A Servant Lost (Alys Book #1)

Chapter 11

When Alys emerged from her room the next morning, four guards were posted across from her. She nodded respectfully and hurried off to join Esme for breakfast. Two of the four guards stepped from their spots against the wall and fell into step behind her. Hearing their loud footsteps, Alys turned and looked back.

At her puzzled expression, the men stopped.

"We have been instructed to escort you to wherever it is that you need to go," one of the men said, uncomfortable. Alys sighed and nodded. Why was she not surprised that these orders had been given? Annoyed, she turned and continued to walk to the room she knew Esme would be in. When she arrived, the guards followed her into the room and stood guard by the door, always in eye and ear shot of Alys.

By midday, Alys was completely frustrated with her "escort". Deciding that there was only one place she could have privacy, she escaped to her room. The guards did not object when she closed her door and locked it behind herself, and she guessed that they must have gone back to their places across the hall.

She pulled the large shutters back to open her big window and breathed in the fresh spring air. Sun beamed onto her face and Alys closed her eyes, basking its warmth. She sat in her window seat for the remainder of the afternoon, humming to herself and occupying her mind with trying to pull memories from a foggy place to pass the time. Sometimes, fragments of a memory would pop into the back of her mind, like the face of a horse, or of an older woman with creases on her face, and greying hair. Her mother? Her grandmother? Whose horse was she trying to pull into memory? A neighbor's? Her family's? She tried to pull harder at the simple memories, but they quickly disappeared as fast as they had come, once again being consumed by the fog.

About an hour before the evening meal time, a servant came to the door and informed Alys that she was to come see the prince at her earliest convenience. Fed up with failing at remembering anything, Alys stiffly moved from her spot and closed the shutters. When she stepped out of her room and proceeded to walk down the hall, the four guards fell in place behind her. Once they had reached the Prince's study, the guards stopped, and Alys continued into the room slowly. As usual, Prince Dastrehan sat over a pile of maps and papers spread out on his desk. Alys stood quietly in front of his desk for a few moments, watching him work.

"You've come quickly," he remarked, looking up from his work.

"I did not have much to occupy my time, your Highness," Alys replied, trying not to sound too frustrated.

Dastrehan frowned sympathetically, "I would offer to share some of my work, but I don't think you would enjoy it at all."

Alys shook her head. She could not even imagine the kind of duties he had.

When she did not say anything, Dastrehan changed the subject.

"I suppose you noticed your guards?"

It was more of a statement than an actual question.

"Yes."

"After considering the events that have occurred over the last few days, I have decided that it is best that you have a personal guard accompany you whenever you leave your room."

Alys pressed her lips together and nodded.

"I am concerned now that it is more common knowledge that you are carrying my child, you might become a target for enemies of myself and the crown."

At Alys's look of alarm, Dastrehan stood and walked around his desk to stand in front of her.

"I am not going to let anyone hurt you," he said, taking her injured hand and looking at the fresh bandage, "You will be safe in my palace. But we must be wise about your safety. Which means you must have a personal guard."