Two days had passed after the massacre at the cathedral, and Jaina found herself standing among the courtiers behind Kyle, with a crowd of the city’s populace gathered before him. Behind them were the hundred and twenty caskets of the victims of that bloody day, each draped with a banner of Alterac and lying next to a freshly dug grave.

This graveyard too was newly opened, located on the opposite end of the city, where the city hall and inns and other buildings completely blocked the view to the now desecrated cathedral. From what gossiping Jaina picked up, the cathedral was now considered cursed, and was awaiting no less than the arrival of two archbishops from Lordaeron to join bishop Falric in reconsecrating it.

Jaina stood in silence with her head bowed like the others as Kyle offered public condolences to the family and friends of the fallen, while extolling the sacrifices made by the men and women who followed him into the cathedral that day.

“They saw before them monsters from the Void, terrifying and grotesque, filled with fangs and claws and the promise of death. But rather than quailing, each and every one of them did their duty, and engaged the abominations for the sake of their fellow countrymen. They gave their lives to contain the demonic threat, defying the Fel things that had themselves dared defy the Light.”

Dressed in muted and plain clothes, Kyle’s somber and fragile eulogy easily carried through the silent crowd. Besides sacrifice and duty, he emphasized their bravery and competence, to which Jaina could wholeheartedly agree with.

She remembered the mayhem of that moment when the merchant revealed himself to be a winged demon, a dreadlord, and his accomplices to be felguards, a sort of demonic bodyguard according to Valoghan and Pelton. Beyond the second or so of shock, the guards, both royal or otherwise, had charged the demons without any hesitation. They engaged the felguards not only to keep the demons’ attention away from civilians, but also to allow Kyle to engage the dreadlord by himself.

Thinking about it now, Jaina felt so proud of and yet so terrified for him. She saw Uther impaled and nearly eviscerated by the fiend, experienced herself how impotent the spells Pelton and her threw at the demon had only irritated it. Yet Kyle had engaged the demon with as little hesitation as his guards, and came out unscathed. Her terror might have receded with the demon’s eventual defeat, but her pride for him grew when she saw how he swiftly dealt with the aftermath, how his first priority was to care for his people.

She saw too the grief in his eyes as he swept his gaze across the ruined cathedral. The dwarf Lora eventually carried him away when he turned pale and was about to step in to personally help move the bodies. Pelton said Kyle had gone into a sort of combat shock, though thankfully Bishop Falric’s healing had cleared the worst of it. Supposedly he had nightmares, according to Kallum, but the few times it was brought up by anyone, Kyle would dodge the question.

That fact made Jaina admire him all the more as he finished his speech, his resolute voice only faltering a few times. Seeing him putting on a strong front created the urge for her to reach out and comfort him.

“Demons. Demons - not mere orcs or trolls or gnolls - have tried us, and the best of us did not cower or roll over. Some say that the blood of the fallen might have cursed the cathedral…but I say that it is their blood, spilled out of sacrifice and duty, that has kept the site from being despoiled by demonic taint.”

The ceremony lasted for a while as Kyle somehow turned grief into stoic pride, and Bishop Falric after him wielded that pride into righteous outrage. By the time the final prayers were given to lay the dead to rest, the mourners were joining the bishop with a fervor that rivaled paladins marching to war.

Kyle and his court remained until every casket was fully buried and the graveyard was sanctified twice over, first by Falric and Uther, and then by a protective ward created by Valoghan. Considering that it was Kyle’s magic that discovered and beat back the demons, the bishop gave an exception for his court mage to work his spell on hallowed ground, humbly and pragmatically trusting the arcane ritual to bolster the site from any spiteful demonic taint.

After that, and a brief seeing-off of Uther and Arthas, they returned to the palace, where a more discreet court was held without scribes or the minor officials. Jaina didn’t know why she was included in it until Pelton began the meeting with a sigh.

“So, your highness. About the fountains?”

Kyle’s face went through surprise, fear, embarrassment and finally resignation all in a second, which was almost comical if not for how nicely it highlighted his eyes…

Jaina shook her head away from the thought and instead focused on the words of the floundering king.

“Er…what do you want to know?”

“Perhaps with when were you intending to enlighten us of its purpose?” Valoghan asked dryly.

“Uh…eventually?”

Bemused looks spread throughout the advisors present, Jaina included.

The steward let out another, louder sigh. “I know your summoning magic is impressive, Kyle, but it is dangerous to simply conjure things and expect them to behave as you believe they should.”

“Not to mention the risks to the public,” Lady Cylia added with equal exasperation, brushing away a lock of glossy black hair as if she was tempted to tear it out. “If not for the manner in which they were revealed, the common folk would be far less enthusiastic knowing that the arcane ornament in their town square is capable of blasting things apart.”

“It was meant as a security measure…” Kyle started to say, but then the marshal, Colin, joined the verbal ganging up against his king.

“With how little we knew about it, many might be concerned about just who your security measure was meant to guard against,” the marshal sternly admonished. “You might be our king, but that does not immediately earn everyone’s trust, your majesty. Especially not with the precedent set by your…predecessor.”

Jaina simply watched as Kyle sunk a little into his throne and took the scolding from his court, before wholeheartedly agreeing that he wouldn’t be pulling off a similar stunt in the future again.

Which reminded her, what about the golden buildings he showed her the last time?

Should she raise the issue?

But…with demons actually running rampant, would such a secret - assuming that the underground city had a purpose beyond looking impressive - be best kept hidden?

As Jaina struggled with the question, Kyle’s court mage unofficially put an end to the lectures and chastisement against the throne by asking a question of genuine curiosity.

“If those fountains had the ability to, why didn’t they activate when the merchants passed them?”

“I had them dormant until actual threats were detected, and the demons were not being threats up until the cathedral,” Kyle answered with a thoughtful frown.

“So your devices didn’t see their illusions as threats?”

“Their shapeshifting, as ugly as it was, was mostly arcane in nature,” he replied. “Fel magic was only picked up when the dreadlord cast its spell in the cathedral.”

“‘Mostly’ arcane?” Pelton queried.

Kyle shrugged. “I haven’t been exposed to other varieties of magic, but it’s something dark. Not Fel though.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“These demons are known to dabble with darker magics…” Valoghan hummed with concern.

“Darker than Fel?” the steward challenged.

The blue-robed mage answered by muttering a single word: “Death.”

All signs of bemusement and skepticism fled from Pelton and he paled a bit. Jaina herself felt an ugly twist in her gut at the thought of that dark magic. Her formal education kept well clear from forbidden magics, but whispers still spread, and some of the Horde’s atrocities in the past War was well known enough.

“Death magic?” Lady Cylia echoed, reminding the magi that they were still discussing matters in court.

“A most foul practice,” Valoghan explained with all the emotion of an uninterested lecturer. “Not as overt in its corruption, not as addictive in hold, but just as ruinous. Fel magic practitioners are warlocks, demonologists, desecrators…” The hermit mage gave the court a querying look. “Guess what the wielders of death magic are called?”

“Necromancers.” Jaina was surprised to find herself answering. Valoghan merely gave her a nod as the rest of Kyle’s court went pale or scowled.

“Indeed, princess. Necromancers. The orcs who raised the dead to fight for them, or possessed the bodies of fallen Alliance knights to become Death Knights…those are the types we are talking about.” The court mage spun about to face and nod at Kyle. “There is a good chance that the forms the demons assumed were…taken. They could very well be literally wearing the skins of their victims.”

Uneasy mutterings spread throughout the courtiers at the ghastly news, but Valoghan ignored it, keeping his attention on Kyle.

“We’ll need to further your education, if your defenses are to be more effective. I’ll ask Kor- Krasus for some of his more harmless artifacts.”

“In the meantime,” Pelton interrupted with a cough. “I trust this will be the last time you’ll withhold any significant alterations to your kingdom without seeking out your court for at least their thoughts on the matter?”

Kyle let out a weary sigh and nodded. “No new installments into settlements or forts, or any holding without my court’s approval,” he confirmed dejectedly, and Jaina instantly knew the wording was peculiar.

The golden city, she remembered.

Should she raise that topic now?

No, she immediately answered herself. The fountains were effective only because nobody had known about them right until they were activated. With demonic infiltration now a fact, there was no knowing if the inevitable trickle of rumors and gossip would reach the wrong ears.

Damnit, she was getting infected with Kyle’s paranoia.

The rest of the semi-secret session of court continued for a while longer, with Jaina’s input being requested every now and then, mostly around her perspective of the demonic infiltration. Even knowing why, it felt weird that her words were being taken with far more credibility and authority than Uther’s. The respect they gave her also made her feel self-conscious, especially when it came from Pelton and the heavily bandaged Marshal Colin who had similarly faced down the demons. Needless to say, Jaina completely ignored looking at Kyle’s way, fearful of the embarrassment she knew she’d feel if he treated her in the same way.

Once all of that was done and the courtiers began to leave, Jaina finally turned to Kyle.

Her legs were rooted to the spot as she watched him rise from the throne. For an eternal few seconds, indecision warred within her. Then finally, with a surprising amount of effort, the princess forced herself to march towards him.

“Kyle.”

“Yes, Jaina?”

The uncertainty and blobs of fear became more raucous as he turned to face her, but Jaina willed herself to press on.

“Can we talk? Um, some place quiet.”

“Okay…how quiet do you need it?”

She didn’t know if she managed to fight down the need to blush. “As quiet as you can manage it.”

There was a flash of confusion on his features, but Kyle nodded and led her into an alcove, and then Jaina felt the jewel hanging off her bracelet tingle against her skin, and then she was no longer in the palace. Instead of plastered stone walls, a chamber of familiar gold surrounded her. What looked like false windows or scrying mirrors with opaque blue crystal surfaces hung from the walls, and soft white lights glowed from above.

“Where are we?”

“Somewhere quiet enough,” came the immediate reply. “It’s about the best I can do on short notice.”

Jaina looked to the curved desks with the same blue crystal surface on them placed around her in a particular order, and then to the weird hollowed egg things that might be seats. The air around her was cool and crisp, and interestingly despite the metallic environment there wasn’t a trace of an echo. “What is this place?”

“A purely decorative one,” Kyle replied again in the same flat manner, though this time there was a tinge of disappointment. “None of the stuff here’s working, they’re all just props unfortunately.” He finished his sentence by tapping at one of the desks, and its crystal surface lit up.

“But there’s light?”

“Only light,” he amended a bit pointlessly, though it suggested that he expected more to appear.

“Anyway, you needed to talk?”

Remembering what brought her here, Jaina suddenly found it hard to meet Kyle’s gaze. That in turn caused him to suddenly regard her with some concern.

“Jaina? Are you alright?”

“I…” She tried again, but once more she meet his silver-grey eyes.

Kyle suddenly let out a soft sigh. “I can take a hint, you know.”

“What?” Jaina’s eyes finally snapped up to focus on him.

The boy in front of her gave a wry smirk. “If you wanted to leave, you could’ve just mentioned it to Pelton if you’re worried about hurting my feelings.”

Leave?

“What? No! I wasn’t going to leave!”

The self-deprecating look on Kyle turned to one of confusion as Jaina quickly reined in her sudden outburst. “I was just…” Under his silent, querying stare, Jaina took in a few deep breaths and tried formulating the right order of words and sentences to use.

“I… Prince Kael’Thas sought to court me, before I came here.”

And immediately the princess was kicking herself mentally. Why’d she start with that?!

“Oh,” was Kyle’s response. Flat, unsurprised. Somehow it made Jaina feel…annoyed?

“I…I rejected it. Rejected him.”

“Oh.”

He could show some emotion? Like maybe a hint of jealousy?

She forced herself to meet his gaze and let out a sigh. “At the cathedral… Arthas said that the demon made him think you were keeping me here. In Alterac. He thought he was trying to…to rescue me.”

“Oh…” Now Kyle showed some emotion, a sad realization dawning on him.

Jaina matched the mood with a sad smile. “I think at some point he would have courted me. I…”

“I’m sorry.”

“What? Why?”

Confusion returned to Kyle. “You had to reject him because you couldn’t trust him right now?”

The princess blinked at the mage-king a couple of times before sighing and shaking her head. “No, Kyle. It’s not about trust.”

“It’s not?”

“No, it’s not,” she returned with half a glare. “I…I wasn’t interested in him. Or Kael’Thas.”

“Oh,” came that blank reply again.

“Oh?” Her annoyance flared and finally Jaina snapped. “Can you do something more than just ‘oh’?”

“What do you want me to say?” Kyle retorted defensively. “It’s not like I-”

Jaina felt herself blushing as she saw it.

“Oh.”

A different sort of realization dawned on him, and she fought hard to keep her eyes fixed on his as his mouth slowly opened.

“I’ve no interest in them,” Jaina managed to say above a shy whisper, fighting back against the urge to run into a corner and hide her face. “My interest is already held by…someone else.”

Kyle’s jaw fell half-open like a landed fish for a good few seconds, and if not for her current embarrassment she’d have found his appearance very comical. He remembered to shut his mouth, but it took seconds more before he gulped audibly. And then Jaina felt some strange relief when Kyle’s cheeks took on some color and he began pointing at himself.

“I…” Before she could snipe back with a witty one-liner, he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Jaina.”

The three words made Jaina’s heart skip a beat and then stumble down into an abyss. She felt her emotions bubbling violently inside of her, and for some reason her vision became very unsteady.

She was just about to let out a sob when Kyle suddenly took her hand gently and bowed before her.

“Forgive me for not realizing any sooner.”

“K-Kyle?”

She heard Kyle draw in a breath before looking up at her, his silver eyes almost gleaming as he wore an uncharacteristically confident smile. “Princess Jaina Proudmoore, would you grant this upjumped peasant the honor of courting you?”

Jaina’s first instinct was to immediately smack him with her free hand. “You…you…!”

“Ow…” Confusion returned once more and Kyle nursed his temple where he was struck.

“Don’t play with me like that!” she exclaimed in half a laugh and half a sob. “I thought you were going to…that I’d be…”

Kyle rose up, and a more familiar, reassuring smile graced his face as he pulled her one step towards him. His hands felt warm and comforting as they sandwiched hers.

“I’m serious though, Jaina? Would you allow me to? Or would you rather wait until we’ve matured a bit to reconsider?”

Wait?

“I know you’ve got your priorities in your studies,” he said with all seriousness. “And we’re still young…”

Kael never brought up that option, Jaina suddenly realized. Nor did Arthas. The former wanted an immediate resolution, while the latter bowed out immediately. Though it’s not that she wished for either princes to hound her on the matter either.

“I can manage it,” she finally said, most of the embarrassment bled away as she managed to smile at him. “And us.”

“Are you sure?” he asked with a slight frown of concern.

Somehow, that he was asking meant the world to her. “Yeah, I’m sure,”Jaina answered with a nod, and then slowly leaned in. “Consider this courtship started.”

Her heart beat faster as she noticed Kyle doing the same, and serene bliss flooded her as their lips met. It was a chaste and brief encounter, and Jaina immediately felt some longing as he pulled away wearing a bright grin.

“We’ll have to return or our absence will be noted,” he explained with believable regret.

Jaina nodded, absently licking at her lips and matching his grin. “Next time, Kyle?”

“Yeah?”

“Work on your phrasing.”

“Huh?”

And a thought occurred to her, and the grin on the princess of Kul Tiras took on a more mischievous aspect. “Oh. Do you want me to write to my father, or will you?”

And Jaina giggled as she watched confusion and elation on his face instantly warp into something akin to devastation.