Gilded Cage

Rose paused momentarily in her escape from her lady-in-waiting as she scooped up the necklace and the note from the stranger. She slipped the delicate chain around her neck and tucked the note into a fold in her gown. As the silver touched her skin, a shiver went through her body. The metal was warm, and she felt a soft hum through her neck from its weight that invigorated her.

"To the library we go!" she said to the little pixie, feeling like an imp herself. The tiny fairy, of course did not respond.

Flinging the door wide, Rose hurried from her suite. However, she did not get far. Because she was looking down and not watching where she was going, the princess ran directly into Rabert's chest. The Captain had been preparing to knock on the door when it had been suddenly opened and a slim young lady had come barreling into him.

The princess bounced off the soldier and fell unceremoniously on her bottom. Rabert reached forward and helped her up before putting some distance between them.

"Excuse me, your highness. I did not know you would be exiting just then," the Captain bowed deeply.

"Don't take fault, Captain. It was an accident." Rose covertly rubbed her sore rear end. She was sure that it would leave a bruise. "Did you need something?"

The captain's eyes widened as remembered his errand. "We have come to escort you to the King. When one of the soldiers heard you talking within, he notified me so that I could come and bring you personally."

King Rhodri had been anxious to see the girl, but he was generous enough to wait until she was awake. As soon as news had come that someone was stirring within, the order to bring her could not have left his lips quickly enough.

"Oh, yes, of course I want to see Father!" Rose had meant to head straight to the king as soon as she had spoken to Caitlyn, but the Guardian's note had distracted her from that goal. She was glad that the Captain had come to remind her.

Rabert glanced back into the room. "Lady Caitlyn?" he asked with his brow furrowed.

"Cait is not feeling well. She needs the apothecary to bring her something for her stomach." Rose motioned to a guard and gave him instructions to fetch a healer for her friend. "Alright, I am ready when you are, Captain."

Rabert cleared his throat and Rose realized his concern. Although the princess was fully dressed, she had been unable to cinch herself into her gown. She had forgotten all about the laces when she had gotten ready to leave. It gave her a...questionable appearance.

A servant was called to help the young woman. Not wanting to draw attention to her new jewelry, Rose made sure to tuck the delicate fairy beneath the neckline of her gown. The pendant sat comfortably against her skin, hidden from view.

When she was ready, Rabert, along with two other guards from the night before, walked with Rose to her father's chambers. They saluted her and stopped at the door.

"You are not coming in?" Rose asked the captain.

"As Borit is in there, my presence in not required. I will be out here." Rabert said without further explanation. Rose nodded slightly and continued into her father's suite.

King Rhodri awaited his lovely daughter in his sitting room, seated on a long low couch. His thick short hair, once a ruddy brown, was now fully grey and distinguished. His eyes were a green-almost-gray that sometimes seemed to match the top of his head. His countenance was regal, and his strong shoulders hinted to the warrior he had once been.

Rhodri was the eldest son of the former king, and had been crowned ruler twenty years prior: just shy of his thirtieth birthday.

In his hand, Rhodri held a map of the castle and was discussing strategies with the commander of the guard. Borit, recently released from the infirmary, was sitting near him in a high back chair fingering a cane that was resting on his good leg. Despite the healers' warnings and advice, the Commander had not gone to bed. He was determined to find the intruder who wounded him.

As Rose entered, Rhodri released the map to his companion. He stood quickly and rushed to his daughter, wrapping her in a burly bear hug. The Princess placed her arms around him as well, happy to see he was not angry.

"I am so sorry for not finding you sooner, my daughter. Captain Rabert assured me of your safety, and it has been quite busy trying to catch our surprise visitor."

Rose was surprised by his apology. 'I am the one who did not come when I was summoned.' "The fault lays with me, Father. I am sorry for not coming last night."

"Pish Posh," King Rhodri smiled warmly. "You were probably safer in your room than here with this stuffy old king. Borit believes I was the target." As Rose was his one soft spot, the King always forgave his daughter without a second thought. It was perhaps this generosity that caused Rose to often only think of her effect on others after the fact.

Rose hugged her father again tightly. The thought of losing the man she loved dearly made her heart clench. "I'm glad then that the intruder did not succeed. Did they catch him?" The question was directed at Borit.

Borit sat up in his chair—he had struggled to stand when she entered and was quickly directed to sit—and looked wearily at the princess. "No, Your Highness, Silver remains at large."

Rose's body stiffened at the mention of the Guardian's name, but she quickly recovered. Borit noticed the change. He wondered what she might know about the mysterious figure, but kept the question to himself.

The King chuckled. "Silver this and Silver that. Every ghost that bumps in the night is the Mighty Silver. Your greatest flaw is that rogue, though heaven knows why." The king liked to prod Borit occasionally. Silver was his sticking point.

"Your Majesty, I saw the intruder last night." Borit argued. "In fact, my assistant is just outside. Ingrid met him face to face. She will swear by the fact that.."

"Has your assistant seen Silver before?" Rhodri asked incredulously.

Borit fumbled for words. Admitting that Ingrid knew Silver would cause more questions, but denying it would not be helpful either. "She knows what he looks like," the commander answered at last.

"Any fool with a black cloak and a mysterious aura can pass himself off as the Mighty Silver," Rhodri scoffed. More than once a fiend had pretended to be the Guardian only to be discovered false. Some of them had even been sent by Borit himself for the purpose of goading the king into action. "The people fawn over tales of the Mighty Silver, and it seems like he does more good than harm. I will not arrest a man because of your jealousy."

"But Sire, if you will just listen to her, I am sure you will see that.."

Rhodri help up his hand. "Have you seen the report that came in from the border only an hour ago?" The king seated himself once again comfortably and motioned for Rose to be seated next to him on the couch. He pulled a piece of paper from the side table at the end of the cushioned sofa . "I knew this subject would come up eventually, so I kept the page out for you." A servant passed the sheet from the king to the commander. "Silver was seen riding along the border just yesterday morning. It would have been impossible for him to be there and here, wouldn't you say?"

Borit scowled. It was hard to argue with his own men. Instead he deflected, "Your Majesty is very thorough to read the noonday reports with so much going on."

"Oh, I didn't read them. Rabert gave me a summary. He knew you would be interested in this particular section." The king smiled amicably, completely missing the murderous glint in Borit's eyes.

"I must remember to thank him…" the commander said through gritted teeth.

There's no love between Borit and Captain Rabert, Rose noted. They tended to disagree on almost everything, and this most recent sally certainly gave the captain the advantage. Borit fumed quietly, devising a thousand ways to put Rabert in his place. If not for the king's fondness of the captain, Borit would have finished him off long before. But the king saw value in loyal men, and Rabert was as loyal as they came.

"Please do," the king warned. "And Borit, please convalesce as long as you need. I need my commander in fit shape when you return to duty."

"I'm fit now." Borit responded. "Just a little stiff in the leg." The commander gingerly touched his bandaged limb and winced.

"As you say, Commander; at least take the day. I enjoy your company, but you may head to the barracks whenever you need." It was a dismissal but not a mandatory one, so Borit stayed in his seat. "You are too kind, Your Majesty."

The commander's eyes shifted to the woman. Something about his gaze concerned Rose deeply, like he was trying to discern the secrets she held. Realizing his thoughts had been discovered, he resumed reading the report from the border to find an inconsistency.

Rhodri allowed Borit to wallow in his anger. The king turned to his daughter. "Now, onto other things, my love. We have much to discuss!"

Pulling her thoughts away from Borit, Rose wondered what her father meant. Perhaps he merely wanted to catch up on the events of the night before. Or maybe he wanted to finally plan the outing that he had promised her months ago. But one look at Rhodri's face told Rose that they were about to have a very serious talk.

The princess steeled herself for an argument. She could already feel the gilded cage around her tightening.