Chapter 23: Sea Legs

The day they left for Pandaria was a bit hectic. The docks were filled with hundreds of people, all shouting orders, loading items through the crowd, and pushing through to get to their destinations.

Addy tried to keep to the edge of the crowd with a cotton sack over her shoulder that held the few clothes she owned. In her hand she had a crumpled piece of parchment that had come for her a few days ago with her boarding orders. She was supposed to report to Captain Rose Gregory at the docks, but as she scanned the crowd she realized that she had no idea where she was supposed to be going.

She chewed her lips, standing on her tip toes to see over the crowd. There were dozens of soldiers in matching armour. How was she supposed to find this one Captain Gregory?

She sighed in annoyance and grabbed the arm of a nearby solider. He stopped, turning to give her an annoyed look.

"Where's Captain Gregory?" Addy asked him bluntly.

The man huffed, yanking his arm out of her grasp and pointed to a white tent set up near the stone wall of the city. Then he grumbled under his breath and went on his way.

Addy ignored him and walked over to the tent. She tentatively pushed the flap out of the way and headed in. Captain Gregory was sitting behind a desk, writing with a quill quickly with a stack of papers behind her.

Addy walked in, moving over to the desk, "Er...Hello?"

"Name? Rank? Station?" The woman asked, not even looking up from her writing.

Addy blinked, frowning, "Er..Addy, Adeile. Fairchild...civilian?"

Captain Gregory finally looked up from her rolls, blinking owlishly at her, scanning her up and down. Then she pushed aside the large pile of rolls and started to dig through a much smaller pile, looking a bit flustered.

"Er...right." The Captain opened a few rolls until she seemed to find what she was looking for. "Right. Miss Fairchild, you're in Bunk 4-A, deck three. Private!"

Addy jumped at her sharp tone, and then turned as a man in the large horsehair plume helmet and tabard of the Stormwind army walked into the tent, saluting sharply.

"Take Miss Fairchild to her bunk." The woman ordered, handing over the scroll.

The private nodded, saluted again, and then exited the tent, leaving Addy running to catch up with him.

Addy leaned on the wooden barrier that blocked the top deck of the Skyfire from the sheer drop into the Great Sea below. Thankfully she wasn't terribly afraid of heights. As a child, more than once, she had snuck away from her grandfather and Gryan to climb to the top of Sentinel Hill, back before it was destroyed, knocking off the bird nests that had formed there.

Her eyes were fixed on the horizon. She was told it would help the overwhelming nausea that had formed only a few hours after launch. A few of the men sleeping near her had had a good chuckle, but assured her that it should pass after a day or so. Until then she should get some fresh air and watch the horizon.

And so far it was working - so long as she didn't look away for even a second. Which is why she now found herself leaning on the barrier. The poor broom deck had already had to clean up her mess twice and she didn't fancy getting hissed at a third time.

"Nice view?"

Addy turned and grabbed her chest, letting out a low breathe when she saw Anduin standing behind her, looking amused, "You scared me."

"I see that." Anduin chuckled and walked over so he was standing beside her. The wind was blowing his hair around his face and Addy eyes his thick Alliance coloured overcoat with jealously as the bitter winds cut through her thin woollen cloak, "The view's beautiful isn't it? Just wait until the sunset, it's a wonderful sight."

The view? Addy frowned and suddenly remembered she wasn't focused on the horizon anymore.

"One moment, your highness." Addy mumbled before, as gracefully as possible, she leaned over the side of the ship and vomited what little food remained in her stomach. She groaned when she finished and stayed there, leaning over the edge, wondering if just leaping off the side of the ship would somehow be less painful.

She wiped her mouth clean and straightened, knowing her face was bright red.

"Sorry." She avoided eye contact.

Anduin didn't looked bothered by it, "Sea sickness?" He asked.

"We're flying!" Addy waved her hand towards the sky as if it had personally insulted her, fixing her eyes back onto the horizon, "We're not even at sea!"

"It's more common than you think." He responded, reaching into his blue and gold coat and digging around. He pulled out a handful of something and handed it to her. Addy grabbed it half blindly, feeling some sort of plant as she kept her eyes on the horizon.

"What is it?"

"Mint." Anduin replied, "I thought you might-"

He didn't even finish before Addy shoved the leaf into her mouth and started to chew, thankful as the strong burst of flavour overcame the disgusting tastes that had taken root there. "Thank you."

"You'll get used to it soon." Anduin assured her, "It happens to almost everyone the first few days."

"Not you?" Addy asked, a bit surly.

Anduin shrugged, and leaned ono his forearms, looking over the sea. Addy glanced his way briefly before looking out over the water, "A little bit, but not so badly. Here I also have this..."

Once again he dug into his coat and pulled out a pale beige stick of some sort. He handed it to her.

"What is it?" Addy asked, taking the bar. It almost looked like a jerky of some sort.

"Ginger candy, it'll help with the nausea."

Addy took a bite of it, blinking in surprise at the strong, almost spicy taste of it. She expected her stomach to recoil but after a few minutes of nothing she felt it safe to take a few more bites.

"Thank you." She said again, looking over at him, scanning him up and down, "What else are you hiding under there?" She joked.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked, leaning in a bit closer, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Addy snorted as she laughed, surprised by his sudden flirtatious attitude, but she wasn't so easily phased, "Well maybe one day I'll find out." She replied, turning and raising a single eyebrow of her own, smirking back.

Anduin sputtered a bit and flushed. Addy held back her grin as she turned back to the horizon, taking another bite of ginger candy. He may have won last time, but she was willing to play dirty. She doubted Anduin was used to people being so forwards with him, surrounded by nobility as he was.

Addy heard the sounds of grunting and turned her head to look at the edge of the deck. Half of the large space was taken by a large arena of sand where soldiers practiced day in and day out - she'd asked why it looked like they were preparing for a battle rather than a peace summit and her bunk mates had shrugged.

"Gotta be prepared." One, Gregory Style, has said solemnly.

"Don't listen to him" Patty Kinsley, a girl sleeping above Addy, reach over to slap Style on the back of the head, "He's just being dramatic. It's just something to do to pass the time."

Anduin noticed where she was looking, "You thinking about joining them?"

Addy chewed on the ginger candy some more and shrugged, "I'd wipe the floor with them."

"Bit cocky, aren't we?" Anduin raised both his eyebrows in surprise.

Addy chuckled a bit, looking back out over the horizon. "Maybe. But like you said, they'd underestimate me."

"You remember that?" Anduin looked a bit pleased, a small amount of red peppering his cheeks.

She scoffed, "You mean when I knocked your knee out? I thought I was going to be arrested."

"Oh please." Anduin lifted his hand to move a strand of his hair which had fallen into his face, "My father was tickled pink. Besides, this old thing?" He bent his knee slightly, tapping his thigh, "Doesn't bother me so much anymore. Except when it rains." He joked.

"Why didn't the light heal it all the way?" It was something that had been bothering her a lot. The light had healed every bone in his body, except for his knee. "Was it...tainted? Like my scars?" She reached up to touch he tips of the scars on her cheeks, the only bits visible.

Anduin remained silent, looking out over the sea. A few lone clouds were slowly making their way across the sky, and the sun was beaming down on them. It might actually be warm if it weren't for the bitter cold wind that blew their hair around.

"Not in the same way." Anduin frowned, tapping the edge of the railing, "It's more like...tainted by the light."

Addy frowned for a moment. She'd never heard of the Light 'tainting'. Usually it's the opposite, healing the taint of other things. "How does the Light taint?"

"Too much of anything can be a bad thing." Anduin pointed out, "My knee doesn't hurt always, only when I'm being cruel or, unkind...but it can be hard sometimes, because what the Light considers cruel might not line up the necessities of humanity and real life."

Addy thought about it for a moment, "Is that...is that why you helped me?"

"It's why I try to help everyone." Anduin scoffed, "But I can't help everyone, you know? My knee pangs whenever I pass a homeless man on the street, or a person with an incurable illness, or last week when I killed a mouse in my room." He shook his head, "The light doesn't have the ability to reason. It's absolute. That's why it uses us as it's weapons, to wield it properly. We have the ability to reason between black and white, in the way it can't."

Addy felt a bit weird. She wasn't sure that she felt any of....that, when she wielded the light. It was just sort of, there. A part of her. It felt as natural as swinging a sword or kicking her foot.

A burst of nausea brought her back to the present and she pressed a hand to her mouth and looked back at the horizon, breathing deeply and bitting another bit of the ginger taffy.

"Come on." Anduin nodded his head back towards the ship, "The cook makes a ginger tea which is better for settling the stomach. And some toast will be good."

"I can't." Addy shook her head, "I'll be sick."

"No you won't, suck on the candy." Anduin grabbed her arm and started to gently lead her back into the ship. She grumbled as he did so, muttering about what he could suck on, making him flush lightly.

He pulled her inside, and once she didn't immediately get sick she felt a bit more confident. She let Anduin lead her through the corridors, feeling a bit strange as the soldiers all stopped, moving out of the way and saluting as they passed. Anduin didn't look bothered by it, but she supposed he was used to it.

The mess hall was rather large and crowded. Dozens of soldiers were sat around wooden tables and benches arranged in rows along the room, all eating and chatting and drinking from large tankards.

Anduin pulled her up to a long window in the wall, poking his head through, "Hey Daryl. Have any of that tea ready?"

Addy peeked through and saw a very large, very muscular man making the largest pot of stew she'd ever seen. It smelled delicious and even her nausea couldn't stop her mouth from watering a little bit.

"I already sent some up, Highness." Daryl responded.

Addy frowned, not understanding, but Anduin chuckled, "No, not for him. It's for a friend."

Addy poked her head through, giving a small wave, "Er-Hello."

Daryl chuckled deeply, giving Anduin a wink that made the Prince flush red. Addy smiled to herself, finding his shyness a bit endearing.

"Just give me the tea." Anduin grumbled.

A few moments later a steaming tankard of tea was sitting in front of her, as well as a small plate of buttered toast.

She sipped at it lightly, wrinkling her nose. The tea she had shared with Tess Greymane had been much better. But the warmth soothed her stomach and the smell reminded her of the candy from earlier, so she continued to sip.

"I er...wanted to talk to you." Anduin admitted, his cheeks going red again. Addy raised an eyebrow. If he continued to blush this much his cheeks would be permanently stained.

Addy grabbed a piece of toast and gently started to nibble on it, "About what?"

"Er..." He reached up to rub his head, his face burning bright, "Well...my father spoke to me about...what happened the other week."

Addy felt her own cheeks start burning and she quietly cleared her throat, bitting the inside of her cheek, "Oh." She squeaked.

"It's not as bad as you're thinking."

Addy rolled her shoulders, "How do you know what I'm thinking?"

"Because you always assume the worst." Anduin chuckled. He reached forward and grabbed her hand. His hand was much larger than her's and was very warm - heating up her cold fingers. "I promise he's not as scary as you think he is. He just told me that...well we should figure out what's going on because of, well, who I am."

Addy fidgeted, wishing she was anywhere but there having this conversation. She took another sip of her tea to quell the increasing nerves in her stomach. "Where -er, what do you think is going on?"

Anduin looked just as nervous, "I was going to ask you that."

Of course he was.

"It was..." Addy struggled to find the words, "Good. Friendly. Just, two friends who...happened to kiss."

"Exactly!" Anduin beamed at her, "That's what I've been trying to say!"

Addy felt her nerves lessen as she realized they were on the same page, "Right. We're friends. We're just comfortable around each other and exploring and stuff. Perfectly normal."

"My father was going on about marriage and children and other responsibilities, but..."Anduin beamed at her, "He also says that I should enjoy my time now, before I'm king. That I should take this time to explore being young. And I like spending time with you. You don't walk on glass around me. You yell at me and smack me and-"

"Kick your knee out from under you?" Addy joked.

Anduin paused, then blinked as he stared at her. Addy frowned, feeling a bit strange as he looked at her like he'd never seen her before.

"Anduin?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.

Anduin stood up, holding out his hand. Addy gave him an amused look, but accepted, allowing him to pull her to her feet.

He gently pulled her through the tables, his hand holding hers still. She could see the curious glances of soldiers as they passed. She flushed and looked down, allowing her hair to curtain her face from the prying eyes.

They left the mess hall and Anduin gently pulled her down an empty hall, his head looking around for something.

"Where are we going?" Addy chuckled, not particularly worried, just curious.

Anduin didn't answer, just changing which hand he was pulling her by, looking around. Finally he stopped at a simple wooden door. He looked down the hall both ways and Addy looked as well. There wasn't anyone around. She turned back with a questioning look.

Anduin opened the door and with a grin, pulled her inside.

"Oh." Addy blinked in surprise. It seemed to be some sort of storage closet. There was barely enough room for the both of them in there.

Anduin closed the door behind her and then moved so he was standing in front of her, "I've always wanted to do this."

"Do wha-!"

Anduin leaned down and pressed his lips against her, his hands tangling themselves into her hair. Addy let out a small squeak.

In all of one second, a million thoughts entered her mind. She could stop this right now, go back to just being platonic friends. Or...

She relaxed, reaching up to dig her hands into his hair. She pulled him down and pushed against him harder, letting out a small moan as he kissed her. She could taste ginger and mint as they kissed and she was thankful he had given it to her earlier.

She let out a small giggle, and she felt him smile against her mouth. She reached up and grabbed his leather cord, releasing his hair. It fell like a curtain around their faces, hiding them from the rest of the world. Here, it was just the two of them...

Addy snapped her eyes open, wide in horror as her stomach lurched. Oh no.

She pulled away from Anduin, who was watching her with a confused frown.

Addy flushed, "I just wanted to say...this has nothing to do with what just happened."

And then she turned around, and vomited on the floor.

Anduin was humming under his breath as he made his way back to the royal suit. He winced at the feeling of the uneven wooden planks against his feet and he knew he must have half a dozen splinters. He let out a breath as it was replaced with the lush red carpet of the quarters he shared with his father.

"Father?" He called into the room. He heard a low groan come from one of the bedrooms and smirked to himself. It seemed his father was still getting his sea legs as well.

Anduin walked over to the intricately carved oak table in the middle of the room and saw there was a meal placed on it. Nothing fancy, but obviously catered to his father's illness with a simply broth soup and a pot of ginger tea to help with the nausea. Anduin grabbed one of the warm biscuits and nibbled on it as he walked towards his fathers room.

"You know." Anduin leaned against the doorframe, grinning at the sight of his father laying in his bed, covered in furs and cotton blankets, "I've heard looking at the horizon helps."

"Nothing helps." Varian grunted, "Give me a day...or three, I'll be right as rain - where are your boots?"

Anduin looked down at his bare toes, wiggling them a bit, "Being cleaned. Addy threw up on me."

Varian chuckled, "You sound rather delighted at the fact."

Anduin shrugged, not willing to explain what they'd been doing beforehand. She'd be very embarrassed but he'd helped her back to her bunk, leaving her with several ginger candies to help with her nausea, "She's getting her sea legs."

"There's no such thing." Varian grunted, "Thirty odd years and I've never gotten any of these supposed sea legs. You must've gotten yours from your mother."

Anduin laughed, shaking his head, "Well there's lunch if you feel up to it."

"What is it?"

"Oh, some tea and a thick clam chowder." Anduin smirked, turning with a laugh as he heard his father groan and retreat back under the furs on his bed.

Anduin walked over to the table, scooping up some of the broth and tea for his father, knowing it would make him feel better. He studied the map on the table, looking over their planned coarse for the trip.

South of Kul Tiras...very south. Kul Tirans weren't exactly hostile, but they weren't very friendly these days either. Then north of Zandalar, now they were hostile. After then they dipped south again to avoid unknown waters and from there it wouldn't be long until they found themselves in the Mists. The Cataclysm had cleared most of them, but sailing around the island was still deadly dangerous. He could still remember the wreck that had landed him there as a youth. They had been attacked by a Horde ship, and then both of them had run aground. He had nearly drowned, stuck in the royal suite, but had broken out and found himself alone on the beach.

Luckily their sailors now had extensive practices navigating the mists, and their maps were clear and updated. However it was always safer to avoid any unknown waters, especially to the north, where there were dozens of island chains all undiscovered and uncharted. They might not be able to run aground but there was all sorts of runes and spells on the boat, running into undiscovered lay-lines wouldn't do them any good - or so he'd been told.

He shook his head. He shouldn't worry so much. The captain knew what she was doing, as did their navigators. Plus they were flying, not sailing. They'd get there in one piece this time.

He scooped up the bowl of broth for his Father and walked towards his room, determined to find himself another pair of boots.

Anduin had been mostly right. After a few days her nausea had faded enough for her to function. She'd ended up helping the cook Daryl in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and cleaning dishes in exchange for a never ending supply of his ginger tea. At night she slept on her hammock, listening to the snores of the dozens of people around her and the wind blowing gently outside. She'd thought it would be cold, but the body heat of so many people kept it surprisingly warm.

She hadn't met with Anduin since that embarrassing moment in the supply closest. He'd been very kind, helping her towards her cot and pointing out a room where she could clean herself up. He'd even left her a handful of ginger candies, kissing her lightly on her forehead, before leaving.

Addy had spotted him a few times, standing on the helm talking with the helmsmen. She'd quickly flushed and run off before he could see her during these times.

When she wasn't working in the kitchens, she spent some times sparring in the training fields. It was an interesting exercise, the movements of the ship making fighting a bit off balance. She found it was actually quite interesting and fighting with the soldiers of the ship was rather fun.

Four days into their journey she ran into Anduin again, despite her best efforts.

Addy had been sitting in the mess hall, her spoon halfway to her mouth, when Anduin sat across from her.

"Hey!" He beamed at her, acting as if she hadn't thrown up on him a few days before, "Feeling better?"

"Er...yeah." Addy flushed, "Sorry about...you know."

"Hmm?" He looked confused, but then blinked, "Oh it's fine. I've been a field medic before. I've seen much worse, trust me."

She looked down at her stew that she'd help prepare, "Oh. Okay..."

"Sorry I've been a bit busy." He looked around before leaning in closer, "My father doesn't do well on ships. So I've had to take up the slack a bit."

"He's sick?" Addy asked, surprised. She couldn't imagine the strong warrior king that was Anduin's father being taken down by something as mundane as nausea.

He nodded, but then looked around, smirking, "But as far as anyone knows, he's - er, in communication with Greymane and in meetings all day via portals and such." He tapped the side of his nose, "Not to be disturbed."

Addy couldn't help but grin at the mock serious look on his face. "Well I hope things haven't been too hard for you."

He chuckled, "Compared to my usual workload this is a bit of a vacation."

She shook her head, eating her food in peace. She still felt a bit strange speaking to him, but for an entirely different reason. The last time they'd spoken it had been to discuss the...status of their relationship. Although it had taken a bit of a turn. It seemed like they'd decided on being friends, but then he snogged her in a closet. What was she supposed to make of that?

She wasn't sure what she wanted. Well...that's a lie. She liked him, a lot. She wanted to kiss him and continue what happened in his room. But it wasn't as easy as that with him. He was a prince, a king wouldn't lead anywhere.

Addy froze, blinking. Since when had she ever cared if it would lead anywhere? She never thought her flings with James would lead anywhere. She never thought that one night with a stranger in a bar would lead anywhere. She'd never done courtship in the classical way.

So why was she thinking about it now?

She shook her head, looking down at her stew. She had finished most of it by now, and couldn't be bothered. Instead she stood straight up staring down at Anduin with an expression that would have probably been alien even to her.

Anduin frowned, raising an eyebrow at her, "What? What is it?"

She blinked at him, her mind racing. What was she going to do?

She reached down and grabbed his hand, pulling him up and then started to pull him towards the exit.

"Where are we going?" Anduin sounded amused, letting her pull him along. She didn't reply, just wordlessly pulling him into the hallway where several soldiers stepped to attention, watching her drag along the crowned prince with raised eyebrows. "Addy?"

She peeked around a few corners, passing the cupboard she vomited in and walked along further until she found what she was looking for.

It was a small room near the kitchens where the food was stored. The only person who ever came in here was Daryl the cook, and her when she helped him. There were barrels of water and beer, stacks of fruit and salted meat and dry pasta. It created a place with several hidden niches. Addy dragged Anduin into one of them, pressing him against the wall of the ship.

"Addy Wha-oh!"

Addy stepped on her tip toes and grabbed his shirt, bringing him down for a kiss. He made a surprised sound into her mouth and she grinned, linking her hands behind his neck. Anduin seemed to snap out of his surprised and started to kiss her back.

He was less hesitant than he'd been before. Curling his hands behind her and burying them into her ponytail. He found the piece of leather that kept her hair up and pulled it loose, just like she had done to him a few days previously.

Addy smirked and pulled away, feeling a bit more sure of herself, "Is this the part where you vomit on me?" She quipped.

He grabbed a piece of her hair, twirling it in his fingers. Then he suddenly gripped her hips and twisted her around, pressing her against the wall and leaned over her, grinning at her. "I think I'll be just fine."

A/N: Oh boy am I sorry. Basically I moved across the country and then started school, so I've been a bit busy. This was actually supposed to be a much longer chapter but I decided to stop it here. I have another chapter ready to go that I'll hopefully post within a few days.

Guys kissing stuff is the bane of my existence. I just flush and get all embarrassed. However I wanted to say that as far as I'm concerned I probably won't write any M related content in this fic? If I do it'll be in a separate fic on AO3 only (due to FFNs regulations etc).

Also Addy is 120 and has been for a while. She's my main this expansion guys! I already have so many ideas for her adventures in BFA you have no idea.

I've gotten a few asks regarding how to pronounce Adeile. It's an old medieval name so it's a bit weird - you say it like -Add-A-Lay - like Adelaide but without the 'D' sound at the end.

I will update soon, and hopefully more over Christmas. Hopefully I won't have as may papers next semester so I can work on this fic more.

Until Next Time

-Amary