It took me a bit to find time to update. Hope you're enjoying the story. Many thanks to all who are reading.
The Vale of Eternal Blossoms was the most beautiful place Anduin has ever seen. The Alliance had set up in the Shrine of Seven Stars, which served as a stronghold for trade with the Pandarens, as well as a sanctuary for portals back to the other Alliance capital cities. Anyone from the Alliance was allowed to come here, as long as they came in peace and agreed to do no harm to the land.
Upon their arrival, the Pandarens gave both Kia and Anduin grand rooms in the far reaches of the shrine, tokens of thank you to all they had both done for the Pandaren people. The rooms had long balconies which opened up into a vast garden. Lantash had claimed the garden as his resting spot and he seemed to not mind being visited by the Pandaren children who often came to see the strange foreign dragon. In fact, he seemed to thrive on the attention.
Anduin left his room, ready to meet up with Kia for dinner. They had been invited to a formal dinner with several of their hosts that evening. This was the first time since he crashed on Pandaria that Anduin had to dress formally. He didn't mind it, really, but he had gotten used to the more casual attire he wore while in the jungles.
The doors to Kia's room were open when he arrived. He knocked, but got no reply, so he walked in. The room was empty, but he noticed movement on the balcony. Anduin could hear the laughter of children, who were no doubt down in the garden with Lantash. The mighty dragon was surprisingly gentle with the young cubs, allowing them to climb on him and play around him.
There on the balcony stood Kia looking out over the garden. She wore a green and blue dress, which slightly shifted in the wind. Her arms were bare, showing more of her light green/blue skin than normal. Her hair was loose around her shoulder, rather than in her traditional ponytail on the back of her head.
Anduin just stood and stared until Kia turned around and smiled at the prince. For the first time, Anduin saw what his best friend really was: a beautiful woman. It was an easy fact to forget, hidden under her rough ranger exterior.
"What do you think?" She asked, twirling once. "One of the Pandaren gave it to me as a welcome gift. I don't normally like dresses, but it seemed rude to refuse the gift and even ruder not to wear it."
Anduin approached and kissed her hand, shaking off his initial shock at Kia's appearance. "How very diplomatic of you. You look absolutely stunning."
Kia blushed, but didn't argue about the formal gesture.
"Well thank you Your Highness. You look very dashing yourself, though I've seen you in formal wear much more often than you've been me in a dress."
They both laughed at their actions. Neither of them were ever formal with each other. It was a bit of an unspoken rule between them.
"Lantash seems to be enjoying himself." Anduin commented, look out over the balcony.
"He is. I just warned him to be gentle and to be aware of himself, so he doesn't crush any of the cubs by accident. I like he loves the attention."
They watched the dragon for a few more moment, then Anduin turned and offered Kia his arm. "Shall we?"
Kia nodded and took his arm. "We shall."
The couple walked out of the room, feeling more like adults and less like kids out on an adventure.
To Be continued...