Monologue

Prince Kael'sala had gone inside to hand over his duties, leaving only Prince Kael'thas and me...

I went over to greet him, but sure enough, he still didn't see me. Instead, an old elf caught his attention.

Couldn't I even compare to an old man?

At the thought, I couldn't help crying.

It had always been like this, ever since I was little. No one ever looked at me...

My name was Lor'themar, though my nickname was Aqiang. I was almost 200 years old, a girl no one ever noticed...

I heard that when I was born, even the doctor delivering me hadn't noticed me, and I'd fallen straight onto the floor. Fortunately, the old sun had blessed me, and I hadn't been hurt...

I'd possessed an exceptional talent unlike anyone else's since I was little, so I'd never had any friends. They couldn't see me, so none of them played with me.

My mother took me to Silvermoon City and found an old, wise Arcane mage to ask about my condition. Looking back, that mage really had been a learned fellow. He'd actually explained what was strange about me.

Though he didn't know the exact cause, it seemed I was born with a weaker presence than other people. Only those stronger than me could notice me.

After learning the reason, my mother was both happy and worried. She told me that as long as I stayed away from magic, plenty of people would play with me in the future...

I obediently did as she said.

But when I was twelve, I saw a child my age being chased by a lynx in the forest. I couldn't help hitting it with a stick, making it stop...

After it stopped, it turned its head in confusion, but it didn't notice me. That made me very unhappy. I had to make it notice me!

I hit it again and again, but even after I beat the lynx to death, it still hadn't discovered who killed it.

That left me feeling terribly empty...

A passing High Elf lord saw the fight. He seemed to admire my talent greatly, so he took me to the battlefield.

I grew up on the battlefield. The enemy could never see me, so I completed many missions with ease and grew stronger, while fewer and fewer people could see me. Only those powerful commanders remembered everything I'd done.

Then, when I was in my twenties, I was appointed as an adjutant to assist the eldest prince. With that, I left the battlefield and went to Sunstrider Tower in Silvermoon City.

I stopped by home on the way. Apparently, I had a younger brother...

But unfortunately, even Mother couldn't see me anymore.

I didn't know what I was feeling when I arrived at Sunstrider Tower. It was my first time seeing this royal palace. Two neat rows of High Elf guards stood upright at the entrance, their eyes fixed straight ahead, but their auras were locked onto me.

What powerful guards...

I marveled at them, then met Prince Kael'sala.

He wasn't much older than me, only about ten years or so, but when we first met, he held out his hand in a friendly greeting. I knew he was stronger than me...

As expected of a prince of Quel'Thalas, he really was amazing! I knew perfectly well that my strength came from cheating with my talent on the battlefield, and that almost no one my age could surpass me, so I greatly admired Prince Kael'sala.

And so I settled down in Sunstrider Tower. I lived there for more than 170 years, until every brick and tile, every blade of grass and every tree had become familiar to me. It had become my true home!

I lived happily.

But I discovered that because Prince Kael'sala wasn't much stronger than me, he would occasionally forget me too, which was a small regret.

The royal family seemed to have many secrets, but they genuinely looked out for us, so I couldn't complain. I also learned that Prince Kael'sala was really a woman, apparently named something like Sylva. After the initial shock, I came to accept it.

Whatever the case, he had been a wise prince, and that was enough...

A little over ten years ago, Prince Kael'thas was born.

Just like his father, he was a prince who radiated the light of the sun. Kind, friendly, handsome, and more talented than anyone!

I often wondered how wonderful it would have been if Prince Kael'thas and I had been born at the same time. Then he would always have been able to see me and remember me!

But sadly, that was impossible.

In the end, Prince Kael'thas still couldn't see me. He needed time to grow stronger.

Prince Kael'sala and I raised Prince Kael'thas together. He really was an incredible child! For certain reasons, he didn't receive the fatherly or motherly love he should have had, and he had no children his age to play with. His life was even sadder than mine had been as a child. But somehow, His Highness could still keep an optimistic smile on his face.

He was so strong!

Just as Prince Kael'sala cherished him, I cherished him too.

Though perhaps the way we cherished him was a little different...

I always felt Prince Kael'sala cherished him a little too much...

The three of us went fishing together for several years. Those were happy days when we didn't have to think about anything.

Prince Kael'sala occasionally had work to do, leaving the two of us by the sea. Only at times like that would Prince Kael'thas show a trace of loneliness.

When he was alone at dusk, he liked to gaze out at the endless sea and shed tears, his eyes too deep for a child's...

No one knew except me.

But I wouldn't tell anyone, not even Prince Kael'sala!

Because Prince Kael'thas was different. Like me in the past, he had no friends his age, and he was also my playmate. Staying with him was like returning to my childhood. This time, someone was finally willing to stay by my side and play...

I looked forward to it. Many years later, when Prince Kael'thas had grown stronger than me and recalled his childhood, he would suddenly discover that a big sister had been with him all along. Would he be as happy as I was then?

Still, he mustn't be fond of crying like me...

No one saw me, so I could cry as freely as I wanted, because that was the only way I had to vent.

But Prince Kael'thas was always surrounded by everyone's attention. He was the future Sun King, and he had to show the strength our people needed. He couldn't cry!

Cry and you'll get a streaky face...

At that thought, I found myself vaguely looking forward to it instead. I wiped away my tears and saw that the old man had left at some point. Kael'thas was holding a sword that glowed red.

A rune sword?

Was His Highness going to start learning close combat? Surely not so soon...

I was a little surprised. Then I saw Prince Kael'sala return.

He was holding one large blue bead and several smaller ones, which he handed to Prince Kael'thas. I didn't know what he was saying to him.

"Your Highness?"

I walked over and asked in puzzlement.

"Ah, Aqiang... Give this sword to the guards for safekeeping. We'll go explore that tomb first!"

Prince Kael'sala turned to me as he spoke and handed me the sword. I took a look. It was an ordinary low-level sword, so I passed it to a nearby guard to put away.

Unfortunately, even with such an obvious movement...

Sure enough, little Prince Kael'thas still didn't see me...

When would he finally be able to see me?