Chapter Text

Every Color, Chapter 8: Liberation

The Violet Hold, Dalaran

Horrifying. That was what Lena kept repeating to herself with each memory Kara recounted, as the blonde slowly pulled Lena’s arms tighter around her. The capture, the torture, the forced magical transformation, the violations of her magic, her body… in a way, she could understand why Kalec had been so frightened of Kara. A lesser being might have been driven mad by so much, and the moment they remembered, might have lashed out. Kara certainly would have been entitled to do so, to hate a world that allowed such horrors to be perpetrated on her.

Lena wasn’t sure she would have survived any of it intact, much less retained her sanity. Perhaps that was why Kara seemed so friendly and affectionate towards her; perhaps her subconscious still remembered and sought out comfort wherever she could find it.

Kara had finished retelling her story and promptly lay down, tugging Lena to the cot with her. When Lena asked if Kara needed space, needed room, Kara had simply replied, “I feel safe with you,” and dozed off, Lena’s arms still wrapped around her. Her left arm, trapped under Kara’s body, had long since gone slightly numb but the smile on Kara’s face as she slept made it all worth it.

For her part, Lena wasn’t sure what she felt towards the woman, the dragon - that part still boggled her mind - in her arms. Just the very phrase “the dragon in my arms” was absurd to her. But she couldn’t deny the closeness made her feel happy, feel important and useful, feel needed. Something she’d been looking for ever since she lost her own family in the Third War. Someone to love and be loved? No, that was equally absurd. She wasn’t even sure dragons could love in the same way.

What woke them both hours later was a familiar friend. Kara’s stomach rumbled so loudly that it may as well have been an alarm clock. “Sorry." She looked at the empty tray where Lena had conjured food the previous day with a small frown. "Hey, I'm kind of hungry. Want to go get something to eat?"

Lena sat up, combing her fingers through her hair after wetting them on the small water elemental she had summoned the previous day. "Kara, in case you hadn't noticed, we are not only in a prison, we are in the world's most powerful magical prison, designed to keep the most dangerous creatures in all of Azeroth contained. I suppose I could shout for the warden and ask if we can get our meal sooner."

"Can we go back to Pandaren Express? Their potstickers were amazing. No disrespect to the traveling chef we met in Lakeshire, but... yeah," Kara said, licking her lips as she stretched.

"You're ignoring me completely, aren't you?" Lena laughed. "Yes, I suppose one day, we can go back to Pandaren Express. I'm sure Chef Ironpaw will be delighted to know she's had the world's only non-hostile chromatic dragon dining at her buffet."

"Oh no, I meant now. Do you think they're open?"

Lena stood up, suddenly wary. "Y-yes... they're open all hours of the day to accommodate us students. But... Kara, did you not hear about," she asked, gesturing broadly at their surroundings. "We are going to be staying here for... a little while."

Kara stood up and walked to the shimmering arcane barrier. As she stretched out a finger, Lena panicked. "Kara! Don't touch that - the warden said it will give you a shock!" Despite her warning, Kara touched the barrier anyway... and watched it swirl around her finger as though it were nothing more than a shallow pond.

"It kind of tickles, Lena!" she smiled, before placing her hand against it. The arcane magic swirled, then began to flicker; the energy almost seemed to flow towards Kara's hand like water circling lazily around a drain. In just a few moments, the barrier was gone entirely.

"How- Kara, what just happened? How did you- how is that even possible?"

Kara shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe they decided to let us out?" She skipped out of the cell and down the aged stone stairs to the giant metal doors that kept the inside of the prison secure as a last defense. "Hey, which one of these levers is the door?"

Lena looked at the runes engraved on the various controls nervously before indicating the lever for the door. As the massive gates swung open, she glanced around nervously. She had no sense of time in this place, but the other inmates were still, if not sleeping. Before she could overthink what they were doing, Kara grabbed her hand - goodness, it was warm - and simply walked them out the gates of the Violet Hold.

They'd lost their sense of time; outside the prison, it was the dead of night. The White Lady and the Blue Child, Azeroth's two moons, hung high in the night sky as the pale pink ribbon of the Twisting Nether faded in and out of view across the stars. A distant clock on one of the many towers showed it to be around 3 AM; Kara walked with Lena down the nearly-empty streets of Dalaran. A few stragglers made it out of Greyfang Enclave with pints of beer in their hands, Alliance warriors of some kind getting further into their cups.

After a brisk 15-minute walk to the Magus Commerce Exchange, the pair made it to Pandaren Express and Kara practically vibrated with excitement while Lena kept looking over her shoulder for the inevitable arrival of Dalaran's guards. Despite her unease, she partook of some of her favorite foods as well, though not nearly in as large a quantity as Kara did. "Well, this whole business," Lena said, waving a piece of black pepper ribs with her chopsticks, "definitely explains why you can eat so much more than it looks like you should be able to. How does that work, anyway?"

"I'm not really sure. Korialstrasz tried to explain at one point about pocket dimensions and illusions and all sorts of stuff, but the science of dragons was never really my strong point and my... uh, captors, obviously didn't explain anything either." Her smile dimmed momentarily until she dug into another potsticker from the giant pile she had in front of her. "All I know is, whatever I am, I'm hungry a lot. It's so hard being hungry all the time."

"I can imagine," Lena murmured, taking a final bite of her ribs. "I-" she started before looking towards the door, seeing Kalec and four Spellbreakers quietly talking to the hostess, who pointed towards their table. "Kara... we have company."

As Kalec walked towards the table, his hands in a defensive posture, Kara turned and smiled at him. "Oh hey! I remember you - you must be Archmage Kalec. Lena's said a lot about you. Want something to eat?" she offered, holding a bowl of Krasarang fritters up.

Kalec blinked as though broken for a moment, tongue-tied. "Ah... no thank you, Miss Kara. As you might have surmised, I am wondering how I find you here, enjoying the buffet instead of in your cell in the Violet Hold."

"You didn't let us out? The door just opened when I touched it. I figured that meant we were free to go. Oh, and the guards at the gates were asleep, so I assumed it was all good, right?"

Kalec looked as though he'd chewed on something especially sour, his lips puckered and brilliant blue eyes squinting. "The- well, I'll have a word with the guards separately. No, Miss Kara, we did not let you out. How did you manage to escape?"

"She speaks the truth, Archmage. I saw it for myself. The door just seemed to swirl away when she touched it," Lena interjected. "She did nothing wrong, Archmage."

Kalec's eyes swept over Kara as he tried to suppress his alarm, his features strained. "The doors in the Violet Hold are enchanted to only allow proper usage by someone with the key - Lieutenant Sinclari, for example - or that of the enchantment's creat- oh." Kalec appeared ready to vomit, his skin pale.

"Archmage?"

The blue dragon took hold of a small, empty soup bowl on the table and enchanted it, sparkling arcane magic dancing over it. "Apprentice, please humor me for a moment. Pick up the bowl."

Lena furrowed her brow. "But Archmage-" she started before seeing his expression, then shrugged as she put her fingers around the rim.

Nothing happened.

She couldn't budge it at all. Every effort she made moved the table the bowl was on as though it had been welded to the table itself. Kalec nodded. "And now you, please, Miss Kara. If you will indulge me."

Kara smiled, reached down, and picked the bowl up, handing it to Kalec. "Are you sure you don't want some of this instead?" she asked, holding a bowl of viseclaw soup. "It's REALLY delicious."

Kalec sighed. "I feared as much. You are, Miss Kara, a chromatic dragon. Among your many dangerous traits-" he held up his hand as Lena started to protest, "-is your latent ability to copy magic. When I examined you yesterday, you must have absorbed some of my magic, because the wards in the Violet Hold were enchanted by none other than me. There is simply no other way you could have dismissed them. Even Malygos himself could not break a ward tied to one's identity like that without ruinous side effects."

"Oh. Oops?" Kara grinned. "Does that mean I can stay here and finish eating breakfast? I'm still pretty hungry."

Lena watched the exchange with fascination and awe. Few could shock an Archmage as her friend had; she wondered just how much Kara even knew about her own abilities. She certainly seemed to be far more than met the eye.

"It would seem that, since I have personally seen to many of Dalaran's defenses, there is little we could do to stop you, Miss Kara. I will consult with the Council of Six again to decide what we should do about you, but for now you are free to go," he said, motioning for the Spellbreakers to depart. "Please try not to go too far. Apprentice, stay with her and report back everything you see and hear, please."

Kara made a joking salute before calling after them. “There’s a good chance if you’re looking for me that I’ll be right here!”

After the archmage and his retinue exited, Lena turned to her companion. "What was that all about? You can absorb someone else's magic?"

"I have no idea, Lena. I know as much as you do. Before... everything... I was a red dragon. I knew exactly what I could do, what powers I had. Now, after... after, I have no idea." Her brow wrinkled as painful memories swept over her, being restrained, having magical crystal after crystal thrust into her bloody flesh, the foreign magic settling into her bones. "I don't know what I am any more, Lena."

Lena reached across the table, almost knocking over a bowl of the 100-year old soy sauce. "You're Kara. You're my odd but fun companion. You're apparently a very special kind of dragon. What more do you need to be? Just... be yourself, Kara."

The blonde stared out the window, lost in thought for a few moments. "What if I don't know what my self is? Once I got my memories back... I've had two different lives, as Zorelstrasza the red dragon with my brood, and as Kara Danvers, someone who thought she was just a human with a few extra abilities. But now I remember both, and who am I? Am I both? Neither?" She stood up from the table, popping a final two potstickers in her mouth. "I- I need some air," she said abruptly.

"All right," Lena nodded. "Take your time, I'll be he-"

"Come with me?" she asked, holding out her hand.

Lena took the proffered hand, warm as ever, as Kara tugged her out of the restaurant and outside. A few blocks away was the memorial garden for Archmage Antonidas, the former leader of Dalaran when the Scourge had attacked and nearly destroyed the city. Kara pulled Lena to one of the benches. "It's been... thirteen years since I've done this. I don't even know how I've changed in that time, with all that magic chaining me up inside my own mind. But I think I remember how."

Kara closed her eyes, humming a soft tune to herself. Grey fog began to surround her, rising up from the ground and swirling like a cyclone around her body. Lena squinted as the fog got more dense, pouring over Kara like a waterfall, until a stiff wind seemed to blow it away.

Lena's jaw dropped. Before her stood Kara - no, Zorelstrasza. That was who this majestic creature truly was. Taller than the massive statue in the garden, Zorelstrasza's scales shimmered in the torchlights; Lena could understand why they were called chromatic dragons. Little rainbows seemed to dance over Zorelstrasza's scale, and each scale was mesmerizing to look at. She couldn't even really make out what color Zorelstrasza was - one moment, she looked blue, the next she looked red, all the colors of the rainbow shining brightly.

"Zorelstrasza, this is amazing. I've never been in the knowing presence of a dragon like you," Lena breathed, her heart racing, her pulse pounding in her throat.

"Lena, it's still me. I'm still just Kara, okay? You don't have to use my draconic name." Despite her gigantic size - her wingspan alone would probably cover the entire gardens, if not the city block - Zorelstrasza's voice somehow sounded just the same as it did a few minutes ago over Pandaren cuisine as she finished humming whatever tune she was remembering. "In fact, I kind of like the idea of merging the two. What do you think about... Kara Zorel?"

"I... I think that's a lovely name, Kara. It suits you, actually."

"Want to take a ride on me?" Kara laughed as she slowly started to unfurl her massive wings.

Lena blushed hard. A host of images popped into her mind, none of which were what Kara was intimating. What was wrong with her, thinking of this girl in such... primal ways? She looked up at the dragon only to be greeted by Kara's winning smile, only this time with... many more, much larger razor-sharp teeth. Lena nodded briefly, and Kara leaned down, extending out one wing. "Climb on," the dragon laughed.

As soon as Lena was firmly perched on her upper back, hugging Kara's neck, the dragon shot into the air with a mighty leap, and Dalaran fell away. Lena held on for dear life as Kara flapped her wings, picking up speed. "Kara! Where are we going?"

"I thought we'd fly around a little bit, see how things feel. My wings have gotten huge in my confinement! They're so much bigger and stronger than they used to be. Let's see how fast I can go," she cheered. At first, she just flew in great circles around the floating city, over Dragonblight and even as far east as Howling Fjord. But then, something made her change course. Instead of giant, lazy circles, Kara suddenly took off like a shot to the southeast.

Below them, the Great Sea sped past as Kara left the icy shores of Northrend, past the great Maelstrom in the center of the sea, and soon was flying near the shores of the Eastern Kingdoms.

"Kara! Where are we going now?" Lena shouted, barely able to hear herself over the rushing wind. As they flew further south, at least the air had warmed to tolerable levels, though Lena swore she wouldn't be able to feel her face for a week.

Before she got her answer from the dragon, she recognized the white marble and stone of Stormwind below her, followed by some very familiar mountains.

"We're going to Lakeshire, Lena," Kara growled, "I have some unfinished business there."

Author's Notes

Kara finally steps into her power, and demonstrates in an amusing way just how dangerous she actually could be.

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