The Prince's Shield- An Aarmau prince x guard AU [COMPLETED]

Not Your Enemy

As Aphmau jumped off of the balcony, an arrow that was supposed to be piercing Prince's head had gotten caught in her grasp. She just barely managed to catch the arrow with her bare hands, which forced a loud yelp from her mouth. It felt like thousands of splinters impaled her palm. She almost regretted it but it was all she could think of now. To protect that handsome man, the future leader of the country, she pushed past the pain.

Aaron hadn't seen the masked attacker since it was almost pitch black outside. He was typically very aware so he wasn't sure why he didn't realize the person was there first. That guard tried to distract him with her sob story and uncalled-for compliment!

That was the conclusion he came to.

Aphmau shot through the air as fast as a bullet, disappearing into the inner wall's castle forest. Aaron knew Aphmau said to go inside but his eyes were glued in the direction she took off in.

"And hey, a smile looks good on you, you should try it more often." Her words just wouldn't leave his head. Nobody had ever said that to him. His father always told him to restrain his smile with those who were of a lower stature than them, and he took those words to heart. Yet, he smiled at her with such ease.

He snapped out of his daze, running back into the palace to get the guards. He heard that pain-taken yelp as she tumbled through the air. He was so worried the arrowhead cut her hand that he wasn't thinking about how that arrow was set to pierce his head.

On the other hand, Aphmau swiftly tackled the attacker, not letting them get a single word in. They toppled over with a grunt, not seeing her at the speed she was going. She kept a knee on their back, pressing all of her weight into them. They were wearing a green scarf over their head to conceal their identity, as well as a black mask.

"Who sent you and when you decided to come and try to assassinate the prince, why did you think that that would be the right idea?" The figure chuckled, and that infuriated her. She punched them in the back of the head, not hard enough to knock them out but hard enough so that it would hurt. "Well?"

"You still pack quite the punch, huh Aphmau." The voice was familiar, but not familiar enough to let the suspect go.

"Get up." She grunted, slowly kneeling off of them but keeping a hand on their shoulder. She harshly shoved them, making them turn around.

The figure took off their mask, revealing a face she had almost forgotten about. Sunkissed skin, brown hair, and green eyes that starkly contrasted his brothers.

"VLAYD! It's you! I missed-!" She had to pull her head out of her ass for this conversation. She would've gone straight in for a hug if not for the beautiful ability she possessed called common sense. "Why were you trying to kill the fucking Prince? Are you out of your goddamn mind?!" He might've been one of her oldest friends but if he meant evil intent on the prince, she would without a doubt knock him out and turn him in.

"Oh uh, surprise! I'm a castle examiner! I test guards to see if they're worthy of their positions, and a person guarding the prince really needs to be tested. I thought you would've cut the arrow down though. I've never seen somebody catch the arrow." He flicked out his badge for Aphmau to see. The raven-haired woman rushed forward, giving him a hug which she didn't let go from. He wrapped his arms back around her, resting his chin on her head.

"My Irene, Vlyad! You're an idiot for doing that but I missed you. I missed you a ton."

A group of guards emerged, weapons in hand. Travis walked out as well, suddenly grinning. Aphmau finally let Vlyad go and they both turned to their white haired friend.

"Men, lower your weapons. They mean no threat."

"Already enjoying your captain position, huh Trav?" Aphmau crossed her arms over her chest. Travis eyed her feathery features. "Oh, right." She closed her eyes, breathing deeply. The feathers on her head and calves disappeared.

"Well, good to see you too, Trav," Vlyad remarked.

"When they said they were going to send someone to test you Aph, the last person I thought I would see was Vlyad Ro'Meave. We came due to the Prince's request." Travis leaned over to Aphmau, whispering into her ear. "He wasn't showing it but I could tell he was worried for you. He was all jittery in the eyes. Do you think-"

"Oh, shut up." Aphmau elbowed him hard enough to shove him away. "Speaking of Princey, I should probably get back. Who knows if there'll be a real threat waiting for me when I get there? Pen pals?" They all talked as if they were kids again, baffling the uninformed guards. The three of them knocked the back of their fists as a goodbye, not saying another word before heading off in different directions.

Aaron was waiting in his room, his mind pacing in circles just as he was physically. When is that stubborn little guard going to get back? He heard a thud on his balcony, looking over to see the woman herself, shrinking her wings back into her body. He sped onto the balcony, shutting the glass door behind him. It's important to notice that the balcony wasn't big. It only stuck out about five feet so with both of them on it, in the positions they were in, Aaron was practically right on top of his little guard friend.

"Worried about me, Princey?" He crossed his arms, looking away from her. Her breath hitting his neck was a reminder to scoot to the side, as there was plenty more room.

"No! Uh- no. I'm curious though. Who was the person?" Liar. Of course, he was worried. He didn't know her but in a way, she made him feel secure.

"Darn, so close. But, that was my old friend, Vylad. He's a guard examiner and archer. He already knew it was me that he was testing. The bastard could've stood to aim anywhere else around you but chose your head just to test if I was going to cut down the arrow. That damn Brat."

"Ah, Vlyad. I've heard of him but I haven't seen him. Word has it that he was the one to test all of my personal guards that came before you. How long have you known him?"

"He arrived with his two brothers a year after Travis and I joined the guard. They were all around our age so we made quick acquaintances."

"I see. You can retreat to your quarters but...thank you for your protection. As much as I don't want a guard, your effort was commendable."

"Course' Princey, that's my job. I'll see you tomorrow." She hopped over to her balcony even though she could've just gone through the Prince's room.

The Prince didn't know how to feel about the guard's new nickname for him. He changed into more comfortable clothing before lying down, but he couldn't fall asleep.

He kept thinking back to all of the woman's words. "She didn't even want to be a guard and she's stuck guarding me. I'll play her game, but I will fall victorious. She won't be able to get close to me." He mumbled grumpily, slowly losing consciousness. Liar.

Aphmau was lying in bed, unable to sleep because she napped for 3 hours prior. She found them being attacked on the first night horrifyingly thrilling. It was all exciting to her. She finally sat up, lit a candle, and sat down at her desk.

Her messenger Wyvern, Stormfly, wasn't back yet so she decided to prepare a letter for her parents, who she still had very good relations with.

She spent about 30 minutes writing the letter, slowly drowsing off. She blew out her candle and moved her paper but just couldn't get her legs to move. It was most likely because of her power usage that she was able to sleep for so long and still feel exhausted.

Aphmau laid her arms on the desk to make a pillow for her head, falling asleep.

———————————————————