6Disclaimer: I own nothing, and suing me won't help. I'm sure Blizz makes way more off of these characters than I ever could.
Author's Notes: I'm not 100% on Warcraft Lore, so please don't shoot me. Also, I've never read Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, which explores this topic, so I have no idea what's in there and what isn't. I know I've already fudged some timelines to make certain lines I wanted to include fit. Please don't hate me, lore-fanatics.
Updated with new content on 10/14/09
Chapter 1:
The Apprentice Sorceress
By J. Green
She glanced up from her latest acquisition from the Dalaran library. The Schools of Arcane Magic collection was one of her favorites, and she kept coming back to them. One of these days, she was going to purchase her own copies, instead of having to constantly stop herself from dog-earing the library's copies. It took her a moment to focus on what had caused her to look up, her head still filled with the words of Archmage Ansirem Runeweaver.
"Good evening, Lady Proudmoore." The voice made her smile.
"Prince Sunstrider, good evening."
Kael'thas Sunstrider, Prince of Quel'Thalas and member of the Kirin Tor, hovered uneasily by the door. His awkwardness around her always made Jaina smile. The tall, blonde high elf was so self-assured in all his dealings around Dalaran, but rarely said more than five words to her whenever they happened to be in the same room. To save him from himself, she stood up from the couch she had been lounging on, stretching in the process. The bottom of her lily white apprentice robes fell to her feet as she reached back for her book, only to be surprised that it was already in the prince's hands.
He took a moment to thumb through it, pausing only at the chapter on Medivh. He placed his hand over the drawing there, as if trying to absorb Medivh's great power from a simple picture. Abruptly, he snapped the book closed and handed it back to Jaina.
"He was powerful, yet corrupted by evil. Sometimes I fear these things go hand-in-hand." Jaina was confused by the cryptic words spilling from the prince's mouth.
"He was indeed powerful and corrupt, but he was redeemed. The Light will always redeem those who are worthy." He seemed to really look at her then, as if sensing something more within her. Uncomfortable with the look in his eyes, she began to retreat to the arched doorway.
"Lady Proudmoore, you really should let the younger apprentices have access to the books sometimes. You can't need to reread them so many times for retention." There was no condemnation in his tone, only mild amusement.
Throwing a bright smile over her shoulder, she responded, "But how will I ever make it onto the council without knowledge as vast as yours, Prince Sunstrider?" With that, she slipped through the archway into the plaza before heading to her rooms. She took a moment to absorb the fresh air around her. Her neck was tense from pouring over her studies that day, but the bright purples and greens of Dalaran helped ease the pain. The night air was crisp and cool; the stroll to her rooms was pleasant and comforting.
Once there, she paused to look at herself in the gilded mirror. At nineteen, her face was as smooth as china, her hair a golden silk, and her eyes a lapis blue. The white apprentice robes gave her the look of the angels carved into the walls in Stormwind's cathedral. She neither liked nor disliked this fact, but rather just accepted it, and the responsibility of proving one's self when one is beautiful. Perhaps, she hoped, perhaps one day Kael'thas will see that I am more than just a pretty face.
A glint out of the corner of her eye made Jaina turn towards the bed. There lay a perfectly preserved golden rose. Her breath caught. She had seen roses such as these before. It had been years since she walked among the gardens of Lordaeron, but she remembered this particular variety of rose with perfect clarity. With reverence, she picked up the flower.
The rose cannot help but be jealous,
of one as beautiful as you.
"Arthas," she whispered, clutching the rose to her chest. Tonight, she knew, she would dream of happy memories spent playing amongst the corridors and gardens of Lordaeron.
Kael'thas watched the young woman as she walked through the plaza, completely at ease. The surroundings, as rich as they seemed here in this magically preserved place, were nothing compared to her. She was so young, and so...
"Beautiful," whispered the prince. He had never thought he'd meet someone he considered as beautiful as himself, but then she came to Dalaran, begging to be trained. And she was talented, perhaps the most talented mage the city had seen since Medivh. If she continued to study as hard as she did, it would take no time at all for her to master all of the elements, as a true archmage does.
When she disappeared into her rooms, he immediately felt guilty. He was more than ten times her senior, both in age and skill. He had no business chasing after a young human's skirts. He shook his head in disgust before turning from the window and heading towards his rooms for the evening. He would forget about this little bit of a girl if he had to give up his kingdom to do so.
"Jaina – no!"
She was running through dark corridor after dark corridor. Mindless zombies threatened from every side. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't get away. Where had Arthas gone? He had been right in front of her!
There was a cold touch on her arm. Looking down at the rotting flesh, she couldn't help but scream. She fell to the side, only thinking of getting away from the hand, from the coldness. Another hand reached towards her. She couldn't force herself back up, it was as if the ground had glued her in place. The area around her was rotting, and skeletal hands were reaching for her from beneath the surface.
"Arthas, help me!" she cried out.
"No, Jaina, come back to me! Jaina, don't!" Whose voice was that? She couldn't recognize it. Arthas? she thought. Could it be him? It seemed too bright, too full of panic. Arthas never panicked.
"Please! Help me!" She felt weak and cold. The world was slowly fading away. A malicious voice laughed in the distance, chilling her to her very core. A bright light suddenly broke through the darkness, reaching out to her. She lifted her hand...if she could just touch it, she knew she'd be safe. It was so close...so close. A hand clamped down on hers, pulling her up and filling her with warmth. The light wrapped around her.
"Thank you," she whispered over and over again.
"It's me, it's always been me..." the bright voice said. She looked up and into the eyes of...
Jaina sat up, startled, trying to shake off the last vestiges of her dream. She couldn't remember who – or what – had saved her, but it had been wholly unexpected. She reached over to her nightstand and touched the golden rose that rested there, feeling comforted by its presence.
It wasn't until the light from her window began to warm her face that she was shaken out of her reverie. Great, I'm going to be late. Antonidas would be very grumpy with her if she dawdled much longer. She quickly brushed out her hair and threw her slightly rumpled apprentice robes back on, dashing out to the plaza as soon as she was able. It was going to be a long day.