Chapter 16
Marcus was alright with all that was happening. He walked down the road with his guards. It was evening and Marcus was starving. He decided to make this known to his guards.
"I am hungry and I need food immediately…" Marcus told them. "One of you should run along to the chef and have her prepare a delicious meal for me within the next thirty minutes. Make sure you have her know how urgent it is. I wouldn't want a situation whereby I will suffer of anger. I hope you understand me clearly?"
"We do, Sire…" they chorused. Marcus was pleased. They all continued walking along and soon, Marcus began to feel awkward. Marcus was expecting one of the guards to leave to inform the chef but all of them remained. In frustration, Marcus had to shout at the guards.
"Why is everyone of you like this? Who is going to get the chef?" Marcus shouted at them in anger. He was asking a question which he needed them to reply.
All of the guards began to look at themselves. Each of them were trying to delegate the duty and at last, the charismatic guard was able to give a reasonable input.
"Sire, I am very sorry but I think you should delegate this duty to someone here…" the charismatic began. "... Everyone here wouldn't want to go but once you choose someone, the person would have no other choice but to go. This is your time to prove your authority, Sire. Choose anyone you like and your order would be carried out promptly!"
Marcus could make out sense from what the charismatic guard had said. He looked at the guards plainly and thought of who to send on the errand. The first person he gazed at was the charismatic guard. The charismatic guard seemed to have a lot of wise words to say so it would be safe to allow him to stay with him. However, too much wise words could also be harmful but even still, the charismatic was staying for the meantime.
Now, Marcus checked out the guard who was average in height. He had the highest leadership quality and such a person shouldn't be sent on such errand. Instead, he had to remain by Marcus's side to protect him and lead his fellow guards to fulfill their mission. Marcus was going to let this guard stay.
After making this last decision, Marcus had the shortest guard and the tallest guard left. One person had to leave out of both of them. Marcus was ready to compare them based on their characters and physical features.
The shortest guard was short and thick with his six packs and a well built shape. He definitely had strength in him. Meanwhile, the tallest guard was tall but not so thick. Looking at him properly, he betrayed a look of skinniness. The tallest guard looked quite skinny but still strong. His six packs and muscular chest spoke for him. Now, both guards were matched and Marcus had to make a difficult choice.
That was about their physical features. Marcus decided to judge them by their characters.
The short guard was a chatterbox while the tall guard only talked when it was critically needed. He kept so much to himself. Now, who would Marcus choose? A chatterbox or a mute person?
Marcus began to imagine. Let's take for example, three invaders attacked Marcus. What would happen?
As for the short guard…
Upside ✓ The short guard was very strong so it was possible he could lift and throw two mature men at the same time.
Downside ✓ He loved talking too much and he could be distracted by too much bragging and talking about his previous achievements.
Upside ✓ The short guard possessed the ability to blend with people and make them comfortable so he could definitely make Marcus feel entertained even when they were kept in hostage or in hiding.
Downside ✓ The short guard's ability to blend with people comfortably would also be disastrous since he could easily blend with Marcus's opponents and join them.
Upside ✓ The short guard had the ability to work as a spy. He had self-preservation features.
Downside ✓ Self-preservation features ain't limited. This could also mean that the short guard could betray Marcus in order to protect himself.
As for the tallest guard…
Upside ✓ The tallest guard was sound and he was intimidating enough. His height could scare invaders off.
Downside ✓ The tallest guard's height won't scare off professional assassins. In terms of fighting, the tall guard had lesser strength and it was doubtful if he could carry two heavily built men and throw them at the same time.
Upside ✓ The tall guard kept to himself more and he wouldn't be easily distracted. He would strictly face his goals which was to protect Marcus.
Downside ✓ He couldn't be used a spy and if he were used as one, he would be found out so quickly because of his inaccessibility. He would be gazed out pretty often and people would most likely guess that he is a strange fella.
Upside ✓ Since he talked less, there would be space for more critical thinking and goals could be crushed more like this.
Downside ✓ Since he talked less, there won't be any form of entertainment with him and this would make things so boring with him.
Downside ✓ Due to his inaccessibility, it would be harder to find out if he was loyal or not. It would make it very much hard to know if he wasn't a betrayal.
That was all!
According to what Marcus thought about, the shortest guard had three green flags and three red flags while the tallest guard had three green flags and four red flags. This meant that it was more risky to be with the tallest guard than to be with the shortest guard.
Even with this, Marcus had a different feeling. He knew who to choose.
"You are going to go deliver my message to the chef…" Marcus told the short guard.
"Yes, Sire," the short guard replied. It was not really obvious but one could tell that he wasn't that happy.
Now, Marcus smiled.
"We will be heading to my private library…" Marcus told the guards.
And together, they marched along.