The Palace Guard (MxM)

XVII

Corol was shocked when he saw Prince Setial bring Nikkol back into the room.

He had had a front row seat to their whole little relationship and thought for sure that it had ended. After all, he could hear everything from where he was standing and it had seemed pretty dead after what Nikkol had said.

Yes, he had been very aware of whatever happened in their little relationship. Although the door did a pretty good job of blocking sounds, whenever they elevated their voices whoever was directly outside could hear, and considering this was the room of Prince Setial, there were elevated voices a lot.

Corol didn't entirely mind, it gave him something interesting to follow in his boring job. He'd been working in the castle for years and managed to work his way all the way up to guarding such an important person's room. Maybe that was why he didn't follow the rules to the letter anymore, talking to servants and relaxing his posture, he had no one to impress. Mikal, on the other hand, stood stiff as a board.

Despite standing on the other edge of the door to him for years, Corol and Mikal didn't really talk. They weren't friends and probably had a handful of words exchanged over the years. At times, Corol wished they were friends, then he'd have somebody to talk about this crazy thing between the prince and the guard, but he had to keep it to himself. If word got out, they'd surely trace it back to him.

He strained his ears, listening for the slightest noise. Either they were standing there silently or talking quietly. The latter seemed more likely. Corol even leaned closer to the door, being careful to not do it so much that it'd be that noticeable. Still not hearing anything, Corol used a slow and careful finger to push at the door. Not locked. It was pushed open an inch before Corol decided that was enough and snapped his arm back into place.

He could hear much better now and could tell they were talking. He leaned in even closer and strained his ears more before he could finally make out what was being said. "-don't you just start coming back." The prince said that quietly.

"Because the same thing that happened last time will happen again."

"No it won't."

"You have too much to do with Avaviles on its way. You'll always be too tired." Nikkol was able to keep his voice steady and calm.

"What if I just stopped? What if I just let Ezorah take care of all the things that he's supposed to be doing and I got to come back early? It's not even my responsibility, it won't ever be my kingdom, I could just stop."

Corol felt his stomach drop. What he was offering to do... it'd lead to an absolute win for Avaviles. Prince Setial was considered an expert in matters such as war and diplomacy, if the new prince were forced to do his job, then they would have no chance. Their chances were already very low due to most of the fighters being gone. There weren't nearly enough people to protect the large castle and kingdom. And Corol suddenly realized that Prince Setial was offering all this, the fate of their entire kingdom, for Nikkol like it was nothing.

"You can't do that. Takkoria needs you." Nikkol replied without too much hesitation, bringing air back into Corol's lungs. Nikkol had realized the consequences too.

The prince let out a frustrated groan. "Then what do you want me to do!" Corol no longer needed to lean closer or strain his ears to hear. "I have to go to endless meetings and swing a sword till my arms are about to fall off every day and all I want is to come back to my room and see you!" Corol couldn't decide if he sounded more frustrated or desperate.

Due to not expecting to have to listen too closely anymore, Corol wasn't able to quite make out what Nikkol muttered next. It was either 'I want you too,' or, 'That's what I want too,' heck, it could have even been 'Too bad for you,' or something along those lines. Corol mentally kicked himself for missing it.

It turns out whatever Nikkol said must've been positive because the next thing the prince said was; "Then why can't you come back?"

Corol was ready this time, straining his ears and leaning even closer to the door. "I-I want to, it's just," a deep breath of air, "it's just that it's better this way. You're more focused and we're both too tired for it to really matter." His voice sounded pained. Corol knew what he was thinking though. Nikkol would be a distraction to the prince, especially after their fight, the prince may try to get back earlier and give him attention, which would either lead to a neglect of his health or his duties. Both would be detrimental.

"Of course it matters. It's so much better when you're here." Prince Setial replied, uncharacteristically softly. Corol knew that he meant what he said. He heard the crashing of the items the prince had thrown around the room after Nikkol left, the strangled sobs after that and similar sounds during the days following that.

Corol held his breath waiting for Nikkol's response. He knew things were better when the guard was there. "I'm sorry but I can't."

"What?" If Corol wasn't thinking the exact same thing then he wouldn't have been able to hear the prince.

"I just... can't." Corol's heart broke for them. "I mean, after Avaviles attacks I'll happily come back here, but I can't do that to myself again."

"You mean that?" Prince Setial asked, suddenly full of hope that Corol mirrored, too invested in what was going on between them. "Well, I'll hold you to that. After the battle I'm going to take you and lock you in here." His voice had gotten playful and sweet. "Gonna take all your clothes and hide them where you'll never find them, and I'm never going to let you go." Nikkol let out a bit of laughter, and they were silent for a moment, presumably hugging or kissing or something of the sort. "Suddenly, their army isn't coming fast enough."

"Don't say that."

"It's true, not when it's holding me back from doing this... and this... every night." Corol didn't want to know what was going on between them at the moment. He'd heard enough of them to know exactly where this was going and that was the one part about their relationship he didn't want to hear.

After about an hour of much practiced zoning out, Corol came back into the world when the door was pulled open. Nikkol walked out, dressed back in his armor, nothing out of place.

After a while of him walking back into the room on various occasions, even Corol had to admit that Nikkol was pretty for a man, and could see why, out of all the guards, Prince Setial chose him. He'd never go for him himself, a nice woman with a healthy amount of weight on her was really what got Corol going, but he understood where the prince was coming from.

Nikkol walked back to his post with his normal measured steps and perfect posture. It was a rarity for Corol to see Nikkol leave the room, as he usually only left later at night or early in the morning when Corol wasn't on duty, but it wasn't that different from when he entered. There was no obvious rush or urgency. He looked expressionless and practiced, a perfect guard.

Minus his little secret with the prince of course.