The Exiled King's Guard

Chapter 15: Safe At Last?

It was a bit of a walk into the palace. We had to go through so many checkpoints that even I started thinking it was excessive. Had there been an attack on the capital to trigger this? This seemed more than precautionary. We entered another office which looked much more opulent than Commander i***t’s office had been. The person who owned this office was definitely much higher up than him, but common sense suggested that this wasn’t the King’s office. Besides the fact that kings rarely received random guests in their offices. It gave potential traitors easy access to so many important things. More importantly, this wasn’t as ostentatious as one would expect from a king. And given the crazy number of checkpoints we had passed, we wouldn’t be led directly to his presence without further verification by a senior official.

My musings were proved correct when the door opened and a large balding man entered the room, followed by three attendants. He was dressed in silks of their national colors. Even though the garb was clearly expensive, it somehow looked cheap as the waistcoat buttons struggled on his protruding belly. His beard seemed like it was overcompensating for the lack of hair on top of his head. His eyes were a little too closely set, giving him a sly look. He glanced over at both of us, making it look casual, but I tensed and noticed Zach doing the same. Where Commander i***t had been straightforward to deal with, Sir obnoxious, here would be a slippery one.

“Ahh Jeffery, good to see you! How has the border been? The post seems to suit you quite well”, he addressed commander i***t, who I knew now was named Jeffery. It was obvious there was no love lost between the two of them. Anyone with eyes could see Jeffery was not doing well at the border.

“ Very well, My Lord, thank you for your concern.” Jeffery responded very politely. His demeanor had become even more harsh if that was even possible. He was standing very stiffly, too straight. His manner was polite but his eyes betrayed a cold resentment towards the Lord he was talking to. A part of me wondered what their history was as the other tried to refocus me on the situation.

After exchanging a few more polite words, they got down to business. “My Lord, I came to see you so urgently because these two have requested an audience with the King. They claim to be from Cairintar.”

Lord Obnoxious’s eyes widened in surprise before he composed himself. Scratching his beard, he asked, directing his gaze at Zach now, “ And do they have any evidence to support their claim?”

Jeffery motioned to one of the guards who brought forward the ring Zach had provided as identification. Lord Ob, short for obnoxious, examined the ring closely, turning it in his hands, the emeralds gleaming in the lamp light on his desk. The gems were from Emerteria, from the king’s mines. Symbolic of a token from the king of the land. This should have been enough for identification, especially for a Lord of his level. He should have known the moment his eyes landed on the ring, it was unmistakable. But here he was, taking his time. It was raising an alarm in my head, but I was unsure what I was looking out for.

Slowly, he smiled, “Of course, I can see this ring could only be a gift from our King. I would be honored to take you to him immediately, my little Prince.” I didn’t like his condescending tone, but I decided to hold my tongue this time. “ And of course, his …”

“She is my protector, Lord Darius”, Zach filled in. I quickly bowed into a courtesy, feeling a little happy that Zach had my back, despite our issues, we were still going to be a united front for everyone else. Even if he didn’t do much, I could atleast count on that. And as long as I was associated with him, I was safe. But then my focus shifted to the fact that Zach had known his name, which meant he probably knew this lord. I made a mental note to check with him later if he got the same bad vibes from this guy as I did.

“Ahh, I never thought I would see this day. But I guess having a woman protector could have its uses.” He said, eyeing me up and down. I was beyond annoyed at this point, but Lord Slimy was an important member of the court, and making that kind of enemy with no leverage would be unwise. I kept my head bowed instead and out of the corner of my eye I saw Jeffrey bristle at the comment. Commander i***t was unhappy with this comment!? Now that was interesting, very interesting indeed. He had potential as a proponent for equality and a useful ally if we got past our distrust of each other. I should have a conversation with him too at some point.

“ You can leave these two with me, Jeffery,” Lord Darius said dismissively. Jeffery looked unhappy at that, but left with a stiff courtesy.

“ Come, Prince, I will show you to His Majesty. I believe the two of you will have a lot to discuss. One of the men can show your girl to her lodgings.” Zach’s eyes glinted, he didn’t like that his subjects were being ordered around by Lord Darius. I sensed he was about to say something rude, so I cut in.

“ With all due respect, My Lord, I could be useful in the discussion. I am Prince Zach's second-in-command in the absence of his court and his counsel in strategy discussions. Moreover, Prince Zach’s safety is my responsibility, and I intend to fulfill it.”

“ Ah she speaks.” He smirked challengingly. “ and you think you could provide any useful advice to an intelligent prince and a King reigning these lands since before you were born?”

“ I do, sir.” I said, refusing to explain myself further. He could either trust me, or disrespect the judgement of my prince and my king at the same time.

He hummed in response, eyes calculating, then nodded his head and led us out of the office.

Now Zach and he were walking side by side, me and the other guards a step behind them. He kept trying to chat up Zach, who gave polite but short answers, clearly not a fan of this Lord either. In a few minutes, we reached the king’s sitting room. It was a huge room, as expected. One side of it was arranged as a seating area, with the King's seat in the center. The other side had a big table with maps and different documents spread across it. They would be mostly accounts of different territories and logistics. I knew the more pertinent documents would be in a less public area. Lord Darius took a seat and motioned for Zach to do the same. I stood behind him, hoping someone would offer me a chair too. We had been on the run for three days now. A chair sounded like heaven. We didn’t have to wait long before the door at the other end of the room opened to reveal the person we had been waiting for. King Reston was a tall man, slightly leaner than I expected, he was oozing power and authority. His dark eyes were calculating, taking in every inch of his surroundings. He was every bit the King of a large and flourishing kingdom. But as we all dropped into courtesy, I couldn’t help but notice how the air had gotten colder, how the noises outside seemed dimmer. Everything felt darker, more… sinister. I was still trying to make sense of it when he spoke up. A deep, rumbling voice.

“Rise everyone. Welcome Zachary, my boy! We have been anticipating your arrival.” A chill went down my spine. They had been waiting for us? What had we walked into?