Chapter 3, re-posted. Read and Enjoy!

The archery field wasn't empty when Anduin arrived for his lessons.

Normally the archery field was kept empty when the crown prince was scheduled to work on this swordsmanship. For his safety, or for some imaginary self confidence issue his father seemed to think his son possessed. Regardless of the reason, he honestly didn't mind the quiet.

Though Anduin wasn't particularly good with heavier weapons, the king insisted his son continued to train with them. The young prince didn't like it much, but it was one battle he chose not to fight with his father. They already had a fairly strained relationship and Anduin didn't like to add to the problem needlessly.

There was a lone female occupant on the field, shooting energy bolts from a bow at a target, with a large light purple and white sabercat lying in the shade near her. She didn't look very old, probably late teens, with long blue/green hair, pulled back into a ponytail. Her skin was also slightly blue/green tinted and Anduin could just make out her ears, which were human size, but came to subtle points. She looked over to him and he noticed her eyes glowed, but not brightly like most night elves. Her eyes were light blue with a slight silver glow. All of her night elf features were present, but muted. She was quite beautiful.

Anduin smiled as he approached her. His father had told him the Archdruid's daughter would be staying with them for a few months, but he had not been informed she had already arrived. Of course, he didn't have many long conversations with his father these days. Since Deathwing's return and the resulting cataclysm, the king had been a very busy man and even Anduin didn't see him everyday.

"You must be Archdruid Stormrage's daughter." He said.

The young woman looked to the cat, seeming to laugh at an unspoken joke, but nodded. "I am. And you must be the crown prince."

"Sorry, I'm Anduin. I guess it's rude to address someone by what they are before you learn their name."

"I'm just glad you didn't call me 'my lady'. I'm Kia."

They nodded at each other, neither of them entirely sure what protocols to use when addressing the other, since they were alone and it seemed silly to be formal with their greetings, but they had both been raised to us them. They laughed at the slightly awkward moment and the ice was broken.

"I've learned that women practicing weapons work don't like being called 'my lady'."

Kia laughed again, taking another shot and hitting the target right down the middle, leaving a small hole. "You're the first person not to call me it, besides Rell. I like you already."

"Father didn't tell me you'd arrived." He put down his sword and pulled a half dozen small throwing knives out of a small pouch at his side. The prince might have been a lackluster warrior, but he was an expert at throwing knives and was very good with a bow. He turned to face the target next to the one Kia was using and threw a knife, hitting the middle of the target.

"Wow, you have a good eye." Kia commented, taking another shot at the target and making another small hole above the first one.

"I'm much better at throwing knives and shooting bows than I am using heavy weapons, but father insists I continue to train with them anyway. I think he's still set on me being a warrior." He paused, pushing back bad memories, but quickly recovered, changing the subject. "You're not bad yourself with that bow."

"I learned how to shoot a bow before I could even walk straight. It's one of the reasons I'm training to be a ranger. That, and my ability to talk with creatures such as Quinn here." She pointed to the cat still lounging under a tree.

"So, it's true. You can talk to animals?" Anduin asked. His father had spoken about Kia's gift for talking with animals, but Anduin didn't truly believe it. It seemed impossible.

Kia nodded, placing her bow on her back. It stuck there without the help of any kind of strap or clasp, as far as Anduin could see. It had to be some type of magic. "Yes, it's true. I've been talking with animals almost longer than I've been talking to people. What they have to say is usually more interesting anyway. Apparently, I inherited the ability from my mother. She died giving birth to me."

"I'm sorry." Anduin replied. "My mom died when I was very young, too."

Kia looked over at Quinn as the large cat stood, stretched and came over to sit next to her. She made sounds which were little more than growls to Anduin. Kia rolled her eyes. Quinn always had good timing when it came to breaking up awkward conversations.

"Quinn says you're very cute, for a human."

A slight blush formed on Anduin's face. He had heard several people refer to him as a very handsome boy, but he'd never been called cute to his face before. "Well, thank you Quinn."

"That's one thing you'll always find with animals, they don't feel the need to censor what they say. They'll give you the truth, at length, whether you want it or not. They understand everything you say, even if they don't have the muscle structure necessary to reply in the same language."

"So it would seem."

Anduin was just recovering from Quinn's comment when a older man wearing shining gold armor walked onto the field. He was carrying a broadsword. Kia remembered him as one of the knights Rell had introduced her to when they arrived at the castle for the first time. Rudely, she had been too at awe of the castle, and the city in general, to really pay attention to the name. It was Rodrick, she thought.

"I see you've met our newest resident." He said, bowing to them. "It's nice to see you again, my lady."

Kia fought not to roll her eyes, but lost the battle. Fortunately, Rodrick was too busy kissing her hand to notice, but Anduin had to muffle a snort.

"Are you alright, Your Highness?" He asked Anduin. The prince simply nodded, his hand covering the smirk on his lips.

"If you'll excuse us, my lady, we have practice to get to."

Anduin retrieved the knife he had thrown from the target, putting the throwing knives away. He picked up the sword he had carried onto the field with him. Kia could tell he didn't like the weapon much, since he opted to carry it by his side, rather than wear it attached to his belt. Well, not like wasn't the phrase, more like, not comfortable with it. He didn't look natural holding it.

"That's alright Sir Rodrick, Kia has her own training to get to." Rell said from the side of the field behind them. None of them had seen him arrive, but Kia was getting used to the night elf showing up out of thin air. He really was a very good rogue. You had to be good to be a part of SI:7. Rell was carrying a sheath which held a medium sized blade.

"Shall we Your Highness?" Rodrick said to Anduin.

"Hope I see you again soon." The prince said with a bow. "It was nice to meet you, Kia."

"Likewise." She replied with a nod of the head.

The prince and the knight headed to the far end of the field, leaving Rell and Kia alone.

"I see you and the prince seemed to be getting along."

Kia shrugged. "I guess so. He wasn't shy, he just came right up and said hello. He seemed nice enough. How old is he?"

"Fourteen. He's a good kid, but I don't think he'll ever be the warrior is father wants him to be. His talents rest on a less violent path, but he's got a good head on his shoulders. What he lacks in physical strength, he makes up for with intelligence, magic and heart. There's nothing wrong with the future king being a priest and practitioner of the Light. It's better than trying to force him into skills he's not cut out for."

"Then why is he training using a sword?" She asked, watching as he worked with the knight. She could tell he wasn't comfortable with the weapon in his hand. He did the exercises perfectly and he was very quick, but he didn't look comfortable.

"Basically for the same reason I'm teaching you how to use melee weapons and insisting you learn to use at least some of your druidic powers. It's even more important for him. As king, he'll need to be able to adapt to many situations. Such is the life of a crown prince."

Rell handed the sheath in his hand to Kia. "This is for you. We won't being working with it until you've been trained to use it, but I thought it might help motivate you."

Kia pulled the blade out of the sheath. It was too big to be considered a dagger, but much too small for a sword. It was thin and light, but looked unbelievably sharp.

"This is a elvish short sword, both one weapon and two. I asked your father to have it forged for you when he requested I train you. If you're ever forced to fight up close, you need a weapon that is small and light enough for you to wield, but just as deadly as a sword swung by someone twice your size. Considering the races comprising the Horde, facing someone larger than you is entirely possible, almost likely. The weapon looks delicate, but the blade is just as strong and durable as any sword."

"Thank you Rell. It's beautiful." She said, admiring how the sun reflected off the thin blade, showing the fine detail work etched on its smooth surface. The hilt was actually two hilts, fit together to make one sword whose blades seemed to weave together, but the weapon could be pulled apart to make two separate S shaped blades. The etchings were common blessings written in elvish and the whole weapon seemed to hum with magic. Kia pulled the weapon apart and then back together experimentally, feeling the magic which held it together.

"You're welcome, Ki. I'll even let you do more than just look at it, once I'm confident you won't cut something off by accident." Rell reached into his belt and pulled out two wooden swords. One was almost the same size as the elvish short sword. "For now, we work with these." He handed the smaller one to Kia.

Kia Chuckled, carefully returning the blade to its sheath. "You'll get no argument from me. I like all my fingers where they are."

"I've also spoken to Sheldras Moontree about starting you on daily druid exercises. Sheldras has been here for years and he's very good at what he does. He's agreed to train you in druidic magic."

Kia rolled her eyes and groaned. "This is starting to feel more like training, and less like learning how my other half lives. Did my father even send me here to learn about humans or was that just a ploy to make me into a druid?"

Rell laughed. "It won't be that bad, once you get into it. Now, let's get started."

Rell hadn't actually answered her question.

Anduin worked for a full hour with Rodrick. No matter how much he tried, he just couldn't find a good rhythm with the sword. He did all the moves correctly, but if it had been a real battle, Anduin knew he'd probably be dead several times over.

During his practice he kept looking over at Kia, who was working with wooden swords with Rell. He could tell she'd only started learning to use a bladed weapon. Unlike the bow, which visually looked like an extension of her arm when she shot it, the mock blade was awkward and clumsy in her hands. To his dismay, she did seem to get the hang of it quickly, though.

"Anduin, I feel like I don't have your full attention." Rodrick said, only mildly irritated. "Why don't we call it a day."

"I'm sorry, Rodrick. I'm not used to having company on the field." He replied, putting his sword away. He felt bad for wasting the knight's time. The young prince might not have been good with a sword, but he did try to put his whole focus on the task when training. Not liking something didn't mean it was okay to not try. Anduin would never be accused of not putting his whole heart into everything he did.

"There's actually a reason I asked Rell to bring Kia here during your training time. You need the distraction. In a battle, it probably won't be just you and your opponent. You need to learn to be aware of your surroundings, but not let them distract you. I doubt you'll somehow manage to never see a battlefield. Kings, particularly Wrynn kings, are as known for their presence on the battlefield, as they are for their time actually sitting on their throne."

Rodrick didn't know what would be a better distraction, sharing the field or the fact one of the people on the field with Anduin was a young woman. True, she was five years older than him and was considered an adult, where Anduin was still just a youth, but they were close enough in age for Anduin to consider her a possible friend. He only had a handful of friends, most of them not actually living in Stormwind, and he always took the opportunity to make a new one, regardless of age. The prince wasn't shy. Anduin was also getting to the age where women were becoming more of an interest to him, or more importantly, a distraction. And Rodrick had to admit, Kia was striking.

"I'm guessing we'll be sharing the field for all future training?" The prince asked, still watching the elves work.

"You're quite right. For now, we'll return to the castle. Your father should be returning today from his trip to Westfall. I know he'll be eager to see you."

Anduin nodded, taking one last look at the dueling elves before heading back. The king had been in Westfall, wanting to witness the damage from what was now being called the cataclysm for himself. Some areas had been hit hard, others barely got hit at all. Stormwind itself was being repaired after the black dragon Aspect left deep gouges in the castle walls and had completely destroyed a section of the city by the harbor. In the end, Stormwind had been lucky. Anduin had been visiting Ironforge when things started to go wrong on Azeroth and he knew first hand the dwarves had not been so lucky. The thought still made his heart ache. He had lost more than one dear friend.

Anduin had asked to go with his father to Westfall, but he was told it was too dangerous. The king called leaving his son behind protecting him. Anduin called it sheltering him. At least now, with Kia around, he might have a reason to want to stay home. He didn't really have any friends in Stormwind. At least none his own age. Kia was probably the closest thing the night elves had to a princess and Anduin was looking forward to getting to know her.

To Be Continued...