The sun was just starting to edge its way over the horizon when Val left Varian's tent. He'd tried his best to keep her there, with honeyed words and pouting face, but she'd stood firm, and kissed him goodbye in enough time for everyone else to still be asleep once she returned back to the Stormish barracks.

It'd felt all sorts of wrong, swapping a luxurious mattress and warm arms for a bedroll that hadn't been washed lately, and the collective snoring of her slumbering comrades. Yet here she was, shuffling down until her head touched damp fur, and the closest face to her began to stir.

"So…how was he?"

Kay's quiet, prodding tone was so jarringly different to her usual drawl that Val found it difficult not to jump at the sound of it. At first, all she saw was the frazzled mop of ebony locks belonging to the Goldshire native, but soon enough, small, piercing eyes were probing Val's features for any signs of a pre-emptive answer.

"He was fine," was all Val said, but deep down, she knew it wouldn't be enough. Kay proved her right by propping herself onto an elbow and looking about them to make sure that they weren't being listened to.

"'Fine'? That's it? Two months apart, and he was just 'fine'?"

"What the hells do you want me to say?" Val asked, choosing not to make herself so obvious and staying in a position that feigned sleep to those who'd venture a look about the tent. "He sobbed with joy at the very sight of me? We managed a quick 'hello', then made ravenous love all night, hence why I can't sit up?"

"Yes! That'd be ten times more interesting!" Kay snickered, fighting to keep her voice at a whisper.

"Then I'm very sorry to disappoint you, but we just…talked," Val admitted, wrinkling her nose.

"You can't be serious."

"I'm deadly serious. It was wonderful- we just curled up together, and talked about everything I've been working so hard to keep concealed. I felt like a complete weight had been taken from my chest."

Despite the wistful, happy tone to her voice, Kay couldn't help but become concerned, and she showed it by the furrowing of her neatly shaped brows.

"You know it doesn't have to be that way, Val."

"Oh, don't you start. Varian said the same thing multiple times last night."

"Because it makes bloody sense! Come on, wouldn't it be so much easierjust to come clean and be done with it?"

"It's not that simple."

"It is every bit that simple!"

"Will you two shut the fuck up?"

Carson's enraged hiss startled the two women enough to make them obey his order. The Kul Tiran swiftly turned so that they could both see a slither of his iris underneath groggy eyelids, and the frown that his face had twisted into.

"The hells are you both twittering 'bout now? It's barely fucking daylight," he moaned, slamming his head back down onto the rolled up tunic he'd been using as a pillow.

"It's nothing, Car. Go back to sleep."

"Oh you lying cow. Car- Val has something to tell you, Hem and Arin."

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do!"

"Enough!" Carson barked, bringing a fist down upon the grass next to his bedroll and shimmying himself up until he could sit properly. "Listen to the pair of you- you sound like damned kids!"

"What's going on?"

Now Hemming too had joined their conversation, but as usual, his voice was a lot calmer, and didn't make the trembling dread that was already creeping up Val's spine any worse.

"Light knows. These two just decided to have a verbal boxing match, and apparently we're involved in it," Carson griped, digging the butt of his hand into his eye in order to clear it of crusted sleep.

"I was just saying to Val that she needs to tell the three of you the truth, that's all," Kay said, as if that explained absolutely everything, when in reality, it merely confused matters further.

"The truth? About what?" Hemming asked, looking between the two women and using every awake brain cell he had to ascertain an answer from them.

"About…damn it…about Vincent," Val huffed, figuring that there was no turning back now that Kay had well and truly thrown her in the deep end.

"What about him?"

"He's….fuck, how do I say this without sounding insane?" Val mused, realising too late that she was doing that already.

"Vincent…..is Varian. As in King Varian. He was never a florist, we never owned a house together- that was all lies. Last night, I left to go and spend the night with him, and have only just got back, that's why we're talking so much. Kay asked me how it went, and then started going on about me spilling the truth, so here we are. "

There was a horrible beat of absolute silence as both Carson and Hemming attempted to digest what she'd just told them.

It was the latter that opened his mouth first, but even then, there were few words coming out of it- more, squeaking sounds of complete surprise.

"You….slept with King Varian last night? As in the King of Stormwind, King Varian?" Hemming asked, looking as dazed and confused as the rest of them probably felt. It made Val rather glad that Arin was bunking with the other Gilneans. It meant she was only in the firing line for twointerrogations, and not three, as Kay had alluded earlier. She had no doubts that the third would come at some point, but not having to deal with it at that precise moment was something of a bonus.

"Does that mean you've done it before?!"

"Aye…plenty of times, in fact," Val said, choosing to just ride the impending wave of judgement, instead of fighting against a tide she'd never conquer. "I know how bad this sounds…"

"Bad? Val, it sounds terrible!" Hemming exclaimed, realising too late that his voice was growing too loud for the time of the morning. "He's a king! And you're a soldier….and he's getting married!"

"Yes, thank you, I'm well aware of that. But if you'd just let me explain, you'd realise that it's not as seedy as you're probably thinking it is."

"Oh, I can't fucking wait for this," Carson huffed, folding his large arms. "Go on then, explain why you've lied through your teeth for the past three bloody months."

And Val did exactly that. It took a while- enough for the sun to be completely airborne and shining down on them by the time she was done. But still, she gave them every sordid detail, right from the moment she'd met Varian, to the events pertaining to the night before.

All the while, she barely looked at them, out of fear for their reactions. It was only when she was good and done that she took a deep breath, straightened her back, and tried to straighten her face to one of calm, when really, she was a complete mess on the inside.

"Wow…" was Hemming's first, raw reaction, and in all honesty, Val couldn't blame him. She knew that everything she'd just reeled off sounded completely insane. She knew that it was akin to something from a story- a make believe tale that a deluded woman whose life was a wreck would concoct for herself.

But something in her expression must've told him that she was telling the truth, for the wrinkle that had appeared on his brow faded, and the frown his lips had morphed themselves into relaxed, until a tight purse of sympathy replaced it.

"…That must've been torture, keeping that in all this time."

"It was," Val affirmed, wringing her hands together. "But he knows why I do it, and supports me, even though he doesn't like it."

"Well now you can tell him it's all out in the open," Kay comforted, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a firm squeeze.

"I still don't bloody believe it," Carson huffed, giving Val a long, hard stare that in truth, she was both completely used to and unfazed by at this point in the proceedings. "You, having a fairy tale romance with a prince-turned-king? Spare me."

"I swear to you, it's completely true," Val stressed, shuffling on her backside until she could practically touch knees with the man. "Ask any of the Stormish infantry about the girl Prince Varian courted. They'll all tell you the same thing I have."

"They will, Car- including me," Kay added, but if anything, her declaration just made Carson angrier.

"So you've bothbeen lying through your arses to us? What, did you think we were too stupid to understand or something?"

"No. That wasn't the case at all."

"Really? Cause that's what it damn well feels like!"

"I wanted to fight this war on my own merits, Car. Not those given to me by what relationship I was in," Val snapped. "Be completely honest, and tell me whether you would've acted differently around me if you'd known my connection to Varian."

"No, I would-"

"Yes, we would've," Hemming interjected, raising a hand to cut Carson off completely. "Even now, I'm wondering whether we've been entirely appropriate in our conduct. So Light knows how our attitudes would've been if we'd known from the beginning."

"Exactly. You wouldn't have treated me like 'Val'. You would've treated me as 'The King's Lady'."

"Oh, so you're a 'Lady' now, are you? Light above, any other nuggets you want to spring on us?"

"Carson, that's enough," Hemming said, glaring at the Kul Tiran. "She's told us exactly what she felt we needed to know. We can't ask more than that."

"If you don't trust me anymore, that's perfectly fine. But you'll never make me feel guilty for doing what I thought was best."

And before he could say another word, Val got to her feet, and wove through the sea of still-sleeping soldiers until her boots felt the crunch of dewy grass underneath them.

She found herself at the border of the camp by the time she decided she'd walked far enough. In her heart, she wanted to just go back to Varian's tent and wake him to spill it, but Val knew he had enough on his plate without her troubles to worry about- no matter how much he'd argue such logic.

So here she was, leaning against a moss strewn fence, with a cigarette perched between her lips, and trembling, angry fingers struggling to light it. Although, she wasn't sure exactly who she was moreangry at; Kay, for practically forcing her to reveal something she'd fought so hard to keep a secret. Or Carson, for treating her like a child, and practically calling her a downright liar.

But then again, maybe the one she was most vexed at was herself,for even coming here in the first place and weaving such tales. Things would've proved much easier if she'd listened to Varian, and stayed in Lordaeron. It would've been the more simple, boring option, but things wouldn't have dived so far out of her control.

"Oi. We've been traipsing all over looking for you," called a voice that Val really didn't want to hear right now. She didn't bother to even look round as Carson stomped up and took the spot next to her on the fence, but apparently, he was ready for such coldness, and in turn, was completely unfazed by it.

"Ignore me all you want, I ain't moving," he boldly declared, reaching over and snatching her cigarette carton from her hands and plucking one from it's depths.

"Suits me just fine," Val muttered, taking it back and swapping it for her match-book.

".…It's true, ain't it? What you said about you and the king?" Carson asked, surprising Val more than she would ever care to admit.

"What made the copper finally drop?"

"We talked to a few of the Stormish folk about the camp. They confirmed it all for us."

"So what? You came to apologise?" Val asked, blowing a cloud of pungent smoke into the air.

"Maybe. Depends if you plan on accepting it or not," Carson huffed, glancing down at her.

"I don't know yet," Val admitted, still not meeting his eye.

"Ah come on, Tinkerbell. If you'd been told all that just as you woke up, wouldn't yoube a bit dubious of it all?"

"Not when it proves that I shouldn't have said a word in the first place."

"Now then…what good would that've done ya?"

"None, but my life would've been a bit easier," Val snarled, taking another drag. "Now all you and Hem will do is ask questions. Questions I don't want to answer."

"Would answering them be such a problem? You'll only be doing what the rest of us have done….the ones in relationships, anyway."

"This isn't a normal relationship though, is it?"

"How? Because he's a king?" Carson questioned, drumming his fingers upon the fencepost. "You don't ever have to mention it. Use only his name, and the rest of us will forget he even has something in front of it."

"You say that now, but as time goes on-"

"As time goes on, we'll all move on to other, better gossip," Carson assured her. "Hells, Kay's already more occupied with what's going on with that bloke Garside found in the stables last night."

"Oh, I bet she is," Val grumbled. "I swear, I've never met a woman with a bigger fucking mouth."

"She did it with good intentions."

"She can stuff her intentions."

"Look, I'm trying to be diplomatic here. Will you at least humour me a little bit?"

"No."

He would've believed her defiance to be genuine, were she not clearly trying to hide a smile that was dancing at the corners of her straightened lips. His eyebrow rose, furthering her amusement, until she could hold it in no longer, and a snicker burst forth from her parched, smoke-coated throat.

"Alright, alright," she conceded, flicking her cigarette stub into the adjacent field. There were a few cows and sheep milling about, but none were close enough to notice the projectile and investigate it as a potential snack. "I won't wring her neck once we get back. But I think she deserves at least a cold glare or two."

"Oh Light, not the glares," Carson muttered sarcastically, taking another drag of his and blowing the smoke from his nose. "However will she survive such harsh punishment?"

"Shut up, you," Val groaned, giving him a shove in the side, despite knowing that their difference in stature would make it near impossible to move him even half a centimetre.

A heavy silence began to blanket the both of them once again, and Val took it upon herself to push it away this time with a turn of her head, and a furrowing of her brow.

"So do you think I'm a whore?"

It was such a blunt, uncomfortable question, but it was one that Val felt a great need to ask, in case it ended up simply hanging over the entire campaign, and distracting everybody from the task they'd come here to fulfill.

It must've thrown Carson off-guard, for there was no sarcasm, or quick-witted banter. He merely stood as still as a freshly carved statue for what felt like the longest moment Azeroth had ever experienced, and took a silent, drawn-out drag.

"...No, I don't," he admitted, looking down at her with the same concern that Lucian did when he'd still been alive. "Not now that I know the full story."

"So you did this morning?"

"Aye, I did. Because I thought you were just trying to cover your arse."

"That's fair."

"...What are you going to do, Val? About the wedding?"

"Varian, Tiffin and I have an understanding," Val told him, shooing away a fly that was buzzing just a little too close to her face. "We all know it's a sham marriage. So we're just going to carry on as we are, with her the public wife, and me…"

"The dirty secret?"

"No," Val said, a little bit too quickly. "Everyone knows of me at Court. In their eyes, I'm just Varian's mistress- something kings have had from time in memoriam. So they tend to ignore me now."

"That's hardly ideal, though."

"I know that. But it's what I want, and so far, we're making it work."

"Then I suppose, all I can do is say 'alright', and shut up, eh?" Carson said, stubbing his cigarette out and flicking it away.

Finally, Val began to smile, and she gave him a sure nod as they simultaneously left their perch, and turned back towards the camp proper.

"I'd appreciate it if you did," she confessed, kicking away a heel of grass. "I've had far too many people tell me in the past few years that I'm making mistakes. I don't need you on top of them."

"Ah, I ain't one to preach about making mistakes, Tinkerbell. I've plenty of my own ones to deal with."

"Oh, aye? And how exactly is that going for you?"

"Terribly, and I wouldn't want it any other way," Carson chuckled, putting his hands in the pockets of his coat, which was heavy with various navy medals he'd earnt long before Val had met him. He never had told them exactlywhat they were for, and something inside told her that he never would- it seemed to be a part of his past that he'd very much like to forget.

"Just like shaking this bloody hangover isn't going well, either."

"I dread to ask how Arin was after I left?"

That was when Carson snorted, telling Val pretty much all she needed to know, but making her even more curious for the details.

"He finished his little jig, tried to fight nearly everyone around him, and declared that he could walk back to camp completely by himself….made it near on four steps before kissing the ground."

"So he's going to be a mess this morning."

"Aye. I did toss around the idea of throwing him into the lake to sober him up, but, you know, Hemming got in the way."

"As he does."

There was a vibrating din of noise that grew louder as the pair ventured further back into camp, and already, various regiments were being roused from their slumber, and made to endure the drills they'd become so accustomed to.

"I should think Varian'll be pleased that you've come clean."

"Oh, I have no doubts that he'll be ecstatic," Val affirmed. "He pretty much leapt at the chance to chew my ear off about the whole thing."

That's when Carson noticed her brow begin to crease, which was never a good sign for where the conversation was headed.

"I suppose I better let him know that the secrets out."

"That would be considered a smart decision," Carson agreed, looking in the same direction she was and noticing how Garside was starting his morning trek towards their barracks. He looked more stressed, and surprisingly even older than he had the night before, so there were no doubts in Val's mind that whatever had been discussed at the table meetings hadn't been good.

"I'll cover for you, don't worry."

"I don't think you'll have to," Val confessed, surprising Carson more than he cared to admit.

"Oh for fuck sake, don't tell me he knows an' all?!"

"Car, he's Varian's main General," Val said coolly, as if that explained absolutely everything.

"Now I'm bloody angry again," Carson huffed, but one look at his face told Val that was a complete lie.

"Then go and be angry in the mess tent," she suggested, patting his arm. "I have a king to talk to."

It quickly became apparent that she wasn't the only one who wanted a word with Varian that morning. As she approached his tent, she could hear a familiar, raised voice, belonging to Marcus Jonathan, another of Stormwind's Generals. From what she'd seen of him about the camp, he was usually a composed man, so to bear witness to him participating in what seemed to be quite the heated argument both intrigued, and worried her.

The same guard from the night before moved to greet her, but she swiftly put a finger to her lips in order to stop him from alerting those inside. She wasn't just being outright nosy; if Varian was arguing with a high ranking officer, it clearly had something to do with the war, so in her mind, that made it prudent for her to at least tryand hear some of the conversation.

"I just don't believe the troops we have are ready for such a full-scale assault!"

"They don't have a choice! The Horde are coming, and they're not going to slow their approach just because our soldiers don't think they can hack it!"

"If the dwarves couldn't stop them, what the hells makes you think we can?!"

"I'm willing to TRY, General. If you're not, then you're more than free to leave."

"Varian…"

"Don't 'Varian' me. You may think I'm doing this out of pride, Marcus, but I am in fact thinking about the bigger picture. Something you'll do well in following me in."

It seemed that Marcus had nothing to say in response to that, for all Val heard once Varian had stopped speaking was a long, drawn-out sigh, and the telling ruffle of linen being lifted from the cold ground as the tent flap opened. Marcus barely glanced at her as he all but stomped away, and soon, Val couldn't see him within the large crowds amassing in the main camp.

She took that as her cue to take his place, so with a mad dash before the flap came down again, she slipped inside. The place had become a tip in the few hours since she'd left; missives and maps were strewn about the floor, because the table sitting in the centre of the room simply had no room for them. The bed was still unmade, and the telling scent of old, cold coffee wafted up Val's nose and threatened to make her heave.

"I would've thought you'd be gone by now."

He didn't exactly startle at the sudden sound of her voice- he wasn't that sort of man. But his head did snap up with enough force to make Val wonder if he'd broken his neck doing it, and his brow furrowed enough for his eyebrows to nearly touch.

"What are you doing here?"

"I could say the same for you. You promised you'd go back today, Varian."

"Woman, the sun's barely up. Give me a damn chance."

She came to the table, and helped him as he clumsily tried to pile the many sheets of parchment lying upon it.

"I told everyone."

"Told everyone what?"

"About us."

She said it so bluntly, and so quickly, that Varian had to truly wonder whether he'd actually heard her correctly. The papers he'd been holding pathetically flopped from his hand, and he unintentionally stared blankly at her while he studied her face for any hint of deception.

"You're serious? You told them everything?"

"I did," Val affirmed. "They all started asking where I'd been, and I just got suddenly tired of lying, so I told them everything. They know that you're a king, that 'Vincent' never existed…everything."

His gaze upon her only intensified. "You don't sound as contented by that as one would expect," he observed, and from the way her eyes dropped to the floor, he'd been correct in his assumption that she'd done this under protest.

"I am, honestly, I am. It's just…they judged me straight away on it. Just like I told you they would."

"Then forgive me for saying so, but they're clearly not your friends."

"Oh, they came around in the end," Val said hurriedly, realising all too late that she'd painted quite a terrible picture of her comrades.

"I should hope they did. It's not that big a revelation."

"To people that don't know us, it is."

"So what exactly did they say?"

"Nothing worth repeating," Val admitted with a shrug. "But just know that they're well aware of us, and we don't have to lie anymore."

That was when a small smile appeared on the king's weary face.

"That's good to hear, love," he said, looking down at the papers sitting in his hand and fighting a mood-killing sigh. "At least I've gotten one piece of positive news today."

"I heard you and Marcus just now."

"I should think the entirety of Lordaeron did," Varian muttered, putting the pile off to the side. "Never have he and I come to blows like that. Goes to show how out of my depth I am with this war, eh?"

"Hardly. You've gotten us this far already with basically nothing, Varian. If Marcus can't appreciate that-"

"Marcus has been a military man far longer than me, Val. He knows what he's talking about."

"Give yourself more credit, for Light sake!"

"How can I, when I know that half the people in this camp aren't coming back from Hillsbrad?!" Varian roared, slamming both palms upon the table and making Val involuntarily jump. He noticed this, and immediately forced calm upon himself, with a look of remorse that swam like a fish in his bright blue eyes.

"I'm sorry love."

"Don't be. I of all people can understand getting stressed," Val assured him, putting both arms about his waist.

"Stressed? Bah, I'm far past that point," Varian grumbled, returning the gesture with one over her shoulders. His gaze, however, was firmly fixed upon the map in front of him, where a frightening amount of green pegs sat across from the significantly sparser blue ones.

"We've not a chance against them. Even with the Samarks and Gilneans, we're both outnumbered, and outmatched in terms of each soldiers solitary strength. This whole thing is turning into a suicide mission, and there's jack all that I can do about it."

"You could try having a little faith in us," Val suggested. "We're not as terrible as you may think."

"Name me three people in your little group that have ever fought in a battle this big before, Val," Varian challenged, and when she didn't answer, he huffed like an angered bull. "Exactly. None of you are ready, and I can't help but blame myself for it."

"You blame yourself for everything."

"Aye, I do. Because half the time, there's cause to."

"Well this isn't one of those times," Val said sternly, letting go of him and doing her best to look him in the eye despite how he towered over her. "You've been here all of a day, and already you've written us off as failures, when we've been doing nothing but working our absolute arses off. Aye, we might still lose, but the fact we're willing to try has to count for something, doesn't it?"

That was the moment when Varian's hardened features finally softened, and his shoulders dropped in what could only be described as submission.

"You're right…as usual, you're right," he muttered, casting his gaze down at his boots and letting a sigh drift from his chest.

"I haven't been involved enough, that's the problem. I've been naively taking the word of the reports sent to me every week, when really, I should be here every day, seeing the progress for myself."

"You've had other things to contend, with Varian…in fact, you still do."

His face told her that he didn't appreciate the reminder. In fact, Val would go as far as to say that he resented her greatly for it.

"I told you last night that I didn't want to discuss it anymore."

"Then we won't. We'll just say goodbye and you can go back to Lordaeron and get it over with."

His jaw tightened, which was never a good sign for how a conversation was about to turn.

"...I'm not ready."

"Ah, sure you are. Hells, I can help pack up what's left. A crate or two and we'll be gr-"

"Val, you know damn well that's not what I meant," Varian snapped, clenching a fist and ferociously resisting the urge to hit the table again.

"Of course I do. Because I'm not ready either," Val admitted, tentatively coming back toward him and resting both hands on his chest. "I'd even put coin on Tiffin feeling the same. But we knew this was coming, and said 'no' when we had the chance to change it. So there's nothing more we can do, except grit our teeth and get on with it."

Varian didn't want to agree- it was clear as day. But at the same time, he probably didn't want to start another argument so soon to his departure, so in true Wrynn fashion, he merely clenched his jaw and stiffly nodded.

"There is one upside to it all, I suppose."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"Now that you've told those who matter about us, I can at least hold on to the thought of coming back to camp and openly showering you with as much affection as my black, shrivelled heart can muster."

He was glad to feel a chuckle warm the cotton of his shirt. It put him a little more at ease concerning how she was going to take this entire debacle, now that it was so close.

"Shut up, you big oaf."

"Never," Varian said, scooping her into another embrace and holding her just a little bit too tight.

Thankfully, she didn't object, in fact she held on with the same vigor, and the two of them enjoyed a comfortable silence, until a sharp bang outside abruptly brought them back to reality.

Val cleared her throat as she pulled back, and flashed him a bright, vaguely fake smile whilst reaching up to cup his cheeks.

"Just promise me one thing, eh?"

"Anything, Sweetheart."

"Have a shave before you go, and at least considera haircut."

"I thought you liked my magnificent mane?" Varian teased, using a phrase that Val was sure she'd only used in a drunken stupor once.

"I do, but it does get in the way, even you have to admit that."

"I'll remind you that you said that the next time you're pulling at it, shall I?"

"Varian!" Val squeaked, feeling her face flush and burn. Her swat nearly missed as it was swung in a fluster, and Varian's laughter made her embarrassment at it all the worse.

"Go on, piss off, and have a drink at the reception for me."

"I will," Varian promised, stooping down for one last kiss. "I'll hopefully see you in Andorhal. If not, I'll say 'good luck' and 'stay safe' now."

"And I'll return the favour," Val replied, taking a step back to cement the very real idea that they were about to part ways…again.

"I mean it, Val. If all goes awry, there's no shame in running."

"I'm going to do no such thing, and neither are you," Val chided, taking another step. "Goodbye, love."

"Goodbye."

He stopped her a second later with a sharp call of her name.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

There was such a blatant undertone of sadness to her voice as she said it, that Varian was sure that he could feelhis heart breaking for her. Instead of heeding his instincts and merely snatching her away from all of this, he merely smiled, and waved her off as she disappeared from sight.

It dropped the second she was gone, and instead, he screwed his face up in order to hold back hot, frustrated tears. He compensated for such emotion with a swift, heavy kick aimed at the nearest chair, and a feral growl slipping through teeth so gritted that he was sure they would start disintegrating.

What he hadn't realised was that his attempts to conceal his anger had failed. Outside, Val leant against the thin, clothed wall, and covered her mouth to muffle her open, unbridled sobs.