Not All Heroes Are Guiltless

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next morning, I rushed to hide the evidence of my lack of sleep. I am already dressed in a simple riding smock when two of the queen’s maid enter my chambers.

“Princess, the Queen has requested you for breakfast.” One of them says with a smile. Her eyes are staring at my attire, but she has lost the battle of finding me in pretty dresses long ago. I have learned over the years that the only time I can have privacy with my adoptive guardian is during her breakfast.

Without any real prompt for the maids, I hurry to the other side of the living quarters towards the queen chambers. I smile when I open into a large sitting room, and she’s out in her private garden already sitting at a table for two.

“Good morning, Aunt Lana.” I say, coming and kissing her cheek. “Did you ask your chef for those pastries filled with berries?”

“Of course, my dear child. I know they are your favorite.” Lana kisses my cheek back and ushers me to sit down. “You are up early this morning.”

I swallow because I feel almost like she is going to ask me about my dark eyes. “Yes, I have a few errands and friends I was hoping to call upon before my captain calls us back.”

Lana stares at me, almost judging my response for sincerity, “Don’t overdo it too much. You could do some more rest before your next mission. I heard you last you lost four men but brought back some interesting captives. Tolsen has already been able to send me a report. He had a busy night.”

I drop my head down and try to hide a swirl of angry whipping around, and then I heard her cough, “Forgive me. I shouldn’t talk to shops while at breakfast. Have you heard any more gossip about the court on your journey?”

Aunt Lana surrounds herself by her courtiers nearly every moment of her life. She often tells me how she misses the drama of the housemaid and stable hands affairs. She is often a romantic, and I allow her to discuss the things she can’t discuss with anyone else. When I know our time is close, I decide to ask her a question. Talking about my parents is hard for her, so I don’t want to mention my father.

“Lana, someone referred to me as Delia. I don’t know if that’s a compliment or an insult.” I say, looking at her and can see the change of emotions through her eyes.

Lana purses her lips, and I’ve never seen her hesitate. “Princess Delia the Bearer of the Light Sword. Hero of Redland. She drove out a powerful demon who planned to turn us into slaves for their own power. She would be my grandmother after six generations. She lived nearly four thousand years ago.”

My jaw drops at this knowledge, “Why have I never heard about her before?”

“She never became queen, but she served her country for years. Her best friend was chosen as queen because she was older. However, that didn’t stop the queen from possessing similar gifts as Delia. Every few generations, the ability to summon a light sword is gifted to either side of Redland Royal lines. Your mother was about your age when she was gifted it. Everyone believed she was the new Delia, and she was supposed to help drive away an evil. But- “

“It’s alright, Lana. I understand.” I cut her off because I know she doesn’t want to talk about the way my mother was lost to us. If she was chosen for a gift from the gods, then she must not have been able to complete her mission.

Lana looks at me and smiles. “I think I have an old history book in my library. Queen AmDerar was the timeframe. She is a wholesome story of a hero protecting her people. I wouldn’t think anyone referring to you is an insult, but maybe a hopeful wish. Now, I must waste away with petty details and trade commission debates. Will you be available for dinner tonight? I have an ambassador from the Lions of Turmac.”

“I will be.” I say, standing up and hugging my guardian before she can dismiss. She pulls me close, and I can feel her warmth and love. I have never been without her in my life because she has always been there.

After she leaves, I decide I want to find out more about this Delia. I go to where all the history and journals are at. I find one with our current timeframe and smile. I open the book and begin to read. I read about my aunt’s crowning ceremony for her to become queen and then when she was chosen to be the crowned princess, and that’s when I noticed something particular. When she was a princess her name was DelAna yet when she became queen the ‘De’ was dropped. My mother, though, never dropped the ‘Am’ in her name, and I’m almost certain her closest friends just called her ‘Star’. In fact, all our generations have ‘Am’ or ‘Del’. I wonder what they mean.

Placing the recent history down, I go to find the time frame as ‘AmDerar’ and then I hide the book behind my back as I slip through the halls towards a private garden. I sit under a nice oak tree and read as much as I can find on this mysterious Delia. The text is boring with counts of treasure and weather reports. Just a few snippets of information about Princess Delia.

“Good afternoon, Princess.” A familiar voice makes me jump a bit, and I didn’t even realize the sun has shifted its position so much. Staring up into the glare of the sun, Andrew seems to have a more radiant body with the rays behind him. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Yes, thank you for your concern.” I say, pulling my hands into my lap. I still don’t know what I really want to say to him. I close my book to indicate I’m willing to listen.

“It wasn’t my intention to make you feel uncomfortable with me. I am and will always be your friend. I just hope that in the future, you may feel different about me.” Andrew says while squatting in front of me. “Every day I’m grateful for the gift the Queen has bestowed on me. To be close to you and able to see you grow every day.”

Everything in my body screams danger, and I’m not sure why. I hold my hand up to my collar and find the tensity is causing it to be a nuisance. I focus on the mantra my mother taught me to keep my head calm and collective. “Andrew-“

He shuffles a bit in uncomfortable, and I stop and stare at him with some sorrow. “Andy, I would never see you anything more than a friend. You are my captain and a colleague. You tease me the same way you tease your younger brothers. I guess I always thought you treated me similarly to them. Other than Lana and you, I have no other family. No one else I can trust. I really don’t mean to offend or disappoint you.

“Then so be it.” His voice is dark and in a low hiss. He stands up and walks away with his angry fuming around him. A strong weave of magic streams from him, and I almost fear he will burn the garden down, but he pulls it back into himself, and no one is harmed.

I turn back to reading my book, but my lack of focus is short. I close the book and return it to the library. I’ll have to find time to research later. The sense of dread and danger is too overwhelming, and I want to get some exercise anyway.