He was roused by his mother running her fingers through his raven hair. Emma smiled at him, continuing the soothing gesture. "How is my brave young man feeling?"
Returning the smile with his own sloppy grin, he replied, "Much better."
"I'm glad to hear it. Your father and sisters will be, as well, and Sir Arthur."
The name made his stomach twinge. "Is he mad at me?"
"Protocol states that you are in a whole heap of trouble, but no; not as mad as I could be, anyhow." That was the man himself, kneeling next to his cot with a small burlap bag, which he placed on the ground. "Here are some things I'm sure you're wanting for. The priests will be serving everyone breakfast soon."
"You are too kind," Emma said.
Horace wriggled upright to examine the bag's contents. There was the vocal augment, a a little crystal attached to a small chain. He immediately put that on with a hum and ah, yes, that was better. Much more like him. "Thank you, sir." The binder would wait until he knew if he would be in armor or not, since that did roughly the same job. He swallowed thickly, scratching the back of his head. "I'm… sorry. I shouldn't have ran off like that."
A chuckle came from his mentor; an unexpected reaction, to say the least. "You ended up saving two dozen civilians and gave them hope they did not have before. That is apology enough for me. Commander Shadowbreaker will undoubtedly feel different."
The moment was interrupted by a certain ginger rogue strolling up. "You have an admirer," Saskia announced. She handed him an envelope, a mischievous look on her face while she watched him open it. "Pretty great, huh? Just make sure you take a bath beforehand; you still smell like brimstone."
Luckily, he was able to head back to the paladin's barracks after breakfast. The place was virtually deserted, so he took his time scrubbing away the filth that had been crusting over all night. Saskia had gifted him with a bar of sandalwood soap because, according to her, plain soap smelled gross and he deserved better.
Just as the invitation requested, he showed up at the Stormwind Keep's gardens just before noon. He felt reborn with his clean clothes and skin. She'd been right about the soap smelling better; it even made him feel a little fancy. Waiting around frayed his nerves, especially since he did not know what to expect. He found himself fidgeting, glancing around every few seconds. The guards seemed to take no notice of his predicament. Even if they did, it wouldn't show through their helmets. Chances were, they would tell their friends and laugh about it at the tavern later on.
He finally appeared after what seemed to be an eternity. "My apologies. The meeting went longer than expected." Shaking Horace's hand, he added, "It is a pleasure to meet you officially, Sir Lin."
Horace could feel himself blushing. "T-the pleasure is all mine." Was that the right thing to say? He had no idea if he was being too informal.
"I must admit, seeing you take such action at the risk of your career and your life was… inspiring," Anduin told him, letting slip a lop-sided, sunny smile. "Please, join me."
The two went to what was apparently called "the drawing room." Already there were Saskia and Natalie, because of course they were there. He still had yet to come across a reason why Saskia, the weapon's smuggler, was even allowed near royalty, but he did appreciate both of them being there. It would keep things from getting awkward. On the other hand, he liked that brief moment where he had the full attention of a very attractive man. He was given a cup of what he thought at first was wine, but turned out to be moonberry juice. It was cold, lightly sweet, and, thankfully, non-alcoholic.
"Saskia filled me in on the events in Westfall," Anduin prompted. He had a bright, hopeful sort of look on his face. Or maybe Horace was just imagining it.
"Yeah, he was pretty badass," Saskia said around a mouthful of jam-covered bread. "When that infernal made him eat dirt he didn't even pass out or hurl."
Horace laughed at that, taking another sip of juice. "I just did what I was trained to do."
"But it was so cool!" Natalie leaned forward in the plush armchair she had been relaxing in. "For a moment there it looked like you sprouted wings. Gave me chills."
Though he was blushing again, he enjoyed the compliments and the enthusiasm. Natalie was recounting the event in the same way he described the skill of his superiors in letters home to his family. It had his chest swelling with pride, and for the rest of their time together he felt as if he was floating on a cloud.
His sisters wasted no time asking him how it went, what the King was like, how fancy the keep was. "Was he cute?" Izzy asked, causing Maggie to waggle her eyebrows suggestively.
He mussed her hair. "You'd like to know, wouldn't you?" At the entrance to the Cathedral, Sir Arthur appeared, summoning him with a wave of his hand. Horace stood up, throwing, "For the record, he was gorgeous," over his shoulder as he jogged over him.
After exchanging salutes, his mentor said, "We have been summoned to Light's Hope Chapel. Make preparations, we need to leave by week's end."
Horace's eyebrows shot up. "I-I thought that paladins were needed for Stormwind's defense."
"Yes, but we are not those paladins." The knight sighed. "I understand that leaving your family is difficult. Rest assured, they are safe here, and you will still be able to write them."
"Thank you sir. I'll inform them, by your leave."
"Very well. Dismissed."
His mother hugged him as tightly as she could, kissing his temples while his father and sisters embraced them both. "I'm glad we at least get some time with you," Emma rasped, tears slipping down her face. "It's still hard to hear that my baby's going into danger."
Horace put on his most reassuring face. "Don't worry about me. Squires aren't assigned to much. And I promise, I'll keep you updated on everything that's going on."
Emma ran her thumbs back and forth across his cheeks. "You grew up too fast." There was a bittersweet gleam in her eyes that lingered for a few more moments. Then she mussed his hair and declared, "Well, let's make this week a good one," and that usual smile was back, like it had never left.
