World of Warcraft: The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm Page 0,89
a dozen delicate, infinitesimal tweaks, and then produced a mirror.
Anduin blinked a little. He always hated it when adults said he had “grown so much since the last time I saw you,” but he was forced to see the evidence now with his own eyes. He hadn’t paid much attention to what he looked like in the mirror recently, but now he could see that there was a new somberness to his eyes, a set to his jaw. He’d not had anything resembling a sheltered childhood, but he just hadn’t expected the stress of the last few days to be so … visible.
“Everything all right, Your Highness?” Wyll inquired.
“Yes, Wyll. Everything is fine.”
The elderly servant leaned forward. “I am certain your father is working diligently to find a way to secure your release,” he said, pitching his voice very soft.
Anduin merely nodded. “Well,” he sighed, “time for dinner.”
Anduin was led past the High Seat and discovered that there were only two place settings at a surprisingly small table. Apparently it was to be an intimate gathering.
In other words, he was going to be interrogated.
He assumed Moira would take the head of the table, so he stood politely beside his chair awaiting her arrival.
He waited. And waited. The minutes crept past, and he realized that this, too, was all part of the game that was being played. He understood it better than she thought. He was young and he knew it, and he knew that people underestimated him precisely for that reason. He could use that to his benefit.
And, being young, he could stand for a long time without discomfort.
At last a door was flung open. A Dark Iron dwarf clad in the livery of Ironforge stepped forward, puffed out his chest, and announced in a voice that would carry in a crowd of hundreds, “Rise to greet Her Majesty, Queen Moira of Ironforge!”
Anduin gave the dwarf a half smile and spread his hands slightly to indicate that he was already standing. The prince bowed as Moira entered, still maintaining the proper depth of the bow to an equal. When he straightened, smiling politely, he saw a flicker of annoyance cross Moira’s usually set-in-stone expression of false cordiality.
“Ah, Anduin. You are right on time,” Moira said as she swept into the room. A servant pulled out her chair for her, and she settled in, then nodded to Anduin that he might do likewise.
“I believe punctuality to be a great virtue,” he said. He did not need to mention that she had kept him waiting. They both knew it.
“I trust you have been having a pleasant and enlightening time conversing with my other subjects,” she said, permitting the servant to place the napkin in her lap.
Other subjects? Was she implying that Anduin was—no, she wasn’t, but she wanted him to think she was. Anduin smiled pleasantly, nodding thanks to the servant who poured him a glass of water. Another was pouring blood-red wine for Moira. Beer, apparently, was not high on the list of the queen’s favorite beverages.
“By that, of course, you mean the Dark Iron dwarves, not just the dwarves of Ironforge,” he said pleasantly. “I’ve not had much conversation with Drukan. Kind of a quiet fellow.”
Moira lifted a delicate hand to her mouth, hiding a smile. “Oh, dear, why yes, that is very true. Most of them aren’t talkers, you know. Which is one reason I am so terribly glad that you are here, my dear friend.”
Anduin smiled politely and dipped his spoon into the soup.
“I am very much looking forward to the long conversations we are certain to have as the weeks and months unfold.”
He forced himself not to choke on the soup, swallowing hard. “While I am sure they would be fascinating,” and that at least was not a lie, “I think that my father will need me back before then. I fear you must get as much stimulating conversation as you can with me now.”
A flicker in the depths of Moira’s eyes, then the brittle smile. “Oh, I daresay your father will indulge me. Tell me of him. I understand he’s had quite the ordeal.”
Anduin was very certain indeed that Moira knew everything there was to know. She did not strike him as someone who would have waited this long to find out what she wanted to learn. Nonetheless, through the soup course and the salad, he told her what was general knowledge of his father’s adventures.