Aegis
Phaedra thought she’d cleared all the
patrols around Three Rivers until a young man in a set of unmarred plate armor
stepped into her path and frowned. The metal caught in the light of the
rising sun as he crossed his arms over his chest, armor groaning in protest.
“May I help you?” she asked, tugging
her hood closer to block her face.
“You should not be traveling alone,
High Commander.”
Phaedra sighed. So much for
escaping unnoticed. She brushed back her hood, revealing her long,
braided red hair and stared the man down. “How did you know it was me?”
“I’ve studied the way you walk.”
Phaedra fought a smile. She
appreciated his candor, especially when most tried to charm their way into her
good graces. Still, she was Queen and had a facade to maintain. Her
expression hardened. “Excuse me?” she challenged.
As if suddenly remembering who he was
addressing, the guard’s eyes dropped to the ground and a faint blush rose to
his cheeks, but he answered. “You walk with a combination of confidence
and agility that I’ve never seen before. It’s unique.” His eyes
darted up and away before he added a hasty, “Ma’am.”
“What’s your name?”
“Trent.”
“Your age?”
“18 years this past summer, ma’am.”
Young, even if she only had five
years on him. It explained why his armor was so pristine, though. “Rank?”
“Foot archer.”
For now, at least, but Phaedra had a
feeling he’d be moving up the ranks soon enough. She’s swapped her armor
and crown for a worn peasant dress and a thick but equally shabby cloak.
It fooled her other guards, but not this one. “You’re very observant,
Trent.”
“I’d like to think so, ma’am.”
His eyes were back on her, dark brown
shifting to honey in the sunlight.
Phaedra studied those eyes while she
decided what to do. She’d already lingered in one spot for too long,
risking being discovered by another patrol, or worse yet, her Advisor. He
likely knew she’d fled again by now, and he couldn’t find out where she was
heading, or she’d never be able to visit again.
He didn’t back down from her
assessing stare. Having a guard with her would allow her to move more
freely. She wouldn’t be stopped by a patrol if she was already
accompanied. There was just one question to ask. “Can I trust you?”
Trent’s back straightened, and he
grabbed the wooden bow slung over his shoulder. “Yes, High
Commander. I’m yours to command.”
She’d always been an excellent judge
of character by trusting the feeling in her gut, and her gut told her Trent was
telling the truth. “I need your discretion. No one, and I mean no
one, not even your Captain or my Advisor is to know where we’re going. If
anyone asks, I needed to stretch my legs and made a trip out to the Gleaming
Pond with you as my guard. Is that understood?”
Trent didn’t hesitate. “Yes,
ma’am.”
“One more thing. Stop calling
me ‘ma’am’.”
“Yes, High Commander,” he said with a
barely concealed grin.
Phaedra shook her head, smiling to
herself as she pulled her hood up. “Smartass,” she muttered just loud
enough for Trent to hear. “Let’s be off.”
***
As the sun started to evaporate the
dew on the plants, they approached a lone cottage in a clearing.
Makeshift fencing kept a few livestock secure and there was a small garden,
enough to feed one or two, but nothing else indicated what was harvested from
this land for income.
“Do you have any siblings?” Phaedra
asked with a smile visible under her hood.
“I… well, I did, but none of them
survived.”
There were too many things in this
world that could kill a child – disease, starvation, war, monsters.
Phaedra vowed when she kneeled on the dais before the throne of Athren that she
would do everything in her power to make this world as safe for her people as
possible.
Before she could respond to Trent’s
tragic admission, an explosion erupted from the cottage, shaking the
ground. A black plume wafted from the roof.
Phaedra launched herself forward,
running as fast as she could to the front door, the wind blowing back her
hood. “Alex! Alex!” she yelled, pounding on the door.
Trent hurried to her side, dagger in
hand to chop down the door if necessary.
The door opened, swinging
inward. Smoke drifted out of the new escape as a tall man emerged,
bending over to make it through the doorway. A small dog followed him,
barking and running around his feet. He coughed, cleared his throat, and
tried his best not to trip over his dog. As the smoke dissipated, he
said, “Phae? Is that you?” His gray blue eyes shifted behind
thick-lensed glasses, searching through the haze.
“I see you still can’t resist trying
to bring the house down with your experiments,” Phaedra teased, relief clear on
her face.
They exchanged a hug as Alex
grumbled, “I’ll get my automated guard to work one of these days. Just
need to figure out a non-explosive fuel for them. They’ll be able to do a
better job of keeping this country safe, and then maybe you won’t have to worry
about protecting everyone so much.” He glanced at Trent over Phaedra’s
shoulder, taking in the sight of his armor. “No offense, of course.”
Trent glanced to Phaedra, confused.
“Come in and see for yourself.
Johanna went to the market, but she should be back soon,” Alex said. He
disappeared back into the house, dog trailing after him.
Phaedra made to follow him, but Trent
grabbed her arm, stopping her. She glanced down at the hold, and Trent
quickly released her, but she held back, knowing he had something to say.
“How well do you know this
man?” Trent glanced around looking for signs of an ambush.
“He’s my brother, so I’d say I know
him quite well.”
“A brother? But I’ve never
heard-”
“And you will keep it that way,
understood?” Phaedra waited for Trent to nod before continuing. “No
one knows about him. We don’t get to see each other very often, but I
love him. I’d do anything for him, including making a talkative guard
disappear.”
Trent paled but stood his
ground. “Why keep him hidden? If you brought him to the castle, you
could see him a lot more.”
“And he’d be as restricted and
controlled as I am. He’d have no time to do what he loves and be around
the one he loves.”
Trent nodded his head like he
understood, but there was no way a simple guard could begin to grasp the daily
constraints placed on her. Every move, every word, even every gesture was
monitored and picked apart by the people of her country.
“You have no control over your day,
your life, or who you love. It’s all scheduled and arranged,” Trent said
softly.
Phaedra stared long and hard at Trent
until he started to fidget, rubbing his hands together and looking into the
cottage where Alex could be heard shifting large pieces of metal around.
Looked like she’d misjudged him again. Maybe he did understand what her
life was like.
“Yes. I didn’t want that for
him. Being known as my brother could also bring him to harm. There
are factions that might try to coerce me by harming him. I didn’t keep
him from the guard just to have his life endangered another way.”
“You took his place?” Trent asked in
awe.
Every family had to offer up one
child to the guard for a five year term or face 100 lashes to each family
member. It ensured that the guard was kept furnished with new blood, and
those that were competent usually decided to re-enlist after their five-year
term.
Phaedra nodded in response. “It
was how Queen Rosebud found me.”
It was a decision that changed her
life and kept Alex’s preserved. Sometimes she regretted it, but then
she’d visit Alex and see his happy, quiet life and that regret would evaporate.
Trent pressed his hand over his
armored heart in the usual guard salute and said, “It’s sacrifices like those
that will make you an excellent Queen, High Commander.”
Phaedra sighed but couldn’t keep the
smile from her face. “Perhaps. But I’m not that Queen today. Today
I will be selfish and enjoy a meal with my brother and his wife once she’s back
from the market. The Kingdom of Athren can survive a short time without
me.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Financial industry worker by day, writer by night (or whenever I can squeeze in 30+ minutes). I started my first original novel in the fall of 2019, and it’s now blossomed into a plan for a 4-6 book series, all featuring a LGBTQ+ romance. This short story takes place in the same fantasy world as my novels and features two characters that are in the first book of the series.
You can find Alia at https://aravenwriting.com/ or on Twitter.
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Be sure to come back tomorrow for another guest author!
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