Royal Guards

The sun beats down the whole city of Brighton piercing into the skin of every living thing outside, not excluding the royalties, Calah and Anne, the two daughters of King Hillary and Queen Brie, both sit under a huge Oak tree hiding their skins from the ravaging sun.

Calah sits upright on a rainbow-striped lounge chair leaning on the tree reading a poem out-loud, while Anne lies on another chair exactly the same as her sister's, perpendicularly placed together, with her red head rested on her sister's laps, lost in thoughts.

"You've been quiet all morning."

Calah interrupts her deep thought with a harsh pinch on her right hand.

"Ow!, And what was that for?"

Anne's pale face immediately turns red out of anger. She sits up right, adjusts herself and rests her back on a tree behind her.

"You've been quiet."

Knowing well how much of a blabber mouth Anne could be around her, this unusual silence disturbs her.

"And does that bother you?"

Calah knows her thoughts have been on Tommen of Miledale since both families have planned the wedding which is in days. She touches her legs in understanding.

"Tis about Tommen, isn't it?. You're becoming scared and worried."

Anne has never been the type to be scared or worried about anything, she was always ready for anything life had to throw at her , but not marriage or living somewhere other than Brighton, especially in a kingdom where they never practiced christianity. That reality was one she couldn't contend with.

"He clearly isn't like the other princes, he is a gentleman and you know it"

"You know nothing about him, we have barely met him"

oo

Anne replies in a vast and visibly tensed manner emanating a mixed feeling of fright, fear and doubt all still gazing into nothingness.

Calah tries to make a joke on the princes of Black coast who are popularly known for their hideous looks to lighten up Anne's mood.

"We know he isn't from black coast"

She lets out a loud laugh deeply aiming at making Anne laugh or at worse, smile. But Anne's humor is hidden and embedded deep within her thoughts and with uncertainty written all over her face, she slowly and emotionlessly sets her gaze at Calah as she continues laughing at her own joke.

"And that was meant to be funny?"

Anne eventually chimes a sentence not out of anger at this point but rather out of insipidity.

A young kitchen maid hurriedly approaches both sisters under the tree and greets the sisters with a bow.

"My ladies, your mother requests your presences in the great hall"

She hurries back into the palace immediately she delivers the message.

"Now what does she want"

Calah had always had a bit of unlikeliness for her own mother, hatred wasn't the exact word to describe her feelings towards her mother but she didn't have the type of love every daughter had for their mother, Anne, on the other hand had a casual relationship with her mother, wasn't intimate but was as bad as Calah's.

"We should get going"

They both help themselves been up, dusting away any particle or sand or dust away from their hair and dress to avoid any query from their perfectionist mother.

***

The large great hall consists of the Queen Brie, and the King Hillary and some members of the kings council sit on the right far end of the hall as they await the presence of the princesses

"They should be here by now, what's taking them so long"

Brie paces around the high alter impatiently while Hillary tries to calm her down before she explodes

"You will have to be a little more patient"

Ignoring her husband trying to calm her down she continues pacing back and forth on the small sized altar

Ser Asmon and Lytton on the other end of the hall watch how impatiently Brie parades the altar, they soon begin to whisper to themselves.

"They would have been better off with only boys, these two can't take care of themselves. Not to talk of handling the throne"

A vivid look of irritation and disgust is painted on Lytton's face as he glances at Ser Asmon

"Treacherous, but i agree"

The two, who are being anticipated by the entire hall, strut directly towards the throne where Brie and Hillary stand.

Calah noticed the small council as they walk towards the throne, the council she had always despised since she started sneaking out to eavesdrop on what they talked about, she had heard the things they would advice the king to do, unjust things that shouldn't be done to anyone but fortunately her father never listened to any of the advice they gave.

"Your grace"

The two sisters bend their knees to their parents.

"Took you two long enough"

Brie wields her face of disgust and returns to sit right beside her husband's throne, still wielding the same look of disgust on her face.

Hillary walks forward to the girls with a smile, a smile he had always given them out of love. He was never quick to anger like their mother, he was the complete opposite of Brie of Brighton, which made Calah wonder how he had coped for over 30 years.

Hillary sharply clears his throat before he begins to speak.

"You both must be wondering why your mother and I have summoned you here, It's no new news that Anne will be getting married to Tommen of Miledale in a few days, and yet none of you have a royal guard to yourself"

Calah had heard about royal guards but they were mostly given when one was getting married, and so far as she could tell, Anne was the one getting married so why summon her too

"Not sure a 'royal guard' would be allowed in Miledale"

Calah wasn't sure a royal guard would be accepted, knowing how strict the people and the laws of Miledale was, she was entirely sure they would permit it

"They do"

Group of soldiers troop into the hall slowly in unison, Calah counts 10 men walking in with her eyes mouthing the numbers quietly

"You get to choose one of these men, one that will give their life in replace of yours, protect you and serve you at all type of cost"

"A royal guard to myself?"

Calah's face booms with excitement so does her voice as she unknowingly lets out a squeak.

"Yes, you also get to choose one"

Lytton, on the other side on hearing the squeak, annoyed by that and generally anything she does, paints his face in visible disgust once again.

"Doesn't she have manners"

He quietly lowers his tone

Anne walks towards the men, who are horizontally lined, walks down them, scrutinising them optically, and eventually stops at the step of the tallest one of the 10 men.

"I choose you to serve me"

He immediately bends a knee to her, the hall becomes silent as Podrick begins to recite the vow.

"I, Podrick of house Girk, pledges to give my life to protect Lady Anne of Brighton, anywhere, anytime, at all costs and by whichever means comes by me"

Anne cautiously stares down at Podrick and after a few seconds she says,

"Rise"

She walks back to her sister while Podrick follows her. Calah takes few steps forward to these men, trying so much to hide her excitement. Walking around them 3 times, she hadn't decided on who to choose but she could feel her mother's eyes crawling on her without even looking at the alter, finally she stops at a spot, he was the only one who had an armet on, that was one reason she considered choosing him.

"You"

Pointing to the soldier directly at her front, he immediately bends a knee and takes his vows.

"I, Drae of House Clarke, pledges to give my life to protect Lady Calah of Brighton anywhere, anytime, at all costs and by whichever means comes by me "

Anne lets out a soft laugh, almost as loud as Calah's squeak

"Drae?, Is that supposed to be a name"

"Better than Pod"

The two ladies mock themselves at every chance they had, regardless of the seriousness of the situation they were in.

"Ladies?"

Brie yells at them from the alter before they could stop giggling.