The Guardians: Book One of the Restoration Series Read Free Page B

just in time for dinner. Flare washed his hands and face, and went downstairs.
    The dining room was immense. As a member of royalty, princess Aliston often entertained guests. The table was made of a hard wood, and was stained a deep red-brown. Along the walls, were extra chairs, used mainly for parties. A number of pictures and paintings adorned the walls, and there were a number of cabinets placed around the room that contained dishes, silverware, and glasses. On one wall, there were two ancient elven swords crossed for decoration.
    Several servants were bringing in platters of food. Princess Aliston, Flare’s mother, was already sitting at the table. She was one hundred and fifty-two years old, but looked like she was twenty. She was slim, as were most elves, and she had waist length silver blond hair. She was wearing a long white dress, and a gold necklace. She smiled at Flare as he entered.
    “You must have been tired from your big morning with father. You have been asleep for hours.” She looked questioningly at him, “Are you feeling okay?”
    “I feel fine, mother.” Flare said, slipping into his chair. “How is Octura?”
    “Oh, fine, she should have that baby any day now. But, I am more interested in hearing how your day went.”
    Flare paused while a young elven girl refilled his mothers’ wine. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that too.” He paused and took a deep breath. “Grandfather is not pleased with me. I asked him to use his influence to get me into the guardians of Telur.”
    Princess Aliston’s mouth fell open, and she was momentarily speechless. That was unusual, she didn't surprise easy. “You did what?” After a second, she regained her composure. “Whatever were you thinking?”
    Flare's eyes dropped to the empty dishes on the table. “I’m not accepted here. I had hoped that I could see Telur, and maybe learn more about my human side. I know nothing about humans. I've never even seen a human.” His words seemed to be all jumbled together. In a disjointed way, he knew he was rambling on, but he couldn't seem to stop. “Humans have been banned from the city ever since before I was born.” He neglected to mention that he was the reason that humans were banned from the city. “I have heard that the guardians of Telur will accept all peoples into their army, but grandfather wouldn’t even listen to me. I was hoping that you could talk to him and get him to change his mind.” As quickly as the words had poured forth, they just as abruptly cut off, leaving Flare nervously watching his mother.
    Princess Aliston thought a moment before she spoke. “Flare, I understand your desire to know more about your human half, but I can't help you with this. Once he makes a decision, it is extremely difficult to get him to change his mind.” She swallowed hard, “I'm sorry, but you must deal with this on your own.”
    “Well, what do you think I should do? Grandfather wants me to become a teacher or healer.” He shrugged, “Those are both respectable jobs, but I want to do something great with my life. I want to be known, I want to be a part of history. Do you think I should fight this or give in quietly?”
    She shook her head, “Flare, You must decide this for yourself. This is your decision. This is your life.” She said the words emphatically. “You must make your own decisions and all I can do, is tell you to follow your heart.” She paused for a moment, and put her hand on Flare’s. “I have always followed my heart. It has sometimes gotten me into trouble, but you don't want to live your life saying ‘what if’. You must do what you think is right.”
    Flare sat through the rest of dinner in silence. He felt torn between two worlds, not sure of which path to follow. He hardly could eat at all. After about twenty minutes of re-arranging the food on his plate, he broke the silence. “Mother, I need to think. May I be excused?”
    “Of course.”
    “Thanks.” Flare