Safe Haven

'How is it possible? He looks my age!' Rose wondered at the man—or was he a boy?— before her.

Silver looked at her and smiled. His mouth was thin and reddish pink, and against his hairless jaw it looked like a hunter's bow. His skin was dark tan, much darker than her own, although Rose guessed her face saw much more sun than his.

His hair was dark, nearly the color of a moonless midnight. It was short and obviously uncombed, but then why should he comb it if no one would see? His eyebrows were a close match to the hair above and they loomed thick along his brow. His nose was boyish, but was just big enough to render the term dignified appropriate to his overall appearance.

Rose took in these features briefly, but her eyes were instinctively drawn to his like a magnet. They were like no other eyes she had ever seen.

Instead of a hue of blue, brown, black, green or grey, the irises of the Guardian were strikingly silver. They glowed and swirled like a storm as streaks of lightning passed through them and were absorbed by his onyx pupils. To her, the secrets of time seemed contained within their boundaries. They were mesmerizing.

Her lips curved slightly. 'His image is beyond breathtaking! Do I say something? Or is that strange?'

Silver shifted uncomfortably in his seat under her inscrutable gaze. 'Why doesn't she say something?'

"Well?" he prompted her, unable to take the silence.

"Do all Guardians look like you?" Rose asked at last.

"My looks are one of a kind and frozen in time. Why do you ask?" Whatever his hopes had been, they were dashed by her next words.

"Your features are very distinct, and quite handsome. I've never seen anyone quite like you." Silver smiled weakly at her to acknowledge the compliment, but it never reached his eyes. Inside his heart was breaking.

'She doesn't know me. She's...she's forgotten.'

"Did I say something wrong?" The princess knit her brow. It was obvious that her companion was unhappy, and she could sense it was due to her response.

"No, you are perfect. Absolutely perfect." Silver responded candidly.

Surprised by his forwardness, Rose blushed again. She was not used to people saying exactly what was on their mind. It was frightening and wonderful all at the same time.

Embarrassed, the Guardian began an apology but stopped. 'It is what I feel, and I may never have another chance to tell her.' He sighed, shaking off his gloom. This was an opportunity too good to miss.

"Now that we are acquainted, Your Highness…"

"Please call me Rose."

'I can't. That is not your name.' Silver ignored her request. "Now that we are acquainted, please tell me more about your life in the castle. I promise not to use any of the information in my occupational pursuits, but just in case, you may want to leave out details that may be tempting to have." The Guardian winked at her, and she could already feel her cheeks flushing once more.

The epic hero wanted to hear about her life?! She would happily oblige.

'He is very forward! I'm going to have to stop being embarrassed. I'll turn into a tomato. Now, what exactly do I tell him?'

The princess saw no harm in his request. Who would he tell? She was naïve in the spread of news and rumors across the kingdom because the king had always shielded her. However, in this case Rose could trust the man before her, and somehow she knew it.

The Guardian propped up his feet on a nearby footstool and leaned back comfortably—as comfortably as one could in the straight-backed metal chair—and prepared to listen. Rose raised her eyebrows again, this time in amusement.

'Is this how the common people act? My etiquette tutor would not be pleased.' The princess sat up primly on the bed at the thought. Although she was enjoying the intruder's company, she could not match his relaxed manner.

"There's not much to tell," she stated. "It's not terribly exciting."

"I love the minutiae. I promise you cannot bore me. Tell me about the food or your friends. This commoner wants to know what it's like to be royal."

If she had only told him what she ate for every meal since she could first remember, he would have listened to every word. Behind his placid demeanor, Silver was dying to know every detail of his sister's life. 'Don't come on too strong. You'll scare her. Just relax and let her talk.' The Guardian motioned for her to continue.

"Well, the food here is delicious. The cooks seem to outdo themselves each and every meal. And Lady Cait—Caitlyn—is wonderful. She's the best mother hen and usually keeps me out of too much trouble…except for tonight, of course."

"I'm trouble, am I?" A smile touched the silver-eyed man as he spoke.

"More trouble than I realize, I'm sure." Silver conceded the point with a soft chuckle, and the princess proceeded. "The courtiers are boring, but they do occasionally try to include me on outings. I cannot go outside the castle without a sizable military escort. It's ridiculous really. If anyone but Rabert is in charge of the escort, I refuse to go."

'A bit headstrong, I see. I like it.'

Silver nodded as he listened, running his fingers idly along the edge of his cloak. "Rabert is a good man. You have impeccable judgment, princess."

Rose wrinkled her nose at his use of princess, but let the matter pass. He was trying to tease her, and she was far more interested in his assertion. "You know Rabert?" It was the second time he had mentioned the man by name.

"We've met once or twice, yes, a few years ago. He helped me out of a sticky situation with some bandits. I saved his life in return." Silver played the whole thing off as casually as he could, but really either of them would be dead without the other's intervention.

Rabert had closed in on the bandits as one was attempting to plunge a knife into Silver's chest, and the Guardian in turn had stopped the gang's leader just as she aimed a killing stroke at the captain. "Please forgive me, I have interrupted you. Tell me more."

Rose went on and described her daily life and her thoughts on life in a castle. Silver hung on her every word as she told him about her studies and how the king doted on her every chance he could.

'Never thought I'd be jealous of the king,' Silver thought wryly, 'but I'd shoulder the burden to rule a kingdom just to see this woman's smile.'

Their conversation eventually turned to the Guardian. He told her briefly of some of his more theatrical adventures. Listening like a child in front of a master storyteller, Rose found herself nearly falling from the bed as she leaned into his tales.

"…and I tied the gang up and left them outside the jail swaddled like babies with bonnets on their heads."

Rose looked confused. "Why would you do a thing like that?"

He looked down at her with an aloof expression, "Because they needed to know revenge is childish, and it hurts the one seeking it far more than their target." His face contorted into a catlike grin, "And because it was really funny."

Rose smothered a smile. "A gentleman would not resort to anything so crude," she chided in jest.

"Then is it a blessing I am not a gentleman," Silver responded with a grin.

"You have no desire to live a life of privilege?" Rose was intrigued. Surely everyone wanted luxury.

"If I did, I would have done so by now." Silver had come into considerable wealth as a gift from Baron Monte. If he had wanted, he could have bought himself fine things and married into a title.

Instead he chose to build up the town of Rynnlee, buy Ethyn an apprenticeship to be trained as a knight, and live frugally, yet comfortably, on the remainder. Ignorant of this, Rose nodded politely and said no more. She lifted her hand daintily to suppress a yawn.

"I have kept you up too late. Alas, I must be on my way." The Guardian approached the window and peeked covertly to the ground below. Satisfied that things had settled, he returned to bid the princess farewell.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Rose had no doubt the Guardian would know when and how to leave. This was merely a ploy to detain him.

"Safe or not, your lady-in-waiting approaches. Goodbye, Your Highness." In a move that would have put even a courtier to shame, Silver elegantly kissed the princess's hand and bowed.

"Goodbye, Guardian." Rose stood and curtsied, her face flush with excitement. Just then, there was a knock at the door outside the sitting room.

"Your Highness, could you please unbolt the door," Caitlyn could be heard through the doors separating them.

Rose turned her head and called out, "Coming!" When she looked back again, the stranger was gone, having vanished like a waking dream.

Blinking a few times, the princess cast her gaze about the room. 'He must have gone through the window.' There was no other explanation.

On the vanity where Silver's elbow had been resting lay a strange wad of cloth. Rose plucked it up quickly and unwrapped the objects inside. The first was a piece of paper, and the second took her breath away. It was the fairy necklace that Silver had been wearing around his neck. 'But why leave it here?' She wondered at the gift. On the paper a quick note was scrawled:

'For my safe Haven.

The Maker is truly Gracious.'