Guardian of the Princess’s Suite

Chapter Six

Since the morning sun rose, the palace square has been abuzz with preparations to parade the warriors before the king. Huge drums lined up, banners rose high and fluttered in the wind, and the old guards lined up in regular rows behind the podium of the king and princesses. Prince Alex sat next to the king, and said in a polite and calm tone: “Your Majesty, thank you for allowing me to join in watching the knights’ show.” The king looked at him with wisdom and dignity and replied: “You are always welcome here, Prince. Have you discussed with Princess Evia the trade matters of the kingdom?” "No, my lord," Alix replied, "I have not spoken to Her Highness about this matter yet." The king said: “Okay, I will organize a time for you to sit together and exchange visions.” Alex was a little confused, then he said as if mustering his courage: “Would you allow me, Your Majesty, to talk to you about an important topic... before I sit with the princess?” The king answered him with understanding: “Yes, I will wait for you in my office as soon as the military parade ends.” Alex's features softened, he looked at Evia out of the corner of his eyes and winked at her lightly. Evia's cheeks reddened in confusion and embarrassment, and she looked around quickly, fearing that no one would notice this bold move. Meanwhile, her sisters sat around her with mixed feelings. Cora and Iris exchanged fierce, challenging looks, while Emmada was lost in her own thoughts. She hated military parades and anything related to power, and only thought about how to escape from it all. She muttered to herself: “If I disappear now, will the king notice my escape? Perhaps he will scold me... This will not work. There must be another solution.” Suddenly, she grabbed her stomach and painted a look of pain on her face brilliantly. Then she turned to the king and said with perfect acting weakness: “Your Majesty, I ask your permission to go to my room... I feel suddenly ill.” The king looked at her with fatherly concern: “What’s wrong, Emma? Do you need a doctor, my daughter?” She shook her head quickly: “No, Dad, don’t worry, I just need some rest in my room.” Here Iris intervened with her usual meanness: “Let her go, Father. As usual, she hates military parades and cannot bear the sight of swords.” Emma looked at her with suppressed anger for a moment, then said weakly to the king: “Excuse me, Your Majesty.. I will go now.” She walked away under the scrutinizing gaze of the king, who then turned his eyes to Cora. She was sitting silent, looking in front of her with a face like stone; Steel does not show any emotions, which makes the king wish he had the ability to read her eyes as he does with the rest of her brothers. Korra felt that he was watching her, so she turned to him. Her eyes held many secrets, and the king felt a suffocating feeling whenever he looked into them, as if she was deliberately hiding behind a wall of mystery. Suddenly, without any preamble, Cora said in a confident tone: “Trust me, Father, I will never let you down.” .............................. The new knights entered the arena with steadfastness and strength.. Long rows of young boys.. They were united by the rebellious will of their strong features.. The display of their skills with swords began.. Solid, flexible and breathtaking movements... The king looked at them with pride and pride and said: “These are truly the sons of the kingdom.” The parade ended, and the boys stood shoulder to shoulder with lofty faces and unblinking eyes. Iris leaned toward her father, whispering. Cunningly: “It is not enough for the guards to be good at swordfighting, Your Majesty. We need warriors who are proficient in archery and all martial arts. They possess unbeatable military intelligence... Their training must be supervised by someone who understands these details.” The king looked at her from the corner of his eyes and asked: - Do you want to take charge of the army, Iris? Iris smiled with false modesty: “If Your Majesty permits me... I will meet your expectations.” Cora suddenly interrupted her with a decisive tone: “Your Majesty... I am the one who wants to handle the affairs of the army. Iris looked at her in shock, while the king looked between them, then said seriously: - Whoever of you proves to be more worthy of leading our military affairs, I will give her the position. Iris said quickly: Your Majesty, this position requires military savvy before physical strength...and you know that I am the most qualified. The king was silent for a moment, then turned to Cora and asked her: “And you, don’t you have anything to say?” Cora replied with unshakable confidence: - Indeed, I have something to do if you permit me, Your Majesty. The king gave her a nod of approval, so Cora rose under Iris’s burning gaze, drew her huge sword, and walked steadily to the middle of the square, then chanted in a loud voice: “Let the five strongest guards among you come forward to duel me together!” The guards were confused and no one moved, so she said with a defiant sarcasm: “Whoever dares to compete with me, let him come out... Or are you afraid of dueling a girl?” Suddenly, one of the guards came out of the ranks, advancing with a challenge and joy, and said in a sarcastic voice: “I accept the challenge, my lady.” Cora looked at his features and said: “Oh... you are a forest boy! You have become a guard, then?” The king ordered the guard to advance, so he complied and bowed respectfully, saying: “Your loyal guard (Kay), son of (Daros), my lord. The king recognized him and said solemnly: “You are then the son of our loyal guard Daros... Did you know that your father is the bodyguard of Princess Cora, with whom you are now dueling?” The boy said sternly: “I know, Your Majesty... I have a request from you... I want to take over my father’s position in guarding Princess Cora... I have exhausted my father’s strength and I believe that I am worthy of guarding the princess after him. The king looked at him for a long time, then said: “You have to ask this from the princess herself.” Kai bowed and returned to face Korra, who said defiantly: “You want to guard me, then... You must defeat me first.” A look of joy shone in Kai's eyes as he quickly unsheathed his sword at the same moment that Korra unsheathed her sword and began her attack forcefully and with a fierce battle cry. Minutes later, the clanging of swords arose. The crowd held their breath as they watched that legendary fight. Korra's sword struck with astonishing force. And Kai's sword blocked with extreme flexibility. With flexible movements, Kai blocked the blows and slid to the ground to strike a blow at her legs, so Korra jumped in the air, avoiding... The attack... and she tried to throw an attack at Kai's shoulder, who blocked it quickly and forcefully, as if he was reading her mind. Kai noticed her confusion and said happily as he blocked her next blow: "Do not be confused, my princess. Your coach is my father. We received the same training." Korra's ferocity increased and she chanted: "But our goal is not the same... You want victory, and I cannot bear defeat!" Kai laughed with enjoyment, as if he were in an exciting game: "Oh my God... this is fun. Really!” Korra’s anger increased and she directed a blow towards his neck while shouting: “Are you underestimating me?” Kai responded brilliantly: “I have never found an exciting competitor like you before.” “Be careful,” Korra said sharply. I'm not just a hot girl, huh. The sand was flying around them violently, and eyes were watching them with amazement and eagerness, as if they did not want this enjoyable fight to end. Indeed, the fight went on for a long time, and both of them attacked and repulsed forcefully, as if they were reading each other’s thoughts. Until profuse sweat poured down the necks of Cora and Kai, and their breathing quickened violently. Cora muttered to herself: This must end now. Suddenly, her eyes glowed with emerald brilliance and she shouted: “The Crushing Snake Strike.” She jumped high and twirled in the air with incredible flexibility, then plunged her sword with all her weight and strength onto Kai's sword. In an instant, Kai's steel sword shattered and pieces of it scattered like glass into the air. Everyone gasped and stood up in amazement. Korra fell to her knees, catching her breath, and her eyes glowed with a frightening sparkle before returning to normal. Kai was shocked, looking at the wreckage of his sword, then their eyes met silently. Korra extended her hand to him, and he grabbed it and got up while still under the influence of amazement. Cora said with a rare smile: “You are a knight worthy of respect. What is your name again?” "Kai," he answered calmly. She approached him and whispered: “Okay, Kai.. From now on, you are my bodyguard.” Korra's smile widened as she returned to her podium, while the king muttered in astonishment: "I rarely see Korra smile." No one noticed Iris's eyes, which were burning with hatred and revenge.