'Unauthorized Entry'
[small]{/// Words ///} - Flashback[/small]
[hr]
There were two blonde children sitting at Lauren's kitchen table. Ages seven and ten respectively, they were both waiting patiently for her to begin speaking. They had already finished one TV show and instead of a movie Simon, the boy, had requested a story instead of more visual entertainment. "But with fightin! Enna wolf!" With those quick rules established the story began.
"Once upon a time there lived a man. A king. And he ruled over many villages and towns. Now he wasn't the bravest king, or the strongest. But he was the kindest king the people had ever had."
{////}
"Mr. Reinhart, this is Lauren, she's from the Ranston Security Center, and comes highly recommended. We sent you the transcripts yester-"
"Hello there, Lauren. How would you like a tour?" The grey-haired gentleman smoothly interrupted his head of security and held out a hand.
Lauren's eyes widened slightly. This was her new employer? She'd been expecting a portly old man with a bad attitude. This gentleman was tall, normal-looking, and despite the grey/white hair seemed quite amused to have interrupted what was supposed to be a serious affair. He reminded her of her second-year college professor. The man tilted his hand slightly and Lauren rushed to reply.
"Yes, sir. I'd like that." Carefully stepping past the now-stoic security officer Lauren took the man's hand. Swiftly she was lead, almost dragged, forward.
Speaking loudly the man began describing each display. "Now this section is purely pre-790 A.D. My son, you'll meet him later, rather likes this one but I prefer..."
{////}
"He ruled his land fairly with his queen. The crops grew big and strong. The people owned their own land, and had jobs. No one was unhappy. Not even the king. In fact the king's greatest treasure was his garden. The royal gardens were filled with every flower imaginable, every fruit, and even some trees."
"What about vegetables? Tomato's a vegetable!" Susan, the girl, spoke up for the first time that evening.
Lauren laughed softly. "There were vegetables", she confirmed, "Lots and lots of vegetables." Simon made a face. He didn't like vegetables, it seemed. Lauren continued her story.
"The biggest and most beautiful tree in the gardens had white leaves and white bark. And the leaves never changed color, no matter what the season. Because of this it became known simple as The White Tree. Many villagers would travel for days just to take a tour of the gardens and see the tree."
{////}
"It's called Fraxinus" Lauren turned as an unknown male approached. Sensing her unease the man quickly put his hands up in a placating gesture.
"I'm sorry I didn't meant to bother you." Though his tone was gentle the man continued approaching.
"It's alright" Lauren replied carefully. Mr. Reinhart had left her standing at his 'best items' display, citing some paperwork he needed to get for her to sign.
"My father's favorite piece." As the man came within striking distance Lauren noted that his features were very similar to her new employer's. "I'm Oliver." As his father had done before him, Oliver held out his hand.
Lauren shook the offered hand carefully before turning back to the blade she'd been admiring.
"How old is it?" she asked.
"No one knows." the man replied.
"It's beautiful." Delicately made and polished so that it shone bright, Lauren could see how it was a prized item.
"Would you like to hear its story?" Oliver asked.
"Sure." She still had time until Mr. Reinhart, the elder, returned.
Oliver nodded briefly.
"Well first off, it's not truly -named- Fraxinus, that's just what's on the paperwork. Father thought it was funny. You see when they first started researching..."
{////}
"The king had many attendants guarding his property. And he had a two special guards just for the tree. One was a brave young warrior and the other wasn't a man at all, but a wolf."
"Ah woof?" Simon's mouth was half-filled with granola. Walking quickly to the kitchen counter Lauren retrieved a napkin and handed it to the boy before returning to her own seat.
"Yes, a wolf. But it wasn't a mean wolf. And it wasn't the Big Bad Wolf." Susan grinned and lowered the arm she'd raised. Lauren nodded slightly at the girl. "Together the warrior and the wolf guarded the tree. The warrior guarded by day, and the wolf by night."
Lowering her voice, Lauren put both hands on the table and leaned forward.
"But one day, a group of villagers became angry. They looked at the king's garden and they decided that they wanted it for themselves. Even though they weren't hungry. They weren't in pain. But they wanted the White Tree. They thought that the king should be more focused on them. And so the group came up with a plan. Late one night, they requested an audience with the king. And the king, they knew, would take a while to wake up. So while half of them waited in the main hall, the other half took torches and broke into the Gardens. They set the plants on fire, and the fences, and the trees."
The storyteller paused to observe the curious gazes of the children. Simon's half-eaten granola bar was laying flat on the table. Susan had her head resting on her arms.
Lauren raised her voice slightly and sped up her words. "Just as the people were about to leave, the warrior appeared! Quickly she ran to the gardens and grabbed the nearest water bucket. She threw it on the flames!"
The story halted abruptly. Simon rocked back and forth before blurting out his question. "Did it work?"

The boy's enthusiasm allowed Lauren to smile. But she shook her head sadly.
"No, there wasn't enough water to put out the flames. The warrior was forced to leave. She raised the alarm and tried to get others to help. But it was too little, too late..."
"What about the wolf?" Susan asked. Her head was raised and she poked at the table as she recalled, "The wolf had the night." The girl pointed at Lauren, as though the adult has messed up the story.
Again Lauren shook her head. "When the fire cleared...", she moved her chair and it scraped noisily against the floor, "...the warrior found the wolf curled around the tree. The tree was untouched. But the wolf..."
"Woof died?" The granola-impaired words were innocent. Lauren reached across the table and opened up Simon's napkin to make a small 'plate' just as some crumbs fell.
"Wolf died." she repeated.
{////}
"I. Failed. He. I.Why?" Broken and incoherent words tumbled from her mouth as she struggled to breathe. A warm hand, weathered with age, came to rest gently on her shoulder.
"You didn't fail, lass. You didn't fail me and you certainly didn't fail him. No one could have known this would would happen." Fitzroy Reinhart was just as deep in grief as Lauren but he carried it with grace.
{////}
"What happened next?" Susan asked.
"Next?" Lauren tapped her fingers gently on the table "Next...the king honored the wolf with a burial. The garden was replanted. But the warrior left. No one knows where she went. She just...left."
{////}
"You did not fail me, understand?"
"Yes, sir...."
Two weeks after the funeral service Fitzroy had shown up at Lauren's front door. Alone, without any security. Her resignation request was crumpled up in his hand. Lauren watched as he tossed the papers in the direction of the trash can and stepped inside of her home like he'd been there before. Which, he hadn't.
Lauren let Mr. Reinhart walk around her apartment. It wasn't very big, there was a single bedroom, a kitchen, and a small living area with sparse furnishing.
"You were trained to be a solider but you weren't born to be one." Fitzroy wasn't looking at her when he said it, so Lauren thought perhaps she'd misheard.
"I'm sorry?"
"This is not you." he declared. He turned and made a sweeping gesture to encompass the room. Or perhaps the bare walls. Or perhaps both.
"You need some pictures. Or some paintings. I know you have a degree in History. I've read your file."
Lauren frowned. She'd been told that before. By Oliver...the room suddenly became blurry.
Seeing Lauren starting to become upset, Fitzroy moved closer and took both of her hands in her own.
"I'm sorry." he apologized. But it did little to ease the hurt and pain.
Mr. Reinhart back up a step and made another declaration. This one was quieter. "I have one final task for you. But first, let's sit down, shall we? Come on...it's alright."
{////}
"That's sad." Simon pouted. "I wanted a good story."
Lauren smiled at the boy's protest. "I'm sorry, Simon. How about next time you pick the story, okay?"

"'Kay" With a grin that revealed two missing teeth, Simon jumped off of his chair. Bits of granola and shredded napkin remain at his place on the table. Lauren knew he was heading for the bathroom but the loudly exclaimed, "Momma!" interrupted his path.
Simon launched himself at his mother, who had to drop her purse to keep from falling. Lauren bent to retrieve the item as Susan began packing her homework back into her book-bag.
"I hope they weren't any trouble." Samantha, who liked to go by Sam, was Lauren's age but other than that they were nothing alike. Tall, petite, with nails perfectly manicured Samantha never cared for exerting herself anymore than strictly necessary. But though somewhat shallow she was still one of the few co-workers Lauren could actually talk to.
"They were just fine." Lauren assured her.
"Bye Mis'ward."
"Goodbye Simon."
Susan waved and ducked her head shyly before disappearing after her brother.
Lauren waved also to Sam as the three left the sidewalk and piled into a brand new sedan. She locked the door firmly, waiting for the near-silent hiss of the additional locks before sighing quietly.
The kitchen table mess was cleared quickly. Then the lights were shut off. Six steps took Lauren down the hall and into a softly lit room. She approached the crib quietly. There, half sheltered in shadow, her son lay sleeping peacefully. One hand was lightly clenched into his fleece blanket. After making certain the blanket was secure Lauren left. There was one more stop to make.
Further down the hall was the doorway to the mini-Museum. Her own private, slightly borrowed, collection of weaponry. The room's security was greater than that of the rest of the house combined. For that reason it took a good ten seconds to unlock the door. After doing so, Lauren paused. She had an odd feeling...
The automatic lights activated with a slight flicker. Soft blue fluorescence illuminated six display cases lining the walls. And three men in pressed suits standing in the middle of the room. Clothed from head to toe in black, the only thing unique about the men was the color of their eyes. The man on the left had green eyes. The middle man had blue eyes. And the man on the right had eyes that almost looked black, but certainly had to be some sort of dark brown. All of this information was cataloged as Lauren's hand went to the her side, brushing past her shirt to reach the baton strapped there.
"Who are you?" she asked as she slid the weapon free of its holster. The men certainly didn't look like normal burglars.

The man standing in the middle answered in a surprisingly low voice. "Who we are is not important. We have a job for you." The man's companions were standing at attention.
"My answer is no." There was only one kind of job that men in suits wanted. And she was content with her current job. "Get out of my house." Keeping her gaze on the middle man Lauren leaned back against the door. It wasn't a casual gesture. The concealed panic button hovered an inch from her fingertips.
"Ah, we thought you might say that." In a smooth, almost choreographed the men on the left and right stepped forward. One lifted something up into the air while the other put his hands out to help display the item. Light glinted off a familiar weapon.
Lauren sucked in a harsh breath. There were only two people in the world who could access that case. "How did you get-" She hadn't even seen them!
"We have no intention of depraving your family of its heritage." The middle man raised his hands and made a strange gesture over the dagger but he did not speak.
'What?' Lauren's anger diminished slight in confusion. Her family. Her oh no they weren't. Her voice rose, "You leave my son out of this!" Whatever this was.
"He will be unharmed. All we ask is that you come with us." The weapons was spun so that its hilt faced Lauren. The left-side man actually knelt before offering the weapon.
"Why?" She had to know.
"We told you. You are being hired."
"As a bodyguard?"
"As a soldier."
"I'm not a soldier."
There was a pause. "You will be." And for the first time there was a hint of emotion in the man's voice. It was hard to pinpoint what emotion, though.
Lauren remained silent for a moment. "I need to make a phone call." she said at last. The closest suit nodded. Turning just far enough to hide the phone's screen Lauren dialed a direct number. A bored, tired sounding voice answered.
"Reinhart Security Services, how may I help you?"
"It's Zayin." Lauren's reply was clipped and precise, "I need someone to watch my son for a few days. And I need someone here immediately."
"Ma'am I'm sorry we don't provide..." There was a pause and some very loud keyboard clicks. The voice woke up a bit and there was the sound of a throat being cleared. "-I mean yes ma'am we'll send someone over right away. Is five minutes okay?"
Lauren looked up at the suits. But there was no expression in any of the faces. "Make it four, please. Thank you." Without waiting for another textbook response she flipped the phone shut. She took the dagger in her free hand. As always the metal was cool, the weight solid. Lauren leaned back to open the door. With the dagger she pointed down the hallway towards the foyer.
"I will meet you...gentlemen...outside. After I see my son."
