Stone Angel

1. Jeraido

Jeraido sighed, staring up at the sky. It was dotted with white in an interestingly complex pattern, which if he squinted and turned his head sideways rather looked like the scene on the ancient tapestry in the Great Hall, the Feast of the Gods. But maybe it was just his imagination, because if he turned the other way, the clouds looked like, well, clouds.

He sighed again, resting his back against the base of the statue. If he turned his head back far enough, he could see her face, upside down. Funny that. If you looked at people’s faces upside down, they changed until they were barely human anymore, but his angel’s face simply became more beautiful. It must be something to do with the sculptor’s craftsmanship, he thought.

He was distracted from his thoughts of wonder by the sound of footsteps approaching, and turned to see who it was.

‘Enjoying your day off?’ the intruder said with a smile, sitting down beside him.

‘Immensely,’ Jeraido said. ‘Khel, what are you doing here?’

‘I’m on my break, and I thought I’d go and see where my best friend is hiding from me. Could have guessed it was here, though.’

‘I don’t spend that much time here,’ Jeraido said. ‘Do I?’

‘You do,’ said Khel with a knowing look. ‘Far more than is good for you, I might add. What is it about this place you like so much?’

Jeraido shrugged and looked around him. The statue under which he sat was situated in a more secluded part of the palace gardens, and they were surrounded by birch trees, carefully pruned shrubbery and beds of abundantly blooming roses. It was a quiet, peaceful clearing, but he knew that wasn’t why he liked it here so much.

It was the statue.

He didn’t know why, though, that statue moved him so much. All he knew was that he never felt truly at peace, never truly happy, except whenever he was here.

He said as much to Khel, but his friend just laughed.

‘Careful, Jer, one might think you’ve fallen in love with a statue,’ he said. ‘You need a girlfriend.’

‘I’m not in love with her,’ Jeraido protested. ‘How can I be? She’s a statue. I just… It’s so peaceful here.’ Khel shook his head.

‘You really need a night out with a nice girl of flesh and blood, you,’ he said. ‘Oh, that reminds me. The captain wants to talk to you.’

‘Me? What for?’ Khel shrugged.

‘I wouldn’t know. Why’d she tell me? She said ‘preferably today’, so if I were you I’d go and see what you’ve done wrong.’

‘I didn’t do anything wrong!’ Jeraido said indignantly, getting up, eliciting another shrug from Khel.

‘She looked like you’d done something,’ he said. ‘You’ll find out soon enough, I suppose.’

‘Yeah, whatever,’ Jeraido said, resting a hand on his angel’s wing and casting a last glance on her tranquil, serene, beautiful face before leaving.

‘You come right back and tell me everything!’ Khel shouted after him.

On his way to Captain Naeira’s office, Jeraido forced himself not to run. He had no idea why the captain would want to see him, and it certainly wasn’t because he’d done something wrong, as Khel had suggested. His career in the Palace Guard had been nothing but exemplary; he did his job, and did it well, boring as it was. He ought to be proud, he knew that. Not just any simple City Guard could become a Palace Guard; you had to have proven yourself. It was a position that brought you status and respect throughout the city. And yet he didn’t feel particularly proud of his achievement. He was good with a sword, and his time on the City Watch had honed his reflexes to their maximal capabilities, but sometimes he longed for the uncomplicated city life. Being a Palace Guard might be a respectable position, but it had certain unpleasant side effects. Politics being the largest and most unpleasant one.

At the gate to the Barracks he greeted two colleagues, who nodded serenely in answer and let him pass without question. Everyone knew him, knew he was the captain’s favourite guard, knew about his heroic deed three years ago. They still talked about it, and new recruits were told of him as an example.

He just wished they’d forget. Being famous was nice, for a while, and certainly being Lord Gerade’s protégé had its advantages but it hadn’t taken long for the political implications to catch up with him. And at times he even wished he’d done nothing, three years ago. His life certainly wouldn’t be as complicated as it was now, if he hadn’t.

He sighed, combed his hands through his hair, and shook those melancholy thoughts from his head. It took him a second or two to realise he was standing in front of the door to Naeira’s office, and he recollected himself, adjusted his uniform, and knocked.

‘Come in,’ came Naeira’s sharp voice from inside, and he opened the door and entered. The captain was sitting behind her desk, almost hidden behind stacks of paperwork. She looked up as he came in, and invited him to sit down. When she saw his look at the paperwork, she smiled and sighed.

‘Never become a captain, Jeraido,’ she said. ‘It’s an unforgiving job. The prestige isn’t worth the paperwork, and I don’t even have people to delegate the most tedious affairs to.’

‘I’ll bear that in mind, ma’am,’ Jeraido said with a grin. Naeira’s semi-sour and cynical attitude for some reason always cheered him up. Made the world seem less heavy in a way that rivalled his angel’s powers of peace and tranquillity.

‘Speaking of tedious affairs,’ Naeira continued, ‘I have a job for you.’

‘Ma’am?’ She dug through the paperwork until she unearthed a thickly written document.

‘I have here a request by our friend Lord Gerade, for you to look after his niece Larisha while she is here. She will be arriving in two days from her father’s estate. You will be her personal guard, not to leave her side unless when inappropriate. All your other duties will be cancelled for the length of her stay. Any questions?’

‘No, ma’am,’ Jeraido said, rather overwhelmed and surprised.

‘Good,’ said his captain, crumbling the piece of paper and throwing it away. ‘I trust you behave yourself and not be a disgrace to the Palace Guards.’

‘I will, ma’am. And I won’t.’

‘Wonderful. I suggest you go and enjoy the remainder of your day off – oh and take tomorrow off as well. You’ll probably need the rest.’

‘Yes ma’am. Thank you ma’am,’ Jeraido said, sensing he’d been dismissed. He got up, saluted and turned to leave. Naeira’s voice stopped him.

‘Tell Khel that his being your best friend does not automatically mean that he can forego his duties whenever you are free to do as you please. I want him back at his post in three minutes.’ Jeraido suppressed a chuckle and instead nodded.

‘I will, ma’am,’ he said and left.

So he was going to have to baby-sit Lord Gerade’s daughter. Well, it was something different. He had a feeling the boredom might be gone from his life soon.