Gravensnod (manxman)

Chapter Ten

Philo

"This is George, this is Fabian, this is Gil and of course you know Fyn," Alexei said as he pointed between the guards standing in front of me. Four guards seemed a little excessive but since Ari was coming with me, I knew two were for me and two for him. I also knew that Alexei was worried about me so I wasn't going to say anything bad about it.

"Hi," I said while giving a slight wave to the guards who nodded towards me.

At least I knew Fyn so I was comfortable about him but everyone else I felt intimidated by. When I heard someone running down the stairs I turned around to see Ari flying towards us with a smile on his face. "Hey guys," he said while standing next to Fyn who instantly wrapped an arm around his body.

"Hey Ari," Alexei said before looking down at me with a smile. His fingers slowly ran over my cheek as he said, "I'll be in meetings today but if anything happens, a guard will tell me and I can be there in an instant."

"I'll be okay Alexei."

He nodded before leaning down to kiss my forehead. "I know, I just worry a lot. I'll meet up with you when you get back okay?" With a nod I wrapped my arms around him in a hug while resting my head against his chest. The rhythmic sound of his heartbeat made me smile before he leaned down to kiss my lips. "I love you Philo."

"I love you Alexei."

When he pulled back I realized that the guards had stepped back to give us our privacy, Fyn and Ari talking. "Okay Ari," Alexei said as he placed his hands onto my shoulders. "I'm putting Philo into your hands, don't do anything crazy."

"Ah man so no matching tattoos on our faces then going to an orgy?" I laughed with Ari when Alexei frowned while raising his eyebrows. "Your man isn't any fun Philo. But we'll have lots of fun, don't wait up Alex!"

I laughed again as Ari looped his arm through mine and started to walk towards the door. Alexei chuckled as he watched us leave before we were outside and being escorted onto the boat. Once we were seated I watched as Fyn came over and sat next to Ari, the other guards out of sight.

"So obviously Fyn is one of your guards," I said while looking towards Ari. "Who else is yours?"

His eyebrows rose as he said, "Those are all yours."

"Mine? Why do I need three guards?"

"Because Alexei is paranoid I guess. He also loves you a whole lot Philo, and he wants to make sure you're always protected. Weren't you telling me that Alexei told the guards something?" He asked while looking towards Fyn.

Fyn nodded as his fingers ran up and down Ari's sleeve. "He told everyone that if you came back to a castle with so much as a scratch, they'd be fired. He's very protective of you Philo, and I can see the love he has when he talks about you."

I couldn't stop the goofy smile from forming onto my face as I started twisting my fingers together. "I'm glad that the feeling is mutual." With a nervous sigh I ran my fingers through my hair while looking out the window. "I'm really nervous about meeting with Genevieve. Do you think she's going to be mean to me?"

"She better not be," Ari said with a frown. "She has no reason to be salty; she's the one who doesn't want to meet up with her own daughter anymore. And also she wasn't in love with Alexei and neither was he when they were together. It was only a matter of time before they would've walked away from each other." When I started to bite my lip Ari placed his hand on top of mine and smiled. "I'll be there for you the entire time okay?"