Chapter 20: Espionage

She wasn't sure what she expected when she returned to the city. Destruction. Fire. A full on demonic invasion? She sure hadn't expected it to look exactly the same. The same Trade District, the same mage tower, the same cathedral and the same towering Keep rising up over the city from it's position against the mountains.

It was somewhat disconcerting, coming from the devastation and destruction that riddled the Khaz Modan. The people who wandered through the streets seemed to be completely unaware of the danger they were in. She herself looked nervously upwards every now and then, her eyes scanning the horizon for any sings of swirling green clouds or demonic ships positioning itself above the city. But there was nothing.

Addy walked up the canals, making her way towards the keep. As she approached she saw perhaps the only change in the city - the increased guard presence at the Keep. She had been forced to surrender her weapon, a large axe tied to her back. The guards raised eyebrows at the sight of black, red and green blood covering it, but she didn't acknowledge it. She hadn't had time to clean it since the invasion - she'd been busy.

She searched the library first. She didn't know why. It was the usual place she'd spent time with him, and where he'd wait for her after her long training sessions with Father Samuel. But he didn't know she was back in the city, and he would hardly be wasting his time in the library when there were so many more important things he could be doing.

As she stared at the empty library she suddenly found herself a bit lost. She had no idea where he might be - and there were so many parts of the Keep that were off limits to her. She could go to a scribe and write a letter - but there was no saying how long it would take to set up a meeting, and she needed to speak with him immediately.

Addy wrung her hands nervously at the thought of the message in her mind, feeling it weight heavily on her soul. She huffed and walked back out into the courtyard - the snow was starting to melt and the paths were slowly appearing from beneath the melt. It was still empty, however, and Addy wandered through it, finding a bench that was mostly dry and sitting down, rubbing some warmth into her arms as she looked over the ocean.

Her heart was racing a mile a minute - it hadn't stopped since the battle honestly, but it was less from the rush of adrenaline now as it was nerves, She rubbed her hands, trying to keep them warm - her mind going over the information in her brain, the information that had to reach Anduin...

"Miss Fairchild."

Addy yelped loudly, jumping nearly a foot as she whipped around. Standing barley three feet away was Princess Tess Greymane, wearing a blue dress with a warm fur lined cloak. Addy tried to catch her breath and shook her heard - she hadn't even heard her approach.

"Your Highness." Addy grumbled, annoyed she'd been snuck up upon so easily - again.

The Princess didn't seem to mind the rudeness, "I'd heard you'd returned to the city - I suppose you're looking for Anduin?"

Addy wondered how she'd heard she was in the city - considering she'd only been back for two hours at nodded politely all the same.

The Princess smiled, but it was all teeth. She nodded back towards the entrance, "Well, come on then."

Addy hesitated, but the Princess had already turned away and was walking back inside. Addy leapt to her feet and hurried after her, her brows furrowed.

"You know where he is?" Addy asked.

Tess made a affirmative sound, but didn't slow in her movements. Addy made sure to keep behind her, curious where she was being lead.

They walked through the keep, through a hallway guarded by several men. They nodded at the princess, watching Addy warily as they walked. Addy wasn't sure where she was being lead, but she knew that she was only being given access because she was with the princess.

They walked up a staircase, nodding at the occasional guard who nodded back.

The halls became much fancier the further they went, with long silken rugs covering the floors and long warm tapestries on the walls. These didn't have scenes of war like the ones in the front, but instead scenes of home and warmth and family. Addy had the feeling that they'd entered a domestic portion of the keep.

With that thought she felt her throat seize up, "W-Wait, where are we going?" She asked in a panic. Surely she wasn't going towards...

"This way." Was all the brunette spoke, her tone mildly mocking and a bit melodic as she continued down the halls. They broke off down a side hallway which was much more elaborately decorated with gilded gold and silver leaf on the walls. The wood was more finely carved and everything just had a much richer feel to it. There were a number of doors down the hall, with two very large oak double doors at the end guarded by several men.

But the Princess didn't bring her to that door - instead she was taken to a small door to the left, there were two guards standing on either side and Princess Tess smiled at them, before knocking on the door.

"Wait!" Addy hissed at her, "What are you doing?"

Tess winked at her, "Good luck."

Addy looked at the door and back at the Princess, only to find that she had vanished. Addy blinked, looking around wildly for the woman before the door in front of her opened.

Addy blinked as Anduin poked his head out, staring at him with wide eyes. She wasn't prepared - nowhere near prepared. So instead of speaking she just stared at him blankly, gapping like an idiot. She heard a soft snort from one of the guards and she turned to glare at him.

"Addy!" Anduin cried happily. He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her in for a hug.

"Oh!" Addy exclaimed as she was enveloped in warm arms, hesitantly taking her arms and patting him gently on his back, unsure of what to do with them. "We're hugging now. This...this is a thing we're doing now."

She felt a burst of air on her neck that she identified as a chuckle and she blushed a bit as she realized she'd spoken out loud. The guard that had snorted was grinning and she sent him death eyes.

Anduin pulled away, keeping his hands on her shoulder as he beamed at her. A moment later he paused furrowing his brows as he studied her. Addy hadn't had a lot of time to clean up since Ironforge as she was still covered in demon blood and gut stains, as well as dirt and grime that came from not cleaning herself.

He looked down at his own clothing, which was now equally covered, which made Addy smirk a bit. He gave her a sheepish grin, shrugging a bit.

"Rough flight?" He joked.

Addy shook her head, "No, I took the Tram - faster."

"The tram?" Anduin paused, his face contorted in confusion. Then slowly it started to shift to horror as he scanned over her again, his hands getting a bit tighter on her shoulders, "You were in Ironforge!"

"Well yes." Addy nodded like it was obvious. He must've known about the Call to Arms, but apparently he hadn't realized that it would've involved her until now judging by the look on his face.

Anduin took a hand and rubbed it over his face. Then he reached down and grabbed her hand gently, "Come on in."

Again, Addy panicked, "Wait- What?"

She felt her face burst red as she was dragged into his chambers. There had to be some sort of rules about this, right? It was probably incredibly improper. It somehow felt much more intimate to be in his private space than for him to be in hers - he was the Prince after all. There was probably only a handful of people who had access to his bedroom - and apparently he felt comfortable enough with her to grant her access.

Addy stumbled awkwardly into the bedroom, pausing for a moment as she studied it. She felt a burst of relief as she realized that she wasn't in the bed chamber, but rather a sitting area with warm plush chairs in front of a large fire. More tapestries hung from the walls and one wall was covered completely by a large bookshelf covered in scrolls and parchments and books all looking well loved. There was a desk in the corner with papers scattered all over it as well as various maps and a large pile of books which threatened to fall over.

"Er-sorry." Anduin rushed over and started to move the papers into a neater pile, "Im not usually this messy."

"It's fine." Addy shifted, "I didn't exactly tell you I was coming. I didn't even know I was coming." She muttered the last bit under her breathe.

"Are you okay?" He asked finally, looking worried. His eyes scanned her quickly and she tried not to read too much into it.

"Fine." She mumbled, a bit uneasy with the concern. "I mean, I had some scraps and stuff but it's all healed now."

She was understating her injuries a bit. Her entire back and side had been shredded from when she'd slid under the beast. It had resulted in a few new scars on her side, but nothing as dramatic as the one on her neck.

"Are you sure?" He asked, walking back over to her, "I could heal you - if you want."

Addy flushed again, "No it's fine. Thank you."

Anduin nodded, then smiled, "Let me grab a cloak and we can go down to the courtyard, just like before, right?"

"No!" Addy said suddenly, her eyes wide.

Anduin startled, his eyes furrowed in concern once again. He took a step closer, "Addy? What's wrong?"

"I need to speak to you, in private." She whispered. She remembered what had happened just two days before and winced, turned and holding out her hand. She let out a near blinding burst of light over the room. She looked around, knowing that the power of the light would reveal any spies or rogues hidden within the room. Once she was certain that they were truly alone she tuned back to Anduin.

"Addy?" He looked but more serious than he had before, as he realized that this wasn't just a friendly visit, "What happened?"

Two Days Previous

The few days after the attack were spent on cleaning up and evacuating Dun Morogh. It was a bit tricky, because they couldn't send them to Stormwind due to the threat of attack, so the majority had been put onto ships and sent to Teldrassil. Others had wandered into other Dwarven lands, or moved into the City - which now looked more like a refugee camp than the great city it was.

Addy had been lucky enough to snag a room at an Inn, a toasty warm stone room with a bed that was short, but double wide. There was no fire pit, but the heat from the forge kept her warm during the night even when the cold winter winds echoed through the mountain.

She'd travelled out with Father Samuel to the more remote areas of the mountain to find people who might be trapped. They'd found a few families hiding away in underground bunkers, and others trapped in their collapsed homes. She'd seen more dead gnomes and dwarves than she'd ever wanted, and they'd buried them into mass graves outside the buildings and farms they were found outside. Father Samuel taught her how to perform last rites, which were spoken for every person they found, no matter how long it took.

They ended up at the Amberstill ranch on the third day with a small group, mostly paladins from the Argent Crusade who'd come to help heal any who'd been found. Quite a few of them had been apparently curious of the light scars on the Pit Lord and had seemed a bit put out when she couldn't answer their questions about them.

She'd asked Father Samuel about it.

He grunted, "I've seen it before, on demons and creations of the old gods - especially in Silithis. I've never seen them appear after a demon has reformed."

Addy wasn't sure what to think about that. She supposed it must've just been a fluke.

A lot of people had also been eager to meet her after she killed the Pit Lord. While being covered head to toe in guts hadn't made her feel very heroic, she had apparently looked much more impressive to everyone else. She was still finding intestines in unfortunate places days later.

"Alright." Father Samuel called out to them, having taken up a position of command as Tirion travelled back to Stormwind to debrief the king. "Let's make this quick. Grab any supplies that might be useful - look for survivors...but I doubt we'll find any. This place was hit hard."

And Addy could tell. The few buildings that had been here had been reduced to rubble, if there had been anyone in them they would be long dead. The ground was chard and the bones of the yaks and mountain sheep of the region were littering the ground, covered with a dusting of snow.

The groups walked off, immediately scouting the buildings. Addy wandered towards the burnt barn which housed the sheep. It smelt of burnt flesh even now and she quickly grabbed scrap metal that she knew would be melted into weapons. She snatched up anything that looked salvageable and then carried it back to the carts, loading it on.

A female Paladin came up, carrying some bags of grain into the cart. The woman raised her hand over her eyes and gazed out towards the mountains, "I think there's some caves over there."

Addy looked towards where she was pointing and nodded. There could be survivors hiding in them, "I'll go check it out."

Addy grabbed a climbing pick in case she had to hike through some steep slopes and wandered towards the mountain. About fifteen minutes later she was able to spot the caves, well hidden behind some trees. Nobody would have seen them if they hadn't been looking, and Addy figured they would have been good places to hide.

"Hello?" Addy called out, her voice echoing through the mountain behind her. A burst of wind made her shiver, and she pulled her cloak tighter around her make-shift armour. The wind blew through the cave making an eerie howl throughout the valley

But there was no response.

Addy huffed, walking closer to the caves, calling a few more times without response. Eventually she managed to make her way to the entrance.

Addy hooked her climbing axe to her belt, and rested her hand on an axe she'd found in the city. She knew there could be survivors in there - but there could be wild animals taking refuge, and the last thing she wanted was to come back to face with a terrified wolf.

"Hello?" She called into the cave, listening to her voice echo. She stayed silent, trying to listen for a response, whether it was the voice of a lost dwarf or the growl of a hungry animal.

But there was nothing. Addy relaxed a bit, but resigned herself to go through the cave and search for bodies. She really hoped there wasn't anybody in there.

She look a few steps into the cave, wincing at the bitter cold. She wished it was a crystal cave like the one in the cliffs at Stormwind, something that would warm her toes and give her a moments rest. But instead the frozen dirt floor seamed to seep through her thick leather boots making them even worse. Her breath came out in frozen bursts, and she pulled her cloak tighter around herself.

And felt an ice cold blade at her neck.

Addy froze, feeling the edge of the very sharp dagger sliding against the thin skin of her neck. She cursed under her breath, embarrassed that she'd been caught so unaware.

"Drop your weapons." The voice was muffled, and Addy wasn't sure if it was a man or woman, or which race spoke to her. It sure wasn't a Gnome or Dwarf as they could reach her neck, so she assumed it was a human.

Addy had had training with daggers however, and had spared with Vindi at Northshire hundreds of times. Fast as lightning she reached under the arm at the neck, pushing the blade away. As soon as it was gone she ducked and rolled, coming up to her feat and pulling out her axe as she stared at the person in front of her.

It was definitely a woman, wearing tight leather armour over thick heavy muscles with a hood and mask that covered her face. In her arms she held two deadly looking daggers with chains falling off the and of them and dripping with deadly green poison.

Addy didn't wait for her to make the first move. She stormed forward and swung with her axe, pushing the light into the blow. Obviously the woman had some experience with paladins because she didn't even try to block it, instead dodging the blow and letting the axe dig itself into the floor. Addy yanked it free and swung behind her. The woman ducked, twisted and swiped Addy's feet out from under her.

She landed hard on her back, knocking the wind out from her. She rolled quickly and got to her feet as fast as possible, a flurry of blades came at her and it took all her concentration to avoid getting sliced with them. She didn't know what kind of poison was on the weapons, but she had a feeling it wouldn't end well if she got cut.

Finally Addy managed to use her axe to slam into one of her hands, making her hiss and drop one of the blades. Addy wasted no time in kicking the weapon as far away as possible.

But this just served to piss the woman off. Finally she just reached forward and grabbed Addy's axe, yanking it down as she brought her knee up, snapping the handle in half. Addy tried to pull back, but the woman had an unnatural amount of strength.

The woman just grabbed her by the shoulder and yanked her forward, head-butting her hard. Addy felt her vision blur with pain and she collapsed to the ground, groaning. She could feel blood going over her eyes were the woman's forehead had actually cut her.

"What the...?" Addy mumbled, trying to push the blood out of her eyes.

The woman climbed on top of her, pushing her last remaining dagger against her neck to keep her pinned to the floor.

And then she removed her hood.

Present Day

"An orc?"

Addy shifted, her back starting to hurt from how straight she was standing. She swallowed, but her throat was deadly dry.

After Addy had finished her tale to Anduin, the prince had looked pale and slightly panicked. But beneath that Addy could see a small amount of excitement and anticipation. Immediately he had taken her from his room and dragged her to his Father.

She stood in front of the King in the war, telling the same story she had told Anduin. The Prince was buzzing with excitement but Addy felt like she was going to be sick.

"Yes, your Majesty." She replied politely.

The King was studying her, his eyes narrowed and head tilted. She got the feeling this was a lot more than a conversation, and she suddenly got the sense he was trying to see if she was worth his son's attention.

"Had you ever seen an rc before?" He asked.

He didn't sound accusatory, just curious. She nodded, "A few - mostly Blackrock Orcs that come south to raid camps. I've seen drawings as well."

"Was this a Blackrock Orc?"

"No, she was green."

The King nodded, his eyes going unfocused. He poked his tongue through his cheek, looking deep in thought before he asked, "And did this particular orc look...different?"

"Father?" Anduin asked, looking curious. The King raised a hand, staring at Addy as he waited for an answer.

Addy wasn't sure exactly what the king was looking for, but as she thought back to the encounter, she found herself nodding.

"Yeah...she did."

Two Days Previous

Addy felt her mouth drop open in shock as she stared at the orc woman pinning her down. She looked...strange, even for an orc. Her skin was bright green, her hair pulled back into two ponytails that dipped down her back, but her forehead was rigid, sharp and jagged with large spikes pointing up and backwards. Addy realized that that must've been what cut her forehead, making her bleed.

Addy dazedly reached for a small dagger her had in her boot, but the Orc slammed her boot onto her hand, pinning it in place.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She growled at her, her mouth full of pointed canines and large husks which were carved with runic designs.

Addy narrowed her eyes, "You're in Alliance territory, Orc."

"Really?" She snorted, rolling her eyes, "No shit."

It was weird to hear an orc swear in common. In fact it was weird to hear an orc speak common at all. Any she had seen before refused, instead choosing to spit in their harsh foreign language, unsavoury things that make Addy puff up in anger, despite not knowing their meaning.

"What do you want?" Addy spat, realizing she was trapped, but still alive. Obviously the orc wasn't planning on killing her.

"To talk."

Whatever Addy was expecting it wasn't that, "Er- What?"

The orc looking unimpressed, "Are all baby humans as dumb as you?"

"Baby- I'm not a child." Addy struggled, trying to get her hand free, but Father Samuel had been right, orc's were much stronger than humans. She thought about using the light, but determined she wasn't in any danger at the moment. She didn't want to tire out before she had to fight for her life.

"You look like one." The orc woman grunted, her boot easing up slightly on her hand, "Calm down Baby Human, I just need to talk to you."

"I'm not a baby-" Addy took a breath, trying to calm herself down. She spoke through gritted teeth, "What do you need to talk about?"

"The attacks." The woman grunted, "Horde wants to speak with Alliance leaders - I need you to get a message to your king."

Addy sputtered from her place on the ground, suddenly realizing this was a lot more serious then she'd thought it was, "I- What?! How...Why would you think I have the ability to talk to the High King?!"

The orc women smirked lightly, reaching into a pocket at her belt. She stood up, taking her boot off her hand entirely and tossing a small stack of flattened parchment rolls at her.

Addy frowned, "I can't read." She grumbled, not feelingly as annoyingly prideful as she usually did about the fact. But she picked up the stack anyways.

Once glance at the first letter told her all she needed to know.

Present Day

"Really?" The King looked at his son disapprovingly. Anduin flushed red.

"I was careful!" Anduin argued, "I didn't have my full name on any of them, and I gave it to Shaw to send! She must've been going through our mail for months to find all of them."

That made the king purse his lips, and Addy got the sense that he knew who this strange orc woman was.

"Please, continue." The King urged, "What exactly does the Horde wish to discuss?"

Two Days Previous

Addy blushed as she realized that the Orc woman had been privy to all her private conversations with Anduin.

"Fine." Addy relented, pulling herself into a seated position, rubbing her sore hand, "What is it?"

The woman squared her shoulders and started to deliver a speech that had obviously been prepared, "Your King is no doubt aware of the attacks on our northern gate that occurred concurrent with the attacks on Westfall."

"Concurrent?"

"It means at the name time."

"Right." Addy flushed, "I knew that."

The orc sighed wearily, "However, it appears that this attack on Ironforge was one of four simultaneous attacks."

"Four!" Addy gapped, "How- Why haven't we heard of them?"

"Two were in Kalimdor, and the third in Horde territory. Your King may have heard of the attack in Hillsbrad by now, but his messengers in Kalimdor may not have sent word yet."

"Hillsbrad?" Addy thought for a few moments, before coming to an obvious conclusion, "Undercity?"

"That is our guess." The orc nodded, "The other attacks occurred in the Barrens and Tanaris."

Addy was flummoxed. The Barrens made sense, it was close to both Orgrimmar and Thunder Bluff. But Tanaris?

"What in the world would they want with Tanaris?" She asked out loud.

The Orc woman raised her eyebrow, her lips twitching. "I'm sure your King will have an idea, as does our Warchief. But either way, all attacks were held off. It seems as though most of their forces were directed to Ironforge."

"It'll be the hardest city to capture." Addy said with a small smidgen of pride, "They'll want to try and destroy it as soon as possible so the people in Stormwind have nowhere to go if the city is attacked."

The orc woman looked surprised, "Indeed. Either way, this entire thing is getting out of hand. Our Warchief is officially extending an invitation of talks between leaders to negotiate an opening of borders in the effected areas. A...truce if you would, to help hold off the legion until Khadgar finishes his work."

Addy wasn't sure what Khadgar's work was, but she was hesitant about the plan. Neutral borders sounded like a good idea on paper, but thinking about some of the people she grew up with...neutral territory would mean nothing to them. If they saw an orc or a troll, or a Forsaken...they'd kill it, King be damned.

"I'm not so sure it's a good idea..." Addy chewed on her lip.

The orc scoffed, "Well it's not exactly up to you is it? I just need you to tell the king."

"Fine." Addy snapped, "Write it down, I'll give it to An- The prince."

"No." The orc glared at her like she was in idiot, "Papers can be lost." She held up her letters in example and Addy flushed in anger once again. "There are still people out there who yearn for open war, this needs to to happen fast - before the Legion decides to attack again."

Addy gritted her teeth, pulling herself to her feet "Alright, I get it. I get him the stupid message."

"Quickly?"

"Yes, quickly." Addy glared, reaching for her light to heal the injuries on her hand and forehead.

She wiped the remaining blood onto her arm, groaning at the sight of another stain on the leather. When she looked up to glare at the orc woman accusingly, she was gone

Addy shook her head, turning to the exit of the cave

"Fucking Rogues"

A/N: But of a shorter chapter. Originally the scene with the Orc was supposed to occur in the last chapter, but it didn't really fit and the chapter was a bit long, so I ended up giving it it's own chapter.

Also 99% of this chapter was written at work, but shh don't tell anybody.

Thank you to everyone who left reviews and comments! You have been so lovely and you make me blush. Reviewers keep me focused on this story and stop me from getting distracted by other projects. Also feel free to follow me on Tumblr at anduinnwrynn.

Next Chapter: Addy and Anduin get maybe a bit too close for comfort

Until Next Time,

-Ash