The Mage Tower was bathed in the tranquil moonlight late at night, with only the study on the top floor still lit by the glow of the magic lamp.
In Aegwynn's private study, the silver-haired guardian slumped in an armchair, rubbing her temples and looking utterly dejected. The Magic Tome in front of her hadn't been turned for half an hour, and the quill she'd pressed so irritably it was about to break.
" Jaina, this is unbearable." She sighed, a small ball of Arcane Energy gathering at her fingertips, which she then crushed as easily as if squashing an annoying insect. "Except for Nefarian, who's still relatively well-behaved—after all, I hold the Soul Contract — Kalecgos and Antonidas are like two hounds in heat right now!"
Jaina sat on the carved wooden chair opposite, holding a cup of tea that had long since gone cold, her face equally troubled. This was the third time today she had acted as a mediator, and the hem of her robes was stained with some experimental reagents. "Teacher, this afternoon Kalecgos and Antonidas got into a fight again, all because of the lab. Who are you going to do your experiment with first? Oh, and whose experiment?" Kalecgos muttered to himself as he lay down on the lab table.
She gestured furiously through gritted teeth, " Kalecgos never learns from a beating! It's only been three days since he got a black eye and a swollen face from Nefarian!" She suddenly slammed her hand on the table, making the ink bottle on the desk jump. "My lab is still leaking! All because their fight went through three floors! Those two stupid dragons!"
Jaina noticed the new fine lines around her teacher's eyes and hesitated, fidgeting with her fingers. "How about... we ask Deren for help? He's got a lot of clever ideas."
Aegwynn's eyes lit up, then dimmed again. "Okay, I'll go right away."
"Now?" Jaina nearly dropped her teacup in surprise. She pointed to the moon high in the sky outside the window with a worried expression. "If I bother her at this hour, Onyxia will burn me to ashes."
"I can't wait any longer!" Aegwynn paced back and forth in the study like a caged beast, her silver-studded boots scorching the carpet. "It's not like we haven't tried to fight them. Last week I turned Antonidas into a sheep and made him graze in the garden for an hour. It's not like we haven't tried to insult them. I burned Kalecgos's love poem three times in front of the crowd! And Nefarian punished me with Soul Contract, turning me into a sheep too. But it doesn't seem to work."
She suddenly stopped in front of the mirror, pointing in horror to the corner of her eye, "Look! My wrinkles! I've just regained my youth!"
Jaina looked at her teacher's smooth, youthful face, hesitant to speak, but then, thinking of seeing two dragons and a Archmage tearing down the reception hall again tomorrow because of jealousy, she resignedly stood up. "Alright, alright! I'll go now!"
The hallway of the Deren family mansion was so quiet you could hear the moonlight streaming through it. Jaina furtively opened a small Portal outside Deren's bedroom door, carefully adjusting the angle to avoid being seen. She pressed her ear against the carved oak door and faintly heard the rustling of fabric and Onyxia's whispered, slurred Draconic: "Human fingers are indeed more nimble than dragon claws."
"... Do I really have to go now?" Jaina bit her lip, imagining the scene inside, her cheeks burning hotter than Fireball Spell. But thinking that tomorrow would be another two people, one jealous and the other battling it out in her own Mage Tower, she still gritted her teeth and knocked on the door.
Thump, thump, thump.
The noise inside the house stopped abruptly.
Jaina seemed to hear the sound of Black Dragon Scale rubbing together, followed by Deren's low, startled cry, "Wait, darling, don't turn back into dragon form! The bed's going to—" Why "again"?
"Boom!"
With the sound of the expensive four-poster bed collapsing, the door was suddenly pulled open. Onyxia stood in the doorway, wrapped in a silk nightgown, her long black hair disheveled, with a few strands still emitting suspicious wisps of smoke.
Her vertical pupils contracted to slits, and the Dragon Awe's might instantly extinguished the corridor lights. "Little mage," the Black Dragon Princess's voice was as sweet as honeyed poison, "You'd better have a good reason to explain why you're disturbing a Black Dragon's nightlife in the middle of the night." Shadowflame danced between her slender fingers.
Jaina dashed into the room, slamming the door shut as she casually cast three soundproofing spells. "This concerns the peace of Azeroth!" Indeed, the matter concerned the feelings of the former Guardian of Azeroth.
The bedroom was filled with the scent of ambergris and other unfamiliar, faint fishy smells. Deren was frantically fastening his belt, two buttons on his shirt were misbuttoned, and a suspicious red mark on his collarbone was particularly noticeable in the moonlight. Seeing Jaina burst in, he awkwardly cleared his throat. "Uh, good evening? Should I remind you, is it midnight?"
Onyxia stood to one side with her arms crossed, her tail slapping the carpet impatiently, each swing sending up a cloud of charred wood shavings—it seemed the priceless elven antique bed had met with misfortune. "Speak quickly, what brings you here so late, sneaking in like this? While I still have patience!" The Black Dragon Princess's voice sounded like it was being squeezed out between clenched teeth, as if she was desperately trying to suppress her anger.
Jaina explained the whole story at top speed, having to dodge sparks from Onyxia's tail three times in the process. When she got to the part about Nefarian fighting Kalecgos and smashing through three floors of the Mage Tower's laboratory, Deren suddenly covered his mouth and coughed violently—but his trembling shoulders betrayed him.
"I wasn't laughing," Deren wiped away the tears that had come out of his eyes, then suddenly became serious. "In short, do you and Teacher Aegwynn need someone who can both keep the Blue Dragon in check and make Antonidas behave himself?"
"Yes!" Jaina nodded vigorously, her robes cuffs wrinkled from her own efforts. "And it would be best if this could be resolved tonight! My teacher said she'd have to go back to Karazhan to hibernate if things continued like this! I know it's a bit difficult for you, but I really had no other choice, that's why I came to see you so late! I'm sorry to have interrupted your good time with Onyxia." Jaina's face was as red as an apple! After all, just imagining the scene from earlier was incredibly exciting.
"Is that all? Didn't we already turn them all into hamsters last time?" Black Dragon curled his lip.
"But it's no use. Even as hamsters, if they're locked up together, they're either fighting or fawning over Teacher Aegwynn. It's disgusting, no, it's so uncivilized," Jaina said painfully. "And then there are these two people, one Blue Dragon who controls the Netherweave, and the other the chief Archmage of Dalaran. The Polymorph effect wears off quickly. And then they're back to their noisy old ways."
First update. Three updates today, it's the weekend.