Three Strikes [✓]

All In A Day

Chapter Twenty-Six: All In A Day

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Farbanti, Erusea.
September 3rd, 2019.
0813hrs.

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General Parrish was back at the palace, and in as awful a mood as ever. No surprise there. In all the years Henri had spent working as a bodyguard for the royal family, never once had he met a politician he hated nearly as much as he hated General Parrish. Although at this point, the 'general' part of his name was meant to be only a formality. Yet Parrish seemed to be taking charge of the military like a regular leader, seeming to divide their forces rather than unite them. It was no wonder that Osea was starting to turn the war in their favor. That and the fact that they had a brand new ace on their side. Erusea had General Shilage, that was no secret, but he hadn't been well recently and was being sent out on fewer sorties. The drones brought absolutely nothing good to the table.

Right now, the King and the general were in conference. Poor Princess Cossette was joining them, although her father had been surprisingly harsh with her after she went against his wishes with her last speech to the public. That had caused quite a stir among the people, and the news was still talking about it. Henri pitied the Princess, having gone from such a bright young girl to a political pawn in the course of a few years. She'd always been a kind-hearted, respectful child, and it wasn't her that wanted the war with Osea. At least not now. She'd been manipulated, and now that they realized her doubts and the fact that she understood how they'd used her it was clear that they weren't happy about it.

He'd made a vow to never question the King and respect them regardless, but even he was starting to be manipulated by Parrish. The King — at Parrish's prompting — ordered an investigation into General Labarthe and ever since then, no one had heard from the Conservative leader. Henri could only pray that he'd found a way to escape, because once they finished their investigation and discovered that Labarthe had been communicating in secret with Osea then he'd be branded a traitor and likely killed on sight. Henri knew this, but he'd held his tongue, finding himself slowly leaning to support the Conservatives for his own stubborn reasons. If there was something other than vigilance that he was good at, it was listening and keeping secrets. Everyone considered him a confidant, and it was rare that he divulged the information shared with him. Unless the other person was someone who had his absolute trust.

Henri lingered outside of the King's study, straining to hear the conversation coming from inside. It was too muffled for him to make anything out, but he did know that Princess Cossette was rarely allowed to speak up. He felt another stab of pity as he had so frequently ever since that day, before he let out a tired sigh and made his way down the hall, towards the kitchen. Although he never actually joined in on the chatter among the cooks, he did enjoy eavesdropping on their gossiping. Also, some of them were usually kind enough to let him help out so that he felt like he was actually doing some good. Although he was a bodyguard, nothing very exciting ever happened. Maybe that was a good thing. Either way, he still got paid for the work and respected by everyone for the possible dangers that came with his job.

As he entered the kitchen, he was surprised to see the Queen moving about the kitchen, joking with the staff. Henri stopped short, taking in a deep breath and shaking his head in amusement. The woman never once stopped her working. He'd be lying if he said he didn't admire her work ethic. After living as a commoner for so long, it was no surprise that she rarely let the staff handle all of the work and was often seen helping them out as if she was one of them. Her blonde hair, the same color as her daughter's, was pulled up into a tight bun to keep it out of her face, and her blue eyes were practically shining as she moved about the kitchen. The only thing marring her appearance was some flour on her apron, hands, and face, although in his opinion it didn't detract from her appearance. Henri tensed up as the Queen — her name being Annette — looked over at him with a kind smile. "Ah! Bonjour, Henri! Surprised to see you in here today!"