CHAPTER 4 - SETTLING DOWN

I opened my eyes to see the beautiful girl I saved from falling staring intently at me. Her emerald green eyes seemed to bore through my soul. "Where... am I...? Who are you...?" I said still feeling drowsy. "Calm down." Her clear soothing voice sang out to me as she placed her soft hands on mine.

I sat up in bed. "What is your name?My name is Adriana Sydney and I'm the daughter of the governor of this town." she said, her eyes glowing with warmth.

"It's Bren." I replied bluntly. She smiled. "Well, Bren I'm very grateful for how you saved me from falling... and er... I'm sorry for the way my bodyguard hit you on the head. He really didn't have any bad intentions. He was just trying to protect me." She said watching for my reaction.

"Wait, that's how I passed out?!" I said in surprise. "I was thinking maybe someone dropped like, a hailstone on my head." I replied, and we both laughed. "It's okay Adriana. No hard feelings." I said rubbing the small bump I'd gotten at the back of my head.

"Judging from my observations, you're new to our town. So why are you here in Doria?" she asked.

**

I knew that I wasn't supposed to go around telling everybody how I escaped from the slavers and came to Doria, but I just couldn't help but feel so comfortable with Adriana. The only people I ever felt that way with before were my parents. Somehow I knew that... she'd understand.

We talked for about an hour, and she seemed to listen with beating heart and wide eyes as I told her of my adventures from when I was captured as a slave, to when I ended up in Doria. I needed to survive if I was ever going to take my revenge, so I knew I needed to have a source of livelihood. I half beckoned on her to give me a job in her father's mansion, and after some moments of thought, a few moments speaking with her father, and another talking to Gaius, I was given the post of her personal bodyguard! I was to sleep in a room not bad with Gaius, and my wages were to be a bag of gold per month!

It was no big deal transferring my little belongings from the cheap motel I previously resided to my new home. Later in the day, I had a ten minute tour of the exquisite manor where I would now be staying. However, I had the feeling that Gaius didn't like me too well. Maybe, he felt that I replaced him, because I knew that he was Adriana's only bodyguard before I came along, and it also seemed like... like he liked Adriana.

I didn't know, maybe I was wrong but... there was something fishy about the way he looked at her. That day, night came quickly. And after a dinner of soup at the servants quarters, and a hot bath, I retired to my room. Well, the room I shared with Gaius. The spare fluffier bed was mine. And by the time I got there, a candle was on and Gaius sat reclining on his pillows, reading a book.

I walked towards my bed sleepily when I heard him bawl out. "Do you snore?" He said putting the book on his laps and fixing the gaze of his honey coloured eyes on me. "No, I don't." I said inaudibly, not caring if he heard me. "Well if you do, you're dead meat!" he said blowing out the candle and putting the book on the table next to his bed. I didn't know why, but I couldn't sleep. Too many things ran through my mind.

I thought about my family, my poor sweet family, and also about Adriana. During our conversation, I hadn't told her that I was a prince. I hoped that this would not be detrimental to me at any time. She was really beautiful. Did I like her? Well, I didn't know but what I knew was that I didn't come to Doria to fall in love. I came to avenge my country. And before I fell asleep I swore on my mother's blessed soul that I would not rest until all the slavers were six feet under!

That warm morning, I woke up to hear the gay chirping of birds, and to see the dark silhouette of Gaius's bulky frame staring at me. "What...?" I muttered sleepily. "Rise and shine princess." he said coldly. "For your information, we servants all have to get up before the day is fully broken everyday." "What?! but that's torture!'' I said sitting upright and stretching my arms. "Well if you don't like our conditions of service, you are still very free to quit your job and get lost!" He said pointing at the door.

"I for one, think that the lady Adriana would do much better without another bodyguard." he said with resignation. "You need to wash, then come to the servant's dining quarters immediately for breakfast." he said.

Gaius went out, and shut the door carefully behind him. After washing, I was given a shiny new dark blue outfit by the tailor of the manor, who said that that was what the personal bodyguards of the young masters and misses wore. I tried it on in a spare room, and when I came out, Gaius ran his eyes many times over me.

"Why you look marvelous my boy!" she said sizing me from head to toe. "I say, the uniform suits you even better than Gaius." she said with a chuckle. She was a jolly elderly woman with a pleasant tone of voice, and though she was slightly overweight, she looked like she would have been very beautiful when she was younger.

Gaius merely cocked his nose, shrugged his shoulders, sighed and proceeded to the dinning room. At the dining room, both the male and female servants ate together. There were about two scores and a half of them, and their outfits were of different designs based on their work although they had the same color-blue for men, Pink for women.

Breakfast consisted of a simple meal of hot porridge, and some slices of apple. Behind the table where I ate alone, a group of girls sat giggling and whispering. "Talk about dreamy..." I heard one say. "He's so, so cute!" came another. "I just want to go over there and kiss those luscious lips!" I heard yet another say.

Then, one among them who seemed to be the most beautiful and the boldest, walked up to my table with her bowl and sat really really close to me. She had long black hair, dark green eyes, and a nice set of pearly white teeth. I looked at her and she flashed her cutest smile at me. By her body language, she was obviously just flirting. I smiled back at her, and then she said "Hi. My name's Mera. What's yours?". "It's Bren." I answered stirring the remainder of my porridge with my spoon.

"I understand you're new here, so l want you to know that you can count on me for anything you might need to make yourself more comfortable. You name it." she said. I didn't answer, and I could here her confidence ebbing out by the tone of her voice. "Um...I work in the kitchen. I'm a baker there." she continued. "What's your job around here?" she asked subconsciously fingering a lock of her shiny black hair, her eyes shooting me a coquettish stare.

"I'm the bodyguard of the young miss." I answered still fiddling with my spoon. "Which one of them? is it the first, or the second young miss?" she asked. "Well I don't know, her name is Adriana." "Oh, I see. Then that's the second young miss." she said. She placed a hand on my free one and said. "You should really be careful with her. She has a horrible temper." "Really?" I asked now interested in what she was saying all of a sudden.

"Yeah! Ever since she lost her grandmother, God bless her soul, she began to flare up easily at any slight provocation." she said looking around cautiously. Then she nudged me with her elbow and winked her lovely green eyes. "Wouldn't want you to get kicked out when you only just arrived here." she said. I placed my second hand on hers and smiled. "Well thanks for the advice Mera."

She gasped in delight, grabbed her bowl, and half walked, half ran back to her previous table. "Did you see?! He likes me!" she said with a giggle. "Of course not! He likes me!" said a blonde with long cropped hair. The girls continued on like chatterboxes. I looked down at my half eaten plate of porridge. It had gone cold. I pushed my plate away, and stood up to call at Adriana's chamber.

Gaius was already there, being the ever punctual bodyguard. "You're late." he growled. "Next time, don't be." He threw an already sheathed sword to me. "Attach this to your belt." He said. I did as I was told, and scarcely had I finished when Adriana came out of her chamber closely followed by a brown head girl who was supposedly her maid. She was wearing a sparkling pink gown that fit her like a second skin. The wide, square neck of the dress revealed the soft lines of her ample bosom. Womanly curves caressed the lower part of the dress, and by the time I was done with my survey, she was standing in front of us.

"You look lovely today Adriana." I said with a smile. "How dare you address the lady that way!" Gaius said, fire in his eyes. "That's enough Gaius" Adriana said. "Why, thank you Bren." she said, a glint of pink on her cheeks.

"Are you ready to go out my lady?" Gaius asked whilst still glaring at me. "Yes. As a matter of fact, I am." she said. "I just want to go around the market and check if there's anything new." she said gayly. Adriana covered part of her face, and all her hair with a sparkling pink hood that was attached to the back of her dress. "Well, let's go?" she said.

Adriana had walked a few metres when Gaius turned to me. This time his voice was unusually calm. "Next time Bren, you'll have to address the young miss as my lady, and not Adriana." He said. "Your relationship is not one of friends. It's the one between a master and his servant. You would do well to remember that." he said moving forward.