Royal Guard Book 1: The Servant

Chapter 24 - Paige - And the Prince

The tires on my bike rumbled as I rode over the small wooden bridge across the brooke. I was standing on the pedals, bobbing side to side to keep my butt from freezing to the seat as I finished up the afternoon deliveries. But it wasn't so cold now. The day had been bright and sunny, melting away most of the snow from the roads. I was able to ride my bike right up to the front of the blacksmith's, just as the pinking sun was brushing the tops of the trees. It was only around three, the real winter solstice wasn't for two more weeks so the days still had some light left in them.

I shifted myself over onto one pedal, letting my bike glide to a stop before easily stepping off to walk it up to the old barn. I could already feel the heat of the furnace just walking up to it, and all of the heavy snow had already melted off the roof, dripping puddles around the perimeter.

"Miss Arce!" Ron was already making his way around his maze of grindstones and anvils towards me. For a much older man, he carried himself with hidden strength, easily tossing a massive pair of iron tongs into a bucket across the barn which had an echoing clang he didn't even flinch at. A combination of his age and metalwork, though most likely more of the latter, had made his hearing start to go and he always spoke with a roar because of it. "I don't suppose I am your last delivery of the day!"

"Right you are," I laughed and pulled out the receipt note from my bag for him to sign. "Rode all the way across town, just for you. Though," I glanced over at the woodshed standing by the treeline, fully stocked up with logs. "Are you sure your order's right? It said five more bundles of wood but-"

"No no! That's correct! My forge eats forests." He patted the signed note back into my hand, two fat silver coins sitting on top of it. "Now Thadie's round back. Go ahead and have her help you load those bundles into the shed." And then he was gone, back into the barn banging away at red hot metal before I could correct him on the tip.

I shoved the coins and the receipt deep into my pockets before rounding the shop to the little backyard where the actual house sat. But the pounding of metal didn't fade as I passed through the gate and made my way up the stepping stones. Instead it changed from the hard flat bangs of hammers against anvils to sharp wicked clashes that seemed to almost sing in the air before fading.

"Predictable!"

Three more whistling clashes and I paused on the back deck.

"By the book."

Two figures faced each other, bursting into action at the slightest flick of a wrist, combining into a flurry of flashing blades—

"Chapter 13."

—before slamming apart and falling back into the rounding circle they were making about each other in the yard.

"Have a citation for that one?"

Thadie advanced, her long spear moving so quickly through the air it was silent until it landed on her opponent's blade—the clash of metal—and she twirled back with the richoshe of her weapon. So fluid in her movements, even her rebuffs appeared planned. Like a dance. One that she was definitely leading as her partner jolted back from her strike. But he kept up. Thadie launched five different blows within a second and he swiveled his short sword just in time to block each one, inches away from his body.

But then finally, he started to get the upper hand. Enough strength to push back with each block. Thadie's footing went back a step and he advanced, just enough to make it over the hill into the offensive—I took a step closer to follow the movement, get a better look—his eyes flickered over his shoulder to me in his periphery.

Aostin's blade froze two inches from his opponent's sternum, "Paige?"

Thadie's silent spear smacked full force into the back of his neck, launching him face first into the snow.