The Female Bodyguard

05 ‖ Tomorrow

Queen Athena furrows her eyebrows while King August merely nods his head in acknowledgement.

"You can head back to your room first Casimir. Larissa, please stay behind for a brief moment. I need to speak with you about something." Queen Athena requests and Casimir raises an eyebrow but chooses not to question. He gives a small bob and leaves quietly.

Queen Athena taps her lips gently with a napkin. Despite seeming harmless, the Queen is actually rather intimidating. There is this formidable aura that she gives off and something about her just scares you.

Despite having stayed in the palace for a week now, this was actually my first time meeting the Queen and hearing her speak. Unlike my first encounter with King August, everything about Queen Athena radiated power. Never once did she hold her head low during dinner. Her cream-coloured gown brought out the gold flecks in her jade-green eyes. Her gown was so long that it would drag along the ground behind her with each step that she took. Although the gown was simple, she had done the gown justice. On the other hand, her voice was not deep. Neither was it high-pitched. She had a silvery yet orotund tone.

There is only one word that I can think of to describe her.

Remarkable.

It is no wonder that she is queen.

"I would trust that because you are Casimir's bodyguard, your main objective would be to protect him at all costs. Even if it means to put someone else's life at risk." Queen Athena asserts and I am taken aback. King August looks up from his plate and gives her an expressionless look but nonetheless remains silent.

I am baffled by her instructions. I fail to formulate a respond and all I can do is nod blankly at her. Everything about her screams authority and deep down, perhaps a part of me was afraid to speak up and question her ethics. Something about what she said just did not sit right with me. Yet at the same time, everything about her is so daunting that the mere thought of disagreeing with her sends chills down my spine.

"Thank you Larissa. You may go now." She smiles warmly continues to enjoy her meal.

I give a slight bow and I leave the dining room. I cannot quite pinpoint what it is about her. She is both intimidating yet amicable at the same time.

A selfless mother or a selfish queen?

Perhaps she is just not fit to be Queen but is more so a loving mother.

I amble towards Casimir's room, deep in my thoughts. Once I reach the doorstep of his room, I pause and contemplate if I should check up on him.

Oh who am I kidding? This boy could blow up an entire country with an atomic bomb in the blink of an eye.

I knock on the door, only to receive nothing but an eerie silence that screams trouble. I push open the door in a hurry and I am greeted by Casimir who had a playful smirk plastered on his face upon the sight of me. In his hands is a bucket. Needless to say, we all know what goes hand in hand with a bucket.

Water.

And what do you do with a bucket of water? Of course you don't water the plants in the garden! You toss the water at your victim.

Might I add, it is not just any regular water. The water is freezing. It is as if he had went out of his way to retrieve water from the Arctic Ocean.

"This is the oldest trick in the book yet you somehow still fell for it." Casimir is in hysterics as he clutches onto his stomach, trying to catch his breath.

I scowl at him.

"First off, it is only a trick when the bucket falls onto me because it was placed at the top of the door. Not when someone intentionally throws the water onto you. Second, has it ever come across your mind that I might potentially be dying from the iciness and just maybe, I could be on the verge of sending a bullet that would pierce through that brainless head of yours?" I snarl and glower at him.

"Well someone's on their period." Casimir continues to laugh and I roll my eyes at him.

"Don't just assume that when I'm angry, I'm on my period. Otherwise, when you're sleeping, I'll just assume that you're dead and bury you six feet underground, your highness." I snap at him and he widens his eyes in amusement.

He keeps quiet and places the bucket down on the floor before grabbing a towel and his onyx-black jacket from his bed. He proceeds to approach me and tosses the towel onto my head. He then places his jacket over my shoulders that is very much oversized on me. Afterwards, he starts to gently dry my hair with the towel.

"Relax Rissa. You have got to admit it though. It was pretty hilarious." He chuckles quietly.

I look up and give him a death glare. He simply presses my head down teasingly with the towel and it blocks my vision as he continues to dry my hair for me.

"It's been a long time since I have had such a good laugh." Casimir says solemnly and I grab onto the towel to move it away from my eyes only to see him smiling ever so slightly. He lets go of the towel, saunters towards his bed and sits by the edge.

"Is everything alright? You seem a little... off." I question, concerned and puzzled.

"Maybe everything will be fine tomorrow and hopefully I am too by tomorrow." He mutters under his breath, almost inaudibly.

"What do you mean by that? Did something happen that I am unaware of?" By now, my eyebrows are furrowed and worry is smothered across my face.

He gives a nonchalant shrug. "Perhaps the worst of the worst."

Before I am able to pry any further, he gets up from his bed, heads towards the door and rests his hand on the doorknob. "It's late, we should both sleep."

Understanding fully well that he probably does not want to talk about it any further, I nod my head hesitantly and walk out of his room.

"Also, I'm sorry. I just really needed something to cheer me up. Thank you Larissa. I suppose tomorrow has to be better. Right?" Casimir apologises and I look at him, trying so hard to decipher the unreadable expression he has on.

Before I could properly digest what he had just asked, he closes the door and I am left standing in front of his doorstep in uncertainty.

Tomorrow?