The Silent Knight

-6-

It has been a week since the celebration of Marisia's age of becoming eighteen. As I wake I hear a knock on my door. 

"Maddox it is me, your father." My father says from the other side of the door as I roll out of bed and rub my eyes. 

"Come in father!" I say excitedly. Seeing my father for short periods of time is something I have been accustomed to as he is the knight to the king. 

Seeing him constantly stand in a suit of amor next to or closely behind the king is where he is meant to be. I watch as he opens the door and walks over to me to give me a hug. 

"I have missed you my dear child." He says shuffling my brown hair as I hug him tightly. 

"I've missed you too, father." He backs away and looks at me as he usually does when we see each other after a long period of time. 

"You have grown to be the such a miraculous knight Maddox." He says as I laugh shaking my head. 

"I've learned from the best." I say putting my hands behind my back. A look of sadness washes over his face. 

"I fear we have a situation. I need you to listen to me very carefully Maddox." I furrow my brow at his deepened tone. 

"The king has grown very ill and has released me of my duties as a knight but has given me strict orders." I listen silently with my mouth agape. 

"You know he is my best friend Maddox and I will follow his orders as he is the king. He does not want me to watch him die. He has asked of me to leave King's Landing at once and go back home, where I shall not return until after his death." He looks at me with tears in his eyes. 

"I did not want to leave you here, you know that is the last thing I wanted to do but he has already prepared my leave. He believes that I should live out the rest of my life without being strained by our title as a knight, rebuild our house and create a community within our home that you can come back to some day. " He places his hands on the side of my cheeks. 

Our home is a short ways away from King's Landing. It consists of a couple homes and an arena. At the moment it is just being kept up by a couple maidens as my father and I are the last two remaining Knights of our bloodline. 

"Please take care of yourself. I know you are as hard headed as me and will keep the princess protected physically and mentally at all times even if not needed. You two have always been very close, there shall be no problems there but be mindful of your choices. We haven't had a war in a hundred years, I believe you are capable of consorting the princess as she trusts you the most out of those around her. If there comes a time of war or the future queen is in danger, keep her and yourself alive for my and her fathers sake. I love you Maddox, I shall visit you when you need me most." He pulls me in for a hug as a tears falls from my cheek. 

"I love you father." I say quietly as my head is buried into his chest. He kisses the top of my head and walks out of the door. I sit back down and cry silently into my palms. 

My door suddenly slams open as I look up startled. I relax when I see Rose walk towards me and sit next to me. 

"I heard the news, thought I would come check up on you." She says as she rests her head on my shoulder. 

"I must get ready I'm sure Marisia has already awoken." I say as I begin to stand up, wiping my face clear of the tears that have fallen. I feel Rose tug me back down aggressively. 

"Not so fast, your step in was given orders to escort Marisia to the king's chambers." She says softly. 

"But-." Rose stops me.

"But nothing Maddox, you are allowed to be upset for a mere few hours." She says pulling the small strains of brown hair out of my face. 

"Your father loves you dearly, I'm sure he is quite proud of you." She says as I meet her all familiar brown eyes. 

"You came all this way to comfort me?" I ask questionably. 

"No need to flatter yourself Maddox, the king is very ill. A raven was sent to Winterfell to inform us of his status. I and others are unsure if he will make it through the night." She says as I look down at my hands, completely forgetting the serious decline of the king's health. 

"How is she?" I ask Rose, she sighs and looks away. 

"She is aware that she is to be titled Queen soon. Quite upset about her father, although you know she hides her emotions very well. She is doing her best." She says turning back towards me. 

"Maddox, are you okay?" She asks as concern washes over her face. 

"I am fine." I look back down at my hands. As I do so I feel her hand reach under my chin to turn my gaze back in her direction. 

I take a moment to look at the girl in front of me. The way her black hair falls down her shoulders and back. Her brown eyes are sharp and intense. She wears a black gown that flows effortlessly along her body. She is stunning. 

"I know." She says as she moves her hand from my chin to the side of my face, rubbing her thumb across my cheek. 

I can't seem to take my eyes off of her, we have never been this intimate in terms of showing our emotions or affection towards each other as friends. We have always been the two to make fun of one another, this was something entirely different. I feel my face begin to heat up as we continue to stare at one another. 

"What?" She says furrowing her eyebrows. 

"Nothing." I lie, pulling away and laying back down in my bed. 

She places her hand in her lap and looks over at me from where she is sitting. She then stands up and swaps at the bottom of her casual gown. 

"Get some rest, I will send a maiden to fetch you in a couple of hours for your duties." She says as she walks out of my room. 

I turn my body to the side and feel myself fall back into a slumber.