I sit quietly in the hall. The floor is carpeted here, and my old bones find it comforting. I doze, more deeply than in my younger days, but still alert for foreign sounds.
From my place in the center of my Lord and Master's demense, I can respond to any threat. I listen, the years having dimned my eyesight, but my hearing is as acute as ever.
I am not the carefree young pup who entered my Lord's service many years ago, but no matter. Where time has introduced aches and pains, made the vision fuzzier, and made stiffness a daily burden, it has not dimmed my sense of duty, my hearing, nor my wits.
From my chosen place in the central corridor, I listen. I hear my Master's deep and troubled sleep. He too has seen the passage of many years and the years have taken their toll. The days now are hard for him and he fades a little more each day. It is hard to watch age take its toll.
I remember many a better day, where my Lord and his household shared their joys with me and I with them, while never failing in my duty as chosen guardian. Years have come and gone. My Lord's family has grown and his Lady too has suffered the wrackings of age. Most of those years have been good years, the household living and prospering under my watchful eye.
If ever a threat appeared, my challenge was fast and sure, my voice strong and my courage undaunted. Never has a threat been allowed to harm my Lord, his people, or even his pets, two very demanding felines. I have seen to that. Such is the way of the warrior.
I am nearing the end of my natural span. My bones ache, my legs have a certain shiver in them, and sometimes breathing seems a chore. But my sense of duty remains, my obligation to protect not so much undertaken as ingrained in my very fabric.
I have given my Lord devotion, honour, and the best of my strength, courage and skill in all contests and in all times of danger. I have succored the Master and his family in times of loss, such as when the previous watcher passed on, venerable in age and distressed of body. I have made no request, but I have received the love of my Lord, his family, and even the tolerance of the felines in my care. I have wanted for naught.
I am not the young firebrand of days gone by, but if a menace comes in the dark of night, I shall be waiting. My eyes are not as sharp as once they were, but in the darkness, it is hearing and scent one uses to track dangers. My legs may not be as steady as in my youth before strength and endurance parted company with my body, but my courage remains undimmed, my heart untarnished. My voice can still be heard and still echoes with the authority of my better days. I listen.
If comes the foe by night to make mischief, he shall not be countenanced to undertake his errands unannounced or unhindered. I shall sound the alarm and place myself across the main passage from the outside world unto the chambers of my Master and his family.
My voice shall awaken them to any danger and if that danger seeks to penetrate the sanctum sanctorum which I guard, then I shall do as has ere been the duty of my kind - I shall defend my Master unto my dying breath, with all of the fire in my heart and the remaining strength in my old body, gladly, without hesitation or regret, for mine has been a long and happy life and for as long as I remain, my duty shall be fulfilled.
No harm shall come to the family in my charge for as long as life remains.
Old Warriors do not fade away...
Dedicated in loving memory to Max Murphy, our yellow labrador retriever. He was one of the kindest dogs I've ever known, even letting the old grey tabby Puss eat from his bowl (and he loved his food!). He was kind and gentle with children, but he had a loud bark if he needed to let you know something. As he got older, he took to lying in the main hall so he could watch the door and hear things so he didn't have to get up and look and often he'd just bark once or twice when someone arrived, feeling this was sufficient. Yet somehow, I know if someone unpleasant had arrived, he'd have stood up and shown them the ferocity he never had need to show. He died in my arms. God rest you. All Dogs Go To Heaven.
© Lux Mentis, 20 MAY 2013. All rights reserved.
