Lord Lyon heard the plea of her daughter, yet he knew she was only 16 and was emotional and may not be thinking clearly. He sighed as he took his daughter’s hand. They stepped before the portrait of his wife and her mother, and they were silent as the looked upon her. Finally, Lord Lyon said,<br/>“I will have to defer to your mother on this. You are your mother’s daughter, as Jon is his father’s son. Your spirit comes from her my dear Kate, and who am I to keep you caged and watched as if a house pet. You know Jon only wants the best for you. Maybe his methods are a bit extreme, but he loves you as I do.”<br/><br/>He gave Kate a hug, and Lord Lyon knew that his precious baby has become a woman in her mother’s stead. If her mother could not follow her dreams at this age, he would not stand in the way of their daughter finding hers. If Cedric being her protector w.as a step that helped her to find her dreams, then he would not deny it. He squeezed Kate’s shoulder and said,<br/><br/>“I will assign Cedric to the Royal Guard, and I will talk with Cedric at length to see if he is worthy to be the Protector of my daughter. I have not decided that he will be, but you will know after our talk.”<br/><br/>He gave Kate a kiss on her forehead, and he looked at his baby becoming a young woman in his eyes. He wiped a tear from the corner of her eyes, and said,<br/><br/>“Go and tell Cedric that I officially summon him to confer about his immediate assignment.”<br/><br/>Kate hugged her father before turning to go to the door. Lord Lyon watched as she walked quickly to the door as his hand felt damp. He thought about it for a moment and shrugged.<br/>Kate pushed through the door and found Cedric standing there in the hall. Kate threw herself in his arms and kissed him long. She said,<br/>“Papa wants to talk to you about your future!”<br/>Cedric tensed after enjoying for the moment Kate’s kiss, he turned to face Lord Lyon once again.