’t let it dampen her mood for every time she looked up she found the Ranger-General’s eyes boring into her own, a smouldering fire within the blue depths.
Kael’thas was still keen to keep Jaina in his company after lunch, taking their time together to plan out the rest of her visit to Quel’thalas. Jaina steered his mind, expressing her want to see Farstrider Retreat and experience other aspects of elven culture. Kael’thas hadn’t been thrilled at the prospect of spending time with the rangers, muttering to himself as Jaina hashed out a plan.
Eventually he conceded, pointing out he had certain duties to attend to over the coming days so would send Jaina ahead and meet her halfway on the road to Tranquillien where she would cap off her visit. Jaina was positively vibrating at the outcome, knowing well enough it would be Sylvanas’ duty to her accompany her on their journey south.
When at last the day came to an end she was dragging her feet up the tower steps to her room. She had left Kael’thas pining at the foot of the stairs, bidding her a goodnight and that he’d be off to set their plan in motion.
Sylvanas had gone to attend some duties after lunch, her last lingering stare still present in Jaina’s mind as she pushed open her bedroom door.
‘Sylvanas!’ Jaina said, startled. Sylvanas was stood almost directly in front of her, clearly having heard her coming or had simply waited in anticipation in that very spot. ‘You almost scared me.’
‘Only almost?’ Sylvanas tittered.
Jaina shut the door with a snap and wrapped her arms around the elf’s neck, pulling them close together and sealing their lips. She kissed her deeply, letting out her long day of wanting into the kiss.
‘Mm,’ Sylvanas hummed, parting briefly to speak, ‘that makes it all worth it.’
‘What?’ Jaina asked, kissing her again feverishly.
‘Watching Kael’thas simpering around you like a lovesick puppy,’ Sylvanas grinned, catching Jaina’s bottom lip between her teeth. ‘He would eat his heart out seeing this.’
‘Don’t be unkind,’ Jaina chastised but smiled despite it.
‘I shan’t do so more,’ Sylvanas cupped Jaina’s cheeks and threaded her fingers through her hair. Jaina groaned lowly, enjoying the way Sylvanas’ fingers felt.
‘You must promise you’ll stay the night or you may touch me no further,’ the young mage pulled back so that Sylvanas’ lips could not wander.
She smiled beautifully, taking Jaina’s chin between her fingers and drawing her into a much sweeter kiss than before. ‘You have me all to yourself, my darling.’
‘Tides, how I love to hear you say that,’ Jaina sighed, resting her head beneath Sylvanas’ for a moment. Sylvanas held her close, nosing the hair atop her head before dropping feather kisses there.
‘I understand I am to escort you to Farstriders Retreat. A “cultural tour” of Quel’thalas.’
Jaina hummed, ‘there may have been ulterior motive to my tour.’
Sylvanas chuckled, ‘days of horseback riding, which you hate, simply to be alone with me?’
‘And a chance to experience your world,’ Jaina poked at Sylvanas’s armour, ‘to see the roots that made you.’
Sylvanas guided Jaina’s eyes so that she looked up at the elf, whom smiled warmly. ‘You wish to know me,’ she said softly.
‘I do,’ Jaina nodded. ‘I want to know everything.’
Sylvanas kissed her passionately, savouring the gentle moment between them like the sweet taste of nectar.
‘You honour me,’
Jaina chuckled, ‘I came for knowledge, did I not? Well, this is the knowledge I seek.’
Sylvanas only hummed, wishing only to kiss the mage in their blissful privacy. Jaina let her for a while, allowing her body to be touched and manoeuvred into the room. ‘I drew you a bath,’ Sylvanas said in a brief pause as her lips moved to Jaina’s neck.
‘And now you honour me,’ she sighed in reply. ‘Join me?’
**
Jaina enveloped herself in the relaxing warmth of the bathwater, her back nestled against Sylvanas’ naked front, two long legs wrapped around her to keep her in place. Jaina wished never to move as scented soaps and a soft cloth were dragged across her chest, brushing over her breasts and down to drew circles on her stomach.
Sylvanas’ movements were sensual, caring, she worshiped Jaina with her hands, drawing away weeks of weary studying and late nights of missing the elf. ‘Do you think of our first night together?’ Sylvanas asked against Jaina’s neck, her lips pressed there sweetly.
‘It keeps me warm every night,’ Jaina replied fondly. ‘It was as if you had cracked open a secret treasure trove within me, realms of pleasure and ecstasy locked within it.’
Sylvanas chuckled, a cocky smile spreading across her face, ‘we have only scratched the surface of what I can unlock within you, dearest.’
Jaina half-heartedly elbowed the elf, splashing her with the movement. Sylvanas kissed her shoulder, conceding. ‘You reminded me of a side of myself I begun to lose touch with that night,’ she confessed. ‘My role and position had consumed my life and become too much who I was rather than what. You reminded me I can be tender,’ Sylvanas kissed Jaina’s ear, ‘loving, passionate-’
Jaina turned suddenly in the water, interrupting Sylvanas’ musings as she kissed her firmly, hands braced against the edges of the tub. Sylvanas reached for Jaina’s behind, pulling them flush so that her hands slipped and sealed their bodies together.
‘Speak no further of your passion,’ Jaina demanded hotly against Sylvanas’ lips, ‘and rather show me.’
Sylvanas sat up to attention, holding Jaina close as she stood with great strength from the water and climbed from the tub. Jaina squealed to be carried, giggling at the elf’s showmanship as she was deposited still wet upon the bed.
Sylvanas did not allow them to be parted long, climbing atop Jaina and pushing her back into the silken covers of the bed. She drew a path with her hand along Jaina’s stomach, fingers splayed as she reached her mound.
Jaina gasped to be suddenly touched, Sylvanas’ boldness exciting, sending a thrill down her spine. Her gasp was captured by Sylvanas’ lips and swallowed, their tongues meeting greedy.
Jaina pulled back, a guttural sound slipping free as Sylvanas moved to ravish her neck. ‘You waste no time,’ Jaina panted, lifting her hips up into the elf’s hand as it painfully teased her.
‘I’ve been denied this too long,’ Sylvanas grinned, her eyes meeting Jaina’s before sinking white teeth into the juncture of her neck. Jaina cried out, the sound bouncing around the room as her hands fisted into Sylvanas’ hair.
Sylvanas marked the skin of her shoulder, careful not to do so where someone might see, moving down Jaina’s chest to her breasts. Her nipples were a dusky pink, pert and straining for attention. Sylvanas lavished them, running the tip of her tongue over the buds before sucking them between her lips. Her hands held Jaina’s sides, rising to squeeze and massage her breasts, while keeping her pinned firmly to the bed.
‘I thought you would not be denied?’ Jaina huffed, jerking her hips up into Sylvanas when she hovered too long at her breasts.
‘Human impatience,’ the elf tutted, nipping the skin of her breast so that Jaina mewled, fingers tightening their hold in her hair.
‘Please, my love,’ Jaina whined, urging Sylvanas down.
She laughed a mischievous laugh that glinted in her glowing eyes, her long ears twitching. Jaina sighed a moan as Sylvanas slunk down her body further, her tongue marking the path against her soft skin.
‘Dripping,’ Sylvanas murmured, more to herself than Jaina, in a voice of hunger. Long fingers parted wet folds, exposing her straining clit to be brushed by the tip of her finger. Jaina jolted at the touch, desperate for the short burst of pleasure it teased.
Sylvanas rested her thumb against her clit, turning a slow, tight circle as she watched Jaina wreathe and moan. She fisted the sheets beneath her, her eyes screwed shut in pleasure and frustration at the elf’s slow ministrations.
Without warning Sylvanas sunk a finger inside, ripping a stuttered gasp from Jaina as she moved it in and out, curling against silky walls. Jaina went to cry out when Sylvanas’ thumb moved away from her clit but loudly screamed instead when it was replaced by her lips.
Sylvanas’ own moans of satisfaction at the display could not be heard over Jaina’s warbling, her back arched from the bed. Sylvanas added another finger, increasing the speed she pumped them within.
Jaina was lost to all other sensations as her body surrendered to pleasure. Around her the air crackled with arcane that formed incoherently with her frazzled thoughts. Her moans were a symphony of pleasure.
Sylvanas longed to kiss Jaina in her euphoria but dared not tear herself away as she watched the mage arch towards her peak, her chest heaving and moans panted. She felt Jaina’s walls begin to constrict, her orgasm growing nearer with every pass of the elf tongue and curl of her fingers.
With a cry akin to a banshee, Jaina came against Sylvanas’ lips, pleasure buzzing through her body to the tips of her toes. Her spine snapped taught, thighs clamping around Sylvanas’ head as she rode out her orgasm.
They stayed that way a moment, Sylvanas pulling back only a little to take in the splendour of a spent Jaina Proudmoore. The mage slumped against the bed, her limbs limp and tired, electric pleasure still pulsing at her core.
‘Jaina,’ Sylvanas summoned, a hint of amusement in her voice.
Jaina craned her neck to see the elf pointing upwards with a smirk. Above them nonsensical arcane runes still hung in the air. ‘Oh,’ Jaina blushed, waving them away. ‘I lost my mind there.’
‘Such is my talent,’ Sylvanas grinned cockily.
Jaina pushed Sylvanas away with her foot, letting out an exasperated sound. The elf laughed, quickly crawling back up her body so that she might kiss away her faux frown. ‘Your ego might fill this room if you’re not careful,’ Jaina warned, catching Sylvanas’ face between her fingers.
‘Let it,’ she replied, turning to catching one of Jaina’s fingers between her teeth.
‘Vain creature,’ Jaina muttered, letting go so that Sylvanas could lay down beside her, their bodies entwined.
They lay together, lips met lazily. The fever from before was gone, replaced by a need to simply be close. Jaina had craved this beyond anything else in her time away from the elf. Long had she thought of laying with Sylvanas again, nothing between them but flushed skin.
Jaina reached to trace the length of Sylvanas slender ear, feeling it quiver beneath her fingers as she enjoyed the low moan she drew out of the elf. Sylvanas sighed in content, threading her fingers into Jaina’s hair and tucking her head close. Jaina closed her eyes as she listened to the sound of Sylvanas’ rhythmic heat beat.
‘Will the ride be long tomorrow?’ she asked quietly.
‘Farstrider Retreat is a two-day ride, we’ll make camp along the way,
‘Make sure you pitch your tent close to mine,’ Jaina smiled.
Sylvanas’ brows bounced with her own smile, ‘perhaps I’ll share it, for protective purposes…’
Jaina leant back and reached to cup her cheek, leaning in to kiss her sweetly. ‘Just you and I together.’
‘As it is meant to be.’