Val and Lucian's first week back in Stormwind flew by in an absolute blur. After taking a couple of days to make sure that all was ready, they'd opened the shop back up, and to their pleasant surprise, most of their father's old clientèle had returned to give them just the boost that they needed.
"Right, so that's four hinges, an eighteen bar gate, and ten weatherproof bolts…that's two gold, four silver, please," Val told the middle-aged woman standing on the other side of the counter.
It should've been her morning off, but Lucian had all but begged her to man the ledgers while he caught up on the orders that had first come in and hadn't been finished yet.
"Are you still doing the half now, half later arrangement, like Lokir used to do?" the rather haughty woman asked, and Val forced a smile onto her face.
"Of course, but there will be a two week grace period for the second half- that begins one the job's done, and you've approved the work," Val explained, and a stiff, impatient nod was her response.
"Fine. That's fine. Just make sure that it works properly. The smithy that I used last time was shocking," the woman said, and Val gave her the most polite chuckle that she could muster.
"I can assure you, Mrs. Lambert- it'd take a herd of rhino to break down what we make for you. So today, that's one gold, two silver, and I'll need your address," Val said, scribbling the details down in the ledger as Mrs. Lambert fired them at her. Once everything was done, and she was sure that Mrs. Lambert was out the door, Val let out a sigh of relief.
"Light, she's worse than I remember her being," she moaned, scraping the coins that had been left on the counter into her palm.
"She's paying us, Val. That makes her our best friend," Lucian reminded her. The hiss of the forge's pump stopped momentarily, and she heard a few pops as her brother got up from the stool that he'd been practically glued to all morning.
"That's probably stone cold- let me make you a fresh one," Val said with disgust when he lifted a mug that had sat there for probably longer than an hour to his lips. As if to spite her, he glugged it down anyway, and with a loud retch, Val turned her attention back to the ledger.
"You dirty git," she muttered, lifting her quill and tapping the nib against the page she was perusing.
"Have you started the hoe that Joshua Maclure wanted?" she questioned, hearing the cluck of Lucian's tongue.
"The new mould should be dry…I'll probably get to it this afternoon, so," he told her, drumming the counter with his fingertips."I didn't think we'd get this much work so soon. Makes me wish that we had the gold to bring someone else in to help us."
"If we did that, you'd only end up booting them out that door for not doing things the way you like," Val teased, poking his side with the rather battered duck feather still in her hand.
"And I know that because you're exactlylike Dad."
"And you're exactly like Grammy- a pain in the arse," Lucian retorted.
Val would've come up with a witty, biting response, as she usually did when her brother wound her up. But today, Lucian was rescued by her sharp tongue by the soft tinkle of the bell that hung above the door.
"Excuse me, but is there a Glenmore here?" asked a young man clad head to toe in the steel plate of the StormishRoyal Guard.
"That's me. Is there a problem?" Val asked cautiously, folding her arms and making no move towards their visitor. He cleared his throat, and took a small roll of thick, clean parchment from a pouch on his belt.
"I've been sent by Prince Varian, Miss. He wonders if your plans to meet him for brunch are still going ahead," he informed her, holding the letter out.
Val cursed loudly, and came around the counter to take it from him.
"I completely forgot! Oh, you're going to have to tell him that I'm working for the rest of the day, I'm afraid. But I'll rearrange with him soon," Val lamented, looking as sorry for herself as was humanly possible.
"Whoa now, hang on a minute. If you've already made plans, Val, you go and honour 'em. I'll be alright for a few hours," Lucian piped up, but Val didn't seem convinced.
"But we're so busy, Luce…" she murmured.
"I only put you to work because I didn't think you were doing anything! Now go on, go and have 'brunch' with yer man," Lucian insisted, and Val's guilt melted into annoyance.
"He's not 'my man'anymore," she snapped, turning back to the patient soldier.
"Please tell Prince Varian that I'll be an hour or so, but our plans are definitely still on," she instructed, tucking the letter into the pocket of her apron.
"Very good, Miss. Good day to you both."
She waited until the door has closed behind him before whirling on her brother.
"When are you going to get it through your thick skull that Varian and I are just friends now?" she asked exasperatedly, and Lucian simply cackled as he counted out enough coins for a portion of chips later on.
"When youadmit that's horseshit, dear sister," he quipped, scraping his haul into a spare purse.
"Except it's not," Val rebutted.
"Except it is. Want to know how I know?" Lucian asked, tossing the pouch from hand to hand.
"Oh I'm sure that you're about to tell me no matter what I answer," Val grumbled as she started untying her apron.
"Because I know for a factthat the parchment he just gave you was an invite to New Years Eve," Lucian accused, and the light dusting of Val's cheeks told him all it needed to.
"It's just a few drinks with a mate, Luce. Stop overthinking everything," she said, but he knew better.
"Oh please, Val, don't treat me like a feckin' idiot. First, it's a friendly brunch. Then it's a few drinks…then it's 'oh, you may as well 'stay the night''. I know you too damn well- you won't keep this whole façade up for much longer, I'm willing to put bloody coin on It," Lucian retorted, and instead of carrying on the ridiculous argument, Val simply stomped up the stairs like a petulant child.
"Do you even have a dress? I'm not one for glamour, mind, but I'm pretty sure you can't go to a party at the palace in breeches and a shirt that's got more holes than a slice of cheese in it," Lucian called up, and Val swallowed hard.
"Bess said that she'd take care of all that," she replied, filling the basin so that she could wash her face.
"Oh why doesn't thatshock me? I swear, Da was right- she's a bad influence," Lucian muttered."Are you even sure you really want to go? I remember what happened the last time, Val, and quite frankly, I'm not keen of having a repeat of it," he added, and Val could hear the thunk of his work-boots upon the stairwell.
"I'll be fine, Luce," she said simply, but Lucian didn't look so sure.
"Aye, but your attacks-"
"-are going to happen whether you're there or not, so there's no point fretting about them," Val interjected, letting her hair down and running her wet hands through it.
"I know I'm not Da, but I am allowed to worry, little sister," Lucian said softly, and Val turned to give him a warm smile.
"And I appreciate it, really, I do. But I'm a big girl now, Luce, so I need to do things on my own," Val said, happily accepting his one armed hug.
"So does that mean you'll take tomorrow's shift so I can go for a pint, seeing as you're so independent?" Lucian half-joked, and his bad humour earned him a light punch to the ribs.
"No it bloody well doesn't, you cheeky bastard," Val told him with a playful shove. She started fidgeting with the washcloth, and wrapped it around her knuckles as if it were a bandage.
"Do you think that I'm being stupid?" Val asked, and her voice was so quiet that Lucian had to strain to hear her.
"In what sense?" he volleyed, raising an eyebrow and stretching the small scar that followed one of them.
"In the sense that I'm in contact with Varian again," Val clarified, and there was a small pause as Lucian mulled his answer over.
"Well…does being back in contact with him make you happy?" Lucian asked in return. He knew that he'd thoroughly confused his sister, for her nose started to scrunch.
"…I suppose it does," she said, and Lucian of course picked up on the uncertainty coating her voice. "You don't sound like you're entirely sure about that," he pointed out, leaning one hand on the kitchen table and letting all his weight rest on it.
"I think it's everyone else not being sure about it that's made me that way," Val admitted, letting the cloth fall onto the table with a wet thump.
"Has someone said something then?" Lucian asked, with a slight grit to his teeth that Val was strangely comforted by.
"Not to my face- not yet, anyway. But I know damn well that there's people in that Keep that would've been glad to never see me there again, so no doubt I'll be getting a few disapproving looks when I go there today," Val said, opening the soap tin.
"Ah, you're going to get those no matter what you do in life, Val. It's best to just ignore them and do what bring youthe most joy," Lucian advised, and Val felt the light nudge of his elbow against her ribs.
"So I'll ask again- does being mates with Varian again make you happy?"
There was a badly concealed, growing smile on his sister's face as she deliberately drew her answer out. Her strategy rather backfired, however, for it simply gave time for Lucian to keep goading her until finally, she whacked him with the washcloth.
"Alright, fine!" Val exclaimed, letting her grin shine through in all its glory. "I am bloody ecstaticthat Varian and I are in contact again- there, are you happy now?!"
Lucian mirrored her joyous look, and knew from the bounce to her voice that she was definitely telling the truth this time around.
"See now, how hard was that, eh?" he teased, ruffling her hair even though he was well informed on how much she hated him doing it.
"Oh, bug off, you insufferable arsehole," Val snapped, realising just how much time she was wasting by standing around nattering with him.
"Right, I better go and get changed, otherwise it'll be dinner by the time I get there."
The biting chill brought on by a harsh December wind was fully embedded in Val's cheeks once she reached Stormwind Keep. With her gloved hands shoved firmly into the pockets of her battered old coat, she half-ran, half-skipped towards the library, where she knew Varian was waiting for her.
She found him smack bang in the centre of the chamber, sprawled out on one of the many chaise lounges that gave the Keep's inhabitants the chance to sit down and read whatever tome they'd chosen as soon as they picked them up. He had his own sitting in one hand, but it quickly snapped shut once he realised that Val had finally arrived.
"There you are! Come, I've just had the fire stoked," Varian greeted, with his booming voice echoing throughout the room.
"I'm so sorry that I'm late- we've been absolutely swamped, and I lost complete track of time," Val told him apologetically, but he simply waved a hand of dismissal.
"You don't need to explain yourself, Val. You're here now, and that's what matters," Varian said, taking her coat from her shoulders and slinging it over his arm.
"Tea?" he offered, and Val eagerly nodded. "Yes please- it's bloody freezing out there," she said, sitting herself down and rubbing her hands together.
"I know…and it's only supposed to get worse, according to my father's meteorologist. So I'd prepare yourself," Varian warned, but to his amusement, her reaction seemed nowhere near what most would expect at such news.
"Does that mean snow's coming?" Val asked with a childish, hopeful tinge to her voice.
"I'm going to play it safe and say maybe," Varian replied, pouring out a small cup for her from the teapot sitting in the middle of the table.
"Spoilsport," Val muttered, dropping two sugar cubes into her tea and making Varian's eyebrow rise.
"Since when did you have more than one?" he asked, wondering just how much of his knowledge concerning Val's habits needed revision.
"Since Brinewick's tea tasted like it'd been filtered through an old woman's tights," Val explained, pouring just a slither of milk in, making the reassuringpoint to him that not everythinghad changed.
"You know, the more I hear about that place, the more I wonder how the hells you managed to stay there for so long," Varian said, taking the seat opposite her and picking up the coffee that he'd been nursing.
"Ah, it wasn't all bad," Val said, taking her first sip and feeling every one of her bones flare with a sharp, comforting warmth.
"How are things at the shop? Bessie told me that the re-opening was a success," Varian asked, reminding Val once again of how much she'd neglected to make time for him in the past week. He didn't seem vexed at the fact, but Val wasn't sure whether that made things better or worse.
"'Success' is a bit of a strong word for it- but yes, we've actually managed to make a few coins, which is far more than we expected," Val answered,and he seemed relieved to hear it.
"Good…that's good," Varian said, awkwardly clearing his throat.
"You know, if things ever got that bad…" he trailed off, but Val knew exactly what he'd wanted to say.
"I know. Thank you," she answered, choosing not to berate him for his offer when she could already see how nervous he was about making it.
"You're looking alot better," Val commented, noticing already that the greyness that had marred Varian's features the last time she'd seen him had begun to fade. His hair was neater too- it wasn't tumbling about his shoulders anymore. Instead, it'd been swept up into a tight ponytail, with two thin braids keeping his bangs out of his eyes.
"I'm feelingalot better. Nowhere near as good as I was, mind you…but I'm getting there, slowly but surely," Varian babbled, playing with his signet ring.
"How long has It been?" Val asked, and Varian didn't need any elaboration as to what she was referring to.
"Two days completely sober….but I've been cutting down for at least four," Varian answered, finding himself unable to look her in the eye when really, he was actually quite proud of the progress he'd made.
"I know that's not great," he said, but Val gave him a warm, reassuringsmile.
"After everything I've heard, Varian, that's bloody brilliant," she told him,and finally, his face cracked with a grin.
"Thank you," he said, finding it hard not to chuckle. "I'll admit, it isnice not having people like Bess moaning at me anymore."
"Ah, she does it with love, Varian," Val chided, pulling the biscuit plate over to her side of the table and taking a shortbread finger from it.
"I know she does, but that doesn't make it any easier to listen to 'yer chuckin' yer life down da drain, ye wee bastard' over and over," Varian retorted, using a truly terrible impression of the dwarf to stress his point.
"Well, carry on as you are, and you won't have to listen to it anymore, will you?" Val teased, finding his playful sneer rather funny and tempting fate by laughing with half a biscuit in her mouth.
"Shall I send for the food? I assume you haven't eaten yet," Varian suggested, looking round at Wyll, who was sitting in a nearby armchair reading a tome that looked too big for his skinny arms to be able to lift.
"Not since breakfast, so go ahead," Val answered, sinking back into her seat. Varian cleared his throat, and apparently that was all the elderly servant needed to leave his spot and leave the library with a flourishing bow.
"Do you think he'll ever retire?" Val mused, and Varian's answer was an amused huff.
"He did, about two years ago. But he lasted five days before he came demanding his position back. Apparently retirement was 'a dreadful bore," Varian replied, and Val's eyebrow began to arch.
"Alright for some- at this rate, I think Luce and I will still be working into our fucking nineties," she muttered.
"If it helps, I'll be doing the exact same thing," Varian pointed out, and despite how their situations would vastly differ from each other by the time they reached that point, Val found herself laughing hard enough to risk spraying crumbs everywhere.
"Did you tell Lucian that you're coming here for New Years Eve?" Varian asked, reminded of the subject by Val's mention of her brother. Val swiped a napkin across her mouth, and scrunched it one hand with more force than was perhaps necessary.
"I did," she said, stuffing it between her teacup and saucer. "He wasn't exactly thrilled about it, I can't lie."
"That's not that surprising a reaction," Varian replied, pouring out another coffee for himself. "If my sister told me that she was going to a party with her ex-fiance, I'd be a little hacked off at the prospect." Val shrugged, and crossed one leg over the other.
"He knows that I can essentially do what I want, so he didn't start about it all…but he did mention the fact that it sounds like we're trying to salvage what we used to have by attending together- especially in front of your Court."
"I can't disagree with that view…but I can't give it complete credence, either. I invited you simply because I thought it'd be nice to have a good friend see in the new year with me," Varian said, and Val's cheek started to deflate where she was chewing it.
"I know that, and so do you. It's everyone else we have to convince," she said solemnly, but he seemed to disagree.
"If we eventriedto convince my Court that our intentions are pure, we'd end up exhausting ourselves within an hour. We know the truth, so it's best to leave it there and enjoy ourselves," Varian told her, but there was something to his voice that Val couldn't quite place.
"Will you though? Enjoy yourself, I mean?" she asked, finding that her own throat was running dry despite how she'd drained her teacup.
"The last time we spent new year together, Varian, we were talking about marriage- hells, we were thinking about having a baby."
"You say that as if I've forgotten," Varian snapped, but his face softened as soon as he'd done so.
"I can't deny, Val…this will be tough for me. I don't think it's eluded either of us that I'm not as accepting of the whole 'friends but nothing more' rule that we've established."
Val appreciated his honesty, but that didn't mean that she was going to let him lose all the good progress that he'd clearly been making.
"It's only been a week, Varian- things weren't going to fade away that quickly," she said, nervously pouring herself another drink.
"It's taking everything in me not to leap across this table and hold you like I used to," Varian confessed, and Val gave him a sympathetic smile despite her own conflicted feelings.
"I don't think that'd go down very well with the maids," she joked, and to his credit, Varian managed to give her half a smile for it.
"I'm being serious, Val. I would happily jump right back in to courting you, if you gave me permission," he said, picking some fluff from his breeches. "It's only because I respect your wishes that I'm holding back."
"Well, that, and you're getting married," Val pointed out with a wrinkle to her nose.
"As horribly unfair as it sounds to women like Tiffin…that's not really an obstacle to someone like me. Royalty, I mean," Varian rebutted, and Val twigged exactly where he was going with this.
"Varian, there is absolutely no way in all of Azeroth that you could ever convince me to become your mistress."
"Hence why I didn't ask it of you, you daft mare," Varian said, reaching over for the plate and snatching a biscuit for himself.
"Even if it would make our lives a hells of alot eas-ow!"
His frustrated mutter was abruptly cut off by a balled up glove hitting him straight in the temple. It hadn't even hurt, but the shock of its impact made Varian cry out without actually meaning to.
"Alright, alright- I won't bring it up again, Light damn it," he grumbled, looking across at Val's childish grin and finding it rather difficult to stay angry at her.
"Good," Val said, stuffing her projectiles twin into her coat pocket.
"I didn't really want to go through the arseache of taking my boot off." Varian's eyes narrowed, but there was a playful twinkle in his royal blue eyes.
"Oh well then, if that's how you want to behave, I don't think you deserve to hear the rather lucrative proposition I have for you," he said, realising how disconcertingly vague the declaration was only after he'd said it. Val's eyebrow understandably began to rise, and her arms folded across her chest.
"Varian, I literally justestablished that I'm not becoming-"
"No, no, I didn't mean it like that. I meant a businessproposition," Varian clarified.
"I realise that the shop's only just opened again, but my father has had these made up to go on the city notice board later on today," he explained, opening his book and taking a sheet of parchment from it's spine. He passed it over, and Val unfolded it to find a well-drawn illustration of an anvil taking up the centre of the page.
" 'By decree of the King, all able bodied and skilled blacksmiths are called to aid Stormwind in it's time of need'…That means weapons. Llane needs weapons?" Val asked, and that's when Varian's face dropped.
"No- the armyneeds weapons. According to the reports of that bloody half-breed that my father's in cahoots with, there's more Orcs than we presumed there to be, and to say that we're unequipped for them would be the understatement of the millennia," he said glumly, and Val's tongue started to cluck as she re-read the pamphlet.
"You honestly think that Luce and I are up to task? We're novices, Varian, and that's the last thing your father needs to deal with," Val mused, but Varian seemed to disagree.
"I have faith in both of your abilities, and so does he. I may not be on great terms with him at the moment, Val, but that doesn't mean that I don't respect his judgement. There will be others with you, and you'll all be paid adequately for your time."
"I'll have to speak to Lucian. I can't make a decision on his behalf," Val told him, and he answered with a smile.
"I wouldn't expect you to. That's why I thought to give it to you now, so that you can think on it," he told her, and she folded it back up to put in the same pocket as her glove.
"A little extra gold wouldn't go amiss, I can't lie. Even better if it helps keep the Orcs away from here," Val said, and Varian murmured an agreement.
"A sentiment shared by alot of us, I should think," he replied, feeling the same blanket of glumness that the subject of the Horde brought with it and really not wanting to endure it today of all days.
"Right then- chess, or cards?" Varian asked, changing the direction of the conversation and sharing a grin with her.
"Cards- that way, I know I'm going to win."
