Eleven

Marcus’ breakfast the next morning was the best meal he’d had since coming into this world. A heaping pile of eggs accompanied a colorful assortment of fruit that Marcus had no names for, spicy sausage gave the hearty dish some heat, and freshly baked bread let him soak up the delicious fat left behind after he had inhaled the entire plate. All of that was literally served to him on a silver platter, brought to him by a shy and mousy maid with bouncy brown hair and soft eyes of the same color.

Truly, the breakfast of champions.

Finally full for the first time in forever, Marcus stood from the little table in his room and walked over to the small bed. It was a simple bed with a wooden frame and a down-stuffed mattress, and it would have been very comfortable if his feet hadn’t hung off the end of it. It didn’t seem like anything in this world was made for a man of his size. Still, no matter how small the bed was, it beat sleeping on a canvas cot.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he slipped his feet into his boots. He was to meet with Duke Dresden soon. He hadn’t been given a specific time but assumed it would be as soon as he finished his breakfast. Sure enough, a light tapping came from the door leading into his room, and when opened, it revealed the same mousy maid that had brought him his breakfast.

“I am to bring you to Duke Dresden.” She said in a quiet voice, her eyes flickering from his gaze back to her feet.

Marcus gave her a bright smile, finding her timidness endearing. “Lead the way. And thank you.”

“…you’re welcome.” She whispered in reply, her cheeks tinged a light shade of pink.

Marcus didn’t bother trying to remember all of the twists and turns they took to get to the Duke’s study. There were so many doorways, corridors, sitting rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, and every other room imaginable in the manor that Marcus would have been lost even with a map. In fact, he had to think that some sort of magic was involved when they found their way to the study without taking one wrong turn.

Surprisingly, the door to the duke’s study was rather mundane, especially when compared to the one leading into the ‘Western Library.’ Marcus would have thought that for such an important man’s personal study, the door would have been made of solid gold, or that the doorknob would have been one giant diamond, or that the hinges would have been carved from ten-thousand-year-old gopher wood carried down from the peak of Mount Everest on the back of a one-legged sherpa. Instead, it was a simple door, no different from most of the others in the manor, with a brass knob and tasteful etchings that brought to mind a peaceful meadow.

The mousy maid knocked on the door much more forcefully than Marcus thought she was capable of, the sound bouncing off the walls of the wide corridor they had just come down.

“Enter.” The duke’s voice forced its way through the thick door, prompting the maid to take a deep breath before leading Marcus inside.

The warm scent of incense and brandy filtered through the threshold, reminding Marcus of a high-end bar he had once gone to for a bachelor party. The early morning sun streamed through the plated windows, bathing the medium-sized room in a light that chased the shadows across the polished wood floors.

Duke Dresden himself sat behind an intimidating, dark mahogany desk. The legs were carved to resemble twisted vines, and the trim had leaves that looked so realistic that Marcus could almost feel the breeze causing them to flutter. Several small mountains of papers sat on the top of the desk, covering every inch except for the small square the Duke used to sign them as he went.

The maid’s heels clacked as they approached the duke and his impressive amount of paperwork. Just looking at it gave him a headache. He didn’t know everything a duke was responsible for, especially in a city-state like Lorenth. He was most definitely not a historian by any means, but he knew that city-states were much smaller than actual countries—at least, he thought they were. He could be wrong.

Shrugging his shoulders to himself as he stopped before the large desk, Marcus waited for someone to speak up. Duke Dresden was still scribbling away at a piece of yellow parchment, the words a jumbled mess of nonsense in his eyes. He hadn’t much need for reading since coming to this world but would like an opportunity to learn at some point.

“You are dismissed.” Duke Dresden said, not stopping what he was doing.

With a bow of her head, the maid immediately turned on her heel and quickly absconded the room like she had somewhere very important to be. Marcus watched her leave with a smile on his face. He had only met her today but was already disappointed that he wouldn’t get a chance to get to know her better.

“You may sit.” The duke offered, still scribbling away, now on a new piece of parchment. Marcus wondered if the entire conversation would be in snippets between paperwork.

Marcus looked at a small sofa off to the side. It featured red, velvety cushions and dark wood that matched the desk, and it screamed ‘uncomfortable’. Still, he decided to risk it and was pleasantly surprised when a cloud came up to meet his rear end.

“Firstly, I would like to apologize.” Duke Dresden started, finally putting down his feathered quill. “Before I attended the auction, I looked into the circumstances of all of those involved, and yours is not a unique case. All of those who accompanied you in Franklin’s training were falsely accused of various crimes and sold into servitude. That being said, most of them were not good men.”

“If you knew I was innocent, why didn’t you do anything? You’re a duke; you could have gotten me set free!” Marcus exclaimed, schooling his anger but still allowing enough of it to show itself.

Duke Dresden’s expression didn’t change as he let Marcus’ words wash over him, his blue eyes frozen over into an icy sheen. “I needed someone to protect my daughter, and her needs come above all others’.”

“So, you let me get branded as a slave so you could use me?” Marcus snarled, his seal burning a hole into his back.

“I did.” The duke stated plainly. “I would let a thousand men, women, and children be sold into slavery if it meant my daughter’s safety was assured. Nothing is more important to me.”

“Then why marry her off to begin with? Marcus asked, not finding the logic in the duke’s words. “If you think she’ll be so unsafe, then why let her go? Just keep her here where you can keep an eye on her.”

Duke Dresden’s face contorted in anger, not at Marcus, but at something else entirely. “There are powers at play that even I cannot stand against. The king of Lorenth had no daughters, and neither did the Monarch of Pol Trulant. Alis… My daughter is the only one of royal blood capable of securing an alliance between our two nations, one that we need desperately.”

“Your daughter is in line to be queen?” Marcus asked.

“No, of course not, but her cousins, the princes, are.”

Marcus rubbed the bridge of his nose while he digested everything that he had been told. He had found himself in the middle of some Game of Thrones shit, and he didn’t like it one bit. That show held no qualms about killing people off.

“A union between our two royal houses will ensure peace,” the duke continued as Marcus ruminated. “And there are those that do not wish for peace.”

“Alright,” Marcus said, deflating as he accepted his fate. “So, is that the whole reason you wanted to see me, to apologize for using me for your own ends?”

Duke Dresden leaned back in his chair, smoothing out his crimson vest as he did so. “No, I wanted to impart to you how important your task will be. Not just my daughter’s fate is in your hands, but the fate of our two nations as well. Although what happened to you is regrettable, it was the only way to ensure that there would be someone there to protect her.”

“Why is that? Why can’t she have her own guards go with her?”

“Paranoia. Even as we try to build peace between us, the Trulants are so concerned about spies infiltrating the royal court that they will not allow any foreigners inside the palace. Not even dignitaries from their neighbors.” Duke Dresden explained with an exasperated sigh.

“But since I’m considered property…” Marcus added, a sour taste forming in his mouth.

“My daughter can bring you along.” The duke finished, nodding his head. “Like I said, it was the only way. The marriage was going to happen no matter what, and I couldn’t allow her to go there on her own.”

Objectively, Marcus understood. It was a convoluted mess of politics and power plays, and he was forced to participate. He wasn’t happy about it, not in the least, but all he could do was accept it and try to make it out alive.

“So, all I have to do is make sure your daughter doesn’t get hurt?” Marcus clarified as he leaned forward on the edge of the sofa. “She’ll be living in their palace, right? There shouldn’t be that much danger…”

“I honestly do not know what to expect. No one knows how their royal court functions; it should be safe for her, but I cannot be certain.”

Marcus let out a long sigh before changing the subject. “When will I be able to meet your daughter? Her name was Alissa, right?”

“Tonight, at dinner. I will introduce you two, so she knows who will be accompanying her. In the meantime, Franklin will instruct you on what will be expected of you and certain formalities that must be observed when dealing with their royal court.” Duke Dresden said as he plucked his quill up from the desk. “You are dismissed.”

The evening quickly approached, and with it, a throng of activity. It looked like the Duke was treating tonight’s dinner as a formal affair. Marcus was given finely tailored clothes that matched what he had seen adorning many of the more affluent people on his way to the manor. His outfit for the night was an ivory-colored shirt with the familiar puffy arms underneath a coal-black vest made from the finest silk Marcus had ever felt. His pants were of the same fabric as the vest, making it feel as if he wasn’t wearing anything at all.

Marcus looked at himself in the body-length mirror, making sure that everything was in place. Franklin had spent most of the day after his meeting with the duke going over all of the most important intricacies of noble society. There was much to remember, and luckily, Franklin hadn’t expected him to remember everything. He was going to travel with them to the border of Pol Trulant and would teach him as they went.

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A forceful knock came from his door, pulling his eyes away from himself and to the wooden threshold. Opening it revealed the cute, mousy maid who had been attending to him lately. Her big brown eyes flickered to his before coming back to his feet in a now familiar motion.

“Dinner is very nearly ready, sir.” She stammered in a small voice. “If you would please follow me, I will bring you to the dining room.”

“What’s your name?” Marcus asked, stepping into the corridor and closing the door behind him.

Her cheeks immediately took on a darker color. “My name, sir?”

“Yeah,” Marcus smiled at her. “Your name.”

“…it is Melody, sir.”

“That’s a beautiful name. It suits you quite well.” Marcus complimented as he tried to get the woman to open up to him. “My name is Marcus; you don’t have to call me ‘sir.’”

Melody’s face managed to turn a few shades darker as her eyes squeezed shut. She mumbled something so quiet that Marcus failed to hear it before she spoke in a shrill voice. “P-please follow me to the d-dining room… Marcus.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she practically ran down the hallway, her long, black-and-white dress swishing intensely. Marcus chuckled deeply, his booming laughter chasing after the maid as she ran. He didn’t mean to cause Melody to become so flustered but found that he enjoyed teasing her greatly.

After a half-marathon of long corridors and sweeping turns, Marcus and Melody found themselves in front of yet another set of double doors. These were just as ornate as the ones that led into the Western Library and were failing to hold back the mouthwatering smells of whatever culinary delights waited for him on the other side.

The doors opened on silent hinges, Melody hardly having to push against them to cause them to swing inward. The dining room was less of a ‘room’ and more of a ‘great hall.’ It was more than one hundred feet long and half as wide, the same polished marble as the foyer made up the floor, and three chandeliers of the finest crystals were spaced equally across the soaring ceiling. The longest table Marcus had ever seen sat in the center of the room, with more than fifty chairs lining it on either side. Smaller satellite tables with their own chairs filled the empty spaces around the room, and several doors lined the walls, allowing a flood of servants to filter into the grand room.

Melody walked in front of Marcus, but due to his towering height and her diminutive size, he could see that the duke was already seated at the head of the ridiculously long table. He sat alone, the many dishes in front of him still covered by silver domes. A few servants still fluttered about, placing more trays on the table and setting plates and silverware in front of the chairs.

When the duke had told him he was going to introduce him to his daughter, he thought it was going to be a simple affair. But from the amount of food and the number of plates involved in tonight’s dinner, it was shaping up to be something of a party.

“I think we’re a little bit early,” Marcus whispered over Melody’s shoulder with a smile.

His words didn’t elicit a response from her, but he did see the tips of her ears redden as she quickened her steps toward the long table. Marcus was ushered to the seat directly to the left of Duke Dresden, Melody dropping him off like he was radioactive before scuttling through one of the many doors lining the room.

“Long time no see,” Marcus said as he pulled the chair out from the table.

Duke Dresden cocked an eyebrow at him but ignored the statement. “The others should be joining us shortly.”

“Who else is eating tonight?” Marcus asked, squirming around in the ornate chair as he tested its integrity. “Am I going to meet Mrs. Dresden tonight as well?”

“No, you will not,” the duke said, turning his eyes to the far door. “She passed some time ago, during childbirth.”

Marcus felt a sudden pang of regret as he saw the expression of melancholy crawl its way across the Duke’s aged face. It was always uncomfortable when one brought up a sensitive subject without knowing it. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Do not mention it, especially to my daughter. She blames herself for her mother’s death, and I will not see her despair needlessly. Do you understand?” Duke Dresden said forcefully, causing a tingle of pain to radiate from Marcus’ back.

Apparently, he was serious about not bringing it up.

Just then, the double doors opened, allowing a large group of men in fancy dress into the dining room. Unsurprisingly, Marcus didn’t recognize a single one of them, and although he had yet to meet the duke’s daughter, he could tell she wasn’t among the large group. They approached the long table, chatting amicably amongst themselves until they all went silent and gave Duke Dresden deep bows.

That was when Marcus realized he hadn’t bowed to the duke, showing him the proper respect. He didn’t really care about all that, but he had just had lessons with Franklin about proper etiquette, so he hoped the duke didn’t think he was an idiot.

“You may be seated.” Duke Dresden declared, waving his hands to the empty chairs on either side. “Alissa’s lessons must be running long, but it should not be much longer.”

Marcus leaned back in his chair, the group’s conversation continuing around him as they all took their seats, his mind latching on to all of the things he managed to get wrong just walking into the room. He had a long way to go if he didn’t want to make himself look like a fool.

“Ah, there she is.” Came Duke Dresden’s voice, interjecting itself into Marcus’ self-deprecating thoughts.

The clattering of the chairs sliding across the marble floor clued Marcus into what he should do, and he hurried to his feet. He didn’t want to mess up any more than he already had. Franklin stood out first only because he wasn’t decked out in his full plate armor. Marcus could have sworn that the metal was actually melded into his body and that he was only human from the shoulders up. He was dressed in the same style of clothes as he was; the only difference was that his vest and pants were a light blue color that matched his eyes.

Then, his eyes drifted to the woman behind him. She wore a light pink, sleeveless dress made of chiffon fabric that fell to the floor in waves. Her long, golden hair framed her face in loose curls that bounced off her bare shoulders as she walked. Her skin was flawless and fair like she had been a stranger from the sun. Even from across the room, Marcus couldn’t see the bottom of her wide, cerulean eyes that sat atop an upturned button nose, and her pink lips were curved in a pleasant smile that outshone any light in the room, blinding him from everything else.

She was absolutely adorable, and Marcus felt an instinctual need to wrap her in his arms to keep her safe.

“Daddy!” Alissa called out, her already bright smile exploding into something more.

Lifting the hem of her long, flowing dress, she floated across the remaining distance between her and the duke. With a wide smile of his own, Duke Dresden reached out for his daughter and wrapped her up in a gentle hug. They stayed that way for a breath before releasing each other.

“Oh, please forgive my rudeness,” Alissa suddenly said as she turned to the others standing at the table and gave them a small curtsy. It is wonderful to see you all again. I know it has been some time since we have all had a meal together.”

“Lady Alissa,” One man started, bowing his head. “You are as beautiful as ever; we are all fortunate to be graced with your presence tonight.”

A low murmur of other greetings and compliments came from the group, and it took a full two minutes before they were finished and everyone had found their seats again. Lady Alissa sat to her father's right, directly across from Marcus. Although the smile never left her plump lips, she did look at him with a bit of confusion as they all settled down.

Tearing her eyes off the large man in front of her, Lady Alissa turned to her father. “Daddy, it has been some time since you called me to dine with you and your advisors. Is there something happening I should be aware of?”

“Yes, there is.” Duke Dresden said as he took in a deep breath. Marcus couldn’t help but notice the look of grim determination settled over his face. “There is no easy way to say this, so I shall be blunt. You are to be married to the third prince of the Pol Trulant kingdom.”

Marcus was almost as shocked as Alissa must have been when he heard those words. He hadn’t even told her yet? He waited until a week before she needed to leave to even bring it up! The color drained from Alissa’s face; she strained to keep the smile from slipping away, and she stared at her father with a blank expression.

“…married… But I only just came of age… and to a prince.” She mumbled, “Daddy… I have not even met the man.”

“You will meet him during the engagement party.” Duke Dresden said as he swallowed hard and took his eyes off his daughter. “It will be in two months’ time in Pol Trulant.”

Her father’s words did nothing to help the poor girl’s complexion, and Marcus felt like this conversation should have happened some time ago. Everyone watched in silence as Duke Dresden talked to his daughter and tried to school their own expressions as Lady Alissa wobbled dangerously in her chair.

“Pol Trulant?” She said, more to herself than anyone else. “Da-Father, are you… I… forgive me, I suddenly feel very ill.”

The Duke, although visibly paler himself, continued on with his explanation. “Sir Yarlin is here to explain the dowry that is to be paid to the prince,” he said, motioning toward a slightly fat man with a waxed mustache. “And Sir Harbro will discuss the logistics of your journey to the Pol Trulant royal palace. Of course, Franklin will be in charge of you guards as you travel...”

Duke Dresden gained steam as he pointed out the many other men sitting at their long table, all of them bowing as he called out their individual responsibilities. It wasn’t lost on any of them that Lady Alissa didn’t seem to be hearing anything that her father was saying.

“And finally, this is Marcus.” The duke stated as he motioned to Marcus sitting quietly in his chair. “He will be your personal guard. Anything you need, anything at all, he will be there to serve you.”

Those words seemed to have broken the young woman out of her despondent trance. Her glassy eyes refocused on him as Marcus gave her his brightest smile. It took her a moment, but she eventually returned a small smile before finally speaking to her father again. “W-we will need to ensure that Miss Jaclin has a place to start a new garden, and Miss Nicole has just given birth, so we will need to make arrangements for that as well. The others will need to move their families… There is much that I need to do before we are to leave… Father… what is it, what is wrong?”

Duke Dresden looked as if he had swallowed a toad, and a bead of sweat started to crawl down to the tip of his nose as he cleared his throat. “Your… maids will not be joining you.”

“Will they… be coming at a later date? I know some cannot move their lives to follow me, but surely Miss Erin will want to come along.”

“I am sorry. No one is going with you to Pol Trulant. You will have servants on your journey there, but once you reach the royal palace, only Marcus will be there for you.” The duke said those last words like he had to cut them out of his chest.

Silence descended on the large dining hall, and Marcus could physically feel the turmoil bubbling up within the young woman. Her face scrunched up into an unreadable expression, and her eyes started to glisten with barely restrained tears. With a swift motion, Lady Alissa stood from the table, her chair clattering noisily across the marble floor.

“Alissa! Wha…” Duke Dresden exclaimed, taken aback by his daughter’s explosion of movement.

“I…” She yelled, her voice sharp and brimming with emotion. “I… I need to leave…”

Marcus watched the young woman run from the room in a flurry of pink fabric and hurried steps. Everyone looked supremely uncomfortable as they looked at each other. Marcus had to assume that they also had thought that Alissa had already been told about her impending marriage. Almost all at once, they turned to look at the now disheveled-looking Duke Dresden.

Marcus had to say that that was the most uncomfortable conversation he had ever witnessed.

“You really didn’t tell her before now?” Marcus asked as he gave the duke an incredulous look.

He knew he hadn’t been nearly as respectful towards the man as he should have been. Not only was he a noble, but Duke Dresden also quite literally held his life in the palm of his hand. Still, Marcus found it difficult for him to bring himself to scrape and bow, and so far, he hadn’t been reprimanded, but as the duke glared at him with narrowed eyes, Marcus knew he was poking the bear.

“As it appears my daughter has taken ill,” Duke Dresden growled. “We will continue to discuss the travel arrangements in her absence. Sir Harbro, please begin…”