Free Destiny's Kingdom: Legend of the Chosen by Daniel Huber, Jennifer Selzer Page A

through the air, evidence of the coming night.
    "Where will you go tonight dear sir?" Trina asked, tightening the shawl around her neck and feeling guilty for having it when he had none. "Won't you call on the assistance of the kingdom to give you a warm bed and meal?" Her voice was hopeful, gently persuasive.
    "No, my dear. I've a home of my own. Modest, but adequate. I camp in the north wood, close enough to the sea that I can hear the crashing breakers on the shore below, and catch the occasional scent of salt water on the air." The old man stood, brushing off his dirty clothes. "I should be getting back now, in fact. The air is beginning to chill."
    Trina felt the inside of her shawl for the last several coins from her day's earnings, and untied the woolen garment from her neck.
    "Can we escort you?" she asked. "How do you get home from here?”
    The man shook his head and hobbled toward a donkey cart nearby. "No thank you, dear. My friend here, the flower merchant, drops me close enough that I find my way. You get home yourself, before night falls, now."
    Trina walked up next to him, threw her shawl over his shoulders and handed over her container of mushroom stem soup. "Have these, then," she said, securing the tie around his neck, and wrapping his fingers around the tub of stew. "It will do me good to know you've had a warm meal and a cloak around you for the ride home." The man started to protest, but Clea chimed in.
    "No point in arguing kind sir. She's very stubborn." He smiled, his grin strange from missing teeth.
    "Thank you," he said simply, nodding his head.
    "What is your name, gentle man?" Trina asked. "I never know how to address you."
    "Lamont," he replied. "And I know you must be the artist Bel’ah. I can smell the oil of pastels on your hands." He had reached the cart that would take him home, and he waved goodbye to the two young women who stood nearby. Trina sighed, troubled and distressed. Clea put her hand on Trina’s arm, steering her toward home.
    "You cannot protect them all, Trina."
    "But I must," she replied as they walked. "They are my people. My responsibility."  
    Clea sighed. "He will have a warm sleep and a full belly tonight."  
    "Yes," Trina replied, "but tomorrow is another day."
    "People like that live day to day, Trina. Today has been a success for him. Be content with that because it is true. People choose their own path and believe me," Clea shook her head from the images in her mind. "The very worst here on Bethel is paradise compared to the best on lots of other planets."
    "So I'm told," said Trina and she looked at her friend with sadness.

CHAPTER 5

    T rina dropped her supplies on a chair in the corner and stooped to look in the mirror before she walked out of her bedchamber. Her hair had almost dried on the walk from Clea's house, but it still seemed a bit dull from the rinse that she'd given it that morning. Dark was nearly fallen though, and perhaps no one would notice until she had the chance to wash it out thoroughly later on. She turned and headed out the door, down the stairs and along the hallway toward the place where she knew she would find her father.  
    The Courtyard of the Moons had long been known as the Keystone's favored spot for reflection, and he took time on more evenings than not to walk its spacious grounds, and think on things of importance. As the moons of Bethel rose above the circular wall of the courtyard, their muted light bathed the area with a perfectly even glow. It seemed that the night blooming flowers and plants craned toward the moonlight as much as the day plants stretched toward the warmth of the sun, and the energy within this particular area of the castle was balanced and invigorating. Stone paths and low, braided wood fences made a decorative maze through the gardens, and had been laid along the path of the moons as they moved around the planet, so that one walking in the garden would, if he walked slowly enough, be following the natural