"Asdfgnrkgnkdmc," Braelyn groaned as she woke up. She'd forgotten to close the curtains, so when she opened her eyes, the sunlight hit her face full on. She buried her head under her pillow and tried to remember why she felt so bad.

Rum. It had to be. Nothing felt as bad the morning after.

Memories began to assault her sluggish brain. She remembered accepting Jack's proposal and coming back to the inn to drown her sorrows. She blushed as she recalled staggering through the streets in a drunken stupor to go visit the king.

The king!

"Oh my gods, I kissed the king!" Braelyn gasped, sitting bolt upright. She hissed as the sunlight stabbed her in the eyeballs. "I kissed the king!" She covered her face with both hands as she remembered everything she told Varian Wrynn, including her drunken confession.

And the frolicking.

Never in a million years would she live down the mortification. She would never be able to look at the king again.

I'm going to have to go live in a hut in Zangarmarsh.

"Now, that's not what a man wants to hear his lady say the first thing of a morning," a male voice said, and Braelyn cried out in shock as Jack suddenly appeared by her bedside. He did not look happy, his brown eyes absent of the mischievous glint Braelyn had come to associate with the rogue.

Jack handed Braelyn a vial of health potion. "Drink this, love. We need to talk."

Confused, Braelyn did as he asked, thanking the Light when the potion took effect. Her headache faded, and she turned to face her fiancée, able to keep her eyes open without squinting in pain. "Why are you here, Jack?" she asked.

"I came to get my ring back."

"Huh, what?" Braelyn said, confused. "You don't want to marry me anymore?" She was unsure if she'd heard Jack correctly. Was the hangover still messing with her mind?

"Oh, I still want you as my wife, Rae," Jack said, reaching out to clasp her left hand. His grip was tight, and there was a fierce glow in his eyes. "Now more than ever. The king, however, has forbidden it."

"Wh... what?" Braelyn stammered. "He actually spoke to you?" A seed of hope took root in her heart. King Varian had been serious.

"He summoned me to the Keep this morning," Jack sneered. "Him and his little lap dog, Mathias Shaw. They told me just what to expect if I forced you into marrying me, or if I let your secret become public knowledge. I believe the words they used most often were 'Stockades' and 'chopping block'."

"I... don't know what to say," Braelyn said as Jack slid the engagement ring off her finger and put it in his pocket.

"Praise the Light?" Jack suggested with a hard smile. "I know you were reluctant about accepting me, so I don't expect you to be sad about this." He got up and walked to the door, turning to give her one last look before vanishing.

What Braelyn didn't realize was that Jack Devereaux did not like to lose. He may have freed her from their engagement, but it would come at a price. Amlen would see to that. As Jack exited the Gilded Rose, he gave his fellow rogue a subtle nod of the head. In less than an hour, half of Stormwind would know about Braelyn's antics with the king.

Jack grinned as he mounted his gryphon and headed for Goldshire's Lion's Pride Inn. He needed to see a man about a Hawke.

Instead of going straight home, Braelyn decided to spend a couple of days in Stormwind. The first item on her agenda was to take a bath and sleep off the lingering affects of her rum spree.

She called for the maid, Lena, and asked her to bring hot water. The normally shy girl nodded her head, but instead of leaving, stood in the doorway, staring at Braelyn with curiosity. "Lena?" Braelyn prompted. "The water, please?" The maid jumped guilty, and scampered from the room, blushing.

That was odd, Braelyn thought. Then she looked in the mirror and grimaced. The girl had probably never seen a woman dressed so nicely, yet look so terrible.

Several hours later, Braelyn descended into the dining room and discovered that Lena wasn't the only one to have developed a sudden case of the stares. The bar fell silent and its patrons focused on Braelyn with an intensity that made her cheeks burn without understanding why. Some of the people had curious looks, like Lena's, but were some were amused, and others were disapproving.

One woman even called out a cheerful, "Well done, girl. Well done!"

Braelyn didn't understand it. She was dressed in a perfectly acceptable set of mail armor, her new bow clipped to her back, and her hair tied back in a tidy bun. She wasn't naked, dirty, or on fire. Why, then, were they staring?

Instead of eating in the dining room, Braelyn decided to eat up in her room. She placed her order, and headed up the stairs as quickly as she could. As she left, the room behind her erupted into furious whispering.

What in Anduin Lothar's name was going on?

The next day, things were even worse. Braelyn decided to go to the Mage's Quarter and Cathedral Square to buy some gifts for her parents, hoping to placate their wrath when they found out she would not be seeing Lord Devereaux again. Everywhere she went she was followed by the stares and whispers of just about everyone she passed.

When she confronted a group of draenei priests who were staring at her like she was a succubus, they said nothing, as did the worgen hunter who wolfwhistled at her by the canals.

Did news about her short lived engagement get out? Did Jack somehow spin things so that she appeared to be the unacceptable one?

That seemed likely when Braelyn went to the orphanage to donate some toys and the matron refused to let her see the children. The older woman said that the children needed to be protected from bad influences, without explaining why Braelyn was considered as such.

It got so bad that Braelyn returned to the Gilded Rose early. When she got inside, the stares made her snap. "What the bloody hell is going on?" she demanded in frustration, glaring at a nearby dwarven death knight.

"Nothing, lassie, just enjoyin' tha view," he replied with a salacious wink, and Braelyn squeaked with indignation as his companion, a gnome warrior, pinched her on the arse! Two minutes later and both men were on the floor, Braelyn's mail-clad foot firmly lodged between the warrior's legs.

Their friends went to defend them, but someone else called out to discourage them. "Attack her and she'll stick the SI: 7 onto ya!"

"What?" Braelyn asked in shock, allowing the death knight and warrior to get up and leave. Her having any power over the SI: 7 was laughable. No one would answer her. With a string of curses in Thalasian, she stomped upstairs and slammed her door, blocking out those Light damned whispers.

An hour later there was a soft knock on her door. Braelyn opened it to find Lena carrying a food-laden tray and a letter. Braelyn stood aside to let the girl pass, noticing that the girl was no longer staring in curiosity. Instead, the maid seemed rather awestruck.

"Lena?" Braelyn asked. "Will you please tell me why people are staring at me and whispering all the time?" The girl looked startled, and shook her head, heading for the door. "Please, Lena!" Braelyn begged. "It's driving me crazy. I don't understand what's happening."

The girl hesitated, but seeing Braelyn's desperate face, she nodded once. "It's because of you an' the king, miss," Lena said.

"Me and the king?" Braelyn asked in confusion. "Can you be more specific?"

"Well, the rumour 'round town is that you're the king's mistress, miss," the maid added, face turning cherry red. "They say that you and 'Is Majesty were seen kissin' and dancin' in the Keep."

It was Braelyn's turn to blush. She was so mortified that she couldn't speak for a good minute, Lena staring at her as if hoping the older woman would confess to the affair.

"Who? Who has been saying these things?" Braelyn asked, even though she had a fair idea who at least one of the rumormongers was.

Lena shrugged. "Everyone, miss."

Braelyn stood there, eyes twitching, which Lena took as her cue to leave. It was many minutes before she could bring herself to look at what the maid had brought her. Innkeeper Alison had sent her up a mug of ale, which Braelyn decided to avoid, and bowl of hearty seafood stew. Warm, freshly baked bread accompanied it.

Sitting alongside the bowl was a rolled up parchment tied with a royal blue ribbon. Braelyn's heart started pounding as she picked it up, rolling it in her hand to reveal the lion's head seal. The crown upon the lion's brow indicated that the letter came from King Varian himself.

"Oh, dear gods, why hast thou forsaken me?" Braelyn intoned dramatically as she almost crushed the missive in her fist. She sighed, breaking the seal and unrolling the parchment.

Miss Hawke,

Please report to Stormwind Keep at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning. There is something we must discuss.

Varian Wrynn.

"Truly, I am forsaken," Braelyn said, before dashing to the fire and consigning the king's letter to the flames. She didn't need it falling into the hands of Lena or any of the people downstairs.

"What is he thinking?" Braelyn murmured to herself, panic beginning to set in. "I can't go to the Keep! If people see me there it will make everything worse." Besides, she didn't want to see the king. What she was supposed to say? 'Sorry I made a drunken arse of myself and kissed you silly'? And what if he decided that he may as well make the rumours true? She didn't want to be the king's mistress.

Braelyn paced the floor, trying to think of a way to get out of the King's command.

Three hours later, the town clock struck 10 pm. Braelyn had yet to think of a plausible course of action, so she decided to fall back on what Andorien affectionately called the Hunter's Classic. Haphazardly throwing her gear in her bag, she went downstairs and paid her bill. She then headed for the gryphon roost and flew to Goldshire.

In short: she ran away.

When Braelyn got home, her parents were still up, so she tried sneaking up to her room. Unfortunately, Bitey heard her and launched himself at her, howling in happiness.

"Braelyn Maree Hawke, get in here right this minute!" Her mother yelled. Braelyn did so, hanging her head as she hoped they were just upset about Jack, and not because they'd heard about the king.

Ellysan Hawke was standing in the middle of their lounge room, looking furious. Her husband sat on the couch, his weapon in hand. The man was muttering to himself about needing a bigger sword and not being able to believe he had to fight his king for his daughter's honour.

As soon as she saw her daughter, Ellysan began a long, and very loud, tirade about how Braelyn shouldn't have kept such a secret from them. "How long has it been going on?" She demanded, glaring at Braelyn. "Since you returned from Silvermoon?"

"It hasn't been going on at all!" Braelyn cried in an effort to defend herself. Her father looked at her sharply.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I am not having an affair with King Varian."

"Don't lie to us Braelyn!" Ellysan snapped. Braelyn glared at her mother, but her mother cut her off. "Lord Devereaux came to visit yesterday. One of his servant's sons is part of King Varian's personal guard, and he told the Lord that he had seen you and the king cavorting with his own eyes. He said that you had kissed each other, right there in the courtyard, for anyone to see!"

Gods damn it, Jack! Braelyn thought with a groan.

"Is it true, sweetheart?" Jasper asked, with a frown.

Braelyn sighed. "It's true that I kissed the king, Dad," she confessed. "But that's all it was; a drunken kiss. It didn't mean anything," she added, which was a blatant lie. It had meant a great deal at the time, but she was not telling them about Jack's proposal. It would make her mother ten times angrier.

"Oh, Braelyn," her mother said, her anger vanishing quicker than a rogue on a battlefield. "What were you thinking?"

"I'm guessing she wasn't thinking," Jasper said, shaking his head. "Rum, right?" he added with a quick smile at his daughter as she nodded her head sheepishly.

"What are we going to do, Jasper? How will we deal with this?"

"I'm not sure there's much we can do," Jasper said. "Short of waiting it out."

"He's right, Mum," Braelyn added. "People will get bored eventually. It will be forgotten soon enough."

"I hope so, Sweetie," her mother sighed, and Braelyn gave her a quick hug before heading upstairs to bed.

As she slipped between her sheets, Braelyn tried not to think about the meeting she'd run away from. Just how mad would the king be when she when she didn't show up in the morning?

Noon the next day saw Braelyn in her garden, trying to comfort an upset Cameron. Her youngest, and favourite, student was in tears because he was no longer going to be able to undergo training. The Stonefield's had had a disastrous crop that year, and had to fire Cameron's father, Bradley. As a result, Bradley and all three of his sons were forced to take jobs at the Fargodeep Mine.

Braelyn was devastated. The mines were dangerous; prone to sudden collapses and kobold incursions, it was no place for anyone to work. Disease among the workers was rife, the hours were long, and the work itself was hard, even for the adults. For children, it was even worse, and they weren't even paid as much.

She had never felt so angry, or so powerless, as she did holding the little boy in her arms. She tried to convince him that everything would be all right, but knew it was a lie.

Eventually, Cameron stopped crying and detached himself from Braelyn's waist. He stepped away, looking behind her as he did so. The boy gasped, before dropping to his knees. "Your Majesty!" he cried.

Braelyn stiffened, not wanting to turn around. Duty forced her hand, however. She turned, dropping down into a curtsy. "Your Majesty," she murmured softly, noticing with alarm the anger burning in the monarch's eyes, as well as those of her parents', who were standing at his side.

Bitey had attached himself to the king's ankles, gnawing on his plate armor boots.

"Jasper, may I speak with your daughter in private?" Varian asked, his voice stern. His sapphire blue eyes pinned Braelyn in place, and she shivered.

Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.

"Of course, my king," Jasper said, bowing. "Ellysan and I will be inside if you need us." With that, Braelyn's parents abandoned her to her fate.

"Child," the king said, addressing Cameron, who was staring at Varian with an awestruck expression, "you are brave indeed to help take responsibility for your family. Your father should be very proud of you." He stepped forward and knelt before the boy, handing him a few sovereigns. "Take this and go buy yourself some treats."

Cameron's eyes lit up with joy. "Thank you, your majesty!" he cried, and ran off towards the town centre.

For a moment, Braelyn was too touched to fear the king's anger. That changed when Varian stood up and walked towards her, not stopping until he was almost on top of her. Because she only came up to his chin, she had to tilt her back to look up at him. His eyes were still radiating anger, and his jaw was clenched tight.

"I do not appreciate being disobeyed, Miss Hawke," he said.

"I'm sorry," Braelyn responded. She tried to step back, to give herself some space, but the king grabbed her arm, holding her in place.

"Are you?"

"Yes," she whispered. "I didn't mean to offend you, your highness, I just panicked."

"I see," the king replied, slipping her hand under his arm and guiding her to a garden bench. It was her favourite, nestled amongst her mother's beloved roses.

Braelyn was surprised when the king did not sit next to her, instead falling to one knee in front of her. "My King?" she asked, becoming flustered when the king removed his gauntlets and took hold of her left hand with one of his own. His free hand pulled something out of one of the pouches attached to his belt.

A gold band set with a large sapphire surrounded by small diamonds.

No no no no no no no. Not again.

"I will not allow you, or your good parents, to be dishonoured by the behaviour of a man who cannot stand to lose," the king said, practically snarling, and Braelyn's suspicions about Jack's role in starting the rumours were confirmed. "And I will not be condemned by those who are beneath me."

Braelyn could say nothing, her whole body gone rigid in shock. Her marry the King of Stormwind? The thought somehow managed to upset her more than the idea of marrying Jack.

She must have tried to flee, because she felt the king move slightly, pushing her back down. Her mouth flapped open and closed a few times before she finally spoke, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"Have you gone mad?!"

...

AN - whoooooo boy. The reason for Varian's anger and his comment about 'those beneath me' will be revealed next chapter. There's a reason why he's so pissed.

Next chapter: Braelyn's second proposal is dealt with, and we learn just why the King was so angry.