Finding Eden (18 page)

“
If you're worried
about me not feeling the same way,” I mumble, trying not to
feel hopeful.

“
No,” He puts
his hands on my arms, “that's not it at all. You're the Queen.
It would be inappropriate.”

“
Only if it's acted
upon,” I toss out.

He gives me a small
smile.

“
That's the
problem,” he says.

I feel like a ball of
butterflies has exploded in my stomach. The space between us closes
and his arms move to my waist. My breath hitches and my body tingles.
Sahariel leans down, his breath tickling my neck and goose bumps
raise on my arms.

“
I think,” he
whispers into my ear, sending shivers down my spine, “I should
find a replacement.”

He walks away, leaving me
swaying on the balcony and with tunnel vision. I let out the breath I
had been holding, lean against the wall and let the butterflies
settle.

“
These are your
candidates?”

I stare at the five men
in front of me, all of them without colors.

“
Yes.”

“
Are you serious?”

“
Yes,”
Sahariel says, “what's wrong with them?”

“
They're not you?”
I pout.

He sighs, “I'm
sorry, Eden. I know you don't want to but you have to pick one. If
you don't want to then I will.”

“
Alright, fine.
Him.”

I point at a random man,
not really caring who it is.

“
Are you sure?”

“
Why not?”

“
Alright,” he
says, “Kal, please stay; the rest of you can go.”

Four men step away
leaving only a stocky man with short, red hair, orange eyes and pale
skin.

“
Kal,”
Sahariel nods his head.

“
My Queen,”
Kal says to me and I frown.

He looks at me, at my
frown, and he looks startled.

“
Did I do something
wrong?” He asks.

“
No, her Highness
just isn't happy about this arrangement.”

“
Oh.”

“
Kal,”
Sahariel says.

“
Yes sir.”
Kal snaps to attention.

“
Today is the
beginning, your first say of protecting the Queen. You must swear to
protect her at all costs, until you can no longer do so or you are
replaced. Do you understand?”

Kal nods.

“
Do you accept this
responsibility?” Sahariel stares at him intently, giving this
moment a weight that may be too heavy to hold.

“
Yes.”

“
Then it is done,”
Sahariel walks up to Kal, “She is yours to take care of now.”

Kal nods and Sahariel
looks at him closely and Kal looks nervous. Sahariel's body language
changes and I feel tension roll off him.

“
She is your
responsibility. Do not make any mistakes.” Sahariel's voice is
harsh, full of emotions that Kal can't begin to understand.

Sahariel then turns and
walks from the room, my eyes following him and my body feeling the
tension as the connection stretches, mirroring the tension running
through both of us. I sigh as he disappears. My eyes settle on Kal
and I'm frowning again. He stiffens.

“
I swear if you
keep doing that I'm going to kill you before we ever get to war.”
I get up from my seat and walk quickly through the room, feeling the
nervousness roll off of Kal as I walk past. I shake my head and walk
from the room trying to find something to do.

It's unnerving being
followed without really being able to sense it, especially if you
could
always
feel
it before. But I can hear him. Oh yes. I can hear him like I can feel
my own heartbeat. Stomping around behind me.

He follows me all day. I
don't know what it is about him, but I just don't like him. He's loud
and he's twitchy. He isn't Sahariel. I sigh. I've picked the wrong
random person.

I don't want Sahariel to
be upset with me. I know he has a lot on his mind. What that is
exactly I don't know, but I know he needs to think about it.

“
I'm sorry,”
I say to Kal.

“
What for, my
lady?”

“
For being rude to
you. I'm not mean, I'm just not too happy with the current
arrangements is all. Please don't hold it against me.”

I look up over at Kal and
he gives me a small smile.

“
I wouldn't dream
of it, my lady.”

“
Good,” I
say, “now get up here and tell me a little about yourself.”

A wide smile spreads
itself across Kal's face and he jogs up to walk beside me.

“
So,” I say,
“are you married?”

Red creeps up Kal's neck
and tinges his ears, “No, I'm afraid not.”

My eyes widen and a
wicked smile hits my face before I can stop myself from reacting.

“
But you like
someone, don't you?”

His face turns bright
red. I don't need to be able to sense his emotions. I can see them
plain on his face. Hopefully he doesn't play poker.

“
You do! What's her
name? Do I know her?”

I look at him and hope
that I'm not being too forward considering that we only met hours
before.

“
I'm sorry if I'm
being too direct,” I say, “I just like the fact that
you're easy to read.”

“
Yes.”

“
Yes, what?”

“
You do know her?”

“
Really? That's a
little hard to believe. I don't know many people to be honest. Are
you sure I know her?”

“
One hundred
percent.”

“
Who then?”

Kal mumbles something,
probably a name. I can barely hear what he's said.

“
I didn't hear
you.” It comes out sounding like I'm teasing him, which I'm
not.

“
Lelaine,” he
repeats.

My brain automatically
rolls through names and pictures. Pictures, moments, whirl and spin
in my mind until it all stops on one moment. A dropped candelabra. A
loud clank after having slept most of the day. A young, timid servant
girl with short brown hair and large, kind, brown eyes.

“
She's nice.”
I smile at him.

“
She sure is.”
His lips pull up into an innocent smile.

“
I'm happy for
you,” I say, “I'm happy that you're able to be with the
one you love. How come you two aren't married?”

“
Having been human,
you of all people should know that marriage doesn't always equate
love. I love Lelaine. She is my other half. No ceremony will make
that bond any stronger, and lack of one will not make it weaker.”

We walk in silence for a
little while after that and I can't help but wonder what connection
he's talking about. Is it what I feel for Sahariel, or is that
something that is developed with every person and their personal
guard? I don't feel any connection with Kal, aside from maybe the
beginnings of friendship.

“
Not to uh, darken
the current situation, but I think that maybe we should get you to
the war room.”

“
The war room?
That's an awfully bad name for a room.”

“
True, but it's the
room where the strategists meet during times of war.”

“
Well then I guess
the name makes a little sense, doesn't it?”

Kal gives me a wan smile
and motions for me to follow him through the castle. I never knew a
place could have so many rooms. I had only been in a couple of the
rooms, and I still didn't know how to get to any of them.

We walk through the halls
and every time we pass a junction in the halls, a doorway, the guards
there bow, salute, or in some way acknowledge me. At the end of a
hallway there are two guards stationed outside of a door. They seem
oddly on edge. Kal motions me forward and the guards open the door
for me, and soon I can see why they're so on edge.

The room is large and
round, or at least as round as can be. In the center is a huge round
table, the top of which is a very detailed map. A desk is at the back
of the room, scrolls and other pieces of parchment are rolled out and
scattered. And just like any good war room, there are weapons hung on
the wall like prize trophies, and no doubt there are stories behind
each that make it so.

Loud arguments turn to
hushed whispers when I enter the room and soon die down to nothing. I
take a deep breath and walk further in. I make my way past the large
table to the desk and pick up a scroll. It's correspondence between
the main army in the field and the castles strategists. So far it
looks as though the enemy is slowly moving around us, like they're
looking for something specific. I roll the scroll up, put it back on
the desk and turn toward the table in the center of the room.

“
Alright,” I
say, “what is our position, and what should we do?”

At my words the room
erupts with shouting as flashes of red, orange, yellow and brown fill
the air. The men attempt to talk over each other and the voices
become louder and louder, slowly grating on my nerves. The only thing
I'm grateful for is the fact that none of these people are human,
because if they were I'd definitely feel like draining everyone's
emotions right out of the room.

“
One at a time,”
I practically scream at the mob.

But they don't stop, they
don't hear me. I don't think they can hear me. I sigh, take a deep
breath and concentrate. I slowly pull the ego from the room and
listen smugly as the yelling subsides.

“
Alright,” I
say, “now that I have everyone's attention.”

I release the emotions
back into the room and the men stare at me silently.

“
Again, one at a
time. What is everyone's opinion on what we should do?”

The men look at each
other, silently deciding who should speak first. One by one, the men
step back until just one man is near the center of the room. A man
with raven black hair and piercing blue eyes.

“
We need to start
moving soon,” the man gazes at me steadily of a few moments
then his eyes move to the table, “if we don't then the enemy
forces will attack and we won't be ready. We need to mobilize and
secure the border.”

“
I agree,” I
say.

I walk over to the table
and look at the map.

“
We need to secure
here, here and here,” the man says, pointing at large open
areas on the map.

The man continues to
explain the scenarios to me while he points at strategic areas on the
map. I immediately like him and decide that if the need arises in the
future, I'm going to ask him what we should do.

“
Sir,” I stop
him after the meeting, “may I ask your name?”

“
My name?”

“
Yes.”

“
Marius, my lady.”

“
Thank you,
Marius,” I say, “you were a huge help during the
meeting.”

“
It was nothing, I
assure you. I was only doing my duty.”

I smile at him and he
smiles back, warily at first then with more gusto toward the end. He
excuses himself from my presence and I watch him walk back over to
the table and motioned, telling the others in the room the specifics
of what needs to be done.

I stand there awkwardly
for a few minutes, not sure if I should stay go. But it's boring, so
I walk slowly out of the room. At least someone was friendly in
there. I wonder how much longer that will last, or if the others will
be just as friendly as Marius.

Somehow the meeting
managed to last longer than I thought it did and the sun is setting
behind the hills in the distance.