Princess of Dragons

Chapter 15

Lodin sighed as the young princess once again stormed out of his office.

"I have to wonder if she is really worth it in the end," he mumbled to himself as he went around the desk and sunk into his seat. "She brings beasts to my castle, makes everyone terrified for their lives and creates discord in my ranks. And that within just a few weeks of staying here." He started massaging the bridge of his nose with two fingers.

"Do not let her go over something so simple, Lodin. If she had not been here, everyone would have feared a war instead. The alliance has already helped - the Western Kingdom is not as brave as it previously was."

Lodin turned his faintly amused gaze to his friend. "Right, right. I will give her a chance."

By the looks of it, that guy had certainly taken a liking to the young girl. More so than anyone else in the castle, to be sure.

He turned his gaze to the wide-open door, where two guards were stationed as always. They would do.

"You two," he spoke up, making both look inside to see whether it was them he referred to. "Come inside," he ordered "You both will be guarding the princess from this day forward."

From the corner he stood in, Sergon gave the two an appraising look, then nodded his approval. They were some of the most loyal they had in the Royal Guard, which was why they could usually be found guarding whatever door Lodin himself was behind. There was no doubt they could be entrusted with this task.

"You are to watch over her and make sure she does not either hurt herself or get hurt by the hands of others." Sergon smiled faintly when the dragon made a strange, whiny sound from the outside. "Though I suspect you will have some help in that department."

Lodin nodded. "That, and you are to see to it her quarantine is not overstepped to the best of your ability." That dragon of hers really did pose a problem in this area, but there was nothing to be done about it. "Is that understood?"

They both nodded with serious expressions, understanding the gravity of the duty they were being given.

"Yes, your majesty, we understand, and we will see to it that your expectations are met," the more serious of the two spoke up, after which they both bowed deeply to him.

He nodded. "Good. Now, go and introduce yourselves."

He watched as they gave him a last, light bow before leaving. Those two were undoubtedly the right choice. Especially since they weren't as young as some of the other men they had running around in the Royal Guard.

"I will find someone to take care of the night shift, you do not have to worry about that," Sergon said, his eyes also on the door the two had exited just moments ago.

Lodin nodded. "Sounds good." Now that was figured out, so on to the next thing. "Narza, you can come in now," Lodin said, knowing his advisor would be lurking around out there. He never strayed too far when something like this was going on.

And, true to himself, Narza walked into the room as soon as he'd been called for.

"Your majesty. How can I assist you?" He bowed deeply as he always did.

Lodin leaned back in his seat. "Do you have a report for me?" The question was just a formality - he knew without a doubt that the man did. It was exactly because of his swiftness with these things he was the perfect advisor, even if he was a little strange and hardheaded from time to time.

"I do," Narza confirmed, as expected. "On the events in Crocus port earlier today, there are no deaths - neither with the Dragon Slayers nor the peasants. A dozen or so were wounded from the initial impact, however."