Hey! How have you been doing?
Well, I hope you like this second chapter! Tell me what you think in a review!
Chapter's warnings: Genderswap, Angst, sort-of OOC (again, you don't really know the characters), very minor OCs, and character's death.
Disclaimer: All I own is a Thunderfury key-chain, and Alliance necklace and an Alliance banner I share with my sister.
Chapter II:
It's been five days since their arrival to Lordaeron, and the people were starting to get restless.
King Menethil had received them with open arms, and his people had given them food and shelter, but Mara knew this was not enough to calm their aching hearts.
"Here, try eating something" she said passing her rations to another woman, who had lost her husband on the war and procured to feed her two small children before eating herself.
Once she made sure all the refugees were as comfortable as they could be, Mara got up and looked around the camp.
After reaching the northern human kingdom, all the survivors had been separated into groups and taken to different settlement around it, and they have found shelter in a small village in the outskirts of the Capital City.
Now and then, other survivors came and go, looking for loved ones they had lost contact with during the evacuation, and she prayed all the time they would find those they were looking for.
"Have the supplies arrived?" she heard commander Saumell ask, and turned around to watch the older man approaching.
The capital had promised to send aid to the refugees, but them, as military-men, knew that it could take a long time for that to happen, and even then, there was no guarantee that it would be enough for all of them
"No, not yet" she said, smiling sadly at him.
They couldn't ask for more than they already had been given, and they were eternally grateful with Lordaeron, but the people would not stay put for long.
Already the despair was biting at their hearts, and they were trying their best not to let it break them, or themselves.
What would they do now? What had happened to their kingdom? Who, if any, would take the crown? Were they now citizens of Lordaeron?
Commander Saumell rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder, trying to share what little strength he had.
Mara sighed tiredly, looking around the camp once more. The sun was rising on their sixth day here, and news needed to come soon.
"A squire is approaching!" the call from the town's vigilance tower sounded loud and clear and Mara looked up to watch her son ringing the bells "A squire from the Capital is approaching!"
Commander Saumell and her rushed to the village front gate, followed by the few soldiers that had been assigned here and a few curious villagers. The gates opened and in came two raiders clad in heavy armor, the crest of Lordaeron shining in their breastplates and shields.
They stopped a few meters away from them and dismounted, walking towards Commander Saumell –who was obviously the highest ranking soldier there-, and after exchanging respects, one said:
"Sir, your presence is needed at the Capital. King's orders" Mara looked at Saumell, who looked back at her with seriousness, both were trying to guess what this was about.
"Is there any problem?" he asked, not right out refusing the command he has been given, but not blindly following either.
King Terenas Menethil II may not be his king, but was the king who had helped them on their time of need, so the least they could do was pay him their respects.
The squired that had talked smiled at his question, and the other one surprised a laugh, which puzzled them, but before they could think they were been mocked, the first one said:
"I'm sorry sir, I think I didn't explained myself correctly" he bowed his head in apology, the smile still on his face "but this orders come from Sir Anduin Lothar, in behalf of Stormwind's Queen, her majesty Varian Wrynn"
A moment of silence passed between all of them, the news of their princess –now Queen-'s survival lifting a burden from all of their hearts.
"When…?" Saumell asked, almost breathless. The only thing preventing him from right down wiping was the overwhelming joy the news had caused him.
"They arrived two days ago at the Capital and are requesting the presence of those responsible of the evacuation of Stormwind City" among the people, the news of their young ruler's escape was resonating accompanied with cheers and praises to the Light.
Mara breathed in calmly, feeling relived for the first time in days, and ignoring the slight pain that assaulted her side, turned to talk to her commander.
"I'll take care of notifying the other survivors. Have a safe travel, sir" she smiled a true smile and was going do what she said when the Commander's words stopped her.
"No" Saumell had looked overwhelmed since hearing the good news, but now he looked serious once more "I'll notify the others, you go and meet with the Queen"
"Sir…" she was about to protest, but he was having none of it.
"They asked for the one responsible of saving our people, and that's not me Mara" he said, a smile gracing his lips, and he grabbed her shoulders to make her look him in the eyes, to see the sincerity in them "Take your kid with you and take the credit you deserve. I'll make it an order if I have to" he finished with a little playful tone and, after biding his goodbyes to both her and the squires, went to do his task.
Mara blinked, surprised at what had happened. Commander Saumell had never been a greedy man, but she had not been expecting him to so easily pass on the honors he would have surely gotten.
"Ma'am?" the voice of the squire brought her back to reality, and she nodded to let him know that she'll be ready to go in a minute.
With a movement of her wrist, she signaled Bolvar to come down and he ran to meet her, and off they went to the Capital city of Lordaeron, to meet their Queen.
Lordaeron was an impressive city indeed. With its tall towers and streets of withe marble, it was very luxurious and beautiful.
So maybe it was their own sense of nostalgia that made them think that it was still not as impressive and beautiful as Stormwind is…was.
They reached the Keep's gates faster than they thought, and the squires guided them into the Throne Room. As soon as they crossed the gates, Mara felt a hand grabbing her own, and not needing to see to know that it was her son's, she held it tight.
Admittedly, she felt a little nervous too, never having met a royalty face to face before and not knowing what would happen.
"Your majesties" the squires knelt as soon as they reached the steps of the throne "Knight Fordragon is here, as you requested" the squires stood up and stepped aside, letting her near the throne.
"Your majesty" Mara offered King Menethil a small courtesy, which was received with a kind smile, and then focused all her attention on the two figures standing beside the throne.
There they were, Sir Lothar and young Queen Wrynn.
The old man was standing tall and proud, his features serious and his head held high. He was the perfect image of strength and rectitude. Only one thing didn't make the knight cringe in shame when his sight fell upon her, and it was the hand that held the little girl at his side. He was holding her little hand with such tenderness that it seemed alien to the expression on his face.
Varian, on the other hand, was the image of a broken child. Her eyes were casted down, her shoulder dropped and all her figure radiated sadness. She was not crying, but Mara guesses that it was not for lack of wanting. But what tugged at her heart the most was how she was holding for dear life to the man's hand, as if that was the only thing that was keeping her together and if she let go, she would just shatter.
"Stand up, soldier" she heard the voice of Sir Lothar, and only now realized that she had knelt down "Tell me your name"
"Mara Fordragon, my lord. Daughter of Silvia and Hector Asterin. Widow of Bradley Fordragon. Proud Knight of Stormwind" she said with pride, not once looking away from the man's eyes "And this is my son, Bolvar Fordragon" she put a hand on Bolvar's head, pushing him forward a little, and he bowed respectfully "He's training to join the army"
Sir Lothar nodded in understanding, and letting go of Varian's hand, who was looking up at them for the first time since they entered to room, he walked till he was standing right in front of Mara.
"On your knees, soldier" he ordered with a firm tone, and once she did as she was told, he unsheathed his sword and held it at his side.
Mara swallowed hard, not being able to suppress the feeling of dread creeping up her spine.
"King Terenas, do I have your blessing?" he turned slightly to look back at the other man.
"Of course, Sir Lothar, you may proceed" the King said solemnly, nodding faintly.
Lothar spared a glance at Varian's direction, giving her a small smile, before focusing again on the woman kneeling before him.
"Mara Fordragon, you had defended your city and her people. When circumstances called for it, you acted. You didn't faltered in the face of the enemy and didn't back down when death was certain" Mara kept her eyes down during his speech, a great part of her felt unworthy of his words, thinking of all the people she was unable to help "You took your people out of harm's way and guide them to safety"
Lothar raised his sword and firmly, yet carefully, pressed its edge on one of Mara's shoulder and then the other.
"Rise up, Lady Mara Fordragon, High Clerist of Stormwind. Matron of our people" he sheathed his sword and stepped back a few feet.
Mara stood up slowly, her mind hardly believing what just happened. She had known she most likely would get rewarded for her actions, but to get such a high promotion and a nobility title to boot?
"Sir, I…" she was speechless, this was more than she deserved.
"Not sir, my lady, we are equals, you and I" Lothar held a hand up to silence her, and smiled reassuringly, with a warmth she hadn't been expecting to see on him when she first saw him "You did more than I during the fall of our city" a shard of shame and regret shined in his eyes and he rested a hand on the little girl's head "Thanks to you, our people are safe"
Mara sighed, feeling all the stress from the previous days leaving her body, and the pain came back at her at full force.
The hurt from her broken ribs and pierced lung was so blinding and came so fast she couldn't even scream; and the coopery taste on her mouth made her rise a hand to her lips and touch the blood that went pass them.
She looked at Lothar's face, saw the confusion and panic swirling in his eyes, but couldn't hear what he said nor feel his arms as he tried to catch her when her knees gave up.
The last effort Mara did was to look at Bolvar, and faced with his sad and terrified expression, she asked for one last thing.
'Light, grant me the strength…'
/-/-/-/-/-/
Bolvar was sitting before the Keep's sick bay, patiently waiting for news of his mother.
He hasn't really been thinking since he saw her fall to the floor in the Throne Room; in fact, he was trying hard not to think of anything.
Thinking meant wondering what had happened, how could he not see the signs, how utterly useless he felt. So he preferred not to do it
Sir Lothar was standing nearby, like him, waiting for an update on Mara's condition.
Neither of them held any hope for good news.
Lothar looked towards the child sitting in the other side of the hall, feeling sadness biting at his heart at seeing another child so devastated.
The guilt assaulting him was almost unbearable. He felt that he should have done something, think of a way to prevent what had happened. It didn't mattered how many times he told himself that there was no way he could have possibly saw it coming, he felt that he should have known.
He should have changed it.
"Anduin…" Varian's soft voice brought him out of his musings, and he looked down at the little girl tugging at his cape.
He smiled at her. He felt terribly guilty for what had happened to her, for what she saw, but the last thing Varian needed right now was to see it.
The door to the sick bay opened and the priest that came out of it neared him, and he met him half way, no longer patience.
"How is she?" the elderly man clad in white clothes looked exhausted, and he sighed tiredly before answering:
"She has several broken ribs, cut, bruises, internal bleedings…" he didn't kept on numbering things, there was no real point to do so "I don't explain to myself how she managed to survive for so long. She should be dead"
"Is she…?" he raised an eyebrow in wonder, confused by the priest's declaration.
"Barely. It shouldn't be long now"
Still sited on his place, Bolvar could hear all they were saying, but he pretended not to. Part of him didn't want to know. Part of him already knew.
His eyes were focused on his feet, but when he felt someone sit beside him, he looked up to find the young Queen of Stormwind.
Varian had really changed since the last time he saw her, for good and for bad.
For one thing she was taller, which was to be expected, and her hair was longer, reaching past her shoulders and kept off of her face by two smalls braids at both sides of her head that joined at the back of it.
She was paler, and looked slightly sick, but he understood why that may be. Her clothes were clean and elegant, but they were neither something a Stormwind Royalty would wear nor something that was made for her.
Her eyes were what had changed the most. They were no longer shinning with the excitement and bravado he had seen in them three years ago. Instead, they were opaque, tired and empty.
No, they were not empty, they were filled with sadness.
"Your name's Bolvar, right?" she whispered, looking at him by the corner of her eye.
"Yes, your majesty" Bolvar hesitated to answer, not really wanting to talk to anyone right now.
Varian, however, didn't say anything else. She didn't offered words of comfort, nor tried to cheer him up, nor tried to sympathize with him.
The only thing she did was cover his hand with her own, holding it in a loose grip that was easy to get rid of if he so wanted.
In a way, this was better than any of the other things she could have done, and it tugged strongly at Bolvar's heart-strings.
He no longer wanted to suppress the need to cry, so he let his tears ran freely down his face, leaning his head against the girl's shoulders.
"Lord Fordragon" after some time, a female voice called for him, although it took him a moment to realize she was talking to him "Your mother wants to see you" the woman clad in white priestess robes smiled softly at him and extended her hand for him to take.
She guided him inside the sick bay and towards the bed his mother laid pale and immobile on.
"Mother?" he called quietly nearing the bed, ignoring the presence of the priest and Sir Lothar standing on the other side of it.
Mara opened her eyes slowly, turning to look at Bolvar's direction, and smiled lovingly at him. If he didn't know any better, he'll think that this was one of those lazy summer days when he'll get up early and go to wake her up so they could go swim in the Mirror Lake.
"Hey there, baby" Mara whispered, rising a hand to cares his check "No, don't cry" she said, touching the wetness in her son's face "It's alright"
He wanted to yell at her right then. It was not alright, how could it be?
She was…she…she was dying.
Bolvar bit his lip to contain the hopeless scream that wanted to leave his throat, and lowered his head so his mother wouldn't see the tears that he couldn't hold in anymore.
"Here, I want you to have something" she extended her hand to grab at the little bedside table were they have put all her stuff, and when she found what she was looking for, she offered it to him.
It was a simple scarf pin of blue sapphire and gold, carved with the image of the golden lion of Stormwind's crest. His mother has had this since he could remember.
"Your grandfather gave this to your grandmother on their wedding day, and she gave it to me on mine" she made him open his hand and deposited the pin on it, closing his fingers around it "And now it's yours"
"Mother…" Bolvar looked up, the tears blurring his vision.
There were so many things he wanted to tell her, so many things he wanted to express, but none of them was able to come out of his mouth.
Mara pulled him close for a hug, caressing his back to sooth him as best she could. There was no way to spare him of the pain from what was inevitable.
"I want you to promise me that you won't give up on your training" she told him, feeling her body starting to go numb "Take care of yourself and never give your back to those who need your help" tears started to run down her face, and Bolvar held her tighter, nodding his head in acceptance "I love you, never forget that"
"I love you too" he whispered, burying his face on her shoulder and hugging her with all his might.
He didn't want to let her go; he wasn't ready to face what would come once he did. But too soon arms were pulling him away from his mother, and a white sheet was dropped over her figure.
He fought the arms that restrained him, but they were too strong and he was too tired. Eventually he was pulled out from the sick bay and he was right where he was before entering.
The only difference between then and now was that now he was an orphan.
Bolvar stayed there, not knowing what to do. The same priestess that had guided him to his mother's death-bed was beside him, lovingly caressing his hair and whispering words of comfort to him.
Some other people were offering their condolences too, but he didn't care.
All seven kings from the seven human kingdoms could be here trying to make him feel better and he still would not care.
"I'm really sorry, lad" a strong male voice reached his ears and he looked up to see Sir Lothar standing in front of him.
He could see the sadness in his eyes, the regret and the guilt; and it made him feel a little better to know that there was someone else suffering as he did; even if for different reasons.
The older man rested a comforting hand on his shoulders, squishing a little for a second before letting go. Then, taking Varian's hand on his, he started walking away from the sick bay. It really saddened him all that had happened, but there was nothing he could really do.
Bolvar watched them go, feeling a sense of panic filing him with every step they took.
What was he going to do now? He had no one else and no place to go. What would happen to him?
Half way down the hall, Varian turned around to look at him, and their eyes locked for a moment.
He closed his eyes and forced all the negative feeling to the back of his heart. All his doubts, his fears and regrets, he suppressed them. They would do him no good now.
He made a promise, and by the Light, he'll fulfill it even if it is the last thing he'll do.
"Sir Lothar, wait!" he dried his tears and ran after them.
Lothar turned around at the call, letting go of his King's hand, and looked surprised at the young boy coming his way. More surprised was he at the determination burning in the kid's eyes, but not at all displeased.
"Sir, I wish to join the ranks of the army, sir!" Bolvar bowed his head but kept his shoulders straight, he was not going to take no for an answer.
Lothar looked dawn at Varian, who looked up at him, both asking the other what they thought of this.
"Listen, lad…" the older man started saying, but he was quickly interrupted.
"Please, sir! I know…I know I still have a lot to learn and that I may not be of much use, but if you give me one chance, sir…" he looked up, right at the man's eyes "I promise you won't regret it"
A proud smile curled Lothar's lips at Bolvar's determination, and turning to fully face the kid, he said:
"Being a soldier is not a child's game, son. It requires sacrifices" he said with a serious tone, piercing the boy with a glare "You'll be putting your life at risk to protect the Kingdom and its people"
Bolvar swallowed hard, but nodded. He'll be lying if he says he's not a little nervous, but he won't back down. Not now.
"You'll need to be brave. You'll need to be smart. But most of all, you'll need to me loyal" Lothar kept talking, his voice firm and severe, and his eyes watching Bolvar carefully, trying to catch any sign of hesitation "The crown, your Queen, comes first"
A moment of silence passed between them, while Varian looked up at Lothar silently.
"The safety of our Queen and our people is the most important thing in a soldier's life" the man's voice softened a little, but it was still serious "You swear to do whatever it takes to protect them, even going against their own wishes?" he asked, spearing a quick glance to the little girl at his side.
Bolvar glanced at her too. Varian wasn't even looking at him; even when she wasn't looking at the knight, the floor seemed to be far more interesting for her than he was.
"I swear" he answered without a second thought, his eyes going back to watching Lothar once the words left his mouth.
A smile graced the aging man's face. It was always refreshing to see young boys so committed.
"Very well" in moments like this one, the determination in this boy's eyes made the pressure on his shoulder a little easier to bear "In that case, I'm officially naming you our young Queen Varian's personal guard"
Bolvar's eyes widened as far as they could. He had expected to be named a squire and send to help with the refugees, but being part of the Queen's personal guard? He couldn't do that…
"I'll arrange for a room to be prepared for you, and I expect you to keep a close watch on our Queen from tomorrow on ward, understood?" Lothar smiled a little because of the boy's expression, and rested a hand on the back of Varian's head, who seem to be as shock as the brunet was.
Bolvar looked at his Queen once more, finding her stormy blue eyes looking back at him this time. He held her gaze for around a minute, seeing the little edge of mistrust on her eyes, not liking it one bit.
"Understood" he said, bowing respectfully. He didn't want the girl to look at him like that; he'll make sure she never looked at him like that ever again.
"Good" Lothar said and turned around, re-assuming his walk down the hallway.
Varian stayed looking at him for a while, she obviously didn't trust him, and he got the feeling that fulfilling his new duties as her personal guard would be difficult.
At the end, the Queen turned around and followed after her knight, and he didn't waste any more time to follow after her.
Bolvar Fordragon, Queen's guard…he kind of liked how that sounded…
To be continued…
So, what you thought? Is it any good, or am I wasting my time? xD Leave a review and let me know, it inspire me to keep writing!
Lore changes: Hmm...the same that was explained in the last chapter. I don't believe that it was said that Mara's nobility tittle (Lady) and military rank (High Clerist) were given to her before the war, so I took a little bit of liberty there. Regarding the moment Lothar gives her those tittles, well, I tried my best to explain it as best as I could. Those kind of things are given by people of the royalty, so that's why I had him asking Terenas for his blessing, as sort of asking a King for permission to do so.
Besides that, I don't think there's any more lore changes. I believe making Bolvar Varian's personal guard is a great way to make them know each other and trust each other. Plus I'm hoping I'm making Lothar's personality justice. I believe he would have felt very angry, depressed and hopeless after the fall of Stormwind, and very guilty for not being able to protect Llane, his dear friend.
Ok, anyway. Next chapters will hopefully be more cheerful, as Varian and Bolvar are still both kids and I can't bring myself to make their lives completely miserable. And, also, there will be appearance from both Arthas and Calia. Specially Calia, as I think that, being both girls in this fic, she and Varian would have more interaction with each other (unlike the non-mentioned one from the novel).
I hope you have liked this, and again, I ask you to review! I have a bad case of writer's block and reading what people think about my fic helps me to keep writing it a lot!
Thank you for reading and c'ya!