Guardians of the Throne
Part I
By Rose-Merry Unan
Copyright 2012 Rose-Merry Unan
Guardians of the Throne
What started as the smallest crackle, soon ignited and spread like wildfire through my body, consuming every fiber of my being? It stalked the shadows of my every waking moment, and it was followed by the kind of heartache that tortured the soul, and haunted my dreams at night. In the end it would change who I was, and define the rest of my life.
I've often wished that I could go back to that day. It was the first day that I can ever remember. I was a young girl, maybe 5 years old. I knew that I was a princess, but I really didn't understand what that meant.
I guess in my mind at the time, all little girls were princesses, and lived in palaces. I didn't realize that there was anything about my life that was out of the ordinary. I guess more importantly, I remember that day vividly, because it was first time that I realized I might be in danger.
If I close my eyes, I can still picture the fiery autumn leaves flirting with the horizon, and I can still smell the sweet apples, and chimney fire. I can still hear the crunch of the leaves as I ran across the palace gardens playing hide and seek with my cousin, Princess Catherine.
Oh Catherine, how I wish that she were still here to see me today. A twist of fate however would have it, that if she were here today then I wouldn't be. There are so many twist of fate in my story.
Our fathers were brothers, my father was the king. Catherine and I were born only a week apart, and we were raised together as sisters. I of course would inherit the throne, unless my parents had a son. None of that meant anything to me though. I didn't know what any of it meant, and at only five years of age, I didn’t care.
I remember waking up that day, and seeing Catherine sitting at the foot of my bed. “Come on, Isabel, let's go play in the garden," she giggled and ran away.
I ran after her still in my nightgown and bare feet. As I ran around the garden looking for her, I could hear her giggle. I caught a glimpse of her long blonde hair flying in the wind. I chased her as she ran out of the garden and into the surrounding woods.
I hesitated to follow her. We had both been forbidden to go any further than the garden. Mother and Father had often told me horror stories of bandits and beast the roamed the forest. Suddenly, bandits and beast felt exciting to me, so I chased after Catherine.
“Catherine," I called. I heard rustling in the woods, and thought it was her. I followed the noise. It was a deer. I had never seen a deer before, and I wanted to touch it. As I inched towards it, it pranced away from me. I was too young to know it at the time, but the fact that the deer didn't run away from me, should have seemed peculiar. Instead, it only pranced away, as if leading me towards something. I followed it to a large rock. The deer finally stopped, and I touched it. Its fur was soft. I let out a childish giggle, and it finally ran away.
I had forgotten about my cousin, and stood there mesmerized by the rock. “Isabel,” Catherine called.
“I’m over here,” I yelled. I could hear the sticks breaking under her feet as she approached.
“Wow,” she said.
Something drew me closer to the rock, and I reached my hand out to touch it. A doorway appeared. We looked at each other. “What do you think is in there?” She asked wide eyed. “
“I don’t know,” I said. “You should go in and see.”
She looked back at me. “You should go in and see first,” she said.
I was dying with curiosity, but I was also afraid. “Ok,” I said, stepping up. “I’ll go in,” I pushed her into the opening, “as soon as you do.”
We looked around, mystified. All around us were lit torches, and tunnels going every which way. I spun around in circles. “What is this place?” I asked Catherine.
“I don’t know,” she said.
I heard hounds barking. Then I heard my father and my uncle calling our names. I hung my head, and I knew that I was in trouble. We ran out of the doorway, just in time to see a search party approaching.
My father lifted me up, and threw me onto his horse. I looked over my shoulder at him, “Papa, I’m sorry.”
He glared at me. “How many times have I told you not to go into the forest?” He asked his voice booming. He turned the horse around, and rode back to the palace grounds as fast as he could, almost as if he were afraid of the forest himself. When we reached the palace grounds, both of us were whisked away to our chambers.
My servants scrubbed me down and dressed me. When they were done, I was told that my father and mother awaited me in their chambers. I trembled with fear a little bit. I didn’t know what my punishment would be yet, but I knew that it would be severe.
I took my time walking to their chamber. I wanted to drag out what time I had left, before I would be reprimanded. I took my time to make sure that I stepped on every crack between their chamber and my own chamber. I was always doing the opposite of what I was told. It was a quality that my mother loathed, but would later save my life.
I pushed open their heavy door; at my size it took effort. One of the palace guards offered to help me, but I refused. I was a princess and I didn’t need any help to do anything.
I was in trouble, but oh what a sweet memory to think back on. I would give anything to be in trouble with my father again. I slipped my slippers off as I always did in Mother and Fathers bedchamber because I liked the feel of the soft fur against my feet. The room was always brightly lit with candles, and there was always a warm fire crackling in the fire place. The chamber had the most wonderful smell of pinewood combined with my father’s pipe smoke.
He was always smoking a pipe. Looking back, I can now see how other’s probably found him to be an intimidating man. When I look at his portraits, all I can think is how suiting it was the he was a king. He rarely ever wore a crown, simply because it wasn’t needed. He looked kingly. At over 6 feet he was an imposing man with broad shoulders, and a strong jaw. His face was covered with a thick blonde beard that tickled my face when he kissed me. His hair was long and curly, but it was often pulled back into a pony tail. Most days when I was a child, I didn’t find him intimidating. But that day, when I saw him, I knew what others feared in him. He was not a man whom you wanted to upset.
If my father fit the description of a King, my mother was the perfect fit for him. She was a tall and a slender woman, with ivory skin, pricing green eyes, and dark luscious hair that fell around her shoulders. She, as my father could go from being a kind and gentle to soul, to an intimidating monarch.
When I entered their chamber that day, my mother was sitting at her writing desk, and my father was pacing back and forth across the fire place. He was smoking a pipe, and he had a goblet of wine in his hand. Catherine was already sitting in front of the fire place. It was when I noticed Catherine sitting in front of the fire place, that I also noticed my Uncle Charles, and Aunt Mary standing beside the window looking anxious.
My father noticed me and ordered me to sit down next to my cousin. He put his goblet down on the table. My mother, aunt, and uncle retired to the couches near the fire place. “We have warned you, time and time again, not to go passed the garden,” he began. “We have forbid you, from doing so for you own protection. We have often told you that beast and bandits roam the forest, which is true, but we have other reason for wanting to you to avoid the forest.” He hung his head. “I hoped to shield you from the realities of this world long enough, but I can see that is no longer possible. We have enemies,” he said.
I jerked my head up, not quite sure what he meant. “Papa?” I questioned.
“Don’t interrup
t me,” he commanded. “When I was a child, we were mostly at peace. Our only enemies were the beast that roamed the forest. Our armies have done our best to keep them away from the palace, and away from our people. I have also gone through efforts to protect the palace with magic. However, there may come a day when it is no longer possible to protect the castle with magic.”
I didn’t understand what a beast was. I imagined it was a bear, or a wolf, but I got the feeling that that he was talking about something even more dangerous. I felt confused. I had never heard my father speak about magic, other than telling me make believe stories. I didn’t think that the magic was real, and here he was telling me that he was using it.
I wanted to ask him what was going on, but I knew better. He wasn’t done talking. No one interrupted the King until he was done speaking.
“We
Guardians of the Throne; Part I Page 1