Memory: Brightwater Lake
[SUBJECT: ARTHAS MENETHIL]
[MEMORY: BRIGHTWATER LAKE]
[AGE: NINE YEARS OLD (Human)]
"Now Arthas, you have much to attend to today. Don't run off far -- you wouldn't want father to have to come after you, would you?"
"Yes--I mean, no mother. I'm only going to Brightwater. Honest!"
"So long as you're back before nightfall. Everyone's prepared a lovely dinner this evening, and you'll need to wash up beforehand."
"Ugh, mom..."
"Run along now, Arthas."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
It'd been twenty minutes passed the time Varian had requested to meet Arthas by the lake. The amber-haired teen sighed heavily and paced around the lake's edge impatiently, glancing at the horizon every few moments. Come on, Arthas...you're supposed to be a Prince. Where are you?
"King Varian?" a soft voice came. The title made Varian wince, though he fought down his displeased expression as he turned to find himself face to face with Jaina Proudmoore, daughter of the Lord of Kul'Tiras.
"Lady Jaina--" Varian started in surprise. "I--wasn't expecting you. When did you arrive in Lordaeron?"
"Just this morning," Jaina admitted, offering an embarrassed smile. "Father was called to a meeting with King Terenas. Something about an Alliance..." Varian blinked curiously. Could that have been the Alliance of Lordaeron King Terenas had mentioned to him? He was silently thankful that he hadn't been asked to attend just yet -- there was always Sir Lothar to sit in for him.
"Sorry I'm late, Varian!" Arthas shouted from over the hill. The fair-haired Prince scampered through the grasses of Tirisfal like an awkward grizzly bear cub using its legs for the first time and Varian couldn't help but smear his face in his palm. Beside him, he heard Jaina giggle quietly. "J-Jaina!" Arthas stammered, nearly tripping over himself as he struggled to catch his breath. "When--"
"Just this morning," Jaina repeated, stifling another shy giggle. "Did you run all the way from the castle?" Still panting, Arthas nodded softly.
Great...she wasn't supposed to be here... Arthas thought to himself as he glanced nervously at Varian. He wasn't planning on embarrassing himself in front of Admiral Proudmoore's daughter. Varian caught his eye and smirked a bit.
"Something wrong, Prince Arthas?" Varian teased when he caught his friend's expression. Arthas' stare promptly hardened. "I apologize, Lady Jaina...we were scheduled to spar a bit this afternoon."
"Just...catching my breath," he grumbled, avoiding the curiously concerned stare the young Proudmoore girl offered him.
"Spar?" Jaina asked, smoothing her dress. "But if they're talking...wouldn't that mean they'll be looking for you two soon?" She shook her head. "You boys shouldn't get all dirty if you have to meet with the other lords..."
"We'll be done before then," Arthas cut in, straightening proudly. This was going to be a nightmare. Varian had always been stronger than him and he doubted he would scale himself down just because they were preforming in front of Jaina. If anything, it would've given him more incentive to give it his all! Jaina had gone quiet after Arthas' assurance, quietly rolling her eyes as she took a seat on a boulder nearby.
"Alright, alright...but don't say I didn't tell you..." she answered in reply. The dark-haired orphan passed Arthas one of the wooden swords he had brought and took the other in his hand. Thankfully, his form was slightly better than it had been when Varian first arrived, but frankly, it wasn’t saying all that much.
Both boys had worn garments of faded cloth, thankfully -- being as close to the lake as they were, they were bound to get muddy. Jaina had made a point to seat herself as far away from them as possible -- Lord Proudmoore hadn’t had the insight that Jaina would be anywhere near filth, and so she was dressed in a frilly sundress bearing the colors of Kul’Tiras, a ribbon tied to a bow in her soft blond hair.
Varian made the first move -- he rushed at Arthas with all his weight to try and parry away the defensive stance the Prince of Lordaeron had adopted. Startled, though not caught offguard, Arthas stepped backward and met Varian’s sword nearly full-blow. His teeth clenched tightly -- that would leave a bruise later -- and he moved to sloppily swing at Varian’s side with the flat of the sword. Varian stepped away from the swing gracefully, though he nearly slipped and stumbled into the lake.
Jaina watched from her rock, hugging her knees, watching the two boys fight. Quietly, she wondered what would happen if one of them had fallen into the lake, or had hit the other too hard. Boys would be boys, they always played rough, but she couldn’t help but wonder.
Arthas growled with frustration as Varian continued to dodge his wild, untrained swings. Varian couldn’t help but feel somewhat sorry for him -- he had learned by now that his prowess wasn’t entirely the fault of his own. King Terenas, for whatever reason, had shielded Arthas from things like since he was born. Having known nothing but hardship all his life, Varian couldn’t imagine growing up like that.
He almost envied him.
The distraction caused the young King to yelp in surprise when he was met with Arthas suddenly -- the two boys slipped on the grass and tumbled into Brightwater, swords and all. Jaina promptly burst into laughter on the rock she chose, covering her mouth in an attempt to hide it, which only forced small tears to leak from the corners of her eyes.
Varian and Arthas seperated from one another as fast as possible, struggling to stay at the surface, gasping for air. It was fall, the water had turned ice cold with the coming winter season, leaving them with blue lips as they hauled themselves out.
“What the heck was that?!” Arthas barked angrily, gasping for breath again and forcing sodden bangs out from his blue-green eyes. “Did you see a dragon or something? You weren’t even looking!”
“Then maybe you should’ve stopped for a second!” Varian retorted bitterly, shoving the blond away from him.
“Yeah right,” Arthas grumbled, smacking Varian’s hand away. “And if I did, you woulda told me that you can’t do that in an actual fight. So maybe you should’ve been paying attention!”
“Boys...” Jaina giggled, finally managing to get her laughter under control. “Stop that. I told you! And now you’re both gonna freeze to death if you don’t go get some new clothes...” Arthas felt a pit drop in his stomach as he stared at the horizon. The sun hadn’t reached it yet, but it was getting close.
Mother and Father would have his head.
“She’s right,” Arthas and Varian replied to each other in unison. “I said it first--stop copying me!”
And the admiral’s daughter promptly burst into laughter once more.
“But...” Arthas admitted, looking off toward the Balanir Farmsted. “...I don’t want to sit at a table for hours with nothing to do.”
“It’ll be very informative, Prince Arthas,” Jaina replied almost excitedly. Varian half nodded.
“You have it half right...it gets old quickly,” Varian mumbled, retying his hair to a ponytail. “When you’ve done it for as long as we have.” A pause inserted itself. “Light above, I don’t have anything to change to either...”
“Come on, come on!!” Arthas gestured rapidly to try and pull the other two kids up with him. Varian sprinted up after him, where as Jaina scurried along, hand flat over her head to keep her hair from flying in the wind as she ran. Thankfully, her father hadn’t forced any kind of heels on her, so she managed to keep up with Varian and Arthas. She kept a light distance behind them to avoid any stray flecks of mud.
[MEMORY: BRIGHTWATER LAKE]
[AGE: NINE YEARS OLD (Human)]
"Now Arthas, you have much to attend to today. Don't run off far -- you wouldn't want father to have to come after you, would you?"
"Yes--I mean, no mother. I'm only going to Brightwater. Honest!"
"So long as you're back before nightfall. Everyone's prepared a lovely dinner this evening, and you'll need to wash up beforehand."
"Ugh, mom..."
"Run along now, Arthas."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
It'd been twenty minutes passed the time Varian had requested to meet Arthas by the lake. The amber-haired teen sighed heavily and paced around the lake's edge impatiently, glancing at the horizon every few moments. Come on, Arthas...you're supposed to be a Prince. Where are you?
"King Varian?" a soft voice came. The title made Varian wince, though he fought down his displeased expression as he turned to find himself face to face with Jaina Proudmoore, daughter of the Lord of Kul'Tiras.
"Lady Jaina--" Varian started in surprise. "I--wasn't expecting you. When did you arrive in Lordaeron?"
"Just this morning," Jaina admitted, offering an embarrassed smile. "Father was called to a meeting with King Terenas. Something about an Alliance..." Varian blinked curiously. Could that have been the Alliance of Lordaeron King Terenas had mentioned to him? He was silently thankful that he hadn't been asked to attend just yet -- there was always Sir Lothar to sit in for him.
"Sorry I'm late, Varian!" Arthas shouted from over the hill. The fair-haired Prince scampered through the grasses of Tirisfal like an awkward grizzly bear cub using its legs for the first time and Varian couldn't help but smear his face in his palm. Beside him, he heard Jaina giggle quietly. "J-Jaina!" Arthas stammered, nearly tripping over himself as he struggled to catch his breath. "When--"
"Just this morning," Jaina repeated, stifling another shy giggle. "Did you run all the way from the castle?" Still panting, Arthas nodded softly.
Great...she wasn't supposed to be here... Arthas thought to himself as he glanced nervously at Varian. He wasn't planning on embarrassing himself in front of Admiral Proudmoore's daughter. Varian caught his eye and smirked a bit.
"Something wrong, Prince Arthas?" Varian teased when he caught his friend's expression. Arthas' stare promptly hardened. "I apologize, Lady Jaina...we were scheduled to spar a bit this afternoon."
"Just...catching my breath," he grumbled, avoiding the curiously concerned stare the young Proudmoore girl offered him.
"Spar?" Jaina asked, smoothing her dress. "But if they're talking...wouldn't that mean they'll be looking for you two soon?" She shook her head. "You boys shouldn't get all dirty if you have to meet with the other lords..."
"We'll be done before then," Arthas cut in, straightening proudly. This was going to be a nightmare. Varian had always been stronger than him and he doubted he would scale himself down just because they were preforming in front of Jaina. If anything, it would've given him more incentive to give it his all! Jaina had gone quiet after Arthas' assurance, quietly rolling her eyes as she took a seat on a boulder nearby.
"Alright, alright...but don't say I didn't tell you..." she answered in reply. The dark-haired orphan passed Arthas one of the wooden swords he had brought and took the other in his hand. Thankfully, his form was slightly better than it had been when Varian first arrived, but frankly, it wasn’t saying all that much.
Both boys had worn garments of faded cloth, thankfully -- being as close to the lake as they were, they were bound to get muddy. Jaina had made a point to seat herself as far away from them as possible -- Lord Proudmoore hadn’t had the insight that Jaina would be anywhere near filth, and so she was dressed in a frilly sundress bearing the colors of Kul’Tiras, a ribbon tied to a bow in her soft blond hair.
Varian made the first move -- he rushed at Arthas with all his weight to try and parry away the defensive stance the Prince of Lordaeron had adopted. Startled, though not caught offguard, Arthas stepped backward and met Varian’s sword nearly full-blow. His teeth clenched tightly -- that would leave a bruise later -- and he moved to sloppily swing at Varian’s side with the flat of the sword. Varian stepped away from the swing gracefully, though he nearly slipped and stumbled into the lake.
Jaina watched from her rock, hugging her knees, watching the two boys fight. Quietly, she wondered what would happen if one of them had fallen into the lake, or had hit the other too hard. Boys would be boys, they always played rough, but she couldn’t help but wonder.
Arthas growled with frustration as Varian continued to dodge his wild, untrained swings. Varian couldn’t help but feel somewhat sorry for him -- he had learned by now that his prowess wasn’t entirely the fault of his own. King Terenas, for whatever reason, had shielded Arthas from things like since he was born. Having known nothing but hardship all his life, Varian couldn’t imagine growing up like that.
He almost envied him.
The distraction caused the young King to yelp in surprise when he was met with Arthas suddenly -- the two boys slipped on the grass and tumbled into Brightwater, swords and all. Jaina promptly burst into laughter on the rock she chose, covering her mouth in an attempt to hide it, which only forced small tears to leak from the corners of her eyes.
Varian and Arthas seperated from one another as fast as possible, struggling to stay at the surface, gasping for air. It was fall, the water had turned ice cold with the coming winter season, leaving them with blue lips as they hauled themselves out.
“What the heck was that?!” Arthas barked angrily, gasping for breath again and forcing sodden bangs out from his blue-green eyes. “Did you see a dragon or something? You weren’t even looking!”
“Then maybe you should’ve stopped for a second!” Varian retorted bitterly, shoving the blond away from him.
“Yeah right,” Arthas grumbled, smacking Varian’s hand away. “And if I did, you woulda told me that you can’t do that in an actual fight. So maybe you should’ve been paying attention!”
“Boys...” Jaina giggled, finally managing to get her laughter under control. “Stop that. I told you! And now you’re both gonna freeze to death if you don’t go get some new clothes...” Arthas felt a pit drop in his stomach as he stared at the horizon. The sun hadn’t reached it yet, but it was getting close.
Mother and Father would have his head.
“She’s right,” Arthas and Varian replied to each other in unison. “I said it first--stop copying me!”
And the admiral’s daughter promptly burst into laughter once more.
“But...” Arthas admitted, looking off toward the Balanir Farmsted. “...I don’t want to sit at a table for hours with nothing to do.”
“It’ll be very informative, Prince Arthas,” Jaina replied almost excitedly. Varian half nodded.
“You have it half right...it gets old quickly,” Varian mumbled, retying his hair to a ponytail. “When you’ve done it for as long as we have.” A pause inserted itself. “Light above, I don’t have anything to change to either...”
“Come on, come on!!” Arthas gestured rapidly to try and pull the other two kids up with him. Varian sprinted up after him, where as Jaina scurried along, hand flat over her head to keep her hair from flying in the wind as she ran. Thankfully, her father hadn’t forced any kind of heels on her, so she managed to keep up with Varian and Arthas. She kept a light distance behind them to avoid any stray flecks of mud.