Emergency Princess (Under Editing)

Chapter 15| Combat Classes

Chapter 15| Combat Classes

I managed to escape punishment by explaining to my mother that I was hungry, and desperate for food. The next morning Mum, Kyle and Sam decided that I had been grounded for long enough to have seen the error of my ways, and I eagerly agreed with them.

Just as I was getting ready to enjoy my newfound freedom by exploring the castle, Kyle knocked on my door and informed me that the king required my presence. Naturally, I was curious—after my performance last time, I would have thought the man would have disowned me and shipped me back to England.

Kianna was called in to help me to look more presentable, and fifteen minutes later, clothed in a simple emerald green day dress, I stood at the doors of the throne room. Two armed guards stood at the door, their faces seemingly carved from marble. Taking a deep breath in, I held my head up and pasted a pleasant smile on my face. I would not let the king know I was nervous, no matter how much my sweaty palms threatened to give me away.

I stopped short when I saw Prince Marcus, the king and a man I did not know deeply engaged in conversation. They looked up when my presence was announced, and Marcus flashed me what was supposed to be a heart-stopping smile. All it served to do was make my skin crawl. Not that Marcus came off as a bad guy, but the fact that I—Rose—was engaged to marry him was not earning him any points.

"Princess," said the king. I bobbed a curtsey, one thing I was thankful I could recall from Louisa's etiquette classes.

"Your Majesty."

"I trust you have fared well since our last encounter."

I didn't think he wanted me to regale him with tales of my troubles, so I simply said, "Yes, Your Majesty; quite well."

"Several of my advisors have brought to my attention the need for extra security for you following the botched attempt to kidnap you a while ago."

Botched, huh? Seemed pretty successful to me. I bit my tongue to keep my errant thoughts from escaping to my tongue.

"As such, aside your personal guards, Kyle and Samuel, young Jacob Everett has been assigned to you as a personal guard. He will masquerade as a member of whatever company it is you are in, and hopefully thus, draw less attention to himself. It was also stated that you need to be equipped to fight for yourself, should the need ever arise, though it is my hope that it never has to. As such, you will be taking self-defence classes with Mr Gerard Foxx, our former head of security, and now a trainer at the royal gym following his retirement from active service."

The third man looked up at me. His olive skin was creased, and a jagged scar ran across his left cheek. His nose stood at a crooked angle, as though it had been reset one time too many, and his brown eyes were narrowed as he assessed me. Coupled with his buzzcut and muscular physique, I had little doubt that the man before me had struck fear into the hearts of more than a few unruly soldiers. The scowl that seemed permanently etched on his face couldn't have hurt matters too.

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, would it be possible that I were trained by one of my own guards? I am more comfortable with them and I—"

King Richard raised up a hand to silence me. "No, you will not change my mind. This was deliberated upon, and the final decision was made solely with your welfare in mind, Rose. You will be training with Gerard. My decision is final."

I wanted to say something, but his tone brooked no argument. Sighing, I simply said, "When does training start?"

"Why, right now," said Gerard, his lips curving into a smile that sent shivers down my spine. "On the castle training grounds."

*****

That, my friends, is the tale of how I came to be standing on a red mat in the spacious room used to train new recruits employed into the service of the royal family, and used by the guards to keep themselves in peak physical condition.

For the past hour, Gerard and I had gone over a few basic self-defence moves he had taught me. He'd shown me some highly sensitive pressure points I could target in case of emergency, and had now positioned himself as an attacker, about to...well...attack.

The hair on the nape of my neck was on edge, and a bead of sweat rolled down my forehead. I had no idea what to expect, and that same eerie grin from the throne room was plastered on Gerard's face. I just had the feeling that I wouldn't enjoy this encounter very much.

For about five minutes, Gerard stood there, watching me. What are you waiting for? The guy was driving me insane with nervousness. Just as I started to relax, he struck a blow to my gut that had me on my knees, wheezing.

"Do not relax, Princess," he said, elongating the title in a mocking tone. "Your enemy will use the slightest chink in your armour against you. Be alert. Now, off the floor!"

Wincing, I pulled myself off the floor and readied my body for the next attack.

*****

"I can't go any further!" I declared dramatically, sliding down a wall. My session with Gerard had just ended, and I couldn't think of one body part that wasn't suffering some kind of pain. I was a giant, walking bruise.

"Princess, your rooms are just around the corner," said Kyle, attempting to pull me back up. I scowled, and pulled my arm back.

"I can go no further. I am content to die here. Tell my mother that I love her," I sighed, slouching even further down on the floor. Before any of my guards could argue, Henry rounded the corner, holding his phone to his ear and talking in hushed tones.

His phone. His phone. Phone.

As if struck by lightning, I pulled my weary body off the tiled floor and marched to the man walking by.

"You," I hissed, grabbing his shirt collar and channelling all my anger and frustration into that one word. His eyes bulged and he tried to wriggle away, but I held on fast.

"Where is my phone?" 

"Urghspffgrrr," he gurgled. His face was turning an abnormal shade of purple. Not that I cared. The man had to atone for his sins. Two pairs of hands grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me off my victim.

"Leave. Me. Alone!" I snarled, trying to wriggle free. "He has to pay!" Henry had finally realised the danger he was in, and scurried away before Kyle and Sam finally let me go. I turned and punched each of them. They didn't so much as flinch, but the contact with rock hard muscle made me wince.

"You look terrible," drawled a voice behind me. "What'd you do, throw yourself under a bus?"