Auriana
Auriana spent the rest of the afternoon in the Royal Library, huddled over Khadgar's plans. Although she had suggested that they take lunch together, she was soon glad that he had declined. There was so much to read, and she quickly found herself utterly engrossed by the pages upon pages of meticulous technical notes, detailing every inch of Khadgar's proposed nexus spires down to the very last nut and bolt. There were a few sections that even Auriana didn't quite understand, both due to her own lack of knowledge when it came to extremely advanced arcane techniques, and Khadgar's somewhat eccentric note taking habits. From what she could read, however, she had to admit that Khadgar had done his research well, and with each new page, her intrigue rose.
Of course, getting Khadgar's plan off the ground would not be easy. In addition to the magical requirements, which Auriana did not doubt would require the full strength and expertise of the Council of Six and most likely the support of a great many other Archmages and blue dragons besides, they would have to contend with the purely physical challenges of building a new nexus spire. Theramore was still a dangerous place, thanks to the residual damage caused by the mana bomb, and there were only so many people in the world who had the expertise required to build magically conductive structures of the kind that Khadgar required. The cost of the towers would also likely be astronomical, and would require the use of rare resources from all over Azeroth...
"Auriana?"
Auriana started as she was interrupted for the second time that day, only to immediately relax as she glanced up to see Varian looming over her. He was wearing a loose, open-necked white tunic and dark breeches, though he had apparently discarded the long coat he had taken with him when he had departed the city earlier that day. His hair was lightly tousled, presumably from the gryphon ride back from Westfall, and there was something ruggedly casual about his appearance that she found immensely appealing.
As pleased as she was to see him, however, Auriana was confused by his premature return.
"Varian? What are you doing here?"
"I live here," he said drily. "I don't know if you've ever noticed, but there's a statue of me out front..."
Auriana rolled her eyes. "Ha, ha. I thought you were out in Westfall - did something happen? Is that why you're back early?"
"Early? Auri, it's after six."
Varian frowned, and gestured to the greater Library around them. It was only then that Auriana realised that the space was no longer bathed in soft, natural daylight, and that all the librarians and researchers were gone. The Keep's diligent servants must have come by to light the wall sconces at least an hour ago, and she hadn't even noticed.
"I… it is?"
"I thought we might take dinner soon," Varian explained, "And you weren't in our rooms, so… I came looking."
"Blast. I must have lost track of time."
Auriana rubbed a hand across her eyes, and leaned back in her chair. For the first time, she realised how stiff she was from sitting in almost the same position for the entire day. She raised her arms up over her head and rolled her head from side to side; sighing as the movement of the joints in her neck produced an audible pop.
"Clearly." Varian's critical gaze swept over Auriana's face and down towards the array of books and parchments haphazardly strewn across the desk before her. "What's got you so interested?"
"Khadgar visited me earlier today. He has a plan to repel the Burning Legion from Azeroth. Permanently."
Varian's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "Come again?"
If the plan had been proposed by anyone else, Auriana doubted that Varian would have taken it seriously, or at least not so immediately. But because it was Khadgar, and because Varian knew that the Archmage was perhaps the one person on Azeroth who could make such an audacious dream a reality, his interest was swiftly piqued. Auriana therefore spent the next twenty minutes or so walking him through Khadgar's plan, combining snippets from Khadgar's verbal explanation with the finer details she had gleaned from an afternoon of poring over his notes.
Aside from his initial exclamation, however, Varian offered neither question nor comment. He certainly appeared to be listening, though whether he was convinced by Auriana's retelling of Khadgar's argument, she couldn't tell. He maintained an impressively stoic countenance as she spoke, with not the slightest twitch or blink to indicate whether he thought Khadgar's plan was genius or insanity.
Auriana continued on with her explanation nonetheless, and her voice was a touch hoarse by the time she fully finished speaking. For his part, Varian did not react immediately - not that Auriana expected him to leap to his feet or make some kind of amazed vociferation - but she had thought he might finally say something. Instead, he cast a thoughtful eye over the scattered parchments, and after a minute or so of silent contemplation, asked simply:
"Can I see those plans?"
"Of course," Auriana said, hastily trying to push the pages into some semblance of order, "Though I'm not sure they'll be of much use to you..."
Varian seemed to believe she was underestimating him, judging by the arch gleam in his eyes, though his confident expression soon turned to one of confusion as he flipped through the first few pages in the haphazard sheaf.
"That's not our language..." he huffed.
"It's not any language, really. It's sort of a pidgin hybrid of arcane runes and Thalassian," Auriana explained. "It's dangerous to write spells using actual runes, so the earliest Kirin Tor magi developed a method of notation that accurately captured the essence of the spell so that it could be reproduced, without accidentally infusing it with power."
"And this means something to you?" Varian asked, incredulous.
"It does. Well, most of it. Some of it I think is more... 'Khadgar-ese' than any known language." Auriana tapped a messy string of symbols running along the short edge of the nearest scroll. "Even I have no idea what this means, for example."
"Hmph."
Varian's brow furrowed, and he ran a hand back through his dishevelled hair. Auriana didn't push him; choosing instead to wait and watch as he gathered his thoughts. She still couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking, though his lips were drawn and his prominent chin slightly lifted in the manner that suggested he was considering the information very seriously.
"Can I ask a stupid question?" he said finally, tapping two long fingers against the side of his right temple.
"Khadgar would say there's no such thing."
"I was once in the Dwarven District, outside the Golden Keg, and I overheard one dwarven hunter ask another how the holes in a bear's fur were always cut in the right place for its eyes..." Varian countered drily, "But I digress. If we enact Khadgar's plan, will portals on Azeroth still work?"
"That's not a stupid question at all," Auriana assured him, grinning. "In short - yes. Portals on Azeroth will work as they always have."
She cocked her head to one side.
"How much do you remember of what I've taught you about portals over the years?"
Varian's eyes rolled towards the ceiling as he wrestled back and forth with himself for a moment, before he settled on an answer with an exaggerated shrug. "Some. More than I expected to remember; probably less than you might have liked."
Auriana pursed her lips, struggling to contain a dry chuckle. Varian could be very charming when he wanted to be - his sense of humour was naturally self-deprecating, and he often enjoyed pretending to be less intelligent than he really was. Of course, Auriana saw right through him, but she was more than happy to play along. As bone weary as she was after a long day of intense study, his presence was a sure-fire way to brighten her mood.
"As you should already know," she began, imitating the saccharine condescension of her least favourite professor from Dalaran, "When we open portals on Azeroth, we draw on the power of the planet's leyline network both for the energy to power our spells, and for purposes of navigation."
The corner of Varian's mouth twitched as he leaned forward across the table and folded his hands neatly on top of one another like a most dutiful student.
"Latitude and longitude for mages," he recited smugly.
"Correct," Auriana praised him, nodding. "To the top of the class with you, Apprentice Wrynn."
She gave him her haughtiest look, and made a laughably poor attempt to sit up as tall as he. Try as he might, Varian could not repress a smile, and he conceded victory in their little game with an amused shake of his head.
"Portals to other worlds are a different matter entirely," Auriana added, more seriously. "There are no leylines in the middle of the Great Dark. The distances in question are also on an order of magnitude larger than the distance between, say… Stormwind and Darnassus. Hopping from one side of Azeroth to the other is child's play compared to trying to navigate an infinite universe."
Varian's expression strongly suggested that he would not have described teleporting from Stormwind to Darnassus as 'child's play', but he held his tongue.
"Thankfully," Auriana continued, "We have the Twisting Nether."
"First time anyone's said that," Varian snorted. "This is hardly my area of expertise, but I thought the Nether was full of nothing but demons and chaos?"
"Well, yes, it is…" Auriana conceded, "But it's not so much what's in the Nether as what it is. The Nether is an astral plane that transcends other dimensions and realities. It sits separate from the physical realm, but touches all parts of it at the same time."
As she spoke, Auriana lifted her left arm and held it parallel to her chest. She then lifted her right arm, and laid it on top of her left in a crude visual depiction of the relationship between the Nether and the physical realm. It was far from a perfect representation, but she hoped it would be enough to make her point.
"The normal rules of reality don't apply in the Nether. Gravity, time, magnetism - all physical forces are warped and changed by the Nether's inherently chaotic nature. Which makes it dangerous, yes, but also useful. Sufficiently skilled and powerful spellcasters are able to harness the unique properties of the Nether to essentially bend space, and connect two parts of the Great Dark that might otherwise have billions of miles of physical distance between them."
As she spoke, she moved her top hand and tented her fingers to mimic the reality-warping nature of an interstellar portal through the Nether; connecting two points of real space that otherwise ought never have touched.
Varian blinked. "That sounds… difficult. To say the least."
"It is." Auriana lowered her arms. "And it requires a considerable amount of energy."
"Energy?" Varian queried, frowning. "Not magic?"
"In this case, they're synonymous." Auriana shrugged. "That's all magic is, really - a unique kind of energy. And what we call spells are simply a means of controlling, transferring and transforming that energy into something useful."
Varian once again fell silent as he processed the new information, and Auriana wondered if she could have explained herself better. Nether physics was a complex subject, and not one for which she had ever had much aptitude. She understood the base principles, of course, but she was not nearly as well-versed in the topic as one of the learned mages who had made portalmancy the sole focus of their magical career.
On the other hand, Varian seemed to be grasping things well enough, and he certainly wasn't shy about asking for clarification. Auriana had quite enjoyed their impromptu lesson thus far, and she hoped that he had likewise found her to be an adequate teacher.
"So how much energy does a portal to another world actually require? Define 'considerable'," Varian said, leaning back in his chair and slinging one arm casually over the crest rail.
"Well… like most magic, it depends on what you're trying to do. Teleporting or summoning a single mortal being requires relatively little effort; creating something like the Dark Portal requires significantly more. It's not a perfect analogy, but it's on the scale of comparing a single candle to a raging forest fire," Auriana explained. "To create a rift large enough to bring the Horde to Azeroth, it took the power of a possessed Guardian with all the knowledge of the Burning Legion at his fingertips. A substantial physical structure was also required, in order to properly contain the flow of so much magic. Harnessing the raw power of the Nether is one of the most dangerous things a spellcaster can do, and if we don't take the proper steps to restrict and guide that energy, things can get out of hand very quickly."
"I see."
"This was the mistake Ner'zhul made that ultimately led to the destruction of Draenor and its transformation into Outland - he tried to open far too many portals, far too quickly. He called on a phenomenal amount of magic with no proper means of containing it, and the resulting energy surge from the Nether tore the entire planet apart."
Varian made a face.
"I'm going to assume that whatever Khadgar's plan involves, he has duly included the necessary safeguards to prevent the destruction of our fair planet," he growled. "I know he's not trying to open a portal, but it seems to me that there are similar magics involved..."
"I think that's a safe assumption," Auriana agreed. "Khadgar is no fool- I don't believe he would ever suggest a cure that's worse than the disease."
Varian let out a soft harrumph. "Alright… so the size of the portal you're attempting to make is a factor... I also seem to recall that time is another? When we were trapped on the alternate Draenor… you were reluctant to teleport us to Stormwind for fear that we would be lost decades in the past?"
"Well remembered," Auriana said, smiling, "And you're quite right. Opening a portal from present-day Azeroth to present-day Outland is not nearly as difficult - or risky - as opening a portal from present-day Azeroth to a version of Draenor in an alternate timestream."
"You were able to open portals from Lunarfall to Azeroth eventually, though," Varian pointed out. "What's the difference?"
"I was able to learn, yes, but only because I had the guidance of other mages, and because Kairozdormu's original spell was still actively maintaining a rift between our worlds."
Auriana frowned as she once again found herself reaching for a suitable analogy.
"Think of it a bit like… cutting a path through a forest. The trailblazer has it the hardest, but as more and more people follow the same path, it becomes clearer and far easier to navigate. Portals are actually very similar. Kairozdormu's spell fractured a path between Azeroth and Draenor; a path that was later buttressed by the efforts of Khadgar and the Kirin Tor. Once the path was set, it became far easier for other mages - like myself - to follow. Of course, when Kairozdormu's spell began to destabilise, that path slowly became impassible, much like an old trail overgrown. I very much doubt even Khadgar could open the way now, at least not unaided. Which is…"
"...which is why we eventually recalled our troops left behind after the war," Varian finished proudly. "I do read my briefings, you know."
Auriana flashed him another quick smile. No, he was not unintelligent, despite what his detractors may have liked to believe. Far from it.
"There are other factors, too," she continued. "The amount of energy required to move something through the Nether is relative to its arcane weight. Magically 'heavy' beings like Kil'jaeden cannot travel through the Nether unless supported by an incredible amount of magic - hence the necessity of a power source like the Sunwell. Compare that to… say, summoning an imp, which just about any apprentice warlock could manage."
"Wait, what do you mean, magically 'heavy'?" Varian queried, looking thoroughly nonplussed. "Magic has mass?"
"Ah, not exactly, but… I can't think of how else to explain it..."
Auriana glanced around the Library, wondering if there was a model or a textbook that might assist with an explanation, when her gaze fell on Varian himself. While he may not have been an expert in magical physics, as a warrior he had an excellent understanding of how force and mass interacted in the real world.
"Ah! Imagine for me, if you will - the average gnome. Three and a half feet tall; perhaps forty, forty-five pounds?" Auriana guessed. "With your strength, I would wager you could lift said gnome fairly easily…?"
"If you don't know the answer to that question by now, I feel like I've rather failed as both your husband and a warrior..." Varian grumbled; his chest expanding and his arms flexing in a not-so-subtle attempt to emphasise his physique.
Auriana allowed herself a brief moment to enjoy the way his muscles shifted beneath the clinging white fabric of his shirt, though she quickly averted her gaze. It wouldn't do to let him know of her admiration; not when she had needled him so finely.
"Then imagine someone my size. I'm five feet tall, and at least twice as heavy as our gnome..." she continued, as if she had neither heard nor seen him. "Now, even if you had little difficulty lifting me, I would still present a greater physical challenge than the gnome, correct?"
Varian did his best to maintain an air of righteous indignation, though the familiar glint of amusement in his eyes suggested he was rather enjoying the light badinage.
"Correct."
"And then we have someone like you… what, six four, two hundred pounds?"
Auriana knew full well that Varian was slightly larger than her estimate, but the opportunity to tease him further was far too good to pass up.
"Six five, two twenty, thank you very much," he growled, fixing her with his very best glare.
There was no doubt in Auriana's mind that his magnificent glower was capable of cowing the bravest of warriors, warchiefs, and kings, but she remained supremely undaunted.
"My mistake," she said blithely, as she bit back a grin. "Anyway… my point is, if someone were to try to lift you off the ground, they'd have to expend significantly more effort to do so than if they were trying to lift me, just like they'd need more effort to lift me compared to our hypothetical gnome. And if they were to attempt to lift someone very heavy, like a tauren, they might even need some help - a second person, perhaps, or some kind of lever."
"The effort is proportional," Varian summarised, nodding his understanding. "I'm assuming, then, that magic works much the same way?"
"Yes. Every living creature in the universe possesses a magical 'aura'," Auriana added, miming the boundaries of an invisible field about her shoulders, "And the strength of that aura determines both how they affect magic… and how magic affects them in turn."
"Everyone has a magical aura," Varian repeated, scowling down at her with genuine scepticism. "Even me?"
"Even you. Granted, not much of one, but it's there," Auriana confirmed. "Now, a magically insignificant creature - like an imp..."
"Or me," Varian interjected brightly, causing Auriana to just about choke on the rest of her sentence.
"...i-is far e-easier to teleport or summon than a mage, for example," she managed, touching a hand to her chest to quell her laughter. "Your average mage is easier to summon than someone uncommonly powerful, like Khadgar, or Jaina…"
"Or you..."
Auriana did not miss the deep pride in Varian's voice as he counted her name alongside Azeroth's finest Archmages, and she once again stumbled slightly over her words as a warm blush flooded her cheeks. Perhaps he was not quite so deserving of her teasing after all...
"... and… and even the finest mortal mage is hardly anything compared to a being like Kil'jaeden or Sargeras," she finished.
Varian tilted his head to one side, and drummed his fingers thoughtfully on the ear of his chair. "So in this analogy - magically speaking - I'm the gnome, you're me, and Sargeras weighs a thousand pounds?"
"More or less," Auriana said, pleased that he had grasped her point. "Physical size is largely irrelevant in the equation, but you cannot move a being with such an enormous magical signature without expending a comparable amount of magical energy."
"Alright, I'm following… I think… but what does all this have to do with Khadgar's plan?" Varian wondered. "How does any of this prevent anyone from teleporting to and from Azeroth?"
"I'm sure Khadgar could explain this better than I, but I believe his spires work by taking the already substantial energy requirements of interstellar teleportation and summoning, and multiplying them exponentially," Auriana surmised, gesturing to a few of the more relevant sheets of parchment. Now that Varian had a better grasp of the complexities of portal magic, she hoped he might see the elegant genius of Khadgar's design. "Essentially, it would take so much energy to overcome the field emitted by the spires that magically transporting oneself to or from Azeroth would become functionally impossible, and…"
She trailed off when she realised that Varian was staring; his expression having abruptly shifted from one of astute contemplation to something that she couldn't quite place. He had relaxed his posture, no longer attempting to impress upon her his considerable size, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"What?" she asked, self-consciously tucking a stray lock of hair back behind her ear.
"I like listening to you talk about magic," he said simply. "I forget, sometimes, how knowledgeable you are. I know you don't see yourself as much of an academic compared to the Khadgars and Jainas of the world, but I doubt either of them would have managed a more comprehensible explanation. At least not as far as my thick head is concerned, in any case."
Varian leaned across the desk towards her, and inclined his head downwards with a conspiratorial air. They were alone in the Library, save for the guards no doubt standing watch over the entrance, though he seemed to believe they were at imminent risk of being overheard.
"Although, perhaps next time, you might find a way to impart your knowledge without impugning my manhood. I have a very delicate ego, you know…"
The idea that any part of Varian could be described as 'delicate' was absurd, and Auriana could not have held back her laughter had she tried.
"No promises," she countered, chuckling as she shook her head.
"Alas, I am betrayed."
Varian sat back upright with a resigned sigh, and while his feigned dismay was certainly amusing, it was not especially convincing. Even if he had been a better actor, Auriana would not have believed for a single second that he was truly upset - he was putting it on for her, she knew, and for the simple reward of her smile. There were few things he loved more than to make her laugh, and a pang of guilt cut through her mirth as she realised how humourless she had been of late. Varian had never uttered a word of complaint, but perhaps he was more concerned by her listlessness than she had properly understood. It would certainly explain why he had so enjoyed their banter, even when he himself was the butt of the joke...
"I didn't know you felt that way," she confessed. "About all my magic talk, I mean, not… not the other thing. Truth be told… I was afraid you'd find it boring."
Varian shook his head. "Not at all. If anything, I find it sort of… nostalgic. Magic was the first thing we ever really talked about, if you recall."
"I suppose that's true." Auriana let out a sardonic snort. "You know, for someone who never really took to the study of portals, I spend a fair amount of my time explaining how they work…"
There was a certain irony, Auriana thought, in the fact that she and Varian had only ever met because of the existence of an interstellar portal. If Khadgar had developed his plan only a few years earlier, there would never have been a need for a Draenor expedition, and she and Varian would likely never have crossed paths. Or if they had, it would have been as nothing more than king and soldier. Never friends. Never lovers.
It went further back than that, too, Auriana thought, in a moment of bitter recollection. The Sunwell. Kel'thuzad's summoning of Archimonde. The Dark Portal. The Well of Eternity. There was no telling how many lives had been changed, and what Azeroth might have been, had she never been set upon by demonic invaders from beyond the stars...
"Something wrong?" Varian asked.
Auriana was constantly amazed at how sensitive he was to even the most minute changes in her posture or expression. Having never been in another serious, long-term relationship, she wasn't sure if such attentiveness was something that one might expect of any dutiful partner, or whether it was something unique to Varian, but she had long ago learned that it was nearly impossible to conceal her true feelings from him.
"Not wrong, exactly,... it just… it just hit me…" she said slowly, "How much of our history has been coloured by our exposure to what's lurking out there in the Great Dark. Take the Dark Portal, for example. If there's no Dark Portal, you and I would never have met. We certainly wouldn't be married."
Varian frowned. "How do you figure?"
"If Medivh never opens the Dark Portal, the orcs never invade Azeroth. Stormwind is never destroyed, and if it's never destroyed, then it doesn't need to be rebuilt. The Stonemasons are not aggrieved, there's no riot… and T-tiffin… Tiffin lives."
Auriana felt her heartbeat quicken as she stumbled over the late queen's name. Tiffin was one of the few topics that she and Varian still almost never discussed, and while she had mostly made her peace with living in the shadow of such a great woman, Auriana didn't think she would ever shake the feeling that Tiffin's name was somehow taboo.
Predictably, Varian went rigid, and his expression darkened as he contemplated Auriana's analysis. All of his earlier playfulness vanished in an instant, and his most stiff and kingly mask snapped back into place.
"I suppose you're right," he concluded, after a long, awkward pause. "A great many things would be different."
"More things than I can count. The Dark Portal precipitated the Legion's numerous attempts to weaken Azeroth for invasion… including the creation of the Scourge," Auriana continued, contemplating the myriad possibilities with a sort of morbid fascination. "If there's no Scourge, Lordaeron never falls, and my family never leaves for Theramore..."
She paused for a moment, wondering what her life might have been had she grown up in Lordaeron. While it was the city of her birth, and she had lived there for much of her youth, she had always thought of Theramore as her childhood home.
"No doubt my grandfather would have attempted to marry me off to the most eligible bachelor he could find…" Her eyes widened as she was struck by a sudden, horrid realisation. "Oh, Light, there's a timeline where I marry Arthas, isn't there?"
Varian let out a low, warning growl; his forehead so heavily furrowed that his eyebrows were almost touching. "Stop it. You're making my head hurt. I don't want to think about… about any of this… You're here, I'm here, and that's all that matters… it does no one any good to speculate on whether this or that might have been."
"My point is, both good and bad has come from Azeroth's exposure to the wider universe. We've made enemies, yes, but we've also made allies," Auriana argued. "Our choices have set our world on a very particular path, and if we see Khadgar's plan through to fruition, we unfortunately have no real way of knowing whether that action will benefit Azeroth in the long term…"
Varian grimaced. "Do you think we ought to refuse Khadgar, then?"
"Ah… I'm not sure that's a decision that should be up to me alone..."
In truth, Auriana wasn't entirely sure what they ought to do. She had been far more focused on whether or not they could, that until that moment she had not really given equal consideration to the question of whether or not they should.
"I agree… but you've been staring at this all day. I want your opinion," Varian said.
Auriana took a deep breath and cleared her throat, choosing her next words with great care. Varian was not the type to be easily swayed by the opinions of others, but she knew that he valued her input immensely, and she didn't want to jeopardise Azeroth's future by giving him poor advice.
"I think, on balance… that I'm inclined to support Khadgar's plan. At the very least, it buys us time to bolster our planet's defences, even if at some point in the future we decide to bring the field down. We can rebuild our populations, train more spellcasters and soldiers to fight demons, continue to work on our relations with the Horde… a strong and united Azeroth is our best defence against the Legion; it always has been."
Varian gave no outward indication as to whether or not he agreed with her assessment, though he reached out and brushed a hand over Khadgar's notes.
Some of the grim tension lining his face began to ease, though the mood within the Library was noticeably cooler than it had been only a few minutes before.
"Are you able to translate these into something I could present to the other leaders of the Alliance?" he asked. "And Vol'jin too, I suppose. As you said, this shouldn't be a decision made by one person alone."
"Of course," Auriana said, willing to help in any way she could. "It may take some time, however; some of these technical specifications are very complex…"
"Take all the time you need. Besides, with me leaving for Ironforge in the morning, your time is largely spoken for throughout the rest of the week."
Auriana leaned back in her chair and groaned. Khadgar's unexpected visit and her subsequent conversation with Varian had provided a welcome distraction from her other duties, but it seemed she could only ever escape reality for so long.
"Don't remind me."
Varian cocked his head to one side, and for the first time since he had arrived, he paid proper attention to the titles of the books half-hidden beneath Khadgar's plans.
"Wait - is that what brought you down here in the first place? Is that what you've been doing all week, sneaking off to the Library to brush up on Stormwind's laws? Auriana, we've talked about this… you commanded your own garrison for over a year, what are you so afraid of?"
Letting you down.
Auriana did not say as much out loud, but there was no denying the truth in her own heart. She had left Northrend feeling like an abject failure, and the intervening weeks had done little to improve her outlook. She was tired, and moody, and she could barely summon enough magic to light a candle. And if she were to fail again after Varian had put so much trust in her abilities, she thought it might just break her...
"I… a garrison is a far cry from an entire city," she reasoned. "I've been studying so hard, but…"
"I really don't think anyone is expecting you to ah… memorise the maximum allowable dimensions of a market cart operated by an itinerant vendor…" Varian said drily, pulling the nearest open book towards him and frowning as he skimmed over the first paragraph. "And if by some bizarre turn of events it does come up, you have the Provost and the Master of Laws to rely upon. Not to mention Anduin. You know he has a head for this sort of thing."
His long fingers tightened over the thick leather of the book's top edge, and he fixed her with a piercing stare.
"You are intelligent, compassionate, and fair-minded, and you are not alone. I would never have entertained the thought of leaving you in charge of the city if I had any doubts as to your competency as a ruler."
Auriana sighed. He was right, of course, from a purely rational point of view, but it did nothing to quell the nervous fluttering in her stomach.
"Knowing my luck, the city will be invaded by the entire Burning Legion…" she muttered.
"I promise you, Stormwind is not going to be invaded by demons tomorrow," Varian assured her. "And if it is, well, at least you won't need to remember any of Stormwind's more obscure civic laws…"
Auriana once again supposed that he was correct, though it wasn't exactly a comforting thought. She shot him a withering look as she tugged the law book free from his grasp, and tidied it and a half-dozen other nearby tomes into a neat stack on one side of the desk. She then turned her attention to Khadgar's plans, carefully laying them down one on top of the other before she was finally able to roll them up into a single thick reel.
Varian followed each small movement of Auriana's fingers as she fumbled to tie off the scroll with the same thin piece of leather Khadgar had used to secure them in the first place. The dark cast of his eye suggested that he had seen some cause for concern, though Auriana was nonplussed. There were surely only so many ways to roll and tie a sheaf of paper, and Varian wasn't so pedantic as to insist on a particular one… was he?
"Ah… Varian...?"
"Have you eaten today?" he asked.
Damn. Auriana pressed a sheepish hand to her stomach, wondering how he had known.
"I… um… no," she admitted. "I haven't."
She had not intended to miss breakfast, or her noonday meal, for that matter, it had just sort of… happened.
"Auri…" Varian let out a long sigh that was equal parts exasperation and concern.
"I know, I know…" she groaned, throwing up her hands in weak protest, "You left early, and so I came down here to study, and then Khadgar arrived, and I... forgot. Surely you understand how a Legion-free future is not a possibility that I could easily dismiss..."
"That doesn't mean you have to starve yourself!"
Varian's voice rose sharply in pitch, and Auriana immediately bristled in response. She understood his concern, but she didn't appreciate being spoken to like a disobedient child.
"I'm hardly starving myself," she retorted, equally sharp.
"Have you looked in a mirror lately? You haven't been yourself since Northrend, you…"
Auriana rolled her eyes towards the ceiling and cut him off with a bitter scoff. "And I wonder what could have possibly happened in Northrend that might have me acting out of sorts?!"
Varian's jaw clenched, and his eyes flashed dangerously. When presented with a challenge, it was his deeply ingrained instinct to fight back - much as it was Auriana's. It would hardly be the first time that their fiery, competitive natures had proven to be a liability during an argument; neither willing to cede so much as an inch of ground. It was an attitude that had served them both well on the battlefield, though it was somewhat less productive in the context of their relationship.
Auriana could practically see Varian's mind churning as he fought back the urge to meet her sarcasm with his own, and she tensed in anticipation of a biting rejoinder… that never came. Instead, Varian rose to his feet and rounded the desk towards her, before taking a seat on the edge of the aged oak slab. His fists were clenched where they rested on his knee, though there was something in the set of his brow that suggested he was more uncomfortable than strictly angry.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, his tone surprisingly gentle. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I… it's hardly an excuse, but I've been so worried about you…"
"I know. And… I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried, too. But I promise you, I'm trying," Auriana insisted, hating how whiny she sounded even as the words slipped past her lips.
Varian's shoulders sagged. "You always do. You… you're the strongest person I've ever met. I just sometimes wish you didn't have to be..."
He reached out to cup her jaw in one large, calloused palm, and brushed his thumb down the line of her cheekbone. Auriana felt the skin on the back of her neck pebble in response, and after a moment's hesitation, she leaned into his touch with a long, drawn out sigh. She was tired of feeling so unlike herself, but that didn't mean Varian deserved her peevishness. She certainly didn't want to waste what precious little alone time they had on bickering, either, especially given how much she had enjoyed their earlier banter.
"It's been a long day - for both of us, I'm sure," she said, squeezing her eyes shut for a brief second as she forcibly swallowed down her own pent-up frustration. "Perhaps… perhaps we ought to retire to our chambers…"
"Would you join me for dinner, then?" Varian asked hopefully. "We can have anything you like - just say the word, and it's yours."
Although Auriana still wasn't really all that eager to eat, his concern was so earnest and genuine that she nevertheless gave the question due consideration. Unfortunately, none of her usual favourites held much appeal, and she began to despair of ever giving him an answer, when she abruptly recalled her earlier conversation with Khadgar. His enthusiasm for the royal cook's lamb was well founded, and for the first time that day she felt the faintest rumble of hunger stirring in her belly as she pictured a moist, charcoaled slab of meat in her mind's eye.
"Hmm. I don't suppose a little roast lamb would be possible?" she suggested shyly. "And… and maybe some duck fat potatoes?"
Varian's awkward, stony expression eased into a tentative smile, and he extended an open hand towards her. "I'm sure the kitchens can manage, provided you don't mind waiting a little while."
"I don't mind at all."
Auriana placed her hand in his, and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Her neck cracked as she rose, and she stumbled forward as the blood rushed back to her legs. Had she not already been leaning on Varian for support, she would likely have collided with the desk.
"Easy…"
His arm tensed beneath her as he took more of her weight, and he swiftly pressed the palm of his free hand flat against her stomach for further support.
"I've been sitting down for too long," Auriana mumbled, shaking her head. "I'm fine, really…"
"I know. But I saw an opportunity."
In a single, smooth movement, Varian swivelled his wrist and slid his hand from Auriana's belly to her waist, and pulled her in so that they were standing body to body. Up close, he smelled like worn leather and freshly turned soil, and the heat of him alone was enough to make her knees unsteady. His embrace was firm, but not stifling, and Auriana couldn't help but to melt into his arms.
"Varian, I…"
"Come on," he murmured, brushing his lips against her forehead. "Let's get you fed. There aren't too many ills in life that can't be cured by some nice, crispy potatoes, after all…"
