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"Erica! Come on, get down here and see your mother."
Erica giggled, tossing her curls and swinging her feet as if she were still a young child and being chased around the garden by Boyd's grandfather, who had seemed more like a surrogate grandfather to her than a servant. Now, she was being pursued by someone who hardly seemed like a servant at all, but wholly a friend. "Oh Boyd, perhaps tell her I'll come by later." She grabbed onto the trunk of the tree to pull herself into a standing position. "I'd much rather watch the world pass by from up here!"
"All right, don't listen to me. And let me blamed for it since of course Master Harris would be displeased with a further delay in Her Majesty's schedule, but he can only take it out on the servant and not the princess," Boyd said with nonchalant turn away from her. He began walking back towards the garden gate.
Erica then let out a high peal of laughter. She swung herself to another tree branch, and then let go. Boyd stopped to look up, and immediately stretched out his arms to catch her. His effort only worked somewhat, as she landed on his back. She grappled to not slide off, her arms wrapped around his neck. Boyd laughed briefly, but then firmly took ahold of her arms and dropped to one knee. Erica was thrown over his head in a pseudo-somersault by the momentum, landing breathlessly on the ground in front of him. She turned to him in astonishment, as he looked up with a gleam of mischief in his eyes. "Your Highness," he said, still bowing before as if that was his only purpose in dropping to the ground as he had.
Erica couldn't help but shake her head. Then, she smoothed her rumpled dress and extended her hand with feigned superciliousness and daintiness. "Thank you, sir. Will you escort me to the throne room now?"
Boyd leapt lightly to his feet, offering her his arm and flashing a smile at her. "Of course, my princess."
~~~
"I have to WHAT?!"
"Quiet! You must speak respectfully to the queen," hissed Master Harris from his spot beside her mother.
Queen Mariana flashed him a glare. "The princess - my daughter - has permission to speak her mind to me, Harris." She turned back to Erica. "My dear, you're nearly eighteen. This is your opportunity to learn diplomacy, by interacting with some of our closest allies."
"But Mom, I don't want to go!" She pointedly ignored Master Harris's cough at her informal addressing of her mother. "I can't leave home without you with me!"
"Sweetheart, you will have to at some point. I have complete faith in you, and also in the royals of the kingdoms I will be sending you to. The House of Reyes has been allied with Stilinski, Argent, and McCall for centuries." Her mother smiled reassuringly.
Erica couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. "So, what, if I mess up then you won't worry about it?"
Queen Mariana laughed. "If you mess up? Erica, you will. But you're right: I won't worry, though, because you'll learn and you'll be in a perfectly safe environment for it."
"Safe!" Something suddenly occurred to Erica. "Is it really safe to travel alone?"
"If you were alone, then it would be dangerous," she nodded. "But I won't be sending you alone. You are my most precious treasure! I have to stay here, but I will send a bodyguard and personal assistant with you, to protect and provide for you."
Erica straightened up. "Who?"
"Boyd, of course, will serve as your personal attendant. For your bodyguard, I will send a combat-trained man from the livery, though I have yet to decide who." Seeing her daughter's delighted expression, Queen Mariana smiled. "Will the trip truly be so horrible, then?"
While it wouldn't be easy, parts of it would probably be fun, Erica had to admit to herself. And getting to go with Boyd? Well, she was eagerly awaiting that! Hopefully the bodyguard just wouldn't be too terrible.
~~~
Boyd hefted the last bag down the stairs. Now just to bring them to the stables to be loaded onto the horses. He couldn't help but chuckle at how much luggage Erica had compared to his one satchel - not because he looked down on her for needing to pack so much, but because he could already foresee how frustrated she would get with all of them. Even though he had orderly packed everything that she had wanted, he knew she'd be unable to find anything she wanted without his help of which bag to look inside and where to find it. She loved her luxurious dresses, but hated the inconvenience they created when looking for a pair of shoes she had packed underneath. Boyd anticipated having to repack several times on the upcoming journey after she would accidentally rumple the contents of a bag to beyond the point where everything would fit neatly again.
Damn, this job would get so annoying if the person doing all the annoying things didn't happen to also be his best friend.
And speak of the devil, he tilted his head and heard a distinctive pitter-patter above his head. Little but brisk steps were being taken down the spiral staircase, as if belonging to someone wanting to move as quickly as possible but encumbered by heavy petticoats and small shoes. He smiled and turned to greet Erica.
"My princess," he said, beaming up at her and holding out his hand. Erica seized it to jump down the remaining four steps, skirts billowing and Boyd's grip on her hand almost slipping. "Careful! Remember, I may not be the one charged with keeping you safe, but try to make the job of whoever it is easier by not being reckless."
"And when am I ever reckless?" challenged Erica with a grin even wider than his own.
"Absolutely never. You're certainly not reckless enough to help out a lowly servant right now with carrying heavy luggage, even though it would be considered beneath you to even think about doing so." Boyd managed to keep a straight face while saying that, but cracked a smile again when Erica immediately bent down to pick up two of the satchels.
"Let's go!" she said, moving as fast as she could.
"Speaking of my bodyguard, do you know who he is?" she asked after a few moments.
"No idea, Erica," Boyd said with a shrug. "Might not even be a 'he', really. There are plenty of competent women among the Royal Guard."
"Oh, I know I'm going to have a male guard. Some guy called Lahey; I heard it from one of my maids. I just have no idea who he is." Erica kept walking, but Boyd froze. She turned. "So… I'm guessing you do know who he is?"
"Lahey? Master of the grounds?" Boyd said, trying to keep his voice even and not give anything away.
She was the one to shrug now. "I'd assume so. My mom just said someone who was trained in combat. Do you know if he could handle that well, if he's just a groundskeeper?"
Boyd sucked in his breath and gave as non-committal of a sound as he could, taking several large steps to bridge the distance between him and Erica.
There was no need, because she then planted her feet and stopped. "Boyd, what's going on? What do you know about Lahey?"
"I - nothing, Erica. Princess. It's - it's servants' talk. Not anything Her Highness should have to worry about," he said, trying to smile reassuringly.
Erica frowned, and he could tell she wasn't going to leave it at that. "Nothing I should have to worry about? When I'm supposed to trust my life and safety to him?!" She then lifted her chin. "It may be servants' talk, Boyd, but not all of the servants have made official and binding pacts with Her Highness to be best friends forever and tell each other everything."
Boyd laughed breathlessly, in surprise. "Erica, we made that pact when we were eight."
"Exactly. It's lasted a whole decade now, meaning that by the standard treatment of alliances in the kingdom, it's gotten only stronger over the years. So go on, tell me!" Erica looked up at him almost pleadingly.
Boyd grinned down at her. "Someone's been brushing up on Reyes royal policies, huh? You're going to do a great job on our trip, you know. You'll blow away the McCall monarchs and Argent aristocrats and Stilinski - somethings."
Erica grinned back. "I will, won't I? Thanks, Boyd." They walked together a little further, Erica with a content look on her face. Then, she broke the silence abruptly. "Hey! You're trying to distract me! If you want me to do a great job on our trip, tell me right now what I need to know about my bodyguard, Vernon Boyd!"
By then, they had reached the royal stables. Boyd placed down the bags he had been carrying outside the door, as he had been instructed. He then started running back to the castle. "Gotta go bring the rest of your stuff, Princess! Catch up if you can!"
He easily left Erica in the dust, swearing far more loudly than she probably should with so many people within earshot to be shocked by the impropriety. Boyd felt a little guilty, but couldn't help but be relieved. How was he supposed to explain to her? A frown etched deep into his face as he thought about what this could mean. If all the rumors he had heard were true - and they almost definitely were - having Fredrick Lahey as a bodyguard would mean that no beast nor bandit would hurt Erica. However, it didn't mean they would be safe.
~~~
Isaac was now getting to replace the time he normally spent shoveling manure to practicing swordfighting, so that was a step up.
He couldn't decide whether the reason he was doing so was a step up too or a step down.
Hearing that the princess was going on a diplomatic journey and he was appointed her bodyguard was half-exhilarating, half-terrifying. Or maybe like, 90% of both, because the experience of escorting a princess and being in charge of her safety could easily add up to 180%. It wasn't supposed to make sense and be nice and neat and add up to a perfect 100%. Well, most things rarely did.
He'd been training with the captain of the guard for several years now, but never had he imagined that he would get appointed to something like this. He was a stable-boy, for God's sake! Even though he'd always grown up working in the palace grounds, it had never occurred to him he'd actually serve the princess this directly. Again, it was terrifying.
And not just because he realized now in his swordfighting practices that the soldiers he sparred against were no longer holding back, and he came dangerously close to getting his throat slit sometimes. Getting killed by some rogue on the road to the Argent kingdom would be bad enough, but doing so because he failed in his job to protect the princess? Oh god. Just kill me now.
Worry rushed through his veins, and Isaac drew his sword again. He started swinging it, as if attacking his own anxieties. He unleashed his stress upon the fencing target made of leather, wishing it were made of straw so he could hack it to pieces. As it is, it took all of his bottled up emotions to even pierce the leather.
"Whoa there, Lahey. Don't think Captain Finstock would appreciate you ruining the training equipment," commented one of the members of the guard who was standing in the corner.
Isaac lowered his sword with a sigh. "Sorry, sir." He replaced the sword in his sheath.
"Someone's nervous about being an official bodyguard," laughed another.
"Oh, quiet, he's allowed to be!" exclaimed Lieutenant Graeme. She was ranked higher than the rest of them, so everyone quieted down and the man who had just spoke looked embarrassed. She then spoke more quietly and directly to Isaac. "You'll do fine, kid. Keep channeling those anxieties into doing better, okay? Don't let them stop you from serving the princess as well as we both know you can."
"Thanks, Tara," Isaac mumbled. Even with her high rank, she'd been kind enough to him after his mom and brother died - and well, through everything - that he felt comfortable enough addressing her by her first name. "Just wish me luck, okay? I'll need it."
She squeezed his shoulder, and then took his sword to bring it back to the weapons rack. "You know what? I honestly don't think you do. I think you can do it all on your own."
~~~
Erica at last turned away from the sight of her home that was shrinking into the distance. The shining white palace she had grown up in was barely visible any more, and the kingdom she had scarcely ever left before was behind them now, too.
She fixed her attention now on Lahey, the bodyguard. She still didn't know his first name. She still didn't know whatever it was that had made Boyd act so weird about hearing he was coming with them. And Erica didn't like not knowing.
"Lahey," she called. He jerked and turned the dappled grey mare he was riding to face her.
"Yes, Your Highness?" he said, eyes wide as he visibly tensed.
She smiled, trying to reassure him. "What's your name?"
His eyes grew wider. God, he looks like a puppy. "I-Isaac Lahey, Your Highness."
Isaac. Huh. Okay, now she would get to the next - and more important - question. Except she had no idea how to ask in a way that would make sense. "Have you ever been a bodyguard before?"
He looked down quickly, ears turning pink. "No, Y-your Highness."
She raised an eyebrow slightly. That could be why Boyd had responded strangely - he could know this boy didn't have very much experience. But that didn't seem like a thorough enough explanation, not really. "But you are certainly competent, aren't you? My mother trusted enough to appoint you, or trusted whoever decided made the intermediary decision to appoint you."
The young bodyguard blushed more, glancing upwards to look her in the eyes briefly. "I suppose so, Your Highness."
Erica was pleased he didn't seem quite as nervous - really, a bodyguard afraid to even talk to her was a little alarming if she needed his protection later on - but she still didn't have her answers. She had a hunch the experience or lack of it was what had alarmed Boyd so much about Lahey, so she tried again. This time, she asked more directly. "Where did you receive your experience, Isaac? Are there many opportunities to be trained for combat as a groundskeeper?"
She heard a neighing from her left, where Boyd was riding his own horse. She didn't turn, however, as somehow Isaac's face flushed an even deeper shade of red. "I - uh, you- you're - er, that is, I'm not a groundskeeper, Your Highness." His jaw seemed to tighten briefly. "I work in the stables. You - you must be thinking of my father." His voice dropped to almost inaudible at the end.
Erica whirled around to the left, to see Boyd had been looking at her. He shook his head slightly, and she had known him long enough to read the expression on his face. I was trying to stop you.
So… when Boyd had been upset by the prospect of Lahey being her bodyguard, he had been thinking of this Isaac Lahey's father.
Interesting.
Still not answers.
~~~
Boyd tried to avoid eye contact with Erica. He really wished now that he hadn't brought up anything related to servants' talk regarding Lahey. It was one thing when he'd thought that they'd be accompanied by the monster that Frederick Lahey was rumored to be. It was another when it turned out to be Lahey's son - his victim.
At least Erica hadn't been able to get him to tell her what was unnerving him. If he'd explained "every one of the servants has heard that Frederick Lahey was an abusive shithead to his son, but nobody was able to prove it so the son had to stay with him until he turned eighteen and was then transferred to working in a different part of the castle for his safety"… that would have been horrible. It would have been a total invasion of privacy, and inexcusable even though unintentional.
After a while, they reached a river that marked the border into the McCall kingdom. Boyd cursed when he saw it and compared it to the carefully planned route on the map. The bridge was washed away.
"Is there any easy way around it, Boyd?" Erica asked anxiously.
Boyd shrugged, examining the map closely. "There could be a crossing about five miles to the north… or a slightly more difficult one just three miles south."
"North," Isaac said immediately. Boyd looked up in surprise. That was the first time he'd spoken unprompted this entire journey. "We have to go to the easier and safer crossing."
Boyd glanced at Erica, and then rolled up the map. "All right, then. We won't get there before dark, however. We'll need to set up camp somewhere and cross in the morning."
Both of the others nodded, but Boyd noticed Erica spurring on her horse to ride at a gallop. Boyd couldn't help but laugh to himself. She would be determined to get there as soon as possible - but she was forgetting that his poor roan was laden was saddlebags, and it was off of that speed that Boyd had to gauge their time of arrival.
Boyd called for Erica to stop once the sun was hidden behind a mountain in the distance. It had not yet set, but setting up tents and cooking their supper would be much easier with a bit of remaining daylight. Erica insisted on helping cook, and to his surprise Isaac did most of the work in setting up the tents.
Well, it's like they barely need me here.
If Erica hadn't sat so close to him while eating and directed her beautiful smiles at him many times, he might have considered that more seriously. As it was, he was content to be beside his best friend.
This thought lingered on his mind as he drifted to sleep later on, a smile on his lips. However, Boyd abruptly woke late into the night.
He lay still, listening carefully. He couldn't hear anything at first, but then heard another whinny from outside.
He sat bolt upright. "The horses!" he exclaimed.
Boyd leapt from his bedroll and shoved aside the cloth in the opening of the tent. "Lahey, wake up!" he called as he ran out.
To his horror, he saw many figures in eerie grey cloaks surrounding their three horses. Boyd froze momentarily, before seizing a smoldering log from the dying fire. "Get out of here!" he yelled, waving it at them.
Several of the figures turned slowly to face him, and Boyd couldn't help but lower his makeshift weapon as he realized something. These things aren't human.
He had seen supernatural creatures once or twice before, but never had an encounter like this before. He swallowed.
Suddenly, Isaac came charging past him, sword brandished. He slashed at them, but although his blade sliced cleanly through the figures, they reformed almost like mist. Boyd rushed forward, in case he could help, and stabbed with his psuedo-torch. Upon making contact with the burning wood, the spirit screeched and exploded, leaving sparks in the air that then fell to the ground
Boyd and Isaac both blinked in shock, but then Isaac quickly turned, holding his sword over the low flame. Once the metal began to glow, he turned and resumed stabbing. This time, when he touched them with the almost-melted metal, they exploded as well.
Several of the spirits seemed to panic, and they disappeared with Erica's majestic horse, Independence. "Hey!" yelled Boyd, running towards the now empty spot where they had been mere moments ago.
"What's going on?" he heard Erica exclaim. He turned quickly to see her emerging from her tent, hair disheveled and dressing gown clearly thrown on hastily.
One of the spirits began to swoop towards her. Isaac gasped loudly. "Boyd, take the princess and get out of here!" he yelled.
Boyd was already running to Erica, desperately hoping to get there in time to keep her from vanishing as her horse had. He was slower than the spirit, however, and froze in horror as it reached her.
Erica was not frozen. She whipped out a small dagger from the pocket of her dressing gown, and stabbed it.
The blade did not go straight through, as Isaac's had, and nor did it make the figure explode, like the fire had. Instead, the entire figure began to glow golden. The torch slipped from his hand and Isaac gave a surprised shout, but Boyd couldn't tear his eyes away from Erica.
Then, the spirit she had stabbed began to burn. It didn't really resemble the burning of anything corporeal, or the quick explosion that had followed the other creatures' demises like a burst of fireworks. It was like a piece of paper being consumed by fire, except instead of shriveling up into blackened ash, the spirit vanished after the fire spread across it.
Boyd's jaw hung open, and only then did he turn to see every one of the other spirits had somehow been affected the exact same way and now their enemies were gone.
He turned back to Erica with a grin, only to see a puzzled look on her face as she stared at where the spirit had been just before. "Huh, there wasn't blood…" she trailed off, her hand going to her lips. Then she gasped. "Boyd!"
He was trying to understand what she was talking about when Erica froze and began to shake. Boyd immediately reached forward, catching her as she started to fall to the ground. Her breath was erratic, and after he lay her on her side he quickly tore off his shirt to gently place it under her head. It cushioned her from the hard ground as her jerky movements continued. Boyd reached behind her neck to make sure she wasn't wearing a necklace, and ran his hand through her hair. Finding several pins, he carefully removed those and placed them in his pocket. He brushed the gravel away from her as best as he could, but he couldn't altogether prevent Erica from convulsing uncomfortably on the rocky soil.
He could see Isaac at his side out of the corner of his eye, but focused on Erica. "What - what the hell just happened? What did it do to her?" he asked Boyd tentatively.
Boyd ignored him, still fixing his attention on Erica. He didn't know what happened, but it didn't do anything to Erica. That, at least, he did know.
Less than a minute later, Erica gasped again and began to cough. Boyd helped her sit up, and rubbed her back as she did. Slowly, her breathing steady.
"Your Highness, are you all right?" asked Isaac, scarcely louder than a whisper.
Shakily, Erica nodded. "Can you get her some water?" Boyd asked, possibly harsher than he intended.
Isaac immediately hurried over to where their supplies were, still intact. "Erica, are you all right?" Boyd asked in a low and worried voice.
She nodded again. "God, haven't had one of those in a while," she said softly, her voice rougher than before.
Boyd ran his hand through her hair again, this time soothingly instead of checking for anything that could hurt her or add to her overall discomfort. "You're okay," he said. "I got you. You're okay."
"You're one to talk. I just saved all three of our asses," she grumbled, looking up at him with a grin.
He laughed. "You're right, you did."
Isaac returned with a cup of water, handing it to Erica with a shaking hand. "Are - are you all right, Your Highness? What happened?"
"Well, I just defeated a bunch of spirits using the enchanted dagger that my mother gave me to protect myself. Or were you talking about my epileptic seizure?" said Erica casually.
Isaac looked down awkwardly. "I - oh. Are you all right? I mean… I -" he took a deep breath. "Never mind, sorry for asking. Your Highness."
"It's okay, you know. Just because a bunch of advisors think the kingdom shouldn't know I'm epileptic - think I need to seem healthy and 'normal' to be respected - doesn't mean I care about telling you. Especially after I kind of just had a seizure right in front of you," Erica said with a little laugh. "And yeah, I'll be okay."
Isaac nodded, still looking down. "I'm sorry. For not fighting them off better myself. I - I tried, Your Highness."
Erica shrugged. "I'm alive, aren't I? That's your primary job - and it's okay to get a little help from my own amazing combat skills and magical dagger."
Isaac blinked several times in succession, clearly surprised, but nodded. "Thank you," he said softly.
"Help me to my feet?" Erica asked, leaning forward. Both Boyd and Isaac hastened to help her. Boyd looked up and made eye contact with Isaac as he did so. He still had nearly no idea who this boy was, but he was impressed. He could fight, and he clearly did care about protecting Erica - and given his concern after her seizure, apparently for her wellbeing and not just about whether he did his job right.
Once standing, Erica straightened to her full height. "Right, pack up the supplies. We shouldn't stay here any longer, and I think it might be safest to go back south to the other crossing. Agreed?"
Boyd nodded, as did Isaac beside him. Erica then surveyed their campsite. "Wait, where's Independence!?!"
~~~
Isaac tried to keep his heart pounding as steadily as possible. No big deal, the princess was just sitting right behind him on his horse, arms around his waist. God, if there was any time to not mess up while riding a horse, this was it.
The sun was just beginning to peak out over the horizon as they rode onwards, bathing the grassy plains in golden and rosy light. Isaac couldn't help but feel ashamed that his suggestion of going north had gone so disastrously, but neither the princess nor Boyd seemed displeased. Well, she had been extremely displeased about her horse's disappearance, but she had calmed down and was just determined to carry on with the diplomatic mission. She had stated emphatically before they began the day's journey that they were definitely getting her a new horse as soon as possible - and finding her old one if at all possible.
Isaac desperately wanted to hope that this was both the beginning and end of the chaos on their journey, but had a strong suspicion it was not. Surprisingly though, he was't worrying too much about it. He felt less stress now that he knew Princess Erica could protect herself when it became necessary. He still intended to serve her as much as he could, laying down his own life to protect hers if duty called for it, but it was reassuring to know that wasn't really that likely.
He was also blown away to see the princess's closeness with her servant. Whether their relationship was friendship or something else, it helped him to see his princess and future queen as a human, not just a distant and detached figurehead of the kingdom. She was absolutely, 100% human.
And even though it was unlikely he would ever become close to Princess Erica himself, the knowledge that it was still even a possibility lit up his hopes even more than the sun was now lighting up the sky. He couldn't pin down why, but the prospect of building close relationships with people his age for the first time ever, with both a fellow servant and the princess, was unbelievable. And yet, not unattainable, not really.
Their journey was well under way, yes, but still only just beginning.