A Chosen Path

The Meeting

    “Do you know what he wants?” Lizzy asked Ella, as they both made their way to their grandfather’s office.

    “How should I know”, Ella responded, her tone sounding a little impatient. She should be used to it by now; given the fact that Lizzy asks the same question every time their grandpa calls for a meeting of some sorts. “After all, he is the High King. Who knows what goes on inside that head of his?”

    “We all thought you did,” responded Lizzy. Ella was about to reply when she looked over at Lizzy and saw her staring ahead. Ella followed her gaze only to find Eric standing outside the study. He was leaning on the wall, whistling out of tune and looking like he was about to explode. He was obviously bored and clearly appeared to be waiting for something – or maybe someone.

    As soon as the girls reached him, Lizzy rushed to greet her brother – whom she hasn’t seen in a week because he was on assignment – and Ella joined them, where he gave her a bone-crushing hug. “So, am I correct to assume that this has gone from being a regular call to an urgent family meeting?” Ella asked Eric as soon as he let her go.

    “Family meeting, yes but what makes you think it’s urgent?” He replied.

    “You were supposed to be on assignment for three more days and yet you’re here, both of you.” She gave him a look – the same look that always made him feel uncomfortable, the look she gave him whenever she wanted to extract information out of him. He raised his hands signaling that he knew nothing more than the girls did. “Only Michael can pull you out and bring you back ahead of schedule.”

    “You really don’t know why he summoned us all?” Eric asked her, quirking an eyebrow – the way he did when he’s trying to figure out whether she’s withholding any information from him or not. She shook her head in response. He sounded surprised when he spoke next. “It’s just we thought that out of us all, you’d be the one to know the reason behind this meeting. You are, after all, the closest one to him and you understand him the most.”

    “You make it sound as if I could see inside his mind”, Ella snapped. “Predict his every move.”

    “Well you can, if you choose to”, he said.

    “You all know very well that I don’t use my powers on Grandpa or anyone in this family for that matter”, she said, her voice rising with each word. As soon as she finished yelling, the grand colonial doors of the office opened and Samuel Wineheart, the King’s personal consultant, stepped out.

    “His majesty will see you now”, he said. Samuel had been working for their grandfather even before he became High King. He was the same age as the King and the latter considered him one of his closest and most loyal friends. Samuel always looked the same to Ella – the same grey hair, the same green eyes that were filled with kindness and patience. Today though, he looked more tired than usual and sounded exhausted and overworked. Handling the High King’s personal affairs can do that to a man.

    “Thank you, Samuel”, Ella said and gave him a smile that indicated how grateful she was to have him in all their lives. Then the four of them made their way inside the study while Samuel closed the door behind them. He stayed inside, which was no surprise, given that he had the King’s utter trust.

    The interior of the office was the same as usual – the High King hated redecorating. There were three tall windows on the wall opposite the door, draped with red velvet curtains to prevent being sun blasted in the morning. The windows gave a wonderful view of the gardens just outside. In front of the windows were placed a mahogany desk, emblazoned with golden designs on the sides and the family crest in pure gold carved on the front, along with a chair to match. The study was filled with shelves on which you can find books in different shape and size, in all languages, covering every single subject known to mankind. On each of the northern and southern walls was placed a painting; one was a landscape of this land before the castle was built, the other a family portrait featuring his five grandchildren standing around an empty golden throne. Underneath the portrait was the fireplace, in front of which were placed two armchairs and over which was laid a series of framed family pictures.