Viva la Vida

The Queen's Guard Knows All

Aeldun was surprised to say the least. In his years of being a guard and loyal citizen of Alurn, he had never once seen Arulet take charge. He had never expected the wise woman to be as she was. She was powerful, ruthless, and her glare was enough to make any member of the guard shudder. He had of course questioned it slightly when Mirlan had requested he become her personal guard, and was further shocked, as well as honored, to hear that she had requested him personally.

He quickly learned how she wanted to be treated. She was to be referred to either as Ma'am or Queen. Nothing more, nothing less. She was to be respected not as a noble lady but as an independent woman who simply needed some higher form of protection so as to prevent what happened to Kizani from happening to her. And he treated her as such. His respect for the queen had of course grown due to this. He had also noticed that she, in turn for his following of directions, had grown to respect him as well. She became much more relaxed around him, dropping her cold behavior and exchanging her glare for a warm smile. She enjoyed his company, he believed, and was glad that she seemed to trust him.

Aeldun had figured he had figured out the previously mysterious royal.

Had.

Aeldun had taken the night shift that fateful day, as Arulet had decided he needed the day off. He, of course, took it graciously, but still felt the need to protect her, and as such, when night came, went to take his position just down the hall from where the royals slept.

And then came the footsteps.

He turned just in time to see a cloaked figure rush past him. In a moment of panic, he decided to follow them. He chased them through and out of the castle, into the streets. He slowed after a while, choosing rather to follow them from afar than keep close. He would catch them when their guard was down. The night shift rarely wore heavy armor, so he discarded the metal in an alley before continuing on. Not everyone knew who he was, nor did they need to

With a sword at his side, he continued to follow the slowed figure. He froze in place as they soon stopped dead in their tracks in the middle of a quiet street, turning to look at him from over their shoulder. They seemed to beckoning him with their hidden eyes. He knew he had been caught already and slowly approached the figure. He had no idea why, but for some reason he was cautious of the smaller being.

"Continue to follow, and you make a choice you cannot back away from," they said. "Return to the castle and say nothing of this, and you will continue on as you have."

He gave the figure a confused look as he observed them. They somehow seemed familiar, from their height to their obviously darker skin. It was only when he observed the symbol etched into the button of the cloak he pieced it all together.

But why? Why would she sneak out? Why would she leave the castle? Why come all the way out here at this specific time? He knew he should just go home. He knew he should forget this ever happened and not ask questions. But he just couldn't let this go. Somehow, he knew that if he were to follow her, he would find out something important, though whether that was a good or bad thing he had yet to figure out.

He followed as the woman he had recently sworn to protect continued to walk in what seemed to him to be some random direction. He followed her into a local tavern where she comfortably threw back her hood. She turned to him and gave him a sharp glare.

"Say anything of what you hear and see tonight to anyone and I'll have you and whoever you tell privately executed, understood? You may speak of tonight only to me, Mirlan, and Andeyo. No others shall be allowed to hear of this." This was the most serious he had seen her as of late and it scared him. He nodded though. He had chosen this.

She smiled as she patted him on the back. "Welcome to the revolution, Aeldun. It's good to have you with us."

Revolution.

That's what she had said.

He had just unknowingly joined the group that had killed Kizani.

He wanted to be upset. He wanted to be able to freak out. To protest against this and have them all arrested like he should.

But he couldn't.

His royal blue eyes scanned the room and he took in the others there. There was almost every kind of person here. From burgundy to fuchsia, he saw every shade of eye color. From poor to the highest of nobility he saw all ranks present. Everyone in the room was different. So rather than protest, rather than run to repot them all, he sat down in a chair to listen. He wanted to know how so many different people, of different backgrounds and ranks, could all be so closely tied together for the same purpose. What reasons could each and every one of them give for doing what they were doing?

Of course, he had those he was more curious about than others. His focus was placed primarily on but a few people.

Andeyo, a maid known through the castle for her loyalty.

Mirlan, the captain of the guard and the older brother to the king.

Zuzlin, the lime eyed leader of the revolution.

And Arulet Macler. The queen. The woman he had sworn to protect from this very thing. The woman who was now revolting against the very man she was married to.

What reasons could drive these people to do what they were doing now?

He watched as everyone interacted with each other. As family and friends laughed and discussed. As lovers embraced and found comfort near each other. He watched with particular interest as one man lead a revolution with such skill Aeldun believed he could be fit to rule. But most of all, he watched how determined everyone in the room looked as they discussed their plans. How driven they all seemed to pull off this stunt. They all had their reasons, he knew, and he could see it in their eyes and hear it in their voices that none of these matters were light.

And now he was apart of it. He was now here to fight beside them, or ultimately betray them.

He mentally refused to allow it to be the latter.