[GRANT]
The werewolf king's words were cruel.
Grant was trying to get used to them, but they were not getting any easier. It was as if he were stuck in one place where even reprieve was never possible. He had not wanted to be a part of this wedding.
And now that he was, he had hoped the king would understand him, only for him to come to the king and be given even harder tasks and the kinds of things that shattered his heart in all the ways to hell.
This wasn't part of the agreement.
But was there a solid agreement between a king and his enforcer that went beyond the responsibilities that had been handed over? They were not friends, and Grant was slowly understanding that.
"Your majesty, please. I'm begging you to reconsider. I'll handle the security during the ceremony, handle even the rogues. I'll do anything but…" Grant trailed off in defeat. He could see the way that the king was staring at him in disappointment.
And that was new to him. He had never thought that there would come a day when the king looked at him in so much disappointment, but here it was.
"Enough," the king said coldly with so much authority, and Grant stiffened.
"You have your duties already. Don't make me regret making you the crown's custodian," King Cassius warned, and Grant sighed in defeat. There was nothing he would be able to say to this, and it was getting more and more obvious.
"Mask your emotions and go prepare for the ceremony. The entire kingdom is depending on you," King Cassius said if he was not having the most fun by torturing Grant like this.
But then he didn't have a reason to be worried for Grant.
He didn't give a shit about the man, and he was already making it obvious in the slightest of ways, even if Grant thought this was just about him not being ready to see Eleanor and prepare for the darn wedding.
"I understand, squire," Grant said dejectedly, his inability to convince the king a blow on his part.
He should have expected that the king's word was final, but he had dared to hope that maybe there was a chance for him to be better. A chance for him to be free from Alanor and the invite. But now it was more than obvious.
If he failed, he was going to be dooming Acrod, and that was the kind of thing that the king would never take with ease. Not to mention the fact that the crown prince was in the kingdom, even if he was in the shadows.
If Grant failed, then the prince would probably not want to associate with him, and Grant's rise to power would be doomed. That was the worst thing that could ever happen to a man like him, who held onto his power so closely.
Because that was all he had left.
The ability to run a kingdom that wasn't this.
The ability to devote his life to a kingdom he was not even sure of anymore. He only wanted to be successful, and being the custodian was a perfect distraction for him, regardless of how he tried to see all of this.
"Alright. You're dismissed. In case of anything, let me know. Just make sure it is damn important because I don't want to be running the kingdom when I already assigned you that role.
"If it is also too much, let me know so I can look for someone else to keep the kingdom going," King Cassius said.
His words were poison to the enforcer's ears.
He knew it too, but then Grant couldn't say anything; he simply bowed and walked away. That was the only logical thing for him right now. But it didn't make his thoughts close on the subject.
It didn't make the thoughts of Alanor Wynter disappear.
It just made them worse, and as he walked around, Grant hated that this was the one time that he would be completely powerless while holding so much power in the kingdom.
Maybe this was his punishment for the fates for what he did to Nour, right?
'He won't even notice you,' the king's words shouted at Grant even as he passed the palace and walked over to the training field. The entire kingdom was excitedly preparing for the wedding.
Of course, when Grant had walked out of the throne room, there hadn't been an announcement yet, because a part of him hoped that the king was bluffing and that he would cancel that shit.
But now, he was sure that the nightmare was real.
He was never going to run away from that kind of shit, and he hated it.
The kingdom, on the other hand, was excited to be part of the ceremony. They wanted to make the day the best, something that had Grant feeling worse than he had already been with the king's words still in his ears.
"Oh, for fucks sake," Grant sighed when he reached the training ground and found Zaire, the obnoxious lord's protector, training with his men. He wasn't ready to have them infiltrate his life like that, yet he had no power to say anything to the man.
He couldn't disgrace himself, especially now that everyone knew of the wedding. Anything Grant did would be scrutinized by the very people he was tasked with taking care of, and he was not going to give Zaire the satisfaction.
So wordlessly, Grant sat at the benches, like he wanted to see what his men were made of. He already knew what. Always. He understood them way better than anyone would.
And yet, as the warriors sparred with Zaire, as they prepared themselves for the security of the kingdom, Grant couldn't help but think he saw a certain familiarity in Zaire.
This was the first time he was thinking that Zaire looked a lot like Alanor, and Grant was sure he was losing his mind. Just because Zaire was a liner refereed by Lane didn't mean that he was almost Wynter, right?
There was just no way, yet the similarities were there.
The way that the beast of the Midlands moved.
The way that the beast of the midlands scared the late king of Udrad.
There was way too much similarity. And as if that was not even bad enough, Grant could swear that he also saw hints of his former junior warrior, Delbert, in Zaire. It was then that he figured he needed sleep.
Thinking of Delbert and Alanor while watching the protector Zaire was just insanity.
It was impractical, and there wasn't enough logic that explain it. Perhaps Grant was just tired and needed sleep, right? Otherwise, his mind would keep playing with him, and he wouldn't be able to figure it out in the end.
"I'm heading home! You know what to do!" Grant shouted, and the warriors responded with 'ayes,' while Zaire stared at him smugly like he knew why Grant was running away from the training ground this time.
And that look haunted Grant, because he had not expected it.
Nevertheless, he had made up his mind.
He was going home. Not to his chambers in the palace, but to his grandma, Aurora. The only living creature who understood him and the only woman who made him feel like he was not a monster.
'What if Alanor really looks at me, though?' Grant wondered as he walked away to his grandma's house.