Chapter 1

“Many of you love to recant the stories of old and to embellish it to make it your

own. With decades of this being allowed in society you all have turned the truths of my

deeds into legends, and I thank you for that, but then you kept going and you turned the

stories into lies. Lend me your ears and let me straighten out the details for you once

and for all. For there will come a day where you may have to answer to me or where I

may be your answer but either way, you will know who I am and you will fear me.”

“I have many names that you may know me by: The Guardian, Red

Shade, Mechanica, the Judge, or Yvette Saphadottir. It wasn’t the name that I was born

with but the name I took when my home left me and I left it. I was born from a loving

mother named Sapha to a spiteful father named Sholn. My mother was a beauty that

could be held to no flame. Whenever she was in a room, your eye was drawn to her like

a moth to a candle. She had green eyes with golden halos in them. When you looked at

them you would be drawn in and melt. She had porcelain skin that could only be

complimented by her pure silver hair. You could have spun her hair into jewelry so fine

that money could not buy it. Sholn was a bitter man that only had two loves: money and

Sapha.”

It was a cold morning in the early fall. There was a fire in the hearth and

worry upon my father’s face. Sapha had an uneventful pregnancy up until the moment

that she went into labor the night before. Sholn spent the night in the parlor with his

most trusted and only friend Andgal. Sapha was up in the master chamber with the

servant maidens. The maidens scuttled about the house grabbing supplies from time to

time always returning to the room in a ballet of chaotic silence. Sholn and Andgal

refused to ask any questions to the maidens of what Sapha’s current condition was.

They had seen the maidens rush in fresh towels while rushing out ones covered in the

sad stains of a deep burgundy blood. Sholn’s heart grew heavy with each passing hour,

his eyes focused in a distant gaze upon the floor. The house was silent. There were no

screams of labor, not a single sound filled the house of the happenings that took place

inside of it. There was on the howl of the wind, the rustling of leaves on the trees

outside, and uneasiness in the parlor. As the wind and the rustling died down a new

sound filled the house. A cry rung out through the house freezing everyone in it like a

deep winter chill. Sholn and Andgal immediately rose to their feet and headed up the

stairs to the master’s chamber. A servant maiden was at the door with tears draining off

the sides of her young oval face. Sholn showed no sympathy to her as he kept his

normal cold stoned face. Her hand wiped away the tears from her rosy face and forced

what could only be described as a strained smile. She turned to the large double doors

and pushed forward to reveal the room on the other side. The rich mahogany gateway

showed a four post bed having its sheets turned over for a fresh set. The rest of the

maidens were huddled by the large window, to the left of the bed.

Amidst all of the chaos was Sapha, carrying her same graceful poise that

she always did. If she was completely exhausted, she did not let anyone know of it. In

her arms was a young swaddled child. Sholn made his way through the mob of bodies

to where Sapha lounged in her outstretched chair. Sholn’s eyes fell to the new born in

her arms and his heart dropped as if it were a star falling out of the night sky. The child

had a pink cap on and he immediately knew what that meant.

“I thought that it was supposed....”

“Surprises do happen you know and I couldn’t be happier with this one.”

Saph said cutting him off.

Sholn’s eyes were filled with an unexpected sadness. They rose up to

meet Sapha’s. The bright green of her eyes had turned to a dark milky green. The

normal golden halos had faded to faint slivers of what they once had been. The pain in

her eyes was something that she could never have hidden. She motioned to one of the

maidens. The older heavy set woman gently took me from my mother’s embrace. With

the child out of her arms, you could see just how frail she was from the whole ordeal of

birth.

“Her name is Yvette.”, there was a coarseness to her voice that wasn’t

present before. Her eyes fell heavy and she relaxed into a deep sleep.

Sholn stood in the room, stunned and slack jawed. He had not a single

word in all of his thoughts that could sum up what was flowing through his mind.

Everyone in the room could have sworn that he had been turned to stone with his

silence and stillness. Slowly his fists coiled up into tight balls and his jaw rose into a

clench. Sholn had a daughter now, not the son and heir that he hoped for. He loved the

idea of showing his son the fine dance of gem and mineral trading. One day after

passing down all of his knowledge, Sholn would be able to die easily and let his son

inherit the business. A daughter had no place in this plan.

The maidens had been trying to usher everyone out of the chamber to let

Sapha get the much needed sleep that she desired. They realized that she had given a

lot through the long journey of delivering this child. What they didn’t realize was that

Sapha had given more than anyone could have known. She had given everything for

her daughter Yvette: her blood, breath, strength, heart, and her soul. What ever was

Sapha’s was Yvette’s. Sapha settled into her deep slumber, her breathing became more

shallow, her heartbeat slowed to a creep. The only thing that she had left was a single

solitary smile. She wore it like a warm blanket across the whole of her as she slipped

into the icy expanse of death.

Sholn still stood there, no longer slack jawed, but he wore a single tear. It

was the only thing that he had allowed to escape the steely armor of his persona. Inside

the armor, he shattered into thousands of pieces. Everything that he worked for had

now faded away. Terrible thoughts began to rattle his mind.

’What am I supposed to do now?’

’How could she just leave me all alone like that?’

’How could that child take my Sapha away?’

His heart grew cold like the wind outside. Sholn didn’t feel the

overwhelming joy of being a new father. He felt the rage of loss and loneliness. His

daughter would only know the isolation that he felt. He would provide the monetary

means but he would not raise her. Andgal could raise her. He was unmarried and well

known to be sterile.

Sholn proceeded out of the chamber past the maidens. Casualy letting the

maidens know of the passing of his wife as if he was telling them that he wanted a bath

poured for him. The maidens quickly rushed into the chamber in a fit of hysteria. Sholn

proceeded to the parlor where he knew that Andgal would be sitting.

“I need you to do a favor for me. It isn’t the usual request that I have of

you. I want you to raise Yvette for me. I will pay you and give the proper money to keep

both of you safe. She may be my daughter, but you can raise her properly. Can you do

this for me?”

Andgal just stood there in absolute stunned silence. He couldn’t grasp a

single thought in the foggy shroud of his whirling mind.

“Thank you Andgal, you have been better to me than anyone deserves.”

Without knowing it, Andgal had some how formed the words yes. It wasn’t

accomplished by his mind or mouth but by his heart. He felt deep down , to his very

essence, that this was the right course of action for him and his life. He wasn’t family

and would never inherit the family business but having a family of his own would be

good enough for him. He would love her like Yvette was his own daughter.

Next Chapter: New Chapter