Gargoyle heart

Gargoyles and royals

There was an awkward silence after the little blonde Death Angel had finished reading the message. Her big, grass green eyes were shining brightly with anticipation at me, waiting for my response.

I swallowed and then dipped my head towards my chest, a sign of respect as well as my way of hiding my face. "It is indeed a powerful speech, Your Majesty," I started, taking a short pause to swallow my nervousness. "However I do not think the leaders of the Humans will offer much sympathy for what has happened in the past. They are too ignorant to understand the importance it has to us. Also it clouds the important message of the letter."

The queen raised a blonde eyebrow at me, tapping one tiny finger at her chin while pouting slightly. Her gesture suggested deep thoughts, which also suggested one could be in mortal danger. For all the years I had cared for the royal angel, I knew that beneath the adorable and innocent exterior ran the blood of ferocious monsters with no sense of remorse.

She locked her eyes on me once again with a dissatisfied pout. "Well then, Teacher, what do you suggest I should do?"

I sighed silently, somewhat relieved that she hadn't ordered for my head to roll. Yet. Despite her young age, only eight years old, she had the makings of a cruel ruler and brilliant warlord just like her father, the former King, and I was far from the only person who didn't want that side to take over her. She was a Death Angel, the most noble but also the most dangerous of all the creatures in the kingdom of Under. Much like the fairies and the gargoyles, Death Angels grew wings shortly after they turned five years of age but their appearance otherwise had close resemblance to the humans. Some Death Angels even developed a special talent if introduced to it properly, such as a special connection to a certain weapon or way of fighting. However the Queen had developed a much greater, powerful and deadly talent in comparison to other Death Angels. With the flick of her wrist, anything she used as a weapon would kill you. She beheaded an assassin at the age of six with the help of a silver spoon. As her personal tutor and caretaker, it had since my first day been my task to raise her into a good, fair ruler who wouldn't order for any heads to roll without a just trial.

If I failed my task, well... then I would have to join my ancestors a bit too early.

After clearing my throat in an attempt to keep my voice steady, I looked through the letter. "I would suggest you take the story of Dival away, they will most likely not know who that is." I pointed at the said part of her speech with my claw, then scimmed through it again quickly. "Other than that, I am pleased with your work. You are a most outstanding student, Your Majesty."

The young royalty smiled brightly at my praise, showing her bright white fangs and the gap where she had previously lost a tooth, then remembered her manners and changed back into her formal posture within the blink of an eye.

"Gratitude," she answered stiffly. "Are we finished here?"

I nodded, closing the book I had in front of me with the speech in between the pages, then rose from the chair and bowed my head to her. "You are dismissed, Your Majesty."

There was a small sparkle in her eyes, but her face remained as stiff and cold as it should, before she gathered the many frills of her skirts and jumped down from the high stool that had been given to her since the other chairs in the library couldn't reach her up to the table. She bowed quickly, then half ran, half skipped out of the library with an old ragged doll in her hand. Her curles bounced as she disappeared around the corner, and I could hear her humming a joyous tune that echoed through the hallways quite some time after she had entered another room.

I half smiled after her, my heart sinking in my chest. When I was eight years old I only had to worry about my training as a guardian gargoyle, which turned out to be impossible because of my weak body, and instead trained my mind to become a tutor. She, on the other hand, was forced to rule an entire kingeom of unruly monsters and give her entire childhood away for their sake. All she had was her ragged doll that I had given her in the crib to celebrate her birth eight years ago. Seeing her constantly switch between being a regular child and a young queen reminded me just how lucky I had been, and how unlucky she must feel within.