resignation of the twelfth

"My King," Kiera's voice called out after they left the discussion room. Her voice spoke out in a manner that made Helios and the Lion Lord stop and turn around to look at her. "I would like a moment to speak with you."

King William took a brief pause to watch her. Nodding once, he turned back around.

"We will speak in my quarters."

"Then I shall take my leave." Helios left them alone upon their arrival, closing the King's doors after him. They waited to make sure they heard Helio's footsteps fade away completely before either of them spoke.

"Now that he has gone, what is on your mind?"

Kiera stopped absentmindedly rubbing the ring in her hand and peered into King William's eyes. His usually bright eyes seemed devoid of their usual warmth, which was daunting to her. She wanted to keep her head held high but the weight of her decision was causing her to keep her eyes downcast.

She looked away from him once more.

"Kiera." She heard him call out her name with all the patience of an experienced father. "What you are about to tell me, does it have something to do with the ring in your hand?"

Kiera clenched her fist around the ring, taking courage from Sam's gift. She looked at King William and nodded her head once.

"So you have made your decision." He sighed, sitting down in one of the room's armchairs.

"Yes your Majesty." Kiera stood upright, shaking her head when King William motioned for her to take a seat. "Prince Sam asked me to stay with him and I accepted."

"I knew it was only a matter of time." He softly chuckled.

She swallowed hard. "I will be resigning from my position as the Twelfth Beast General."

"I understand."

She did not know what she was expecting, but the King's short response brought pain to her like a dagger had been lodged into her chest.

"Forgive me, sir." She tried hard to search for her next words, but her mind went blank. Instead, she asked for forgiveness and hoped that her king would understand her somehow.

"Let me ask you this question. Do you love him?" She blinked and looked up at him to read his expression.

"Yes."

"Then do not ask for forgiveness. Raise your head child, you have done nothing wrong. If you remember, I was the one who pushed you to him. Did you not think I would have seen this coming?"

Kiera released a small laugh at his words and found that he had lifted her mood a little.

"That you did."

She gave the king a smile. Finally looking him in the eye, "You kept bringing us together, it was like you knew I would end up falling in love."

Her words brought some kind of reaction out of him, for his eyes softened. He shook his head at her with a sad smile.

"You can say that I am good at orchestrating things like this."

He suddenly changed topics.

"Will you do me a favor before you completely abdicate from your position?"

"Anything." She was quick to agree to whatever it was that her king needed from her before she left the Beast Army. After all, he was allowing her to stay in Solomon.

"Can you keep hold of your position as Beast General until after the business of the peace treaty has concluded? I believe we are close to finishing the drafting of the new Golden Rose treaty."

"Yes," she nodded, "of course." She supposed it was only a matter of time before what they came here to do was finished. Only now she realized how quickly time had passed. She hadn't even begun to think about how she was going to say her goodbyes.

"Thank you, General Kiera. Although this will be your last mission as a General, I want you to know that this does not change my opinion of you. I still regard you as one of my most trusted people. I'm sure your mentor would agree."

Her smile faded at the mention of her mentor, who would certainly make a fuss about her decision. She could imagine her now, storming King William's throne room to demand the reason behind her pupil's resignation.

"She won't be happy." She furrowed her brow and she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Well then, she is more than welcome to come to Solomon herself and bring you back. I doubt she would be able to tear you away from the prince's side. That woman loves you more than anything else in the world, you know that don't you? You should send her a letter to explain your decision. I will deliver to her on your behalf."

A mix of relief and anxiousness washed over her. Her letter to her mentor would be even harder than saying her goodbyes to her squadron.

"Is there anything else you need taken care of?"

"Yes, I will be returning the land and manor that was bequeathed to me."

King William waved his hand, immediately rejecting the very idea.

"Krestone Manor will always be yours. I will hire someone to care for the manor in your absence."

"There's no need, you know as well as I do that I won't be able to return."

"I said I would hire someone and I will." She smiled at his stubbornness.

"And my Last Rite?"

Her question hung in the air. She couldn't forget the one thing she dreaded the most. He closed his eyes as if the subject greatly pained him. He spoke with not much emotion in his voice.

"I will preside over the ceremony."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"You're welcome Kiera," opening his amber eyes, he smiled at her.

She let out a short laugh when her unexpected visit left Sam stunned. He drew back the curtains of his room at the sound of her knocking on the balcony window. The smile that spread on his lips warmed her heart.

"A late-night visit?" He teased, "you are brave."

She turned her head to hide the embarrassment on her face, she thought against walking into his room as his words made her rethink her sanity. How could she visit him at night?

She stood by the banister of his balcony, successfully drawing the prince out of his room.

"I told King William of my plans to stay."

He stood next to her silently, his eyes on her as her eyes stared out below into his garden that was shrouded in darkness.

"That must have been a hard conversation to have."

She shook her head as she sat on the banister, "no, it was quite simple actually." She mused to herself, thinking about the difficulty she had to rise to the title of Beast General, while it was laughably easy to relinquish all her rights along with her title.

"What are you thinking?" He asked her, his hand sliding to rest on top of her hand.

She turned her head to the side to look at him. In the moonlight, his hair looked darker. Not at all like the golden crown that had dazzled her the first time she saw him.

"I thought it would be harder for me to leave all my responsibilities, but it wasn't. Another Beast will come and take my place as the Twelfth Beast General and the Army will carry on the sacred duty of protecting the Forest. They'll do just fine without me."

"Kiera," he began by calling out her name, probably thinking about how to console her.

She reached out her hand, caressing the side of his face. His skin was warm, a stark difference from her cold touch. If it had bothered him he did not show it. In fact, it seemed like he wanted her to touch him even more.

"You don't need to worry about me. I'll be fine."

His kiss felt like feathers on her lips. A quick and innocent peck that made her heart flutter. Sam smiled broadly as they pulled apart.

"I don't suppose you came with the intention to stay the night?"

She cocked her head to the side, smiling slowly.

"Oh, and why would I stay the night?"

Her hand was still on the side of his face. She could feel every tiny movement on his face, watching him as he switched between all his different smiles. "I can think of several reasons."

"I should leave so the Prince can sleep soundly tonight," she rubbed his cheek with her thumb. "Besides, we will have all the time in the world for that later. After the peace talks have ended."

"Alright," he brought his head forward to kiss her, "then that's a promise."

"The peace talks will conclude soon, " and with the conclusion of the peace talks, the Beasts and the other Kings will leave for their homeland. Kiera's career as the Twelfth General will end as well. It was a bittersweet-tasting feeling that jumbled up her insides.

"The conclusion is set to be in a week," Sam said with a faraway look in his eyes. "After that, I can finally make my first move."

"Should I be worried?" She asked, but the look he sent her was enough of a response. She wondered why she even bothered to ask.

"Remember my promise, you only need to stay by my side. I can handle everything else. Are you sure I can't convince you to stay?"

Kiera removed her hand.

"Goodnight Sam." Before he could reach out to her again, she swung her legs over the banister and jumped from the height, disappearing from his sight completely.