Bab 29: BABYSITTING ROYALTY
Lief Ozark was a giant of a man. He stood over 7ft and had a nightmare of a kill count. His hands were huge enough to crush melons in a grip and it was said that his wife was the only person he feared. That was true, but another person the giant feared, maybe even more than his wife was the King.
As ruthless as Lief was, the king was double what he was. The king's kill count made him look like a beginner and he had been soldiering for years. Currently, he was power-walking his way towards the young princess who he was sure was going to be the death of him. Literally.
When the king had ordered him to work in the castle as a babysitter, he had thought his hard work on the battlefield had gained him a promotion to the equivalent of a 'white collar' job in Viking circles. He had popped rum and celebrated with his wife for their good fortune before starting his new career.
Little did he know that keeping an eye on the king's children was even more difficult and a hundred times more dangerous than raiding the samurai. The king's children were polar opposites.
The boy, Ivan was a troublesome child who beat up his servants and guards alike. To complain was to ask for a sack on a good day or a serious beating when the king was in a foul mood.
Quitting wasn't optional and all those who showed any signs of wanting to leave were immediately introduced to the two royal executioners. That was how Lief got his position as top guard for the prince and princess. The princess was a calm and lovely girl who kept to herself. She gave no one any trouble and everyone liked her. The guards included.
When she had approached Lief that morning and told him she wanted to take a walk outside the castle walls, he had thought they were going to do what they always did, which was take a stroll not too far from the castle.
The prince never bothered to go out unless he was going out with his father. He had all his entertainment in the castle, specifically, the maiden's chamber, and had never shown any signs of wanting other means of entertainment.
That morning, the princess had seemed particularly lonelier than ever and this had caused a tiny pang that racked through Lief's stone-cold heart. Her sad face had reminded him of his little girl's face when he denied her the pleasure of sharpening his axe and this had made him take a decision that he was now regretting with all of his being.
Instead of informing the king about his daughter's request to go out as procedure requested, Lief had decided to skip the process altogether like he had done a hundred times in the past.
The princess had looked particularly distraught and his stone-cold heart was cracking with every passing second that he was subjected to her big, sad, and teary eyes.
To ensure her safety and maybe even offer his ear if she wanted someone to talk to, he had decided to walk her outside himself, along with one other guard instead of the normal four-man team required. His second mistake of the day. His last one had been to leave her unwatched in the nearby woods as she did her business.
When he had turned to ask her what was taking her so long, he had come to the heart-stopping realization that the Princess was gone. Where to, he didn't know. And how she had managed to escape not just his, but all the guards stationed on the castle walls attention was beyond him. The next thing he knew, he was hearing news of her being involved In a murder in the market.
He felt his heart stop for a second as the man who delivered the news droned on. His associates whom he had called to help him search for the princess had to hold on tight to him as he swayed on his feet. He was dead, and they knew it.
The man who gave them the news told them he had run away the moment the princess's identity was verified.
"Who verified her identity?" Lief had asked. The answer had not pleased him. It was Orion's son. The boy who Orion was pushing unto the princess. Then everything clicked in Lief's head. Of course, it was Orion's son who verified her identity.
He must have been the one to make her run away in the first place and was bothered he was going to get in trouble if the princess got hurt because of him. He may have saved the princess from a mad Merchant, but who was going to save Lief? The executioners would be waiting for him by the time he got to the castle. Who was going to save him?
Well, if he was going to die, then he would go down after giving that son of Orion a good beating. He was also going to tell the princess his mind. It was all their fault for what was going to happen to him. Why did he even agree to babysit Royalty?
He could see the princess Infront of him, a hundred or so feet away. She was dressed in commoner clothes and had on a simple green scarf that hid her pretty face (but which now looked ugly to Lief in his anger). He wondered if she had been in that ugly dress when she had asked to go out.
'where did she get such a dress? From the servants?, Don't they have better clothes than that?' Lief asked himself.
The Bello boy was also beside her and there was another skinny boy on her other side. Probably the slave who had saved her. The one she had promoted to her personal bodyguard after putting Lief in such a situation.
The sight of the three kids talking as if it was just another normal day added even more fuel to his already smoldering rage and he barked at them without thought of the distance between the two parties.
"Bello or whatever your father named you! I swear to the gods above that today I will beat your ass raw!"
Hadiah
-- Hadiah diterima Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
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