Guardians of the Throne; Part I

by Rose-Merry Unan

sword. Perhaps he had come to love me just like a son.

  “It bothers me all the time,” William said. “The King told me just before my father died that I was going to start training to be a knight. I was so excited. You know how it is, if you’re not nobility that’s what you dream of. Then my father died, and he said it wasn’t ok. It’s almost been as hard on me as losing my father. Is that wrong?” He asked.

  I shook my head. “No, it’s not wrong William. This is a way of life for us. You lost your way of life, and your father all in the same day. That would be a lot for anyone.”

  “I still think about it all the time,” he said. “Maybe one day the king will change his mind.

  “A king never changes his mind,” I told him. “At least not a good one doesn’t. A good leader, must make hard decisions, and then stick to them. Otherwise, no one will respect him.” We sat in silence for a minute. Neither one of us seemed sure of what to say next.

  “So William, how do you cope with not being able to pick up the sword?” I finally asked. “I don’t think that I’d be able to take it.”

  “Well,” he began. “I used to have a really hard time with it. But my teacher has made me feel a lot better. He told me that the Queen and King need me and that’s why I’m not allowed to. He told me that it’s because the King felt such a strong bond to my father, and I’m the only little bit of my father that the King has left.”

  “Your teacher is a wise person,” I said in response. I thought about it for a second. His teacher was right. The King and Queen kept us like they did, because they needed us. I wondered though. Was their need for me, the same as this boy?

  William’s father had been raised a long side the king, as if they were brothers. The Queen and king had known William since he was a baby and helped raise him from birth. I hadn’t come into their lives until I was much older. Could they love me the same? I wondered.

  William was different than me. I had been raised by the Queen and King from a certain age, but William had practically been raised as a royal since birth. He was princely without even knowing it. I knew that I was not. I wondered if that’s why they loved him so much better than all the others. He was princely, a princely adopted son, in the place of a son they didn’t have, and probably would never have.

  Rumor had it the Queen was barren. She had been married to the king for years before ever giving birth. Isabel had been her only pregnancy. I felt sorry for her. I knew the pressure the kingdom had put on her to have a son. And I knew that the king must be disappointed. I knew him well enough to know that he would never express that to her, but deep down he desired a son, and it broke his heart that didn’t have one. Perhaps that was why he kept taking all the orphans in. It gave him a way to have as many sons as he pleased, even if he couldn’t have a male heir.

  It didn’t matter though. I figured they would raise Isabel to be a good ruler. I never would have imagined that I would be the one to raise her.

  Isabel

  It was the middle of the night, and I was sound asleep when my father rushed into the room.

  “Father?” I asked still sleepy.

  “Isabel,” he whispered.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Nothing is wrong,” he said hugging me. “How about a late night snack? I could have someone bring us some food. I’m afraid I didn’t have a chance to eat all day, and I’d like to spend some time with you and your mother.”

  “Ok,” I agreed. I thought it was strange of him, but I didn’t care. Like all little girls, I just wanted to spend time with my father, and it was rare for him to want to spend time with me like that. I followed him out into the common room.

  Once we were in the light, I hardly recognized him. His clothes were covered in dirt and blood, and his face and hair were still dirty.

  “Don’t be alarmed,” he said to me. “It was a long day but I’m ok.”

  My mother and William came out of Williams’s room. My father walked over to William and hugged him. A moment later, Catherine and my aunt and uncle came into the room. Uncle Charles’s appearance wasn’t that much different than my fathers.

  It was alarming to see them that way. The more I looked at them, the more blood I saw. I also started to notice cuts on both of them.

  “At least change your clothes, the both of you,” my mother said eyeing them. “You’re scaring the children.”

  “I don’t want to waste any time,” my father responded. My mother walked up to him and whispered something in his ear.

  “Of course,” he said. He nodded to Uncle Charles and they both left the room, and came back in a few minutes.

  When they returned they were both wearing simple night gowns. It was strange not to see my father in his kingly attire. It was the only time that I had ever seen him in anything else in kingly attire.

  “What happened at the battle?” William asked.

  My father’s faced grimaced. “Let’s us not speak of that now,” he said.

  We walked to the table and started to light candles. “Tell me children, what did you do today?”

  I thought that was strange as well. Most of my time with my father was spent with him lecturing me. Of course he played with me from time to time, and gave me lessons in things like riding horses, but never did he ask what I did during the day.

  “We played games with Sir Owen,” Catherine said.

  “You did? How do you like Sir Owen. He’s a fine knight isn’t he?”

  “Yes father,” I said.

  “I like him very much,” William said. “We played card games all day, and he told us stories.”

  There was a knock on the door. My father called for them to come in. Several servants entered with trays of food. My eyes lit up when I saw all the sweets.

  “Are we celebrating?” I asked.

  My father shook his head. “No, I just wanted to have a special meal with my family,” he said. He sat down at the table. “Isabel, come sit on my lap while we eat.”

  “Really?” I exclaimed.

  “Yes,” he said. “I don’t get to spend enough time with my daughter.”

  I was too young and naive to know the cause of his mood. If I had known then the cause, then I might not have been as eager for his affection.

  “Just so you know Isabel, I am very proud of you. I couldn’t have asked for a better daughter, and I love you with my whole heart.”

  ”Thank you father,” I said. “I love you too.”

  “And you William, you have been nothing but a joy since you came to live with us. We have come to love you like our own son, and I know that your father would have been proud of the young man that you’re growing into.”

  “Thank you Uncle,” he replied. “I am grateful for everything that you’ve done for me.”

  Father smiled at William, and then turned to Catherine who was sitting on her father’s lap as well. Again, I thought it was unusual. Neither my father nor my uncle was known for being very affectionate men, yet there they were.

  I clung close to my father as he told us stories from his childhood, and stories about his parents. I remember him and Uncle Charles telling lots of jokes that night, and smoking their cigars. My mother sat across the table from us with her eyes beaming lovingly at my father and myself.

  It was such a rare moment for us. It wasn’t often that all of us sat together like that as a family. I hardly remember any family time like that when I was a child. There was always some pressing matter that took my father away, or urgent duty that needed my mother’s attention.

  At some point during the night I fell asleep on my father’s lap. When I woke up, I was in my bed with Catherine sleeping next to me. I ran out to find my father, but my mother told me that he had already left. I suppose any other child would have been upset, but I was used to it. My father often was gone in the morning when I woke up.

  The Queen

  When my husband returned from battle that day he was frantic and upset.

&
nbsp; I had stayed up late to await his return. I remember that I was alarmed when he didn’t return early in the evening. I began to knit to keep my mind occupied. As time passed I became more and more nervous. Finally, he burst into the room.

  “I have to see her, I have to see all of them,” he said.

  I looked at him aghast. His clothes were soiled, and he had visible wounds that were still bleeding. I ripped up some spare cloth, and pressed it to his head.

  “You can’t see them like this,” I said. “You’ll scare them half to death.”

  “No, there’s no time to change. I’ve wasted too much time already. I wasted too much time before today even happened. I want every last second I can with them tonight.”

  “My love, what has gotten in to you?” I asked afraid.

  “I saw things today that no man should ever have to see,” he explained. He looked me straight in the eyes, and began to shake. “ When I leave tomorrow, I don’t think I’m going to be coming back.”

  “Don’t you dare talk like that,” I snapped.

  “I can’t help it. I can’t lie to you. To the children I will lie. But not to you, my love. After all this time, I could never tell you anything but the truth. We lost a lot of men today. The kingdom will fall.”

  “No,” I said. “It can’t.”

  “It can, and it will,” he said. “Now go get William, I’m going to get Isabel.”

  I sat through the dinner trying to act as if nothing was wrong, but inside I was trembling, and inside I was already grieving for what I knew would be lost. I silently hoped that