Chapter 21: Instincts

There was a long silence after Addy had left. Anduin wanted her to stay, he hadn't seen her in months, but he could tell how uncomfortable she was around his father, and he knew that his father rarely kept a cool head when discussing the horde. He'd tried to tell her with his eyes that he'd see her later, but in her rush to leave, he wasn't sure if she understood.

"Well?" Anduin asked, leaning forward on the war table. Covering it were several maps of various island chains east of Pandaria. These were all possible locations of the Legion portal, all in a location in the Great Sea that Khadgar had narrowed down as the greatest source of Fel magic in Azeroth.

His father gave him an incredulous glance, "What do I think? Well, let's see...," his tone was sarcastic and Anduin sighed, dropping his head and preparing for the worst, "My first instinct, as always, is to send a team to kill her, but no doubt she's long gone by now. My second instinct is that this is a trap."

"Don't be ridiculous." Anduin scoffed, raising his head to give his father a dubious stare, "The Horde aren't morons. They know they can't fight two battles at once. So, if they're contacting us, that means they're desperate."

Varian winced, "I was afraid of that."

"They're getting hit the same as us." Anduin pointed out, "First Close to Orgrimmar, then cutting off routes to Thunder Bluff and Undercity. If they control Undercity, it's only a matter of time before Silvermoon falls. Teldrassil and the Exodar are easy targets once we fall back on them..." His father knew all this already, but Anduin repeated it anyways, to drive his point, "We know what their plan is and we have no way to stop them. We need to work with the Horde on this."

His father groaned, rubbing his forehead, "Fine, alright. We'll meet in neutral territory then. The Celestial Court?

Anduin was surprised by his fathers suggestion, but quite pleased by the thought of returning to Pandaria, "Yes, that's probably best. Pandaria is still considered pretty sacred by everyone, and starting another conflict there would reflect badly on anyone."

His father nodded slowly, "We'll bring Asha and Jai to help keep the peace."

"Perhaps we limit how many people we invite." Anduin pointed out, "Try to keep some of the more...volatile parties apart. No good can come from having Genn and Windrunner in the same room."

Anduin wrinkled his nose inwardly at the thought of the Banshee queen. While he didn't harbour any personal hatred for her the way Genn did, he still felt a bit...uneasy, about the leader of the undead. He could admit that she would always try do what was best for her people, but sometimes Anduin wasn't sure if she realized that what she wanted, might not be what her people did.

His father grunted in agreement, "Fine, we'll tell them no Windrunner. I'll bring Genn and Tyrande."

Anduin winced, feeling like he was about to stumble into an argument, "I think Windrunner will be there either way - it's her land that's under attack after all."

"Some could argue that it's our land." Varian grumbled.

Anduin grimaced. He knew there were still thousands of people living in Stormwind who'd been forced south by the scourge, who still considered the northern lands home. However this wasn't the time to restart that debate, "As of right now she controls the land, so for the sake of this meetings it's hers." Anduin argued, "But to avoid another war breaking out Genn should stay here."

His father sighed, and Anduin thought he would argue, but instead he just nodded, "Fine. Moira then."

Anduin was surprised. His father had been on shaky ground with Moira ever since he'd, well...tried to kill her. But she'd been working hard to regain her footing and prestige in the Alliances eyes and he was glad his father saw that.

"Good idea," Anduin smiled, "You could represent Westfall, Moira Ironforge and Tyrande should come as well. She may hate the Horde as much as you, but she can keep a level head about it."

His father snorted, "What're you saying about me, then?"

"Er-" Anduin flushed, "Just...try not to antagonize them too much."

His father chuckled, reaching over to ruffle Anduin's hair which made him grumble in annoyance, "Well then, mighty diplomat. Besides Windrunner, who else will they bring?"

Anduin beamed at the praise, he'd spent countless nights imagining a peacefully meeting between the Horde and the Alliance and what it might entail, "Baine, if they were smart. He's been known to work with the Alliance easily enough, and his people long for peace. Gallywix is out, Lor'themar doesn't care much for politics that don't directly involve his people, so as long as Silvermoon is left alone we won't be seeing him. Thrall isn't involved in politics at all anymore as far as I know - it seems that Saurfang has been taking over for orc leadership, but he's still dealing with the backlash of Hellscream, so light knows he's busy."

His father sat silently as he spoke, studying him. "When did you find the time to learn all this?"

Anduin flushed again, but then straightened, "It's much easier to learn about how people think when you're not trying to stick a sword in them."

Varian chuckled, "But not nearly as much fun. But I digress."

Anduin winced, but didn't say anything in response. He didn't really think there was anything 'fun' about killing and battle, but his father had always had something of the wolf in him, and was nearly as bloodthirsty as an Orc in battle - not that he'd admit it.

Varian stared at the maps before him, before tilting his head, "We should bring representatives of the lands under attack. The people who live there should have a say in whether or not we let Horde into their lands and vice versa."

Anduin hadn't thought about that - but his father was right. He knew that the bad blood ran deeper than the leadership. "Alright. What about neutral areas like the Barrens or Tanaris?"

"The Steamweddle Cartel operates in both." Varian pointed out, "Giving them a say could strengthen our ties with them, there's always the worry they might join with their brethren in the Horde."

Anduin grabbed a piece of parchment, "How about two from each area affected? That's two from Westfall, maybe a Dwarf and Gnome for Ironforge. Then two from Azshara and Hillsbrad, and then two from each of the neutral zones."

"I'll send a missive to Moira and Tyrande." His father straightened, "I'll chat with the other leaders as well. I assume most will be in agreement with our plans."

Anduin shifted, and swallowed, before asking the question he was dreading. "What about Jaina?"

His father cringed, gritting his teeth lightly, "She won't like this...I hate to argue with her, but this is bigger than Alliance and Horde." He looked up and pierced his son with a fond look, "Too many times have I overlooked the bigger picture because of my hatred of the Horde. Not this time, not when there's so much at stake..."

Anduin dropped his head. He tried not to think about Jaina too much - how happy and full of life she used to be. She had been his idol, always willing to see the best in everyone. Her friendship with the Horde's former Warchief had been something of legend on both sides, whether people liked it or not. But after Theramore...she had changed. Afterwards she had been manic, her eyes wild and dead at the same time and a permanent snarl and look of hatred had taken place upon her face. Anduin wouldn't admit it, but he had been legitimately scared of her in that moment.

She had calmed down since then, but her hatred never left. Anduin couldn't talk to her the same way he could as a child. He didn't even refer to her as Aunt anymore...as if his Aunt had perished and now a stranger stood in front of him.

"I'll send a missive to your...friend." Varian motioned towards the door and Anduin startled as he realized he meant Addy. "Inviting her along."

"I...what?" Anduin was surprised by that. Sure he liked Addy, and liked to think that they were friends (even if it was hard to tell with her very closed personality), but he wasn't sure why she would be invited to something like this.

Varian shrugged, "She can be a representative of Westfall - bring Marshal Stowell as the second if he agrees. She already knows about the summit and the less people that know the better." The king's face darkened, "The last thing we need is sabotage, by the legion, or other parties."

It took three days for Father Samuel's response to return to her. During that time Addy was mostly holed up in her room, relishing the break in her training for the first time in nearly six months. She helped out Mr. Tim when she could, but from what she could tell the bar had ceased to be a bar, and was now little more than a front for whatever he and his friends got up to in the basement. He spent so much time down there that she barely saw him the entire time she was back.

When she got the letter, she brought it to a scribe, listening patiently as he read her the letter out loud.

"Stay in Stormwind for the time being." Samuel had written, "We need to wait until the 'meeting' before we make our next move."

Addy had been glad Samuel had been discreet in his message - the scribe looked deadly curious, but Addy ignored him as she contemplated the message.

"Oh," The scribe continued, "And good work."

Addy frowned, "What?"

"At the bottom." The scribe motioned to the parchment, "It says good work."

Addy snatched the letter out of his hands and looked at it. At the bottom of the page, written in dark red ink rather than the normal black Father Samuel had written in, where two works in thick harsh letters. Definitely not the same writing as Father Samuel who had a very neat flowing script of someone taught cursive at a young age.

Addy crumpled up the page in annoyance and shove it into her belt.

She got a knock on her door a few days later.

Addy's head shot up, a frown on her face as she looked at the door to her small bedroom. She remembered the last time someone had knocked and her face burned. Last time she had dropped out of bed, rushing to find a dress to throw on, while the man, who's name she's long forgotten, chuckled, reaching for his own tunic that had been discarded on her window sill.

This time, however, she just tossed down the borrowed gauntlets she'd been trying to mend and stood up, walking over to the door and opening it.

It was Mr. Tim. His lips were pursed over his yellow teeth and his dark hair was pushed back from his face.

"Am I late?" Addy asked. Usually she used the sundial she could see from her window to check the time, and had thought she had a few hours until she had to watch the bar while Mr. Time disappeared into the basement.

Mr. Tim shook his head, "You have a visitor."

Anduin? Addy thought immediately. She couldn't think of anyone else who knew where she lived. Father Samuel was still in ironforge after all.

She hadn't been avoiding Anduin, really. She just thought that he was probably very busy. She'd seen several Night Elves in town and there were rumours that a delegation from Ironforge was here as well. She could imagine in in dozens of very boring meetings, planning out what would most likely be a very difficult summit.

Had he come looking for her? To see if she was still in town?

Addy walked out from the back hall and into the main pub, scanning it until she found the person Mr. Tim was referring too.

Addy gapped, her mouth opening and closing as she stared at the figure sitting on the dirty wooden benches very comfortably, leaning against the table with her arms crossed as she waited.

"Y-Your Highness?" Addy asked, a bit confused.

Tess Greymane turned her head, smirking at her and standing up, "Ah, yes. Miss Fairchild Perfect. I was hoping to find you here."

"Er- You did?" Addy was confused. She hadn't spoken to the princess much, and the few conversations they'd had hadn't been very cordial.

"Yes." The Princess stood and for the first time Addy noticed that she wasn't wearing her usual Gilnean style dresses and fur cloaks. Instead she wore laced up leggings and a tight leather top, covered with a deep blue cloak with a large hood that covered her face. "I was hoping you would have tea with me."

Addy looked away from her strange outfit and looked back at her face, confused. "You did?" She repeated.

The Princess giggled and it sounded like bells. Addy wondered if she was being laughed at. "Yes. I've heard you were in the city and hoped we could get together and...chat."

Addy had a feeling this wasn't as much of a suggestion as it seemed and reluctantly nodded, "Um...Sure, I suppose."

"Perfect." Tess beamed at her, then turned to leave the pub before turning to stare at her, "Are you coming?"

Addy blinked but then gathered up her skirt and started to run after the Princess, pausing only when Mr. Tim called her name.

She turned to stare at him. He looked nervous.

"I'm closing early tonight." He told her, "Don't worry about coming back on time. And...try not to bring anymore royals back with you."

Addy wondered what illegal activities Mr. Tim was getting up to tonight that he was so worried about Royal presence. But she nodded anyways, before turning and walking outside to join the princess, who for some reason wanted to have tea with her.

Tess waked with her back to the keep, which Addy thought was strange. The woman didn't seem bothered by the walk, which Addy would have suspected with a noblewoman. The day was one of the first warm days of spring and Addy found the back of her neck getting warm from the scarf she used to hide her scars and the sun beating down on them.

But the walk along the canals was nice. Fishermen were navigating their boats along them to bring their catches into the market. Barrels of salted fish and spices were being loaded on the docks and open fermenting buckets of garum made Addy wrinkle her nose as they passed by.

They walked into the keep without incident - not a single person had recognized Tess, which Addy found astonishing. It surprised her that all you had to do was wear some trousers and toss on a cloak to become invisible in a crowd.

"Come along," Tess beamed at her, "I have a private tea room."

That didn't surprise Addy.

Tess brought along the same path that she had last time and Addy wondered if she was about to be tricked into going back to Anduin's room to speak with him. She watched the Princess with narrowed eyes, but the woman didn't seem to mind, and walked along the silk covered walls until they ended up a small unguarded door that Tess walked into.

Addy walked into it and paused, surprised at what she saw.

The room was rather warm, the walls hanging long tapestries carrying the Gilnean sigil. One wall was all windows letting the warmth of the sun brighten the room, which didn't seem to have any lit candles. There was a soft rug on the floor and a wooden table with a gilded silver tea set on it, with several chairs surrounding it.

Tess pull off her cloak, "Why don't you sit down?"

Addy felt like she should wait for the Princess to sit first, but slowly lowered herself, wringing her hands on her lap as she looked at the tea set. She frowned at the small jars of leaves and biscuits. It looked much fancier than the usual Silverleaf and Peacebloom teas that the common folk drank. Some of the jars had familiar herbs such as Goldthorn - a fairly expensive herb, and Fadeleaf. But the rest was a mystery.

"Purple Lotus." Tess explained as Addy examined a jaw of purple team "And Arthas' Tears. It was very popular back home." She pointed to a jar of blood red tea, "Talandra's Rose." And then to two more, "These were imported from Pandaria, Twilight Jasmine and Green Tea."

Addy had no idea what any of these tasted like so she took the jaw of Twilight Jasmine and started to prepare her tea in what she thought might be a silk sleeve.

Tess watched her, making a Mix of Arthas' Tears and Purple Lotus. "Im sure you're curious about why I'm asking you to have tea."

Addy wanted to burst out and demand answers but knew that it would be rude. So instead she dipped the silk sleeve of tea leaves into the warm water and gave a nervous smile, "Yes I was."

Tess gave her a wry grin and Addy got the feeling the princess could see right through her, "I'm sure. Honestly I'm sure we could have had this conversation at your place, but I had the feeling I wasn't welcome there."

"Probably not." Addy said without thinking, then quickly doubled back, "I mean...Mr. Tim is just a private person."

"So I've heard." Tess winked and Addy felt like she was missing a joke. "I wished to speak with you about your meeting with the Orc woman in Dun Morogh actually."

Addy blew on her tea, "Oh?"

"Yes." Tess lowered her tea, "I was curious...this woman, did she look..different from a regular orc?"

Addy shifted, wringing her hands, "The King asked me the same question..."

"I'd be surprised if he didn't." Tess was smiling again, taking a sip of her now deep purple tea.

Addy took a sip of her own, trying not to appear rude. Se was pleasantly surprised at the taste - much better than what she drank in Westfall, and very sweet, despite having added no sugar of any kind. "She had forehead ridges, large ones. Like a Draenei."

Tess hummed in acknowledgement, before grabbing a scroll that Addy had only just noticed and handing it towards her, "Did she look like this?"

Addy took the scroll and unrolled it, her heart jumping out of her chest at the picture. It looked like some sort of wanted poster, not that she could read, but the sketched drawing in the middle was very familiar.

"Yes." Addy closed the scroll, handing it back, "Yes, that's her. Why? Is she dangerous."

Tess nodded, a small frown on her face. "Extremely, but she's not our enemy. Technically she was lead intelligence for the Horde for a period, I am unsure if she still is. However she is much more well known as 'The Kingslayer'."

Addy blinked, trying to think about what little history she knew. Most of it came from her grandfather's drunken rambles of the three great wars and his bitter hatred of Varian Wyrnn. But the term came to mind almost immediately.

"Garona Halforcen?" Addy gasped, shocked that she had been face to face with such an inauspicious figure. She suddenly felt a bit better about being defeated do easily by the orc.

The Princess dipped a biscuit into her tea and nibbled it lightly, "Yes. Most people assume she's half human, but that's hardly true, how could she be? She's half Draenei, hence the forehead ridges."

Addy shook her head, "But isn't this bad?! The King would never agree to anything she proposed. Would he?"

Tess gave her another wry look, stared at her from under her eyelashes as she took sips from her drink. "Oh no, the summit will take place. Varian Wrynn can be level headed when he wants to be."

Addy had finished her drink, stopping herself from licking out the cup. She turned to look at the Princess, who was watching her in such a intense way that she felt herself fidgeting, "It sounds like you knew all this already...why am I here?"

Tess was silent for a few moments, her visage losing a bit of the fake friendliness she had been showing since she had first shown up at her home and a strange eagerness took it's place, "Yes...I wanted to ask you a question, regarding Garona."

"What did I think of her?" Addy repeated the question, feeling a bit unsure of herself. Just what was Tess Greymane getting at here?

"Yes." The princes nodded, "Was she hostile, friendly, chatty, rude...?"

"Oh." Addy tilted her head, still a bit confused, "Well, she was hostile I suppose, but that might have been because I threatened her...but she wasn't trying to kill me so I'm not certain."

"Did you find her trustworthy?"

Addy suddenly got a sinking feeling in her gut, "I...I don't know. Do you think it's a trap?" She felt sick to her stomach. Had she unwittingly lead the leaders of the Alliance into a trap a the hands of the Horde? She didn't have any negative feelings towards the Horde one way or the other, but her grandfather had always gone on about how untrustworthy they were. What if he was right?

"Doubtful." Tess spoke flippantly, not really making Addy feel any better, "But what do your instincts tell you?'

"My instincts?" Addy scoffed, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just..." Tess closed her eyes, looking a bit annoyed for the first time since they'd started speaking, "Humour me."

Addy huffed in annoyance. She shifted her shoulders, trying to think back to the incident and think about what she'd been thinking.

The orc woman, Garona, had been fairly relaxed the entire time, obviously not thinking of her as a threat...or maybe even as an enemy. But it did strike Addy that she hadn't even considered that it might be a trap until right this moment. Garona Halforcen had seemed sincere in her request.

"Yeah..." Addy nodded, a bit surprised at herself, "I think...I trust her. I don't think she see's us as the enemy." Addy paused for a moment, fixing a bewildered look on the princess, "Why do you want to know all this?"

The princess hesitated, and for a moment Addy thought she might actually tell her the truth, but then she plastered her fake smile on again and took another sip of her tea.

"Security reasons." Tess beamed, lying through her teeth, "We're confident it's not a trap, but it never hurts to double check."

"Right..." Addy sounded unconvinced, and looked down at the soaked silk bag in her cup.

Tess suddenly stood up and walked over to the large window, looking down at what Addy realize was a small sundial. "Perfect, it's nearly noon, which means-"

There was a knock at the door and Addy jumped, almost dropping the porcelain cup onto the floor. She scrambled to save it as Tess called out a bright "Come in!"

"Tess?" A familiar voice called, "You wanted to see me?"

Addy felt like she'd swallowed a lemon when Anduin walked in, his clothing perfectly pressed and not a hair out of place. She hadn't really had the chance to study him last time, her brain had been a scattered mess and she'd been so nervous she thought she might vomit. But now that she got the chance to look at him she could see that he'd grown over the last six months, surprisingly. His hair was longer, and he looked like he may have grown a bit...wider, in his shoulders. She wondered what exactly he'd been up to in her absence.

Anduin spotted her there in her wrinkled blue dress, nervously holding an empty cup of tea and she flushed. Her eyes flickered over to Tess and she mouthed 'Help me' to Anduin, not sure she could take anymore of the Princess's weird questions.

"Anduin!" Tess beamed, "I'd totally forgotten about our meeting." Addy raised an eyebrow, "Sorry I'll have to reschedule, I'm booked. However Miss Fairchild here was just leaving. Why don't you escort her out."

Addy narrowed her eyes at the Princess, what was she playing at?

Anduin just looked amused, "Alright. Well then, er- Miss Fairchild." He held out his arm, "Shall we?"

Addy stood up, giving Tess Greymane one more uncertain glance. She curtseyed and mumbled, "Your Highness," before turning, trying not to look like she was running as she rushed over to grab Anduin's arm.

"What was that about?" Anduin whispered to her, his eyes bright with hidden laughter.

Addy shook her head, bewildered, "I have no idea, but let's get out of here."

"Am I even allowed to be here?" Addy asked nervously, as she studied Anduin's receiving room. She found it weird that there weren't any windows, but she knew that it was practical. No doubt the room was situated in the middle of the keep, so the occupants would be kept safe from projectiles in the case of a siege. She also had a suspicion that there was numerous secret passageways out of the room, probably leading down to those tunnels he had dragged her through. She'd been here once before, briefly, but she still felt tense as she awkwardly stood by the fire.

"Of course." Anduin chuckled, grabbing a number of dusty yellow parchments from his bookshelf, "Why wouldn't you be?"

"I thought it might be...inappropriate or something." Addy mumbled, flushing and avoiding eye contact as she became very interested in the carved mantle above his fire.

Anduin gave her a grin over his shoulder that made her face burn brighter, "You seem to care a lot more about propriety than most nobles I've met."

"Shut up." She grumbled, knowing she shouldn't be so nervous. She wasn't exactly a pure white virgin or anything, but it felt different with Anduin. In a rush to change the subject she spat out the first thing that came to her mind, "How was the ball?" She asked before wincing.

Anduin didn't seem bothered, instead he snorted, "Which one?"

"There was more than one?" Addy blinked. How often did these things happen?

Anduin sighed, "Yes. My father has always hd rather extravagant balls on my birthday. The Christmas ball was fine, if not for a rather jealous lover glaring at me as I danced with Lady Margaret." Anduin didn't sound annoyed by the fact, mostly just amused.

"Oh yes, I heard you attended with her. I've heard she's very beautiful." Addy winced as she realized she sounded like a jealous bint. She walked over to a low plush benched seat near the fire and sat down, trying to smooth out her ratty dress.

Anduin's face tinge red for a moment and Addy felt her stomach drop, "Er...Yes. She was the...best situation out of the options I was presented with...After you said no, of course!" He tacked the last bit onto the end as he realized how offensive he words could have come across.

"How so?" Addy asked, feeling a bit vindicated. She wondered why she felt so possessive of him. She'd never been this way with any of her other friends...not that she'd ever had many.

Anduin nodded, "She's engaged. I think.." He mumbled, his forehead furrowed, "They were fighting at the ball. Apparently he was jealous I was escorting her, so he brought a date which made her upset because apparently she'd explained that it was all politics. So then she tried to use me to get back at him and..." He trailed off, shacking his head, "Castle drama escapes me sometimes."

"What did she do?" Addy asked, curious.

"Pardon?" He asked as he walked over, seating himself beside her in front of the fireplace. Addy tried not to jump as his leg touched hers and discreetly adjusted so they were a bit further apart.

She cleared her throat, "You said she tried to get back at him? What did she do?"

Anduin coughed and looked pained, "She er...kissed me."

Addy raised an eyebrow, almost impressed with the girl's gall, "She kissed you?"

"Yes." Anduin looked incredibly uncomfortable and Addy couldn't help but poke him a bit.

"Was it your first?"

"What?" Anduin startled, "No. No, I'm twenty. I've kissed before. It was just...it was in front of my father."

Addy frowned, worried, "Was he not happy?"

"He was ecstatic!" Anduin groaned, dropping his face into his hands, "He hasn't' stoped teasing me about it. He started going on about his 'little boy growing' up at dinner with Genn the other night and I almost stabbed him with a fork."

Addy felt a laugh escape her before she could stop it at the visual of the High King with a fork sticking out of his hand, with a very angry Anduin steaming beside him. She felt a snort escape her in the midst of her laughter and she clapped a hand over her mouth, flushing. Anduin had a small smile on his face as well.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"It's alright." Anduin chuckled, "I just felt bad for her lover. I think he might've punched me if I...well, If I wasn't who I was."

"Do you want me to punch her?" Addy offered, only half joking, "I could do it - I'm very strong now. I could defend your honour."

Anduin laughed outright at that, "Oh no, I heard what you did that Pit Lord in Ironforge, I think I'll spare her."

"Well then." Addy sat up straighter, trying to look as important as possible, "I'll need a list of everyone you've kissed - If I'm to defend your honour I'll need to start right away."

As soon as she spoke he froze, his eyes far away. Then as soon as it happened he was back, laughing along with er, "You don't have to worry about that. Most people who kiss me just do I because I'm the Prince. It's all politics." He repeated what Lady Margaret had told her lover, sounding a bit bitter.

"Well hadn't there been anyone you liked?" Addy asked with a frown.

"Maybe." Anduin shrugged, his eyes sad, "There was this girl, from Ironforge, but...she passed away a number of years ago. But it can be hard to know who's attracted to you, or to your title." He explained it like it was nothing, but Addy felt her heard breaking for the Prince. She couldn't imagine being in that position. Not know who was your real friend, or your real lover...She suddenly felt honoured that he apparently thought of her as a friend.

"Is that why your father had me followed?" She asked, suddenly not feeling as mad about the whole thing.

Anduin huffed, rolling his eyes, "Partially. He's also an overprotective ass sometimes."

Addy jumped and whipped around like the King would be standing right behind her. She flushed when she realized what she'd done and looked back at Anduin who had both eyebrows raised in amusement.

"You don't have to be afraid of my father you know." Anduin assured her, "He looks scary, but that's just his 'King' face. He's not really that bad.'

"To you maybe." Addy grumbled, "Did he at least punch them?"

Anduin furrowed his eyebrows, tilting his head, "Who?"

"Whichever assholes broke your trust in humanity apparently." Addy rolled her eyes, "I promise, we're not all that bad."

"Ah." Anduin looked pained again, but there was also a fond look in his eyes, "No, no...I believe I will have that honour myself, if I ever see them again."

"Well then." Addy shifted a bit closer subconsciously, "Whoever they are, you shouldn't let them bother you. You're a good person, and I think you'd know if someone really liked you...you have good instincts."

"I haven't before." He grumbled, before shrugging, his hair creating shadows across his face, "It doesn't matter. I have been kissed before - but not by anyone I believe liked me for me."

"Do you think you'd know the difference?" Addy asked, legitimately curious. She supposed she'd never been kissed by someone using her for something, well...other than sex. She imagined there wouldn't be the same emotion, or passion, or fight for dominance.

Anduin paused, the shadows of the fire dancing across his face before he slowly nodded, "I'd hope so."

Addy nodded, and then before her better judgement could stop her she leaned across him and pressed a firm, if rather chaste kiss onto his lips, before pulling away to watch his reaction.

His mouth was open a bit, his eyes wide and faced a bit flushed, "W-Why did you do that?"

Addy frowned, not sure what he wasn't understanding, "You wanted to kiss someone who genuinely liked you to see if you could tell the different." Addy explained. Hadn't they just had this conversation?

"I...well, yeah!" Anduin stuttered, "But that doesn't count! I wasn't ready."

"You weren't ready?" Addy scoffed, "What does that even mea-!"

Anduin leaned over her and buried one of his hands into her hair, pressing his lips to her with startling passion. Addy blinked for a moment, surprised, but then narrowed her eyes in challenge. Is that how he wanted to play it?

She pressed forward, kissing him back with equal ferocity and cupped her hands over his cheeks before trailing them down where they landed on his chest, which was firmer than any priest's had any right to be. If he thought he could beat her at this game he was sorely mistaken.

He pulled away and Addy made a small sound of victory, thinking she'd won...whatever they were doing, but that was taken away a moment later when she felt him trail his lips down her neck.

"Oh..." Addy let out a small sound of surprise. Yeah he'd definitely done this before. She wondered if the scarred, half melted skin on her neck made her more sensitive. Her breath hitched slightly, as he nibbled at the skin behind her ear.

She felt a burst of hot air against his neck and Addy realized he was laughing. She gritted her teeth - he was winning again!

Feeling brave and maybe a bit reckless, Addy reached up to the laces at the top of his tunic, and pulled it loose.

She felt him falter in surprise and she bit her tongue through her teeth to keep from giggling as she trailed a tingle finger over the exposed skin.

There was a sharp knock at the door, "Anduin?"

They jumped apart with force Addy didn't know possible. She all but fled across from the room as her entire face burned bright red with embarrassment and horror. What on earth had she been thinking?! She'd been having fun, doing some harmless flirting, nothing she hadn't done before. But this was with the Prince!

Moving as one, Addy jumped behind a wardrobe, hiding as Anduin straightened himself and opened the door, poking his head out.

"Father?" He asked and Addy felt a bit smug at how heavy and thick his voice was.

Anduin moved mostly into the hallway so he could speak privately with his father and Addy felt like slamming her head against the wall as they spoke. She waited, not darling to move and inch, and she could tell that Anduin was trying to rush his father out. She wished he'd be a little less obvious about it.

"Well then..." His father sounded suspicious and Addy held her breathe "Good night, Son."

"You as well Father" Anduin spoke softly.

There was quite, and then the squeak of the door slowly closing. Addy let out a breathe of relief and dropped against the wardrobe.

"Good night to you as well, Miss Fairchild."

Addy squeaked and screwed her face into a painful grimace. She slowly peeked out from her hiding space, her flaming red face kept firmly on the ground.

"Your Majesty." She mumbled, wringing her hands in front of her.

There was a low chuckle and then the door shut.

Addy groaned, her entire body relaxing and she buried her face into her hands. Looking through her fingers she saw Anduin leaning against the heavy oak door, looking a bit traumatized.

"I should go." Addy spoke, her voice sounding a bit panicked. She looked around the room for her cloak, before remembering that she didn't bring one and moved quickly towards the door that Anduin was leaning against.

"You don't have to." Anduin sounded sad.

She paused looking over to him. He hadn't bothered to retie his tunic and she flushed red as she saw his exposed skin.

"I really do." She mumbled, "Before your father comes back and kills me for deflowering his only son."

Anduin laughed, "I hardly need 'deflowering', or my father to protect my honour." He walked closer until he was standing in front of her, helping to adjust her white scarf which had fallen to expose her scars.

"I wouldn't have guessed that." Addy mumbled, looking down as she let him work.

Anduin chuckled, his breath blowing against her face, "I should be insulted, but I get that a lot."

Addy blushed, she hadn't meant to speak out loud, "I didn't mean-"

"We should do this again."

Addy paused, narrowing her eyes at him, "Spend time together? Or..."

"The other stuff too." Anduin looked far more ruffled than she'd ever seen him. His face was red and it made him look far more alive than she'd ever seen him. Less like the stuffy stone block Prince he always seemed.

But at the same time she remembered very clearly that he was, in fact, the Prince.

She swallowed, feeling a bit sad herself, "I don't know if it's such a good idea."

"Probably not." Anduin mumbled, a small frown marring his face before a wide beaming grin burst out, "Want to do it anyways?"

Addy couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, and she shook her head at his large smile.

She moved around him, opening the door and peeking her head out into the hall to make sure his father wasn't lurking. But no one was there, save for the two guards who looked like they were hiding smiles of their own.

Before she popped out she turned and looked back of him, giving him a teasing grin.

"Maybe."

Addy had a stupid grin on her face as she walked into The Slaughtered Lamb. The walk back home had helped to calm her down a bit. The King hadn't seemed too mad, after all, and it was just a bit of harmless flirting and kissing. Anduin hadn't seemed to take ti very seriously either. She was fairly certain that nothing would come of it.

Mr Tim was behind the counter, for once, drying glasses with a rag. He raised a single eyebrow as she walked in before, a small smirk crossed his face, "Fun night?"

Addy immediately narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She pointed a finger at him, "What do you know?"

He chuckled, putting the cup back onto the wooden counter, "Your neck."

Addy slapped her hand to her neck, then hurriedly ran behind the counter, grabbing a metal platter and holding it, looking at her reflection. She pushed her hair aside and quickly scanned the scarred tissue.

"Son of a bitch..." She mumbled, her mouth dropping open as she stared at a rather large series of marks that littered her neck over her scars. She hadn't thought it would be possible to see love marks over the darkened scar tissue.

Mr. Tim shook his head, "I sure hope you know what you're doing, girl."

"What?" Addy let her hair fall, her face bright red as she avoided eye-contact. "It was nothing. What's some kissing between friends?"

He snorted, "I wish I had the kind of friends you've had."

Addy couldn't help but laugh, thinking about the kind of people she'd seen coming in through the bar - she didn't think she'd kiss any of them either.

"No matter." Addy pointed to her neck, "This is entirely unacceptable."

"Why?" Mr Tim grunted, "You cover your neck most days anyway."

"Not that." Addy scoffed, adjusting her scarf in annoyance, reminding how smug he'd looked a she left earlier that night. "It means that he won."

A/N: Alright look...Sometimes I don't update fics for 6 months. It happens.

So I've hinted at it a few times, but I'm just gonna get this out here. I headcanon Anduin as Bisexual? So just because this is an Anduin/fem!oc fic doesn't really change that for me. So yes, the previous relationship that Anduin speaks of is Wrathion, but for now he's not gonna take a major part in this story.

Also while I know some lore and shit, I'm no loremaster, so there might be a bunch of shit wrong with this chapter but this is how it's gonna be.

Also I've started reading Before the Storm, the new BFA prequel. It's alright, but i'm not super far into it. Im more than a little worried about what they're planning for Anduin, but I'll just have to wait and see like everyone.

Hopefully I'll update sooner this time. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and commented last chapter, and all the people who asked me if I was going to continue this story. I am, but it makes me feel all warm that people care.

Until Next Time,

Ash