"Who does that bitch think she is?!" His voice echoed throughout the audience chamber, causing the advisors to wince, the attendancts to stray out of sight, and Esere's stomach to lurch. The magic that permeated the room hummed in response to his flared anger, pulsing with the red hot hate that poured from the Sun King on his dias.

"She has no right to request that a member of Our Army be returned to duty in that damned City that exists only through Our benevolence!" He gripped the chair, knuckles whitening and spittle flecking his lips.

The girl at his side tried unobtrusively extending out the pitcher to fill his gilded cup. Before she made a step toward it, he grabbed it and threw it across the room. The girl screamed and fled into the waiting wings of the chamber, back amongst the other ladies that awaited Prince Kael'thas. Esere watched them speaking quietly amongst themselves until the moment that the Prince stood from his chair.

"We gave that City the naaru so that Our People may rise up and take back Our Lands from that filthy, human prince's withering touch." Each sentence produced a step forward down the aisle as his eyes bored into the messenger that stood beside Esere. Her own eyes widened, and she begged herself not to buckle under the weight of his presence.

"The crystals that sate Our People's hunger were procured through Our hard work. We were imprisoned. We escaped. We have taken the Tempest Keep and her sister ships. We have constructed the Mana Forges through out the Nether. We are perched, ready to return to power. AND SHE MAKES DEMANDS OF US?! That reformed Priestess?!"

Esere winced as he stood mere inches away from them both, the heat of his fury smothering the air around her. Just beyond her perceptions, the armed guard took a step forward.

The Lord of the Sindorei waited before them for one or both to break under duress. Esere's eyes had gone to the far wall of the room, and the messenger gingerly folded the papers, careful of the broken seal. In irritation the Sun King shoved the messenger aside and grabbed the Knight by the arm, growling in her face. "Is this your doing, Greyseer!?"

The blood drained from her face, and a stutter was threatening her words. Taking a quick breath helped keep them unbroken. "I would never dream of it, my Liege, my King. I belong in your service, in Azeroth and the Outlands."

There was no way to keep the panic from her eyes as he stared into them, reading her as if her soul was open to him. After a breathless moment, he released her, turning his back to her as he returned to his throne. Prince Kael'thas was utterly silent as he sat down, staring out at the assembly with unfeeling eyes. The attendants held their breaths as they crept out from their hidden corner and began their circuits around the room again.

"Instead," he finally said, calm returned to his voice even as the room still remained captivated by his temper.

"You shall return to Liadrin's service, but you will remain my soldier above all else. You will still serve me as you have, but in secret, Greyseer. Let her think that she has begged a favor from me. She will pay the price, even if she hasn't gotten all she asked." A thin smile spread across his face, beckoning the messenger forward.

"Pass the paperwork for Greyseer to return to duty in Silvermoon."

-- notes on this fic here