Protect the Prince

The Deal

"With all due respect to you, Your Highness, there's no way in hell," I argue, sitting back into the velvet cushioning of the chair. The movement causes the loose strands of my hair to fall to my face, making me even more frustrated.

King Nicholas Arco — or rather King Nicolas Arco the Third— stands up, towering over me, his figure creating a blanket of shadows. His silver-gray eyes stare at me, burning with fury. He's inches from my face, and anyone else would have looked away, bowing their head in compliance. But to me, King Nicholas wasn't just my king; he is first and foremost, Uncle Nic. My uncle who bought me my first camera, the uncle who let Emma beat him in chess, the uncle that always starts the first snow ball fight. Uncle Nic is making room for the King of Navos today.

"Don't make me command you, Alex." His voice rumbles like thunder and echoes around the large office.

A wave of fear sweeps across my face, but I force it down, shoving it away in a small corner of my mind before settling back into my composure. I lock eyes with him, narrowing them as the vein on his forehead bulges. He may be the king, but I won't let him bully me into submission.

Queen Leanna guides her husband back into his chair, letting his attention focus on her. She breathes in and out, making sure that he does the same. "If we command her like that, she'll only rebel. She like her father in that way."

When he returns his attention to me, his eyes are softened, tired, defeated in a way. I relent, placing my hands on the table as a sign of peace, "I respect both you as my rulers and my family, but what you're asking of me is beyond my capabilities. Prince Cassian is more than capable of going to University without me watching his every move."

The tightness on the King's lips and the stiffness in his body tell me otherwise. He doesn't trust his son to go on his own; frankly, I understand why, given the last year. The scandal that swept the country like wildfire. "He has round-the-clock guards with him every step of the way." I continue my argument. " Glendovia University is already a heavily guarded school, given its students, so sending me would be a waste of resources."

King Nicholas sighs tiredly, "We had promised him if he waited another year before going to university, he would be allowed to leave his personal guards as long as he was on campus." Why make such a deal when you weren't going to be comfortable about it in the end? "You know what's been going on in the past couple of years, the scandal, your father's death and now the rebel uprising in different parts of the country. I can't be worried about my son, too." My heart aches at the thought of my father. What would he think about this deal?

The King's eyes stare at the contract in front of him. The decorative paper, sign and seal by him and the Queen, were also meant for me to sign. The King persona is dropped momentarily, revealing Uncle Nic, whom I know so well. "I'm the last person you should be asking this. I only just was able to pull myself together and what about my mother? My sister? I've been terrible to them, and now I'm going to leave them?" I feel the tears well in my eyes but quickly blink them away. The guilt coursing through my body as if I was drowning in it. I don't want to leave them, not when there is so much I want to do, so much I want to say to them.

A warmth brushes along the back of my hand; I smile at Queen Leanna, her hands on mine. "I know we're asking a lot from you. We have already talked to your mother, and she thinks it would be good for you to get away for a bit somewhere you can start new. She wants this for you." Her soft words of encouragement almost make me believe I need this. That I almost could do this. Almost. 

"I don't belong there." I'm not rich or smart or even royalty. I'm no one special. I was a daughter to someone special, and now they're gone. He would be disappointed at the woman I have become. I haven't gotten a chance to prove to him I was worthy to be call his daughter.

"You're a legacy." King Nicholas proclaims, "Your father would have wanted you to go."

He's using my dad now. They must be really desperate.

"I didn't get in." I try to argue back. "I only got into Avon College due to my poor grades last semester."

"Alexandra, did you really just lie to your king?" A smile creeps onto his face as he pulls a large envelope from his drawers. Its cream-coloured paper reads my name along with the well-known Glendovia University seal. "Your mother saw you throw it into the trash the other day."

I reel my body in. I had hoped no one saw me throw this paper letter out. That no one knew that I had actually finished a semester early before my dad passed away. With Their Royal Majesties waiting for me, I carefully opened the envelope, revealing the acceptance letter. I look up at them, still determined to get out of this, "But why me? Hana is already in her second year, and she is a better choice. She is Commander Cruz's daughter."

"She is not the daughter of my oldest and best friend—the daughter of the King's former advisor, the voice of the people. " Tightness in my chest, my father is mentioned, the words even the king had a hard time saying. "I trust you like I trusted you with my younger children. All I asked is go to school, study, learn and keep updated on Cassian's life. We're not asking you to put yourself in any danger; just keep an eye on him."

I pause, holding the acceptance letter in hand. Going to GU was always Dad's dream for me, and I dreamed of following in his footsteps. When he passed, I thought that dream died with him. But maybe it didn't have to. Perhaps I can live out my dad's last wishes, our last wish. Maybe I can make him proud, just one more time.

I lift my head, "Can we make a deal?"

The King and Queen looked at me, intrigued, "What do you want?" 

I think about it for a moment. What do I want? My eyes glaze up to the larger portrait behind the king and queen: their family painting. The Queen, her copper hair gleaming in the light with Princess Diana, sitting on her lap. Diana smiles like her father, tight lip and bright, her wild, curly red hair is tamed in perfect soft waves pinned away from her face. I remember the white-green dress with the puffy sleeve, as it only lasted to stay white for this portrait. She ended up running into the garden after it just rains, and the dress is now forever green-stained. Prince Henry holds on to his father, his tiny fingers only able to wrap around one of the king's. Then there's Cassian, the perfect blend of his parents: the silver eyes of his father and the brilliant curly red autumn hair just like his mother. His expression is soft and bright, unaware that just a couple of weeks later, his life will fall apart.

I shake the thought away and look around the room, making a note of all the first, second and third-edition books I would love to have in my collection. I know Emma would love to examine and admire the old clicking clock with its gears and wheels in her room. I get up and walk towards the many swords nailed to the wall, arranged from biggest to smallest. One of them was the sword that the King and my father used to win their fencing tournament at GU—something for my mother to remember him by.

They are all good items to have, but they don't seem worthy. They feel empty, and the ask is far beyond material items. This trade would have to be worth four years of my life. Something I could never ask for again.

And there's only one thing I can think of.

I sit back down, standing straight in my chair, "When we graduate, I want my father's position in the castle. I want his title and his office; I want it all."

They stare back at each other for a moment, like they are communicating amongst themselves, before his majesty takes the contract and overwrites it, signing the corner. He takes a wax and engraves it with the Royal Family seal. He hands it to me; the paper describes my jobs as a close bodyguard to the prince throughout our university careers, and in return, I receive the title of the Advisor of the King, the Speaker for the People.

I sign it and pass it back to King Nicholas. He rereads it and nods, "We have a deal."