Evelyn

❈ Chapter Fifteen ❈

- Harper -

  "Harper!" Basilios's voice cut through her train of thought. The tall guard was strolling towards her, Clement by his side. Clement gave her a worried look. Harper gave him a weak smile in return. They had grown closer over the years. 

  "Commander," she joked weakly, dropping her eyes to the floor to avoid his gaze as well as being polite. Basilios snorted in exasperation.

  "Stop that," he smiled gently, pushing her hands out of the salute. "Have you any news of the Princess?" Harper's smile wobbled. She swallowed, a single tear pushing to her eye as she thought of not Evelyn, but Kai. 

  "No," she replied firmly, shaking her flaming red locks. Clement sighed and Basilios looked grave.

  "The King is beside himself," Basilios groaned. "It said that Sir Danan was present at the time; we cannot live without our Crown Princess." Harper felt a stab of guilt. 

  "I'd do anything to find them," she whispered. Clement's eyes snapped up.

  "Anything?" Harper nodded.

  "Of course!" Harper obviously had different reasons for finding them but she still wanted to find them nonetheless. Clement gave her a grim smile.

  "Perfect."

  The palace was high upon the hill overlooking the town, it's many pointed towers giving it the look of an eccentric crown. The walls were a white stone that glistened in the summer sun and the roof was grey slate. It was as big as twenty of the ordinary houses of the town and employed a good number of the townsfolk as servants. Around the palace were the horse pastures and kitchen gardens for the royal family, and around that was a stone wall topped with iron spikes and guarded day and night. The palace was an old country mansion that had been extended over the centuries. It now had four sides around a central quadrangle and over five hundred rooms. It took a small army of servants to upkeep such a large abode and indeed most of the rooms were ever used. The former monarch had dwelled in only one corner on one floor and rarely stepped foot in the rest of his dwelling. But the palace was a status symbol, it set him above the peasants and that is where he believed he needed to be, separate, apart, superior, untouchable.

  When the old king decided to split the kingdom between his twin sons it was repaired decked out in the most sumptuous carpets and fabrics to be found in this land and in the lands of the known world. Now it stood with it's thick stone walls and moat of green as a symbol of power in the region. Harper had rarely been here. She lived among the other guards in the barracks near the village. The castle only held the servants, the nobility and the personal guards the nobility required. It was were he was. 

  Harper stared as she was escorted towards the castle by Basilios and Clement. The sculptures in front of the palace had been made long ago by masters of the craft. They were set on pedestals amid the water of the fountains and the perfectly manicured hedges that looked like different animals. It was hard to do anything else. Everything here was pristine; a life she barely understood. 

  The doors opened and Harper found herself in awe once more. All floors were marble, what else would they be? All stair rails were ornate mahogany, carved and polished so that they shined. Family portraits were painted in oils and hung in gold frames. Furniture was all handmade by master craftsmen. Nothing ever got dirty. Harper was sure the Palace had never seen dust in many years of life. The air was scented with fresh flowers, yet Harper would swear that none of the nobility had seen a flower ever die or wilt. Food would always be perfect and served precisely on time, but Harper knew they had no idea what happened in the kitchen. She would even bet they had never seen a kitchen. Each room was as big a three bedroom country house and came equipped with an bell system in case anyone should need to call for service. Harper forced herself to keep calm; it was not every day she stood in the Palace, admiring it's walls and architecture. 

  "You." The word was singular and although directed to no one in particular, Harper knew automatically it was meant for her. She glided into the middle of the floor, wishing she had Evelyn's perfect and poised grace. She bent her knee, removing her helmet - a sign of respect. Lifting her fisted hand to her chest, Harper bowed her head, her halo of fiery red locks falling into her face. 

  "Your Majesty, it is my duty to serve you and this country. You may ask anything of me; I will do it." The words were well recited and Harper could only force herself still as she waited in the silence. Silence hung in the air like the suspended moment before a falling glass shatters on the ground. It was like a gaping void, needing to be filled with sounds, words, anything. The silence was poisonous in it's nothingness, cruelly underscoring how vapid their conversation had become. The quietness was eerily unnatural, like a dawn devoid of birdsong. It clung to them like a poisonous cloud that at any moment could choke the life from them. The quiet seeped into their every pore, like a poison slowly paralysing them from either speech or movement.

  "I need you do something for me," The King spoke. Harper raised her head but remained on the floor. "You are new to the guard but Sir Basilios tells me you have real potential." Harper fought the urge to look at Basilios instead trying to channel all her focus onto her King. "I see no reason to give you a mission to prove yourself." Harper felt her cheeks flush. "Your mission will be kept in the strictest of confidentialities. You will find the Princess Evelyn and her personal guard, Sir Kai Danan." Harper dipped her head to hide her smile. 

  "I will find them, Majesty," she dipped her head. "I promise." Harper stood and bowed once more. It was when she bowed down that she really understood where she stood among the nobility. She was merely a solider; a girl. The love of her life had left her ruined and the girl she was sworn to protect was someone she hated with a passion. It was then Harper finally realised she was finally beginning to learn her lesson. No one could be trusted; not when anyone - anything - like her own heart could betray her and her sense of duty. Without looking back, Harper left, uncrossing her intertwined fingers from her fist over her heart.