I do not own nor possess any right over Harry Potter and World of Warcraft, all rights belongs to their rightful owners.
InSaNEC: just to reply to your comment, I didn't meant to make it seems like Amaria was forced to act because of the old gods. They are whispering to her yes but her reply was her own, pushed forward with the old gods influence. She meant every word said to Anduin and truly think what she said, part of being an adult is indeed to not let other break you or being forced to obey, but another is to know when to be accommodating and taking things in stride, lean not to over react to anything.
I would say that Amaria is somewhere between the two, accepting others words and sometimes insults most of the time but also drawing a line when her limits are reached. Just like in the previous chapter where she took it out on Anduin, she made it clear that if they weren't capable to be more open minded then she would have no problem leaving and not bother trying to talk with them again.
Many people have pointed out how Amaria seemed to bend the knee or, I don't know how to say this in English the way I want it, look weak even if I sort of try to do the opposite. I rewrote the chapter 4 with that purpose in mind and perhaps I will do a very slight adjustment of the previous chapter to make it a bit clearer that Amaria does have a will of her own and isn't always trying to follow or obey everyone else.
I hope you'll like this chapter.
Please comment/review.
Thank you for your patience and good reading.
When I woke up the next morning, I only wished to stay in the cover a little bit longer. The fluffy sheet and the soft cover of my bed keeping me prisoner as I enjoyed a comfort unlike anything I ever knew, far more pleasant than the my bed in the Obsidian Sanctum or the ones in Hogwarts.
I sighed and grunted a bit before reluctantly getting out of bed, conjuring my usual dress with a wave of my hand. The best thing about having a body that was more illusion and real was that I could look nearly however I wanted and be ready for the day in a matter of seconds, which I totally did all the time.
The memories of yesterday came back along with a bit of grumpiness; I wasn't looking forward too much to my day in Stormwind but I would have to deal with it anyway. Leaving the bedroom, I made my way to the dinning room as I passed by a couple of servants and maids who bowed down slightly to me. I didn't mentioned anything about it, knowing I would repeat myself all day otherwise, but did greeted them cordially.
Entering the dinning room, I saw that only Anduin was here. Maybe it was a bit early in the morning for the Greymane couple? They seemed to be quite old after all.
"Good morning, King Anduin." I greeted the young man as I sat down on the right side of the table, keeping a small distance between us but not by much.
"Lady Amaria, I trust that the night was good to you?" He asked me with a little smile.
"Very much thank you. I have to say that I never slept in a better bed, wish I could have stay a little bit longer." I replied with a small smile of my own as I recalled the soft bed.
"I will relay your thanks to the maids. But why not enjoy your bed more? Unless you already have a schedule for today?" Anduin asked.
"Not really. I was hoping to visit your city, do a bit of sightseeing." I answered as I grabbed a couple of slices of bread and applied a light layer of strawberry jam on top.
"Sightseeing? I must say that I am unfamiliar with the term." He conceded curious.
"Really?" I said in honest surprise. "Well it is quite simple. Think of a city, or any place for that matter, that you've heard of for a long time and wish to visit. Going there and exploring the streets, looking at historical monuments, that kind of things."
Thinking about it, the concept of sightseeing was perhaps a bit out of place in a world that had been at war for such a long time.
"I see. And is there anything that you'd like to see in Stormwind? I'll admit that I don't really see the interest in wasting time looking in Stormwind but since I grew up here maybe I simply don't see what could make it so interesting." He said.
"I don't know. Is there anything you would recommend? If not, do you know of a guide that could show me around?"
"Beside the lake behind the castle I can't really think of anything fitting your requirements. And your requests are most unusual but I believe I can have Harrison Jones accompany you, he is the lead archaeologist of the League of Explorers and should have the answers to most if not all of your questions." Replied Anduin taking a glass of water.
"That would be perfect, thank you very much." I said as I started to eat.
We fell in a bit of an awkward silence for a couple of minutes. I didn't really wanted to call back what we talked about last night but it was inevitable, we would have to talk about it at some point. But before either me or Anduin could initiate the discussion again, we were interrupted by the arrival of both Mia and Genn, sitting next to each other on the other side of the table, right in front of me.
"Good morning your majesties." I greeted them.
"Indeed. Good morning to you too." Smiled Mia.
"I didn't expected you to stay the night here." Gruffly said Genn.
I could only sigh in exasperation at his remark, silently cursing the man's stubbornness as Mia gave him a not too discret shove of the elbow in the ribs. He huffed in slight pain, massaging his ribs but didn't said anything else.
'The old wolf only barks. Teach him how to kneel, like the dog he is.' Suggested the voice in the back of my head. The presence of the Old Gods was truly concerning, I would have to talk about it with mother soon.
"Maybe we should do this now." I said more to myself than for them. "King Genn, I've been polite and took your insolence without complaining. Anduin was exactly the same yesterday until we talked it out, albeit a bit more aggressively than needed, but I hope that the night was able to offer him the calm and time needed to change his opinions. Was I wrong to leave you a chance?" I asked turning toward Anduin.
"No." Replied Anduin, frowning at Glenn. "I am deeply sorry for my friend's behaviour as well as mine. My past experiences with black dragons taught me many things but one in particular showed me that not all of them were like Deathwing, that not everyone bears their father's legacy."
I almost thought about correcting him but thought better of it.
"While I hope you will accept my apologies, I am still concerned with your presence in our forces during the next battle. Perhaps after we learn about each other we might come to an agreement but I can't take the risk right now." He said genuinely sorry with his rebutal.
"Of course, I wasn't expecting any less." I reassured him, understanding very well and not feeling insulted by his words.
"Thank you. I will have Harrison Jones join you at the drawbridge, contact me if you need anything or any guard or servant if I an unavailable."
"Great. I will be on my way then, I'm sure you have a lot to do." I said as I stood up, giving a small bow.
"Have a good day dear." Replied Mia smiling.
Giving a smile back, I left for the drawbridge.
That Anduin thoroughly reflected on our discussion was quite pleasant and I was slightly more hopeful regarding the future of humankind in Azeroth but on the other hand there were those like Genn who were going to be harder to deal with. But it wasn't my problem, if they weren't ready to make any efforts to welcome me then I would just have to leave. I wouldn't accommodate them.
The early morning in Stormwind was surprisingly busy. I might have been at the drawbridge and far from the town center but I could clearly hear a lot of voices coming from several parts of the city, not as much as yesterday but still enough that it was noticeable. I watched from afar several people passing by the bridges over the water canals, many of them looking like lumberjacks and workers of all kinds, with the occasional cart pulled by a horse.
Thankfully I didn't had to wait too long for my guide, perhaps twenty minutes. Harrison Jones simply stood out from the rest of the inhabitants, coming to me with a monocle on his left eye, wearing a clean black suit and nicely tied hair. If it wasn't obvious at first glance, he was a noble and I had a bit of a bad feeling, fearing that he might be as snobbish as those I saw yesterday.
"Lady Amaria I presume?" He came to me.
"Indeed. I am Amaria, Ambassador of the black dragonflight, delighted to meet you." I replied handing out a hand.
"Harrison Jones, archaeologist, to your service." Harrison replied, not taking my hand but giving me a hand kiss instead.
I flushed and took my hand back as soon as it was freed, very uncomfortable to be the target of such gentlemanliness.
"I- ahh... did Anduin told you why you're here?" I asked trying to recompose myself.
"Yes he did. I'm certain that this is the first time someone came only for the sake of looking at our beautiful city. To say that I was surprised by our King request would be putting it lightly. But I am certain we can find something of interest. Is there anything that you would like to start with? I would recommend not to cross the trade district, it can be quite busy and doesn't have anything of interest except the bank and the auction house." Explained Harrison quite nicely.
Contrary to what he might have thought, I was fairly interested in how their bank looked. The goblin's bank Gringotts was impressive with all its gobelins and security systems, without forgetting the cart ride to reach the vaults, but I was curious as what a bank looked like in this world. Would it be like the muggles? Like the goblins? Or maybe something else entirely? I had no idea.
But as he said, I wasn't in a hurry to cross a large crowd. Instead I turned toward the old part of the town, looking at the numerous homes as I pondered what to chose.
"I don't know enough to decide. Perhaps something that stands out a bit?" I suggested.
"Out of the ordinary? Hmm... then maybe we should start with the Dwarven District. There is the Deeprun Tram that links Stormwind and the Dwarven capital Ironforge, it passes under water briefly and is a wonder of engineering made by the gnomes." Replied Harrison.
"It sounds perfect." I replied curious.
"If you would follow-me." He said turning to the right and starting to walk by the water canal.
"Is there much needs of archaeologists? I am not very aware about this." I made small talk as I walked next to him.
"Probably more than you think. More than once has our organisation, the League of Explorers, uncovered ancestral dangers and defeated vilains looking to steal priceless artefacts for their nefarious activities. During the Legion's invasion, we were tasked with finding the Pillars of Creation in Asuna and Suramar. Our job is not always very recognised but fame is not why we are doing this, the preservation of our world's history is our most important goal." Harrison replied really going into this.
"A noble goal. I've read all about Azeroth's history in Wyrmrest Temple and it only covers the most important events, who knows how much more there is to it?" I agreed.
"Were you allowed in the archives?" He asked slightly surprised.
"I'm a dragon. Why wouldn't I?" I replied.
"True, true. Would you mind telling me why one such as you is so interested in visiting? Dragons never appeared to me as creatures having time to visit." Said Harrison.
"You would be right almost all the time but I am quite different. I've only discovered Azeroth a year ago, prior to this I would have never imagined all I've seen and heard so far." I said.
"Now that is quite unique indeed. But it seems we are here."
I focused forward to look at the large streets of the Dwarven district, the many dwarves walking by along with a few humans and other member races of the Alliance. A large crane was handled manually and moved large logs on the ground from a cart, right near a small area filled with saws and axes. We kept going a little bit and started to see many forges where dwarves, gnomes and humans were working hard in the heat as well as smiths hammering swords, weapons and armours of all kinds.
"Where the Trade District is almost uniquely about selling products and acting as the heart of the city, the Dwarven District holds most of our artisans, workers capable of wonders in woodworking, stone carving and smithing as you can see. This is were most of the roughs products arrives to be refined before they are used by others. Most recently, the focus is made on making more armours and weapons for the war as well as munitions." Harrison explained.
"What are the scales? How many fighters are involved?" I asked wanting to have an idea.
"I couldn't tell you precisely but I would say roughly two to three thousands active soldiers. A substantial part is dedicated to the defence of the Alliance territories and a larger part acts as the military might abroad. It is the second one that will be engaged on the battlefield of Undercity tomorrow." He replied.
It was less than I expected but more than enough to impress me. The war between Voldemort and the wizarding world of Britain never reached that number of active fighters, trying to come up with an idea of the logistics and strength of such a large armed force was definitely impressive. Yet I also remember having read about World War Two and this deserved a whole other class of its own.
"But lets continue. See over there?" He said pointing to a stand with a gnome tinkering on a small remote. "This is one of our engineers. They can build many useful tools and weapons such as roquets or even build mounts from scratch."
And there was such an exemple of mount, a sort of iron ostrich loudly moving around with a large exhaust port letting out lots of black smoke. To think that they could build such things where the muggles back on Earth were barely starting to get around this was astonishing and I kept giving glances at it as we continued down further the main street.
"Now, here comes the real jewel of the district." Harrison said as we moved toward a large tunnel entirely made out of steel.
A few dwarves and gnomes were coming out, pulling out carts and carrying large bags full of stuff as we passed by. The natural light of the sun slowly got replace with electric lights and a loud thumping sound that shook the entire tunnel. We soon arrived in a very large room cut in half in the center with a railing system fixed on the ceiling of the trench. Looking further in the trench I saw that it went far away, so much that I couldn't see the end.
"Welcome to the Deeprun tram, the fastest mean of transportation if you ignore magic." Presented Harrison with a smile, hands aimed toward the large trench.
"It is quite impressive. Does it works with electricity?" I asked.
"Yes. The tram itself comports three carts and continuously goes back and forth between Stormwind and Ironforge, with less than two minutes between each departure."
So it was the subway of this world, just far cruder yet still working. I looked at the few people waiting to get on, right next to the trench made for the tram, when a rumbling sound came from the tunnel. Harrison ushered me closer and we soon saw the tram coming. I frowned at its speed and thought it was about to crash in the wall but it somehow managed to slow down enough to come to a nice stop right where the platforms to embark were. There was three carts, not a single one had walls and they were hanging on by a large iron claw fixed to the rails. A couple of dwarves got down the tram as those waiting got in and less than thirty seconds later the tram was going back toward Ironforge.
The speed at which it left and the absolute lack of safety only reminded me of the goblins in Gringotts and I swore to try it later, if only to experience the thrill of such a trip.
"Impressive isn't it?" Asked Harrison.
"And very fast." I chuckled.
"Indeed. Now lets head back outside, I'm sure the lake will prove as interesting than the tram."
"Oh?" I said raising an eyebrow.
"The lake isn't that impressive but the islands in the middle have open portals for several destinations such as Uldum, Mount Hyjal or Draenor." He said.
"Then what are we waiting for?" I said playfully.
We started our way back up the tunnel that I noticed a dwarf looking slightly bored, not occupied with anything right now. It gave me an idea about testing the water of the Alliance's other races.
"Would you mind waiting me outside? There's something I need to do." I apologised.
"I wouldn't say take your time but I will wait for you." Harrison said with a frown.
I let him go back up and turned toward the dwarf that had been looking at us as we talked right in the middle of the entrance. The dwarf was very stereotypical, with a heavy, thick brown beard and a muscular physique, looking quite though even if I found his large nose quite funny.
"Something I can do for ya lass?" The dwarf asked.
"Just a question if you wouldn't mind. What do you think about dragons?" I asked.
"Dragons? Which ones?" He replied with a grunt.
"Does it matter?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Sure does lass. Don't know about green, blue and yellow ones but red ones are fine enough to be around. Black ones should all be resting with Deathwing." He replied a bit hard at the end.
I frowned at the answer that I, sadly, expected.
"I suppose this is because of Nefarian?" I tried to find an explanation.
"Oh he sure did a lot in Blackrock Mountain but he isn't the only one. Deathwing broke our lands, Onyxia was a corrupting bitch and all of their kind is the same bunch."
"What about Wrathion?" I asked feeling my anger growing.
'You should show them who truly are the black dragons.' Came back the voice in my head.
'Go away.' I told the Old God's voice.
"Who? Bah, don't matter who it is. If he's a black dragon then he can rot in hell for all I care."
Well that was disappointing.
"Thank you for your time." I still thanked him even if I didn't put my heart in it.
He grumbled something that I didn't understood and I quickly made my way out, finding Harrison right next to the entrance.
"Should we go to the lake?" He asked.
"No." I replied strongly, taking him by surprise. I didn't felt in a visiting mood anymore. Instead I wanted to learn more about the view of the Alliance about a certain dragonflight. "You can go back to the castle, I think I will have a lot to do before going back."
"Did something happened?" He asked concerned.
"Nothing that is your fault, just a personal problem of mine." I assured.
He stared at me for a few moments before sighing briefly.
"Alright. Maybe we will see each other again. Have a good day, Lady Amaria."
"You too. And thank you for the tour." I replied.
He left as I pondered who to start with. I thought about asking a gnome but changed my mind when I saw a group of dwarves walk by, wanting to confirm if the dwarf I met earlier was the exception or the norm.
I spent hours doing little interviews in the streets. As I said, I asked more dwarves and when I saw that the sixth had the same answer than the previous ones I moved on to the gnomes. They were slightly more open in the fact that they were afraid of all dragons, scared that they would be an easy snack. At least their fear was understandable and not directed only at the black dragons so it was a little plus.
Following this I went to the Trade district looking for other races. I stopped a few humans on the way and asked for their opinions and I was a bit surprised by their answers a couple of times. Some were aware of what dragons were but didn't know anything more than Deathwing or Onyxia, some were firmly against the black dragons and a rare one, an adventurer, said that he had no problems with dragons at all.
This gave me hope and I started asking Night-Elves, Draenei and Pandarens. The Elves were quite open about being around black dragons which was a bit of a refreshment, having heard almost nothing but death threats and critics for the last hour. They were among the first races to interact with dragonkind and a few could recall the day where Deathwing revealed himself to the world, the day the orignal Well of Eternity was destroyed during the War of the Ancients. Despite his betrayal and his massacre of thousands of Night-Elves, they didn't resented the whole of the black dragonflight for his actions and were fairly open to the idea of meeting a 'purified' dragon.
The Draenei and the Pandarens were open to the idea too but slightly more reserved. They had been unaware of the existence of dragons for a long time and thus didn't share the same history with them, they heard and saw dragons in the recent years so Deathwing was quite the important character in their preconceptions of dragons. Most were okayish to meet black dragons but would be wary to do so, which wasn't too bad in my opinion. They weren't considering black dragons as entirely evil but at the same time they had justified concerns.
I spent the whole day doing that, asking around and talking about dragonkind with many people. Some of my conversations staled for half-an-hour and even if I had been either disappointed or slightly angry by the words of most of those I interviewed, I couldn't fully deny their words. Changing their mind would be near impossible and would take a truly long time, Deathwing's actions and those of his children were still in everyone's mind even with the Legion invading not too long ago. It was important to say that, even if I didn't went there, many people told me that a part of the back of the city had been completely destroyed by Deathwing and had only very recently been reconstructed.
Many times did my anger rose and each time did the whispers of the Old Gods came. It was easy to ignore them when I was focused but I found myself once almost agreeing with them, leaving me very wary for the next twenty minutes after that. The fact that they whispered so much the last two days when they usually were coming once every couple of months was cause for concern and it was becoming increasingly urgent that I talk with mother about it.
But alas I finally returned to the castle when the day started to come to an end. I was a bit mentally exhausted after discussing so much and having to control my temper almost all day long, so much that I was yawning when I passed by the gates of the castle.
I walked through the throne room which was empty except for a few guards and majordomos who told me that Anduin was eating alone tonight, Genn and Mia apparently having something else planned. Which suited me just fine! If I could speak without that old, grumpy, annoying worgen then I would enjoy every instant of it. Since it wasn't time to eat yet, I went to my bedroom and took an hour to relax and clear my head, working on my occlumency and reinforcing my mental shields to stop the Old Gods to come in my head at any moment. But even that wouldn't stop them, there was not much that could be done and even an empowered Aspect like Neltharion succumbed to their power in the end.
A servant came to collect me when the night was starting to fall, walking ahead of me as we got to the dinning room where Anduin was indeed alone, apparently waiting for me.
"Lady Amaria. How was your day?" Anduin asked nicely.
"Exhausting but eyeopening." I replied, taking the only other seat that had silverware.
"Good. And Harrison?"
"He has been of very good company. I let him go quite early but he certainly is passionate about his job and knows how to sell Stormwind. Most of my time was spent talking with peoples in the street. I believe that knowing a city's population can say a lot more about said city than its king." I said, making stuff up at the end.
"And what of Stormwind's inhabitants?" He asked.
"Well..." I trailed off.
"Was there a problem?" He enquired troubled.
"Perhaps my question was the problem. I asked around what people thought of black dragons. Lets just say that your earlier opinion is shared by many of your citizens." I answered truthfully.
He frowned and looked down at his plate for a few seconds before bringing a hand to his face, looking a bit tired himself.
"I see." He simply said.
That made the rest of the meal far more quiet, with only a comment or two on the food and the little things of the day, a bit of personal history from both of us. It honestly didn't ended up too badly and Anduin invited me for a walk through the small open garden which I accepted. We walked around, for a little bit, enjoying the fresh air of the night and the calm that fell on the city with only very few sounds breaking the quiet of the night.
"Could you answer a question for me?" Said Anduin out of the blue, cutting me out of my observation of the garden.
"Certainly." I assured.
"If, and that is a very big if, you were ready to join the Alliance as a support on the front lines. Would you do it?" He asked.
I wasn't prepared for that. I thought that he had given up on trying to convince me to fight in that war so I could only wonder what made him change his mind. I doubted that it could be Genn, he would rather oppose having me anywhere near Anduin. Perhaps it was Mia? Or maybe Alleria? It could very well be someone else but the point was that he was asking me again.
"I've told you already, I don't want to fight in your war. I won't kill for the Alliance." I replied carefully considering my words.
"Let me be clear Amaria, I won't force you to join us, that is your choice. What I would like is for you to think about it. You've made it very clear you do not wish to fight, and I will respect that, but perhaps you can help our healers or help to gather the wounded? There's nothing more that I wish than ending this war, and if I can bring only one more of my men back alive to their family thanks to you then I would be in your debt." Told me the young king sincerely, shocking me a bit.
"Don't say that. I've saved people many times before, and I've never done it for debts." I replied.
'A king's debt, no matter how little the king, is still a debt. Take it.' Came back the Old Gods in my moment of surprise. I used my magic to forcefully clear my mind, it wasn't comfortable and hurt a bit but what I was talking about was too important to waste time listening to their lies.
"But would you be ready to do it to save lives? Because that is the right thing to do." He continued.
I stood silent at that. Of course, I would love to keep everyone safe, not to let anyone die on the battlefield, but that would be breaking more than just a promise. And the worst was that I would feel terrible in either case, for breaking my mother's trust or for refusing to go save lives.
"That's low." I simply said.
"I know, and I'm sorry. War always makes us take wrong choices, because sometimes that is all we have."
"But you're the one who makes them wrong to me." I reminded him.
I would not be the one to bear the weight of a war on my shoulders nor the responsibility of every dead man. That was his own burden, one that I knew well but would never take on again. But to put on me the fact that people could live with my help, that was forcing my hand.
"That's why I'm sorry." He replied.
We both remained silent for a little bit after that. How could I not go at least try to save some lives? This was something that couldn't be fixed, where damaging mother's trust in me could be. It didn't meant that I liked either.
"You will have to choose soon, because me and the elite of our forces departs tomorrow. Almost all our forces are already camped around Undercity, we will arrive early enough to polish our strategy and the assault will begin the day after." Anduin said.
Of course, he would say that, not leaving me with much time to think about it.
"Don't be surprised if I do not consider coming back here after that, being treated like a tool is something I know too well." I said seriously.
Now it was his turn to be shocked, and quite a lot apparently.
"What?! How could you think that? I am not considering you as a tool, very far from it. You are you own person, and I am asking for your help, not because you can or because I need you but because I want to bring as many people back alive." He countered with great care in his voice.
"Maybe, it remains that you are pushing your war on me, making me join it. If this is how far you are ready to go for your ends then I am afraid of what you could do as King of the Alliance." I stated sadly. "Remember that other prince who did everything to save his people?" I said remembering one man that I read about in the books back at the temple.
"Don't compare me to Arthas, we are not the same." He tersely replied, knowing very well who I was talking about.
"No, you're not. But you share the same will to save your people no matter the cost. And you know where that led him. The question is, where will you draw the line." I said.
He didn't replied, frowning but staying silent. He had played dirty on me to make me question myself, I was only giving him back the favour. After all, being compared to a fallen prince turned evil king must have hit quite close for Anduin.
"I underestimated you, Amaria. You've given me quite a lot to ponder about." He finally said after a minute.
"Then I will be off to bed." I said, letting the tension disappear and knowing I had a lot to think about myself.
"I will wish you good night, Lady Amaria. Please, let me escort you back to your room." He said.
I had expected him to go on a separate way, but I accepted his offer nonetheless and he accompanied me all the way back to my room, stopping just in front of the door.
"Thank you for your hospitality, your majesty. Have a good night." I said entering my bedroom.
"You as well, Lady Amaria." He said just a I closed the door.
I stayed here for a second, hearing him leave until I couldn't hear his steps anymore. I knew sleep wouldn't come soon, exhaling loudly as I walked up to my bed, removing my clothes for the nightgown that had been placed on the covers before slipping under them, enjoying how soft they were. I barely noticed the clothes that I always wore vanish, not being real clothes but rather a magical part of me.
It took me hours to fall asleep, and when I did I was nowhere near any solution regarding my potential place around the war.