The Call of Fate

Chapter II - Gabriel

The minute the girl with the soiled dress stepped into the palace courtyard, Gabriel knew she was trouble. His fellow Palace Guards drew near the strange sight and demanded an immediate explanation from her. She merely shook her head, her dark hair falling around her shoulders like a perfect curtain, as she tried to get past them. From where he was standing, Gabriel could see that her hands and feet were wounded, and her dress no longer looked like it was a decent thing to wear. He wondered if she was infected with brain fever and shuddered at the thought. Brain fever was incurable, and those who had it could sometimes stir panic in the cities and villages, so whenever that happened the Guards were left with no choice but to put an end to their pitiful lives.

                Gabriel hated drawing his sword against anyone who knew neither any defensive stances nor the deadly art of wielding weapons, but because it was by order of the King that they were tasked to execute anyone who caused even the slightest trouble because of their illness, he had little say in the matter. Still... wasn’t it his duty to protect the defenceless? Shouldn’t he at least hear her out properly? Even without his conscience pricking at him, he had already made his decision. The other guards were making fun of her, teasing and taunting her as if she were a common animal. It was unacceptable.

                He approached Adrian and Jethuel: the guards who cornered her upon her entry of the palace grounds. He took one look at the young girl’s face noting that it was a mix of impatience, anger and confusion, turned his head to the younger guards and said, “I’ll take it from here. You can go now.” Adrian and Jethuel looked at one another and scowled. Gabriel was five ranks above them- an official soldier of the Phalanx Guard; the highest military group in the Chronos Kingdom, so they were subject to his orders. They left him with the odd girl, and stomped back to their posts, grumbling at having been sent away. “I’m sorry if they were bothering you. They’re young and often bored, being left to guard the gates every day.” When he turned to face her, however, she was gone. The soldier cursed and spun on his heel just in time to see her running towards the unguarded entrance to the Palace Foyer. He ran after her at a mad pace. How could he have been so stupid? She was right there in front of her, and instead of taking hold of her, he had chosen to try to engage her in conversation. Of course she was touched by the dreaded fever! She probably wanted to disrupt the King’s peace, and if she succeeded, it would be his fault. The girl had entered the foyer and had paused to catch her breath.

                “I’ve got you now!” he shouted after her. He grabbed her wrist and held on even as she fought him, and clawed at him, trying to release herself from his painful grasp. Gabriel snatched at her other hand and held her still. The eyes looking back at his own were, to his surprise, not scared but venomous. Anger was seething from her midnight-blue eyes, and for the first time in ten years, Gabriel flinched. Regaining his composure almost immediately, he steadied himself, and pushed her against the nearest pillar he could find. If she was a potential threat to the King or to anyone else for that matter, her life would be in his hands. He examined her face with an appraising look, noting that there was a cut below her left eye, and her lips were caked with blood. Still, she wasn’t ugly; in fact she was nowhere near ugly. There was strength and stubbornness in her eyes thatgave her whole face character, and a beauty all her own.

“Who are you?” he said, loosening his grip on her wrists. Perhaps she was harmless and only wanted to see that King- a peasant who wished to be in the presence of her sovereign before her life ended. The girl said nothing. Gabriel could see she was focusing on regaining her breath. “Why have you come here?” he tried once more. But again she said nothing. Frustration rising, the soldier of the Phalanx raised his voice and threw his questions at her in a last effort to glean any kind of information whatsoever. “What is your name? Why are you here?” and when she remained silent, he shook her hard, his patience wearing thin, and he shouted “Answer me!”

                “Shouting will do you no good, Gabriel. She doesn’t even know her name.” Gabriel knew the owner of that voice without even having to look at her. The woman who had spoken was wearing white dress robes that swept the floor, and golden circlets adorned both her wrists and neck. In her left hand was a staff engraved with the Language of the Ancients. Her name was known throughout the Chronos Kingdom and was often spoken with reverence; Alexia- the Royal Mage and Adviser to the King. He turned to face her and said, “What do you mean she does not know her own name? How can anyone not know their own name? Even those touched by the brain fever have names to give. Why is she any different?”

                Alexia smiled, walked over to the young girl who was looking at her with suspicion, and placed a hand on her shoulder. The girl withdrew from the Mage’s touch, and in response Alexia said, “Her name is Natalia, Gabriel. She has come from the City of the West, and she is here because her Fate has ordained it to be so.” The looks from both Gabriel and the girl called Natalia were those of astonishment and disbelief. “If you do not believe me, then show her to the King,” she told the perplexed soldier, “He will know who she is, and perhaps he will tell you more than I have, seeing as you were the one who found her.” Alexia started to walk off in the direction of the Royal Library. She had one foot inside the door, when she stopped and said in an amused voice, “But make sure she is presentable when she sees the King, Gabriel. You know he would be insulted if you brought a girl like that into his presence. He deserves only the best after all.” And with that, she disappeared into the library, leaving Gabriel with a greater responsibility than he understood, in the form of strange girl whose name, Alexia had said, was Natalia.

-0-

More than three hours had passed since Gabriel brought a protesting, dirty, and difficult Natalia to one of the maidservants of the Queen. Not knowing how to make her presentable, Gabriel explained the case to the head maidservant, Gertrude, and her trusted friend, Lyla, and asked them to do everything they could to make Natalia presentable to the King and his Queen. The maidservants were hesitant at first, but after much pleading and compromising on the soldier’s part, it was agreed that Gertrude would help Natalia bathe and get cleaned up, while Lyla would look for suitable clothes that would accentuate the color of Natalia’s eyes, as well as her slender form and fair complexion. This they would do in exchange for a few silver coins that Gabriel grudgingly parted with. 

                The soldier of the Phalanx was growing impatient. Just how long did women need in order to look passable in the King’s eyes? He had not thought it would take the maidservants more than two hours at the most, and anxiety to get this little side mission done gnawed at his stomach. He was pacing nervously before the door to the maids’ quarters, thinking of how best to introduce Natalia to the King. Didn’t Alexia say that the King would recognize her? But how could that be? If Natalia was indeed a valuable friend to the King, why then did His Majesty not speak of her before? And why were they not forewarned of her coming? And the most disturbing question of all- what if Alexia was wrong? What then, would happen to Natalia? Gabriel shook his head. At the very least, he hoped for his efforts to be paid in some small way. The King was always generous save for when he was in a surly mood. As more and more thoughts entered his head, and as his pacing grew more and more exasperating, the door swung open and Gabriel, who was about to scold the maids for having taken so long, lost all his words as soon as his eyes came upon the young lady standing a few steps away from him.

                She was breathtaking. Her dress was a simple one; the same color as her eyes, with white sash trimmings around her wrists and collar. Her dark hair had been let down and brushed so much that it shone slightly whenever the light hit it. A head band made of gold silk finished her look with subtle grace. And even if her eyes still looked at him with a certain amount of resentment, Gabriel thought her to be incredibly beautiful for one who had worn nothing but a torn dress, and had leaves and dirt all over, when they first met. The cuts on her hands and feet were hardly visible anymore because the good maids had treated them and the dress sleeves covered them gracefully.

                Gabriel averted his gaze and proceeded to stare at the floor instead. The maids chuckled at having noticed the gesture, and waved the young lady and soldier away. They walked in silence through the heavily decorated corridors. The crest of the Chronos Kingdom hung in splendid colors of red and silver, the pillars were draped with thick, perfumed cloth made of pure gold, and the marble floor looked as if it had caught fire, because of the light pouring in from the stained-glass windows that told the Kingdom’s history. Natalia could not help but linger at each window, half in awe of the faultless glasswork, half in hope that she might get a glimpse of who she really was.