Devon, Harrison, and Peter.
The only three soldiers that came with me. I could only describe them in a few words: intimidating, serious, and so boring.
Neither made conversation. How could they go so long without talking?!
"So... Harrison," I tried making conversation. He was riding beside me where as Devon was in front of us and Peter was behind us.
He only grunted in response.
"What do you do for entertainment on these long trips?" I asked. When Dorian was captain, his team would sing, dance, sit around a fire and tell stories, and drink soup. Or so I've heard from some of the older guards.
"Nothing," he grunted again, not once glancing at me.
Boring!
"Do you have a wife? Children? A cat?" I asked curiously trying to hold a conversation.
Harrison closed his eyes and clenched his jaw before turning his head to look at me. "I have a wife, we are expecting a child."
"A wife! Excellent!" I said enthusiastically. Finally, some conversation. "Is she pretty?"
He glared at me so hard I thought I might combust into flames. Note to self: don't ask if a guard's wife is pretty. He turned his head back to look at the guard behind us. "Peter, lets switch positions."
"I will miss you," I sighed longingly at Harrison who only scowled at me before switching places with Peter.
"So... Peter," I tried again. It earned a simultaneous sigh from all three. God, this was going to be a long ride.
After forced conversations and a lot of dark looks, we finally set up camp. Harrison was setting up the camps, Peter was searching for firewood while Devon had started up a fire. When I tried to help they specifically told me to just stay out of trouble. Their loss really.
I sat on a log near the fire next to Devon. "What's your story General?"
He poked the fire with a long stick, not looking at me when he answered. "My story?"
"Yes, why did you join the guard? Money? Status? Honour?" I asked.
He turned to look at me, his expression neutral. "My father was in the guard, worked under Captain Dorian. He died during the Inner War fighting for Queen Adeline, I was around Prince Angelo's age when it happened. I came back to bury him and asked the captain if I could join the guard so what happened then would not happen again or I would at least be there to help if it did. I trained under him, worked hard to become general, I even trained Queen Clarissa at one point-- one of the best students I've had. I joined the guard to do what's right. Why did you join? I heard you never take anything seriously. Always skipping classes, causing fights and problems."
I knew everyone thought this of me. That I was a lost cause. That Queen Clarissa did a mistake by taking me in. I had that thought myself a few times. Cecelia was always there to remind me why her mother made the right choice.
"Do you know why I am good at theft?" I asked him. He just stared at me not answering, so I continued. "Because I'm a survivor. I was left alone, probably to die, but I never give up. I learned to steal to eat until I learned how to not get caught. I'm a fighter, I have been fighting my whole life. When the queen took me in, everyone learned I was a thief. No one trusted me, I was branded as trouble. For acting all high and noble, everyone judged me without knowing anything. They wanted trouble so I gave them trouble."
Devon was staring at me with an unreadable expression. Harrison and Peter were now standing around the fire with a look on their face telling me they've heard what I had just said.
YOU ARE READING
The Rejected (Book 3)
Historical Fiction[COMPLETED] Jasper, an orphaned street rat, was taken in to live and train to join the royal guard by the queen herself. Learning to become a guard was easy, but fitting in was hard. Neither accepted in the town nor accepted in the castle, Jasper wa...
