Black Rose (9 page)

“By
the Gods,” Garreth whispered as the world began to spiral. He turned back to
the single red rose and sat there for a long time. When he finally stood, he
headed towards his chambers. It took a half hour, but when he reached the
familiar door, Garreth entered the room and walked directly to the small wooden
desk in the far corner of the room. He opened a small hidden panel in the desk
from which he withdrew both his passport and a special badge which would allow
him to take his sword on his journey. Sliding both into the pocket of his dark
jacket, he retrieved his long, silver sword from its place upon the wall and
secured it tightly around his waist.

Garreth
walked silently down the long corridors from his room to the palace library.
Books and scrolls lined the walls from floor to ceiling. He walked quickly down
the rows until he finally reached the back wall where the books were encased in
a thick sheet of glass. This section was temperature controlled, accessed by a
small electronic panel, one of the only modern additions in the otherwise
ancient room. It had been installed only a few years ago when it had been
discovered that several of the old books were beginning to deteriorate. Luckily
the majority had been salvaged, or at minimum, repaired enough to still be
legible.

Garreth
pressed his thumb against the electronic panel. After a series of loud beeps,
the glass slid sideways, opening for the Sub-Captain with a loud whoosh. It
took him several minutes to locate the book he sought, but he eventually found
it, withdrawing it carefully from the shelf before again pressing his hand to
the panel. The glass slid back into place as Garreth carefully raised the
large, leather-bound book to his lips and lightly blew a thick layer of dust
from its cover. It was very old, over five-hundred years, and had been
carefully transcribed with quill and ink. The pages were now yellowed and
fragile.
Historia Vltima Aulae Marinae
. “
The Final History of the Sea
Court
,” he translated aloud. He then moved the book to his side and
proceeded to walk towards the outer doors of the ancient keep.

A
few turns from the outer doors, he found Nolan walking down the hall in his
direction. “Hi, Garreth,” Nolan said with a slight wave.

“Hi,”
he replied. “Sorry, but I am in a bit of a hurry.”

“Oh,
where are you off to?”

“Just…I
have to go.”

Garreth
attempted to walk past the younger man when Nolan said, “Forgive me, my Lord. I
know that something is going on. I saw your face when the Prince’s fiancé
arrived. It…it was the same look that Edward had when he…”

“What?
Edward has met her before?”

“Yes.
Sandra was the one who threw herself over him while he was being whipped.”

Garreth
stared at Nolan for several moments, attempting to put the pieces together when
Nolan suddenly said, “Let me go with you, my Lord. I can tell you about it on
the way.”

“You
don’t even know where I am going.”

“All
the same.”

Garreth
parted his lips to say no, but instead found the words, “Let’s go,” falling
from his lips.

It
was only after they had left the royal grounds that Nolan finally asked, “So,
where are we going?”

Nolan
read the title. “
The Final History of the Sea Court
. The same one which
was destroyed by the Black Rose?”

“Yes.
The Muir Court was also referred to as the Sea Court.”

Nolan
shifted slightly, attempting to find a more comfortable position, grateful that
Garreth’s Sub-Captain status had upgraded them to the business section of this
exceptionally long flight. “Forgive me, but isn’t the story well-known? Mara is
famous for the victory, after all.”

Garreth
regarded him for a moment as though in consideration and then said, “No. It is
not.”

“What
do you mean?”

Garreth
stared at the younger man for what seemed a long time before answering, leaning
forward to be better heard over the roar of the plane’s engine. “Tell me the
story you know.”

“Sure.
The Muir Court was an ancient and powerful court lead by a cruel King. Their
tyranny may have known no end, if Mara had not taken a group of men against
them. She led an attack and dispatched the King, saving the realm and all those
under his evil reign. Mara gained eternal glory and the Black Rose became
peacekeepers between the remaining courts.”

Garreth
nodded. “Yes, that is the story they would tell.”

“But
not what actually happened, I assume?”

Garreth
motioned to the book held gently in Nolan’s hand. “Do you read Latin?”

“Yes,”
he replied. “I knew I would have to learn if I wanted to join the Black Rose.”

“Open
the cover,” Garreth instructed, “carefully.”

Nolan
did as instructed, cautiously opening the pages of the ancient book. On the
first yellowed page was a single line:
Scripta a Navarcho Rosae Nigrae
Custodis Confessio
. 

“Written
by Mara’s own hand?” Nolan asked Garreth with wide eyes.

“You
have heard the stories, Nolan. But there is only one truth.” He drew a deep
breath.  “Mara was born a Princess. Did you know that?”

Nolan
shook his head and Garreth continued.

“Her
mother was Queen Clarissa’s younger sister. Her father, the son of a powerful
Lord. It was a politically sound match, but at its core was the rarity of it
also being a match created in love. The kind of love Mara asked you if you had
ever experienced. A love that becomes your sole reason to draw breath.” Garreth
drew a deep breath. “But what was a great romance for Princess Mellissa,
brought only tragedy for her daughter, Princess Mara.”

Mara
walked down the dirt path under a grey sky, pausing occasionally to glance at
the tall stones which rose around her in the shape of broken crosses and fallen
angels. Eventually, she reached the large cross which marked the entrance to
her parent’s tomb. It was a symbolic location of course. Her parents were no
more in this silent grave then they were within the mountain spring over which
the majority of their ashes had been spread. Yet, there was still something
about this place which made Mara feel closer to her long-lost parents than
anywhere else she had ever known. She knelt before it.

It
had been four years since the last of her father’s ashes had been placed within
the large marble structure and two years to the day since her mother had chosen
to join him in death. She sat before the tall statues surrounding her for a
long time, offering silent prayers to the Gods above. Yet these scattered
visits always ended the same way. “Why?” Mara asked the question which could
never be answered. “Why did you leave me?” 

She
turned toward the stone which bore her mother’s name. “Why? Why did you leave
me all alone?” Her hands dug into the dirt, lowering her face to the ground.
She sat there a long time as she cried. “You left me,” she shouted for the dead
alone. Then, someone touched her shoulder.

Her
eyes flew open to find Edward kneeling beside her. “I thought you might be
here.” She looked at him and the single glance was all it took. “I’m sorry,” he
said gently. “There are no answers. I wish I could tell you why, but…I can’t.”

Mara
turned from the tomb with deep bitterness. “I know why. He left her alone and
the isolation was unbearable. She was all alone.”

Edward
reached forward, lifting her gaze. “You speak as though you know.”

A
shiver slid through her and she spoke in a voice thick with emotion. “Don’t I?”

“Princess.”
His gaze was deep. “What are you saying?”

“She
knew that she would never love again. No one—not even me. She was alone.”

“But
you are not.” He moved his hands to grasp her arms just below the wrists,
commanding her attention with his touch. “Do you hear me, my Lady? You are not
alone.”

“Am
I not?”

“No,”
he said and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her slender frame. “I…”
He drew a sharp breath. “I don’t know what I would do without you.” She began
to shiver in his arms. “Please, Mara, you are scaring me.”

“Everyone
leaves,” she answered through tears.

“I
won’t.” He rose from the ground, forcing her to his feet. He stared into violet
eyes. “I love you, Mara. Do you hear me? I love you and you will never be
alone.” He pulled her into his arms again, running a hand through her long
black hair. “ego adsum, mea rosa. I will not leave you. I will never, never
leave you.”

Mara
had been fourteen when Edward had sworn to end the loneliness which consumed
her life. And only nineteen when he would embark upon the quest that would
force him to break every promise he had ever made, condemning her to the life
her mother had chosen death over being forced to endure.

Edward
had taken her back to her rooms that night, disregarding every hint of protocol
as he laid the Princess upon the bed and pulled her to his chest. She clung to
him, oblivious to the fact that Garreth had entered the room and taken silent
watch in the far corner. “It’s okay,” Edward whispered, cradling her against
him to place a gentle kiss upon her brow. He held her for a long time before
her breathing finally slowed to the steady rhythm of sleep.

“What
happened?” Garreth asked quietly as he moved to a chair beside the bed.

“She
went to see her mother.” 

“Is
she all right?”

“No.”
He traced a hand gently through her long hair which trailed down her back. “I
don’t know what to do.”

Garreth
slowly shook his head. “I wish I knew.”

“She’s
so young. I wish I could take her away from here.”

“Yes…but
the Queen would never allow it. She is still a Princess. I try to stay here as
much as possible. Though, as a member of the guard, it is difficult.”

“Yes.”
Edward nodded. “We could bring her into the circle for a while. Move her to the
chambers between ours.”

“A
Princess of the blood living in a circle of guardsmen? You can’t be serious.”

“I
don’t know what else to do. Does she still train with the swordmaster?”

“Every
day.”

Edward
nodded. “I will take over her training myself. I will devote more time. I
will…” He tightened his arms around her, fighting to keep his words a whisper.
“Garreth…I can’t lose her and if we don’t do something…” He shook his head.

“Careful,
Edward. She is a Princess. You could be in trouble for simply lying here like
this.”

“She
cannot be alone. She won’t survive it.”

Garreth
drew a deep breath and said simply, “I know.”

That
had been the beginning of her official training for the Royal Guard. She was
moved from her royal suites into the Captain’s section of the palace. It was
against the majority of protocols, moving her into a chamber of men. However,
the Queen either had no issue with the move, or did not care enough to offer an
objection. It was here, under Edward’s watchful eye, that Mara continued to
learn the true ways of the sword and fell into a regular routine. He, along
with Garreth and Phillip, worked together to train her not only in combat, but
also to instill within her an appreciation for the codes they were sworn to
live by. Honor, truth and valor were among the highest, along with the value of
living a life of service. Embracing these core values had, more than anything
else, been the key to Mara’s will to survive even in the darkest of days—the
notion that her life belonged to a purpose greater than herself. 

Mara
was the youngest to ever enter formal service into any Royal Guard. Garreth had
been enraged when, at only sixteen, she had requested formal admittance.
“You’re too young to know that this is the life you want,” he had raged at her.
“You’re a Princess! Think of what you would be giving up. Your title, your
wealth, your privilege. For all you know, you might be Queen one day. You
cannot join the Guard at sixteen!”

She
spent the next year in a futile attempt to change her cousin’s mind. When
Edward finally asked her why she was so insistent on joining the guard now
instead of waiting to ensure that this way of life was what she truly wanted,
she gave an answer from the heart. “I was lost,” she told him. “That night you
found me by my parents’ tomb, I had every intention of joining them. But then
you came and gave me a reason to go on living. This guard, this way of life,
saved me.” She leaned closer into his eyes. “You saved me, Edward, and for the
first time, I feel that I have something to live for. I want to fight, to live,
to breathe for honor and truth and all the rest of it. I know that this is the
only way I want to live.”

Edward
had not initiated her into the Guard that night. He may not have for many
years, except that, only a few weeks later, the Queen called her to the Royal
chambers. “I think it is high time we remove you from those ghastly chambers,”
she was informed by her royal aunt. “You are a child no longer. A Princess of
the Blood cannot live among the men as you do. It is improper. Finding you a
royal match will be difficult enough even without such tarnish.”