"Are you sure about this?" Valeera asked, for what felt to Anduin like the hundredth time.

He knew she was worried, she didn't hold much love for the Alliance or Horde, nor did she trust either side to do anything right. As soon as she'd heard his plan, she'd insisted on coming to Stormwind and staying there.

"I am. I have to be-everything is ready to go."

He stepped up to the dias, the crowd buzzing with interest. Many of the locals already knew what he'd be saying, he'd sent carefully selected priests and others around to get a feel for how people would react.

He'd been pleasantly surprised by most of it-his own campaigns to make the Tauren seem less like monsters had clearly worked, and had the hoped for effect of mellowing his citizens' views on other Horde races. And the continued local support for the Ebon Blade, some of whom had relatives in Stormwind, along with the Alliance's recent attempts to remove them from their numbers, helped as well, and had some speculating about the old friends or relatives they might be able to find among the Forsaken.

It was the visitors he most worried about, and the locals who were not human and had not been in Stormwind long enough to be loyal to it, first. But there were contingencies in place for that. Wrathion and he had spent many a night agonizing over those.

"Citizens of Stormwind! I come to you today with a vision of our future, unexpected but bright. We have long been respected for our resiliency, for our ability to continue on in the face of whatever might try to destroy us, but few speak of the hopes and dreams we harbor, of how someday we wish for ourselves, and our children, and their children after them to know peace and prosperity. For we all know that is not something we can have with the world in its current state. Not something we can grasp when faction conflicts threaten us again and again.

"Some like to compare us to the Horde, they say that we are too wild, too old fashioned, but there are other features we also share: our sense of honor, and our ability to appreciate every moment in our short lives. The Horde does not have to be our enemy, we have worked together too often to continue such a pointless struggle. Why fight now, war now, when in a few years we may be relying on each other again?

"The current leaders of the Alliance do not see the world through such a lense, they cling to outdated prejudices and call for endless war. It is this reason, among many, that I am announcing Stormwind's withdrawal from the Alliance and declaration of neutrality!"

At this moment, the missives stating just that would be reaching the Alliance leadership, sent with members of their own races so as to lessen the chance of blame being passed on to the messengers. The announcement was being made wide throughout Dalaran, Pandaria, and Horde territories. Extra guards were set at the tram exit and forces had already been withdrawn from areas under Alliance control and not directly under Stormwind. There would be conflict, Anduin knew, but far less than what there could be.

"All who call Stormwind home are welcome to continue living within our territories as long as they honor our laws and treat everyone with respect. Our ports will remain open to all who abide by our decision. I hope the tram will continue to run and our friendship with the dwarves never wavers, despite no longer being in the Alliance."

He continued on, laying out plans for their territory and the agreements with other neutral areas he had set out, attempting to answer as many questions as he could before they needed to be asked. He had plainclothes guards throughout the city, throughout the kingdom, at the ready, but he still worried.

When he left it wasn't to the normal cheers that his speeches brought, but it wasn't to unrest either. Wrathion met him just inside the Keep, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"This is the beginning of a new era, my king. We are at the forefront of a better Azeroth."

Anduin snorted. "Is it everything you wished it would be?"

Wrathion chuckled, guiding Anduin towards the warroom. They still had so much work ahead of them.

"I wish I had the opportunity to see that mutt's face when he heard."

Sylvanas sighed, hands stroking over the parchment of the treaty before her. It had all of her own final edits on it, all that remained was for her to meet with Stormwind's king, for him to agree to the changes, and for them to sign it.

They had been invited to Stormwind to do so: A sign that the Horde was as welcome as any other, now. That, too, was something that Sylvanas wished she'd be able to see Greymane's reaction to. He had cost her so much, blaming her for something not entirely under her control this whole time, and she felt satisfied at the parallels-she'd heard more than once that Greymane saw Anduin as a stand-in for his son, and now he would probably feel that Sylvanas had stolen him away, too.

A servant entered the room, everyone inside stiffening instinctively at the sight of a human. It would be a long time yet before that instinct left them.

The servant bowed and motioned at the door. "It is time, Warchief."

They followed to the meeting room. Sylvanas ignored the tense looks from Stormwind's nobles and focusing on the young king. He seemed calm, a practiced expression of polite interest on his face. For all his youth, she reminded herself that this was not his first time ruling, and this was something he'd been born and bred for.

"Warchief Sylvanas, you honor us with your presence." He bowed, as one would to an equal, and she decided in her return gesture to not be entirely flippant.

"King Anduin, we are proud to be part of such a moment in history."

She moved to sit in the empty seat beside him that had been left for her, her retinue spanning out around her. He didn't seem any tenser with her so close and she wondered at that-most people she knew so strong in the Light said that the undead felt wrong to be near.

She allowed him to look over the revised treaty, saw him hesitate on the exact spots she thought he would, but he didn't comment. He knew he was in a position of weakness, despite the show he put on, and that what she offered was more than he could have hoped for.

He signed it, then she did. A mage made copies. The politicians around them seemed more than happy to hurry out of the room as soon as the paperwork was seen to, but Anduin turned to her and asked if she and her people would like to stay for dinner.

Wryly, she almost reminded him that she didn't need to eat, but the others seemed eager for the chance to speak more, so she agreed. Suddenly, it was not simply the King of Stormwind and the Warchief of the Horde interacting, it was multiple leaders of their races together.

The food that was brought out, and the dishes and utensils with it, seemed to have been well-planned for each of them, taking into account their differing sizes, offering chopsticks to Ji.

She wondered if he truly cared about their comfort or was simply making a statement. From all the stories she'd heard, she knew it could go either way.

"You should let us host you in Orgrimmar," she commented, liking the suspicious looks her own people cast her way. "After all, since your people are neutral, they're certainly allowed in our territories. As are you."

And perhaps they could take this game one step further, eventually-make these humans more comfortable with the Horde than the Alliance, offer them a place, and watch the Alliance tear itself apart even more, knowing they'd not just lost Stormwind, but lost it to their enemies.

"I would like that," Anduin replied easily. "Though I admit it might be some time before my people feel comfortable with being so friendly with the Horde." His eyes flickered towards Saurfang quickly before landing back on her. "Many are still old enough to remember the city of my father's youth, and certainly the last few wars. They're the reason I could do this in the first place: the desire to have peace, to allow us to rebuild the kingdom fully, is held across my lands."

"Ah, but you will have us to assist with that, of course. Druids and shamans to restore your farmlands." In exchange for lumber, of which Stormwind had plenty and Durotar had so little, and other resources that the Horde desperately needed.

After dinner, Sylvanas and most of the Horde representatives who had come left for their own homes, but Baine had agreed to stay overnight in Stormwind so that Anduin might show him around the next day. The tour started in the Keep, Anduin and Baine trailed each by two of their guards who stayed back enough to give the illusion of privacy. He showed off the library and the gardens, before they headed out into the city at large.

He avoided the Dwarven District, where the worst of the unrest was as expected, and instead showed off his other favorite parts-the Cathedral of Light, and the nearby orphanage where the children were fascinated by Baine, the harbor and the expansive view of the sea, the Mage Quarter and its natural and magical wonders. He introduced Baine to the innkeeper at the Gilded Rose, as well, as a way of displaying his expectation that more tauren may visit the city.

After, they shared a lunch on one of the hills overlooking the city, Anduin deciding that Baine might prefer a bit of nature after being inside Stormwind's walls for so long.

"It is truly an accomplishment, what your people have built and rebuilt." Baine gazed around them, studying places his own people might build an enclave to further cement their support for Stormwind.

"We have survived a lot, but I worry how much more we can take," Anduin admitted. "For the longer lived races, these last few decades were an anomaly, a brief period of conflict. But for those of our generation-we've never known true peace. A year here, a few months there, but something was always happening somewhere on Azeroth that caused fear and worry."

Baine shifted closer, setting his hand across Anduin's back. "I know it feels daunting, but don't lose faith. Your hope has kept the world together before."

Smiling, Anduin leaned his head against Baine's arm, letting himself soak up comfort from his friend. "I am glad that we met, despite the reasons why. Knowing I have an ally like you makes this all so much easier."