Savoirs

Serena

The morning brought rain and slow travel. Lia had checked Jaclyn's bandages before we left and now we were riding on in silence. A deer darted across our path once and spooked Jason's horse, nearly causing it to throw its two riders off. Thankfully Jason had been able to keep control of the horse and nobody got hurt. It was about a day's journey to the castle and we should have been eager to get there and go back to our lives but we weren't. There was a heavy silence surrounding us and as we got closer to the kingdom it grew heavier. The light rain lifted around mid-day and the sun broke through the clouds to light the dark, gloomy world. Still the silence reigned supreme. 

Night was falling once again when we entered the busy village and rode silently up the castle. The three of us girls were still dressed in our men clothes and got many odd looks from those we passed. The boys kept their eyes forwards and we girls watched as we passed through the village and stopped at the gates. The guards allowed us in and we rode into the courtyard with the silence following us like a cloud. We dismounted quietly and walked into the castle. Where we were escorted to the throne room outside of which Shayne met us. He wore a look of pain and didn't meet any of our eyes when he spoke.

"I had no say in his decision." He says quietly leaving us confused as he opened the door to reveal his father and brother sitting inside the room. We walked in and the king rose. He looked down upon us with a steely gaze and Jason took the lead towards him with the rest of us in tow. We stopped at the stairs leading to the king and his eldest son and bowed.

"I see you got my message." He says and we nod.

"Shayne informed us. As soon as everyone was well and able to travel we came." Jason says simply. The king nods and looks us over.

"Do you know why I called you six here?" He asks and we shake our heads.

"No, sir." Jason says and the king looks to him.

"I called you here because you are dangerous. Anyone with your powers are dangerous but I don't kill them. There is however one of you of which I will have to arrest and execute." Suddenly I know why Shayne said what he did and my stomach drops. Jason looks up at the king sharply and pushes Jaclyn behind him.

"Sir, we don't understand." Jason says calmly and the king looks down at him.

"I think you do. She's dangerous. There's nothing more to understand." He says and the conversation was over. But we didn't move. We had gone through too much to just roll over and let one of us be killed because they supposedly posed a threat to the kingdom.

"She's not dangerous, sir." Lia says quietly and the king turns his gaze upon her.

"Her power is dangerous and there is no other way to make sure she isn't a threat than to kill her. Now guards, take the girl to the cells and at first light there is to be an execution. The rest of you may leave." The king says and the guards jump into action and we make a ring around Jaclyn who stood, frozen behind Jason. She was staring at the king with fear in her eyes and as the guards got closer we were ordered to move but move we did not. Instead we stood stead fast and ready for whatever was to come next. Then one drew their sword and leveled the blade at Jason's throat.

"The girl." The guard says, his tone deadly but Jason doesn't back down.

"You're stupid to think I'll let you take her to her death." He says, his tone just as icy as the guards and the guard pulls the sword away, getting ready for a killing blow and then Jaclyn wasn't frozen anymore.

"No!" She exclaims and pulls Jason out of the way. Surprised he stumbles back and she stands in front of the guards blade. Now we were all watching her and the king was watching the events unfold with a steady gaze. "I'll go without a fight." She says calmly and the guard looks to the king who looks down at Jaclyn with amusement.

"Jaclyn! No!" Jason exclaims and she turns back to him.

"Its my decision. I'm not letting any of you get hurt because of me." She says and turns back to the king.

"What said I believed that you wouldn't give ?" He asks and she holds out her fists in front of her. The guard flinches away slightly and the king flinches from where he stood at the sudden movement. That's when we all saw it. They were scared of her. Shy Jaclyn who couldn't look anyone in the eye for more than a few seconds, who couldn't stand with a blade pointed at her chest without trembling in fear. But yet she stood perfectly still, the guards blade pointed at her heart and her gaze focused steadily on the king. Her voice didn't waver when she spoke, like it always did when she was speaking with a man who was a stranger to her. She was a stranger to us as we watched the guard lower his weapon and bind her hands together.

"You have my word that there will be no need for violence, sir." She says and he looks from us, to her, to her hands. After several moments of silence he nods and the guard takes her by her arm and leads her out of the room. She walks tall and with her head held high as she looks back at us and nods once. We see the sadness in her eyes as she looks away and then the door shuts and she's gone from our view.

"Next time you try to protect someone be sure to know if you'll die or not in the process, boy." The king says and Jason whirls around to face him, anger plain on his face.

"She risked everything to protect you and you thank her by taking her life?" He demands and the king looks down at him with a cool expression.

"Watch your tongue boy. You all are dismissed." he says with a wave of his hand and Joseph takes Jason's arm and we walk out of the throne room. The guards that escorted Jaclyn out were no where to be found and as we exited the castle we saw Shayne sitting on the steps with his head in his hands. Jason walked by him with a angry silence and he looked up.

"I'm sorry." He calls after Jason who freezes and his hands turn to fists at his sides. "I swear I didn't know my father would-" He starts but Jason whirls around and cuts him off.

"Don't waste your breath. She dead now and there's nothing you can do to stop it so don't tell me that your sorry or how you didn't know your father would take her life. I've had many people say things like that to me in my lifetime and its gotten old. So just shut your mouth." He growls and storms away to get his horse. Shayne stands there stunned into silence and then he curses and turns around to look at us. Desperation plain on his face.

"He's just upset." Lia says quietly and Shayne looks over his shoulder at him and then back at us.

"I don't blame him. Had my father sentenced someone I loved to death I would be upset as well. I am truly sorry this happened." He says and we nod.

"I wonder where we are going now." Adam says and a servant walks over to Jason. He stops what he was doing to listen then he walks over to us and Shayne looks up.

"We are required to what?" Jason says and Shayne looks away.

"It was my brother's idea. It's already bad enough that your friend is dying but that you have to watch? That's too much." He says and Jason's eyes soften slightly but not for long. They harden again and he looks at us then back to the youngest royal.

"He expects us to-" Joseph starts, anger creeping into his voice but he never finishes.

"You'll be killed as well if you don't. There will be a price on your heads if you don't. You won't be able to go back to your normal lives if you don't." Shayne interrupts and he doesn't look at either of them, just stares at the ground.

"So are you saying we don't have a choice?" I say and he looks at me. I see the pain in his eyes at what he was saying and I knew that I would much rather him be king than his brother in that moment.

"Sadly, that's exactly what I'm saying." He says and we stand there in stunned silence until we are taken to separate rooms for the night.