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It was no soldier’s dream to be a child’s bodyguard, no matter how bejewelled the crown that child wore. When young men joined the army of the Kingdom of Fiore, they did so out of—perhaps naïve—dreams to protect their country in battles destined to go down in history. Or, at least, that was Arcadios’s motivation; he had no illusion that most simple soldiers didn’t simply wish to feed themselves and their family.
Arcadios, though, was born to serve his sovereign. His sword, his shield, his heart belonged to Fiore. He would live and die for his homeland. And for his homeland he would protect a tiny, curious kid.
Princess Hisui peeked at him with wide eyes and a wobbling bottom lip. Both Arcadios and the doctor who was currently bandaging him up tried their best to ignore her staring. After any attempt to shoo her out of the infirmary without causing a tantrum had proven futile, they had resigned themselves to proceed with her in the room. For such a young child, she hadn’t balked at the sight of the blood spilling down Arcadios’s arm. Her face had blanched, but she’d stuck around with her small hands balled into fists. Arcadios couldn’t help a smile at that proud display of courage.
“There,” the doctor declared. She secured the gauze and surveyed the wrapping on Arcadios’s shoulder. Red-stained cloths lay nearby. “Don’t strain your left arm for the next weeks. We’ll perform a check-up in a couple of days, but don’t hesitate to come by if you experience swelling or pain.”
Arcadios nodded in gratitude and, with a bow towards the princess, the doctor gathered the dirty cloths and exited the room.
“Mister Arcadios,” chirped the princess, “does it hurt?”
A hard no wouldn’t have fooled her, so he replied, “Not much.”
She scooted closer on her short legs, her hands clasped at her chest. “I’m sorry that you got hurt because of me.”
Arcadios shook his head. “Don’t be, Your Highness. It’s my duty to protect you from those who would cause you harm.”
Silence fell between them as the princess shuffled her feet, her head bowed. Just when Arcadios thought she’d exhausted her questions, she spoke up, “What did the bad people want?”
His lips pressed together. Princess Hisui would grow up carrying more responsibilities than most children her age, but King Toma wished to preserve her innocence for as long as possible, and Arcadios agreed. He would hate to see this kind, generous child become jaded. He still thought she deserved better than outright lies.
“Do you know what blackmail means, Your Highness?” When the princess nodded, he continued, “Those people wanted to kidnap you so they could blackmail your father the king into giving them whatever they wanted.” It was best not to go into detail about that.
Princess Hisui’s eyes widened, big and green like the stone she took her name from.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness,” Arcadios added. “For as long as I live, I will stop anyone who intends to hurt you or His Majesty.”
The princess seemed to mull over his words, her expression serious and her tongue stuck out in thought. Then, she smiled and grabbed his hand. Arcadios jolted—it was improper for a commoner to touch a member of the royal family, but he couldn’t shake off a contact the princess had initiated herself. Besides, he didn’t want to disappoint her.
“Thank you, Arcadios!” she exclaimed. “Come on!” Her tiny hand tugged his and Arcadios stood up at the unspoken command. “We can ask the cooks to bake you a cake, this way you’ll feel better.”
“That is not necessary, Your Highness—” he tried.
Princess Hisui wasn’t having it. To the passing guards and maids, they must have been a bizarre sight: the little princess marching down the hallways, dragging around a lower-ranking officer with his shoulder bandaged up and blood speckles on his undershirt. Still, Arcadios let himself smile a little.