The Guardian looked up: Queen Nichole stood in front of them. Her loyal dog Valjee remained by her side, observing the scene with curiosity.
- "Your Majesty"- said the guard bowing to her immediately- "I just caught this thief trying to break into the castle".
The Guardian remained silent while the guard looked at the Queen proudly, expecting to be congratulated on his action. Queen Nichole looked at the hooded woman and frowned.
- "Wait a second"- she said approaching her- "Aren't you…the Guardian? From the Wraithmarsh?"
The Guardian looked at the Queen and nodded shyly. The royal guard, who was still holding her, observed the scene in confusion.
- "Do you…know her, Your Majesty?"
- "We met some weeks ago in the Wraithmarsh"- the Queen looked at the guard- "Release her immediately, I owe this woman my life".
The royal guard untied the Guardian's hands and bowed to the Queen.
- "I'm very sorry, Your Majesty. I didn't know…"
- "Don't worry, James"- she replied with a smile- "You may leave".
As soon as the guard had left, Queen Nichole looked at the Guardian and smiled happily.
- "I'm very glad to see that you finally decided to leave from that dreadful place. But I don't understand…why did you try to break into the castle? Were you looking for me?"
The Guardian raised her head slowly and looked at the Queen from the darkness of her hood.
- "I need your help, Your Majesty. I need to consult the Royal Archives".
- "The Archives? Why do you need to consult them?"- asked the Queen raising her eyebrows.
- "I…I'm looking for someone and I don't know where he may be".
- "Oh, I see"- replied the Queen- "But you didn't have to sneak into the castle to see me; you could have just announced yourself at the entrance and I would have let you in".
The Guardian lowered her head, ashamed.
- "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I…"
- "Don't worry about that now"- the Queen interrupted her sweetly- "Come, let's go to the Archives".
Queen Nichole sent her dog to the gardens and led the Guardian across a long corridor to the Royal Archives. The Archives were located in a big room right under the castle, at the end of an endless spiral staircase. As soon as they arrived, the Queen opened the huge doors that stood at the entrance.
- "Please, come in".
The Guardian entered the immense room, looking at it in awe: it was filled with shelves that held countless books, all organized alphabetically. An old lady was sitting down behind a huge desk. When she saw the Queen, she got up and bowed to her politely.
- "Good day, Your Majesty. It is unusual to see you down here, how can I be of assistance?"
- "Good day, Mrs Grace"- the Queen turned to the Guardian- "My friend is looking for someone and she'd like to consult the Archives".
- "Of course, Your Majesty".
Mrs Grace looked at the hooded woman from above her glasses and frowned.
- "Who is this person you are looking for, miss?"
- "His name is Lucious…Lucious Willingham".
Mrs Grace left her desk and walked around the shelves until she reached one of them filled with thick books which had the letter W written on their spine. She took two of them and returned to the desk, opening the first one.
- "Let's see…Wellington…Widham…Wieder…Wigen…"
She closed the book and opened the other one.
- "Wilby…Wilkinson…Willand…Willingen…Oh, here it is, Willingham. Let's see now…Andrew Willingham…Benjamin Willingham…Ellen Willingham…Peter Willingham….That's strange, Lucious Willingham doesn't seem to be here".
The Guardian sighed in disappointment.
- "Can't you look for him somewhere else?"- the Queen asked Mrs Grace- "You must have some other book, we have a lot of books here".
Mrs Grace crossed her arms and sighed.
- "I suppose I could check the books organized by areas…"- she turned to the Guardian- "Do you have any idea where this man may be?"
The Guardian shook her head sadly.
- "I don't know…I'm sorry".
- "Then I'm afraid it will take me several hours to check them out, Your Majesty. There are a lot of towns and villages on Albion".
- "Or maybe we could help you"- replied the Queen- "Each one can check a different book".
- "Please, Your Majesty, you don't have to trouble yourself"- replied the Guardian immediately- "I will do it".
- "It is no trouble. I'm glad to help"- said the Queen smiling.
- "Alright, then let's start"- said Mrs Grace approaching some shelves and handing books to the two women.
Some hours later, they were checking the last remaining books.
- "Well, I'm afraid I didn't find anything in my books"- said the Queen placing the book she was holding on top of a pile of books- "Did you have any luck?"
- "Not me, Your Majesty"- said Mrs Grace placing a book called Mourningwood on her desk.
The Guardian closed the book she was holding and shook her head. The Royal Archives were surely the most complete archives on Albion, so if the man she was looking for didn't appear here, her hopes of finding him would disappear.
Queen Nichole looked at the Guardian's sad face and felt sorry for her.
- "Are you sure there's nothing else we can do? Nowhere else we can look?"- she asked Mrs Grace.
The old woman remained thoughtful for a moment.
- "Are you sure this man you are looking for is in Albion, miss?"- she asked the Guardian.
- "No, I'm not…"
- "Oh, by the Light! Do you actually know anything about this man?"- scoffed Mrs Grace.
- "I know his name is Lucious Willingham and I know that he is…or at least used to be, a pirate".
Both the Queen and Mrs Grace were surprised by this new piece of information.
- "I was the one who checked Bloodstone's book, but there was no one by that name"- said Queen Nichole- "The few remaining pirates of Albion live there".
Mrs Grace sighed deeply.
- "If he's a pirate, maybe he moved to other lands where piracy is still at its peak"- she said- "Or maybe he's even dead".
- "He is not dead"- said the Guardian firmly- "I know he is not".
- "Well, in any case I will check the death records and if he's not there, then I'll try with the recorded departures by ship from the main harbors. That's all I can do, I'm afraid".
- "Thank you, ma'am"- said the Guardian- "If we can help you…"
- "No, don't worry, I'll handle it myself"- replied Mrs Grace walking towards some shelves in the back of the room- "Come back in a couple of hours".
Queen Nichole and the Guardian left the Archives and the to the castle's gardens, where Valjee welcomed them waving his tail happily.
- "Come, let's rest for a bit"- said the Queen pointing at a bench.
It was already late afternoon and the sun was about to leave the sky for the day. The Guardian sat down on the bench and smelt the flowers around her. It had been a very long time since she last had enjoyed the sweet aroma of flowers, so long that she had almost forgotten what it felt like to be surrounded by nature. A gentle breeze entered through her hood and caressed her face as she closed her eyes.
- "I have just noticed that you saved my life and now we have spent so many hours together and I don't even know your name"- said the Queen, breaking the silence.
The Guardian opened her eyes and looked at the Queen.
- "My name was lost a long time ago, along with everything I ever had…Now I'm just the Guardian".
- "You are not in the Wraithmarsh anymore, you are no longer a guardian"- replied the Queen- "I even think that you shouldn't be wearing these robes anymore. You seem young, you should forget about your past life and start a new one".
The Guardian looked down.
- "I…can't change these robes. I…it wouldn't be fair for them"- she sadi sadly- "I must mourn the dead forever".
The Queen sighed and nodded.
- "If this is what you wish, I'll respect your decision"- she replied softly.
The two women remained silent for a moment. The Queen looked at her and wondered what she must have been through to look so sad and, deep inside, she wished there was something she could do to help her. Maybe if she managed to locate the man she was looking for…
- "It may be none of my business but…who is this man you are looking for? Is he a relative of yours?"- asked the Queen.
The Guardian remained silent for a few seconds before replying.
- "He's just…someone I used to know".
- "You seem to be quite interested in finding him, he must be someone close to you".
The Guardian sighed.
- "It doesn't matter anymore, if he cannot be found in your Archives, my hopes of finding him will vanish".
- "Don't worry, we'll find him, I promise"- said the Queen firmly- "If he is not in the Royal Archives we'll go to Brightwall Academy and we'll consult their archives. It is said that they are even more complete than the ones in the castle".
A glimpse of hope sprang inside the Guardian. Maybe she would be able to find him after all…
- "Thank you, Your Majesty".
The Queen smiled.
- "Let's go back to the Archives. Maybe Mrs Grace has found something".
The two women made their way back to the Royal Archives, where Mrs Grace waited for them.
- "Did you find something?"- asked the Queen, eager to know.
- "Well…I did check the death records, but he's not listed there".
Despite her conviction that he was alive, the Guardian was relieved to hear that he was not dead.
- "I also checked the ship departures from Albion of the last 20 years…but he doesn't appear anywhere"- went on Mrs Grace- "So I decided to check some other documents of people who don't have a steady residence…but I couldn't find him there either".
Queen Nichole and the Guardian couldn't hide their disappointment.
- "However, I did find a Lucious Willingham on one of the books…"
Both women raised their heads and looked at the old woman expectantly.
- "But I'm afraid it can't be the man she's looking for. The Lucious Willingham I found lived in Oakvale more than 200 years ago…"
The Guardian's eyes became wide open.
- "That's him"- she thought.
- "Oh, well…We'll try to find him in Brightwall Academy's archives"- said the Queen.
- "Is there…any way to know what happened to that man from Oakvale?"- asked the Guardian suddenly.
Queen Nichole looked at her and frowned.
- "Why would you be interested in a man who died so many years ago?"
- "I…believe he could be a relative of the man I'm looking for. Maybe following the trail of this other man…"
Mrs Grace frowned and went back to her desk, where a big dusty book lied. She opened it and went through its pages quickly.
- "Every survivor of Oakvale's catastrophe went to Bloodstone or up to the north and founded Oakfield, but I'm afraid this Willingham man isn't listed anywhere…So he either died or he simply vanished…"
- "He didn't die, I know he didn't. But, where is he?"- thought the Guardian.
The Guardian sighed sadly.
- "Don't worry. In a few days we'll go to Brightwall to continue our search"- said the Queen trying to cheer her up.
Queen Nichole and the Guardian left the Archives and went upstairs, back to the main floor of the castle.
- "Thank you very much for your help, Your Majesty"- said the Guardian- "You have been most kind".
- "I'm just sorry we couldn't find this man you seek yet"- replied the Queen with a hint of sadness.
- "Don't worry, Your Majesty"- said the Guardian approaching the main door- "Whenever you have the time to take me to that Academy you mentioned, look for me around the market of Bowerstone".
- "Wait!"- said the Queen- "Where are you going? Do you have any place to stay?"
- "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine"- replied the Guardian smiling sadly.
- "You can't just sleep on the street. Please, stay here in the castle, I have a lot of empty rooms".
- "I'm really grateful, Your Majesty, but I'm afraid I can't accept. I have already bothered you enough…"
- "You haven't bothered me at all! Besides, you saved my life, remember? I owe you".
The Guardian remained still by the door, deciding what to do.
- "I…"
- "Please"- the Queen interrupted her.
- "Alright, but only for a few days".
Queen Nichole smiled and asked two of her servants to prepare a room for her.
- "Please, my lady, come with us"- said of the servants politely.
They led her to a big and tidy room which had a wooden bed covered with white silk sheets on its middle, a couple of night tables, an empty desk, a wide wardrobe and an ornamented lamp hanging from the ceiling. The walls had a pleasant shade of blue and on them there were two big windows covered with yellow curtains.
The servants cleaned the room quickly and left the room.
- "If you require anything, just call us"- said one of them before closing the door behind her.
The Guardian looked around the room and approached the bed, sitting down on it. It had been a very long time, way too long, since she last had enjoyed the comfort of a bed. She felt the softness below her and, just out of exhaustion, she let her body fall on the mattress. She caressed the silk sheets and closed her eyes. Right there, in the comfort of this bed, feeling the soft touch of the silk on her hands, she remembered her past life, the life she had before her hometown was destroyed, the life she had when she was happy…
A knock on the door made her go back to reality. She got up immediately and went to open the door.
Queen Nichole stood in front of her.
- "Do you like your room?"- she asked.
- "Yes, it is perfect".
The Queen smiled.
- "I just wanted to tell you that dinner will be served in a few minutes, but if you are not hungry, you can eat later. There's always food in the kitchen"- said the Queen- "Also, tomorrow I will be busy. I have an important audience with my advisors, so I won't be able to be with you. If you get bored, you can go to one of the libraries, walk around the gardens or go down to Bowerstone".
The Guardian nodded.
- "Thank you, Your Majesty, I will".
Queen Nichole was ready to leave when she turned to the Guardian again.
- "Well, I don't know if you'll be interested but you can also come to the audience if you wish, people can attend them. It will take place in the throne room, just upstairs".
- "I'll think about it, Your Majesty".
- "Very well. Goodnight!"
- "Goodnight, Your Majesty".
The Guardian lied down on her bed and closed her eyes again and, thinking about her beloved Oakvale, she fell asleep.
It was quite early in the morning when the Guardian woke up. The sun had just started appearing from the horizon and its first rays were entering shyly through the big windows of her room.
The Guardian got up and went in front of the mirror that was hanging above a dresser. She looked at herself for a moment, seeing the outline of her face through the darkness of the hood. In the Wraithmarsh, she didn't have any mirror but she had never wondered what she would look like after all these years, after all this suffering…She felt tempted to remove her hood, to see what she looked like now…but she was so afraid of what she might see. The Guardian walked away from the mirror and left her room.
The castle was so busy: servants were going up and down, cleaning everything thoroughly and she wondered if there was some kind of special event that day.
The Guardian remained still, thinking what to do. She loved being outdoors, but the gardens were generally full of snobbish nobles and she didn't feel like standing their impolite remarks about her presence there, so she decided to go to one of the libraries, where she could surely enjoy of some peace.
Numerous servants walked around the castle quickly, and the Guardian kept crashing against them in her attempt to reach the library.
- "Excuse me, my lady, I really need to clean the staircase. The audience is about to start"- said one of them.
The audience…She had forgotten that the Queen had mentioned it the previous night and she decided to go there instead.
She tried to make her way towards the throne room, but her path was cut by several guards before she could reach the staircase.
- "Sorry, miss, you can't pass yet. The advisors are about to arrive".
The Guardian stepped back, trying to escape from the crowd that was gathering around the stairs, and went to the next room, which now was almost empty. Some minutes later, the servants went back to the chores and the Guardian finally managed to make her way towards the throne room.
- "Did you see him? He looked great today"- said a young servant to another.
- "He always looks great"- replied the other giggling- "I wish I could work as a maid in his manor…But at least we get to see him at the audiences".
The Guardian looked at the young servants while she passed by their side. Were they talking about one of the advisors?
Things had changed so much since her times in Oakvale and she was really curious to see what this audience would be like. The doors of the throne room were opened and she entered and placed herself among the people who attended it, who seemed to be quite poor. Sitting on the throne, Queen Nichole presided the event, assisted by an old bald man dressed in elegant clothes. In front of her, there were two persons, probably the advisors: a black woman with dreadlocks on her hair and a defiant expression on her face, and a tall man dressed in elegant white clothes and a top hat, whose face she couldn't see.
Soon, the Queen's assistant started talking.
- "Ladies and gentlemen, today we are gathered here to decide the fate of the homeless citizens of Bowerstone. Page will offer her proposal; Reaver shall stand against her".
- "You may speak"- said the Queen firmly.
Page stepped forward and bowed to the Queen.
- "Your Majesty, after the attack of the Crawler, a lot of houses were destroyed and now a lot of loyal citizens of Bowerstone find themselves homeless, with no other option but to live in overcrowded shelters or forced to live in the streets. The shelters cannot accept any more people and every day, more and more people are getting sick due to the poor conditions they are living in. These citizens deserve a better life, the lives they had before the Crawler destroyed everything they had. Please, Your Majesty, rebuild their houses, give them a chance to start over, to have a decent life. They have already suffered enough".
The Guardian looked at the people around her: they hugged each other sadly, looking at the Queen with begging eyes.
- "They are probably the ones who lost their homes"- she thought, looking at them with pity.
Reaver stepped forward and bowed his head to the Queen politely.
- "Your Majesty, the attack of the Crawler was indeed devastating for all of us and I for one cannot agree more that what happened to these pitiful people is an utter tragedy. However, it was not you who destroyed their lovely abodes, but that horrible creature, so there is no reason for you to be responsible for their misery. Houses get destroyed for various reasons all the time, are we going to be rebuilding every single one that gets damaged in Albion? If that was the case, I'm afraid your coffers would always be empty and our blossoming kingdom would ultimately collapse. I suggest you let them live in the shelters which I kindly helped to build until they can afford their own home and keep the gold for more important endevours".
Reaver…where had she heard that name before?
- "The merchant who took me here told me about Reaver Industries"- she thought.
- "What? So we just let them die in the street? There's no room for everyone in the shelters!"- replied Page quite angrily looking at Reaver with hate.
- "Well, if they want their houses back they should pay for them, just like everybody else. It is only fair".
That voice…why did it sound so familiar? The Guardian looked at the man but, from the place she was standing, she could only see his back and barely the side of his face.
Page turned to the Queen.
- "Your Majesty, these people have lost their jobs. Most of them had stores in the city but they were badly damaged and now they can't afford to repair them. If at least we give them their homes, it would be a start to rebuild their lives".
- "If they want their homes back so badly, I could actually rebuild them…for an insignificant price".
That voice…The Guardian started feeling restless for some reason.
- "Price? Do you want to take the little gold they have left in exchange of their own homes?"- said Page angrily.
- "Of course not, my dear! I'm merely suggesting that they work their debt in my factories. You should thank me for my generosity, not only am I offering to give them their houses back, but I'm giving them purpose in this society".
A woman in the crowd started crying loudly. The Guardian looked at her and felt really sorry for her. Who was this despicable man? And most importantly, why did his voice sound so familiar?
- "You can't do this to us!"- shouted the woman's husband.
Reaver turned around and looked at the couple with disdain.
- "Oh, please, what ungrateful people!"- he scoffed.
As soon as the Guardian saw his face, she got pale. A big pressure on her chest made it difficult for her to breathe, and she placed her hand on her heart, trying to control the anxiety that was growing inside her.
It couldn't be…He couldn't be…
The Guardian stepped back, crashing against the people behind her.
- "You are a monster!"- shouted Page- "Your Majesty, please, you can't allow him to enslave your people"
- "Enslave? That's a horrible thing to say. I prefer to call it voluntary work".
- "Enough!"- said Queen Nichole firmly- "I'm sorry, Reaver, but I can't approve of your solution. The people of Bowerstone have suffered enough. The houses will be rebuilt, just as Page suggested".
- "The Queen has spoken. The destroyed houses will be rebuilt…on the Crown's expense".
Everyone cheered happily. The Guardian still held her chest, breathing heavily. She wanted to get out of there, she needed to leave this room…
- "Thank you, Your Majesty"- said Page, bowing to her- "Your citizens will be pleased to hear of your decision".
- "Oh, well, I suppose I couldn't expect a whimsical monarch like yourself to see a good business opportunity…"
The Guardian pushed the people on her way and left the throne room immediately, running directly to her bedroom.
Reaver, that horrible man who seemed to be the Queen's advisor…he was the man she was looking for, the man who had taken away from her everything she had, the man who had shattered her dreams and her future.
It had been many years since she last had seen him, but she still remembered him vividly…and the man she used to know would have never acted in such a selfish and evil way like he had done in the audience. Even his appearance looked different: he looked paler, almost exhausted, like something was consuming him.
She really wanted to confront him, she really wanted to ask him why he did that terrible thing back in Oakvale…He had been so close to her earlier, but she hadn't had the courage to approach him.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. The Guardian stepped backwards and hit her back against the wall, looking at the door with wide open eyes.
- "Are you there? Are you alright?"
As soon as she heard the Queen's voice, she ran towards the door and opened it.
- "Yes, Your Majesty. I'm fine".
- "I saw you running so fast from the throne room. Are you sure you are alright?"
- "Yes…it's nothing"- replied the Guardian, trying to sound firm.
- "Very well. I'll be in the War Room, if you need me".
Queen Nichole turned around, ready to leave.
- "Your Majesty!"- shouted the Guardian, prompting the Queen to come back to her- "There's something I'd like to ask".
- "Of course. What is it?"
The Guardian remained silent for a moment.
- "That man…your advisor. Who is he?"
The Queen raised her eyebrows.
- "Reaver? He's the owner of all the industry of Albion. Why do you ask?"
The owner of all the industry? This piece of information surprised the Guardian.
- "And…has he been here for long?"
- "Well, he became an industrialist some years ago, when my brother handed control of all the industry to him, and since them he's been living around here".
- "Do you know where he lives?"- asked the Guardian shyly.
Queen Nichole frowned.
- "He lives in Millfields, in the biggest manor that overlooks Bowerstone Lake…But why so much interest? He's a dangerous man, I don't recommend you to approach him".
The Guardian frowned.
- "Dangerous? What do you mean?"
- "Well, let's say that he's not the forgiving kind…and you have a big chance to end up dead if you get on his wrong side, so it's better to keep your distance from him".
These words hurt the Guardian so much to hear…what kind of monster had he become?
- "Thank you, Your Majesty"- she said, going back to her room.
She was really afraid to go and see what Lucious Willingham, the man she had been looking for, had transformed into, but she needed to know…
- "I will go"- she thought- "Even if it kills me to see him, I will go".