I know I probably shouldn't be starting yet ANOTHER story, but this one is special. I wrote it in collaboration with The Mad Earl. The idea belongs to her, I'm simply taking it for a test-drive. If you would like to go take a look at the original, it's called "Your mine and only, forever."
Enjoy, and Ms. Mad Earl, I hope I do your thoughts justice!
-Static
/*\
He smiled kindly at the girl before him and made an excuse, having long perfected his escape. He twisted and twirled through the crowd, evading any and all who might wish to speak to him. He refused to interact with these people, not right now, and he'd be damned if any of the imbeciles caught him.
At least, before he downed several glasses of outrageously expensive champagne that is.
He'd always known that being the commander of the Royal Guard - the only one of his peers bearing title of Knight - would come with consequences, but he thought they would present themselves in a drastically different manner. Instead of scars or disfigurements caused by brutal battle wounds, he was gifted with a contrasting penalty.
After almost five years in the army, being the youngest man to ever climb the hierarchy to Commander, and remaining entirely unblemished, he was a greatly admired individual. People told rumors that he was invincible, and that he would never be wounded unless he permitted it. They said he was more intelligent than the greatest battle strategists, and that he was unwaveringly kind, with a smile that could melt the coldest person's heart. He was treated like a noble. Never had he thought he would be so important that he would need diplomatic skills, or tolerate those who tested him. The only reason he had ever considered the position was because it would allow him to act out his violent impulses with few repercussions.
Certainly not because he wanted to be politely rebuffing all the different girls aiming to court his favor. He had grown to hold status, and it hadn't taken him long to realize that many wanted to be associated with it. Alongside border attacks and assassination attempts, flirtations were also an annoyance for him to fend off.
He wondered if any of them would dare approach him if they knew the truth. The thought made him want to laugh.
He had managed to get a slight bit tipsy before anyone else got to him through the dancers and the socializers, and he was grateful for it. If he had to deal with any more stupidity sober, then he just might have lost what little was left of this night's sanity reserve.
It would have been very bad if he were to kill any of these people in the midst of such a crowd. The Queen would have had a marvelously difficult time trying to cover up such a massacre. He sipped from his drink again and mentally prepared himself as a father-daughter duo approached him.
Luckily, the girl who stood before him now was somewhat tolerable. It was clear that she was just as reluctant to speak to him as he was to her. That made him feel a little better, it was good to know that he wasn't the only one who found this "marriage alliance" business pretentious. However, despite her good nature and decent humor, he still wasn't all that interested. It certainly didn't help her case when her father turned out to be one of the most obnoxious people the Knight had ever had the displeasure of meeting. "Sara" this and "Sara" that. Yes, he gets it, she's a lovely girl who deserves to marry up.
Not his problem.
Couldn't these people at least have the decency to be subtle?
He smiled cheerfully and nodded for the man to go on, but he had started to tune him out. Only one hour left. One more hour to endure, and it was all over. He could return to his apartment behind the castle walls in peace, and he might get to be left alone for a few months. Just one more hour...
That was when something, or rather someone, crashed into his side, completely blindsiding him.
"I'm sorry!" She squeaked, as the man just barely managed to keep his drink from spilling, "I'm so sorry! I tripped! Please excuse me!" And she dashed off in the other direction, not sparing him a second glance.
However he couldn't stop his gaze from following her. The simple fact that she had surprised him was enough to capture his undivided attention. She wasn't equipped for a ball, far too casual, in boots and striped stockings and a simple blue dress. She wore the blond silk of her hair plainly, nothing more than a simple bow tied in. What interested him most, however, was the memory of the look that had glimmered in her eyes. Fearful, and apologetic, but still irked, as though it were somehow his fault she had run into him.
His own irises watched as she disappeared out the door, and he only half-listened as the man ranted about how rude she had been.
"Faffing about in the presence of the Royal Guard, Sir Ace no less. How imbecile!" The Commander turned back to his present company.
"My sincerest apologies, but duty calls." He gave the father and daughter pair a regretful smile, and started pushing through the crowd, vanishing in plain sight before the older man could utter a word of protest. He whirled on his daughter.
"You need to be more talkative." He scolded. She covertly rolled her eyes,
"Yes father." She murmured, knowing he would not pick up on her sarcasm.
/*\
The man - disadvantageously clad in a white suit - followed the girl into the dusk. He bolted out of the castle and watched a flicker of blue vanish into the woods. For reasons he didn't quite understand himself, he just had to know who she was, and so he continued after her. Quietly, so as not to be caught.
It would look ridiculously bad if it was found out that he had followed a girl home, at night, after a party. The Queen would most certainly have his head for that.
She glanced back a few times, as though she could feel someone watching her. She was starting to get paranoid, and her pursuer was feeling tenser all the time. As good as he was, he couldn't take the chance that she might see him. Not until he got what he wanted at the very least.
Ace watched as she left the woodland trail and entered the city, looping around blocks through alleyways and down streets. The Knight was starting to feel a little...disappointed. She was starting to enter the less-nice parts of town. Was she a prostitute? No, no...tasteless tattoos did not litter her skin, and her clothing was too innocent and fine for street walking. No she had come out here for a different reason, and that reason was made quite clear when she stopped at an unremarkable door and knocked, the rhythm more akin to a code than a casual visit.
The door opened and he watched a man step forward. Maybe the same height as himself, dark hair, pasty skin, and impassive green eyes.
He greeted her enthusiastically, and gently caressed the girl's face, making her blush and avert her gaze. Clearly, she had an emotional attachment to him but...watching his body language the Knight could tell the feeling was not mutual. His muscles were relaxed and lazing, and though he smiled for the girl, his eyes spoke clearly of disappointment, quickly replaced with boredom. This visit with her was a habit, a routine, nothing more.
As Ace watched her go inside with the other man, he had to wonder why he felt so indignant on the girl's behalf.
/*\
When hinges creaked, not fifteen minutes later, Ace poked his head out to see that she had emerged again. Not nearly enough time for anything too intimate to happen, but definitely plenty to justify the pink shadows on her cheeks and the disarray of her hair. She looked so happy, and Ace had managed to hide around the corner of the building, just close enough to catch her name.
"Goodbye, Miss Alice Liddell," the man spoke with mock-propriety, good humor and kindness lacing his voice. "I hope to see you again." And she giggled, her soft reply too quiet for the Knight to hear, and she was off, the door closing and her tiny boots clicking as she skipped along, returning home no doubt. Satisfied, Ace went his own way, strolling back to the castle.
Alice Liddell. So that was her name. As long as he had that, he would have absolutely no issue finding her now.
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I know this first chapter is a bit short for one of my intros, but like almost every other thing I've written, this is going to be a multi-chapter story. The Mad Earl originally wrote this in a poetry/mystery form. I'm simply delving a little deeper into the emotional complexities within the relationships of the characters within her story line. (WITH HER PERMISSION!) Let me know what you guys think!
-Static
