Anduin

After Varian's abrupt departure, Anduin found itself at something of a loose end. He had planned to spend the morning working on his mathematics, lest he disappoint his tutors for the second week in a row, but he was in no fit state to concentrate. He had immediately sent word to the Cathedral, in case High Priestess Laurena was needed, though with little else to do but wait, he had taken to pacing back and forth across the breadth of Varian's inner chambers.

As a very small child, Anduin had thought the King's bedroom far too large to large and imposing to be homely, and he had always wondered how his father could sleep at night, alone in such a cavernous space. A few decorative tapestries and a thick fur rug had made the room a little warmer, but otherwise it had been a rather spartan space, with very few personal touches. As he grew a little older, Anduin had come to understand that that the coldness of the room was a physical manifestation of his father's brooding depression, and his childish fear had turned to pity.

These days, however, it was a far brighter and more personal space. Varian had mounted a number of decorative antique weapons over the fireplace, and had even acquired a few paintings – including a smudgy landscape of Stormwind that Anduin had painted when he was twelve years old. The blessed charm gifted to Varian and Auriana by Velen on the occasion of their wedding was looped over the corner of one of the bedposts, radiating a soft aura of protection over the room. Anduin could feel it in the Light every time he passed, and he prayed that its power might extend all the way to Dalaran…

"Highness? Prince Anduin?"

After what felt like days, a strained voice drew Anduin's attention to the door, and he spun on his heel to behold a bloody royal guard, standing on the threshold with Auriana cradled in his arms. Her hair was wild and dishevelled, having come loose from its bindings in odd places. Her once-beautiful dress was tattered, and what Anduin could see of her face and hands were bloodless and wan. She was conscious, at least, though likely in shock – her gaze was unfocused, and she seemed not to have realised that she was back home in Stormwind.

"Oh, Light…"

Anduin immediately hurried across the room, but there was little he could do to give Auriana a proper examination when she was curled up in the arms of her bodyguard, and he was forced to hover awkwardly at the guardsman's elbow as he carried her across the room.

"What happened, Lieutenant…?"

Anduin recognised the rank insignia on the guard's shoulderplate, though in the heat of the moment he couldn't quite recall the man's name.

"Garland, Your Highness. The King said I was to entrust her only to you. He was… he was very specific."

As Garland spoke, he lowered Auriana into a sitting position on the side edge of the bed, cradling her against his chest as if she were made of glass. Despite the care with which he moved, however, he was panting heavily, and there was a faint tremor beneath his words that he was fighting hard to control.

"You've done well," Anduin assured him. "Though you really ought to report to the infirmary yourself."

From what he could see, Garland was badly battered and bruised – not in any immediate or life-threatening danger, but injured enough that he warranted swift healing.

"Are… are you sure, Highness?" Garland mumbled. "She's my responsibility…"

"And she's safe now, with me. Just as my Father ordered."

It was unusual that Auriana had returned alone, with only her guard. Anduin would not have thought Varian willing to let her out of his sight, given the state of agitation he'd been in before departing for Dalaran…

One problem at a time, Anduin reminded himself firmly.

"You've done your duty, Lieutenant," he reiterated, though his tone was gentle. "Now it's time to see to your own care."

"I… yes, Highness. T-thank you."

Garland made an awkward attempt at a salute, hampered by what was clearly a set of broken ribs, and slowly limped his way from the room. Anduin waited until he heard the sound of wood on stone and muffled voices as Garland reached his fellow guardsmen on duty in the outer chamber, before he turned his full attention to Auriana.

She was sitting with her head down and her hands folded in her lap, in a position oddly reminiscent of a penitent at prayer. Coils of long, brown hair had fallen forward to conceal most of her face, and her shoulders were visibly trembling.

"Auri?" Anduin prompted, taking a careful seat on the bed at her side.

"Anduin…?"

Auriana's head snapped up, and with a start Anduin realised her neck and clavicle were stained with streaks of livid red.

"You're covered in blood…"

"I am?" Auriana took a second to gather her wits, then shook her head. "Not mine. Varian's, I think. His hands…"

She mimicked the movement of fingers across her neck, smearing the bloodstains a little further.

"Where is he?" Anduin asked.

He glanced over the top of Auriana's head and back toward the door, as if his father might make his triumphant arrival at any moment… but the doorway remained stubbornly empty.

"D-dalaran. He stayed to fight, I think… I don't know, something was wrong, I've never seen him like that, he… he was cold…"

Anduin's heart skipped a beat. Varian was a capable warrior – arguably the most capable warrior on Azeroth – but that did not mean he was invincible. Of course, Anduin could do nothing to help his father fight demons from a thousand miles away… though he could help Auriana… and, perhaps, his unborn sibling.

Focus.

"Are you hurt?"

"I don't…"

Auriana's breath caught in her throat. She was trying very hard to maintain her composure, but she was clearly teetering on the verge of panic. Her hands had begun to shake violently, despite her best efforts to keep them still, and her eyes shone with unshed tears.

"Auri. Breathe. Come on, now."

Anduin placed a tentative hand on the nape of her neck, and when she did not pull away, he began to rub soothing circles across her back. He put the slightest hint of power into his touch; not an actual healing spell, but a simple blessing to bolster the spirit. He didn't dare do more, given her gravid condition and his own inexperience with such matters, though he wanted to offer her what comfort he could.

"Talk to me… are you hurt?" he repeated.

"I don't know… it's complicated… I… I'm… ah…"

The tremor in Auriana's hands intensified, and her already laboured breathing grew even more erratic.

"I… um… I know you're pregnant," Anduin said quickly, hoping to spare her some awkwardness. "Father told me before he left to find you."

A bit indelicate, perhaps, but there was little to be gained by delaying the truth. Best to get it over and done with, so they could tend to more pressing matters.

"Oh."

Auriana flinched, and squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

"I… I had to use magic. I felt a p-pain…" she whispered. "I think I might be b-bleeding, I…"

Anduin's stomach dropped. Auriana did not need to elaborate further. While he was hardly an expert in matters of pregnancy and childbirth, one did not need to be a healer to know that Auriana's symptoms did not bode well for the safety of her child.

"I've already sent for Laurena, but in the meantime, I need you to keep breathing for me. Alright?"

Anduin kept his voice as low and soft as possible. He had no idea how he might go about diagnosing or healing an unborn child, but he knew that Auriana's ongoing distress would not help the situation in the slightest. She was as tightly wound and agitated as he'd ever seen her, and that was saying something.

Fortunately, Auriana seemed to have seen the wisdom in Anduin's advice. She made a visible effort to slow her breathing, and together they sat in near silence for a long time; the only sounds in the room an occasional sniffle from Auriana and the soft rustle of fabric as Anduin continued to stroke her back. More than once, he made to speak, only to think better of it at the last minute. After all, what could he possibly say?

The restive hush eventually was broken by a soft knock at the door, and with Anduin's permission, the High Priestess of Stormwind entered the room. Laurena's bearing was as cool and collected as ever, but the swiftness with which she swept across the floor was telling. She did not waste time on pleasantries, instead immediately reaching for Auriana's pale wrist so that she might take the latter's pulse.

"What happened, Your Majesty?"

"There was an attack on Dalaran. More demons. I tried to stay out of it, I really did, but… a tower collapsed, and I… I had to use my magic," Auriana mumbled. "We would have died, I had no choice… I had no choice…"

"Be at ease, Majesty, I understand," Laurena said smoothly, employing the same calm, measured tone as Anduin had earlier. "Were you caught in the spellfire, or hit by debris?"

"No, but it… it hurt. Here." Auriana's voice cracked as she gestured to her lower abdomen.

"I see." Laurena released Auriana's wrist, and turned to Anduin. "Your Highness, perhaps it would be best if you were to wait outside for a moment?"

"Outside…? Oh!" Anduin flushed crimson as he realised that whatever examinations Laurena intended to perform might be rather personal in nature, and that Auriana was unlikely to appreciate an audience. "Yes, yes, of course."

"Thank you. Rest assured, it won't take long."

"Auri? I'll just be out in the hall, if you need me…"

Anduin gave Auriana's shoulder one last, reassuring squeeze as he rose to his feet and left the room, pulling the door gently closed behind him.

Light, please. Please let my family be safe.

The moment Anduin was out of Auriana's sight, the brave front that he had put on for her benefit simply fell away. He sagged back against the wall, and brushed his unruly hair back from his face. He was oddly exhausted, as if he had just run twenty miles or gone days without sleep, even though it was barely late morning in Stormwind. In the span of about an hour, he had run the gamut of emotion from confusion to joy to gnawing fear – for his father, for Auriana, and now for the life of his unborn sibling.

A sibling. Anduin had come up with a number of theories to explain Auriana's odd behaviour of late, but it hadn't even occurred to him that she might be pregnant. He wasn't sure why – neither she nor his father were yet too old for such things, and he was not so hopelessly naïve as to be unaware of the fact that they had a physical relationship. It was a touch unusual, perhaps, given that Anduin himself was almost a man grown, but far from an unwelcome turn of events. The Wrynn family had never been all that conventional, in any case.

Anduin closed his eyes, and vaguely wondered what a child of Varian and Auriana might be like. He had always favoured his mother in looks, though in recent years he had taken on more of Varian's height and broad shoulders. It seemed likely that Varian and Auriana's offspring would share their dark hair and blue eyes, though there was no telling where the child would fall on the scale between Auriana's petite, lissom physique and Varian's muscular bulk. Would the child be a mage? Were such things hereditary? Anduin wasn't sure.

For a while, Anduin's thoughts drifted from one possible outcome to another; the faces of a dozen different children blurring together in an indistinct tableau until, one by one, they were all consumed by darkness. He lost all sense of the passage of time, until the sudden creak of heavy wood startled him from his reverie. He immediately straightened, pushing himself upright off the wall as the door to the King's chambers opened, and Laurena stepped out into the hall. Anduin scanned the High Priestess's face, looking for anything that might confirm or deny his fears, but her expression was far too equanimous to read.

"Is she…?"

"Asking for you, Your Highness," Laurena finished. "I will wait out here, should you or the Queen require any further assistance."

Anduin didn't need to be told twice. He darted around Laurena and practically ran back into the bedchamber, to find Auriana sitting upright in bed, her back and neck propped up by a half-dozen plump pillows and a heavy blanket across her legs. Somewhere behind him, Anduin heard the door scrape shut, though he paid the sound little mind as his worried gaze swept over Auriana from head to toe.

She had changed her ruined dress for a long-sleeved chemise, and cleaned the macabre streaks of Varian's blood from her neck. Some of the colour had returned to her cheeks, and had Anduin not known any better, he might have thought her disheveled hair the result of a long night's sleep.

"Auri…? A-are you…?"

Anduin trailed off. He wasn't sure how to phrase the question. Are you still pregnant? seemed terribly blunt, especially if she had indeed lost the baby. Fortunately, Auriana seemed to have understood.

"I'm alright." She brushed her fingers across her stomach. "We're alright."

Anduin let out a grateful sigh, and took a few tentative steps closer. "That's… that's wonderful, Auri…"

"Laurena wants me on bedrest for the next few days, but otherwise…"

Auriana shrugged. She was once again trying very hard to appear nonchalant, as if she had not just suffered a terrible shock, but her façade was rapidly crumbling. Her lower lip trembled, and with a throaty gasp, she sagged forward with her hands pressed over her heaving chest.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"

"Auri, you have nothing to be sorry for," Anduin insisted, bewildered by her repeated apologies.

He reached out to place a hand on her shoulder, to offer reassurance and comfort, but she was having none of it. She shook her head, and jerked away from him as if burned.

"I do," she insisted. "We ought to have told you that I was pregnant. You shouldn't have had to find out like… like this."

Auriana lifted her hooded gaze to meet Anduin's. A faint dusting of tears glistened on her lower lashes.

"Please don't blame your father," she whispered wretchedly. "He wanted to tell you the minute he found out, but I… I needed time. I… it wasn't planned."

"Blame…? Auri… believe it or not, but I can understand why you might have wanted to keep this all a secret."

"But you're his son. And you're my…"

Auriana trailed off, and the worried crease between her eyes deepened. She had never really referred to Anduin as her step-son, even if that was the accurate term, and nor had he ever called her any variation of 'mother'. The nature of their relationship was difficult to define, and there were times when he wasn't quite sure where they truly stood with one another.

"You're my… Anduin."

Anduin had never heard the three syllables of his name spoken with such quiet intensity, and any doubts he may have had as to how Auriana felt about him vanished as quickly as they had arisen. A lump rose in his throat.

"Auri, I…"

Auriana's hands flopped into her lap. "I thought you might… I was afraid you might feel like you were being replaced. You've had your father's full attention your entire life, but with a baby…"

Entirely unable to help himself, Anduin laughed. If only Auriana knew how much concerted effort he had put into avoiding Varian's scrutiny over the years, she never would have worried.

"I promise you, the last thing I want is my father's full attention on me at every waking moment," he added quickly, lest Auriana thought he was laughing at her. "He has a terrible tendency to loom."

That, at least, made Auriana smile, though the expression was all too fleeting.

"Still…" she added wistfully. "You're just about old enough to have children of your own. The age difference…"

Being careful not to bump Auriana or crush her feet, Anduin took a seat on the edge of the bed at her side, and folded his legs into a crossed position. He reached for her hands a second time, and although she once again flinched away, he would not be dissuaded. He linked his fingers through hers, and leant forward so that she couldn't help but to look him in the eye.

"Let me tell you something. I have always wanted a sibling. Light, do you know how lonely it was growing up in the Keep sometimes?"

Anduin let out a short, ruminative sigh. As the son of a king, he had been blessed with a far more privileged childhood than most, and it always felt rather petty and entitled to complain. But he had been lonely, and all the riches in the world could not have made up for the untimely death of his mother, nor the absence of his father.

"There weren't many other children my age, and the ones that were… they were children of other noble houses, and I could never tell whether they liked me for who I really was, or because I was the heir to the throne," he explained. "And then my father disappeared, and I was alone. I had Bolvar, of course, and Wyll... but otherwise…"

Auriana winced in sympathy, and she gave Anduin's hands a gentle squeeze. She was still tense, but at least she was no longer actively resisting his efforts to engage her.

"I always imagined it would have been much less lonesome with a brother or sister. Someone around my age; someone who saw me and loved me as Anduin, not as the Crown Prince of Stormwind."

Anduin had not been entirely friendless, but nor had he been truly close with any of the other noble children around his age. His family name had always felt like an insurmountable barrier, and he had eventually come to prefer the company of books. But that yearning desire for the companionship of someone like him, someone who understood what it was to be the child of Varian Wrynn, had never really gone away.

"I may not be of an age to play tonks anymore, that doesn't mean we wouldn't be close," Anduin insisted, nodding towards Auriana's stomach. "I could teach them how to ride a horse, or… or how to shoot a bow and arrow… how to best antagonise Father… Perhaps they might even feel the call of the Light, like me! I could teach them everything I know."

He leant in a little closer, and shot Auriana a conspiratorial grin.

"Although, I think it might just about end Father if he had two children grow up to enter the priesthood..."

Far from making Auriana smile, however, Anduin's gentle ribbing appeared to have the exact opposite effect. Her eyes welled with fresh tears and she abruptly clapped her left hand over her mouth in an attempt to muffle a sob.

"Auri? Did I say something wrong?" Anduin asked, alarmed.

Auriana shook her head, and brushed at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"No, no," she said quickly. "I… I underestimated you, and I shouldn't have. I should know by now that you'd never be jealous, or angry, or…"

"It's a big change," Anduin agreed. "For all of us. I don't blame you for being uncertain. But rest assured, I'm thrilled."

He flashed Auriana a broad, encouraging smile, hoping that she might answer in kind, but if anything, it only seemed to make her sob harder.

"Really," Anduin added, unsure what to make of her uncharacteristic tearfulness. "Um… please don't cry… I didn't mean…"

"Oh, it's not you, I promise. It's this damn pregnancy, it's as if everything I feel is amplified tenfold. And once I start blubbering, I can't seem to stop."

Auriana redoubled her efforts to stem the flow of her tears with the heel of her palms, and gave herself a little shake.

"The day before yesterday, I saw the houndmaster training a new litter of pups, and I wept for an hour because their paws were so tiny."

Anduin fought back a grin. He'd heard stories from other healers, of course, read books… but he'd never imagined that someone of Auriana's considerable willpower and sober temperament could be so affected by the vagaries of pregnancy.

"Don't laugh," she admonished him, though there was an undercurrent of amused self-deprecation to her words. "I know I'm pathetic."

"You're not pathetic. You're just… out of sorts." Anduin watched her closely for a moment, his head cocked to one side. "Is that why you've been avoiding me? Because you thought I'd be jealous?"

Auriana did not bother to deny that she had been avoiding him, but otherwise she shook her head.

"No, actually… it's because… you're a priest; a healer. I thought you might be able to sense it, somehow, and I… I wasn't ready to have that conversation…"

"I did sense it," Anduin realised. "Only I didn't know that's what it was…"

He'd not had much cause to be around pregnant women, at least not for any length of time, and while he had felt rather odd around Auriana of late, he had misinterpreted his feelings as a reaction to her abrupt emotional distance.

Auriana bit her lip. "W-would you like to…?"

She pushed herself up a little straighter, pushing back the blankets as she moved, and extended a hand towards Anduin in invitation. He eagerly accepted, and allowed her to guide his palm to the gentle curve of her belly.

"There's not much there, yet, but…"

Almost without thinking, Anduin reached for the Light, and sent a gentle pulse of power into Auriana's body. The core of her being blazed back at him in answer, but beneath her own familiar essence, Anduin felt a burgeoning hint of something else.

"Incredible…" he murmured.

"What is it?"

"It's hard to explain." Anduin closed his eyes, and concentrated on the faint flicker of life at the edge of his awareness. "When I reach into you with the Light, I can feel your… soul, I suppose you'd call it. But I can feel a second soul there, too. Or… the start of one. It's smaller, not as powerful, or complete… but definitely there. A little candle next to a bonfire."

A tentative smile graced Auriana's face, and she placed her own hand next to Anduin's.

"I wish I could feel it. All I really feel these days is nausea."

"I'm sorry." Anduin sat back, and released his hold on the Light. "I wish there was something I could do to help…"

"There's not much that can be done," Auriana sighed. "I asked Laurena. She offered me a few folk remedies – herbal teas, that sort of thing – but apparently it can't be healed, because I'm not actually sick…"

Anduin nodded. As a healer, the logic was sound – Auriana's nausea was a natural expression of her condition, not the result of illness or injury – but he doubted that would bring her much comfort.

"Well, I hope Father has been taking excellent care of you."

Anduin regretted the words the moment they left his mouth. At the mere mention of Varian, the brief flash of warmth in Auriana's eyes faded, and a wave of tension seized her shoulders as her gaze flicked toward the door. Her initial moment of panic may have subsided, but it would evidently not take much to send her spiraling once more.

"He's been wonderful, actually…" she murmured.

"I'm sure he'll return soon," Anduin floundered, though the words rang hollow in his ears.

"I'm worried about him… the way he looked at me…"

"We both know my father is more than capable of looking after himself in a fight. No doubt he stayed to help Aunt Jaina protect the city."

Anduin suffused his voice with as much confidence as he could muster. Perhaps if he could convince Auriana, he might be able to convince himself.

"I should be out there with him. Fighting, doing something useful," Auriana muttered, twisting her fingers into the bedsheets.

Anduin raised his eyebrows, surprised that she would see her convalescence as such. "You are doing something useful. You're protecting your child."

"Mm."

Auriana let out a quiet, non-committal grunt. Much like Varian, she was drawn to action; almost pathological in her inability to back down from a challenge.

"Auri. You almost died this morning," Anduin reminded her, trying not to let his voice waver. "Sometimes the best way to fight is to rest, to conserve and rebuild your strength."

Auriana's attention remained fixed on the door. "Is that what they teach you in the priesthood?"

"No, that I learned from Father."

At that, Auriana let out a quiet scoff of surprise. "That doesn't sound like something Varian would say. He's not the most restful person."

If Auriana realised the irony in such a statement coming from her, of all people, it didn't show in her expression.

"I… I was bedridden after I was crushed by the Divine Bell. Not quite the same thing as a pregnancy, obviously, but…"

Anduin took a deep, steadying breath, and looked down at his hands. He had told the story of what had happened at Emperor's Reach many times, though he rarely spoke of how the experience had affected him emotionally.

"I'd never felt more useless. There was a war on, the entire world felt as if it were one spark away from igniting… and there I was, lying in bed, being waited on hand and foot for weeks while I recovered."

Auriana frowned. "From what I understand, your injuries were incredibly severe…"

"I know. But it didn't change how I felt at the time. I wanted so badly to help, to make things better… but first, I needed time to heal. Father counseled me to rest – 'One cannot draw from an empty quiver', he said."

"He should learn to take his own advice," Auriana snorted. "Sometimes, I swear, he fights things in his dreams."

"Oh, I agree – he's a tremendous hypocrite. But that doesn't make him wrong."

"As am I, I suppose," Auriana sighed. "A hypocrite, I mean."

With a resigned sigh, Auriana shifted her weight, and settled her head back against the pillows. Her displeasure was plain, but at least she did not seem inclined to go leaping out of bed. Instead, she turned her focus back to Anduin, and fixed him with a sharp, curious stare.

"What?" he asked, touching a self-conscious hand to his temple.

"Nothing. Just… we've never really talked about what happened to you in Pandaria before."

"I've never really talked about it with anyone," Anduin clarified. "Not in any great detail, at least. It's not a time in my life I care to remember."

Even now, years later, he could recall with perfect clarity the exact moment he had been crushed beneath the Divine Bell. A split second of hideous pressure, white-hot pain, and then, mercifully, nothing… until he had awoken in the infirmary in Lion's Landing to the true horror of his long and painful recovery.

"At the time… I… I didn't have to explain to Velen. He healed me. He knew."

Anduin was well aware how lucky he was to have had a healer of Velen's calibre to tend to his wounds. In lesser hands, he may never have walked again. Even now, years later, there were days where he ached like an old man.

"Father was kind, in that gruff, fumbling way of his, but he was so worried for me, and he was already carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. I didn't want to burden him further – nor provoke him into some terrible act of retribution against the Horde," Anduin continued, after a thoughtful pause. "I confided in Wrathion, a little, but I suspect he always found it rather difficult to relate to such a decidedly mortal experience."

Wrathion had many admirable qualities, but Anduin would not have counted a strong sense of empathy among them. At least, not as Anduin remembered him. It was possible that Wrathion had changed in the time since Garrosh Hellscream's trial, but as it stood, Anduin had not seen the Black Prince in years. So much had happened since then, he wondered if they would even recognise one another.

"I was raised in the Keep. In many ways, I've been sheltered. I'd never experienced that much pain in my life, and it… it scared me. I'd been in danger before, but I'd never truly felt… fragile," Anduin confessed. "It was reckless, chasing after Garrosh as I did. Perhaps if I'd taken a moment to think, or if I'd been more… more…"

He didn't say the phrase 'more like Father' out loud, but he strongly suspected that Auriana heard it nonetheless.

"You saved many lives that day," she said softly. "Heedless of the personal cost. That is in the very best traditions of the Alliance."

"It still scares me, sometimes. Not the pain itself, so much… but what I think I might do to avoid feeling that way ever again…"

Anduin stuck a quick glance at Auriana, half expecting that she might censor him for cowardice, but instead she simply nodded; her luminous eyes soft with compassion.

"I don't blame you," she murmured. "Pain like that… it never really leaves you. Even if the wounds close and the scars fade... your bones remember."

Auriana brushed her fingers across the back of her neck, and let out a wistful sigh. She was no doubt recalling her own misadventures in the battle against Deathwing, now immortalised by the grievous scar that split the length of her spine. She had long since recovered from that particular wound by the time she and Anduin had met, but he had healed her after her imprisonment in Blackrock Foundry. He knew better than most how much punishment Auriana's body had taken over the years. She understood pain.

Anduin shook his head, and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Light, I'm sorry, I'm doing a rather poor job of cheering you."

"It's alright. I like talking to you. And I need the distraction."

"Still."

Anduin slid off the bed, stretching his legs out as he stood. His right buttock had begun to cramp, and his toes tingled as the blood rushed back to his feet.

"Why don't I go see if I can find out what's going on?" he suggested. "Master Shaw will surely have sent agents to Dalaran by now."

"Thank you."

"Try to get some rest."

For a moment, Anduin thought Auriana might argue, but instead she nodded, and rolled over onto her side, her back towards the door. With her legs curled up towards her chest, she looked incredibly small and vulnerable. Anduin didn't like leaving her, but he knew she wouldn't truly be at peace until his father was home safe. And frankly, neither would Anduin himself.

"Anduin?"

He was just about to open the door when Auriana called his name. Her voice was strangely husky, and so quiet that for a second Anduin thought he was imagining things. He paused, one hand resting lightly on the cool iron of the door handle.

"Yes?"

Auriana's breath audibly caught in her throat. A moment of loaded silence descended over the room.

"I hope… I hope my child grows up to be like you," she murmured, raw and sincere.

Anduin's ears went hot.