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Chapter Text

-

Is this what his father felt after the death of his mother?

Anduin felt like a ghost. A piece of trash drifting downstream, going wherever the waters took it. He felt as if he watched his life from a distance, the details of his day-to-day a blur, forgettable, forgotten. The world had never felt so dark and gray and cold before. There was never a moment he didn’t feel deeply unsettlingly uncomfortable, but a change of clothes and setting did nothing to ease it. Time felt as though it froze, and it bothered him that time continued on for everyone else.

It was scary to think that his father felt all of this, and worse. Anduin did not have a dragon controlling his mind. Anduin did not love his wife the same way his father loved his. But one’s misery being worse did not ease the pain of another’s.

It was strangely almost a blessing. He had loathed the idea of marrying for politics, his father had gone through the pain of an arranged marriage, and even if it worked for him, he supported Anduin in finding a partner through other means. Means, such as love. But with Varian’s death to the legion, and three wars one right after the other, there was no time for finding love. Each day easily could’ve been his last, and with the kingdom stressed and in need of something of a distraction, Anduin got married as soon as the Fourth War came to an end.

She was sweet and kind, and Anduin mourned the alternate timeline in which the two of them could’ve been friends on their own time and terms, but she was not someone he loved. He told himself, to give himself time, for it took time for his father to fall in love with his love. But time was not something they had.

She would die, just as his mother had.

It happened a month after the birth of their daughter.

Vivian Wrynn was born, coincidentally, on her father’s 20th birthday. Stormwind had not felt in such high spirits in years. The birth of the next generation of the crown was always exciting, and while the city’s gold reserves did not cover a proper celebration this time, the citizens found ways to feast anyway.

Kings were always busy, but Anduin would make time to spend as much as possible with his daughter. Tradition usually saw that the Queen and her midwife would see to most of the child’s needs, with aid from nurses and nannies. Kings usually did not play any role, but having had the childhood he had, Anduin always swore he would be more involved then his father was. Then any king before him.

He wanted to learn from the failures of his own father, wanted to give his princess a better life.

But he could not do that with the shadow of the crown above their heads.

Vivian would not remember her mother, as Anduin did not remember his.

Death and pain and suffering seemed to be a curse the Wrynns could not shake off. There were no dragons charming kings, no angry masked bandits causing riots in the streets, and for the first time in years, no currently on-going wars. And yet, still, the Stormwind Queen was killed. Again did history chime it’s bloody bells and again did sorrow and loneliness beat at the Wrynn’s hearts.

That was when time stopped for Anduin. When the colors faded. When life became dull and gray.

The change within him was instant and everyone could see it. He refused to let go of his daughter, would only let the midwife help with childcare, and he had to be right there for everything. He cared not for any of his kingly duties, though he would try and put words to paper, with a baby in his other hand, and fail to get anywhere in his work. His advisors and assistants would try to take over his workload, or at least ease it, but so much was being left undone, while more piled on each day.

Some tried to talk with him, tried to help him. Genn and Mia would see to it that Anduin fed himself and at least had his basic needs met, something he stopped doing. Jaina would leave Kul Tiras to her mother while she helped Anduin with the planning of the funeral. She tried to talk with him, but found him lacking for words. Time, she decided, was what he needed. Time, and rest.

But rest did not come to parents of month-old babies. Not when said parent refused help and clung to their child. Not when fear bit at the ends of his nerves. If this could happen again, surely there was no end to the cruelty of the Wrynn curse.

It was a challenge to get the king and his daughter to attend the funeral, but he was there. While the people would expect a speech, some words if nothing else, they would receive nothing. The king stood, irly still, and watched, and stared at the memorial, and he would speak nothing.

Their king, their beloved Anduin, was a shell of his former self, and his lack of action served to further dampen the mood of the city and her people.

They’d thought to leave the poor man alone for the night. His people, his advisors, his assistants, his friends, all would give the man his space for the night after the funeral. Leave him and his daughter to the far-too-big-and-empty kings bedroom. The SI:7 would remain outside of it, of course, but the two were otherwise alone.

The numbness overcame him and the silence of the room felt deafening to his ears.

But he’d made up his mind.

Anduin finished feeding Vivian, letting her drift to sleep propped up by a pillow on his bed. He tried to stay silent as he began walking back and forth across his room, cleaning the formula bottle, then packing it away into a leather bag. His eyes would dart back and forth between the items in his hands and the baby, nervous that she would disappear had he looked away from her for too long.

He fished through the endless amount of baby supplies left laying around his room, pooling together the most important things to pack into the bag. He did so quietly, making sure to get the most out of the space in the bag, packing away powdered formula and clothing and cleaning materials and medications. He took one or two of the baby’s noise-less toys and shoved them into the bag as well.

He had hoped for there to be at least a little room for some of his own things, but the bag was difficult to close even now, full of nothing but Vivian’s essentials. He slung the bag over his body, letting the strap hug his chest. Thankfully, the bag wasn’t too heavy.

He’d grab four water-skins he’d hidden away. And fill them up with water from the bathroom sink. He’d try attaching them to his belt, but only two would fit. He’d find another bag, smaller than the leather one, and start filling that with his extra water-skins, and the objects of his he couldn't let go.

He was sure to pack his father’s compass, both an object of sentiment and of functionality. He’d place his mother’s necklace and his wedding rings (which were passed down from each generation) into a small box and pack them as well. He grabbed a blank journal and some ink pens, and a random novel from the bookshelf he wasn’t sure if he’d read just yet, and the three baby-care guides he had sitting on his night stand. He packed an extra shirt, hair ties, and a hair brush, along with his own medication, and a few extra health and mana potions.

He’d throw a few more small things into the bag before it too became full, and he’d carry that bag as well, the weight on his body growing heavier.

He grabbed Shalamayne, and laid her down upon cloth, and wrapped her into a sling, so that he could carry her with him. She would be too easily recognizable, so she was hidden in fabric. She, carried on his back, was heavier than anything else he carried physically.

There were so many things he was sure he was missing. He’d need more than the small bag of coins he had, would need more food and water, but that was a problem for his future self. With everything he’d packed on his person, he turned to all that was left. The most emotionally heavy thing he would need to carry.

Vivian still slept soundly atop his bed, looking as peaceful as ever. Her little baby fingers were grabbed onto the pillow case and drool began to bead at the corner of her mouth.

He watched her, knowing this would be her last time here. Their last time here.

He’d move her gently, using the light to keep her calm and sleepy, and would wrap her in a soft baby blanket, before placing her within the baby sling he made across his chest, that would keep her safe and close to him even should he need both his hands. He made sure none of the bags he carried on him would bother her, then would take a long dark cloak and wrap it around himself and all that he carried.

He’d stand in the middle of his room, the silence, the coldness, and look around. He’d look at the bed and the canopy above it, made and clean save for the pillow moved for Vivian. He’d look at the paintings and portraits hung upon the wall, and stare at the one with his father, his mother, and himself, as a young baby. He’d look at the wall of bookcases he had, filled with his favorite books, many taken from the royal library, but much of it collections of journals he’s filled out since childhood. So many stories and illustrations. Left behind.

He looked to his desk, not his main work desk from his office, but the personal one kept in the corner of his room. The work he'd left undone had piled up even on this desk. There was much he was leaving behind, knowing someone would have to pick up.

He looked to the fireplace, once roaring with warmth and light, now the dimest of fires near burnout.

He’d made his decision.

He pulled out a small hearthstone from his pocket, holding it out in his right hand, while holding his left arm around his daughter. He breathed in and out and, before he could fall apart, he activated the stone, and they teleported away.

-

The hearthstone led to an abandoned cabin on the other side of Elwynn Forest. It used to belong to the Wrynn’s, was a hunting cabin before that, but Varian had used it to take a breather from the kingdom, and once or twice he’d take Anduin with him. But that was years ago, before the cataclysm.

It was dark and empty and had mold in it, no place at all for anyone to live.

He had no intention of staying, though. It would be an obvious place to find him, at least for the SI:7. He’d just use the hearthstone to escape Stormwind and her guards. He knew how to sneak out of the castle, had many times growing up, but not with a baby. At any time she could awake and cry and would give them both away, no matter how much light magic he channeled into her to calm her.

He made his way out of the cabin and paused, eyes taking in the outside world.

He wasn’t really sure where to go, only that anywhere was better than Stormwind. So he’d walk, and continue walking, and walking and walking.

Stormwind wasn’t a good home for Vivian. So long as the crown sat above their heads, she and her family would always be in danger. Would always suffer kidnappings, near-deaths, and death. Would suffer the stress of holding lives in your hand, and no matter what choices you make, innocents die. She would never truly have free will, would truly never be able to open up and share with others how she really felt.

It scared Anduin to think that Vivian would grow up to have the same childhood he had. He knew she would, even before she was born, but the death of her mother only made that fear all the more real and justified.

And he could not continue on, knowing he was only raising her to suffer.

He’d always wanted freedom. Always fantasized of stealing his father away from work and moving out into the world and living as normal people do. His time in Pandaria only served to make those wishes stronger, and he began to loath the crown over their heads more and more.

He knew his father would’ve loved to run away from it. Could see it in his eyes. Anduin would wonder, after his death, if he had ever asked his father to run away, if he’d done it. Would he have run away with him, would he still be alive? In all likelihood, his father would’ve felt unable to leave, tied to the throne and his duty, but would he have helped Anduin leave?

After becoming king, Anduin understood his father’s stress, and yet his determination to see his work through. It felt as if there was no escape from the constant work. It was, after all, the very job he was born to do. Raised to do. He understood not the world, or his generation, or the jokes and references they all shared. He only understood the work of a prince, and the work of a king.

Which is why it would take Vivian for Anduin to finally step foot into his own freedom.

He was doing this for her, but he too benefitted.

-

Anduin walked an hour and a half before Vivian started crying.

He found a small clearing, littered with logs and an old, abandoned fire pit. He sat down next to the pit, calling to his hand a ball of light, which illuminated the small clearing, letting the ball float above them.

“Shhh”

He turned his attention to her, trying to calm her cries. He’d never felt bothered by a baby’s crying before, but now that it was his child, every noise she made was an alarm going off in his brain. Especially the cries, of which broke his heart so much so that he wondered how he yet lived.

He set aside his supplies to make sure Vivan was clean before he fished out the baby bottle and formula, using the water from the water skins to mix together her formula. He used the light to warm the mixture before feeding it to her. It took a long time just to get her to calm down and attach to the bottle, and then more time to get her drink down the minimum amount she needs to grow healthy. Several moments were spent with her fighting with him and the bottle, Anduin unsure if she was truely full or just fussy.

All of this time, focused upon her and her needs, while he ignored his own growing hunger.

When Vivian was finished, her eyelids became heavy and she slowly drifted to sleep again. Anduin would clean and put back her supplies, then pull the floating ball of light to him. Its warmth eased the pain in his stomach, but it did remind him of his exhaustion and the heaviness of his own eyelids.

He would rest only a few minutes more on the log, before standing up, and walking in the direction he believed he thought Goldshire was.

Goldshire was the closest settlement to the cabin he’d ported to, though it was dangerous to travel to a place so close to Stormwind as his face would still be recognized. But, he was hungry and needed food, which he had not packed for himself. He wasn’t sure he wanted to stay at the inn, but with no destination in mind, and his mind in need of sleep, he might have no other choice. He could only pray that the inn wasn’t an obvious location for the SI:7 when they begin looking for him.

He walked half an hour before seeing the forest begin to thin before him, and the distant sounds of people and animals breaking through the noise of the forest life.

It was rather loud in Goldshire for being the early early morning, Anduin thought to himself.

The answer, he found, stepping from the forest onto the dirt road, was the Darkmoon Faire.

The faire had their set up in the field beside the Inn and Blacksmith, what used to be plenty of tents was now just a portal, leading to the Darkmoon Island.

What would usually be a quiet night for the humans of goldshire, was made louder by the sounds of visitors from far away. Dwarves and gnomes and elves from all over had made their way to Goldshire, and for a moment Anduin felt relieved that his presence would be easier to hide with such distractions. The inn was busy in itself, many staying the night or hanging out after spending time at the faire. He wondered if there would even be a room left for him.

Perhaps, with the Darkmoon faire open, he didn't need to search for food at the inn. Perhaps the faire would be safer.

Anduin walked down the dirt road until he reached the portal, making sure his cloak covered his hair and face. He held Vivian close, and had her covered with the cloak as well. She was likely safe in Goldshire, but he’d never been to the Darkmoon Island before, and worried the noise and the chaos might be too much for her.

But the lights and attractions were all so colorful, eye candy for any baby, and Anduin himself felt his inner child reach out for the portal before him.

Stepping through, he felt weightless.

And then the darkness set in around him and the forest path opened up before him and distant lights seemed to dance with music and laughter. It was soft from here, but in all likelihood Vivian would wake up to the noise the closer he got to it.

A tall figure in a cloak stood beside a pair of tallstrider mounts, offering Anduin one as he walked by. Anduin shook his head, preferring to walk down the path instead. He quickly found why a mount might’ve been a good idea, nearly tripping upon one of the many tree roots littered through the ground leading down the hillside. The trees were strung with just enough lights that, if he looked carefully, he could navigate the rest of the way down without giving himself a heart attack.

Anduin stood before the archway welcoming all into the festival, in awe of the colors and atmosphere and decor. The noise, as predicted, caused Vivian to stirr from her sleep, but the same colorful lights that stopped Anduin seemed to be a siren call for the baby in his arms.

Anduin had been to the Darkmoon Faire once. Back when it was a smaller festival, with no portals taking you to some far off distant island. He was a child, his father was missing, but Bolvar was more than happy to disguise the two of them and head off for some silly fun away from the stress of the kingdom. Anduin had asked his father if they could go, and Varian seemed to like the idea, but there was never any time. Varian’s schedule never did match up with that of the Darkmoon Faire.

A canon nearby went off, breaking the two from their trance. Before Anduin could determine the source of the noise, Vivian’s crying demanded his full attention. He looked around, a few eyes of other visitors drawn to him and the child in his arms. He quickly stepped back, closer to the forest, leaning upon a fence post, cooing and singing sweet words to the baby in hopes to calm her back down.

Anxiety rose within him as his attempts to distract her failed. Perhaps he’d misjudged the volume of the faire to her ears, maybe this place was too loud. He felt bad for bringing her here, a place no baby belonged, especially so young.

The painful rumble of his stomach demanded he stay longer, and it was becoming far too much to ignore.

He called the light to his hands, cupping Vivian’s cheeks in the warm palm of his hand, the baby leaning her face into him. With a cast of a spell, small orbs of light appeared beside her ears. It was something of a cheat, he’d been told, when speaking to other priests about parenthood. One older lady mentioned how spells usually meant for shields and soothing could be manipulated. Light bubbles, or shields, can protect from sound waves if channeled with that in mind, and made small and tiny, they worked as earplugs for that of newborn’s ears. And with the soft chiming noise that the light gave off, it worked much like a white noise machine did.

The only downside he could find with the spell was that the orbs of light still were bright and illuminating, and placed to the sides of her head made it harder to hide her. He’d try to readjust the sling she laid in, but the fabric was not thick enough to hide all of it’s glow.

But, Vivian had calmed down again, reaching her hands up to try and play and pull at Anduin’s fingers.

Anduin continued to make his way into the faire, eyes going everywhere, there being so much to see. There were gnomes and goblins selling tickets, plenty of faire games to win prizes from. He walked past the canon, just in time for it to go off again, sending what looked like a vulpera flying into the sky. To his relief, the spell he placed on Vivan was working. She could clearly hear the chaos around her, but none of it seemed to be loud enough to bother her.

He walked down the right side of the dirt path, in awe of all the games and tents set up, along with the prizes on display. Toy rockets and goofy hats and, lord, even pets like monkeys and turtles. Balloons and little controllable zeppelins, and for the most amount of tickets, a bear in darkmoon themed mount gear, which Anduin can only assume is trained to be a mount.

In one of the prize displays, Anduin’s eye caught on a series of masks. There were a few cheap plastic ones, but a rather nicely carved wooden one up top for 300 tickets. It was painted with white, purple, and orange patterns, and looked reminiscent to the masks the darkspear trolls wore, save that the facial features reminded Anduin of the worgen. A darkmoon wolf mask?

“Somethin’ got your eye?” A grinning dwarven woman asked, wearing a darkmoon faire tabard.

Anduin knew a mask could be useful. It would hide his face well, something his cloak was not the best at. It could hide his blonde hair, but a mask could help him feel more at ease with keeping to the shadows.

“Ya like that mask, ey?” She looked back and forth between him and the mask, following his gaze. “It’ll cost ya 300 tickets.”

“Unfortunately I have none.” Anduin frowned. “How long do you think it would take me to get 300 tickets?”

The woman frowned. “If ye were dedicated enough, you could have it by the marrow. But, for most people, days. And even more save their tickets over months.”

It was a silly idea, then. The Goldshire blacksmith didn’t make any that weren’t hard and metal, and he didn’t want to walk all the way back to Stormwind for a tailor. Perhaps he could make one out of some supplies, and-

“See ya have yer eye on it, lad.” she leaned over the wooden table between them, motioning him to lean down too. Hesitantly, he followed her lead.

“I doubt you’ll be getting all them tickets with a baby in your cloak, mister, so why don’t I offer ya a deal.” She whispered. “20 gold and it’s yours.”

Anduin paused. “You sell your ticket prizes for gold as well?”

“Shhush! Between you and me, it’s a limited time offer. Something usually reserved for parents with children who are causing a scene cuz they’re several tickets short of the toy they’ve been eyeing all night.”

Anduin leaned back, looking between the dwarf woman and the mask.

He’d rather not have to tear apart his clothing to make a mask for himself, which would end up subpar and fall apart quickly. He was no tailor, after all.

“20 gold is quite a lot for a mask.” He muttered.

“Only available for one week once a month! And as they say, time is money.” She replied with a smirk. “It’ll be that or 300 tickets.”

Anduin knew he should be careful with the coin he packed, knowing he’d need to buy food and shelter among other things. But a mask too would, again, save him the hassle of being recognized. And it looked like a wolf.

Anduin sighed, struggling with the bags under his cloak to pull out the bag of coins, careful not to bother Vivian in the process. He pulled out 20 gold and placed them down on the table below. The dwarven woman swept them up and shoved them into her pocket before anyone else could even see their transaction. In seconds the woman pulled a step stool from under the table and used it to grab the wolf mask, handing up to Anduin.

“Pleasure meeting ya, sir!” She nodded to him as he fiddled with the mask sliding it over his face while trying his best to keep the cloak hood from sliding down.

“Thank you.” He smiled, though she couldn’t see from the other side of the mask.

He turned away, exhaustion creeping back to him, and hunger reminding him of his reason for visiting.

As he let the baby play with his hand, he looked around for the food venders, not having to move very far before being hit with the smell of popcorn and funnel cake and corn-breaded sausage. Across from the prize tents and pet battle arena was a small clearing with a sand pit and children’s toys, and several picnic tables, beside a food vender. Anduin made his way over, a line already formed before him.

As he waited, he looked at the menu above. Crunchy frogs and darkmoon dogs and deep fried candybars. Forest strider drumsticks and hot wings and pickled kodo feet. There was certainly an arrangement of options. The last time he’d been the only thing he could remember getting was the deep fried candybar. He didn’t get to eat much sweets at home, so bolvar was sure to get him the junkiest of sweets the faire had to offer.

As much as he wanted to get another, just for nostalgia’s sake, he decided to hold off. He needed as close to actual food as he could get, and he did just spend 20 gold.

When it was his turn, he decided for the corn-breaded sausage, and asked for a bag of spiced beef jerky, which would fill his stomach for later. Meat and breading would do well to fill him up, at least compared to the other foods on offer.

He sat down at an empty picnic table, just under the shade of a nearby festival tent. A wave of vertigo overcame him and his chest felt so heavy from the lack of sleep. He could feel the tiredness pull at his soul. But this was no time or place to sleep.

From his corner he could see the rest of the picnic grounds, his back to the tent providing shade. He set aside some of his bags, keeping them under his feet so that he could feel them while knowing they were not easily visible or stealable. He did not let the hood uncover his hair, but he did unmask, making it easier to eat.

Just as he was ready to eat, Vivian began to fuss. While Anduin could have attended to his hunger and provided care at the same time, he didn’t, and his full attention went to her. Fighting his hunger and tiredness, he went through the checklist in his head of all the things he needed to make sure she was okay on. He had to clean her diaper, use a wet rag to wash her down, knowing it was best to do so now then later and let the sweat build up on her.

Children her age sleep for most of the day and night, yet the worst part was that it was on and off, requiring feeding every two to four hours. It seemed, despite being a little early, she was hungry again. At least, he thought. Setting aside his food, uneaten, he prepared her a bottle of formula, same way as before, and tried to get her to drink.

She seemed to want to be fussy again.

She would latch on, but then spit the tip of the bottle out, then demand the formula again, but be hesitant to accept the bottle again. Like she wanted food, but didn’t want food.

It was frustrating, even more so as Anduin’s energy pools were running obscenely low.

He worried that perhaps she wasn’t happy with the bottle, that perhaps a week without her mother wasn’t enough to wean her off breastfeeding. The midwife said it could be one of the reasons she struggled with formula. A few days ago she’d suggests taking a old shirt and cutting a hole to poke the top of the bottle out through, and that often that was all you needed to trick a baby. But Anduin only had the shirt on his back and he wasn’t about to cut a hole in it where his nipples were.

He worried too that maybe Vivian was just angry that it wasn’t her mother holding her. That her crying wasn’t just for the new method of feeding, but that the familiar motherly warmth had vanished and not returned. Vivian was difficult to get from off her mother’s side, hardly even wanted Anduin’s attention some days. And now, she only had one option.

Anduin felt a shudder run through his body as he caught himself beginning to doze off, even with a crying child in his hand, even with the bottle of formula. He realized his hand had drifted a bit too far, the baby unable to even try to suck at the bottle, the smallest drops of formula dripping onto the blanket covering Vivian. He blinked a few times, trying to refocus and put more effort into getting his daughter fed. Again, while his food grew cold and forgotten.

“That ya firstborn?”

Anduin looked up to see a tall troll woman standing on the other side of the table. He hadn’t heard her walk up at all, hadn’t even noticed.

“Ah, f-forgive me. I hadn’t realized she was so loud, I-”

The troll woman gave a sympathetic smile, sitting down at the table across from him.

“You look like a fish outta water, kid. Or, down on your luck?” She spoke, her voice deep and soothing. “Ya face too young to be battlin’ with a babe.”

Anduin let out an exhausted chuckle. He thought for a moment that he should put the mask back on, but then decided that the chance of any random troll recognizing him was far too small to matter.

“She won’t…she…I don’t know why she won’t latch onto the bottle.” He tried to explain.

The woman hummed, understanding his plight, and reached out her arms atop the table. Anduin watched her closely, and woman picking up on his hesitancy.

“I be a mother of four little ones. If you would like help, I am offering.”

Anduin wasn’t sure. He hardly trusted himself with Vivian and now a stranger was offering help. Perhaps if he hadn’t needed to hand her over, but…light he was so hungry. But nO! What better time to try and kidnap a child then when their own parent is on the brink of collapse!? But this woman hadn’t done anything to incur his suspicion. Or, well, Shaw would say she didn’t need to, you should always be cautious.

“Ah, I see.” The woman shook her head. “Here.”

She got up and walked around the table, sitting beside him on his side. She pushed the paper basket of the food he’d ordered for himself back in front of Anduin, and then held her arms in position to hold a baby.

“Watch me, an’ I’ll show ya how to get her to feed.” She said. “And eat your food before the bugs start layin’ eggs on it, child!”

Anduin breathed in and out, feeling a bit more comfortable that she would sit beside him this time. It was still anxiety inducing but the desire to make sure Vivian fed outweighed all other thoughts. He was too tired, and all he wanted was for her to calm down again. He looked between Vivian and the woman, glancing up at the fairground for only a moment before noticing a group sitting at one of the other picnic tables. A couple of troll children sitting alongside a tauren girl and a nightborne kid. They all shared a feast of random foods, laughing excitedly amongst each other.

He began to remove Vivian from her sling, the movement causing her to get angrier. He readjusted her blanket, then handed her into the arms of the troll woman, who he noticed now wore the Darkmoon Faire tabard. A band on her arm indicated her as one of the healers employed to attend faire visitors.

“Good, good.” The woman whispered, “Make sure you pay close attention. Babies be very peculiar about the way things be. Gotta hold her right.”

Anduin nodded his head, watching over the woman’s shoulder.

“Eat.” The woman instructed Anduin, pointing to his food again.

“Ah.” Anduin nodded, remembering the reason she was offering to hold Vivian in the first place. He turned to his corn-breaded sausage and, keeping his eyes on the two beside him, would take a bite and chew slowly.

The woman struggled a bit, bit got Vivian to relax. The woman’s warmth might’ve helped, her voice surely, but Anduin wondered too if Vivian just wanted a motherly person to hold her, even if it weren’t her own. Maybe she was just exhausted. Babies were an utter mystery to him.

“Now. Ya bottle could be one reason, she may not like the nipple for it. If she’s used ta breastfeeding, anything that feels like her mom will help.”

Anduin frowned, the slight defaulting of his posture giving away more than he intended. The woman did not press for more.

“And you can’t be letting the formula get cold, child. What do you warm this up with?” She asked him, noticing the bottle’s temperature a bit lower than it should be.

Anduin finished chewing down food before answering. “I..light. I channel light.”

“I see. A fire would be better, though not in this bottle. Yer light be working for now, but be careful of light poisoning.”

“L-light poisoning??” Anduin felt a bit more awake at that.

“You’re a priest, right? Usin’ any big amounts of any magic on such young babes can easily create an addiction. As would magic do to any adult.” The woman frowned. “It be harder to escape an addiction created at dis age, you’d do well to avoid causing it.”

“I…wasn’t told.” Anduin looked worried. Had he been using too much light? Why didn’t the priests inform him of this? They spoke of the spells but not of the dangers. They couldn’t have not known about light poisoning, right?

“If she starts fussin’ and cryin’ and screamin’ all for just for a bit o’ light, you been using too much.”

“I..I don’t think she’s done that.” Anduin answered.

“Good.”

Anduin ate more of his food while watching the woman feed Vivian. Vivian fussed only the slightest bit more, but otherwise was doing well.

“Remember to keep yourself calm while you hold her too. They are like emotional sponges sometimes. You got to be calm for her to be calm.”

Anduin nodded his head, feeling the tiredness seep in again. He unhooked a waterskin from his belt and tried to chase it away with cold water. The two sat in silence for a few moments, before the woman’s soft voice spoke slightly above a whisper.

“You seem distant. What ails you, child?” She asked.

Anduin held the last of his food in his hand, but couldn’t find the energy to eat it. He breathed in and out and felt each breath as a weight within his lungs.

“I have to run…but…I don't know..maybe I should go back.” Anduin looked down at his lap, his anxiety making his stomach stir. “We would be cared for.”

She watched him in the corner of her eye. “So why do you run?”

‘We…we would certainly be doomed to die a horrible death.” Anduin muttered. “Someday.”

“And you know this true?”

“My father died that way, my mother died that way, my entire bloodline, as far back as i've been taught.” Anduin’s arm shook. “There is no reason to believe the same isn’t waiting for us. For her.”

“That…be a good reason to run.”

Anduin felt the unease rise. “But we would be cared for. Never want for food and shelter. Access to wealth most couldn’t even dream of.”

“Cared for? Or distracted from the slaughter?” The woman asked.

The likelihood that she understood who he was and what he was talking about was unlikely, but not zero. Still, he believed she had no idea. He knew his words elicited pictures of cattle, perhaps, but how could she or anyone truly know what he was giving up? He knew he was privileged and lucky to be fed every day, never without a home and warmth. A closet full of clothes he’d worn once, a bookshelf full of limited additions, a bed that is always clean and warm when he returns to it at night.

It was hard to ignore all the simple pleasures he was giving up, that he’d often taken for granted. The simple pleasures he’d be denying his daughter. There were millions who would kill him for the guaranteed safety and comfort he had.

But still. Did he feel any of that made up for the pain and suffering he’d grown up through? He could only base his feelings off the experiences he’s had. Maybe giving up the crown is the worst thing he’s ever done, but how can he know? Maybe it is the best thing he’d ever do.

“Do not lose sight of what matters most.” The woman whispered.

Anduin looked back to Vivian in her arms. How peaceful she seemed now.

He did this for her. Nothing mattered more than her happiness. He knew full well what her life would be like if he stayed in Stormwind.

He would do anything to protect her from that.

-

Anduin couldn’t remember being lonely in Pandaria.

He remembered being so amazed and in awe of the brand new continent and all of it’s inhabitants that, while he may have missed his bed, he never felt lonely. There was always someone new to learn from, to share stories, and there was always someone familiar on his tail, be they Horde or Alliance.

He’d left Stormwind a week ago, and despite the moments of help from strangers from time to time, Anduin had spent that week lonely. He had Vivian, sure, but aside from random baby noises, he couldn’t really talk with her. Couldn’t bounce his worries off her to gain another’s point of view. He practiced what the troll woman taught him at the Darkmoon Faire, and Vivian was being a bit less fussy with the bottle, but she was still a baby.

A small red rash had appeared on her arm the other day, which worried him. He found a few pages on it in one of the babycare books he’d packed, was careful to keep her washed and clean, and if it got worse he had packed a rash medication. He fought the urge to heal her with light. Only as a last resort, or for emergencies, he told himself.

He’d made a few stops at different Inns across the southern Eastern Kingdoms, making use of their utilities to wash their clothes and sanitize their waterskins and formula bottle. Picked up a few more easy travel foods for himself, now that the jerky he’d gotten from the faire was running low. And, really, he’d gotten tired of eating the same thing outside of what he’d buy for meals when he found places to stay.

He felt proud of himself, to have made it this far, though his worries still clung to him and his heart and he still worried if doing this was all wrong. And, light, he was lonely. He wanted to see Genn and Mia again, but then the pit in his stomach ached at the thought of how mad they’d be at him. Are at him, probably.

He had no idea how far in their investigation they were, as far as Stormwind finding their missing king and princess was concerned. He’d realized he’d forgotten to leave a letter, but he wasn’t even sure what he’d say in it. They would look for him anyway. Did they know he ran away? Considering what was taken from his room, he was sure Shaw would recognize it immediately.

He missed Jaina. He hadn’t really gotten to thank her for spending the last week with him before he left. If there was anyone he should’ve spoken to before he left, it should’ve been her. It hurt think about it.

They hadn’t gotten very far from Goldshire.

Anduin wanted to find an easy place to lay low while he was sure Stormwind was in panic mode. He also needed to come up with an idea for a place a parent with a newborn child shouldn’t go.

Duskwood.

The only problem was how to get there. He wouldn’t risk walking through Westfall, not when he was adamantly hated there by half the locals. It was also extremely hot there, and newborns were sensitive to temperature changes as big as that. He could walk through the forests and past the river that cut through Elwynn and Duskwood, making it a quicker trip to Darkshire. The problem there was the large risk of being eaten by wolves and monstrous spiders. Anduin could very well fight them, had the magic and the sword for it, but anything could go wrong and he hadn’t the confidence to test it.

He decided to walk towards Lakeshire, following the roads that would then turn into Duskwood from there. He’d forgotten the existence of the Three Corners Garrison, which had grown within the recent years, with a few more buildings propped around it, turning the area into a small settlement. In years past, he believed it was possible to walk around the garrison and straight into Duskwood, but that land had been used and the locals had started gardening in it.

So He would have to follow the road and walk through the settlement to get to Duskwood.

Anduin adjusted his cloak, keeping everything covered, and stretched out his hands. Even though he hadn’t needed to, he’d kept his left under Vivian. The slung held her find, he reminded himself, and walked into the settlement.

A single man in plate stood guard. He looked short, and without his helmet, looked rather young. Likely around the same age as Anduin, if not younger.

“Welcome!” The guard called out as Anduin walked closer. The guard waved his free hand, his other hand holding a long spear. It looked clean and brand new, without a scratch.

“Are you by chance walking to Lakeshire?” The guard asked as Anduin stood before him.

Anduin, with his wolf mask, shook his head. He cleared his throat, hoping to lower his voice and make it less recognizable.

“Heading to Darkshire.” He replied, then continued in hopes to control the conversation. “You wouldn’t happen to know how long the walk would be, do you?”

The guard paused. Anduin worried that the man would question him of his identity, perhaps ask for him to take off his mask. What other things would guards require at a post like this? Anduin knew the war was over, perhaps, but surely this garrison was aware of their missing king and princess.

“Hmmm,” The guard frowned. “Haven’t made the trip myself so I can’t say.”

“Ah, well, thank you anyway.” Anduin nodded his head to him.

“I would warn you anyway, it gets pretty dark in that forest. A dangerous place to be heading on your own. Sometimes the spiders wander close by and they aren’t easy to dispatch.” The guard continued, stopping Anduin before he continued walking on.

“I’ve heard. I appreciate the warning, though I am a capable fighter.” Anduin said, catching himself from saying capable priest. An identifier he shouldn’t give, should they be looking for clues.

“Still. If you’re free to hang around for an hour or two, we send patrols on horseback down that road once a day.” The guard added. “They meet up with a patrol from Darkshire halfway and exchange supplies. Escort locals who are visiting family or have business, sometimes adventurers like yourself join.”

Adventurers like yourself? Anduin instantly felt relief, perhaps his mask had been a more than decent purchase. It had to be the mask, right? He’s seen plenty of adventurers report to him wearing the most outlandish attire. It would make sense that guards would recognize that.

Anduin paused for a moment. It would be risky to travel with a group, making it all the more likely to be identified. A long trip such as that would invite others for basic chit chat. Still, he had Vivian with him and should anything go wrong…

“You said they were leaving when?” Anduin sighed. It was safer for Vivian. And if anyone recognized him, he may be able to get off a quick memory erase spell, not that he would want to.

“Yes!” The guard smiled, pointing further into the camp. “They should be preparing the horses, you can talk to the guards standing there and they should let you know when all is ready. In the meantime, you can sit at the garrison shoppe, they have a few tables and can give you a drink should you need it.”

“Thank you.” Anduin nodded his head to him, and parted ways.

Anduin walked farther into the settlement, spotting a small grassy area beside the end of the garrison leading to darkshire. He’d make his way over and inquire about their patrol. The guards would happily recount the information already shared with him, and also point him to the shoppe, where they would fetch him and anyone else waiting for the patrol when they were ready.

He sat inside the shoppe, a quiet place with some supplies for the garrison and a tiny kitchen for the people on duty. There didn’t seem to be anyone else there at the moment, giving Anduin a moment alone with Vivian.

He knew hiding her while traveling with a group of others would be impossible, nor would he be able to ignore her hunger anyway. She was waking up anyway, and Anduin by now could see a fussy episode coming and prepare. She didn’t smell, so she was likely hungry. It’d been a few hours anyway. He pulled out her formula and bottle and by the time he’d warmed and mixed it all up she was beginning to cry.

By the time anyone had entered the shoppe, Anduin had finished feeding Vivian and borrowed the kitchen in the back to clean her bottle and refill their water skins. He’d returned to his seat and rested his head against the wall for any sleep he was able to steal in this moment of calm. He couldn’t have gotten more than half an hour of semi-sleep, jolting awake every few minutes just to check to see if Vivian was still there under his cloak.

“We’ve set up!” They said, “We’re running a bit behind schedule and we’re lacking a horse, but we’ve got supplies set up in a cart and there’s enough room in there if you’d like to sit instead of walk.”

Anduin got up and followed them out, a group of three horses, two attached to a cart, with five guards prepared for the patrol. Three were on horseback, two would walk alongside the cart.

It seemed Anduin’s fear of chit chat was unlikely, for none of them seemed distracted from their duty, and no one else was joining them on their journey. Anduin sat back between a few stacks of hay and wooden crates filled with what smelled like fish, likely fished from the lake of Lakeshire. It smelled strong, but it too kept anyone away from striking conversation with him. He did hope it wouldn’t attract any wildlife. It probably would.

And it did.

A few spiders seemed interested, but it was the few wolves that found themselves too far from Elwynn that tried to go after the fish. Anduin watched carefully with stress as the two guards walking along the path would fight back the wildlife. They seemed good at their jobs, could even scare off a few of the wolves. Anduin had no reason to doubt them, they walked this road every day.

They walked this road every day, he reminded himself. They didn’t need his help, and should they, he could provide it.

The cart came to a stop a few hours into the trip, and Anduin was pulled out of light sleep when voices picked up. A few of the guards, as did a few guards in Darkshire tabards, walked over to the cart.

“This is the patrol from Darkshire, they’ll take you the rest of the way.”

Anduin got off the cart, stretching his arms and standing back as the patrol exchanged boxes between their carts. It seemed an adventurer was among their ranks, a man with an enchanted sword and a patched up cowboy hat helped the patrol guards, then walked up to Anduin to show him to their cart.

“Where you headed to, wolfie?” The man asked, standing on the dirt path as Anduin sat on the side of the cart.

“Darkshire.” Anduin answered, the cart beginning to move as the patrol turned back towards the town they came from. The man began walking alongside the cart, next to Anduin. Seems chit chat was something to look forward to.

“Hah, obviously.” The man rolled his eyes. “But you just passin’ through or…”

Anduin frowned, unsure how much he wanted to divulge. He could give one word answers and possibly kill the conversation, could just tell him to fuck off, but Anduin had never been taught to do that. He always had to play his part, and even now without the crown, he wasn’t sure he could do anything else but talk along with him.

“Might stay in Darkshire for a few days. I’m not sure. Depends on how things go.” Anduin replied.

“Ah. You taken some of those jobs they advertised or visiting a friend?”

“Jobs?” Anduin asked.

“A couple nights ago a patrol taking the road towards Westfall got attacked by a pack o’ wolves, lost a few good men and women. Darkshire doesn’t have many bold brave youths and is asking for the aid of a few bored adventurers.” The man explained. “Which, as you might’ve guessed, I am one of ‘um.”

Anduin looked the man up and down. He had a darkshire tabard put atop his normal clothing, a leather jacket over a stained cream shirt. Frayed pants and large boots. His sword glowed red, perhaps of a fire enchantment. The man had glasses and a scruffy beard.

“I see.”

“Name’s Lad. At least, as far as you should be concerned.” The man said. “And you are?”

Anduin felt his mouth dry. Was hoping to avoid this. Thankfully, he did have a name reserved for a moment like this.

“Jerek.” He said. “Just…Jerek.”

Lad shrugged to that and smiled at him.

“Well, Jerek, Darkshire could always use another hand. If you’ve got the time or need some gold, I could help hook ya up an-”

Lad stopped after the cart hit a rock, causing it to bounce, the sudden jolt and sound of cargo causing the baby within Anduin’s coat to start crying. Anduin looked surprised, caught off guard, but quickly turned his attention to Vivian and pulled back part of his cloak to make sure she was okay.

Lad watched the man coo and whisper to his daughter, holding her and trying his best to calm her down. Lad smirked, crossing his arms as he watched the two.

“Lil angry there, the little lass.” He said. “Looks like she could use a passy.”

Anduin looked up at him, confusion across his face.

“A..a what?” He asked. Anduin had absolutely no clue what a ‘passy’ was. It wasn’t something referred to in the books, nor something the midwife had told him about.

“Passy? She ain’t got a passy yet?” Lad laughed, the poor father looked lost. “Light be, how do you handle her fuss otherwise?”

“I’m sorry? I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” Anduin felt himself grow frustrated, an angry child at his chest and a man seemingly withholding information on how to ease her pain.

“Hold on, hold on.” Lad reached into a leather pouch he had tied to his waist. “Here.”

Lad held out a small object attached to a string. After a moment, Anduin reached out and took it, looking it over in his hand.

“It’s called a pacifier, they give it to the babies to suck on and it calms ‘em down.” Lad explained.

Anduin looked up to lad even more confused.

“And you just have one on hand? On patrol in a forest of spiders?” He asked.

Lad laughed. “I’ve got twins. They’re much older now, but I kept some of their things. Don’t see em much so I kept it with me.”

Anduin handed the pacifier back, but Lad shook his head.

“Keep it.”

Anduin frowned. “I appreciate the offer, but if it was your kids, I can’t imagine this is sanitary.”

“This one’s never been used, what makes it special was that they asked their mum to buy it for me. Tol’ me through their little giggles that I needed to calm down sometimes.” Lad said. “Ya learn to treasure the things they hand you, even when it’s a pile of mud pie. But, I assure you all it needs is a wash with water and you shouldn’t have to worry.”

Anduin hesitated. He looked over the pacifier, it had no marks on it. It looked unused. No bite marks. Vivian’s cries grew a bit more demanding of attention. Anduin sighed, giving in, reaching over to unhook a waterskin from his belt. He pulled out a small towel and wrapped bar of soap he’d taken from one of the inns he’d stopped at a day or two ago. He got the soap wet and used it to wash the passy, holding the passy out and pouring water over it, letting the water fall onto the dirt road between him and Lad. He then cleaned it off with the towel, before putting the stuff away.

Seeing as the passy looked clean, and had been cleaned by him, he turned to Vivian in his arms and held it close to her.

“Ya might wanna just, put it to er mouth, she should get the idea.” Lad said.

Anduin did as told, Vivian frowning and opening her mouth to cry. Just as she did, Anduin put the soft part into her mouth. She seemed confused, but after realizing how similar it felt to that of the nipple of her formula bottle, she accepted it and started sucking on it. The little sounds she made while doing so went straight to Anduin’s heart. She calmed down, now distracted with a new toy.

“See? Like magic.” Lad grinned. “Though I will warn ya, when they get older they have a hard time lettin’ passies go. Had to just throw the lot out one day while they played outside. Never been so mad at me before. But they’re fine teens now so no bad blood.”

“And where are they, if I might ask?” Anduin smiled. He rather enjoyed the stories other parents shared with him, especially now that he could in part understand them.

“Back in Westfall with their mom.” Lad said. “Moneys a bit tight so I went out looking for jobs. Adventurers get a lot of work here and it’s decent gold.”

Lad motioned down to the glowing sword at his waist. “And you get to find cool shit like this so. Got it just a week ago, plan to show the kids when I get back home in a few weeks.”

“You have a name for your cool sword, Lad?” Anduin asked.

“A name?” Lad perked up. “Why, I’ve not thought of that.”

“All cool swords have names.” Anduin laughed, thinking of the sword still hidden at his back. “At least, every cool sword I’ve ever known.”

“Well, I’ma gonna need to think about that one.”

“Maybe you should ask your kids to name it.” Anduin suggested.

“I can’t imagine they would name it anything other than Boop-stick or Blade of Awesome, but I’ll consider.”

“They would be fitting names.” Anduin nodded.

For a moment, in their conversation, Anduin felt a bit light in the chest. He’d been so afraid of having to talk with random strangers, but this felt…good. Like he hadn’t felt lonely anymore. That it felt good to talk with someone for the first time in a week, if not more considering his condition before he decided to leave.

It’s not like he was cured of his depression, but for a moment, he felt a bit more like himself. Like he could focus on something other than his own misery.

The two continued to talk on for awhile, headed deeper and deeper into Duskwood. The road became messy and the constant bumping of the wheels against rocks bothered both Anduin and Vivian, so Anduin jumped off the cart to continue walking alongside Lad. The man stood taller than him, but part of it was likely his hat.

“Halt.”

The guards ahead of them suddenly stopped , the horses pausing in their walk. Lad and Anduin looked up, their conversation broken.

“We’re being hunted.” The guard on the lead horse turned to them. “I can see their eyes in the brush, prepare yoursel-”

And just as he said, the bushes and trees around them began to shuffle and dance in a blur of movement.

A group of seven spiders appear from the darkness, their eyes glowing and their legs pattering around the place. The horses, despite their blinders, began to panic and the cart started rattling about because of it. The noise and the shouts of panic and commands from the guards caused Vivian to spit out her pacifier and cry.

“Stand back!” Lad told Anduin, unsheathing his glowy sword and standing between the two and the spiders.

Anduin watched as the guards and lad attacked the spiders, the group seemingly having a decent handle on things. As if they were trained for this kind of combat. But they were outnumbered, and the spiders were big.

Anduin could stay back for all the previous small attacks he’d seen on their way here with the other patrol, but this one was one he couldn’t just watch. Especially when three spiders seemed to encircle Lad. His fire-y sword swung around, the burning blaze keeping them at bay, but as soon as one got behind him it looked to be ready to jump at him.

“LAD!” Anduin yelled, reaching out his right hand and casting forth a spell of blinding light.

A ball of white appeared before the spiders around Lad and exploded into pure white, stunning the spiders and blinding their many eyes. Lad, however, was unaffected, but surprised by Anduin’s aid.

“Fuck! Might wanna do that again!” Lad shouted back, taking the opportunity to kill the spider in front of him.

While he did, Anduin turned to the others behind Lad and casted smite at them. It grabbed their attention, and angry at his blinding light, they turned to attack him. Anduin called forth a bubble of light around him and Vivian, stepping back against the cart. Before they could get too close, though, Lad followed them and, together, the two of them killed the two spiders.

By the time Anduin and Lad pushed away the two spider corpses, the guards had killed the other four spiders. They pushed the spiders off the road, gasping for air and pausing for a break. Drinking down water they had in pouches at their belts, sitting to calm their quickly beating hearts.

“Anyone hurt?” Anduin asked, walking over to them with a small ball of light in his hand, illuminating the group.

Anduin tended to any of their injuries, healing away any cuts or bleeding they may have had. He turned to the horses, still somewhat upset, and calmed them down with the light magic.

He went to calm Vivian down with the magic too, but then stopped. He then found the pacifier she’d pushed out of her mouth, which sat between her and the sling she was in, and he gave it back to her. With a bit of whispered sweet words, she too calmed down.

As they returned to their patrol and continued heading to Darkshire, Lad and Anduin continued their walk side-by-side.

“After this, Jerek, I owe you a drink.” Lad said, brushing off dirt from his jacket. “Not sure I could’a handled three ‘piders on my own like that.”

Anduin was readjusting his mask, having loosened in the chaos of the fight. “I appreciate the offer, but I really shouldn’t.”

“Could get you a babysitter if yer that worried, but I get ya.” Lad replied. “In that case, how ‘bout a meal?”

Anduin nodded his head, the idea of food making his stomach ache. “That sounds heavenly, actually.”

“Well, you’re in luck!” Lad grinned. “Darkshire’s got a pretty decent chef, who can cook ya a mighty fine Dusky Crab Cake! Or if imitation isn’t your thing, there’s seasoned wolf kabobs.”

“Huh. I’ve never had either.” Anduin wasn’t entirely sure about the crab, but if lad recommended them, well…He’d be willing to eat just about anything considering how hungry he was.

The patrol made it to Darkshire an hour later, Lad finishing up his duties with the guards before leading Anduin over to the bar of the local inn. They sat at a table instead of the bar stools, allowing Anduin to set aside his bags and rest with just Vivan at his chest. The straps of the bags dug into his skin and after hours of walking it was good to let them go.

Lad paid for their meals, and soon plates of food appeared before them by hand of the chef himself. Not that it was a busy or crowded area.

Anduin watched Lad dig into his own food and drink, hesitating with his own meal. He’d have to remove his mask to properly eat it. Perhaps he could..? Anduin tried to adjust his mask so that only the lower part of his face was visible. Surely that alone could not give him away. Lad noticed, but paid him no mind.

Anduin ate his food and water while working around his mask, Vivian below him in sleep with the passy in her mouth. Anduin had the “Dusky Crab Cakes” and, well, he couldn’t be sure he knew exactly what it was made of, but it tasted good, and came with a sauce to pour over them. He drank down iced water while Lad had what looked alcoholic.

They talked a bit more, Lad definitely getting a bit of a buzz from whatever he had. He’d finished his food far before Anduin did. By the time Anduin was getting full and had emptied his water, Lad took his water cup and poured the last of his own alcoholic drink into it, pushing it back towards Anduin.

“Look, Jer’, ‘ere.” Lad winked. “Nothing you can’t sip down over a few hours. Can’t imagine you plan to spend the night anywhere but at the inn anyway.”

Lad got up and nodded his head towards Anduin. “Take it or leave it, I’m headin’ back to my room. Which is room 3, if you ever need me.”

Lad winked again and laughed to himself, waving bye to Vivian, then wandered across the inn to head upstairs, to the rooms.

Anduin sighed, looking at the half-a-drink the man had left for Anduin. Anduin picked the cup up and sniffed it, definitely smelling something strong. He placed it back down, though. It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle his alcohol, he’d been sipping wines since he was twelve years old. Was just a tradition when having company over for dinner at the keep. He could down more drinks then most would suspect he could, granted he’d almost never had an opportunity to test his limits. Even when spending nights at Goldshire Inn as Jerek, he’d watched himself.

He would be fine, if he did as lad said, and sipped at it. But god, he didn’t even know what it was. But it didn’t smell unfamiliar. But, light, he shouldn’t even be considering a drink when he had a baby with him! All while he was alone. He could drink it. He couldn’t. He’d be fine. But how could he know? It probably wasn’t enough to do anything, but…god, the idea of relaxing felt tempting. If only he could chill with Jaina and have a drink.

Anduin grabbed the cup and took a small swing of the drink, before putting it back. There. One swing, no more than two sips, whatever, he could handle just the bit.

Anduin grabbed his things just as the chef had come to check on them, grabbing the plates and thanking Anduin for their time. Anduin adjusted his mask back and found who he needed to talk to to get a room. He was given a key to room five and walked up the stairs until he found the room.

Once inside, he would set all of his stuff aside, leave the cloak and mask on the hooks on the wall, and lay down with Vivian on the bed. He set up her baby blanket and let her rest with her body propped up against the pillow, while he laid down beside her. She’d demand his attention and he’d give her a bath, feed her warm formula, and lay her back down on the bed as she grew sleepy again.

He’d write a bit in his blank journal, before reading a bit, and when sleep pulled at him, he would rest his head against the pillow and watch Vivian.

Sleep would pull him under, until Vivian’s cries would wake him up again, and he would attend to her needs again, and chase sleep, again.

-

Vivian was nearing two months old by the time Anduin found his way back into Red Ridge and staying at the Lakeshire inn.

His coin purse was growing empty, which was one concern among many. The rash Vivian had had disappeared, but the baby had sneezed once and it sent the poor man into a panic. The Lakeshire doctor, though not a pediatrician, said that as long as her temperature sayed normal she should be okay.

“You, on the other hand, are looking a bit thin.” The doctor would turn to Anduin. “And if you’d remove your mask, I could very well see the rings under your eyes.”

He hadn’t intended to become the patient.

“I know caring for little ones is exhausting, but you cannot let yourself fall out of health!” They’d said.

Anduin had been instructed to eat more and to rest more, but all he could do was laugh. Not in front of the doctor, he’d never, but the mere idea of getting a full night's rest, let alone beginning to catch up to all those lost hours! She’d suggested, without knowing his situation, that he turn away from any adventuring and seek the aid of a friend or family member, at least until the girl had gotten older.

Anduin sat at the inn, in his room, away from prying eyes, to ponder his situation.

He’d also seen missing posters.

And they were everywhere.

With his face.

He sighed. The doubt and the worry crawled back into his mind. He’d grabbed one of the posters, sitting on the bed with him and Vivian. It read in big bold print, “MISSING: KING AND PRINCESS”, and listed thousands of gold for reward of any helpful information. Millions of gold for their direct, safe return.

Really wasn’t nerve wracking to think now people could be hunting him, solely for that reward. Really, why Shaw would let this out, he had no idea. Or, perhaps, it wasn’t a secret Shaw could keep so easily.

He was…he was, after all, the king. And Vivian, the princess.

He was.

Was.

He shook his head, trying to remember why he did this. Why he ran. He looked over to Vivian, and his worry was chased away.

He threw the poster off the bed and cuddled around Vivian, giving his attention not to his fears, but to her. The one who really needed it.

-

The doctor’s words weren’t entirely lost on him.

Visiting someone would indeed be a good idea, especially if it got him out of the immediate area around Stormwind.

He thought of the people he could trust, the areas he could make it to without too much trouble.

He liked the idea of visiting Ironforge, he knew that Moria would do anything to help him and get time to fuss over Vivian. The problem with that was that Ironforge was connected to Stormwind by tram, so really it might as well have been like going back to Stormwind. He’d be recognized by his voice, by the way he walked, he bet. And, well, the only way to get to Ironforge without taking the Stormwind tram was to walk the looooong way around.

That required traveling past the Burning Steppes, the Badlands, and Loch Modan.

Loch Modan was a nice place, but to even get there Anduin had to walk past wastelands of lava and sering heat. If Westfall’s heat wasn’t safe, Burning Steppes would surely cook Vivian alive, and him too.

There were a few transportation services, but they weren’t safe, nor did Anduin have the coin for them, as their asking prices were rather steep with the recent claims of rabid beasts stalking travelers through their path in the Badlands.

If only Khadgar still stayed at Karazhan, for that would’ve been a closeby place to visit, despite it’s rather poor local beasts.

There really wasn’t anywhere on this side of the Eastern Kingdoms. Or, well, any of the Eastern Kingdoms.

Kalimdor was a long boat ride, one he didn’t think he could stand, let alone Vivian.

But, a ride that was much shorter in length, would be one to Kul Tiras.

The idea of visiting Jaina both made Anduin excited and scared. Nauseous. She was surely pissed with him. Or would be, when she finds out he left on his own.

But she’d been through so much, and understood his pain most, and would forgive him.

And, Anduin thought, She had always been the closest thing he had to a mother figure. A proper one, who cared for him as he grew up. Despite being his aunt, he’s learned from her and found comfort in her at some of the darkest moments of his life.

And while she wasn’t there to help him grieve his father’s death, she was there to help him through that of his wife’s. She was there and tried to talk with him even when he wouldn’t.

And light, did she deserve an explanation.

So he decided, with the last of his coin, he would find a way to Kul Tiras.

The easiest way was back to Stormwind, but he’d not tread that. After a day of asking around Lakeshire, Anduin managed to find a student mage who would open a portal to Ironforge for him. She was only skilled enough to do nearby cities.

It was the best he could find, even after considering the risks of visiting Moira.

But traveling to the peak of Stranglethorn Vale would take a long time, and forests down there were dangerous with large cats that were infamous for their hunting skills. Anduin’s heard many stories of patrols going down there only to fail to return to their homes. Trying to get a boat to Kul Tiras from there was too risky.

Unable to get a mage to teleport him directly, or to take a boat from Stranglethorn or Stormwind, Anduin could sneak through Ironforge and make his way to the Wetlands, where Menethil Harbor had boats to and from Kul Tiras. It would be a quicker trip, and he could catch a wagon for most of it. All he needed was to bundle Vivian up through the cold weather with their extra clothes.

Which is what the man would do.

He’d bundle Vivian up, so much so that she cried in discomfort in the warm Lakeshire air. With all of his things, he took the portal created for him, and found himself in the city of Ironforge.

Keeping his cloak over his head and his mask on, he gave Vivian her passy and made his way through the dwarven city as fast as he could, without looking suspicious.

Thankfully, even with the missing posters up here as well, there were too many people out and about for him to stand out. His heart stung for a moment, knowing he was so close to Moira and could drop by, but the anxiety of being so close to Stormwind carried his feet onward and outside into the snowy land of Dun Morogh.

It was cold. Vivian seemed okay in the clothes he’d wrapped around her, but he himself felt frozen. He’d used his extra clothes for her to be warm, and thus needed to make use of what he wore on him.

At the end of the mountain trail leading into Ironforge, Anduin found what he’d been looking for. A company had set up wagons to help visitors travel from one side of Dun Morogh to another, considering an end to the wars had meant more could travel and spend time in their lands. A trip all the way to Menethil harbor, however, was expensive, and would require more than himself to have an interest.

Anduin paid the dwarf and sat in the wagon alone, finding the inside of it only the smallest bit warmer. He’d wait what felt like hours before another person entered, a ren’dorei covered in tattered gear and a cloak. They waited another half hour before the dwarf poked their head in.

“Day’s a slow one and I’m impatient!” He said, then grinned at the two. “We be waiting for a full ride, buuuttt if you be achein’ to get a move on, an extra gold or to might persuade...”

Anduin frowned, eager to get out of Dun Morogh, however hesitant to give even more gold then he already had just for the ride itself. He had only a few gold left, and he needed to have enough to make the boat.

The ren’dorei remained quiet, watching Anduin as he counted the gold in his pouch, the anxious air around him growing.

“Here.” The ren’dorei growled, having enough of this show, pulling gold from her bag, throwing it at the dwarf’s face. “Take it and let’s go!”

“Thank ya for yer businesses!” The dwarf grabbed the coins and shoved them into his pocket before leaving the two. In moments time the wagen started moving.

Anduin put away his coins, looking to the elf sitting across from him.

“I..thank you.” He said, his voice dry.

“You’re welcome.” The void elf looked away. “But now you owe me.”

Anduin frowned. “...owe you?”

“Nothing.” She shook her head. “Forget it. Shut up. Ignore me.”

Anduin wasn’t sure what to make of her, deciding to listen to her and pay her no mind. He adjusted in his seat, covering himself in his cloak and leaning back to try and close his eyes and get a bit of rest.

The wagon bumped at times, but the ride itself was smoothe enough that it didn’t bother Vivian too much. Besides, she’d come to like her big bundled nest of Anduin’s extra clothes. A cocoon of warmth. Anduin was rather jealous of her to be honest.

An hour and a half into the ride, Vivian got fussy, and so Anduin made sure she was cleaned and fed. He was perfectly content and used to tending to her needs by now, though it did amuse him slightly that he could almost feel the irritation radiating from the ren’dorei. With the lack of space, he would change Vivian on his lap, and quickly wrap her back into the nest of clothes. He’d warm the bottle of formula with light and feed it to her, and after she was done she would drift to sleep.

Anduin would rinse out the bottle with water and pack everything back up, and sit back against, head against the wall.

His mind wandered to Kul Tiras again. He’d only been there once, having met Taelia Fordragon and Kathrine Proudmoore. His time wasn’t long there so really he had little information to go off of. He wondered about Taelia and how she was doing, and if she was still there. If he remembered correctly she was promoted to part of the Proudmoore guard, though he wasn’t sure if she kept that job.

They’d not known each other well, but being the daughter of Bolvar, he wanted to at least befriend her more. She seemed silly and both had many stories to share still. Anduin was saddened that time and recent events had pulled him away from all his friends. She seemed like someone who’d want to squeeze Vivian’s chubby cheeks.

She hadn’t met Vivian yet. And neither had Kathrine Proudmoore. The woman had been very kind to him and Jaina was waiting for a good time to have her mother visit Stormwind. It was too bad that that time never came. In his silent depression, when Jaina would try to talk with him, she’d told him that she wanted to have him at the Proudmoore Keep in Boralus. Wanted him to meet her brothers as well.

When he wouldn’t answer her even then, Jaina had said something. Something that stuck with him.

“You have always been my family,” Jaina said, sorrowful and pleading for any reaction at all, “and I dream that you may one day find yourself family with the rest of the Proudmoores. That you might consider Boralus your second home.”

“I can’t bare the thought of you alone, Anduin.” She’d said.

Light, he really, really should’ve told her. Left her a note. He was horrible family to have just abandoned her without even a thanks. Without a hug.

As Anduin felt his inner emotions fall again, an odd feeling slowly appeared. Something, a pull of some sort, small and hardly even noticeable. But it was there. A tug at the corner of his mind, the edge of his thoughts. Anduin couldn’t make out what that feeling was. For a moment he thought perhaps a headache was coming along, but that couldn’t be it.

And then he caught just the faintest softest breath of whispers, coming from that feeling in his head, and it clicked immediately. He had experience in this field, he’d just never been on the opposing end of it.

His eyes snapped open and in a rush of adrenaline, he stood up, reaching out his arm and calling to it a ball of light, all while forcing out the prying eyes of the shadow priest sitting before him.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” He barked at the ren’dorei, who jumped in her seat, a wisp of shadow disappearing from her hand under her sleeve.

The woman looked wide-eyed at him, her tougher demeanor shattered.

“I-I-” She struggled to speak, caught red-handed.

“What are you looking for?!” He shouted, his voice waking up Vivian.

Anduin shook in anger, rage, and fear. This woman was reading his mind, and he had no idea what she saw. If she’d seen anything at all. And in truth he wasn’t even exactly sure how to go about this.

“L-Look, I was just- I mean I was-” She struggled for words. “I didn’t see anything, Your magis-”

Both froze.

The cold air felt very so sharp and pointed between them.

“What. Did. You. See.” Anduin growled, his knees feeling weak.

The woman squished herself against the wall behind her.

“N-nothing!” She shook her head. “I- Only, only a vision. Just a vision.”

“What vision?!” He felt his legs shake.

“A-Amemeory,maybe” She continued. “You’re sitting in a room, with someone, I wasn’t sure, nothing was clear, Im not that good at this spell, but you were maskless, and, and, and i’ve worked in Stormwind before, I’m actually traveling from there, and I, I’m sorry, I didn’t think-”

“That you’d get caught?!” Anduin asked.

“I-I” She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, her hands gripping the edge of the bench she sat on. “I wasn’t thinking, It’s become a habit, It’s still difficult to control the shadows, I, I’m sorry, I-”

Anduin wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but the ball of light energy at his palm fizzled out. He felt his energy drain and he collapsed back into his seat. He realized Vivian was crying and he sighed, his shaking hands locating her passy and trying to give it to her. She continued to cry with it in her mouth, so he tried to calm her himself. It really wasn’t working when he himself was panicked and his heart was racing.

He glared at the woman, as she watched him and Vivian with regret in her eyes.

Light, what could he do? Couldn’t arrest her, for surely peeking into a king’s mind would lead to the Stockades. But, he reminded himself, he wasn’t king anymore. Still, doing that to a Stormwind noble would lead to punishments if caught, but even then, would running away from Stormwind strip him of his rights as a house of Stormwind? Was he a lord? Or was he just…what was he?

Would she report his whereabouts? Surely she’s seen the posters. Was she forming a plan in her head about how to get the millions of gold in reward money? What was she thinking? Anduin felt himself a wreck with paranoia. Was that really all she saw? Was it?

“I..” She cleared her throat. “I…”

Anduin glared at her, waiting for her to speak. Please, continue. He was too exhausted for this.

“My, my name is Amoli.” She offered. “Amoli Everray.”

Anduin stared at her. What a great introduction, he thought to himself.

Though, if she thought him the king, wouldn’t giving her name only set herself up for further trouble?

The thought that she might have said so just to ease his fears of her came to mind, but he wasn’t all that ready to accept it. Apparently she can’t control the urge to peek into everyone’s minds. Was that just something she enjoyed doing, or was she just not great at controlling her own power?

Anduin knew the struggle that was shadow magic, which was why he only dabbled in it, and weaved his usage of it around his connection with the light, so that he never fell into the hands of the dark whispers. He often wondered how the ren’dorei handled their powers.

When he didn’t reply, she shrunk back into her seat, but continued, in a quieter voice.

“I’m headed to Menethil Harbor.” She said, glancing away from him. “My sister lives there with her husband. They work on the harbor and…and they have a toddler, and I’m going to visit.”

Anduin let out a breath, blinking away from her and looking back to Vivian. Amoli was just a person, as he was, and we all have struggles. It could be hard to remember that sometimes. He leaned back in his seat, resting his head against the wood. He let his heartbeat slow and managed to get Vivian to accept the pacifier. Once her cries were settled, he glanced back up to Amoli.

“Your sister?” He pushed her to continue, his tone rather unamused still.

“She’s not like me, wasn’t a part of any of the void stuff.” Amoli added, her ears dipping down a bit. “Her husband doesn’t really like me, but nothing stops her from begging me to visit.”

Amoli looked at Vivian and sighed.

“I’ve always hated kids. Loathed their crying and whining. I never want any for myself, but my nephew? Love him to bits.”

“...Why?” Anduin asked.

“Why?” Amoli repeated. “This world is constantly at the edge of destruction. There is darkness and shadows at every corner, pain and death awaiting us all in the end. We’ve all tried to run from it, prevent it, forstall it’s coming, but it will always find us.”

She looked saddened. “Or maybe I’m just letting the whispers get to me too much. I feel like I used to be happier, but maybe I was just too…oblivious.”

She continued. “I can’t bring myself to force a child into this world. My sister’s spawn, though, is already here. I’ll do all I can to be a light in his life…as ironic as that sounds.”

Anduin felt sympathetic to her feelings. He too was running from pain and death, motivated to do so for his own daughter. He liked to think that he could escape it, though. He had to hope. Needed to hope to escape his depression.

But he frowned.

“Do you read their minds too?” He asked, still angered at her actions.

Amoli looked away, guilt in her face.

“I…try not to.” She whispered. “But it’s how I know that her husband hates me.”

So it seemed to be an actual problem for her.

“...You have issues controlling your power?” He asked.

Amoli nodded her head.

“You may be letting in too many whispers. Attracting too much attention from the shadows. More than you can handle.” Anduin spoke. He was, after all, a powerful priest, and many times before helped others control their powers. Though, most of them had been learning to wield light. His knowledge of shadows came from his own trial and error. “Perhaps you should ease off magic, pick up a bow and arrow.”

“I…”

“Distraction is the best way to bore the whispers.” He said. “They care not for anyone who tries picking up a sword.”

“Pick up a hobby unrelated to light or shadow and in time you should find it easier.” He continued. “Remember, the shadows are trying to manipulate and embolden priests to chase power and desires. They place their focus on people who place their focus in magic. Who hold strong emotions, which may be wielded for the shadow’s greater purpose.”

“The same can be said for the light. The strongest in it are ones who dedicate themselves to it.” He added.

Amoli nodded her head.

“I’ve…been trying to learn from the others, trying to hown my power, but I've faltered again and again and each time I grow more frustrated.”

“Spend time away.” Anduin said. “You are, of course, visiting family. A good distraction.”

Amoli smiled. “Yes. They are.”

Anduin couldn’t say his advice would work for everyone, the light and shadow were not so simple as to be babies without object permanence. Still, he often found himself clearer headed when reading or spending time away from the church. The chiming of the light and the whispers of the void could get so overwhelming.

A break came in their conversation, giving Anduin time to calm down, the cold returning to him. The wind outside could be heard distantly, as did the hooves of the rams pulling their wagon along. Was that song carried in the wind the dwarven man singing? It was too far away to heard clearly.

“Can…can I ask why you’re here?” Amoli broke the silence.

Anduin figured curiosity would claim the better of anyone who he’d met. He was just glad she hadn’t gone digging again for the answer herself. And, well, she was coming from Stormwind, and with missing papers everywhere he went, he was sure she had to have known he was being looked for.

“You said that we all run from pain.” He answered. “And I too am trying to find solace in family.”

It wasn’t a clear answer, but Amoli seemed to understand.

“My lips are sealed.” She said, “Besides…most are not trusting of our kind yet. Especially not priests of shadows.”

Anduin was sure that if she’d gone to Stormwind to claim she knew his location, they would listen to her anyway. But none of that mattered. She wasn’t on her way to Stormwind. She was on her way to family. As was he.

The wagon continued for hours, the two sitting in silence as the dwarven man leading them sang and whistled and distracted himself with rambles. Anduin tried to read, but found his concentration lacking. Despite the end of their conversation, he was still offbeat about the spying.

He would tend to Vivian’s demands again, and again, but these times he didn’t feel the discomfort of the other traveler. Sometimes Vivan would look over to Amoli, though Anduin knew her eyesight was not yet developed enough so that she could make out details of the ren’dorei setting across from her.

When awake, the baby would sometimes coo and gurgle up at her father. At two months, she’s begun working on the different sounds she can make. She’s smiling at him more, and seems to rather enjoy hearing the sound of his voice. At least, when he is calm and happy. She can sort’ve turn her head in reaction to other sounds, trying to find the sources of them herself, but her sight fails her at that unless they are close to her.

Anduin is playing with her and cooing back at her baby noises when the wagon comes to a stop. The dwarf would appear, telling them that they’ve made it to Greenwarden’s Grove, where they would stop for the night. They all needed a break, and Menethil Harbor was still hours and hours away.

They’d make their way to the inn, where Amoli would offer Anduin coin for food and room, and he would happily accept. Night was spent in and out of sleep as Vivian would sleep for a few hours before waking up and needing attention. A routine that Anduin expected and knew by now, despite how much it drained him of energy.

The next morning they would eat before meeting the dwarf again, and continue their ride to Menethil Harbor. The two passengers would speak on and off, all while Vivian would sleep and then wake and demand play and then sleep and then wake and so forth.

It was right before noon before they’d finally arrive.

Menethil Harbor had grown in the last few years, seeing greater use from the wars, meaning an influx of money. Currently it was a bit slow, but still a rather lively settlement. A market was set up outside of the harbor, selling all kinds of products brought in from ships. Workers worked on tending to the port, moving boxes off and onto ships, others worked on expanding the boardwalk and there seemed to be some expansion work being done on a few of the local houses.

“Before you head off.” Amoli would catch his attention as he walked through the middle of town. “I am sure my sister would be happy to have you for lunch. But, I understand if that is too much.”

“I appreciate the offer but I cannot stay long here.” Anduin shook his head.

“Then, let me at least…” Amoli reached into her bag, pulling out a handful of golden coins. “You were a bit short on gold. The tickets aren't as cheap as they used to be.”

Amoli handed Anduin the coins. “This should be enough for your passage, and a couple more meals.”

Anduin counted the coins, looking up at the elf in surprise. “I…Thank you.”

“I apologize again…and I will heed your words.” She said, “Now, you have family to catch.”

Anduin nodded and thanked her, and the two turned to part ways.

The boat headed to Kul Tiras arrived an hour later, Anduin grabbing an apple from the market and buying his ticket in the meantime. Once boarded, he found a dark corner of the boat and got comfy, making use of the time alone, out of the way of others, and off his feet to try and rest his eyes.

Soon, the boat would leave port, and in just a few days time he would be arriving at Boralus harbor.

-

Stormwind was a port city, with constant streams of ships heading in and out, carrying all types of cargo and passengers. In wartime it was even more active and crowded. There was always the salty sea air coming in from the ocean, the humidity was always killer, and the storms were, well, always blowing in.

It was the city of Stormwind, and many forgot the reasons behind its name.

Boralus was also a port city, but a key difference was that its ties to the sea were far more ingrained in its culture and blood. Pirates were among another big business in the area. So, quite to Anduin’s amazement, Boralus’ port seemed ten times as active and chaotic as that of his own home. The markets were longer, the stench of fish and sealife in the air was all that more potent.

Luckily, though, the war had brought all kinds of people to the city, and crowds were an easy way to avoid attention. There were a few missing posters here and there, Anduin noticed, but a cloaked figure in a wolf mask raised no man’s curiosity. Everyone was headed somewhere, doing something, and distracted from their neighbor.

Anduin, unfortunately, was not familiar with the streets of Boralus, and quickly realized he was unsure where to go to get to Proudmoore Keep.

And, of all times to realize, he wasn’t even sure Jaina was here. She was at Stormwind when he left, and really he had no reason to believe she would go back home just because he ran away.

A pit in his stomach opened, could he have really come all this way just to find his aunt was still looking for him back in Stormwind?

Anduin tried to follow familiar pathways, trying to remember the route he’d taken when he last arrived here, but his memory was not all it used to be. The stress of war and the little time he’d spent in Kul Tiras all but were blurred together and nothing felt familiar.

He felt a bit dizzy , nervous and unsure of what to do, when he found himself approaching a figure wearing the gray and green colors of Kul Tiras. They looked as though they were guarding, a large stone hammer in one hand, wrapped with a kul tiran banner.

He reached out, placing his hand on their arm, something he’d usually never do, but he wasn’t feeling very well, nor was he himself lately. He needed a bit of stability, afraid he would trip and tumble.

“Excuse me, can you-”

“Can I help you?”

The figure turned, and Anduin froze.

Of all people, he’d run into Taelia.

She, and the two other guards she’d been talking to, looked at him.

Anduin felt his mouth run dry, thrown off by her. He wasn’t ready for this, to talk with her, he wasn’t ready. Wasn’t ready to tell her, hardly even ready to speak with Jaina, and words failed to come out of his mouth.

Which was when he realized he’d still been holding onto the arm of her shirt.

His mind yelled at him to run, so he blurted out an apology and quickly sped off in the other direction.

Tealia looked to the guards confused, but she wasn’t far behind the man with the wolf mask. And, knowing her way around the streets better than he, was able to catch up with him.

“Woah, there, friend, you alright?” She asked him, and Anduin’s lungs jumped.

“I, I-” He cleared his throat. “I was just. I’m trying to find Proudmoore Keep.”

Tealia looked him up and down. What a weird person, she thought. Why he had any reason to be so on edge, she didn’t know. But, she shrugged, and nodded.

“That’s all you had to say. Follow me.”

Anduin followed her closely behind, the two walking up and down streets of Boralus.

“I assume you’re new, so I’m just gonna let you in on some things.” Tealia glanced back at the cloaked man. “There are plenty of areas here you should avoid. Look like a fish out of water and you’ll attract unwanted attention. I would make sure there is always a tabard-wearing guard within sight. If I were you.”

Anduin nodded his head. “G-got it.”

Eventually the pair made it to the steps of Proudmoore Keep. A vast amount of guards stood tall in the area, and Anduin found himself amazed at the architecture. The open city streets coming to a building with large doorways. It felt much more open than the entrance of Stormwind Keep. Much more grand, he thought.

“Here. If you have a meeting, all you need is to go through those doors. If you are expected at Unity square, you would want to go left. The gardens behind the keep are currently off limits for some construction.” Taelia said, stopping as they stood before the keep.

“Thank you.” Anduin nodded, before turning quickly away and towards the doors to the keep.

Tealia watched him leave, an odd feeling in her gut.

“That voice…” She wondered aloud, before seeing him disappear past the doors. She shook her head, nothing coming to mind, and turned to head back to her friends at their post.

-

There had been no sign of Anduin, nor his daughter.

A dwarf working at the Darkmoon Faire mentioned maybe seeing him pass by, but her words carried little weight without certainty, and there were plenty of other humans who looked passing to Anduin’s likeness.

Jaina could hardly sleep at all, worried for her nephew. It was already hard enough watching him deteriorate before her very eyes, a damaged soul succumbing to depression. It scared her how much it reminded her of Varian’s depression. How little Anduin seemed to be there, nothing at all behind his eyes. It, too, reminded her of the coldness of the death knights. That was not something she wanted to think about too much.

And then he disappeared, alongside his month old child.

Jaina wanted to believe that it was of his own free will, a choice he made, and Shaw seemed to believe that based on objects missing from his room, but Jaina knew that until he was found they could never know for sure. She’d tried her best with helping finding him, but each hour that passed seemed to drive the poor woman crazier and crazier.

For the sake of her own health, Genn and Mia, with the help of her own mother, insisted she return home, at least as long as she is able to rest and recover.

But again, how could she?

Sure, Anduin likely left on his own, but the boy wasn’t in a good state of mind, and all of the what-ifs and trouble he could be getting into were the nightmares keeping Jaina awake.

What if Vivian got sick? What if Anduin’s depression kept him from properly caring for her? What if he wasn’t caring for himself? What if someone hurt them? What if he ran into the Defias? How could he protect himself from forests of beasts, let alone anyone who might aim to do him harm? He’d hardly the will to walk at times with how little sleep he got, he couldn’t possibly fight with Shalamayne.

Her mother told her she was letting her thoughts wander too far. That she knew Anduin well, and knew he was smart and stubborn, despite the cold that ailed him. Katherine reminded her of the stories Jaina had shared with her about the Wrynns. About how much Anduin valued hope, and instilled hope within others.

Jaina would have to hold onto hope.

And hope that Anduin had not lost his.

She’d spent the last week trying to distract herself with work, though really her mother handled most of the background maintenance of the Lord Admiral’s duty. She was still getting used to being a nation’s leader, right after being their most wanted. There was plenty of paperwork to respond to, which kept Jaina in her office alot. Not that she mind, for she let a gnomish music device play for hours, and let the songs it spun distract her from her thoughts.

A knock at her door pulled her attention away from a letter she was writing. She placed the ink pen down and looked at the door.

“Come in.” She spoke, waving her hand to remove the magic lock on the door. The handle sparkled a light blue.

A keep guard opened the door, announcing to her that she had a visitor.

“Let them in.”

Jaina usually did not have visitors to her office, but was happy to have a distraction.

The guard held the door open for a cloaked figure to walk in, then nodded to Jaina and left, closing the door behind them.

The figure wore a cloak and a wolf mask, and stood with hesitant body language. Nervous. Something was off, though Jaina wasn’t sure why. There was no air of hostility, so perhaps news? Couldn’t be news from Stormwind, though, for the figure appeared more akin to an adventurer. Local news?

“You can sit, if you’d like.” Jaina broke the silence, motioning over to a chair across from her desk.

The figure looked towards the chair, but did not go to sit. The figure looked back to Jaina, and after another moment of pause, spoke, their voice quiet and hoarse, but still loud to Jaina’s ears.

“Auntie.”

Whatever she was expecting, it wasn’t that. But she knew that voice, and there was only one person in the entire world who called her that. And, light, she felt light headed, could it really be? As she stood from her chair, mouth agape, she felt as though she could blink and it would all disappear before her.

“Anduin?”

She walked around the desk, her feet carrying her swifter than she intended, stopping as she stood right in front of him.

She reached up and pushed back the figure’s cloak, revealing golden hair, and with shaking hands she removed the figure’s mask. Before her stood her missing nephew, the one she’d been losing sleep over.

“Anduin!” She felt tears swell in her eyes, unable to hold herself back as she stepped forward to hug him.

She realized, though, that she could not fully wrap her arms around him, and he unveiled his cloak to reveal the bundle in his arms.

“Vivian.”

Jaina looked up and down between the two of them, tears falling down her face. Both of them were alive, both of them were okay, and both of them were right here, right in front of her.

“You’re both alive.” Jaina shuddered. “Light, you’re both alive!”

Anduin felt weak in his boots.

“I’m so sorry, Jaina, I should’ve said something.” Anduin tried to explain. “I should’ve, but I wasn’t thinking, I don’t know what I was-”

“Shush!” Jaina shook her head, leading Anduin to sit in the chair she’d offered him. “You’ve taken years off my life before and I shouldn’t be surprised that you’d do it again! You needn’t apologize, Anduin, but please, please, tell me what happened.”

Anduin seemed to smile at her words, and light, it was the first time she’d seen him smile in such a long time. Long before his wife had died, probably. Which all but proved to Jaina that whatever he did, wherever he went, it had been for the better. His smile was all she needed to see to trust that he’d done what he needed to.

“Do you need water? Something warm to drink?” She asked, watching as Anduin removed his cloak and let his bags rest on the floor, along with what appeared to be Shalamayne wrapped in cloth.

Anduin let out an exhausted sigh, having finally taken all that weight off him. He tried to relax back into the chair, wrapping both his hands around his daughter.

The man looked absolutely exhausted, and now unable to hide under the cloak, he was definitely skinnier than he was a month ago. Which, well, he was already losing weight with his depression. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was golden but damp and a right mess. He’d grown a stubble across his jaw too. But his face had more color to it then it did before he left, more emotion.

Vivian had grown in the last month, with slightly more hair on her head, which looked soft and brown, but blonde in the light. She looked healthy, her father having clearly taken good care of her, even if his own health wavered.

“I’m..I’m good. I’m just…I'm tired.” Anduin replied.

“I can’t imagine why.” Jaina replied. “What happened to you?”

Anduin looked down lovingly at his daughter as he spoke.

“I left. I grabbed what I thought was important and I hearthed out into Elwynn.” He said. “I needed to leave. I couldn’t stand being inside those walls anymore.”

“You know you are always welcome to visit should you need a change of scenery. I know Ironforge would welcome you too, but…” Jaina replied, yet knowing that his answer was not his only reason.

Anduin looked to Jaina, and all she saw was pain in his eyes.

“I remembered all the pain I'd suffered growing up, being grown up, and all the pain I witnessed my father struggle with, and…and…” He looked deflated. “I can’t…I can’t force her through that.”

“She’s safer out with the wolves then she’ll ever be in Stormwind.” He muttered.

Jaina waited for him to continue. She couldn’t argue with him, she’d had front row seats to their misery. Was there for the Wrynns through each and every one of their dark days. Or, she tried to be. There were moments of her past she regretted deeply. She shouldn’t have argued with Anduin about his father’s death, she should’ve been by his side, even if she hadn’t agreed with him on the details.

“Stormwind has always had a Wrynn by her side, but…” Anduin added. “Perhaps change will do her good just as much as it would do us.”

The weight of his actions began to make sense to her.

“Whatever you decide to do, you can rest as long as you like here.” Jaina said. “My home is your home.”

Anduin shook his head. “I’ve made my decision.”

Jaina frowned. Of course, she expected no less of him, though she too understood the doubts left unsaid.

“Should…do you want me to inform Shaw that you are okay?” Jaina asked.

“It would be best.” Anduin said. “I’ve caused him and the Greymanes too much headache. But…please, be discreet about it. I…Jaina, I’m not going back. We’re not going back. This isn’t temporary, I can’t go back and sit on that throne. I can’t and I won’t, no matter what anyone says about it.”

Jaina nodded her head. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”

“Thank you.” Anduin smiled.

Jaina looked back down to her desk, seeing the letter she’d been in the middle of writing. That could wait for later. And, as she pushed it to the side for a blank sheet, she would write to Mathias Shaw as soon as she could. At least, after she got Anduin the rest he deserved.

She stood back up from her desk and walked over to Anduin.

“Do you mind if I hold her?” She asked.

Anduin hadn’t handed Vivian off to anyone else since, well, maybe the woman he’d met at the Darkmoon Faire. Even when he’d taken Vivian to the doctor, the doctor hadn’t held her and did all of her work with the baby in Anduin’s arms. For the last month most of Vivian’s time was spent in his arms, and as the weeks had gotten on the baby would find herself a bit more upset at the lack of change.

Anduin freed her from the sling and slowly held her out into his aunt’s arms. Vivian frowned at the change, but then adjusted well to Jaina’s hold.

“It’s been awhile, Vi.” Jaina whispered to the baby, thinking back to the last time she’d held her. “I hope you remember me.”

Anduin smiled, watching as Vivian blinked and stared up at Jaina, while sucking on her pacifier. “I would assume she might remember your voice.”

Jaina hadn’t held Vivian much back before they’d disappeared, just a few times. However, she was always with Anduin when Jaina had sat with him and talked to him for hours on end. She may not remember Jaina, but she liked to think the baby might find her voice familiar.

“Right.” Jaina looked to Anduin. “Would you like a room? Can’t imagine you would like to nap in that chair.”

“Auntie, this is the most comfortable chair I've sat in in weeks.” Anduin replied, but shifted forward in his seat. “But a room sounds nice, if you could spare one.”

“Spare one? I would be happy to carve your name into the door.” Jaina grinned. “Again, my home is your home. Should you need a place to stay…or come back to.”

Jaina lead Anduin down the halls of the building, up the stairs into the second floor, and finally, to a wooden door with a little gold fish as it’s door handle.

“I would have to get your keys made and replace the handle, but otherwise this room is unoccupied and yours to claim, if you want it.” She said. “My room is across the hall.”

Jaina motioned to a door a bit further down from them. Anduin noticed several other doors, all with different handles on them.

“Proudmoore Keep was built to home a large family. There are many empty rooms here.” Jaina added. “Mother has a room at the end of the hall, the closest thing we have to a king’s suite. She had a room set up for Tandred, but he comes and goes as he pleases. Always at sea.”

She then looked saddened. “I want to set up a room for Derek, but…but with everything, I wouldn’t even know how to go about…I don’t know if he’d feel comfortable coming home. And I haven’t told mother yet. I wouldn’t without his consent.”

Anduin nodded his head. He hadn’t met Derek yet, but with his part to play in the fourth war, Anduin was told much about it. He knew that Derek had befriended Baine as well, and that the tauren leader spoke highly of him. Jaina’s dreams of having her brother back home, even just for visits, was one that Anduin would pray to come true. She very well deserved it, and Derek to be accepted by those who loved him.

“Anyway…”

Jaina lead Anduin into the room she’d offered him. The room was half as small as that of the king’s bedroom back in Stormwind, but was all that more cozy for it. It had a queen sized bed pushed to the side of the wall, a tiny fireplace, and a desk, with a few bookshelves to the side. Old paintings of the sea and Kul Tiras hung on the walls, which were painted a light green. Two windows on the far side of the room brought in light from outside, and gave views to the garden outside. A bathroom was connected to the bedroom, with a large trunk sitting at the edge of the bed serving as closet space.

“It’s nothing compared to what you used to have, sure, but I think you would prefer a smaller room anyway.” Jaina watched Anduin walk around the room, setting his bags down to inspect everything.

“That room was far too big.” Anduin said, opening and looking out the windows. “It’s hard not to feel alone when you sleep in a room meant for two.”

Jaina regret bringing it up, but Anduin continued. “I would question how my father ever handled such a room, but I know he spent most of his time in his office.”

“...If you were king, then, couldn’t you have asked to downsize?” Jaina asked, hesitant to continue talking on such a subject.

“When you are blinded by expectations and traditions, you never think about such things.” Anduin answered.

Anduin sat on the edge of the bed, pulling his bags onto the bed, and grabbing Shalamayne, unwrapping her from the fabric and holding her in his lap.

“I have only been gone for a month and I am already seeing so many things I hadn’t before.” He said. “I…I left leaving much of my things behind, but for some reason, taking Shalamayne felt like…like stealing.”

Jaina looked confused. “Why would you think that?”

Anduin gazed into his reflection in the blade. It wasn’t very sharp, the blade needed a bit of cleaning.

“I was born to serve a purpose. Everything I did, everything I owned, created, all felt like it belonged not to me, not to father, but to the stone we walked on.” He said. “I know the people think that Stormwind belongs to me, but I always thought that I belonged to Stormwind.”

He continued. “If I did something wrong, it was Stormwind who judged me. Ours was a delicate dance in which all my actions were visible to the walls and their shadows, and…any wrong step could potentially lead to my head. They loved their prince, but their king?”

He placed his hand on the sword, touching the cold metal. “Shalamayne became more than just a sword. She not only reunited her torn king, rescued her lost prince, and dispatched and presented the gift of a dragon’s head, but she represented a new age. She liberated Stormwind of her imprisonment to Onyxia. She saved them.”

He sighed.

“Shalamayne felt like a symbol of their future, and…and I couldn’t part with it.”

Jaina walked over, sitting beside him on the side of the bed. Vivian mumbled and blinked at her father.

“I can’t even properly wield it. I can try all I like, but swords were never my weapon of choice. Not close.” Anduin added. “But I became king and suddenly it was with me anywhere I went.”

“You know that if you’d left her to sit on the wall on display in a random room in Stormwind Keep your father would be turning in his grave.” Jaina said. “I think, if anything, that sword is a symbol of his love for you.”

Anduin looked to Jaina with surprise.

“It was what motivated him. Not Stormwind’s future, but your’s.” She said, “In the past, those two were hand in hand. But if he could see you now, he would be envious. Envious, and proud.”

Anduin let his head rest on Jaina’s shoulder, comforted by her words. They sat that way for awhile, enjoying the moment of peace as a nice breeze came in through the opened windows. Then, Anduin sat back up, wrapping Shalamayne into the fabric again, placing her off to the side.

“Would you like for me to watch Vivian?” Jaina asked, watching as Anduin got up to put some of the things in his bags out onto the desk. “Mother and I would be happy to if it means you can get a good night’s rest for once.”

Anduin placed the books on the desk, then the pens and ink beside. He’d fish out a few of Vivian’s supplies and put them on the desk as well.

“Not tonight.” He answered. “But…tomorrow, maybe, if you have the time?”

Jaina nodded her head. “Of course.”

Anduin liked the idea of a full night’s rest, but he wasn’t sure he could do it just yet. The idea of not having Vivian at his side seemed to put an ache in his stomach. He wasn’t sure he wouldn’t wake up every half an hour anyway with how he found sleep for the last month. He tried not to dwell on it too long, perhaps he’d feel better tomorrow.

Jaina would ask Anduin if he needed anything for Vivian, if he’d want a crib, but Anduin would shake his head. As the sun soon set in the sky, she’d help Anduin relax into his room and would make sure that dinner was brought to him, and would make sure he ate.

That night, Jaina would write her letter to Shaw, and then would sleep well. Anduin would sleep so long as Vivian granted, but would find himself comforted by the distant sounds of a port, and the sea air drifting in with the wind.

The next morning Jaina and Katherine invited Anduin and Vivian down for breakfast, Anduin finding more food on his plate than usual. They would speak more about his time away, and Jaina would again offer to babysit. She offered Anduin a pouch of gold and told him he should visit the markets in town and spend some time to himself. If nothing else, restock on baby formula and get to know the safer streets of Boralus better.

Anduin would hesitate, feeling the anxiety within him appear again, and the proudmoores would recognize what ailed him.

“You need to try and spend a little time away from Vi.” Jaina frowned. “Separation anxiety is not just something that affects children.”

Anduin kept his eyes on Vivian, who was being held by Jaina. The baby seemed to be doing okay with him standing nearby, but he wandered if that was just because she recognized Jaina. If he left the room, would she get upset? What if he was gone for hours? What if she needed him and he was all the way across the city? What if-

“Anduin, I think you are more worried about her than you are of yourself.” Jaina chuckled. “She will be fine, and she will be fine when you return. You, on the other hand-”

“I can do it. I’ll be fine.” Anduin said, though he wasn’t so sure he believed himself.

Jaina gave Anduin a hearthstone directed to the keep, so that he could return at any time. It would take another hour, Anduin making sure multiple times that the Proudmoores had everything they needed for Vivian, and knew how to care for her, before he’d finally walk around the doors of the keep. He wore clean new clothes, with his cloak and his wolf mask. He had a small bag, with his hearthstone and coins, but otherwise felt a bit too light. Jaina had offered to help him with a magical disguise but he enjoyed being seen as an adventurer, and the mask was fun.

Anduin wandered the streets, remembering the path Taelia took him, and found his way back to the markets. They were just as busy as the other day.

He found a general shop down by the port, and restocked on baby formula, as well as small traveling foods like jerky. He found he rather liked having something hidden away for himself, not needing to rely on a keep’s kitchen to feed himself. Besides, he found his hunger to be all over the place with how his own meals were unregulated and never guaranteed to be anything more than what he had in his bags.

He grabbed a some new shirts and pants, having not grabbed much at all when he ran, and the clothes he switched between while away became overworn and torn. Besides that he wasn’t sure what else to get. Anduin had never really needed to shop for himself, everything was always provided for him when he asked. He wasn’t really sure what he needed anyways, with what he had and what Jaina could let him barrow.

It felt strange to be on his own like this. It felt nothing like when he’d go wander Stormwind disguised as Jerek. He was never out for anything other than fresh air and maybe a drink. In Pandaria he spent some time wandering pandaren shops and markets, but he didn’t have coin at the time and what he was able to get was usually offered out of kindness and curiosity for the strange human they’d never seen before.

Anduin would find himself people watching when he didn’t know what else to do. It helped him distract his anxiety, still wondering back to Vivian. He’d sit on a bench and watch the crowds, listen in on what few conversations he could make out. He’d do this as Jerek in Stormwind, and would realize how much he didn’t know of his people. References to jokes and pop culture he wouldn’t understand for there was never any time to indulge in the popular stories and songs of the time.

Well, when he was a teen, he would. He managed to sweet talk a few of his guards and care-takers, who would give him the most popular books, or tell him of celebrities he never heard about, for even he didn’t read the newspapers.

The gossip was always the best part, he thought. He could understand much of that, for it usually pertained to politics. He heard much about himself. Rumors of all kinds. He remembered hearing things like his taste in food come into question. It seemed to be a hot debate whether he ate meat or not. The more popular rumors called to question his interests in partners. He remembered those rumors picking up steam after his marriage, for that was when Jerek realized that his lack of love for his wife was more obvious then he intended.

He wondered how much talk Vivian’s mother had heard. Surely she had some knowledge of public opinion. The woman was the daughter of a nobleman, had grown up in Stormwind too and, while her childhood contained more freedoms that his, had spent much time speaking with the public. She had gone to an expensive school, and had many friends, something that Anduin found himself envious of. He was taught alone at the keep, he was the only student, and the only friends he’d made were the few he’d met when he was allowed to visit the orphanage.

He’d long stopped visiting, not since before the cataclysm. He wondered how those kids were. Adults, really, by now. He remembered their names and their faces and he worried for them.

The rumors and gossip of Borlaus were unfamiliar to him. There were some things muttered around the Lord Admiral, but most of it was about the increase in attention since the war ended. Businesses are doing better than they had in years. All kinds of new people, many of the kids who lived here had never seen a night elf or a draenei until recently. Most were in awe of the attention from the outside world.

At some point, after browsing the shops and the markets, after people watching, Anduin got up and continued exploring. As it came to the late afternoon, he found a seat at a bar and ordered something to eat, much less in portion than what Jaina was trying to feed him. He’d eat slowly, before deciding to order a drink. He felt the anxiety return, but Vivian was with Jaina, and it wasn’t like he was going to get smashed or anything. He slowly sipped on that too, calming his nerves.

At some point, a group walked in and grabbed the stools at the bar beside him. They spoke loudly, laughing and enjoying each other's company, before ordering drinks and a few appetizers. Anduin tried to pay them no mind, but it was far to easy to listen in on them. He could leave, but his drink wasn’t finished and he didn’t feel like downing the rest of it. And he rather enjoyed the change in atmosphere. It’d been a long time since he went out as Jerek and felt like this.

The voice of the person beside him, though, sounded way to familiar.

At one point, as they received their drinks, the person adjusted themselves in their chair, and accidentally elbowed Anduin. They’d turned to him to apologize, when they recognized him.

“It’s you!”

Anduin looked over and realized it was Taelia.

“Sorry about that.” She smiled. “I hope you found your way to wherever you were going.”

Anduin nodded his head. “I-I did.”

Taelia turned to him. “Nice stubble by the way. And-Actually, do I know you?”

Anduin realized he’d had his mask pushed up a bit to let him eat and drink, and that alone made part of his face visible to her. And of course she would recognize his voice.

“I...um.”

He could tell her. Could lift up his mask. But he wasn’t sure she would keep quiet enough not to alert the whole bar to his presence. And her friends were watching too. And there was a missing poster over on the wall beside the door, and oh this was just an bad time. Or, maybe he could drag her away and tell her in private. But light that maybe wasn’t a good idea considering both of them had drinks.

Maybe instead he could have Jaina invite her over for dinner tomorrow, he could tell her then.

“Nevermind.” Taelia shrugged when the nervous man didn’t answer. “Like the mask.”

Anduin downed the last bit of his drink and stood up. “T-Thank you.”

He pulled two gold from his pouch and placed them on the bar before turning to leave. Taelia and the two others stared at the coins and the empty glass, before turning to each other.

“Did he…leave that for…?”

Tealia laughed. “He wouldn’t know they don’t tip here, could hardly find his way yesterday, leave him be.”

“You think he’s from Stormwind or Gilneas?” Another asked.

“Wouldn’t he be wearing a lion mask or something if he was from Stormwind?”

“Do you think everyone from Stormwind wears lion things?” Taelia grinned. “What would possibly make you think that?”

“Shush, you’ve seen their ships at the port, you’d think it was a fancy cat circus.”

“It is!”

The laughter and chatter of the crowded areas of Boralus behind him, Anduin found his way back to Proudmoore Keep, the streets quieter the closer he got. The sun was coming down and the air was growing cold. He wrapped himself in his cloak and rather enjoyed the warmth he found inside, though he nearly tripped up the steps to the keep, finding himself walking faster the closer he got to seeing Vivian again.

Anduin pushed through the doors and into the grand foyer. The stairs were in front of him, and he headed that way, but voices from the living space to the side grabbed his attention. He heard the voices of Katherine Proudmoore, and deciding it was likely that Vivian was there, he turned to enter that room, taking his mask off and holding it in his hands.

“-though I’m not entirely convinced by him. Tandred always was like that too. He reminds me much of-”

As Anduin stood in the doorway, Katherine, sitting in a chair with the Greymanes on a couch beside her, stopped talking.

She smiled up at him. “Welcome back.”

Genn and Mia looked to him and Anduin froze. Mia instantly stood up and started making her way over to him, but Genn was stuck on the couch with Vivian in his arms.

“Anduin!” Mia exclaimed, tears running down her face, as she pulled Anduin into a tight hug. “By the light, where have you been?!”

Anduin felt the anxiety bite at his nerves but the drink did aid in keeping him calm. But he still wasn’t sure how to talk to the Greymanes about this. About his thoughts, or what he did, or why. He loved them like grandparents and they’ve always treated him as their family, there was no reason he couldn’t trust them. That said, they lived much more to tradition, at least Genn did. Genn was one of the people Anduin knew wouldn’t let him leave so easily.

“I- I, um.”

“Come on, sit down.” Mia pulled Anduin into the room and to the couches. “Oh it’s so relieving to see you well.”

“I’m sorry, Mia, I.” Anduin felt his voice catch in his throat.

Mia sat beside him as they sat across from Genn, which Anduin now realized was being quiet and reserved. Which usually only meant that he was holding back words. Oh, he was angry, wasn’t he? Anduin must have been making a face, for Genn sighed and shook his head.

“It is good to see you, yes.” He said. “But I cannot imagine what has gotten to your head.”

Katherine rolled her eyes. “Leave him be, Genn. You surely understand mourning.”

Genn had a retort, had the air in his lungs to say it, but he could see Anduin’s nervousness, and it died in his throat. And truly, he was happy to see him. The boy looked so much better than the shadow of a man that he’d seen before the disappearance. And Vivian was perfectly fine and cared for, the girl asleep in the old king’s arms. The two of them were fine, and that was all that mattered.

“Your safety is ever the most important thing to me, Anduin.” He said. “But I beg that next time you might leave me a warning.”

Anduin sat a bit straighter in his seat.

“Actually,” He cleared his throat, the words coming out of his mouth before he could think them. “There won’t be a next time.”

That seemed to catch their attention.

“No more running away?” Genn asked, tilting his head. “That’s far too out of character for you, my boy. But, there comes a time when we all must realized that our duty-”

“I’m not coming back.” Anduin stopped him before he could continue any further.

“Y-you…” Genn paused. “What could possibly possess you to say such a thing!?”

“I’m-” Anduin continued. “I’m abdicating the throne.”

Mia frowned. “Are you sure? Thats…thats…”

“That’s quite a big decision to be making, especially alone, do you think yourself in the right mind to be so sure?” Genn asked. “This isn’t something you can just decide overnight and-”

“It wasn’t overnight, I’ve been thinking about this for well over a month.” Anduin shook his head. “And I refuse to raise my daughter under the constraints of the crown.”

“And you would leave your city with nothing? No guidance? How is Stormwind supposed to recover from the loss of its royal family?” Genn frowned, trying to keep his voice low so as to not startle the baby in his arms.

“Stormwind is a capable city that won’t fall apart the moment a Wrynn isn’t at its helm.” Anduin replied. “She can find a new royal family, or she can form a new government. Either way, my family has served her since as long as we can remember. We’ve dedicated our lives to her at great personal cost.”

“Which is expected of any leader.” Genn said. “We have given much the same for our city and our people. We’ve suffered and lost and bleed much as you have, but you do not see us abandoning our post.”

“Genn!” Mia hissed, but was ignored.

“Your city is lost, Genn, your people need you more than ever for they have no land to unite within and call their own. They need you to lead the way, so that one day they may have that again.” Anduin retorted. “But Stormwind is more than just my people. She is a shining city which can carry on on her own.”

“Your family is the reason she stands strong! You have seen her through three wars already, one of which I know she would not have survived without you.” Genn said.

“How many wars did you see Gilnaes through, the first three years of your rule?” Anduin asked.

“The world is not fair, Anduin, and it’ll never be fair, which is why we must give it our all in order to make the world as fair as possible!” Genn growled.

“I am to throw my daughter to the wolves in the hope the wolves grow kinder?” Anduin stood from the couch. “They didn’t grow kinder for me, and I was raised by one!”

“How can you say that when your father changed how he approached the world after watching you run into it?”

“I saw a man held back by the crown, watching as the wolves feasted and he could do nothing.” Anduin yelled. “I know my father’s pain more than you do!”

“Then, pray tell, why he never ran away with you.”

Anduin grinded his teeth together and clenched his fists to his side. Oh, there were so many things to say to that. Anduin knew why his father hadn’t run. He knew the man was blinded by Onyxia’s charm, and then by duty and expectation and the thrill of the fight. There were many reasons Varian didn’t run, but still, that didn’t mean he didn’t want to. Didn’t think about it from time to time. Anduin knew, saw the look in his eyes, which only ever came about after Anduin got hurt.

Why else was his father a drinker? He’d grown up telling himself he’d never fall into the same pit but having the crown placed on your head changes everything.

“I am exhausted.” Anduin lowered his voice. “Know that I do not make this choice lightly.”

He looked at Vivian.

“I do this for her.” He added.

An awkward silence filled the air. Anduin kept his eyes on his daughter, refusing the look up just enough to meet the worgen’s glare. Mia looked from her husband to Katherine, who shook her head. Then a voice from the doorway broke the silence.

“Dinner is set.” Jaina says from the doorway, before realizing something had just accrued to make the room stiff.

“Thank you, dear.” Katherine stood from her seat, and turned to the others in the room. “I believe our kitchen has prepared something with Tiragarde Perch, if fish is to your liking.”

Anduin walked over to stand in front of Genn, and silently, held out his arms to demand his daughter back. They glared at each other, before Genn looked to Vivian and sighed. He lifted the baby up and handed her to her father. Anduin then turned to walk out of the room, pausing once he reached the doorway beside Jaina.

“If Stormwind needs guidance, I will not turn her away.” He said. “But she will have to find me.”

He then looked to Jaina, the lines on his face softening.

“I will be in my room.” He told her, then walked past her towards the stairs.

“Will you be eating there?” Jaina asked, watching him walk away. “Anduin?”

Mia stood up.

“Each generation bears not just their own experienced trauma, but the trauma of their forefathers.” She said. “I did not see this coming, but I cannot say I was surprised.”

She then made her way over to Genn and held out her hand to him.

“But let us relax over fish and wine.” She continued. “There will be more discussion on this matter, but we can save that for the morrow.”

They would leave for dinner, and Jaina would make sure a plate was sent upstairs to Anduin’s room.

That night Vivian would sleep in Jaina’s room, which meant Anduin slept alone for the first time since his marriage. The relief he’d been looking forward to did not come as quick as he’d expected. It was weird. Unfamiliar. He felt like something was missing.

But at the same time, a part of him thrived in the loneliness. He could do whatever he wanted. A shame the only things he could think to do was to read a book or write in his journal. If he had any plans to stay here longer he may need to locate a few game boards or pick up a new hobby. Was painting fun? Though he’d heard that oils could be toxic and that wasn’t safe around young children. What about learning to knit or crochet? Wasn’t really sure what the difference was, he thought. But oh, what if Vivian got stuck in the string? And didn’t this require needles? Or was that something else?

It was odd how he strangely missed the sense of busyness. He grew up with something always needing to be done, even when he didn’t feel like doing it. And now he had nothing to do. Complete freedom. Well, he may need to settle a few things with Stormwind, he was sure Shaw would have a list, but that was another day’s issue. He had no letters to send nor reply to. No civil arguments to sit judge over. No meetings to attend. No combat training.

No priestly duties at the cathedral.

Would they welcome him back? Or would their foundation in Stormwind cause problems?

Could he ever return to Stormwind?

Of course he could, but what would the welcome be? Would he be forced to always hide under Jerek’s name. Would he have to make up a name for Vivian?

At some point Anduin had worn himself down with worried thoughts and settled within the covers of his bed. He tries to sleep in the dark, but at some point he gets up to light a candle on his desk. The flickering light helps him and he is able to sleep for a small number of hours before waking up again.

At first he wasn’t sure why, but then he realized that he was looking for Vivian, and she was not there, and being alone made his heart race. He would open the window and let in the sea breeze, and use that to calm himself and go back to sleep.

He would wake up again, in the early hours of the morning, when the sky is still alight with the moon and stars, looking for Vivian again. He tried to go back to sleep, but sleep refused him. He could not concentrate on a book, and gave in to his anxiety. He had made it this far, at least.

He’d put on a shirt and quietly make his way over to Jaina’s door, knocking on it and waiting for a reply. At first he heard nothing, but then he knocked again, and he heard movement. Eventually Jaina would come to the door, and Anduin would ask to have Vivian back. Jaina would ask if he was sure, for it was still far too early in the morning, but Anduin was already awake.

He’d take the baby back to his room and sit with her by the window, watching the guards patrol the gardens below while letting Vivian play with his fingers. He would feed her and talk with her and watch the sun rise with her.

-

The days rolled by slower without the constant pressure of something to do. Before, Anduin would always have a schedule. And when he ran, he lacked the schedule, but always needed to hide, always need to make sure food was not to far away. But now, with help from others and a place to stay, he needn’t worry for any of that.

Mathias Shaw would visit, with a letter written by the house of nobles. They wanted Anduin to at least come back long enough to discuss the change in rule in person, but Anduin would not. So he left Shaw and Genn in charge, and spoke with them on how to proceed.

Mia offered to retrieve any of the things he left behind that he may want, his books, journals. Which, came to question what to do with the wealth of the Wrynn house, or the power he still had as a noble house. Was he to give that up as well?

Perhaps he could leave his wealth to the church. Or better, the orphanage. Would it be right to send a part of it to Westfall?

There was so much to ponder and all it did was remind him of why he ran away.

One night, before bed, Genn visits.

They had not spoken much beyond business since their argument. The air still felt stiff.

“I…” Genn would start. “Forgive me.”

“I only wish for what is best for you. And I am beginning to realize that what I think is best for you may be outdated.”

Anduin had felt stiff and anxious, but the air cooled, and he gave Genn a soft smile. He motioned the old wolf towards the desk chair, but the man did not want to sit.

“Before he passed, Varian asked me to watch over you.” Genn said, his hands behind his back, unsure of what to do with them. “He knew that you would struggle with the crown, and I would be lying if I said you were the first to do so.”

“I am letting him down, but more so, I am failing you.” Genn frowned.

Anduin wasn’t sure what to say to him.

Genn cleared his throat. “I don’t know how to help.”

Anduin smiled.

There were many things Genn was right about. Anduin really shouldn’t just leave Stormwind high and dry, and the duties he was abandoning would have to fall on someone else’s shoulders. Stormwind would surely be caught off guard. Genn was right to worry about such things. Even if they would turn out okay in the end.

Truly they could argue all day about anything, both right and wrong. But though Genn placed great importance on duty and tradition, it was good to know that the man cared more for family. Perhaps he was hesitant to let down his late friend’s son or to not be a part of his granddaughter’s life.

Genn had lost his son years ago, and saw much of Liam in Anduin. But in his mourning he’d accidentally push away his daughter, Tess, a relationship the man would rebuild over years. Anduin knew much, for it was Tess that complained to him sometimes. Genn struggled to carry his interest in family with the pressures of the world.

He looked over to Vivian, laying beside him on the bed, and then back to Genn.

“It would do her good to accumulate more with her family.” He said. “I would be happy to show you how to take care of her.”

Genn seemed relieved at his words. Not direct forgiveness, but he did not expect that. And, it warmed him to still be seen as family.

“I can’t imagine babies have changed much since the last time I’ve cared for them.” Genn smiled.

Anduin laughed. “You are confident that my father’s granddaughter won’t become a cranky mess the moment you take over.”

“She was perfectly fine with me the other night.”

“Holding and caring are two different things. Besides, I wonder if she’s seen you in your worgen form.”

“Do you think it would scare her?”

“She’s quite fond of my mask. She might like you more that way.”

The week would come to an end and the Greymanes would go back to Stormwind. In those last few days, Anduin found a great weight had been lifted from his chest. He wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but his lungs had a bit more room to breathe.

Life felt a bit more colorful.

He’d gotten to know Borlaus better, had a room to return to at night, and with the help of Mia, had many of his things brought over from Stormwind. More books and journals and clothes. More toys for Vivian, more of the gifts she’d been given by the people of Stormwind when she’d been born. She now had a crib, though Anduin still preferred having her on the bed with him.

As cozy and homey as their room at Proudmoore Keep had become, Anduin found himself antsy. He felt the world call to him again and the pull of the outside world grew stronger. Part of his motivation for leaving had been his desire to leave the confinement of Stormwind Keep and explore the world. Vivian was still young, and it was dangerous to leave, but he was not sure he could keep sane in one place.

Anduin would express his desire to leave for another week, maybe two, to Jaina.

She would say to him “This time, have a destination in mind before you go. You’ve made plenty of friends in your life time, and I’m sure they are wondering where you are.”

Anduin would consider all the places he could go, and how easy it would be to get to them. How safe Vivian would be. Once he made his decision, he packed his bags and grabbed his sword and carried Vivian in her sling, and made sure to tell Jaina where he was headed, and when he thought he would be back.

He left Proudmoore Keep early in the morning, as the city was getting to work and the sun was coming up over the building tops. Before he’d leave the city, there was one place he wanted to visit. He’d make his way past the people in the streets, and follow stone steps down to the port, where he’d come to stop at the Harbor Master’s office. He waited for Cyrus Crestfall to finish talking with a group of harbor workers, before asking the man a question.

“Is Lady Fordragon home?” He asked.

Cyrus regarded him with curiosity, having never seen the cloaked man in a wolf mask before.

“A friend of hers? Ain’t never seen you before, lad.”

Anduin glanced around the office, noticing the harbor workers had left. He turned to Cyrus and removed his mask.

“A friend of hers, I would like to think.” He smiled.

“Your maje-?” Cyrus looked surprised. “Ahem. Excuse me! of course!”

Cyrus lead Anduin further into the building, where the man shared a small home with his adoptive daughter. As Cyrus left Anduin to the door, welcoming him but apologizing for needing to return to work, Anduin put the mask back on. He felt himself grin, knocking on the door and waiting for Taelia.

“Yes? YES?” He heard Taelia’s voice from the other side, and what sounded like kitchen pans knocking about.

“Hello?” The door opened and Taelia stood there, her hair a mess and a brush in her hands. “Oh!”

Taelia looked confused. “I’m sorry, can I help you, Mr Wolf Mask?”

Anduin couldn’t help the boyish giggle that escaped him. “You don’t think auntie Jaina would mind if I stole your attention for a moment?”

“Auntie…Jain-” Taelia’s eyes widened. “WAIT!”

She threw the brush behind her, reaching out and grabbing the wolf mask and removing it. She gasped, recognizing Anduin.

“IT’S YOU!” She yelled. “I mean, your majesty!? Where have you been?!”

Anduin held the mask, using his free hand to adjust the cloak. He opened it wide enough to reveal Vivian, who was awake and staring up at them, interested in their voices. Taelia could hardly contain her excitement.

“Would you like to meet her?” He said. “Also, It’s just Anduin.”

Taelia pulled the two into the apartment, her morning routine for work shoved to the side as her attention was to the baby and the baby only. Well, her friend too, but she’d yet to meet Vivian Wrynn and was never in a million years expecting the missing duo to just show up at her doorstep one morning.

They spent an hour speaking and Anduin did his best to fill Taelia in on what happened without feeling like he overshared.

“You’ve been here for how long and you didn’t think to stop by before now?” Tealia asked, feigning hurt through the smile still on her face. She then turned back to Vivian, who was making baby noises at her in her arms. “Aww, you don’t really mean that Vivi!”

“I meant to, after we crossed paths twice, but I wasn’t really sure how to go about it. And tying up loose ends distracted me more than I’d hoped.” Anduin replied. “But I was hoping that you would be able to escort us out of Boralus.”

“You’re leaving again?” Taelia asked.

“We’ll be back, only for a short while.” Anduin shook his head.

“Where are you headed then?”

“I was told there was a portal to Silithus somewhere here, and I have a friend who I might be able to find there.” Anduin answered.

“Silithus?” Taelia looked amused. “If you say so. But isn’t it a little hot there? I mean, for her?”

“It should be a short walk to our destination, and apparently word is that champions pushed for temporary air conditioning to be placed within the Chamber of the Heart.” Anduin recalled. “Something about work conditions, and needing to be protected from any and all of N’zoth’s potential sabotage.”

“I’m intrigued!” Taelia laughed. “One day we must travel together. I’ve always wanted to see more of the world!”

Taelia would finish getting ready for work, changing into her plate and combing her hair and frying an egg to eat before the day started. Then she would lead Anduin and Vivian across the market to the portal room. There they would say goodbye, and Taelia would salute Anduin as he walked into the portal to Silithus.

-

Silithus wasn’t as hot as Anduin expected it to be. It was a desert, sure, but the sun was not high in the sky, and the giant sword stabbed into the ground did not radiate heat like he believed it did. There was an uncomfortably warm air blowing about, and sand every which way, but it wasn’t boiling.

Still, he didn’t want to subject Vivian to too much of this temperature, and thus began making his way through the camp he’d found himself in.

It wasn’t very busy, considering that N’zoth had been defeated and much of the adventurers and champions who had been called to action were no longer here. Some druids and shamans remained, the focus now in finding ways to remove the great sword from Azeroth’s wound, if that was possible at all. That, and cleaning up the void that remained within the shadowy corners of azeroth. N’zoth’s death did not lighten the damage he’d caused, especially to that of Uldum and the Vale.

A few of the camp denizens turned to watch him as he walked down the rocky desert terrain, towards the titan portal off the side of the camp. None seemed to pay him much mind, though, and he quickly reached the device on his own. He hated to admit that he’d already been here, not that anyone else knew, or really, not that anyone else besides the person he came to see. He’d run away at some point during the N’zoth invasion to see him, to apologize, and to peek in on their progress.

To be truthful, N’zoth’s power over him had scared him deeply.

The portal activated and Anduin found them teleported into the Chamber of the Heart, deep below the surface of Azeroth.

He’d forgotten just how grand it was. How tall the ceiling was, how big the titan facility was. Giant veins of Azerite spiked out of the floor and the walls, glowing in beautiful blues and yellows. Anduin would admire them if not for the one time he’d held azerite. The power it contained scared him as much as it inspired him.

His steps echoed across the walls, though his did not stand out for the hall was much more crowded then the camp outside. Druids and Shamans and engineers walked about, talking to each other, discussing all kinds of things, so caught up in their work that most did not notice Anduin arrive. Anduin walked into the circular chamber and stared at all the people.

He noticed the person in question huddled over a desk over to the side of the room, some kind of titan work catching his eye. A dwarven lady stood next to him, writing down what he said, while a shaman channeled magic into the titan device. Anduin walked over, nearly bumping into a few other people as he did.

Without even turning around, Wrathion reached his hand back, as if motioning for something.

“Ah, champion, you’re back.” He spoke, slowly dragging his eyes from the device. “Do you think you could hand me that vial over by-”

Wrathion stopped and stared at the wolf masked figure, or more importantly the bundle in his arms.

“Where did you get a baby?” He asked, confused.

Anduin’s laugh turned into a snort, and Wrathion froze cold. Anduin hadn’t noticed the dragon’s wide eyes, nor the tear in his eyes, or the slight shake to his wrist. Anduin removed his mask, and the dragon held himself back from touching the man’s face just to make sure he was real.

“Where did I get a baby, he says.” Anduin smiled. “Do champions find babies often in their travels? I’ve only got the one.”

“You didn’t-” Wrathion cleared his throat. “You didn’t come all this way…”

“I was hoping to run into Magni, he wasn’t here the last time I visited.” Anduin replied.

“Ah.” Wrathion glanced away, then back. “I see.”

“No, you idiot!” Anduin stepped closer. “I’m standing before you, aren't I? I wanted you to meet Vivian.”

Wrathion warmed back up, a smile on his face as Anduin showed him the tiny human in his arms. The girl was awake and quiet, looking up at Wrathion as his glowing red eyes seemed to grab her attention.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Vivian Wrynn.” Wrathion introduced himself, then looked up to her father. “And it is good to see you well, my friend.”

That night they would have dinner with Magni and Left and Right. The shamans and druids would return to their camps or hearth home, but the Chamber of Heart had many smaller back rooms of which Wrathion had turned into a temporary living space for he and his assistants. There, they had a warm soup, and spoke about their chamber’s recent discoveries and the progress of their mission.

Magni did not eat much, and usually wouldn’t join these dinners Wrathion had, but the diamond dwarf had missed Anduin as well, and enjoyed their company when not disturbed by the heat of the day or the chaos of a busy chamber.

Anduin didn’t speak much about his last few months, he wasn’t asked about it, instead happy to contribute to the conversations others lead in any way he could without souring the mood. He would of course talk about Vivian, who enjoyed the laughter of the people around her and the colorful fabrics Wrathion decorated the space with. Anduin offered her to Wrathion but the dragon seemed hesitant to hold the baby girl. Despite that, he helped put together Vivian’s formula and it was Right who was eager to hold and feed the baby to give her father some down time. Left watched, speaking a bit of orcish back to Vivian’s baby language.

As the dinner winded down and those who had soup had finished their bowls, Wrathion turned to Left and Right with a request.

“Would you both mind watching over Vivian?” He asked. “I would like a moment alone with her father.”

Right smirked at Wrathion. “Of course.” She smiled to Anduin. “We’ll be just fine.”

Anduin looked a bit hesitant, still worried about how the baby girl would do without him, but he knew that she was safe with Right and Left. In fact she was probably safer with them then she was alone with her father. Anduin followed Wrathion outside of the chamber, taking the titan portal out into the nighttime desert. It was cool, with a cold breeze, and the two moons carried in the sky, big and bright and beautiful.

The two found a spot not too far away, with a pleasant view of Silithus and her sky, and Wrathion sat down, inviting Anduin to sit with him.

The dragon, enamored with his own voice even still to this day, was oddly quiet, Anduin thought. He knew that there was something bothering the dragon, could see the conflict on his face, but Anduin would not chase him for more. He was rather happy to see Wrathion again, and joyous that he’d still been in Silithus, for Anduin wouldn’t have known where to look otherwise.

“I heard what happened.” Wrathion began, breaking their peaceful silence. “At least, a part of it.”

Anduin watched Wrathion as he stared out into the night sky.

“The queen of Stormwind was killed, and then a week later both the king and the newborn princess were gone without a trace.” Wrathion continued, blinking, then looking down unto the sands. “Stormwind has not announced anything more than that.”

Anduin felt his throat dry.

Wrathion looked at him. “The going rumor is that both of Stormwind’s missing Wrynns are dead.”

Anduin felt the words catch in his throat several times before he was able to repeat. “Dead?”

Anduin shook his head. “Dead? Before kidnapped? Before runaway?”

“I don’t believe anyone thought you could run away from Stormwind.” Wrathion stated. “Not at a time like this. Not after the unfortunate passing of your wife. Your past outings are not public knowledge, Anduin.”

Anduin wasn’t sure what to say, until he remembered Wrathion’s face when he first saw him, and then it clicked.

“...You believed we were dead?” He asked.

The look on Wrathion’s face was all Anduin needed to know his answer. Guilt and pain swelled in his heart and he reached out his hand to place on Wrathion’s. He’d gone this whole time knowing, believing, that while afraid, all the people he knew and cared for would know that he was still out there. But he was a fool to think that. To forget other’s feelings.

“I-I’m sorry.” Anduin frowned.

“I knew it was just a rumor and to pay it no mind. I know you, Anduin Wrynn, and running away is just the sort of thing I could expect. But…”Wrathion squeezed Anduin’s hand. “But then the missing posters they’d plastered to the walls of everywhere I went disappeared. Without announcement of your return, they were all gone. Silently. No celebration.”

Wrathion looked away. “What was I supposed to think?”

“I’m sorry, Wrathion, I-” Anduin sat closer to him, pulling the dragon’s eyes towards him again. “I was a coward not to make it official. I should’ve done something more, but in that moment I-. I knew they would try and stop me. I feared so many things and I couldn’t let anyone in. But I had to leave, I had to take Vivian far far away.”

“I cannot let her grow up as I did.” Anduin said. “Suffering, as I had to all those years. She deserves to live the childhood that I could only dream of having.”

Wrathion sighed. “I cannot fault you…for being a good father.”

“Still, I should have told you.” Anduin said, looking down to their hands. “The taste of freedom I experienced as a kid in Pandaria, I think back on all the time. I’ve craved that feeling, longed for another adventure, but knew that as King I would have to push those feelings aside.”

“Have you found your adventure?” Wrathion asked.

“I’ll have all the time in the world now to look for it.” Anduin replied.

Wrathion paused, and then his eyes widened. Ah, the missing posters, the lack of celebration, and yet Anduin still being fine, he-

“You aren't going home?” Wrathion asked.

Anduin shook his head with a smile.

“I get to play both the part of the runaway royal and the worried father.” Anduin said.

Wrathion smirked. “Just don’t go angering any war-hungry orcs, alright?”

“I wont.” Anduin replied. “So long as your promise still stands.”

“My promise?” Wrathion tilted his head. “What promise would that be?”

“You-”Anduin pushed his finger into Wrathion’s shoulder. “-told me that once you were big enough you would let me fly on your back. Do not think I’ve forgotten that.”

“I suppose I owe you one flight.” Wrathion chuckled. “But this will not be a slippery slope into giving pony rides to your daughter.”

“You’ve thought farther ahead on this than I have.” Anduin grinned.

“If she’s anything like you, I can only imagine the pain in the arse she’ll be.” Wrathion poked.

“It would seem it takes one to know one.” Anduin smirked.

“How long do you intend to grace me with your presence?” Wrathion questioned.

“Well, I've packed for a couple weeks and I have no other destinations in mind, save to return to Kul Tiras before Jaina begins to worry again.” Anduin hummed. “You wouldn’t happen to need any help with your sword problem?”

“Sword problem?” Wrathion scoffed. “Last I heard you were awful with your sword work.”

“I assure you I am much better at handling swords than before, not that that is any of your concern! Besides, I was asking about that one!” He pointed to the giant sword towering over them. “Unless you’re perfectly fine handling enormous blades on your own.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“And what would you be implying?”

“Implying? I was talking about the sword stuck in Silithus. I was implying nothing.”

“Ugh. Since when did our long discussions on the merit of political leaders and their wars turn to boyish banter.”

“It is good to have you back, your majesty.”

“You needn't call me that anymore.”

“Nonsense. I still quite like the ring to it, your majesty.”

The two stayed out long into the night.

By the early morning, Anduin found his way into a small bedroom in the back of the Chamber of Heart, something set up for any guests Wrathion might’ve invited over for aid, or any of his blacktalon who’d come overnight with work. Now the room was currently his, with his bags placed in the corner, and Vivian resting on the bed alongside him.

In Anduin’s hands, he wrote in his journal. He’d carefully dip his pen in ink, which sat beside him on the bed, slow with his actions so as to not knock it over and spill. He brought the pen to the paper, and wrote what came to mind.

Each page so far was written to Vivian.

He recounted their days together, and captured his feelings. He retold stories, as did he the lives of the people she would never know. The vast cherished memories of his father, the stories he was told of his mother. He wrote everything he could of Vivian’s mother, knowing the little he had wasn’t enough to fill the void that would grow where her mother left. But he’d try and mend it. Answer any and every question she would have.

Tonight, he wrote about Pandaria, the memories of which motivated him to chase the joys of life.

-