Guardian of Shadows

Siward Rebeck left the hall with a big sigh, there was nothing in the Seven Realms that he hated more than these seemingly endless meetings.

For the past year, they have harped on the same thing; he needed to find a new captain of the Voiders. The military unit of the Shadow Realm, a position that was his until a year ago. And it was not something he had come around to. And then the push of noble ladies for marriage, which was the last thing on his mind right now.

And which loving father, in his right mind, was pushing his daughter into widowhood. Because that was something they were heading towards.

The Nightmares have become bolder in the last 12 months, showing up inside the capital and even inside the castle from time to time. And, to be fair, those that do show up are being dealt with swiftly. Still, it wasn't a place to raise a family. Neither did he really have time for romance or anything else that came with marriage. Besides that, he remembers the sage advice that the Cato Quince had given Markus, the former Guardian of Shadows. Never marry a daughter of the Shadow Realms Nobles. It might give one of them an unfair advantage over the others because of family relations. And that advice might have been lost on Markus, because he died shortly after it was given.

Still, Siward wouldn't let such good advice go to waste. He placed both his gloved hands on his temples and started to rub them. However, the whole marry someone from another Realm thing became a bit difficult...

A roar interrupted the river of thoughts inside his head.

A Nightmare, inside the castle. What in the Seven Realms was going on here?

He was so sure that the ward he had put in place would keep them out for at least a bit longer. He jumped up and started running towards the sounds. Which, to his dread, led him towards the hall of the Seven Realms.

He was shocked when he saw a woman in there, fighting in only her underwear, which, if he looked at the ground, was not something she chose to be. As if the pieces of turquoise fabric on the ground were any indication. But this also meant that she was not restricted by it. He knew by the color of her dress that she came from the Realm of Oceans, and the last time he checked, they didn't train their women in the art of the sword.

And she was pretty good, and he could see that her training left nothing undesired. So the question was why she was trained at all. Not that it mattered that she made quick work of the monster.

He wasn't surprised at all that she froze while she looked at the dead body of the monster. If he could remember correctly, he had done the same thing. The first time that he killed one of those monsters, it was also the first time he had killed something. He had also thrown up afterwards, so she was doing much better in his opinion. He saw that she was shivering, which could be from the cold or the horror of what had just happened. But that didn't matter; he had looked at this woman, who was naked, long enough. Now it was time to be a gentleman, and time for some questions.

Slowly, he walked towards her so that he wouldn't give her another scare. But she turned around with her sword raised as soon as he wrapped his own cloak. He just could jump slightly out of reach of her sharp blade. With his hands raised, as to show that he was not here to harm her.

The gaze in her eyes was full of fright, but there was something else burning. Just behind the primal fear, the will to live and the willingness to fight for it. A look he knew all too well from his own reflection.

"Where in the Seven Realms did you come from?"

This was a rhetorical question, but it seemed to break the tension slightly.

"The Realm of the Ocean, my name is Cressida Seacoal and the Orb of Faith sent me here."

He nodded slightly.

"That is interesting, and slightly impossible. Because I closed off the Realm of Shadows from the Orb, after what happened last year. Let me say that I was not looking forward to going to all the other Realms to tell parents that their child didn't survive their first night. That was my first task after becoming Guardian of Shadows last year. So, with that established, it is next to impossible for you to be here."

She lowered her sword, but she didn't put it away. Instead, she grabbed his cloak with her free hand so that it didn't slip off her shoulders.

This gave him time to really look at her, this time from up close. She was a bit scrawny, which was different from other noble ladies he had seen. But her light blond hair was only slightly tangled, and the remnants of her dress made it clear that it was made from expensive silk. This made her somewhat of a puzzle, one he really didn't have time to solve.

"So you are going to send me back to the Realm of Oceans, my Lord?"

She seemed a bit defeated when she said it. Which was another piece of the puzzle, and this drew his attention even more.

"No, I am not going to send you back. Because someone on the other side of that wants you dead."

He pointed towards the stained glass that was the portal in question.

"It might not be the safest Realm for you to be in. If I send you back, that might mean that I am the one sending you to an early watery grave."

"I do not understand, what do you mean?"

He looked at her with surprise; she didn't seem to be the type of person who would be dense. But maybe the information was a bit difficult to process while she was still a bit in shock and on guard. Hopefully that would be the case, and not the former. But this meant that, for now, he would lay it out for her.

"I just told you that I closed the Realm of Shadows from the Orb of Faith, which is well known to the other Guardians. So you being here means that the Guardian of Oceans wasn't the one who led the ceremony. Other than that, the person who is responsible for you ending up here was known and, not only that, possessed Light magic or had connections with someone who does. Because let me tell you, the Orb didn't turn black when you touched it."

She slowly nodded.

"That makes sense, and I have a suspicion of who is responsible for this. The Lady of the Tides."

He knew that this title was bestowed on the wife of the Lord of the Tides, the commander of the fast fleet that the Realm of the Oceans has. And that would mean that this woman had a dangerous enemy. One with resources.

"Well then, allow me to welcome you to this deathtrap that is the Realm of Shadows. I am Siward Rebeck, Guardian of Shadows, and Captain of the Voiders. Let me show you to your new room and give you some clothes that are better suited for battle. Because, Miss Seacoal, you are now part of the Voiders."

He didn't wait for a reply; he simply turned around and started to walk away. The soft crunching of the dust made it known to him that she was following him.

He had seen her flinch before he had thrown his cloak over her, which might indicate that she heard him coming. So she was trained to observe her surroundings; he already knew that she was trained. He saw that clearly as white light. He wanted to look over his shoulder to see her again. But first things first: getting her into clothes.

********

Bedrooms that were still livable were a few and far between. And one with a working bathroom was even rarer. But he knew that there was one of these close to his own suite, which might spark some rumors. But she was a woman and needed her privacy while bathing, and he was not going to look at every room if it was suited to her needs. He opened the door and stepped aside.

She stepped inside and quickly looked around.

"This might be a bit smaller than what you are used to, but there is a bathroom and sturdy clothes inside the wardrobe. Those might not fit you completely, but we worry about that later. Clean up, get dressed; supper will be served shortly. Just follow your nose, and then noise. You will find the hall in no time."

She answered him with a simple nod as he closed the door to give her what she needed.

*********

His men, the other Voiders, were sitting at the table in the far back of the great hall. Food was not yet served. Which meant that his men were now looking at him, weaving.

"Hey, Siward, just in time."

He was glad that they still called him by name, and not transferred over to my lord or something more formal. Which was something he had suspected them to do. They might have known that he would hate it with a passion.

"Where did you run off to? My dad told me that you stormed away from the meeting. Right after Sir Mayer started to talk about his daughter."

Kent, one of the youngest Voiders, looked at him with a sly grin on his face. He was the second son of the Maguire family, and according to some, Lord Maguire's favorite child.

Isadore Calypise, whistled softly.

"The daughter of Sir Mayer, well, she might not have the looks. But at least she comes with cash."

"And strings attached."

Siward added, and both of them nodded in agreement.

"Still, there are some things that need to be discussed."

He quickly told the men what had happened in the Room of the Seven Realms, about the Nightmare that had appeared there and about Cressida.

"What is a woman going to do? Cleaning up the gear room, doing the laundry?"

Siward's gaze darkened; that was a very short-sighted thing to say, and he had expected more from his men.

"Did you doze off when I told you that she was the one who killed the Nightmare. And sure, cleaning the gear room and the laundry will be part of her tasks. But they are also part of yours. Besides that, I am not going to send her back towards the Realm of Oceans. Here, she has at least a chance of survival."

Isadore nodded slowly.

"Did she have a clue who might be responsible? Because, as far as I know, there isn't a Noble house of Seacoal in the Realm of Oceans. So now I am wondering who she is."
Siward had almost forgotten that Isadore came from that Realm. And of course he would know every Noble house. It would have been part of his upbringing.

"The Lady of the Tides."
Isadore's started to frown and curse under his breath.

"I then might have a clue who she is, and I have to say if she is who I think she is. Then there is no doubt in my mind that the Lady of the Tides was behind it. My mother always hated that woman, and the stories she would share about what went on inside the Household of the Lord of the Tides were always horrible."

Siward nodded, the intrigue of a Noble household, it was the one thing he wasn't missing. The Rebeck Family was one of the largest Noble houses inside the Realm of Light. He still could remember the horror on his parents' faces when the Orb of Faith sent him towards the opposite Realm.

His sister Aramaita, the right hand of the Guardian of Light, had almost a fit.

Kent's hand landed on Isadore's shoulder, and he had his mouth wide open. Siward looked up, and he himself was a bit stunned. Cressida looked incredible in the Voiders outfit. She almost seemed to be another person. Still a bit scrawny, her long, light blond hair gave her away, though.

"Well, it is that you told me that her name was Cressida, otherwise, I would have called her Devina. Which is the daughter of the Lord of the Tides."

Isadore hissed through his teeth. He raised his hand to get her attention.

"Cressida Seacoal, please have a seat with us."