Page 1 of Highland Guard
Prologue
1035 - Abbey of Sant'Antimo, Tuscany, Italy
“Naomi, wake up!”
“What is it, Papa?” Naomi rubbed her eyes.
“Get up and dress. Hurry!” her father replied as he hovered beside her bed.
Naomi sensing the urgency in his voice, sat up and asked, “What is happening?”
“There is no time.” He tossed her cloak onto the bed and said, “Hurry, wear it over your tunic and grab your shoes. We must go.”
Naomi stood and slid her feet into her slippers as she quickly dressed. “Where are we going?”
“I need you to go to Father Nofri. Can you do that,figlia?”
“Yes Papa, but why?” she replied.
“There are men coming for me,” he said as he kept moving about the room, shoving items into a small sack.
Naomi frowned in confusion. “What do they want with you?”
He replied with pain in his eyes, “I am not who you think I am.”
“Who are you?”
“All you need to know is that you and your mother, God rest her soul, are the best things that ever happened to me.” Holding a small velvet pouch in his hands, Naomi watched him pull out an exquisite gold necklace, the like she had never seen before. At its center hung an amethyst with purple tones, cradled within a delicate golden clasp.
“Listen to me carefully,” he said. “This necklace is very important. I need you to wear it and keep it hidden under your tunic. You must keep it safe and always hidden. Do you understand?”
“Si, Papa.”
As her father secured it around her neck and under the collar of her garment, he said, “Show this necklace to Father Nofri and no one else.”
Naomi nodded. Then paused when she saw him cross to the other side of the room and pull out a wooden panel. He then reached inside the gap, pulling out a sword and shield. In all her years, Naomi had never seen her gentle father wield a sword. He was a peaceful farmer, and he and her late mother worked in the abbey. They were peaceful people.
With a fearful voice, she asked, “What are you doing, Papa? Why do you need those? You always said we must learn to be a people of peace.”
He turned back to her and replied, “I was wrong. Sometimes we must fight to protect the people we love.” He drew the sword from its scabbard and tilted it from side to side like he was trying to remember how to use it.”
“Papa, you are scaring me. Put that away.”
He shook his head. “They will be here soon. Come, you must leave.”
“But who are they?”
“They used to be my brothers, but no more. Whatever happens, you must survive.”
In a quick succession of moves, he had the sack over her shoulder and the underground cellar door opened. He ushered her towards it. “Naomi, use our path, the one I’ve shown you before through the woods. Your friend, Renzo, will meet you on the other side. Be silent as you make your way to Father Nofri. Once he sees the necklace, he will know what to do.”
“Why can’t you come with me?”
“Because this is where my journey ends. Do not look back. Keep running until it is safe.”
“Papa, please, I do not want to go without you.” Naomi began crying as she clutched his arm.
He crouched down and said, “Listen to me. I hoped you never needed to know anything about battle, anything about war. I should not have shielded you. That is my failure. But you must go now to the land of your mother’sfamiglia.”
