Warm spring sunshine beats down on my back as I stroll through the castle grounds. As the birds chirp around me, I can't help but smile knowing that the long winter is finally over. The arrival of spring means I will finally get to start my duties with the Silver Legion.
As a Legionnaire, I will be given tasks that cannot be carried out by just anyone in the kingdom. Legionnaires are the best of the best. We've proven ourselves as elite soldiers that far exceed the normal skill set of any other. It's our job to carry out tasks assigned to us directly by the king.
"Thalia!"
Suddenly, a commanding voice booms out throughout the courtyard and I stop in my tracks before looking over at the source of the yell. An old man with short grey hair and grey eyes stands on the deck, his muscular arms crossed over his chest as he glares at me from across the garden.
A smile spreads across my face when I see him and without a word I sprint across the garden and stop in front of the man. He doesn't seem to take any notice of my haste and simply stares down at me.
"You're back!" I say with enthusiasm as Simon stands in front of me, unmoving. "How did it go?"
"How do you think it went?" he asks with a serious tone. I look up at him with a knowing smirk and he stays serious for only a moment before his eyes soften and he cracks a smile. "Welcome to the Silver Legion, Thalia."
My smile grows even wider at Simon's words and I can't help but wrap my arms around him in an excited hug.
"The king has approved of you since he first met you," Simon says as he gives me a gentle pat on the back. "There's no question that he wants you to join the Silver Legion. If he didn't, he never would have invited you to live in the castle in the first place."
I smirk at his words, knowing just how accurate they are. The king has wanted me to be a Legionnaire from the moment we met. Two years ago I happened to be passing through the city during a festival. The king was greeting the people from a stage in the city square. I noticed one of the guards at the top of one of the buildings was aiming his loaded bow at the king. I quickly got myself onto the stage and intercepted the arrow as it flew for the king's heart. The crowd watched as I effortlessly caught the arrow out of the air. Before anyone else could react, I climbed the building and went after the assassin that was trying to flee. I threw one of the knives I kept in my boot at his let as he ran away and tied him up once he was incapacitated. After that, I was invited to meet the king, where he thanked me for saving his life. He said that he was so impressed by my actions that he invited me to train to become a member of the Silver Legion.
I was hesitant at first, but he offered free housing in the castle. At the time, I had no place to call home. I was wandering from place to place, scrounging for what little food I could afford and most nights sleeping outside on the ground. I needed a safe place to stay and this was the perfect opportunity, so I took the king's offer. Since then, I've come to call this castle home and have made many great allies, Simon being one of them.
Simon is a retired member of the Silver Legion. After the king invited me to train to become a Legionnaire, Simon took me in as his apprentice. He has taught me to improve my fighting skills, as well as taught me battle strategy and diplomacy. He, along with the king and a few others, have become close to family since I've been here.
However, no matter how great I've been treated while in Brethen, I still find myself unable to trust the people around me too much. These people don't know me truly. That I'm actually a monster. That I could level this castle to the ground without even lifting a finger.
My life has been a challenge ever since I can remember. It was only after the king welcomed me into the castle that I finally got any semblance of peace. Of true happiness.
"So, when will they officially induct me?" I ask excitedly.
"Tomorrow, midmorning," Simon answers. "The king knew you were anxious to finally be inducted."
I smile again. Before the king invited me to become a Silver Legionnaire, I never imagined my life turning out like this. But now I can't help but be excited to finally have purpose in life. A reason to keep fighting. My life's purpose now is to protect the people that can't protect themselves.
"Excuse me, Lady Thalia."
Suddenly, a quiet voice speaks out and I turn to see Ava, one of the young maids, standing in the doorway.
"Your dinner is ready and awaiting you in your room," she says.
"Thank you Ava," I say. "I'll be right there."
I give Simon one last smile before following Ava inside and making my way through the castle to my room. I quickly lock my door behind me, eat my dinner, and spend the rest of the night wondering what my assignment as a Silver Legionnaire will be before I eventually drift off to sleep.
My heart pounds as I run through a forest, the trees seeming to never end. Every inch of my body screams in pain and my body trembles with fear. Someone is chasing me. I don't know who, but they are quickly catching up to me and I can feel the murderous intent coming off of them in waves.
I run at full speed, but it's as if I'm barely moving. Soon, my pursuer catches up to me. They grab my wrist and throw me to the ground. I try pushing them back with my mind, but my power isn't working. I can feel an emptiness inside of me where I know my power should be.
That's impossible! How could I lose my power?
The man slowly pulls a menacing looking black sword from its sheath and as soon as I see it, a raw, animal panic takes over me. It's as if that sword is hell itself. I don't know what it is, but something about it makes me experience the worst fear I've ever felt.
I try crawling away but the man holds me in place as he raises the sword above my heart. A scream escapes my mouth as he plunges the sword into my heart and a pain like none I've felt before takes hold of me. Starting from where the sword first touches me and radiating throughout my body, is a ripping, tearing pain that seems to consume me. Another agonizing scream escapes my mouth and suddenly my eyes shoot open and I find myself back in my bed in the castle.
My body is covered in a cold sweat and I can feel the phantom pains of the sword that pierced my heart in my nightmare still lingering.
Suddenly, the sound of the door opening brings me back to reality. My hand instinctively grabs ahold of the dagger I keep hidden between the mattress and headboard and before I can think logically, I've thrown the dagger towards the intruder. It's only after I've thrown the weapon that I realize my mistake. Before the blade pierces its mark, I reach out with my mind and change the trajectory of the dagger.
Ava let's out a scream as the dagger imbeds itself into the doorframe mere inches from her head. She immediately hurries out of the room in a panic. Cursing myself, I leap out of bed and rush after her.
"Ava, I'm so sorry!" I call after her.
She stops and turns towards me, her eyes wide and full of tears as she bows deeply towards me.
"No, Lady Thalia," she says in a timid, shaky voice. "I should be the one to apologize. I barged in on you unexpectedly."
"It's ok," I tell her with a kind smile. Then I give her a questioning look. "How did you get in my room anyways? I locked the door last night."
"The head maid gave me a master key so that I could wake you up for your induction into the Silver Legion."
"Oh," is all I can say. I forgot the head maid was allowed a master key that opens most of the doors in the castle.
The next hour is spent with Ava and a couple of the other maids helping me prepare myself for the induction. They draw me a bath, bring me fresh clothes, and do my black hair up in a simple but elegant braid. They all stand back as I strap my weapons on myself, and when I finish, they follow me out of the room.
"Thank you," I say, giving each of them a grateful smile.
"It's our pleasure, my lady," Ava says as they all smile and give slight bows. Then I watch as they hurry off to complete their other tasks for the day.
"I'll never understand your behavior with the servants," a voice says behind me. The sound of that voice instantly makes the smile on my face turn into an annoyed frown.
I turn around to see a tall man with blonde hair and dark eyes giving me a judgmental stare. He's dressed in royal attire, with a sword at his side and he stands with square shoulders and his chin held high.
"Prince Erix," I say, not bothering to give him a bow. "I treat the maids and other workers with the same respect they show me."
"And yet you never show me any respect," he says with a frown.
"Like I said, I treat them with the same respect they treat me with. You have no respect for anyone, so why should I show you any?"
"Watch your tongue," he says in a disturbingly calm tone. "You may be a favorite of my father's, but you came from nothing. You're just a lowly traveler who got lucky."
"A lowly traveler who can beat you to a pulp where you stand, brother."
Another voice rings out in the hallway and suddenly I see another man standing behind Prince Erix. That's strange. I never saw him approach.
The man is about my age, slightly shorter than his older brother, but nearly identical in his looks. Blonde hair with dark eyes and a lean, muscular build.
"Prince Caelum," I greet with a bow of my head.
"I heard you were being inducted into the Silver Legion this morning, Thalia," he says with a kind smile. "Congratulations. I look forward to seeing your skills put to good use."
"Thank you," I say with a smile.
Prince Erix eyes Prince Caelum and I for a moment before turning and stalking down the hallway with a huff.
Prince Caelum and I watch him as he strides out of sight and when he's gone, Prince Caelum says, "I'm sorry for his behavior. He's not normally like that. I don't know why he's been so upset lately."
"Probably because I turned down his advances towards me a month ago," I say matter-of-factly.
"Really?" the prince says with a smirk on his face.
"Yeah," I say with a shrug. "He even went to your father and got approval from him before he asked me."
Suddenly, Prince Caelum bursts out laughing.
"So that's what has been up his ass for the past month," he says through his laughter. I give him a questioning look at his manner of speaking and he gives me a sheepish smile.
"It's impossible to act up to the royal standards all of the time."
I smile and say, "I know what you mean. Don't worry, I won't say anything."
We walk through the castle towards the throne room where my induction is being held and when we finally get there, Simon is already waiting in front of the doors.
"Prince Caelum, I'm glad you were able to come," Simon says politely.
"As am I," the prince responds. "Although, I'm curious to know why my father wanted me to be here."
"That I cannot say. The king has not made known his intentions."
There's a small pause before Simon speaks again.
"Prince Caelum, may I have a moment with Thalia please?"
"Of course," the prince responds before he turns and enters the throne room.
Simon and I are left standing in the hall by ourselves. I can feel myself becoming restless as I anticipate my induction and Simon gives me a kind smile.
"Are you ready?" he asks quietly.
"Of course I am," I respond with a smile. "I'm ready to finally be able to be of use. It feels like I've been training forever."
Simon laughs at my words and says, "Two years of training is nothing compared to what the rest of us had to endure."
I laugh, knowing he's right. Most Legionnaires trained pretty much their entire lives to be welcomed into the Silver Legion. I was fast tracked because I already had the skill set needed to become a Legionnaire. The main focus of my training the past two years was diplomacy and strategy, although I still was able to grow and develop my skills in combat as well.
"I'm proud of you Thalia," Simon says in a warm voice. "Training you has been a great adventure and I'm glad to have been able to see you become the woman you are today. I'm sure you'll go on to become one of the greatest members of the Silver Legion in history."
Before he can say anything else, I've wrapped Simon in a hug.
"Thank you," I respond gratefully. "I couldn't have done this without you."
I let go of Simon and we're both silent for a moment. A part of me feels a slight nervousness going into this, but mostly I feel excited for this next part of my life. I feel like I'll finally be able to do something big for other people. I'll be able to keep the people of Brethen safe. What better way to spend my life?
"Well," Simon says after a moment. "Shall we?"
He motions for the door to the throne room and I nod my head before placing my hands on the large doors and stepping into the great room.