chapter 1 - Notion

The king was distraught, pacing back and forth in his study; he was worried for both his daughter and his kingdom. The danger being the one thing to bring down his only heir to the throne and the one to have murdered his beloved Queen; for he did not want such a cruel fate to come to his daughter. She must be protected, he thought to himself. Having this idea still bright and fresh in his mind, he began to write. As he rang the bell for his royal advisor he was still writing the requirements for what he wanted. The sound of snappy shoes on a cold stone floor could be heard from a distance, and lifted the king’s head from his thoughts. The advisor strolled fourth, before bowing gracefully to the king.

“Your majesty, good morning, how are you feeling today?”

“Yes I’m feeling quite well today thankyou Frederic, but a great notion has come before me, for you see I’ve been thinking about the safety of my daughter, and I simply cannot risk it.” The king finished writing the proposal as he said this.

“Of course your majesty, I do greatly understand, may I see what you have written?”asked Frederic as he opened his hand to take the paper.

“Yes of course, for it is a statement, a proclamation if you will, that needs to be told to the entire kingdom.” The king said as he handed the letter to the advisor from across the desk. Frederic quickly read the statement, with a look of approval spread across his face, as he finally looked at the king and once again gracefully bowed.

“Your majesty, it will be done, and I will have it sent throughout the kingdom at your request by the end of the day.” And with that he turned and left the room with quick steps to get the word out that a personal body guard is wanted for the protection of the Princess.

~~

The cabin was lit dimly, as night fell upon garrath’s ship, while his crew was settling down below, and all was calm aboard. Garrath lit more candles so that he could shed more light on his maps and letters. One of the letters was to inform the crew he would be leaving. It just wasn’t the right life for him anymore. Folding his papers in a draw, he took the letter and stuck it to the outside of his cabin door with a nail. The ship had been pulled into dock to restock supplies, which was a perfect chance to leave before the crew suspected anything and he could easily sneak away into the night. First mate Richard Marlon was second in charge and would make a perfect captain to lead on his crew. Collecting a duffle bag he swung it over his shoulder and walked down the ramp until of course he heard a voice.

“Running away are we? Garrath that’s not like you, of wait yes it is!” said Richard as he sat on the railing of the ship peeling an apple with a knife.

 

“I’m not running away, I‘m simply moving on, anyway you should be up in the crow’s nest watching out for the crew, it’s your duty.”

“Oh yes captain, but you see I got hungry and came down to fetch an apple.” said Richard as he crunched through his fruit. “Then oh be hold, there you were, walking out of your cabin and down the ramp” said Richard as he chewed and swallowed the last bite.

“Yes well, if you read the letter upon my door you’ll discover why.” Garrath said as he pointed toward his cabin then turned and kept strolling down the ramp. Richard jumped down stopping garrath in his path.

“Garrath, what are you doing? Don’t you like us anymore? It was the cook wasn’t it, the food scared you off, I knew as soon as he brought out the jellied pudding and said that it was lamb, I knew.” laughing as he said this. Garrath raised one eyebrow.

“Look Richard, I’m sorry but this isn’t a joking matter, I really am going, I need to do this, and I think you’ll find that, the letter is for you more than the crew. I know you’ll make a sturdy captain.” Garrath sidestepped around Richard down the ramp.

“Garrath!” shouted Richard after him. Garrath turned to look at his friend one last time.

"Goodbye, my friend, look after my crew for me, Promise?”

“I can’t -”

“I’m counting on you!” He said with such authority.

“Yes sir I will!” Richard saluted him as he watched garrath stroll down the cobbled alley, and into the shadows.

 

                                     *        *          *

Garrath awoke with a sore neck; he didn’t sleep well, especially on this old bed. The Inn where he stayed was noisy in the lobby, fisherman and sailors were already waking up for the new day, which was fine, but did it have to be this early thought garrath. As he lay back down and tried to drown out the noise.

He thought of what he would do next, would he get a part time job? No, that wasn’t him, he needed something more, something important and steady or at least interesting.

 

He started to feel hungry so he grabbed what money he had, and went down the stairs into the lobby to fetch some breakfast. People were hurrying and bustling all over the place, on the balcony, garrath noticed some young women parading around in very little clothing, they noticed him and started to wave and smile.

Ah I see, the Inn must have a small brothel here, thought garrath, he casually waved back with a smile. He sat at the bar where some old fisherman sat drinking early morning brew, and ate scrambled eggs with minced meat. 'Mmm that looks nice' thought garrath.

"I’ll have some scrambled eggs and a cup of tea." said garrath quietly.

"tea!" said one of the fisherman loudly," you don’t look like a man who has tea, no you look like a strong man of good breeding who would at least drink a strong brew !" he said it with such determination, garrath gave him a puzzled look. Garrath sat there quietly as the fisherman went on. "You know, you would be a great candidate for that guard business I’ve heard so much about."

"Guard?" garrath was intrigued at this.

“oh yeah well at the moment, the kings sent out a decree that he’s looking for a bodyguard for his daughter, you know princess Marianna." the fisherman elbowed garrath and raised his eyebrows with a smile as he whispered, then turned to take another bite of his scrambled eggs. “I’m sure a lad of your build, and youth would be a great guard!" then he laughed and ate the rest of his scrambled eggs. Garrath thought of this possibility, become a royal guard, it certainly has its charm, and doesn’t compare to any normal job, and would give him an importance for something. while eating his breakfast, he knew he would certainly take this opportunity to apply, he knew he would have to train to get anywhere close to getting in, but he was determined, he was already skilled in combat and weaponry but he felt he needed to tune up to become a royal bodyguard, especially for a princess.

 

'Hmm, Princess Marianna huh?' he thought to himself as he finished off his tea with a smile.

 

 

 

Reviews

[THE Super Hero]

Woooooooooooo
I like this chapter! I haven't read this before. It's a nice and different start! I really like it. This also lets you know about Garrath's past a little more in the beginning and how he found the job. It's such a cute story! I can see it all in my head!! Loving it

[Nihilum]

This is really good :3
Can't wait to read more!

[THE Super Hero]

This story is like a huge teddy bear that is an absoulte cutie and I just wanna hug it for agessss.
ahaha, very nicely written and I love the characters!!!

[Mrs.Lovett]

Cool idea for a book.