Chapter 104: The Familiar Soldier (II)
That name stayed engraved in her memory for years, because only a few days later, she heard from a maid that the soldier named Callen had died.
From what she was told, he had been stationed near the border during a temporary patrol shift. There, a sudden demon beast raid had struck a nearby village.
As the beasts rampaged, Callen saw a child, no older than six, crying and separated from their parents near a burning home.
While others retreated, Callen ran straight into the chaos, shielding the child with his own body. He was found the next day, curled protectively around the child, his body frozen and bloodied, but still holding the child close.
The child survived. He didn’t.
Primrose had never expected to see the young soldier again, the one whose kindness she’d almost forgotten.
"Callen," she said softly, "would you like to become my personal guard?"
Primrose looked him in the eye. "After a guard tried to kill me, it’s hard for me to trust just anyone with my safety."
Callen was taken aback, but he quickly regained his composure. "His Majesty has assigned about five trustworthy soldiers to guard your chambers in turn, Your Majesty. So ... I don’t think it’s necessary for me to become your personal royal guard."
[Most of the assigned royal guards are highly experienced. I’ve only been working here for about a year, I’m not sure I’m even qualified to be that close to the queen.]
[I still need a lot of experience, and maybe I can gain that if I’m sent to the border.]