Tiva Boon: Royal Guardian (28 page)

“We are all afraid, and my siblings are now out there in the marketplace, it does not help allay my fears.”

“I know, dearest one, I know.” He hugged her tight and kissed her forehead. “We must meet with the king, let us make haste.”

Tiva, the elite guardians, and the king were still in the summit room when the second sun rose above the horizon. They spent all night strategizing and working through ideas and plans to secure the marketplace and palace. Harer ordered new uniforms for all legionnaires and demanded any wearing the old ones were checked and verified before entering the area. It was a lengthy process, but enough to limit the Rebels for a while.

Tiva and her father had charge of the newest prisoner, and spent the day interrogating him. Every technique they tried failed, and when they turned to physical maneuvers, found much the same. The man refused to give any information no matter how hard they tried.

Several days passed without incident. Tiva kept to her duty, guarding the king. Every time she was with him, she remained on high alert, observing everything around her. Her personal time with the king became a thing of the past.

Again, the thought of the Rebels having some type of alien technology reeled through her mind. None of the attackers had used any new weaponry. They had used the same detonators and blades as they had before. The group was smaller than those who had attacked previously. Something felt wrong, although she could not pinpoint exactly what it was that made her feel that way.

The engineers supplied the king with enough particle-charged weapons for most of the guardians. They trained on a regular basis, learning the new technology. The small, handheld device shot a gust of contained energy at its objective. Someone named them blasters and many took to them well. Tiva, however, preferred her method of combat. It was personal, honorable, and she had more control.

Still, she learned to wield the weapon and kept it at her side. The quiet days and nights continued for the better part of a month. The king’s ship was almost completed. The new cycle of the moon neared, and the weather was changing again.

*

A month to the day of the last assault, and palace continued its high alert. Tiva walked causally through the palace after waking to meet with the elite guardians and King Delos. Their morning meeting held no new information. The captured former legionnaire remained silent. The marketplace was secure, and no sign of the Rebels was uncovered.

Harer, needing time to clear his mind, walked the grounds on a daily basis, and brought Tiva and her father along. Tiva stayed silent each time, allowing her father and his friend to talk. They tried to talk about general topics to steer their minds from the problems they faced, but the conversation always turned back to the happenings of the planet.

For months, the provinces remained in a peaceful state. The Rebels seemed to have vanished. The only benefit was that the populace was safe, for now.

Making their way back to the palace, Tiva took her leave for the evening, and stared out the window in her room. She enjoyed the view from high up the glass tower, but longed for her small home and favorite tree. She missed talking with him and running through the fields. The palace grounds were vast, and she was able to run occasionally, but never at night when she enjoyed it the most.

Tiva curled up under the blankets and held happier memories in her mind as she forced herself to drift off to sleep.

The dawn broke through the window and lit the room to the point she could no longer sleep. She stretched, washed up, and changed, ready for a new day. Meeting with the other guardians in the summit room proved uninteresting. No news. Tiva, her father, and the king went for another walk around the palace. Again, Tiva remained silent and observed. Walking through the Great Hall, Darlew appeared and spoke with the elders.

Abruptly the doors flew open. Tiva saw them first. Tespor was carrying an unconscious Yark into the palace. She ran to them and helped lay Yark on the ground.

“What happened?” she said, checking the fallen guardian for wounds.

“They are coming,” Tespor said. Delos and Kevler rushed over, and Darlew took his son in his arm.

“Who?” the king said.

“The Rebels, sire,” he said then stood up. “There is a mass on the edge of Degort. Yark and I were patrolling the outer province when a small group attacked us. From the bridge, I saw the group approaching from the border. They will be here before mid-day, sire. They are coming speedily.”

Tiva glanced at her father then the king. Both seemed in shock. Darlew growled loudly, and thankfully, Yark moaned; he was not dead. The moment had come. Rebels were on the move toward the palace. She did not need the king to say anything; she sensed everything flowing through him. Yet, she was ill prepared for his statement when he finally spoke.

“Sound the alarm, call for the protectors. We must prepare for war.”

Tension filled the palace. Each day the king and guardians met in the summit room and watched the battle in the distance. A constant fog of thick gray smoke lingered in the trees and brush on the edge of Degort. Many of the straggling townspeople fled the area after the invaders broke through the vanguard at the border. Only the sea of legionnaires stood between the Rebels and the first village of the capital. Level two and three guardians protected the roads and paths leading to the marketplace. Thousands of protectors occupied Degort. The elite guardians remained within the walls of the palace keeping the king and his family captives in their own home.

Every day the king’s army fought the enemy of the throne. Night after night, Tiva honored dozens of men and women shrouded in the white death cloth. A restless feeling surged through her. It seemed as if she did nothing but watch the fate of her fellow protectors diminish without raising her own weapon to help. It mattered not that the king was her charge, and that her duty was to remain at his side; she wanted to help. The urge to fight the Rebels seethed inside her. Tiva confessed her feelings to her father; he empathized and said he once felt the same long ago.

“In our position the danger comes to us, Tiva, we do not set out to find it.”

She understood, but it didn’t lessen the helplessness she felt watching the legionnaires fall.

A month
rushed by in a blur and the Rebels pushed halfway through Degort outer. Both sides lost people every day, the legionnaires suffering the most. The explosions of detonators stopped, a logical explanation was they had run out of the devices, but the protectors took no chances, kept their distance, and remained on the defensive.

The first guardian casualty of the Great War was
Nex Jelev, the younger brother of Jex. It was a devastating blow to moral; Nex was only seventeen, the youngest to perish.

Jaded, but without choice, King Delos ordered the majority of the level two and three guardians to reinforce the defenses on the edge of Degort proper. The strategy kept them out of sight from the Rebels, but they remained alert and ready if the legionnaires failed in holding them back. The youngest level threes, including her siblings and cousins, stayed behind.

The Rebels conducted a very efficient battle plan. They struck against the Legion with brute force from daybreak to nightfall. During the last council with the king, Darlew and Hutt suggested a counterstrike to catch them off guard in the cover of darkness. Warily, the king ordered a plan put in place before agreeing to such an act. He wished not to seem the aggressor, but he knew there was no other choice. The faction grew stronger somehow, their forces seemed larger, and the king was running out of time.

Tiva wandered the quiet dark halls of the palace. She wasn’t sleeping much anymore, though by order of her father and the king, she forced herself to rest much of the night. The elite guardians had a new mission; they were heading to the front line to assess the status of the protectors. With their report, the king would determine whether to strike against the Rebels or continue their defense of Degort. Anxious to get involved, Tiva slept enough to recharge her body, and then ventured to the main hall to meet with the others. She arrived first and patiently waited. Yark and Tespor spoke quietly as they stepped off the lift heading toward her. Everyone exchanged greetings then fell into a somber silence when the remaining elite guardians arrived. All fifteen level ones gathered in the main hall, save her father and Darlew. Tiva was happy to see her cousin Rux and Bip Becha as they were in charge of guarding the prince and princess and their paths rarely crossed in recent days.

Once everyone gathered and finished trading recent news from around the palace, they moved into the Great Hall to await the king. Harer entered with his two most trusted guardians at his side. He sat in his chair and returned the guardians’ salute.

“The time to turn the tide of this battle is at hand. We can no longer remain passive and allow these Rebels to trample across our capital without fighting back. If we can determine exactly what we are up against, we’ll follow through with the counterstrike and meet them head on. I want you to each pair off, take a different section of the capital, and report to me. We must do this quietly and covertly. Do not bring unwanted attention upon yourselves. Though we are losing many of our legionnaires, we still have strength among the guardians, and if the Rebels are aware you’ve become involved this early, they may speed up their attacks. It is best, for now, that they believe you are all still within Degort proper. None of the Legion regiments know you are coming.” He glanced at Darlew. “We believe some of the groups have traitors among them, so stay sharp.”

The group nodded in unison. The king paired them off, and gave each a location. He assigned Tiva and Darlew to the east, her father, and Tespor to the west, the remaining pairs in between at various points throughout the capital. After saying a quick goodbye, Tiva followed Darlew to the hover deck and departed.

Driving through the marketplace, Tiva cringed at the sight. It was no longer a place of gathering and trade, festivals, and good company, now it was a desolate strip of land with hidden guards on constant alert.

She sighed, but stayed silent for the majority of the ride. Darlew finally slowed the vehicle. Tiva noticed they were not far from the bridge to her province. She missed her home, and knew many of the others felt the same. Darlew hid the hover in a group of trees, gathered his weapons, and ordered Tiva to do the same.

“We must walk the remainder of the way. If this regiment holds traitors, we cannot alert them to our presence with the hover.”

“I understand,” she said, equipping her belt with the blaster weapon, Timbur, sword, and daggers.

“You have not said much, Tiva. I sense deep emotions from you, yet you have not brought your concerns before the king. That is very unlike the young guardian I have come to know,” he said with a small smile. “Though times are tough, you cannot lose yourself in battle. If you allow the anger, suffering, and pain to overcome you, you will lose the unique spirit you carry. I do not wish to see you bitter and cold, for I know many who have lost their way.”

“I carry a weight on my spirit,” she said, “that is true, but I do not understand all that I am feeling, therefore I cannot unburden myself to others. My only concern right now, Guardian Finto, is to rid our people of this threat and restore peace to our lands.”

“That is the prayer of us all, Tiva.”

Keeping to herself was easy in Darlew’s company. She stayed quiet, watching, searching, and feeling her surroundings. They reached the regiment’s location as the moon rose above the capital. There was still plenty of time to gather information and return to the palace before sunrise. Though Tiva wanted to be involved in the action, she would rather be fighting side by side with her family and the guardians than with the legionnaires. She no longer had faith in their loyalty.

Darlew found the regiment captain, and spoke with him at length. He gathered all the information available, and once satisfied they left the group and headed back to the hover.

“Did you observe or sense anything out of the ordinary, Tiva?” Darlew said as they walked.

“No, I did not. I believe that group is loyal to King Delos,” she said.

“I am glad you agree, my senses aren’t as sharp as yours, but I have known Captain Wirto for many cycles and he has always been a valiant and trustworthy leader.”

“He has great admiration for you and the other guardians.”

“Indeed he does. He often wished I had a sister or cousin to marry so he could become one,” he laughed then whipped his head backwards. Tiva felt the presence as well, and scrutinized the area. Darlew crumpled to his knees. “Go, quickly,” he said and grabbed his shoulder as he fell.

Tiva saw a dual headed dart protruding from his back. It was high on the shoulder, but not deep enough to be fatal, so she helped him up, and half-dragged him through the woods.

“Drop me and go.”

“I will not leave you.” She reached a nearby hill, and rested him against the rock. “I shall scout the
area; take hold of your weapon.”

“Tiva, call Wirto for assistance.”

“I do not think we need it, Guardian Finto. If there was a group of Rebels out there who wanted us dead, we would already be so,” she said and drew her sword. “Stay here, I will return.”

“Tiva!” He forced a loud whisper.

She turned and raised her finger to her lips, then backtracked into the trees. Searching the grounds silently was easy enough, finding evidence of an intruder proved harder. After following her footsteps back to Wirto’s camp, she spoke with him, almost interrogating him about the attack.

“Several of my men were attacked the same way in previous days, and I am certain it was not a member of my regiment.”

Aggravated by the fact that he had withheld information, Tiva returned to the hill. Darlew was leaning against the hill with his weapon ready.

“I have found no one. But Wirto neglected to mention his men were assaulted similarly in recent days.”

“Very well,” he said. “Let us return, we are wasting time.”

Tiva helped Darlew into the hover, and took the controls. The elder Finto continued losing blood, and as she drove closer to the palace, he began sweating, and moaning.
A dart strike should not have harmed him this much,
she thought. She didn’t want to risk something happening in the wild so she guided the hover to the main road for a quicker journey. They reached the first barricade at the edge of Degort proper. Her cousin Riyn and Zaynus Truda were guarding the way. She hastily informed them the situation, and gained passage. Racing across the road, she drove to the center of the capital, reaching the guarded marketplace. The hover approached the newly erected gates, and several guardians appeared. Few had the new blaster weapons, others guarded with their traditional swords and axes. Tiva showed herself, told of Darlew’s injuries, and the crowd separated immediately. She sped through the marketplace, and the gates to the palace were already opening when she approached. Thankful, she continued through without stopping, and halted before the main doors.

Zenid and D’laja were waiting with the king.

“What happened?” the king said.

“Something is wrong,” Tiva said, jumping over the hover’s hood and sliding down on the passenger’s side. She opened the door and pulled Darlew out. He moaned incoherently. Harer rushed to his side and helped Tiva carry his weight.

“How badly is he injured?” Zenid said, her markings bright with fear.

“He was struck with a dart,” she said, hauling the guardian into the Great Hall. “But the injury should not have caused this much damage. We need a healer.”

“I will go,” D’laja said and took off without pause.

Tiva and Harer gently laid him on the ground. Zenid knelt beside him and rubbed her fingers over his markings. The king paced. Tiva watched Zenid tending to her mate, and sighed, there was a strong bond between them, and she sensed the pain in Zenid’s heart. She rose to her feet and glanced at them, something seemed familiar, but she shook off the feeling and turned to the king.

“I think perhaps he was poisoned,” she blurted. “I checked the gash myself, it is not deep, nor was the wound near any vital organs. There is no other explanation.”

“Were you harmed?” Zenid asked.

“No, and I couldn’t find the culprit either. I did search, Zenid. I am sorry I was unable to protect him.”

“It is not your fault, Tiva,” Harer said, Zenid nodded agreeing. “Did you learn anything while out there?”

“Not much, sire. Captain Wirto mentioned attacks like this on his legionnaires previously, but he did not mention poisoning. However, he and his regiment are loyal to you. I sensed no deception from him.”

“That is good news.”

Two healers and Bip Becha rushed in with D’laja. The healers made for Darlew, and Bip saluted the king.

“How is he?” D’laja said.

“He is not well,” Zenid said, her voice cracking.

“Come, the healers will tend to him. You should find out if Yark has returned.” D’laja nudged her away from the healers.

“Bip, help the healers get Darlew to the healing bay, Tiva, follow me,” Harer said. She did as ordered, and the king did not stop until he was within the safety of his chambers. He excused himself to speak with his family, then returned with two tall glasses and handed her one.

“Thank you, sire.”

“Relax, Tiva, please. We cannot be on edge all the time.”

“I’ll try,” she said, sipping the drink. Surprised he offered her sweet ale, she took a seat on the couch, and attempted to ease her mind. The king sat across from her and drank his ale then he began pacing. Curious, she opened her mind to him and felt crushed by the anger and fear rising inside him. “You are overwhelmed, Harer, you should Calm.”

“If I had the time, I might, but something has happened since you left.”

“Is my father injured?” She stood up, almost spilling her glass.

“No…no, please sit,” he said, motioning with his hands. She returned to her seat and the king ran his hand nervously through his hair. “Yark and Devler uncovered a group of legionnaires who are now working with the Rebels. They both managed to return unharmed, but they overheard some of their conversation…”