“My lord…”
“It is Rowan,” I insisted once again.
“Yes, Rowan. I came to tell you that we must not see each other. We are from two different worlds. It would not be acceptable for you to be here with me. It will only cause problems for both of us.”
“Please, Annalise. Do not say anymore.” Her words were like a knife twisting in my heart.
“But do you not see? It serves no purpose!” she insisted. She was right. I knew it deep down, but would not allow myself to admit it.
“No. That is not true. There is something between us. I can feel it. Tell me you do too!”
“Yes, I cannot deny it. But it does not change a thing. We are from two different castes. It would never be accepted for us to converse, much less this. This can only bring us grief.”
“No. I won’t let you say those things.” I pulled her into my arms. It felt like the most perfect and natural thing for her to be there. She was made to fit against me. I felt her arms creep around me as she leaned her head against my chest. I put my hand on her head and felt her silken strands glide beneath my fingers.
“Oh, Annalise. You belong in my arms, right here, always,” I whispered.
Moments later, she backed away from me, shaking her head. “This is not right. It cannot be. I am beneath you, my lord. I come from a family of servants, the working class.” I attempted to speak, but she would not allow it. “No! You must listen to me. We do not know each other and no one would ever accept this.”
“I will make them accept it. And I want to learn everything about you. I am drawn to you, Annalise. I have been from the moment I saw your beautiful face.” I would accept no less. I had to be with this female.
She sighed and dropped her head, knotting her fingers.
“My lord, I will do whatever you command of me,” she whispered.
“No, Annalise, I do not wish to command you to do anything. I want you here of your own free will.” Her subservient demeanor tugged at my heart, and the last thing I wanted was for her to feel forced. I regretted making her feel thus.
“I am sorry, my lord. I never should have agreed to meet you here.” She moved so quickly, she was gone before I could try to stop her.
I looked for her everywhere, but each day became more of a disappointment. When I could finally take no more, I inquired of her whereabouts. It was explained that she had been terminated from her duties for insubordination. After further investigation, I uncovered the facts. Her supervisor had seen us talking that day in the cafeteria and blamed her for the contact between us. Upon hearing this news, I shook with rage.
I demanded an audience with the supervisor. When I entered his office, I could barely keep my feelings concealed. My words resounded throughout the building.
“What have you done with Ms. Annalise Drakkar? Why is she no longer employed here?” I bellowed.
“My lord, she overstepped her bounds.”
He barely got his words out before I cut him off, saying, “She broke no rule. It was I who made contact with her. She used the utmost propriety when she spoke to me and I command you to give her back her job!” My fists convulsed with rage.
“My lord, that is most unusual. It is never…”
“Did I
ask
you to do it? Do you think you have a
choice
in this matter? You bloody fool! Hire her back or you can start looking for another job yourself!”
“Yes, my lord. I will do it right away, my lord.” He was back-pedaling himself now, trying to redeem himself.
My eyes darkened and I snarled at him, “See that you do.”
When I returned to my quarters, I was appalled at my audacity. I had never acted as such and was sure to hear from my father regarding it. What would I tell him? That I fancied myself smitten with a beautiful blond cafeteria maid, and threatened to fire the supervisor over her? Or that I wanted permission to court her? That I felt an undeniable attraction toward her? And even though she was not of our class, I wanted his approval to date her? No doubt, he would think I had lost my mind.
I threw myself across the bed, lacing my hands behind my head. I wondered where my Annalise had gone.
Rowan, she’s not your Annalise! Well, not yet anyway. She has no idea how persistent I am!
My transcom lit up with the holographic image of my father. “Rowan, get to the palace now!” he thundered.
“Um, hello, Father.”
“I am not of a mind for light banter. I need you here
now
,” he commanded.
“Well, I am not in possession of a teleporter, so unless you want to take care of that for me, I am not able to comply.” My sassy words had no sooner left my mouth, when I felt myself materializing.
As soon as I took form, the storm began.
“Would you care to explain what happened earlier?” His mood was dark so I knew not to mince words.
“Yes, my lord. I defended an employee against unfair termination.” That should do it. I stared him in the eye, so he could assess if I had told the truth.
I should have expected it, but when he reached into my mind using his Power of Telepathy, I couldn’t contain my shock. My thoughts were bared to him, every last one of them. My face burned with embarrassment. My palms became instantly sweaty, along with the rest of my body. He knew now… everything.
Way to go, Rowan. Now you’ve made a mess of things
.
When he finished his mental pillaging, he released a heavy sigh. I lowered my eyes, unable to look at him any longer.
“Alexyon Rayn Devvan Rowan Yarrister VI, what am I to do with you? Why can you not be like other sons and simply follow the rules?”
His use of my full name enlightened me as to how furious he was. It did not stop me from bristling at his words. “I am not a rule breaker, Father. I only stand up for what I think is right!”
“And crossing the line is right in your eyes? That is what you are desirous of achieving? Give it up, Rowan, for you know it cannot be!”
“Why not? I only want permission to get to know her better.”
“And pray tell, what will that accomplish? What if you end up in love with her? Then what? Oh, I am sorry, Anna…”
“Annalise,” I supplied.
“I am sorry, Annalise. I love you, but that is all I can say. I must go now and find another female as my mate! Is that what you want?”
I leaned against his desk and dropped my head into my hands. “No. It is not.”
“Then forget about her and find a female worthy of you.”
I jumped to my feet at his words. “How dare you! She is worthy of me. Don’t ever say a thing against her. You do not even know her!”
My father extended his arm with his hand facing me. “Cease your prattling this instant. I Command it!”
His Power of Command, a talent known only to Vesturions, forced my jaws to slam shut and I was silent. My face twitched in pain, for Command was a very unpleasant thing to experience. It controlled every muscle and movement in one’s body, making it even difficult even to breathe. Resistance was futile, yet the inclination to do so overrode any coherent thought in my mind. I was bound in torture.
The word, “Release” echoed in my mind and I dropped to my knees in a crouch on the floor. I panted, trying to draw in as much air as possible, for moments earlier, I felt as though I were suffocating.
“Rowan, I expect you to forget about this female and focus on your studies. As First-Born, you cannot afford to be the laughingstock of society, nor can I; and trust me, if you insist on seeing this female, that is exactly what will happen.”
I felt myself being teleported back to my quarters.
Well, that went well! Next time, Rowan, block your bloody thoughts when he’s around.
We were about to begin the portion of our training that everyone dreaded. It was dangerous and terrifying. It centered around the Forest of Hills, or “The Unforgiving Forest” as the trainees commonly called it. It was a dreadful place filled with horrible creatures and nasty plantlife. Thick vines and thorns reaching a foot long made it nearly impossible to navigate. It was difficult to survive in the forest unless you came prepared.
We would be sent there on an undisclosed mission. Sometime after the completion of that, our torture training would ensue. I know it sounds odd, but they wanted to test us to see how much suffering we could take before we actually broke down. It was something every Guardian in training dreaded, including me.
I forced myself to focus on nothing but the mission at hand. Any distractions could mean a forfeiture of the operation, and that was the kiss of death for a Guardian.
I was dropped into the forest with instructions to rescue a group of stranded travelers. I was not given any instrumentation in order to locate them. I had to go on instinct. It took me several hours before I uncovered any tracks. Two days later, short on food and water, I finally discovered their location and instigated the rescue.
My mission was deemed a success so that meant I would now advance into the torture training. It was an arduous process because we went through multiple layers of espionage instruction that culminated in the final torture session. The problem was they wouldn’t tell us when it would occur. They would usually come for us in the middle of the night, waking us so we were disoriented. Then it would go downhill quickly, like a giant boulder picking up speed and momentum. It was explained to us that if we performed well in this exercise, the rest of the training would pale in comparison. I was praying for a successful outcome.
The day finally came, and as I had been warned, it wasn’t long before I was begging them to stop. It started with an absolute deprivation of the senses. No sound, light, taste or smell. The only thing they couldn’t remove was the sense of touch. Even for Vesturions, who had supreme night vision, the cell was plunged into total darkness. I felt around with my fingers and hands and discovered I was encased in a four-by-six-foot chamber of sorts.
I wanted to scream after being locked in there for hours, but I knew it would be hopeless to do so. After an unknown amount of time had passed, the silence was broken by a low hum. The sound increased in intensity until I thought my head would explode. Then my cell was plunged into silence again. This cycle repeated itself until I thought I’d go insane.
Eventually, someone came for me and placed a dark sack over my head. I was dragged by my feet into another chamber and thrown into a chair where they hosed me down with frigid water. Then they turned the fans on and I immediately began shivering from the cold. This continued for hours. I focused my mind on one thing—Annalise’s face. It wasn’t long before my thoughts became so disjointed and scrambled, that I could no longer force my mind to comply with anything. I remember swallowing lots and lots of water, as if someone were attempting to drown me. I couldn’t recall much more than that, for I lost consciousness.
**********
When I awoke, I found myself in the medical facility. My body and mind felt battered and betrayed. It was a horrific feeling to recall the extremes I had been forced to endure. My father was present, along with the First in Command at the academy. Their smiles told me I must have passed muster, but there was no joy in it for me. I questioned my sanity and why I had chosen this path.
“The worst is now behind you, my son,” my father informed me. “The rest of your training will be like a holiday for you.”
I dared not speak, for I feared my anger over the entire episode would be my undoing. I nodded instead.
The healer at the facility entered my room and checked all my vital signs. “Physically, you are fine. How do you feel?”
“How am I supposed to feel?” I snapped. “I have just endured the most brutal torture one can imagine. Therefore, I feel like bloody hell!” With each word I spoke, my voice rose in volume, like an approaching thunderstorm.
“Well, you have adequately summed it up,” the healer said matter-of-factly. “You will be required to have a psychological assessment so we can ascertain if any permanent damage or post-traumatic stress has occurred. If all goes well, you will be released from here tomorrow.”
I noticed my father was smiling.
“Is there something amusing about this, Father?” I fumed.
“You outperformed everyone in your class. No one came close to your level, my son. I am smiling because I am proud of you.”
“Well, right now, I would ask you to save your cheer until I am of a mind to enjoy it!”
He chuckled as he turned to leave. “I will be back to check on you later. Your mother is insistent on making an appearance here as well. Be gentle with her when she arrives.”
“I always am, my lord.”
**********
Later that evening, my mother arrived.
“You are looking well, my son.” Relief was written all over her face.
“I am fine, Mother. It was quite an experience... one that I never wish to repeat.”
“I suspect so. Rowan, your father tells me you have an interest in a lower class female.” Her words surprised me as they came out of nowhere.
My mouth formed a huge “O” and I was speechless.
“You know that nothing can come of that?”
At last, my voice returned. “Mother, you do not know the circumstances. Annalise was terminated from her position at the Academy because I spoke to her. That was grossly unfair. So I demanded she be rehired.”
“Well, I can certainly understand your desire to help her. But your father told me you had a keen interest in the female. Is that true?”
Deciding on the honesty path, I replied, “Yes, I am interested in her. She is the loveliest thing I have ever seen, Mother. I desire to get to know her better. But my intentions toward her are honorable. Is that such a bad thing?”
She came and sat on the side of my bed and reached for my hand. Giving it a squeeze, she said, “Rowan, you understand it is not possible for anything to develop between the two of you?” She brushed my hair off my forehead and her eyes softened as she gazed at me. She had always been loving and affectionate toward me. I was fortunate to have such caring parents.
“Why does it have to be that way? It seems like our Council says everyone should be treated as equals, but they have this caste system established prohibiting us from socializing with those in the working class. It makes no sense, Mother.”