Strong Willed (Slave AU)

Chapter Twelve: The Guards

"How do we know he's not dead?"

Four guards travelled away from Caelum and to one of the smaller kingdoms in search of their prince's fiance. They were ordered to turn each kingdom upside down until they were absolutely sure Nico wasn't being hidden there. One guard wasn't very happy if that idea. He rolled his eyes at the dirty looks he received from his question.

"I mean, he could be. Then we'd be looking for a corpse." The man shrugged. "And this would all be a waste of time and energy."

"Not true," One other guard spoke up, a female. "We'd be giving the prince peace of mind. He truly loves this boy. If he knows his fiance is resting safe and peacefully in the kingdom, he'll be able to heal from it better."

The guard who seemed annoyed grew even more so. They walked up to the walls of the kingdom, the guards standing there jumping to attention. They all locked their eyes on the group, holding their swords tightly. One Caelum guard stepped forward, rising his hands in surrender.

"Listen here. We aren't here to do any harm. It's just that, the fiance of our prince has gone missing. We have been searching and haven't been able to find him," the guard explained, satisfied as he watched the other guards lower their weapons. "We were wondering if you've ever seen someone matching his description."

The other guards shared a look before one stepped forward. "What does this man look like?"

The Caelum guards were suprised the guards didn't question the fact that the prince was going to marry a man. But they decided not to speak about it. They explained what Nico looked like and what he was last wearing. Sadly, the guards haven't seen him.

"Can we at least go in to check the kingdom out?"

The other guards glared. "You doubt our honesty?"

"Not at all," the Caelum guard reassured. "We were just ordered to search around until we were absolutely sure."

The guards shared another look before reluctantly moving aside and allowing the guards in. The Caelum group nodded before entering the kingdom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Things got out of hand quite quickly. Note to self, one Caelum guard grumbled mentally. People don't like their homes being searched. It was the fifth time he and his partners had been searched over one of the village houses. There was a lot of yelling and things being thrown around, but they could confirm Nico was not in there.

"This is ridiculous," one guard rolled their eyes. "The king of this village is gonna kill us. Let's go, the future king isn't here."

"We haven't searched everywhere though," another groaned. "The prince would kill us if we come back without searching everywhere."

"How's he gonna know? I'm leaving."

The remaining guards watch as their partner stormed away. They glanced at each other, almost as if waiting for someone else to leave. When no one else did, they all split up to search more houses. They've never let down the royal family before. They weren't going to start now.