Heiress To The Throne: Book 1

Chapter 20

Kaden's POV

"Welcome back, my King." Lily said walking up to me.

"Glad to be back, my Queen," I replied.

"Generals, you have some fine soldiers, some are better than others, and some need to hone their abilities more. Soldiers, when I call your names, step forward."

"As I mentioned in our new training grounds, those whose names I call, you will be given a choice of which position you would like to be in."

"Generals, these soldiers I call have shown their battle prowess and you should be proud of the soldiers I call that are under your command. Without further ado, Jesse Valykris, Nathaniel Lykaros, Joel Arkhavel Sael'Kori, Kaleb Thornvale, Marcus Dreadmoor, Annalise Vaelor, Olivia Nightmeer, Cole Varyn, Spencer Duskryn, Greysen Hollowmere, Seth Draeven, Chloe Varyn, Hagen Blackthorn, Eliza Moonvale, David Corveth, O'Neal Varros, Patrick Ashborne, please step forward."

"Your choices for those I called are Dayshift guard, nightshift guard, dayshift relief guard, night shift relief guard, the Unseen dayshift, the Unseen nightshift, the Unseen dayshift relief, and the Unseen nightshift relief."

"For those of you who need a better understanding of the Unseen position, unseen guard duty  means whether the Princess is in the castle or not, you will be by her side. You will never leave her side even when changing shifts. You cannot just leave because your shift is over. You leave when your relief is present. This is the most demanding of all of the positions in order to protect the Princess."

"Before we continue, I would like to acknowledge a few soldiers that stood out among the rest. Starting with Jesse Valykris. Your skills stood out the most. I had multiple mock battles after you and only you and two others gave me a chance to truly test you using more than double the speed and battle prowess than I had with the other trials. Your battle stood out on top. Your battle prowess was top tier. So I would like to offer you the position of Shadow Guard and the General of Camille's Protection Battalion. You will ultimately be the person in command when it comes to protecting the Princess, and all those put in other positions will report to you. You were the most creative soldier during the mock battles. You have earned the new title from soldier to General."

A ripple went through the room. Some soldiers looked shocked. Others looked irritated. A few of the older captains narrowed their eyes as Jesse was being promoted to their same rank. General Fallow only crossed his arms and smirked like he expected nothing less.

Jesse looked utterly stunned for the first time today.

For a brief moment, Jesse said nothing.

The room seemed to wait with him.

Nathaniel elbowed Joel lightly while Joel folded his arms with an expression that clearly said about damn time.

Jesse glanced toward his two closest friends before looking back at me.

I watched the weight of the moment settle onto his shoulders.

Not fear.

Responsibility.

Good.

"Do you accept this position?"

"Thank you, my King, it would be an honor to be your daughter's personal shadow and a General of this Kingdom." He said smiling, bending down on one knee bowing his head.