I've decided to start keeping a journal after my latest assignment came in and just in case I surrender to my need to kill the kid.
So, to start my name is Mathew and for future reference I am 31 years old 6 foot 4 with brown hair, brown eyes and a grumpy SOB who doesn't get along with anyone. If you are reading this without my permission, I had better not find you. If I am dead well, then at least you can understand why I did what I did. I am, or rather was, the commander of the scouting division of the kings' army. Now I have been assigned as the crowned princes' main bodyguard, if I don't kill him first. Well I might as well just write out all the events as they happened and maybe it will help me keep sane, though after my last report and reassignment everyone thinks I'm nuts anyways.
This morning I was called in to see the general major. I'd been looking forward to my next assignment after all my last mission was such a success with all that I got accomplished, even if I was late on returning. So, thinking there would be good news, I sauntered into G.M Holsted's office completely at ease. He'd added some new furniture since I was last there, with his dark wooden walls mostly covered with maps, and bookshelves lining the wall behind his large oak desk. His chair was still the same old battered one I remembered with the tired leather seat, but the couch off to one side was new, as was the writing desk under the window. The maps on the wall, however had not been updated with my most recent adventure but that was only to be expected. They did however show the rest of the kingdom in great detail. With some maps being enlarged fiefdoms of various nobles.
"Hello general major how are you today? I was told to report here for a new assignment that you have for me."
"Yes, I'm afraid I do Matthew" he said in his very deep voice. "I'm afraid after your last report you been reassigned. The King has said that you are to be the new captain of the Princes' Guard. You are to report to the King in his office as soon as possible and he will set you up in your new command. That is all, you may leave"
Somewhat in shock I left the office. I made my way to the Kings office on the second floor. I was forced to pass through the main entrance. As normal, the main entrance was filled with random nobles coming to see the King as well as many merchant commoners. Most would be turned away by the Kings' secretary. Others would be granted the leave to enter or perhaps an appointment would be made for them on another day. The main entrance was grand enough I suppose. It was exceptionally large with pillars on either side made of marble imported from the far side of the country as well as rugs that were made by the greatest artisan in the country and given to the King as gifts. Upon my arrival I was immediately sent to the front of the line and as soon as the King was finished with his current minister, I was the next to go in.
I slipped into the room as the last noble was shown out and took a good look around. A side effect of my job was that I tended to be vigilant of my surroundings. King Henry was dressed to impress today, wearing royal robes of red and purple. Colors that only the royals are allowed to wear together. When the King saw that it was me that arrived, he immediately dismissed everyone present and invited me for a walk. "Matthew," he said "I have known you since you were a young man and now, I must ask of you an especially important task. I need to entrust my oldest son to you for his own protection. I am afraid I have not been much of a father and the poor boy is lacking in social graces and discipline. It would give me great pleasure to know that you were looking after him and that he would be safe from my enemies." He said as we left the public meeting hall and headed towards the less public areas of the Castle.
"I live to serve your Majesty. You have looked after me ever since my stepmother threw me out of the house and into your Majesty's keeping. But I must ask why me? Have I not served you well in in my position as scout commander? Why are you having me transferred to the Princes guard?" I asked as we pass the portraits of past Kings. I had figured out where we were going, it was the King's private office up ahead where I would often give confidential reports to the King. The office itself was rather plain, just a single desk with a comfortable chair behind it and several bookcases lining the walls. There were also two informal chairs off to the side around a coffee table. This is where the King led me before gesturing that I should take a seat. Having grabbed a seat himself, he began to reply to my questions.
"You will not be in the prince's guard; you will be its commander. I give you full control to appoint anyone you see fit to join the Princes guard. You may structure it however you please, the only thing I ask is that you only choose those whose first loyalties lie with the Crown. It is my wish that the Princes guard be there for him the same way that you and my ministers have been there for me as I govern our new Kingdom. As he grows it is my hope that the Princes guard becomes the Princes staff aiding him as he grows into a great King. You will of course be able to choose who is in the guard, but I ask that you not interfere with his education as I have my ministers teaching him all he should know to be King.
"Also, on another note, I have heard from my generals that you are an excellent man when it comes to training other men. Therefore, I hope to have you continue doing training courses for various parts of our military. You can of course run these courses as you see fit and use these courses to train your own men in the Princes guard. Or perhaps even use these courses to select for the Princes guard. It is of course your choice.
"On a more personal note you have been a great help to me Matthew. Throughout my years as King I have come to see you more as a little brother then a subordinate. After your last report and the confusion and accusations surrounding it, I was forced by my ministers to remove you from the position of scout captain. This does not relieve you of your position as my spymaster, however. I expect you to continue receiving reports from all your spies that you have trained through years and delivering them to me on a regular basis. I will however have to hire somebody new to take your position in name only. Your undying loyalty has not gone unnoticed, and I am afraid I am going to need to rely on that loyalty for many years to come. I am taking your last report seriously, and I hope to prove to my ministers that it was not a lie. But until such time as we can confirm your last report, you will be shunned and ridiculed by many of your peers, and I am sorry for that. This position is not a demotion, it is a new position for you to gain power. It is my hope that you use this power to guide my son. He is young and impulsive and with your wisdom I hope you can guide him to be a greater King than I am."
"Your Majesty I swear I will remain loyal to you and look after your son. But if I may speak informally Sir, your son is a pain in the ass! Really did you have to saddle me with this job!? Couldn't you have found me something, you know easier to do? I know he's only 8 but last I heard he'd driven three of his tutors to drink and chased off six of his guards. I'm not sure I'm the right man for this job. Honestly, your son might just end up dead, or I will turn into a raging alcoholic. However, *sigh* if this is what you want me to do, I will do my best if only to repay you for what you did for me as a young man lost in the world. I prove my loyalty to you with this if nothing else." with that the King cracked up.
"Oh Matthew" he said "How I have missed you my friend. It has been far too long since we were able to last sit down and have an informal chat, unfortunately I have too many meetings this afternoon. But we really must sneak out for a drink one of these nights catch up, share stories maybe find you a girlfriend at last."
"Henry, I know it's in the in the best friend's code to be nosey but really do you really have to go there? I've had several girlfriends as you well know, and they've never turned out great. I've pretty much decided to stay a hermit at this point seeing as how all the only women I interact with are some my subordinates and that would be very wrong."
After talking with the King for awhile longer and discussing a few pressing matters, which included a change to the hunting laws in the North and a possible blood feud between a pair of noblemen over one of their wives, I headed out to the barracks to check on my men. I have four of them in mind to take with me to the Princes guard. There was the beautiful young lady Melissa who would take care of keeping an eye on the staff. There was young Conner or Con as he was known, who could blend in anywhere. Then we had Roger, the fourth son of some Noble who had no right to inherit, and a problem with getting into trouble. But he at least had all the necessary training to blend in with Noble society and was fully trained in self defense and protection. All tree of them were 20 years old, which meant they were free from the draft, but had decided to remain in the military. Last but not least we had Eric. He was a young man only sixteen and new to the company, but he showed great promise and I wanted to keep an eye on him.
It didn't take me long to get down to the training grounds, after all I had grown up in the Palace and a walk that would take 20 minutes for the uninitiated only took me 5 after sneaking through many side and hidden passages, not marked on any map. The Palace itself had grown over the years and was built by many people. This led to the entire layout being very convoluted making it take forever to get anywhere. As an example, to get to the North tower from the main entrance, most people would head straight there. However, going straight North from the entrance would lead you to the West tower. To get to the North tower one had to go up to the 4th floor, West to the old guestrooms, down the stairs to the basement, and from there it would lead you to the North tower. And that's just the fastest way there. To avoid the old areas of the Castle and still get to the North tower from the entrance usually would take going up and down multiple flights of stairs leading to the East and northeast sections of the Castle before arriving at the North tower. The Castle itself is said to be over 500 years old which dates it back to the old empire. But I've gone off on a tangent.
The training grounds I was heading towards was on the West side of the Castle overlooking the sea. There's a large open area often used by Archers and Calvary. Thus, that was where most of the stables as well as training grounds were located. The main barracks for the army was located to the North of all the training grounds. This set of barracks was my final destination as that was where my old office was located. I was hoping to find the four I mentioned there but if not, I could certainly find them close by. The grounds themselves were very well kept with a few packed rings of dirt used for close combat as well as open fields to practice charging in formation with the horses. If I was going to do as the King asked and hold training sessions, I was going to need to take over, and possibly completely remodel, the training grounds. They simply weren't big enough to hold the amount of men that I'd be required to train. But that's for another day. As I wandered lost in thought I bumped into Roger and told him to find the other three for me and meet me in my office.
My Office was as well kept as if I hadn't been gone for the better part of a year, but that's to be expected. I had an aid that also use this office frequently. Jimmy, my second in command, was going to be taking over this office tomorrow morning, if I could ever find him. Jimmy had a bad habit of drinking himself into oblivion when he had days off, and today was one of them. He was not going to be happy with me when I give him the news. Well there was no helping it, time to start packing up. I grabbed all my old log books, maps, and the few personal belonging that I kept, and packed them up for the servants to come and get tomorrow morning for their trip to my new office in the royal wing of the palace. It took all of five minutes. Then I sat down to start reading through the latest reports sitting on my desk.
Most of the reports contained the movement of the main regiment of the army, but a few were road conditions, weather reports form every corner of the kingdom, and the latest census. The job of scout commander had taken a new direction since the end of the unification war, and now consisted of gathering all sorts of data that the government need to operate properly. I no longer needed to command my men to make to often lethal infiltrations into hostile lands. It had also shrunk in size from almost three companies down to only fifty men scattered within the army, and close to two hundred civil positions scattered amongst almost every town and city. My job was mostly pushing papers now a days, so it won't be hard for Jimmy to take over.
I was most of the way though the pile of reports on my desk when the four I summoned came in.
"So boss, what's the latest? If you want the four of us it's got to be something good right? We going under cover at some nobles' private residence again or something? The wars over right so why are we all here?"
"Oh shut it Roger, if you would let him speak, I'm sure the boss would tell us what's on his mind"
"Can it Con. You're such a suck up. Dam teachers pet I swear."
"Would you two knock it off?! Your giving me a headache. Welcome back Captain. Its good to have you here again. You were missing so long I was starting to think you were dead or something. Couldn't you have let us know you were alive at least?" Melissa snapped at Con and Roger, before turning to me with tears in her eyes. I just shook my head at her as Eric brought up the back of the line coming into my office.
"Sorry to disappoint Roger, but unfortunately we're not going undercover at some nobles estate again. As of this morning I'm no longer your captain. I have been reassigned to the Princes guard and I'm hoping to take you lot with me. That is if you want to join me. It's entirely up to you. As for your question Melissa, I was unfortunately detained in a section of mountains that had no access to any roads or infrastructure that would allow me to send a letter home. Fortunately, the locals took me in after I fell and broke my leg. However, it wasn't healed enough to leave the mountains until after the first snows had come and closed the pass back to the Kingdom, which is why I was missing all winter. It did however allow me to learn of an entirely separate culture from our own Kingdom which I've already made a report of to the King."
"Oh my God, boss how are you still alive? I mean seriously those northern tribes are savages! I can't imagine spending all winter with them. I'd almost think I'd want to die instead."
"Shut it Roger at least the boss made it back here alive. I, for one am extremely glad to have you back boss. But I have to ask what was in the report that made the King reassign you to the Princes guard. It must have been something good right?" Asked Melissa.
"Unfortunately no, my report came across as entirely unbelievable, and as the rantings of an insane man. This led to the Kings council demanding my immediate demotion and reassignment. I have been formally kicked out of military command. To save my miserable hide the King has reassigned me to the Princes guard which at least gives me a base to regain power in court."
"That's horrible. I don't care how unbelievable it is you'd never lie to the King. Surely the Kings council knows this by now! How dare they kick you out of command!" Melissa snapped in my defense.
"Yes, well, I've never really had very many fans in the Kings council. As I'm sure you know most of the Kings council hates me. Something to do with spying on them and gaining all of the intelligence needed to conquer them? I don't know, maybe they just don't like me?" I joked.
Roger, Melissa, and Con started to laugh at that. They've been with me long enough to know that The Kings council absolutely despised me. After all I was the no-good bastard son of a conquered Lord who defied the King at the start of the war. And yet somehow, I had gained the King's confidence to the point where he assigned me directly into command. All that I had gained was through the King's decrees rather than through my own efforts. However, that's not to say the King's decree was incorrect, after all I spent five years in training before joining the military and the past 10 years exceeding all expectations given to my position. However, I gained this position rather than them so, I guess it's understandable that they hate me.
"Anyways, to get back on topic Melissa, Constantine, Eric, Roger, it is my wish that you come with me into the Princes guard. I need men that I can trust. Melissa, Con and Roger have all served with me for the past five years and you have my greatest trust. As for you Eric, you only just started with the military last year serving directly under me, but I have seen that you have the potential for greatness. I don't want to lose you to some random no one who will not appreciate your talents. What say you?"
"Well, I mean you couldn't get rid of me even if you tried. So, I'm in" Replied Roger.
"Same here boss, after all you picked me up when I was a snot nose kid living on the streets and gave me a home. You're not getting rid of me now after all this time." Added Con.
"Of course, I'll come with you. Would never think of leaving you Boss." Melissa confirmed.
"Well, if you have that high of an opinion of me, I can't exactly say no, can I? I will of course follow your command captain."
"Alright, then for immediate assignment Melissa I want you on the Princes servants. Keep an eye on them. Learn who they are, along with where they live. I want to know everything about everyone in the palace that has access to the Prince. Roger, Con I want you on bodyguard duty. You two can swap off as needed but one of you should be with the Prince at all times. And last but not least Eric I'm afraid you have the hardest job of all. I need someone the Prince can trust as a friend, someone he can confide in. Unfortunately, that person gets to be you. You're not that much older than the Prince, I expect you to act as a Big Brother sounding board for him too come too for anything that he needs. As for your future positions there is the other job the King assigned me. According to the King's decree I am to start hosting advance training sessions for any and all members of military or civil servants. This means starting next week, or as soon as I can get their funds and teachers together, we will be hosting a basic training course for new recruits or those who require further training. I'm hoping that the group will be about 40 people and we should be able to pick and choose new members of the Princes guard from within the graduates. Once we have five or more people, I expect you lot to act as sergeants for your own squads. You may also end up as drill sergeants or the training courses.
"So, for now Melissa you're off to the kitchen and the servant's quarters. The rest of you come with me."
I dismissed Melissa off to her own duties and proceeded to lead the boys with me to go search for the Prince. Seeing as how it was still relatively early in the morning, not quite lunchtime, he should be in class with his tutors. It would be a good opportunity to see what the Prince was up to and how good his tutors really were. I led the men down the back halls on my way towards the Royal wing. This of course makes the journey sound easy, but it did in fact take almost 10 minutes of fast walking to get there. The Royal wing itself was relatively new or at least it had been recently renovated. There are lovely tapestries on the wall and the rug runners were well kept and clean. Antique desks and other decorations lined the halls along with some absolutely beautiful paintings.
We finally arrived at the Prince's study and opened the door slowly so as not to interrupt the instructor. This precaution was unnecessary. Upon entering we found the instructor giving his formal lesson to a sleeping Prince. Needless to say, I wasn't happy. The tutor was doing his due diligence in an effort to educate the Prince, but the Prince wasn't doing his part in paying attention. I could see the Tutors problem. If he were to try to discipline the prince, he could very well end up in prison or dead. So, I walked quietly over to the desk, nodded to the tutor, picked up a large statue from the desk. and dropped it very loudly. The Prince jumped and jerked awake. Having been rudely awoken he got out of his seat and began to yell at me.
"How dare you! Do you know where you are?! You are in the presence of the Crown Prince! I have no use for you! Leave immediately!"
"Good morning Prince Jonathan, my name is Matthew. Starting today I am in charge of your protection detail. These three men behind me are Roger, Con and Eric. Roger and Con will be your main bodyguards and Eric will be joining you in taking lessons. These orders come directly from your father. I'm sure His Majesty has no problem with my being here." I calmly informed the Prince. Mind you Roger and Con were snickering behind me and Eric was trying his best to keep a straight face. The prince, upon seeing their reactions did not take it well. He walked around me and straight up to Con.
"And what do you think you're laughing at? I could have you killed for such an action. be glad I'm in a good mood." he said as he kicked Con in the balls. "In my presence you should be on your knees at all times. It's a better look for you." He smirked.
When Con looked up with death in his eyes the Prince proceeded to kick him in the face. It wasn't a good idea. Roger, Eric and I dogpiled Con to keep him from killing the Prince then and there. Ensuring Eric and Roger had Con under control I stood up, walked calmly up to the Prince, and smacked him across the face. "That was uncalled for" I told him, as he cradled his face. When he looked back at me in rage, I continued, "Roger and Con are here for your protection, don't be stupid and give them a reason to ignore their duties. A guard who hates his master has ample opportunity to kill him. Now I have other duties to attend to, these two" I pointed at Con and Roger "are going to stay here and ensure your protection. They are also going to make sure you're paying attention to your tutor. They have full permission from me and the King to discipline you as they see fit." I leaned in to whisper in the Prince's ear "They can legally make your life a living hell. So, don't give them an excuse to do so.
"Con, Roger, I leave the Prince in your care. Eric make sure you pay attention to the tutor and learn all you can. I will come back to replace you at supper time. Until then you're on duty. Don't do anything you'd regret." I whispered the last to the two guys as I walked out the door.
I spent the rest of the afternoon reading some of the confidential reports my spies left for me in my hidden office, (No, I'm not going to tell you were it is. Go find it yourself if you're a spy dam-it.) After I finished sorting them, I made my report to his Majesty and took a nap. Come supper time when I had to take over as the princes' bodyguard, I had napped the afternoon away. When I caught up with the boys, they all looked ready to either kill the kid, or go for a drink. When I sent them off for the night with the cheerful message that they would be doing the same thing tomorrow, they all grumbled at me that they were going to get a drink. Upon entering the Royal dining hall, I found a sullen Prince and a chuckling King. I wont write it all down here, but what happen at supper was a long list of gripes and whining from Prince Jonathan, and constant refusals from the king for every demand Jonathan made. The long and short of it was that Jonathan wanted me and the boys gone, and the King wanted me there. Let's just say the king won that little battle, and I followed the prince back to his bedroom for the night. I spent a good hour dodging all manner of nonlethal projectiles, and small objects, before I managed to completely strip the Princes room from anything he could throw at me, before locking him in his room for the night. The maids are going to be mad at me in the morning. But it is what it is. Well, writing this all down has helped me calm down, so I think its time to stop for the night. I'm currently in the Prince's sitting room, writing all this down, but its already after midnight and its time to stop. I still have some other things I have to get done before morning. So, for now I will leave it here.