King's Sword

The Green

You never really expect to be called about a family death when you haven't spoken to any of them in years.

Of course, they wouldn't have called if they have gotten what they wanted, which made that two a.m. call that much more suspicious.

I reach for my phone in the dark after hearing it vibrate against my wooden bedside table. I answer mindlessly, "Hello?"

"Good Morning, Miss King. This is Shaun Hill, I'm your late grandfather's lawyer, is this a bad time?" The man on the line says and I sit up at that with a frown.

"Late? My grandfather is dead?" My question seems to have stunned him since he takes an extra moment to speak.

"He is. I thought your family would have notified you by now, seeing as he passed away two weeks ago." He explains carefully as I stare blankly in the dark, tears swelling up at the base of my eyes quietly. "Miss King?"

"I, uh, no. I must've missed their calls." I reply before clearing my throat. "But how... how can I help you Mr. Hill?"

"Oh yeah, well you see Miss King, you are the sole heir to his fortune. I'd like to schedule a meeting to go over the inheritance on Monday, if that's alright with you."

Inheritance. It makes sense I had not been informed of grandpa's death sooner but even this was unexpected.

After scheduling the meeting with the executor, I sit back against my headboard with a sigh that made the sleeping man next to me reach for my leg under the covers.

"You okay?" Elijah mumbles with a groggy voice.

Am I okay? I hadn't spoken to the old man in months, he had asked me to come visit, maybe show up to my brother's birthday party but I didn't. I figured if I stayed away, I could avoid any more trouble with the others.

Still, he always seemed to care about me. More than I gave him credit for.

"Grandpa's dead." I breathe out in defeat, feeling the pent up sadness in my chest sink to my stomach.

The lamp on Elijah's side of the bed comes on and I can then see his sympathetic frown as he sits up. "I'm sorry, love." I shake my head in response, lowering myself further into the covers.

"I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a hypocrite." I admit tiredly but Elijah simply sighs and rubs my head gently. "Which is why I can't accept the inheritance." He raises a curious brow.

"He left you an inheritance and you're worried about the other assholes in the family thinking you're a hypocrite?" Elijah asks incredulously, earning him a glare on my behalf. "I'm just saying, you are probably the only one who ever gave a shit about him and not being there for a couple of months does not erase the years of sanity you sacrificed to be closer to him and your brother." I am too tired to rationalize what he's trying to say so I nod absentmindedly. "Plus, you could use that money to get out of your student debt."

"Baby, can we please talk about this in the morning?" I ask, starting to get frustrated with the topic. He doesn't push before turning the light off and holding me until I drift into sleep.

The next two days are spent looking for a sitter for our cat and making sure our bills were in order before we can buy our tickets to Washington State. I told Elijah he didn't have to come, that I would be in and out, but he insisted in offering his support.

The morning of the appointment I dress in the only pair of black slacks I own, black heels and a gray turtleneck. The outfit specifically coordinated in case I run into my parents or any other relatives for that matter.

I am stunned, and pleasantly surprised when I enter the meeting office and the only one there is Mr. Hill. "I'm the only one here." I say in realization making the slim older man with gray hair smile and nod.