Tears of Queens

14 - Wyatt

I couldn't place what it was I felt when I watched Tala and Leo from my perch against the wall, as they swung their swords at each other, blocking and parrying strikes skillfully after only a day of practice. Was it admiration? Probably. I was probably just admiring their skills. Yeah, that was it. I admired the way Leo tried his best to block Tala's strong strikes, and the way Tala didn't go easy on him. In fact, it looked like she was purposefully trying to make him work harder by using all her strength.

"Good block, Leo," Nubia praised as they continued to spar. He smiled and lunged at Tala, striking over her head. She parried and stabbed at his chest, making him jump backwards to not get hit.

"Nice counter!" Nubia told Tala, who continued stabbing and slashing at Leo, getting all her aggression out.

An hour later, Tala and Leo were both drenched in sweat and walking over to me. They shared a look as I stood up and as soon as they reached me, they hugged me from either side, getting all their sweat all over me. "Ew! Get off, get off!" I swatted at their arms until they let go of me, all three of us laughing. We headed back to our rooms, Tala and Leo disappearing into their bathrooms to take showers as I dropped onto Leo's couch, patiently waiting for him to come out of the bathroom so we could go get food together.

Fifteen minutes later, Leo emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, water still dripping down his toned torso. He didn't even acknowledge me as he crossed the room and entered his closet, coming out a few minutes later dressed in a white hoodie and black basketball shorts with black Converse sneakers.

As he sat down next to me and looked out the window, I was struck with an idea. "Do you wanna go explore the city?" I asked, turning my body to face him.

"That sounds fun! Let's do it!" he smiled, and we left the room. I texted Tala and invited her to come with us, but she was too tired. It was just the two of us. We made our way through the palace once again, through the identical hallways, occasionally stopping to ask for directions.

"There you are! I've been looking for you!" I heard Kamran's deep voice exclaim from behind us. We stopped walking and turned around. "You don't have somewhere to be, do you?" he asked insincerely.

"Nope. What's up?" I sighed, all hopes of going out crushed. He led us back the way we came and into an office, similar to the one we woke up in a few days ago, except this one was even bigger. Bigger desk, bigger room, everything. The nameplate read, "Kamran Mirza, HS", and presumably the same thing in a different language beneath it. Kamran walked around the desk, sitting down in the large green leather chair behind it and picking up the receiver of the black phone on the corner.

"Send them in," was all he said before hanging up the phone, and not even a minute later, the door opened behind us and five tall men entered the room, walking in a single-file line completely straight-faced. They stopped when they reached the desk, standing at attention with their hands behind their backs. They all wore white form-fitting t-shirts and loose white sweatpants with gold accents, each of them with a name embroidered in gold thread on their right sleeve. They all had different styles and lengths of hair, but it was all out of their faces, and they were all clean-shaven. "At ease." Kamran told them, and they all relaxed, standing normally, still not smiling.

"Who are they?" Leo asked, confused.

"They are the best guards you could ask for. They're here to assist with your training,"

"I literally just took a shower, I am not doing any more training today," Leo defended, crossing his arms over his chest. Kamran let out a small chuckle.

"No, no, you're right, no more physical training. We're only doing introductions today. You'll start with them tomorrow. Boys, introduce yourselves, please," he gestured to the men and leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head.

"Luther Dugall, pleasure to meet you," the first one smiled widely and held out a hand for Leo to shake. He had a strong Jamaican accent, and I noticed he had long dreadlocks pulled into a bun.

"Néamh Mac Liam, at your service," the next one said, also shaking Leo's hand. He had a vague Irish accent and his short hair was dyed green.

"You're Irish?" Leo asked, appalled. Néamh nodded. "So am I!" he grinned. The man smiled as Leo moved to the next guy.

"Joseph Meyer." the third guy said, shaking Leo's hand. He was British, and he had two different colored eyes, one blue, one brown. Leo stared at him intently.

"Your eyes are really cool," he said, breaking into a grin, making Joseph smile as well.

"Pranav Singh, it's nice to meet you," the fourth one said, shaking Leo's hand. He was also British, and his grip on Leo's hand was tight, to the point it was red when he let go.

"Paron Benjawan," the last one said in a thick Thai accent as he shook Leo's hand.

"It's nice to meet you guys," Leo said as he stepped back, facing all of them. "I look forward to working with you."

"Alright, you're dismissed, go back to your training," Kamran told them, and they all bowed deeply before turning sharply and leaving the same way they came.

"Are we done? Can we go now?" Leo asked impatiently, wanting to go to the city before it got dark.

"Yes, you're done, you may go. Have fun." Kamran waved a hand at us as he rifled through the stack of papers on his desk. We opened the door and said goodbye to the receptionist before running down the hall and finding our way to the doors.