"Mostly curiosity. Has John briefed you on your duties?" He inquired.
"Yes, he has, my prince."
"Are you comfortable here?" He asked lazily. Then he added, "I just wanted to see how the healer's daughter would be doing here as a soldier."
"I'm doing well enough." I responded immediately.
He said coldly but gently at the same time. "There will be continuous training, and some people aren't happy about your presence, if you want to continue staying here peacefully. Challenge Ken on the second day of training."
"I don't think that's appropriate, Your Highness. There are far more talented soldiers than me," I began, but he cut me off.
"Challenge him to archery, I've seen your skills before, I know it's something you can easily defeat him in." He said then he walked out.
Everything felt so confusing for me. How did he know that I was good at archery? He left shortly after and I collapsed on the bed.
The next day, I woke up as early as possible and headed to the training grounds John had shown me. Four men were already there. Not long after, John arrived with the prince.
Then I turned and I saw her.
Annie! I exclaimed in shock. How could this be? I was the only one chosen yesterday to serve the prince, and I was supposed to be the last. But despite my confusion, I felt indifferent about it.
Annie looked at the prince first, then scanned the crowd, searching for someone. Was it me? I waved slightly. She saw me, smirked, then frowned. I couldn't understand her reaction. Why did she dislike me so much?
Training began immediately. It wasn't as complex as I had imagined. Once I finished the first segment of training, I quickly ran to Annie's side. She was still shooting arrows.
Annie, I called out, how are you here?
Without looking at me, she replied, If you can be here, then why can't I?
Annie, you've got it wrong. Of course, you can be here. But Annie called John over and complained. She's disturbing my training.
John immediately asked me to wait elsewhere for the next segment, which I did, but was unhappy about it.
What's going through Annie's mind? Why is she being so mean? I consoled myself. It's okay, I just didn't come here to be on good terms with everyone.
After the day's training ended, I felt exhausted. The prince had left before the first segment ended.
The next day, I made my move and challenged Ken, the current vice elite guard. Everyone was surprised and laughed at me. Even Ken didn't take me seriously.
I heard one of the guards say, She just started yesterday, and now she's trying to defeat our vice guard of two years? She must really think she's something. I ignored their ridicule; what mattered most to me was winning.
I said to Ken, Why won't you take on the challenge?
He replied, Because I don't take you seriously.
I told him, whether you take me seriously or not, you have to accept the challenge. Then I suggested archery like the prince told me to.
He finally agreed. John was to be the judge. He announced that whoever reached 100 bullseye shots first would be the winner. We began the challenge immediately, and I ended up winning, which infuriated Ken. Everyone else was surprised by my victory, and I saw traces of admiration and envy. That was how I became the vice guard.
Training continued, and Annie approached me, saying, We just started not too long ago, but you couldn't wait to show off, right?
I couldn't take it anymore and retorted, What's your problem with me, Annie? We aren't exactly good friends, but at least we don't have to become enemies, so why are you trying so hard to become my enemy?
She just scoffed and walked away. Ugh, that girl is crazy, I muttered to myself. I finished my training for the day and headed back to my room.
In the corridor, someone pulled me out and pinned me against the wall. It was the prince. My prince, what are you doing? I exclaimed.
I heard you've become the vice guard. You ended up following my advice. Good girl.. We were so close that I could feel his breath on my face, and my ears turned red.
I stuttered. "Yes….."
The prince let go of me. Then he simply walked away.
I had just gotten back to my quarters, stretching out on my soft bed, when there was a knock on the door.
"Bella," a guard called out, "you have a visitor."
I sat up straight. A visitor? My heart did a weird little jump. Was it my father? He hadn't seen me off when I left for the palace, but maybe this was his way of checking in on me.
I quickly brushed myself off, ran my fingers through my hair, and tried to look happier. With one last inhale of breath, I stepped outside…
And nearly tripped.
"Klaus?" I blinked, actually blinking a few more times just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating from exhaustion. "What are you doing here?"
He stood there with his arms crossed, eyes scanning me with the usual cold but tender expression.
"I came to see if you survived your first week," he said dryly. "I figured if anyone could get themselves banned from the palace in five days, it'd be you." He tried to joke with me. I didn't understand why he was being so kind to me ever since the wager.
"Oh, well that's sweet," I joked back. "Is this how you flirt, or are you just naturally insufferable?"
Klaus smirked, clearly enjoying himself. "You look... less terrible than I imagined."
"Wow. So flattering. No wonder the ladies line up for you."
He chuckled, and for the first time, he actually looked a little less like the cold, brooding Klaus I remembered. "You're still cute. That's good. I was worried they'd turn you into some hard mean palace puppet."
"Well, I'm surprised that you are here," I shot back, then narrowed my eyes. "Wait—seriously, why are you here?"