I hear the scream... there is no mistaking it. That is the cry of my lady liege, the object of my affection...

Lyndis...

Silent Guardian

As I rush through the dark forests of the Dread Isle, searching for any sign of my liege, fear begins to trickle through my mind. That was a scream of pain I heard earlier; what if she's hurt? Or even worse, what if I find out that the unthinkable has occurred?

What if my only reason for existence is... is...

No, I cannot say it.

She is alive. She has to be alive...

Even though I try to calm myself down, desperation begins to creep through my once methodical search; it is nearly impossible to see anything, (damn this blasted fog!) so I'm afraid that I'll miss her...

But wait a minute!

The fog is a bit clearer here, and as I scan the area around me, Lyndis' presence finally reveals itself into my sights, and what a comforting sight that is for me! I gallop quickly to her side; she lies there motionless, her leg bleeding profusely... and I can only fear that I am too late.

Lyndis... I'm so sorry... I couldn't make it in time... I couldn't protect my liege; the one thing I promised I would do for you...

A short cough interrupts my thoughts, and I look down in astonishment as Lyndis begins to stir, slowly pulling herself up into a sitting position. I prepare my last vulnerary without hesitation, opening it and gently helping her drink from the small container. When she is finished drinking, I can tell she is already beginning to recover her energy, much to my relief.

"K...Kent... thank you..."

When the two of us arrive back at camp, I help Lyndis limp to the healer's tent to be checked on, but it seems that she doesn't want the help. I take a look down at her right leg; horribly cut and bruised from her last skirmish away from the group. It doesn't look good at all, and it must hurt profusely; I actually feel aches from the pain hidden away in her eyes, but her pride prevents her from saying anything about it.

"Please, Kent, I'm feeling better now. I think I can go on from here."

And so, I unwillingly allow her to try and walk on her own, but after taking a step, she begins to fall, and I swiftly catch her before she hits the ground.

Now, I've never seen my liege cry before; she would never allow herself to cry in the first place... but after that fall, I can see the tears forming in her eyes, and she tries with all her might to keep them back.

"Ouch... I... guess I can't do it..."

I wish nothing more than to comfort her, to tell her that she's not weak for ending up like this...

But I know I can't.

I cannot get too close to Lyndis, lest I break all codes of conduct between a liege and her knight... so I help her limp along in silence, trying to think of how I can help her get through this tough situation.

Entering the tent, I help Lyndis onto the bed before letting Priscilla and Serra examine her leg. It's difficult to sit, waiting for news, but I wait outside regardless, staying awake for hours in the slight chance that I can help my liege. I feel so useless right now, not able to do anything to help, but my waiting finally pays off when the girls call me back inside to explain the predicament.

It appears that Lyndis' leg was slashed and battered so badly, she may never walk again. Even if she does fully recover, she's going to need someone to help her walk and do things for her. I immediately volunteer; the guilt of not being there when she needed me most is eating me up inside.

"But Kent, won't that be inconvenient for you? To help me this much? I know that you are my knight, but..."

I shake my head in disagreement. Telling her that nothing would make me happier just to make sure she's okay, I walk up to her and rub her shoulder lightly to try and reassure her, prompting her to embrace me lightly.

"Thank you... I will try not to cause you too much trouble."

I cannot fail. I have to do everything I can to make sure that Lyndis is taken care of.

Become her silent guardian.

Protect her from the dangers around her, while keeping silent about my feelings...

As the weeks go by, I never let up in my duty. My liege cannot even stand without holding onto someone, which would usually be me, of course, so I help her prepare her meals, move from one place to another, and protect her if bandits ambush the camp. With Lyndis in no condition to fight because of her leg, I have to stay behind with her as the rest of the army goes off to fight.

Actually, I don't really mind all that much; it gives me more time to be alone with her.

At first, Lyndis isn't too keen on expressing herself in relation to the situation; I think she doesn't say anything because of her recent past. Living by herself before moving to Caelin, she's not been able to show signs of weakness...

But every day, I tell her it's okay to ask for help. I know it's hard for her to accept sometimes, but I know she appreciates it, even if the same thing seems to happen every day.

"I'll just lean on your horse, Kent. You don't need to help me back... AHH! Oh! Well, thanks for catching me again..."

Nevertheless, she keeps trying to walk herself, but to no avail. After a month of this, I wonder if she ever will walk again. She told me once that she wishes to return to the plains after the war is over...

But if she can't walk, how can she live on her own and take care of herself?

I shudder thinking about it; my liege, trying so hard to survive, just to end up on the ground in defeat...

...without anyone to help her.

I feel so close to my liege now; after all this time together, I don't want to leave her. I want to stay by her side, keep her safe.

I want to be with Lyndis for the rest of my life.

As Lyndis and I sit together by the fire and reminisce, these thoughts swirl around in my head. This is our last night together, it seems, because the army is fighting the final battle as we speak, and so we begin talking about the future. We'll head back to Caelin, and life will continue as before...

After coming to this conclusion, we sit in silence, watching the glowing fire burn before our eyes. In all honesty, I don't want this night to end... I just want to continue sitting beside Lyndis forever. But alas...

...I guess it is not meant to be.

"Kent..."

Looking over in response to my name, I inwardly gasp; the most emotionally distressing sight of my life is playing out right in front of my eyes:

My liege crying.

I can almost feel the sadness in my own heart as tears roll down her softened face.

"Kent, I... I want to return to the plains. I know I can't rule Caelin, I just can't. It's not me. But in the condition I'm in, there's no way I could live on my own. And this helplessness I feel... you've done so much for me, and I don't deserve it, just because you are my knight."

She leans into me, holding onto my arm for support as she continues to lightly weep beside me, and now's the time when I know that I cannot be silent about my feelings anymore.

I owe it to Lyndis to be honest with her.

I am sorry, Lyndis...

"My liege... I am not doing this because I have to. Lyndis... you have made me the happiest man alive, just for allowing me to be by your side, to be in your company, to give me purpose. I give my thanks for allowing me this opportunity."

My liege looks at me with surprise; surely the shock of my confession must be affecting her in some negative way.

"And now, my only wish to you, Lyndis, is that I can stay by your side forever. Live in the plains... together. I am truly sorry I never said any..."

The pressing of soft lips against my own disrupts my words, and when we slowly separate ourselves from each other, I simply sit in awe as Lyndis looks towards me with her trademark determination in her eyes.

"Kent, thank you for everything. Nothing would make me happier..."

She gives me a heartwarming smile.

"...than living together, with you..."

Slowly embracing, the two of us watch the fire calmly crackle out, and this causes me to reflect on our last couple of minutes together. Right now, I am her silent guardian.

But that will change very soon.

I will still be her guardian, not as her knight...

...but hopefully, one day, as her husband.

THE END

Author's Notes

This is for Kitten Kisses! She has been a huge influence in my writing, serving as a beta-reader for Her Smile, and then showing me the basics of first-person narrative so that I could write At First Sight. She deserves my many thanks! I figured one day I'd get the KentxLyn bug and write some 'pure, unadulterated crap'; I could never surpass the master, of course, but I knew I needed to give it a shot!

I wanted to try something unique this time; the only dialogue coming from Lyn until the very end. Strange situation too, with Lyn's leg. Ouch. I hope my thoughts weren't too scattered to make sense and sound right.

I'm still not positive if I'm doing the first-person narrative completely right or not, but since no one complained last time, I assume it's fine. It was occasionally tough to figure out when I should use italics, though. It is Kent narrating, but it was difficult to distinguish when he was merely thinking sometimes.

I hope I didn't mess up the characters based on their circumstances. Characterization seems to be my biggest weakness, (along with realism, but that's usually not an actual PROBLEM, per se... :p) and unfortunately it can be hit or miss sometimes, so I hope I'm not too far off.

It's nice to be back writing again!