Will’s head was spinning, as it had been for the past two weeks. After the King named him the Princess’s Man, word had quickly been distributed to those who lived and worked in the castle that he was not to be bothered or stopped for any reason, and from there the news had quickly spread to the surrounding town.
At Will’s request, the King had not passed on that he was Brock’s son, as most of the kingdom knew Brock and he had a reputation even outside the kingdom. Will did not want any kind of fame getting in the way of fulfilling his new job and frankly did not want to be famous.
The King had fulfilled his promise and moved them both to the first floor for the first two days of the week and then had announced that if the Princess and Will were both okay with it they could move into the old messenger gatehouse, on the north-west corner of the castle grounds.
The Princess jumped at the opportunity, and Will was happy with it as well. The one stipulation for this was that Will be the only one with a Key, in the event that if the Princess decided to ditch him for something she would still have to get past guards. Will and The Princess agreed and Will was granted three days to return to where he was living and bring his belongings.
It only took will two days to return with a large pack that seemed to bristle with weapons and other goods. They settled into their new rooms, and Will found that he was still greeted by Ilvara’s voice calling out to him in Elvish most mornings. The first time he had thought that something had happened, but it turned out that the King had asked Ilvara to make sure that Will knew all that he needed to interact, at least minimally, with the other Nobles and Dignitaries that the princess would have any need to interact with.
For the next eight days that is all that happened, at first bell Will was awoken by Ilvara. He would spend the next few hours studying with Ilvara, and then the princess would awaken. The next two hours or more, depending on the Princess’s mood, were spent in the training yards. As early in the morning as it was very few guardsmen were present save for Sir Balefor, and surprisingly Prince Kale who apparently spent every waking moment not filled with other duties sparing with any who would, or working on some skill of combat or another.
After his workout, the princess would take her normal bath, and Will would take a quick dip in the conjoining bath, separated from the princess by a false wall of shaved wood no more than a quarter of an inch thick. Should she be attacked or require him, even in the bath, Will could easily run through the wall in a moment. From there Will would spend the rest of his day and night going where the Princess went and ensuring that nothing happened to her.
Will was surprised when he found that almost every night the princess would sneak out to spend time with several women who ran a home for orphaned children. The Princess would sit for hours chatting with the women and talking with the children that could not sleep. She would patch clothes, help prepare food for the following day, anything that needed doing.
It was on the ninth day of this, with Will sitting in the corner of the room with a whetstone and sharpening the variety of bladed weapons that he carried with him. A loud pounding was heard on the front door. Will looked up, and at a nod from the Princess, Will followed the woman that moved to open the door.
The woman opened the door. “Hello, how can I help you.” She said in a sweet tone, and from what Will had seen it was the only tone that the woman had.
“Well,” a slimy voice said as an arm appeared to push the woman to the side, six men entered the entryway, “see whittlers end has fallen under new management. And we came to discuss the new taxes that we will be collecting.” The men all had smiles on their faces.
Then the Princess, having heard what was said stepped into the doorway from the entryway to the room where she and the women took their rest. “That’s strange, I am unaware of any new taxes that my father has imposed, and he would have sent an official from the treasury, not some thugs, to notify anyone in person. But considering that this particular facility and those who dwell within are exempt from taxes, as they provide a function essential to the kingdom, they would not be here.”
By this time all six men had managed to enter without noticing Will as he had pressed himself to the wall on the other side of the door. When the last man had pushed the door closed, Will had stepped in front of it, silently sliding a second knife, the pair to the one that he was still holding from sharpening, out of its sheath.
“I know you!” one of the men said. “You're the Princess!”
“Indeed I am.” The Princess said. She smiled a vicious smile. “And look at you! I remember you from several days ago when a bunch of your friends tried to assault me. Let me introduce you to somone. Will these are thugs, thugs this is Will, the newly appointed Princess’s Man.”
The six men turned to look at the man standing behind them, and the one who the Princess had been talking to took one look at him and dropped his weapon. The princess even felt her blood go cold and had to stop herself from taking a step back. Will’s face had contorted itself from his usually calm and collected demeanor into a mask of wrath that seemed to forbode nothing except death.
“Thugs, my name is Will. As you heard I am the Princess’s Man that means that I report to no one other than the princess, and I have the full backing of the King to do as I see fit in all things regarding her safety.” Will looked to the Princess. “Princess, I don’t think they need all their limbs if all they are going to use them for is committing crimes, do they?”
As Will spoke to her, The Princess realized that the look of furry was purely for the benefit of the thugs in the room. “No, Will, I do not think that they do.”
The thug that had faced will before and already dropped his weapon could be heard quietly begging his compatriots to just give up. “You should listen to him.” Will says and steps forward. “If you drop your weapons and leave within the next ten seconds, I will assume that you made a mistake.”
Will stepped to the side of the door, pulling it open, and began counting. “One… Two… Three…”
Two of the thugs dropped their weapons and ran out the door following the one who had already dropped his weapons. “Five… Six…” Two more dropped their weapons and ran out. “Eight… Nine…”
“Alright, alright, you win.” The last thug said, dropping his weapon and moving to leave. He was stopped by Will placing a hand on his shoulder.
“I know what you look like now.” Will said quietly to him. “If I hear that anyone comes back to this place wanting taxes, or protection money, or anything. I will find you, and I will not have to answer for any crime, because there will not be a body. Do you understand?”
“I do, don’t worry, I will make sure that everyone knows.” The thug said gritting his teeth through the pain as Will continued to tighten his grip beyond what should have been possible for a normal human. “I promise.”
“Good!” Will said with a smile and thew bodily threw the thug out the door. “Now ladies, I think you were having tea.”
The night finished smoothly and the Princess told the women who ran the home that she would see about having her father set up some sort of funding for the home. Then the Princess and Will began walking back to the gate of their entrance to the castle.
“You can be incredibly terrifying, you know that right, Will?” The princess said walking silently next to him.
“I know, one of the things that my grandparents taught me was the proper application of fear, and how to do it.” Will said thinking back to his time with his grandparents.
“You are not entirely human are you?” The Princess asked suddenly.
“No, I am not Princess.” Will said stiffly.
“You know you don’t have to call me Princess. You can call me by my name.” The Princess said.
“Very well Prin…Ilicia.” Will said, hoping that she would not prod farther into his lineage.
Luckily the rest of the walk home was in silence, and they arrived safely back in their quarters. They both went to bed and woke to a flurry of servants. Ilvara woke Will as usual but spoke before he could say anything. “Will there is a delegation of Elves and Drethi, and a single Orc approaching. They are bearing a banner of peace but the King wants everyone prepared, that means the princess, and that means you.”
“Understood.” Will said and jumped out of bed, quickly strapping on a fitted leather chest plate that would not show under his clothing. Will did not complain as Ilvara laid out his clothes. While she did that, Will proceeded to slip dozens of blades into their hidden sheathes. And then slipped his clothes on over the top of everything.
It took an hour for the delegation to finally arrive, though from what Ilicia said it was probably intentional so that the King and his people would have time to prepare for them. Will was interested to see who the Elves and Orc were as he was familiar with some of them. What walked through the door though, he was not prepared for.
The tallest female Elf and the Orc were arm-in-arm. It was Yilan and Got’Ro. Yilan caught his eye and made a sign in the elvish hand code that told Will to stay calm.
Whatever was happening, Will felt as if his whole world was about to change. A Drethi stepped forward with a staff and tapped it on the ground. “May I present Yilan and Got’Ro Valdesh, leaders of the Gob’Ran collective.”
“It is my honor to welcome you both, and your entourage.” The King said from where he stood next to his throne. “Please allow me to introduce my wife and daughter. Firstly the Queen, Ilica, and our daughter Ilicia.”
The two women curtsied to Yilan and Got’Ro. They bowed their heads slightly before turning back to the King. “Your majesty, we have something to discuss with your family that concerns ours, may we speak to you in private?” Yilan said.
“Of course, though I will ask that you be understanding that the captain of my guard, and young will there, will be staying.” The King responded as he made a gesture that sent every other person out of the room.
When they left Yilan and Got’Ro were the only ones of their party that remained and they seemed to relax visibly. “Firstly Your Highness, I must ask your leave to greet someone that I have not seen in several years.”
The King nodded and Yilan and Got’Ro both turned to Will with loving smiles, or at least their racial equivalent of one. “Will, it is good to see you.” Yilan said.
Will smiled at them, knowing that even if the King and his family no longer wanted him around after this, he would always have his family. “Grandmother, Grandfather, it is good to see you both again.” Will said, hugging Yilan, and giving Got’Ro the formal handshake that Orcs reserved for family members.
“I’m sorry for interrupting,” The King said surprise in his tone, “but, Grandparents?”
“Yes, your majesty my grandparents.” Will said and then shrugged. “I think that it is time for me to tell you about my mother, and when I went to live with my grandparents.”
