Disclaimer: I do not own the Green Rider series. It might be helpful to read the third book before you read this.

Karigan stared at King Zachary, and if he wasn't facing her, she would have probably continued staring for an eternity. She looked towards the window and questioned what he had just told her. It was over. It had disappeared so suddenly. Was it really gone? It couldn't be that easy. There were the lord governors, especially Coutre. And why had he chosen to tell her before it was officially announced? She already knew the answer to this question, and she didn't like it.

"H-how? I thought it was final!"

"There was a loophole. The marriage would go on only if I had Lady Estora's consent. And it was she who had come to me and told me that she didn't want to go through this. And I am not surprised after last month's events." a look of concern spread over his face. He walked from his desk to Karigan and his hand lightly touched her sleeve.

"Are you alright?"She nodded. He could see the pain in her eyes when he brought up the subject of last month's disaster in the castle. He still couldn't forget seeing her walk through the halls in the black of the Weapons. She looked so tired, yet so terrifying. She seemed stressed about something that he knew he couldn't help with. He still hadn't questioned her about her journey, believing that she needed a little time to relax. Maybe he should find out what has been troubling her since her return to the castle.

"Would you mind telling me what exactly happened from Mirwell onwards without leaving out the non-important parts?" he asked gently. She looked up, startled by his question. Her first thought was to say that her report was all of her story, but it was a horrible lie, and she couldn't lie to King Zachary. But she couldn't deny him either. Once again, his role was used against her and though she knew he didn't mean it to be that way, his authority over her lingered in the air.

Taking her seat, she took a breath and began to narrate the events leading up to her exit from the tombs.

Her story scared him more than her report did. When she mentioned the details that weren't included in the report, such as how she fought Estora's captors and what Immerez was going to do to her, he wanted to hold her close and never let go. Life was unfair to some more than others, he decided. He had become a King with all the pleasures of royalty, and he was used to his life. He had lived his whole life as royalty. Though there were those that favoured his brother on the throne, he had still maintained his rule. However, Karigan had been forced into the messenger service by a brooch filled with magic. She had been the one to face Mornhavon and push him into the future, as well as the one to rescue Estora and stop the intruders in the castle.

She also had another responsibility, something she could not remember. She had told him that it was something from the tombs, and that it was like a dream. It was important but it had faded from her mind. He felt sorry for her, and he knew the moment she told him about it that this was the burden he couldn't help her with. The only thing he could do was be there for her, but that was hard to do when she pushed him away. And he knew she would do that. He gazed at her with worried eyes as she concluded her tale and turned to look out of the window again. Though she seemed to be fine, he could see the slight bags under her eyes, and concluded that she was not getting enough sleep. The realization struck him that she was the figure in the garden he would see from his window at night. He could always make out the rider green, but the figure sat with their back to him.

"Karigan, I'm here for you if you need me." he murmured softly. She still looked out of the window, and then rose to her feet. King Zachary rose with her and walked with her to the door of the study.

"Thank you for telling me about your journey, Karigan." he spoke as he opened the door. With a bow, she left the study, leaving a worried King behind her.

A/N: I used to have two other stories for Green Rider, but i ended up deleting them. I look upon them as demo stories and I am hoping that this story will turn out better. For those of you who enjoyed those stories, I am sorry that i did not continue them . However, I plan on finishing this story and will update as often as I can. R&R plz! :D Thx!

GreenCondor1