Chapter Fourteen
War
The morning after the attack on the academy Richard was roused by a loud knock on the door, the sun barely above the horizon and the fire still smouldering warmly in the fireplace. The first thing he noticed as he swung his feet over the edge of the large and comfortable bed was that he was alone in the room, and judging by the coldness on Daiya's side of the bed it had been that way for a few hours at the very least.
It was the first time since he and Daiya had started sleeping in the same bed that he had woken up to find her gone, and for a moment he completely forgot about the knock on the door. That didn't last for long however, and a few seconds later, as Richard tried to figure out where Daiya might have gone, there came a louder knock and then the door opened without him giving the person permission to come in.
“If you're awake then why didn't you answer the door?” Lillin demanded, announcing her entrance just as Richard turned to face her. She was once more dressed in her plain robes, with both of her weapons attached to a leather belt around her waist.
“Have you seen Daiya? She wasn't here when I woke up a moment ago,” he asked groggily, deciding to not bother asking her who she thought she was just coming into his room like that.
“I father arrived early this morning for a War Council with your cousin, the Queen; so I would assume that she is with them at this moment. The rest of your friends and family are down in the main dining room having breakfast right now, and I am here to escort you down there. Get dressed.”
“Escort me?” he asked and rubbed the still sore spot on the back of his head, a small bump from when she had blindsided him the previous day. He knew why she did it and he couldn't be mad at her for it, but he still wasn't keen on having her follow him around at that very moment.
“Yes, escort you. You have a penchant for getting into trouble, much like you did yesterday. So I will be going wherever you go to make sure nothing happens to you, and also to make sure that you don't do anything you probably shouldn't,” his Master explained, and now Richard stared at her blankly for a few seconds as everything she said registered on his mind.
How exactly was he supposed to get into trouble in the palace? With the attack on the palace months ago, and now the attack on the school, Reiea was sure to have locked this place down so tightly that not even a mouse could get into or out of it. The same went for him finding trouble by accident, as he seemed to really do; just as Lillin was suggesting.
He was beginning to think that something was up, but he was too tired and too uncomfortable to care too much about it. All he wanted to do was get something hot in his stomach and then find his wife; anything else could wait until he was feeling better.
“Whatever,” he grumbled and now stood up, “can you leave so I can get changed?”
Lillin nodded but didn't depart immediately. For a long second she stood there and eyed him intently, almost as if she was sizing him up all over again. Just when he was starting to think that she was being far too paranoid and wasn't going to leave, she finally turned and walked from the room, closing the door tightly behind her as she did so.
She was acting really strange, but Richard didn't realize how strange until he had gotten dressed and opened his door to find her standing there, staring at where the door had been like she had been trying to see through it. She didn't even hide the fact either, and once she had been caught she took a step back to make room for him to leave his room and then quickly fell in step behind him. It was almost like having a bodyguard, but for some reason Richard didn't feel entirely protected.
