Rose ran her fingers along her palm, still awed by the tiny miracle. Her lips curved upward in a smile. "I thank you for sharing your medicine with me. It is most appreciated. Now I can avoid the healers and the lecture they would have given me about taking care of myself."
"It is I who should be grateful. I should thank you for saving me…" Silver's voice trailed off as he counted on his fingers, "three times? Let's see. You didn't report me on the wall. You didn't cry out when I ambushed you, and you then saved me from the guards. The elixir is the least I can do to repay you. I owe you my life."
It was at this delicate moment that the two looked up and realized how close they were to one another. Neither had moved since examining the woman's hand. Although Rose could not see the face below the black hood, she could feel his warm breath on her face.
Rose leaned away slowly, and Silver, realizing his faux pas at last, returned to the chair at the vanity in a flash. Twirling her hair around her finger, the princess tried to pretend nothing had happened.
"I like your necklace," Rose commented lightly to break the tension.
Surprised, Silver peered down at the fairy necklace that had come inexplicably from beneath his tunic. He held it out from his chest with two of his fingers gently resting along the pixie's back. The silver wings looked ready to fly from the chain. He often wondered if the little fairy were actually alive.
"It's an exquisite piece. It belonged to someone very dear to me." The Guardian would say no more, and Rose did not press the matter. The princess was simply relieved it was clear that he hadn't stolen it from somewhere in the palace. Which begged her next question...
"Why are you here?" She blurted.
"In your room? That was an accident, I assure you." Silver pretended not to understand her meaning.
Rose blew away the hair that had fallen into her face. "I mean at the palace at all. You do know you are intruding...."
"Oh, that. Not my idea either." 'Don't tell her or you might get her in trouble.' "I promise I want only good for the country of Birle and His Majesty." Silver tried to remain vague.
Yells from below came drifting through the window, interrupting them. They were frantic and answered by others as the noise below them grew.
Rose walked over to the window and peeked out. A group of men had surrounded a large bush in the garden. Their sword and spears were pointed at the offending shrubbery. "The soldiers think they have found you," she commented.
"I think they will be disappointed." Silver responded with a chuckle.
Sure enough, a moment later, a black cat came leaping out of the leafy greenery with a hiss. Grumbling, the men knocked the original soldier in his helmet a few times before returning to their search.
"Disappointed indeed!" she laughed. "They will just have to be better in the future. You'll have to be better too, you know. Better for all of us," Rose shook her head, "but mostly better for yourself. You might not have a beautiful damsel to save you next time."
Those words—be better—sent a shockwave through Silver's body. He had heard those words before in an identical lilting voice.
Rose beamed a smile on him and the man's heart stopped. Those blue eyes, that thin lovely nose—they were his mother's, Alexis's, features. And the girl's blonde hair could easily have been a match to his handsome father Gareth.
How had he not seen it before?
'It can't be,' the man scolded himself. 'It's impossible.' Yet a flicker of hope had been sparked, and Silver found he needed to probe further. "Yes, well. I would never presume to be that lucky twice...Forgive me, did I understand when you said you were adopted? The king took you in as a baby, I assume. You must be his niece or distant relative."
The princess held up her hand and shook her head, denying his assertions. She returned to her perch on the bed. "Oh no I was neither a baby nor am I a relative. Father found me when I was around six. He plucked me out of the street and placed me into a life of luxury." Her voice was flippant. She had been reminded by every tutor how fortunate she was. Rose was exceptionally grateful, but she didn't like being told how to feel. Silver sensed her hesitance.
"You aren't happy here? Was your life better before?"
The princess felt guilty for painting a poor picture. Quickly, she corrected her error. "Please understand. I am very happy here. Father is wonderful! Life is a dream, and I can ask for nothing better. I just yearn for…more."
'Why am I telling a stranger this? I haven't even admitted that to Caitlyn.' Rose came back from her thoughts suddenly with a shake of her head.
"As for my life before, I have no memory of it. I remember the king taking me as his ward. My first memories other than that are actually..." she stopped, her mind lost in the time long ago.
"Actually what?" Silver had leaned forward, his heart pounding.
Rose swallowed, but went on. "My first memories after I came to the palace are of playing with my imaginary friend, which was you, Silver, and pretending you were coming to take me away." She blushed crimson as she said it. The blonde wished immediately that she could take back her words. Surely the Guardian, who she wanted so much to admire her, would laugh at her childishness, even though she had been a child.
Instead Silver's voice came out barely a whisper, "Why me?"
Rose contemplated the question. "I suppose because you were already a famous hero. I was lonely when I first got here, and you were going to save me, or so I thought. It's silly, I know." Smoothing her dress as she sat on her bed, the lady refused to look up. Rose could not hide the tears pricking the corners of her eyes. She felt very foolish indeed.
"It's not silly. I am flattered and honored." Silver inclined his head and stood partially from his chair. Passing a handkerchief from the vanity to the princess, the Guardian smiled encouragingly only to realize that she could not see him. 'Sometimes this cloak works against me.'
"Thank you." Taking the handkerchief from him, Rose wiped her eyes and smiled weakly.
"If I may ask, how old are you, Your Highness?" He added her title at the end in order to show he meant no disrespect. Holding his breath, he awaited the answer.
"I'm seventeen, Guardian. How old are you?" The playfulness in her voice returned. Silver could see the cheeky six-year-old that had disappeared eleven years ago. She sat before him older, but no less beautiful or clever.
'Haven!' He caught the word before it left his lips, causing a strange sigh to be exhaled. Silver chuckled in spite of himself. Hannah's words "You should meet her" came to his mind once again. Now he understood. 'That sneaky Fate! I don't know whether to bless or curse her.' The blue eyed woman raised her brow.
"Is it a funny question?" she wanted to know.
The man cleared his throat "No, excuse me, Your Highness, but your question is difficult to answer. I am older than I look, but younger than you think."
Rose was not fond of riddles. Too many witty men had tried to coax her with their charm. She smiled mirthlessly. "I have no idea how you look, and you have no idea what I think."
Slowly, Silver nodded his assent. "Fair enough. You've got me there. I can remedy the first, but I cannot help the second."
"What do you mean?" The princess could only guess his offer.
"Do you want to see what I look like?" he asked directly.
"I figured no one saw your face. Isn't it part of your 'mystique'?" Rose eyed him carefully. She did not want to be played for a fool.
His shoulders shaking slightly as he held in laughter, the Guardian corrected her gently. "Few have seen my face. Even fewer have lived to tell about it. However, it seems a fitting reward for saving my life thrice. What say you?"
"Yes, please!" Rose answered before she could remove the eagerness from her voice. "As long as seeing your face was not the cause of their death," she added as an afterthought.
"I assure you that you will be quite safe, if not a little disappointed." 'Though I...I have been waiting for this moment for years.'
The princess only nodded, her eyes growing wide as she imagined all the possibilities. The Guardian touched his hood experimentally. There was no going back once he made the choice.
'Are you sure?' He asked himself. 'Absolutely.' He had to show her…whatever the consequences. The hood fell to his shoulders, and Rose's eyes opened wide.
In all her visions, he was not at all what she had pictured.
Yet, he looked strangely familiar too. Rose gasped.