A/N: Hey y'all! So I actually wasn't planning on updating today, but I outlined the chapter yesterday and got so into it that I worked through my lunch break and actually almost got in trouble for it. Then when I got home I got so busy doing other things, but I'm here now so let's go!
Guest 1: Well I'm glad you like the story. I'm trying to update once a week, but that doesn't always happen. But stick around maybe it'll work at some point.
Debby: I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I have sped up the story a little bit by skipping over a few days. It will be explained a little bit better in this chapter why I can't rush Gail and Holly as a couple.
Guest 2: I should be thanking you for not only reading but taking the time to review my story.
Guest 3: I'm glad you like it and that was the point I have to keep everyone interested even when I disappear for a little while. I'm not stopping for as long as I keep having ideas for this story. So keep reading.
On to the next chapter!
It was Friday night and just about everyone in the kingdom was at the party to celebrate Princess Holly's birthday. She was wearing a beautiful floor length dark blue ball gown. Hayden was in her dress uniform and she stayed behind Holly, but only barely. She was constantly within two steps of the princess. Elinath sat at a table with Thalin while he munched on the hors d'oeuvres that were going around. She watched her wife with a smile on her face. Hayden would occasionally glance over at her wife and son, but the looks were few and far between. Still Elinath couldn't help herself from admiring her wife in her dress uniform as she stood at attention behind the royal table with the rest of the guards or as she gracefully weaved through the crowd to keep Holly in sight and in arms reach.
"You're drooling" came a whisper of a playful voice. Elinath gave a quick look around the room. She knew Gail was there, and she knew she didn't stand a snowball's chance in Hell at spotting her, but she looked around anyway. "You're not going to find me down there." The voice came again. Elinath's brow furrowed and she didn't even notice Thalin picking up yet another fruit tart that a waiter brought over. "Might want to keep an eye on that boy of yours." She looked over and Thalin gave her a sheepish smile. She smiled back, as long as he didn't go completely nuts she was happy to let him indulge a little bit. Just as long as he ate his dinner which if she knew her son he would. "Look up" Was the final whisper. She did as told and saw Gail standing on the support beam right over her head with a smirk. She put her finger to her lips then dropped a drop of water onto Thalin's head before ducking out of sight as his little head snapped up. His face scrunched up in confusion before he shrugged and focused back on his snack. Gail did this a couple more times each time confusing Thalin more and more. "Shouldn't you be guarding the princess and not tormenting my son?" Elinath whispered to Gail in amusement. "I'm insulted that you think I can't do both." And in fact she was. Every time she hid from Thalin's view her full attention was focused on Holly and the people around her. Finally she dropped one more drop on Thalin's head, but she took mercy on his this time and didn't hide away. The confusion on his face turned into a beaming smile and he waved to the blond using his whole arm. Gail smiled and waved back. "Alright I have to go. Enjoy the party and stay free because in about half an hour I'm going to drop down and make that wife of yours take a short break to dance with you. I have it all planned out and cleared with both the king and Holly and the other guards in the room so don't worry about anything." It had taken some convincing, but she had managed to swing Hayden five minutes to spend with her family.
Gail turned her focus back onto the crowd specifically Holly as she let her mind wander.
-Flashback-
"Let's take a break. Get some water we'll pick up in a little bit." Hayden suggested as she waved Gail over. Holly had barely sat down when the bushes next to them began to rustle. In seconds Gail stood in front of Holly with her swords drawn and Hayden was behind the princess with an arrow nocked and her bow string pulled back.
As the two warriors stood with their bodies tensed two people began to emerge from the bushes. The one in front saw the weapons aimed at them and screamed. Holly looked around Gail at the intruders and yelled, "wait stop, I know them. They're not a threat." Neither warrior budged. "If they're not a threat then why couldn't they come through the front door? Why are they sneaking in?" Gail asked. "This is how we would meet up when I wanted to sneak out for a little while. Stand down, that's an order." Holly said and watched the hurt flash through Gail's eyes before she schooled her features and they both put away their weapons.
"Lisa Rachel, what are you doing here?" She asked. Lisa and Rachel had been her friends forever. They grew up in the same neighborhood Lisa and Rachel's parents were doctors as had Brian before he was recruited into the army. "Oh come on as if we weren't going to come visit you during your imprisonment?" Rachel said as Lisa nodded beside her. "Besides I can only imagine how incredibly boring it must be to have to hang out with the hard-ass twins over there." Lisa said pointing to Hayden and Gail who were stood at attention off to the right of the group. Holly gave her a disapproving look. "What? You know they're beneath us. They're uneducated and let's be real the warriors around here are completely barbaric most of the time." Holly tried to get her to shut up when she saw the strain in Hayden and Gail's necks as they clenched their teeth to stop from yelling at Holly's friend. "Fine whatever, I'll stop talking about your little 'friends.' Anyway let's get out of here. It can't be that difficult to get passed tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber." Gail had apparently had enough because she stepped up. "You need to leave. The princess is not allowed to go anywhere without us so she's staying here." Lisa smirked at the blond. She pointed her finger at Gail with that horrible smirk and said, "You can't touch me." Gail looked her up and down. "You said your parents are doctors right?" Lisa's smirk faltered a little in her confusion, "yes." "Not lawyers?" Gail asked a smirk on her own face. "pfft no" and the smile on Gail's face grew as she reached over to grab Lisa's wrist and putting her arm behind her back. She didn't add any pressure so as not to hurt the girl, and she began to lead her through the palace towards the main entrance/ exit. Once she has left the girl outside she walks back to the gardens where Rachel is apologizing for Lisa and leaves through the bushes where she came in.
Gail has a satisfied smirk on her face and as she gets back to her position next to Hayden they share a secret high-five. Holly was so annoyed with her bodyguards. They tried to go back to practicing, but Holly was so angry with Gail that she couldn't even manage the mumbling anymore. They went inside after a little while and Holly refused to speak to either of them for the rest of the day and into the night. By the next morning she was fine and ignoring that the whole thing had happened. She wouldn't admit it but she was embarrassed by how she acted. She knew Gail was well within her rights to do what she had done and Lisa had been asking for it. Holly couldn't figure out why she had gotten so annoyed about it, and when she had calmed down she didn't want to talk about it because then she had to admit that she was wrong.
-End Flashback-
Gail was still up in the rafters but she was silently making her way down. It was time to cash in and make Hayden go spend time with her family. She moved quickly through the crowd and was soon standing next to Hayden. "Go dance with your wife." She said. Hayden looked confused. King Brian turned to her, "all of my guards get a short break at these events to spend time with their families. That courtesy should get extended to Holly's guards as well." Hayden smiled "thank you sir." He smiled "it was all Gail." Hayden turned to thank Gail, but before she could say anything Gail cut her off "go." And so Hayden did.
Elinath was wiping Thalin's face from the sauce that was on it when she got there. "Excuse me, but a beautiful woman like you shouldn't be stuck at a table. I believe you need to be paraded around the dance floor a bit." Elinath smiled at her wife and took her outstretched hand. "Stay here little man." She told her son who nodded at her.
The two women danced close together. Elinath's head on Hayden's chest and Hayden's head tilted down so that she could look at her wife's face. They were in their own little world and everyone around them knew it. When the song ended they pulled apart. Hayden kissed her wife gently before they walked hand in hand back to their son. He was exactly where he was when she first got there. They spent a couple of minutes talking about which of the snacks was his favorite and Hayden made Thalin promise to dance with his other mother at least once. Then she had to go back to her post.
When she got back to her post Gail disappeared back into the rafters. To keep her mind occupied so she didn't get bored and lose focus she thought about what had happened the night before.
-Flashback-
Hayden had just left to go home for the night which left Gail and Holly to silently eat dinner together like they did every night. Afterwards Holly got a shower and got ready for bed while Gail did a quick sweep to secure the room. After that Holly would get in bed with a book and read until she fell asleep while Gail guarded the door. That had been their routine for the past couple of days. As Gail was leaving the room Holly spoke up, "I'm scared." Gail turned back to her "for tomorrow I mean."
Gail moved back into the room and stood in front of Holly's bed. "You've been in public since this whole thing started." She tried to rationalize. "Yeah but since the attack it's only been for the run and at the warrior academy graduation. Nobody is stupid enough to attack with all of those warriors there." She said. Gail sat down on the edge of the bed and took Holly's hand in hers, "Hayden and I won't let anything happen to you." Holly looked her in the eyes, "I'm scared for you guys too! I don't want anything to happen to you two because of me." Gail shook her head. "Holly, Hayden and I are here to protect you no matter the cost because we believe in what you have done and what you continue to do."
They were looking into each other's eyes and there was so much raw emotion there. Holly couldn't help herself so she leaned in and let her lip touch Gail's. Their eyes closed as their lips moved in sync with each other. They continued like that in a gentle kiss for a few minutes. It was Holly's hand making its way under Gail's shirt and the skin on skin contact that brought Gail back to the moment. She pulled away "I can't do this Holly; my job is to protect you. I can't get involved like this with you." Holly tried to speak, "but Gail-" She was cut off. "If I let myself feel the way I feel about you my performance will slip. I'll pay attention to you instead of our surroundings. When we're alone I'll be focused on being with you and not on protecting you. If someone attacks I won't help Hayden, I'll get you out whether that's the right choice or not. I'm not willing to put any of us in that much danger." Holly nodded at the mini speech. She understood but that did not mean she liked it. She rolled onto her side so that she was facing away from Gail. The blond sighed and got up going to her chair outside the door.
-End Flashback-
Holly had been dancing with various young men and women all night. Gail watches her a little too closely. She kicks herself, this was exactly what she was trying to avoid. She was imagining what it would be like to dance with Holly, to have the princess in her arms as the music flowed through them. She shook her head to rid herself of the images.
After a few more dances it was time for dinner. Of course Holly is served first, but she politely and respectfully waits for everyone else to have food before she begins eating. Just as Holly was cutting into her meat Gail noticed something. She jumped down from her perch, it was a long fall but she bent her knees and rolled diverting her momentum so she ended up with only a small twinge in her ankles. "Stop" she orders Holly who had been frozen since Gail had come crashing to the ground. Hayden stepped forward, all eyes were on them, "Gail what is it?" She asked a little uncomfortable with the attention. "Nobody else's plate has powdered whatever it's supposed to be on it." Holly spoke up then, "the kitchen adds garlic salt to my plate when they serve venison like this because they know I like it." Gail wasn't convinced, "are you willing to bet on that?" The question was directed to Hayden, but Holly answered anyway, "yes." Gail shrugged and said "OK" as she picked up Holly's fork and ate the piece of meat that was covered in "garlic salt" before anyone could protest. She was fine as she chewed and swallowed it. Just as Holly was about to say "see I told you" Gail looked Hayden in the eyes and said, "get her out." Her voice was strained and breathy as she collapsed to the ground having a seizure.
A/N: So there you go the next chapter. And if you believe that then I'm sorry. There is a little bit more to this chapter; so let's continue, please don't leave.
Hayden was torn between grabbing Holly and running and going to help Gail. She saw a couple of other guards she knew and trusted run over to help Gail, so she grabbed Holly's wrist and began to lead her quickly out of the ballroom. They didn't stop until they were back in Holly's room. "We have to go back and help her!" Holly yelled trying to force her way back out of the room. "We can't, for now you are on lockdown. You'll stay in this room with me until I'm sure it's safe. And I will have final say over who visits you." Hayden said in a commanding voice. "What about Gail?" Holly asked with tears running down her cheeks. "I will have some of the other guards keep me updated on her condition. If all is well we can go visit her with a few other guards of course. Your meeting with the human king will be pushed back to whenever Gail is able to come back." Holly spoke in a small voice that Hayden almost didn't hear "what if she doesn't want to come back?" Hayden sighed. "She will, but until then no more events and especially no travelling." Holly nodded her agreement.
There was a knock on the door and Hayden went to answer it. She had her hand on her sword just in case. It was only the king though and she quickly let him in, but only him. He puts his hands on Holly's cheeks and checks her over for any injuries. When he was satisfied that she was fine he pulled her into a hug. They stood like that until there was another knock at the door. It was one of the guards with an update on Gail. Hayden let the man in. "It looks like the poison used was Iocaine powder, but in an impure form otherwise Gail would have been dead instantly. As of right now she is unconscious and they don't know when, or if, she'll wake up." After his update he was dismissed back to his duty of trying to find the person responsible for this.
Hayden stood uncomfortably in front of the king and princess. "This may be an overstep sir, but I would like to request that my family be brought here for a couple of days for their protection. Whoever did this saw me, and everyone around here knows me and my family. They could use that against me and ultimately Holly." The king smiles at the young warrior. He understands her worry and agrees to her request. Two of his most trusted guards are sent to fetch her family.
When they arrive they are brought straight to Holly's room. Elinath throws her arms around Hayden as soon as she sees her and Thalin wraps his little arms around their legs. The king clears his throat amused. Elinath pulls away from Hayden slightly embarrassed. "Your majesties this is my wife Elinath and our son Thalin." Elinath bowed and said, "It is an honor to meet you." "The pleasure is mine" Brian says. "I must go see how everything is going, but it really was lovely to meet you." He excused himself leaving the room.
"Where's Gail?" Thalin asked immediately. "She got a little hurt, so she's at the doctors right now. She'll come see you when she's all better, I promise." Hayden assured him. Hayden played with Thalin a little bit making sure to keep an eye on the window and door while Elinath and Holly talked. Thalin was quick to fall asleep so Hayden set him on the comfy chair that was in the room. It was big enough and he was small enough to sprawl out on it with no problem. The rest of them were unable to sleep so they stayed up talking and playing card games to pass the time.
The news arrived early the next morning with their breakfast. Hayden inspected everything carefully not wanting a repeat of last night. She even took small bites of everything to be absolutely certain. Of course that made Elinath and Holly very nervous, neither of them wanting anything to happen to Hayden. As soon as Hayden deemed everything safe Holly couldn't hold back any more, "How is Gail?!"
A/N: OK now the chapter is really over. And what a long chapter it was, LONGEST CHAPTER YET! I was going to end it earlier, but figured you guys deserved just a little bit more since you were such good sports about the wait. Same rule applies for this chapter mild insults are OK since I did try to trick you into thinking there would be a cliffhanger higher up in the story, and I did leave it on a cliffhanger as well. Anyone who can tell me where the reference for the poison comes from will get a shout out in the next chapter. Please don't forget to review, I love you all.
Until next time
Hold The Line and Don't Look Back