Disclaimer: The characters and settings created by Blizzard Entertainment Inc in this story are owned by their creators. I do not claim them as mine in any way, shape or form. I am not receiving monetary profit from this story and no copyright infringement is intended.
Note: I kind of love how crappy this first take at a chapter title was. It's like I was drinking (champagne, even) when I wrote it. Left it that way.
Chapter 15: Champagne and Rudeness
Kael'thas set up our whole evening, lightning fast. "We're going, then. Faltheriel—"
Kael'thas said this to the man I noticed before, who looked very spooky indeed, close up. And he bowed low to Kael'thas like he was the king of the world, not just that corner of it.
"Your will be done, my master. You shall not be disturbed, tonight."
His… master?
Faltheriel sized me up, reading my evident reaction. And, he was wearing dark eyeliner.
Wait… why?
But then he was gone.
Kael'thas and I, and a few guards, went in the other direction. We walked down a long, decorated corridor. I watched him run a shaking hand through his hair, or try to. But he had it braided back pretty tightly and couldn't do what he was used to, when he was feeling off or nervous, I bet.
Then, he observed me while we were walking together.
"Is that what Sunwalkers wear?"
"Yes, your majesty."
"I'd like to pull off turquoise beads as well as that."
He would? That felt nice. Then, Kael'thas tried to smile at me. He really didn't want to do it. I felt that, too.
Getting to know Saturna was hard. Kael'thas was really intimidating. It was like trying to get along with a mountain. I could feel, acutely, that I wasn't his sort and I wasn't someone he wanted to see. But he was fighting it with everything he had.
… For Saturna.
It was almost a little scary then, how much he loved her. I got the sense he wasn't very social, but he was able to force himself to be. And, Kael'thas was upset, he was angry with himself. He was… desperate. Was I picking up on that, too? Kael'thas turned back to the lane of red carpeted marble ahead of us. Other than a few guards watching the way, we were alone.
And then something else was familiar. His hand shaking, his manners slipping, and his eyes were a bit weird, too… more than staying on Saturna's good side, he wanted an arcane crystal pretty badly right then, didn't he?
I could have laughed at him. I also could have told him I had one in my pocket, just to see him jump.
Would have also been the last joke I ever made, though.
Worth it though, do you think? To enjoy the irrefutable proof that Kael'thas was still partly a junky? And I thought the patched up Sunwell was supposed to fix that problem for the Blood Elves. Damn, those were some good spin-doctors he'd employed these last ten years.
Maybe if I got him drunk enough. A lot of people had warned me not to mess with Kael'thas, though.
Nobody warned me it might be so easy or fun to do, however!
"Wait, are we leaving the palace? First, I was hoping to—"
But then large double doors went wide open and we were suddenly stepping into a carriage. Kael'thas had a seat in front of me. We faced each other. As soon as the carriage doors closed, he knocked on the wall, and we started moving.
Kael'thas said, "I couldn't say 'I want to get the hell out of the palace' where my wife, or someone in the court might hear. You understand. If she's going to be like that, we may as well leave her to it." He rolled his eyes.
I wondered if we were really going to do this, pretend that I hadn't seen him kill someone in a loud, horrific conflagration.
Then, another more important concern distracted me. I really hoped Kael'thas wasn't taking us to some strip club. Cause that would be really awkward for my first night in Silvermoon. With the king.
But, if he did, I'd have to write home to Mey about that! No, she would seriously find it funny and get mad if I didn't get Kael'thas up on stage, with the dancers, to royally embarrass him. Aw, Mey, she's a great girl…
Kael'thas huffed, shook his head and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a bright gold box and flipped it open. He took out a cigarette. At least I hoped it was.
"Want one?"
"No… No thank you—"
"I was ready to kill for one." Kael'thas raised a hand to his mouth, then got annoyed that his white glove was still on, tugged on one of the fingers to slip that off. Then that finger had a bud of flame on the tip, he lit his cigarette, then shook his hand to put it out.
Tiniest of magic tricks. Hella impressive.
Kael'thas stretched out and smoked. He put his boot on the ledge along the wall.
"…She thinks that I quit."
"I'm sure she knows that you didn't. But is happy to leave it that way."
Kael'thas regarded me for a moment in the near-darkness of the carriage. A strange magical purple cloth that ate away all the sunlight served as a curtain across the windows.
"Why do you say that?"
I shrugged, "Seems like a wife thing to do." I covered for my shameless interest in his wife pretty well, I hoped.
"That's kind of you to say," he'd been deciding on the right response for a beat too long. Then, Kael'thas had a break and nudged the curtain away, to look out of the window.
Kael'thas was being rude. It didn't take long for me to feel like the luggage he'd brought along, not really a palace guest. Being alone in a carriage with Saturna, and then riding alone with Kael'thas… Night and day. I tried, but couldn't imagine them sharing the same time and space, let alone a carriage ride. How the heck did they manage to get along and make three heirs to the throne? Or, likely, my jealousy was getting the better of me.
While he sulked on his side of the carriage, she probably hopped in his lap and tried to tickle him. Opposites attract. Actually, Kael'thas and I were similar, in a way, and that thought disturbed me even more. I mean, do you think he was all smiles when Saturna met up with him at the Black Temple? I had been moping about my cold oatmeal in Mulgore. In Outland, Kael'thas was probably sitting around, depressed about his burnt out pile of arcane crystals, among other things.
And then that woman, with all her signature lust and ambition, she shoved those crystals off the table and sat there, grabbed him by the collar and told him there were better things to be addicted to. Woof!
Well, I am being scientific in a way. You see, I had finally figured out Saturna's flirting by then. It was more her energy, just the way she was. Saturna was beautiful and she loved being overly-friendly. For men she was attracted to, that became flirting. Sometimes it was over-the-top when she was winning them over but… Saturna wasn't out to have a conquest with every man that she saw. It helped her to get things done. She could endure hopeful men flirting all the time and not let it exhaust her, or she could use it against them. Or, she could ignore it... Perhaps try to be less attractive and interesting to put them off? Yeah, that's not Saturna's style. No wonder Kael'thas got so flummoxed about her. Actually, I don't think many men are willing to put up with that, even for a really exciting prize. As for me…?
Uh… should definitely calm that down now that Kael'thas has wormed his way into my Saturna fantasies for some reason.
But it was a useful line of thought, in the end. Because that was the kind of attention Kael'thas had got cozy with. And, now deprived of it, he couldn't cope. He'd waited and waited and waited for Saturna to come back home to him. Then, he got impatient and went halfway across the world to address the problem. She found out and shut him down. Rightly so, Kael'thas had only been thinking of himself at the time. No, thinking of his hurt…
She was home again. She'd shut him down again. Kael'thas didn't have to babysit me, he just couldn't face her after all that rejection. Even though they were together and had been married for years, he still reacted as if his prom date had turned him down. Kael'thas fled from the castle, in fact. Well, well. So he did have a big chink in his armor, after all. Not just his wife, but the way he saw her, the way Kael'thas still saw the world, as if it didn't want him in it.
If Kael'thas really did see himself as one of those big, golden glorious statues we kept driving by in Silvermoon, then I was a kodo's uncle. Kael'thas was still a great big dork after all these years, after Jaina rejecting him in the libraries of Dalaran, after Prince Arthas besting him. A frightening sort of bookworm who could get hot on the warpath, but still.
While I was thinking it, or trying not to think of it, King Kael'thas surprised the hell out of me, "How's Chief Baine doing?"
Kael'thas stopped himself from taking another drag of his cigarette, in order to say that. And he'd said Baine's name with such disgust. Kael'thas then looked at me with real ire, like he was daring me to say something about it. I knew immediately that he was testing me.
"I had a fight with Baine too, actually. He's my chieftan, of course, but he needs to grow up some more."
"I don't like him."
Did it matter? Was I supposed to care? How is that something that you say to an ambassador from Thunderbluff? Okay, Kael'thas, how old are you again? Three? Three-and-a-half?
I tried to help Baine a bit, "He was better while his father was around."
Damn. Wrong thing to say. Considering how Kael'thas had also lost his father unexpectedly, been forced to rule before he was ready… I could have hit myself.
"Well." He lingered, "Most men are. I will give him that."
It was actually a very gracious thing to say. And insightful, too. I hoped for more. I was disappointed.
We spent the rest of the trip in silence. Me staring at this strange, notorious, magical man seated mere inches from me. Kael'thas not caring whether I was. Smoking. Watching his city go by.
To my surprize, we were not going to a seedy strip club called… Fel Candy, with succubae dancing on the tables. When we got to the place, Kael'thas made us all wait while he finished his cigarette inside the carriage. I'm not sure why he did that, because a bunch of smoke still came out when the door flung open. That left him stepping out, in his fancy outfit and even fancier hair, cape just hovering over a cascade of smoke. A true evil villain, right?
Stewards almost skipped up to the door they were so glad to see a royal carriage. Then they opened the restaurant doors for us. Kael'thas gestured absently and his own man jumped down from the carriage and tipped them immediately. Big gold coins. Later, I'd see how Kael'thas' face was on every single one of those.
After all that smoke, and the man in gold and red striding onto the scene, came me, a dazed Tauren country bumpkin who kept blinking at the strange purple twilight I had never seen before in this part of the world. The sun had set while we were in that carriage, not that I could tell. With the weird enchanted thick curtains and his cigarette smoke even getting inside my earholes…
We'd arrived at a bar. A nice place where everyone turned their heads the moment their king strode into the room. I expected it all to erupt in cheers and hollers. But, after a few blushing ladies turned back to their drinks and the men smirked at what he was wearing, (in that jealous sort of way, I hate to say) Kael'thas was able to move on, undisturbed. No wonder he chose the place. A man in a crimson three-piece-suit and a gold tie bowed low and escorted us upstairs, to a private room.
I looked over the side of the stairs and noticed many more faces smiling or amused to see me. They weren't rude, not at all. I assumed they would be.
"Kael'thas has a Tauren?!"
"It's a Sunwalker."
"The queen just got back from Thunderbluff."
"Tauren are so in right now."
Okay, so hanging out with Kael'thas, going from hated to awesome and in high demand in about ten seconds… kind of stressful.
The upstairs bar was totally abandoned except for a table with three subdued men sitting at it. The bartender was doing that thing you see in plays, trying hard not to look like he was set up in a fancy scene, pretending to polish a long line of sparkling, crystal glasses. As packed as the downstairs part was, this second bar could have been picking up a lot more customers. I tried not to let my eyes deceive me. These must have been extremely important, and wealthy, to be able to take an entire section of this place for themselves. So, then. This was a usual thing for Kael'thas? What three men could be this powerful? Halduron and Lor'themar were back at the palace, or so I thought. Perhaps they had sneaked out to join Kael'thas and a friend…
I overheard them talking as Kael'thas and I approached, "…No, no. It's actually a really good story, how Kael'thas defeated Illidan, and then even won over Thrall in the end. Because it happened while Thrall was still the warchief. So let's try that-Shhh! Everyone, come on now."
Son of a…
I would have never believed these were the original three, not in a million years. The men who had the magic, the wisdom and the damn stubborn tenacity to set Kael'thas on the long journey to finally return to Silvermoon. And they survived Saturna's leadership, at that.
I believe it was Fennore the Immortal who waved at us. Then Fennore pinched Sunthraze in the arm, for him to stop joking around, even though Pyorin seemed to be the animated one, trying to chug his beer.
"Hey! I behaved, this time. It was under pain of death you said-"
"Sorry, Sunthraze, but you were simply closer."
"No, I think you're just an ass, Fennore."
Pyorin slammed his drink down and ordered another round for the table.
Fennore spoke over it all, "Hello Kael'thas, we were just saying, you should tell Turaho the story of how you got back on the throne, with Thrall there and everything."
Kael'thas wasn't kidding about that drink. As soon as it was served, he got lost in a long swig. It wasn't champagne.
Eventhough I'd guessed who they were, I couldn't help feeling like they owed me some manners.
"Introductions?"
"You can't tell? I thought you were the world-famous Pathfinder, and a recently turned Sunwalker? You were the one responsible for that secret courier servie between Thunderbluff and Stormwind, weren't you?"
I smirked, "Nicely done. You're… Pyorin?"
Pyorin almost missed his beer stein, for sudden laughter.
"I'm Sunthraze. I'm the youngest one with the best hair and the hottest wife."
"You—" It got quiet when Kael'thas almost said something about that. How interesting… I could just kick myself for not remembering all the ins and outs of their royal friendship with him. He'd crossed the line with somebody, somewhere, for sure. But whatever it was, it was long enough ago that everybody was content not to have it come up again. Whatever Kael'thas was about to stupidly say, it was quickly forgotten and forgiven.
Damn.
"I hear Elves like to dye their hair." I eyed Sunthraze's wild tangerine hair. It was incredibly distracting. I was tempted to make fun of it, or say anything about it. It was the sort of hot red that I imagined it should have unsettled everyone at the table. But after so many years in a makeshift brotherhood, I suppose that was fast forgiven as well. Or, Sunthraze was so good at handling his own, it wasn't worth anybody's effort. I felt timid doing it, but decided to let my curiosity about Sunthraze's intense hair drop.
"Not Night Elves." Fennore turned down the side of his mouth, "Here, we try not to lump all Elves together, Investigator Runestalker."
"Turaho is fine."
And this one already knew my surname. He'd guessed how to address me formally, too. Too formal for me, though. Fennore reminded me of Faltheriel a little. I couldn't say why. He was thicker built, with a stronger chin. Also blonde. This one had a darkness about him as well, somehow. One of them was not only a Bloodknight but also a warlock. I couldn't remember what powers the others had… I guessed Fennore was the one.
I got impatient, "So… how did you get on the throne, Kael'thas?"
Kael'thas looked at me sideways for a while, then some laughter almost escaped. He pretended to cough and cover it. "Oh, Turaho, it was really very simple…"
Sunthraze snerking laughter should have clued me in, but somehow, even after Cousin Brunho's stories, I didn't see it coming. Possibly because Kael'thas is supposed to be regal and a big deal and all.
"…I got it from my daddy."
Pyorin slammed the table with his hand and cracked up laughing.
Sunthraze gasped with laughter, fell back and then almost slipped from his chair.
It had to be said, "You guys… are a bunch of idiots. How long were you all saving that up."
Fennore sipped his sherry, then gave me a clever wink.
I had to say it again, "Are you guys being serious? Is this for real?"
Kael'thas made a fist, "Are you challenging my claim to the throne? I think that's treason and I do happen to have all my loyal Bloodknights with me tonight."
"I'm pretty sure that I'm not required to laugh at your terrible jokes, Kael'thas. That's what I meant." I slipped up and spoke to him like Saturna was sitting next to me, instead of her terrible husband.
Sunthraze started laughing all over again. He was pointing right at Kael'thas this time, nearly crying. "Woah! Someone finally said it, Kael'thas."
Pyorin gave Sunthraze a high five and then grabbed his hand mid-air, "I like this guy. He's cool."
"Me?"
Pyorin nodded, "Yeah, like your cousin. I was actually excited to hear another Runestalker was coming over here. Glad you didn't disappoint, man."
They joked and told stories, and carried on while Kael'thas didn't say much. But I had already sensed he was the type who wanted to withdraw into his own thoughts and not be bothered do actually socialized. He seemed happy in his own way, just absorbing the energy around him.
At one point, Sunthraze reached across the table, offering his hand to me. I wanted to just roll my eyes at him, very badly. I mean, I was there to do an investigation, find a missing person who was probably stuck somewhere and terrified. And, I was missing my home. How much time had already been wasted? But Kael'thas and his horrifying Burning Crusade-era Bloodknights were carrying on like it was a stag party?
I got up, slapped Sunthraze's hand once, twice, then fist-bumped him. You know, old-school.
"Woaaaaaah!" He really liked that, if you can't tell. "Is that like a Tauren thing? Did I just do a Tauren thing?! SOWEET!"
I sat right back down again, and I had to laugh. "You guys are amazing. I can't believe I'm hanging out with Kael'thas and his minions like this."
"Minions?" Fennore set down his glass.
"Eh, guess we are." Pyorin shrugged with his big shoulders. He had a very fruity drink in front of him now and slurped it through a pink straw.
Fennore turned his empty sherry glass around in circles, "Well, when Pyorin gets into his girly drinks, it's time to go. I think we've been at this for hours." Then, Fennore yawned.
It hadn't been hours, though, had it?
"This is strawberry. Real strawberry. Will you finally try some? It's delicious."
I got distracted looking at the giant man with the tiny, pretty pink drink.
When I looked up, Fennore was walking out of the door. He waved, "Nice to meet ya, Sunwalker Runestalker!"
"Oh, like I said, Turaho is fine. Have a… nice night?"
"And obviously, the king needs his sleep." Kael'thas rolled his hand with a quick, elegant gesture.
Sunthraze stood with him, "Yeah, and it's well-known around here that I get kept on a strict bedtime." He quirked an eyebrow.
Geez, how many times was this man going to brag about the woman he was married to? Who even cared?
(Well, she is the main of the person writing this story and it's been a rough month, so she gets all compliments.)
Sunthraze shuffled around the table to clap me on the shoulder and give my hand a shake again. "Take care, man. This was really great. You're just like your cousin, aren't you?"
"Well, Brunho and I sorta—" Sunthraze wouldn't let me finish answering that.
"Anyway, we have to do it again sometime, soon. Get home safe."
I nodded, feeling kind of hazy. I wanted to try that fancy champagne I kept hearing about. But nobody else had it, I realized. That left me who I had learned during the course of the conversation was the Captain of the Royal Palace guard, slurping a fizzy strawberry drink.
"Wanna try?"
Eh, why not. I had a sip. "Dang! This is really good. It reminds me of the wild strawberries we have growing back behind my aunt's house."
"Oh, what a compliment. You have to tell the barman that. Sampson will be thrilled."
Slurp… Sluuuuuurp… Slyurp.
I sank back in my chair, "Actually, speaking of get home safe… where am I staying, again?"
Pyorin finished up, took out the straw and then knocked the final dregs of the cocktail back. I waited for him to set the glass down again.
I leaned in, keeping it polite, "Isn't that funny. I'm not even sure where I'm staying. Heh. Is someone meant to meet me?"
Pyorin was getting up to leave, also. He hitched up his pants and then leaned down to place a tall stack of gold coins on the table. He got oddly focused trying to make sure the small column of coins was exactly straight.
"Oh… Wait, you're homeless? That's ridiculous." He thought I was joking.
Apparently, so! I was drunk, but I could still tell that it wasn't funny in the least. It was pretty much the look I gave him.
Pyorin blinked through being so buzzed, "Wait, how did you get here, again?"
Suddenly, all the fun we were having started to make sense. And it was starting to piss me off.
"Kael'thas brought me. He pretty much snatched me right out of the throne room, the moment I was introduced. It was all his idea."
Pyorin looked embarrassed, but then he hid that.
So, whatever it was, Pyorin hadn't been in on it. I'd truly surprised him. But the way the other two had left… I wondered if Pyorin really was in the Blood Nexus group. Not if he was this slow on the uptake.
"Ho man. Now, I feel pretty bad."
"Don't feel bad. Fill me in." Slow, drunk. Or, buzzed… Poor him, I was going to be very good at taking advantage of that, "You're the Captain of the Royal Palace guard, correct? I did hear you say that?"
He stood straighter, "Yes, sir."
"Then who usually makes arrangements for palace guests? That should be at the tip of your tongue."
"The queen. Well, everything goes through her."
"But Saturna's been away. And now, she's probably in bed. So who covers for the queen in these situations?"
"Her lady-in-waiting. Lady Daphne."
Short, correct answers. So far, so good.
"So we need Lady Daphne's approval to get me situated at the palace, where I'm supposed to be, right?" I was going to untangle this little prank of Kael'thas' very fast. Poor him. "Then let's go wake her up."
"But Daphne will kill me if I wake her up this late." He winced, "Uh, she's my wife. Daphne locks me out when I go to the bar with Kael'thas. Not that I blame her. Sometimes, we four stay out at all hours."
Wow. How convenient. And how very surprisingly disorganized of the Blood Elves, to neglect things this badly. A wife of a man at the table should have seen to their important guest having a place to sleep and they'd failed that test, somehow. What a GIANT coincidence, Kael'thas. You bastard.
I thought through this. No, what I needed right now, even if we did manage to wake up the keeper of the keys, was not a cushy bed to sleep in. I could go to an inn if I wanted to. But I didn't need to spend all night fretting about that…
I looked at Pyorin. Would Kael'thas meddle quite that far?
"I think that…" I reached for my water glass, had a big gulp, "I don't need a bed. I don't need to sober up, either. We can do that on the way, the night air should handle it. What I need to do right now is investigate the keep, wherever you all lock up people here in Silvermoon."
"Now? You sure?"
"It's the first and most obvious place to search for a captive in this city. And that's the reason I'm here. Not to get drunk and wander the streets of Silvermoon, and not to fumble around downtown with the husband of the Lady-in-Waiting, trying to get me a someplace to sleep it off in case Plan A failed. In fact, at this rate, I'm surprised Kael'thas didn't just straight up poison me."
"Hunh?"
"I said now."
"You don't understand, the Keep has to be off-limits until the morning." Pyorin stood his ground, but he still winced that it was a shame I didn't understand him. He really didn't want to have to give over, come out and say it. "There is only one person in Silvermoon who can authorize a search of Sunspire Keep. We're all under strict orders. Things were even backing up while she was gone. That's how serious it is."
"Who?"
"Saturna. As she's the Bloodknight Matriarch. If you want her, you'll have to… pull her out of bed with Kael'thas."
Now, we have it.
"Turaho. I do not recommend it."
"You mean, pull Kael'thas out of bed with Saturna."
Pyorin glinted at me with full comprehension at my true meaning. Maybe he wasn't so unintelligent after all.
"Please, sir, take my advice. The king and queen have had a rough… patch. Kael'thas will be in no mood. He's got a very short fuse when it comes to Saturna. So he stole a few hours for himself tonight-Is that so awful? Or, is it really any of our business?"
Just what was he accusing me of?
Pyorin tried to brush over what he accidentally implied, "Look. Don't do this. It isn't necessary, is all I'm saying. No one will be offended if we just wait a few hours."
I huffed, tossed my horns, "You mean, don't put you in the middle of this. I don't care about my manners, I didn't come all this way for a damn tea party."
"We'll go and get some sleep instead, it's fine. There's a nice inn I usually go to, though it's also full of weird roleplayers at this hour. And I'm pretty sure it's Demon Hunter Night…" Pyorin looked distant, disturbed.
"This is your job. So-" I pushed my chair in. For a fancy red-cushioned, enchanted-looking thing, it made an abominable amount of noise. "Take me to the palace. Let's get moving."
Pyorin warned me once more that we shouldn't interfere with the royals. That Kael'thas and Saturna were obviously fighting, that they should have one night to talk and work things out. Feh. 'Talk.' I think anyone reading this knows what was really about to go down, and it had nothing to do with 'just talking.' Anyway, the stakes were higher than whether or not Kael'thas got nooky that he didn't deserve after being such giant invisible jackass in Mulgore. And possibly all the time, forever, since before then.
I clomped up to Pyorin on my big hooves. His face became stone. Well, this was a language he understood a lot better.
"Guard-Captain, I want to search the entire keep. From the lowest cells, to the petty criminal overnight pens, to the posh 'apartments' that I'm sure Kael'thas' wealthy friends get put in, to endure their wrist-slap after bribing the judges over goddess-knows-what in this city. I want to see all of that, and I want to see it now. If not, Sylvanas herself will be here by sun-up and maybe before then, 'cause you can be darned sure that girl's a night owl. I have no problems attracting Lady Sylvanas herself back to her homeland to pull rank on every-the-hell-body here."
Pyorin still wouldn't move.
"Oh come on, lover-boy." I gave his shoulder a hard nudge, "You can't like Kael'thas all that much!"
Sylvanas herself not being a threat to him was a little scary. I wondered who else on the planet, on two planets, could pull rank on Kael'thas if even Sylvanas, as… Well, as Sylvanas, and as our Horde Warchief couldn't.
Pyorin sort of rocked aside, as if he was used to having on heavier gear. A giant, door-sized shield, perhaps? Then he saluted. We walked out of there. Downstairs was also empty by that hour. They were sweeping up and upending the chairs on the tables. We flagged down a carriage back to the palace.
There was some fuss among the ministers who I figured did not want to wake and certainly did not want to deliver the message to the royal bedroom themselves. However, Pyorin outranked everyone in the Sunspire except perhaps for Saturna and Kael'thas. Kael'thas' chief advisor, who they wanted to consult first, was that same Faltheriel from before. It turned out that Chief Advisor Faltheriel did not live at the palace. I got the sense that Faltheriel's predecessor Sorn had done so, and that Sorn had lived and breathed King Kael'thas Sunstrider, twenty-four-seven. I say that because, the lesser advisors were afraid to make a move without first alerting the current head-man, but then it became obvious that Faltheriel had an estate outside of the city, so it couldn't have really been that. My estimation of Faltheriel went up. He was good at his job and good at having his own life. She he was sharper than I thought.
I made a mental note to be careful around a man with that much good sense, off the bat.
Pyorin's voice was threatening, if not his actual words, "You know as well as I do that Faltheriel Darkweaver is not to be disturbed! Kael'thas himself told you that personally, just yesterday. Now move! Make the arrangements. For the queen, and also down in the keep!"
Then, Pyorin left me there seated in the corridor.
"And where are you running off to hide?" I called down the fancy carpeted hallway. White and gold doric columns and tassled red curtains lined the long walls.
Pyorin was used to speaking loudly in the palace without having to resort to shouting, "No, sir. In circumstances like these, the Captain of the Guard goes to wake the royal couple, personally."
Damn. That was not going to be pleasant for him. But he was handling it like a pro.
"…Excuse me."
Pyorin bowed elegantly, from where he was. I thought he was being condescending at first, but no, that's just the way Blood Elves do it. The Captain of the Guard was merely satisfying his obligation to be courteous to an honored palace guest.
When Pyorin returned later, Saturna was not with him.
"Heh. Now, what's your game?"
He said, "I don't play games." Something in his voice made me think that, perhaps, Pyorin felt his other friends did, however. With enough time to think it over, I guessed he'd caught up to everything that I had figured out at the bar, as well as all the implications. How they'd used his lock-out situation with his wife, and kind of stuck him with me, for one.
"We're going down into the keep, now. Queen Saturna went ahead of us. The guards didn't believe it at first, and she didn't like that. They needed to be whipped into shape."
"Or she's busy hiding evidence, with their help."
Pyorin only gestured for me to walk with him, and ignored the rest. He set a brisk pace for us. Pyorin then held doors for me as we went and was even careful to warn me about the older stairs as we eventually descended down into the torchlit depths. Actually, Pyorin showed a great deal of consideration. But I couldn't trust it, yet. I was starting to notice that all Blood Elves had a natural way with charm. This noble, very professional Guard-Captain Pyorin, nearly one of the armored white marble palace statues come to life, he was still a tricksy Bloodknight at the end of the day.
If Pyorin was loyal to Saturna, then, however much I was starting to appreciate him-he was a problem.
