Disclaimer: The world of Azeroth belongs entirely to Blizzard Entertainment. I have merely created a few of the characters and places here, but the rest isn't mine!

The seasons were changing. Faith always wondered how the mages of Silvermoon altered the weather, but they did it beautifully. One day, the trees were green and in bloom, and the next, they had turned a vibrant array of golden yellow, striking orange and fiery red.

It was the first visible sign that August had turned into September and that summer was over. People would be celebrating harvest time and children would be less than excited to return to their lessons, which made Faith smile.

As she got dressed that morning, putting on long red and orange robes to go with the mood of the day, she hummed a small song, seeing the one she loved in her mind.

Sylvanas Windrunner, Ranger-General of Silvermoon. The most beautiful creature Faith had ever seen, with fluid blonde hair that glowed brighter than the sun, and blue eyes that held a hint of gray, she had perfect skin, a perfect face, perfect everything.

She ached for her. And she wondered, as she always did, whether Sylvanas loved her in return. Oh, she knew that the general liked her, of course. She came by Everstone Village as often as she could, being as her home wasn't that far away. Most of the time, she stayed over a night or two, which thrilled Faith to no end.

And sometimes, sometimes, Faith would be invited to Windrunner Spire, to spend a few days with the Windrunner family. She had even spent some nights in Sylvanas' bed.

Faith braided the top part of her hair, which was a couple of shades darker than Sylvanas', more honey-colored than fully blonde, and let the rest fall over her shoulder in a style she'd always liked. She used a little magic to weave red and orange ribbons in the braid, then went downstairs.

Her sister, Ravenna, was already up and dressed in a pretty orange dress with sky blue accents. In her black hair was a clip made of autumn leaves.

"Hey, little sister!" she cried, seeing Faith on the stairs. "Happy First of September!"

Faith smiled, walking to Ravenna and hugging her, "You too. You look great!" It had long been said that Ravenna was the beautiful one in the family, although Faith wasn't ugly by any stretch of the imagination. Still, she wished she could look like her sister, and be as graceful as she was. Faith supposed that being a high priestess of Silvermoon helped with her grace.

"There you both are!" cried their mother's voice. "Come on, your father's about to make his traditional First of September speech!"

Faith's father was mayor of Everstone Village, as had his mother before him, and his grandfather before that. Every first of September, he made a speech welcoming the ending of summer and the change of seasons. It was considered a holiday in the village.

She followed her mother and sister to the central square, where the whole village was gathered. Everyone wore autumn colors that day, and children wound their way around the adults, waving colorful leaves in the air. There were sounds of laughter and the soft music of a lute reached her ears. The air smelled crisp and fresh. It was a perfect day.

They stood on a raised platform behind her father, looking out at the crowd as they listened to his kind words, reminding them to thank Silvermoon for their fortunes and to remember to help those people who might not be as happy as others.

Faith's smile faltered a little as she saw a lone figure at the edge of the crowd. A figure who wore a blue hooded cloak over a blue and golden tunic and pants.

The figure saw her staring, and a smile spread over her face. As soon as the speech was over, she walked towards the platform, but Faith was too quick.

"Ranger-General Windrunner," she gasped, stopping less than a foot away from her. She'd been about to hug her but had stopped herself. Too many people were watching.

"You know better than to call me all of that," said Sylvanas with a smile. "How are you, Faith?"

She felt much better, now that Sylvanas was there. "Oh, I'm fine, and you?"

Sylvanas nodded, trying not to grin. She'd missed Faith dearly, although she would have never admitted such a thing to anybody. "I'm good, thanks."

They always went through a round of formal talking before they settled down together. Sylvanas wondered whether that was because they didn't want to show each other their true feelings towards each other, or whether it was because they never knew how to act when they were together.

"Sylvanas! You're here!" exclaimed Faith's mother. "Welcome back!" She hugged Sylvanas with in an impulsive gesture that Faith sorely envied.

"Thanks, Velariel," said Sylvanas, wishing Faith would hug her. But she wouldn't. The only time the two of them ever hugged was when she was about to leave. Maybe she would this time.

"How long are you staying for? Where are you staying? Are you on holiday?"

Sylvanas began to laugh, holding up a hand to stem the flow of questions, "I'm on holiday and just spent a week with my parents before deciding to come here to spend the First of September with you all. I hope that's okay."

"Oh, that's great!"

"So you're leaving tomorrow?" Faith hoped she didn't sound as crushed as she felt.

"No, actually, my parents are coming as well, but they're arriving tomorrow and will stay for the week. The Spire's getting some repairs done to it, so we all left to give the builders room to work."

"You're staying all week?"

Sylvanas smiled, "Yes, I am."

"You'll stay with us then. We can make up the rooms. Will your whole family be coming?"

"Just my parents and Lirath. Vereesa's at the Academy, and Alleria went on business to Dalaran with a few mages."

"That's perfect then! You'll be able to stay with Faith and we'll put your parents in Pellien's office. I hope Lirath won't mind sleeping downstairs."

"Oh, you really don't need to go through all that trouble."

But Faith's mother was absolutely adamant, and when her husband heard of Sylvanas' family coming over, he said the same thing.

"You know, it always happens this way," said Ravenna. "You might as well say yes right away when we invite you to stay at our house."

"It's more fun this way," said Sylvanas, winking at Faith. "Thank you for the offer. I would be happy to stay with you."

And so it was arranged. Sylvanas got her bags out of the inn she had checked into, and moved everything to Faith's room at Everstone House.

"You're okay with sleeping in my bed?" Faith asked her. Her hands were shaking.

"Of course I am," whispered Sylvanas. She suddenly turned to the younger elf and took off her cloak, letting her hair cascade down her back. Faith let out a small gasp that Sylvanas chose not to react to, and stared at her.

In her mind, Sylvanas saw Faith walking to her and kissing her. She knew she wanted to. It was obvious in the way she was watching her now, like a hunter watched its prey.

But it was exciting, them not doing anything. She felt on edge every time she was with Faith, always wanting, but not having. Oh, she'd had dreams about them together, dreams that had made her gasp in her sleep and wake up with her name on her lips.

She unpacked her things, placing them in Faith's closet and feeling Faith's eyes on her.

"Are you all right?" she asked her finally.

Faith started, "Me? Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You're very quiet." It wasn't completely unusual for Faith to be quiet around her. She got so shy sometimes, despite the fact that they knew each other very well, that she could barely speak in her presence.

Or maybe she didn't want to blurt out her feelings. Sylvanas could only guess.

"I'm just happy you're here, that's all."

Sylvanas came closer to her and hugged her impulsively, this time hearing Faith's gasp. "I'm happy to be here too." She felt Faith's arms encircling her and closed her eyes briefly. Oh, she wanted to say it. She should say it!

But in the end, she couldn't. She was still a coward in that respect, and from what she could see, so was Faith.

A fine pair we'd make, she said to herself. Barely able to look at each other because we feel so strongly.

That evening, after dinner, she slid between the sheets of Faith's bed. Faith lied down next to her, trembling minutely. Out of sight from everyone, including themselves, they allowed their hands to touch for the briefest moment.

But neither of them could sleep much.

Every time Faith moved, Sylvanas' senses sharpened, her blood running hot and seeming to settle in a secret place deep within her.

And whenever Sylvanas sighed, Faith was aware of her next to her. She wanted to touch her, to feel her against her body, wanted to kiss her and… yes, make love to her. The feeling was so strong that she could have cried from it.

"Faith."

It was perhaps two o'clock in the morning, and they'd gone to bed three hours previously.

"Yes, Sylvanas?"

Sylvanas touched her hand, and Faith let out a gasp. "Come here."

"What?"

She wrapped her fingers around her wrist and tugged gently until Faith rested against her. Faith shook, but didn't pull away. "Sleep now," whispered Sylvanas gently, putting an arm around her and resisting the urge to kiss her by sheer force of will.

Faith looked up at her, seeing her clearly in the moonlight that filtered through the window, "Good night, Sylvanas."

"Good night, Faith." She pulled her closer, and Faith curled her fingers around the material of the shirt she was wearing, closing her eyes and murmuring something that might have had to do with love.

Or maybe Sylvanas had imagined it.

The End