Author's Note: Hey guys! Here's a new story for all of you! This idea has been bugging me for quite some time so I really wanted to write it out. There are many changes from the game that may seem weird, but I tried to make them all believable. I intend to have this be a four chapter story, but who knows what will happen to it in the end! Anyways, on with the story!

Rated T for language and sexual themes.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Tales of Xillia or the book titles which are from Skyrim.

Chapter 1

Milla walked down the gilded halls of Orda Palace with subdued haste in preparation for her post as the prince's personal guard. All the while, her armor clinked every time she took a step forward. No one but the velvet colored tapestry hanging on the walls bore witness to her traversal through the halls, which she had memorized like the back of her hand. Suddenly, she ceased her graceful stride and turned towards a door planted within the curvature of the wall. On the outside, there were no indications that this door was out of the ordinary, but the knight knew exactly who was housed inside. The blonde brought her hand up and gave three consecutive knocks to signal her arrival to the person residing inside.

Milla could hear the shuffle of feet just beyond the door and smiled slightly to herself. The door creaked open to reveal a ten-year-old boy with a severe case of bed-head who was rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He donned his favorite light blue pajamas and some thick socks on his feet. The older one giggled and glanced down at the boy's attire, "My prince, you are still not ready?"

Jude blushed out of embarrassment at the truthful statement. "Well, I just woke up," he said softly. He then contorted his cute face into a scowl. "Why are you here anyway?"

Milla crossed her arms on her chest at the boy's reply. "King Nachtigal informed me that you were going to venture outside today, and I was ordered to escort you there."

Jude furrowed his brow at the statement and switched his demeanor to be defensive. He narrowed the opening between both of them and sniffed loudly. "Regardless of what my father told you, I don't want you to come. If you work under me then you have to listen to what I say."

"Whether you want me to accompany you or not will not change anything. King Nachtigal orders reign supreme over yours." Milla said bluntly, void of any emotion. Whenever, she was given orders to take care of Jude, they always went through this procedure. One would think that she would be used to it by now, but Milla's patience was running thin at this point.

"Well, then tell him that I don't need to be babied anymore. I'm old enough to take care of myself," Jude half yelled his reply. "Now leave me alone," the boy went through the motion of closing the door completely, but was taken aback when Milla put her hand through the opening and pushed the wooden door so that it would open wider. Jude attempted to close the door back again, but Milla was much stronger so he gave up after some time of struggling.

Once she was sure that Jude would stop fighting and begin listening to her, she ceased her door pushing and replied to Jude's bratty remark. "You're only ten years old. You are by no means old enough to take care of yourself. Now go, get ready, and we will go out into the market together," Milla said in an authoritative tone.

The unwavering voice seemed to work since Jude sighed and turned into his room toward the bathroom conjoined with it. Before he left, he opened the door wide enough for the knight to walk in. Even when he did this, Milla caught him rolling his eyes which signaled to her that he was not going to drop the attitude anytime soon.

Milla shut the door behind her when she stepped in and sat on Jude's unmade bed. She let her red eyes wander around the room until they settled on the stack of books lying on a desk pushed to the other side of the room underneath the large windows that overlooked the city of Fennmont. The books laid on top of one another in an unordered fashion; they looked as if they were thrown around carelessly.

"These must've kept him up last night. No wonder he wasn't ready for the day," the blonde thought to herself as she sauntered across the room to reach the desk. With the help of the artificial light that illuminated the area, she stacked the books into a neat pile as she read the titles of them out loud.

"Olaf and the Dragon, The Knights of the Nine, Wabbajack …" Milla automatically went silent when she came across a thick book with a decorative spine and a smooth tan cover, recognizing instantly that it was a photo album.

Milla carefully opened the cover of the book and looked through some of the pictures. Most of the pictures featured a much younger looking Jude and the late Queen; occasionally there were some appearances of Nachtigal as well. Realizing that Jude must have been remembering his mom made Milla worry immensely.

Queen Muzét was Nachtigal's wife and Jude's mother who passed away a month prior. The cause of her death is still not concluded, but Milla had heard rumors around the knight circles that she was poisoned by some servant that was trusted with her food. As a result of this, Milla had been assigned to be Jude's guard to keep an eye on him whenever he was alone or he ventured outside, and the boy didn't like any bit of that at all. Ever since she'd been assigned to watch him, the ten-year-old would be hostile towards her. She always tried to be kind to him, but none of it seemed to break through to the little brat. However, even through it all she was finding herself to be quite attached to the boy. In the times of his rage, it was always hard to take him the least bit seriously. He was like a cute little puppy that won't stop barking; unlike his father who was more like a full grown bull mastiff. It was one of the many differences that Jude had with his father.

Although Milla was annoyed by his attitude, it was easy for her to sympathize with Jude. She knew that the boy was young and his mother recently passed away so his behavior was understandable.

The blonde knight settled her eyes on Muzét's pretty face on one of the photographs as if she were waiting for it to move. The photo was of her standing behind Jude while her hand was placed protectively on his shoulder. The boy was sitting on a chair with a cake in front of him. The woman's wavy light blue hair passed her shoulders and settled on her breasts where the tips of the follicles were a gradient to a green shade. Her eyes sparkled and reflected the happiness she felt at that time. The picture perfectly held onto the essence and sentiment of that moment.

Milla checked the context of the photo again and noticed that it was taken on Jude's eight birthday by counting the candles on the cake. She started staring at Jude's broad smile and wondered if she'd ever see such an innocent expression within the time she works with him.

"Milla, what're you doing?" Jude asked harshly.

At the boy's remark, the knight quickly slammed the book shut and spun around in a cartoonish manner to lock eyes with a freshly showered prince. Jude noticed the book in her hands and approached her. He snatched it away from her and held it protectively in his arms. "I assume that my father didn't give you any orders to look through my things did he?"

Milla gulped, "No, he did not."

"Then please keep your hands to yourself."

Although Milla was getting irritated again, she had to give props to the king and queen for teaching their son manners.

Jude put the book down on the table and exited the room and without waiting for Milla to follow. Milla sighed inwardly at being ignored by the boy again, but followed him onto the portal and out of the heavily guarded building.

Even when the duo reached the commercial district of the city, the ten-year-old boy kept his sour expression on his face; he was no doubt upset that he was being followed very closely by a guard on his father's request. Milla waited patiently as Jude browsed around the store. His father's birthday was a few days away, and he had planned to surprise him with a gift. Jude had informed Nachtigal that he was going into the city, but now he was clearly regretting that choice.

King Nachtigal was an intimidating tower of a man, and it would come as a surprise to many that he had a thing for small knick-knacks. Knowing this, Jude searched long and hard for the perfect trinket for him.

As the two of them neared the next shop, Milla decided to give Jude a little more comfort by waiting at the entrance for him since he had not whined for a good ten minutes. It was a new record in Milla's opinion and he should be rewarded, and if he went by himself he might it might be easier for him to find something.

When the blonde didn't follow the boy into the gift shop she could tell that the boy wasn't as tense which was a good sign to her. Milla sighed as she looked around the perimeter of the store, but was pulled out of her trance when her eyes landed on a worried looking Jude being confronted by a man. She pushed through some civilians who gave her glares at her rudeness, but she couldn't care less. Once she was a couple of meters away she was able to hear what the man was saying to Jude.

"You think you're so privileged you little shit just because you come from royalty? My family has suffered for so long because of your father! All of my sons have died in meaningless battles!" the middle-aged man shouted at Jude. The boy was too scare to reply, which threw the older one over the brink with anger. He took the opportunity to grab the defenseless boy by the collar and punch him in the face.

Once Milla was in range, she pulled the man off of Jude and unsheathed her sword which brought a flash of fear on the man's slightly wrinkled face.

"If you knew what was best for you, you would keep your hands off of him," Milla said dangerously.

The man was not intimidated by Milla. He laughed, "Ah I see. You can't even face your own fights huh?" He directed this comment at the nervous black-haired boy who said nothing but kept his eyes on his shoes and his hand on top of his face.

Milla then walked in front of Jude to partially conceal him from the attacker. Then, she raised her sword higher in the air.

"What? You're going to kill me? If you do that I'd have many people rallying against all of you for this," the man said indignantly while wagging his finger at the blonde. Now the commotion raised a few heads of patrons who were browsing around the store.

Milla hesitated for a moment, but then replied without a waver in her voice. "No, but I will arrest you for starting a fight."

"Ha?" The man obviously hadn't thought of that punishment as Milla grabbed him by the arm and dragged him outside towards a few other guards on duty scattered around the city. Jude followed her, but not too closely as he didn't want to be close to the man in the blonde's iron grip.

Once Milla explained the situation to another guard outside of the store, she handed the angered middle-aged man to him and retreated back to Jude's side. Milla gazed at Jude's face sadly and she had resigned to the fact that once she got back to the palace she would probably be fired for her incompetence, but even so she still planned to protect Jude as best as she could for the rest of the day. She placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze. Jude shook her hand off of him and walked toward a different part of the commercial district, away from the scene of the crime. Milla continued to stare dejectedly at the black-haired boy, but then followed after him. The two of them entered another store where Jude finally bought a wood carving of a Peepit. In Milla's opinion it was absolutely adorable, but she still found it hard to believe that the king would enjoy something so cute.

They then returned to Orda Palace where, upon Jude's request, both of them stood at the edge of the bridge that connected the Palace with the rest of the city. The flow of water under the strong bridge was brilliantly reflecting the perpetual night sky of Fennmont.

Although the view was beautiful Milla settled her eyes on Jude instead, specifically on his eye which was swelling from the fierce impact it had endured. Her red eyes then caught sight of Jude's silky black hair. Without realizing what she was doing she ran her gloved hand into his soft locks and ruffled them.

Jude immediately shrunk away from the affectionate contact. This bothered Milla a lot more than what was socially acceptable for what a guard should have felt for her client. Milla retreated her hand that was held still in the air and placed it on the bridge's railing instead.

"Milla?" Jude asked softly.

The blonde jumped slightly at the male's question. "Yes?"

The boy hung his head low. "About what happened back at the store, I really would have been in trouble if I were there alone. I had no idea people felt that way about my father."

"Most people don't. It was just that annoyance."

Jude laughed slightly. "I guess what I want to say is… thank you." The boy expressed his gratitude softly, but the knight caught it and smiled.

"You're welcome."

"I'm sorry about what I said to you this morning. I regret every bit of it. You're actually not that bad to have around." Jude offered his contrite words strongly so that the blonde would believe them.

"It's alright," Milla noticed Jude's sudden weary facial expression and knew that it was time for him to retire for the day. "How about we go back inside now?"

The boy nodded fiercely and the woman escorted him back through the confusing portals and back to his room.

When Jude opened the door Milla finally spoke again. "Goodnight, and remember, don't open the door for anyone unless you are absolutely certain that it's me," Milla said with a stern tone.

"I know, I know," the boy said quickly after Milla uttered her concern. "You're talking like my mother now," Jude laughed slightly.

The knight was taken aback by the way Jude said those words. It seemed as though he is now able to talk about Queen Muzét in a tone that was not completely consumed in sorrow. Milla patted him on the head, but then pulled back before he could shy away from her.

She wished him a goodnight again, and he returned the sentiment for once in the entire month she'd been taking care of him. Once the boy closed the door, Milla shook the door handle to make sure that he locked it. When she was satisfied, she spun around to get back to her sleeping quarters in the knight section of the palace.

Milla returned down the same hallway just as she had done the night before and was not too surprised when she was caught sight of three of the king's guards. She knew that this was the result of her carelessness on the outing with Jude yesterday; she held her head high and confronted the trio in front of the prince's room, awaiting her judgment.

"Milla?" the largest guard leading the group asked.

"Yes?" the blonde asked. Milla tried to read the guards expression, but was at loss when she couldn't decipher it through his metal façade helmet.

"King Nachtigal instructed me to inform you that you have been relieved of your current duties until further notice."

Milla took in a deep breath through her nose, "Alright, I apologize for not performing my duties to the best of my abilities. I hope the one who guards him next can be more competent." The blonde looked at her armored feet and didn't notice how pregnant the silence was between the guards.

"Wait, you knew this was going to happen?" the knight in the back whispered.

Milla raised her gaze to the man in confusion. "Jude was attacked in the commercial district yesterday, and I was unable to protect him… Isn't that why I've been fired?"

The two men slowly shook their heads while the third soldier hung her head solemnly.

The guard in the front let out a sigh and placed a hand on his hidden face. "No, that's not it. The prince was abducted last night."

The blonde was flabbergasted. She wanted to say something, but she found that her breath was caught in her throat. She switched her gazes to all the other two soldiers, but their demeanors all expressed the same sentiment of concern.

She ran her hand through her blonde hair as her mind searched desperately for a logical conclusion to all of this. "How could this happen? I made sure he locked his door last night; unless he opened it? Or perhaps the window…" Milla pushed the knights aside, and she barged into the Jude's room.

She peered inside, expecting a chaotic mess, however, to her surprise there was no indication that a crime scene had happened the night before. The room remained pristine and clean. "Too clean..." Milla thought. The bed was made, and the books were not strewn around on the desk; they were instead placed neatly on the bookshelf.

"His room was already searched through thoroughly when he was found gone. Whatever clues remained are now gone," the low voice of the female guard bellowed behind Milla.

"Is this the last place he was seen?" Milla asked without looking behind her.

"I don't know the details of what happened. We were merely told to break the news to you so that you could be assigned a new job in the meantime, while they look for him," the woman bowed her head slightly as she said this.

Milla traversed her gaze around the room once more. "Who are 'they'?"

The leader of the trio answered this time, "The king's best men. Including the Conductor, Rowen Ilbert. There's no need to worry, ma'am; they will find him for sure."

The blonde knight digested these words, but they didn't bring her any ease at all. She turned around and ran towards the throne room. The guards yelled after her, but they made no movements to follow her. She knew she was being rash, but this whole thing seemed off and nothing was adding up. "Jude never makes his bed or puts his books away. For that matter, nothing in the room seemed broken or out of place. It's almost as if he didn't struggle against his kidnapper."

Milla shook these thoughts out of her head as she began to sprint faster down the halls.

Milla opened the door to the throne room with little grace or respect, and she clumsily shut it behind her. The other soldiers scattered in the room stared at her; all of them recognized her as she worked in their ranks many times; they were not too alarmed at her presence, but they were taken aback by her rude entrance.

She ignored them and walked briskly to the center of the room where Nachtigal was sitting on his throne while his second in command, Gilland, stood next to him. They spoke in hushed tones but ceased all conversation when Milla was within earshot. She panted and then bowed deeply in front of her king.

"Why are you here?" Nachtigal asked bluntly. Before the blonde could answer he gave out a long and weary sigh, "I see so they didn't pass the message on to you. Incompetent fools."

Milla shook her head quickly to defend the trio, "They did send me the message, but I'd like to ask for permission to look for Jude."

Nachtigal inclined his head slightly as if he were challenging her, "And why is that? If the message had been passed on to you, you should know that the situation is already in control."

The knight was slightly confused at the man's reaction. She'd expect him to be more hysterical at his own son's disappearance, but she ignored the nagging feeling. She then cleared her throat, "I am the one that was assigned to protect him; therefore, I should be the one to find him."

Nachtigal stroked his bearded chin. "Hmm, you seem too eager to go look for him. Tell me, Milla, can I trust you?"

Milla nodded her head curtly, "You can. I would never hurt Jude. I can assure you that I am not behind his kidnapping."

The king looked over his shoulder to his second in command who gave him a slimy grin. Nachtigal returned that gesture with his own evil smile then shifted his gaze back to Milla again. "Very well, I will allow you to join the search. But know this, my men are the best in all of Rashugal. If they can't find one person then no one can."

Milla bowed deeply again. "Thank you so much for this opportunity, sir." The blonde then rose and exited the room in a fast walk. When she was outside the king's domain, she sprinted towards her next destination which she was deciding upon as she ran.

Nachtigal tilted his head back again towards Gilland. He chuckled and said, "Make sure you inform them that Milla is coming along for the ride."

Gilland laughed alongside his king. "Will do, your majesty."