A Queen of Fire Bodyguard!Halbrandxprincess!reader

Nine

"And nine, nine rings were gifted to the race of Men, who above all else desire power. For within these rings was bound the strength and the will to govern each race. But they were all of them deceived, for another ring was made. Deep in the land of Mordor, in the Fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged a master ring, and into this ring he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life. One ring to rule them all."

-The Lord of the Rings (Dir. Peter Jackson 2001).

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The morning came too soon.

But in the first hours of sunlight, you were surprised to find that Halbrand was still at your side, in your bed.

His sleeping features were mesmerizing. The way his face muscles were relaxed and his feather light breathing fanning over your face and pillows. This close you could study him and try to piece together the mystery that was Halbrand. The events of last night were flooding back to your mind. The way Sir Aemon paled and was shaken because of something within Halbrand. Whatever it was, was enough to ask him what he was. As if he wasn't human. But it had to be folly. He had to have been taken with angry passion he was met with from Halbrand.

Just like sunrise, breakfast with your father came too soon. You nervously rolled the food around on your plate. You thought of everything that could possibly happen when Aemon came into the room. Your father would see him so battered and bruised. There's no way Halbrand wasn't going to pay for this. And there's no way you weren't getting out of this without some sort of punishment either.

A hand laying over yours, that sat in your lap, pulled you from your thoughts. You looked to Halbrand at this bold move. His green eyes staring back at you seemed to be unspoken words of comfort. You offered a small smile and looked back to your plate. That's when the chamber doors opened.

Your eyes followed the source of the sound to see Aemon striding in. His face was covered in dark purple bruises. His right eye swollen to the size of an orange.

"Wha-" the king gasped, "Sir Aemon, what in God's name has happened to you?"

Aemon stopped before the table and cleaned his throat, eyeing Halbrand. Halbrand was defiantly giving him a hard look in return. As much as he could anyway without getting caught. Your stomach was practically in your throat. You could see it now, Aemon was going to rat out Halbrand. And your life would spiral downward more than it already was.

Aemon spoke, "I don't think God had anything to do with it."

King Claudius looked at him in confusion, "How do you mean? Who's done this to you? I will have the royal guard search for them at once!"

Aemon waved a hand and moved to sit at the table, "there's no need, your Grace. You know me. One too many drinks at the inn last night. I made the wrong group of men very angry as it turns out."

Whatever Halbrand had done worked. Whatever he had done scared sir Aemon so bad he would lie directly to the king. You looked at Halbrand who had a relieved look on his face when your father seemed to buy the lie. As a matter of fact he was going into a spiel, not about getting drunk, but about those who fail to have the same opinions as the monarchy. All the while, Sir Aemon continued to give Halbrand a most foul stare.

You don't know how you made it through breakfast without an incident but you weren't complaining either. You'd told Halbrand that you wanted to spend some time in the library today. He followed you without complaint, just happy to share in your company.

You'd walked around the library aimlessly trying to find something. Halbrand had picked up a book on elven blacksmithing techniques and sat himself down in a nearby chair—close enough to still be within distance of you.

An idea hatching in your head you wandered down a specific aisle.

You skim through the books until you find the one you are looking for. You look back at Halbrand to make sure he was still reading his book on smithing. Looking back to the book you pulled, you open it quietly. The Royal lineage of the South Lands. You quickly find a family tree and read the names at the bottom.

There isn't a single Halbrand listed.

I'm fact, the last descendant had died over a hundred years ago. With brows furrowed of deep confusion, you put the book back.

Why would he say he was king of the south lands when clearly that is not the case? The only person who had ever really been interested in ruling those lands was...you looked back at Halbrand who was still quietly reading his book. His fiery red hair was outlined in pink from the afternoon light, the way his eyes were relaxed as he read the words made him look ethereally serene. He looked...heavenly. Feeling a stare he looked up and saw you.

The side of his mouth picked up, "I'm sure I can have one of the artists paint you a picture if you like."

You blushed against your own wishes; coming closer to him.

"Is everything ok, princess?"

You hummed, "you just look..." innocent, handsome, normal, human, "peaceful."

"I love reading. There is so much to learn in Arda. One day I would like to try my hand at smithing."

You smiled, liking hearing him talk about his passions, "I don't doubt you would be a wonderful blacksmith."

It felt like the pieces of a puzzle were clicking together. It was an absurd belief that was growing within you, but in the time that you'd known him, he only revealed more of who was was to you. Whether or not he realized it was a different story. And if this...insane idea was true...why weren't you scared? Shouldn't you be running in terror and grabbing the first person you saw to tell them of the powerful being that had been so blindly under everyone's noses?

But you didn't.

You climbed into the chair beside him and laid your head on his shoulder. And when his head rested back against yours, you felt nothing but protected and safe.

Playing with fire never scared you anyway.

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