CHAPTER 12

Cassidy was in the emergency room when the police arrived. They were asking many questions that Justice and Kallen couldn’t answer, when the Guardians arrived. They walked in and Bernie signaled them to leave as he approached. When he had the officer’s attention, Justice and the others slipped out the door. They went to the van that Bernie and the others had brought. After a few minutes, they saw the officers walk out and get into their car as if nothing ever happened. Then the Guardians all came out and jumped into the van and told the driver to follow the ambulance back to the Stronghold.

Justice was ready to ask questions when Bernie held up his hand. “You guys should have called us when you left; we are fully prepared to take care of her. None of you should ever go to the hospital, there are too many questions for these injuries; we have relations that are physicians, and others who are on-call and members of a Guild.”

“Sorry,” they all muttered.

Justice continued, “Bernie, she looked so bad, we had to get her help quick. Sorry, I didn’t think.”

“She is still unconscious; when we left, she had just been prepped for surgery. We will have to get her to the castle quick. They are ready to get her in surgery on the medical ward we established a few weeks ago. It was Cassidy’s idea when a little boy fell down and broke his arm playing; he was waiting in the emergency room for six hours before being seen by a doctor. Cassidy sat with him all night in the ER, never told anyone except his father, who couldn’t take him because he is an Elf. Cassidy decided she would get the medical wing started and then show all of you after it was completed. It was costing a lot of money, and Kallen had expressed his concern at how much she was spending,” Bernie finished and turned around.

Justice sat back and looked at the others who were just as stunned as she was that Cassidy had never said a word or skipped a lesson for being tired.

Kallen looked upset because he had asked her about her finances when she inquired with a real estate agent about purchasing more land to the north.

“It’s ok Kallen, had I not seen our balance, I would have done the same thing, but Cassidy inherited more money than she could ever spend in one lifetime,” Justice said quietly.

They finally got to the castle, and Justice jumped out of the van before it even stopped. The whole Stronghold was in the courtyard waiting for Cassidy. When they opened the door of the ambulance and pulled her out, she looked worse than she had earlier. Many members started crying when they saw her hurried into the castle, with Justice following closely behind.

The EMTs carried her right up the staircase until they got to the third floor. To the left was a huge door that looked like it was from a hospital. When they passed through it, Justice was amazed to see a working clinic/ER.

Cassidy had done all of this, and because he had been a stubborn ass, he had no clue about it. He shook off his guilty feeling again and followed them as they went into a room.

A nurse stopped him as he was entering and told him it was a surgically clean room, and he would have to wait outside. She then pointed him to a large waiting area, with a kitchen and TV, on the other side of the floor.

Justice sank into the couch, and for the first time since this ordeal had started, he began to cry. He heard his friends coming in and speaking softly, but he had closed his eyes. Trying to see if Cassidy could hear him, but she didn’t answer, no matter how many times he said her name. He must have been so exhausted because he fell asleep. Chase jerked him awake when a doctor came into the room.

Justice jumped up and listened to the list of injuries, and as they were described, another pain went through his body mimicking what the doctor was saying.

“The Queen has sustained many injuries, including two knife wounds that needed repaired. Three broken and two cracked ribs. Her right hand is fractured. Her left cheekbone is cracked, but no reconstructive surgery will be needed, and last, she had a head injury that has resulted in a coma,” the doctor said and then held up his hand as they all began asking questions. “I’m not worried about her coma because of the amount of injuries she has sustained; it’s a miracle that she’s alive in the first place. A coma is the brain's way of shutting down so she cannot feel the pain. I suspect she will come out of it soon.”

The doctor told them they were allowed to see her one at a time, until tomorrow, when they moved her to a bigger room. Chase and Justice both wanted to go in first, but they told Bernie to go because they had both seen the man age in front of them as the doctor had been speaking.

He was like her parent after all. After 15 minutes, he came out pale and shaking, Bea rushed to him and helped him back into the waiting room.

Justice sat with him as one by one their friends and family went into her room. Cami, Celli, and Tina were in the corner crying with each other. While Kallen, Dyl, and Eli had gone outside to spare everyone their anger and grief; the last time Justice saw them, they were going to the weight room.

All the Guardians were still shell-shocked from seeing Cassidy looking so fragile and broken. Serenity, Chase, and his family were huddled together crying because Chase had just found his sister, and he was worried he would lose her.

Justice waited until last to go in and see her because he really didn’t intend to leave her. He had almost died from the separation already; he wasn’t going to do this ever again.

He pushed to open the door slowly and braced himself for how she looked. His breath caught in his throat when he saw all the tubes and lines going from her body to machines. Her head was wrapped with gauze; Justice knew what it looked like underneath, it was about an inch all over with different colors. Serenity had already said she would fix it tomorrow, so when she woke up, she wouldn’t see the mess.

Her left cheek was swollen bigger than the right, which gave her a lopsided look, and her entire face was one big bruise. Her right hand was in a cast. Justice knew she had broken it beating up the girl.

She had bandages wrapped around her shoulder and leg where a knife had been stabbed into her. With all the injuries, she was still the most beautiful girl in the world, and his heart hurt with how much he loved her.

He went to her bedside, took her left hand and held it. He held it, rubbing it repeatedly, wishing she would grasp it. He saw her ring was still on, and he ran his finger over it.

“Sweetheart, I’m here now, you can sleep and get well. I love you and will never leave you again. I could not stand it. Thank goodness you have your ring still or I was going to have to have another one made. I love the sound of your voice in my head.” He bent and kissed her hand, then settled in the chair next to her bed.

After a while, a nurse came in and told him he would have to leave. He had not answered her, instead just stared at her and didn’t move. She had the doctor come in and Justice did the same thing then stood up and said, “I am Justice, King of the Warriors and this Stronghold. I will not leave my Queen,” and sat back down. The doctor had bowed and told the nurses to let him remain with Cassidy as long as he wanted.

He had just lain on the floor next to her, until a nurse had moved her to a bigger room with a comfortable couch, at about midnight.

He sat up sleeping so he would be ready if she needed him, but Cassidy had remained asleep and Justice had listened to the beeps to assure him she was still ok.

In the morning, visitors began arriving early and there was a steady stream of people bringing flowers and gifts. Bernie stayed with her while Justice went to his room. He had a shower before he met with Kallen, Dyl, and Eli, who had gone back out to the shed to see if the rebels had left anything behind. They reported that all the rebels were gone. There was a lot of blood that hadn’t been there before, which they thought may have come from Skot.

The case containing Cassidy’s sword had been there, and they brought it back but had been unable to open it. It was in the storage room in the basement to keep it safe for now. They discussed things that they needed to accomplish, and then Justice went back upstairs and took his place again.

Cami and Celli went to the dungeons to see the Gnome who was a prisoner, but she refused to talk still. They assured Justice that she wasn’t a danger; they reported she was crazy from the separation from her twin for so long.

Liam told them a long time ago, if they were separated for a long period, it would lead to madness. Obviously, the Fairy's twin had lived in the cellar for the time she had been married to the farmer.

The days went by with the same thing happening every day. Cassidy’s outward injuries had begun to heal, and they had teased her about how colorful her face was. They said it matched the braids Serenity had woven into her hair so it had looked like it had never been cut. The girls had all been impressed and had taken over her hygiene and personal needs while she was asleep.

That is what they had decided to call it. Cassidy had been so tired she had gone to sleep, and she would wake up when she was ready.

Justice had been in his room showering about two weeks after Cassidy had been in a coma when he felt her for the first time since she had been in a coma. He was so surprised, he ran out of the shower buck-naked, and would have gone this way to the medical wing, had Sam not grabbed him. He dressed quickly and ran up the stairs two at a time to get to her.

When Justice ran into her room, she was still the same as she had been when he left. Asleep, but when he went to her, leaned down, kissed her lips, and told her he was there, the monitors all went nuts and Bernie jumped up yelling for a nurse.

After the doctor examined her, he told them she was coming out of her coma slowly. He warned them to have patience with her when she woke because she may have loss of memory or other problems because the blow to her head had been severe.

Justice refused to leave her side until she woke up. They all took turns talking to her because she was responding to their voices. They all described their days and what was happening in the Stronghold.

Tina would read to her from the history book of her family. Bea and the others came into her room to have lessons; all except for Liam, who was in charge of her physical therapy. He did it three times a day to keep her muscles healing and working.

Finally, after another week, Justice was sleeping on the couch when he heard a noise next to his head. He woke to see Cassidy knocking her tray into the couch to get his attention. When he jumped up and went to her side, she tried to talk, but her voice was so hoarse you couldn’t hear her.

He rang for the nurse, doctor, Chase, and Bernie, excited she was finally awake. The doctor gave her permission to have sips of water and ice chips and said she was on the road to recovery. Chase and Macy kissed and hugged her, telling her not to scare them like that again.

Bernie couldn’t say anything, he just kissed her and whispered, “I love you, my daughter,” and went to the couch to pray.

Justice was finally able to lean down and talk to her. After she had the ice chips, her voice got a little stronger. “I heard you,” she said.

“When?” he asked and kissed her hand again.

“The whole time, I could hear you. I just couldn’t answer,” she whispered in his ear so no one could hear.

Justice pulled back, looked at her, and smiled with a stunned expression. “Everything?” he said.

“Yes, I especially like what you planned for the night I was released from here. I think I would rather have the dinner in my room, instead of out; do you think the caterer can make the same menu?” she asked as he turned red and looked around to see if anyone was listening.

Then she closed her eyes and went to sleep. Justice chuckled when he thought of that dream he had. He may just do it, he thought, and Cassidy answered him, "Please.” And Justice knew he would have to keep some plans to himself in the future.

Justice sat with her the rest of the morning as she went in and out of sleep. Her friends and family told Cassidy stories of things that had happened while she was asleep. No one had said a word of what had happened to her.

However, Justice knew she was going to have to talk about it. He didn’t want to be there when she told the story, she knew he could hear and that was good enough. He thought he would lose control if he were there and make her feel bad, and he didn’t want that.

Cassidy asked Justice to leave mid-morning the following day and asked for Bea, Macy, Tina and the twins to come and talk to her. It was a girl thing, and Justice understood it, but he sat in the waiting room with his eyes shut so he could listen. He had seen the results, but he had not known how to contact her for 14 hours. Justice had been afraid to ask her or the doctor about those hours.

Cassidy started right away to get it over with. “Ok, I know you want to know what happened, and I need to get this off my chest. Please don’t tell anyone, especially the guys, I don’t want them to look at me differently,” she said and took a deep breath. “When we drove off I had no idea who the driver was. I was so wrapped up thinking about Justice. I wasn’t paying attention, which was mistake number one in a long line of mistakes. I was drugged; when I woke up, I was in the shed with the crazy Fairy. At first, I couldn’t figure out what she was saying because she was singing and laughing about capturing the Queen Bee. They tied my arms with a rope first. It took a minute and I broke the knots. I jumped up and tried to reach the door, but the girl was wicked fast, and she had a knife in her belt. She stabbed me in the leg first. I hurt so bad I didn’t think I could stand it, but after a while, it became numb. I kept thinking if I could just get to the door, I could beat her, so I tried again and that time she stabbed me in the shoulder. She must have hit an artery because it bled heavily. Scary Mary freaked out and went to get help. This was the one and only time I saw the driver again. I kept my eyes closed at first because he was running his hands up my leg, but the asshole laughed and hit me in the face to get me to open my eyes. He bent down and looked right in my eyes and asked for a kiss, said if I was nice, he would be nice,” Cassidy paused and shuddered in disgust. The girls were crying and Justice had a knot in his stomach as she continued.

“I spit in his face and he got nasty real quick, to answer the first question. I wasn’t raped, thank goodness. I shouldn’t have antagonized him because he is a disgusting excuse for a person. He kissed me anyway and hit me when I tried to bite him; most of these injuries are from him. I could feel my ribs break when he leaned on me to try to make me do things with him. He also hit my face repeatedly in frustration, yelling at me when he was done that no one would want me. There was one point I was ready to give up when he told me he was going to come after all of you if I didn’t cooperate. The only thing that saved me was Scary Mary. She was actually his mate. She came into the shed screaming at him and threatening to call CJ. Hurting me that bad was not part of the plan. That was the last I saw of him and you know the rest because of Justice. Except the last few minutes when the driver came back in and kicked me in the head for beating the shit out of his other half.” She finished with a sob and her friends all surrounded her. They talked to each other for an hour, telling Cassidy it wasn’t her fault and promising to cut his you-know-what-off if they saw him again.

Justice had gone down to his room when she had finished and took a shower. He deliberately kept his mind blank so Cassidy could have time with her friends.

When they were finally ready to leave, Justice was standing outside the door waiting. They all hugged him as they walked out; Justice shut the door when he came into the room.

He went to her side and took her hand, “It doesn’t change a thing except for the need to kill him.” He bent and kissed her on the lips. That was the only time they discussed it.

Cassidy improved daily and she was released to go to her own room, as long as she went to daily checks with the nurse. She was so happy to be in her own bed that she actually slept for the entire day after being released. Justice checked on her frequently, but she was just tired. When she woke up, she was ready to go; the sleep had given her a boost in her mood.

Originally, they were supposed to be leaving for California in a week; Tina postponed the travel plans for another two weeks after Cassidy was discharged from the medical wing. The bikes all needed fixing and Cassidy needed to get into shape.

She started out slow, jogging instead of running, but soon she was doing the same as the others. It only took a week for her to stop feeling pain in all of her extremities. Bernie and the others had been trying to get her sword out of the case but had been unsuccessful.

Bernie and Rayne looked for a spell to counteract the one that had obviously been put on the box. They had even asked for help from the Wizards in the Stronghold, but no one could do it.

Cassidy was getting frustrated, and Justice and the others used his sword to hit the lock repeatedly until it fell off. They had a contest to see who would actually deliver the final blow; Celli won and was awarded a new pair of boots on Justice.

Since Cassidy had been out of the hospital, Justice had been sleeping on her couch, tucking her into bed every night, and holding her when she had nightmares. He was also just kissing her very gently every night, thinking he was going to break her. She was beginning to get sick of listening to reason.

Cassidy had just begun to scheme again when there was a new crisis to deal with. The Gnome in their prison had finally cracked, just like Cami and Celli told them would happen.

It started out with the Gnome hallucinating; she would scream for hours about bugs crawling on her. Cassidy went into the cell with her to try to talk to her, but she was in another world. The girl called her mom and asked Cassidy to play with her.

This behavior went on for several days before the Gnome lapsed into a coma. Guards rushed her to the medical clinic, but she was comatose. The doctor said it was probably an aneurism and she never felt a thing. It was also unlikely she would ever wake up.

Cassidy and the Council were trying to figure out how to deal with it, when they received a letter in the mail from an anonymous source, asking the Gnome to be taken to a nursing home in town. They wanted to could see her. Cassidy had refused, feeling no sympathy for the rebels what so ever. This, had of course, led to several attempts of breaking into the Stronghold.

Cassidy was ready for the fight and set traps around the perimeter for Scary Mary. She knew it was her and only her, because there was never any real threat, more of an annoyance.

Finally, after the second day, guards discovered her lying on the beach at the lake, comatose like her sister. Cassidy then had both girls sent to a nursing home in Michigan under assumed names so no one would find them.

Justice and Cassidy were due to have it out again. The frustration was building and everyone saw it. Finally, Kallen pulled Justice aside and tried to talk to him.

It didn’t work, instead Justice ended up confiding in Kallen what Cassidy had been through, which led him to telling Dyl and Eli, and they were once again guys against girls. It got so bad that Kallen actually let her win a wrestling contest because he was afraid to hurt her. Cassidy was pissed.

She had learned her lesson though, and she picked a time to speak to Justice alone. When they retired to her room after her last check up with the nurse, Cassidy had received a clean bill of health; she was going to stop the nonsense now. They entered her room and Justice went to the chair like always, turning on the TV waiting for her to settle onto the couch.

Cassidy walked by the couch and sat in the chair with him. He was surprised she had done it, and started to rise as he was going to give her the seat. Cassidy pushed him back into the chair and sat on his lap.

“Listen, we need to talk this out. I don’t want to fight with you anymore about this subject, so we need to come to an understanding,” she said and kissed him.

Justice pulled back and sat quietly for a long time, and Cassidy thought something was wrong here. He should be eager to take their relationship to the next level. She frowned and stood up again and moved to the couch.

Justice finally looked at her, and she saw regret in his eyes, “Cassidy, you know I love you. There should never be a question in your mind about the way I feel. I would also love to take this to the next level but when you were hurt... I was able to sort some things out in my head, I also did a little research and I want you to understand what I’m going to do and not get pissed.”

Cassidy put her hands on her lap and waited for the explanation, she was sure she could talk him out of.

“When normal Warriors receive their jewels of royalty, the parents choose a mate, and they are trained together, you know this right?” he said as Cassidy was nodding.

“Ok, then usually the parents arrange for the new mates to share living quarters with an appropriate Guardian so they can get to know each other and see if the match is correct. In the past, there were some mismatches with personalities. I know you’re thinking that’s not us. I agree. However, I do agree we should share the same suite until we’re done with all of our training, so we follow some traditions.”

“You want to be my roommate, not my lover?” she asked.

“That sounds bad, but that’s what I’m proposing. We have a very stressful time ahead of us and I think we should make sure we’re concentrating on the goal. Besides, in my research, we would be the first King and Queen in history to share a bed before we are properly wed. Your parents and grandparents chose the traditional route and all of this is recorded in our history book, so if we had children, they would see.” Justice said and grimaced, “I know you think I’m paranoid about being worthy of you, but if you love me, then respect this request, please. We have many years ahead of us, we have plenty of time to get to know each other before we’re married to each other.” He finished his speech with a pleading look in his eyes.

“Do we have to have a Guardian?” she asked.

“No, we’re old enough to do this if we chose. I have thought about this so much, when we were going to make love; before it was just a physical reaction to each other. Now, I believe we will be amazing together because I love you. I have had time to think, and I want the whole fairytale for you, white wedding and all. So what do you think? I gave you the ring as a promise and I will never change my mind about loving you, and it will be hard to do, but I think we are behind the curve as it is. Let’s not muddy the waters even more,” he explained very reasonably.

Cassidy was feeling a little disappointed because he made sense.

“Fine, I get it, but can we please make our Council follow our lead?” she asked hopefully.

“I hate to tell you this, but the guys already agree with me. We want to be an example to our Guilds and the next generation,” he said sheepishly.

“Well, I’m in an alternate universe when guys want to be the reasonable ones.” She laughed and agreed with Justice. They talked into the night about what they wanted to accomplish in their rule.

Justice and Cassidy woke the next morning and made their announcement over breakfast. Which became lively when Chase told Justice he was glad Justice came to the right decision on his own, instead of having it beat into his head.

They talked about their training, and they all knew they were leaving in four days for California. So, they hammered out the details for that and would continue their physical training, but the rest had gone as far as they could go until they received their soul's gifts.

Cassidy and Justice went to their rooms and had Tina and Sam arranged to have the furniture and suites rearranged, together they made decisions of what they wanted.

Cassidy and the rest of the Council were trying to get things wrapped up before they left so the only time they were together was at meals.

Cassidy had a cottage built about 100 yards from the castle for Chase and Macy. She wanted it complete before they left so she arranged for Macy to pick out furnishings online that she liked.

Macy was complaining about the cost, but Cassidy tried to assure her it was what her parents would have done; it didn’t work so Cassidy went behind her back. Two days before they were due to leave, the furniture was delivered to the cottage.

Chase and Macy were excited to have their own space for the kids and themselves, so when Cassidy told them they were moving the next day into their new home, they had a celebration. The next morning the movers were arriving early, so they had to call it a night before it got too late.

The next morning while Cassidy got ready, Justice ran over to their offices to see if there were things that needed to be done for their upcoming trip.

Kallen had been getting paranoid about the plans to go to his castle; he was worried about being attacked again. Justice tried to assure him but was worried too. They had already added a van with guards to their caravan, but Bernie and the other Guardians were making noises about coming because they were skilled in defense.

Kallen and Justice had been able to keep them from going, so far, by telling them too many people would draw too much attention.

Tina and Sam were dealing with everything well enough, so Justice went back to their suite and saw the bathroom empty. He hopped in the shower quickly and was deep in thought, as he walked into his bedroom with only a towel around his waist. He had only taken step in the room when he heard screaming. He was so startled he almost lost his towel. He looked around his bedroom to see Cassidy rolling on the bed laughing and Cami and Celli looking over his body like a piece of meat.

He backed out of the room and called to Cassidy, “Q, my clothes please.”

“Darling, I thought those were your clothes,” she laughed louder.

Justice went back into the bathroom and tried to slow his heart rate down when the door opened and Cassidy stepped in with her eyes closed and clothes in her hands.

“K, flashing my friends is a definite no-no; you will save the goods for me,” she teased and tossed him jeans and a work shirt. “The girls came to tell me they needed a few more tools, so I went to look for the screwdriver and hammer we used when we were moving our rooms.”

“Ok,” he grumbled, “but we need to talk about rules in the suite.”

“Why? I was certainly entertained, although the girls wanted the full Monty, so watch out.” She snapped him with a towel and ran from the room.

“Pay backs are a bitch, Q,” he yelled after her and slammed the door.

“Q?” Cami asked.

“Yeah, Q for Queen and K for King; gay, I know, but cutesy names are not me, so we use letters,” Cassidy said.

“True, it’s not you, well Q, are you ready or what?” Celli said and went to the door.

Cassidy and Celli had made it down the hall before they heard Justice yelling again and Cami running down the hall laughing. “Yep, nice ass,” she yelled and ran out the door and down the steps before Justice had even come out of the bathroom.

Cassidy and Celli followed slowly and were laughing harder when Justice came flying down the stairs dressed and chasing Cami.

“Don’t kill her, I need her!” Celli yelled after him.

When they had reached the cottage, Justice had Cami dangling from one hand over the water fountain in the front. She was laughing hysterically while yelling to everyone she had seen the King’s butt. Justice was laughing just as hard and let her down when she cried ‘uncle’.

Chase and Macy were standing outside, refusing to let anyone come and help. They wanted to do it themselves, they said. Cassidy asked for a tour, and Macy took her into the cottage and showed off her designer paint job.

Cassidy had told her to make her dream house. Macy had refused at first, but when Cassidy had called the builder, she gave him a rundown of what they needed the day before she was hurt. Macy had relented because Justice had threatened to pick the colors himself if she didn’t.

When Cassidy had been well enough, she had found out Macy had ordered standard kitchen appliances and furniture. She had called the distributors directly and had them all changed to the top of the line things, all in the same color of course.

Cassidy and Chase were teasing Macy about having a six-burner stove; Cassidy was asking when she was actually cooking instead of having the caterer around. Chase had groaned and asked Cassidy if she could just provide a chef too. That earned him kicked out into the backyard that was landscaped by Chase.

They had gone to help, but they had turned it into a party instead. Cassidy and Justice called the caterer and had him bring over meat to grill out on the new outdoor grill. Cassidy had made a phone call to a grocer in town who delivered, and had a vanload of stuff delivered to them.

Macy had yelled at her and tried to refuse it, but Cassidy had ordered the man to unload it on the sidewalk and leave. The bags only sat there for a few minutes before she had the kids bring in the food and put it all away.

Chase and Macy loved having everyone over and kept telling them to come over whenever they wanted, as they all walked out the door. Cassidy and Justice were holding hands, and Cami was teasing Justice about when his next ‘show’ would be, when Cassidy felt a tug on her shirt. She turned and saw her niece standing there, looking scared. Cassidy let go of Justice’s hand and bent down so they were eye level.

“What's wrong, honey?” she said putting her hand on her niece’s cheek. Her name was Tory and she was 10. Cassidy had gotten to know her when they had gone shopping together.

Tory looked back to see if her parents were looking, they had gone inside. “This was in the bag of groceries. I didn’t open it,” she said and gave her an envelope. Cassidy flipped it over and saw her name written on the outside.

“Thank you, now run home, I’ll see you in the morning,” Cassidy said and pushed the little girl towards the house.

Cassidy didn’t have a good feeling about this; someone who couldn’t come here had sent a letter. Cassidy ran to catch up with Justice and her Council. She had them all come to their offices, telling them about the letter.

Once they had all sat down, Cassidy opened the letter and began to read:

Cassidy Princess of the Warrior Guild,

It seems we may have a small problem in common that we must deal with. We have not seen each other in many months, but I am sure you remember me. I am CJ, King of the Warrior Guild. When you were young, I was best friends with your brother. I was sorry to hear of his passing. It seems some members of my Guild have caused some problems in the Loveland area. Please accept my apology, and rest assured, they were properly punished.

The problem I am referring to is the Stronghold you have created in Loveland. Because you were so young, I am sure you are unaware of the fact that your father had been considering me as your mate when you grew, but then you disappeared mysteriously. Your father had no choice really but to join our Guild and pronounce me his successor. When I heard you were alive, I of course spoke to your parents, and they have left the decision up to you.

Since I have not taken a mate, I am extending you the chance to become the Queen of the Warrior Guild. You are, of course, aware I have completed the training and have only one member of my council to seat and that is your position. I had given my word to our Guild that I would wait until your 19th birthday before making my choice, to give you an opportunity to claim the throne.

I have heard that you are training in Loveland and are arranging to seat your Council. I propose a compromise. Of course, the mongrel Justice will be cast out, but a few others can be brought into the Council. Please meet with me on Saturday for dinner at the place below at 6:30 pm and we will discuss this further.

Your King,

CJ