She's the Bodyguard

Alexander

Izzy stood there, not bothering to bow in respect. Three years had made him change more than she thought. For a couple seconds she was dumbfounded by the person who she almost looked at with interest. She cursed in her head, reminding herself that she was not supposed to get married or start a family. Her duty was to protect the person she was almost drooling on.

Startled and embarrassed, she stepped to her left to get out of his direction but he had done the same thing.

“Excuse me,” Izzy muttered, stepping to her right but the prince had done the same again. He chuckled and touched Izzy’s shoulder, pulling her out of his way.

“You’re excused,” he smirked. “What brings you here anyways Isabelle?”

“You know I hate that name,” Izzy said sourly. “I didn’t know you were back.”

“Father didn’t want it to be a big celebration,” Prince Alexander shrugged, “and I like that name.”

“I didn’t know you could actually read,” Izzy snickered, catching a scowl on Prince Alexander’s face. It gave her pleasure to see him bothered by her remarks. He was the type of man who would spend more time looking at himself in the mirror than to c***k open a book.

“Might I say the same to you, Isabelle. For a person who can’t read, you sure spend a lot of time here,” Prince Alexander chuckled. Izzy winced at his insult but kept her ground.

“For a weak and useless prince, you sure try to act like you can actually get things done,” Izzy spat. Only the servants in the palace knew just how useless Prince Alexander really was. He had no athletic skills or a decent brain to intermingle with politics because he was too lazy to make use of himself. It was surprising and rare for Izzy to even have met Prince Alexander. King John had encouraged his son to take up on anything but so far there was nothing anyone could do with the prince’s laziness.

“Just because I don’t fight like a guy like you make me weak. At least I’m better looking than you,” Prince Alexander snickered.

Izzy’s face burned red from the embarrassment and she felt her hands automatically go up her face and hair. She felt her soft, curly brown hair she had inherited from her mom and the tanned skin that was inevitable to avoid in the hot sun. Her eyes weren’t dull green but rather emerald and bright. Izzy was never the one to care about outer appearance but the fact that it was the prince commenting made her self-conscious.

“You know I’m kidding,” Prince Alexander laughed melodically. He tucked a loose strand of her hair that hung in front of her face. “You are absolutely beautiful,” he whispered, leaning closer. His immediate forwardness made Izzy snap back. She knew how much of a player Prince Alexander was.

“Nice try,” she scoffed and composed herself to look taller although he was obviously a foot taller.

“Thanks for the compliment,” Prince Alexander winked and walked away leaving a hot tempered Izzy.

Izzy ignored his rude comment and carried out to her main priority of finding a nice picture book to read. Marge had let her in and didn’t even need to point her to where the picture section was. Izzy had been there too many times to get lost in the huge library.

Izzy drummed her fingers against the wooden book shelves as she walked down the long shelves of books. She walked through the library quietly, trying to find a book she hadn’t seen yet. There was none as she had already consumed every picture book there was.

“Isabelle, honey,” Marge came to the children’s section. She was an elderly woman with white hair and a slight hunched back but Izzy loved her no matter her flaws. Marge had become like a second mother to Izzy since the day she set foot in the library.

“Yes Marge?” Izzy asked, settling a small illustrated book back down on the book shelf.

“King John is looking for you,” Margie replied. “You better hurry on child.”

“Yes ma’am,” Izzy bowed before exiting her refuge and back into reality. On her way to the king’s throne room, she met lots of maids who gave her a short greeting before whispering about the new gossip of Prince Alexander’s return. Izzy couldn’t quite hear anything from them but shrugged it off. Izzy met with the guard in front of the throne room who blocked the way, protecting the king who was inside.

“Good to see you, Isabelle,” the guard nodded.

“Same here, Michael,” Izzy smiled. “You know I abhor that name.”

“Well everyone still calls you by your real name besides Timothy. King John chose the name himself,” reminded the guard. Izzy had heard enough of the conversation before and decided to let it go.

“King John called me,” Izzy stated as if she just remembered.

“You better straighten up before I present you to the highness. You don’t want to go in slouching,” Michael warned. Izzy did what she had to do to look fairly decent and urged Michael to let her in. “Your highness, Isabelle has arrived,” Michael boomed in his deep voice. It was different than his regular talking voice he had when he was with Izzy.

“Enter,” an equally booming voice replied back.

The doors opened slowly to reveal the marvelous throne room Izzy had always loved. She memorized every pattern, every picture in the room and etched them in her heart. She had once tried to teach herself how to draw but she quickly learned that she was only skilled with the sword.

“Isabelle!” the king’s voice spoke loudly but with humor in them. “It’s good seeing you!”

King John stepped off his throne and hugged Isabelle with his long arms. He was a tall, lean man which Prince Alexander graciously inherited from him father.

“I heard you were seen with Zander,” King John said, referring to his son. He was the only one who called his son ‘Zander’ besides Izzy because he knew it bothered his son. King John was a man who was slow to anger and loved humor like he loved his morning coffee.

“Yes sir we have,” Izzy mumbled, hating how Prince Alexander got into the conversation. They had a rough past, trying to fight for King John’s attention but they had long forgotten about it as they grew to their adolescent years. Even if they were way past the age as she was now seventeen and Alexander, nineteen, they still held grudges against each other.

“Duty comes before opinions,” the king warned. He was aware of the two teenager’s rivalry and wanted to make them start on good terms. “You’ve almost completed your training. From looking at your progress this past summer, I am guessing one more year,” the king said proudly.

“Thank you King John,” Izzy bowed low to her waist. The king nodded in pleasure at Izzy’s well-rehearsed manners.

“Now, where is that young man?” the king scolded. “Guard!”

“Yes sir?” Michael asked, bowing and saluting him, waiting for his order.

“Where is that despicable son of mine?” the king asked, growing irritated. “I asked to see him the second he arrived but Isabelle seemed to cut me to the chase.”

“He was last seen with one of the common girls in the front lawn, sir,” Michael replied. He looked over to Izzy quickly as they both prepared for King John’s rant about his son.

“That little scoundrel. He’s abusing his looks and status to his advantages,” King John spat but he sighed in frustration. It was the first time when the king did not go in his full tantrum about his son. Izzy and Michael exchanged a curious look. “Guard, just bring him in. Embarrass him with one of his baby stories if you have to.”

“Yes sir,” Michael said before leaving quickly. In a few seconds, Prince Alexander burst through the door with elegance but his eyes held anger.

“Father! What you did was unfavorable!” Prince Alexander scowled.

“Then next time you will know what will happen to those who make the king wait,” King John said but held a secret wink just for Izzy. “I have called you and Isabelle to talk about your future," the king said slowly as if waiting for one of them to interrupt him. When they had not said anything, the king cleared his throat, trying to find a subtle way to tell the two teenagers about his preposition. "I think it's time for Zander to find a wife. He's already nineteen, turning twenty soon and his prime age will not last forever."

"Father, tell me you are playing with me," Prince Alexander scoffed.

"Are you stupid boy?” the king raged. “Do you see me 'playing' with you and throwing a ball around?" the king said bewildered.

"Sir, it's a figure of speech," Izzy said quietly, holding the laughter in. She didn’t need to add her collection of bruises and scars just yet.

"And this proves how uneducated you are, son," the king said in dismay, waving his hand in the air to emphasize the silliness.

“I don’t wish to get married,” Prince Alexander pressed, annoyed at the topic.

“You will do as I say. You like playing with girls so might as well find one and stick with her!” King John raged. His loud voice hurt Izzy’s ears but the prince didn’t seem frazzled at all. He was too used to it.

“I am opening to the options around me,” Prince Alexander replied with a secret grin only Izzy could see. She rolled her eyes, disgusted at his openness. The king didn’t seem amused at his son’s comment either.

“Princess Anastasia is coming tomorrow and I expect you to turn up your charm and focus only on her and not other women,” King John announced. This time, both Izzy and Prince Alexander couldn’t hold in their shock.

“What?!” they both shouted. They didn’t even care that they had said the same exact thing. The news was too overwhelming.

“You two heard what I said. Make use of yourself and go cleanup for tomorrow, especially you my boy,” the king said, finalizing it by clapping his hand. His face was stern and he was never the one to see his commands fail.

“I don’t wish to get married,” Prince Alexander said annoyed.

“You will do as I say. You like mingling with girls so you might as well find one and stick with her!” King John said.

“I do not wish to know this princess,” spat Prince Alexander.

“She is from a neighboring kingdom and with your hand in marriage, we will be able to combine two kingdoms in peace.” King John spoke with enthusiasm as he preached about his idea.

“Father, did you not hear me? I do not wish to meet her!” Prince Alexander cried out, begging his father to understand.

“Zander, please just meet her. She is a fair lady and a smart one at that,” the king smiled. He looked at his only son, pleading.

“Dad,” Prince Alexander sighed, letting his informal language slip. “Fine, I’ll meet this Anastasia girl,” he said, finally giving up.

The king was too happy with his son’s agreement to notice the language slip. I gave Prince Alexander a raised eyebrow but shook his head.

“We will be negotiating this further when they arrive,” the king said excitedly. “I should make the proper arrangements for their visit. Guard!” As soon as his command rolled of his mouth, Michael came in, giving the king a swift bow.

“Get three rooms ready for our guests who will be arriving tomorrow,” the king commanded. Michael didn’t look surprised like Izzy had thought but held his emotion in and nodded abruptly before leaving.

“Sir, three rooms?” Izzy asked, confused by the numbers.

“Anastasia, her father, and her younger brother will also be with us during her stay,” the king explained.

“But wouldn’t the son get his father’s inheritance because he is the male?” Prince Alexander asked, trying to make sense of the complication.

“That kingdom is based on age and not gender. Although I don’t approve of their equality with women, it helps us in this case.” The king looked at his two beloved and their faces as they soaked in what he had said.

“I guess that is good for us,” Prince Alexander said solemnly. The king, tired with the arrangements and his secret visit, dismissed the two teenagers out.

King John sighed and laid his face in his hands. He didn’t know what to do. An old memory hit him and he sat back, drawing a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting the memory consume him. The memory of Marissa Dilageto, Isabelle’s mom, made King John distraught. He missed her so much and it hurt to see her daughter every single day but he treated her as if she was his own. A single tear escaped.