Princess Darrel Crawley | A Downton Abbey Fanfiction

Chapter Forty-One | Royal Bodyguards at Downton

    A few days later, Darrel was on the train, returning to Downton. As part of her new deal with His Majesty, she sat across from three guards: Benjamin, Sidney and Allen. The King and Queen wanted her to have at least five guards, while she only wanted to bring one. In they end, they sent her to Downton with three of the best guards they had. Darrel was not well acquainted with any of them, since they usually protected the King of England.
    "So..." Darrel started, attempting for the fifth time to start a conversation with them.     "Have any of you been to Yorkshire before?"
    "I accompanied His Majesty about two months ago, your highness," Benjamin replied.
    "Oh, please address me as her ladyship once we arrive. Everyone else does."   
    "That's not very proper ma'am."
    "Well, if her highness is asking for us to her address her a certain way, we must comply," Allen pointed out.    
    His comment earned him a glare from the other two guards.
    Darrel had to force herself to not roll her eyes as the three men put their heads together and whispered. It was another one of the many things she had somewhat gotten used to while living at Buckingham Palace. She would often see the guards talking amongst themselves while she was in the room. It did not take a genius to realize that she was the subject of their conversation.
    "Your Highness, with all due respect," Sidney said after a while. "We are under His Majesty's orders. So, we have certain instructions that he said you are unable to overrule. One of them is to address you as her highness."
    "Of course, I understand," Darrel nodded. "I would not wish to put you in a position in which you are disobeying the king's orders."
    "Thank you ma'am."
    "What other orders did His Majesty give you?"
    "One of us must be with you at all times. We don't need to be in the same room, but we'll be guarding the entrances to all the rooms you are in. On top of which, he has asked us to guard your room in the evenings."
    "What?" Darrel exclaimed. "That is ridiculous! I will be safe in my own house. You don't need to follow me, and I don't need to have my room guarded at night."
    The guards eyed each other. It was if they were trying decide which one of them had to answer the princess.
    "I understand that these measures seem over the top," Allen said. "But, when you think about it, this is no different than when we are at the Palace. The only difference is that since there are only the three of us, we must follow you. While you are at Buckingham Palace, there are guards present in every hallway. So you might not realize that they are there."
    "I suppose so," Darrel sighed. "Please try to not get in anybody's way. Your presence is not going to make my family very comfortable."
    "We will do our best ma'am."
    "Thank you."
    Darrel decided to abandon conversing with the guards, and to read for the rest of the trip. She usually read quite well on the train, but was busy thinking about of how the Crawleys would react to her guards.

    After what felt like the longest two hours of her life, the train finally arrived. Benjamin helped Darrel onto the platform while Allen and Sidney went to fetch the bags.
    "Is there a car waiting for you, your highness?" Benjamin inquired.
    "No," Darrel replied. "I usually walk up to the house. It's only about a twenty minute walk."
    "It might be best if you called and asked them to send a car for you ma'am. I don't think people should see you walking on your own."
    "I have you and the others. Wasn't the entire point of bringing you three to show everyone at Downton that I am now the Princess of Wales? Walking through the village with you will be a clear display."
    "We are here to protect you as the Princess of Wales. It would be safer to wait for a car."
    "Well, without a direct order from His Majesty, you need to listen to me while we're here. We're walking."
    "Very well ma'am."
    Benjamin turned away from Darrel and rolled his eyes as the other guards approached. They did not seem happy with her decision to walk. But seeing as she had given them a direct order, they did not bother protesting.
    As they walked through the village, Darrel was up front with Allen. The other two trailed behind, looking around for anyone who might want to attack the princess.
    "This is an inappropriate area to raise a future queen," Benjamin muttered.
    "In all fairness, she didn't realize she was going to be the future queen until a few months ago," Sidney pointed out.
    "It seems like a poor choice for Her Majesty to have sent her daughter here."
    "Why are you bothering to talk about this? What the royal family chooses to do is none of our concern. We're supposed to protect in silence, without judgement."
    "You were hardly silent on the train."
    "I was answering Her Highness' questions!"
    "The king made it very clear that I am in charge of the princess' protection while we're here."
    "Why do you care? You were the rudest to her on the train."
    Benjamin didn't reply and instead moved ahead of Darrel and Allen, leaving Sidney on his own.