“Saki!” shouted Yuki, “Don’t!” His heart pounded against his chest the moment he revived. His eyes were wide with small irises. Turning his gaze around, he quickly realized time had passed. Memories caught back up to him. He smmed his fist into the surface of the metal disc they rode. “Damn! Damn. …damn…”

  her Ayumi nor Haruo said a word to Yuki. They kept their distance from him, letting him vent a little. His fist pounded several more times before easing up. Eventually, he stopped moving. “…it’s happening again…” He muttered more words barely audible.

  Yuki looked bato the distanbsp; Somewhere out of sight, he knew Saki fought for him. ‘So stubborn…’ It triggered ions with a different souro longer internal. His arm jumped out grabbing Ayumi. “Why are you tinuing to do nothing?! Twiow this has happened!”

  Stoic as always, Ayumi almost looked bored if she was close to aion. The ft features gave nothing. “Because you have something more important to do. Everyone else uands that but you.”His hand tightened arouunibsp; The emotions c through his body were almost impossible for him to restrain. Ayumi’s ued look only made it worse. “I don’t give a damn about that! It means nothing if I have to abandon my friends! I brought them here into this danger. This is my responsibility!”

  “Your responsibility is in the Capital. Your friends are not helpless. Or do you have so little faith in their abilities?”

  “No! Of course not!” She ered him. He had no good reply. It made him shrink back a little. She effortlessly knocked him off banbsp; Any footihought he had turned out to be merely an illusion. His hand released her. Yuki backed away from her. Silence was his only answer.

  “Believe in them as they believe in you.” Ayumi tugged on her clothes a little thten them. “Remember if you succeed in yoal, everything will be over. The sooner you achieve yoal the soohey’ll be able to stop fighting.”

  He felt like he was beiured. “I know.”

  An hour or so passed in silenbsp; Yuki had nothing more to say after Ayumi made her point. Haruo naturally did nothing to add to the versation. The mood was awkward with them down to three. Haruo’s low prese times made it seem it was only two.

  Oddly, it was Ayumi that broke the silence, but not in the way they expected. “I returned back to the Capital when I was fourteen. I had fihe three years of duty.”

  Yuki stared over at her. Her pn to distract him surprised him a little. As always, she was a plicated woman with many sides. He didn’t want to hear anymore, but found himself listening anyway.

  Chapter 221 – Using the Past to Hide the Present

  Eudokia, age fourteen, stood before the massive structure of the pabsp; It had only been three years since she st saw them, but it no longer felt as tall to her. The entire presence was different than she remembered.

  Most of the fanfare ended back at the walls of the city where the returning soldiers marched. Excited families weled home their sons and daughters. For them it was a celebration of pead security as much as it was a joyful reunion. Many soldiers would retire and go to lead different lives. There were few career soldiers to be found in the regur military. Any MPs that returned sought to join Omega or the Academy depending oalent. If both failed, they returo the border likely to give up any hope of ever seeing a different position.

  The Royal Guards stopped her approach to the pabsp; She handed over her orders. It only took them a moment to skim over it before they stiffeheir stature. “You may pass, Lieutenant ander Eudokia!” The gates slowly opened in silent response.

  She o them and passed through. Within the walls, she found a familiar fabsp; He waited for her just at the entran the building. Her pace quied a little, her excitement a little difficult to restrain. The distaween them slowly decreased, but it wasn’t fast enough. Order lost out to childishness. Eudokia ran the rest of the distao meet him.

  Leaping only a meter away, Eudokia tched on to him. Immediately, she tur into a hug. It had been so long since she was able to be herself without all of the rules and structure. “I missed you, Demosthenes!”

  Anything he pnned on saying vanished. Demosthenes smiled warmly down at Eudokia. He patted her head a little. She was allowed a moment to be a child again. He thought it fair enough.

  Minutes passed before they started into the pad down the hall. Eudokia returo her previous self, in trol. Many eyes watched from the walls of the pabsp; Even outside was a risk, but it was something out of her trol. She had to maintain herself the rest of the time. She could do nothing to give those in opposition any sort of reason to doubt her.

  “How was the South Gate?”

  Idle chatter, he didn’t look at her. His rank as the General required him also to maintain a certain distanbsp; It was something she uood. “The sed and third years were less eventful than the first. It still set a record for number of incursions.”

  “Indeed, it’s unheard of to have more than one in a siour, if any. Five incursions, but it was fortunate for you. You have quite the aplishments and accodes thanks to supreted events.”

  “I was merely lucky.” Eudokia had her suspis about the incursions, nothing she could ever prove beyond a gut feeling. They were never as big as the first one, but they never seemed like the normal researchers they received. They might have tried to pass themselves off as such after the first attempt, but it was clear there was something different about them. It felt like they were testing something.

  “Luck or not, you’re able to stand here because of it.”

  However much she wao question it, she knew Demosthenes spoke the truth. It allowed her to achieve the goals she desired. Today was what she wanted more than anything. It was a matter that could be addressed ter.

  The two stood before aall door. Oher side waited a specifically for her. They had to wait for the doors to open. “How is his health?”

  “The same, there’s been no ge, but it is not ued.”

  “No,” she replied softly. She knew how the King fared, unlike when she was younger. They no loried to hide the facts from her. It was something they both knew was ing. It was an unavoidable fate. Their only question was how long would he st. He tio show stubbornness and a strong will to live where others would have already folded. It was clear something drove him to remain alive, something Eudokia didn’t uand. She only prayed he would wake the day and the after.

  When the doors finished fully opening a soldier from inside shouted out into the rge chamber. “Presenting General Demosthenes Alexander and Lieutenant ander Eudokia!” They stepped into the grand hall of the throne room.

  Marble stones lihe entire floor of the chamber. They were finely polished, refleg the numerous support ns that rose more than fifty meters into the air. Spaced between the ns were tless people all watg as a child ehe sacred hall. Eae a suro remember. It pressive atmosphere, different from the sort she lived.

  She kept everything strid to the letter. Her eyes faced forward at the end of the parade. There the King waited for her along with all the old men of the cil. The closer she marched, she reized the familiar faces of the elite Royal Guard standing on fnking positions of the throne. They were the personal guard of the King, eae a MP specially selected.

  When she came within speaking range, she could pick out the faces of the Royal Guard. In front of them, a middle-aged man stood with the air of importahe Captain of the Royal Guard. He was closest to the King and followed him everywhere, the visible face of the Royal Guard in the publibsp; Everyone knew him and respected him.

  They stopped at the end of the floor and the rise of the stairs to the throne. Despite the deih of the King, he mao carry a strong and dominating presenbsp; He had a good fa?ade for the public.

  “I wele you, Lieutenant ander Eudokia to these a halls,” he greeted formally.

  Eudokia k before him, l her head. “It is an honor, Your Majesty.”

  He cracked a bit of a smile before motioning to the cil. The head of the cil walked slowly to the King’s side handing over something. On hand, he stood up looking out to the entire chamber. “It is for two reasons that I summoned you here. On this day, I am proud to bestow the honor of a surname. A surname is grao only those distinguished individuals that have shown to have the heart of Atntis withio proted carry into the future.”

  Stepping down slowly, he approached Eudokia, still bowing. “Before us, stands a child, but in only three years she has proven she is no longer a child, but an adult of Atntis! Her unwavering duty both to her fellow Atnteans and the safety of Atntis are proof of this.” He extended a hand to Eudokia. “No longer are you Eudokia, but rise as Eudokia Ismene.”

  She stood up lifting her head to meet gazes with the King. She felt some wavering in her chest at the sight of him and his weling smile. The proud look on his face told her everything.

  “It is only the King who grants this honor. Each King and eadividual’s gift are uo their achievements.” He presented a short sword with an intricate design carved into the sheath and handle. “May you tio protect Atntis with this sword.”

  She accepted the gift of the King. “To the st breath I have, my life is only for one purpose.”

  “Well said.” He dismissed the head of the cil and called for the Captain of the Royal Guard. The tall man took up his pce at the King’s side. “It is with a sad heart that I accept the retirement of Ektor Nior.” Ektor stepped out in front of Eudokia.

  “Lieutenant ander Eudokia Ismene, I, Ektor Nior, Captain of the Royal Guard, pass to you the a sword which every geion of protector has carried since we arrived in this nd.” He unfastehe belt attached to his sheath. The design was irregur, but careful, the sign of handmade work from a time before the onpce usage of their powers. He handed over the symbol of the Captain to Eudokia. “I rest easy now.”

  Eudokia stared at Ektor for a moment. Unlike all in the pace, Ektor actually knew her secret. His words carried more ihan others would know. She bowed in acceptance of the transfer of power. “I will uphold the honor of my predecessors. My life is the King’s shield.”

  After the exge, the King stretched out his arm calling all to his attention. “I present to you all, Captain of the Royal Guard Eudokia Ismene!”

  She turned around to face all of the eyes for the first time. They stared likely a little questioning of someone her age in su important position. They wondered if she could even protect the King. However, they kept silent, as they couldn’t say anything about someoh such a record. And more so, it was the King’s decision.

  “Long live Atntis!” they shouted in unison. They accepted her, even if it was with reservation.