The Queen's Guard

Chapter 9

           

Ryder's expression matched the guard's. "What for?"

     "He did not say."

     Ryder stood, beckoning Juliet with a hand. She followed him to the door, but the guard held a hand out in front of her before she could follow Ryder out the door.

     "The queen is not to come."

     "Oh, she isn't?" Juliet crossed her arms and looked down at the guard, even though he was much taller than her. "Guess what, Lord? I'm the queen. Commander Broce doesn't get to tell me I don't get to come anywhere. Let's go."

     The guard looked dumbfounded, but he moved down the hall towards the barracks. Ryder fell back to walk next to Juliet, barely managing to hide his proud smirk. She'd only used her queenly voice once before, when a guard had tried to tell her she couldn't be in the kitchens. Ryder liked it.

     Juliet, however, was glaring at the guard in front of them. "I hope he gets eaten by carnivorous trees."

     "So do I."

     She glanced over and up at him—he was several inches taller than her. "Do you believe in them, then?"

     He winked without saying anything and she huffed, although there was a grin on her face when she turned back to face the corridor. The guard had shoved the door that lead to the barracks open, and he was impatiently watching Ryder and Juliet as they neared.

     After they passed through, he let Ryder lead. Ryder didn't like any of it—the eyes of the guards they passed, the fact that Juliet was beside him. Not that she was there, but—he would have rather kept her behind, except she needed a guard, and their guide didn't seem inclined to wait with her while Ryder talked to the Commander.

     Speaking of whom, the Commander was waiting at the end of the hall, the door to his small office propped open. Racks of weapons lined the walls, and the Commander was reading a paper that was on his wide desk, probably a report from one of the guards. He looked up as they approached, and his brown eyes narrowed when he spotted the queen beside Ryder.

     "The queen wasn't to come," He said, standing smoothly, a crease in his forehead.

     "The queen is right here, and she may do as she pleases." Juliet crossed her arms and gave him a brilliant smile. "I will, however, permit you to speak with Ryder Tate alone. I will wait here, with your guards."

     She turned the smile on Ryder, although there was a sharp edge to it, a warning in her eyes to be cautious. He replied with a small nod before stepping into the Commander's office, shutting the door firmly behind him.

     He suppressed the urge to shiver. It was always colder in here, just enough to be uncomfortable when you stepped in. When he'd mentioned it to Krow in his first week at the palace, the other guard had replied with something vague about keeping your attention.

     Well, the Commander certainly had his attention now. Ryder watched him closely as he sat back down, pushed the paper aside, and motioned for Ryder to sit.

     He sat. The chair was wooden and small, uncomfortable, digging into Ryder's back even though he didn't lean against it. His body remained at attention: Back straight, legs spaced apart, chin up to meet the Commander's eyes.

     Broce was studying Ryder's posture with something akin to approval in his eyes. "You're from Talimia, correct?" Ryder nodded once. "A very militant city—although not so much in recent years. You've been trained well...physically."