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Anduin woke before the sheep the next morning. He could hear his gryphon scratching at something and knew she must be awake, and more dangerously, hungry. She hadn’t bothered the sheep for a meal yet, but Anduin thought that the sooner he let her off to feed the less he’d have to rely on his training of the wild beast.
But Khadgar had barely moved since last night, and so Anduin had to be very careful after stroking the thick hair at the back of the boy’s head to disentangle himself from the weed-like grasp of the young mage. Tucking the blankets a little closer, he threw on his cloak and headed outside.
The sun had just turned the day from twilight to blazing in the east and the way that the sun shone on the first day of Varian’s reign was hopefully telling of what was to come. The air was chilly and Anduin was glad for the fire that Khadgar hadn’t put out the night before. But he turned his attention to the task at hand. The gryphon usually fed and returned within half an hour, preying on a deer, fox, or boar. In fact, Anduin had been praised for finishing off a pesky sow, Princess, once and for all and was quite liked by some of the local farmers for taking out pests. He was also loathed by those who preferred to keep their stock, as he liked to say, in stock.
Freeing the gryphon from her bindings, he gave her a sharp pat on the rump and she was off to find her breakfast.
He started on the chores, first by bringing out grain from a barrel on the side of the house nearest the Keep. A few of the ewes came as he called their names and he pet them and set their grain down. He returned into the house quietly as to not disturb his young friend and returned with a pail. He straddled the sheep and began firmly milking her.
It took him about twenty minutes to get all the sheep done and he had filled four pails of milk. He didn’t have time to let it cool before Khadgar came out of the house and watched him clean up.
“I wouldn’t have pinned you as a shepherd.” There was a playfulness in Khadgar’s eyes that Anduin had been missing the night before. “It suits you.” It voice was tender and Anduin pushed away the fact that he heart was beating faster than it ought to. He merely stared at Khadgar, almost mid stride, and wondered how to respond.
After a beat passed and a solid shaking of his thoughts back to more decent ideas, Anduin sprang into motion and began to bring the pails of milk inside. From a distance, he could hear the gryphon thrashing through the air and soon she landed with a loud thud on the ground behind the house. The noise startled the young mage and Anduin had the misfortune of brushing by Khadgar on his way inside. Khadgar stumbled out into the grass and tried to use Anduin’s bicep as an anchor. The milk was wasted and forgotten, and Khadgar was so completely clumsy that the two of them tumbled into the grass, limbs and curses flying.
They landed with Anduin on top and the pails rolling precariously to the edge of the cliff. But for the silence, Khadgar could have been casting a spell with the amount of energy between them. Khadgar’s eyes were large with being startled, but there was something lurking behind them that Anduin didn’t want to label for fear of being too hasty.
Damn, he needed to be drunk.
“You’re wearing my cloak.” Anduin could feel Khadgar’s breath in his face and he spoke so quietly and his eyes were half-lidded and his hair was messed. ‘Disheveled from an evening’s rest’ looked well on the boy, and Anduin bit his lip to stifle any sort of incriminating words that may tumble out of his mouth. Khadgar followed the gesture with his eyes and an uncertain rage, almost as if it were a defense mechanism, bubbled up in the warrior.
Anduin scrambled to his feet and reached down to help Khadgar up. “I suppose I am. I didn’t think when I--”
“You’re so…” Khadgar’s eyes unashamedly roved over the body of his friend. “Huge,” he finished. Anduin cursed the innuendo to himself again. “And the cloak really doesn’t fit you, but I suppose it wouldn’t, since you’re bigger than me. I don’t know why I didn’t notice you in it before. It makes you look...smarter.”
Anduin flicked his wrist up to slight the young mage and Khadgar remained on the ground. A ewe came over and nibbled on his disheveled hair and with another startled cry, the mage uttered something and a ring of frost flew out around him and captured both Lothar and the sheep. Wide-eyed, Khadgar kicked himself backwards and stood up. Within a few moments, the ice melted (or in Anduin’s case, he kicked it off). Khadgar was grinning at him with the face of someone who didn’t quite know what to expect. He opened his mouth about the fact that the spell was something that he hadn’t tried before, but Lothar interrupted him.
“I’ll make some food.”
~~~
After they had eaten, the sheep began to sound agitated. Khadgar and Anduin picked up their heads from their work of cleaning up from breakfast and packing to return to Stormwind. By the clattering of a suit of armor, they knew that a guard had come to speak to them. The heroes shared a worried glance, but rose from their tasks. Anduin was first out the door, and Khadgar followed.
“My Lord Anduin, Khadgar.” The guard looked panicked as he stumbled over his address. “It’s...the orcs...they’ve…” His hazel eyes were wide and he was red in the face. Khadgar was concerned for the man’s health and his own pulse was suddenly racing.. The two heroes exchanged glances but didn’t say a word. There was a foreboding cloud of tension in the air.
“They’ve taken Goldshire and Northshire. They’re coming...they’ve broken the gates--”
It was as if all of the air had been sucked away. No one moved nor said a word as the reality of their situation sank in. Stormwind was under attack from a foe that they had no real chance of stopping, not so soon after their battle.
“We need to leave. Now. Guard, get the King and his mother and take them to the docks. We sail.”
The guard saluted and ran back to his gryphon which had, in fact, taken the liberty of a few sheep. He was off as if he were an apparition, but now everything had changed.
“We won’t fight for the city?” Khadgar followed Anduin back into the little house and watched as the warrior grabbed any weapon and piece of armor that he could. He threw a blanket at Khadgar and hastily unpinned Khadgar’s cloak, which he had forgotten about until Khadgar gave the end a little tug.
“We can’t, not with a boy King.”
“But the high elves, and the dwarve--”
“When Varian is safe. If he dies, I don’t what to think about what would happen to the Alliance.” Sheathing his sword, Anduin looked at Khadgar like a man who, despite all odds, still had so much to lose. “I’ve lost my son and my wife and my friend. I will not lose the Alliance, and for that matter, nor will I lose you. You’re coming with us.”
“I can hold them back. If they’ve breached the gate--”
“Stop talking and get on the gryphon.” Anduin grabbed Khadgar and steered him out onto the grass. He nearly lifted him up onto the beast before leaping on himself. He was forceful as he tugged her feathers and kicked his heels. She jerked and launched into the air so quickly that Khadgar lurched forward into Anduin’s back, wrapping his hands around the warrior’s middle. Anduin was too focused to care about the intimacy and the trust that had developed between the two of them, but as he saw the flames rising from Goldshire, he did pause. He stayed his gryphon and the pair stared over the city. What was revelling and peaceful the night before was burning before their very eyes.
Anduin’s vision became blurry, and he wanted to blame it on the smoke. As the trade district burned, its blue roofs being consumed by flame, he could hear the wails of women and children as they were overrun by the orcs. He heard a choking sound and whirled around to Khadgar’s red, tear-stained face. Anduin remembered; Khadgar had never seen a proper battle and what happened to a city when an opposing force came in. He had no idea what was happening to the people of Stormwind. At least, mused Anduin, it wasn’t another human army and the young mage only saw the murder of innocent people. There was so much more for him to learn…
But still, the warrior was filled with rage at the sight of the weeping mage. After a few moments of staring down at the lost city, Khadgar looked up as a man who was so attuned to changes in energy.
The tears that ran down Anduin’s face were hot and angry and bitter and genuine, and yet he fought through them to cup Khadgar’s chin between his thumb and his forefinger. The mage looked up at him with agonizing brown eyes and they stayed there for what seemed like hours gone by in the span of an axe swing.
“I want to protect these people. I want to be their guardian.” The confidence and arrogance of youth stole the words from Khadgar’s lips. “I can’t let them die.”
“Our people are resourceful, but they need a leader. They need our king.”
“But I could port some of them…”
“No.” Anduin got the gryphon going again. They could sail for Lordaeron and King Menethil. The ruler of the subcontinent would have heard news of the orcs by now and be sympathetic to the people of Stormwind. Even if their party could only go as far as Southshore in the Hinterlands, it would be enough to get them away from the Horde and buy them some time to retake Stormwind and push back on the Horde.
It wasn’t far to the docks, and already the guards stood ready on the steps to defend ‘til their last breath. The mount nearly had touched the ground before the warrior slid off and left Khadgar. Later, he would find that his choice was a mistake, but he ran down to the dock and confirmed for himself that the King and Taria were safe.
Deep in the Captain’s quarters, down the steps and past the hold was where he found them. “We will sail for Lordaeron. Menethil could help us.” He hadn’t bothered with formality as he unharnessed his scabbard and dropped it on the floor. He bent to kneel before his King and then rose. Anduin looked at the advisors to young Varian, and then back to the boy King. He looked stoic and watched Anduin carefully. It had been such a short time since he lost his father, and already he wore the seriousness of a king so well. “My liege, can you send a messenger to the king in the north?”
The boy looked up to one of his advisors and then back to the warrior and nodded. “My right hand will pen a letter once we depart.”
Anduin masked the grimace he made at the decision. They would be off momentarily, if the captain had any sense, but the urgency with which Anduin had make all of these plans was infecting the pace at which he wanted to complete them. For all he knew, the orcs had broken through at this point and were charging their ship.
With another curt bow, he left the hold and motioned for Taria to follow him. In the hold, no words passed between them. He kissed his sister and, as she wept and he held her. “If only you had heard the sounds, Anduin. Varian was so brave. I blame his father for it.” She wiped away her tears and smiled at him. The warrior looked at her with tenderness as the cannons of the ship rumbled and the carnage of the orcs came closer and closer.
But Anduin had fought orcs before. He knew how ruthless they were and how easily they could push through a group of soldiers, and then he remembered. He could feel the energy as the air changed, and it was like the blasted mage was pulling the life out of him, like a cord tugging at his heart.
“That blasted conjurer is going to get us all killed.” The confusion in Taria’s eyes wasn’t answered. Her brother pressed his lips to her forehead again. He ran back into the captain’s quarters and snatched up his sword without a word to the king. Such disrespect he knew would earn him a harsh reprimand, but the wasn’t letting Khadgar die. Lothar took the steps two at a time and sprinted across the deck and leapt onto the dock. The orcs flooded down the steps and to Khadgar’s credit, he was holding them back with not a little skill. Stopping dead in his tracks, he screamed up to the captain to get the boat moving and raise anchor.
Dashing over the gravel, Anduin heard the mage chanting and sending blast after blast of arcane, fire, and ice toward the orcs as they handily beat the human Stormwind guards into submission.
“Go,” he screamed to Anduin, but the warrior wasn’t having any of it. He stood in front of the mage and put his hands on his shoulders, a reckless maneuver that put him in the line of fire for the powerful spells that went rocketing by. The brilliant glow in Khadgar’s eyes started to fade as the energy fizzled and sparked out of his fingertips and back into the air.
“You have an amazing deathwish. We need to leave. Now!”
Khadgar didn’t grant him the pleasure of a response. The cries of the guards were getting more urgent and they were being pushed back in force. “Your comrades will die if you don’t leave me to help them.” Those brown eyes and round face that once held so much innocence now was serious and weary. “I will save the king by holding them back. Look, the boat is already leaving. If you don’t leave now--” A thundering blow broke them apart as the orcs broke through the ranks and crashed to the dock. Anduin was thrown back toward the boat and Khadgar slammed into one of the catapults that had been wheeled to the dock since the invasion started. His head was bleeding and the orc that had assaulted them was coming toward him with death in his eyes.
Khadgar yelled out the spell that he had used back at Anduin’s cabin, but it was too late. The orc had reached out and grabbed the young mage, a sickening crack coming from his arm and a scream of pain following. Breath hardly coming at all, Khadgar watched the behemoth pin him down and raise his hammer high above his head.
Anduin was right, thought Khadgar. There was no spell that would save him now, save but one, and what good would it truly do? There were orcs everywhere and if Khadgar had been with them, the ship would have sailed. He had been foolish and now...The Horde warrior raised his hammer to smash in Khadgar’s skull, and he was too afraid and too much in pain. The mage closed his eyes and hoped that his death would be a flash of pain and then whatever was on the other side of the blackness.
But today was not the day for Khadgar to die, because Anduin Lothar had something to lose. Just before the orc made his killing blow, Khadgar heard a gurgling sound and what sounded like metal through flesh. His eyes flew open. Anduin had thrust his sword through the gut of the orc. Green blood splattered the young mage’s face, but the orc fell.
Anduin removed the blade and reached a hand for Khadgar. They were being overrun, and if they didn’t move, the orcs would be at the ship before they were.
“Move, spell-chucker!” The warrior urged the wounded on, but it was difficult for Khadgar to stand. The orc had broken his bone so thoroughly that it poked out of his skin, and when the mage turned his head to look at his shattered arm, his face turned white and then a sickly shade of green. He kicked at the ground in an effort to stand, but he cried out in pain and the blood of the orc on his face mingled with his own blood made him a sorry sight. Anduin realized that the mage couldn’t move on his own and wrapped his arm around Khadgar’s waist. He lifted him over his shoulder and began to run at full tilt back to the boat, sword dripping orcs blood and the brilliant crimson of Khadgar’s blood staining his clothes. The young mange continued to cry out in pain and snatched at Anduin with his good arm.
The boat was partly to sea now, and it would take a miracle for them to make it.
“If you can to get us on that ship, by the Light, Khadgar--I won’t die carrying your--” Shining balls of arcane appeared and the warrior felt that he was somehow running faster than he had been possible. They reached the end of the dock and putting his trust in the flurry of arcane magic that surrounded them and blurred their form, he threw himself and his friend over the edge of the dock with a leap that took all of his strength. They plunged downward, and suddenly they were on the ship. They tumbled onto the deck and Khadgar let out an agonized scream before falling silent.
Anduin had been through his fair share of portals, and this was nothing like one. The energy used for it had rendered Khadgar unconscious, but they were safely away. The orcs were left to pillage Stormwind, but King Varian, Khadgar, Anduin, and all of the people who were important to the survival of Azeroth were on that boat and headed for Lordaeron. There, they could regroup and find a way to tame the Horde and keep them contained.
But now, Khadgar was bleeding heavily and losing color by the minute. The warrior crawled over to him, sore from the blow he had taken, and he cradled the mage’s head in his large hands. He was breathing, but it was labored and unsteady. There were a few healers on the ship, and so Anduin carried his young friend down to the hold and laid him out on a bed. His eyes fluttered him back to consciousness as Anduin smoothed back the hair that had gotten in the cut on his forehead.
A woman in white robes and wearing a belt of herbs joined them. Her large green eyes assessed the situation and she worried her lip in concentration. “I am not strong,” she began. “He may have a scar or two, but he will stop bleeding and his bone will set.” She looked at Anduin as if needing permission to heal the boy, and he nodded. As soon as the yellow light shot from her fingers and her incantations began, Khadgar seized and his entire body became rigid. He reached his hand out to the side and made a grabbing motion, and Anduin took it as an invitation. He cried out in pain and then it turned into an exhausted sigh of comfort as the healing finished. Anduin watched in amazement as the bone found its rightful place in Khadgar’s arm.
The ordeal didn’t take very long, but when it was done, the healer looked at the pair and said, “He shouldn’t exert himself much for this journey. His mind and heart are weary.” Giving a pointed look at Anduin, she left the room, leaving the two alone.
Khadgar came back to himself and after a few moments of getting his bearings, stared at where the hole in his arm had been. The healer was right, and there was quite the scar on his bicep. Bruises were forming around his eye from the hit he had taken when the orc threw them apart, but the cut on his head had entirely disappeared.
“I did it,” he breathed, chest heaving with the adrenaline from the battle. “The blink spell actually works!”
Anduin realized that now was not the time to chastise the boy for his senseless actions, despite the verbal lashing that he wanted to give him.
“You’d never tried it before?” Anduin raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Perhaps I should be more worried about what you want to try on me than you running out to kill some orcs.”
Khadgar laughed, a hearty sound that nearly startled Anduin. He gave Anduin’s hand a squeeze and met his eyes. The mage opened his mouth the speak, but closed it again, hesitating.
Khadgar wanted to ask why Anduin ran out to save him when he prioritized the King. It was a simple enough question to ask, but he hesitated because he knew how Anduin looked at him, and if he were honest with himself, he knew the answer already. Khadgar became acutely aware of their flesh touching and he moved his hand so that their fingers were threaded together.
The Lion of Azeroth leaned forward and pressed his lips to Khadgar’s forehead. The boy inhaled sharply, his body tensing at the sensation.
“Rest, Khadgar.” Anduin’s voice was low and tender. “We need you well for Lordaeron.” The warrior stood and moved to leave his friend to heal, but Khadgar had another idea. He tightened his grip on Anduin’s hand and gave him a small tug. The blush that crept up Khadgar’s neck was mirrored by the taller man.
“My clothes...I’ll need a tailor to fix them or get me new ones, but it hurts to…” He pushed himself up so that he was sitting. Anduin was honestly shocked. The mage knew what he was doing. He had to, because he had this little smile on his face and Anduin was ready to die now.
“Just the cloak and shirt. Leave the...I’m perfectly well below the waist.”
Anduin couldn’t help but snort as he sat down in the small space between the edge of the bed and busied himself on the golden clasp that held Khadgar’s cloak in place. He unfastened it and set it carefully on a little table that stood next to the bed. He worked the article off the mage’s shoulders and didn’t bother folding it carefully since it needed to be washed and mended. Next was the vest, which was easy to strip off. Anduin did hesitate at the shirt. The laces were intricately tied and they nearly looked like runes. The warrior gently began to untie the laces in the mage’s shirt.
“Sit up,” he commanded. Khadgar raised his back off the bed and carefully raised his arms over his head. Inch after inch of pale skin dusted with hairs the color of a raven’s feathers was exposed. Khadgar didn’t possess the brute strength that was evident for a seasoned warrior. He was stocky and rounded over muscles that seemed, to Lothar, to be good at hurling spells with force and carrying a lot of books.
Anduin used Khadgar’s shirt to wipe some of the blood off his face and arm. He smoothed his hair back again and simply looked the mage in the eyes. The rune on his arm was glittering ever so slightly, but it was a different energy that passed between them.
“I should get these to the tailor,” said Anduin as a man who really wished he could conjure up any excuse not to do just that. Khadgar bit his lip, worrying it until it was slicky and brilliantly pink, and it would take an army of orcs to drag him away.
Or his sister, Taria, who had come down to investigate the state of her brother and friend.
“Anduin,” she said, getting his attention. Khadgar tried not to laugh at the anger that welled up in those icy blue eyes. He did nothing to hide his massive grin.
“He’s fine. The healer said he should rest, though. Our spell-chucker will live another day.”
Taria was superficially pleased, but then specifically asked after her brother. Anduin only said he was sore, and then bent to pick up Khadgar’s clothes. Anduin never expected that holding another man’s bloodied and torn clothes would seem so intimate, but his heart pounded in his chest and he could feel his hands start to get sweaty.
“When you have the time, Anduin, the King would like your approval on his letter.” She touched his shoulder, gave Khadgar a knowing look, and departed.
“Taria,” called Anduin just before she left. He turned to face her and she crossed the room to him. “Is there a tailor on board?” She said there was. “Please take this to him.” He thanked her and watched her go. Turning back to his shirtless mage, Khadgar was already laughing at him.
“The Lion caught in the pasture.”
Anduin squinted at the younger man. His arrogance and wit was enough to drive him mad, but at the same time the warrior was glad for the return of his sharp mind.
“I have a duty to my King, if there’s nothing else.”
The change in Khadgar’s eyes made him wary, and he dodged the grab that the young man made for his hand but didn’t count on him getting a grip on his tunic and tugging him with more force than he thought he could muster.
That force caused Anduin to crack his head on the top bunk. The loud thunk startled Khadgar and he opened his mouth, blathering, “I’m so sorry. Do you need a healer? I didn’t mean to, I was just trying to--”
“Shut up and kiss me.”
Khadgar, blessedly, did what Anduin asked, and not without enthusiasm. He surged up, chest pressing onto arms that already were reaching to cradle his jaw. He kissed like a man parched, his enthusiasm far outweighing his skill. The young mage was needy and demanding with his lips and the way that he shifted had him pressing a rapidly growing interest against Anduin.
The warrior pulled away. Light be known, they couldn’t. Not here, not with the King and his sister so close. Khadgar kept trying to catch his lips again, but Anduin pressed his hands to the mage’s chest, soft at first and then unmistakable firm.
“You weren’t lying about being perfectly well below the waist.” Anduin wanted it to be a reason for him to continue, damning the passengers on this ship, but Khadgar’s eyes went from lustful to merry. A laugh bubbled out of him and crescendoed into a hysterical cackling. Anduin was forced to crack a smile as well, and he stood to leave the mage.
He didn’t expect Khadgar to grab his hand, but the mage was insatiable and demanded one last kiss before releasing Anduin to do his duty for his King and for Azeroth.