1 Border Watch

The night is cold and clear. Guarding the borders between Thule and Soltice was a burden of a job, though it had to be done. Gabriel had placed himself on the longest watch of the night on purpose.

He both loved and hated the night. It reminded him of that little boy in the streets, killing gang members to protect his sister and survive. As an Aasimar, he was blessed with a long life and at the age of 89, when compared with a human, he would be in his early 20's. The Bridge to Southern Watch; the massive fort on the border, was down and merchants were making their way to the gate to be inspected before entering the city. Gabriel walked to the end of bridge and stepped out into the Empire of Thule. Gabriel

knew much about the Empire and everything he learned told him to hate it. Slavery, forcing the magical alterations of their servants, and experiments conducted on the people to name a few.

Gabriel inhaled deeply and exhaled.

There was a muffled scream to the left of Gabriel. He turns toward it and runs into the darkness. He did not have to go far until he reached a clearing. There in the moonlight he saw a man clutching the hair of a woman. He was using a sharp dagger to slice her hair into shreds and Gabriel could see that she was

bleeding from several shallow wounds.

"Stay out of this!" The man bellowed "She is my property and I can do what I want!"

"Stay calm" Gabriel spoke gently, trying to not provoke the wild eye man. "Let's just talk..."

Gabriel's hand moved towards his belt.

The man yanked the woman to her feet by her hair and brought the blade to her throat "Move your hand towards you weapons and I will slit her throat." The man said calm.

Gabriel could smell the alcohol from where he stood. "How about I move my hand to my gold pouch?"

asks Gabriel.

"What?"

"She is your slave right? And clearly you are unhappy with her...so let's trade, my platinum pieces for

your slave."

The man licked his lips and said "She has experience." He rubbed his grizzled face across hers "I won't

let her go for less than 30 platinum."

"Done," said Gabriel

Gabriel's hand began to move but to the man's surprise, it wasn't towards his weapon. Gabriel removed

a pouch from his pocket and slowly counted out his coins. Even in the low light of the moon the man

could clearly see that Gabriel not only had the coin to pay him but he had enough to last him the year and

some.

Gabriel placed the 30 coins in the pouch and pocketed the rest. "I will want her papers and I will need

you to sign them.'

"Of course of course" Said the man to Gabriel. Then to the girl he said "Move one inch and I will gut you

like the others." The girl looked to Gabriel as if asking what to do. Gabriel nodded his head no.

The man pulled the papers from his pack lying on the ground and began signing a false name.

"If you don't mind I would like you to use your real name," Says Gabriel.

The man froze like a cornered animal "Do I know you sir, because it seems you know me?"

"No." Said Gabriel "But I know your kind. Hold out your Merchants ID and the signed document if you

don't mind."

The man pulls his ID out and held up the paper work. Gabriel moved in closer. The stranger wanted that;

wanted him to move in so he could kill him and take all his platinum and gear.

"It all seems in order" Gabriel moved in closer and tossed the pouch at the man. Only a few feet

separated them now.

"Good riddance you little wore." Gabriel almost leaped toward the man and pounded him where he stood

but he waited for the man to make his move. When Gabriel turned away from stranger he leaped at his

back but Gabriel continued the motion and thrusts his blade into the throat of the man.

The hidden blade in Gabriel's wrist hit its mark. The blade was short but the full force of the man attack

added to Gabriel's strength drove it in deeper. The man stumbled back shocked at what had happened.

He could not scream and his eyes widen in surprise and then he fell to the ground.

Gabriel cleaned his blade on the dead man's coat he then removed his cloak and placed it on the woman

shoulders. He then led her away from the body.

"Aren't you going to take back your coins?" Her voice had calmness and strength in it despite that she did

not know the man she was walking with.

"I acquired you honestly. Anything after the exchange was a man protecting himself. His coin should go

to his family, though depending on who finds him will determine how much coin they will see." After

coming to the edge of the tall brush that hid the whole event from prying eyes, Gabriel stops the girl. He

removes an pendant from his neck and places it over hers.

"My name is Gabriel Mason, what is yours?"

"Kiara," she replies.

"As of right now Kiara, you are an initiate of the Elite Knights Guild. As such, you have full rights and

bonuses. If you complete your two year probation, you will be a full citizen of Soltice."

Gabriel handed the woman the papers of ownership. Kiara knew what this meant. That he was handing

her the freedom she knew not what to do with.

"I cannot promise you much but what I can promise you is that you will live a good life and you will have

adventures if you follow me."

Kiara handed the papers back to him. "I won't..." Gabriel started to say but she cut him off.

"Please hold on to them until I am ready."

Gabriel knew what it was like to forced into a world that was so far from what he knew. So he took the papers back and escorted Kiara onto the bridge.

Kiara began trying to fix her hair. Gabriel noticed and simply pulls up her hood. "Just follow my lead and

stay calm." He saw this woman only moments ago with a blade to her throat and she did not even flinch.

He knew she would be OK.

The guards at the gate stopped the two.

"Hold it right there! Who are you and where did this one come from?"

The guard pointed at the woman. Gabriel spoke up "I am Gabriel Mason and this is my guild member

under me. She was out with me for training and now we are returning."

The guard frowned and said "I remember you walking out alone. What are you trying to pull here?"

The guard's voice rose a little higher and got the attention of the guard captain. A tall man approached

the commotion and moved closer.

Gabriel knew the man as Captain Rusk. He was a half-orc with a brain. It was why he earned the rank

and position he now held.

With a nod, Gabriel acknowledged him. "Good evening Captain. I am sorry to disturb you at this hour."

"Lt. Mason what are you doing out on the longest watch? Don't you write up the roster?"

"I do captain." Responded Gabriel "But I am responsible for the training of new guild members and I

wanted to test out this initiate. She did well for her first night."

The captain turned his gaze over to Kiara. She tilted her head down just a little bit more.

"Sgt. Rice, do you know who stands before you right now?" asked Captain Rusk.

"A guild trainer, sir?" responds Rice's answer did not sound too sure to everyone there.

"You are right and understating the matter altogether. This is Lt. Commander Mason, Son of Thranna

Mason, and hero of Dragon Falls. If the Lt. Says she is with him, then she is with him. Let them through."

Sgt. Rice stepped aside and let the two pass. As Gabriel leads her through the gate, she could hear the

whispers from the guards.

"So that's the Dragon Slayer," Said one voice.

"Yeah he stood toe to toe with a dragon and won," said another.

Kiara looked over to her new master and wondered just who he is.

"In case you're wondering, the dragon was mostly dead when our one on one match began. He

pulled some kind of trick and magic around the attacking squad disappeared. The others had to move back to heal up so they could take up the fight again. My skills don't require magic so I stayed close to prevent him from moving towards our healers. I almost died in that fight but the dragon died first."

Kiara spoke "You didn't need to tell me that."

"I would rather you hear the truth then hear all the rumors that surround that day. If you listen to the wrong person they would make it sound as if I single handedly killed the dragon. I had good people watching my back that day and it was a group victory."

"How long were you fighting the dragon one on one?" Asks Kiara.

Gabriel smiled "A few minutes."

"In a battle for a few minutes, especially with a dragon, would feel like a lifetime."

Gabriel's smile brightened "Most people don't know that. It sounds like you know your way around a fight. Back there with your owner...you could have saved yourself couldn't you?"

It was her turn to smile "That's something you are going to have to figure out for yourself."

Kiara pulled back her hood and began combing her fingers through her hair. Gabriel walked at her side and found himself distracted. Now in the light, he could see more of the woman beneath the cloak. She is shorter than him though since he stood at 6'2" most people did. Kiara stood about a foot shorter by his estimate. Her hair framed her face on both sides. Both sides colored an azure blue color with a streak of purple behind the blue on the right side of her face. The hair in the back was unevenly cut. The asshole

did not have time to mess with any more than that. Gabriel looked further down. Her body looked like a

master artist carved it from stone; Pale white skin and nice curves. Kiara smiled again. "You're staring."

Gabriel cleared his throat and turned away. "Sorry just taking an inventory of your injuries."

"And how are my 'Injuries'?"

"You have several minor cuts that will need tending but no danger, as well as a deeper one you have been hiding under your left arm. I can tell by the way you're swinging it that it is worse than you thought before or you would have had me tend to it before now."

Kiara studied the man. He dressed in fine clothing. He had money, not sure if it is old or new, but whoever dressed him did not take the time to pick out things that complemented him. He is tall and well built. His sword was of excellent quality and maintained well. A little too well she thought. The colors he wore were an ugly brown pants and a lighter brown shirt. And boots black as coals and again,

well-tended. Either he had a lot of time or his servants tended his gear well. Kiara could tell by his caramel skin color and his dark hair that he was decedent of the western horseman tribes. But his eyes were not dark as they should have been. They were the color of amber and a lot closer to being gold than the dark brown that was common for a tribesman. Gabriel leads her into a building. The standard on the door was of a shield with two swords crossed over it on a blue field and a gray griffon above it. Gabriel opened the door with a key and locked it behind them. The main room was dark. Kiara noted that he moved through the room unhindered. Like her, he too could see in the dark. Gabriel opened a door off to the side of the room and waved for her to enter. Once inside, he again closed the door and began lighting the candles in the room.

"Even though we both can see in the dark the light will help me see your wounds better."

Gabriel pointed at a seat and she sits down.

"You were testing me, to determine if I could see in the dark.

You could have asked."

"I like to observe people. I get a better sense of who they are by watching what they do. When we were outside, the moon light allows those without Dark Vision to see a little. To those like us, the darkness hides nothing from us. When I arrived and saw what that bastard was doing to you, I noticed that even though you cried out before, you suddenly became noticeably calm. I don't think you needed my help but you accepted it. So now I want to see who you are and understand you."

While Gabriel was talking, he gathered medical supplies to treat her wounds. When things became quiet, Kiara noticed that they were in some type of treatment room.

"Is it okay that you're using guild supplies? Are you the Guild master or are you a medic with some rank?"

"Please remove the cloak and your shirt?"

Kiara blushed and began removing the requested items. Gabriel watched her, studying her movement. To him the blushing seemed genuine but he could not be sure if it was practiced. Either she was really good at showing the emotions she wanted people to see or he himself was being too suspicious. Kiara removed the blood stained shirt and tossed it to the ground. Gabriel inspected the wound he could not see closely before. Kiara noted that he was trained in healing arts and that he was used to seeing the female form mostly unclothed. Usually when she takes her top off, most men take a minute to look at her breasts but Gabriel was more interested in her wounds then he was at them. Gabriel noticed that the wound had healed over though there was something beneath the skin. The wound itself was magically healed but the caster did not know about whatever it was that was in her wound.

"You have the ability to heal and were able to do it without either that merchant or myself noticing. But it

looks like part of his blade broke off in your wound and now I will have to cut you open to get it out."

Kiara had not noticed that and wondered how she missed it. Gabriel's hands moved with skill. "Would you like something for the pain?" he asks.

Kiara shook her head no and braced herself for the pain.

Gabriel took care to try to make it hurt as little as he could as he sliced into her. When removing the blade he noticed that it was thin, slender and very flexible. He knew of only one group of people to wield this type of dagger. Kiara was lucky. The blade had damaged several organs but healing it up at the time was the best way for her to survive until she could get the help she needed.

"You did the right thing healing your wound. If it was still open on our way back here you would have died before I could get it out and get your wounds bandaged up. But the blade was starting to reopen the wounds. I am glad I noticed it when I did. You're lucky to be alive."

"I've never seen a blade like that before," noted Kiara. "I didn't even know it was in the wound." She said with a bit of surprise.

"It's made that way on purpose. It's a weapon made for assassins. The flexibility of the blade allows it to find cracks in men's armor and also made to break off to cause greatest amounts of damage. It is not easily fixed by magic. I don't know what you did to piss him off but he wanted you dead."

There was something here that Gabriel felt he was missing. Was this a chance encounter or was it planned. The Red Talon Assassins are the right hand of Thule. They were agents used to keep the

people scared to oppose the government. Was she a black widow or is there something more to her. As Gabriel began stitching up the wound, he stopped and looked into her eyes. They were as blue as

crystals. "Can you heal yourself again?"

"No I have exhausted my spells for today." Kiara said in a soft voice.

Gabriel began stitching up the wound. Kiara never made a sound until he finished. It was not until then that he seems to notice that a very beautiful woman naked from the waist up. He quickly cleared his throat and turned away. She noticed Gabriel's uneasiness and smiled.

"Here" Gabriel removed his light armor, then his shirt and handed it to Kiara. "I am sorry that this is all I have at the moment." Gabriel was purposely not looking at her as he began cleaning up the mess he made. He gathered up her shirt and threw it out with the dirty rags.

"Tomorrow I will have some of the girls take you out into town so you may acquire some clothing for yourself."

Kiara held out her hands and said "I have no money for anything. What I have is what you see now."

Kiara gestured towards her clothing. Kiara noticed that even though the shirt was big for her, it was well

made cotton and felt good next to her skin. The shirt had a mixture of smell that was leather and male

musk to it. She found it appealing.

"Do not worry about the cost, it will be on me. Since I take stock in your life I will provide until you can do

so on your own."

"Why? Kiara asked. To Gabriel it sounded like a mix of wonder with some vulnerability in her voice. "No one, not even a guy from Soltice would go so far to help a slave like this. So why are you helping me?"

Gabriel did not answer immediately. He felt that his answer for this question would be the most important thing he has ever said to someone. A flood of answers came to his mind but none of them seem to fit. Then he asked himself "Why am I doing this? Is it because of her?"

"Let's save that answer for another time. Right now I need to get you into bed....."

Kiara's face flushed again and a wicked grin erupted from her face.

Gabriel stumbles the next few words from his mouth "Your own bed and I need to go back on watch."

Kiara popped up from her seat and said "Well I'm yours," Purposely giving a double meaning to the words.

Gabriel guided her out of the medical bay and into the guild hall. Kiara walked a little behind him. She took a good look at his body. He was well muscled and solidly built. His back covered in scars that made at different points in his life. Some looked like he had acquired them in childhood. There were one set of scars that looked like claw marks...four, side by side and they looked to have been deep ones. Kiara also noticed that he relaxed and ungaurded. Here is this guy with a woman he has only known for an hour or so and he is leaving himself completely open. She had heard stories of the dragon slayer, even in Thule, but for such an experienced man to leave himself so open. It did not make sense to her. Kiara's

mind began counting down the possibilities. Being a slave for over 60 years had given her the ability to read owners. She could tell with one look, the ones who would use her as a play thing and the ones that would use her talents for their own goals. But Gabriel was unlike any other man she had met. He was doing the one thing no other man has ever done for her. He was taking care of her and not asking for anything in return. She grew uncertain. Her mind began thinking of less than honorable reason a man...any man would do such a thing and she could not get a read on him. It was as if he was a puzzle walking on two legs. Kiara was in such deep thoughts that she did not notice when Gabriel had stopped and bumped into him.

"Sorry, just thinking about today's events."

"No problem. I am sorry about the room. We don't have a permanent guild house here in Southern Watch so we are renting out this place. I know the room is a little small."

Kiara took a look at the room that Gabriel was holding the door to. It was large. There was a cotton bed unused and made to fit about three people. The rest of the room filled with modest furniture that

also looked unused. Kiara's past rooms, if she ever got a private room, were never this big. In fact, she thought if you put all her past private rooms together and put them in this room, she would still have enough space left over to host a few guests.

"It's...great." She says clearly, but Gabriel could not get a feel for what emotion he heard.

"Thank you Gabriel, for everything." Kiara kissed him on the cheek, dashed into her room and closed the door. She pressed herself to the back of the door as if holding out the world. Gabriel touched his cheek and lingered there. It was not his first kiss and he hoped it would not be the last from her. He shook himself out of that thought and headed to his room to get another shirt. It wouldn't look good to go back to watch with no shirt on. Kiara listened at the door for a bit. When she was sure he left, she locked it.

"What in the nine hells are you doing Kiara?" She asked herself out loud. "You don't know him. He could be just as bad as the last guy." Even as she said that she did not believe that for one second. She

undressed though when she got to the shirt that was Gabriel's, she kept it on. She climbed into the bed and quickly fell asleep feeling safe for the first time in a long time. Gabriel was up early the next morning. The guild hall was alive with activity as the Elite Knights were preparing for another day. When Gabriel entered into the hall, the guild came to attention and someone yelled "Officer on Deck" Gabriel took his position at the head of the group and looked out into the crowd. They were different races and wore different armor but they all wore the symbol of the knights with pride.

"Morning everyone, we are going to be begin preparing to head back to the capital soon. Preparations will need to made before the weekend. Reeb, you're in charge of that. Otherwise that is it for guild business. Jordania and Saeyna, please meet me afterwards, Dismissed."

The guild quickly cleared the room heading for breakfast. Two elven females stood in the room after it cleared. The first was of average height and sported long brown hair. She was wearing rhino hide armor and did not carry a weapon. The other sported a shorter hair style all black and layered. She had an axe

at her side and a crossbow strapped to her back. "Ladies I have a favor to ask of you."

They both look up at Gabriel again and noticed that he seemed a little uncomfortable. They have seen him fight monsters, or orcs and looked at home but at the moment he looked like a child about to admit he stole a cookie.

"Well spit it out Gabriel." Saeyna said trying to get the big guy to open up.

"I need you two to take out someone into town and get some cloths and supplies for her. She is new to the guild and I would take it as a personal favor if you took her out and showed her a nice time."

"Really?" asks Jordania "What do we need to buy?"

"Some cloths and any gear she can use." Gabriel waved a hand at a door and a tall brown scaled Dragonborn walked in with a small chest.

"Kodiak will carry the gold and Polar will carry anything you buy."

A second Dragonborn walked in, with white scales. Dragonborn are humanoids with dragon blood. Even the shortest of them stood over 7 feet in height.

"With all this gold and your two personal body guards, this is a lot of fuss for a new member. What is she to you?"

Gabriel shifted his feet as he thought about how to answer that. Saeyna was not sure, but was Gabriel blushing? Could the light completion tribesmen even do that?

"Let's say I have personal interests in her."

Jordania jumped in with "Sure I have no problem with helping you Gabriel. I will hop into my room and change then, I will take her out. I'm sure Saeyna has no problem with it either."

Saeyna shrugged and said "I will go change."

The two elves headed off to their rooms. When they were gone, Gabriel spoke to the two Dragonborn.

"Okay guys, I want you to take the girls out, carry their stuff and watch the new girl."

"Is she danger of some kind?" asks Polar.

"I think so," responds Gabriel. "The Red Talons involved and I am not taking a chances this close to the border. Protect her as if she was me."

Both Dragonborn nodded, gathered the chest up and headed towards the wagon waiting outside.

"Your personal guards, two guild members and a small chest of gold. Who is she too you?" asks a deep

voice.

Gabriel turned and looked at Reeb. He was tall for a gnome and had a good size goatee on his face. Gabriel stood there for a moment, unsure how to answer the gnome. Every time he opened his mouth to say something he closed it back up again.

"Looks like you're trying to figure that out for yourself Gabriel."

He could only nod his head yes and said "Let's go get some breakfast."

Kiara awoke with a knock at the door. She quickly opened the door hiding her lower body. Two female elves stood there.

"Hi, Gabriel wanted us to take you shopping" Said the cheerful voice of Jordania. Kiara looked at the dark

haired elf as if trying to remember how to speak.

"Ah...okay let me get dressed and then we can go." Kiara closed the door and then tried to figure out where she was.

"Was that Gabriel's shirt she wearing Jordania?"

"I think it is. He was wearing that yesterday. How do you think she got that shirt?"

The two women got a wicked little grin on their faces as the possibilities ran through their minds. Kiara came out a few minutes later. Gabriel's shirt tucked in. It was big on her with the height difference but it was not a bad fit.

"Hi, I'm Kiara."

"I'm Jordania" said the dark haired elf and then she pointed at the slightly shorter brown hair elf and said

"This is Saeyna."

Saeyna beamed a smile and spoke "Hi, I hope you slept well."

"Yeah, Gabriel saw me to bed and it's as soft as a cloud."

The three women walked through the halls and made their way outside. Once outside, Kiara stopped suddenly and stared at the two Dragonborn. Being from Thule, she had never seen one before.

Saeyna hooked her arms through Kiara's

"Don't mind them they are our escorts today." Saeyna pointed to the brown scaled Dragonborn and said

"This one is Kodiak and the other is Polar."

Kodiak and Polar nodded their heads and hopped into the back of the wagon. Kiara stared at them. They were wearing chain shirts and weapons.

"I guess Gabriel wants to keep you safe."

Kiara turned to Jordania and asked her "Why would you say that?"

"Well he is sending us out with his personal body guards."

The girls got onto the wagon and headed out with Saeyna taking the reins.

"If they are his body guards why are they with us and not with him?"

Polar spoke up "The safest place in the city for him is where he is at. Our guild will fight to the death for him as he would for them."

"Plus" Kodiak chimed in "We have seen him in battle. There is no one in the city that could take him out."

Kiara looked back at the two large bodies "If that's true, then why have bodyguards?"

"We are bodyguards only in name. It's more of an honor placed on Gabriel for freeing the Dragonborn from their slavery."

"He freed you from slavery?" asked Kiara.

Polar and Kodiak nodded. "We both were there at Dragonfell Pass that day when the dragon, Cloud, fell to Gabriel's blade."

"He told me about that. He said it was a group effort."

"That sounds like something he would say" Saeyna said.

"Well is it true?" asked Kiara.

"I was a part of the group sent in to kill the dragon general. I used a spell to keep him grounded and a 16 man group attacked the dragon. The dragon tore into our group. We weren't prepared for the fight. When the dragon activated its amulet to cancel magic, it got worse. Gabriel gave the order for us to back off and heal up. In truth if he hadn't done that a lot of people would have died that day."

"I too was there for that fight," Polar says. "I watched as he stood toe to toe with the dragon. As children we were raised to believe that the dragons were our gods and there he was. A single man standing up to a God. I don't know how long the fight lasted but the combat around them came to a complete standstill. Thousands were on the field of battle but they all stopped to watch this man fight a dragon. It got to a point where the dragon asked for the name of the man that he was fighting. Gabriel introduced himself and for a few moments they stood there. Man and Dragon showing respect for each other. They both nodded to each other and the dragon rushed forward at full speed. Gabriel brought up his shield and the dragon crushed it in his jaws and even broke the arm wielding the shield, but with his other hand, Gabriel timed his sword blow to land right as the dragon struck. The blade flared to life with power and impacted deep in the dragon's neck. Then the dragon collided with Gabriel and they both went down in one heap. Seconds went by but it felt like forever. The dragon's head twitched. At first I thought Cloud had won, but a half second later I saw Gabriel push the dragon's head off of him and he stood up. It was at that point that the sound of an army dropping their weapons and cheering. It wasn't the force from Soltice that was cheering. It was the Dragonborn. At that time that our leader Bhrams approached Gabriel and surrendered to him."

"Now remember that they surrendered to Gabriel and not the Soltice forces." Saeyna said.

"It took an hour for the leaders of the Soltice forces to get to that point in the field of battle. The Dragonborn army gave no resistance. I will never forget the faces of the general when they got there. They were like 'good job soldier' and then turns to Bhrams and said 'So you have surrendered to us and Bhrams said no. Their faces went all red as the Dragonborn pointed to Gabriel and said 'We surrender to him'!"

"The generals were livid. They tried giving order to Gabriel to force the Dragonborn to surrender to the Soltice forces and Gabriel said 'NO! Right now they are my responsibility. I will have them surrender under my terms and my terms only.' The generals puffed up and said they would arrest him for treason. Gabriel never flinched and said 'When things are settled you can do that but as of right now my concerns are for the Dragonborn. I know you generals and I know the Dwarven King. Until an agreement for

surrender is approved by me, the Dragonborn forces will not surrender.' General Grant called for the guards to arrest Gabriel and the Dragonborn stood in the way. If they wanted Gabriel they would have to fight for him."

"So what did the generals do?" asks Kiara.

"First, they went to our Guild master Paudither and demanded that he order Gabriel to surrender the Dragonborn army. Paudither just laughed and told them to make sure the agreement was fair or Gabriel wouldn't sign it. And Paud turned his backs to the generals and left."

Jordania spoke up next and said "I wasn't there for that but I heard that it took three days of talking before Gabriel was happy with the agreement. The Dragonborn became full citizen of the Dwarven Kingdom with full rights. The Soltice Generals quickly left the battlefield and hurried back to Soltice. They wanted to get there first so they could arrest Gabriel when he got back into Soltice territory. Our guild was the last to leave the Dwarven Kingdom."

"Yeah and the dwarves were happy to see Gabriel go. The Dwarven King had added another reason to hate Gabriel," Says Saeyna

"What was the first?" asks Kiara.

"Gabriel's father is a Dwarven political outcast. So the hate the Dwarven King has for the father transferred to the son. I asked Gabriel later why he did what he did and you know what he told me?"

Jordania shook her head no and Kiara was following every word.

"He said 'I was not about to surrender the Dragonborn from one form of slavery right into another.'"

Polar spoke next "Sounds like him. When Gabriel left the Dwarven kingdom, he made Bhrams the leader of the Dragonborn. Bhrams appointed me and Kodiak as his guardians and about 3 thousand of our people followed Gabriel back to Soltice. Right now in the plains on the west part of Soltice, there is a town full of Dragonborn named Dragonheart. Gabriel family lives not too far from it."

"What happened when Gabriel made it back to Soltice?" asks Kiara.

"The Queen had a parade and knighted him." Answers Jordania.

"He wasn't arrested?"

"No he wasn't," said Saeyna looking at Kiara. "That's right you're not from this Kingdom ran by a Queen. There was a time when Gabriel was the queen's bodyguard. He held that position for about 20 years."

"Wait," interrupts Kiara "How old is Gabriel? He looks no older than 23."

Jordania and Saeyna laughed out loud. "No" chuckles Saeyna "He is far older than that....I think he turns 89 this year, right Jordania?"

"Yeah his birthday party is in about two months."

Kiara's mouth dropped open. Kiara knew he was not human. He could see in the dark, a trait not in humans, but she had no idea that he was not that much younger than herself. "Are the Queen and Gabriel still close?"

"I would say so. They have lunch together every weekend when he is back in the capital. She asked him to marry her once," mentions Saeyna.

Jordania was the first to speak then "NO WAY!"

"Yup I heard about it when Gabriel was talking to Paudither. Gabriel turned her down."

"What?" Kiara was floored. "Did he say why?"

"Well not that I was listening to a private conversation and I am not one to gossip," smirks Saeyna.

Laughter erupted from the rear of the wagon.

"Hush you two. Any way, he said that he served as the Queen's bodyguard before she was Queen. He was there when she was born. He played with her and her dolls when she was a girl. He even said that her first kiss was with him."

Now Jordania leaned in as if the closer she was to Saeyna, it would speed up her talking.

"He said that he was such a large part of her life for so long he understood why she had a crush on him. But he felt in his heart that he was not meant for her."

The wagon went quiet. Kiara could not believe her ears. The guy that saved her life could have been a king. Kodiak looked at Polar and asked "Did you know that?"

"Yup, as I understand it, she still has the offer up on the table."

"That's Gabriel for you," Says Jordania. "For some reason Gabriel doesn't seem interested in all the attention he gets from women."

Kiara face furrowed up with thought "He isn't into men do you think?"

Saeyna and Jordania laughed while Kodiak and Polar snickered in the back.

"God no," says Saeyna. "He has had his share of women, just nothing serious."

"It's because of Jasmine." mentions Jordania. The wagon became quite quickly.

"Who is that?"

Saeyna was the first to speak. "Gabriel is an Aasimar; A human with angelic bloodline. His father Thranna adopted him at 20, so he grew up in a town called Silverlake. He matures differently than a

human does. But he grew up around humans so mentally he matured fast even though physically he matured slowly. When he was thirty, there was a girl that grew up in the same city as him. In it, there was a girl named Anlyn. If you get Gabriel drunk enough he will talk about her."

"But who is Jasmine?" Kiara asked impatiently

"I'm getting to that. Well, she was different like Gabriel but her bloodline was infernal. She was a tiefling.

The age like Aasimars so they grew up together. He had a big crush on her and she for him. But one day she told him they could never be together and she left town. Years later he saw her again. This time she was working as a hired assassin named Jasmine."

"Red Talon?"

"No. She was working for someone else. Gabriel never figured it out and he doesn't talk about it."

For the rest of their day, the conversations were on clothes, life, and what to eat for lunch. Kiara could only think of Gabriel. She wanted to know who he was and what made him the way he is.