Everyone around me was crying. Even me. But it's not like anyone else had any reason to cry. They hadn't known him as well as I had. Captain Issac Stormbreaker. A noble name that everyone recognized had become one that everyone pitied. Well, they pitied his daughter. Me, Iris Stormbreaker, the only living Stormbreaker left.
My father's funeral was a rather large one. Lots of his fellow soldiers were there to see him. Sadly, he would never be able to see them. Everyone seemed to pity me so much. Which, of course, is completely normal but after the seventieth time it gets annoying to hear about how when they where a young kid and knew my father.
It felt weird to be without him. Like a piece of me was missing.
"Excuse me miss?" A deep male voice said.
I turn around to see one of my father's closest friends.
"Yes? How can I help?"
"I just wanted to say I am sorry for your loss."Of course he did. That was all anyone wanted to say.
"Thank you. I knew that you were close friends."He nodded and started to walk away.
"Oh and one more thing," He said, turning back around, "If you ever want to follow in his footsteps…." His voice trailed off as he help out an envelope.
"His footsteps?" I say, confused."Of being in the Royal Guard. I am in fact the new captain and we need some new recruits."
"Well, does the new captain have a name?"
"Magnus William at your service."
"And there is one problem with me joining the guard."
"What is that?"
"I am a girl. The King made a law that an female member can not join even if they are skilled." I reply.
"I am sure that can be handled." Magnus states with a sly smile.
"Perhaps. I will think about your offer. Thank you and goodbye." I say, swiftly turning on my heel and walking away.
I hadn't realized were I was going until I looked down. Down at his sealed eyes. The eyes that would never again see the beautiful sunrises that light up our house with a radiant glow. That would never see me again. Eyes that would never be able to see the victory of war. Half of his body was covered in the ground. You could see his face and his chest. Whoever had prepped his body had done a good job of hiding the knife wound that was over his heart. The reason he died. Killed in his sleep by some random person.
The blood that had soaked his shirt had been cleaned and dispensed of. His messy hair was combed back and his face had been cleanly shaved. Issac looked like he had died peacefully even though it had been the exact opposite.
From what I had seen it had been gruesome. Blood had been everywhere when I had entered the room in which he had been murdered in. His clothes had been soaked and his hair matted with blood. Nobody knew who had killed him. One of the worst tortures of life is knowing someone killed someone you loved but not being able to figure out who. There was no evidence that pointed to anyone. The crime would most likely never be solved.
"Miss Iris?" A rich male voice called out.
If I didn't know any better I would have said it was the King.
"Yes?" I respond without turning around.
"Will you not face His Majesty?" A new voice squeaked.
I flip around and come face to face with King Jaxson.
"Oh dear, I am sorry your Majesty. I did not realize that it was you who I have the privilege of speaking to." I gasp out, trying to sound as polite as possible.
"Don't worry. I am sure that you are overcome with grief from what happened to your father."
"Thank you your Majesty."
"Your father was a great and noble man. It is a disappointment that he did not have nay sons to follow in his steps. Unless of course…" The King trailed off.
"Unless?" I asked.
Perhaps he would allow me to join the guard. Me! It would be a dream come true!
"Unless you have a secret brother!" He says with a laugh.
I try to control my face. How could I ever have believed that the King would want me on his guard. My frown must have given something away.
"Oh don't tell me. You thought I was going to invite you into the guard! This is hilarious!" The King says as the people around him start laughing.
I can feel the heat on my face rising up. Soon most of the people in the room are laughing at me. Yes. Of course. On the day of my father's funeral, I get embarrassed by no one but the King himself. And it was for the stupidest thing! Of course I can hope to be on the guard. He practically implied that he was thinking about it.
"No your Majesty. The only thing I'm thinking about is giving you a high five. In the face. With a chair. Maybe it would knock some common sense and humility into that dense head of yours." I yelled into his face.
The room was dead silent as I walked out of the funeral. Everyone parted ways like Moses and the Red Sea. People were staring at me like I had a death sentence. Well, I probably did. No one yelled at the King and got away with it.
It was right when I got half a mile away from the crowd that the tears started to fall. The big ugly ones that make your face all red and blotchy. They just kept pouring. Tears for my father, tears for myself, and tears for the fact that I most likely had a death sentence. My dad had always warned me to keep my mouth shut. Oh well. What was done was done.
The ground crunched beneath my boots as I stalked up the path to the house that I had once lived in with my father. Every step brought back a new memory with him.
"Left. Right. Behind you! Step. Step forward. Parry. Swing!"
All of my motions followed exactly what he said. His sword deflects every move that I make.
Every time I knock his sword back a laugh escapes from my mouth.
"Duck!" I yell as my sword flys over his head.
He ducks….barley.
"My my my. The student has become the master." He says with a laugh.
"That's for sure!" I say as I pin him to the floor with the tip of my sword.
"My daughter, you are able to beat the captain of the King's Royal Guard. I don't think there is anything you can't do." My dad said with a smile.
I laugh and shake my head.
"I'm sure there are a lot of things I can't do."
"Not with that mind set!" He yells before tackling me.
We roll down the hill in a flurry of hair and swords. Laughing the whole way down with smiles illuminating the whole world.
It had been one of the happiest moments that I had with my dad. It had been the first time that I had felt proud of the fact that I could wield a sword. Now, without him, it feels wrong to pick up a sword. Like I'm dishonoring him.
Even just being in his room felt horrible. Part of me felt bad for not being home when he was murdered. I should have been there to defend him instead of leaving him defenseless. Not that he was completely defenseless since he is, well was, the captain of the guard.
Still, I could have done something. Coming home to see your father in a pool of blood on the floor is definitely not something that had been on my bucket list.
Ever since I had left the funeral the King's words were running through my head. The fact that he had disrespected me at my father's funeral was just pure torture. Just because I am a girl doesn't mean I can't be in his guard. I swing open the door with so much force, I was shocked that it didn't fly off. I walk through the house and out the back, heading towards the stables. If anything could get my mind of the King, it would be riding my horse. I break into a sprint as the stables enter my sight. My legs pump up and down as I run across the meadow between my house and the stables. Had it always been this far away?
I stumble into the stables as my run slows. The horses all look up at me and start to shift around, anticipating me picking them to ride. All of their eyes reflect the hope of going outside as I pass by them. Every time I came here it was always the same horse.
"Shadow!" I call out.
Just like I expected, a load stomp comes from the back of the stables. She knows me voice and knows her name. The black horse had been my closest companion since I was about five. She had been one of the only people who had seen me cry. Well not exactly a person but still.
All my life I had grown up with this horse. Shadow had been my best friend since I was three. Every time something had happened she would be there for me. So of course I had to go to her when my father died. The same day I had just gotten back from a ride with Shadow when I found my father. I had then gone right back out and spent an hour or two crying and riding. The same thing would most likely happen today.
The only difference would be that this time my tears were angry. Angry at being humiliated at my father's funeral and just angry at whoever killed my father. I most likely will never find out who killed him but that didn't mean that I couldn't suspect people. Perhaps it was the King. He did seem rude and didn't seem to care at all for my father. It was almost like he had only liked my fathers skills.
Yes, it had to be the King. I glance at Shadow, all thoughts of going for a ride disappearing from my head.
There had to be some sort of way I would be able to get to the King. Maybe even kill him. I had to get justice. That was the only thing that I could think about. Every thought that was crowding my head was about the King. If the King was dead then his son would take over. Surly his son was a way better person then him. I had to do this.
Sprinting to the back of the stable, I jump the gate and stare at Shadow.
"You ready girl?" I whisper, my voice shaking. I was really going to do this!
She stomped her hoof in response and I reach for the saddle. It goes onto her back with ease and I quickly buckle it before hopping on. Usually, I ride her bare back but today was different. Since I was going into town I had to look the best I could.
My dress billowed around my legs as Shadow kicked off out of the stable. The wind made my hair fly around like it was dancing at the King's ball.
The King's ball! I had completely forgotten about it. That would be the perfect place to kill him. Do it right in front of everyone to show how horrible of a person he was. Since it is in three weeks, that gives me plenty of time to get ready.
I still had to create a plan on how I was going to kill him. Maybe slip poison into his cup or sneak up behind him and stab him. All of those seemed to easy and boring. His words to me echo in my head as I try to figure out what I will do. Of course! Why hasn't I thought of this before? I needed to find Magnus.
The best way to kill the King would be to do what he thought was impossible. Join the guard. Not only join it but also make myself good enough to become the King's personal bodyguard.
Then I would be close to him at all times.If all goes well I could be right beside him during his ball. Then I could reveal who I was and kill him. The look on his face would be so worth it. All I had to do was talk to Magnus about helping me.
Surly it wouldn't be that hard. He had, in fact, been the person who wanted me to join. So it is settled. I would get Magnus to help me and then I would kill the King. All of this sounded way to easy. There would always be a chance that someone would find out. But if the did I guess it would just be practice for the King.
My walk to Magnus's house took just as long as I had expected. Of course, it would have been longer by foot.
Thank goodness I had Shadow with me. The sound of her hooves beating against the dirt road was soothing. The sun that stood high in the sky glared down on me, cause sweat to poor down my back. The sigh of relief must have echoed in the mountains when I saw his house. The mere thought of sleeping or even being in a cool house was inviting.
I slip of of Shadow and walk the rest of the way. My legs are stiff and anyone who passes me would think it was my first time walking.
Magnus's house seems to be getting farther away with every step I take. It was most likely a side affect from the heat. I take one more step before collapsing on the ground. My legs feel like noddles that had just finished cooking. The ground came to my face faster than I had expected.
"Help" I managed to croak out before the world faded black.
~~~~~~
"Iris! Iris! Wake up! Please, please wake up."
This wasn't the first time I had heard this voice. It kept calling me, trying to pull me away from the light. Every part of me wanted it to leave me alone. I just wanted peace and quiet.
"Please Iris, I can't lose you like I lost your father! Wake up!" The voice said.
"Father." I muttered.
My mind swirled around like waves in a storm. The light was getting dimmer and I was starting to see where the owner of the voice.
"Magnus?" I whispered.
"Yes. You need water, now. I gave you some but have of it ended up being spit into my face."
I try to laugh but my sides ache.
"What happened?"
"You passed out a couple yards away from my house. Shadow ran up to it and started kicking my door. That horse of yours is something special." He smiles, "I ran out an saw you laying there. You've been out of quite a while."
I nod. All of that made sense.
"I'm sorry if this caused you any trouble. I should have filled my water flask and brought it with me."
"Don't worry about it! But I do have one question." He pauses, looking at me to see if I was okay with him asking.
"And it is?"
"Why did you come here?"
I sigh and try to sit up. My head splits into a horrible headache. Evidently my face shows it.
"Lay back down. If you don't feel up to answering then it's okay."
I smile and lay back down.
"I want to be a guard."
Magnus passes in getting up. He turns around and looks me straight in the eye. A smile lights up his entire face.
"You're sure about that?" He asks, still with a smile.
"Sure as heck." I reply before sitting up once more.
The headache is bearable so I decide to stand up.
"Magnus. Will you help me get into the King's Guard?"
"Of course. I would do anything to help you."