Regiphobia

The Guard

As soon as they rounded the corner, Goda let out a soft sigh. The officer looked down at him. "Is something wrong, Your Highness?"

"No, nothing. Thank you f-for your concern, officer," Goda forced a small smile. Officer Cazado's brow furrowed, but he turned his head forward again. He was in no position to push someone of Goda's status. He lead the other to his suite. As recent unrest in the population was concerning to the royal family, at least one guard was required to protect every important person. Goda was one of them, but no one was watching his empty room, of course. The officer held the door open for the prince consort-to-be. He nodded to the guard, walking inside and taking a seat at his desk.

The officer walked in after him, "Your Highness, would you like me to close your door?" He hated talking so professional, but it was what was required of him.

"P-Please, call me Goda. And yes," the other said, pulling a pen out of a small cup and a few sheets of paper out of a drawer. The officer closed the door, standing dutifully beside it. Goda looked up at him and blinked, "What's your name?"

"Officer Cazado," he said, for the second time now. Did the king's fiancé have that bad of a memory?

"No, your name," Goda asked again. The officer looked confused for a moment before the realization hit.

"Juan," he responded, "It's Juan." Only his brother had regularly called him by his first name since... well, it might have been when they joined the military.

"Well, thank you for accompanying me, Juan," Goda smiled, turning back to his paper and writing. Juan started getting curious, and he decided to push his luck. 

"What are you writing?" he asked, slightly bluntly. He could probably get in massive trouble for that, but this was one of the few rooms without security cameras. 

"Oh, j-just..." Goda talked slightly quieter, "a letter to my mother and grandparents."

"Did they not move to the castle?"

"They p-passed when I was little." 

"Oh. Uh... I'm sorry, I didn't know." 

"It happened a long t-time ago," Goda waved away his concerns. "These letters are j-just a way to vent, I suppose."

Juan furrowed his brow again, watching Goda write. His brown eyes were focused. He scratched down the words without worrying about handwriting. He eventually leaned back, setting down the pen.

"What do you have to vent about? Being the future husband of royalty doesn't seem like it'd bring up a lot to write about," Juan asked. Goda stiffened, standing up.

"It's..."

Blood covering his stomach. Black eyes. Gashes on his arms. Hunger. So much hunger.

"...kind of personal. If you'll excuse me," Goda moved into his bathroom, closing the door. Juan was filled with confusion. Just looking at Goda, he'd thought he was a simple guy. A guy who fell in love with a prince at first sight. A true love story, like his mom and dad had read to him in those fairy tale books when he was little. Within just a few minutes of talking to him, he found out his grandparents and mom were dead and he had more problems than he let on.

Juan was born in a small town in Spain, called Boiro. He'd lived there for ten happy years with his mom, his dad, and his twin brother José. When he was ten, however... the bomb hit. So many people had died. His parents, his friends, almost even him. His brother had barely pulled him out of the flooding river before he'd drowned. The two boys, only ten years old and alone for the very first time, were found by a nearby military patrol who had come to search for survivors.

The military turned out to be from Monaco, placed in Spain for a reason they were never told. Juan and José were made into soldiers. Into weapons. When the king and his son had come to examine the soldiers five years later, the twins had caught the prince's eye. With a single request, that camp's two best soldiers were made into palace guards. Prince Gabriel didn't even bother to learn their names. 

That was probably the day he had started hating the prince. He felt like such a stuck-up bastard, even if everyone adored him.

Six months after being moved to the castle, Juan and José looked less like half-starved war machines and more like proper soldiers. That's when the letter was sent. If Juan hadn't been a soldier and a guard, he probably would have signed up. He was stationed at the prince's side the entire time, so he saw every guy he talked to, from the attractive guys he would've been half tempted to give his number to, to the awkward messes who clearly didn't want to be there.

The one that stayed in the interview the longest had caught his eye immediately. Messy red hair, wide brown eyes shadowed by light bags, a timid posture and rather cute in a suit that was just a hair too big for him. He had a stutter and a slightly higher pitched voice. When he left, the prince turned to the guard on his other side, mumbling, "Keep him." Juan knew, in that moment, that two undeniable facts were true: 1. Gabe was going to marry that man. 2. He was really into Goda.

Six more months flew by, and sure enough, Goda was the only one left. He hadn't even so much as looked at Juan yet. To be fair, he had been spending most of his time patrolling the grounds and going out on escorts. Gabe became the king. He proposed to Goda. Juan's heart broke a couple times that day, but he knew he had no right to feel how he did. Goda was in love with the king. He didn't even know Juan, and that made things worse. If Juan were to tell the other how he felt, he would most certainly be thrown in jail. Now, five months after the proposal, Goda knew his name.

Juan was silent, waiting for Goda to emerge from his bathroom. Worry burned through his mind as his mood switched for the third time since Gabe had asked him to lead Goda to his suite. Had he asked too much? Had he been too casual with near-royalty? Could Goda tell that Juan was in love with him? The feelings ate at his heart.

Goda stepped out of the bathroom. Juan ignored the questions plaguing his mind for now.

"Could you light a fire for me?" he asked, collecting the papers on his desk. Juan nodded, moving to the fireplace and getting it set up. After a minute or two, he stepped back to the door

Goda threw his letters into the fire. The officer watched with rapt attention. Why write them in the first place if he only planned to get rid of them? He turned his head to the person in question, who was staring solemnly at the ashes. He sighed before looking up at Juan and giving him a small smile, "Thank you."

Juan smiled back. It had just been physical at first. He thought the other was cute. Then when he saw how he treated others, he loved that, then when he saw how he talked about things he was passionate about, he loved that. Now, he saw how Goda held a lot close to his chest and had more of a past than Juan had first thought. Now, he saw how completely and utterly human Goda was. 

"Sorry if my question earlier was kinda blunt, my brother says I can be oblivious sometimes," Juan said. Goda turned to him.

"You have a brother?"

"Oh, yeah. A twin, actually."

"Is he the one who was standing with us earlier?"

"Yeah. José. He's a way better guard than I am, I'm surprised the king didn't select him to go with you," Juan said, "He's probably the best guard in the whole palace."

"Then it isn't a shock he's with Gabe. He's much more important than I am," Goda said without even hesitating. Juan was about to say something else when the door opened.