Page 2 of The King's Bodyguard
I kept my eyes averted, barely managing to hold back my emotions. The faint blur of a face hovered on the edges of my vision. If I lingered, I would undoubtedly collapse into tears.And I am a king, godsdammit.I clenched my teeth.I cannot show weakness. Not here anyways. Not in front of my people.
I roughly pushed past him and made my way out to the private garden. Here, I would be able to sit and think. It was this garden that had been my hiding place over the years. When I was a young lad, mourning the passing of his mother, I had sat here by the fountain, imagining the running water was an ocean and my paper boat a frigate that would take me to a happier world.
I was the only son of the King’s third wife. I wasn’t important. That was what I believed. All of my life I had been expected to stand silently on the sidelines and simply watch as others trod the stage of fame and power. In the space of a week and a massacre, I became the most important person in Sumarene. With that came responsibility I had never been raised to carry.
I’m going to be getting married.Those words sunk like a stone in the center of a calm lake, casting greater ripples with each passing second. With a thud, I sat down at the edge of the great fountain that fed the garden’s little rivers. Four streams converged on the fountain, which rose up in the center half hidden between oak trees. It was an old-fashioned fountain, carved with ancient catkin heroes. Their tails were long, and the swords that clashed at the apex looked mighty.
In echo of the fountain, the pillars around the garden were graced with the figures of warriors from olden times—the Hunter Robyn, the Knight Sallynn, and the mythic Queen Hilda. Surrounded by these heroes, I felt smaller than ever. Still, this place felt the most comforting. I drew up a knee, folded my arms around it, and leaned forward to rest my head. My gaze traced the edge of stonework and the filigree of leaves and flowers that edged the base of the fountain’s centerpiece.
Yes. This was where I had hid all those years ago. The first week after my father’s death had been filled with busyness. Useless and powerless, I hid and cried here in the garden. As others rushed around to deal with the arrangement of the royal funeral, I looked on.
But right after, the period of mourning had been disrupted by feuding among my family. Our country was thrown into civil war. Within a few years, I had not only lost my mother and father, but all of my siblings as well.
I gritted my teeth and sighed to myself. Now that I was beginning to calm down, I was becoming more aware of how I must have looked. Running out of the room like that would undoubtedly add more fuel to my cousin’s arsenal against me. Lord Morne said he had no interest in the throne, but sometimes I had to wonder. Whenever he had the chance, he was ready on hand to shame me for my shortcomings.
My hands curled into a fist, and my tail stiffened at the thought. I didn’t have to be reminded. I already knew. I had known what was going to happen, and I had conveniently pushed it off. I hadn’t wanted to face it until the nth hour. Now, here I was—having a fit over a situation for which I should have been better prepared.
This is just more proof, Landis, I told myself.You aren’t cut out to be the King of Sumarene. You’ve been coasting along with the help of Lord Gareth, Ser Hugh, and Lord Elthorne.Without them, you wouldn’t be here today. After the battles they have fought for you, the least you can do is grit your teeth and bear it. Besides, she might not be so bad.
I wish...
“You can do it, Landis,” I whispered to myself. “Now isn’t the time to behave like an infant.”
I just wish...
Deep down, however, I could not deny the whisper of regret. Some part of me wished that I had one chance.
I just wish I had the chance to find love. Something real, something meaningful. A romance that would carry me through the rest of my life.I wondered.Would it only be a summertime fling? Perhaps, but surely it would be a chance for me to experience something I had chosen for myself.
Just admitting the thought made me blush. It was honestly idiotic now that I had allowed myself to think about it. As King of Sumarene, I was the keeper of my people. I held power and was now responsible for the rebuilding of my nation. There were factions to reunite, towns to restore, a racial divide between the Sunna and Munni catkin to bridge, and unrest on the southern border to resolve. Falling in love was the last thing I ought to be thinking about.
I sighed, trying to resign myself to the thought of eking out love from an arranged marriage to a princess I had never met. I sat up and straightened my shoulders.
“Prince Landis?” A familiar voice broke into my thoughts.
I raised my head and half-turned. At the door I had just burst through, a tall, pale-skinned Munni tom stood. His long, shoulder-length ebony hair was drifting out of a half-drawn-up bun. Falling from broad shoulders, a deep green cloak hung covering a worn set of studded leather armor over a green-edged black tunic. The tom’s legs were clothed in tight, dark leather breeches that ended with silver buckled dragonhide boots.
Suddenly aware that my mouth had fallen open a little at the sight, I stiffened and rose to my feet. I glanced up at his face. There was dark stubble on his chin. Above that, firmly set lips, a straight, well-chiseled nose, and brilliant green eyes. Eyes the color of the ocean around the icebergs of the northern straits. Eyes that gazed at me in shock.
I frowned at his words. Prince Landis. It had been some time since someone had called me that. I cocked my head as I slowly approached him. There was indeed something familiar about him. It seemed like he knew me as well. A memory I had long forgotten arose in my mind.
“Cor-Corrin?” I gasped.
Chapter 2
Corrin
Today marked the first day of my employment for the King’s Royal Guard. After ten years spent living in the province of Velamere, I finally returned to the capital city of Rimefrost. After the initial rush of excitement had faded, I became more aware than ever that I was far from my natural environment.
This wasn’t a land of thick pine forests and the towering cliffs of snow-capped mountains. Like the city of Rimefrost itself, the Royal Palace seemed like a maze. Within an hour of arrival at the palace, I had gotten lost in one of the hidden side corridors. As I moved down the hall, a golden flurry of ears and tail burst out of a door and rammed into me.
At first, I struggled to get my breath back. Then I looked down and glimpsed a familiar head of golden curls. Suddenly, I was at a loss for words. The young tom who had run into me was none other than Prince Landis! There was no mistaking it—from his slight build to his tan skin and signature brilliant gold hair.
Not Prince Landis anymore, I reminded myself.Not Landis anymore. It’s ‘Your Royal Highness’ from now on. Best you remember that, Corrin.
Before I could say anything, it seemed like Landis—King Landis, now—had remembered me. For a moment, it seemed as though he was going to embrace me. But then, as though he had come to himself, King Landis had stiffened, pulled away, and avoided my gaze. Before I could say anything, he pushed past me wordlessly and rushed off to a doorway behind me.
At first, I hesitated. I half turned, part curious to figure out what had just happened. Part of me wanted to hold onto him. Feeling him cling to me brought back a host of memories. The weight of his arm linked with mine when we had walked beneath the trees together. The warmth of his hand clasping mine as I pulled him up into the willow tree. The joyous lilt in his voice when he called my name.
