A/N: Sorry for the wait. Been writing a friend's bday fic and cross stitching nonstop. I'm really crappy at managing time well pfff

Enjoy~

Making his way through the courtyard towards the training grounds, Stan nodded to each elven soldier greeting him. He couldn't help but smirk to himself, a smug pride settled within him that reminded him that between the now seven humans residing in the land, he was the second most respected. Prince Ike would always be above him and he was perfectly content with that, he adored the little Canadian. All that mattered to him was being above her. Royalty or not, she was definitely not a favorite like Stan had managed to craft himself as in the last fifteen years. Elves admired him, respected him. They looked up to him for advice and guidance, everyone knowing that he was the beloved eldest prince's right hand man. Kyle carried too much influence over the people for his ranger's status to be brushed off as a mere happenstance.

Clyde and Token were right under his own stance, being a main inner-walls guard and a cleric pushed them through the thrall of hesitance into the light of the Drow. The three of them had been found together, raised together, and had broken through the barricades of mistrust together. Stan tongued over his lips, fingers casually thrumming on his sword's hilt. It was a question he so rarely visited, the one of just why the three of them were the only ones alive when they'd been found in the elven forests. A group of hunters had found them curled up and crying with each other. According to the stories they'd been told, they were bathing in the blood of their parents. Rogues had been to blame, every ounce of currency and food swiped from wagons and off pockets alike.

The toddlers had been brought back out of sympathy to be shown to the king and queen. Stan could just barely remember how that day had been. He'd been cold, bathed in a creek and dressed in a hunter's robe wrapped around him several times as he stood between Token and Clyde. Clyde was still crying and Token was hiding behind Stan's shoulder. Stan was just silent and frightened, staring at the tall dignitaries as they calmly questioned their soldiers about what had been found among the children. Queen Sheila had tried asking them questions, the three of them just too scared to answer.

Then came their saving grace; a bumbling little redhead dressed in robes too long coming up into the room to his parents. The toddling group had watched him fumble up to his mother and pull on her robes, asking when they were having lunch. Sheila had told him to wait just a moment and he'd pouted before the bunch caught his eye. He'd looked to the three of them and cocked his head curiously.

"Who're they?" Kyle had asked.

Sheila had smiled sadly, patting his head. "They were found in the woods, Bubbie."

"Oh," he'd said simply, hiking up his robes and stalking in front of Stan. Stan remembered with a smirk how that'd probably been one of the last times that they'd matched heights as Kyle stared straight into his eyes. A small smile had crept up the Drow's face, "You're human," he'd stated.

Stan had nodded shyly, "You're an...elf."

"Yup!" he'd grinned. He'd turned and looked at Sheila and Gerald watching them carefully. Kyle had never met another human, and a part of them couldn't help but be absolutely terrified that he'd react in fright. "Are they staying for lunch?"

Gerald had laughed softly, relief flooding the room, "Maybe even longer."

"Cool," he'd said, turning and smiling wider. "I'm Kyle."

"Stan," had come the quiet reply. He remembered being so delighted that this elf was his own size, that he was talking to him like he was just another Drow that'd wandered into his palace. "They're Clyde and...and Token," he'd introduced the other two who waved shyly.

Kyle had nodded, looking between the three of them and landing on Clyde, face dropping into a frown and moving over towards him. "Stop crying," he'd said in a pleading tone. Clyde had sniffled and looked down embarrassedly. Stan remembered watching the wheels turn in that head for the first time, Kyle trying to process watching a human exuding the same emotions that elves did. He'd told him years later that he'd grown up on stories of humans being emotionless, never wanting to do anything but go towards their goals with a stone-face and a colder heart. Kyle had bit his lip, "Do you like aiqy?"

Stan had cocked his head confusedly, "What's...aqualy?"

The prince had scoffed, "No, aiqy. It's a cake. We have some, you can have some if you want," he'd offered.

The king and queen had smiled proudly at their boy, shaking their heads amusedly. "Bubbeleh, why don't you take them to get some?" Sheila had offered.

Kyle had nodded, reaching down and grabbing Stan's hand, starting to haul him off with the other two latching onto Stan's loose clothing. The prince had told the three of them years later that he remembered only offering because he wanted some because he was sick of waiting for lunch, the four of them cracking up with each other and recalling how Kyle had gotten lost in his own home, taking them the wrong way and covering it up as a tour before finding the damn kitchen.

Stan sighed happily to himself, kicking a stray rock out of his path. Kyle was happy to meet him, and the same certainly couldn't be said about Kendra, Craig, or Butters. The three of them were earning their own respects, but at a much slower rate than the orphan children had so long ago. He'd told it to Craig and he'd take it to his grave: He was raised as an elf, so he'd always have that upper hand over the people. Unlike this new royal addition, he could speak fairly fluent Elvish. He could solve problems the Drow way. He worshipped the same spirits that they did, regardless of his inability to connect with them on the natural level that the elves could. Kyle called he and the other two 'elves with stunted ears' for most of their lifetimes, and they believed it. None of them had so much as an urge to explore out into their 'homelands', no interest in learning the ways of the humans. They loved their home, and they loved their people.

Princess Kendra could never fall into place so flawlessly. She was tainted, forever bound to the humans in a way that Stan had never been. He sighed to himself, wishing that the king and queen had realized this before arranging such a bizarre interracial marriage.

"Ranger Stanley!" a gruff voice called. He whipped around to see his commander approaching, giving him a small bow.

"Captain Murphy, you called for me?" he said politely.

The elder smiled and nodded, waving off the formalities. "I did. You have a trainee."

Stan jerked back in shock, blinking rapidly. Trainee? "I've never trained anyone in my life," he reminded him with a cocked brow.

"Well, it's time to start," he said, waving behind him. Stan glanced, seeing a well-built brunette elf stalking towards them, a stern expression over a recently-scrubbed face. "Stanley, this is Christophe, a new recruit," he introduced them, putting a hand on the newbie's shoulder. Christophe looked at the hand, giving a subtle sneer before turning back to face his new commander standing at his height.

"Isn't he a little old to just now be recruited?" Stan asked skeptically.

He shrugged, "He's orphaned, been living out in the wilds all on his own since he was a child. He wants to make something of himself, isn't that right, Christophe?"

"Oui," he nodded curtly. "A pleasure to meet you, Sir Stanley," he said, accent drawing thickly between the small cluster.

Stan nodded slowly, "Okay...what am I training him for?"

Murphy shifted a bit and cleared his throat, "To be your backup for Prince Kyle's protection." He winced, seeing that protective streak flaring within Stan's eyes.

"That's not necessary," he said lowly. "I am all that the prince needs."

"Stanley, this is not up for discussion," he said sharply. "The prince is approaching his age of rule, and his protection has to be upped. He needs more than just you when he takes the throne."

Stan narrowed his eyes, "Queen Sheila and King Gerald only have one guard each!" he protested.

"Oui, but z'hey are not taking a 'uman bride," Christophe reminded him suavely. Stan looked at his lesser and blinked, the elf shrugging nonchalantly. "Zhe prince's safety eez a concern of us all, Sir Stanley. And we do not know zhe possibilities z'hat could spawn from z'his union."

The ranger sighed irritably. "Well maybe that should've been put into higher consideration before deciding on marriage," he grumbled.

"That is not your choice to make, Stanley," Murphy reminded him sternly. "Now you are to train Christophe to follow your method of protecting Prince Kyle. Do you understand me?"

Stan straightened up, letting out a long breath through his nose and nodding, "Yes, Sir."

He nodded back, "Good. I expect reports," he said, turning on his heel and stalking away.

The two soldiers looked at each other, Stan eying him warily. "I don't recall seeing you on the training grounds."

"I tend to keep to myself," he parried off easily. "I work better when I am not being crowded."

Stan twisted his lips, turning and folding his finger for Christophe to walk with him. "Then are you sure you want to be a guard for a prince? Your job requires you to be constantly surrounded by people, dignitaries or otherwise."

"Oui, I owe much to ze royal family," he shrugged as they turned the corner to walk into a side door. They both nodded at the guards letting them pass through as he continued, "Were it not for z'heir kindness, I would still be living in ze forest."

"Well, they are very kind," Stan nodded softly in agreement, running his hand through his hair. "Look, Prince Kyle isn't the...simplest of people to guard," he said carefully.

"Oh? 'ow so?"

Stan crossed his arms and shrugged, leading him through the halls. "He's not fond of being coddled. He has a lot of little signals to tell you to take a step back. If you miss them, he'll give you the slip and it'll take you a good ten minutes or so to find him."

"Ah, ze prince eez a free spirit, no?"

He shook his head, "Not quite. If he was, he would be hightailing it out of here to get away from this marriage. He just doesn't like people treating him like he can't do anything for himself. He's never really been in a lot of danger, so he doesn't quite understand that there are threats out there towards him and his throne."

Christophe hid a grin, concealing it with a solemn grunt, "Let us just 'ope 'e never 'as to learn of such truths."

"Exactly. Which is what my...well...now I guess our job is," he rolled his eyes. "Look, my advice for now is to just observe what I do," he shrugged. "It's a bunch of little stuff, since I assume you know how to use your sword."

"I 'ighly doubt ze commander would 'ave put me in z'his position eef I did not," he scoffed.

Stan snorted, "True." A familiar tone perked his ears and he looked up, seeing Kyle and Kendra standing and talking with Craig and Butters, the group laughing softly. Stan shook his head, seeing his prince overwhelmingly outnumbered by these foreign humans. He bit the inside of his cheek, wondering if he was a goddamn racist of all things against his own species. "My prince!" he called.

Kyle whipped his head to the side and smiled, "There you are. Been looking for ya. We're gonna get some lunch if you wanna tag along," he offered.

Stan smiled warmly and nodded, leading Christophe towards the group, "I would."

Kyle's eyes drifted to the brunette next to him, blinking in confusion at the guard's armor over the stockily built boy. He didn't recognize this boy at all. "Hello," he greeted in bewilderment.

"'ello, Prince Kyle," he bowed.

"Don't...don't do that," Kyle laughed awkwardly and waved him back up, Christophe's murky eyes locking on him steadily as he raised back tall. He cleared his throat, "Are you a new guard?" he questioned.

"Oui," he nodded briskly.

"He's my understudy," Stan rolled his eyes.

Kyle's lips crept into a knowing smirk. "Wow, I can't believe you would actually allow someone else to even hypothetically watch me."

His ranger chuckled, "Well, it wasn't by choice. This is Christophe," he gestured to the brunette. "Murphy wants me to train him for you to accept as another guard."

"Ah," he nodded in understanding. "Well, I trust your judgement above my own in these matters, so I'll let you make the final call," he promised. He turned back to Christophe and cocked his head. "So, do you hail from the French district of Canada?" he questioned.

Christophe blinked, "And why do you assume z'hat, Your Highness?"

Kyle shrugged, "First off, Stan, fill him in on title rules down the line, all right?" Stan chuckled and nodded. "Second, your accent," he waved towards him. "We have no French families within Larnion. So where are you from?"

He cleared his throat awkwardly, "I was originally from z'here, oui. But I was orphaned and lived in ze outskirts before coming 'ere."

Kyle's face fell sympathetically, "I'm sorry," he said earnestly. "So many people are orphaned nowadays, it's awful," he glanced around at the surrounding group who all nodded solemnly. The redhead caught Kendra's steady stare at the new guard, seeing her brows furrowed just slightly.

She couldn't place her finger on it, but something about this just seemed...off. Christophe's eyes were locked on the prince, muddied hazel sharply cutting through him. There was such an austere manner about him, one that made her shudder from the intensity. She bit her lip, hand slowly reaching over to grab Kyle's and squeeze it pointedly. Kyle cocked his head. "Kendra? You okay?"

The princess looked down at him and nodded, Kyle easily reading that she was lying through glistening crystal eyes and setting his lips firmly. "Can you all give us a few minutes?" he requested, snagging paper and her quill from Butter's hands. He tightened his grip on her fingers, starting to drag her away from the befuddled group watching after them in silence.

"Whaddya think's wrong with 'em?" Butters blinked.

"Maybe they're running off to make out," Craig scoffed, shooting a smirk at Stan's glowering.

Kyle managed to get her over to a table in the corridor and set her materials down on it. "Kendra, what's wrong?" he demanded. "You look scared to shit."

She looked at him with a wince, wondering if everyone could read her that easily. She sighed, grasping the quill and writing out her concerns. 'Look, please don't say anything to anyone. But Christophe is just giving me an off vibe. Something about the way he's looking at you...I don't like it.'

Kyle cocked his head, blinking up at her worried face. He smirked, "What? Got a problem someone else is lookin' at me?" he teased.

'Kyle, for once, I'm being serious.'

His smile dropped and he watched her carefully. Kyle let out a long breath and scratched through his hair. "Look, don't think that I'm saying your opinion doesn't matter, because it does. But Commander Murphy's opinion also matters," he winced. "I trust that man with my life...literally," he rolled his eyes. "And Stan will always be with him until I see one way or the other how he intends to guard both of us, okay?" he assured her. She looked away worriedly and his hand came up to her cheek, guiding her face back towards his. "Give it a few weeks," he said softly. "Then if you feel the same, I'll tell Stan that it's just not working out. Is that acceptable?"

She nodded, flickering her eyes to the hand still on her buccinator and back towards him with a smirk. His skin tone switched in an instant, jerking his hand back like from hot coals. "Don't even," he warned. She laughed, running her fingers through his hair teasingly and watching him sinking lightly. He snapped back into alert, batting her away, "Knock it off!" She laughed harder, leaning down and bumping their shoulders together. He rolled his eyes, "How the fuck do you do that?"

She scrawled a quick note, sliding it along the table. 'How do I keep seducing you? Well it's easy when one gets riled so easily as you, My dear.'

"I meant how do you switch emotions so quickly," he growled, bristling under his robes. "And seducing?" he repeated. "You have a hell of a high opinion of yourself, don't you?"

'I'm merely basing this on results. I have you all hot and bothered and all I did was pet your hair,' she wriggled her brows.

He stammered a bit before rolling his eyes with a groan. "Remind me to stop going to places alone with you."

'That is the exact opposite of what you want and you know it. Just wait until you do want me all to yourself,' she shot him a wink, turning to walk back down the hall towards their group without another word. Kyle stared after her, words caught and his face overheating. He finally slumped with a tired sigh, grabbing the note and shoving it into his robe pocket, snagging her quill to follow back after her.

He came back around the corner, catching Christophe staring at him right off and nearly doubling back in shock. Kyle kept their eyes locked for a moment before having to break off, letting his gaze fall back easily to Kendra and Stan. She gave him a knowing look, one that just screamed, 'do you see what I mean?' He gulped, straightening up and making his way back to the bunch, refusing to let that intimidating stare make him buckle yet again. He shook his head to himself, that was just unneeded to add into the mix to make him falter. He already had two sets of blue to do that for him.

A/N: Hopefully I can pick back up to a normal pace, we'll have to see. I have a basic outline for the next 10+ chapters so I mean, we're workin' on it.

Thanks for R&Ring!