Leesil was limping, and Amelia noticed right away that she was trying to cover up her pain.
"Is there something wrong, Leesil?" she asked.
Leesil looked back briefly before she seemed to speed up.
"Of course not, princess."
"Really? You look like you've been injured."
The guard winced, suddenly stopping and turning around to face her princess.
"You're right, princess. I'm sorry I was covering it up. I suppose I'm not very good at it if you could spot it right away."
"You can tell me if you need a break from duties, you know."
Leesil nodded, looking extremely embarrassed.
"Yes, you're right, princess. I think it's best if I go to the infirmary."
Amelia nodded. "I can make it back on my own."
"Are you sure? I can take you back to the room first."
Amelia smiled. "That isn't necessary. The infirmary is in the opposite direction. Go there now. And be careful when sparring in the future."
Leesil smiled too. "I should've known you'd guess how I was injured. Yes, it was quite the match against Brand. Got me right in the shin. Lucky shot."
"Now, go." Amelia shooed her off with her hands. Leesil did, walking slower and leaning heavily on her other foot. Leesil was so concentrated on her duties she sometimes forgot to take care of herself.
"Without a guard, are you?"
Amelia turned around to see it was Theolon who had asked the question, a cocked head and mischievous smile. She felt herself glare before she really consciously decided to. A reflex, at this point.
"Don't think that means you can be rude."
He shook his head. "Why, I'd never."
There was a moment of silence. Amelia felt almost rooted to the spot. She didn't want to move past him to get to her room.
"Are you waiting for me to ask you if I could walk you back to your room?"
She scrunched her nose. "No."
His smile broadened. "Right. You'd never ask for help." He put out an arm, which she took with both her arms, fingers splaying over his bicep. They started walking towards her room, looking around but never at each other.
"So, how was the dinner? You found yourself among the best Gell has to offer. It had to be intimidating," he finally filled their silence and looked at her. He only had to tilt his head slightly, as he wasn't much taller than her.
She shook her head. "I guess so. I don't know. It didn't feel like that."
He raised his brows. "Really?"
She looked at him; his expression was seriously surprised. "Yeah. Everyone seemed so... fake."
He chuckled. "Everyone in court is fake. The quicker you learn that, the easier your life will get."
"I guess that's true," she said. "I'm not used to dealing with those kinds of people, though."
"You will soon enough." She looked at him when he said that, and he backpedaled himself. "Not here, of course. Back home. You'll be in the thick of things."
"So why were you gone anyway? Castiel said you were preparing for the test."
He snorted. "Right. I was not doing that. My parents were. I just didn't want to be there. Lots of people fawning over my brother does not sound like a good way to spend my dinner hour."
"So you don't know what the test entails?"
He looked at her with that smile of his. "Are you looking for insider information? Trying to cheat?"
She felt a laugh trying to escape her chest, but she kept it contained. Who knew how big his head would get if she actually laughed at something he said?
"No. Unless you count trying to rig it so I don't succeed."
He looked forward, his expression suddenly serious. "Don't worry about that. You'll fail the test, and then be back home as soon as the winter season comes." His voice had gone quiet, as if he was speaking to himself more than to her.
They approached her room before she could reply, but she would've forgotten the words anyway. Everything was off; a sudden shift in atmosphere. The doors to her room were flown open; an overflow of soldiers inside and out.
She felt her breath get caught in her throat. She unhooked herself from Theolon's arm and ran forward; lifting up her skirts as she went.
She nearly ran into the first guard in her path, but stopped herself just in time. They turned around, their eyes wide at seeing the princess.
"What's happened?" she asked, her voice higher than normal. "Is Jackson okay? Is Brand?"
"Everything's fine, princess. No one was hurt."
"Hurt? What do you mean, hurt?"
Just then Jackson popped through the crowd, as if dividing the water. His face was flushed. As soon as he saw Amelia, he sighed and rushed forward, taking her by her shoulders.
"Oh, princess. I'm so glad you're alright. We're lucky that you weren't here, and I'm sure glad that dinner ran a little late. Why, just imagine what could've happened..." he rambled on, his words spilling out like a broken faucet.
"Jackson. Calm down. What happened?"
"Princess, it's all a little confusing. I was guarding the door you see, so it must've been the window, and I mean, this is pretty high up, so who knows what tools they used —"
"Someone was in your room, princess. And they probably were here to assassinate you." Suddenly Brand was there, arms folded and a brooding expression. He was behind the rambling Jackson, who turned to his voice and let go of Amelia.
"Right, yes. That's the gist," he said.
Amelia had no words for Brand's revelation, but she didn't have to say anything. Theolon was there too, having come up with hurried steps. His eyes had gone wide, incisors flashing as his mouth opened to reveal his teeth.
"Someone tried to kill her? Did you catch them?" He moved so that his body was blocking Amelia's from the door, as if the threat was still imminent.
Jackson shook his head. "No. They came in sometime this afternoon while I was the only one here. You see, I came in not an hour ago when Brand showed up, and I noticed the sheets were not tucked the right way. You know how they tend to put the corners out sometimes? The maids here are rushing, I guess, and they forget, you know, that you're royalty and need certain standards —"
"Your sheets had poison on them," Brand cut in. "Not soaked, just enough to slowly bleed the life out of you as you slept."
Jackson swallowed, watching as his princess went pale with fear. "Right, yes. Just that, princess."
"Oh," was all she could muster to say. The dreams she'd had; the menacing figure, and suddenly her nightmares were real and she was feeling herself spiraling. She didn't realize she was falling until she was caught, Jackson having moved Theolon aside to catch her under her arms. She stood upright, suddenly feeling light in her head.
"She's faint," Brand said. "But we can't bring her to her bed."
"That's fine," Jackson replied. "We'll take her to our room, it's just next door."
"You'll bring her to my room," Theolon said. He was looking at Amelia with furious eyes; sparks and flames bursting in his expression of barely contained emotion.
"What?" Jackson asked, looking at him as if he'd just said he had three heads. "That's not an option."
Theolon held a hand up to cut him off. "I'll hear none of it. It's far enough from her room that should her perpetrator come back, they can't get to her. You can come too, if you want."
The two guards looked at each other, asking the other to come up with some excuse. But neither of them could refuse the prince, and so Jackson nodded.
"Lead on then, prince."
"I'll stay here to look after the room," Brand said as they walked away.
Jackson followed Theolon, a hand on the princess's back. She was conscious, and moving, but she felt numb. She was even aware she was about to go to Theolon's room, and yet she couldn't seem to feel anything about it.
"Do you think it was another one of the girls? In the competition, I mean," Jackson asked Theolon, who was a few paces ahead of him. His hands were in fists, his walk long and quick.
"Don't see why that would matter. It's not like the test is really dependent on anything but luck. Taking out the competition is almost useless." The prince's voice was tight, barely contained emotion behind his teeth. He seemed so angry. What did he have to be angry for?
"Well, you were there with the rest of 'em. Did any of the girls look like they'd wanna do her in?"
She heard the whisper of guilt in his tone. "I don't know. I wasn't there."
"Weren't there? I thought the dinner was with the whole family."
"It was supposed to be, yes." He said nothing else, and by the force of the statement Jackson didn't inquire further. The prince looked almost as distressed as he was.
Theolon's room was down a few series of hallways from Amelia's, but they were on the same wing so the trek wasn't hard. He pushed his own doors open. Amelia noticed the dark red of the walls before she was guided to the bed. She sat down, feeling herself sink into the impossibly plush mattress. When she finally focused her gaze, she saw both Theolon and Jackson standing over her, looking at her with curious and concerned eyes.
"I'm okay," she finally managed to say.
"Not you're not," Theolon replied, a hard edge to his voice. "No one would be okay after something like that."
"It's fine, I mean, no one was hurt. I wasn't even there."
"That doesn't mean it doesn't affect you," he said, crouching down so their eyes were level. "It's scary to know your life was almost taken away. Trust me; it's never easy to get over."
How many times had Theolon had a near death experience? She wanted to ask, but the words couldn't quite make it out of her mouth.
They shared a moment of eye contact, and Amelia thought that he might put a comforting arm on her shoulder. But he stayed still.
"Well she's here now, prince. What are we going to do?"
Theolon broke their connected gaze and looked at Jackson with a hard lined jaw and set brows. "Don't worry about it. She can stay in my bed tonight. I'll find another room to sleep in."
"Sorry to question your orders, prince, but wouldn't that be considered improper?"
"It's fine. I'll talk to my dad. He'll be hearing about it now, I'm sure. Oh, see? Right on time."
A guard had just appeared in the doorway, and Theolon passed Jackson and went to him.
"Wait, Theolon," Amelia heard herself say loudly before she could stop herself. She looked in the doorway, watching as he turned his head around to look at her. He had no grin on his face now; only a serious expression with fists locked into place at his sides.
"What is it, princess?"
He hadn't been sarcastic when saying her title. It felt different; it felt like he was choosing to be someone else in this crisis.
"I want you to stay here with me. Just on the floor. Or I can stay on the floor, if you want your bed." The words had sounded better in her head. Out loud she sounded as if she were pleading, as if she actually needed him.
He didn't hesitate, and nodded. "I'll be back. I promise."
With that he left. Jackson set a gentle hand on her shoulder to lay her down in the bed.
"He'll sleep in the bed tonight over my rottin' corpse. You deserve it after the evening you had," Jackson muttered.
"I suppose so," she whispered. "It just feels so strange." She felt her eyes growing heavy, finally realizing the emotion underneath the numbness in her veins. "I've never been so afraid." Her brain couldn't stop replaying the nightmares, the threat of imminent death...
"I know, I'm sorry, princess," Jackson said in a soothing, quiet tone. "But you're safe now. And we're going to be extra alert now. No one will get in your bedroom again. I swear it."
He noticed her gentle breathing and realized she had fallen asleep. He tried his best to put her underneath the covers and then stood over her, feeling all the guilt of a failed job on his head.
*******
Theolon did come back as promised, after a long thirty minutes convincing his family that Amelia was best with him that night. He was surprised his mom seemed the most adamant against it, but in the end he'd finally managed to win them to his side. She was safest somewhere a potential murderer would never think to look.
He came back to find Amelia sound asleep, her red hair splayed across his pillow and blankets haphazardly arranged over her. Her guard was standing over her with a somber expression.
"Did she get to sleep alright?" he asked. She looked so innocent there, with her eyes closed and expression serene.
"Yeah, almost as soon as you left. 'spose the exhaustion of the event did her in."
Theo nodded. "That's best. She deserves some rest. Now, I've got some extra blankets in the wardrobe. I'll just make myself a makeshift bed for the evening."
The guard — Jackson? — looked at him then.
"I'll be here all night, you know."
Theo was pulling out blankets as he replied. "Wouldn't expect anything less. Especially considering the circumstances. Though, are you sure you wouldn't want another guard to change shifts?"
"I just don't want you trying anything."
Theo stopped mid-flourish as he was setting a blanket down, and it settled itself on the ground like a leaf falling lazily with the wind. It made no sound as it made contact with the floor.
"I don't know what you mean," he finally replied, continuing his task as if he hadn't been interrupted.
Jackson only snorted. "Right, carry on then, prince."
Theo shook his head. "It's only one night. And it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things."
"She could marry your brother."
Theo made no outward gestures, and tried to maintain a neutral expression. Why did everyone keep saying that? And why did it bother him so much? It felt like outright refusal was the only way he felt okay with everything happening these past few weeks.
When the prince finally answered, he found his voice was too quiet, betraying... something. Whatever she couldn't seem to name.
"She won't. It's okay, I know it. You'll be back in your home country come winter, with her in tow. You'll see."
Theo had finally managed to put enough blankets down to satisfy him, and he settled down on the makeshift bed. He could still feel the hard floor underneath, but the soft and peaceful breathing of the princess nearly made him forget how uncomfortable he'd be in the morning.