The next morning breakfast had arrived at their door with an invitation for Jaina to go riding with Anduin a little later that morning. She'd accepted immediately, but there were nagging concerns about Kalec feeling left out.
"Are you certain you won't be bored?" Jaina asked, looking up from lacing her boots. She'd put on trousers suitable for riding and had plaited her hair.
"Absolutely," Kalec reassured her. He took her long red coat off the stand by the door and held it out for her. "I could go flying or wander around the castle. There are a number of nice-looking reading nooks in this wing. I have lots of things to read so I might do that."
"If you're sure?" she took the coat but set it aside.
"Jaina," Kalec gently gripped her upper arms and leaned down to kiss her nose. "We talked about this before we left. You don't need to worry about me."
Jaina rested her hands on his chest."I just don't want you to feel left out," she said. "You were worried before."
"And they have thus far proven foundless. Go have fun," he said, turning her and handing her the coat again. "You've been looking forward to this. Don't feel guilty about taking some time to do something you want to do." He punctuated his statement by lightly swatting her rear.
Jaina jumped a step and whirled to face him, surprised but also amused. Kalec grinned at her then turned and flopped onto the large couch by the fire. A quick summon and he had book in his hands.
Her sigh was a bit huffy but she left. Anduin was just coming down the hall as Jaina was closing the door behind her. She smiled and put on her coat, the long red fabric with green holly embroidery swinging around her legs.
"Morning," Anduin greeted. He was likewise outfitted for riding, though he had additional visible layers Jaina didn't need as a frost mage. His riding coat was draped over one arm still, stiff with extra fabric and Jaina could feel the light buzz of magical warding. Last time his coat was heavy with woven panels of steel and mail.
"Good morning," Jaina said falling into step. "New coat."
Anduin grimaced. "This was the end result of a compromise." He moved his arm and the coat flopped. "It's a bit big for me but Father ordered it hoping I'd get more than one season out of it."
Jaina smiled. The way Anduin was growing it was debateable if the coat would fit next year. At the moment he seemed to be built along leaner lines than Varian but he was rapidly approaching his father's height and it was entirely possible he'd broaden as he grew.
"Did you have to stage an intervention for Varian last night?" she asked, smiling more broadly as he rolled his eyes and made a disgusted sound. "I'm sorry I abandoned you in your hour of need."
"They didn't destroy the training grounds and they didn't hurt one another badly but they'll probably be a bit sore from the hangovers if nothing else. Father's still asleep as far as I'm aware and Broll-" he paused as they turned a corner, feet also coming to a halt. "Broll is still here, as you can see."
The druid had fallen asleep in bear form in the middle of the hallway. Anduin sighed and stepped around the lightly snoring mound of fur. Jaina stifled a laugh and followed. Their horses were ready at the stables - as was their escort of guards.
They saddled up and rode out of Stormwind at a brisk trot. Soon they were through the gates and into Elwynn forest. The mounted guards spaced themselves out a bit ahead and behind the pair, giving them some privacy. Jaina pulled up her mount to walk beside Anduin's.
"You said they didn't hurt one another badly, so they did hurt one another?"
"Bruises," Anduin said. "I healed them up and sent them to bed." He sighed and shook his head. "That's just not my type of entertainment. When I was younger father's thoughts and opinions were my whole world. I thought it was something that men did, something that Wrynn men did. I tried very hard to be the warrior my father wanted. That didn't work out so well but I think he likes me all the same." His smile was lopsided but there was something sad in the way it didn't fully light him up.
"Anduin," Jaina paused, too many thoughts fighting for attention. Anduin's expression was placid - a mask of diplomatic rigor that Jaina was startled to see, though she knew he'd been trained; She'd done some of the training herself!
"Your father is a warrior," Jaina said, nodding in agreement. "That is one way to live, but it isn't the only way in the world. It is, however, the way that Varian knows."
"And I recognize that he tried to do his best the only way he knew how," Anduin said, the stoic mask cracking and falling away. He sighed. "Moments like him and Broll sparring and having one hell of a good time just highlight how different we are from one another. My way is different from my father's and we have found peace with that. But I worry it isn't what Stormwind needs."
"Why? What happened?" This was more than just seeing his father roll around in the snow with one of his friends like a schoolboy.
Anduin was a long time in responding. The horses hooves crunched in the snow along the trail and wind made the trees creak. He looked as if he was about to speak more than once, but remained silent.
"It's many things all at once, Aunt Jaina," he said finally, his voice pitched low and private, brows furrowed slightly. "The world is more complicated than I imagined and it's changing."
"Last night was lovely in some aspects but it was uncomfortable in some others. There were political games being played and while I've been noticing them for awhile, this year they stole some of the magic. As the night grew later the suggestions that I pair up with someone's daughter got more bold. That was... uncomfortable to say the least," he said with great feeling. Jaina had to hide a smile behind a hand, though Anduin wasn't looking at her just then.
He continued, "Father disappeared and I played host. I've done it in the past because he dislikes parties and thinks it's good training for me. I can see why so that wasn't the parts which struck me. First I realized that I had to look down on some of the Nobles at the party." He looked over at Jaina. "And I mean that literally. Lord Dabbish is a great deal shorter than I remember him being."
Anduin looked away again, eyes focused on the trail ahead of their horses. "Second... I think it was after I realized you and Kalec had snuck off. Father was in the other room and I was left responsible. I was reminded that one day my father won't be there at all. That took away some of the magic too," he concluded, falling into silence. The frown had eased into a resigned sadness and Jaina's heart ached for him. If she'd had a longer reach she'd have put a comforting arm on his shoulder but that would have to wait until they'd dismounted.
"Eventually," he stressed the word, a bit more levity entering his expression, "I'll have a family but it will be different. Light willing that first Winterveil without father will be a day long in the future, but it's..." He trailed off.
"It's hard, facing the mortality of your own parents," Jaina said. Her mother had been an eternal pillar of strength - until the cancer. Seeing how thin and frail she'd become had given a young Jaina nightmares long before she realized her mother wasn't getting better and would be leaving her forever. Her father had seemed as indomitable as a winter storm, weathering the death of his wife and times of war; but he too died.
"I was too young to remember my mother but there have been others. Bolvar is gone. Father's hair is greyer. Genn's has become more white."
"So has mine," Jaina said, trying for a small joke. She was successful and Anduin laughed. "Granted my circumstances were different," she allowed.
"It is the way of things," Anduin said. "The sun rises and falls on kings and princes alike," he said, appearing to recite something which had been said to him. "My father is a great warrior and great defender. There have been times when warriors have been needed by our kingdom. Icecrown and the Cataclysm for two recent examples. I worry I won't be enough should another come."
"You will be," Jaina said, fervently believing it. "You've become a good man, Anduin. When the time comes you will do what any of us does; the best you can."
He smiled a bit. "Thank you, Aunt Jaina."
"The world needs warriors, yes, but the world also needs healers. That is something I have come to appreciate far more than I did before. And perhaps that is what your people need most and why the Light has led you as it has." She smiled. "You will do well by your people."
Anduin ducked his head. "Then I shall have to do my best and pray."
"You won't be alone you know," she said. "Even your father has advisors and allies. You're already on good terms with Tess Greymane so Stormwind's relationship with Gilneas seems sound. Others will rise from the ranks, inherit seats or join your court."
"Father had a network of peers and mentors when he was younger. Arthas, you, Bolvar, Uther, Khadgar, his uncle Anduin. There aren't too many people in the rising generation of rulers in the Alliance; it's me, Tess and Dagran among the hereditary titles. I have lost some of my mentors but gained others and I appreciate everything I have been taught by my teachers, yourself included. I am beginning to wonder though, have I been remiss in my duties by focusing so much on external issues rather than internal ones?"
"Have you been hearing that?" she asked.
He frowned. "I hear things. Father's been looking into some internal matters more since things are fairly stable here on Azeroth. When the problems at home started though, I was here. Should I have been handling-"
"No," Jaina interrupted. "You were doing what a prince should be doing - studying, learning, growing, making a favorable impression on foreign leaders so when you do inherit the crown, they have some measure of the person you are."
"There are problems here at home."
"There will always be problems at home," Jaina said. "But you and your father have been working to make sure that you have a home at all. Even so, you could not possibly have been expected to handle such matters on your own at ten or eleven, no matter how much of a natural you are." She smiled encouragingly.
"Seeing the threats and handling them was done as best could be done at the time. You're right, there were some missteps and things that fell through cracks. But given the circumstances? The manipulations and wars? It is a true credit to your father and his advisors that things are not worse. Your father now has the luxury of time to handle matters in places like Westfall because his attention isn't needed on a potentially world-ending theater of battle. And what you want to do to build a better peace will only give you both more room to improve things at home in the long term."
"Time is strange," Anduin said, sighing in annoyance. "It feels as if things are changing so swiftly and yet the specific things I want seem to move at a glacial pace!"
Jaina chuckled. "I'm afraid that will be an ongoing paradox," she told him with dry amusement. She sobered, watching the young man rolls his eyes and scoff with the impatience of youth despite all the wisdom beyond his years. "And you can always talk to me as Aunt Jaina and not the Grand Magus of Dalaran, you know."
He nodded. "Thank you."
"Hopefully I haven't made things harder for you and your father by being here," she said. "Varian hasn't been forthcoming by the response in Stormwind. If there even was one."
"Minimal as a response," Anduin said seriously. "Mostly the veterans who hate the Horde the most are leading or part of the campaign on Draenor. Among the nobles there was talk I heard here and there. I have gathered there are a few people who are not... Pleased by Dalaran's stance. Granted most of our merchant houses are beyond thrilled with the trade but there are a couple dissenting voices."
"Talk at the party?"
He twisted uncomfortably.
"I'm a big girl. I can take it."
Anduin scowled. "Mostly I heard expressions of concern for Dalaran's citizens but it was a polite concern if that makes sense and it wasn't a dominant topic of conversation. Some of the comments at the party last night were unkind, but they were few in number. I am fairly certain I was supposed to hear some of them, but some I wasn't. And when Tess showed up it got worse."
"Because of her father?"
"Because of Genn. When she showed up, I think she was doing it to spite her father and she was looking to have a bit of fun before she went to Darnassus. She said she very nearly convinced Lorna to come, but apparently Lord Arbormill's son has been a bit of a pest and Lorna didn't want to go on the off chance she'd need to be polite." He shook his head. "I'm getting off topic. Tess was going to show up to spite her father but Genn's absence was noticed and commented on and so she had to walk a finer diplomatic line than she wanted."
"Does she agree with her father?"
"Not on the topic of Dalaran," Anduin said. "There are a great many things that she and Genn disagree on."
"Is her training one of them?"
Anduin huffed a laugh, surprising in its sincerity. "To be quite honest, I don't know her father has taken notice."
Jaina frowned. "Surely he's noticed she's learned to be... quite diplomatic."
Anduin shook his head. "To be honest Aunt Jaina, I think she's learned most of that elsewhere. Her mother and Tyrande Whisperwind and I think even my father." His lips thinned and his expression darkened slightly. "It's not really my place to say anything or speculate."
Jaina thought Tess had moved like a sentinel or a plainclothes guard. Or perhaps one of Varian's SI:7 agents. And her father not noticing? That was odd to say the least. "What is she doing?" Her eyes narrowed. "You once asked me to cover for you in case your father asked where you were. Where were you? What were you doing?"
Anduin made an annoyed sound and gritted his teeth in a wince. "I was hoping you'd have forgotten that."
"I didn't."
"It's not really my place to talk about a lot of this."
Jaina gave him a flat look. "You climbed in through the window. You snuck off and felt the need for me to cover for you. Tell me." The 'or else' might as well have been said. There was holding things in confidence but there were things Jaina couldn't ignore.
Anduin glanced at her then continued looking ahead. "There are things that Tess and Genn disagree on. Things that Genn doesn't even see as a problem. Tess has taken it upon herself to fix some of those problems."
"Fix how?"
His chin stuck out as he scowled harder. "I don't have the whole picture."
"What do you have so far?"
He frowned for a contemplative moment. "This is between us? As Jaina and Anduin and not related to anything political?"
Jaina's eyebrows lifted. "Of course."
Anduin nodded. "This is speculation, mind you."
Jaina nodded.
Anduin bobbed another nod. "The way it looks to me from what I have gathered from talking with Tess and Lorna is that things were done a certain way in Gilneas. Culture and traditions. Since the wall fell and they went to Darnassus and joined the Alliance there's a clash. To be honest it's a bit hard to understand why some Gilnean traditions are they way they are."
He shook his head. "Makes it hard to talk to them sometimes. Not just Tess and Lorna but Genn and Mia and the others. Worgen curse? Fine. Giant dragon trying to rip the planet apart? Sure. Living in exile because the undead have bombed your country? Stiff upper lips! Proper health education? Suddenly it's the end of the world," he said shaking his hands in a pantomime of fear and rolling his eyes. "Hide the children! Those libertines in Stormwind are going to corrupt them."
"What?"
"That's what I said," Anduin said with a huff. "I know I shouldn't judge other cultures but it's so strange. They have some very funny ideas that just run counter to all common sense. Anyway the point is that Darnassus isn't human so while they live in a way that many Gilneans consider strange, it can be dismissed because they're elves. Stormwind? Not so much. We're a human kingdom too." Anduin frowned. "Apparently they've always found us a bit strange, but Lordaeron is gone and, well-" He shrugged and looked apologetic.
"Kul Tiras has become isolationist," Jaina provided.
"That. And Dalaran is full of mages who are-" He cut himself off.
"Strange and libertine?" Jaina asked, arching a wry brow and smirking just a bit.
"Y-yes. Strange at least and half filled with elves so you can be excused away," Anduin said with a wince. "Well, anyway, we're what's left of the human kingdoms of the Alliance and we've not fallen to chaos and ruin. We're actually doing rather well all things considered. So people are thinking more critically about some of their traditions and views."
"And that is causing problems," Jaina concluded. She'd not really considered the social impact of the Gilneans losing their homeland after such long isolation; she'd been more concerned with helping the refugees and the Alliance as a whole.
"Yes."
"And Tess is trying to fix them?" She questioned, wondering. How? Doing what? What specifically was she doing that required she move with stealth and cunning?
"Yes."
"By sneaking out of upper story windows, freeclimbing castle keeps and engaging in lessons in diplomacy her father, the king, doesn't know about?"
Anduin winced. "Yes? I said I don't have the full picture."
"So what were you doing?" Jaina pressed.
Anduin sighed. "I sort of... invited myself along that day. She's got her eye on some of her countrymen but she doesn't want them to know she's keeping track of what they're doing. Father wouldn't have approved of some of the places we ended up. I didn't plan on tagging along, but I thought I was making headway on the armistice idea and then suddenly we were in the brawler's arena."
Jaina closed her eyes and sighed. "Anduin."
"I know, I know," he said, actually sounding apologetic.
"Crawling in the window?"
"Well it was the best way to avoid notice. And it was...kinda fun."
Jaina covered her face with a hand. "Oh, Anduin." She fixed him with a stern look. "Next time you think you and your father are so dissimilar think about that."
Anduin opened his mouth then closed it, looking thoughtful. "Huh." He grinned mischievously at her and Jaina could see how devastating that particular expression was going to be very soon.
Fortunately he hadn't quite grown into a heartbreaker and she was immune both by virtue of her position as a relative and easily recalling when he was ten.
Jaina arched a brow at him. Anduin ducked his head.
"How about I promise no crazy adventures?"
"I think that would be best," she said.
Duly chastised, Anduin turned his mount towards the pathway home and the conversation to lighter topics.
After a pleasant few hours out in the forest they decided to end their ride and return for lunch. Jaina listened to Anduin with half an ear as he spoke about some of the outreach programs Varian and he were spearheading to reduce the amount of resentment and unrest in Westfall. Her thoughts had wandered back to Kalec. She hoped he hadn't been too bored as her morning ride had lasted longer than she'd expected it to.
Cheering and a smattering of applause drew her attention as they walked their horses into the stable yard.
"What's that?" she asked.
"No idea," Anduin said as he swung down from his horse without ill effect.
Jaina managed not to fall off her horse and took a few ginger steps once she was down. The cheering happened again.
"I bet father and Broll are sparring again," Anduin said with a sigh. He shrugged out of his heavy coat and handed it to the nearest guard. "Might as well see how bad it is."
Laughing, Jaina followed him. She'd been poor support the evening before, after all.
"Point!" a basso voice called out to more cheers.
"That sounds like Broll," Anduin mused, hurrying forward.
Jaina followed, stopping short in surprise. Broll was on the sparring ground as she'd expected but he was adjudicating for a shirtless Varian... and an equally shirtless Kalec. The two were sparring.
Varian held Shalamayne as a single blade in a low guard. Across the snow, Kalec held his own sword at the ready. They were both grinning like loons as they faced off.
Jaina had understood Kalec knew how to use a sword. She'd seen him summon a blade to defend the azure whelplands and he'd mentioned in the past that he'd studied the weapon. She knew all of this but it was very easy to forget.
They held their poses and by some unspoken signal they rushed at one another with gleeful abandon. The blades clashed in a quick series of exchanges that burst violet as the spell Kalec had cast on both of their weapons to dull them, met with shocking force.
Jaina, who'd been standing behind Kalec, was treated to an eyeful of the way his muscles rippled and flexed as he moved. The two backed off a few steps then clashed again, circling one another in the center of the training ground.
The cheers of the guards were distant to her ears. She knew the blades were safe but her heart still leapt to her throat as they exchanged bows. Varian's torso flexed and he gritted his teeth as he brought his blade down on the dragon's; he was not holding back in the slightest. Kalecgos was holding back in strength but the King of Stormwind was making him work for it.
The two backed off then rushed at one another again, long hair flying behind them as they clashed furiously.
"Point!" Broll called as they stepped back from one another, exchange had gone to Varian. Kalec grinned and said something.
Roaring with laughter, Varian returned to his side of the training area. With a flourish the mighty blade was separated into its two halves, both edges glowing with the safety spell.
"Bring it!" Varian challenged.
Kalec snorted, a sound far more suited to his larger form and rolled his shoulders and neck as he resumed his own place. He caught Jaina's eye and his grin grew. A second blade was conjured into his off-hand. And then two more, very strange looking blades, winked into the air on either side of him. These slightly curved, single edged blades, conjured by magic, were held by magic alone and had no hilts nor guards. The crowd murmured among themselves and Varian and Broll both laughed, delighted. The edges of these blades flashed purple and they too were dulled for sparring.
Kalec winked saucily at her then turned back to Varian. He twirled the blades he held and the ones suspended on either side did likewise. Oh. Well.
"Start!" Broll called out and the two challengers tensed waiting for the other to move. Jaina could not say who went first, but the sound of the blades clashing was great and terrible, echoing off the stone walls of the Keep and drawing more attention.
Varian was quick, the veteran of hundreds of battles and aided by the ferocity of Goldrinn. Kalecgos had the stamina and life-time of a dragon and was a master mage, easily able to manipulate multiple spells with ease - but these were complex levitation workings which required both power and attention. They were hard enough to do on their own and he was also dual wielding blades in his hands.
Unencumbered by such trifling things as a body, the levitated blades could spear and slice and move in ways that a swordsman could not. Here it seemed Varian finally had found a challenge and was apparently loving it. He managed to knock one of the floating blades down then stood on it, taking it out of the fight while he defended against Kalec's hand-held swords and the levitated one he brought around to flank.
The two halves of Shalamayne caught Kalec's blades and the muscles of both combatants strained as they tried to use brute force. Varian took a step too far in advancing on Kalec and freed the trapped mage-blade. The weapon swept up like a guillotine in reverse, batting Varian's long tail of hair; had the weapon been sharp it would have cut off half of it!
The two, now breathing heavily, exchanged blows further, the air around them now steaming in the cold, muscles slick with sweat. The crowd continued to cheer, Broll leaning in as close as he dared to watch for fouls or strikes.
Kalec's hair was wild, his eyes glowing with power as he turned. The broad planes of his back faced her now, strong and tense. New marred only with a couple new bruises adding to the few light scratches from their bedroom activities the previous night. Kalec's pants were tight enough they showed the strengths in his legs and the fine shape of his rear as he sparred. And while he was fighting physically, he was still able to control the mage-blades, sending them to draw Varian off his guard and create openings. The king was impressive in his own right for he held off not two but four blades - two which were untethered. His bare chest showed an array of old scars won in battles as both gladiator and on the field of battle as King. The king of stormwind was a study of contrasts, fast and decisive as he chose his moments, presenting an unwavering front when he had to defend.
Jaina's eyes were drawn to Kalec's back once more. The strength of his massive wings was somehow present in the way he moved - a creature not entirely of the earth. He belonged to the sky and his movements against Varian were agile and light. For all Kalecgos was a massive dragon, he was not a ponderous slow creature and that shone through in the fight before her. She knew what those muscles felt like under her hands, the silky feel of his hair, the flex of his rear and thighs.
Had it become hot in the courtyard all of a sudden?
The fight was called a draw by Broll who bounded forward to slap both men on the back. Kalec dismissed his blades, all four of them and Varian recombined his sword and handed it off to a mildly-put upon looking Anduin who'd stepped forward to check for wounds. Varian grinned and clasped arms with Kalec before embracing him and slapping him on the back as he would Broll - who did the same to the startled but pleased dragon.
"Jaina!" Varian roared, grinning at her in good spirits. He slapped Kalec on the back again and the dragon took a staggering half step. "This one's a keeper!"
Eyes turned to her and she could feel their weight. Her cheeks blazed. Of course Varian would find his total approval of her chosen consort only after they'd been brawling. Of course! But did he need to be so loud?
There was a lot of good natured laughter going on as guards, staff, stablehands and soldiers who'd been present for the show began to break up and return to their duties - or settle up bets.
The weight and sound were suddenly muted as Kalec smiled at her, perhaps a bit tentatively, fear and hope in his expression. He worried he'd embarrassed her now that reality was intruding on them again - but he'd made a friend and had been enjoying himself. She smiled back, relieved that now he and Varian had something in common other than her. Jaina could see the relief wash the tension out of his shoulders. The smile he wore got more excited, his eyes shining. Drawn forward, she held out her hands to his. He embraced her, tucking his head to the side and pressing his face to her neck.
"I see you found something to do other than read. Did you have fun?"
He nipped her ear boldly and snorted as he bumped his forehead against hers. "I did."
"Father," Anduin said with a sigh.
"The blades were dulled!" Varian said, clapping a hand on Anduin's shoulder - Jaina could hear the light smack. "And we had a marvelous time. Lunch? Broll?"
"I should be getting back," the druid said.
Varian bade farewell to his friend while Anduin sighed at his father in Jaina's peripheral vision.
Jaina was still held in Kalec's grip. She wrinkled her nose at him. "You're all sweaty."
"I had a workout," he said, grinning. "I want lunch."
"You both need to put shirts on before you catch a cold," Anduin said, suddenly the adult in the group.
"Bah! Kalec doesn't and this is hardly cold," Varian complained.
"Shirt, shower, you let me check those bruises and then lunch," Anduin said. "And maybe not in that order but you know what I mean, Father." Holding Shalamayne blade down in one hand, he began to shove his father in the direction of the keep with the other.
"You need a shower," Jaina told Kalec.
Kalec growled. "You smell like horses. You do too."
"Leaving. Now," Anduin said and the shoving in Jaina's peripheral vision grew a bit more frantic.
Varian laughed and let himself be pushed. "An hour?" he called jovially over his shoulder.
"At least," Kalec called back before Jaina could speak up, his luminous eyes never leaving hers, the growling edge of his voice making her aware of how close they were and how relatively undressed he was. It was hot outside. Or maybe it was her coat.
"Going!" Anduin said, true panic entering his tone.
Kalec's grin was half feral leer as he straightened. He took her arm like a gentleman and escorted her away. If their pace was quick, well, they only had an hour.