Chapter 9: Good Will

Addy was woken up early by the sound of a heavy plated hand knocking at the door to their room. She rolled over, looking beadily at Gryan. The Captain was dead to the world, a low snoring echoing around the room and a line of drool escaping his mouth. Addy rolled her eyes, groaning as she stepped out of bed, shivering as her feet hit the cold stone floor.

She tip toed over to the door and opened it to see a city guard standing outside their room, wearing the blue and gold tabard of Stormwind with a large horsehair plum that was so tall he barely fit into the hallway.

"Hello?" Addy frowned, almost entirely certain the man had the wrong room.

The guard held out a tightly wound scroll, "For Miss Adeile Fairchild."

Addy blinked. Who would be sending her mail? She nervously took the scroll from the guard who tilted his head respectfully and walked away down the hallway, his plate armour echoing loudly.

Addy retreated back into her room, opening the scroll uncertainly. She looked over the unfamiliar writing and the signature, which sat beside a fancy wax seal. It was very official looking.

She walked over to Gryan's bed and poked him lightly on his shoulder. He grunted awake, his eyes unfocused as he looked around, until his gaze landed on her.

"W'ya want?" He mumbled.

Addy landed him the scroll, "What is this?"

He groaned loudly, pulling himself to a seated position, rubbing his eyes as he blindly reached out for the paper, which he rolled open. His eyes scanning the letters easily. By the time he finished he looked marginally more awake and significantly more uncomfortable.

"Oh." He grumbled, "That's what he meant."

"What?" Addy frowned, looking at the scroll like it might magically make sense to her. "What who meant? What is it?"

Gryan looked at her sadly, "Addy...the crown has bought your land."

Addy stared at him blankly for a few moments. Bought her land? Her land wasn't for sale, "I don't understand..."

"Until such a time the attackers have been caught, the King has basically decided to declare Westfall a non-civilian zone. As such they've offered monetary compensation for people who owned land there."

Addy stayed silent, completely numb as she looked at the paper in front of her. Already she could feel a burning rage filling her but she pushed it down. "How much?"

Gryan shifted, "Er-"

Addy snatched the letter out of his hands, scanning the paper furiously. She might not know how to read, but she knew her numbers. She quickly found what she was looking for and bristled furiously.

"500 gold!" She all but shrieked, looking at Gryan furiously, "Did they find a bloody gold mine on my property?! This is ridiculous."

Gryan rolled his eyes, "Just take the money Addy, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. It's probably just compensation for the inconvenience of losing your home."

"Did everyone get 500 gold?"

Gryan suddenly got very uncomfortable and Addy narrowed her eyes at him, instantly suspicious.

"What is it?" Addy held the letter under his nose, "Does this say something else?"

"No." His voice went a few octaves higher.

"You're a terrible liar! What is it Gryan? I swear to the light I will find someone to read this to me and If I find something-"

"Alright! Alright." Gryan held out his hands, "Fine. But don't blow up over this alright?"

"I'm calm." Addy fumed.

Gryan took the letter and scanned it, looking very tired, "While the crown did buy land from people in Westfall...it appears that your land was bought by someone else."

Addy was jolted out of her anger, confused, "What? That doesn't make any sense, if someone other than the crown could buy my land, why couldn't I just keep it."

"Well..." Gryan trailed off, his face twisted in a grimace, "Your land was bought by the crown...just not the King."

Addy felt her stomach drop in horror.

Addy spent nearly six hours hacking at dummies to vent her rage. She destroyed a few of them, but felt slightly vindicated that the crown would have to pay to replace them. The others practicing that day gave her a wide berth and a few even looked a bit scared of her flashing weapon. She ended up slicing her hand more times than she could count with her sloppy swordsmanship, but once she was about to collapse from exhaustion she felt better.

She avoided Gryan like the plague. After he'd told her Prince Anduin had bought her farm she'd erupted, and once she calmed down she realized how childish she'd been. She felt her face warm up just at the memory.

She decided to head back to the Cathedral, which she hadn't visited since she'd perform last rites for Katie. It was a bit busier than she remembered, with the throngs of priests who'd travelled to Goldshire having returned. She spotted Father Thompson walking along the edge of the lake and he gave her a smile before continuing on his way.

But once the sun started its descent towards the horizon, and the chilly autumn air took on a painful bite, Addy decided it was time to head back to the inn.

She opened the door to her room slowly, peeking her head in and hoping that Gryan wasn't home yet. But unfortunately he was, reading several parchment letters in front of the roaring fireplace.

He looked up when he heard her enter, giving her a sad smile, "Hello."

Addy immediately knew something was wrong. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes and there was a note of sadness to his words that itched at her senses, "What's wrong?"

He rubbed his face, his hands gripping the letter in his hands, "New orders. I'm going to be taking a contingent back to Sentinel Hill. The King's going to start rebuilding and sending armed forces to secure the land."

Addy immediately forgot about her embarrassment and rage over her earlier outbreak. Instead her face breaking out into a wide smile as she beamed in excitement, "Finally! Do you think I can go back to my farm? I haven't accepted the money yet and I want to see how bad the damage is."

Gryan was silent as she scurried around the apartment, grabbing her backpack.

"When are we leaving?" Addy asked, picking up a few pieces of clothing with a frown, "I'll have to wash these before I return them to Betsey."

"Addy..."

"I'll need to buy a new dress before we leave, mine was ruined." Addy wrinkled her nose, "I'll pay you back when we get home."

"Addy."

Addy paused, looking back at Gryan curiously. He was still looking at the parchment, his lips pursed tightly together. Addy got a sense of foreboding. "What?"

Gryan paused for a moment, swallowing tightly, "Westfall is still off limits to civilians."

Addy felt her throat close up, but tried to act casually, "So?"

"Addy..." Gryan voice was exasperated, "I'm being sent back to Westfall...but you can't come with me."

Addy froze, her backpack still in her hand. The tension in the room was thick and Addy knew that Gryan was waiting for her to freak out. But instead she was silent, looking down at her bag and trying t ignore the growing pain in her chest.

She tossed the backpack roughly onto the bed, "Then I'll just have to join the army."

"Really?" Gryan scoffed.

"Yes." Addy stood up straight, crossing her arms as she dared him to argue with her. "I'll do it."

"No, you won't."

"Yes, I will!" She huffed.

"You're being a child."

Addy clenched her jaw, glaring at him, "I'm not a child!" She snapped.

Gryan stood up in his chair, marching over to her until he stood in front of her. He leaned down so they were face to face, "Alright, so you join the army. You'll spend the next six months in training, most likely out in the middle of nowhere. After that you'll be assigned a post. Maybe you'll be a city guard? Or maybe you'll be sent to Honor Hold or even to bloody Northrend! If you're really lucky you'll be sent to Stranglethorn to watch for poachers, or to the middle of Silithus to kill bugs. The point is that once you join the army, you don't get to decide where you go, and there's a thousand places on this world, and the next, that they could send you before you ever get to see Westfall again."

Addy didn't realize she was crying until her vision blurred and a torrent of tears fell down over her cheeks. She quickly looked down and used her scarf to wipe them away. Her lip quivered and she turned away, not wanting Gryan to see her cry. She was an ugly crier.

"I just want to go home." She sniffled.

She felt a large, rough hand land on her shoulder and she struggled to keep herself from loudly sobbing. She wanted to go home so badly. She hadn't known how homesick she was until she realized she might never be able to go home. She missed her small farm, walking through the rows of vines, watching the sun rise over the horizon as she picked the fruits. She missed her cellar where she and her grandfather used to stomp grapes, singing and making games of it. She missed the people, people she'd grown up alongside and who might not even still be alive. She hated the mountains and the trees and the busy cobblestone streets. All she wanted was her lumpy straw mattress and her threadbare blanket and for everything to be like it was when she woke up to a freezing cold morning.

"Addy." Gryan's voice was thick, "There's nothing left."

A sob escaped her at that. She covered her mouth quickly and tried to compose herself before turning back to face him, "It was my home. I don't have anywhere else...and now you're leaving. What am I supposed to do?"

Gryan gave her a sad smile, "I thought you liked living on your own."

Addy had liked living by herself. She liked not having to make small talk and deal with the drama and gossip that came with living with other people. But at some point, she wasn't sure when, she realized that she had also been incredibly, indescribably, lonely.

Addy swallowed the lump in her throat, "What am I supposed to do here?"

"The King has given everyone an allowance to stay where they are until things settle down." Gryan explained and Addy scoffed. She didn't want any more of the damned Crown's money. Gryan gave her a disapproving look and continued, "The allowance is enough to pay for the room here and for food, so if you want you can stay here."

"How long do you think I'll be stuck here." She wiped away her tears.

Gryan shrugged, "I'm not sure. Until the King's sure there won't be another attack I doubt he'll let anyone back into Westfall. So be prepared."

Addy huffed in annoyance, "So what? I'm supposed to just sit here and wait for something to happen? What if they never find the answer?! Do I just live here for the rest of my life?"

"Do you want my advice?"

She didn't. She'd rather just spend her time whining and lamenting over the unfairness of it all. She already knew what she had to do, she'd have to find a job, a place to live and possibly start a new life. Even if she ever went back to Westfall it would take years to fix her farm and rebuild her home. She didn't need someone to offer advice, she just needed someone to listen to her.

But Gryan continued anyways, "I want you to go to the keep and collect your money and start your training again."

"I can train myself." Addy snapped at him sharply. "I've been working every day."

He shook his head at her stubbornness. He started to move around the room, putting away the things she'd gathered when she'd believed she was going home. She wished she could hold onto that moment of happiness forever.

"Using a sword and healing the odd wound does not a paladin make, Adeile." He explained, "You need training, proper training, if you truly want to continue on this path. If you want to become a paladin, you're going to have to swallow your pride and accept some help."

Addy didn't respond. Instead she clenched her jaw angrily, and looked at the floor. She didn't want to have this argument right now. She didn't want to have any argument.

Gryan signed, looking down in defeat, "I just want you to be happy."

How could she be happy? She was stuck in a strange place away from the only home she could remember. Everyone she knew was either dead or leaving, and she didn't know if she'd ever be able to go home. Her daily mood usually teetered between numb boredom and thinly veiled rage. She didn't think she could ever be truly happy again.

She gave him what she hoped was a convincing look, "I'll think about it."

He smiled sadly, walking over to press a kiss to the crown of her head, whispering into her hair, "You shouldn't lie."

Addy pursed her lips together, looking down and absentmindedly whipping the remainder of her tears off her face.

Gryan wrapped an arm around her and gave her a quick, tight hug, "Don't go to bed mad."

Addy gave him a watery smile, "I never do."

He gave her a wide smile and gave her one more whiskery kiss to her temple before blowing out the candle and going to bed.

Only a few days later, Addy watched Gryan leave Stormwind with a large group of soldiers and militia members. It seemed like they were nearly emptying the city as they made out to secure the southwest borders of Stormwind and Westfall. Addy sat on the deck of a nearby cheese shop, her chin in her hands as she watched them pass.

She spotted Gryan near the rear of the group, one of the few atop a horse as they walked towards the gates. He spotted her and gave her a smile, waving goodbye. She waved back, trying not to look quite as miserable as she felt.

And then he was gone.

Addy expected everything to feel different - but it didn't. Somehow that made it worse. Everything should somehow be terrible, but it was the same. The same overcast grey skies, the same jumbled groups of people going about their daily lives. Addy supposed she was being selfish, but secretly she wanted everyone to feel as bad as she did.

She sat on the porch until the owners of the shop shoo'd her away with a broom. Addy debated walking back to the inn, but being all alone in her room would feel weird knowing Gryan wasn't coming back.

Instead she started to walk towards the keep. Addy had felt weird coming here without Gryan the first few times, but she usually came once a day to vent her frustrations on the dummies and a few of the guards even nodded at her as she passed.

She got to the courtyard, zipping between groups of wealthy merchants and noblewomen who had switched to warmer wool coats since the first time she had appeared. The wind was bitter cold but Addy knew that she'd be sweating soon enough either way. She wasn't sure what would happen once winter came. The courtyard was open to the sky and the arena where she practiced would no doubt be filled with ice and snow. She'd been excited by the prospect of seeing snow, but now she just felt melancholy, knowing Gryan wouldn't be there to enjoy it with her.

Addy grabbed the sword she usually practiced with and walked over to the dummies. She looked over to the others practicing, and watched their movements, studying how they twisted and shifted their feet. She did a few slow practice movements before she allowed herself to slip into a routine, a mixture of old moves and new ones. She attacked one target, then tried to shift her feet like she'd seen, moving to another target.

She gasped as her foot slipped under her and she struggled to regain her balance. Addy huffed to herself, moving back and preparing to try again. She attacked the first dummy, then twisted, throwing her arm out into a wide slashing motion to slice into the dummy behind her.

"Woah!" A figure behind her dropped suddenly as her sword swung over his head, nearly taking his head off.

Addy's eyes went wide, and she almost dropped her sword in shock as she realized who was standing there. Her face went deathly pale, and she panicked, "Your Highness!"

Anduin Wrynn stood up, dusting his tunic lightly, his face bright and all smiles, "Hello."

"Are you alright!?" Addy moved forwards and studied him, looking for any sight of injury. She looked around to see if anyone had seen her nearly kill the crowned prince, and flushed as she realized there were quite a few people watching. A small group of noblewomen seemed aghast, but the swordsmen and women fighting nearby just looked amused, and were laughing behind hands.

"I'm fine." The Prince chuckled.

Once Addy was certain he was fine, her concern was replaced with rage, "Hasn't anyone every told you not to sneak up on someone with a sword!" She snapped at him.

"More than you'd know." He quipped, "But I'm fine. No harm, no foul."

"Easy for you to say." She spat, "One scratch and your father would've had me drawn and quartered!"

Prince Anduin opened his mouth to argue, but then paused, wincing lightly, "I wouldn't let him do something like that."

Addy rolled her eyes, "That doesn't fill me with confidence."

He wrinkled his nose, but then he smiled at her again. Addy frowned in annoyance. Was he ever not smiling?

"I saw you practicing." The Prince explained, "From the library and I was wondering if you wanted a partner."

Addy narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "Excuse me?"

"You're practicing footwork, right?" He motioned to her feet, "It's usually much easier to do with a fighting partner."

Addy didn't saw a word, her eyes still narrowed. She watched him for a few moment, trying to see if he was making fun of her. But his eyes were aggravatingly sincere.

"You've been watching me?" She accused, her voice biting.

The Prince's eyes went wide, and his face flushed tomato red as he tried to stutter out an explanation, "N-No! Not like that, I..." He scratched the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at her, "I was studying in the library...and the courtyard's right here and...I promise it's not as creepy as it sounds."

Addy would have found his embarrassment endearing if she wasn't so incredibly angry at him. She watched his stumble through an explanation expressionless, her face in a semipermanent frown.

"Er..." Prince Anduin seemed to realize she didn't really care about his explanation and just cleared his throat, "So what do you say? Do you want to spar?"

Addy glared at him for a few more seconds, before shaking her head, "I don't think thats a good idea. I don't want to end up in The Stockade for injuring the Crowned Prince." She spoke his name mockingly, but he didn't notice.

Instead he gave her a lazy smile, "You're assuming you could get a hit on me."

Addy felt a rush of rage at this, her face flushing as her gaze darkened further. She felt her nostril flare as she gripped her sword a bit tighter, clenching her jaw as she watched him,

"Fine." She bit out through gritted teeth, "Let's fight."

The Prince beamed at her, obviously not picking up on her rage. He wandered over to the sword rack, holding a number of them before he decided on one, studying it. Everyone in the courtyard seemed to freeze as they watched him handling the sword, hushed whispers the only sound beyond the howling wind coming from the sea. But the Prince either didn't notice or didn't care as he walked over and took a stance opposite to her. Normally she would have been horrifying at so many people watching her, but right now she couldn't think about anything other than her own anger. Her home was gone, Gryan was gone, and the man in front of her seemed to think that some of his rich boy money would make it all better.

She moved into a familiar stance, holding her sword out in front of her as she prepared to spar with the prince.

He moved quickly, much quicker than she'd anticipated, lunching forward and twisting to deliver what would have been a debilitating blow to the back of her knees. Without thinking she jumped up so that his sword passed harmlessly under her feet and quickly tuned to face him again. Before she'd even stopped moving she swung her sword towards the left side of his undefended neck, preparing to stop the blow just before it made contact.

But instead of hitting skin, her sword slammed against the Prince's, who pushed his blade to the hilt of her sword, twisting with his whole body, causing her sword to go flying out of her hands. Before she could even turn to see where it landed she felt the tip of the Prince's sword resting under her chin.

Addy was breathing heavily, almost snarling in rage at how easily he'd bested her.

He lowered his sword, moving back to his position across from her, "My father always told me my greatest strength was that people underestimate me. That because I'm a priest I don't know how to use a sword." He held up his sword, "Again?"

Addy huffed, her face still red as she moved to stand in her starting position again. She had underestimated him - she wouldn't do it again.

This time he didn't hit as fast, knowing he had given away his advantage. They circled around each other cautiously. Addy quickly tried to look for any weaknesses. She knew he had been grievously injured many years ago, resulting in a weak leg. But she didn't know which leg it was.

Again, the Prince struck first. He moved forward to strike at her side and she quickly parried. He twisted around her and Addy struggled to keep up, trying not to trip as she moved with him, their blades locked together until he jumped backwards. Addy immediately brought her sword up, preparing.

He waited a few moments, watching her uncertainly before he lurched forward again, this time moving to her ankles. She stepped out of the way and gave a strike of her own, again towards his neck. He ducked and kicked out with his leg towards her knees and she yelped, falling face first into the sand.

She rolled, making sure she had her sword and climbed to her feet. She was momentarily disorientated as she tired to locate him. She spotted him and her threw her sword up just in time to parry his blow, which caused her feet to slide back a few inches.

Her eyes flickered down, looking at his legs, trying to determine which one he favoured. He had kicked her with his right, but to do that he would have needed to put all his weight onto his left...

She decided to take a chance and swung her sword in a wide arch to his head, which he parried. Once their swords connected she kicked out the back of his right knee.

He yelped in pain, and his leg immediately crumpled, causing him to collapse to one knee. Addy took advantage of it immediately and kicked his sword away, pressing her blade to his neck.

Prince Anduin rubbed his knee, wincing lightly but then held up his hand. Addy was confused for a moment but then she realized he was waving off his guards, who had been approaching them with their hands on their swords.

She paled as she realized what she'd done. She quickly rushed over and held her hand out, "Are you alright Your Highness?"

The Prince looked up at her, giving her a reassuring grin, "Oh I'm fine. Just have a bad knee. That's all."

Addy immediately felt guilty. He had assumed it had been an accident. She cleared her throat awkwardly, not quite willing to admit that she'd known about his knee and kicked him there anyways.

He climbed to his feet, stretched his leg out, "See, no harm."

Addy clenched her jaw, nodding sharply before moving to pick up her dropped sword and marching back to the weapons rack. She placed it back and dusted off her dress. "I'm done for today."

As soon as the words left her mouth it was like the world unfroze and the normal hustle and bustle of the courtyard resumed. The ladies resumed their gossiping, the family continue their playing and the soldiers went about their daily practice.

Anduin walked over and Addy glared at his limp like it had personally offended her, "Are you sure?" He asked, "It's not as bad as is looks, trust me."

"It's not that." She didn't make eye contact, "I'm just finished. It's been a long day and I wish to return back to the inn."

He studied her for a moment, and then it was like a light bulb went off in his head as a look of understanding came over him, "You're upset with me." He stated.

Addy repressed her inner rage, "No."

He sighed, looking down, "And you're afraid to say anything because of my position." Her silence must've been all the confirmation he needed. He gave her a light look, trying to look non-threatening, "It's alright. I promise not to imprison you." He joked.

She turned and glared darkly at his condescending joke, making him blink in surprise. But she took his words to heart and stormed over to him, ripping the parchment letter out of her belt and holding it up to his face.

"What is this?" She snapped at him, no longer trying to disguise her rage.

The Prince seemed taken aback, but didn't respond. Instead he took the letter from her and opened it, reading over it with furrowed brow. As he realized what it was his face seemed to simultaneously go pale and burn bright red.

"Oh." He squeaked, then coughed to clear his voice.

She folded her arms, "Explain."

Once again he was a bit of a stuttering mess, "Er, well it's...uh...well they weren't supposed to put my name in it." He grumbled to himself. "You were just supposed to think the crown bought it."

Addy wasn't impressed. "For five hundred gold!" She shrieked, "You could work that vinery for ten years and not make that much, and that was before it burned to the ground!"

"It was supposed to be to help." He urged, his eyes pleading with her silently.

"It's bloody charity, is what it is." She retorted, not thinking that she should watch her language around him. All sense of decorum had abandoned her as every ounce of stress and anger from the last few days erupted.

"It's for your training." The Prince continued, "Captain Stoutmantle mentioned that cost was a major hurdle for you."

Addy took a step back like she'd been struck, flushing as humiliation rushed through her, "He had no right to tell you that."

"Maybe not." Anduin nodded, "But I wanted to help."

Addy snatched the letter out of his hand, crumbling it as she balled her hand into a fist, "Then help somebody else!"

And without a second glance behind her she stormed out of the arena, trying to ignore the curious glances of the people in the court, and the large hurt eyes of Anduin Wrynn, who watched her leave.

A/N: This chapter actually took me forever to write, because I had no idea if I wanted it to be more than one chapter or not, but I eventually decided for it to be one. The stress of everything seems to be getting to Addy, and before anyone says anything about her being to whiney or annoying please keep in mind she'd a 19 year old girl and, well, is prone to acting like one sometimes.

I actually wrote the scene where she spars with Anduin a long time ago, way before 7.2 and the cinematic, and it worked out rather nicely with that, didn't it? I just couldn't imagine Anduin not knowing how to use a sword, knowing who his father is. But you can decide if Addy defeating him means that she's really good, or if he's just not very good.

Next chapter has another bonding moment between Anduin and Varian and Addy gets a job.

Feel free to drop a review with any comments, concerns or questions or come visit me on my WoW Exclusive tumblr medvh. You guys are awesome and make my day every day!

Until Next Time,

-Ash