The King's Guard

Chapter 1

Author's note: 

Lapia means butterfly in Burmese according to this website, which is how I got the kingdom's name: https://insecta.pro/community/8299

And because Paris is the City of Light, I named André's kingdom Lux.

For those of you who might not know, Placide is the name of Adrien's bodyguard.

I hope you enjoy!

Though the day was young, King Gabriel's face was already heavy with exhaustion. As he sat haphazardly in his saddle, ready to fall at any moment, he loosely gripped his horse's reins.

Two meetings out of the way with one more to follow.

"Do you need to rest for a moment, Your Highness?" Nathalie asked, keeping her horse parallel to his.

He sat up straighter at the sound of the knight's voice. "No, I'm fine, Captain. Thank you. Surely we'll be at Lux soon." Gabriel roughly shook his head, rolling his shoulders.

Her eyebrows drew together. "If you don't mind me asking, how much sleep have you gotten this week?"

"Enough."

"Hmm."

Another minute passed, and his attempts to keep himself awake proved unsuccessful. As he began to tilt in his saddle, she swiftly dropped from hers and hoisted herself up behind him. Glancing at her first-in-command, Harry, she pointed to her now-lone steed. "Take my horse's reins. I must focus on keeping the king from injuring himself."

"Of course, Captain." A smirk flashed beneath his helmet.

Nathalie ignored him; he constantly proclaimed that she and Gabriel were a good match. That sort of thinking would only put the royal family in danger. Their safety was her priority.

Still seated behind the king, she reached forward and took the reins from his limp hands, making sure her arms were supporting him. Most of his weight leaned against her, proving how exhausted he was.

She scanned the path ahead; they had reached the hillcrest, emerging from the forest. Below was the valley where King André's kingdom rested: Lux Palace. A grand name for a less-than-grand kingdom.

The sound of hurried hoofbeats reached her ears, and Prince Adrien arrived next to her, pulling his horse to a halt. The black-colored steed huffed in annoyance, flicking one of his ears.

"Hi, Nathalie," Adrien greeted, smiling. He had recently begun to act more naturally around her, not adopting the same forced façade he kept on with his father.

She returned the smile as they started to move again. "Weren't you supposed to stay back with Placide?"

"Yes, but-" He sighed. "I like Placide, but he doesn't talk much. Or at all, really. Besides, I wanted to check on you and Father! Is-is he asleep? And where's your horse?"

"She's with Harry. Your father was close to falling from his saddle, and I wanted to be sure he didn't hurt himself."

"Good idea." He regarded them, a gentle joy in his eyes. Something told her he'd been speaking with Harry.

"Adrien, how-?" A sudden chill slithered down her spine.

The prince saw the change in her expression. "What's wrong?"

She turned her head, staring at the forest they'd recently exited. The ten other knights continued to fool around, nothing in their demeanor to suggest they'd sensed the same thing as she had. Placide's expression showed only exasperation that Adrien had left him.