The Guardians: Book One of the Restoration Series (2 page)

Flare moved closer, so that he could hear what was going on. Just as he was getting close enough to make out what was being said, his grandfather caught sight of him and said, “Flare, I'm glad that you're here. Please go around to the other side of the garden, and wait. I will be there in just a few minutes.”

“Yes grandfather.” Flare said, moving to the other side of the dais. Disappointed, he would have liked to find out what was troubling the nobles. It had seemed rather important.

He walked slowly around the garden, observing the plants. Unfortunately, he did not get to
come
the palace very often. Incidents, like the one that had happened earlier with his cousin, had become all too frequent. So he had just avoided the palace, it made life easier. He soon came to a series of steps that led upward to the wall that was on the opposite side of the courtyard from the main entrance.

Ascending the steps slowly, he went over what he planned to say to his grandfather. He had been working on his little ‘speech’ for about two weeks now, but he was still nervous. In fact, the anxiety was close to making him sick.

When he reached the top of the steps, he noticed a table off to the side that had been set up for lunch. He had not noticed it before.

Flare walked over and sat down. Trying to wait patiently was almost impossible but what other choice did he have? So, he sat there enduring the wait and anxiety, until finally the king approached.

He stood up, as was proper. King Feilolas was approaching his six hundred
birthday
, but was in good physical shape. His hair was graying and short and he had a closely trimmed beard that made him look stern.
 
As he approached the table he appeared to be in a good mood.

“Flare, my boy. How are you doing today?” He smiled as he spoke.

“Good, grandfather. I hope everything is okay with you. I noticed the nobles that you were dealing with, and they seemed upset.”

“Everything is just fine, Flare.” Feilolas answered, still smiling. “I am pleased that you have made your life choice. I trust it will please your mother and me.” He still wore a smile, but his eyes were curious now. Undoubtedly, wondering what choice Flare had made.

“I ... hope so grandfather.” Flare said, hesitantly.

“Well, we can discuss it after lunch. I hope you're hungry, I had this venison prepared especially for today. “The King sat down, and Flare followed his lead.

Flare was getting more nervous as they ate, but he managed to keep the conversation moving. They talked about family members, city matters, and even discussed his last hunting trip. He had always loved to hunt and explore the forests, ever since he was a child.

After they finished eating, and the table had been cleared, king Feilolas leaned back in his seat. “All right Flare; let’s talk about your future.”

“As you know, Flare, the first son normally is trained to lead the family. However that will not apply to you. There is the elven guard, but my advisors are against you joining, due to the strained relations we currently have with humans. So, as I see it, your choices are rather limited.” The king paused and gave him an encouraging smile, “What are your thoughts?”

Flare’s stomach was doing flip-flops, “Well, after much consideration, I have decided that I would like to become a warrior. I ...”

“That could be rather difficult.” Feilolas interrupted, frowning. “But I am the king, though.” He paused, considering. “I could get you into the elven guard, but I do not know how well you would be accepted. That might not be the best idea.”

“I had considered the elven guard, but as you say there could be problems with that plan. So, I have come up with another solution.” Flare paused, and took a deep breath, and then the words just seemed to burst forth. “I had hoped that you could use your influence to get me into the guardians of Telur. They allow foreigners to join.” Telur was a powerful human kingdom that was to the South. Even during the period of strained human-elven relations, an elven ambassador had remained in the capital city of
Telur
. The capital city and the kingdom shared the same name. “They are considered to be some of the greatest warriors, and perhaps my being there could help improve our relations with the humans.” He finished talking, a little breathless.

The smile slipped from King Feilolas' face and his expression hardened. “Flaranthlas, I don't believe that a member of elven royalty should be trained by humans.” Feilolas was shaking his head, and he used the word 'humans' like a curse. “You have never dealt with humans; you don't understand the treachery they are capable of.” He shook his head, “No. This is not an acceptable solution.”

“But grandfather, most of the elves would be happy to see me go. Prince Yolstice would probably help me pack. And you...”

“Flare, be careful what you say about my son. He is your future king.” The king seemed to growl the words instead of speak them. “I will not allow you to talk bad about him.”

Flare took a deep breath, and tried to steer the conversation back to where he wanted. “I’m sorry. I did not mean to insult uncle Yolstice. I merely meant that everybody might be happier with me gone. Everybody would get what they want.”

“The difference is that if you are assigned to one of our posts, then at least you will still be part of the elven kingdom.”

“But I am half-human. I know what it means to be elven, but I don’t know what it means to be human.” He was practically arguing with his grandfather, but he didn't even realize it. “I need to understand my heritage, even my human heritage. Wouldn’t yo...”

“YOUR HUMAN HERITAGE!”
The king bellowed, half rising from his seat. His face wore a furious expression. “You mean the heritage that raped your mother. How dare you even suggest that anything the humans could teach you is more important than your elven heritage?” The king's face wore a look of anger, unlike anything that Flare had ever seen. “Do you want to know what I was arguing about with the elven nobles when you came in? I had insisted that you be allowed to join the elven guard in some capacity. They were completely against the idea, but I insisted.” The king was fully out of his seat now, moving back and forth, his face still an angry mask. “Perhaps they were right to begin with,” he said, nodding his head. The king paused, rubbing his temples, trying to collect himself.

Flare sat quietly in his seat, the blood having drained out of his face at the king's explosion. He would have gladly sunk through the small holes in the chair if they had been larger.

The king finally collected himself and spoke again, this time a little more quietly. “All right, I will allow the magi to test you for magical talent. If you have any, I will insist that you become a magician. If you do not have any magical talent, then you will attend the teachers’ academy at Demoreau.”

“But grandfather, that’s ridic...”

“Do not talk back to me!” The king snapped, returning to his seat. “Go home, before I really lose my temper.”

Flare rose and started to step away from the table.

“Come back tomorrow morning.” The king said quietly, as Flare reached the first step. “I want you to think about our discussion, and
be
prepared to give a different account of yourself tomorrow. Do you understand?”

“Yes, grandfather.” Flare
said,
his eyes on the floor.

Flare waited just a moment to see if the king would say anything else, but the king just sat there with his hands rubbing his temples. When nothing else was forthcoming, he bolted down the steps and across the courtyard. He had never been completely comfortable around his grandfather, but he had never heard his grandfather raise his voice to a family member before.

His grandfather had always been fair with him, and Flare felt humiliated about the meeting. He hadn't expected his grandfather to embrace his decision, but he hadn't expected this.

After leaving the palace gates, he slowed down and headed home. Since his mother was a princess, her estate was only a short distance from the palace. But after his meeting with the king, Flare was in no hurry to get home. He raised his hands and looked at them; they were still shaking from his grandfather's outburst.

He walked slowly over the cobblestone road, considering his options. When he went back tomorrow, he might be able to talk his grandfather into assigning him to the elven guard at a distant outpost, but that would only confirm everybody’s belief that he was unworthy. He could dutifully accept the king’s decision and become a teacher, but what would happen when Yolstice ascended to the throne? He could also run away, but he doubted that he would make it ten miles before the elven guard overtook him. Perhaps, he thought suddenly, his mother could speak to his grandfather in his behalf. He clung to that hope as he approached his home.

Princess Aliston's estates were beautiful, truly fitting for a princess. The two story house was made out of the smoothest white marble. A seven foot white brick wall surrounded the residence, more for appearance than protection, since there wasn’t any crime in Solistine. A pebble path went from the gate to the front door. Woods, flowers, and grasses surrounded the house and went to within ten feet of the wall.

Servants were going about their daily tasks, with a large number of them working on the grounds. As Flare walked up the path, some of the servants spoke to him, some nodded their heads, and some completely ignored him. He hardly even noticed their reactions, as he had grown up being ignored, he didn’t even notice it any more.

He walked up the stairs and through the door, where he was met by Althos. Althos was the chief servant, and had always been friendly to Flare.

“Hello, master Flare. I hope everything went okay with your grandfather.”

“Not quite. Althos, do you know where my mother is?”

“Of course, sir.
She is visiting the lady Octura.” The lady Octura was expecting her first child and Flare's mother was helping her. “She said she would be back shortly before dinner.”

“Thanks Althos. I’m going to my room. If mother gets back early, please let me know.”

“Yes sir.”

Flare climbed the stairs to the second floor and lay down on his bed. With all the decisions that he had to make, the last thing he wanted to do was fall asleep. But after his draining morning, he fell asleep as soon as he lay down.

Althos woke Flare at dusk, just in time for dinner. Flare washed his hands and face, and went downstairs.

The dining room was immense. As a member of royalty, princess Aliston often entertained guests. The table was made of a hard wood, and was stained a deep red-brown. Along the walls, were extra chairs, used mainly for
parties.
A number of pictures and paintings adorned the walls, and there were a number of cabinets placed around the room that contained dishes, silverware, and glasses. On one wall, there were two ancient elven swords crossed for decoration.

Several servants were bringing in platters of food. Princess Aliston, Flare’s mother, was already sitting at the table. She was one hundred and fifty-two years old, but looked like she was twenty. She was slim, as were most elves, and she had waist length silver blond hair. She was wearing a long white dress, and a gold necklace. She smiled at Flare as he entered.

“You must have been tired from your big morning with father. You have been asleep for hours.” She looked questioningly at him, “Are you feeling okay?”

“I feel fine, mother.” Flare said, slipping into his chair. “How is Octura?”

“Oh, fine, she should have that baby any day now. But, I am more interested in hearing how your day went.”

Flare paused while a young elven girl refilled his mothers’ wine. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that too.” He paused and took a deep breath. “Grandfather is not pleased with me. I asked him to use his influence to get me into the guardians of Telur.”

Princess Aliston’s mouth fell open, and she was momentarily speechless. That was unusual, she didn't surprise easy. “You did what?” After a second, she regained her composure. “Whatever were you thinking?”

Flare's eyes dropped to the empty dishes on the table. “I’m not accepted here. I had hoped that I could see Telur, and maybe learn more about my human side. I know nothing about humans. I've never even seen a human.” His words seemed to be all jumbled together. In a disjointed way, he knew he was rambling on, but he couldn't seem to stop. “Humans have been banned from the city ever since before I was born.” He neglected to mention that he was the reason that humans were banned from the city. “I have heard that the guardians of Telur will accept all peoples into their army, but grandfather wouldn’t even listen to me. I was hoping that you could talk to him and get him to change his mind.” As quickly as the words had poured forth, they just as abruptly cut off, leaving Flare nervously watching his mother.

Princess Aliston thought a moment before she spoke. “Flare, I understand your desire to know more about your human half, but I can't help you with this. Once he makes a decision, it is extremely difficult to get him to change his mind.” She swallowed hard, “I'm sorry, but you must deal with this on your own.”

“Well, what do you think I should do? Grandfather wants me to become a teacher or healer.” He shrugged, “Those are both respectable jobs, but I want to do something great with my life. I want to be known, I want to be a part of history. Do you think I should fight this or give in quietly?”