Neither of them slept, not really, but they couldn't find the energy to speak either, which was just fine by Varian.

They'd lain there in a reflective silence until the sun started to creep in through the curtains, and footfall outside told them that everyone else had chosen to carry on as normal.

Varian didn't know whether to be grateful for it or insulted, either way he didn't voice his confliction, he just decided to leave it be, just for today.

"Where is he?"

Hearing her voice was rather jarring after not really hearing anything in about twelve hours, but the fact she was willing to talk about it at all when some swept tragedies like this under the rug never to be spoken of again was a blessing. "The chapel."

Her shoulders shifted, confirming that she'd been the one to speak and he hadn't been imagining it. "Was he by himself all night?"

She wouldn't believe any lie he conjured up, so it left him little choice. "Aye, but he's safe. I had the door locked."

She finally turned over, still looking clammy and tired but not so much at death's door as she had been last night.

She took his arm away and he realised it was because her bump was still there, almost mocking them about what wasn't to be anymore and making him pull his hand back himself. "What was he like?"

Varian wished she didn't ask him that, but what else had he expected? She was the boy's mother, of course she'd want to know what he looked like. "Bonnie. Too much, in fact."

She swallowed, but he resisted shoving water in her face when she clearly didn't want to be smothered now of all times. "Was he…you know…did he look like a baby?"

Varian nodded, seeing the relief flood onto her face. "That makes it easier to picture him, I suppose."

His brow creased. "Val, you don't have to 'picture'him. I can bring him to you."

He thought she was looking at him, but realised she was looking past him at the door. "I…I don't know if I want you to. It'll make everything real, and I don't want it to be real."

He gently shushed her, hearing the quiver in her voice and not wanting her to stress herself unless it was absolutely necessary.

She'd had another small fit in the night, and he'd been told that it could continue for a few days or more without prevention, so he was doing all he could to keep her calm in a situation that didn't allow for it at all.

"Don't decide now, we have all the time in the world for you to think about it." Val's dulled eyes started to water.

"We don't though, do we? They'll want to take him away soon. And you need to get back to Northrend, and everything will just be hurried along."

He planted a gentle kiss on her temple, glad when she took his hand and held it.

"No, they won't, and no, I don't. The war can be put on the back-burner for now, Bolvar's dealing with it all, and they won't touch our son until we say so, understand?"

She was still looking past him, which was the last thing he wanted but he daren't speak up about it. "I didn't even get a chance to look at him before they whisked him off."

Varian tightened his grip on her fingers, trying to keep as composed as he possibly could when really he just wanted to fall apart and scream at everything and everyone. "You weren't exactly in the best state Val."

She finally started crying again; after the few initial sobs last night she hadn't even whimpered, and he hadn't known what to think of it.

He knew her too well, she was the same as him, always bottling when it wasn't necessary, and he was under the impression that it would be the worst idea at present. So to see her becoming emotional was strangely relieving.

"I wasn't in the best state when you told me to stop doing so much, but I didn't listen then. Maybe if I had this wouldn't have happened."

Varian had been bracing himself for this; he knew his constant nagging would come back to bite him the minute he'd come to bed last night, and hated himself for making her think this was her fault because of his actions. "No, that's not true at all and you know it."

She stared blankly above her now. "Isn't it? Varian, I've been feeling like shit for near on three months and I still insisted on carrying on like I wasn't. I ignored every single warning sign and now I'm getting my punishment for it."

Varian pushed himself up onto an elbow, trying not to glare at her but finding her line of logic absurd. "Val, we both thought the headaches were exactly that! How the hells were we ever to know that it was something sinister? This isn't your fault."

She looked at him, that was a start. "Then whose fault is it Varian? Who can we blame for taking our son from us? You? The Midwife? The fucking Light?"

She turned away from him, which was the last thing he wanted, but he knew she was as emotionally fragile as he was right now, so made no attempt to turn her back.

"We had been given the most precious of chances and I wasted it with my selfishness, that's the long and short of it."

He wanted to reach out, he wanted to touch her shoulder, but he knew she wouldn't want or appreciate it. He had no idea what to say or do and it was killing him. "He was fine Val."

She hunched in on herself. "The hells are you on about?"

Varian exhaled through his nose, planning out every syllable of his answer. "Elliot wasn't sick. He wasn't broken, he wasn't poisoned, he was just too small. You didn't do anything to him."

He watched her shoulders relax and knew he'd broken through, still not wanting to touch her in case he pushed it too far. "My point still stands Varian. If I'd rested, not been stupid, I wouldn't have gotten sick in the first place."

Varian had to leave her even though he didn't want to, feeling his lips crack with every soothing word he was trying to calm her with, but right now it was like applying a salve to a tumour, it wasn't going to work no matter how much he did it. "Val, you were only doing what you'd seen other women do, that's not a crime."

Val curled up, tensing her jaw. "Stop being nice to me. I don't want people being nice to me when we all know this is my fucking fault."

Varian put the cup he was filling down with a furrowed brow. "What do you want me to do Val? Shout? Scream? Tell you that you're to blame because you didn't realise that a simple thing like a headache would be the thing that made sure our son never got a chance? I didn't know those things either, I was in the dark as much as you were, there is no blame to had!"

She lifted her hand and he abandoned the flagon to bend next to her, taking it and planting a cautious kiss on it. "The Light should've just taken me and saved him."

Varian swallowed the mouthful of acidic spittle that formed in his mouth, shushing her and brushing her hair back. "And deprive the boy of his mother? It wouldn't have been any kinder Val, and I know that you know that."

There were fresh tears staining her pale cheeks. "It hurts…it hurts so badly…Why does it hurt this much when I didn't even get the chance to meet him?"

He continued stroking her head, recognising that she hadn't pushed him away this time. "Because he was our baby boy from the minute we found out you were having him. He was ours, no one else's, and we loved him from that point. That's why it hurts Sweetheart, but I promise, it will fade, you just need to give it time. It's not even been a day, I don't think anyone will begrudge us a few tears."

She looked exhausted, and he didn't think any amount of sleep would help at this point. "I feel empty, Varian. I should still be pregnant, I had so long to go…And now I'm nothing."

The protests came tumbling out of his mouth even though he knew full well that he had no idea how she was feeling right now and probably never would. "You can still be a mother Val. Don't lose hope."

She let go of his hand, pulling the furs up to her chin. "I can't even look down right now because all I see is a round belly that couldn't even manage to keep one baby safe."

Varian wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb, bringing his hands away and giving her the space she clearly needed. "You know that's not true. That belly grew confused. You becoming so ill made it want to keep him safe by any means necessary, and this time, that was by bringing him into the world too soon, that's all."

Her brow creased, and he noticed that she kept herself covered, just so she couldn't see it. "Do we have to announce it?"

He let her subject change slide, really not wanting to carry the conversation of other children on himself but glad that they'd even started a dialogue when they could still be in silence. But now anger bubbled in his chest again at the fear in her voice and he clenched a fist, banging it lightly against the mattress.

"No. No one else matters right now apart from you. The world outside doesn't have to exist for as long as you need it to."

Val's hand slid from under the furs and reached out to cup his cheek, scratching the stubble like she had done a million times.

Her hand was clammy still, but not cold enough for him to worry about her as he had been all of last night, and the fact that she was willing to even touch him was something he'd never take for granted.

"He was your son as well Varian. I don't want it all to be about my healing when yours is just as important."

Varian kissed her palm, holding her hand with both of his. "I am just as devastated as you are Val, please don't think I'm not…but helping you heal, will help medo it. I need to focus all of my attention on you, so I don't fall apart, does that make any sense at all?"

Val nodded but he was sure she didn't like his admittedly wobbly method of coping with what was considered impossible to cope with by some. "You can't hold it in."

Varian put his forehead on hers, not caring that his knees were going numb. "I won't be, I promise you. But you know me, I'm not one to sit and weep."

Val let a few more tears run down her face, not making a sound as she did it. "Does Anduin know? He deserves to at least."

Varian nodded, kissing her forehead. "Yes Sweetheart, he does. Someone told him I was back and he came to investigate."

Val's eyes started to droop but he could tell she was still with him, if anything he was glad that she wasn't trying to fight the illness still digging its claws into her. "What did you tell him?"

Varian moved back to give her room to turn over. "The truth. I couldn't think of anything else to tell him."

Val wiped her eyes, opening them again with concern swimming in them. "Do you think that was wise? He's so little..."

Varian put his chin on his folded arms to keep his head up; a night without sleep and with high emotions had made his exhaustion hit him all at once. "He said it before I did. He understands alot more than we give him credit for."

Val's voice started to shake. "Did he cry?"

She cringed at his nod, holding his arm. "Go and get him."

Varian shook his head, not liking the idea at all. "No. You need time to rest-"

He stopped at the pleading look in her eye. "Varian, I need to see him."

He realised why without her even needing to say it and all it did was make him feel even more conflicted. "Are you sure?"

Val nodded, with her eyes welling up again. "I can't hold Elliot, not yet. Anduin is your son, he deserves to grieve with us."

Varian stood, bending over her and kissing her head, brushing her hair back. "I'm scared that having him with us will only make things worse."

Val exhaled slowly, closing her eyes. "We can't shun him simply because he's not his brother Varian, it would be cruel."

Varian didn't want to admit that having the boy near him would bring a strange comfort in case it made her feel worse, so he kept silent, taking a brief minute to think about it before getting to his feet, bending over her to make sure she was comfortable and opening the door to their chambers, finding a familiar face back where he belonged.

"Varro, go and fetch Anduin, will you?"

The blonde solemnly nodded, swallowing hard. "I suppose it's a redundant question to ask how she is?"

Varian was well aware she could hear him, so he had to choose his words carefully. "She's as one would expect her to be. I would appreciate it if you would just go and get our so- Anduin."

Varro could obviously forgive his curtness, bowing low and turning on his heel, not even facing the other way before he heard Varian shut the door again and go back to his spot next to Val, finding her eyes closed.

"Are you tired Sweetheart?"

She nodded but opened her eyes, wiping her cheek. "I don't think sleep will be of any help right now."

She had already guessed from how quickly he'd apparently gotten here last night that he hadn't taken part in the assault, so didn't ask him how it went. "Do you think it's over yet?"

Varian's brow furrowed, meaning he wasn't on the same page. "Do I think what's over?"

She could feel the sedative start to wear off, it was obvious by how her head was starting to hurt, and apparently he noticed, getting fidgety again. "The battle?"

Varian grimaced, brushing her hair back. "Val, I don't want to talk about things like that right now."

Val clearly wasn't taking that for an answer. "Varian, it's rather important."

His face hardened. "No it's not. This takes priority."

It was like he watched her whole body sigh. "Do you really think I'm not going to think about this every day for probably the rest of my life? Trust me, nothing can distract me right now, but I want to damn well try it."

He'd been trying to deny the same conclusion and had failed miserably, looking over at the breakfast table. "I got the report in the early hours, meaning it's over already, which I'm not sure is a positive."

Val lifted her top half, propping it on an elbow and finally taking a few sips of the water that he'd offered earlier. "Are you going to read it today?"

He shook his head, steadying the cup for her. "Not today, no. Maybe tonight. I've told everyone except the sister to leave us be for now."

She passed it back to him, wiping the corners of her mouth. "Good."

Varian could see a million and one questions in her eye, and while he didn't have the energy to answer them right now, it was inevitable the the subject of war would take precedent again. "Did you even manage to leave?"

He shook his head, checking her forehead with the back of his hand. "No, I was about to go when Lee arrived. I sent Bolvar in my place."

Her eyebrow rose and her eyes fluttered shut again. "Did he already know the battle plan?"

Varian leant on his elbows to stop his back aching. "He did, I ran through it with him before I left Stormwind. He knows what he's doing."

She turned onto her back and tried to shuffle up, glad that he straightened the pillows without prompting and helped her sit against them. "Will you be going back?"

Varian sat by her legs, feeling his own start to come back to life . "What did I just say about you being my priority? You'll be lucky if there's not an indent of my backside on this bed by the time they need me up there."

She didn't smile at the insistence in his voice, or call him 'sweet' like she usually did, she was too weak to even try. "I take it I'm not leaving this bed either?"

Varian squeezed her hand, trying not to frown at her annoyed tone. "Val, you need to rest and get yourself back to form. Everything needs to settle down and then we can talk more about getting you out and about."

She reached over for the water again, sipping it and tapping the cup with one finger. "Was it that bad?"

Varian swallowed, wishing he didn't have to think about it again. "Do you remember anyof it?"

Val scrunched her nose, looking up at the canopy. "I remember feeling like my head was splitting, then nothing until I was being told to push…then it's blank again."

His jaw tightened as she said it, fighting with everything he had to push the visuals his mind was putting in front of him and failing with every passing second. "You…you had seizures Val. The condition you had made your blood pressure sky rocket and your body started to shut down."

Val was the one quietly shushing himnow when It should've been hergetting hysterical, hells, she had every right to. "Did they actually tell you what it was? All I got was 'you're not very well chick' over and over."

Varian massaged his temples with a thumb and forefinger, trying to recollect what little information he'd gained last night. "'Toxemia' is what she called it. I don't know what caused it, or even really what it is, but it's only sprung up now because you were so far along."

Val didn't seem surprised, and he wasn't sure whether to start worrying at how blank her face had turned. "I'm willing to put gold on it having something to do with those damn growths."

She looked up again, showing him that more tears were pooling in the bottom of her already bloodshot eyes. "I should've known it was too good to be true. I defied nature by taking that potion and falling in the first place, and I didn't think about the consequences of fucking with things."

Varian had no idea what to say or do in these types of situations; he was never one for long, philosophical talks, not even with her, it was always a quick, to the point conversations that were brought to speedy conclusions. "Val, you cannot blame yourself for wanting to make things go differently."

She huffed, swallowing hard. "No, but I can for not thinking it through. I was so damn desperate to change what fate had dealt me I didn't even begin to think what it could do once it actually happened. I fought my body and my body won, that's the end of the matter."

He didn't think her tears could affect him anymore but here he was trembling with anger at even the sight of them. "This could've happened whether you took the potion or not Val. They never told you that it would be totally impossible to conceive, so you cannotblame yourself for something that was out of your control."

She sat up despite it being a bad idea, looking him straight in the eye. "I killed our son, Varian! My selfishness killed him! And now I don't know whether we'll have another chance!"

And there, she finally broke down, not even attempt to fight the embrace he pulled her into, holding onto her tight enough to feel the skin on his arms begin to stretch but not caring in the slightest, his only concern was gritting his teeth against every anguished, pain filled sob that seeped through his shirt and into his chest.

"I'm so, so sorry…"

He felt his eyes watering again and fought it as hard as he could, clinging onto her just as much as she was to him. "Don't you dare apologise. You've done nothing wrong, do you hear me? Whatever higher power decided to put those disgusting things on your womb should be the one on their knees begging for our forgiveness. You deserve to be a mother Val, Light blind me do you deserve it."

He kissed her head, hearing her sobs quieten but not die entirely. "I had my chance Varian…"

He cupped her cheek, making her look at him. "And you'll have another. I'll do everything in my power, use every outlet at my disposal to find a way to make sure this never happens again."

Val put her head against him, letting her exhaustion show. "I wanted him so badly. I loved him from the moment I felt him move. I knew then he was real, he was ours…and now he's been taken from us."

She sighed, curling up and not leaving his embrace anytime soon. "Everyone will expect me to get on with things, and I'm not sure whether I can."

Varian closed his eyes and put his cheek on her head, gently rocking her. "Don't think about what other people want Val, none of them matter. The only people that matter are you, Anduin and I, the rest of the world could disappear for all I care."

Another soft kiss on the crown of her head made his already dry lips crack even more.

"You take all the time you need. I won't let anyone rush you, I promise."

She didn't look at him, but he heard the tiny 'thank you' that was laced with relief. He let go of her, helping her back against the pillows and pulling the furs up again. "But I will suggestthat you see him, even if it's once. It brought me a small amount of comfort Val."

She was already shaking her head. "No, Varian, I can't. It'll only remind me of how much I failed him."

He didn't want to keep repeating what she clearly wasn't listening to right now, so instead of bleating 'you didn't' again he leant over and kissed her forehead. "He's still our son, Sweetheart, you deserve a moment with him and he deserves to see his mother."

She swallowed, curling the hand that wasn't stiff from bandages. "I'll think about it, that's the most certain I can be about anything right now."

He wasn't going to push it, it wouldn't be fair, and to be honest, he couldn't blame her for her hesitation. It had taken every single bit of strength he had left to go to that chapel yesterday, so Light knew how hard it would be for the woman who'd been carrying him.

"How have they left him? He's not cold, is he?"

Varian didn't exactly know how to answer her, taking a few seconds to gather his thoughts. "They haven't dressed him. Hells, they didn't even take his blanket, they wrapped him in something I think was from my damn Grandfather's time."

Val could feel her eyes start to burn again. "So they just discarded him like a broken doll?"

Varian shook his head despite saying the same thing himself last night. "No, no, there was clear care put into it all…but not love. That can only come from us."

He could see the wheels turning in her head, thinking about everything she could do and finally seeing a spark in her eye."Maybe later on we could…we could take some of his things down together? I think that'd make it less…clinical."

He was so grateful to even hear her considering seeing the babe that he had no hesitation with his nod, taking her hand when she offered it. "I think that would be a very good idea."

She made a noise that sounded like a laugh but he knew it was merely her choking back more tears. "Light knows we have enough stuff to kit him out for about four damn years, I'm sure we'll find something that fits."

Varian heard her unasked question, running his thumb over her knuckles. "We'll talk about all that later."

Val looked over to her vanity, where even now a small package from a well wisher sat. "What's the point of waiting until later? It's going to be painful whenever we do it."

Varian couldn't disagree with her logic but he had to think about her health more than their sorrow right now.

He'd come so close to losing her yesterday, closer than anytime he had presumed it to be the case, and it had put the fear of the Light in him concerning how much he let her get away with denying about her well being. He wasn't going to leave anything to chance now, no matter how much she ended up hating him for it.

"Val, you're still unwell, it's not going to disappear in a night. Get your strength back then we'll discuss everything we need to."

She let go of his hand so she could itch the back of her other one. "How long will I be like this, do you reckon?"

Varian shrugged, once again not knowing the exact answer. "I suppose we'll have to ask the sister when she comes later."

Her brow furrowed. "Why do I still need to see her? I'm not pregnant anymore."

Varian wasn't sure being this frank was the best approach but if it was how she wanted to do it he wasn't going to object. "She's more qualified to get you through the aftermath than Lineker is, that's all."

She sighed, looking back at the canopy above her. "I suppose we can't blame her for this either, can we?"

Varian's jaw tensed as he tried to put this tactfully. "No, we can't. I wanted to, even tried to, but really, we can't blame anyone."

He left her to answer the door, finding both Wyll and Anduin waiting patiently at the threshold. "Varro said you wanted me Father? Does that mean Mum's better?"

Varian stroked his head, wishing he had the strength to smile at the genuine concern in his voice. "No son, she's not better, but she's awake and wants to see you."

Anduin slid past Varian's legs and the King gave Wyll an appreciative nod. "Is there anything I can do, Your Majesty?"

Varian was close to breaking when it was the man he'd known for years standing in front of him and not another nameless servant, but he let out a long, shaky breath. "Some tea and coffee, but no food, not yet."

He swallowed, looking back at Val. "Add some peacebloom to the pot, if you don't mind? I've heard it calms a fretting soul."

Wyll gave him a small but warm smile, threatening to make Varian start crying again simply because someone cared. "I'll have someone run down to the apothecary."

Varian patted his frail shoulder, pushing himself from the door. "Thank you. And make sure no one else comes here, will you?"

A bow was his answer, and Varian closed the door, exhaling slowly and turning back to the bed, feeling another punch straight to his gut at how Anduin had already perched himself next to Val without prompt.

He loved her as he would a mother, and while Varian absolutely treasured that, right now it brought absolutely no comfort. "Is your head still hurting Mum?"

Val still didn't smile, but she ran her fingers through Anduin's hair like she was seeing him for the first time, and Varian didn't know what to make of it, sitting behind the boy and letting him lean back into him.

"No Little Lion, it's not. At least, not as bad as it was."

Anduin looked up at Varian, then back at Val. "But Father said you weren't better?"

Varian held his shoulders, clearing his throat. "Mum is going to be ill for a while Anduin, but it's mostly getting her strength back."

Val took Anduin's hand, squeezing the small fingers that wrapped around hers. "I'm not going to get any worse, I promise you."

Varian was well aware that it was a false promise but stayed quiet, putting his lips on the back of Anduin's head and inhaling the soft mint of his soap, closing his eyes at the smell.

Anduin ran his finger up the orange tube coming from Val's hand and furrowed his brow. "What's this for?"

Val lifted her hand to show him the bandages, holding her arm out so he could touch that as well and get used to it. "It's putting medicine in my arm to help me get better."

His small 'oh' was the only noise in the room, and Varian found himself holding him tighter. "But you won't start bleeding again?"

Val shook her head, settling back against the pillows again. "No Sweetie, I won't start bleeding again."

Varian held Anduin's shoulders tighter, choosing to get this over with. "The bleeding stopped when your brother was born."

Anduin shrank, clearly as upset as they were. "But he wasn't sick?"

Varian was quite impressed by how much of his vague explanation Anduin had taken in yesterday. "No, he wasn't, he was just too little to be able to survive outside Mum's belly, that's all."

Anduin got on his knees and looked suspiciously brighter. "So next time we'll just make sure Mum doesn't get sick, then the baby will be alright, yes?"

A few more tears fell onto Val's cheeks and of course, the boy noticed, leaning over and wiping them away. "Anduin, it's not as simple as that."

The Prince turned around, clearly not on the same page. "Why not?"

Val thought it best that she answered in case Varian got too angry at him when really, it was blissful ignorance on Anduin's part. "Before you were born Anduin, we found out that it would be very hard for me to have babies. It was by pure luck that I fell with your brother, so I don't know whether we'll even manage to do it again."

He seemed to understand, hanging his head and leaning against Varian again. "Sorry Father, I didn't know."

Varian held him with one arm, putting his cheek on his head. "There's no apologies needed whatsoever Anduin. You didn't know because we didn't think we would ever have to tell you."

Val sat up to reach over, taking Anduin's hand and ignoring the slight dizzy spell it brought on. "And you realise we won't be telling you absolutely everything about what's happened, don't you? There are some things that children shouldn't be aware of."

Anduin grimaced, stretching his legs out again. "But I can still help though, can't I?"

Varian patted his shoulder, gently shushing him. "Of course you can Anduin, in all the wonderful little ways that we know you can."

Val tapped the mattress next to her, still not managing a smile but her face was starting to relax, which was a start. "I'm going to be in this bed for a while, so you could help by keeping me company."

Anduin seemed relieved to hear it, crawling over and curling up next to her. "Tell us how you're feeling Anduin."

He barely looked up at Varian, letting Val curl her arm around him. "I'm sad. Sad about Elliot."

Val stroked his shoulder with her thumb, taking Varian's hand with her other one. "We all are darling. And like your father said to me; we'll probably be sad for a while. And that's alright."

Varian murmured an agreement. "It's a very sad thing. And it will hurt, but when it does, you come to us, understand? Day or night, if you need to talk about it, or just have a cry, we're here."

Anduin nodded, but they weren't really sure whether he'd actually taken any of it in. "He's still my brother."

Val kissed his head with sadness in her eyes. "Indeed he is."

Anduin turned over onto his back, looking over at his father. "What happens now Father? Do we have to have a funeral?"

As much as he loved the boy, Varian was regretting ever letting Anduin come and see them this soon; he was bringing up things that Varian didn't even want to think about yet and he could see how it was affecting Val.

"I don't know Anduin, we haven't discussed anything like that yet."

His tone told Anduin all it had to, making the boy shrink even though that hadn't been his intention at all. "Can I see him yet?"

Val started stroking his head again, feeling her own eyelids flutter. "Your father and I are going down later to get him dressed. You can help us choose what to take if you like, but I'm sorry Anduin, we don't really want you seeing him, do we Varian?"

Varian put Anduin's legs on his lap, shuffling so he was closer to the two of them. "I know it sounds cruel, but your mum's right. It won't be pleasant and you won't gain anything from it."

Anduin seemed to disagree. "But I want to know what he looks like!"

Varian lifted Anduin by his armpits, manoeuvring around Val's drip and sitting Anduin on his lap, using his other arm to bring Val to him. "I can tell you exactly what he looked like."

Val's grip on his hand got tighter and he brought hers up to kiss it, asking her with that small gesture whether he had her permission to give them what was to be rather distressing information and getting a small nod.

"He had long eyelashes, just like you Anduin."

Val's throat tightened already and she put her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and swallowing in vain. "And his hair…his hair was in little tiny curls the same colour as yours Val. They were soft as anything and just bounced back into place when I let go of them."

Val put her forehead on his arm, feeling tears burn the skin of her cheeks again. "He sounds perfect."

Varian rubbed Anduin's back as he begun to cry as well, wishing the subject had never been brought up but figuring it needed to be said at some point. "He was perfect. He was perfect because he was our son, everything else was just a bonus."

They barely heard the knock on the door, feeling rather exposed when an apologetic Varro stuck his head in. "Apologies Your Majesty, but I've just been told that the other Alliance leaders are waiting for you in the Throne Room."

Varian's brows snapped down and he lifted Anduin off of him, laying him next to Val and coming towards the guard. "Now? Why ever for?"

Varro shrugged, trying to keep his voice low now he'd heard Varian do so. "I've no clue Your Majesty, but they all sounded rather urgent."

Varian was torn between going to see why the leaders had suddenly turned up when he'd specifically requested privacy, or staying with his wife. "Varian, go. I need to get some kip before the Sister comes."

He hated that she answered the dilemma for him, sweeping back into the room and bending over her, kissing her clammy forehead. "Are you sure? I can stay if you need me."

Val looked up at him with exhausted eyes, sluggishly shaking her head. "No Varian, I want you to go. It must be important if they've all turned up, and really there's not much else to talk about right now. You're still the King, you need to do your duty."

He swept her hair back, watching Anduin fall asleep next to her and wondering whether the boy had gotten any the night before. "And you're my wife, that puts you above everything."

She took his hand away, letting him pull the furs over her and Anduin. "I can't exactly go anywhere Varian, so I'll be here when you get back. If it ends up being bad news we can sort it out."

He was still reluctant, she could see it on his face, but every point she had made was a valid one, he couldn't deny that. He caught her lips this time, straightening and brushing her hair back. "Alright then. You get some rest, and I'll be back as soon as I can."

She was already closing her eyes, so he didn't prolong the conversation, looking down at himself and figuring he needed to at least put something on his feet if Varro was right and every single other leader was down there.

Ducking into the closet he pulled on his boots and grabbed the first clean tunic he could get to hand, swapping his shirt for it and undoing his hair just to put it back up.

He took one more concerned glance at Val, who was already lightly snoring with Anduin curled up to her like a kitten, glad that the both of them were actually managing to get some sleep after the hell that had been the past night.

He closed the door behind him as quietly as he could, eyeing Varro as he buttoned up the cuff of his sleeve. "I wonder if this is to do with the Wrathgate."

The guardsman's look wasn't very encouraging. "I can't think of anything else that would mean them allcoming, Your Majesty."

Varian pinched the bridge of his nose and took a few deep breaths in a vain attempt to calm himself. "Just when I thought things couldn't get any damn worse…I need to learn to shut my mouth."

He beckoned him forward, instructing another of the guards to take his place and keep an eye for the Sister, really wanting to get this out of the way. "I admit Your Majesty, it's rather shitty timing."

Varian huffed, waving a hand and slipping through the doors leading to the main palace before they'd even finished opening them properly. "That's putting it lightly. I swear, it seems like the Light takes great amusement in dumping everything on me at once, just so it can see if I break."

Varro easily fell into step with Varian since they were pretty much the same height, pulling his own gloves on more in an attempt to tidy himself. "Lady Glenmore seems a little bit better, at least."

Varian appreciated how quickly the Lordic snapped from colloquialisms to titles when they were surrounded by staff, but didn'tappreciate discussing Val in front of them.

"She'll get better as the days go on, at least in terms of physical health."

He swallowed hard, not really wanting to go down there with his emotions all over the place. "She just needs time. We need time."

Varro left it there, staying a pace back so Varian could let Gregor lean to his ear before he reached the Throne, where it seemed the blonde guard hadn't been jesting, everyone was gathered there waiting for him. "Your Majesty, I would prepare yourself."

Varian didn't like his tone at all, feeling the past day start to fall on top of him like a crumbling brick wall. "Is it that bad?"

Gregor nodded and Varian had no choice but to move forward, clearing his throat and putting all the attention on him.

"Good morning, all of you."

Magni clasped arms with him, strangely looking as exhausted as Varian did. "Varian. How's Val doin', lad?"

Varian took another deep inhale, wishing he didn't have to repeat himself over and over. "She's not good, I can't lie to you. But then what does one expect from a mother who's just lost a child?"

Tyrande linked her long fingers, narrowing her whited out eyes. "And how about you?"

Varian waved a hand, setting his jaw. "I'll get there, as I'm sure she will, in due time."

He squared his shoulders, cutting the subject short. "I have the distinct feeling that you're not gathered in my halls to discuss my private matters. What brings you here?"

Nizaar folded his arms, finally showing Varian his age with his sigh. "It's about the Wrathgate. I trust you read the report we sent you?"

Varian knew keeping his temper was key right now but he couldn't help his eyes narrowing. "I haven't had the chance yet. Why?"

Tyrande looked around them, seeing how their presence was causing people to gawp as they moved through the Keep. "Let us retreat somewhere more…private. Your council chamber, perhaps?"

Varian was started to feel a trickle of dread snake its way down his spine at the insistence in her voice, stiffly nodding. "Of course. Follow me."