Unbroken Kingdom

by Lorie Gurnett

  “Sorry, Kat, my mind’s wandering. But I’ll find the answers I seek one way or another.” Katerina left to regroup with the leading officials, while Sam remained at the door staring at this strange man.

  When he stirred and sat up slowly, Sam cautiously approached the bed. Who’s this man? Where did his scar come from?

  “Where am I?” Robert asked.

  Sam stopped half way into the room and folded her arms. “First, you need to answer some questions for me.”

  He rubbed his finger against his temple and glared at her. “You knocked me out; don’t I deserve some answers first?”

  She lowered her arms and approached the bed. Sitting on the side of the bed she looked intently into his eyes. “Ok, I owe you that much. What do you want to know?”

  Adjusting his position on the bed, he fluffed his pillow and turned his attention fully on her. “Where am I?”

  Spinning her hand to pan the room, she pointed out the window, and smiled. “You’re at the Castle Calvarias. It stands to protect Treasure Kingdom. Now, you answer me this. Who are you?” In one smooth motion, she turned and pointed her finger at his chest.

  Pushing her finger aside, he slowed his expression and looked up at her. “My name’s Bobbie. What’s Treasure Kingdom?”

  Raising her eyebrow and tilting her head, Sam rose from the bed and turned toward the window. Pausing, she looked over her shoulder at him. “You sure aren’t from around here, are you?”

  “I guess not. Nothing seems familiar to me.” Robert shrugged and looked around the room.

  Sam pointed to Robert’s arm. “That symbol? Where did you get it?”

  Robert placed his finger on the eagle scar. “I got it saving a friend.”

  Rushing at the bed, she leaped at his arm, and Robert shuffled closer to the wall to make room for her. She asked, “Friend? Would this friend happen to be named Nora?”

  With his jaw dropping, his eyes widened, and he raised his eyebrow, whispering, “What? Yes, how do you know Nora?”

  She casually climbed off the bed again and stared out the window. Waving him off, she said, “We’re old friends.”

  With a smirk he tilted his head and crossed his arms. “Funny, she has never mentioned you. What’s your name?”

  Swirling her hair between her fingers, she looked over her shoulder and said, “My name’s Sam. We met in a lighter time, a time of deception but she learned and brought the truth of the Saviour.”

  Chuckling, Robert scratched the back of his head and looked down. “That sounds like Nora. But why do you say lighter time?”

  Getting very somber, she began pacing the floor. “Your arrival comes at a time of great sorrow and darkness. Now’s a time for choices. I choose to stand for truth, I stand for justice, and I stand for the light! For darkness is forced to flee from the light, even if it happens to start from a small spark. The flame in all of us cannot be snuffed out. I choose to stand!” She punched her left fist into her right hand as she continued to pace.

  Part 3: Tested

  6

  The Choice

  Katerina made her way to the far side of the castle, out of sight of prying eyes. She walked to the end of a dark corridor and slowly opened the door. Walking up to the bed where her sister, Crystal lay, she said, “Crystal, I feel so conflicted right now. If you only would wake up. Things would start to make sense again. What have I done wrong? Why’s God punishing me? It’s my choice now, and I promise you, Crystal, that no matter what it takes, I’ll bring you back to me. It’s in my power to do so. I feel God has abandoned us; I’ll prevail. I’ll succeed where others have failed.”

  Lucas’s words echoed around Katerina. It’s your choice. Did God really say that He would provide for all your needs and give you abundant life? Did He really say He would never leave you? Look at your life. You’re alone.

  Katerina shook the thoughts away. “I choose to save you. Even if it’ll destroy me, you’ll survive. This is my promise to you, Crystal. Mother’s gone; I can’t lose you too. I only hope you wake to say goodbye to Mother with me.” Katerina turned on her heel and left. With all the courage she could muster, she entered the war room where the other leading officials awaited her arrival. She nodded a simple greeting to each one.

  “I’m sorry, Lady Kat. I heard about your mother and Princess Delores. Such a tragedy,” Sir Gervon said as he handed Katerina a small token of sympathy, a simple green hooded cloak. “I have one for Lady Crystal too. Will she be joining us today?”

  “Thank you no. She needs some time alone for now. I can take it to her.”

  Several soldiers and leaders of nearby territories gathered and handed Katerina tokens of sympathy and condolences. Katerina made her way to the front of the room and hardened her focus. “Now, enough with formalities, Lucas is more powerful than we could have ever imagined. Mother underestimated him. I won’t. Now, we need a new plan, one he won’t expect.”

  “What do you suggest?” a guard asked.

  With fear, conviction, but determination in her eyes, Katerina announced, “I’m sending out for reinforcements.”

  “Good idea! As we gather, we can have a sendoff for your mother and Delores as well,” Sir Gervon announced.

  Katerina tried desperately to hold back her tears as she squared her shoulders and hardened her heart. I can’t afford to think about that now. There’s too much at stake. She panned the room as everyone nodded in agreement to Sir Gervon’s suggestion. So, Katerina complied and nodded too.

  Robert pondered Sam’s words that weighed heavily upon him. “Sam, what do you mean I have to choose even if it means I’ll lose what’s most important to me? I fight for what’s most important to me, not fight to lose it.” Robert’s muscles bulged as he thought of his mother, Nora, Josiah, and even Trevor. “I lost someone close to me before. It nearly tore me apart. I won’t choose to go through that again.”

  Sam stepped back almost in fear. “You are angry just like Lucas. How can I trust someone so agitated?”

  Robert felt as if he had been punched in the stomach with Sam’s words. How can I trust someone so aggressive? He remembered thinking these same words when he thought of his dad. I won’t become my dad. He fiddled with the blanket on the bed and slowly made eye contact with Sam. “I’m sorry; I just get so upset at the thought of someone hurting those I care about.”

  A knock at the door started both of them. A guard entered the room and said, “Sorry to disturb you, but Lady Kat’s requesting your presence in the war room, Miss Sam.”

  Sam nodded and turned away from the bed. Robert touched her arm. “Will I see you again?”

  “Of course, I still have more questions, and you don’t have my trust yet.” Sam nodded her goodbye and left the room. You don’t have my trust yet still echoed in his mind. His thoughts turned to Senora; he had to earn her trust back too. He remembered the time he tried so desperately to get her attention, but that was the wrong way. Despite all that, she chose to save him and introduced him to Jesus. If it wasn’t for Josiah and Senora, he wouldn’t be alive today. He remembered that night like it was yesterday how he was so broken. He felt worthless and not deserving of any love or forgiveness.

  So many times, Robert had tried to do the job only God could do. His mind wandered to a new memory. “How many times do I have to attend church before I can consider myself a Christian?” Robert asked.

  Senora covered her mouth, stifling a laugh as she searched her thoughts for the best words to use to explain. “Ummm, well… going to church doesn’t make you a Christian.”

  Puzzled, he scratched the back of his head and leaned closer to her. “What do you mean?”

  Twirling her eagle pendent between her fingers, she looked up to the sky. “Being a Christian is being a Christ-follower. It’s a relationship, not just routine and stuff to do. Your relationship with God isn’t based on anything you can do. It’s a free gift.”

  Taken aback, he stood and paced in front of her. “If we can’t do an
ything, then how can we become a Christian?” He desperately shook his finger at her.

  Senora stood and lowered his hand and placed her other hand on his shoulder. “It’s based on what Christ has already done for us. With God, nobody’s forgotten. Nobody’s unlovable. No matter where or how far someone runs, they can’t escape God’s love for them.”

  His shoulders slumped, and he shook his head. “But how do we become a Christian?”

  Rubbing his back, she explained, “You need to accept, repent, and receive.”

  Shooting his head up, he shrugged away from her and stomped to the curb and sat back down, resting his elbows on his shoulders and staring at his feet. “What do you mean by accept, repent, and receive?” Robert scratched his head in confusion.

  Walking up and sitting next to him, she stared straight ahead. “Accept that you’re a sinner you’ve made mistakes in your life. Repent means to surrender your sin into God’s hands because the result of our sin is death. Christ took your sin upon Himself when He died. When He came back to life, He conquered death and gave us the free gift of friendship with Him. You need to search your heart and ask yourself if you believe God loves you.”

  “That’s hard to believe. I’ve made so many mistakes in my life, I still feel like a worthless rag waiting to be used and abused.” He looked over at her with tears streaming down his face.

  Placing her arm around his shoulders, she gave him a gentle squeeze. “I understand that feeling, but as you grow and spend more time with God, you better understand who God is creating you to be.”

  “What do you mean by spending more time with God? How do you spend time with God?” He picked up a random stone and tossed it in the grass beside them.

  Pointing to her chin, then waving her hand in a circular motion, she said, “You get to know God. I mean, think of it this way. Let’s look back at how you interact with Trevor and Mark.”

  Shaking in confusion, he raised his eyebrow and looked out of the corner of his eyes at her. “Mark? Mark and I aren’t friends.”

  Raising her hands in surrender, she said, “Just hear me out. What’s the difference between you and Trevor compared to you and Mark?”

  He picked up another stone and tossed it on the grass. “First off, Mark and I aren’t, nor will we ever be, friends.”

  Turning her head and twirling her hair, she asked, “Why?”

  “Mark’s a jerk! We have nothing in common. For starters.” He threw his hands in the air stood, and started pacing again.

  “I used to feel that way about you, and now we’re friends.”

  Robert stopped in his tracks and stared at her with his mouth open. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  Pretending to wave the white flag of defeat, she motioned for him to sit down again. “Ok then. What made you and Trevor friends?”

  He sighed and shifted back over and sat beside her again, pulling at some blades of grass. “That’s easy. We liked the same things and spent time with each other.”

  She smiled and snapped her fingers. “That’s it!”

  “What’s it?” He shrugged in confusion.

  “You made time to spend together. That’s what you need to do with God.” She picked up a stone and tossed it ahead of them.

  “How do I do that?”

  She reached into her backpack, pulled out her Bible and placed it into Robert’s hands. “Reading your Bible, going to church, praying. Study the Bible and apply what the Bible says.”

  Holding the Bible close to his chest, he turned his head to look at her again. “Ok, so as I become closer to God and understand Him then I’ll be a Christian?”

  He twirled her hair again and shrugged. “That’s part of it. Talk to Him and allow Him into your life. Make Him your center and accept His forgiveness and love for you. It’s all about you entering into that friendship with Him.”

  “Thank you, Nora. Can you pray with me?”

  Being pulled from his thoughts, he heard some guards talking outside his room. “Strange day. Hey?”

  “You can say that again. First Delores and Scarlett. Now, this strange man, Bobby. Makes you wonder what the creator is doing.”

  “Tell me about it. I know He doesn’t make garbage but what masterpiece is He planning now? I just wish He would give us more details at times.”

  “You got that right. Come on, let’s go relieve the front guard.”

  As their voices faded away, the thought, He doesn’t make garbage but what masterpiece is He planning? hung in the air as Robert was reminded of a youth retreat Senora and Josiah took him to a year ago. The speaker sat in front of the microphone talking, “Jesus is God son. and He created me. He does not make garbage: He created masterpieces.: A love overpowered him that night; life would never be the same. He felt as if someone grabbed him by both arms, picked him up and, with a firm hand on his back, led him to the stage. His whole body shook; he couldn’t contain his tears. A young girl approached him and simply said, “Can I pray with you?”

  With a lump in his throat, he fell to his knees. “God, if You can hear me, help me to believe. Change my heart, renew my hope, enter my heart, and forgive me.” He raised feeling thankful the speaker listened to God’s call despite his pain. He recalled the speaker mentioning being involved in a hit and run only two weeks before coming to the conference to speak, explaining his need for speaking on stage in a wheelchair.

  His life didn’t change overnight. But he began an amazing adventure. He had many unanswered questions. Even after God entered his heart, he still made bad choices. Even though his dad was still an angry drunk, he now had a Heavenly Father who loved and accepted him. It wasn’t his job to save everyone; he had to surrender that choice into God’s hands because God was the only one who could change a person’s heart.

  With time for everything, he needed to trust in God’s timing. Yes, he had made mistakes, but God would never give up on him. “So, no matter how hard things get, there’s always light somewhere. Even if it may be small, it’s always there. Once you find that light, hold onto it because darkness will always flee from the light, and in turn, that small light will grow.” Senora’s words hung in the room, and his thoughts returned his focus back to his present surroundings.

  Senora leaned close to Robert’s hospital bed and said, “So no matter how hard things get, there is always light somewhere. Even if it may be small, it’s always there. Once you find that light, hold onto it because darkness will always flee from the light and in turn that small light will grow.” She spoke barely above a whisper. Reaching for Robert’s hand, she continued, “You’re one of the strongest people I know, Bobbie. Never give up. Remember your battle’s not alone.” Sarah entered the room, startling Senora.

  “Nora, how’s he doing?” Sarah asked as she approached the bed.

  “He’s strong, but he still has not opened his eyes.”

  “I just got word that the police want to talk to me. Are you ok with sitting with Bobbie a little longer?”

  “Yes, that’s fine. I’ll be here. You go do what you need to.” Sarah hugged Senora as a thank you and left the room again.

  Two police officers met Sarah in the hallway. “Sorry to bother you at this time, but they just towed your son’s truck to the impound lot. Would you like to go through the car and get any personal belongings? We have ruled the collision as bad road conditions, due to the gravel road. So, you’re welcome to go through things,” an officer stated.

  “I don’t have a vehicle here. I came with some friends,” Sarah replied.

  “I can drive you over and after you’re done, I’m willing to bring you back.”

  “That would be nice. Thank you.” Sarah smiled gratefully. The two officers led Sarah to their patrol car and drove her to the impound lot.

  An officer led her to what remained of Robert’s truck. The sight of crumpled metal shocked Sarah. “It’s a miracle your son’s even alive,” the officer declared. Sarah nodded as the second police officer pried open wh
at remained of the passenger side door. Sarah leaned in and looked around at broken CDs and shattered glass.

  She carefully felt around in the seat cushions and along the floor. Her hand touched a crumpled envelope, and she pulled it out of the car. It’s the letter from his dad unopened. Sarah grabbed the letter, turned, and looked at the two officers. “This is all I need. Everything else is either broken or garbage. Can you please take me back to the hospital now?” The officer nodded and took her back to their patrol car and drove her away. Sarah thanked the two officers for their help and returned to Robert’s hospital room.

  Senora looked up as Sarah entered. “Is everything alright?”

  “I don’t know,” Sarah whispered as she approached Senora. Sarah placed the unopened envelope on Robert’s bedside table.

  “What’s that?” Senora asked.

  “Partly the cause of mine and Bobbie’s fight. It’s a letter from Tony, Bobbie’s dad. I just wish he could see that Tony has changed.”

  Senora stiffened a little at the thought of Robert’s dad. “Only time will tell. Let’s just hope Bobbie wakes up.”

  Sarah nodded and pulled a chair close to Robert’s bed. Senora excused herself and wheeled herself back to her room to rest. Sarah reached for the envelope and opened it, reading out loud for Robert to hear:

  7

  Cave of Exploration

  Robert sat up when Sam entered his room. “I don’t have much time before I have to rejoin the war room meeting. I just wanted to see how you were getting along.” Sam said.

  “I’m getting better. How’re you doing?” Robert replied.

  “The Lord will provide; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it shall be provided.’1 Even though I still don’t trust you, I have to admit, the Lord did provide you when I needed help. I want to thank you for being my provided escape.”