The Guardians: Book One of the Restoration Series Read Free

the forests, ever since he was a child.
    After they finished eating, and the table had been cleared, king Feilolas leaned back in his seat. “All right Flare; let’s talk about your future.”
    “As you know, Flare, the first son normally is trained to lead the family. However that will not apply to you. There is the elven guard, but my advisors are against you joining, due to the strained relations we currently have with humans. So, as I see it, your choices are rather limited.” The king paused and gave him an encouraging smile, “What are your thoughts?”
    Flare’s stomach was doing flip-flops, “Well, after much consideration, I have decided that I would like to become a warrior. I ...”
    “That could be rather difficult.” Feilolas interrupted, frowning. “But I am the king, though.” He paused, considering. “I could get you into the elven guard, but I do not know how well you would be accepted. That might not be the best idea.”
    “I had considered the elven guard, but as you say there could be problems with that plan. So, I have come up with another solution.” Flare paused, and took a deep breath, and then the words just seemed to burst forth. “I had hoped that you could use your influence to get me into the guardians of Telur. They allow foreigners to join.” Telur was a powerful human kingdom that was to the South. Even during the period of strained human-elven relations, an elven ambassador had remained in the capital city of Telur . The capital city and the kingdom shared the same name. “They are considered to be some of the greatest warriors, and perhaps my being there could help improve our relations with the humans.” He finished talking, a little breathless.
    The smile slipped from King Feilolas' face and his expression hardened. “Flaranthlas, I don't believe that a member of elven royalty should be trained by humans.” Feilolas was shaking his head, and he used the word 'humans' like a curse. “You have never dealt with humans; you don't understand the treachery they are capable of.” He shook his head, “No. This is not an acceptable solution.”
    “But grandfather, most of the elves would be happy to see me go. Prince Yolstice would probably help me pack. And you...”
    “Flare, be careful what you say about my son. He is your future king.” The king seemed to growl the words instead of speak them. “I will not allow you to talk bad about him.”
    Flare took a deep breath, and tried to steer the conversation back to where he wanted. “I’m sorry. I did not mean to insult uncle Yolstice. I merely meant that everybody might be happier with me gone. Everybody would get what they want.”
    “The difference is that if you are assigned to one of our posts, then at least you will still be part of the elven kingdom.”
    “But I am half-human. I know what it means to be elven, but I don’t know what it means to be human.” He was practically arguing with his grandfather, but he didn't even realize it. “I need to understand my heritage, even my human heritage. Wouldn’t yo...”
    “YOUR HUMAN HERITAGE!” The king bellowed, half rising from his seat. His face wore a furious expression. “You mean the heritage that raped your mother. How dare you even suggest that anything the humans could teach you is more important than your elven heritage?” The king's face wore a look of anger, unlike anything that Flare had ever seen. “Do you want to know what I was arguing about with the elven nobles when you came in? I had insisted that you be allowed to join the elven guard in some capacity. They were completely against the idea, but I insisted.” The king was fully out of his seat now, moving back and forth, his face still an angry mask. “Perhaps they were right to begin with,” he said, nodding his head. The king paused, rubbing his temples, trying to collect himself.
    Flare sat quietly in his seat, the blood having drained out of his face at the king's explosion. He would