Zeph held an ice pack to his forehead and kept his eyes focused on the ground. What he had to say, now that he was back in Vellag and in front of the King, wouldn't sound good. He watched as Prince Regwallis tried to spell with blocks ahead with King Sheward bending down to give assistance. Zeph didn't say a word as he watched the boy take off out of the room, most likely in search of his mother. He removed the ice pack from his head . "Fine boy, your majesty." Yeah it didn't hurt to butter him up a little.
King Sheward looked over at the blocks Prince Regwallis had been playing with previously. "My boy is learning to spell. Regwallis will be a great king one day. At least, I hope he is king one day."
Zeph wouldn't drag it out. "I couldn't get her to say yes, sire. She wouldn't budge, and even got the drop on me in an alleyway. I think. I feel like she hit me over the head, and the injury is hurting, so I could use some time off to recover." Oh what the heck, might as well try.
King Sheward turned away and stared outside his throne room. He stood straight with his hands folded upon the scepter. "I knew she wouldn't."
Zeph couldn't help lifting his mouth in a thin smile. "Your highness, it was hard to even talk to her. She made no mistakes, there wasn't an opening. She was smart, most likely taught in the past."
The King did not join him in a smile. His eyes stared ahead at Zeph, wanting to communicate. Sympathy maybe? Zeph couldn't pin it. "It was a long shot, but I'd do anything to save this kingdom. Save our future. Make everything right again."
"Long shot or not, I understand why you wanted to try, King Sheward." Zeph
placed the pack upon his head again. "About this injury?"
"You don't understand." King Sheward took a deep breath. "I could easily hide this from you, but Guardian Zephyr Smilliat, you are one of my most trustworthy and highest Guards. I only deceived you for the good of the kingdom."
Zeph removed the pack off his head. "Deceive me, sire?" Oh he deserved a vacation now.
"You must understand it was our last option," King Sheward emphasized the importance of what he had to say. "I could not let it get away simply because you were a Guard."
Zeph's mouth twitched twice. "Highness? What is it you're speaking of?" He tried to sound patriotic, but it came out as a light growl. The way the King sounded, it couldn't be good.
King Sheward took one hand off his scepter and moved his gaze back toward Zeph. "Get out your anti-allurance spray."
Zeph reached into his pocket and brought out the spray. "It's right here, King Sheward."
"Your escort changed it out," King Sheward revealed. "It is a concentration of male pheromones which helped attract her to you. At the same time, we recruited the bartender to slip things in both your drinks. It made you more relaxed, while canceling out some generic anti-pheromone pills she had been taking."
"You wanted us to attract each other?" Zeph didn't bother saying any allegiance that time. "If she were on pills the cancellation would last no longer than-"
"Thirty minutes," King Sheward interrupted him. His royal attitude softened. "I'm sorry, Guardian Zephyr Smilliat."
Zeph focused on him, waiting for the part he was sorry about. His throat felt phlegmy, King Sheward had not moved from his serious tone or posture for most of the conversation. "Are you sorry it didn't work?"
"No, I am sorry I had to deceive you, it had to be done." King Sheward patted his arm gently. "You were the only one that could pull it off."
Zeph felt out of it as he pieced together what King Sheward was saying. It didn't sound like it was a failed attempt. That couldn't be true though because he was talking to her, but then the headache came? "The headache was from the drink." He dropped his ice pack to the ground in realization, his attention back at King Sheward, eyes pleading he was wrong. "Sire, did you make me corrupt my vow?"
"One time, no one will ever know," King Sheward assured him. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." King Sheward gestured toward the escort who appeared beside Zeph. "Your escort here watched the alleyway; no one saw you and no one will ever know."
"That is correct." The escort looked at Zeph, but took a step back. Zeph was not giving off warm friendly vibes "She ran off first, and I-I picked you up..." Zeph could hear the choppiness in the escort's phrasing as he thought of how easy it would be to lose control. A small punch or kick. Brutal beating, it would be fine.
"I could not disobey the King. I-I couldn't lose my position." The escort looked away from Zeph and back at the King. "Majesty, may I go now?"
King Sheward waved the escort off and stood only a foot away from Zeph. "We've scheduled everything out for a reason, to the best time we could. She was important and you must realize that. This is not simply an individual, it is our future at stake and she refused to help." The King assured Zeph as he placed his hand on his shoulder. "If there is a child, our race can carry on. A second chance. A part of you must understand that."
Zeph had nothing to say. Investigate highly, best days, they were timing for the best time to conceive. He could be a father of a females' child whose name he didn't even know? This can't be happening, it isn't. King Sheward would not do this. I'm dreaming. I've got to be, this makes no sense, I don't hurt females, I never hurt females. He could feel his anger emerge and, for a brief second a thought about striking the king down. He remained calm and steadied himself. There was a good chance nothing would happen, but it wasn't impossible .
The past echoed in his head. What would his father say to what he let happen? What would his family have thought of him? After everything that happened, how could he do this to them? His instinct racing against his brain as he shoved King Sheward away from him. "It isn't fair! I'm a Guard, and I chose it for a reason!"
On hearing his outburst, the doors swung open and Guards flooded the room around Zeph. He could not continue on the path he was on. If he got hurt there would be no way he could be of help anymore. He bent down to the ground and bowed to the King. "Majesty." His word dripped like oily poison.
"Rise, Guardian Zephyr Smilliat." King Sheward held his hands up to the other Guards. "At ease."
Zeph did not rise until after everyone was gone. He looked back at King Sheward. If only he wasn't the damn king of the kingdom. His next words were staccato as he held himself together. "Talk--to--her."
"It will not do any good," King Sheward said with a degree of sympathy barely detected. "She has learned to distrust any and all Guards, royal guards, males, everyone. We've known about her for years and we have tried to change her mind countless times before resorting to this level."
Zeph looked toward the ground. He should have known from the way she had been acting. He assumed they bothered her recently but it had been years. No wonder she was so uncaring for the kingdom.
"She wouldn't believe anything you say," King Sheward said firmly. "She would only talk with her family or her so-called childhood Guard."
"Then what's the problem? Call her damn Guard, a little humiliation doesn't seem like it would phase you." Zeph knew he needed to back down with his intolerance, he was speaking with the leader of the kingdom, but his feelings raced ahead of his mind. He needed to keep himself calm, the images going through his head were anything but healthy.
"There is no humility in finding him. I knew who he had been." King Sheward paused a minute. "It was another reason I had to keep everything secret."
Zeph looked squarely at him, this wasn't right. Had that female been someone he had guarded in the past? Females needed no protecting until they reached maturity, and he had never guarded anyone that was a child. Well there was one, but that was different. He wasn't a Guardian at the time. It wouldn't be her. It couldn't be her. His mind faded back to the restaurant and the words she had said about him looking familiar.
"Her family name is Saga," King Sheward began the explanation with a brief reminder. "She escaped when everyone in her family was destroyed. Much too young to be alone, she was given to a childless family. Soon after, more children came but her new mother and father loved her so much, they continued to keep her as their own and she no longer goes by Saga. She hasn't since she was a small child."
King Sheward's words blurred with the rest of reality as Zeph kept dwelling on that restaurant. Those last words she said before things got fuzzy:
"I don't want anything heavy," the female said firmly. "He…always told me when I…yeah, I don't drink heavy."
"She goes by the name of..." King Sheward stopped. "Guard?" He waved his hand in front of Zeph's face. "Are you still there?"