As the guard entered, Gaius stood up and his serious poker face was in full effect. The guard handed over the note as he told Gaius of the situation. "A couple of our men were found beaten and tied to a post just outside of town near the Xailen Temple. One of them had this on him."
"I see." Reading the note, he narrowed his eyes and glanced to the soldier. "Captain Zeki, I need you to search the city to find anyone suspicious. Have your men ask around to the citizens, delicately, to see if we can find them. Turns out they are in our city and I want them out and sent back to Elympios to be on trial with the Chancellor."
"Yes, King Gaius," Zeki said with a salute before he left. Esther didn't see his face because of the mask, but she presumed Gaius simply knew who he was by voice. Looking to Gaius, she wanted to know just what was going on, but it seemed strange to ask. Exodus had caused them problems as well in Elympios but she never had to pay attention. But with the way Gaius looked to her wearily she had a bad feeling about what was going on now.
"It seems that Exodus has a problem with an Elympian being here. They refer to you as the 'Svent woman'. Unless we hand you over to them, they promise to cause a bit of a ruckus until they have you. Unlucky for them, I still have a bit of an issue with what happened with the Schism was first fractured," he said as he grimaced slightly before turning on his straight face again. "However, we will make sure that you stay indoors for the time being. If you are not at my side, then I shall appoint you a guard worthy. Your skills are improving, but should the worst happen then I would rather there be two people around instead of just yourself."
Admiring his determined look, she had to think for a moment before asking him her next question. "Thank you, but shouldn't you have a guard as well?" she asked wondering why the King himself would not have one. He looked powerful, but she wondered if that was really the case.
A smirk appeared on his face as he looked down at her with an amused look. Like a child asking if he could pick up a piece of paper. "I am capable of defending myself, but my soldiers will be around me just in case. My first concern is my people's safety."
It was hard to not wonder just how powerful he was after that statement, but then she supposed the only way would be to see it firsthand. Something that she was not ready to see. He was intimidating and it had to be for a good reason.
"I suppose you're right," she said as she looked away from him. Being worried was second nature to her, but it was strange to have threats called upon herself. "I wonder why they called me the 'Svent woman'. I mean, my last name is Svent, but I'm hardly an important member of the main branch. I stopped receiving funding from them by the time I was seventeen and worked for my money ever since. They were more than happy to get rid of me."
"I am sure that these terrorists just mean to get a rise out of you and us. We will not give into their demands, and so I ask you to not worry. I will handle the matter so you do not have to carry the burden," Gaius said confidently, trying to have that worried face of hers changed back into the one that was just explaining the law about commerce to him moments ago. "While you may be from Elympios, you are my assistant. As my assistant you are under my protection from anyone who tries to interfere."
Hearing the door open, Esther was left with her mouth slightly open and surprised to hear him talk of such loyalty. He really was a King for his people, and she was only starting to get used to that being a very normal thing. The tea that Rowen brought in smelled wonderful, but once Gaius told him of the situation it turned rather grim feeling for a moment.
"Well, I suppose that is a problem, but one that we can remedy with hardwork and a bit of tea. At least for now. I trust that our soldiers are taking care of the problem?" Rowen said as he set the tray of tea down on the table and stood up straight again. "I shall go and assist them. If Miss Esther is being threatened then it is best if you stay with her for now, I believe."
"Agreed. We shall continue the paperwork for now and reconvene later," Gaius said as Rowen bowed and dismissed himself. Once he was gone, Esther could only watch the door with that sense of worry washing over her. "I wouldn't worry about Rowen. He is a master tactician that knows how to handle these things best."
"Oh? And what to do handle best?" she asked automatically out of curiosity. However, the lack of an answer made her worry that she said the wrong thing. "I'm so…"
"The battle charge," he said simply as the grim expression flashed across his face for a moment. "In any case, we shall continue the paperwork for now before we have a proper lunch."
"Oh, uh… yes, sir." There were mixed emotions running through her mind. Worried for Rowen, feeling confused for Gaius, and nervous for herself. It was well into a couple hours that even Gaius started to notice her lack of concentration. After several times of being unable to concentrate and caught with him waiting for a response, she felt so helpless and scared. What would that terrorist group want anything to do with her?
"I suppose this has you shaken," he said finally with a sigh after the seventh time of asking her something about the paperwork. With her solemn nod, he stood up and didn't know how to feel as she flinched at the same time. "I am not upset, I just did not take your feelings into consideration. However, to be honest, in order to work under me you need to have thicker skin than that. You must not be used to these threats, but I am and so are my people every day that we strive for this peace. To go into peace with such a fresh string of pain and hurt on both sides, it means that we have to take the fall if things do not go correctly all the time. That means dealing with Exodus and other questionable people who see to extort us for whatever reason they find."
Sighing when he saw that she was barely looking at him he brought a hand under her chin and tilted her chin up. What he didn't expect was a glimmer of welling tears against her lashes. "This burden is mine to bear and I am asking you to help me and my people. What you do may not be on the front lines, but you are still important in your work and what you do. Do not lose sight of the final goal of achieving peace on both sides," he said as he released her chin. "It will be a long and hard road, but I need to know that you are willing to face it at all costs. Otherwise, I will send you home where you can continue the job you had. It is your choice."
Silence overcame her as she fought the tears. They were on the battlefield of peace, and he was right to say that it would be a long one. But what she didn't expect was to be personal involved. Call it her naïve nature, but she wanted to be able to simply help and be lost in the background. However, that was not the case, and she could not run from that.
"I will do all I can," she said as her hands formed fists at her side. "I wasn't expecting things to be like this, but I can now see that I have to prepared. So please, allow me to help you in any way possible." While she was still scared on the inside, she had to be brave for not only herself but her sister who was looking forward to a visit in the near future. Esther had never been defeated yet in her efforts, so she would be damned if she started now.
"Good," Gaius said as he put his hand on the top of her head before removing it promptly. "Forgive me, you just reminded me of someone I used to know." The sentiment reminded him of Karla, years ago. She was his little sister and he was also taller than she was. He used to poke fun at her sometimes before he was involved in fighting as a necessity and when she was confident is when he would put his hand on her head. It made her mad, but Esther just looked confused.
"I hope someone good, sir," she said trying to make light of the moment. It seemed to have worked because he let out a good chuckle before nodding his head.
"While she has a freightening temper, she is a good person. But let us go for some lunch."
Changing the topic suddenly as he left the room with Esther close behind him, she was curious as to who the woman was. It wasn't her business, but it seemed to be more than just an acquaintance. He didn't seem like the type to just stop a topic out of lost thought. He was the sort that said what he meant to and left it at that. But as they ate their lunch in relative silence, she was growing more and more curious and agitated over the comment.
A lover perhaps… or just a family member? Those were the two logical choices she came up with considering she didn't see many women around here. But wouldn't family visit and wouldn't a lover leave rumors around? Both of which she hadn't seen or heard of. However, the thought also came across her mind that she shouldn't worry this much. He was just her boss and nothing more. While he was a good person to talk to from time to time, she was still slightly uneasy about doing so informally.
Between continuing their work, dinner, and more work following she was about ready to pass out when Rowen appeared back into the meeting room with the papers where they had ended up again. Gaius and her remained relatively silent, which was fine until her mind tended to wander off. However, Rowen being there safe and sound put her mind at ease. Not to mention when he gave her a reassuring smile before looking to Gaius and shaking his head.
"Goodness, still going at it. I am not surprised from you, Gaius, but to force Miss Esther to be awake at such a hour when she is already distressed over the issue… I thought you had more tact than that, your majesty," Rowen scolded as Esther smiled for the first time in quite a while today. The little gesture made Gaius… uneasy. All day he had tried to make her at ease and seemed to fail at every turn. Rowen scolds him and she breaks a smile, he didn't know what to think of that.
"I'm fine, Rowen. Truly," she said looking to Gaius and wondering what the strange look on his face was for, but kept her own face smiling peacefully. "I would hardly be able to sleep in either case from wondering what those terrorists were up to."
"Ah, yes. It seems that they are in Xian Du. We chased them that far before we lost the trail. However, we alerted the soldiers there to keep watch and we will increase our own security in the meantime. It will only be a matter of time before this is resolved. A short time, I assure you Miss Esther," Rowen said trying to comfort her in words as he saw that this worried her even more so. She truly was not used to war, and for that he was both grateful and curious on how Gaius was handling the situation in front of her. Gaius was a man used to fighting since he was a small boy, Esther was the embodiment of a woman who was never touched with war and afraid of what would happen next.
"I'm sorry. I guess I can't hide all my worries, can I?" she asked with an unsure smile. All this seemed so strange to her and foreign in so many ways, it was hard to process everything.
"Ah, but I am an old man who has seen many young ladies like yourself afraid of the unknown when they are in an unfamiliar situation. I can only help keep you and everyone else in the same situation safe. I can honestly say that not much surprises me anymore, my dear," he said with a small chuckle as Gaius couldn't help but let out a gruff chuckle himself.
Not really getting the humor, she just smiled. As Gaius stood up, he pushed in his chair and looked to Esther. "If you are worried about anything, do not hesitate to let one of us know. There will be a guard outside of your room at all times when you are not with us."
"Yes, sir," she said not really sure how to feel about a guard right outside of her room, but she understood it was for her own protection. No point in feeling weird about it now when Exodus was still on the loose.
"You should try and get some sleep for the time being," Gaius finished as he stood up and nodded to Rowen. Letting Rowen escort her as usual, it seemed strange this evening. He was uneasy about letting her out of his sight and yet he knew that she would be safe with Rowen near her or one of his captains. Pushing the thought from his mind, he decided it was best to simply leave her alone this evening to sort out on her own thoughts.
It had been so long since he was near someone who found this sort of thing shocking that he forgot how to behave around her. A part of him felt ashamed that he couldn't do much for her, but then he also knew that it was something she needed to overcome herself. Or so he thought, as his clothes came off piece by piece. His muscular form was scarred from battles small and large since he was a boy, but he was never self conscious about them. Preparing a bath for himself, he was able to relax as he felt the tendons and joints pop and relax all over his body. He enjoyed a good bath every evening when he could spare the work for long enough to do so. He would continue the paperwork in his room until near morning, snooze for a nap, and then work again until dawn rose and he knew Esther would be awake. It was a normal night for the King, and he wouldn't have anyone suffer it except for himself.
Sinking into the water, he could feel the heat soak into his muscles and to his bones and he exhaled slowly. Perhaps tonight would be a good night for some training, but then he found himself training more often since Esther's arrival. It hadn't dawned on him until that point, but he found it rather strange. He found her as a rather delicate and graceful woman who could do great things if she put her mind to it. She was already quite brave and yet he still felt a sense of duty to protect her. He felt that with all of his people, but she was there by his side the most. With the threat singling her out, he couldn't deny that he was more than slightly worried about the ordeal.
As he rose to get out of his tub, he dried off casually as he changed into his comfortable sleeping pants and was about to get to work when he heard a panic outside his door. Standing immediately, he crossed his room in mere seconds with long strides and saw a guard speaking with Rowen frantically. Rowen raised his hand and looked none the happier. As he looked at Gaius, his face confirmed what they both feared.
"Sir, it seems that the Exodus members had us fooled. Esther has been taken."