“Liam and Eák , there will be suitors coming to the court to seek out the Commander’s hand. It is important that she considers them. Even though this is a mission, she is expected to wed soon. There are things working against her here, and if she does not choose a husband soon, I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to protect her. This assignment is going to come with a lot of danger. Your job above all else is to ensure Alaya's safety. There is additional information I am not at liberty to share yet, however, just know that she is going to be extremely important in the battle to come.” The Captain’s eyes met Eák ’s for a brief moment, holding them with a knowing look. “I am expecting you to make sure no danger befalls her. The future of our nation may very well depend on it.”
***
As I was gathering the remainder of my things I thought about how different life was going to be at court. My father took my sister and me there once when we were younger. To be honest it had always struck me as more dangerous than any day I had experienced on the battlefield. At least on the field, you know exactly who your enemies are. Everyone at court seemed to have secrets and agendas. It was going to be a foreign experience for sure.
I finished gathering the remainder of my things and had a soldier lead over a few horses. If the assignment was to begin immediately, there was no point in standing around. We should depart tonight. I slung my bags over the saddle and informed the soldier to remain at the ready for my return.
I found Liam waiting by my tent, I couldn’t help but wonder how long he had been there.
“Lieutenant. Are we ready to depart?” I asked.
“Yes... at least I'm sure we are, however, I have not seen the other guy since Captain dismissed us.” I was not sure if I had heard it correctly, but it still seemed as though something was bothering Liam.
I'd never been the kind to beat around the bush. I didn't get this far by pulling punches. “Liam, what is on your mind?”
“What do you mean?” He avoided looking into my eyes as he said it.
“I can tell something is upsetting you. Was Rex's speech that terrible?”
His gaze trailed up to mine, I peered into his somber eyes confirming something was bothering him. His usually kind and smiling complexion had disappeared, his face was drawn with lines of worry. Liam was the most honestly joyful man I had ever known, and it was exceedingly rare to his expression be anything but pleasant.
“The man is a real dick. You know? I'm just concerned for the troops.” His eyes traced a line on the floor as he spoke.
I couldn't do anything but move forward at this point, though I did understand what he was feeling. “I get it. Liam, I'm not excited about leaving them in the hands of that man, however, we have a duty to our country. We have an objective to complete and we have yet to fail. I don't plan on starting now.” As I said the words I carefully placed my hand on his. I wanted to reassure him that no matter what comes, if we were standing together, we would overcome whatever we faced. He had been there for me more times than I could count and it was about time I returned the favor.
I looked up and saw him staring down at me. Our eyes met, and for just a moment I forgot what I was saying. The smile had returned to his face, and it looked as bright as ever. He looked at me as if we were children again. We had experienced so much together, it was silly to think things wouldn’t continue to change, but, for right now I just needed him to stay strong. I was far too nervous for what was to come to not have him by my side.
“Am I interrupting something?” A smug voice sounded from behind me.
I turned to find Eák waiting. He was looking just the same as before. He had thrown a small sack over his shoulder and was impatiently waiting for us to pay attention to him. I had half a mind to rip that arrogant fresh-blood a new one for being so intrusive on two commanding officers. But, we had little time for antics and I had a feeling it would only feed into his particular type of annoyance.
“It is time to go,” I said to break the now rather awkward tension.
“As you say, my Lady,” Eák said with a devilish smile. He bowed, though took care not to break eye contact with me. It gave me a rather odd feeling. I made a point to abruptly walk past him, climb onto the saddle of my horse, and begin our journey to Kalison.
It was the first time I had made the ride to the capital of Shera in quite a long time. I remember it as a busy city of merchants and barterers; everyone with an agenda; everyone with a scheme. Though I had only visited court once before, I had reported plenty of times within the borders of the city.
The road to get there was rather long, especially from the training site we chose. I did not want the men to engage with any distractions during this time, so we chose a location a days ride from the nearest town and a few days from the capital. It helped the men to remain focused on their duties, rather than visiting the local tavern. Since this was my choice, I knew that it was roughly an 18-hour ride to the town of Shay and two days from there back to Shera’s Capital, Kalison.
We rode in silence for quite some time, it was not odd for Liam and me to ride these roads together, we had done so numerous times. However, it felt different because of the unknown trekking along with us. Eák was being rather quiet, though it was weird to look back at him, since anytime I would try it was usually followed by a flirtatious wink, or rather vulgar comments. It was odd for me to experience such things. I had met few men balls-y enough to attempt such behavior with a Commander in his Highness's Royal Army. And honestly, after being rebuffed a few times, even those men all gave up. Something told me Eák was not going to be that easy to deter.
After a few hours of riding the night had drawn dark. It was unreasonable for us to continue and still be able to ensure we would be reaching our intended destination safely. “Lieutenant. Soldier. This is a good time to buckle down for the night.”
“My Lady” Eák 's voice rang out. I could almost tell he was trying to make his voice sound as smooth as humanly possible. Probably just to get a rise out of me. “Since we are to keep your military standing a secret, is it not wise to begin calling us by less formal titles?”
Damn it. The man-whore had a point.
Before I had a chance to speak Liam piped up. “If that is the case, should she not create more appropriate titles for each of us? For you, I think Servant Boy would fit well.” It was not like Liam to be so petty, though I could see a sense of pleasure on his face, for his rather witty retort.
“Thank you both for the recommendations. To not add further confusion, I will refer to you each by your first names. If that is alright?” I interjected before they could escalate any further.
“Of course.” Liam's face slacked as if he was slightly disappointed. Was it at me, or was he not himself? I was not sure.
“I would be honored, My Lady,” Eák said in his smooth voice again.
“Wonderful, then let's set up camp, Liam and Eák.”
The rest of our journey to Kalison we did little but discuss details of the mission. How we were going to address each other? Who was who? Eák seemed to come in quite a bit of handy when it came to reminding me of the expectations of a Lady at court. It had been a long time and I could understand why Captain had selected him to accompany us. I needed quite a few refresher courses on how to hold myself as a Lady of the Court. Though I would not be caught dead telling him that. The man was so flirtatiously annoying. Half the time I wasn't sure if he was teaching me to be a Lady of Court or a Lady of the Night. I had to stop Liam on a couple of occasions from strangling the man over his obsessive complimenting.
We’d changed out of our uniforms before entering the city limits. Liam picked up a dress for me in Kalison's outer markets, so I would not seem to stand out. It looked rather expensive and I promised I would repay him. Though he attempted to refuse I asserted my intention anyway. We stopped off the road a few miles before arriving to change into our appropriate attire. The men stood guard while I changed into the dress. It was a sky blue and had a cream lace bodice that tied up the front. It was corseted, which was something I was far from used to. Brushing my fingers through my long hair I pulled it up and out of the knots it had been in for the past few days. I hadn’t realized how long it had been since the last time I’d cut it. I had light brown hair that traveled nearly three feet down my back. I was so used to keeping it up, it hadn’t occurred to me how long it had gotten. We didn't get any other shoes besides my boots, so I would just have to make sure not to reveal them.
Once I was done, I came out from the woods so the men would be able to change.
“Oh. Alaya...” Liam stuttered. He turned his face away and the darkness covered any expression I could have read.
“I'm not used to wearing this sort of thing, but thank you very much for buying it. It will make our arrival more believable.” I responded without much thought.
“It is definitely believable My Lady,” Eák said as he came closer to me. “You look fit to be royalty in that dress.” Eák softly grabbed my hand and dipped his knee to the ground. He firmly pressed his lips to my fingers and looked up at me.
Just when I felt the heat reach my face and all I could think to do was hit the man, saw what he must have seen quite a bit before. There was a group of men riding just a few feet away. I noticed their glances but at the sight of Eák, they turned and quickly rode away.
The gentlemen quickly changed into the outfits Liam had gained, and we were on our way.
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