That evening, after preparing for dinner, I stopped to chat with the guards at my door. By now, they had all become friendly, familiar faces, and though I wouldn’t consider us friends exactly, it was always a pleasure to stop and say hello.
It was also a relief knowing the people in charge of mine and Elva’s protection actually, genuinely liked us.
Today, however, they seemed stressed. Their smiles were tighter than usual. Their eyes, worried.
“Is everything alright?” I asked them.
“Oh, nothing to do with your safety, miss,” said Carl on the left. He’d been with Nicholas’s guard the longest, and had a long graying mustache.
“But something is worrying you,” I said.
Carl glanced at his partner at the door, William. William was much younger, newer to the guard, and likely because of t
