A King's Guardian

>17<

"There are procedures that must be done for you to be relieved," Samson was telling me from where he stood a safe, comfortable distance behind me. "You have to face him once more, Apphia. Then you may go."

"What procedures?" I spoke through gritted teeth. "He verbally released me. Isn't that enough?"

"No. I'm afraid it isn't."

My shoulders caved inward as I stifled a sob. Today was my final day here, in the Castle. Within the next few hours, we would be separated. Everyone I knew and cared for would become strangers. I didn't know where I would be going from here, but it would be far away.

The Castle lockdown had been uplifted only an hour or so prior to Samson appearing at my door. Our soldiers had raided the Estate only to find it empty of the traitors who had attempted to take our king's life on so many occasions. Specialists had been sent to hunt them down, and I couldn't muster the empathy for Princess Tabitha. She must have known—to some degree—of her husband's treasonous ways. I did hope that she herself was not directly involved. What reason could she have had for wanting to overthrow her cousin? He allowed them to live almost lavishly with enough power to rule an entire city.

"He will see you now," Samson said, drawing me from my upset. "The sooner you go, the easier it will be for you. The city is still in an uproar about what Philip tried to do. They won't notice you. I suggest you head for the country and find work...or a husband. You have a chance to settle peacefully, Apphia. Take it."

I didn't want to settle peacefully. I wanted to be a Guardian, to be the defender I had trained so hard to be for so much of my later years. This wasn't something I could do easily surrender. The idea of leaving this castle nearly watered my eyes.

"Yes," I finally answered.

My belongings were reduced to a single pack of black under clothes, a wood hairbrush that was my mother's, my boots, and the meager savings I had acquired since working under the king. These I carried with me as Samson led the way to the king's office. My stomach tightened in apprehension; I had hoped not to see him again before leaving.

When we reached the tall, wooden door to the king's office, Samson knocked and announced us. King Zacharias' deep voice gave us entrance. I carried my pack inside the office with me as I approached the desk. My eyes instinctively flickered up to his before darting down in embarrassment. Once I reached the desk, I bowed my head and curved my shoulders.

"Your Highness," I greeted solemnly.

"Apphia," he replied, "please take a seat."

Doing as told, I placed my pack down and settled into a wood chair facing his desk. I glanced furtively between his intense stare and the disorganization of papers on his desk. My heart was pounding in my throat. I just wanted this to be over with.

"Do you understand why this is necessary?" he asked, breaking the tense silence.

"My release? Yes, I do. I put you in danger, Your Highness, on more than account."

"Yes, that is true."

I struggled to swallow down the heartbreak. This was all ending. Everything I had worked so hard for. Why did I have to be so foolish?

He cleared his throat. "Samson, can you step out of the room for a moment?"

My spine stiffened. Though I didn't turn to look, I heard the door close after my superior's leave. We were alone now, the king and I. His penetrating gaze burned into me, but now I couldn't muster the strength to look away. Those obsidian orbs were an abyss, so easy to get lost in.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Apphia?" Zacharias inquired. "You want to leave the Castle? You want to resign your guardianship?"

"Your Highness, I—"

"Zacharias," he corrected.

Wetting my lips, I began again. "Zacharias, it is not that I want to leave. I wish nothing more than to stay. But I can't live knowing I have put your life in danger and not seen justice for it. It's wrong, Your—Zacharias. People like Prince Philip are already suspicious of our...relationship. We cannot give their ludicrous ideas any founding."

Rather than respond directly, he leaned back in his chair and gripped the arms of his chair. "Do you know what my advisors first told me when we had considered opening up the Guardian position to a female?"

I shook my head.

"They deemed it ludicrous. For some of them, it was because they believed a female could never and should never be in combat like a man. It would take away from the life-giving role of women in our society. However, others spoke against it because they said it would be a distraction. For both me and the other Guardians."

Why was he telling me this? I didn't care to know how I had ruined the one chance I had for myself and every potential female candidate. What a miserable reputation.

"But," he continued, "I forced the vote. I have seen from the women in my family that they can be twice as devoted and fierce as any man, should it be in their disposition. So this is what I told my advisors to look for. And they found you, a struggling peasant girl with a knack for street fights."

My cheeks reddened. That part of my life was so long ago I could only faintly remember it. Now I would be returning to it.

"Perhaps I let my pride get to my head," I said. "Whatever the reason, I have done wrong by you and Guardianship duties. It isn't acceptable."

"Why do you persecute yourself in this way?" he asked, furrowing his brows.

"Because I believe in justice. Especially for myself."

A shadow crossed his face, tilting his lips and eyes downward. "You can stay in the Castle as a maid or a servant," he said. "You don't have to leave, Apphia."

I was nearly offended by the offer, but I contained myself. "With all due respect, Zacharias, I could not subject myself to such domestic duties. Not when I will still be surrounded by my brothers."

"You would not subject yourself to such tasks, even if I requested it of you?"

"Then I must beg to ask why you would make such a request."

The king sighed and rubbed his face before saying, "Your presence brings me comfort. I do not wish to lose such a valuable asset."
His compliment touched me, made my skin flush. "Thank you. Surely, I can be replaced. There must be many others vying for this position."

"Another Guardian will take your place and the places of those who lost their lives as of late," he agreed. Then, with a pause of reluctance, he added, "But you will not be replaced, Apphia. There is not another girl in the kingdom like you."

Though I wished to say it was because he never spent time in the slums that he never met girls like me, I bit my tongue. The slums was no place for him. It was a place for me and my kind of people. This was something I had allowed myself to forget.

"As you wish, I will relieve you of your duties," he told me while rising from his desk.

He scribbled his signature on a sheet of paper and walked around the desk. I, too, rose from the chair, uncertain. His feet brought him to a breath's reach of me, and I had to tilt my head back to fully see his face. Every feature was carved into my memory: the leafy dark hair, unreadable black eyes framed with short lashes, square jaw, butted chin, broad nose, and thin pink lips. He looked like a warrior, like his ancestors.

"It will not be forever," he whispered, lowering his head slightly.

While I remained frozen, arrested by his proximity and words, he reached up to brush my cheek with his hand. His palm and fingers were callused. My muscles grew rigid.

"Do not forget me." With that, he bent down to kiss my cheek. Then he pulled back and put more space between us. "Now you may go, Apphia."