Chapter 16
Alexander sighed, rubbing his bare shoulder with an ointment to make it feel better. He had been on a wild chase all over the palace looking for an alleged monster that had killed some of the palace guards but found nothing. This monster seemingly disappeared into thin air just leaving behind a trail of dead bodies and a strange detail on one body. The body had bite marks as if something used it as food.
The king was not happy it had escaped or that there was no explanation for how it had gotten inside the palace without anyone noticing. The palace guards were awaiting punishment because Darius was worried it could've come and easily killed him. In the king's opinion, if the guards slacked off killing whatever had entered the palace, then they did not need to be employed for much longer.
Alexander was tired of the trouble lately as they had been taking a number on his body. Darius depended on him a lot to keep the palace safe because he was paranoid and rarely trusted someone. Especially with this new plan he had. "This can't all be a coincidence. First, he's looking into the forest, and then we have a monster in the palace."
He knew it was a bad idea for the king to start wandering into the forest when they had no idea what was on the inside. This monster could've been a warning message to stop whatever Darius planned to do.
"I can't catch a break," Alexander sighed, switching focus to something else. His mind wandered to the woman he met at the festival. How completely honest she was with her words. Not many would be so blunt with a stranger they just met when speaking of the king and the things happening in the kingdom. "There's something suspicious about her."
She wasn't a resident of that village nor did she seem like someone from the nearby towns or villages. And Alexander meant it when he said he hoped she wouldn't cause trouble. It was a bad thing to catch the eyes of the king, lords, dukes or anyone else who wanted everything suspicious to be killed. That was why he requested an update on everyone in the kingdom.
The people of the Harlow kingdom thought they were free but the king had them like prisoners on the inside, dictating their every move. Darius implemented the plan his father started by getting information on every single person. Cheating on your partner, swimming in debt, running away from a marriage engagement, the king knew all of it. Special people were placed everywhere to listen in on rumors and gossip then send the report back to the palace.
The entire time Alexander searched for a drawing of the woman he met, he found nothing. Not even an old drawing of her at a young age. She did not exist in the records. "I can't report this and get her killed if she's innocent. There might be a possibility that someone snuck her in."
Sometimes guards accepted money from those who wanted to sneak in. The guards were immediately killed if exposed.
People on the outside wanted to get into the kingdom because of the peace Darius was claiming to have. It was two months after the death of the previous king that Darius started to change and became too paranoid about everything concerning the kingdom. Alexander knew that one day the wall that Darius put up would soon crumble and show everyone the reality of this world.
He planned to meet with the woman he met soon to see if she was a threat or not. Alexander never liked seeing innocent people be killed and had helped many of them escape the chaos Darius was creating. If she wasn't innocent, he had to kill her. He promised on his life when he became a guard that he would protect the people from evil. He failed this when he allowed his childhood friend to do evil things to innocent people.
Alexander was in the middle of being pulled by two sides. Following the king's orders was pulling him one side and protecting the people of this kingdom was on the other side. "Always protect the crown," he muttered remembering what his father had always told him.
His father wouldn't like it if he was to ever learn of the things Alexander had been doing to help some of the innocent people escape their punishment. The reason why Darius always called on him was because of long loyalty from Alexander's family to the crown. That was why Darius and Alexander grew up so close. They pledge the safety of the people but as they grew up their views differed from each other.
There was a knock at his door bringing Alexander out of his thoughts. He sighed already knowing it was related to the king. Who else but him could calm down Darius at this moment? He couldn't wait for the day he could return to his home instead of spending nights in a room at the palace. "Coming," he stood up putting on his armor over an aching shoulder.
"He's pissed," Leon said after he opened the door. He could no longer wait on Alexander to get ready and open the door. "You have to admit," he whispered looking around to make sure no one was near before closing the door. "He has been wilding out. If he doesn't calm down word will spread about his new fond personality."
Leon remembered the days of fighting against Darius for training when he was only a prince. He admired the idea, goals, and ambitions Darius had. It made him continue his journey of becoming a guard to fight alongside Darius to achieve those goals. "This is supposed to be the safest place in the kingdom but you have to walk on eggshells around him when he gets angry. His reign won't end well Alexander. You used to convince others to give him a chance but he needs to calm down. He's becoming the monster in our kingdom and not those Gods."