Her Highness's Second Life

Chapter 13 - The Military Barracks

Elene cast her glare on the three maids who were walking toward her, and one of them tripped, dropping the basket of linen she was carrying, while the other two stepped aside, clinging to each other. Once she passed them, she heard them whispering, no doubt badmouthing her, but she ignored them as usual. Ever since she was allowed to act as Raena’s escort and carry a weapon, it had become even harder to get along with them. They constantly put this distance between them, which she always failed to cross.

Of course, it wasn’t just her position as an escort that did that. The fact that she was from Craidal was well known, and after the last rebellion and all the attacks on the third prince’s previous residence, nobody trusted her, even though they treated her respectfully.

She could take that. It wasn’t like she was really trying to make that many friends. There were already a few that didn’t hate her company, so that was enough. What she couldn’t take was watching Raena ruin something good. It wasn’t that she had acted indecently with that Emer guy, but all the things that she was doing—throwing herself into work in her position, overlooking her condition and her husband’s character—it was all leading them both to a path of collision that could end very, very badly.

Elene didn’t want to see that happen. Kassian and Raena’s relationship was the only thing keeping Elene’s hope that love and affection between people—the real, unconditional, and genuine kind—could exist in a world as twisted as theirs. Part of her selfishly wanted to keep that relationship alive for her own sake.

Elene stopped in front of the door of her room and turned the handle, opening it just a bit and putting her hand through the crevice. She moved her arm up, searching for the cord she had set up only for her fingers to run through empty air. She checked one more time to make sure, then opened the door and stepped inside.

Darkness met her as she looked around, searching for somebody else’s presence. When she was sure she was alone, she headed to the table by the wall and lit up one of the candles. After lighting up several more across the room, she returned to the door and checked the thin cord she had attached on the two sides of the doorframe, tying it in a way that it would snap if anyone opened the door.

Usually, nobody went into her room. She had been in charge of cleaning it and taking care of it herself, and she had specifically asked the other maids not to touch her stuff. So far nobody had ventured inside—that she knew of—but today, of all days, a person had let himself in while she was out. In any other situation, she would have dismissed it as one of the maids coming in for some stupid reason, but considering the feeling of being watched that she had been getting a lot lately, she was more inclined to think this was not a mere coincidence.

Still, she needed proof.

Elene closed the door and took one of the candles with her, stepping toward the window and lowering the light to it. Her jaw tightened and her heart jumped as she stared at the pale imprint of a shoe left in the thin layer of powder she had covered the windowsill with. She had done this more out of habit, thinking of the days when she would often use windows and other narrow openings to come in and out of a place without being seen.

If a maid had come into her room, it would have only made sense for her to leave through the door. Whoever left through the window might have been thorough in hiding their traces, but even they couldn’t see that well in the dark.

“s**t,” Elene sighed, putting the candle holder on the windowsill and heading toward the door. She looked around the corridor, wondering how she should handle this. The best thing to do would be to go to Kassian and warn him of a possible breach of security, but tonight was a terrible time for that. He was leaving tomorrow, so telling him now would only make things worse.

The next best person was… Gerrin. As Captain of the guards serving the residence, he was probably a better choice, but she had been avoiding him since their last conversation and he hadn’t made much of an effort to reach out. Maybe he had been weirded out by her unexpected questions and was rethinking their ‘relationship’.

Taking a deep breath, Elene headed toward his room.

She ignored the guards that passed her by, giving her curious looks, and stopped in front of the familiar door, raising her hand. She hesitated, telling herself that this was entirely business and his feelings were not important right now, and knocked. No answer came from inside, so she knocked again.

After glancing up and down the corridor to make sure nobody was watching, she pushed the door open and poked her head in. The place was empty and dark, with no sign of Gerrin’s towering, muscular figure.

“Um, excuse me. What do you think you’re doing?”

Elene froze, slowly turning to look at the girl standing behind her. She was wearing a maid uniform, but her hair was down and she had unbuttoned the top three buttons of her shirt, giving everyone with eyes a generous view of her cleavage. Elene couldn’t remember her name, but she had seen her lingering around the soldiers’ quarters quite often when she sneaked in and out of Gerrin’s room.

“I was looking for Ge… the Captain. Do you know where he is?” Elene asked while the girl studied her from head to toe.

“Why are you looking for him?” she demanded, her eyes narrowing.

“To talk to him, obviously,” Elene deadpanned. “Have you seen him or not?”

“Talk, right,” the maid scoffed, folding her arms. “You should leave him alone, you know. He might not be of noble blood, but he deserves much better than the likes of you.”

Elene raised an eyebrow, c*****g her head in a challenge. It gave her an odd sense of satisfaction to see the confidence slowly melt away from the other woman’s posture. Better or not, she was fighting every day to atone for what she had done, what she had been forced to do, and hearing judgment from people who never knew what a real nightmare was just pissed her off.

“And what would be better for him? Someone like you?” she asked without thinking, and the girl’s eyes widened, a slight blush spreading over her cheeks. A frustration in Elene grew, and she instinctively squeezed the hilt of the sword still hanging from her waist. The maid took a step back, eyes wide with fear, and Elene let her hand fall by her side. She left the girl trembling and headed back the way she had come from without a word.

‘Annoying,’ Elene thought as she made her way to the soldiers’ quarters, barging inside without thinking. Most of the guards resided within the designated military barracks at the edge of the prince’s residence, separated into several joined rooms serving as sleeping spaces. The mess hall, where they had their meals and unwinded when off duty, was the biggest of the accommodations and the most mysterious place in the world if one were to listen to the maids gossiping about it. That’s probably where Gerrin was right now.

Elene regretted her rushed decision the moment she stepped inside. Every set of eyes near the door turned to her, and as they realized she was a woman, whispers spread, then even more gazes turned to her. It was probably the fact that it was frowned upon to bring women inside the barracks or maybe because no sane woman would enter a room with over a hundred men inside, but they looked more shocked than anything. She had grown used to being surrounded by men from her time with the rebels, so things like missing shirts or even pants, drunk jokes, and all kinds of touching attempts were not something that unsettled her.

She was already there, and they had seen her, so she couldn’t go back. The best thing to do was find Gerrin and drag him out so they could have a conversation without all those eyes staring at her.

Elene made her way in, searching the crowd for his familiar face while trying to ignore the quiet whispers that followed her. She finally spotted a familiar mop of dark hair and laughter that could have easily passed for barking, and she headed toward it. He was sitting with his back to her and playing cards, and it seemed their game was at its peak since nobody at his table seemed to have noticed her yet.

Another boom of laughter echoed through the hall, with Gerrin scratching the back of his head while his company cackled and chuckled. The Captain of the guards got to his feet, still with his back to her, and slipped his shirt off, his ripped body flexing at the movement. He reached for his belt, fumbling with it as he unbuckled it when finally his companions noticed Elene. She had already reached their table, but the words stuck in her throat as she watched Gerrin prepare to take his pants off.

His friends suddenly came to life, jumping to their feet and trying to stop him. Gerrin stared at them in confusion, then he glanced over his shoulder.

“What the f**k!” he cursed, pulling his pants up and buckling them with trembling fingers while his companions rolled over with laughter. She kept a straight face through the whole thing, but now that she had their full attention—and not in a way that she wanted—she felt like Gerrin could definitely dress faster if he wanted.

“Being the Captain sure has its perks, eh?” one of the men at Gerrin’s table grinned, leaning his chin on his hand. “Like a private room where you can have… pretty company,” he added, looking Elene over from head to toe. She raised an eyebrow, giving him a challenging look, and his smile grew as he got to his feet. Gerrin tried to grab his hand, but he sidestepped him easily, moving toward Elene. He was almost a head taller than her, well-built, and with a look on his face that made her bristle. “You’re not already too high and mighty to share, are you, Captain? You used to be one of us just a few years ago and everything is shared among brothers, right?”

Gerrin glared at him and looked like he was going to interfere when the soldier reached toward Elene’s chest. Her hand moved instinctively, grabbing his wrist just before he could grope her.

He chuckled.

“Come on, pretty lady. You didn’t come here just to look for that ugly bastard, did you?” he said with a dismissive tone, pushing his hand harder toward her. Elene almost lost hold of it and his fingers brushed against her shirt. Gerrin took a step toward them, his eyes darkening with anger, but she just switched her attention to his friend.

This was good. She was so angry and frustrated, this could serve as a good outlet.

Elene moved before the guy could overpower her hold, ducking under his arm and twisting it behind his back. She kicked the back of his knees and as he tilted forward, she slammed his head on the nearby table, pressing his cheek against the wooden surface. Before he could rise, Elene moved her elbow to the back of his neck and after a few seconds of pointless struggle, he relaxed, panting heavily while drool dripped from the edge of his mouth.

“Even if I came here for more than just looking, a loser like you wouldn’t know what to do with me,” she hissed in his ear before pushing him to the ground. The crowd erupted in whistles and cackles, while the soldier glared at her, his face beet red.

“Enough!” Gerrin’s voice snapped like a whip just as the guy on the ground tried to get up. “Mel, mind your f*****g manners and go sober up! You,” Gerrin added, and she felt a hand grab her by the elbow, “come with me this instant!”

Elene let herself be pulled toward the exit, waiting until they were out of the military barracks before snatching her arm out of his grip. Gerrin turned to face her, the anger returning to his eyes.

“Are you out of your f*****g mind? How can you just walk in there? If you are that desperate for a d**k, you can—”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Elene interrupted. “I actually need to speak with you. Preferably, not the one that was ready to get butt-naked in front of his subordinates.”

“That’s…” Gerrin started, then growled in annoyance, looking away from her. A light blush spread all the way to his ears and Elene realized this was the first time she had seen him this flustered. “What is it?” he asked with a defeated sigh.

“Not here. Let’s go,” Elene murmured, moving past him and heading toward the mansion. She could feel that prickly presence again, like someone was watching her, but no matter how much she searched her surroundings, she couldn’t see anyone. And there was no point in warning Gerrin if the intruder already knew they were after them.

She heard Gerrin’s heavy steps following, and she was relieved he didn’t speak while he walked beside her all the way to his room. She opened the door without asking for permission, stepping inside and waiting for him to enter. While he followed with a raised eyebrow, she stepped toward the window and pulled the curtains.

Gerrin sat down on his bed, watching her with exasperation and a hint of uneasiness. When she strode to the bed and straddled his legs, his body stiffened, eyes going wide.

“Didn’t you just say you wanted to ta…?”

“Somebody has infiltrated the residence,” she said, and his eyes grew even larger. She caught his chin and turned it aside, moving her lips to his ear and lowering her voice. “I sensed someone watching me several times. I put traps in my room and I found someone entered it today. Someone who left through the window.” Gerrin remained silent, but perfectly still, his breath tickling her neck. “I figured they already know we are sleeping together, so seeing us like this wouldn’t be suspicious instead of us whispering to each other in the corridor.” She felt him nod, so she continued. “I’m not sure if it’s one person or more and so far there have been no incidents, but I thought that I should warn you. I’m pretty sure they have been following us outside of the residence, too.”

“Have you told His Highness?” he asked, his hands moving to her waist. He didn’t do anything. He held her there as if afraid she’d slip off his lap and fall.

“I wasn’t entirely sure until today and you know how he gets even at the whisper of danger,” she said. “But if I’m right, then Raena and the kids might be in danger. So tighten the security around them and assign more people to watch us from a distance when we are outside. His Highness is leaving tomorrow, so don’t issue any orders before he’s gone.”

“You want me to hide this from him?” Gerrin snapped, his voice rising. Elene’s hand clasped over his mouth, and they glared at each other. She moved her fingers away and his jaw relaxed. “Why?”

“Because you know full well how he’d react. He’d confine her to the residence until he returned and she would go crazy and do something stupid. I don’t want to be the cause of them fighting, especially if I’m wrong,” she replied, preparing to get up when she noticed Gerrin looking at her with a weird smile. “What?”

“I’m just surprised. I didn’t realize you cared for Her Highness that much,” he said, shaking his head. “And I’m sorry for misunderstanding earlier, but you definitely shouldn’t go into the military barracks like that. If I wasn’t there…”

“I don’t need your protection,” Elene scoffed, slipping off his lap. His hands held onto her for a second longer before he let go and she straightened her shirt. She headed toward the door, opening it and checking the corridor. Just before she left, she turned around, meeting his eyes. “Just remember what I said. It’s our job to protect them.”