by K. J. Nessly
Lord Jasse spoke up again. “We have faith in your abilities David, we would not have chosen you otherwise.”
“Thank you sir.” David’s replies were starting to feel automatic now.
“You are dismissed. Return to us at midday.” Lord Mora waved his hand and David left the room.
His world spinning, David tried to process everything that had just happened.
A Guardian!
A Family Leader!
He couldn’t even fathom the honor he had been given. Being made full Guardian was the equivalent a commoner being raised to nobility and being made a leader was comparable of a commoner being declared king. He sobered slightly, knowing full well the chances of him falling to an adversary’s blade in the next few years were high. Extremely high. A family rarely served more than twenty years and by the end of those twenty years only about a third of those originally assigned to his family would still be living. Those who survived became instructors at the school or entered into the King’s service as an elite warrior. Lately the Council had simply added new members to a family to replace ones that fell in the line of duty, but that was a relatively new course of action. Historically they had simply retired the surviving members and assigned a new family to replace them.
He leaned against a wall and tried to imagine his family’s reaction—if he could ever tell them. His father and mother would be proud of him. His sisters would probably dance around the room, but what about his brothers?
His second brother was already a Guardian, and had already served for eight years, but wasn’t a leader, he wasn’t even second in command of his family. Would there be jealousy between the two of them? David prayed there wouldn’t be. He loved his brother dearly, but would he understand? His oldest brother would understand his responsibility, and very possibly, be proud of him.
Deciding he needed some air, David left the compound and ran. Often it seemed that running was the only thing that calmed him and today he needed to remain calm. He could not afford to be anxious when he returned to the Council to meet his family. Passing trees and boulders he made his way to the top of one of the various cliffs surrounding the school. Turning he ran alongside the edge for several kilometers. As he ran the reality of the honor he had been granted set in.
As a family leader he was ultimately responsible for everything the rest of his family accomplished, or failed in. While he would listen and take advice from his family, he would ultimately be responsible to make the hard decisions. He would be responsible for sending his new family members to face the unknown every day, to face death, and have to live with whatever result played out. His decisions would govern their duty to serve and to some extent their everyday lives.
Trees and shrubs flew by as he increased his speed, pushing himself to the limits of his endurance. His lungs began to ache as his thoughts raced his feet. As a leader he was responsible to ensure the basic needs of his family; that they were adequately equipped and trained to face the enemy, and ultimately to keep them in line—to prevent radical forms of justice from being executed. If the Council felt that his family needed to be disciplined or brought back in line, while the others in his family would share in some of the punishment, he would take the brunt of it. He was their leader, their protector, and peacekeeper in the family.
Suddenly he was sure beyond all doubt that he wasn’t ready for this. How could he keep fourteen very powerful and sometimes headstrong teenagers, most of them complete strangers to each other, from antagonizing each other, or worse yet squabbling, while learning to live together? Even worse, how could he manage to keep exclusionary circles from forming? He’d heard stories of families where the members had not managed to learn to live together and the Council had been forced to intervene.That was a situation he wanted to avoid like the deadly Vespine fever. His lungs and legs began to burn as he turned further up the cliff.
His second-in-command would be responsible to keep the family dynamics stable. Even if someone in their family was hesitant to bring a problem to him, they most likely wouldn’t have any compunction about bringing it to the second-in-command. He knew, that as the family settled into their new lives, they would choose someone to be their representative to him and act as his lieutenant. David could only hope that he and the family’s chosen second-in-command could learn to respect each other and value each other’s opinions.
The amount of responsibility he was about to take on was so staggering to David’s mind that he actually stumbled in his stride. As he corrected himself, he reminded himself that while it was okay to show some nervousness at the job of becoming a leader, David could not allow it to interfere with the first impression he made to his family—an impression he was determined to make a good one. His lungs and legs felt like they were on fire and yet he pushed himself harder for a few more strides.
Finally, completely out of breath, he collapsed onto the damp grass.
He lay there for several minutes, listening to the blood pounding in his ears, oblivious to every other sound but his own heartbeat.
The cry of an eagle was the first thing he became aware of. Sitting up he tried to locate the bird. Eagles were the emblem of the kingdom and were therefore protected by law from hunting. This one had sounded close.
There it was again. David stood up and peered into the dim light of early morning. There wasn’t an eagle in sight.
Another call.
“Ouch!”
David stopped, that had been a woman’s voice, yet he didn’t see anyone around.
The eagle called again, and again, and again. “Ouch! Oh, call again.” The feminine voice sounded agitated. It also sounded like it was coming from the cliffs.
Slowly David moved towards the edge and peered down. There, three meters below his boots, were an eagle and a young woman. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The woman was free climbing and the eagle, to David’s complete astonishment, was guiding her.
David opened his mouth to call down to her, but then thought better of it. He didn’t want to startle her and cause her to fall. Instead he sat down on the grass and waited for her to appear.
As the top arc of the sun crested over the ocean horizon a hand appeared over the edge, then another. The woman pulled herself up onto her elbows and waited. David was shocked to notice she was blindfolded, not to mention she was much younger than he had originally thought. He also noticed the emblem on her tunic—she was a Guardian trainee.
Finally the girl pulled herself up completely and sat down on the grass, the eagle hopped alongside her.
Finally David deemed it safe to talk. “That was a pretty impressive stunt you just pulled.”
Hearing his voice, the girl jumped to her feet, ripped off the blindfold, and stared at him. He realized he probably should have waited for her to take the blindfold off before speaking to her. She regarded him warily, giving him the impression of a startled deer, frozen but ready to flee at the earliest opportunity.
“I’m sorry if I startled you,” he said, rising quickly. “It’s just that I’ve never seen something like that.” While brushing the loose grass off of his trousers he attempted to reach out to her with a friendly smile.
She still didn’t speak and as David studied her recognition dawned. She was the torchbearer from last night. Surprised he stared at her for a few moments, then realizing she was getting even more uncomfortable asked, “Weren’t you a torchbearer at the funeral last night?”
She looked at him long and hard before slowly nodding.
David tried again. “Your friend here is amazing,” he said gesturing towards the eagle now perched on her shoulder and who was eyeing him with the same distrust as her human friend. “How long did it take to teach him how to do that?”
“She.”
Finally, progress, David thought as she uttered the tense word. “I’m sorry?”
“Her name is Destiny.”
“Sorry.”
She just nodded tersely.
“Is she frie
ndly?” David asked, trying to make conversation.
The girl nodded. “Most of the time.”
“Can I pet her?”
“If she lets you, you can pet her.” She turned to the bird on her shoulder and nodded towards David.
To David’s surprise, and apparently the girl’s, Destiny let out a loud screech and then flew away.
“I’ll take that as a no,” David commented dryly as they both watched the bird fly to a large evergreen tree and land.
The girl didn’t comment, but glanced several times between him and where her feathered companion now perched, a ruminating look on her face. He had a feeling that Destiny’s opinion mattered highly to her human friend.
David studied her. She was very small and slender; he doubted her head would reach his shoulders if they stood side by side, but like all Guardian trainees was in excellent physical condition—her free climbing skills attested to that. Her black hair was pulled back into the same bun she had worn the night before but it was her eyes that captured his attention, or rather, the experience in her eyes. She noticed his scrutiny and her eyes narrowed, icing over like a pond in a deep freeze.
Suddenly David remembered exactly where he was and what time it was. “Isn’t it against the rules to be out here this early?” he asked her pointedly.
“I have permission,” she answered in a curt tone. Her eyes constricted into a challenging glare as she took in the trainee emblem embroidered on his own tunic. “What about you?”
“I have permission,” he replied, echoing her words.
They stood there for a few tense minutes; finally she spoke. “I need to return to the school.”
“I’ll walk with you,” David said turning towards her. She appeared uncomfortable at the idea.
“There’s no need. I’ll climb down.”
“Then I’ll climb with you.”
“There’s no need for you to do that,” she replied as she moved towards the edge.
“You aren’t allowed to free climb alone,” he reminded her.
“Destiny has been approved as my companion,” she informed him tersely.
“By whom?” David couldn’t believe any of the Council members would allow a girl to free climb with just an eagle for company, even if they were good together.
“Lord Jasse and Lord Mora.” The annoyance in her voice began to grate on his own nerves. She turned and lowered herself over the edge and started down before he could even reply.
Destiny soared down from the tree, screeching in his ear before diving over the cliff’s edge. Shaking his head to dispel the ringing, David ran to the edge and watched the two. “Is she climbing or falling?” he asked himself as she sped down the cliff at an impossible speed.
He waited until she reached the bottom and started running back to the school before he too turned and headed back that way, he was halfway back before he realized that he hadn’t asked her name. He mentally shook his head. The only reason he’d want to know her name was so that he could avoid her when he returned to school.
David ran hard, pushing himself to the limit once again. By the time he got back to his room it was nearly time for breakfast. He took a quick shower, grabbed some fruit and jerky, and then went for a walk in the gardens.
Pausing to look at a waterfall he heard someone call his name. Turning, he saw Lord Jasse hurrying towards him. He slowed his pace so that the older man wouldn’t have to continue jogging to catch up to him.
“Hello David,” Lord Jasse said as he came closer.
“Good morning, sir.” David noticed Lord Jasse’s uncharacteristic anxiety and wondered what this was about.
“You disappeared too quickly earlier,” Lord Jasse explained, obviously aware as to his appearance. “I have some information for you that you need to be familiar with before the meeting.” He led David to a secluded bench and sat down.
“What do I need to know?” David asked, taking a seat beside him.
“I need to talk to you about someone who will be a part of your family.”
David frowned. “I thought we all meet at the same time.”
“That still holds true,” Lord Jasse agreed. “But this is a special case and I feel you warrant some advice before the meeting.”
That didn’t sound good. “May I ask who it is?”
Lord Jasse paused. “I’m not sure you know her—
“Her?” David asked, then realizing that he had interrupted apologized.
“That’s quite alright David.” The Council member assured him. “Yes, she’s a sixteen-year-old girl.”
David’s thoughts turned to the disagreeable girl from earlier that morning. Quickly he pushed them aside. She was not someone he would want in his family. In fact, he pitied the family that she was placed into. “What do I need to know? “
Lord Jasse spoke slowly, as if revealing an ancient secret that could turn the tide in a devastating war. “She’s an orphan who became a slave and was abused horribly. She doesn’t trust others easily.”
David’s brow furrowed. “I thought slavery had been outlawed.”
“It was,” Lord Jasse affirmed. “She was a servant in name, but a slave in reality.”
“How did she find her way here?” David wondered.
Jasse hesitated. “A friend of mine found her and rescued her when she was ten years old. I brought her to school a year later.”
“I thought you couldn’t be any older than six to start here,” David said curiously.
Jasse nodded. “In most cases yes, but both my friend and Lord Mora felt there was something different about this girl and they were right.”
Now David was interested. “What was different about her? Does she possess an unknown gift?” That was the only reason he could think of for late admittance, then as another thought came to him asked, “What’s her name?”
Again Lord Jasse hesitated. “Her name is Kathryn. When I first met her, this girl trusted no one and feared everyone. Even after she had been rescued it took her a year to speak to us. Most people thought she was mute.”
David stared at him. “She didn’t speak for a year?”
Jasse nodded. “Yes. I was the first person whom she spoke to.” His gaze took on a slightly distant look and David guessed that he was back in that moment, hearing the little girl that no one believed could talk, speak for the first time. Realizing that David was waiting he continued. “I brought her to the school soon afterwards and she began her studies. Kathryn faced several barriers when she started here. By entering the school at the age of eleven she was already seriously behind and had to work extremely hard to catch up to her class, and since she had never really used her powers before she had to work with a special mentor to speed up her development.”
David didn’t believe that. It was unheard of for gifted children to avoid using their powers. Many couldn’t learn to control their gifts until attending the school. Even more dangerous, the urges all Guardians faced to use their power could kill them if ignored. “That’s impossible,” he said flatly.
“That’s what so intriguing,” Jasse told him. “I’ve witnessed it myself. Kathryn can go weeks and months, possibly even years, without using her power.”
“But why wouldn’t she use it?” David asked, his mind reeling with this new revelation.
Jasse’s expression darkened. “When she was a slave, her mistress told her horror stories about people who had powers like hers. She told Kathryn that the soldiers would take her away and do awful things to her if they ever found out.”
“And she believed them?”
Jasse looked at David. “She was only six years old when she discovered her powers. Someone so young and scared is an easy target for lies and deception. We also suspect that she was beaten anytime she attempted to use her gifts”
David looked at the ground, struggling to contain the distaste that had risen like bile in his throat. He looked back at Jasse, “How could people treat a child like that?”
“I don’t kno
w,” Jasse admitted. “If you had seen her your heart would have broken for her—so small and scared.”
“But she’s better now, right? She’s been here for five years, surely that’s enough time for her to get over the lies.”
“The lies, yes. But that kind of conditioning doesn’t always disappear. She may no longer be fearful over the use of her abilities, but for her, using them is an anathema,” Jasse confessed. “She will always carry the physical scars of her enslavement, but I thought she was past the emotional and mental trauma that had accompanied it.”
David felt his heart sinking. “She isn’t?”
“She claims she is, but I don’t believe it.” Jasse looked up at the sky, and then looked into the water. “She’s afraid of being placed in a family.”
David couldn’t believe what he was hearing; trainees usually looked forward to being placed, feared being not placed. “She’s afraid of being placed into a family?” he echoed.
Jasse nodded. “All her childhood she never had a family who loved her or cared for her. By the time…” he paused ever-so-slightly before continuing, “we found her she was afraid of making strong bonds with other people.”
“But she has made friends, right?”
“She has three.”
“Only three?”
“Yes, that is why I’m telling you this; going from three to fourteen in one sudden move is going to overwhelm her.”
“But surely she knows that once you’ve been placed in a family you never get pulled from it?”
“Her mind knows, but her heart refuses to let the mind debate the matter.”
“Does she know she’s been placed?” David asked cautiously.
Jasse shook his head. “No. I was going to tell her yesterday but I had to focus on the trusting problem.”
Dave let out a breath. “Thank you for telling me this. It will make it much easier to understand.”
Jasse turned to look at him. “Oh, there’s more you should know.”
“More?”
“This isn’t sad it’s more—intriguing.”
David waited for Jasse to continue.
“Remember how I told you that both my friend and Mora sensed something different about the child?”
