The Bodyguard

(Queen Adelia) "Liana, get ready, she's coming soon. And be warned that she might not look much like a girl your age."

Queen Adelia said to Princess Liana, then made her way down the stairs.

(Liana) "Coming!"

Liana replied, running down the stairs two steps at a time.

(Queen Adelia) "Liana! Although we allow you to grow up without the rules of a Royal, you still need to act like a Princess! Come down the stairs slowly."

Queen Adelia reminded Liana.

(Liana) "Sorry! Just excited that she's coming so soon!"

Liana apologized, slowing her steps.

(Queen Adelia's thoughts) 'How did she turn from being against it to being so excited?'

The Queen wondered as she watched Liana descend from the steps.

*

Lillian slowed her horse, a sleek black horse with a white spot shaped like a star on her muzzle, Starlight, as the castle came into view. She gazed at the threateningly tall castle as she dismounted Starlight, walking her towards the castle gates.

*

(Liana) "She's here! She's here!"

Princess Liana screamed in excitement at seeing Lillian coming into view.

(King Zander) "Calm down, she's not going anywhere, and it won't hurt if she takes a while."

King Zander told Liana, trying to calm her down.

(Liana) "I know, but I'm just really excited to meet her. And nervous too."

She replied, biting her bottom lip.

(Liana) "Do you think she'll like me? Will I like her?"

(Queen Adelia) "Well, you'll just have to see. Come on, she's here."

Queen Adelia cut in.

(Liana) "Alright, let's go."

Liana said, turning towards the door.

*

Lillian was already shown in by the time they got to the front door. The first thing that occurred to Liana was that Lillian was very pale, unlike what she would expect a bodyguard to look like. Liana herself was pale, but that was due to not going out of the castle much.

(Liana's thoughts) 'She looks like a soldier or something, with so many weapons. Or just someone who could scare a soldier off with one glance.'

Liana thought as she looked at Lillian. Lillian had a bow slung across her left shoulder, a quiver of arrows over her right shoulder, two swords, one on each side of her belt, throwing knives lined across her belt, a dagger, and a pouch which Liana couldn't see the inside of. She was also carrying something that looked like a cloak on her arm. She noticed that Lillian was looking around the castle, supposedly taking a note of where things are in the castle, she also noticed that when Lillian noticed her, a surprised look crossed her face, but was quickly covered by a smile.

(Queen Adelia) "Liana, this is Lillian. She will be your bodyguard. Lillian, as you probably have noticed by now, this is Princess Liana. I am Queen Adelia, and this is King Zander."

Queen Adelia walked over to Lillian, shaking her hand, then introduced them, gesturing to Lillian, Liana, herself, and then King Zander.

(Liana) "Hi, uh, nice to meet you!"

Liana said to Lillian shaking hands with her.

(King Zander) "I am King Zander, but you already know that, and since you are going to be Liana's bodyguard, feel free to make yourself feel at home here in the castle."

King Zander said, going up to shake Lillian's hand.

(Lillian) "…Lillian."

Seeming hesitant, Lillian replied, after she had shaken all their hands.

(Liana) "You can call me Liana."

(Lillian) "Okay… Are you sure that's alright?"

(Liana) "Of course it is! But if you're uncomfortable, it's okay if you don't want to."

Liana told her, sensing the hesitance in Lillian's reply. Lillian replied by nodding.

(Queen Adelia) "Okay, since we are all introduced, and all know each other, would you like to sleep in Liana's room with her, or would you like your own room?"

Queen Adelia asked Lillian.

(Lillian) "Anything is fine. It should be up to Liana."

Lillian replied after a few seconds.

(Liana) "How about you stay in your own room, then when you get used to the place, you can move into my room if you like. And in the meantime, I'm certain I can take care of myself just fine in my own bedroom."

Liana cut in before her mom could say anything. Again, Lillian replied by nodding her head.

(Liana's thoughts) 'She doesn't seem to talk much.'

*

After getting settled in, Lillian thought back to when she first came into the castle. She had been led to the stables where she left Starlight then she was led into the castle. Lillian didn't tie her mare up as Starlight was properly trained and wouldn't run. She had been looking around the four-story house when Liana and her family had walked in. She looked from King Zander to Queen Adelia, whom she had met before, when they had gone to offer the position as a bodyguard, to Princess Liana, who, according to her identification spell, her magic was at level three hundred, and she guessed her level was going up by a quarter every day while a normal persons magic level can only go up one seventh a day max if they train continually.

(Lillian's thoughts) 'She must be unusual like me, seeing that my level also went up rather quickly. Ever since I maxed my magic level out, I haven't been using it much.'

Lillian thought.

*

(Liana) "Hello! Settling in well?"

Liana asked Lillian, entering her room.

(Lillian's thoughts) 'I should show her the spell, as she's the one I'm protecting now.'

Lillian thought. But aloud she said,

(Lillian) "Yes, thank you."

(Liana) "Okay, that's good, because I have something to show you."

Liana said. Lillian nodded in response.

(Liana) "Okay, follow me."

Liana said as she walked out of Lillian's room. Lillian followed suit.

(Liana) "Okay so, this is my room."

Liana said as they walked, pointing to a room on her left next to Lillian's room.

(Liana) "...And this is what I wanted to show you, but you must make sure to never tell anyone outside of this castle about this."

Liana continued after walking for a few minutes, pointing to a few rooms and identifying it for her new bodyguard. Lillian looked at what was in front of her, it was a library wall, but using an information spell, she could tell that it was a door to a hidden room. But she wasn't going to tell anyone that, at least for now. So instead of saying anything, she just nodded. Liana, upon seeing Lillian nod, mumbled something, which opened the hidden door, then said:

(Liana) "This is my training room for magic. You can train in here with me if you like. I can also get my parents to make it for weapons too."

(Lillian) "No one else knows about this room?"

Lillian asked Liana.

(Liana) "Apart from my parents, the royal wizard, and myself, and of course, now you, no one knows about this room."

Lillian simply nodded before walking into the training room, observing the things inside. There were practice dummies, all made of hay, and walls that according to the info shown to her by the same information spell, were magic proof.

(Lillian) "Can I show you a spell?"

Lillian turned back to Liana and asked.

(Liana) "Sure!"

(Lillian) "Okay so this spell is a spell that can only be used on a person that can-do magic, it's called a mind-link spell. It only needs to be done once, but must be performed with a password, and whenever you want to use it again you just need to say the password. The spell is Miand-linkus."

Lillian told Liana.

(Liana) "Wow! What does it do?"

Liana asked with awe. Lillian nodded.

(Lillian) "The password is for each person that performs the spell, so that if anyone wants to mind-link you, all they need to do is say the password, if they have already performed the spell once, and then they can talk to you through the mind-link."

Liana said,

(Liana) "Okay, so I perform the spell, then I suppose I'm supposed to tell you the password? I'm not supposed to tell just anyone right?"

(Lillian) "Yeah."

(Liana) "Okay, let's do this."

Liana said, then mumbled under her breath,

(Liana) "Miand-linkus, capricous."

(Liana) "Okay, I'm done. The password is capricous."

Liana told Lillian.

(Lillian) "Okay good. Now I'll show you how it works. Capricous."

Lillian repeated Liana's password, then used the mind-link spell to talk to her.

(Lillian, through mind-link, to Liana) "Hi, this is Lillian, I'm using the mind link spell to talk to you."

Liana seemed to be hearing Lillian's voice in her head. Surprised, she looked at Lillian who nodded and said,

(Lillian) "Yes, that was me. I just showed you a spell that requires level two hundred magic, and since it worked on you, your level is clearly more than that. Okay, now I'll tell you my password. You must either think of it, say it, or whisper it for it to work, but thinking of it is the most effective. Then after using the password, you must think of the person that the password is for. If the password and person doesn't match, it will not work. I'll tell you more about it through the mind-link later if you like. My password is parafinde."

Lillian told Liana.

(Liana's thoughts) 'Parafinde, Lillian.'

Liana thought, then tried out the mind-link.

(Liana through mind-link, to Lillian) "Hi."

(Lillian, through mind-link, to Liana) "Hi."

Lillian replied, confirming that it worked.

(Liana, through mind-link, to Lillian) "Wow! It actually works!"

(Lillian, through mind-link, to Liana) "Okay, now that you are convinced it works, there is another safety precaution you can set in if you like."

(Liana, through mind-link, to Lillian) "Sure! What is it?"

(Lillian, through mind-link, to Liana) "It's a precaution so that only if you think your password, then the person you want to mind-link password, then of yourself, then of that person, then it will work. It's troublesome, but very safe, guarding against mind-reading types of spells. And the precaution only has to be done once for each person."

(Liana, through mind-link, to Lillian) "Okay, so I'm guessing that it works the same way as the original spell, so that if any of it doesn't match, it doesn't work?"

(Lillian, through mind-link, to Liana) "Yeah, that's pretty much how it works."

Liana nodded.

(Liana, through mind-link, to Lillian) "What is the spell?"

(Lillian, through mind-link, to Liana) "Do you want to do it or should I? This spell can be used on a person, so I can do it for you. So that it won't be so troublesome for you."

(Liana, through mind-link, to Lillian) "Sure! Go ahead!"

(Lillian, through mind-link, to Liana) "Okay. If you want to stop the mind-link, all you need to do is to is to think 'link-break'."

Lillian then mumbled a spell, saying both their names.

(Lillian) "Okay, it's done. Come out of mind-link for a while, then you can go back in if you like. I have already come out to do the spell, but you can still talk to me through it, I just can't reply until I mind-link you again. Another thing you should know is that you can choose what you want the other person to hear from you."

(Liana) "Whoa, that was so cool! Where'd you learn this spell from?"

(Lillian) "It's a long story. I may tell you one day, but not now"

(Liana) "Okay."

(Lillian) "Oh, there's something else you need to know about me for now. I can read minds and can tell when someone's lying. If you need to tell whether anyone is lying, you can ask me."

(Liana) "Wait, what? There's a mind reading spell?"

(Lillian) "Yeah, there is, but I'm not using a spell. Don't worry, I won't read your mind if you tell me not to."

(Liana's thoughts) 'She's not using a spell?? Wow, her magic must be very good.'

Liana thought.