Disclaimer: Again, I only own Warrose and the idea of Kayla. That is it.
Kayla had to run to keep up with the gnome as she led her to the A Hero's Welcome inn. She was led up the stairs and to a private room where a dwarf and his wolf companion sat at a table. The dwarf raised his tankard to Kayla as the gnome left the room.
"Ah, the prettier of the Nightsbane twins. How is that long legged sister of yours?" The dwarf asked. Kayla tried to hold her breath for fear of secondhand drunkenness. She sat downwind from the dwarf and petted his wolf on the head.
"Same as always, Brunesgoth. I see you are in your constant state of drunk." Kayla noted. Brunesgoth laughed heartily. He noticed her face and arm.
"Finally get a man into that bed of yours, Kayla? Looks like his wife tried to tan your hide." Brunesgoth commented. Kayla rolled her eyes and turned her attention else where.
"I merely got Breanni some new inventory this morning. And I scored a mount to go with it." Kayla said. Brunesgoth laughed again and took a swig of his drink.
"You're the one that managed to tackle a spectural tiger, tame her and give the babies to Breanni?" Brunes asked. Kayla shrugged.
"I happened upon the mother and her litter. I didn't want to kill the beast so I attempted to tame her and her kittens." Kayla said casually. Before Brunes could say anything else, Lord Tirion Fordring walked into the room. The man nodded to both of them before taking a seat across the room.
"Brunesgoth and which of the Nightsbane twins are you? The loose one or the one that gave Arthas that nice cut on his neck?" Tirion said bluntly. Kayla cringed at the mention of Rose's virtue. Brunes let out another hearty laugh.
"You tried to slit the Lich King's throat? And I thought Rose was the one with all the balls, figuratively and literally." Brunes said. Kayla rolled her eyes and turned to Tirion.
"I am Kayla, my lord. I was told you asked for me?" Kayla asked. Tirion nodded and stood up.
"Lords Bronzebeard and Wrynn have asked that you two report to them. They have a mission they need to brief you both on." Tirion explained. Kayla raised an eyebrow.
"So we're off to see the drunkard king? Fine with me." Kayla said as she started to get up.
"No, you have been requested to see King Wrynn before you are to go to Ironforge." Tirion snapped before she could continue.
"What the hell could Varian have to say that drunk dwarf can't?" Kayla asked. Tirion took a few step across the room to stand in front of Kayla. He had been told she would question the quest, but this was going too far.
"He is your king and he has requested your presence. You should be honored he wishes to speak with you before you do this quest for him." Tirion snapped. He hovered over Kayla, hoping she would cower before him. Brunes looked a bit nervous about the whole situation. Kayla may be the kinder of the two rogues, but that just meant that there was a hidden temper. Kayla looked into Tirion's eyes, and showed no fear of him.
"An honor my ass. Well, crap I guess if I want to get paid I've gotta see the bastard." Kayla turned to Brunes. "I'll see you in Ironforge in two days. That should be enough time for me to find some place to burn the ick off me."
"If Lord Tirion here doesn't kill you first. I'll see you in two days, girlie." Brunes said. His wolf, Petey looked up and wagged his tail. She probably still smelled like the spectural tiger.
"Well off to see the bastard then. Good day, my lord." Kayla said as she left the room. Almost two seconds later, Tirion came charging out and pinned Kayla against the wall.
"How dare you disrespect your king? Do you have any idea what he's done for you and his people?" Tirion snapped.
"Why don't you ask him how respectfully he was to me in Lordaeron. I have no respect for him, my lord. He lost that a long time ago and it'll take hell being released on Azeroth before I can being to trust him, let alone respect him. Now if you excuse me, my lord." Kayla snapped back. Tirion was taken back by her boldness and released her. She brushed herself off and made her way to the Silver Enclave to the mage portal to Stormwind.
"My lord, Kayla Nightsbane of Stormwind." The royal herold said as he announced Kayla's entrance into the throne room. Varian's face lit up at the sound of the woman's name. Kayla frowned as she stood a good ten feet away from the throne and the man that sat in it. Anduin looked up from his studies and ran over to Kayla and hugged her.
"Nice to see you too, my little prince." Kayla whispered affectionately to the boy. He smiled up at her.
"Please, would you all leave us, I wish to speak to Kayla alone. You too Anduin." Varian said. Anduin pouted and Kayla knelt down to look the young prince in the eye.
"I have something for you. I found it yesterday while hunting." Kayla said and she pulled out something shiny from her pack. Varian strained to see what it was but Anduin jumped forward to take it from Kayla.
"Really? For me?" Anduin asked. Kayla nodded
"I thought you would like it, but I guess it's up to your father whether you can keep it or not. A pet is a big responsibility." Kayla said. Anduin turned to his father with a spectural tiger cub in his arms.
"Please father, can I keep it?" Anduin asked, pleading with puppy dog eyes. Varian shook his head and sighed. How could he possibly say no to that?
"Of course, just give me and Kayla a moment please?" Varian asked. Anduin smiled happily and picked up the cub.
"But I don't know how long I will be away and would like very much to see the two of them play together. I brought him a somewhat tempermental cub." Kayla said quickly, trying to avoid being alone in the room with Varian. Varian nodded and Anduin took his cub over to his books to play.
"There have been rumors that a great artifact has been lost in Gnomeregan. I need you to retrieve it and bring it back so that Jaina can look it over. Bronzebeard has assured me that he is sending one of his best hunters with you." Varian said as he took a step closer to Kayla. Kayla let out a soft laugh.
"Well Brunes knows how to shot a gun when he's two sheet to the wind drunk. But then most dwarves have that innate ability to do so." Kayla said with a fake laugh as she took a few steps back. She soon found herself trapped against a wall. Varian moved quickly to close the gap between them.
"I really asked you to come here in hopes to regain your trust. I'm not sure what happened between us between the times we had in Lordaeron and when we returned back to rebuild. I want to go back to that." Varian whispered to her. Kayla tried to keep her head. This was the exactly situation she had been trying to avoid.
"Varian, we've both changed since then. We can never really go back to how it was." Kayla said as she tried desperately to gasp for air. Varian was dangerously close to her, she could feel his breath on his face. Varian lend in to capture her mouth when Anduin pulled on his father's pants causing the king to look down at his son.
"Look father, he's purring." Anduin said as he held the cub up to his father. In that split second of a distraction, Kayla managed to squeeze away from Varian and to the throne room door.
"Take good care of him, my little prince. I'll want to see him again when I come back." Kayla said softly to Anduin. The boy smiled and waved at Kayla just as she slipped quietly out of the throne room. Varian cursed silently to himself. Somehow he would make things right between the two of them.
The memories of the long, cold nights of Lordaeron still danced around in his memory. Since his wife's death, he longed to be with Kayla again. He had wished that she could have been his queen, but she refused him every time he had asked her. He merely assumed it was because of her adopted father, Ronyn. Varian didn't believe that Kayla was meant to be a rogue. She was meant to be so much more, for him and Stormwind. Yet it was those rogues, SI: 7, Ronyn and that 'twin' Warrose. They all seemed to keep Kayla from her full potential.
Kayla shivered uncontrollable as an odd chill travelled up her spine. A private audience with Varian always sent her off on the wrong foot. She was still a day ahead of schedule and Brunesgoth was most likely still unconscious. Perhaps she would find some kind of bath to cleanse her body of the ick that was Varian.
It wasn't like she completely hated the man. Well, maybe she did, but she had good reason. A reason that if told to Varian himself, he would probably deny it all. She too remembered those horrible days in Lordaeron. The only time she found happiness and peace was when Lord Uther Lightbringer had saved her from the stocks and put her into training as a paladin. It eventually lead to her meeting her adopted father Ronyn and her adopted sister, Warrose.
The friends she had made after Ronyn adopted her, she would not give them up for the world. If she hadn't met Warrose, she wouldn't know all the guildies that Warrose hung around with. She couldn't secretly live vicariously through the innocent love between Alyssia and Ultrablarg. Something that had been stolen from her, long before Varian thought he could lay claim to it.
Kayla sighed as the Deeptram stopped in front of her and she climbed aboard. She tried to clear her mind of everything but the quest that had been given to her. What would the troggs in Gnomeregan have that be of any interest to Jaina Proudmore? Kayla sighed and shook her head. What did it matter if it was worthless or a whim? As long as she was getting paid, she'd do the job. That's what she repeated to herself all the way to Ironforge.