Fanfiction: World of Warcraft (PG-13)
Title: Back to Life
Pairing/Characters: Prince Liam Greymane, King Varian Wrynn, Prince Anduin Wrynn, King Genn Greymane, Lord Darius Crowley, Lorna Crowley, Queen Mia Greymane, Princess Tess Greymane; Liam/Lorna, Genn/Mia
Rating: G
Fandom: World of Warcraft
Word Count: 7,253
Spoilers: About Gilneans, so if you can't create worgens, this won't make much sense.
Summary: A new Death Knight arrives at Stormwind and it's the last person anyone would expect it to be.
Notes/Warnings: A sort-of sequel to my other WoW fic, Ray of Happiness, based on the question "What if Liam were a Death Knight?". My information is not only drawn from the game, but also from the short story Genn Greymane: Lord of His Pack by James Waugh (found on the official website), Wowpedia, and WowWiki. Any characters you don't recognise as NPCs are either mine or a friend's (used with permission). Beta by unicorn_catcher and umbralillium.
Back to Life
He'd heard stories about the reception of the initial Ebon Blade death knight emissary to Stormwind: spat upon by those citizens who didn't scream and cower, that death knight had grimly ridden on to Stormwind Keep to present the letter from Lord Tirion Fording to King Varian Wrynn. He was grateful that the alliance that had formed at the time still held and he didn't have to endure the same hostility, though he noticed that most of the people he rode past either eyed him warily or gave him a wide berth. It stung, but he understood why they would. He simply rode on to the keep and dismounted before the gate. Removing his helmet as a footman took his horse to the stables, he addressed the guards standing on either side of the gate: "Konnall of the Knights of the Ebon Blade respectfully requests a private audience with King Wrynn."
"Why a private audience?" the older guard challenged him, his gaze cautious and determined.
He'd expected them to wonder, but what he had to tell the king wasn't for just anyone's ears. "It is a highly confidential matter that is vital to the survival of his kingdom and the rest of the Alliance as well."
"Come with me, please." The guard exchanged a glance with his colleague before leading the worgen death knight into the keep. It took conscious effort on Konnall's part to keep from leading the way to the throne room himself, having visited it many times before he'd died. Once they reached the door to the throne room, the guard had the death knight wait outside while he relayed the worgen's request. Even with his enhanced hearing, he couldn't quite catch what was said. The guard came out quickly enough and told him stiffly, "I'm to escort you to the king's private audience chamber."
Konnall gestured for the guard to lead on. "Then lead the way, please."
"Of course." His back ramrod straight, the guard led the death knight to a room nearby. "Have a seat, please. The King will be with you momentarily."
"Thank you." The worgen saluted the guard and proceeded over to the table in front of the fire, setting his helmet down so he could remove his gloves and hold his hands out to the fire. After all that time in Northrend, he couldn't seem to warm up properly.
He turned when the door opened to admit a servant with a tray of snacks, followed by another carrying a carafe of some beverage and a tray of glasses. They completed their tasks quickly and retreated just as the other door opened to admit not only King Wrynn, but also his son, Prince Anduin, still an adolescent, but growing quickly into a man. Turning, the worgen death knight bowed to the king and prince. "Rise, Sir Konnall. My guard said your news is vital to the survival of the Alliance?"
"It is, Sire," Konnall nodded, waiting until the king gestured for him to have a seat before he did so. "If I may speak freely?"
The king poured the wine into several glasses. "Before you do, may I request that King Greymane join us? I've a feeling this news is something he will want to hear as well."
"Yes, he should hear this, too." The death knight agreed, hiding his surprise at the news that the Gilnean king was apparently residing in Stormwind.
A glance from his father sent the prince striding from the room. "Please eat and drink while we wait, Konnall."
"Thank you, Sire." Konnall chose a few tidbits, his stomach in knots as he waited for the prince to return with King Greymane. "May I ask how long King Greymane has been in Stormwind? The last I knew, he was still in Gilneas."
King Wrynn looked sad as he explained, "The Shattering enabled Sylvanas and the Forsaken to take it over. The Kaldorei were able to evacuate most of the citizens to Teldrassil, but Prince Liam died in the effort to take back Gilneas City."
"What about the queen and princess? Are they all right?" Konnall tried not to show how keen he was to know about the two women.
The king nodded, eyeing the death knight with surprise. "Yes, they're staying in Darnassus. You're awfully interested in what's happened in Gilneas, Konnall. All the worgen death knights I've met are bitter towards Genn because the wall he built cut them off from Gilneas completely."
"We should wait for King Greymane before I explain, your Majesty." He offered a sheepish smile and subsided into silence.
A few moments later, the prince returned with King Greymane. "You requested my presence, Varian?"
"Yes, Genn." Varian rose and greeted his fellow king with a handshake. He turned to indicate the death knight, who'd risen as well. "This is Konnall. He says he has important news for us."
The worgen went to one knee before his king, trying to show that he wasn't like the other worgen death knights. "My king."
"Few of the death knights like us even call me king, Konnall," Genn replied, gesturing for the worgen to stand up. "Something about you is familiar, but I do not remember a Konnall."
Rising, he took a deep breath and shifted to his human form. "Because Konnall is an assumed name, Father."
"Liam!" Genn exclaimed, staring at his son in shock. "How is this possible? You were alive when the Lich King created his death knights."
The prince of Gilneas nodded sadly, glancing at the other king and prince to include them in the news he had to impart. "That's because the Lich King has returned and begun creating death knights once again."
"The Lich King is dead," Anduin retorted, eyeing Liam distrustfully. "Killed by Tirion Fordring in the Icecrown Citadel in Northrend."
Varian shook his head, resting a hand on his son's shoulder. "That's the public story because the people would never rest easy if they knew there still was a Lich King."
"What do you mean?" Genn finally took his eyes from his son to look at the other king. "Why would there still be a Lich King? He had to die."
Liam explained for his father, seeing the pain in the other king's eyes, willing him to understand the gravity of the situation. "Arthas Menethil is dead, but there needs to be a Lich King to keep the Scourge under control, otherwise they would run rampant. Bolvar Fordragon insisted on taking on the task himself and asked Tirion to report that both he and the Lich King died in order to allow people to rest easy."
"You knew this, Father?" Anduin demanded, looking deeply hurt that this had been kept from him, that he'd been led to believe the man who'd been a surrogate father was dead.
Varian nodded, emotional pain in his gaze as he squeezed his son's shoulder comfortingly. "I did, but only because Tirion felt someone should know the truth."
"I don't know quite how it happened, but the Lich King is back and creating death knights," Liam told them, hoping this would clarify things for them. "Darion realised that there were more death knights than there should be, so he chose to free me from the Lich King's control and report to you precisely because he knew you would recognise me and realise the truth of my news."
Genn eyed Liam with a heartbreaking combination of suspicion and wary hope. "How do we know you really are Liam Greymane and not an impostor?"
"What could Darion gain from starting rumours like this?" Varian retorted before Liam could respond, giving the prince of Gilneas a chance to bolster his composure. He hadn't expected his father to welcome him with open arms, but he certainly hadn't expected suspicion!
Arms folded across his broad chest, Genn responded with a question of his own: "How could he have made Liam a Death Knight at all? His body was laid to rest at Aderic's Repose."
"That I cannot answer," Liam admitted when the others looked at him. Gazing steadily at his father, willing him to believe him, he continued: "I only remember Sylvanas shooting me, you yelling my name and holding me as I struggled to breathe one more time, and then dark numbness. It was as if I was in a void, without sensation, light or colour. After that came cold, with the voice of the Lich King in my head, telling me what to do and say. Until Darion Morgraine recognised me and released me from the Lich King's power."
Genn gazed at his son with joy shining in his eyes, tears running down his cheeks. Voice thick with emotion, he said, "I'm glad he chose to send you." He didn't seem to notice Varian and Anduin's quiet withdrawal, simply embracing Liam, armour and all. "My son!"
After a moment of hesitation, Liam returned his father's hug, relieved that he'd accepted the fact that he truly was his son and not an impostor. "You believe that I'm who I say I am, then? I can provide more proof if necessary."
"I believe you," Genn assured him, still smiling, but with sadness lingering in his eyes. "Your description of your last moments before your death was enough to convince me. Your mother and sister will certainly be overjoyed to see you alive."
Liam smiled as he thought of them, but another face came to mind almost immediately. "What about Lorna? Did she survive?"
"She did, don't worry," Genn assured his son, squeezing the muscular arm under his hand. "She helped her father take back Gilneas with assistance from the 7th Legion and now they're trying to take back Silverpine as well."
It didn't escape his notice that the Alliance was helping. Father must have finally realised that it isn't such a shame to ask for help at times... Still, his over-riding thought was for his wife. Though he was proud of her for helping to lead the fight, he worried about her in such a dangerous situation. "Are you sure she's the best person for the position? There's no one else who can do it?"
"Do you really think anyone could stop Lorna Crowley from doing what she knows to be right?" his father asked, a fondly exasperated smile on his face. "She insisted on going and Darius couldn't refuse her, not after he lost Robert, too." Before Liam could respond to the news that his brother-in-law was dead, there was a knock on the door. Turning as Liam changed back to his worgen form, Genn called, "Come!"
The door opened and a footman barely stepped into the room, glancing fearfully at Liam. "My apologies for disturbing you, your Majesty, but two messengers have arrived from Silverpine Forest and insist on speaking with you."
"Send them in," the king replied, exchanging a glance with Liam. To be safe, he moved away. Few people had even known that he'd been bitten at all, so he wouldn't be recognisable. His heart beat faster when Lord Darius Crowley and his daughter entered. "Darius! What news do you have from Silverpine?"
Father and daughter both bowed before he answered the question, looking both ashamed and defiant. "I'm sorry to report that Sylvanas forced me into an unconditional surrender, your Majesty."
"What did she do to force it, Darius?" Genn's voice was quiet and even as he gazed at his old friend. "It must have been extreme for you to surrender to her."
When Darius hesitated to answer, Lorna spoke up instead. "She threatened to kill me, Sire."
"I couldn't lose her, Genn," Darius hastened to explain, his voice over-riding the growl that vibrated in Liam's chest. "She's all I have now."
Genn glanced over at Liam, who'd retreated to stand beside the fireplace. "I understand, old friend, and I don't blame you in the slightest."
"Ivar does, however," Lorna added bitterly, her hands clenching into fists. "He called Father weak and cowardly for giving in to her."
Darius rested a hand on his daughter's shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Ivar remains unmarried and without children. He can't possibly understand what it's like to see all he holds dear on the brink of being torn away from him."
"Ivar Bloodfang?" Liam asked, drawing their attention to him for the first time since they'd entered. "The Packleader in Silverpine?"
Father and daughter looked at Liam, and then at each other. "Forgive me my caution, but who are you?"
"Your caution is quite understandable, Lord Crowley," Liam replied, glancing at his own father for guidance. Genn gestured to indicate that it was Liam's decision whether he revealed himself or not.
Lorna, following the glance, stepped closer to Liam, peering closely at his face. Her eyes widening with realisation, she whispered, "Liam?"
"Yes, Lorna." He shifted back to his human form to confirm her guess. "It's me."
A smile spreading across her face, she threw her arms around him in a warm embrace, their armour clashing. "By the Light, I've missed you!"
"How is this possible?" Darius asked, his remaining eye narrowed in thought. "The Lich King is dead, isn't he?"
Liam sighed, kissing the top of the Lorna's head. "Yes and no."
"Come with me, Darius, and I'll explain," Genn took his friend's arm and drew him aside.
Grateful that his father understood his need to speak privately with Lorna, Liam turned his attention to his wife, surprised to see tears streaming down her cheeks. "Lorna? Are you all right?"
"You were dead, Liam," she reminded him, tracing the features of his face with her fingertips. "Now you're here, but apparently a death knight. How am I supposed to react?"
He smiled crookedly, "You could kiss me for a start."
"I'm not sure you deserve one, after getting yourself killed like that," she eyed him with playful annoyance.
Liam chuckled, combing his fingers through her beautiful dark hair. "All I wanted since I remembered who I am was to see you again, to hold you and kiss you again."
"What about after you kiss me?" she asked, laying her hands on either side of his neck. "Did you have plans for after that?"
He offered her his most charming smile. "I thought we could improvise that together."
"I like the way you think, Liam Greymane." She smiled back, stretching up on tiptoe to kiss him.
He smiled as he kissed her back, pulling her closer. As he did, something that'd been tickling at the edges of his awareness came into focus. As a death knight, he could now sense others' life forces and with Lorna so close, he could sense two extra life forces. Pulling back, Liam placed his hand over her abdomen. "How long?"
"Just about three months, according to the druid healers," she replied, looking shy and uncertain for once as she covered his hand with hers.
He gazed down at their hands in awe. She must have conceived not long before I died... "Does anyone else know?"
"Just our families," Lorna told him, looking over at their fathers, who stood close together, talking in low voices, their foreheads almost touching. It'd been a familiar sight in their childhood and early adolescence and it reassured Liam to see it now. "Father wasn't exactly happy that we didn't tell him about our marriage right away."
Liam shook his head with a fondly exasperated smile. "When did we have a chance to? We were fighting the Forsaken almost constantly at that point."
"That's what I told him." His wife laughed, looking younger for those few moments.
Her laugh attracted their fathers' attention and Darius asked, "What's so funny, Lorna?"
"Nothing, Father." She smiled sweetly at him, reminding Liam of the days before his father built the Greymane Wall, before the civil war that had almost torn their country apart.
Genn and Darius looked at each other with indulgent smiles. "Having Liam back must agree with her. She hasn't smiled like that in years."
"I can't really blame her," Genn responded musingly, walking with Darius over to join their children. "We've had precious little to smile about recently."
Darius smiled gently, leaning down to kiss his daughter's forehead. "No, I really can't."
"Did you tell him about Godfrey, Father?" Just like that, the smile was gone from Lorna's face, her focus on more pressing matters. "And Ashbury and Walden?"
"What about them?" Genn looked from daughter to father, his gaze sharpening. "They're dead, aren't they?"
Darius shook his head, a distinct growl in his voice. "No, Sylvanas has the val'kyr on her side now and made them into Forsaken. It's what she threatened to do to Lorna."
"That bitch," Liam growled the words, his arms tightening briefly around his wife.
Genn rested his hand on his son's back to calm him. "Sylvanas has always been ruthless, ready to do whatever it takes to win."
"We did discover that worgens cannot be made Forsaken," Darius admitted, meeting Liam's gaze calmly, "But we don't know what would happen to the babies with the transformation and don't want to risk anything happening to them."
He nodded, freeing one arm so he could squeeze his father-in-law's shoulder. "I understand, Darius. I'm grateful you didn't let her follow through on her threat."
"You'll need to make a report to the Council about what happened in Silverpine," Genn told them gently. "Then they can decide what the Alliance is going to do about it."
Father and daughter nodded. "Yes, Sire."
"What about Liam?" Lorna looked up at her husband, worry furrowing her brow. "The fact that he's a death knight raises some very worrisome questions."
Liam changed back to his worgen form. "For now, to the rest of the world, I am Konnall, simply another worgen death knight."
"I didn't even know you were a worgen," Lorna commented, her glance assuring him that they were going to discuss it later.
He smiled sheepishly. "I was bitten when the worgens first overran the city. Father and Krennan were the only ones present when the bite took effect and they were able to take immediate action, so they, Mother, and Tess are the only ones who know."
"Were you going to tell me eventually?" she demanded, her gaze sharp.
Nodding, he drew her close and nuzzled the top of her head. "Yes, I had every intention of telling you, but there was always something else to discuss, to do."
"Hmm, you have a point there." Lorna leaned into him, nestling into his even larger warmth as well as she could with both of them in full armour.
His eyes almost closed with the pleasure of having Lorna so close, Liam just barely saw the glances their fathers exchanged: full of pride, love, fondness, and--inexplicably--sadness. Focusing on his wife, he murmured softly, "I love you, Lorna."
"I love you, too, Liam," she murmured back, combing her fingers through the fur that peeked over the top of his breastplate.
A knock at the door interrupted the quiet that had fallen. Reluctantly, Liam and Lorna drew apart. Once there was a respectable distance between them, Genn called, "Come."
"Begging your pardon, your majesty, but King Wrynn wished you to know that the Council will be meeting shortly." The footman barely entered the room, casting a fearful glance first at Liam, and then Darius.
Genn nodded, glancing at the other three before answering. "Thank you. Please reassure him that we will be there."
"Yes, your Majesty." Bowing, the footman quickly retreated, pulling the door shut behind him.
Turning to his son, Genn told him, "I'm sorry to take you away from Lorna so soon after reuniting with her, Liam, but I'd like you to go to Darnassus to see your mother and sister. Lorna will join you as soon as her duties permit her."
"When would you like me to leave, Father?" Liam asked, rejoining his wife and slipping his arms around her waist. He'd hoped to spend a bit more time with her before duties sent them in opposite directions.
Genn smiled as Lorna leaned back into her husband's warmth. "Tomorrow will be soon enough. I know better than to try to send you away now."
"Thank you, Father." Smiling as he changed to his human form, Liam gently turned Lorna in his arms so he could kiss her, soft and sweet, conscious of the fact that their fathers were right there.
Lorna, it seemed, either didn't care or completely forgot, deepening the kiss with the passion that Liam had always loved about her. Whatever she cared about, she cared deeply and fervently, whether it was a person, an ideal, or a place. Only when Darius cleared his throat loudly did Lorna end the kiss, her face flushed and breathing ragged. "Come, daughter, we have a report to make. You can spend time with Liam afterwards."
"Yes, Father." Stretching up to kiss Liam's cheek, Lorna stepped back out of his arms to stand beside her father.
Bowing to their king, they left the room. "I must attend the meeting as well, Liam. I'll speak with Varian about putting you in the same suite as Darius and Lorna."
"Thank you." He switched to his worgen form reluctantly. He missed being human, but there were advantages to being a worgen. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'll wait out in the courtyard."
Genn nodded and Liam walked over to retrieve his helmet and gloves. "I'll see you after the meeting, then."
He followed his father from the room, grateful for this second chance to be with his family.
* * *
Genn paced the study in Gwen Armstead's home in Duskhaven that'd been given over for his use once the evacuation of Gilneas City had begun. Though he worried about all of his people, the ones at the forefront of his mind were those who'd volunteered to stay behind with Lord Crowley, to keep the worgens occupied while the innocents escaped. So many brave men and women who'd willingly sacrificed themselves to prevent even more bloodshed. They deserve so much more than what they'll get... "Father."
"Liam." He turned from the window gladly as his son entered with Krennan Aranas. He frowned when he noticed that his son was limping. "What happened to your leg?"
The redhead glanced down at it as if he'd just realised it was injured. "I fought off most of the worgens, but one of them managed to get his teeth into me before I could fend him off."
"He bit you, your Highness?" Krennan asked, looking at the king.
Liam nodded, frowning when he noticed the expressions on their faces. "I figured it was nothing, but it sure stings a little."
"It's not nothing, Liam," Genn told his son, nodding in response to Krennan's unspoken question. Nodding back, the alchemist moved to the small workbench in the corner, where he began mixing vials together. "Because of the bite--"
Any further explanation was unnecessary, because Liam's body suddenly seemed to seize, muscles bulging and stretching, bone structure changing. "Hold him!"
"Liam!" Changing even as he leapt for his son, Genn fought to subdue the suddenly-feral worgen without harming him. "Hurry, Krennan!"
Approaching the two worgens carefully, Aranas poured the mixture he'd come up with into Liam's open muzzle. As the royal alchemist backed away, Genn clamped a clawed hand around his son's muzzle to keep him from spitting out the potion. Finally, he felt Liam swallow and slowly let go, ready to restrain him again if the dose wasn't enough. After a few moments, Liam blinked and looked around. "Father? Krennan?" He covered his mouth with his hands when he heard his new voice, only for that to turn into feeling the shape of his new muzzle, which became him staring at his now-clawed hands in shock. Transferring his gaze to Genn, he asked, "What happened to me?"
"You're a worgen now, Liam," he told his son sadly as he changed back to his human form. "And I suspect your fate is what will befall those who stayed behind at the Light's Dawn Cathedral, provided they don't die outright."
* * *
Once Liam had been shown to the suite of rooms he'd be sharing with Darius and Lorna, the first thing he did was take a bath. He'd bathed only rarely on the trip to Stormwind and that had usually been in streams he'd encountered along the way. It felt wonderful to finally feel clean and to simply sit in the steaming water and let the warmth of it sink into him, right to his very bones. When the water cooled, he reluctantly climbed out and dressed in a simple shirt, pants, and boots. Before he emerged into the sitting room, he changed to his worgen form. He found Darius seated before the fire, also dressed in shirt, pants, and boots, though they were of a finer style than Liam's. The other redhead looked up from the book he was reading at Liam's entrance and smiled in greeting. "Hello, Konnall. You look more comfortable."
"I am, Lord Crowley. It's amazing what a good bath will do for you," Liam replied, assuming the lord's use of his alias meant there were others present aside from themselves in the suite and it would be better not to assume too much familiarity.
Before Darius could respond, the door opposite Liam's opened and a couple maidservants emerged. The younger of the two gave a small shriek when she caught sight of Liam, only to be hushed by the elder. They quickly scurried out after that, hastily closing the door behind them. Shaking his head in disgust, Darius closed the book and set it aside. "Would you like something to drink, Liam?"
"Some wine would be nice, yes." Liam nodded, sitting down on the sofa and holding out his hands to the fire. He'd thought Gilneas was cold, with its almost-constant rain, but Northrend had been much colder with its ice and snow.
Rising, Darius moved to a small table against the wall and poured two glasses of wine. "As much as I would have liked to have been there, I'm glad you married Lorna, Liam. It was one wish my wife and I agreed on for her, though for very different reasons."
"What do you mean?" Liam frowned as he accepted a glass from the noble, holding it carefully in his clawed hand.
Sighing as he sat down, Darius fixed the prince with his steady, one-eyed gaze. "My wife didn't like the way I encouraged Lorna to learn how to ride and fight alongside Robert. She wanted Lorna to be more ladylike, more like Tess." Liam shook his head slightly at that. Both of Darius' children had taken after him in temperament and he'd done his part in encouraging Lorna's more boyish tendencies as they'd grown up. "Still, she liked the idea of Lorna marrying you because that meant Lorna would be queen and she wanted what she felt was best for Lorna."
"And what about you?" Liam kept his voice as close to a low rumble as he could. "Why did you want Lorna to marry me?"
Smiling, Darius patted Liam's furry arm fondly. "I knew you would love her and listen to her concerns and worries. She would keep you on your toes and honest."
"You were certainly right about that," Liam assured the older man with a smile. "I've always loved Lorna, from when we were very small."
Both men started to their feet when Lorna spoke up from the door the maidservants had exited earlier. "I'm glad to hear it, Liam, because it's the same for me."
"Lorna," he murmured, his breath stolen by how beautiful she looked in a simple, elegant gown of dark blue that contrasted with her pale skin and brought out the blue highlights in her dark hair. "You're beautiful."
She blushed even as she smiled. "Thank you."
Changing as he moved towards her, Liam swept her into a warm kiss. She melted into the kiss with a moan, her arms stealing around his neck as she moulded herself to his body. When they paused to catch their breath, Darius had left and Lorna led Liam into her room. They would only have this one night together and they had several months to make up for.
* * *
Before Genn and Krennan could finish explaining how Liam had come to be a worgen, Queen Mia burst into the room with Princess Tess hot on her heels. "Genn? What's wrong? We heard shout--eek!"
"It's me, Mother," Liam told her, looking as stricken as was possible with the fierce head of a wolf. "Somehow, I'm a worgen."
One hand extended, Mia cautiously approached her transformed son. "I didn't know you'd been bitten at all."
"How do you know it takes a bite?" Liam asked, green eyes narrowed. He swung his head around to look at Genn. "Father?"
Sighing, Genn nodded. "She knows, yes."
"Knows what?" Tess demanded, looking at each of them in turn with anger in her green eyes. "What do the rest of you know that I don't?"
Taking his daughter by the shoulders, Genn asked her seriously, "Were you bitten at all by a worgen while you were helping to evacuate the city?"
"No, Father." She shook her head in reply. "No worgens came near me at all." Drawing her into an impulsive hug, Genn thanked the Light that his daughter had been spared. "Why would that matter so much? It's just a bite, right?"
Liam shook his head, supplying the answer their father was reluctant to give. "It's how new worgens are created, how I became--" he gestured at himself with one clawed hand "--this."
"And he's not the only one," Genn added quietly, gently pushing Tess back so he could transform as well.
She flinched back from him at first, breaking Genn's heart a little. When her mother approached without fear and slipped her arm through her father's, Tess seemed to relax. A little hesitantly, she reached out to stroke one hand over the fur on the king's forearm. "I thought worgens were just wild creatures who attack indiscriminately?"
"I discovered a potion that allows a worgen to retain human reason, your Highness," Krennan interjected gently at that point. "Or--theoretically--to regain it if they've been feral."
Tess nodded and slowly slid her arms around her father's neck, hugging him. He returned it carefully, but happily. He'd always worried that she'd be afraid of him if she knew the truth.
* * *
It was much easier to gain an audience with Queen Mia than it had been to gain one with King Varian. Of course, she wasn't leading the Alliance the way Varian was. She was simply trying to see to the needs of her people. When Liam was shown to the room where the queen and princess of Gilneas sat having tea, matching expressions of surprise-joy-suspicion appeared on their faces. After the Sentinel who'd shown him to the room withdrew, Mia asked, "Why do you come to us, Death Knight? Few of your kind bear any love for Gilneas."
"It's me, Mother," Liam told her, removing his helmet as he switched to his human form.
Tess would have hurried over to hug him then and there if their mother hadn't caught her arm to hold her back. "But it's Liam!"
"We don't know for sure that it's him," Mia told her daughter, eyeing her son distrustfully.
His heart breaking a little, Liam withdrew the courier's pouch his father had given him before he'd left Stormwind and offered it to his mother. "Will this help prove that I'm your son?"
"That's the Royal pouch," Mia exclaimed, carefully taking the pouch from her son. Opening it up, she pulled out two letters from her husband, handing one to Tess.
He waited calmly as the two women read the letters. It was likely the first they'd heard from the king in some time. As he'd expected, Tess reacted first to her father's affirmation of Liam's identity, flinging her arms around him in an ecstatic embrace. "I knew it was you!"
"Thank you, Tess." Smiling despite the tears that closed up his throat, Liam returned his sister's hug gladly, not surprised to realise she was crying.
The moment his sister released him, his mother embraced him. "I don't know how or why you're a death knight now, but I'm so glad to have you back."
"Thanks, Mother." Liam could feel her tears dampening his shirt as he hugged her back. "It's a bit complicated to explain, but it's enough for me to be with you again."
As they returned to the sitting area and resumed the women's interrupted tea, Tess eagerly asked, "Did you see Lorna? Father said in his letter that she and Uncle Darius had returned from Silverpine alive and well and that Gilneas is in Alliance hands now."
"Yes, I saw her and Uncle Darius." He nodded, smiling to see his sister as bubbly as ever. She could lift anyone's spirits if she put her mind to it. "Before you ask, yes, I'm aware that she's pregnant and she now knows that I'm worgen."
Mia raised her eyebrows at that as she poured a cup of tea for her son. "You hadn't told her, even after you married?"
"I meant to, but there never seemed to be a right time," he answered with a sheepish smile, accepting the cup and taking a grateful sip. "It just never came up in conversation."
Tess shook her head in fond exasperation. "How would something like that come up in conversation anyway?"
"She has a point, Liam," Mia commented before her son could respond, squeezing his hand with her own. Carefully-hidden worry in her green eyes, she asked him, "Will you be staying in Darnassus for long?"
He smiled reassuringly, looking from one to the other. "I'm here to stay for the time being. Father intends to send Lorna here as soon as she's discharged her duties in Stormwind. I think he wants to keep her and our children safe." It was so strange for him to think that he was going to be a father. For a time, he'd thought it would never happen.
"Did Father tell you that he intends to acknowledge these children as his heirs?" His sister was uncharacteristically sober and worried as she asked the question.
"Yes, he did." Liam nodded as he replied, reassuring smile still in place. "We haven't discussed yet whether my being a death knight will affect whether I inherit or not, but I'm glad my children at least will have the chance even if I don't."
Tess hugged her brother tight when he put his tea down on the table. "Regardless of what you and Father agree, we're glad you're here with us again."
"I'm glad for it, too, Tessie," he murmured, returning her hug just as tightly.
* * *
A noise that was almost a whine escaped from Liam, drawing the others' attention to him. "How did you change back, Father? How do you hide what you are?"
"First of all, stay calm," Genn told his son, gently easing Tess away so he could place his clawed hands on Liam's shoulders. "Panicking won't help, especially right now."
Staring at his father, Liam asked, "What do you mean?"
"Your hold on reason is tenuous at the moment," Genn explained, only distantly aware that Krennan and the women had moved to the side of the room, allowing father and son the space they needed. "If you give in to panic or anger or frustration, you will lose it and risk turning feral."
Nodding, Liam closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Genn could scent that his son's panic and worry were fading, giving way to calm and acceptance. Opening his eyes and bringing his hands up to rest on his father's shoulders, Liam told him, "Thank you, Father. I could feel the wolf trying to take over, but your words helped."
"Good." Smiling, the king squeezed the prince's shoulders and released him. "Now, take a few moments to sense your human side. Don't worry if you don't sense him at first. It took me some time to sense mine after I first changed."
Nodding, Liam closed his eyes to better focus inward, his hands falling to his sides. Genn could imagine what his son was going through: sifting through the flood of new information from his new senses, the new instincts that urged him to lash out and attack. Buried underneath it all, though, was the man Liam had always been: strong, passionate, and determined to do what was right. After several moments, the frown of concentration on the redhead's face cleared into one of delight. "I found him. He's buried deep, but he's there."
"Now, focus on being that human," Genn told him, keeping his voice down to a gentle rumble, trying to encourage and soothe his son at the same time. "Concentrate all of your willpower on becoming human again."
The frown of concentration returned as Liam focused on doing as his father suggested. After several tense moments, the prince's worgen form shrank and re-shaped itself to his human form. His green eyes were bright with pleasure when he opened them. "I did it!"
"Well done, Liam," Genn told him, changing forms as well. "At first, it will take effort for you to shift between forms, but it will become easier with time and practice."
Liam stared at his father even as he returned his mother's hug. "You want me to change forms, Father?"
"Yes, I do." The king nodded, smiling down at the queen when she took his arm again. "For better or worse, you are now worgen and should accept it as being part of who you are."
The redhead frowned as he hugged his sister back. "But you do. I've never seen your worgen form until tonight."
"For political reasons only," Genn replied, covering Mia's hand on his arm with his own. "I shift forms whenever I can, but the fear of worgens is too great for me to reveal that I am one myself."
Looking thoughtful, Liam asked, "Should I do the same?"
"Would they follow you if they knew you were worgen?" Genn answered the question with one of his own. "That is your decision to make, Liam. I cannot make it for you."
* * *
Liam paced the sitting room nervously, vaguely aware of his father and Darius Crowley seated calmly on the settee in front of the fire. It'd been several months since Lorna had joined him in Darnassus and, early that morning, she'd gone into labour. Once he'd informed his mother and sister, he'd been shoved out of the room to wait with his father and father-in-law, who were brought by Myriam Spellwalker the moment she heard the news. By now, the re-emergence of the Lich King was a known fact, so Liam was pacing in his human form, though his worgen side wasn't far from the surface at the moment, with his worry about his wife and children. He paused in his pacing and stared hard at the door to their room, as if he could see through it if he stared hard enough. "Liam, standing and staring isn't going to make it go any faster."
"I'm sorry, Father. I'm just worried." Breaking off his stare, Liam walked over to join the two older men, perching on the arm of the settee by his father.
Darius responded as Genn poured his son a stiff drink. "I understand that first births tend to take longer and Lorna has twins, so that will make it even longer as it is."
"I just want to be in there with her," Liam admitted, tossing back the drink his father handed him and enjoying the way it burned his throat on the way down to his stomach.
Genn smiled reassuringly at his son. "It's best that we remain out here. Do you think you could stand to hear Lorna in pain as she bears your children?"
"No, it'd break my heart to hear it," Liam admitted, turning the glass between his hands. "But I'm going to go mad if I don't find anything out soon."
Before either man could respond, a noise at the door had them all standing and turning to face it. The two druid healers who'd been assisting with the birth stood there, each holding a bundle of blankets. Guinevera approached first, her smile as tender as if the babe in her arms was her own seven-month-old daughter, Nimue. "You have a strong, healthy son, your Highness."
"And a beautiful daughter," Cassiope added as she followed her colleague over.
He stared in awe down at the sleeping babies, noticing that the boy had Lorna's black hair while the girl was a redhead. "They're really my children?"
"We can sense it, your Highness," Guinevera assured him, carefully placing the baby boy in his arms. "They are, indeed, of the House of Greymane."
At a gesture from Genn, Cassiope placed the girl in his arms as well. Turning his attention back to the Healers, Liam asked urgently, "What about Lorna? Is she all right?"
"She's fine, Liam." The answer came from his mother, who'd emerged while his focus had been on the children. "Exhausted and sore, but radiantly happy to be a mother."
He nodded, carefully handing his son to Darius. "May I see her?"
"Yes, she's asking for you." Mia smiled fondly at her son and he could see that she looked quite exhausted.
Before he went into Lorna's room, Liam pulled his mother into a warm hug. She returned it after a moment of surprise, and then gently pushed him into the room. Tess was perched on the edge of the bed beside Lorna, who looked even more exhausted than Mia. Both women looked up at Liam's entrance and smiled. Tess got to her feet, patting Lorna's hand. "I'll let you two talk now."
"Thank you, Tessie." Liam caught his sister as she went past and hugged her gently. "Father and Uncle Darius have the twins as far as I know."
The princess nodded and continued out of the room. Liam approached the bed and sat down beside his exhausted wife. Even as she leaned into him, Lorna commented, "I must look an absolute mess right now."
"The most beautiful absolute mess I've ever seen," he retorted with a smile, kissing the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her.
She laughed tiredly at that. "I knew you'd say that."
"It's the truth, you know," he told her, adjusting his position so he leaned back against the pillows with Lorna half on top of him. "No matter what, you'll always be the most beautiful woman in the world to me."
She gave a tired laugh that turned into a yawn. "And you're the handsomest man, whether you're human, worgen, or death knight."
Liam smiled, but made no reply, as Lorna had fallen asleep, snuggled trustingly against his side.
* * *
A letter magically appeared in every Gilnean citizen's mailbox later that day: Her Royal Highness, Princess Lorna Greymane, was safely delivered of a baby boy and girl this morning. Please join us in celebrating the births of Prince Alexander Robert Greymane and Princess Gehenna Alaina Greymane. Gilneas will rise again!
End
Pairing/Characters: Prince Liam Greymane, King Varian Wrynn, Prince Anduin Wrynn, King Genn Greymane, Lord Darius Crowley, Lorna Crowley, Queen Mia Greymane, Princess Tess Greymane; Liam/Lorna, Genn/Mia
Rating: G
Fandom: World of Warcraft
Word Count: 7,253
Spoilers: About Gilneans, so if you can't create worgens, this won't make much sense.
Summary: A new Death Knight arrives at Stormwind and it's the last person anyone would expect it to be.
Notes/Warnings: A sort-of sequel to my other WoW fic, Ray of Happiness, based on the question "What if Liam were a Death Knight?". My information is not only drawn from the game, but also from the short story Genn Greymane: Lord of His Pack by James Waugh (found on the official website), Wowpedia, and WowWiki. Any characters you don't recognise as NPCs are either mine or a friend's (used with permission). Beta by unicorn_catcher and umbralillium.
Back to Life
He'd heard stories about the reception of the initial Ebon Blade death knight emissary to Stormwind: spat upon by those citizens who didn't scream and cower, that death knight had grimly ridden on to Stormwind Keep to present the letter from Lord Tirion Fording to King Varian Wrynn. He was grateful that the alliance that had formed at the time still held and he didn't have to endure the same hostility, though he noticed that most of the people he rode past either eyed him warily or gave him a wide berth. It stung, but he understood why they would. He simply rode on to the keep and dismounted before the gate. Removing his helmet as a footman took his horse to the stables, he addressed the guards standing on either side of the gate: "Konnall of the Knights of the Ebon Blade respectfully requests a private audience with King Wrynn."
"Why a private audience?" the older guard challenged him, his gaze cautious and determined.
He'd expected them to wonder, but what he had to tell the king wasn't for just anyone's ears. "It is a highly confidential matter that is vital to the survival of his kingdom and the rest of the Alliance as well."
"Come with me, please." The guard exchanged a glance with his colleague before leading the worgen death knight into the keep. It took conscious effort on Konnall's part to keep from leading the way to the throne room himself, having visited it many times before he'd died. Once they reached the door to the throne room, the guard had the death knight wait outside while he relayed the worgen's request. Even with his enhanced hearing, he couldn't quite catch what was said. The guard came out quickly enough and told him stiffly, "I'm to escort you to the king's private audience chamber."
Konnall gestured for the guard to lead on. "Then lead the way, please."
"Of course." His back ramrod straight, the guard led the death knight to a room nearby. "Have a seat, please. The King will be with you momentarily."
"Thank you." The worgen saluted the guard and proceeded over to the table in front of the fire, setting his helmet down so he could remove his gloves and hold his hands out to the fire. After all that time in Northrend, he couldn't seem to warm up properly.
He turned when the door opened to admit a servant with a tray of snacks, followed by another carrying a carafe of some beverage and a tray of glasses. They completed their tasks quickly and retreated just as the other door opened to admit not only King Wrynn, but also his son, Prince Anduin, still an adolescent, but growing quickly into a man. Turning, the worgen death knight bowed to the king and prince. "Rise, Sir Konnall. My guard said your news is vital to the survival of the Alliance?"
"It is, Sire," Konnall nodded, waiting until the king gestured for him to have a seat before he did so. "If I may speak freely?"
The king poured the wine into several glasses. "Before you do, may I request that King Greymane join us? I've a feeling this news is something he will want to hear as well."
"Yes, he should hear this, too." The death knight agreed, hiding his surprise at the news that the Gilnean king was apparently residing in Stormwind.
A glance from his father sent the prince striding from the room. "Please eat and drink while we wait, Konnall."
"Thank you, Sire." Konnall chose a few tidbits, his stomach in knots as he waited for the prince to return with King Greymane. "May I ask how long King Greymane has been in Stormwind? The last I knew, he was still in Gilneas."
King Wrynn looked sad as he explained, "The Shattering enabled Sylvanas and the Forsaken to take it over. The Kaldorei were able to evacuate most of the citizens to Teldrassil, but Prince Liam died in the effort to take back Gilneas City."
"What about the queen and princess? Are they all right?" Konnall tried not to show how keen he was to know about the two women.
The king nodded, eyeing the death knight with surprise. "Yes, they're staying in Darnassus. You're awfully interested in what's happened in Gilneas, Konnall. All the worgen death knights I've met are bitter towards Genn because the wall he built cut them off from Gilneas completely."
"We should wait for King Greymane before I explain, your Majesty." He offered a sheepish smile and subsided into silence.
A few moments later, the prince returned with King Greymane. "You requested my presence, Varian?"
"Yes, Genn." Varian rose and greeted his fellow king with a handshake. He turned to indicate the death knight, who'd risen as well. "This is Konnall. He says he has important news for us."
The worgen went to one knee before his king, trying to show that he wasn't like the other worgen death knights. "My king."
"Few of the death knights like us even call me king, Konnall," Genn replied, gesturing for the worgen to stand up. "Something about you is familiar, but I do not remember a Konnall."
Rising, he took a deep breath and shifted to his human form. "Because Konnall is an assumed name, Father."
"Liam!" Genn exclaimed, staring at his son in shock. "How is this possible? You were alive when the Lich King created his death knights."
The prince of Gilneas nodded sadly, glancing at the other king and prince to include them in the news he had to impart. "That's because the Lich King has returned and begun creating death knights once again."
"The Lich King is dead," Anduin retorted, eyeing Liam distrustfully. "Killed by Tirion Fordring in the Icecrown Citadel in Northrend."
Varian shook his head, resting a hand on his son's shoulder. "That's the public story because the people would never rest easy if they knew there still was a Lich King."
"What do you mean?" Genn finally took his eyes from his son to look at the other king. "Why would there still be a Lich King? He had to die."
Liam explained for his father, seeing the pain in the other king's eyes, willing him to understand the gravity of the situation. "Arthas Menethil is dead, but there needs to be a Lich King to keep the Scourge under control, otherwise they would run rampant. Bolvar Fordragon insisted on taking on the task himself and asked Tirion to report that both he and the Lich King died in order to allow people to rest easy."
"You knew this, Father?" Anduin demanded, looking deeply hurt that this had been kept from him, that he'd been led to believe the man who'd been a surrogate father was dead.
Varian nodded, emotional pain in his gaze as he squeezed his son's shoulder comfortingly. "I did, but only because Tirion felt someone should know the truth."
"I don't know quite how it happened, but the Lich King is back and creating death knights," Liam told them, hoping this would clarify things for them. "Darion realised that there were more death knights than there should be, so he chose to free me from the Lich King's control and report to you precisely because he knew you would recognise me and realise the truth of my news."
Genn eyed Liam with a heartbreaking combination of suspicion and wary hope. "How do we know you really are Liam Greymane and not an impostor?"
"What could Darion gain from starting rumours like this?" Varian retorted before Liam could respond, giving the prince of Gilneas a chance to bolster his composure. He hadn't expected his father to welcome him with open arms, but he certainly hadn't expected suspicion!
Arms folded across his broad chest, Genn responded with a question of his own: "How could he have made Liam a Death Knight at all? His body was laid to rest at Aderic's Repose."
"That I cannot answer," Liam admitted when the others looked at him. Gazing steadily at his father, willing him to believe him, he continued: "I only remember Sylvanas shooting me, you yelling my name and holding me as I struggled to breathe one more time, and then dark numbness. It was as if I was in a void, without sensation, light or colour. After that came cold, with the voice of the Lich King in my head, telling me what to do and say. Until Darion Morgraine recognised me and released me from the Lich King's power."
Genn gazed at his son with joy shining in his eyes, tears running down his cheeks. Voice thick with emotion, he said, "I'm glad he chose to send you." He didn't seem to notice Varian and Anduin's quiet withdrawal, simply embracing Liam, armour and all. "My son!"
After a moment of hesitation, Liam returned his father's hug, relieved that he'd accepted the fact that he truly was his son and not an impostor. "You believe that I'm who I say I am, then? I can provide more proof if necessary."
"I believe you," Genn assured him, still smiling, but with sadness lingering in his eyes. "Your description of your last moments before your death was enough to convince me. Your mother and sister will certainly be overjoyed to see you alive."
Liam smiled as he thought of them, but another face came to mind almost immediately. "What about Lorna? Did she survive?"
"She did, don't worry," Genn assured his son, squeezing the muscular arm under his hand. "She helped her father take back Gilneas with assistance from the 7th Legion and now they're trying to take back Silverpine as well."
It didn't escape his notice that the Alliance was helping. Father must have finally realised that it isn't such a shame to ask for help at times... Still, his over-riding thought was for his wife. Though he was proud of her for helping to lead the fight, he worried about her in such a dangerous situation. "Are you sure she's the best person for the position? There's no one else who can do it?"
"Do you really think anyone could stop Lorna Crowley from doing what she knows to be right?" his father asked, a fondly exasperated smile on his face. "She insisted on going and Darius couldn't refuse her, not after he lost Robert, too." Before Liam could respond to the news that his brother-in-law was dead, there was a knock on the door. Turning as Liam changed back to his worgen form, Genn called, "Come!"
The door opened and a footman barely stepped into the room, glancing fearfully at Liam. "My apologies for disturbing you, your Majesty, but two messengers have arrived from Silverpine Forest and insist on speaking with you."
"Send them in," the king replied, exchanging a glance with Liam. To be safe, he moved away. Few people had even known that he'd been bitten at all, so he wouldn't be recognisable. His heart beat faster when Lord Darius Crowley and his daughter entered. "Darius! What news do you have from Silverpine?"
Father and daughter both bowed before he answered the question, looking both ashamed and defiant. "I'm sorry to report that Sylvanas forced me into an unconditional surrender, your Majesty."
"What did she do to force it, Darius?" Genn's voice was quiet and even as he gazed at his old friend. "It must have been extreme for you to surrender to her."
When Darius hesitated to answer, Lorna spoke up instead. "She threatened to kill me, Sire."
"I couldn't lose her, Genn," Darius hastened to explain, his voice over-riding the growl that vibrated in Liam's chest. "She's all I have now."
Genn glanced over at Liam, who'd retreated to stand beside the fireplace. "I understand, old friend, and I don't blame you in the slightest."
"Ivar does, however," Lorna added bitterly, her hands clenching into fists. "He called Father weak and cowardly for giving in to her."
Darius rested a hand on his daughter's shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Ivar remains unmarried and without children. He can't possibly understand what it's like to see all he holds dear on the brink of being torn away from him."
"Ivar Bloodfang?" Liam asked, drawing their attention to him for the first time since they'd entered. "The Packleader in Silverpine?"
Father and daughter looked at Liam, and then at each other. "Forgive me my caution, but who are you?"
"Your caution is quite understandable, Lord Crowley," Liam replied, glancing at his own father for guidance. Genn gestured to indicate that it was Liam's decision whether he revealed himself or not.
Lorna, following the glance, stepped closer to Liam, peering closely at his face. Her eyes widening with realisation, she whispered, "Liam?"
"Yes, Lorna." He shifted back to his human form to confirm her guess. "It's me."
A smile spreading across her face, she threw her arms around him in a warm embrace, their armour clashing. "By the Light, I've missed you!"
"How is this possible?" Darius asked, his remaining eye narrowed in thought. "The Lich King is dead, isn't he?"
Liam sighed, kissing the top of the Lorna's head. "Yes and no."
"Come with me, Darius, and I'll explain," Genn took his friend's arm and drew him aside.
Grateful that his father understood his need to speak privately with Lorna, Liam turned his attention to his wife, surprised to see tears streaming down her cheeks. "Lorna? Are you all right?"
"You were dead, Liam," she reminded him, tracing the features of his face with her fingertips. "Now you're here, but apparently a death knight. How am I supposed to react?"
He smiled crookedly, "You could kiss me for a start."
"I'm not sure you deserve one, after getting yourself killed like that," she eyed him with playful annoyance.
Liam chuckled, combing his fingers through her beautiful dark hair. "All I wanted since I remembered who I am was to see you again, to hold you and kiss you again."
"What about after you kiss me?" she asked, laying her hands on either side of his neck. "Did you have plans for after that?"
He offered her his most charming smile. "I thought we could improvise that together."
"I like the way you think, Liam Greymane." She smiled back, stretching up on tiptoe to kiss him.
He smiled as he kissed her back, pulling her closer. As he did, something that'd been tickling at the edges of his awareness came into focus. As a death knight, he could now sense others' life forces and with Lorna so close, he could sense two extra life forces. Pulling back, Liam placed his hand over her abdomen. "How long?"
"Just about three months, according to the druid healers," she replied, looking shy and uncertain for once as she covered his hand with hers.
He gazed down at their hands in awe. She must have conceived not long before I died... "Does anyone else know?"
"Just our families," Lorna told him, looking over at their fathers, who stood close together, talking in low voices, their foreheads almost touching. It'd been a familiar sight in their childhood and early adolescence and it reassured Liam to see it now. "Father wasn't exactly happy that we didn't tell him about our marriage right away."
Liam shook his head with a fondly exasperated smile. "When did we have a chance to? We were fighting the Forsaken almost constantly at that point."
"That's what I told him." His wife laughed, looking younger for those few moments.
Her laugh attracted their fathers' attention and Darius asked, "What's so funny, Lorna?"
"Nothing, Father." She smiled sweetly at him, reminding Liam of the days before his father built the Greymane Wall, before the civil war that had almost torn their country apart.
Genn and Darius looked at each other with indulgent smiles. "Having Liam back must agree with her. She hasn't smiled like that in years."
"I can't really blame her," Genn responded musingly, walking with Darius over to join their children. "We've had precious little to smile about recently."
Darius smiled gently, leaning down to kiss his daughter's forehead. "No, I really can't."
"Did you tell him about Godfrey, Father?" Just like that, the smile was gone from Lorna's face, her focus on more pressing matters. "And Ashbury and Walden?"
"What about them?" Genn looked from daughter to father, his gaze sharpening. "They're dead, aren't they?"
Darius shook his head, a distinct growl in his voice. "No, Sylvanas has the val'kyr on her side now and made them into Forsaken. It's what she threatened to do to Lorna."
"That bitch," Liam growled the words, his arms tightening briefly around his wife.
Genn rested his hand on his son's back to calm him. "Sylvanas has always been ruthless, ready to do whatever it takes to win."
"We did discover that worgens cannot be made Forsaken," Darius admitted, meeting Liam's gaze calmly, "But we don't know what would happen to the babies with the transformation and don't want to risk anything happening to them."
He nodded, freeing one arm so he could squeeze his father-in-law's shoulder. "I understand, Darius. I'm grateful you didn't let her follow through on her threat."
"You'll need to make a report to the Council about what happened in Silverpine," Genn told them gently. "Then they can decide what the Alliance is going to do about it."
Father and daughter nodded. "Yes, Sire."
"What about Liam?" Lorna looked up at her husband, worry furrowing her brow. "The fact that he's a death knight raises some very worrisome questions."
Liam changed back to his worgen form. "For now, to the rest of the world, I am Konnall, simply another worgen death knight."
"I didn't even know you were a worgen," Lorna commented, her glance assuring him that they were going to discuss it later.
He smiled sheepishly. "I was bitten when the worgens first overran the city. Father and Krennan were the only ones present when the bite took effect and they were able to take immediate action, so they, Mother, and Tess are the only ones who know."
"Were you going to tell me eventually?" she demanded, her gaze sharp.
Nodding, he drew her close and nuzzled the top of her head. "Yes, I had every intention of telling you, but there was always something else to discuss, to do."
"Hmm, you have a point there." Lorna leaned into him, nestling into his even larger warmth as well as she could with both of them in full armour.
His eyes almost closed with the pleasure of having Lorna so close, Liam just barely saw the glances their fathers exchanged: full of pride, love, fondness, and--inexplicably--sadness. Focusing on his wife, he murmured softly, "I love you, Lorna."
"I love you, too, Liam," she murmured back, combing her fingers through the fur that peeked over the top of his breastplate.
A knock at the door interrupted the quiet that had fallen. Reluctantly, Liam and Lorna drew apart. Once there was a respectable distance between them, Genn called, "Come."
"Begging your pardon, your majesty, but King Wrynn wished you to know that the Council will be meeting shortly." The footman barely entered the room, casting a fearful glance first at Liam, and then Darius.
Genn nodded, glancing at the other three before answering. "Thank you. Please reassure him that we will be there."
"Yes, your Majesty." Bowing, the footman quickly retreated, pulling the door shut behind him.
Turning to his son, Genn told him, "I'm sorry to take you away from Lorna so soon after reuniting with her, Liam, but I'd like you to go to Darnassus to see your mother and sister. Lorna will join you as soon as her duties permit her."
"When would you like me to leave, Father?" Liam asked, rejoining his wife and slipping his arms around her waist. He'd hoped to spend a bit more time with her before duties sent them in opposite directions.
Genn smiled as Lorna leaned back into her husband's warmth. "Tomorrow will be soon enough. I know better than to try to send you away now."
"Thank you, Father." Smiling as he changed to his human form, Liam gently turned Lorna in his arms so he could kiss her, soft and sweet, conscious of the fact that their fathers were right there.
Lorna, it seemed, either didn't care or completely forgot, deepening the kiss with the passion that Liam had always loved about her. Whatever she cared about, she cared deeply and fervently, whether it was a person, an ideal, or a place. Only when Darius cleared his throat loudly did Lorna end the kiss, her face flushed and breathing ragged. "Come, daughter, we have a report to make. You can spend time with Liam afterwards."
"Yes, Father." Stretching up to kiss Liam's cheek, Lorna stepped back out of his arms to stand beside her father.
Bowing to their king, they left the room. "I must attend the meeting as well, Liam. I'll speak with Varian about putting you in the same suite as Darius and Lorna."
"Thank you." He switched to his worgen form reluctantly. He missed being human, but there were advantages to being a worgen. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'll wait out in the courtyard."
Genn nodded and Liam walked over to retrieve his helmet and gloves. "I'll see you after the meeting, then."
He followed his father from the room, grateful for this second chance to be with his family.
* * *
Genn paced the study in Gwen Armstead's home in Duskhaven that'd been given over for his use once the evacuation of Gilneas City had begun. Though he worried about all of his people, the ones at the forefront of his mind were those who'd volunteered to stay behind with Lord Crowley, to keep the worgens occupied while the innocents escaped. So many brave men and women who'd willingly sacrificed themselves to prevent even more bloodshed. They deserve so much more than what they'll get... "Father."
"Liam." He turned from the window gladly as his son entered with Krennan Aranas. He frowned when he noticed that his son was limping. "What happened to your leg?"
The redhead glanced down at it as if he'd just realised it was injured. "I fought off most of the worgens, but one of them managed to get his teeth into me before I could fend him off."
"He bit you, your Highness?" Krennan asked, looking at the king.
Liam nodded, frowning when he noticed the expressions on their faces. "I figured it was nothing, but it sure stings a little."
"It's not nothing, Liam," Genn told his son, nodding in response to Krennan's unspoken question. Nodding back, the alchemist moved to the small workbench in the corner, where he began mixing vials together. "Because of the bite--"
Any further explanation was unnecessary, because Liam's body suddenly seemed to seize, muscles bulging and stretching, bone structure changing. "Hold him!"
"Liam!" Changing even as he leapt for his son, Genn fought to subdue the suddenly-feral worgen without harming him. "Hurry, Krennan!"
Approaching the two worgens carefully, Aranas poured the mixture he'd come up with into Liam's open muzzle. As the royal alchemist backed away, Genn clamped a clawed hand around his son's muzzle to keep him from spitting out the potion. Finally, he felt Liam swallow and slowly let go, ready to restrain him again if the dose wasn't enough. After a few moments, Liam blinked and looked around. "Father? Krennan?" He covered his mouth with his hands when he heard his new voice, only for that to turn into feeling the shape of his new muzzle, which became him staring at his now-clawed hands in shock. Transferring his gaze to Genn, he asked, "What happened to me?"
"You're a worgen now, Liam," he told his son sadly as he changed back to his human form. "And I suspect your fate is what will befall those who stayed behind at the Light's Dawn Cathedral, provided they don't die outright."
* * *
Once Liam had been shown to the suite of rooms he'd be sharing with Darius and Lorna, the first thing he did was take a bath. He'd bathed only rarely on the trip to Stormwind and that had usually been in streams he'd encountered along the way. It felt wonderful to finally feel clean and to simply sit in the steaming water and let the warmth of it sink into him, right to his very bones. When the water cooled, he reluctantly climbed out and dressed in a simple shirt, pants, and boots. Before he emerged into the sitting room, he changed to his worgen form. He found Darius seated before the fire, also dressed in shirt, pants, and boots, though they were of a finer style than Liam's. The other redhead looked up from the book he was reading at Liam's entrance and smiled in greeting. "Hello, Konnall. You look more comfortable."
"I am, Lord Crowley. It's amazing what a good bath will do for you," Liam replied, assuming the lord's use of his alias meant there were others present aside from themselves in the suite and it would be better not to assume too much familiarity.
Before Darius could respond, the door opposite Liam's opened and a couple maidservants emerged. The younger of the two gave a small shriek when she caught sight of Liam, only to be hushed by the elder. They quickly scurried out after that, hastily closing the door behind them. Shaking his head in disgust, Darius closed the book and set it aside. "Would you like something to drink, Liam?"
"Some wine would be nice, yes." Liam nodded, sitting down on the sofa and holding out his hands to the fire. He'd thought Gilneas was cold, with its almost-constant rain, but Northrend had been much colder with its ice and snow.
Rising, Darius moved to a small table against the wall and poured two glasses of wine. "As much as I would have liked to have been there, I'm glad you married Lorna, Liam. It was one wish my wife and I agreed on for her, though for very different reasons."
"What do you mean?" Liam frowned as he accepted a glass from the noble, holding it carefully in his clawed hand.
Sighing as he sat down, Darius fixed the prince with his steady, one-eyed gaze. "My wife didn't like the way I encouraged Lorna to learn how to ride and fight alongside Robert. She wanted Lorna to be more ladylike, more like Tess." Liam shook his head slightly at that. Both of Darius' children had taken after him in temperament and he'd done his part in encouraging Lorna's more boyish tendencies as they'd grown up. "Still, she liked the idea of Lorna marrying you because that meant Lorna would be queen and she wanted what she felt was best for Lorna."
"And what about you?" Liam kept his voice as close to a low rumble as he could. "Why did you want Lorna to marry me?"
Smiling, Darius patted Liam's furry arm fondly. "I knew you would love her and listen to her concerns and worries. She would keep you on your toes and honest."
"You were certainly right about that," Liam assured the older man with a smile. "I've always loved Lorna, from when we were very small."
Both men started to their feet when Lorna spoke up from the door the maidservants had exited earlier. "I'm glad to hear it, Liam, because it's the same for me."
"Lorna," he murmured, his breath stolen by how beautiful she looked in a simple, elegant gown of dark blue that contrasted with her pale skin and brought out the blue highlights in her dark hair. "You're beautiful."
She blushed even as she smiled. "Thank you."
Changing as he moved towards her, Liam swept her into a warm kiss. She melted into the kiss with a moan, her arms stealing around his neck as she moulded herself to his body. When they paused to catch their breath, Darius had left and Lorna led Liam into her room. They would only have this one night together and they had several months to make up for.
* * *
Before Genn and Krennan could finish explaining how Liam had come to be a worgen, Queen Mia burst into the room with Princess Tess hot on her heels. "Genn? What's wrong? We heard shout--eek!"
"It's me, Mother," Liam told her, looking as stricken as was possible with the fierce head of a wolf. "Somehow, I'm a worgen."
One hand extended, Mia cautiously approached her transformed son. "I didn't know you'd been bitten at all."
"How do you know it takes a bite?" Liam asked, green eyes narrowed. He swung his head around to look at Genn. "Father?"
Sighing, Genn nodded. "She knows, yes."
"Knows what?" Tess demanded, looking at each of them in turn with anger in her green eyes. "What do the rest of you know that I don't?"
Taking his daughter by the shoulders, Genn asked her seriously, "Were you bitten at all by a worgen while you were helping to evacuate the city?"
"No, Father." She shook her head in reply. "No worgens came near me at all." Drawing her into an impulsive hug, Genn thanked the Light that his daughter had been spared. "Why would that matter so much? It's just a bite, right?"
Liam shook his head, supplying the answer their father was reluctant to give. "It's how new worgens are created, how I became--" he gestured at himself with one clawed hand "--this."
"And he's not the only one," Genn added quietly, gently pushing Tess back so he could transform as well.
She flinched back from him at first, breaking Genn's heart a little. When her mother approached without fear and slipped her arm through her father's, Tess seemed to relax. A little hesitantly, she reached out to stroke one hand over the fur on the king's forearm. "I thought worgens were just wild creatures who attack indiscriminately?"
"I discovered a potion that allows a worgen to retain human reason, your Highness," Krennan interjected gently at that point. "Or--theoretically--to regain it if they've been feral."
Tess nodded and slowly slid her arms around her father's neck, hugging him. He returned it carefully, but happily. He'd always worried that she'd be afraid of him if she knew the truth.
* * *
It was much easier to gain an audience with Queen Mia than it had been to gain one with King Varian. Of course, she wasn't leading the Alliance the way Varian was. She was simply trying to see to the needs of her people. When Liam was shown to the room where the queen and princess of Gilneas sat having tea, matching expressions of surprise-joy-suspicion appeared on their faces. After the Sentinel who'd shown him to the room withdrew, Mia asked, "Why do you come to us, Death Knight? Few of your kind bear any love for Gilneas."
"It's me, Mother," Liam told her, removing his helmet as he switched to his human form.
Tess would have hurried over to hug him then and there if their mother hadn't caught her arm to hold her back. "But it's Liam!"
"We don't know for sure that it's him," Mia told her daughter, eyeing her son distrustfully.
His heart breaking a little, Liam withdrew the courier's pouch his father had given him before he'd left Stormwind and offered it to his mother. "Will this help prove that I'm your son?"
"That's the Royal pouch," Mia exclaimed, carefully taking the pouch from her son. Opening it up, she pulled out two letters from her husband, handing one to Tess.
He waited calmly as the two women read the letters. It was likely the first they'd heard from the king in some time. As he'd expected, Tess reacted first to her father's affirmation of Liam's identity, flinging her arms around him in an ecstatic embrace. "I knew it was you!"
"Thank you, Tess." Smiling despite the tears that closed up his throat, Liam returned his sister's hug gladly, not surprised to realise she was crying.
The moment his sister released him, his mother embraced him. "I don't know how or why you're a death knight now, but I'm so glad to have you back."
"Thanks, Mother." Liam could feel her tears dampening his shirt as he hugged her back. "It's a bit complicated to explain, but it's enough for me to be with you again."
As they returned to the sitting area and resumed the women's interrupted tea, Tess eagerly asked, "Did you see Lorna? Father said in his letter that she and Uncle Darius had returned from Silverpine alive and well and that Gilneas is in Alliance hands now."
"Yes, I saw her and Uncle Darius." He nodded, smiling to see his sister as bubbly as ever. She could lift anyone's spirits if she put her mind to it. "Before you ask, yes, I'm aware that she's pregnant and she now knows that I'm worgen."
Mia raised her eyebrows at that as she poured a cup of tea for her son. "You hadn't told her, even after you married?"
"I meant to, but there never seemed to be a right time," he answered with a sheepish smile, accepting the cup and taking a grateful sip. "It just never came up in conversation."
Tess shook her head in fond exasperation. "How would something like that come up in conversation anyway?"
"She has a point, Liam," Mia commented before her son could respond, squeezing his hand with her own. Carefully-hidden worry in her green eyes, she asked him, "Will you be staying in Darnassus for long?"
He smiled reassuringly, looking from one to the other. "I'm here to stay for the time being. Father intends to send Lorna here as soon as she's discharged her duties in Stormwind. I think he wants to keep her and our children safe." It was so strange for him to think that he was going to be a father. For a time, he'd thought it would never happen.
"Did Father tell you that he intends to acknowledge these children as his heirs?" His sister was uncharacteristically sober and worried as she asked the question.
"Yes, he did." Liam nodded as he replied, reassuring smile still in place. "We haven't discussed yet whether my being a death knight will affect whether I inherit or not, but I'm glad my children at least will have the chance even if I don't."
Tess hugged her brother tight when he put his tea down on the table. "Regardless of what you and Father agree, we're glad you're here with us again."
"I'm glad for it, too, Tessie," he murmured, returning her hug just as tightly.
* * *
A noise that was almost a whine escaped from Liam, drawing the others' attention to him. "How did you change back, Father? How do you hide what you are?"
"First of all, stay calm," Genn told his son, gently easing Tess away so he could place his clawed hands on Liam's shoulders. "Panicking won't help, especially right now."
Staring at his father, Liam asked, "What do you mean?"
"Your hold on reason is tenuous at the moment," Genn explained, only distantly aware that Krennan and the women had moved to the side of the room, allowing father and son the space they needed. "If you give in to panic or anger or frustration, you will lose it and risk turning feral."
Nodding, Liam closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Genn could scent that his son's panic and worry were fading, giving way to calm and acceptance. Opening his eyes and bringing his hands up to rest on his father's shoulders, Liam told him, "Thank you, Father. I could feel the wolf trying to take over, but your words helped."
"Good." Smiling, the king squeezed the prince's shoulders and released him. "Now, take a few moments to sense your human side. Don't worry if you don't sense him at first. It took me some time to sense mine after I first changed."
Nodding, Liam closed his eyes to better focus inward, his hands falling to his sides. Genn could imagine what his son was going through: sifting through the flood of new information from his new senses, the new instincts that urged him to lash out and attack. Buried underneath it all, though, was the man Liam had always been: strong, passionate, and determined to do what was right. After several moments, the frown of concentration on the redhead's face cleared into one of delight. "I found him. He's buried deep, but he's there."
"Now, focus on being that human," Genn told him, keeping his voice down to a gentle rumble, trying to encourage and soothe his son at the same time. "Concentrate all of your willpower on becoming human again."
The frown of concentration returned as Liam focused on doing as his father suggested. After several tense moments, the prince's worgen form shrank and re-shaped itself to his human form. His green eyes were bright with pleasure when he opened them. "I did it!"
"Well done, Liam," Genn told him, changing forms as well. "At first, it will take effort for you to shift between forms, but it will become easier with time and practice."
Liam stared at his father even as he returned his mother's hug. "You want me to change forms, Father?"
"Yes, I do." The king nodded, smiling down at the queen when she took his arm again. "For better or worse, you are now worgen and should accept it as being part of who you are."
The redhead frowned as he hugged his sister back. "But you do. I've never seen your worgen form until tonight."
"For political reasons only," Genn replied, covering Mia's hand on his arm with his own. "I shift forms whenever I can, but the fear of worgens is too great for me to reveal that I am one myself."
Looking thoughtful, Liam asked, "Should I do the same?"
"Would they follow you if they knew you were worgen?" Genn answered the question with one of his own. "That is your decision to make, Liam. I cannot make it for you."
* * *
Liam paced the sitting room nervously, vaguely aware of his father and Darius Crowley seated calmly on the settee in front of the fire. It'd been several months since Lorna had joined him in Darnassus and, early that morning, she'd gone into labour. Once he'd informed his mother and sister, he'd been shoved out of the room to wait with his father and father-in-law, who were brought by Myriam Spellwalker the moment she heard the news. By now, the re-emergence of the Lich King was a known fact, so Liam was pacing in his human form, though his worgen side wasn't far from the surface at the moment, with his worry about his wife and children. He paused in his pacing and stared hard at the door to their room, as if he could see through it if he stared hard enough. "Liam, standing and staring isn't going to make it go any faster."
"I'm sorry, Father. I'm just worried." Breaking off his stare, Liam walked over to join the two older men, perching on the arm of the settee by his father.
Darius responded as Genn poured his son a stiff drink. "I understand that first births tend to take longer and Lorna has twins, so that will make it even longer as it is."
"I just want to be in there with her," Liam admitted, tossing back the drink his father handed him and enjoying the way it burned his throat on the way down to his stomach.
Genn smiled reassuringly at his son. "It's best that we remain out here. Do you think you could stand to hear Lorna in pain as she bears your children?"
"No, it'd break my heart to hear it," Liam admitted, turning the glass between his hands. "But I'm going to go mad if I don't find anything out soon."
Before either man could respond, a noise at the door had them all standing and turning to face it. The two druid healers who'd been assisting with the birth stood there, each holding a bundle of blankets. Guinevera approached first, her smile as tender as if the babe in her arms was her own seven-month-old daughter, Nimue. "You have a strong, healthy son, your Highness."
"And a beautiful daughter," Cassiope added as she followed her colleague over.
He stared in awe down at the sleeping babies, noticing that the boy had Lorna's black hair while the girl was a redhead. "They're really my children?"
"We can sense it, your Highness," Guinevera assured him, carefully placing the baby boy in his arms. "They are, indeed, of the House of Greymane."
At a gesture from Genn, Cassiope placed the girl in his arms as well. Turning his attention back to the Healers, Liam asked urgently, "What about Lorna? Is she all right?"
"She's fine, Liam." The answer came from his mother, who'd emerged while his focus had been on the children. "Exhausted and sore, but radiantly happy to be a mother."
He nodded, carefully handing his son to Darius. "May I see her?"
"Yes, she's asking for you." Mia smiled fondly at her son and he could see that she looked quite exhausted.
Before he went into Lorna's room, Liam pulled his mother into a warm hug. She returned it after a moment of surprise, and then gently pushed him into the room. Tess was perched on the edge of the bed beside Lorna, who looked even more exhausted than Mia. Both women looked up at Liam's entrance and smiled. Tess got to her feet, patting Lorna's hand. "I'll let you two talk now."
"Thank you, Tessie." Liam caught his sister as she went past and hugged her gently. "Father and Uncle Darius have the twins as far as I know."
The princess nodded and continued out of the room. Liam approached the bed and sat down beside his exhausted wife. Even as she leaned into him, Lorna commented, "I must look an absolute mess right now."
"The most beautiful absolute mess I've ever seen," he retorted with a smile, kissing the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her.
She laughed tiredly at that. "I knew you'd say that."
"It's the truth, you know," he told her, adjusting his position so he leaned back against the pillows with Lorna half on top of him. "No matter what, you'll always be the most beautiful woman in the world to me."
She gave a tired laugh that turned into a yawn. "And you're the handsomest man, whether you're human, worgen, or death knight."
Liam smiled, but made no reply, as Lorna had fallen asleep, snuggled trustingly against his side.
* * *
A letter magically appeared in every Gilnean citizen's mailbox later that day: Her Royal Highness, Princess Lorna Greymane, was safely delivered of a baby boy and girl this morning. Please join us in celebrating the births of Prince Alexander Robert Greymane and Princess Gehenna Alaina Greymane. Gilneas will rise again!
End