Chapter 2: Old Friends

Jason stood in front of the doors that led to the king's study. His mind was racing. He wasn't sure what to expect, and he wasn't sure what his reaction would be.

Jason had mixed feelings for the king. As a child, the king had been the one to take Jason in. He brought the boy to the castle, leaving him with the captain of The Castle Guard, a position he was destined to take over one day. The captain trained young Jason, and the king showered him with warm praise. He was kept well fed and had a comfortable bed. Jason had never felt so at home, as far as he could remember. He trained with a sword willingly, and at the age of five no less. Both the captain and the king were impressed, and very pleased.

After May was born, the king stopped doting on him so much, but he didn't mind. He liked having a little sister, or so he thought of her at the time. All of Jason's free time was spent with the princess. He was there when she said her first words, and when she first began to crawl. When she started walking, Jason was always there to catch her if she fell down. After a while, the king decided to appoint Jason as May's bodyguard. Both had been overjoyed at the idea, and they loved spending all that time together. But things changed when May turned eight. Her father was colder towards her, more than usual. He was always grumpy, and always worried. Jason hadn't liked the way he was treating May, but he figured something must have been terribly wrong, or he wouldn't treat his daughter that way. Jason was right. May's mother was overcome with a sickness, and though the king brought in all the best doctors in the country, it was hopeless. There was no cure, and the queen's husband was overcome with grief.

It was not only the king, however, that felt the loss. May took her mother's death very hard. She would always confide in Jason, and he was a wonderful listener, but she needed a parents' guiding hand. Unfortunately, her father was not the type of man that put his family first. Consumed by his own grief, he had no time to lessen his daughter's. Over the years May grew tired of his coldness, and a hatred slowly began to grow inside her. Jason had watched as the rift between them grew wider and wider, and he felt powerless. There was nothing he could have done to save them, but still he felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. As if protecting their relationship was somehow his responsibility. Really, all Jason wanted was to keep his family happy. When he couldn't do even that, Jason felt hopeless.

Now, here he stood, about to confront a man who he had considered his father, and he was absolutely terrified.

Will things ever be the way they used to? Jason thought. He took a deep breath, gulped, and pushed open the doors to the king's study.

As soon as Jason entered the room, the king looked up from his work and addressed him, "Ah good. You've made it Jason."

"Yes, sir. Of course, sir."

Jason was standing completely still, his eyes forward, and shoulders back.

"At ease, soldier. We are not on the verge of battle just yet," the king smiled a bit and waved his hand.

Jason's face remained monotone, but his shoulders relaxed, "Thank you, sir."

The king sighed and looked at Jason almost regretfully.

"Listen, son," Jason stiffened once more at the gesture, "I'm sure you are a bit shaken by May's obvious display of emotion, and are probably wondering what I could have said to make her act out in that way.'

Jason gritted his teeth; he makes it sound like May is acting out of turn here.

"Well," the king continued, "I hope I can reassure you by giving you my word I did not hurt her. Though, as her father, that would be a ridiculous notion. She is simply having a childish reaction to an adult issue. After all, she is not yet an adult and she does not yet have experience in the ways of the world."

Jason remained silent.

"As her bodyguard, I thought it important for you to know May is engaged to be married."

Jason's eyes widened in disbelief, and he had to stop his mouth from dropping open. May? Married? He could not believe his ears.

The king must have noticed his discomfort because he said, "Is there a problem Jason? I can assure you; I have thought this through thoroughly, and this alliance is needed to save the kingdom. If you are worried about having to leave, you needn't go with her-"

Jason cut him off, "NO!" then he stopped himself, realizing he just yelled the king. After he calmed himself, he continued, "No, sir," he was very careful this time, "That will not be necessary. I was just surprised is all. I thought due to Clementine's taking over the throne... May would not need to marry."

The king looked at Jason with suspicion, but did not question him, "Yes. Well, that was the plan. But Clementine will not take his place on the throne for many a year yet. I must consider the people's safety in these matters."

Jason was even more skeptical than the king, "May I ask what country we are entering into this... alliance with?"

The king hesitated, then said, "The kingdom of Simone."

Jason flinched. The kingdom had been at peace with Simone ever since it's founding. Why would they need to form an alliance with them now? Does he think I'm an idiot? Jason thought. He knew May's father was hiding something. He didn't want to enter this alliance for the sake of the kingdom, he wanted to for his own sake, and it didn't matter to him whether r not his own daughter was hurt int the process. He was angry, but at the same time, his heart was broken in two.

Suddenly, Jason had lost all respect for the king. He looked up at him with dead eyes, "Understood, sir," and he turned to leave.

As he exited the room, Jason's footsteps could be heard echoing off the high bookshelves. The king watched him go and wondered if it was really a good idea to let him go with the princess.

Jason was fuming as he walked back to the princess's room. He could never forgive the king for doing this to May. What reason could be good enough for him to have hurt her like this? All of Jason's rationality had left him. He could only think of May... and the prince she was to marry. He thought his worst nightmare was the princess being assaulted, but this just might have beat that out of the water.

As he was rounding the corner to May's bedroom, he heard a man's voice. He stopped dead in his tracks and stood perfectly still, listening.

"Did you hear?" said one man.

"What?" replied a second.

"Princess May is to be married!"

How did he find out? Jason thought. It hasn't been announced yet. Was a guard listening outside the king's study? Jason perked up again when they continued talking.

"What? That's impossible. Prince Clementine is going to take over the throne, the princess was told she didn't need to marry."

"I know, but the king has changed his mind. Apparently, it's supposed to be an alliance with the Simone kingdom."

"The Simone kingdom? We've been at peace with them for years!"

See, even the guards know that.

"It is strange isn't it? Maybe... maybe the princess has fallen in love!"

That was the final straw for Jason. He came barreling around the corner and confronted the guards head-on.

"Ca-Captain!" one of them squeaked.

"You startled us!" the other breathed.

Jason looked at them with anger burning in his eyes, "What are you all doing, standing around spreading rumors? You should be focusing on guard duty!"

The two guards were puzzled. Their captain had never acted this way before.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

Jason still remained on fire, "Stay focused!" then he remembered something important, "And if I ever hear you mention the princess's name again... I'll throw you in the pig pin."

Jason's voice had gone completely cold and his eyes were focused and serious. The guards were terrified for their lives.

"Ye-Yes, sir!" they said shakily.

Jason grunted and whipped around, heading towards May's room, where Walker stood gaping.

"What is it?" Jason said roughly as he approached.

Walker's brow furrowed, "What do you think?" he was angry, "What the hell was that? Look, I can tell you are upset, so I will try to tell you calmly, but that was insanely rude. What is your problem? Those guards were doing nothing wrong! You've never yelled at us like that just because we were talking on duty. You are the one who's always preaching about working hard and playing hard. That was unnecessarily harsh, and I'm surprised at you!"

Walker's sudden outburst made Jason stop. He's right, Jason thought. Why was I so angry? But his confusion only made him angrier. Jason was a stubborn man and Walker's sensible argument agitated him. He might have been able to reason with himself in any other situation, but he was determined to be furious then.

"You know what?" he said.

"What?" Walker said with equally as much sass.

Jason's eyes narrowed and he lowered his voice, "I don't think I should have trusted you with May."

Walker was taken aback. At first his face showed only surprise, but then it twisted into an ugly frown.

"Oh," he said, "I see. Well then. I will leave you to your precious bodyguard duty and go back to my bunk."

And with that, Walker was gone. Jason instantly regretted what he had just said. He knew he hadn't meant it. He trusted Walker more than anyone. He had just been angry. Jason groaned and brought his hands to his face.

"What is wrong with me?" he mumbled.

He let his hands drop to his side and then he slouched against the wall. He closed his eyes and sighed. Then suddenly his quiet was interrupted.

"Jason?" May said, poking her head out her door.

Jason jumped at the sound of her voice and she stood up in response. She had been crouching in the doorway, but now she was halfway out it and looking at Jason with concern.

"Ma-ma-ay," he stuttered, "How long have you been standing there?"

Jason's hands twitched and he fidgeted under the princess's stare.

She smiled softly, "Long enough."

That smile was enough to make Jason melt, "Oh," he said and sighed, "I'm sorry you had to see that..."

"Hey," May said, grabbing Jason's hand, "It's okay."

Jason looked at his hand in hers and then looked at her. She blushed and tried to pull away, but Jason grabbed her hands.

"He-hey!" she said.

Jason chuckled and brought her hands to his lips, giving them a soft kiss.

"Thank you, May."

May stopped squirming under his touch and watched him. He had called her by her name. They stood like that, staring into each other's eyes for only about five seconds. But five seconds was enough.

Jason realized what he was doing and instantly let go of her hands.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

"That's okay," May smiled.

Jason had never been more uncomfortable in his life, "Sooo... about earlier."

"Oh," May was pulled from her thoughts, "Hey, don't worry about it. You're angry for me, right? You don't have to be, I'm going to be fine."

Jason watched as the princess put her head down.

"No, you're not."

May looked at him again and her eyes widened when she saw the look on his face. It was genuine concern. And his eyes... No! she thought, shaking it off. What is wrong with me today?

She laughed, "Of course I am."

So she said, but Jason could see past that smile, "Don't lie to me."

May bent her head again and didn't look up, "Okay, so I'm not fine. But what can I do," she was starting to tear up, "I have to leave my home, I-I have to leave Clemmie, I... I..." she began to sob.

Jason wrapped her in a hug. "Shh," he said, "It's going to be alright, shh."

Jason rocked her back and forth for a while, as she let out all her pent-up emotions. When she was finally done, she gently pushed him away and looked up at him.

"Shouldn't you go apologize now?" she asked.

Jason thought for a moment and then responded, "You're right."

She smiled and he returned the favor, then he walked away.

Jason sighed as he made his way to the guard quarters, where he expected to find Walker sulking in his usual spot. This wasn't the first fight they had had. They had fought plenty of times in the past over trivial things, like Jason being too insensitive, or Walker being too lazy. But eventually both sides realized their mistakes and always made up.

This time was a little different though. Jason had never fought with Walker about the princess, and he knew it was only him who was in the wrong this time. He was unsure on how to conduct himself and felt awkward as he tried to come up with a half-decent apology. Walker had been a good friend of his since he first came to this castle, and he truly wanted to make things right between them again. He just didn't know how.

As Jason approached the guards' quarters, he began to feel even more uneasy and felt almost as if he were going to throw up. He clenched his stomach and trudged forward, today had been a stressful day. He reached the door and swung it open with a little more force than intended.

Walker jumped, but the look of surprise on his face turned into an angry scowl when he saw the captain guard.

"What do you want?" he asked roughly.

Jason's stomach tightened again, "I-I came to apologize."

"Oh?" Walker raised his eyebrows in a sarcastic gesture, "The high and mighty Jason, Captain of the Castle Guard, is going to apologize to me?"

That made Jason angry, "I was going to apologize," he said, then added under his breath, "But now I'm not so sure I should."

"What was that?" Walker frowned.

Jason didn't falter, "I said. Now I'm not so sure," and with that he left the room once again.

Jason pounded his fist against a wall in frustration. What is wrong with him? He thought, I was trying to apologize! Jason continued to stand with his fist resting on the wall, breathing heavily. His brows creased and his mouth turned into a sharp line. He sighed; things were not going well today.

Jason slowly removed himself from the wall and turned to head back to the princess, when all of a sudden, he heard a loud clanging. The bells were ringing, letting everyone in the city another hour had passed. Meaning, it was six-o-clock now. Jason remembered all at once that he was supposed to escort the princess to the ballroom within the hour. He flew into a frenzy, making his way back to her room.

When he arrived, he found May surrounded by her maids once again as they swiftly but carefully reapplied her makeup, which had been ruined from her crying. He stood by in the corner, waiting for them to finish as he tapped his foot. What was it with women and their makeup?

When they were finally done, Jason had to stop himself from gawking. May looked absolutely stunning. Her cheeks were still red with anger, and her eyes swollen from crying, but her face had this strange glow about it. She looked as though she had just stepped down from heaven to observe the mortals in their primitive world. Jason again thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever met.

"We-well? What are you staring for," May said, "Let's get going!"

Jason snapped out of it and smiled at her timidness, "Yes, highness."

"Ew!" she exclaimed, "Don't call me that!"

He laughed and they joined arms, making their way down the hall towards the ballroom.