He stood straight and tall, his hands clasped behind his back. Was he betrothed yet? She realized she didn't know. She hoped not. Anduin was right. He had seen a great deal in his short life, and she had rather hoped that he would yet have some time to be a boy, at least.
"Oh, for pity's sake," she said, waving a slightly annoyed hand at him. 'You're unsettling me, standing there like you have a polearm for a spine. Go hop on the bed and talk with me. You know I'm not much for ceremony."
Like ice cracking under the first warm rays of a spring sun, a slight smile curved Anduin's lips. She winked at him. The smile became a full - fledged grin, a slightly sheepish one, but a grin nonetheless.
There was a soft knock on the door. A gray - haired sen - ant stood in the doorway.
"What can I do for you, Your Highness?"
"Some peacebloom tea. Two cups. Oh…" He turned to Jaina. "Are you cold? I can have Wyll light the brazier for us."
Jaina quirked an eyebrow, lifted a hand, and fluttered it in the direction of the brazier. At once the kindling in it caught.
"Not necessary, but thank you."
He laughed at the display. "I forgot. Just the tea, then. Oh, and some bread and honey. And some cheese, Dalaran sharp. And a couple of apples." Jaina was touched. Anduin had remembered apples and cheese were Jaina's favorite snack. "Thank you."
Jaina hid her smile. Definitely a growing boy. Once Wyll had left, Anduin obeyed her earlier request, settling himself comfortably on the bed, regarding her with those bright blue eyes that saw more than adults suspected.
"There, that's better. I've not come to lecture you or to apologize for your father," Jaina continued. "I've come to give you an opportunity for a little fun, if you like."
He raised a golden eyebrow at that. "Oh? Fun?" He pronounced the word with exaggerated awkwardness. "What, pray tell, is that?"
"Something you need more of. Your father is upset that you had to see that. He and I talked for a bit, and we both decided that you might like to have the chance to get away from things from time to time."
He eyed her curiously. "What exactly did you have in mind?"
"How would you like to come visit me at Theramore?" Anduin had been to Theramore once, during a terrible storm, to attend peace talks that had been violently disrupted. She hoped to change his association of the place to a more positive one.
But Anduin apparently had the resiliency of youth, for instead of looking unhappy, he brightened. "Visit the frontier again? I'd like that very much! I didn't get to see very much of it at all. Is there any dragon fighting going on?"
"Hardly any at all," Jaina said with a mock sigh. "But I'm sure there is some trouble a thirteen - year - old boy can get into."
"Thirteen and a half, almost" Anduin admonished her in all seriousness.
"I stand corrected."
"But… it's a very long journey."
"Not for magi."
"Well, no, of course not, I didn't mean for you, Aunt Jaina, I meant for me."
She smiled at him. "I've got a little something that might make traveling a bit easier." She fished in the pouch clipped to her belt and came out with a small oval crystal covered with soft blue runes. "Here. Catch!"
Jaina tossed it to Anduin, who caught it easily. "It's pretty," he said, examining it and tracing the runes with his fingers.
"Pretty, and rather rare. Hold it lightly for now. Don't close your fingers over it. Recognize the runes?"
He peered at it. "It has your name and the word… 'Home,'" he said.
"That's right. I see you've been keeping up with your studies. I had this created just for you. Even before… today… I had thought that you might enjoy coming to visit your old Auntie Jaina."
He scowled at her, brushing a lock of blond hair off his face. 'You're not old," he said.
"And you've been keeping up with your diplomacy, too," she said, grinning. "But yes. It's called a hearthstone." "But the rune means 'home."'
"Yes, it does, but 'homestone' sounds so ugly. 'Hearthstone' is more musical."
He chuckled, turning the hearthstone over in his hand, and said in a slightly supercilious tone, "Trust a girl to worry about such things."
"Kingdoms have risen and fallen over less," Jaina said.
"True enough," he allowed. "So, how does this hearthstone work?"
"Close your hand tightly over it, and concentrate."
Anduin obeyed. Jaina rose and went to him, placing her hand over his. A faint blue light limned her hand, then his.
"This will bind the stone to you," Jaina said quietly. He nodded his understanding. "Focus. Take the stone into yourself. Make it yours."
She felt the shift, from her to him, and smiled softly to herself as she let go. "There. It's yours now."
Anduin looked at it again, grinning. He was clearly fascinated. "It's purely magical, right? It's not a gnomish construct?"
Jaina nodded. "And I'm afraid it will only take you to Theramore. From there, we can port you back home."
"Wouldn't want to put the dwarves and their gryphons out of business I suppose," Anduin said with that odd streak of pragmatism that surfaced now and then.
"Be mindful of when you use it," she said, rising. "It will literally take you right to my hearth. Midafternoon is a very good time." He continued to regard the stone, smiling, and Jaina's heart lifted. This was definitely the right thing to do. She held out her arms to him. Anduin slipped off the bed and hugged her. He was growing up, she thought to herself, her arms around shoulders that were broader than she remembered, his head resting on her shoulder. This boy had known nothing but challenge, hardship, and loss, and yet he could laugh, could embrace his "auntie," could be excited at the prospect of visiting the frontier.
Light, let him stay a boy a little longer. Let him know at least something of peace before he has to take on adult responsibilities… again. 'You might regret this, Aunt Jaina," he said, pulling away and regarding her seriously. Her heart lurched at his tone of voice. "Why do you say that, Anduin?" "Because I'm probably going to be visiting you all the time."
Relief swept through her. "That hardship I think I can handle." Jaina Proudmoore, ruler of Theramore and a powerful sorceress, laughed like a girl and mussed the prince of Stormwind's bright golden hair.
Eight
For a change, the weather was dry and the skies were partially clear as the pair of orcs rode their wolves through Dustwallow Marsh. The orcs were male, one older, one younger. Both looked as though they had been wandering for weeks in the swamp with their old, stained clothes. They wore oversized cloaks wrapped around their frames, a wise precaution in a place usually so rainy. Their wolves, though, were surprisingly sleek coated and healthy looking to belong to such obviously down - on - their - luck masters, although they, too, were now muddy from many sessions of plodding through the muck and mire.
The trek ended in a swim out to one of the little islands off the coast, in a place called Tidefury Cove. The riders dismounted and swam side by side with their wolves. When the orcs emerged on dry land, they moved a safe distance away from the vigorous shaking that ensued as the wolves clambered ashore.
The younger orc took out a spyglass and lifted it to his face. "Right on time," he said.
A dinghy was approaching. In it was a single, slender figure, wearing a cloak that concealed its form as the ores' cloaks had. But pale hands that were small and uncallused revealed that the lone occupant was female — and human.
The younger orс waded into the water as the human woman's vessel approached. Easily he grabbed the bow and pulled the boat firmly onto the shore, extending a hand to help her out. Without hesitation, she grasped the huge, rough hand, her own barely curling around two fingers, and permitted herself to be assisted.