Chapter Three - Dean Torn

Dean Torn, Commander of the King’s Guard, leaned forward, looking at Lise Armond with calculating eyes.  He had called her here, to his office in the barracks, to dress her down for leaving without telling anyone.

She stood in front of him, on the woven carpet of red and gold. His desk was simple dark wood, covered with all the paperwork of Command that filled his days. Sometimes, he wished for his younger days, filled with adventure and excitment. His sword, which he had not lifted in anger in more years that he could count, hung behind him. His shining white armor, a bygone of his years at the Temple, hung on an armor stand. Now, he wore the grey armor of the Knights of the Choosen, and he was proud to do so. When he wore his red cape, the ignasign of command of the Kingdom of Eastmere decorated his cape, and hit made him proud to searve.

Not that Lise needed permission to leave without notice. She was the daughter of Rordan Armond, his oldest friend, it wasn’t like he was going to take her sword and kick her out of the order.  It was just that she did whatever she wanted, because she knew she could get away with it. When she was a young and brash teen, she would ride out on dangerous missions, causing both him and Rordan a fair amount of stress. But her magic was powerful, and she took it for granted.

He was nearly sixty, and thinking of retirement. Many of the men he had served with had already retired.  His bones hurt, and him and Morgan talked about moving to Penn.  It was farther south, near the ocean, and much warmer in the winter.  There, they dreamed of buying a little cottage, and living by the sea.  It would be nice to put the worries of the kingdom aside,

“Lise.  I can’t believe you went to the Temple, all by yourself.  The place is dangerous, and not just because it’s full of ghosts of the past.  While we have gotten rid of most of the bandits in Eastmere, a few pockets exist, mostly North of the ruins.  What if you would have been kidnapped or killed?  Your father would be heartbroken.  You are a princess of Eastmere, and you have to think of things like this.”

“You are more upset than my father was.” Lise said, shrugging.  “Besides, I can heal myself if I get hurt.”

Dean pursed his lips.  It was true, Lise’s magic was unique. She was a specialist, but unlike many of their other specialists, who had extraordinary powers in the elemental areas, hers was an inward power.  Unable to heal others, she could heal herself.  In fact, she was the only known paladin with this skill. Normally, magic refused to work on the caster, and paladins could only heal others.

“So you found this book, and now your father has decided we should send a company to the Temple to retrieve as many books as possible. A foolish mission.  The place should be blasted from the face of this earth.”  Dean, looking over his notes from his meeting with the King and Rordan earlier today..

“I saw Susana’s map.  It was amazing,” she said, changing the subject.

Dean nodded, his daughter Susana had been gone for nearly a year on her mission to the east.   “Susana has a miraculous ability to combine art and magic.  But she barely made it back to us.  I don’t know what I would have done if she had not returned.”  

“Well, she’s back now.  I saw her in the barracks last night.  She was telling tales about Wangs and escaping dark magic.”  Lise said, with a smile, thinking of her friend.  She had missed her, while she had been gone.

“Rordan is sending a retrieval mission to the ruins.  He wants you, Oliver, Susanda, and Patrick to go, and I’m to fill out the rest of the squad as I see fit.  I’m not fond of the idea, but what Rordan wants, Rordan gets.”

“I don't really want to go by myself.  The shade scared me.” Lise admitted.

“Well, it’s too late now.  You’re going back.  I wouldn’t set foot in that place by choice, to be honest.  Too many bad memories.” Dean 

Dean sat back, lost in his thoughts.  Then, he spoke, as if the words pained him to say. "Your father was like a brother to me.  There was a group of us, and we were very close. We looked after each other, protected each other.  It was hard, and brutal, but we knew at the end of it, we would become great holy knights.  We would make our families proud.  But it was also deeply traumatizing. . . . " He trailed off, and then shook his head. "But that's not my point.  My point is that we have put that all behind us."

"I don't think you all have." Lise said, she stood and started pacing frantically, "Why is he the way he is?  I know he loves me, but his old hang ups just get it the way.  HE's done everything he can to pretend. . . " SHe trailed off, and her eyes got wide.

"Oliver." Dean said, with a chuckle.  "It's obvious what is between you two.  But you have to understand, Lise, the oath we lived by, that Oliver lived by, was very firm.  No women.  I struggled with it for years, before I met my Morgan, and she made it very clear to me that my place was with her.  I don't know why Oliver is teh way he is.  I consider him a younger brother, he was just a boy when we freed the Temple, but he was under the Master's grasp more firmly than others.  He was supposed to be the heir, you know."

"I don't care about all that." Lise said, frowning.  

"I know YOU don't. But maybe put yourself in his shoes for a change, instead of being a spoiled princess." Dean barked at her, his green eyes blazing.

“I am anything but spoiled.” She said, hitting the arm of the chair.

Dean chuckled, leaning back and looking at her.  “Tell me, princess, about your education.”

“I was taught by my mother. YOu know that.  Then, later, I had the same teachers as the rest of the paladins.”

“Have you ever wanted for food?  Or watched someone you loved die of disease?  Were you forced to be a paladin, because your parents died, and you happened to have magic?  Did your father arrange a marriage for you, against your will to a man you didn’t know?” Dean’s voice was bitter, and he looked at her intently.

"You are being very unfair."  LIse said, avoiding his gaze.  She stood abruptly, "May I take my leave?"

"Of course, Princess." Dean said, shaking his head as she left, feeling a bit of sadness. Maybe he should talk to Oliver and try to get through that thick head of his.  Looking down at his papers, he looked through the requests, sighing as he pulled out the most recent request from Oliver.  It was requesting a post in Cheshire, in the capital. 

Dean picked up his quill, hesitating for a moment.  Oliver was a skilled diplomat, one of the Kingdom's best.  But there were others, younger men.  With a smirk, he denied the request, and set it aside.  He could deliver the bad news later.  He had other plans for the paladin, and maybe Oliver and Lise would work out their little problem in the meantime.