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

movement of Bethel. As Trina entered the courtyard from the heavy wooden double doors of the castle, she paused for a minute to watch her father. The Keystone stood, facing east and looking to the sky. Trina looked up to see what he saw. The moons had risen over the Courtyard, one full and one with a shadow creeping over its perfect circle. A billion stars twinkled shyly as the darkness grew deep, and the gentle wind rustled through the leaves of all the plants. For a moment, Trina thought twice about interrupting him. He was dressed in his lounging clothes, and seemed very strong and serene from this distance as he looked to the sky. His presence was something so large and so great that it could hardly be contained by the walls of this courtyard, and even out of the more formal ceremonial attire he would don for his consultation the next day, he still seemed a person of immense wisdom and knowledge, far beyond his youthful years. She stood quietly, admiring his proud posture, his height and his noble demeanor, and wondered if she would ever be able to emulate it accurately. So lost in her own thoughts Trina started when, without turning or even gesturing, her father spoke.  
    "Come stand with me, my daughter," he said, his voice clear and deep on the evening air, his old-world accent something that Trina had always loved. "Tell me what weighs so heavily on your mind this peaceful eve."
    Trina walked slowly across the expanse of the courtyard, noticing the beauty of the foliage, aware of the life force the surroundings held, a thing her father had always instructed her to do, to be conscious of. It had never been a difficult thing for her to remember.
    The Keystone reached his hand behind him as she approached, and Trina took it, the warmth of his skin a pleasant and calming familiarity. The Keystone stood upon a bridge that was built over a large pond, and the aged wood and stone creaked beneath her feet as she walked over the sturdy, carefully laid logs. It was just wide enough for two people, and her father squeezed her hand before he released it, and made a motion toward the patch of hyacinth flowers that grew next to the water.
    "The flowers seem eager this year, for the Twilight Bloom," he said. Trina looked at the bush, at the tightly swollen blossoms that appeared to be ready to burst from their size.
    "I'm starting on the horses tomorrow," she said. "I might have to paint them all three myself this year. I'm not sure if Quade or Clea will be here in time to do theirs." The Keystone smiled, then finally looked to his daughter.
    "If I recall, even when they are here to paint their own you do most of the painting, Kitrina," he said. Trina laughed, knowing it was true, and her father reached out a hand to touch her hair, examining the lock that he held between his finger and thumb, then looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She glanced away, avoiding his unasked question, remembering why she'd come to talk to him in the first place.
    "Father," she said, turning to grasp the wooden rail along the bridge, looking down to see the colorful fish that swam in the pond beneath them. "If a person of the kingdom was in need of help, but was too proud to ask for it, how would one persuade him to let go his pride, and request assistance?" The Keystone leaned on the rail and stared at his daughter, waiting to see if she would continue. When she did not, he spoke.
    "Assistance is available to all of Bethel who require it," he said simply, knowing more of the story had to reveal itself before he could offer the advice that his daughter needed. "Of course we make no judgment of who they are or why they request it. These are things you already know, my daughter."
    "I know," Trina said, thinking on what words to use. "But if he still would not ask, how would one make him ask?"
    "Perhaps he is not truly in need."
    "No, he is in need. One wouldn't camp in the woods if he weren't in need."
    A silent minute passed and Trina looked at her