Despite the increased guard details, the Queen’s castle was a lovely place. Outside, in the gardens, nature was laid out for all to enjoy. The guards surrounded the edges, at the fences, at the entrances, but the hedges and flower beds were a beautiful private grove divided by pathways of bush and tree. It made Xander nervous. “Do you not enjoy the outdoors?” Asked princess Opel, “You seem stiff.” She was walking just in front of him, wearing a flowing sundress striped in patterns of brown and white. It looked like an animal’s fur. She took long steps, barefoot, through the grass just to the side of the pebble trail that made its way through the garden. “I promise you, your highness,” Xander said from the edge of the path, “I’m always this stiff. It has nothing to do with current circumstances.” From her tanned skin and love of the garden, Xander had to guess Opel was mixed with Tailin. They were a wild peoples, islanders like the Xin. They were known for their primal lifestyle, their love of animals and nature, and their common disregard for civilized solutions. The book of the Zindu warned against prolonged interaction with Tailin. Their senses were superior, they love conflict, and the strategies to manipulate them are atypical. Opel looked back to Xander, and gave a toothy grin, “I don’t think that’s true. You wouldn’t lie to a princess, would you?” Xander felt his chest constrict. He didn’t know what she could be implying, but considering everything he had been through since arriving at the castle a few weeks ago, it was possible some rumor had reached her ears. “Not unless absolutely necessary,” Xander said, averting his eyes as Opel continued to play among the grass. She hummed as she thought, “That is good enough. For now, you’re mine. I don’t much care what you do with others, but I know you can’t fool me.” What was he trying to fool her with? As they moved deeper into the garden, he kept his eyes on the bushes all around them. Maybe it was training, but being out in the open, with no one else, it made him see shadows moving everywhere that were hard to account for. “Do you fear an ambush?” Opel asked, “That isn’t a nice way to spend our date. Besides, the guards keep the garden clear of outsiders.” It wasn’t outsiders he was worried about. Xander tried to focus his eyes, “I thought this was just a walk through the garden, your highness.” “I’ve heard you get strange if we ask for dates.” He looked at her, and she had a blush on her cheeks. She was skinnier than most of the other princesses, her form seemed agile, svelte. She was a thin form covered in a thin sheet. Her hair was loose, long, and filled with small flowers and pieces of wood and grass. She had been speaking to others. It meant he was in more danger out here than he thought. “You and I both know that your mother doesn’t approve of her daughters dating,” Xander said, “I am here by her will.” “The law of the highest lady,” Opel mocked. Xander watched her again. She didn’t have complete disregard for her mother, it was something else. He was developing a growing picture of the relationship between the princesses, and their mother. It wasn’t perfect, but he was adapting to his clients. “We belong to nature,” Opel said, reaching a hand out and grabbing a small flower from a bush as they passed, “We are one with it, but we avoid it. You more than many I’ve seen, Mr. Zindu.” “We aren’t animals,” Xander replied, “The Zindu are tasked with serving society, no matter what that requires. I can’t serve an animal.” He regretted the words as soon as he spoke them. It would have been better in this case to say nothing at all. Besides it being foolish to try to speak in the name of the Zindu as a whole, he forgot himself as the sentence went on. Opel turned on him. Her lips were pulled back in what almost looked like a growl. He stopped himself, and watched as the flush of anger left her. “You serve animals every day,” Opel snapped, “You give to their base needs. You feed the beasts, clean their messes, treat their cages. Because you’ve dressed it in pompous frills doesn’t change the facts.” He had no answer. The only conversation to be had there was a discussion on what made civilization, what was the value in it. This wasn’t an argument you had with a princess, it wasn’t one you had at all. “My apologies, your highness,” Xander said, looking down. “Don’t apologize,” She said, “Come, I want to show you something.” He looked and saw she was pointing between two close tall hedges. It was a passage, shadowed by one hedge and then the next. If he didn’t know it was there, he would have walked right past it. A hidden passage in the garden. Opel smiled and slipped between them. Then he heard running. Xander’s eyes went wide, and he rushed to follow. Once inside, he ran into another hedge, and realized he had to turn. The path wound through, a maze of bushes that obfuscated that anything could be deeper. He followed the sound of her footsteps, her giggling. “Hurry up,” She said, “We don’t have all evening.” He had to stop, a fourway in front of him. He didn’t know where to go next, and her sounds gave him no hint. Then he saw a flash of her down one path, running full speed, the wind caught in her hair and her dress flapping behind her. He dashed and tried to catch up. When he took a turn, he ended up in a small garden. It wasn’t tended to like the rest, not cut in perfect squares with trees to divide the land by some grand plan. It was wild, plants he didn’t expect to see, Dagger fruits like home, vines over Tailin jungle trees. In the middle was a group of wild flowers in a large flower bed. Opel was kneeling, and looking down at a group of pure white buds just about to bloom. “Come on,” She said, motioning for him to come. When he got just before her, she put a hand up, “Stand there.” “This place,” Xander said, “Is it yours? It’s beautiful, Opel.” She smiled, and her cheeks turned dark red, “This is nature, unbound. Look here, down here. Watch closely, and show me your will to follow the law of the lady.” He looked down at the flower, though he didn’t know what she expected. Was he supposed to fall to his knees in respect of nature’s splendor? If so, she would be disappointed. He knew jungles, he visited Tailin himself 20 years before. There was nothing there that would make him betray the Queen. Then the hem of Opel’s dress slid up. The motion caught his eye, but it was nothing to worry about until it did not stop. Her knees were already open in her squatting position. With enough pulling, the dress bunched up at her hips, and her womanhood was exposed to the garden. “Your highness,” Xander said with a note of worry. He looked away. “Don’t shy away,” She said, “You have something to prove.” He looked her in the eyes, and she was watching him back. Her eyes were golden, shimmering, and held that small spark that made all Hytians powerful. “Look,” She said, “That’s a command. Watch, and see if you can resist your nature.” Xander closed his eyes, and calmed himself. When he opened them again, he looked to Opel’s groin, where her finger was teasing around her inner thigh. She slid the finger in an arc, through her thin wisps of hair, and then circled underneath, running over one lip and tripping up the other. For a brief moment, her inner lips were exposed. She pushed her finger down, from the top, over her slit. The lips spread as she went, then more when she reversed and ran up. Her fingers left her for a moment, and Xander could hear her suck them clean, before they returned with saliva lubrication. This wasn’t what he came here for. It was almost what he wanted to escape in Xin. He was serving the highest position in the land, and still he was tested daily. He had to watch as her fingers slid inside her, grit his teeth as she let out a soft moan while they sunk inside. She slid them in, out, and in again. When they spilled out next, they were wet with her own excitement, as they ran up her space and circled her node, it left her glistening with her own lust. She let out a sigh, twisted her hips, and began to circle faster and faster. “Can’t you feel it?” Opel asked, “That’s nature calling. We were made to eat and grow fast, fuck and multiply. We are the flowers, and everything is sex. The wind, the insects, the giants stepping all around us.” There was no doubt he was feeling it. Despite his training to resist it, there were some matters where nature won. In this case, Opel was making her case quite well. His gut felt warm, blood rushing down low, his whole body preparing for one task, procreation. He shut his eyes. “Don’t hide,” She said, “Isn’t that cheating?” He opened them again, and her fingers plunged inside her again, forcing a small gasp of pleasure to spill from her lips. She started to move faster, her hips swayed forward and back. Xander could feel his own breathing change, matching hers. He couldn’t stop his body matching her tune, his hips begged to sway with hers. “Oh my, it feels so good,” She whispered, “Just admit it, and you can join me. I won’t tell anyone.” Her fingers moved faster, her free hand was against her chest, her thighs shifted as she moved. The air all around him felt heavy. All he could focus on was not being excited. His body wanted to swell to the occasion, to rise to Opel’s open challenge, but he knew he could not. The Queen, he was here to serve her, not his own whims, or his own anatomy. He had to resist her beckoning fingers, her gaping spaces, her quiet moans of joy. “No, no,” Opel whispered to herself as the sounds of her self-pleasure grew louder and echoed in the garden. He could feel her excitement reaching a peak, he just needed to outlast her. It was a matter of moments, he could hold fast. “Show me your lust, Zindu,” She cried, “Come on, I want you, and you want me.” His life was not about what he wanted, this much would always be true. The sounds under her fingers were becoming sloppy, her hole being ravished by her own fingers. It was the sounds of sex itself, a one woman performance. Then, she shook all over, her mouth locked open but no sound escaping, her shoulders rose and her brow quivered. She was caught in a moment of ecstasy. The beauty of her moment of passion was too much to resist. “I’m sorry,” Xander whispered to no one. He could feel his body begin to give in. Then there was a rustle of leaves behind them. His ears, his eyes, they were far from where they needed to be. Xander turned, half expecting to find some avian onlooker. Instead, he saw an oncoming shadow, a black cloak rushing the pair. Opel screamed behind him. It was the assassin, here? There was no time to ponder why, he had to act. The assassin thought it had a good shot, thought it was just bringing down another maid before striking at the Queen’s own. Xander reached into his jacket and withdrew a knife. He dashed forward, weapon out. Eyes glowed under the cloak, and he saw a flash of steel pull to the attacker’s left. Blades clashed, and Xander used what weight he had to force the attacker off balance and to the side. Route thrown off, the assassin span away, and came to a stop. The hood fell away. Pitch black skin, haunting grey eyes, and hair like ash. It was a Nodru, the Queen’s lost children, the kingdom in defiance. The woman, looked at Opel, and then looked at Xander. She pulled her knife up and ready, bent forward ready to attack again. The rush of adrenaline changed everything. Nothing, not even the rush of lust still in his blood, could stop him from protecting the princess. “What do you want!?” Opel said as she backed away, “Leave here, leave me.” The Nodru charged again, and Xander moved to intercept. At the last moment she stopped and prepared to attack him. Her blade was more of an assassin’s tool, like a punch-knife to be used discreetly. It couldn’t duel with his dagger, but it was dangerous regardless. He could knock her blade aside, but she was fast, strong, and determined. She swept at his legs, and Xander chose to leap the blow instead of retreating. This she expected, and he caught a blow to the chest, throwing him toward the hedges. It blew all the air out of him, and left his vision swimming. Still, in the back of his mind he knew he had no time to be disoriented. Opel was in danger. He rolled and got up. The assassin was walking toward Opel, weapon gripped tightly. Opel had her hands forward, as if she had claws to fight with. She was being brave, and foolish. “Your highness, run!” Xander shouted. Opel’s eyes went to him, and in that last moment she turned to flee. The Nodru’s blade flashed across her back, catching her dress, and slicing into her skin. Opel screamed and fell to the ground. “No!” Xander’s mind started to blank. He needed to stop this, immediately. He charged without a plan, his weapon ready. The Nodru turned, and he saw too late that he was underprepared, the Nodru was a step ahead. She would use his own momentum against him, block his blow and drive the knife into him. There was no other choice. He adjusted in the air, rammed himself into her, yelled with the sting of the knife’s blade. They both hit the dirt of the flower bed. The knife stuck out of his shoulder, but the Nodru had a slash of her own. Xander struck down again, stabbing for her heart. The blow wasn’t clean, but it landed. The Nodru shrieked, threw him off, and moved to run. He was in no shape to follow, wobbling and falling over. The Nodru went for the edge of the hedge, but the wall of green bursted open, the bright silver of Galan armor appearing, several guards with Yalle at the head. The assassin stopped in place, and the guards merely lowered their weapons at first. “That is the assassin!” Xander yelled, “Stop her!” He got to his feet, and moved in their direction, the assassin stuck between more and more appearing guards. The Nodru looked to Xander, fell to her butt in the grass, and then drew up Xander’s own knife. “Get her,” Yalle commanded. His knife jammed into the Nodru’s chest, and she let out a grunt of pain, her whole body locking up. Then she fell backwards in the grass. “Hold her down,” Yalle yelled, “Get the doctor, a Princess is hurt, hurry!” Xander felt light-headed. The weapon, it must have been poisoned. He fell to his knees, and looked at the dying Nodru. His weapon still by her hand. None of this made sense. His body started to feel cold, and he blacked out. Over a week later, he entered the royal hall. “Presenting, Xander of the Zindu of Xin!” He walked the line of Galan, and made his way to the Queen. She stood, he kneeled. There were less princesses this time. Opel was there, wearing more than her sundress. Her expression seemed dour, but she waved a hand at him, and nodded. Azel was there of course, her straight expression a mockery of the Queen’s own. There was also Dalia, and Irella. Besides the royal family, there were nobles lined up behind the guards. They whispered as he stayed there, his head bowed. “Xander of the Xin,” The Queen said, smiling down on him, “Rise, and look at me.” No matter how much his body resisted, he did as he was told. He stifled a painful grimace as he rose to his feet and looked up into the eyes of the first woman. She beamed down on him, an expression that melted away the worry resting on his mind, and the dull ache in his shoulder. At first she said nothing. She looked him over, her expression shifting from joy, to serious, to questioning. Then she nodded to no one. “In such a short time,” The Queen said, “You have come here, and made this castle a better place for my daughters. When I asked for a great servant, I expected someone to cook and clean. I did not expect you to save what is most precious to me. For that, you have already earned eternal gratitude.” She looked out over the crowd, and lifted a hand to the room, “You exposed a Nodru plot against my own blood. Though it pains me, I will seek justice not only for Opel, but you and that girl. But, there is more. But, there is more, Azel can explain the little details.” She fell back into her seat, rested on one hand, and Azel stepped forward. “You will be given a medal of service beyond duty, so no one will forget what you have done for us. ” Azel said as if reading from a piece of paper, “You saved Princess Opel, and we will never forget that. For all of your days, the records will remember Xander, of Xin.” He could feel a knot in his stomach. The little details of the assassination were picking at him, even through the compliments of the Queen. “Thank you, your highness, your majesty,” Xander said with a bow to both. “It will never be enough,” The Queen mentioned with a shrug, “Though, I wonder if I cannot give you something more.” His heart thumped in his chest at the words, though he couldn’t know what she meant. “I have arranged for more than a gift,” She said, “Though I will be served more than anyone. I guess in that way, my second gift is a little selfish. I ask that you enjoy it.” It was vague, but he bowed in acceptance. “Go now,” The Queen dismissed him, “Xander, first Zindu of the Queen, her highest servant.” The crowd broke into cheers, and he tried to enjoy the moment. Nobles came to congratulate him, faces he only saw in passing before then. It was slow progress through the bodies, hands, and smiles, and when he made it outside he was greeted by something more. It was Sali and Yalle, standing in full armor. At first he didn’t know what to expect. The hall was still open behind him, but just outside that door, he felt like it would take days to run back. Then they both nodded to him, a small sign of respect. “Good work,” Sali said, “Though I would have rathered no one get stabbed, I haven’t had a chance to thank you for defending the princess while my girls got there.” Xander looked to Yalle. She was not nearly as soft on him. Her face was still tight with contempt, and she kept her chin turned up high. “Speaking of,” Xander said, “Can we speak a moment about the assassin?” Sali flared her nostrils, and looked to the crowd in the next room. She motioned down the hall, and they started to walk away from the pomp and glamor. “There is nothing to speak of,” Sali said, “She’s dead, little man.” “Yes, she is,” Xander replied. “We have an investigation into how she got onto the grounds,” Yalle added, “She must have snuck her way to the castle from the port, maybe on a Medika trade ship. They have been known to do business with those… people.” “Yes, but,” Xander felt his body shaking just to get the words out, “That isn’t the assassin.” Sali stopped and put a hand out, stopping them all. “What kind of Red-wrecked-shit is that?” Sali cursed, “The woman who came in and tried to kill the princess wasn’t the assassin?” Yalle snorted, “The poison may have hit you harder than we thought.” Xander sighed, “She was right handed, the assassin in the hall that is.” Sali’s expression became more serious, but no less annoyed. Now he was questioning her abilities as guardmaster, it wasn’t safe ground. Still, he needed to get his message across. “She could have been strong in both hands,” Sali said. “Or you remember wrong,” Yalle added. “No,” Xander snapped, then he stopped himself. He stood tall, and wrapped his hands behind his back, “Possible. But even then, as a Nodru, how would she have vanished inside the castle after attacking the maid?” Sali shook her head, “Zindu, you have gained your commendations, you have served our Queen. Don’t cause trouble where there doesn’t need be any.” Xander held his tongue. The two women stood to their full heights, and looked down at him. He had nothing here, the Nodru, even if she was another assassin, had covered the tracks of the first attacker. He turned, and left. When he went back to his room, he found a golden emblem just for him. It was quite a gift, a sign from the Queen herself that he was the best of his kind. A reminder that his first command was to serve the Queen. He settled down, tried to see it from all ways, and finally found rest. In his sleep, a sound in his room made him jump up from bed. There was someone in his room. He leaped up and prepared for the worst, but as he got to the floor, he relaxed his stance. The woman turned. She was about his height, her skin only slightly lighter than his. “You,” He said, taking a formal stance, “Identify yourself.” As if he didn’t know enough of the answer to be concerned. He had a crisis before him, a possible plot. This wasn’t what he needed. She bowed, her skirt swishing to and fro with the motion, “I am Zilli, of the Zindu.” It was as he feared. “What is your place?” He asked. “I am of the second rung, complete in all ways, trained on the shores of the curved blade.” Xander circled her, his eyes focusing on her every motion. There was a terrible sensation in his stomach. It was his whole body reacting, flaring up with alarm he was able to avoid most of his time here. Except this Zilli, she was one of his own, a fellow Xin, and of such high rank. He needed to reply, it was tradition. “I am-” “I know who you are,” She said cut him short, “You are Xander, of the Zindu. First rung, complete in all ways, trained at the top of Yanda’s peaks, highest of your kind, 6th most powerful man of the Xin. You were the greatest on the isles, and then I was.” Was this his second gift? Surely Azel could have explained to the Queen that this was far from a gift. “Why are you in my room?” He asked. She looked around, and in the darkness he saw her smirk, “It is my room as well.” This was going to be difficult. He didn’t need distractions, not now while the Queen prepared to extract answers from the kingdom of the Nodru, not while armies prepared to march, not while his mind picked at a mystery he couldn’t solve. This was his place though, to serve, like all of the Zindu. He straightened himself, and bowed to her, as she did in kind. He said, “Welcome, Zilli.”