THE ROYAL GUARD

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: ROYALTY ~ EGZOD FEAT MAESTRO CHIVES]

His silver hair danced in the wind as he rode his horse back to the palace.

Nix felt more relieved that the princess had regained her memory about what happened that night. He was even happier that the girl assumed he accepted to help her because of salt.

Nix was not someone to cross whoever he served, but Queen Almaria was biting off more than she could chew as years went by, and he knew it had to stop at some point.

After the former king, Almaria's husband died, the queen treated the people of Wahels with so much contempt. When there was an outbreak in the town, the people sought refuge, but Almaria made sure their border was blocked so nobody would assist them. Nix, however, kept calm. He had to help his people in his own way without the queen's knowledge. Years passed, and Almaria continued to neglect the people of Wahels, only going there when the Kingdom of Morado needed warriors.

When Nix got to the palace, the red sun was already making way for the moon, casting his shadow to one side. His long strides took him to the royal stable to tie his horse, then he made his way to the queen Almaria's chamber.

He reached the room, but Almaria was not inside, so he started walking back to his own quarters when he heard something rustle behind him.

"Nix, are you leaving without checking my whereabouts?" Almaria walked out of the shadows, wearing her white night garment with her hair loosened.

Nix was surprised to see the queen outside in her night garment. He kept his cool and bowed slightly, his eyes holding no emotion.

"You've been leaving the palace so much these days. Is it still your tribe issue?" Almaria asked. "Or do you have a secret lover?" She grinned, looking at the guard with curiosity. Nix was a hard nut, very difficult to crack and fathom, but Almaria was determined to know everything that went on in his head.

Nix watched as the former queen tried to get him to talk; he was already used to situations like this. The woman was always ready to offer her best smile to him, just to make him feel she had a pure soul. But he knew better and preferred to keep calm.

"I will stop leaving the palace," his reply was short and to the point.

"No, no, you can go out. I won't stop you. Have a goodnight rest, Nix," Almaria said and turned to go back into her room, with a twitch in her lips. Nix was not someone you could get information from by talking a lot or watching his facial expressions. The guard was just neutral with his words and countenance.

Nix bowed as soon as the queen dowager left and made his way back to his quarters. The only reason he continued to live in the palace even after Almaria started taunting his tribe was that his family had sworn an oath to protect the Crown of Morado, but he was not going to do it at the expense of their lives. When he found out that Almaria was afraid of only one person, he decided to join hands with her and cut short the reign of Almaria.

Even with a new queen, she had refused to step down.

When Nix got to his room, one of the palace maids stood by the door with a jar of wine, waiting for him. He entered his room and removed his baldric, keeping the sword close to the table.

The maiden shyly entered the room; she was quite a looker, but Nix's eyes were on the parchment in front of him. When the maiden dropped the wine jar, he waved his hand for her to leave, but the girl did not budge.

Nix raised his brows, his blue eyes looking at the girl questionably.

"Do I not look attractive enough, my Lord?" The young maiden asked, pushing her chest forward.

Nix lazily trailed his eyes from her face down to her chest, then his eyes went back to the scrolls that lay on his table. He took his time before he spoke in a low voice that sounded like a growl due to his deep voice, "Leave."

The girl bit her lips in frustration; she had used the best soap to wash herself and applied the best oil to her hair. She had heard from other palace maids that Nix no longer accepted to spend the night with the palace maids, but she doubted it because she was one of the prettiest maids in the palace.

Even the royal officials enjoyed their time with her once in a while and they all sang to her praises. With Nix sending her away without even looking at her, the girl named Bareea felt ashamed of herself.

She wanted to question Nix and know the reason, but everyone in the palace knew better than to cross Nix. He was not someone who held conversations, he speaks his mind and ignores the rest.

Bareea left the room in anger, but before she left, she turned, "Rumour has it that you have a woman outside the palace." She stood there, waiting to see if he would respond. Bareea left the room in anger when she saw that he was not going to reply.

Nix raised his head when the girl left, he moved the scrolls to a side, and picked up the wine jar. The night was peaceful and quiet again, and he enjoyed the solitude. His blue eyes scanned the room.

The princess had said she would return, but not yet. Nix knew that once the princess came back to the palace, the days of peacefulness would be long gone. He decided to enjoy his serenity before trouble returns home.

Almaria paced in her room, there was something going on with the royal guard but she could not pin what it was. When her door opened, she raised her eyes to look at the maid that just walked in.

"Greetings, Queen Dowager" Bareea bowed deeply, she could not raise her face.

"Seeing you back this early means you failed " Almaria thinned her lips in annoyance. "You were so sure you will get him to touch you"

Bareea felt blood rush up to her neck, she had initially promised the queen to get on Nix's bed. That way she will make him fall for her and also get vital information from him.

"My queen, he was looking exhausted. I will try again tomorrow" Bareea assured, she was not going to be pushed to the side just like that. The queen had offered to give any palace maid that gets close to Nix, one gold bar and twenty silver and even more if he does as much as to bed them. If there was anyone that deserved the prize then it was her. Bareea thought to herself, she had the qualities every man longed for. She was sure she could get Nix in her palm in no time.

Almaria sneered at the lowlife,"If you cannot get a man to bed you at his weakness, how possible will that be at his strength?" she dismissed the girl. If no palace maid was going to make Nix fall in love then she will have to look outside the palace. She wanted to know what was going on in his head and if he could be trusted to still stay around her. She went to lay on her bed, her face creased with worry.