Izzy knew someone was behind her before she saw a shadow pass over her. The clicking of the heels was an obvious clue that she was being followed. Izzy wasn’t sure where she was going but she had to get out of there. The weird way Alex was acting made her head filled with unnecessary feelings. Something she did not want to have.
“Your expression tells me you are thinking of something hard,” a voice teased, passing Izzy and turning around to face her. She stopped in her tracks but with a slight late reaction, it made her stumble into his chest.
“Oh, I am so sorry. Forgive me,” Izzy mumbled, not looking up at Maliki. She could not face anyone at the moment and wanted the time of peace to herself before Timothy would drag her out again.
“No need to apologize,” Maliki said and suddenly it became very silent. Izzy dared not to look up or else her head would spin with another wave of uncertainty. It irritated her that being the opposite gender would be harder to complete her job.
“So you will be attending tonight’s celebration,” Maliki said, more commenting than questioning.
“If the king or prince needs me, I will attend. Otherwise, I do not dare to come if they do not need my assistance,” Izzy replied curtly, walking around him. He grabbed her arm as she passed, holding on and never wanting to let go. It was all so metaphoric for him. He never wanted to be alone, so he kept his grasp as if holding onto something physical would make him less lonely.
“Why are you ignoring me?” Maliki asked, his voice flowing with hurt. She only gave a short sigh and for the first time, looked at him straight in the eye. Her emerald green eyes stole his breath away and he felt the heat spreading in his body.
“I’m not ignoring you. I cannot befriend a royal. My job is to protect Prince Alexander which honestly gives me no time to chit chat and get distracted.” Izzy was truly sorry for ending an abrupt friendship but when she explain to Timothy about her indecisive feelings, he could make arrangements for her to focus hard on training until Alexander’s marriage when she will officially be his bodyguard.
“So you are not going to talk to me anymore?” Maliki asked and suddenly a small burning fire began to burn brighter and angrier. “Is that how you deal with things? Run away so you do not have to face it?”
“You do not know anything about me and what is going through my mind,” Izzy hissed, feeling the anger come from within. She knew she had to calm herself down before she does something regrettable.
“I know you fancy Alexander,” Maliki hissed back, taking a dangerous step closer to Izzy which caused her to stumble back slightly. She looked away, her eyes suddenly taking interest on the ground. Maliki bit his lips regretting that he had asked her and then for her reaction of not answering. It was evident to both of them that she fancied him.
“It’s not my place to fancy him. My feelings will not be a distraction when it comes to your sister’s relationship with him and his protection,” Izzy said with new determination. She accepted the fact that she would never have a family, never have a husband since the day she was born into this world. Being a bodyguard was what fate had set her to become and with that, she embraced her duty.
“So you do like him,” Maliki whispered, taking yet another step toward Izzy. They were only a couple inches apart but all he could focus on was her eyes. He could read the mixed emotions she was feeling and the uncertainty of her decisions. Even through all this, she had put her duty before her emotions.
When she didn’t answer, Maliki brushed a lock of fallen hair over Izzy’s ears and sighed. “Do you fancy me?” he asked, with a little more hope than he intended. Her eyes sparked as she took in this question but it dulled as she turned away back to the ground.
“Why are you asking me?” Izzy said. She was confused beyond her imagination. There she was, a nobody, yet she developed some kind of feelings for both of them. She didn’t know which one had a stronger pull but one thing she knew was that she could never have either of them and she had to learn how to accept it.
“Because maybe I fancy you,” Maliki said quietly. Surprised, Izzy looked up at Maliki but now it was his turn to reject eye contact.
“What?” Izzy barely whispered. It was not supposed to be like this. “N-no. You can’t. It is forbidden.” Maliki chuckled lightly and nodded.
“This I am aware of but I will never be-”
“Isabelle!” a commanding voice boomed. Maliki left Izzy go as they both saw his father, King Henry, approaching.
“What are you two doing here alone?” he asked suspicious and disgusted at the same time. “You should be getting ready for the wedding engagement.”
“Izzy is here because she is assigned to protect me until the wedding, father. King John insisted,” Maliki said, anger coursing through his blood. He didn’t like the way his father was looking at Izzy.
“Izzy? You have given her a nickname? Is that how shallow, how low you have become? Oh, my son. We are above them. There is no need for all this ‘niceness’ you are showing around them,” King Henry said smugly. He looked at his son in disgrace. There was a reason to neglect his son and he hated it each time he saw his son’s face. He was the reason his wife had died through child labor. Maliki was a mistake, a disgrace and he could only blame him.
“Father, there is no need to argue about this. I will be on my way to get ready,” Maliki said to his father. There would be no point on arguing since he knew his father would never understand. His father degraded commoners and looked down on the people who worked in the palace although his palace would never function without them.
“Do not give me this attitude,” King Henry said bashfully but then cleared his voice, remembering Izzy’s presence. He examined her and did not understand why Maliki gave her any attention. She was clearly beautiful but her status would always put her as an ungrateful peasant, commoner. “I shall see you this evening.”
“Come on, Izzy,” Maliki said, waving his hand, signaling her to follow him. Izzy began to make her way to Maliki’s outstretched arm, feeling awkward and offended but King Henry, stopped her.
“I would like to talk to Isabella for a moment. Would you kindly join me?” King Henry asked without looking at her. Maliki was worried for Isabella, as he knew that his father was going to scold her, but he also knew that he couldn’t do anything to get her out of it.
“Yes, of course, your Majesty,” Izzy said, bowing instead of curtsying. King Henry’s eyes narrowed at it but he let it go. He had other plans than to list her many flaws.
“I will see you later, Izzy?” Maliki questioned. He wanted it to come out as a statement but he wasn’t sure if she would be able to attend.
“It will depend on King John’s choice,” she said quietly, her head bent down, fearing to look up. Maliki nodded worriedly even though he knew she couldn’t see him and left her with his father.
“Shall we go for a short walk? I need to a little time outdoors,” King Henry said kindly. This raised Izzy’s suspicion but she needed to get on his good side for the sake of Maliki and Alexander who was going to be his future son-in-law.
“Yes, sir,” she replied and began to walk alongside with him.
“You seem very comfortable around my son, is that right?” he asked after a moment of silence. Izzy thought for a while before answering.
“We keep a sensible distance, sir. I am only here for his protection as it is my duty.” They were coming toward the corner of the palace where a small garden of vegetables were grown for the kitchen’s use. No one ever came out unless they needed any fresh ingredient and Izzy felt uncomfortable to be alone with the king as he was a much higher position than she.
“I see,” King Henry muttered. “And you will be Prince Alexander’s bodyguard after he weds my daughter?”
Izzy again answered his question politely but didn’t understand why he was asking things he already knew. They rounded the corner when something moved at the corner of her eye. Before she could react, the daylight disappeared and her arms were pinned behind her. As she was about to scream, a hand covered her mouth securely.
She tried to fight it but there were four hands grasping and they were all too strong for her. The smell of rotten potatoes filled her nostrils and she realized she was bagged by an empty potato sack.
‘Where was the king?’ was her next response but she found out too soon.
“This is such a pity to do this to a woman but I am afraid you are a danger to my daughter’s betrothal so until then, you will be taken care of. I will decide whether to give you a chance of life or death,” King Henry said, his voice flowing with venom.
Izzy’s worried thoughts turned into anger. Why would she be a threat to Alexander’s marriage? She was his bodyguard and without protecting him, she didn’t know what to do with her life even if she did have a chance at life. She was born for this and trained for this and it enraged her.
Izzy began to kick and escape the two men, but it was no use. They were much bigger and stronger than her. That didn’t mean she gave up. She knew she had to keep fighting until the end.
“Take her out of here quietly!” King Henry ordered and with that Izzy felt an excruciating pain before everything went blank.