moonshadows: (Warcraft)
[personal profile] moonshadows

The little air elemental swirled protectively around the folded paper, tiny lightning bolts shooting out whenever Tessa reached for it. Bemused, Illidan extended one clawed hand and the elemental obediently dropped the heavy parchment into it before swirling away. Black eyebrows arched as covered eyes took in the large, but clear, lettering and the red wax sealed with nothing more formal than the imprint of a large thumb. The front of the letter read simply: ILLIDAN. He broke the wax with one black talon and unfolded the thick sheet. The same bold handwriting covered the page, easy enough to read with a bit of concentration, and his eyes dropped to the bottom where the letter was signed: THRALL.

“I suppose I should have expected this,” he said, and began reading.

 

THIS LETTER IS NOT ABOUT POLITICS; THAT WILL COME LATER. I WISH TO EXTEND MY HAND TO YOU IN FRIENDSHIP, ACROSS THE CHASMS OF AGE AND RACE, HISTORY AND FACTION, AS ONE MAN TO ANOTHER. ONLY WE TWO KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO HAVE AN EXTRORDINARY YOUNG WOMAN BOUND TO US, A PRICELESS COMPANION AND THE EXTENSION OF OUR WILL. AS THE ONE WHO HAS BEEN IN THIS SITUATION LONGER, I BEG YOU: DO NOT DENY WHAT YOU WANT. TO DO SO WILL ONLY MAKE BOTH OF YOU MISERABLE. TRUST AN EXPERIENCED WARCHIEF IN THIS. YOU CAN’T TAKE BY FORCE WHAT HAS BEEN FREELY GIVEN TO YOU.

THRALL

 

The memory of you need me to be patient, so I will be echoed in his mind, collided with her mother’s pain-laced assertion that Tessa would love him for the rest of her life, and became Tyrande telling him to court his young Champion. Guilt sank venomed fangs into him as it had not done since he’d returned to the world of his birth. Thrall, a man he has never met, was begging him to not deny that he wanted-

The thought was cut off reflexively, she’s just a child a hollow mantra against the memory of Tyrande refuting that argument. So. His unseemly desires were not so well hidden as he had hoped. Tyrande had seen right through him, but then again, she always could. Ryxl had to have known – her comment that he was in for an interesting time could have referred to nothing else, not when her Warchief went through the effort of sending a letter just to urge him to not deny what he wanted. What Tessa also wanted, if the letter was to be believed. But she was happy with things as they were – wasn’t she? Could he have been making her miserable by asking her to continue to be patient? Could giving in to his desire to possess her completely really be the right thing to do?

“Kal’shan?”

He glanced down and saw that he’d crushed the letter in his hands. She hadn’t seen what it said, and she was concerned by his reaction. Suddenly, the meaning of that title struck him and he realized that she’s been his for the taking since the day he’d nearly killed her.

“It’s nothing,” he said shortly. “Thrall has given me much to think about. Tessa…” He swallowed, tasting bitter pride. “Are you happy?”

“Yes,” she said simply, giving him that smile.

Gently, he brushed her cheek with his fingers and she leaned into his touch. “Will you continue to be patient with me?”

“For the rest of my life,” she breathed, devotion and adoration making the whisper a sacrifice on the altar of her very being.

Should he? The idea of not having to deny himself what he wanted was a frightening freedom, but…he’d done it before, and wasn’t he affirming that promise? Softly, his lips brushed hers and he felt her tremble ever so slightly. Yes, there could be no doubt that while she was happy, she could be much happier. And he would see to it that she was – oh yes, for the first time in more than ten thousand years, Illidan Stormrage was going to court a girl.

And this time, I will not be denied.

He smirked as she opened her eyes, knowing that he had neatly reduced her to joyful incoherence. Oh yes, he would not be denied. Finally, he would be able to embark on a course of action and know that for once, he could not possibly fail.

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June 2023

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