Forbidden love

Chapter 1: Well I guess if their Majesty wants...

As a royal guard, Anna had always been proud of her own abilities. She had always had an interest in the guards, and the royal family had always had a special place in Anna's heart.

To explain, Anna came from the great kingdom of Zariya. Here, there was the royal family, bearing the name of Hartborne. The kingdom had been ruled by King Salvadore and Queen Avelot for a very long time, but after many years under their command, they had now peacefully died in their sleep, leaving their oldest child, Thyme, to rule the country.

Thyme was, according to Anna, the best-suited ruler the kingdom had ever seen. They were beautiful and had always had a sense of fairness and a good moral compass. So when Anna was finally promoted to try out to be a royal guard after many years of training, she was ecstatic. Not just because she had a chance to fully show her capabilities, but also because she had the perfect chance to get closer to Their Majesty, the person whom she looked up to.

Every step Anna took up the marble stairs to the throne room clanked louder than she thought possible, and she tried to walk quietly. She had to pretend that she was walking with the utmost confidence, though her hands trembled and her knees felt like jelly. Finally, at the top of the stairs, she tried to build up the courage to knock on the large, dark oak doors. With her heartbeat in her throat, she raised a shaking hand, but before she could knock, the door was opened from the inside.

Inside was a large rectangular room, lit up by candle to the right, and from the east side by a window that stretched from waist height to the ceiling. It was stained glass and reminded Anna of the windows she had seen in the church. The greens, yellows, and shades of pink lit up by the morning sun hit the stone floor and the silhouette in the throne. Anna did not need to get any closer, she knew it must have been Thyme. They were flanked by armed guards on both sides, and as intimidating as this looked, Anna was sure Thyme was sitting on the throne wrong. She had heard certain rumors in town about people who sit in their chairs wrong, but she brushed this silly thought aside. She was sure that something would happen just then, but the silence was deafening, and she realized this was where she was supposed to introduce herself before the majesty.

"Greetings, your highness," she said with a voice she hoped would sound like she had planned what she would say "I'm Anna of house Fiellace, a royal guard at your service. I was told you wanted to see me?"

"I'd like to meet the person who will be following me around before their first day at work," Thyme said, not lifting their eyes from Anna's face, making her feel awfully observed. "Anna, want a drink with me outside? It's a little crowded here for talking."

"Are you sure? isn't that the norm, your majesty?" Anna had spoken before she could catch herself, but no swords flung towards her.

"Well, I'd like to leave the room. Come with me, I know a way outside with fewer stairs."

Her stomach being in a knot from nerves could not stop her from coming with Thyme. Declining a noble's offer would be impolite, and she had seen beheadings before and knew this was not her style. The royal garden was nothing short of huge, and if anything parts of it seemed like a well-groomed forest rather than a garden. Anna noticed a sweet smell coming from the blooming tree they were standing under, away from the curious eyes of workers maintaining the outside structure. Pink petals came down in cascades with every light breeze touching it. Anna hoped she would not get too many of them stuck in her hair and look unprofessional in front of the highness. Thyme took a large swig of the drink and turned to look at Anna, in a way that made her feel like Thyme could see the back of her skull through her eyes.

"Do you enjoy politics, Anna? I find they're hard to get into but once you're there, you'll see it everywhere, unfortunately," Thyme said,

"I'm unsure, I like to think I know what's good and what's bad, but I trained for fighting. I'll go to war if you need it, I couldn't possibly let someone hurt you or the kingdom." Anna replayed, immediately thinking she had said too much.