The Royal Guardian

Chapter 8

~Lilith's POV~

I make my way to the palace gate. A knight is posting and I wonder if he will let me through.

"Good morning Sir." I greet.

"Good morning." He replies. "What is the meaning of your visit?"

"I want to participate in the challenges to become a member of the Royal Guard."

"Alright, you need to register yourself at the entrance." He points to the entrance of the palace where a table is set up.

"Okay, thank you." I say as I start walking toward the table at the entrance.

To my surprise I see Lily, the friend of Ophelia, sitting near the table.

"Good day Sir and lady." I greet them both. Lily meets my eye and looks confused for a moment, but then averts her gaze back to the paper in front of her.

"Name and documents." The Knights grumbles not wanting to be here.

"Damon Merripen." I say as I hand over the documents. I feel Lily watching me, but when I look at her, she quickly looks away.

The Knight looks at me and then back to the documents. "No experience?" he asks.

"Not in the sense of legal work." I reply.

The Knight starts to laugh. "Kids these days." He hands my documents back. "Welcome, you're now one of the participants in the challenge." He turns to Lily. "Lily bring this man to his chamber and show him in what parts of the palace he is allowed. Call Renya will ye."

"Of course." Lily replies. "Merripen follow me." She says as she looks at me.

I follow her through the doors. We are greeted by a woman.

"Renya, you need to be post at the table." Lily says to the women. Renya nods and walk out of the palace. "This is the corridor, if you go in here you find the dining hall." she points to the door at my left.

We continue walking. "Behind these doors is the off-limits to you, to the stairs." She looks at me. She opens a door at the end of the corridor to my right. "This is where all the knight, guards and maids stay when they are off-duty and do not choose to go home."

She opens the door with the number 11. "This is where you'll will stay."

My room only holds a bed, chair and a small closet. It is a small space and about three people can stand in the room at the same time. "Okay."

"The silver door on the left at the end of the corridor leads to the toilet and showers. The other silver door is for the women and off-limits for you." Lily explains. "if you have any questions you can come to me. If I am off-duty I stay in room 21. I will leave you to it now."

As soon as the door closes, I let out a breath I seemed to be holding.

I've made it inside.

*

*

*

Two uneventful days have past, which means that in two days the challenges will start. I have visited the nursery to let them check my stiches. Fortunately, I've stitched well and the first half will be removed in a week. Unfortunately, this means that I won't have my full flexibility and speed in the challenges. The past two days I have trained my arms and I have done little leg workouts, to put as little strain on my thighs as possible. From the doctor I've had an ointment to prevent infections and reduces the pain.

Showering was a challenge itself. If I wanted to shower in the morning, I needed to make sure I woke up around four o'clock in the morning. For the evening this meant that I could shower around midnight if nobody else was showering. The bathroom breaks weren't a problem, since the toilets had little stalls.

For today I had decided to explore the gardens a bit, I had asked Lily yesterday if I was allowed to walk in the gardens. She said it was fine. Around Lily I really needed to watch the height of my voice. She already was a bit sceptical about me and she often told me I reminded her of someone.

Walking through the gardens I find a bench in the sun. I sit down and close my eyes letting the sun warm my face. I let out a sigh. Being Damon was hard, not only did I need to watch my voice but I also needed to remember Damon's story. My mind starts to wander.

Does Geronimo think I am dead?

Geronimo was for both Ophelia and I the father we needed after both our fathers died. Geronimo always made sure at our young age we were well fed. He also helped Ophelia get the job as maid, he tried to let me work at the palace to, but I was unqualified. According to the manager of the maids I was too wild and uncontrolled.

My thoughts are interrupted when I hear voices in the distance.

"I adore your garden Seth." I hear a woman with an annoyingly high-pitched voice say. The man says something back but I can't hear it. "Oh, I am sorry. Your father invited me to diner, nice isn't it?"

Not wanting to eavesdrop on their conversation I stand up and attempt to walk away. But as soon as I stand up, I am in the vision of both the lady and the man. As soon as I look, I realize it is the Prince.

"Your Highness, my Lady." I bow avoiding their eyes.

"Rise." The Prince says.

Still avoiding to look them in their eyes I start walking backwards.

"Hold it right there." The Prince says. "I haven't seen you before, who are you?"

"Damon Merripen, your Highness." I reply. Still not meeting their eyes.

"What is your function?"

"I am participant in the challenges the become a Royal Guard." I answer.

"Really? That shrimp is supposed to protect you, Seth!" The lady laughs. The Prince joins the laughter.

"Luckily for me they have challenges to filter these guys out." The Prince says while pointing at me. "Run along now, and enjoy the short time you will have left here."

Not wanting to be insulted again, I quickly turn around and walk away.

Remind me again, why I am trying to safe this fool.