Princess of Dragons

Chapter 51

"What is the report from the western border, Narza?" Lodin asked his advisor, who, as always, was right by his side.

"Unusually few sightings of the enemy, your majesty," Narza reported. "They suspect the West's border patrol has grown, however. They see a lot of new faces."

The king sighed deeply. "I see."

That old man for a king had always been so fickle. That was likely simply a distraction for some other, big move he was making. Only, Lodin couldn't imagine what that other move could be. An ambush from the sea? Going to ask for alliances in one of the other Kingdoms? Bolstering the army?

There were so many things that old geezer could be doing. His best guess was that hw was simply trying to make Lodin make the first move for this war to begin.

He wouldn't be giving the bastard what he wanted, that was the only thing he knew for sure.

"Anything else?"

"Princess Ciara has not returned since yesterday." Sergon moved from the doorframe, where he'd suddenly appeared. "As a matter of fact, she has not even been spotted."

Lodin simply looked up at the Commander. He'd expected this to happen ever since she'd been reported gone. Such a ridiculously troublesome princess, even when she wasn't here.

"Is that right?"

"Yes." Sergon placed both hands on the desk and leaned closer to the king in an almost threatening manner. "What are you going to do about it?"

Lodin met his gaze. "I am not sure there is much to be done about it," he said. "The princess has made a choice - she went home. It is that simple."

He'd slept on it now, and since heard Narza's opinion on the matter. This is what they'd agreed upon for the time being.

Narza nodded. "It would take far too long to go all the way there and back - it would almost take a season," he argued, crossing his arms. "We do not have the kind of men to spare for such a trip."

Sergon glared at them both. "So, you are simply going to let her go and let that alliance - which would undoubtedly win us this war - slip right through your fingers?"

Lodin clicked his tongue. "Naturally, I do not wish to lose such a thing, but we do not have the men to spare. The West is acting suspiciously, I do not want to be even one man down."

"So, what if the Dragon Kingdom decides to ally themselves with our enemy? Then what will you do?"

At this, Lodin went silent. He had considered that, but he didn't have an answer.

Before he even got the chance to reply, however, a new person stood defiantly at the entrance to the office.

"Do forgive my intrusion, my king, however I feel the need to step in here." Alex did a stiff and wholly formal bow. Something he rarely actually did. "As the princess' daily guard, I am uniquely qualified to answer this," he told them, his words not a question, but a fact.

Lodin frowned. Alex wasn't known to be the most orthodox of guards - which was why he was so often partnered with the excessively orthodox Elias - but even he'd never dared do something quite like this.

It was intriguing.

Lodin gestured for him to continue and the guard quickly complied.

"First off, even if all this has happened, she would never allow an alliance with the West. You should both know her well enough to know at least that much."

Lodin nodded. "She would probably not, no. She is far too much of a bleeding heart to do something like that." He knew she'd bonded with a few of the guards and some of the general staff here, and for that reason, she wouldn't turn on them. However, she didn't make the decisions all alone. "The ones I worry would do such a thing is her family."