"Asiyah, please step forward." My commanding officer Martin spoke out among our people.
A small step out and I stood slightly in front of the rest of the clan members, my black boots clicking against the stone floor.
"You've been requested by the king, you are to appear before him tomorrow morning at sunrise. Do you understand your order?"
I nodded as my jaw clenched. Although I was apart of a clan that essentially protects the kingdom I was not too keen to the thought of actually meeting the man in question. The only reason I joined was because of my passion to fight.
"Alright, you are dismissed. All of you." He was stern with his dismissal, leaving no room for argument.
We all bowed our heads to the commander and the various sound of boots hitting the stone floor echoed throughout the halls. We all departed, headed to the dinning room to be served dinner.
An arm flung over my shoulder, the smell of petrichor and sweat wafting to my nose.
"Siy!!!! Look at you! Meeting our gracious king, having the honor we all wish we could obtain!" My best friend, Axel.
I glanced up and chuckled. Axel was the biggest fool I had met, but was even more kind. He was one of the first people I had grown to care for after joining the clan. Though he wasn't born an orphan, his parents were long gone since the last royal deployment years ago.
"Axel, If this were something I wanted I'd be jumping around like a fool as you are now."
Axel's playful smile disappeared as he gave a huff. "Y'know Asiyah, I've been told he's not all that bad."
I rolled my eyes and brushed away his comment as we walked through the doors and into the dinning room. I took my seat that was to the left of Martin, my commander, to the right sat his mate. Of course the strongest clan member was to sit by the leader. But the right side of any commanding officer was for their mate.
Many cooks and kitchen staff began setting meals down onto the table, meatloaf, chicken, vegetables, fish, and various fruits. We normally ate a feast every Friday night but tonight we were celebrating hence my summoning from the king.
I sat with my back straight and my iced blue eyes glaring forward. Thoughts of how I could somehow get myself out of meeting the king tomorrow filled my head. Of course if I didn't show up our clan might drop a few ranks, but it wasn't anything we couldn't fix within a couple weeks. Although at the same time I would loose my individual rank and be shunned. Therefore disappointing Martin, and probably getting an earful.
The options...
"Asiyah, are you going to eat? This feast is in your favor after all." Martin spoke, his eyes hooded with exhaustion.
I shook my head no, I was definitely not in the mood to eat. Martin knew my disliking for the king so he didn't argue with me. He instead stood up and took his mates hand, excusing their departure to their private quarters.
Shorty after I had my fill on ale I did the same, Axel came and decided on walking with me, like the lost puppy he seemed to be.
"You know, this is gonna be a good thing. I can just feel it!" Axel was what you would call a happy go lucky type of guy. Which was weird because I typically secluded myself so it's hard to believe we're actually best friends.
The first day we met I had punched him in the nose for trying to take one of my cookies in the dinning hall. He laughed and gave me his chocolate milk in return, holding his bloodied nose in the process. I suppose you could say opposites truly to do attract.
"How can you be so sure though. The king has taken everything from me, and you too." I whispered the last part as stopped in front of my door with my back turned to Axel.
"You know that isn't completely true...Just give it a chance Asiyah. I'll make sure I see you tomorrow before you depart." He turned me around and hugged me, giving me a peck on the forehead. Through the years he had become the brother I never had. I nodded allowing a deep sigh to escape my person, gods he better be right.
"Good night."
"Night."