Kenneth’s POV
They were coming. Today. It was today they were coming and I was so excited. The men had sent other letters and had attached the date of their arrival to it.
I was elated that they had all decided to do that. They must have known what a worrying mess I was even without anyone telling them. Good. I smiled, reminding myself why they were worthy of being my soldiers.
I checked the calendar again for the umpteenth time, confirming to myself that it was truly today that they were here. They had told me that they had resolved their issues and would be around today. Though they hadn’t used the birds that I had sent and theirs that they had groomed and I didn’t recognize, I couldn’t fail to recognize the handwriting and style of writing of my soldiers. I hadn’t painstakingly trained them for years to not know information as little as that about them.
I checked the sun, hating that it was soon going down and no longer as bright as it had been hours ago. I sighed, feeling worried with each setting of the sun. If only they could have predicted the time that they would be here, I would have loved that.
Wasn’t it today that they were coming back? I sighed, checking the sun again. I had two hours before the sun set and then five hours before the curfew into the land. I didn’t want them to come after the curfew. That would generate a lot of interest that I didn’t want. Some of the elders were always awake in their houses during the curfew, watching the streets and there was no how soldiers would march in in large amounts that they wouldn’t be curious.
There was no how they wouldn’t find out that I had called for them and was planning something to do with them. That was the last thing that I needed to deal with.
It was better for the men to come in now in batches when everyone hadn’t settled in their homes and was busy outside with various activities.
I hissed out loud. They knew this. Why were they making me worry unnecessarily?
“Who is out there?” I called out, knowing that two guards were there at the door to my office.
“My lord,” I heard two voices talking back to me.
“One of you should come.” I said.
“Yes.” I heard and then the door to my study got open. “My lord,” he bowed in greeting.
I didn’t bother to acknowledge the greeting. It wasn’t like I knew him or his name. I didn’t care to know anyone of them except the soldiers in the military. I only recognized the guards, maids and servants by their uniforms and that was why I insisted that they must always put it on.
What was the point of caring about the names and identities of lowly servants when they were not important to the grand scheme of things I had stuffed in my head to do? Only soldiers strong enough to be in my private military were important to be stored in my precious brain.
If I wanted to store the names of all the workers in the palace in my brain, I would be having a migraine every minute. If I wanted to acknowledge every greeting offered to me by everyone around me, my head would have fallen off from nodding and my hand would throb from waving.
I couldn’t allow that to happen to my distinguished royal body. No one was worthy of causing me pain.
I remembered that the guard was still in my study with his head bowed and cleared my throat.
I didn’t bother to tell him to raise his head. He shouldn’t do that. He didn’t have to see the worry lines etched wildly across my face.
“Go outside to the border and check if anyone is coming or a troop is marching towards here.”
I could see his eyebrows lift as if he wanted to ask if we should prepare for a war but he didn’t dare ask me that, not unless he was sick of being alive.
“Go.” I said, urging him.
“Yes, my lord.” He bowed again and left.
He was back twenty minutes later. “No one seems to be coming, my lord.” He seemed to be relieved as I said that.
I scowled, mad that he dared to be relieved about the task I had given him without knowing why I had given him such. He wasn’t properly trained and I felt the urge to punish him. A good soldier delivered his messages and reports without letting his emotions be involved.
I was certain that he would hesitate if I told him to kill and might even beg on behalf of those who were to be victims.
“Keep checking every hour and get back to me.” I ordered him.
“Yes, my lord!” He said, his voice loud as he spoke and bowed before leaving the room.
I smirked as I watched him leave the study. I was glad that he didn’t show any hesitation or grumble when I gave him the orders to check the border every hour. He was lucky that he didn’t show that the order was stressful or he wouldn’t have his head in the next ten minutes.
He was back two more times, telling me that no one was around.
I sighed, wondering what was happening. I had barely three hours before the curfew, before everyone knew what I was planning to do.
“My lord”-I heard someone say at the door and my heart skipped a beat as I thought that the news of the arrival of my soldiers had finally come-“your meal is waiting.”
I scoffed at the maids, wondering what her problem was. She had told me that my dinner was ready two hours ago and I had told her that I would come for it when I was ready. Why couldn’t she wait for me to call for the food when I was ready?
I sighed, deciding not to take too much anger on the maid as I reminded myself that she had called for me for my sake. All the maids knew that I hated cold meals and it must be getting cold by now. She had probably called to remind me so they wouldn’t have to cook again when it gets too cold for my liking. I decided to stand up and have my dinner, having pity on my maids.
I wouldn’t want them to slave away in the kitchen this late at night. It wasn’t like I cared about them not getting stressed but I didn’t want to waste the food in the palace kitchen. I would need a lot of food from there when we travel to kill the wolves. I wasn’t about to start wasting food.
“I will be right outside.” I said to her.
“Yes, my lord.” I heard her reply through the door. “I will set the table.”
I grunted as I heard her footsteps walking away and packed the items on my desk. It now remained two hours before the curfew. I sighed as I got up from the chair and walked towards the door.
The door flew open just before I got to it and the guard I had given the task to watch over the border ran in, smiles all over his face.
He bowed as he spoke. “My lord, I see some men coming towards the gate. They look like your soldiers.”
It was no wonder he was smiling. He must be relieved that he was finally free from his assignment and could go to bed.
I was too elated myself to think about him letting his emotions get the best of him. “You can go.” I told him and rushed outside, my feet eating across the ground in fast paces.
Dinner could wait and if it got too cold, I didn’t mind starving for the night.
They were finally here.