Secondly, Thanks to Sea Cucumber for my first Review! Yes we'll see the lady very soon! I take it you're as crazy about a certain scout as much as I am.
Okay, this next chapter has a slight reference to a theme used in the Phantom of the Opera. The Angel part was borrowed as just a fairy tale for a little girl. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2
The Keeper of a King's Heart
"Artorius!"
Arthur looked up from his spot on the ground near his father's grave to see his mother waving up at him from below. She had a basket of wash in her hand and was headed down to the stream with the other Ladies of the Wall. Arthur beamed down at his mother.
"Yes mother?"
"Elaine's gone missing, have you seen her? Is she with you?"
Arthur's young heart froze when his mother's words hit his ears. Where was Elaine? The group that his mother, himself, and the precocious little sprite of a girl had come from the fortress with had come down to the very edge of the forest. Arthur began to panic. There were Woads in the woods, and the blue demons surely would pray on the innocent soul of the little girl.
It was then that Arthur saw a flash of pink in the corner of his eye, and heard the faint sound of a stifled giggle. He gave a sideways glance towards the great tree that stood proudly to his right , just barely catching a glimpse of the train of a pink dress dash behind the trunk. He looked down upon his mother once more, who reassured him with a tiny wink and a smile. This was another one of Elaine's mischievous games.
"I have not seen, nor heard of Elaine all morning mother," Arthur said as he stood and strolled towards the tree. It seemed that tree in return gave forth another muffled giggle.
"Perhaps she has finally join the fairies of the forest. Those tiny creatures she desperately searches for everyda..."
Arthur quickly reached out from behind the tree and grabbed the young girl's arm. She let out a happy squeal as the young boy pulled her into his arms, mercilessly tickling her tiny form.
"No, Arthur!" the little girl yelped between fits of giggles. "Not...f-f-fair!"
"Nothing is fair in war, milady!"
Arthur and Elaine toppled onto the lush, green grass, rolling around in a gentle wrestle. Soon, Arthur got the better of the child, gently pinning her down near the burial mound of his father.
"Do you surrender, or shall you face the worst of my wrath?" Arthur questioned the girl below him, with a mock evil tone.
The girl mirrored the boy's expression, defiantly glaring up at the curly haired youth. "Never!"
"So be it!"
And with such force, the young boy started planting sweet, but frantic kisses atop her tiny brow. The girl giggled uncontrollably, flaying about in his arms, her raven black locks creating an aura around her oval face.
"Please Arthur. I...I can't breathe."
The boy let out a soft chuckle as he released her from his grasp. He sat back on his hind legs and smiled down upon his sister. She had only seen six summers, and yet she possessed more spirit than any being he had ever encountered in his eleven. Sometimes, he wondered how they were even siblings at all. He was so often reserved and thoughtful, while she ran about with such curiosity and sweetness, that she easily enchanted anyone the moment they first laid eyes on her. Arthur found it difficult to trust new people, and yet Elaine gave her trust so freely. This, he feared, would someday lead her to trouble. That is why he kept such a close eye on her. No harm would ever come to her, or his mother. He had made that vow to his dying father, many years past, and he intended on keeping that vow forever.
"Arthur?" Elaine said to her older brother, with a laugh in her voice. "Arthur, you're daydreaming agaiiinnnnn!"
He didn't have even a second to turn back to his sister before she pounced like a kitten on top of his back. She often caught him off guard this way, when he was lost in a world of thought.
"The tables have turned, my lord!"
Elaine deftly pushed her much stronger brother to the ground once more, and with surprising agility, leapt over his fallen form, racing the short distance towards her father's grave. This was her sanctuary. Once there, she threw herself upon the mound, and carefully clutched the hilt of Excalibur, her father's war sword, that lay implanted as a head stone.
"Father will protect me from your wrath, Arthur!"
At her words, a small frown formed on his soft, adolescent face. A sigh escaped from him, as he lifted himself off the ground, and made his way over to his sister, and his father. Once he was standing above her, Elaine noticed Arthur's fallen countenance, and immediately released Excalibur from her grasp. She knew that when she spoke to her father in that way around her brother, a great sadness filed his heart. And for this, she silently chided herself for such foolish behavior. She would never hurt her brother. She would die first.
"Oh, Arthur, forgive me."
Arthur stared down at her with a sad face for a small time, before a smile, that didn't quite meet his eyes, emerged.
"There is nothing to forgive, Elaine." Arthur sighed once more as he sat with her down below the mound. He soothingly took her hands in his. Elaine stared up at her brother with gentle eyes, as he stroked her hands, staring down at them as though they precious jewels. And to him, they were. He loved her with all his soul. Elaine was a gift from God. And Elaine had just as much love for Arthur, if not more. She adored every feature about him, because to her, he was just like the father who now laid there before them. He was brave, and kind, and was the most loving older brother in the world. Or was at least in the deep brown eyes of the little girl. Arthur was truly, a gift from God.
"Arthur, tell me again."
"You've heard it so many times before, Elaine."
"I know that. I want to hear it once again. Please?"
Arthur relented. No matter how many times he told hear the stories about their father, she would always ask again to hear them all over. Arthur assumed it was the child's way of remembering her lost father; she had only been two years old when he fell in battle. Her memory of him was fading as each new year came, and it ultimately became the duty of Arthur and their mother to remind Elaine daily with stories of his deeds, and descriptions of his face. Yet, Arthur secretly enjoyed his bittersweet charge. It too, freshened his memory with the image of his father.
"Which one shall you hear?"
"Tell me about that time, before he fell. You remember, do you not? When we were all home, together, and he took me onto his lap by the fire, and told me of the Angels of God..."
Arthur chuckled, "Would you like me to tell the story, or would you rather tell it yourself?"
Elaine's eyes grew big, and she clasped her hand to her small mouth. Arthur laughed once more at her actions.
"You are right, we were all together, in our chambers at the Wall. It was one of the last times we were all there, as a family. Mother was folding the bedclothes in the nursery, and I was laying near the fireplace, trying to read the scrolls Pelagius gave me."
"And you couldn't," Elaine interrupted with a giggle.
"Yes, I couldn't read full Latin yet."
"I can!"
"Silence, little sprite."
Once again, Elaine covered her mouth, fearing that her brother would stop the story altogether.
"Father was sitting in the large chair by the fire, and I was at his feet reading, or attempting to read, the scrolls of Pelagius. Just then, you came crawling into the room, laughing with all your might, as you tried to escape mother's grasp. You were still wet from your bath, so you slipped away from her arms quite easily. And when he saw you crawling on your tiny belly, dirtying your fresh nightgown, father let out the merriest laugh I'd ever heard come from him. You were giggling hard when he bent down and scooped you up into his lap. Once you had settled, he began to stroke your damp curls. That was the night he told you of your Angel. He said that if he were ever to leave us, and enter into Heaven, he would send forth an Angel to protect you always. But this was no ordinary Angel of God. It was a secret, strange Angel who was concealed in darkness, and that only you may ever hear his voice. This Angel would appear in your dreams at night, and be by your side in light. He would be your guide and guardian for all time."
Once he had finished the tale, Arthur looked off into the distance. He hadn't realized that the sun had already set, and that he still remained here near his father's grave with Elaine in his arms.
"Arthur?"
"Yes, Elaine?"
"When will I find him?"
Arthur stared down upon the girl with a confused look. "Find who?"
"The shadowy Angel."
He smiled, and once again, stared off in the distance down towards the village outside of the Wall. It was were his family now lived. But something was not right. His heart leapt as he saw the scene that now played before them. The village was on fire, Woads surrounding everything.
"Arthur, it's the Woads!"
Arthur quickly rose, grasping Elaine's hand in his. Tears silently began to stream down the terrified child's face.
"Mother."