Under the Moon - Book 1 in the Bewitching Moon Series

Chapter 21

I made my way back to the palace, this time Dad by my side. He was heading to his shift on the left-wing of the palace, and I was heading to collect my gear before being assigned a position. At the entrance Dad and I went our separate ways, him giving me instructions to the prep room before heading on his way.

I followed Dad's instructions precisely, swimming into the prep room to find someone sitting at a table, sharpening their sword.

They looked up from what they were doing to face me.

"Hey, you must the famous Aiden, I'm Kate. I'm supposed to be prepping you before you're assigned a position."

Kate had brunette hair, cut into a short bob cut. Freckles dotted her nose and she had naturally pink lips.

"Yeah, I'm the 'famous' Aiden. So what does getting prepped involve?"

"Today I need to get you the right sized armor and a sword you can work easily unless you already have a sword you would like to use. But on a normal day, prepping would consist of making sure your armor is spotless and your sword is sharp."

"Cool."

Kate led me to a back room where hooks and stands were lined up. Some had armor, swords, and shields displayed on them. Bronze plates with names engraved in them, hug above them. She led me to a further backroom with rows upon rows of armor, swords, and shields.

Kate and I spent a good portion of an hour getting me fitted into armor, finding a shield that wasn't too heavy for me, and getting a good temporary sword before I brought my sword in from home.

SilverStar was a family heirloom passed on to the oldest child of each generation. Dad had given me SilverStar when I was eleven, and before that, Grandpa had given Dad SilverStar when he was eleven. Eventually, I'll pass it on to my eldest child when they're eleven.

After Kate was done prepping me, she took me to the main hall where she said we were going to meet the general and he was going to assign me a position.

When we entered the main hall, we found Queen Anastasia talking not so quietly to the general.

"I'm sorry your majesty, but all our on-shift guards, besides the ones currently assigned, are guarding their assigned wings of the palace, we have no extras."

That is when he noticed me and Kate.

"Kate! And you must be Aiden. Perfect timing!" He then turned back to Queen Anastasia. "Nevermind your majesty, it turns out we don't have any unfilled slots for your departure. I shall have them prepped by the time you need to leave."

The General then swam to us and guided us out of the hall.

"Sorry for the change of plans, but it turns out that you two will be instead escorting the queen to the shore, her presence has been requested by the President of The United League of Land, a country on land. I'm sure, especially you Aiden, won't be disappointed by these change of plans, seeing as it's your first day."

***

All of us looked identical in our armor and holding our shields, the only difference being our facial features and the swords we held. Kate was positioned next to me and in charge of making sure I knew what I was doing, explaining to me anything I didn't know.

We were positioned strictly in an angle where at least two of us could protect any possible side where the queen could be attacked. Once ready, we all swam up to the surface, Queen Anastasia sitting on a throne being carried by four servants, most likely given a spell to help them be strong enough to do so.

Slowly we broke the surface of the water, many people on the shore already there, "clearly" ecstatic to see us there. There were many people with huge black box-like objects, which I had learned to be cameras during my time on land. But one person clearly stood out, I assumed he was the president.

"President of The United League of Land, what an honor it is to speak to a human of such high status. The pleasure is mine." Queen Anastasia spoke first. Her words were nice but they sounded as cold as ice.

"Queen of the Under Sea, I requested your presence to speak of a situation that has become quite a problem up here, said situation involves one of your witches." He said that in such a way as if we were all objects owned by the queen, and not people ourselves, I snarled at him. Kate put her hand on my shoulder, my signal to stop and look emotionless. I had to keep a detached look on my face at all times when in the presence of humans.

"A witch under the name of Marabella Cooper has caused some great trouble and has made a great deal of damage to one of our coastal cities."

"Ah yes, Marabella, I can assure you that she has been taken care of. She currently is being held in the dungeon under the palace.

I gasped, almost choking on air. 

What did she say? No, Marabella couldn't be in the dungeon. Queen Anastasia never did say what she going to do to her, but I never assumed it was bad. I wouldn't have done the mission otherwise, royal guard or not. I can't just take someone's freedom like that for my own selfishness.

Queen Anastasia has to be bluffing. I used my tracking abilities to figure out where Marabella was, and sure enough, she was in the place dungeon.

My legs felt weak, how could I have done this to her. She trusted me, and I thought I left her in safe hands, but it turns out I did no right by anybody but me, doing this to get into the royal guard. I was just a selfish jerk and I had to fix this, although it could cost my spot on the royal guard, and possibly even my freedom. My parents would be so disappointed in me.

But I had to do the right thing.

Right?