A/N: And another chapter for people who might be reading this! Gosh, I need to write this more! I know how it's going to end…just need to get it there.

Chapter 11: Black the Bodyguard

Gil woke suddenly in the morning, feeling some strange presence in his room. He sat bolt upright and noticed the intrusion on his sleep. A figure dressed in black had entered his room, but was not overly sneaky about it. Still, Gil didn't want to be robbed in his night clothes!

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he demanded, his voice husky from his few hours of sleep. The figure jumped at the noise and turned to him. They hurriedly bowed.

"Pardon, your Highness," the person muttered. Gil blinked his eyes, but no matter how hard he tried, it was impossible to tell if the figure was male or female. Their body's appearance gave away nothing. It didn't help that the person was decked out in complete black garb. Their pants were black, their v-necked blouse and buttons were black. They even had a black eye mask tied around their head and scarf that covered their mouth that was, amazingly, black. The only hint might have been a patch of white skin around their nose that allowed them to breathe, and clear blue eyes that glittered suspiciously.

Gil frowned darkly, not liking the look of this.

"Who are you?" he repeated harshly, prepared to throw off his covers and lunge.

"Black," the person answered simply. Gil coughed.

"What?"

"Black. It's what you can call me," the figure said.

"Black?"

"Black."

"Did you get that from your clothes or were you just being original?" Gil muttered to himself with raised eyebrows. "Well that answers one question," he continued aloud. "That leaves the 'why are you in my room, staring at me while I'm trying to sleep?' question," he stated dryly.

Black bowed clumsily. "Your father… hired me to watch over you,"

Gil cocked his head and smiled in amusement.

"My father?"

"Yes."

"To make sure I don't run away?"

"Yes."

"And you realize my father doesn't give a rat's ass about me?"

That threw Black off. They fumbled for an answer.

"Actually it was that ugly butler," they quickly replied. "He wanted me to say it was your father first, just to be polite."

Gil nodded slowly in realization. That part made sense. But there was something about this person that was disconcerting…he just couldn't figure out what it was. He shrugged and swung his legs over the side of his expansive bed, knowing he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep no matter how badly he wanted to.

Black respectfully averted their gaze as he dressed in dun breeches and a plain, white cotton button-down shirt. He brushed back his curly hair briefly before thrusting his hands in a bowl of water and splashing it over his face. Refreshed, he went over the day's schedule in his mind, smiling to himself.

As he walked out of his chambers and down to the breakfasting hall, he realized Black was following him. Glancing furtively over his shoulder, he frowned. His day would be harder than he thought, but not that much he conceded. He sat at one of the smaller dining tables and helped himself to a few steaming dishes placed in front of him. Black slipped inside and hovered near the door.

Gil decided to test his new guard by eating as slowly as possible. An hour passed, and he had to admit that he was impressed. Black was barely starting to fidget.

"You know, you don't have to just…stand there," he implored eventually, slightly irritated. Black shook their head curtly.

"Those were my orders, your Highness, and I intend to obey them."

"But you're going to be bored out of your mind! I'm just going to go out…hunting. You'll just get in the way. Wouldn't you be more amused poking around this huge castle? It's mighty fun to explore," he added with a wink. Black hesitated.

"What about…the prisoner? Aren't you supposed to…torture—"

"No!" Gil cried fiercely, forgetting himself. He swallowed and cleared his throat. "I mean, yes, I know that my father wanted me to, but I'm just not in the mood today. I want to go hunting and test my new bow," he concluded angrily in a voice that allowed no further discussion. But Black was persistent.

"But…the prisoner—?"

Gil clenched his fist, using anger to portray his fear.

"And how would someone like you know about that?" he yelled, infuriated.

"I overheard your father talking," Black answered swiftly.

"Well that's lovely, but you're NOT going to follow me anymore!" Gil screamed defiantly, hoping to scare Black away. They didn't budge and Gil was forced to eat the fury that was seething inside of him.

"I will not defy my orders—"

"To hell with your orders!" Gil bristled. "I'm a Prince, royalty. Don't I get any say in my own life?" Gil pushed out his chair and stomped out of the room. "You better not be following me!" he called savagely over his shoulder. There was a pause as he stopped to listen.

"So you're not going to…hurt the prisoner?" came Black's quivering voice. Gil rounded on them fiercely, for Black was only a few paces behind him.

"It's none of your business! You're dismissed for today!" he ordered. He stalked back up to his room in silent rage. Seeing his twisted bow on the floor where he had left it that morning, he immediately grabbed it and hurled it against the wall. Now his day was ruined! It'd take a miracle to get him out of this mood! He glared down at the broken pieces of his completely destroyed bow and got even angrier, this time at himself.

Why had he lost his cool?

A figure lingered near the door, who Gil noticed out of the corner of his eye. He snatched up the fragments and shoved them into a drawstring pouch hanging on a peg. Dramatically, he sauntered past Black outside the door and headed down the hall with his nose in the air. Halfway down, he halted and theatrically turned to regard Black, staring after him incredulously.

"For your information, I'm going to try to fix this bow or buy a new one. You DON'T need to come, understand? If you do, I think you'll find yourself out of a job very quickly. I have my ways," he threatened icily. Not caring to see Black's reaction, he faced forward and swaggered down the corridor and then down one of the secondary staircases.

Just to be safe, he entered the kitchen. The staff was laboring over lunch, and Gil encouraged them brightly. They gave him warm smiles and chuckled as, grinning, he grabbed some pastries and fruit, which he slipped into his pocket, and stole out of the secret entrance. He was lucky that they didn't care about him sneaking out. They had enough hatred toward his father that they were willing to spite him in any way possible, whether through his own son or not. Gil knew they would never tell his father because of that reason, so he was safe and confident.

Once outside, he glanced around quickly and happily noticing that he had lost his pursuer, strode forward confidently to the oak tree in the forest.

A/N: GASP!! Who is this Black person? WHO IS IT?? Only I know! Haha…my amazing authoress powers. I've created a mystery…try to guess who it is! I wonder if anyone will get it right…hehe. Review as always, loves. Thanks!