Auriana

After seeing Varian off on his hunt, Auriana retired to his study to attend to a few last minute things before the wedding. Or was it their study, now? While Auriana had lived in Stormwind Keep for a year now, she had never really thought of the place as home. Varian was home, certainly, but the Keep itself was another matter. It wasn't that she felt unwelcome - far from it - but rather that she had still clung to the last vestiges of her old life in the form of her apartments in both Dalaran and Stormwind.

The apartment in Dalaran was a perk of her rank of Archmage, and Auriana did not intend to give it up, but her modest dwelling in Stormwind was another matter entirely. She had barely used the place in years, and she would certainly have no reason to return there after her marriage to Varian. To that end, she had enlisted the help of Varian's fastidious chamberlain, Falster, to assist her in finding a buyer.

Although the idea of selling the place had only occured to Auriana a few days earlier, Falster had taken to the task with his unique brand of autocratic dedication, and had returned to her that morning with no less than twenty offers. He had also taken it upon himself to critique the relative merits of each offer in great detail, and while Auriana sincerely tried to listen, she found it very difficult to concentrate fully on monotonous voice.

Fortunately, Falster did not seem to notice the glaze in Auriana's eyes, though her bodyguard Ridley certainly had. The elite guard made no attempt to hide her amusement at Auriana's predicament as Falster droned on and on, and Auriana found she could not look in Ridley's direction for fear of revealing her own bemused inattention.

"Falster," she murmured, holding up a hand when she could finally take no more. "Thank you. You've certainly been very… thorough."

"But of course, Your Grace," he sniffed, clearly offended that she might expect anything less of him.

"Although... are you sure these figures are correct?" she asked, nodding pointedly to some of his notes. "Some of these offers are more than five times what I paid for the apartment in the first place…"

"Naturally, Your Grace," said Falster, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "As of tomorrow, that apartment will have been the former home of a Queen of Stormwind. It is a part of the city's history, now."

Auriana raised her eyebrows.

"And this… matters?"

"Of course! People will pay good gold to own a part of history," Falster insisted.

Auriana found it quite frankly bizarre to consider herself a part of Stormwind's history, though she supposed Falster's explanation was as reasonable as any.

"If you say so," she murmured. "Look, I don't really care who buys it, so long as it's sold. I trust your judgement."

She handed him back his pile of parchments, and fixed him with her most ladylike stare. She was well aware that Falster obeyed her largely out of deference to Varian, but if she were going to be Queen, she was determined to have the chamberlain's respect in her her own right.

"Please donate the full proceeds of the sale to a young man named Lukas Crowther. He lives in Old Town, with his aunt."

"Are you sure, my lady?" Falster asked, his eyes widening in genuine surprise. "It is quite a substantial amount…"

Auriana nodded, and quickly scribbled a note on a piece of scrap parchment.

"I'm sure. That's the address," she confirmed.

Falster accepted the note with an air of skepticism, but Auriana knew he was far too dedicated to his work to disobey her order. As much as he may have disliked her personally - and she was fairly sure he did - he would not risk his pride or reputation on an act of needless defiance.

"Very well. Is that all for today, my lady?" he said finally, tucking the proffered note into his breast pocket.

"Yes. Thank you," Auriana said, dismissing him with an idle wave of her hand.

"I will attend to the King before the wedding tomorrow, but should you require anything, you need only ask, Your Grace," he added, offering her a stiff bow before he turned and left the study.

Tomorrow.

Auriana felt a sudden knot twist in her stomach at his words, and her hands clenched on the edge of the table as she took several deep, steadying breaths. She was excited beyond words to be marrying Varian, but at the same time she was fairly certain that she was going to fall flat on her face upon entering the Cathedral. The resulting feeling was a heady mix of exhilaration, adrenaline and sheer terror, and it left Auriana so light-headed that she barely even realised that Ridley was speaking.

"Sorry, what?" she mumbled, closing her eyes in a vain attempt to stop the world from spinning.

"Crowther'd appreciate that, my lady. You taking care of her boy," Ridley repeated quietly.

Auriana sighed and fiddled with a long strand of her dark hair, trying very hard to ignore the fresh rush of guilt that flooded through her chest. Crowther had died doing her job, a job she had volunteered for… and yet Auriana wasn't sure she would ever stop blaming herself for the tragic series of events that had befallen them in Elwynn Forest and the Duskwood.

"She gave her life for mine," she muttered. "It's the least I can do…"

Auriana traced her fingers idly over the whorls in the heavy oak of the desk as she spoke, and she was so distracted by her own brooding thoughts that she nearly jumped out of her skin when Ridley suddenly appeared on her left and stared down at her with a worried smile.

"Everything alright, my lady?" Ridley asked. "You're looking a bit pale."

Her tone was very soft, and far more akin to one friend speaking to another than a guard addressing her charge. Yet while Auriana certainly considered their relationship friendly, she wasn't sure whether Ridley had asked because she actually wanted to listen, or whether it was because she was simply doing her duty.

"I always look pale, that's just my face," she quipped evasively, eliciting a very small smile from Ridley, "And I've told you a hundred times, it's Auriana. At least when we're alone."

"As of tomorrow, I'm pretty sure it's 'Your Majesty'," Ridley pointed out, folding her arms across her chest.

"I suppose you're right," Auriana sighed.

The 'Your Graces' and 'my ladies' were one thing, but they were both still a far cry from 'Your Majesty', and everything that came with the title. She certainly didn't feel very majestic.

"Are you married, Lana?" Auriana wondered, more to take the focus off herself than anything else. "I'm sorry, I never asked…"

"Yes, I'm married," Ridley confirmed. "My husband is a blacksmith, down in the Dwarven District."

"I'm assuming he has a name?" Auriana asked, smiling slightly.

"Thorin. A fine, strong name for a fine, strong man," Ridley said proudly.

Auriana leaned back in her chair, and forcibly rested her hands in her lap. She was tense, fidgety, but listening to Ridley talk was helpful. She would have felt more relaxed if Varian were around, or perhaps Anduin, but in their absence, Ridley made for fine company. As a lady, Auriana knew she probably should have sought out some of the other young noblewomen in the Keep, but a battle-hardened elite guard was far more her speed.

"Tell me about him," she prompted quietly.

"Not much to tell, really. He's the biggest, dumbest oaf of a man this side of the Maelstrom, but he's mine, and I love him," Ridley said, shrugging.

Her voice rang a tenderness that defied the playfulness of her words, and Auriana could practically feel the room warm with the strength of her obvious love.

Wherever you are, Thorin, she thought, You're a lucky man.

"My lady… Auriana… is that what troubles you? Are you concerned that you won't have a loving marriage?" Ridley asked gently, tilting her head to one side. "I have served King Varian for a long time. He is a good man, I have no doubt he'll treat you well…"

"Oh, no, I'm not worried about that in the slightest. He loves me, and I know he'd never hurt me," Auriana said quickly. "Besides, if he were to mistreat me, I would have absolutely no qualms about turning him into a fluffy little bunny as punishment."

In her mind's eye, she conjured an image of Varian as a very disgruntled bunny, and she clapped a hand over her mouth to smother an sudden, uncontrollable wave of giggles. Ridley, too, let out a loud snort of amusement, and from the look on her face, Auriana could tell that she was picturing the exact same thing.

"I would pay good gold to see that," Ridley laughed, shaking her head.

"I think a lot of people would," Auriana agreed. "I could charge an entrance fee; I'd make a killing at the Darkmoon Faire…"

She squeezed her eyes shut and chuckled at the thought, and for a moment, the mere act of laughing was enough to lift some of the weight from her shoulders. All too soon, however, Auriana's mirth was replaced by the uncomfortable but now-familiar knot of anxiety in her stomach. She pressed a firm hand to her belly in a half-hearted attempt to quell the sensation, but the gesture could not have been more useless if she had tried.

"Your plans for the Darkmoon Faire aside… there is something bothering you," Ridley noted, her forehead creasing in a sober frown. "I know I'm just your bodyguard, but…"

"You're not just anything," Auriana corrected her sharply. "Not to me."

She thought of Crowther again, and her chest tightened.

"I appreciate that," Ridley said, nodding, "But you haven't really answered my question…"

Her expression was patient and intractable, and Auriana realised there was little point remaining tight-lipped. She had tried to keep her worries to herself to avoid upsetting Varian, but they were alone, and she trusted in Ridley's discretion.

"Where should I start?" she sighed, throwing up her hands. "My hair, my dress, falling over in my dress, my vows... I mean, I know I'm no wordsmith, but it's a lot harder than I thought… and even if I somehow manage to make it through the wedding without becoming the laughing stock of the whole damn Alliance, I actually have to run a kingdom. I know I'm not alone, but it all seems so impossibly huge and I just… I couldn't bear it if I let anyone down. If I let him down…"

Auriana bit down hard on her lip, the sudden shock of pain allowing her to cut herself off before she really got rambling.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, shaking her hand through her hair. "I shouldn't have..."

"It's quite alright," Ridley assured her. "Sounds like you had a lot you needed to get off your chest."

"Apparently..."

Auriana pinched the bridge of her nose, and took several deep breaths. She hadn't meant to unload on her faithful guardswoman quite so spectacularly, but her worries had come bubbling to the surface with such force that she hadn't been able to stop. Fortunately, Ridley did not seem to mind, and she gave Auriana a small, encouraging smile.

"Well, I'm not sure I can give you any advice about being a queen," she murmured, gesturing pointedly to her guard's uniform, "But as to the wedding… perhaps it would help if you were to pick one thing to focus on, instead of trying to deal with everything at once?"

"That's a good suggestion," Auriana said truthfully. "One thing. I can do one thing."

She frowned in concentration, and narrowed her attention down to what she felt was one of her most pressing concerns.

"Alright. Ah… what were your vows to Thorin? If you don't mind me asking. Everything I write just seems… insufficient."

She had hoped that Ridley might be able to provide her with some much needed inspiration, but the bodyguard suddenly seemed reticent to talk, and she struggled to meet Auriana's eyes.

"Ah, my apologies, I can't rightly say," she said evasively.

"I'm sorry, it's a rather personal question," Auriana said uncertainly, wondering whether she had crossed a line.

"No, it's not that. We were married during the course of one very wild night in Booty Bay," Ridley admitted, her ears burning red. "Most of it is a bit of a blur."

"I see," Auriana said quietly, the corner of her mouth twitching as she tried not to laugh at the look on her bodyguard's face.

"I vaguely remember a drunken goblin shaman conducting the ceremony, and at some point I think I punched a draenei woman in the face. Thorin's beard somehow caught fire, too," Ridley snorted. "I've never seen anything burn that fast. Honestly, it was probably just about the worst wedding anyone's ever seen, but…"

"But you're happy?"

"Oh, aye. I wouldn't trade my lunkhead for all the gold in Stormwind," Ridley agreed, her eyes sparkling with genuine affection. "My lady… Auriana… I may not remember the exact words, but I know that I told him I loved him, and that was more than enough. I'm certain King Varian will feel the same."

Auriana smiled faintly, and was just about to open her mouth to reply when there came a sharp, authoritative rap at the study door. Ridley instantly came alert, as she was trained to do, though Auriana doubted that anyone who intended to harm her would knock. Unless of course it was Falster again, or worse, the tailor, back for a fourth 'final' fitting.

"What now?" Auriana glowered. "I swear to the Light…"

She wanted nothing more than to be left alone for the rest of the day, and her hands inadvertently balled into fists. Much to her surprise, however, it was not Falster or the tailor who opened the door, however, but none other than a beaming Tess Greymane.

"Bad time?" she asked brightly, sticking her head into the small gap between the open door and its frame.

"Princess Tess!" Auriana exclaimed, instantly relaxing her somewhat threatening posture. "My apologies, I thought you were someone else. Come in."

"Well, I should hope so," Tess said primly. "Is everything alright?"

The Gilnean Princess stepped into the study with a confident, casual swagger, and quickly made herself at home on the chaise. She had joined her parents in Stormwind weeks earlier, though with all the fuss around the wedding, Auriana had only had the chance to speak to her on a handful of occasions. Still, from what she little had seen, she knew Tess to be a clever and independent young woman, with a tongue as quick and sharp as her wit. Auriana also knew that Tess and Anduin got along famously, though she couldn't fathom why Tess would have come to see her, of all people.

"Everything is… fine," Auriana said quickly, hoping that Tess would not catch the lie. "Ah… can I help you? Anduin isn't here, but they should be back later this afternoon…"

"I'm not here for Anduin, actually," Tess said slowly.

She crossed her legs and laid her hands delicately in her lap, every inch the picture of proud Gilnean nobility - though there was nothing ladylike about the sly, mischievous glint in her dark eyes.

"Don't you think that it's a little unfair that King Varian and Father and the others get to go out hunting, while we're stuck here in the Keep?" she asked coyly, choosing every word with the utmost care.

"Ah… I suppose. I hadn't actually given it that much thought…" Auriana said honestly.

"I mean, it's your wedding too, right?" Tess continued. "Do you really think you ought to be up here working, while the boys get to have all fun?"

She seemed to be making an effort to appear as wide-eyed and innocent as possible, though even Auriana was not so poor at reading people that she believed the act for a second.

"Did you have something in mind?" she asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Oh, nothing too specific," Tess said blithely, "But some of the other ladies and I thought that we might take you out for a drink?"

"A drink?" Auriana repeated, thrown by the unexpected suggestion. "And which ladies?"

"Oh, friends only, of course, like me, and Mother," Tess said reassuringly.

"And?" Auriana pressed, sensing that this was intended to be a far larger affair than Tess was letting on.

"And… ah… I may have invited Jaina, Moira, and Tyrande. Oh! And Aysa. The blood elf woman, too. Valeera? She seemed very pleased to have been included," Tess smiled. "They're all waiting outside…"

Auriana's gaze subconsciously flicked to the door, and she swallowed nervously.

"You convinced them all to come? How? What did you tell them?" she asked, not quite able to believe that Tess had roused a group of the most powerful women in the Alliance to take her out drinking, of all things.

"Oh, this and that," Tess said dismissively, with a casual wave of her hand.

"Such as?"

"Well… if I had to give an example…" Tess said, with a theatrical sigh, "Tyrande thinks that this is all a very important Kul Tiran tradition, and that she will cause great offense to you if she refuses to attend."

"A Kul Tiran tradition? Really?" Auriana asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "And how do you know that I'm half Kul Tiran, anyway?"

She was certain that fact had never come up in any of their brief conversations, though she supposed that it was just as likely that Anduin had filled Tess in on her background.

"I do my research," Tess said vaguely. "It's unimportant. What matters is that you agree to attend - and if anyone asks you about Kul Tiran traditions, just… lie."

Her piercing brown eyes narrowed, and she tented her fingers beneath her chin.

"You can lie, right? Anduin is bloody hopeless; he goes red as a beetroot if he so much as thinks about uttering a falsehood…"

She shook her head in grave disappointment, as if the inability to lie convincingly was a particularly egregious failure of character.

"Ah… I'm not sure it matters. Tess… you do know that Jaina is also Kul Tiran, right?" Auriana countered. "You can't just make up traditions, she'll figure it out…"

She trailed off uncertainly at the look on Tess' face, for it seemed as if the Gilnean Princess were now struggling to contain a burst of mischievous laughter.

"Why, who do you think gave me the idea?" Tess said archly, and in that moment, Auriana came to fully appreciate that she was being played like a damn fiddle.

Tess was still the picture of coy innocence, of course, though Auriana was now certain that this whole thing had been planned well in advance, and was not as spur of the moment as Tess' attitude would suggest. Still, Tess was not so blind as to notice Auriana's reticence, and she leaned forward on the chaise with a kind, consoling expression.

"Auri… can I call you Auri?" she asked. "Anduin calls you Auri, but Mother says I'm always being too familiar…"

"Auri is fine…"

"Well, I don't mean any offense, and I certainly don't presume to know you as well as Anduin, or King Varian," Tess said gently, "But it seems to me… and perhaps a few others... that you've been a little... uptight, of late..."

"Uptight? I'm not… uptight," Auriana spluttered, sitting bolt upright in her chair. "I… I'm just… very… very… ah... focused."

"If that's what you'd like to call it," Tess said, with a delicate shrug of her shoulders, "But I think we can both agree that you are well overdue for some good old fashioned fun. And a few stiff drinks."

Auriana scowled so impressively that she caused Tess' cool, calm expression to briefly slip, though even she had to admit, however reluctantly, that the Gilnean Princess had a point. She knew she could be an intense person at the best of times, let alone under the immense pressure of her own very imminent wedding - and she couldn't really remember the last time she'd really had fun. She sighed.

"Does Varian know about all this?" she grumbled, wondering if Tess had concocted her plan at his behest.

"Of course he doesn't know, I'm not stupid. You may not have noticed, but he can be a touch overprotective where you are concerned," Tess quipped, deadpan.

That, at least, made Auriana snort, though Ridley appeared considerably less amused.

"King Varian may not know, but I do. Where did you intend to take her?" she asked, her right hand drifting to the pommel of her sword.

As much as Ridley appeared outwardly relaxed and amiable, she took her duty very seriously, and did not see Auriana's safety as a joking matter.

"It's a surprise, though it's nowhere dangerous, I assure you," Tess insisted, her tone leaving little room for argument. "Light, you make it sound as if a horde of barbarians are going to set upon her the moment she leaves the room. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"You don't know the Lady Auriana very well, do you?" Ridley snorted. "She could find trouble standing alone in an empty field. Er… no offense, my lady."

"No, that's true," Auriana admitted. "I probably could."

Tess at least had the good grace to smirk; though while she conceded the point with a graceful nod, she was not so easily dissuaded from her ultimate goal.

"Aren't you one of the most powerful mages on Azeroth, Auri? Between you and Lady Jaina, I'm sure we can handle anything that might arise," she argued, "And that's not even counting Tyrande and the others…"

"That may be, Princess, but I'm not letting her out of my sight," Ridley growled warningly.

"Then you'll just have to come with us, won't you?" Tess concluded, rising to her feet and looking the older woman dead in the eye.

They stared at one another for a long time, neither so much as blinking, before Tess finally turned her head to look at Auriana for approval. She was certain, eager, though Auriana wasn't sure that she could muster the same enthusiasm. As kind as her new peers in the Alliance had been, it was another thing entirely to approach them in an intimate, informal setting - especially when there was alcohol involved, as Tess surely intended. Ridley, too, seemed hesitant, though that perhaps had a good deal more to do with her concern over Varian finding out, than because she actually perceived Tess' plan to pose a serious risk.

On the other hand, perhaps it would be fun to spend the afternoon with the other women of the Alliance. Certainly, it had to be better than wallowing alone in Varian's study and unloading her problems on poor, patient Ridley...

Auriana rose to her feet, her fists balling determinedly, and nodded.

"There! It's settled," Tess exclaimed, clapping her hands together in delight.

She bared her teeth in a wide, satisfied smile, shattering the last illusion of innocence and making Auriana feel as if she had been very successfully hunted. Evidently, Greymane's daughter was used to getting her way, and was not one to be underestimated.

"Um … should I change?" Auriana asked, looking down at the heavy blue silk of her skirts. "Would trousers be better, I don't know if…?"

"No, no, you're perfect," Tess insisted, stepping forward to take Auriana firmly by the arm, before she half-guided, half-frogmarched her towards the door.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm been kidnapped?" Auriana sighed, exchanging a sidelong glance with Ridley as her bodyguard fell into step behind them.

"Probably because that's more or less exactly what's happening," Tess laughed, grinning like the cat that got the cream. "Now come on. Let's go take a few years off Varian's life, shall we...?"