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The foggy morning rays shone through the Pandaren window of a noodle house, which housed a few rooms for guests. Kael’thas woke up from his short sleep—an elf didn’t need much. Rubbing his green eyes, he got out of bed and reached for a crimson robe folded neatly on his dresser. He slipped it over his muscular frame and adjusted it accordingly.
Peering into the mirror above the drawers, he pulled a chair over, sat down, and combed his hair with his fingers. His eyes ran along the clean dresser top to the near right of him where a small candle lay. He rose a free hand to the top of the wick and struck a small fire to it. Tropical orchid scent filled the room.
Before Kael returned to his hair, he raised a brow at a small note underneath the candle plate. Slipping the note carefully out from underneath the plate, he lifted it up to read it:
Kael,
Don’t wake me in the morning.
I had one too many drinks last night. D:
If you’re hungry, don’t wait for me.
K thx.
~ Jaina.
Kael smirked and placed the note on the top before him. As he combed through the last of his hair, he scanned the note and pondered it critically.
Did you really, dear? I told you not to, and you go on like the Gryffindor you are. Tsk, tsk. Wait. How did this note get in here?
He leaned back in his chair and placed his hand over his chin.
Who dragged her back to her room? Couldn’t have been Li Li, small panda that she is. Maybe it was Chen unless I drank too much wine and can’t remember who else was present. No, I could have sworn I only had one. Okay—
His ears twitched at the faint sound of the downstairs jukebox. Someone’s awake? Before he is? And cooking at this early? He smelled exotic food he did not quite familiarize himself—Jaina would know more than he did—but what kind of mood would she be in when she woke?
But he could use a meal before facing the day. Kael rose from his chair, tall and confident in how he looked. A long, empty bookshelf stood in a corner—he used it to temporarily store the books he brought with him while he and Jaina visited Chen Stormstout and his niece, Li Li. The little panda girl, he knew, reminded Jaina of her pink-haired gnome, Kinndy, who died during the Fall of Theramore. Poor girl. How he could terribly relate. For a moment, his heart ached.
Kael had not visited these exotic lands much, but every time he did, he would continuously observe the lifestyle. Unlike the quick, magical preparations of his own brethren, the Pandaren took quite a bit with their food. Kael picked out a book—it mattered not which one, he probably read them all a thousand times—to keep himself busy while the chef cooked. With a streak of arcane magic, he made his bed and walked out of the room, slightly closing the door from behind him. Jaina’s door sat across from his own, and he smiled, his heart soaring. He could not be mad at her for her stupid decision for long.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Downstairs, Chen drank from a gallon of brew at a table. He owned the noodle house and created all the rules—his credentials with the Brewfest helped him in his funds and knowledge. That holiday, thankfully, wasn’t on the calendar anytime soon. Light knew what Jaina would get herself into. Kael sighed as he remembered the time when she almost burned down the noodle house in a drunken stupor. She never could quite control her fire spells as well—he had to admit she got better as she got older. Color rose to his cheeks as he remembered that he, himself, apparently stripped into a dance among the ladies. Afterwards, when he had regained sobriety, they would ask him for lessons and demonstrations, and he continuously refused. Sigh. Chen is here. No sign of Li Li.
“Well, hello, Prince Kael’thas,” Chen greeted Kael as he descended the last few steps. He remained seated and called a Pandaren chef over. “Breakfast on the house, my friend! We have a guest up early.” The chef nodded and returned to his work.
“Wine will suffice, Chen. Your hospitality flatters me,” Kael smiled. His tenor voice rang with a humble air. He took his seat at Chen’s table.
“Jaina is still asleep, yes?” Chen asked, taking another sip. His breath smelled of beer, as always. He pat his beer belly to rid it of acid.
“Yes, she is. It’s best not to wake her.”
“Well, then. Haha!” Chen rises from his seat and walks over to the jukebox.
That jukebox. Gnomish jukebox. The most valuable item of the noodle house - where everyone sang along to classic oldies of the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. No one need not asked Chen how the Pandaren got a hold of this music. No matter how valuable, that thing still remained a mystery. Kael made sure not to ponder its whereabouts—the first time he did, he wound up with a searing headache. Such was the fate of a Ravenclaw.
Chen changed the current song to “One Night in Bangkok” by Murray Head. The old Pandaren called him over, and Kael slipped from his seat over to him. Chen moved over a bit to let Kael peer into the transparent screen. Various songs, each titled with their names, artists, and albums flashed by as Chen pressed the buttons. “I don’t think you’ve ever used this. Have you?”
“No, I fear.”
“Oh, it must’ve been Jaina last time.”
“If I did, I was drunk.”
“Haha! You’re funny – in a serious way, Kael," Chen laughed. He sniffed the air and turned his attention from the jukebox. “Here, I’ll let you browse at your leisure while I tend to my chef. I smell burnt noodles and over-boiled eggs.”
Peering into the screen, Kael played around with the buttons, figuring out their functions. He recognized certain songs from last year—the Pandaren preferred to keep their hits intact and only added new tunes over time. He did not dare question how long it took for them to get these tunes. As he flipped through, he thought of Jaina and how she would feel upon waking. She often concerned him and felt it right to ease her.
One certain song caught his eyes, and he smiled.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
An hour passed. Kael had eaten the last of his noodle soup, complete with turmeric spice and the overflow of bamboo sticks. He had placed the sticks on a folded-out napkin beside his bowl with the intention of throwing them out. To be safe, he had eaten a few to ensure the good of his hospitality towards the chef, but they never did please his taste buds.
Sitting back with the book propped up on his lap, Kael read on. Just then, his ears angled slightly, and he rose to notice Jaina creeping down the stairs. She pressed her pink cloak close to her shivering body, and waved sleepily to everyone. As she sat beside Kael, he saw dark circles under her blue eyes. Slightly tangled blonde hair. He chuckled softly and smiled at her.
“Good. You saw my note,” she said in a deep tone.
Damn, how did that note even get there? “How could ever I disobey you, dear?” Kael said with a smooth quality. He conjured a steaming mana latte, which she took and sipped happily. He watched her with a calm demeanor, glad to be of service.
The chef wheeled a cart of food over to the table. The chef and Jaina met each other with friendly eye contact. “Thank you,” she said as the chef placed her bowl of noodle soup in front of her. She smiled and turned to Kael, who vanished. “Kael?”
Music emerged from the jukebox. She moved around to see Kael standing beside it, a microphone in his hand. “Kael, what…”
“Good morning, girl. How you been?
Good morning, girl. Is love within?”
She stared at him with a sleepy smile, taking in his pleasant, tenor quality. He inched towards her as he continued to sing:
"I see your face everywhere. I see your smile, your golden hair.
I see your eyes shining through. Those gentle eyes, silver blue…”
Her face brightened, the words seeming to match her own appearance. Her lips trembled – was she going to question his choice of song? Instead, she listened. In the back, Chen chuckled. Little Li Li came from behind the corner to sit with her uncle, giggling. “Oooh…” Li Li teased Jaina.
“I sing it, girl, from the heart.
I sing it, girl, from the start…”
Kael let the last few lines trail off as he stood in front of Jaina. A serene expression lit up on her face. She sighed as her fingers curled around the napkin covering her latte.
And yet he still could not figure out who dragged her back to her room.