Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft or Blizzard or anything else that's cool, though I'm working on that.

Hello, everybody! I sincerely hope that you all are doing well. Glad I was able to get this next chapter up finally. I'll keep this note as short as possible so that we can go ahead and start the story.

First off, yes, I'm terrible for keeping you all waiting for so long. But guess what: I'M ON VACATION! My exams are done and I can sit back and relax for a bit before dedication all my well earned time to my stories and other hobbies! So, expect lots of updates.

There are only going to be two more chapters left in this story, making a total of 15 chapters, before moving on to Book Two. If you wish to read that one, please either follow this story as I will post an announcement here once Book Two is up, or select the "Follow Author" option at the bottom of the page and you'll get updates from me for Book Two and on. If you do not have an account, just check often for the story posting on the Warcraft homepage or my author profile.

I will warn you now; Book Two will be pretty big. My personal goal is at least 25 chapters, and that will be the set minimum for all following books. The reason this one is so short is because I wanted it to serve more as a prologue. The chapters are also going to be much larger, with a minimum 4,000 words each. Soooooo, I've definitely got big goals and a lot to do!

The poll I had up is now closed, thanks to those who voted, and I proud to say that I have happily started and completed 5 chapters so far in the Something Borrowed, Something Blue! Some hints for the plot: Khadgar's meddling, different universe Nadia, Warchief, diplomatic marriage, politics, steamy smut and fluffy fluff. Check it out in my profile when you get the chance!

Now that the PSA is done, a big thanks to , Bohmzawe, and Ihsan997 for reviewing, I really appreciate the feedback! Also a big thanks to Tenkosama and R. Moonstalker for following! If I missed anyone, sorry, it's been a while!

Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 13: All Day Long

Zebodah had never been a morning person, and it was just his luck that the unholy rays of the sun decided to burnish through the window and glare right in his face. He had no idea why the sun shone so brightly today, or why his body had decided to regain consciousness so early. Usually, the sky was so ridiculously overcast that it was impossible to even see the sun most days.

He reached down towards his legs for the blanket that must have slid down during the night in order to pull it up over his face, only to find that there wasn't one at all. It was then, he realized, that he was not lying on his sleeping mat either, but something much softer. It was also a lot quieter outside than his rather rambunctious area of the city. And, there was the lingering smell of freshly baked bread and something sweet.

His house did not smell like freshly baked bread or anything sweet.

This was not his house.

The troll sat up so quickly that one of Mial's throw pillows that had been sitting on his chest was catapulted to the other end of the couch. For a moment, he sat there with a foggy, numb mind while trying to remember where he was and how he had gotten there. Immediately following that moment, his head began throbbing so hard it felt like his skull was going to split in half.

"Ugh," he groaned while rubbing his face with his hands. He adjusted himself to get up, but only got as far as putting his feet on the ground before his head started to hurt again. He pinched the bridge of his nose and rested his elbows on his knees, "what happened?"

There was no answer of course; the entire parlor was empty save for him. There was no Nadia…or Mial, for that matter. At the internal mention of both of them, the events of the previous night slowly started to come back to him.

Nadia left the cellar after Mial had snapped at her and did not return. After the priestess had gone upstairs to try and make amends, it was revealed that Nadia had locked herself in her room and refused to speak to anyone or let them in. No one entered or exited the room for the rest of the night, and Zebodah assumed that she had fallen asleep after a while.

Mial, still upset over what had happened, departed shortly after it became apparent that she wouldn't have the opportunity to apologize to Nadia that night. Where she had disappeared to, he had no idea, but what she had disappeared to do was obvious. The expression on her face had been so full of despair that it was clear what was about to happen, even if she didn't want to leave.

But leave she did, and shortly after the others went home as well when the tension that was left in the home became apparent. Eventually, he was the only person that remained in the house save for Nadia. Something shiny and blue caught his eye, and he glanced to his side to find two bottles, now emptied of their content, laying on the couch beside him. He must have settled there on the couch and –

A door upstairs slammed shut. Zebodah hissed and clutched his already aching head with both hands. The sound of feet pounding down the stairs invaded his mind...as well as what sounded like someone tripping, missing a step, and a girlish yelp.

Speak o' the devil, an' she shall appear, the Darkspear thought as he quickly shoved the two wine bottles beside him under one of the couch cushions. He didn't want anyone, especially not Nadia, to see evidence of his...problem. The moment the last bottle disappeared underneath a cushion, the child herself came to a sliding halt in front of him.

She looked ridiculous. Her hair was everywhere, more so than usual and sticking out in all sorts of comical angles. An oversized, rumpled shirt and shorts were all that she wore, and there were things on her feet. What were they called? Lockie had told him what they were before...oh, right, socks. They didn't match, however, and he was pretty sure they were supposed to.

Zebodah noticed that he seemed to be caring more about Nadia's appearance than she did, as she stood in front of him with wide eyes and trying to catch her breath. The girl blinked a few times before looking around as if searching for something. He opened his mouth to speak, but before any words could come out she was off again and running towards the kitchen. She went through the door leading to it and came back out again a few seconds later.

"Where's mom?"

It took the troll a moment before he realised that she was talking to him. Nadia continued to stare at him as he tried to figure out the best thing to say. He had a good idea as to where Mial had gone, but highly doubted that the kid knew anything about that gross little detail. And it was probably in everyone's best interest if it remained that way…

"She went out," he said while turning to lie horizontally on the couch.

Nadia's eyebrows furrowed, "Out?"

"Ya."

"Out where?"

He rolled his eyes at the girl who was still staring at him with her large hazel ones, "She'll be back later."

"Oh...Why are you here?"

"I'm here ta keep an eye on ya."

"You?"

He returned her stare with his own withering glare, "Yes, me."

Nadia nodded and settled into a nearby chair, never taking her eyes off him even once, "Why you?"

"I don't know, girly," he sighed while resting his head back on the armrest of the couch, completely intent on sleeping off his hangover, "I was da only one around when she needed someone."

There was no response after that so the troll assumed her curiosity had been abated and she would go off to do whatever it was Nadia did in her spare time. He closed his eyes and relaxed, ready to nod off at any moment, and waited for the child to leave. She didn't; he never heard her feet touch the ground, or her walk off, and he could definitely feel her still staring at him. The Darkspear cracked one eye open and found Nadia still looking at him as if he were some rare creature.

"What?" he ground out through clenched teeth, a bit more irritated now than before.

She glanced down sheepishly at her toes, "I'm hungry."

"You want me ta make ya breakfast or somethin'?" he asked hesitantly. Zebodah didn't really know how to go about doing this as taking care of a kid was, well, kind of new for him. You were supposed to feed them and keep them clean and healthy, he knew that much. The shaman briefly wondered if this was what having a pet would be like but immediately banished the thought. The loa probably wouldn't appreciate the comparison…

"No, that's okay, I can cook." She hopped down from her chair and shuffled off towards the kitchen. There was a nagging feeling in the back of Zebodah's head that he should probably supervise her. While he didn't want to get up; like, really didn't want to get up, Mial probably wouldn't appreciate it if she came home to a ruined kitchen after going through what he knew she was doing.

"Wait," he sighed and slowly sat up. Nadia turned around and watched with a look of awe as he stood and stretched to his full height. He rolled his shoulders and let his bones pop before slouching back down to his normal posture and trailing after his new ward, "I know ya, girly, and under no circumstances should anyone leave ya alone wit sharp tings and fire. Let me help ya."

Nadia was a lot more competent than Zebodah had ever given her credit for.

She knew how to start a fire in the oven, crack eggs without dropping them or getting any bits of shell in the bowl, and could then fry them up without any hassle at all.

He watched her prod the white and yellow fillets in the pan, occasionally sprinkling on spices or adding more butter. It smelled amazing, and she had made enough for him too, even though he hadn't asked for any. Which made him feel bad, since he hadn't thought her capable of cooking so well, probably because he'd never really thought highly of her ever in the first place. That would be the first thing he'd improve if he were to care for her: simply thinking better of her.

"Are ya sure Mial be okay wit you usin' her eggs an' butter?" Zebodah questioned as Nadia placed a plate in front of him with eggs and a slice of bread on it.

He was asking because the first and last time he had tried to add butter to his toast without the priestess' permission, she'd practically bitten his head off. The troll had been a bit sour about it at the time but understood why she had gotten so upset now. Eggs and butter were considered luxuries in Shattrath, with butter being hard to get one's hands on since the materials to make it were rare and eggs not available to everyone since there weren't exactly that many chickens around, leaving people to take chance on stealing them from the spiders and reptiles in the forest.

"I don't know," she said while shoving a large piece of the food into her mouth with her hands, "but mom's not here to say no, so…"

Zebodah simply nodded in response. It seemed like there was something else Nadia wanted to say, but there was no way he was going the extra mile, not on his first day, "So, uh, what you gonna do afta dis?"

"I don't know. What are you gonna do?"

The troll shrugged and finished the last of his drink in one gulp, "I ain't got any plans, girly. My only job be watchin' you today."

"Oh...What do you normally do?"

"Ah, well...I usually be asleep still. But when I do get up, usually I head to da tavern o' da bazaar."

"Why?"

"Either ta get a drink o' find work. Ain't much else to do around here, fen'di."

"What does fen'di mean?" Nadia questioned while shoving the last of her eggs into her mouth.

"Ya just be full of questions today, aren't ya?" the Darkspear muttered while tracing the rim of his cup with his finger, "It means 'little girl' in Zandali."

"What's Zandali?"

He stared at the girl as though he hair had just turned a different color, "What be Zand - You don' know what Zandali is? Can't ya speak it?"

She shook her head and Zebodah felt kind of ridiculous for asking the question to begin with. Of course she couldn't speak it, there was no one to teach her. Vana'jia had died when Nadia was an infant, while he had been...distracted.

"Zandali be da language of trolls," he began slowly, "each people got dere way o' speaking, and dis one is ours. Even if ya be from a different tribe, if ju speak Zandali ya can still communicate. It's an old language, but we start learnin' it da moment we can talk."

"Oh," Nadia looked away from him and began staring out the window instead. Her expression had become far away, "Could my mom talk in it?"

"Ya, even though she was only half-troll. She could sing in it too."

"She could sing? Was she good?"

"One of da best," he ran his fingers through his hair and smiled as he remembered Vana'jia's voice, "She used ta sing fo' people before comin' out here. Dance, too. People loved 'er."

"Even though she was half-troll?"

Zebodah paused; Nadia was watching him carefully as he did so, waiting for an answer. The way she was looking at him made him just a little bit uncomfortable. The troll supposed he deserved it though, as the wounds from the incident several months ago must still be fresh for her. He would know, they were still fresh for him too.

The girl in front of him began to lick her fingers, savoring the last of the butter from her meal, "She was half-troll, right?"

"Uh, well, ya," he stumbled over his words while avoiding Nadia's gaze. "Van nevah knew her parents, who dey were o' where dey came from, though I got my suspicions. She used da skills she had to make a livin'. Dere be some who did'na like her at first, but dey all fell hard for dat voice o' hers in da end."

"She was that good?" the child questioned, her eyes wide with awe. The expression of contempt had gradually disappeared from her face while Zebodah told his tale, as she forgot about her hurt feelings and became enraptured with the enriching tale of her mother. Her face reminded him of that of a cat when it zoned in on something shiny, and his mouth twitched into a grin at the mental description.

He toyed with the end of his long braid, "Bettah believe it. She was the best courtesan in all o' Booty Bay before comin' here."

"Cool...Zebodah, what's a courtesan?"

Oops. "I'll, uh, tell ya when ya get older."

"Okay," she replied, seemingly satisfied with the information she'd already gotten. The older troll saw this as his widow of opportunity to leave and get on with his day. He moved to get up and go, but Nadia wasn't finished after all. "What else?" she asked, as though he knew everything there was to know about Van.

"Whatcha mean 'what else'?"

"C'mon, there's gotta be more!"

"Dat's enough for now, I got tings ta do -"

"Liar!" the girl blurted out, her lips pressing into an impressive pout, "You said earlier you don't have anything to do today!"

"Well...dat was then and now be now!" he challenged with a scowl, "Dere be errands dat need takin' care of, so I gotta leave."

"Well, then…" her eyes darted around the room, and the Shaman could tell Nadia was trying to think of a comeback. They lit up suddenly, and she stretched forward to point an accusatory finger right in his face, "You still have to watch me! So wherever you go, I'll be right behind you, since you can't leave me by myself. And, I'll keep asking questions until you finally say something!"

He blinked a few times at the tiny finger between his eyes, caught off guard, before scowling again. Zebodah growled and snapped his teeth at her hand. The child yelped and drew back immediately, but she seemed to find this funny because she started giggling.

Touché, kid. Touché, he thought while grumpily twisting one of his braids around his finger and watching her laugh. She was right though; Zebodah was officially stuck with Nadia for the rest of the day. He rolled his eyes and sighed, "Fine...you can come."

"Really!?" Nadia smiled and leaned so far across the table in anticipation that Zebodah was worried she might fall out of her chair.

"Sure," he replied nonchalantly while picking his teeth, "ya can help me carry stuff."

She cheered so loudly all of a sudden that it made him jump a little, but she was off and running to get dressed before he could tell her to keep it down. "Wear good shoes!" he yelled after her.

She yelled something back at him. It could have been 'okay!', it could have been 'champagne!': he couldn't tell.

Zebodah shook his head in exasperation but couldn't suppress the chuckle that bubbled up in his chest. He sighed and pulled a flask out from his pocket, taking a quick swig. He would have to refill it soon; it was almost empty. And he would need all the alcohol he could drink.

It was going to be a very long day…

Thanks so much for your patience! Hope you enjoyed it, even though I have to do most of my writing on my phone. I don't have easy access to a computer, so no gaurantee for any updates, but I'll try my best!

Until next time!

MadMadameEm