The Guarded Princess

VII

The sound of bare feet trod upon the cement floor of the castle's outdoor halls as golden armor clanged roughly against one another. White robes blew gently in the fresh morning breeze, the sun having just arisen from behind its hill. Despite how most of the people residing in the main castle were still sleeping, the servants and soldiers had already woken up and were switching rounds.

The man turned the corner and several servants hurried past, bowing as they did so. He nodded at them and continued walking to his destination. Knocking on the large mahogany doors, a voice answered from behind.

"Come in."

He opened the doors and sitting there on his throne was none other than Sinbad. Ja'far stood beside him, formal as always despite their long years of friendship. Sinbad grinned at him and despite how early it was, he was full of energy.

"I was waiting for you, Masrur!" he exclaimed. "Did you get my message?"

Masrur nodded his head. "What did you summon me here for, Sinbad?"

"Masrur, you're aware of the incident that happened a few days ago when Lucy-sama was taken out of the greenhouse, right?" Ja'far said.

Masrur nodded his head.

"You could reject this if you want but we wanted to request something of you," he continued. "We want you to take on the role of Lucy-sama's personal bodyguard."

Masrur remained stoic but his eyes widened a little as his body stiffened slightly.

"Taking into consideration combat abilities and experience, you were the most suitable candidate," Sinbad said with a sigh. "With the other eight generals...it's a problem. Spartos and Pisti are too young and if anything, they would just play around. Yamraiha and Sharrkan are good but they're bad at socializing and are a bit too serious sometimes. Drakon has to attend to his other duties and Hinahoho has his own kids to tend to. Ja'far is my advisor and we both have to take care of national affairs. Which leaves the only one capable of doing it being you, Masrur."

"Hah..." Masrur blankly replied.

"The Ren siblings from the Kou Empire also have their own affairs that they need to take care of since they're going to be staying in Sindria for a while and Aladdin, Alibaba, and Morgiana are also technically still children," Sinbad said. "Can you do it?"

Masrur thought about it and looked up at Sinbad. "I don't mind doing it."

"It's going to be for a while. Are you sure about it?" Ja'far questioned.

Masrur nodded his head.

"If you say so."

"But," he asked. "Why did you suddenly want me to protect her?"

Sinbad widened his eyes a little and turned to Ja'far to explain but Ja'far immediately shook his head. Sinbad sighed as his cheeks flushed a light rosy hue as he looked the other way before facing Masrur. It was Masrur's first time seeing Sinbad in such a flustered state.

"It was Sin's idea," Ja'far said. "Come on, Sin, explain."

Sinbad sighed and explained. "You're aware that these past few days she's been staying in the greenhouse of this castle, yes?"

"Ah."

"I had been thinking about it and with all the servants and guards following her whenever she left the greenhouse, it seemed a bit annoying even if she is someone who held such a high status. With all those people guarding her, I believe that it made it hard for her to leave the greenhouse," Sinbad said. "It wasn't until when Kouha and Aladdin took her out of the greenhouse that I made my decision to assign her a personal guard."