Chapter One Hundred & Thirty Five

Chapter One Hundred & Thirty Five
Nora's P.O.V

"There is absolutely no reason to cook enough food every morning to feed half your guard."

He considered it for a moment.

"The staff enjoys preparing it."

I looked toward the servants lining the walls.

"...Do you all actually enjoy this?"

Several smiled.

One older woman answered with a small bow.

"It is an honor, Your Majesty."

I groaned.

"There it is again."

Rael looked up from his coffee.

"What?"

"'Your Majesty.'"

He hid the beginning of a smile behind his cup.

I pointed at everyone in the room.

"We're going to have a discussion about titles."

The older woman looked horrified.

Rael looked... amused.

Breakfast passed easier than I expected.

For the first time since arriving, we weren't talking about impossible powers or ancient responsibilities. We talked about little things instead.

I convinced Rael that no one needed enough food to feed an army every morning.

He remained unconvinced.

I learned he preferred coffee over tea.

He learned I couldn't function without coffee.

He also learned I had a habit of stealing fruit off his plate.

"I was going to eat that," he said as I reached over and plucked the last strawberry from in front of him.

"No, you were thinking about eating it."

"There is a difference?"

"There is now."

He shook his head, but the corner of his mouth lifted.

"I'm beginning to think you're trouble."

"Oh, I absolutely am."

"I've noticed."

I laughed, finishing the strawberry before leaning back in my chair.

The easy conversation settled into a comfortable silence.

It surprised me how... normal this felt.

Not because of where I was.

Because of who I was with.

Rael wasn't trying to overwhelm me with information anymore. He wasn't treating me like a queen who had to know everything immediately.

He was simply letting me adjust.

When we were both finished eating, he placed his napkin neatly beside his plate before standing.

I looked up at him.

"Ready?" he asked.

"For what?"

A small smile crossed his face.

"I think it's time you met your Royal Guard."

I raised an eyebrow.

"My... Royal Guard?"

He nodded.

"The men and women whose sole purpose is your protection."

I pushed my chair back and stood.

"I thought all the guards were technically my guards."

"They are."

He motioned toward the doors.

"But these are different."

I fell into step beside him as we walked through the castle once more.

"What makes them different?"

"They answer to no one except you."

"Not even you?"

"Not even me."

That caught my attention.

"I don't command them," he continued. "I train them. Advise them. But if your order conflicts with mine..."

He looked over at me.

"They follow yours."

The weight of that settled quietly.

"How many are there?"

He was silent for a moment.

Then—

"Twelve."

I blinked.

"Twelve?"

"I expected more surprise."

"I expected... hundreds."

"You have thousands of soldiers."

He nodded toward the corridor ahead.

"You only have one Royal Guard."

We rounded another corner, and a pair of enormous doors came into view.

Unlike the rest of the castle, these bore no carvings.

No symbols.

Just solid black steel.

Rael stopped in front of them.

"They have trained together for centuries."

I looked at him.

"Centuries?"

"Yes."

"They've been waiting too?"

"They swore their lives to the Iriath long before either of us were born."

My stomach tightened.

"They have never failed."

A strange mix of nerves and curiosity settled over me.

Rael placed one hand against the door.

"They don't need a queen they can fear."

He looked at me.

"They need one they can believe in."

Before I could respond, the massive doors began to open.

The sound echoed through the hall.

As the gap widened, I could hear movement inside.

Boots.

Armor.

Commands being called.

The doors opened completely.

The room beyond was enormous.

A training hall unlike anything I'd ever seen.

Weapons lined every wall.

Training rings filled the center.

Archery lanes stretched into the distance.

More than a hundred guards were sparring, drilling, and moving through coordinated exercises.

The moment the doors opened—

Everything stopped.

Every weapon lowered.

Every conversation ended.

Every eye turned toward us.

Then, from the far end of the hall, twelve figures broke away from the others.

Men and women.

Each wearing black armor unlike the rest.

Each carrying themselves with absolute confidence.

Each stopping exactly ten feet in front of me.

For one long heartbeat...

No one moved.

Then all twelve drew the weapons at their sides.

The sound of steel rang through the training hall.

My muscles instinctively tensed.

Before I could react—

They turned the blades.

Pointing the tips toward the floor.

And together...

They dropped to one knee.

The entire training hall followed.

One hundred...

Then two hundred...

Then every guard in the room knelt until the only people left standing were Rael and me.

The silence that followed was overwhelming.

The woman at the front of the twelve lifted her head first.

Her silver eyes met mine.

Then, in a voice that carried through the entire hall, she spoke.

"My Queen."

The remaining eleven echoed her as one.

"My Queen."

Rael leaned toward me just enough that only I could hear him.

"They've waited a very long time to meet you."

For a moment...

I just stared.

Not because they were kneeling.

Because every one of them meant it.

There wasn't hesitation in a single face. No uncertainty. No curiosity over whether I deserved it. They looked at me with complete confidence, as if this moment had already happened a thousand times in their minds.

This wasn't like back home.

Killian's men respected me because I'd earned it.

These people...

They already believed in me.

And somehow that was harder.

I took a slow breath before stepping forward.

"Stand."

My voice echoed through the enormous training hall.

Not one of them moved.

I glanced sideways at Rael.

"They're waiting," he murmured.

"For what?"

"Permission."

"I just gave it."

A tiny smile tugged at his mouth.

"You gave them an order."

I frowned.

"Isn't that permission?"

"No."

I blinked.

"...You people are exhausting."

A few of the guards closest to us fought smiles.

Rael actually looked amused.

"You may rise," I corrected.

As one...

Every single guard stood.

Not a second before another.

Perfect.

It was honestly a little intimidating.

I looked across the twelve standing at the front.

Every one of them looked different.

Different heights.

Different builds.

Some older.

Some looked barely older than me.

One woman had long silver hair braided over one shoulder, her armor etched with markings unlike the others. A broad-shouldered man beside her wore twin swords across his back. Another leaned slightly on a spear taller than I was.

Each one looked capable of ending a war.

I pointed at them.

"Twelve."

Rael nodded.

"The Royal Guard."

I looked back at them.

"You all have names, I hope."

That finally earned a few genuine smiles.

The silver-haired woman stepped forward first.

"I am Captain Seraphine."