Sunset in Azeroth

by RIPoste

17. The Plot Thickens

Jaina hummed a tune as she exited the laboratory, it had been a good few months in Dalaran for her, especially since Arthas had arrived. It had been a surprise for her to find out that she had actually liked the prince as much as she did. Though unfortunately, after the first three weeks in Dalaran, Antonidas had deemed the prince familiar enough with the city and relieved both Sunset and her of their duty to guide him. On one hand, that meant more time for her to catch up on her studies, but on another, that would mean that she would not be able to see Arthas as much as she would have liked.

Still, she strongly suspected that the prince had memorized her schedule, seeing as how he was able to ‘coincidentally’ bump into her from time to time. Not that she was any better, considering how she often found excuses to head to the stables so as to steal a moment or two with the prince of Lordaeron.

Like she was about to do so now. Don’t get her wrong, she still enjoyed her studies in Dalaran, but after spending the entire morning mixing potions, Jaina could think of nothing else that could brighten her day.

“There you are, Jaina.”

Jaina stopped as she recognized that voice, a smile spreading across her face. There was someone else who could brighten her day.

“Sunset!” She exclaimed, turning to face the fiery-haired girl, who was carrying a tome in her arms. “It’s good to see you! Where have you been, I haven’t seen you since we were both excused from attending to the Arthas!”

“Sorry,” Sunset looked apologetic, “Master Kel’Thuzad had handed me a lot of assignments immediately after I was relieved. He also sent me to help some Alliance men to deal with an issue regarding some bandits last week. I just returned yesterday, actually.”

“What?” Jaina’s eyes widened and she took a moment to properly examine her companion. To her shock, Sunset actually looked, for lack of a better term, dead on her feet. While it was no secret that Kel’Thuzad was a slave-driver to his apprentice, Jaina did not expect Sunset to be pushed so hard.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were leaving for a mission?”

“I tried to find you on the day before I left.” Sunset replied, “Last Tuesday, I think? Wasn’t that your day off?”

“Oh.” Jaina felt a flash of guilt. She had spent the entirety of the previous Tuesday in the stables with Arthas, caring for the horses. “Sorry, I was… busy.”

“With the prince?”

“Yes..” Jaina’s eyes widened, for a completely different reason. “No! I- I mean…”

:”No need to hide it from me,” Sunset deadpanned, “I don’t know about the other magi, but it was pretty obvious.”

“Oh.” Jaina blushed.

“You know, this isn’t really going to work out.”

“What?” Jaina whipped her head up to look at Sunset incredulously. Did she just?

“Between you and Arthas, I mean.” Sunset clarified as she stifled a yawn. “Not now, anyways.”

It took Jaina all she had not to snap at the other girl. If she had not loved Sunset like a sister, who knows what she would have done? So instead, she settled for the second best course of action.

“Why?”

“You are still an apprentice.” Sunset reminded her, “and Prince Arthas just became a paladin. Both of you still have much to accomplish before you can actually settle down as a couple.” Sunset eyed her, “wouldn’t it be better for the both of you to actually finish your studies before you actually go serious?”

There was a modicum of truth in Sunset’s words. Still, what does she know? Had Sunset ever been in a relationship like this before? The more Jaina thought about it, the more indignant she felt.

“What’s going on here?” Another familiar voice interjected.

“Arthas!” Jaina smiled, before she walked over to the Prince.

“Hello Jaina,” the blonde man grinned, “fancy meeting you here.” He looked up at her companion. “And a good afternoon to you, Apprentice Sunset.”

Jaina watched as Sunset stiffened and for a moment she was worried. Sunset was known to have a temper, and she looked as if she would like nothing better than to chuck a fireball at Arthas’ smirking face.

“Good afternoon to you, your highness.”

Arthas nodded. “I hoped you have not been bothering Lady Jaina here. Though even then, I would like to have a word in private with her, so if you would be so kind as to leave us for the moment?”

“Of course.” Sunset nodded curtly, her features neutral as she turned down the corridor in a swirl of violet robes and left. Not even bothering to say goodbye.

Jaina felt a little sad at that.

“Arthas!” She admonished, “there’s no need for that!”

“What?” Arthas replied, his words coming out sharply, “I heard what she said, do you also think that she’s correct?”

“No,” Jaina sighed, “I don’t… but can you please don’t antagonize her like that? She’s… like a sister to me.”

“Very well,” Arthas relented. “Still, there was no need for her to come between us, was there?”

“No, there wasn’t,” Jaina reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she understands.”

As soon as she would be willing to talk to me. Jaina added silently.

---

Sunset brooded silently as she studied the unrolled scroll before her. Most of the writing in it were already deemed useless to her, but still, it felt good to actually have something to do to keep her mind occupied.

Well, half a mind at least, as try as she might, she couldn’t really keep the insufferable prince’s face out of her mind.

But I warned her already, didn’t that count for something? Sunset thought as she looked over a paragraph of hogwash detailing the relationship between the soul and the body. She shook her head, the act failing to clear her thoughts, and the nerve of Arthas! She gritted her teeth, who was he to barge between my conversation with Jaina?

A burning smell caught her attention, and Sunset hastily dismissed the mana that she had unwittingly collected within her hands in anger. It was not a good thing to set fire to a scroll, especially one that Kel’Thuzad had handed to her while she was in his very own office.

Why was she even acting so worked up like this? While it was true that she was close to Jaina and the Proudmoores in general, who Jaina marries should be of no concern of her so long as she maintains a close relationship to them.

There was no need for her to risk burning her bridges, was there?

Sunset pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes. It was probably because she had been overworking herself these past few weeks. Yes, that was probably it. That, and the fact that her studies into her masters self-professed field of expertise had not yielded any proper results. It was probably just her frustration and fatigue building up, Sunset decided.

“I should take a break…” She muttered as she rolled up the parchment and tossed it aside. Still, knowing her master, he probably would scoff and tell her that she needed more training. Not that she could blame him, as so far his methods at helping her improve had been yielding splendid results.

Still…

Sunset sighed, before gesturing, watching her master’s office fade away only to be replaced by the familiar looking marble walls of her room.

“An hour should suffice,” Sunset muttered as she retrieved a bell from underneath her pillow before whispering a single word carefully to it. The bell glowed and Sunset set it beside her bed. It will wake her, as it was intended. Nodding, she laid on her bed and closed her eyes.

And dreamed.

She dreamt of Equestria, Celestia and her palace in Canterlot, ever serene, ever beautiful as she resides regally upon her throne. She even dreamt of that Cadence, a pony the color of snow standing by her side as she stood over a city far more splendorous and beautiful than anything she had ever seen before. Sunset dreamt of Jaina, the older girl was now a woman standing on the deck of a ship, looking out into the horizon.

And she dreamt of Arthas.

But there was something weird with the prince, he was not clad in the silver armor that Paladins normally wore, instead, he was covered head to toe in metal the color of onyx. His face, the only part of his body that was exposed to the winds was so pale that she would have thought he was dead, even his luxurious golden hair had turned to a bone chilling white.

The prince of Lordaeron stood alone in a field of snow, the scene filling Sunset with a sense of cold she had never felt before. Still, the prince was unbothered by the temperature, and merely smiled as he looked up into the sky.

And looked at her.

“-et! Apprentice Sunset, wake up!”

“Huh?” Sunset Shimmer forced her eyes open, blinking away the blurriness that comes with sleep. And looked up into the green eyes of Kael’Thas.

“Your highness!” Sunset stood up quickly, her sleepiness gone. “My apologies! I wa-”

“It is unimportant,” Kael’Thas cut her off before she could continue, his elven features contorted in irritation and frustration, though Sunset could tell that it was not being directed at her. “I had merely heard that your presence was requested by Archmage Antonidas and decided to give you ample notice in advance.”

Archmage Antonidas wants to meet her? Sunset shook her head as she bowed, remembering her manners, “Thank you, your highness.”

“By the way, have you seen your senior apprentice, Jaina? I have some matters I would like to discuss with her about.”

Sunset winced, though she hid it well. It was a well-known gossip that the elven prince was interested in the young scion of the Proudmoore family. And it wasn’t really helping his case now that he had been recently contacting those who were directly involved in Jaina.

Still, those were the matters of Royalty, and Sunset was way out of her depth to be dabbling in the political world. At the current moment, of course.

But where would Jaina be, at this very moment? No doubt that the elven prince would want to find her to try to woo her, as Arthas was doing right now... Sunset sighed, She’s with him, isn’t she?

Seriously, so much potential wasted just to pursue a fling of some sort… Not to mention that something about the prince just seems to rub Sunset the wrong way. Her frustration was further compounded by the fact that she was able to do nothing else to deter Jaina from that current path.

Or not… Sunset eyed the elven prince before her. He was interested in Jaina, that was a well-known rumor running about. There was also the possibility that Prince Kael’Thas Sunstrider would very likely ensure that the whole of Dalaran knows of this business before the day was out. Not to mention that if he was aggravated, he very well might wipe the floor with that smug Lordaeron princeling. That was mostly wishful thinking on her part, though the chance does exist.

Making her choice, Sunset smiled and told the elven prince, “I saw her heading down by the research labs this morning, your highness, but I believe that she should be done with her work by now and would be relaxing along the corridors overlooking the main gardens.” With prince Arthas.

“I see.” Kael’Thas smiled, “Thank you for your help, Apprentice Sunset.” before he departed with a twirl of his cloak.

Sunset wasn’t exactly hopeful that things would turn out the way she would want to, but at least she tried to help Jaina, the girl that had been like a sister to her, and that was what mattered. Who would care if a couple of princes’ feelings were hurt in the process? Not her, that was for sure.

Now all she had to do was sit down and wait for the Leader of Dalaran’s summons.

It did not take long, as true to the elven prince’s words, a missive suddenly materialized upon her desk with a purple flash. Picking it up, Sunset Shimmer skimmed through it before sending it back to its sender in a flash of arcane magic, acknowledging that she had read it and was on her way.

Still, what would the Leader of Dalaran want with her, she wondered?

Author's Note:

A shorter chapter than usual, though in my defense, sorry about this, it was mostly because of finals, though it will be over soon, so I can get back to writing properly.

On another note, I am beginning to hit another milestone in the timeline soon! So hope you all will be looking forward to that!

Do leave a like if you enjoyed the chapter!

Regards,
Riposte

Comments

[Neece]

I love this story but damn I wish the updates were more frequent. Biweekly is not nearly enough for me to get my fix

Hmm I wonder why Sunset feels so towards Jaina and Arthas. Would it be budding romantic feelings for the Princess, protectiveness towards her "sister" or the hints of possible prophetic powers?

[MosAnted]

9975251
Why not all three?

[Blue Horizon]

Excellent chapter as always.

I didn't even realize that finals could be delaying several other stories I love, I always just assumed everything was delayed because of the holidays despite leaving to study for my finals the moment I post this comment. Really, an embarrassment on my part.

Eitherway, can't wait for the next chapter, and good luck on your finals!

[xbox432]

Oooh, who knew that Sunset would become a prophet? Certainly not something I was expecting. Also, yeah, it would seem that even before he became the Lich King Arthas was a bit of a prick. Hell, Sunset wasn't even saying that the two of them shouldn't be together, she just pointed out how little free time the two of them currently have and that maybe they should slow down... Then again, for Arthas and Jaina, hormones really don't care about logic, do they?

Also, it would seem that the ickiness of her recent studies haven't yet put Sunset off her path... I wonder if she'll keep sliding down that slippery slope or if she'll come to her senses once she sees the live human exerimentation?

[Fregith]

9975508

Well, that summons she just received is probably about how the Council know about Kel's studies and that they want Sunset to help them.

Hopefully she'll actually make the wise decision for once and stay with the magi.

[Booster Spice]

Sunset will find out whatArthur actually, is or whats happening to him?

[Midknight Defender]

9975508

9975752

Of course, casting her lot with Kael'thas Sunstrider isn't the best of ideas, either.

[Mirvra]

9975508
Can confirm, couples that are told to slow down for real logical reasons can react with incredible hostility :/

Had my best friend basically tell me our friendship was over just because I was asking them to not plan pets and houses and an entire life with a person they'd only known for a few months <.<

Worked out in the end though... Not to be rude to my friend but hormones make people do really dumb shite <.<

[Wanderer D]

I'm enjoying the story so far, just had a question: Is Sunset's hair all red now? Because that's how she's been described so far.