Within Every Step Book One The Descendant of Croozar

Chapter Three A Quest For The Guardians

The king was in a room glancing out a window; June strolled up to join him, "are you waiting for Arber to bring back the last Guardian?"

The beautiful women grabbed onto the man's arm and leaned her head on his shoulder, "Arber will be back soon."

"I know," the king agreed, distant.

"There is something else on your mind then?" June questioned.

"I can't get anything passed you, huh?" he closed his eyes and chuckled to himself.

"You can try but remember your talking to a skilled warrior, I'm on the royal council for a reason!" she teased him with a smile.

She lifted her head to get a better view of his expression and saw that his eyes where set on the sights beyond the window with a hurt look. She sighed knowing the true cause of his emotion, "it's because he's roaming. Isn't it?" June concluded

"I don't know what you mean," the king said, not looking at her.

Her gaze soften, she turned his head to look at her, "You haven't seen the boy in so long, you forgot how much he reminds you of her."

"How can it be? I don't understand why looking at him has such an effect of me," the king started. "Why does he make me feel hurt and sorrowful, when he looks like his father? Shouldn't that make me hate him?"

June leaned her head back on the man's shoulder, comforting him, "He has her eyes."

"And just that little feature has this much power over me?" The king asked leaning his head on Junes.

"I wouldn't call eyes being a 'little feature.' you know, they are the gateway to the soul," June explained.

The king scoffed, "What are you, an eye reading expert?"

"professional," June nodded, causing the king to grow a light smirk.

"Then what do my eyes tell you?"

Lifting their head up they look at each other and put their heads together so that their eyes where only a couple inches away, "I can't make out the writing, your heads up in the clouds."

"Really now?" they both closed their eyes and after a pause the king's demeanor went back to sorrow. "Does it bother you when I talk about her?"

"I know how much you loved her and how much you miss her. I'm not jealous or anything if that's what you're thinking," June said.

"I just don't want you to feel like I don't care about you because I—"

June hushed him up and gave him a peck on the lips, then backed away, he opened his eyes and saw her looking at him with a smile, "You might want to start heading down to greet the last Guardian."

Watching her walk away, the king looked out the window and saw from a distance General Arber and his group walking through the town.

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Looking at the huge castle ahead, Jackson didn't even realize the people watching her with interest as the general, her parents, and the rest of the knights that accompanied him rode on horseback through the village. The village they were in was in front of the castle since it was a farming town; it was to assume this is where all the castles supplies were created. Approaching the castle's gate, two knights from atop the castle wall called out, "General Arber is back! Raise the gates! Raise the gates!"

The young girl watched as the gate lifted from the ground, the general and the group went through the entry and entered with in the castle wall in what seemed to be a courtyard. Coming to a stop the general got down from his horse and offered a hand to help Jackson, "here let me—," however before he went through with the movement, the young farm girl jumped down with no trouble at all. The large castle doors opened and out came the king, with a welcoming smile on his face, "You found the last Guardian!"