A/N: Ok, so I've thoughroughy determined that I cannot keep to schedules. I love community college, but it's a lot of work. I'm not going to pretend like I can upload regularly. I'm just too lazy with my free time since it's not that much anymore. But now it's Winter Break, and I am going to work on this again. I sincerely ask for the forgiveness of all my followers, I feel I've let you down lightly.

Anyways, what better way to get back into this than with my favorite chapter so far! I hope you guys enjoy this. Things really start to develop here... Have fun, and MERRY EARLY CHRISTMAS!

~Chapter 14~

The next morning, Xander stops to talk to him again at breakfast.

"Yesterday I asked you why you went so above and beyond with your work, but the more I thought about my question and your answer, I realized that there is something else I really should be asking," he says as Nicholas is clearing the dishes.

"Ask away, and I will give you my best answer," Nicholas replies.

"In all the time I've heard about you and while you are in my employment, I don't think I've once really stopped to think why. Why did you become a butler, Nicholas? It's not something everyone sees the appeal in and not something those who are do as well as you do," Xander questions.

Nicholas once again pauses before answering. "I was raised very strictly by my parents, and they were fiercely loyal to the leaders of this kingdom. I believe that is why I became a butler; because I was simply following the teaching of my parents."

Once again, Xander doesn't quite believe him and can see he isn't telling the whole truth. Why he is doing this, he can't quite figure out. Whatever the reason, Xander has a little experiment in store.

"Yes, I suppose that would explain it well," Xander says.

Nicholas looks happy. "Yes, I think it does."

"Well, today is going to be a little bit different, Nicholas," Xander warns. "Today I'm going on patrol with Silas and his men. I want you to accompany me on the patrol. After all, part of your job is to protect me," he elaborates.

"Certainly, milord. It would be an honor for me to accompany you and I will protect you from any harm that may come your way," Nicholas assures.

Xander smiles. "Yes, I'm sure you will," he says. "I'll give you a little time to prepare. If there is anything personal you want to bring, get it now, but weapons will be provided for you at the training ground where Silas and his men are. When you are ready, meet me in front of the stables."

"Right away, milord," Nicholas bows and speedily walks out. He leaves the dishes in a sink for someone else to wash and rushes quickly to his house. At his house, he pulls open the top drawer of his bedside table. He unfolds a shirt way too small for him and pulls out some of his own personal shurikens hidden in the shirt. Even though Xander said weapons would be provided, Nicholas always feels safer with his own. He runs back out and around to the stables.

Xander is waiting there patiently for him with the reins of two horses in his hands. When Nicholas walks up, Xander hands him the reins to one of the horses. "I don't think you've ever been to the Nohrian training grounds so just follow me. It's not that far away at all so it shouldn't take us long," he states. They both mount their horses and head east from the castle to the right of the front gates.

Even though there is absolutely nothing of danger in the heart of the city, subconsciously anticipating the patrol ahead, Nicholas's senses are heightened and more alert.

When they reach the training grounds, he realizes his tenseness and relaxes. As the ride up, the same front-curled hair man who smiled at Nicholas in the meeting is there to meet them.

"Good morning, Xander!" he calls out as the two ride to a halt. "Quite a beautiful morning today, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, I certainly would," Xander agrees. "And good morning to you too, Silas. Good to see you under not quite so serious terms."

"Ah, it was light hearted enough the other day. Which reminds me, how about you introduce me to the master designer himself?" Silas suggests.

"Certainly. Silas, this is Nicholas, my butler as of a few weeks ago," Xander says gesturing to Nicholas standing at attention beside him.

"It is a pleasure to officially meet you, sir," Nicholas says amiably to Silas. Silas smiles widely like a young kid.

"That meeting was a million times better because of you. Your craftsmanship is impeccable and the meal you helped prepare was absolutely divine. I should be the one saying it is a pleasure to meet you," Silas says, holding his hand out to Nicholas. Surprised, Nicholas takes it anyway and shakes Silas's hand politely. His first impression of Silas is certainly of the perpetually cheerful nature.

"You are too kind. Thank you very much," Nicholas responds.

"Certainly a polite one," Silas comments to Xander.

Xander smiles slightly down a little bit at Nicholas. "Yes, he certainly is."

"Well, as this is Nicholas's first patrol, why don't I run through a few things with him first and you can get the troops ready. I have feeling you can get them organized faster than I can," Silas suggests and leads Nicholas away while Xander heads over with their horses to a group of men jostling each other around in a competitive, yet playful manner.

Silas leads Nicholas over to a large weapons rack. "If you are as skilled as I think you are, not much training will actually have to be done," he says pulling a few shurikens and a small dagger off of the racks. "Let me just explain how the patrols work. This is very routine so nothing special. We have a route throughout each section of the kingdom. Today we're taking the east one. We simply ride along the countryside paths and stop at the town along the way to check on the townsfolk there. You will be riding up front with Xander and me since you are his guard. Just be on the lookout for any suspicious activity and for any bandits that might attack us." Silas sees Nicholas tense slightly at the mention of bandits. He laughs heartily. "The likelihood of anything happening is slim to none, it's just a precaution. Just relax and enjoy the ride. It really is a great way to just explore the countryside."

Nicholas relaxes. "Sound like a simple enough procedure," he says, taking the shurikens and dagger from Silas.

"Really it's just kind of a figure-it-out-as-you-go kind of thing. You won't have any trouble at all," Silas assures. "Well, I think that's everything I need to tell you. Why don't we join Xander and my patrol group? Hopefully, he's been able to settle them down. They're quite the rowdy bunch…" he muses.

The two of them return to where the left Xander and find him sitting on his horse in front of a perfectly formed two by two lines of soldiers. Silas gapes.

"How did you do that?" he asks.

"Do what?" Xander asks innocently.

"Get them in formation like that. It takes me an average of fifteen full minutes. We were only gone for about two," Silas explains.

"May I remind you, I am the king, Silas," Xander says playfully.

"Well, yes, I know that," Silas sputters. "Never mind, let's just get on our way." Nicholas smiles at the two of them. Silas clearly brings out the playfulness in Xander, like old childhood friends. Silas and Nicholas mount their horses. He rides in the middle while Xander and Nicholas ride on the sides and the rest of the army behind them. In no time, they are off into the countryside.

The first part of the journey takes them through fields of grass and a number of wheat farms. Passing by some of them, Silas calls out and waves to the works. Many of them wave cheerfully back, clearly used to seeing the patrol come by their farms on a regular basis. Since they are wide open on all sides in the fields, Nicholas doesn't find any cause to worry. Anyone silly enough to try and attack them would immediately be seen from miles away. Not too long after riding through the fields, Nicholas sees the path stretch into some woods in the distance. Hi's mind swims with possibilities of ambush in the woods.

"What's in the woods?" he asks Silas beside him.

"There's a large lumber town in the middle of those woods, and that's where we're stopping for lunch. They supply the kingdom with a lot of the wood we use. And don't worry, they're very environmentally friendly. They replant a tree for every one they cut down," Silas explains.

"But isn't it dangerous going through the woods?" Nicholas insists.

"Well, one, it's not like there's any other way because they live in the middle of the forest, and two, nothing has ever happened in the years I've been here," Silas reassures.

"With all due respect sir, you are very young," Nicholas comments still staring off at the woods.

Silas laughs loudly. "Polite and cautious. You're like the poster child of butlers," he remarks. Then in a more serious tone he adds, "Look, there really isn't anything to worry about at all. Just relax and enjoy the ride. Just you wait, we'll be there in no time in all. You'll enjoy yourself so much that when we get to the town you'll say to me, 'Wait, did we even go through the woods? It's like it wasn't even there!'" Silas laughs. Nicholas doesn't say anything and Silas stops.

The whole time, Xander is silently listening on the other side of Silas, pondering Nicholas's paranoia, starting to form reasons in his head.

Soon the group reaches the entrance to the forest marked by the slowly increasing density of trees. Once inside, a mysterious force of nature causes everyone to look around and take everything in. Xander sees the life of his kingdom, the green representing the prosperity he has been able to bring and the joy of the people. Silas sees the flowers and the small animals and insects scuttling about and watches them with childlike fascination.

Nicholas sees shadows. He sees hiding places, deformities, and possibly poisonous plants, even with the sun shining brightly through the trees. He tenses, ready for anything to pop out of the foliage and attack, utterly absorbed in watching for danger.

Xander notices. He rides closer to Silas and whispers, "Look at Nicholas." Silas glances over and sees his shoulders raised, his knuckles white from holding the reins too tight and his eyes darting around like squirrels on a sugar high.

"Why is he so tense like that?" Silas asks, worried about him.

"To be honest, I wasn't really sure at first. But the more I think about it, I think it's because of me," Xander answers.

"Well, of course it's probably because of you. It is his job to protect you," Silas responds.

"No, not like that," Xander dismisses. "He reminds me of how I absolutely adored my father in my youth, or how an opera connoisseur is completely smitten by their favorite singer."

"I think you're over thinking this too much," Silas says. "I've met a lot of men like Nicholas who were just a tense as him their first time being even remotely responsible for someone's safety. Perhaps you're the one who needs to relax. Enjoy the ride. It's wonderful to reduce the stress of your everyday life. We'll arrive at the town in about ten minutes. Both of you can relax there."

True to Silas's word of two parts, they reach the town in almost exactly ten minutes and literally nothing happens to them on the way. They might as well have been riding on a flat open plain. When Nicholas sees the houses, he snaps out of his intense focus and lightens up a bit.

Riding through the streets of the town, Nicholas notices lots of busy people going about their lives stop and wave at the group, cheering even when they see Xander with them. Xander waves back to every one of them. Nicholas just rides along steadily, slightly timid in a busy place he's never been to before.

Somewhere a little ways from the center of town, Silas halts the group in front of a pen for horses and everyone leads their horses inside. Nicholas follows suits. Once everyone's horses are happily put away, they walk into a rather large building next to the pen and Nicholas follows inside, too.

Once inside, he realizes it's a very large and lively tavern; the townsfolk are happily eating hearty meals and drinking their fill of something Nicholas can't quite identify.

Silas comes up to Nicholas and says, "We stop here on this route for lunch. Feel free to order what you would like; the owner is very generous here and puts everything on the house. Why don't you sit with me and Xander? I'll introduce you when she comes by."

The trio finds an open table on the right side of the room and sits down. A tall, dark-haired, and stockily built woman comes walking over with a pencil and paper.

"Welcome, Silas! Must be Tuesday then. Good to see you back," she says in an energetic, lower-than-average voice.

"Good to see you too, Marcie," Silas greets. Nicholas immediately commits the name to memory.

Then Marcie notices Xander sitting with Silas. "Well, well, well! I see our wonderful king has graced my tavern today. 'Tis good to see you, milord. Thank you for coming here today," she greets with her hands at her hips. Somehow, curtsying doesn't strike Nicholas as something she would do.

"Just coming along for the patrol," Xander says.

"Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter to me," she says. "Just glad to be able to serve you today." Then she also notices Nicholas sitting silently next to Xander. "And who might this be? I have no recollection of ever seeing him and I have every customer's face locked tightly away in this here brain of mine."

"This is Nicholas," Xander introduces, putting a hand on Nicholas's shoulder. "He is my new butler I hired after Gunter passed away," he elaborates.

"Well, I'll be. Such a young man to be in such an important position. Why don't I get your order first, laddie? What'll it be for you?" Marcie asks.

"I'll just have a slice of ham, thank you," Nicholas orders.

"Anything to drink?" Marcie continues.

"Just a glass of water, please," he says.

"Oh that's boring," Marcie says. "I would think a special young man like you would order something more exciting. How about a mug of spiced apple cider? Even in the warm springtime, you can never go wrong with a mug of spiced apple cider. Warms the heart and soul, I always say," she suggests.

"Actually, that sounds quite lovely, thank you," Nicholas says, grateful for the suggestion.

"Perfect," Marcie concludes. She takes Silas and Xander's orders and returns to the back of the tavern.

Silas starts the conversation by asking Nicholas, "So how are you enjoying the day so far?"

The question catches Nicholas off guard. "Well, I have to admit it was very peaceful riding through the fields. I'd never realized just how vast the kingdom actually is. It was very interesting getting a glimpse into the agriculture aspect of the country,"

"Personally, I really enjoy riding through the woods. Just being around all of that life makes me feel happy," Xander adds.

"Did you notice that one tree surrounded by the patch of pansies at the beginning? It really was quite beautiful," Silas asks.

"How could you miss it? It was very beautiful," Xander agrees

"What about you Nicholas? Did you notice it?" Silas asks.

"Actually, I didn't see it. I might have been preoccupied at the time," Nicholas suggests quietly.

"Well, that's quite all right. I can understand your concentration. Don't kick yourself over it, thought. You'll probably see it another day. It's certainly is unique, though," Silas comments.

Just after he finishes that statement, Marcie comes back with plates of food and mugs of drink for the three of them.

"Alrighty, then. Three hearty meals for three hearty men. Eat up!" she exclaims heartily.

After that interruption, Silas and Xander start up a conversation about the Nohrian military that Nicholas slowly tunes out and just sits there eating and thinking.

He also tries desperately to remember the ring of pansies around the tree Silas described. But despite valiant efforts, Nicholas just can't remember anything, even though he could swear he was looking everywhere at once. All he can remember are the suspicious places and dark shadows where someone could be. This makes Nicholas check himself. Maybe he is being a bit too over cautious and he should take Silas's advice and relax more to enjoy the rest of the trip. But every time he thinks about letting his guard down, the thought of a bandit popping out and attacking, possible killing King Xander floats back into his consciousness. Eventually, Nicolas just gives up and focuses on the meal in front of him.

After the three finish and so does the small group of men, they get back on their horses and head back on their way.

After a couple of minutes, the path turns out of the woods and follows the edge of the trail. When they turn, Nicholas follows the forest with his eyes, still watching for anything coming from inside.

A small nudge on the shoulder from Silas's elbow breaks his concentration and he looks to Silas to see what the nudge was about. Silas motions with his head to their left. Nicholas looks around him.

He sees a beautiful crystal clear stream running along the left side of the path. The motion of the rapids over rocks and the colors of the rocks on the riverbank captivate Nicholas. He forgets all about the woods to his right and watches the stream.

Suddenly something pops out of the water in front of his line of sight and he catches the glimmer of peach colored scales. "Look!" he says happily, pointing.

A school of salmon is swimming alongside the group and every few seconds another one jumps out of the water, glimmering in the sunlight.

After watching the fish for a bit, Xander glances over at Nicholas and sees him happily watching the fish with fascination. He looks at Silas. Silas just winks.

From that point on, Nicholas is able to be much more relaxed during the trip, even casually talking with the rest of group at some points. And exactly as Silas predicted, absolutely nothing else happens on the trip.

When Xander and Nicholas are riding back from the training grounds in the afternoon, Xander says to him, "I'm glad you were able to relax at the end of the trip there. It looked like you might fall off your horse at the beginning from focusing too hard."

Slightly embarrassed, Nicholas tries to defend himself by responding, "It was only out of concern for your safety."

"While I find it very touching you are concerned for my well-being, perhaps you should also entertain the notion that I am also concerned for your well-being. It wouldn't do good if you die early of stress," Xander says. Nicholas can't think of anything to say to that and just keeps riding. Xander doesn't say anything further, either.

After a few more minutes, the two of them ride up to the stables. Much to their surprise, they find Elise waiting there for them.

"Hey, guys! You're finally back! I thought you'd never come home." she calls out when they ride closer.

"Big Brother, I'm bored, can Nicholas play with me for a bit?" she says in that persuasive little sister voice when Xander dismounts his horse. Xander looks back at Nicholas and raises his eyebrows.

"I would be perfectly happy to entertain Lady Elise with your permission," Nicholas says cheerfully.

"Alright then, you two run off and play. Just don't be late for dinner," Xander says leaving Elise and Nicholas together while he runs inside.

"Yay! Now I can finally have some fun. Let me get my ball real quick," Elise says. Then she runs off to a corner of the stable and retrieves a pink rubber ball. She runs back to Nicholas. Then without any warning whatsoever she yells, "Race ya to the meadow!" and runs off giggling. He quickly runs after her and can't help laughing as well. Even with Elise's mischievous head start, he easily catches up to her, but in the name of good sport, he slows his pace to give her a chance.

Right when they turn around the corner around the castle to the meadow, Elise gains a second wind and sprints in front of Nicholas, leaps into the air, and lands with her feet planted firmly in the grass.

"First!" she yells, hardly out of breath. Nicholas runs up behind her, breathing heavily from the unexpected exercise.

"That's only because you cheated," Nicholas protests.

Elise purses her lips and puts her hands on her hips. "It's not cheating, it's called a tactical advantage," she explains. "Besides, you're just mad because you're slow."

Nicholas starts laughing at that and she quickly does too.

"What do you want to do?" he asks once they've calmed down.

"I dunno," Elise says.

"You mean you don't have anything planned? What about your favorite game?" Nicholas questions.

"I usually just make up something on the spot. It's much more fun that way than playing the same silly games over and over," Elise explains.

"Alright then, make up something. I'm open for anything," Nicholas says.

"Hmm…" Elise ponders. "I know! How about you run over there and I kick the ball high into the air and you have to try and hit the ball back to me with your head! That'll be really fun!" she concludes.

Nicholas immediately finds several fundamental flaws with the game but decides to go along with it for Elise's sake.

"Alright, that does sound like it could be an entertaining challenge," Nicholas agrees.

"Okay! You run out and I'll tell you when to stop," Elise commands. Nicholas starts jogging out into the field, and when he's about twenty yards away Elise yells, "Stop!"

"'Kay, now I'm gonna kick it and you have to hit it back to me with your head!" she yells, lining up her foot with the ball. She takes a few steps back, starts walking forward, drops the ball, and kicks it with her foot.

The ball goes wildly off course to Nicholas's left and it lands a good fifteen feet away from him even with him running after it. "Oops…" Elise mumbles to herself. Nicholas just scoops up the ball and throws it back to her.

"Try aiming a little toward me so I can actually hit it," he suggests humorously. Elise sticks her tongue out at him.

"I was just practicing," she protests. She lines up another shot and kicks it again. This time the ball goes slightly straighter and Nicholas manages to glance his head off of the ball, but it rebounds nowhere near Elise. Elise chases the ball a little ways and lines up another shot.

This process goes on for another thirty minutes with varying degrees of success. Some shots weren't so successful. In one instance Elise kicks the ball with all her petite might and looks forward to see where it went, but all she sees is Nicholas laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny!" she yells. Nicholas just clutches his stomach and points behind her. Elise turns around to see the pink ball bouncing off into the distance behind her. "Aww, man!" she exclaims and runs off to grab it again.

One time Elise manages to kick it fairly straight and high. Nicholas quickly gets under the spot where it's going to land. "You got this!" Elise yells. Nicholas angles his head and hits the ball back to her. Unfortunately, the angle is a little bit off and it goes to her right and she can't quite catch it.

"Sorry! My fault!" Nicholas calls out to her.

"It's okay! We'll just try again," she says.

Finally, after around forty-five minutes of playing this game, Elise manages to kick another one nice and straight, and high enough for Nicholas to get underneath it. Just as the ball is about to hit his head, he lunges upwards onto his toes to give the ball extra oomph.

Amazingly, the ball goes straight back to Elise. Afraid of messing it up, Nicholas just watches as she stumbles around a bit, surprised that it actually came back to her. The ball comes down right into her hands and she catches it.

"I got it, I got it!" she screams excitedly. Nicholas claps enthusiastically as he runs back to Elise. "Wait, what are you doing?" she asks when Nicholas gets close to her again.

"We did it, didn't we? Aren't we done now?" Nicholas asks.

"No! Now we gotta get it two times in a row!" she exclaims enthusiastically

"Aren't you the least bit tired?" Nicholas asks.

"Nope!" she says gleefully. Nicholas just groans and falls on his back in the grass. "What?" she asks, confused.

"I'm pooped," Nicholas states simply.

"Okay, then! We can just lie in the grass!" Elise says and flops down beside him.

"You're never going to grow up, are you. How in the world do you have so much energy?" he puffs out, short of breath.

"Growing up's not fun. But now no one ever plays with me around here," Elise complains. "It's all so stiff and proper being part of the royal family so no one ever has time to just goof off. That's why I like playing with you because you're so polite but you also know how to have a lot of fun."

"Well, thank you for the compliments, milady," Nicholas thanks her.

"Oh don't bother with being proper around me, I don't mind. Just call me Elise. What's the point of having a name if no one is going to bother using it?" Elise says.

"If you insist, Lady Elise," Nicholas says, smirking.

"Stop that, silly!" Elise exclaims, rolling over and punching Nicholas in the shoulder. He laughs.

"Alright then, I'll call you Elise. Happy?" He concedes. Elise just giggles and sighs.

"You're so fun to be around, Nicholas," she says happily staring up at the clouds. "I wish you could be my butler cause then I could order you to play with me whenever I want, but I don't think that would be very proper," she says.

"Well if there is any time you wish to play, don't hesitate to see if I'm available. I need the exercise anyway," Nicholas states. Elise giggles again.

"Hey, look! That cloud looks like a bunny!" Elise randomly exclaims, pointing at a fluffy white cloud in the sky.

"Really? Personally, I think it looks more like a dog. See how its ears droop a little at the tips?" Nicholas explains.

"Nuh uh! It's a bunny!" Elise argues.

"Okay, well what about that one," he says pointing to a different cloud. "That one has to look like a fish to you."

"Nope! That's a bow tie! See how the sides are more even?" Elise argues.

This heated discussion on cloud shapes continues for a few more minutes before Nicholas finally says, "It's getting late. I need to be getting back so I can prepare Xander's dinner. Why don't I escort you back to your room?" Nicholas suggests.

"Sure!" Elise says and she hops up onto her feet again. The two of them walk side by side chatting all the way back to the front of the castle.

Nicholas takes her all the way back to her room and drops her off there. "I hope you had a good time this afternoon," he says.

"Yup! I sure did!" Elise confirms. "Thanks a bunch! See you later!" she salutes before waltzing into her room and closing the door. Nicholas stands there for a brief moment before turning around.

Unexpectedly, he sees Camilla's face peering out of her room across the hall. She smiles at him seductively and winks. Then she retreats back into her room.

"How strange…" Nicholas thinks to himself.

Quickly, Nicholas prepares Xander his dinner and brings it up to his room.

"Good evening Nicholas. How was your afternoon with Elise?" he asks while Nicholas sets the meal down at the table.

"Quite enjoyable and invigorating," Nicholas says. "I don't believe I've ever exercised more in my entire life."

Xander laughs. "Yes, Elise can be quite a rambunctious person when she wants to be, which is pretty much all the time."

"That has become quite apparent in my time here," Nicholas adds.

"Well, even if you did get worn out, I'm sure you made her very happy. It's getting harder for any of us to play with here anymore, so she must be very grateful to you for playing with her," Xander assumes.

Yes, I'm quite sure she was," Nicholas confirms.

"Anyway, thank you for accompanying me on the patrol earlier today. It was very assuring to see you so concerned for my safety," Xander thanks.

"It is simply all part of my duty, milord. I am happy to ensure your safety," Nicholas says.

"Good night then, Nicholas," Xander dismisses.

"Good night, milord. See you tomorrow," Nicholas responds. He exits the room with the dishes in hand.

"All part of his duty, he says," Xander ponders to himself.