King of Days: The Veiled Guardians

12. Royalty Ennobled

As the horns blew Karíto saw a procession starting from the castle hill and moving toward the garden. There were maidans holding banners, and some played flutes; they all wore a fine white and gold dress. There were also male servants who wore a garb that was purple with gold trim, they were escorting the king and his court. Lastly to follow were a group of ten knights in full regalia.

Karíto could not believe it, he whispered to the captain, "I saved the princess didn't I?"

The captain nodded, "now here comes the king" The whole entourage circled the gazebo, and with one last symphonic blast of music there was silence. King Garret walked up, accompanied by the rest of the royal family. King Garret wore a black garb and had a deep purple cape that had white fur on the top and down the sides. On his head sat a large golden crown that had 7 colored gems around it and a large white diamond in the center. On the right side of the King was Crown Prince Paul, he was expected to be the one to take the crown, though he was not actually the oldest. He wore a light blue suit and had a small silver crown on his head. On his right was Prince General Barin, he was the oldest, but gave up the right to the crown so he could be the general of the army, his tactics were unmatched. He wore a maroon suit which had a golden cream interior. Prince Grant, was to the right of Barin, he was the head of the treasury and relator of foreign affairs. He wore a suit that looked like gold and had silver trim down the edges. Princess Elena was to the left of the king, she was in charge of city affairs, which was often art and design, especially for events. She wore a violet dress with a white sash on her waist and a golden brooch that looked like a bird. She had a small silver tiara which held her dark braided hair. To her left was Prince Deric, he was in charge of agriculture and of import export. He wore a dark orange-like suit with a dark purple trim. To his left was Prince Erin who was the governing body of legislators, which was a division to help establish rules for citizens and how to deal with foreign entities. He wore a green suit that had white trim. Karíto then saw the girl he knew as Vella move next to the king; as she moved her deep brown hair flowed freely in the wind, though she had a silver tiara on her head, her flowing hair was not impeded by it. She wore a sky blue dress, it was tied at the waist by a belt made of yellow and white flowers.

King Garret spoke up "Karíto, my boy, I do not know if I can thank you enough. You saved my daughter Lucia, all without knowing who she is. Explain to me, why did you do it?"

The princess smiled at Karíto, walked up, kissed his hand and whispered. "I am sorry I did not tell you my real name."

Karíto, stunned, struggled to speak. "Sir, erm, my king... I saw.." He paused to collect himself "I saw that a person was in need, and could not stand by and let it happen."

The king smiled, as the princess walked back to his right side. "I thought so, and hoped that is what it was. I would like to repay you with an honor" Karíto nodded dumbly. King Garret then continued. "We would like to honor you, by making you an honorary knight. We also were made known about your family, so we would like to honor them too, that is by having all of you live in the Knights Quarter. They can become the bakers for the knights and their families if they would like."

Karíto nodded and bowed, "It would be my greatest pleasure to accept your generous honor, your majesty."

King Garret laughed, "then it is done! We will have a public party and a royal address to move you and your family to the Knights Quarter."

It was two days since Karíto had been privately honored by the King, and the family had scrambled to pack up the house. Although it was made much easier with the help of royal attendees. Their mother had returned from the trip alone, for she said their father was away on business. Karíto tugged at his outfit, it was a bit stiff and the wrinkle free garment was beyond his experience. The garment was what a knight at court wore; the material was royal blue with gold trim, and had the royal symbol in full regalia in the center.