Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. If you have not read Ginnungagap, there is a major spoiler (and some smaller ones too) in this chapter.
I stood deep in the forest, surrounded by the fading light as blood dripped from the corners of my mouth. Dammit. Images danced through my mind - the young Queen in a state of undress, the sun illuminating each inch of her body, every curve wrapped snuggly in her training garb - the sight of the blood against her pale skin. Growling, I turned and sniffed the air in search of another unlucky animal who would be my meal.
Blood sloshed inside me - I knew I had drank beyond my fill, and yet with each thought of the human woman in the palace, I felt my hunger roar to life and looked for something - anything - to distract me and dampen the hunger that seemed to claw itself up from the inside.
Dammit. Little Queen, you will be the death of me.
As I worked to banish the sinfully tempting thoughts, I felt my mind clear - felt more in control. With a sigh, I turned back towards the palace. I knew I needed to keep myself occupied if I hoped to place any distance between the young Queen and myself. Determined, I decided to visit the guards' longhouse - while I did not expect to gain any useful information, I could attempt to identify those involved in the beating and violation of the girl.
Trees blurred by as I circled around the palace and entered the far end of the longhouse. Silently, I moved through the halls as I listened in on the few thoughts and conversations within the rooms. There were not many men around, most were on guard duty, and others sleeping soundly in preparation for their night shift. The few that were there and awake, thought of their families, money, and ale. No thoughts really captured my attention and frustrated, I decided to return at night, when the men responsible might return and notice the absence of the girl.
In the meantime, I decided to use my position as the Queen's house karl to speak with guards throughout the castle under the guise of assembling a Queen's guard. Returning to the castle, I kept to a human speed and listened to the thoughts around me - the men at the stables were focused on their work grooming the horses or oiling the saddles, one young man was paying particular attention to Yåkov's saddle as he did not want to anger the King and receive another beating. Anger welled inside me as I thought of anyone being beaten for something as simple as a saddle. The King appeared to be a bastard through and through, I could not fathom how he had been matched with the Queen. And yet …. I recalled the old woman's thoughts from the day before - she had thought of what a poor match the King and Queen were, had wondered what the Queen's father had seen in Yåkov. I found myself agreeing, but quickly pushed the thought from my mind. It seemed every thought came back to the young Queen. I needed to focus.
Rounding the corner, I stepped through the main doors of the palace. The doors to the Great Hall were closed and I wondered if Yåkov was inside. Yet, when I listened for what lay beyond I was met with silence. Curious. If the room was empty, why were the doors closed? To the side of each door stood a guard. I walked towards them and inclined my head in a silent acknowledgment as I approached. "Hello. I am Her Highness' new house karl. Is His Highness inside?"
The first guard looked at me and shook his head, "No. He was here earlier though. Is Her Highness looking for him?" The first man doubted that the Queen would be searching for her husband. It had been noticed that she had avoided the new King since their marriage, and from the man's thoughts, neither of the guards had blamed her. Yåkov had been known to fly into rages for small and petty reasons and had servants and guards alike beaten for perceived slights against him. Both guards appeared relieved that the King was not in the hall and hoped they would not see him again before their duty finished for the day.
"No, she is not. I am new to Dagez and had a few questions for His Majesty's house karl Aaron. I had assumed that Aaron would be here with the King," I briefly explained. Inclining my head so as to include both men I continued, "Perhaps either of you could be of assistance."
The second man blinked owlishly, apparently Aaron ignored most of the guards - except to order them about. Recalling the rudeness his interaction with the Queen's ladies the night before, this seemed to fit his character. Both men seemed surprised that I spoke with them as equals and not as something I had stepped in.
When both men nodded I continued. "How long have each of you served within the castle?"
The first man shifted uncomfortably before clearing his throat and asking, "Why do you ask sir?"
To put the man at ease, I smiled at him - careful to hide my teeth and answered his question, "I noticed that Her Majesty is without a Queen's guard - this is quite curious, very odd. I was hoping to understand the reasoning and of course, rectify that by assigning guards to her chambers."
Again, both men appeared uncomfortable. Searching through their thoughts I discovered that they too had been raised within the palace. They had been groomed to be guards serving the King and Queen, as children had played with the little Princess and as they grew older had ….. Wait, surely that was not correct. They had trained together?
Though the guards only thought of it briefly, it was clear that they had indeed trained with the young Queen. And they were not alone - seven young girls trained with the Queen and several more young boys as well. Were the young men all sons of women who had served the Queen's mother? Were there members of the guards who were not only aware of this apparent secret but also had been groomed to serve? The idea was intriguing.
Their memories solidified my earlier impression that her ladies were in fact trained in combat, yet I still worried for her safety. To keep the secret, should they not still have a Queen's guard - if for no other reason than appearances?
"Her Majesty values her privacy," stated the second guard.
As excuses went - it was a pretty thin one, however to his credit, he was attempting to keep the secret he had been entrusted with.
I nodded, "I have observed this as well. However, she is the Queen, should she not have her own guard? Is there not a King's guard?"
It was the first guard who spoke this time, although his thoughts shared something more interesting than the words he spoke, "Yes, there is a King's guard." What was left unsaid, was that the current King's guard was the first in Dagez history since Kiev. Every King and I assumed Queen, since him had not had their own guards assigned. Briefly, I mourned the lost opportunity to have discovered this fact during Kiev's reign and to understand the reasoning. Yes, it was wise for both King and Queen to be trained for combat, they should be able to defend themselves - however it would be more to their advantage if others were unaware. Lacking a guard certainly gave pause and thought as to why a King or Queen was without one. Or in Yåkov's situation, it gave me pause as to why he had one. Did that indicate that he was not able to defend himself? Or did he keep his own abilities a secret? Did he know her secret?
A chill raced through my limbs at the possibility that Yåkov was aware of the Queen's training and the various scenarios in which he could take advantage of such knowledge. Regardless if the Queens before her did not have a guard, she would have one -whether she knew it or not, I would ensure her safety. Yet, I did not know any of the people in Dagez, did not trust them with my very human and therefor very vulnerable mate. Tyr however had many skilled guards that I did trust, that I would be more comfortable with watching the Queen while I work separately from her to complete my mission.
Looking back to the two men in front of me, I nodded my thanks to them and took my leave. It was already past mid-day and I cursed the time wasted in the forest. If I ran to Tyr, I could return by nightfall and have created my own network of guards within the palace.
Decision made, I escaped through the main doors and walked briskly through the grounds, past the wall, and into the forest. Once I was out of sight, I ran to the East with my sights set on home.
When I arrived to the border of Dagez and Tyr, I felt the bond's resistance to my distance from the Queen. The previous evening, I escaped several miles from the castle before the bond had prevented me from running further away. Was it due to her nightmares that had pulled me closer or something else? Fear shot through me as I wondered if the bond was weakened due to my intention to remove myself from her presence? Grunting, I pushed against the bond - anxious to arrive home and discuss my concerns with my Maker.
As the distance between the young Queen and myself increased, the tug became a harsh pull, then a burning in my limbs, and by time I arrived to the palace, I felt like a disoriented mess. Panting from the exertion of focusing my mind, I listened for my family. Alice must have seen my decision to return for they were gathered together in the family chambers. Clustered in one wing were all of our personal chambers, with a main sitting room that we shared to spend time together without the prying eyes of guards, attendants, or those from court. Remaining in the long shadows of the waning sun, I ran to the family sitting room.
When I entered the room, six pairs of eyes turned to face me. Carlisle and Esme turned to me with bright smiles and welcoming arms. "Ah! Edward! You have returned already. You have identified the cause of Karl's death then?"
Wincing from the pressure of the bond in my head, I shook my head. "No. I am not staying, I must return to Dagez as quickly as possible." Carlisle and Esme both appeared confused - I would not have returned to Tyr unless the mission was complete or something had occurred.
Jasper noticed the stress radiating from my body, "Edward, what happened? I have never felt such emotions from you before. It reminds me of when Alice and I …." his voice trailed off as he looked to his own mate and recognized the feeling of being separated from her.
Curtly, I nodded in acknowledgement of his assumption. "Yes, I found my mate and the bond is pounding in my mind making it difficult to focus."
Esme gasped and ran to me with open arms to embrace me. "My dear Edward! Finally! We are so happy for you! But why would you leave your mate there? Why not bring her back with you?" Her confused eyes held mine as she stepped back from me and her hands cupped my face.
I looked around the room into each of the faces of my family, "Because she is the Queen."
Silence blanketed the room as each of them processed the new information. After thousands of years, I had found my mate - a joyous occasion to be celebrated. Yet, for my mate to be a Queen - someone who could not easily disappear to join my family or who I could easily join either - and for her to be the Queen I was sent to investigate and possibly kill, complicated matters in ways I had not fully considered.
Though the room itself was silent, their thoughts were not. Their thoughts were loud in my already stretched mind, overlapped with one another with notes of concern and shock.
What if she killed her father? Edward was so determined to kill the murderer. He could not possibly kill his own mate could he? Emmett's thoughts were louder than the rest as he looked to his wife, Rosalie as he wondered how he would react in my situation. Unconsciously, I growled at Emmett's thought of murdering the young Queen. Emmett's eyes met mine and he directed his thoughts to me, Easy there, I would never harm your mate. I nodded to him. "Sorry, Emmett," I muttered quietly.
With a sigh I turned to Carlisle, "When I ran from her last night,"
"You ran Edward?" Alice asked incredulously. "After looking for her for so long, you ran away?"
"I lost control, her blood smelled so sweet and with all the emotions that happened all at once, I had to get away from her. I had to think. But when I ran last night, I was only able to make it about ten or so miles before the bond pulled me back. Tonight, I made it to the border before anything happened. Is something wrong? Why did it allow me to go further?"
Carlisle and the rest of my family considered my question. They each thought over their separation experiences and wondered if the distance had increased over time. It was Esme's quiet thoughts of how frightened she was when she felt the call to Carlisle and tried to resist - she too had fled from him in fear of feeling so strongly for someone so quickly. That first night, she had not run more than a few miles as well before the bond had abruptly yanked her back, but as she had accepted the bond, the distance had in fact increased. "That is interesting Esme, I never knew that."
Eye downcast, almost as if ashamed that she too had run, she nodded. Carlisle's quick mind realized what she must have shared and gave her a quick kiss on the crown of her head before nodding his agreement. "Yes, if you resisted the bond last night, then it may have called you back sooner than it did today. Have you accepted the bond Edward?"
"Not completely." I answered. "I need to know her, but I feel as if I have accepted it on some level. She is the reason I ran here and the reason I must return quickly."
Jasper moved forward and placed his hand on my shoulder in quiet support. "Then, how can we help you return to her?"
"To be brief, she has no Queen's guard. It appears Kiev took our lessons seriously, and no King or Queen since him has had a guard. Both the King and Queen are trained to defend themselves, in the same fashion we taught Kiev. But she is my mate and even though I am still somewhat resistant, her safety is important to me. I need guards - men and women we can trust - to be sent to Dagez to watch her, to help protect her so I can focus on my mission. I know that I will still worry for her, especially while she is mortal, but it will help me focus."
Jasper's thoughts were understanding - he imagined his own feelings if Alice were human and shuddered. I will select my best guards and send them at once Edward.
"Thank you Jasper." I turned to address the rest of my family, "I must return."
With that, I ran faster than I had ever before back to Dagez. Each passing mile, the pressure lessened, until it was all but gone when I had once again crossed the border. By the time I returned to the palace, the moon had risen high in the sky and though I wanted to visit the guard's longhouse, I found myself once again outside the Queen's chamber. I supposed that I had kept away from her almost the entire day had to count as a start to keeping my distance. Yet, like a man needed air to survive, I already needed to see the young Queen with an urgency I had not known existed. Listening in the hall outside her chambers, I heard one additional heartbeat as her ladies moved about. With them awake, I could not risk entering through the chamber door. Instead, I ran down the hall and outside through the side archway so I could reach the Queen's balcony. Easily I launched myself to the balcony and gripped the ledge as I listened for signs if she were asleep or awake. Even breathing and her slow, steady heartbeat signaled that she was asleep and I crossed the space from her balcony to her resting form in an instant.
My whole body seemed to sigh with relief as my fingers brushed the skin of her cheek. The now familiar sparks hummed to life at the contact.
She was here.
She was safe.
And in that small moment where I allowed myself to enjoy the moment and the feelings of peace that washed over me - I acknowledged her as mine.
Author's Note: So it begins... Sorry this chapter was so short - hope you enjoyed it! :)