guard dog

He returned from his thoughts when Miles finally answered his question, and he immediately went back to his playful self. He had figured Miles was young, but only a year older than Stephen? it was too good to be true. He rubbed at his ears slowly, but there was no denying that Miles had said he was 26 years old. “I’m a bit bummed that you’re older than me, but that’s okay. One year isn’t that much, hell, there might only be a few months between us” Stephen said, although it was unclear whether he was talking to Miles anymore. At this point he was just saying his thoughts out loud. “Who else have you been assigned to? any other royalty?” he asked Miles, looking over at the male curiously. There was so much Stephen didn’t know about him, so many questions that he wanted to ask his new bodyguard. Well, if all went well he’d have a life time to ask them all. He smirked a little as the rest of Miles’ words processed in his mind and couldn’t help but mentally thank them for making that mistake. They obviously hadn’t heard the rumours that followed Stephen. He let out a snort at Miles’s next words and shook his head lightly. “I doubt it” he said simply, looking over at Miles to see that he was scrunching up his nose. He let out a laugh at the sight of it before continuing on. “Let’s not focus on one day and just think about today, and today I really enjoy your frankness so it’s fine’ he said, as he looked at Miles carefully. He had noticed that Miles attempted not to look at him as much as Stephen did him, or at least tried to make it less noticeable. Unlike Stephen, who just blatantly looked at him whenever he felt like it. Stephen had never been one to shy away from things, but he figured he wouldn’t call Miles out on it. He didn’t want to make things too awkward. “Hm? Oh, that won’t be necessary. I don’t run off when I’m with my sisters, they’re two of the only people I can handle being around. Besides, they’re pretty cool when they want to be, I don’t think you’d mind them”

Stephen had to bit down on his lip hard at seeing the reaction that his words had gotten. He tried his best to not snicker at the other man, and continued to walk forward even when he realised that Miles had stopped. He glanced over his shoulder at his body guard and grinned widely. “No problem” he said, and at seeing Miles’ face he let out a small chuckle. “Okay, either you don’t get complimented as much as you should or you’re shyer than I thought you were. Either way I think I can take getting a guard flustered off my bucket list, and I didn’t even have to take my shirt off” he said as he looked forward, now walking with a spring in his step. He was having way too much fun with this, and it definitely was not one bit professional, but he just couldn’t help himself. Well, not if Miles didn’t mind it. If he did then he’d keep his thoughts to himself, for the most part. Stephen heard Miles catch up with him, but didn’t say anything to him until he finished speaking. “Well, let’s just say that my aunt and uncle didn’t make some of the same decisions my parents made. And, well, there were some love triangles” he said, running a hand through his hair as he looked up at the sky before returning his attention back to Miles. “Yeah, the weather is pretty good” he said, a smile returning to his face as he looked at Miles. He was beginning to think that maybe Miles hadn’t had to deal with people around his age much, but honestly Stephen couldn’t tell for sure. Maybe acting normal was how Miles connected with the people he protected better. He raised his eyebrow at Miles. “I’d like to hope not” he said, shaking his head and pushing the thought away from him. “That’s not something I want to think about” he said, and he was glad when the topic was changed. Stephen nodded his head, spreading his hands out in front of him. “Whatever you want” he repeated, before pausing for a moment and adding more terms to it. “Well, as long as it isn’t me not sneaking out anymore” 

“Well, there is a first time for everything” he said, scratching his neck as they continued to walk on. That meant that he’d be teaching someone something for the first time, too. And he wasn’t sure which one of them would struggle the most. He listened to Miles talk but came to a sudden stop as the male continued speaking. Body guard. Stephen hadn’t thought about that as much as he should have. His previous body guard simply stayed in the shadows, he didn’t stick to Stephen like glue, the way that he was meant to. He gave him space, and Stephen was beginning to doubt that Miles would do that. “That’s the thing” he said slowly, trying to figure out how he should explain himself to Miles. “I’d prefer if they didn’t know I was royalty. No one knows my true identity, and I’d like it to stay that way” he said, glancing away so that he didn’t see Miles’s reaction to his words. Although he was certain he’d hear an argument against it so there wasn’t much point in looking away. “I mean, you don’t exactly have to look like my body guard while protecting me, right?” he turned to Miles, and this time his eyes were more pleading, trying to figure out a solution on the spot. “We can just be friends playing a game of pool, I’ll just be the one more focused on it.” Stephen folded his arms in front of him as he walked and only nodded his head at Miles’s words, although he wasn’t about to promise anything. Stephen couldn’t ensure that he’d go along with Miles’s plan, he wasn’t a big fan of sleep anyway. You missed out on fun when you slept. Stephen looked at the gates in front of them and watched it happily as it began to open up for them, he wanted to race out and away from them as fast as he could. But he willed himself to stay in his spot, until they were completely open and Miles spoke. He immediately began to walk forward. “This is my favourite part” he said as he walked out of the gates, taking a deep breathe as if the air was different outside of the castle. He was free of the gates, his life staying behind them as he walked forward and gladly left it behind. Suddenly he began to pick up his pace when the momentum continued, feeling completely energised as he walked. “Come on, the pub isn’t too far from here” 

The people that made up the protective detail for anyone of importance was made up of two types of people. It was a mixture of the young that planned to leave for a more exciting career after a few years; most people would assume he fit into that category, but he honestly didn’t know if he wanted to leave or not. The other half were made up of the older guys, the ones that wanted an easy job to ride out their career with. He hadn’t expected to be assigned to the prince’s detail, especially at his age, and now that he was he still wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. Time would tell. “Why’s that so bad? Don’t want to respect your elders?” he glanced over in Stephen’s direction as he asked the question. Miles had to think back to the folder that had been slid across the table at him earlier that month. It had outlined all of his duties at the castle, but at the time, he had felt too overwhelmed to really know what he was reading on the pages. He read back over it as soon as he got back to his flat, though. “No one, right now. They want to give me time to settle in, I guess, and from what I hear you can be a bit of a handful so maybe it’s a good thing that I haven’t been yet.” At this, he grinned. The knowledge had caused him to pause when it was passed on to him by Stephen’s former bodyguard, but he refused to let it affect how he did his job or how he treated the prince. If he did cause Miles trouble, well, he’d deal with it when the time came. Although, his goal still wasn’t to keep Stephen out of trouble as it was to make sure he’d be able to get back out of it. “Doubt what?” he asked the second he snapped out of his line of thought. Miles blamed his lack of following along on not being able to answer that himself. At Stephen’s next words, he merely nodded his head. It would take him some time to remember to reign back his usual frankness anyway so it didn’t really matter. “I have no doubt I would, but, at least, you won’t have to worry about me, erm, trying to have a relationship with them.”

He felt his cheeks heat up even more when he heard Stephen let out a small chuckle. A small flare of embarrassment that didn’t help him when it came to trying to get his feet moving again. He had to clear his throat, focus his attention elsewhere before he was able to do that. “Well,” he let out a nervous laugh then, “I mean, no? Not really. Which… probably wouldn’t be surprising if you knew me.” From this first impression, it wouldn’t take much for Stephen to understand him. He wasn’t all that good at hiding his emotions. The only thing missing was his history, his backstory, and he planned to keep that part of himself a secret for as long as he could. At least, then he’d be able to keep things more professional. “Yeah…,” he shook his head and brought a hand up to run through his short locks, “I didn’t really put up that much of a fight on that front.” Miles blamed his inability to keep his cool on the fact that he had been tossed into a new situation. It always put him off his game – this was, of course, ignoring the fact that he often found himself flustered when someone showed any interest in him at all. “Love triangle?” He asked, confusion evident in both his tone and on his face. The second he heard back about his position with the royal family, he couldn’t get his parents to shut up about how the family was back when they were growing up, but he hadn’t heard anything about that one. Not that he was surprised, the people of Ireland tended to avoid the topic as much as they could. A second later, the confusion was replaced by embarrassment once more. He hadn’t actually expected Stephen to comment on the weather. He had no control over his mouth before and the words just tumbled out. Now, he had no clue what to say. So, he went back to nodding his head, hoping that that wouldn’t get him in too much trouble. “Er, right, no keeping you from sneaking out then.” He pursed his lips, still unsure of what he wanted anyway. Though, there was still a chance he wouldn’t actually find anything. Maybe it didn’t matter to begin with. “What happens if you win then? And I can’t find anything?”

A first time for everything. Miles released a small huff of air. It seemed that night was filled with firsts for them both, all involving Miles, and it hadn’t even been all that long since he had been assigned to the prince. “Right, just – you know, go easy on me at first.” He might be able to pick up on things easily, but that didn’t include pool. In fact, he was pretty sure he was going to suck at it since most of his attention wouldn’t be on the ball or the stick in his hand but on the other people in the room. Miles’ steps faltered a bit. “You sound like a superhero from a movie.” He pulled a face, “But if you’d rather I not be that close to you so that no one knows then I can pull back, but I can’t be too far away. If something were to happen, I’d need to be able to stop it. Sorry.” The last word seemed to be just a tacked on thing, something to be said, but he truly meant it. He never liked the idea of leading a life where his every movement was watched, but it couldn’t be helped here. It was something he’d have to get used to himself to a lesser extent. “Our goal is to blend in, your highness. It wouldn’t do to broadcast that we’re your bodyguard because it could put you in more danger if people knew. So, I really don’t think you have anything to worry about there.” Miles let out a sigh before he continued on as normal. “If anyone asks because I seem to be too suspicious, then just say I work in the police force. Cops are naturally suspicious of everything already.” It wasn’t far off from the truth anyway. As soon as he graduated, while he was still going to school to get a degree, he had joined the team of a local police force. A couple of years of experience in it or the army was required for a position like this and his mother had begged him not to sign up for the military. The nerves from earlier fluttered back to life the second the gate was opened and they were allowed to walk outside of it. His eyes moved to Stephen then, taking in the sight of the now care-free man. It brought a smile to his face despite his best efforts to keep it off, forcing him to look away. His attention only went back when Stephen urged him forward, in the direction of the pub. “How far is it then?”

Peyton pretended to not notice the unsureness in his steps, choosing to remain in her spot and keep her mouth shut for the time being. But the sudden outburst caused her to jump, not expecting such loudness to come from someone that obviously had to work here in some way or another. “I don’t know! I mean we’re in a castle. That’s weird enough without all the hustle and bustle of guards and royalty and…and…I don’t know…other things that don’t seem real.” Peyton had to bite her lip to stifle a laugh. She had only been here a very short time and already she was making people lose their cool. She wondered how long it would be until she did it to the wrong person. Peyton definitely needed to find someone that could give her a booklet of pictures of everyone that lived here in the castle and their positions as soon as possible. “What? No. Why would you think that?” This time she wasn’t trying to trick the male. Peyton honestly had no idea what he was talking about. Wouldn’t she remember if she had been with the prince last night? Sure she had been drinking, but it wasn’t that much, was it?

Without bothering to wait for a response, Miles rocked back on his heels until he could stand up straight with little difficulty and held out a hand for her to take. Of course, now that he thought about it that was probably a bad idea. He had no idea how well she would receive it considering she had just insinuated that he was there to kill her. For what, he still wasn’t sure. “Well, yeah. But, it’s not like we’re in the seventeenth century here. We don’t just… go around shooting people. I mean, we’re here for protection… not as a professional hit squad.” If they were, then he’d have high tailed it out of there a long time ago. He knew there was a chance he’d have to take a life if it meant protecting Stephen and he’d do it without hesitation, but he wasn’t about to do it just because the person in question had done something to piss the royal family off. Miles blinked a few times at her last words. His hand immediately went back to his phone that had been resting in his pocket once more. He did have the right person, right? He checked once more before putting his phone back up. “It’s not what I think. It’s what I was told. He apparently snuck out of the castle last night and went to some club where he met her. And I just, need to talk to her about it, ok. So, are you her or not? Because if not then I really shouldn’t be wasting my time here.” Although, now that he thought about it, maybe this was all just an elaborate joke that the entire security team was in on. A way to prank the new guy. How nice.

Stephen couldn’t help but feel impressed by his body guard, his words made Stephen curious of what else he could say. It excited him, something new, something different. All he wanted to do was push the others button and see what would happen, listen to him speak the truth, the reality of it all. “No need” he said, dismissing the others words with a wave of his hand. Stephen didn’t want or need an apology, if anyone should apologise in advance for something they do it should be Stephen. Miles has a long, long ride ahead of him if he’s going to stick by Stephen’s side. Even if Stephen played nice, that’s not to say that it would be a smooth ride. When is being royalty ever a smooth ride. The answer to that is quite simple, it’s never smooth or simple. It’s complicated underneath the look of perfection, it’s stressful and chaotic.  So, it’s important for the bodyguard to be there for the royalty emotionally just as much as physically. Or so that’s what Stephen likes to think, most of the time that isn’t the case. But hey, at least this body guard has personality, that already makes him so much better than most. Stephen smiled happily at the words that left his body guards mouth, liking the sound of I’m yours coming from his lips. Had a nice ring to it. “That’s true, but it’s not everyday we meet someone new so they’ll probably want to know all about you. Like I said before, my mother keeps people around our age away from us for a reason” he said, shrugging as he continued to walk on from the palace, his body guard near him. 

Stephen returned his gaze onto Miles as the bodyguard quickly began to walk by his side, amusement written all over his face as he looked over at him. “You know, the usual” he said, attempting to act nonchalant as he shrugged his shoulders. But his signature smirk disappeared off his face as he couldn’t keep up the act of playing coy. “You’re not exactly ugly, Miles. Far from it, in fact. And you aren’t the first to not be ugly around here, and this can be a problem with three royal siblings that don’t get out much” he said with a laugh, folding his arms in front of him as he continued to walk, letting Miles process his words a bit before continuing. “So to ensure that my siblings don’t get any ideas, or vice versa, we have rules. For example, all three of us have a list of people and the other siblings cannot, under any circumstance, get involved with those people. We also have simple rules, you know, like no getting involved with each others body guards. I mean, I don’t know about you but I don’t what my body guard to have slept with one of my sisters, that is just a disturbing thought” he said, as if it was all simple and normal. In his world, it was. And that’s how things were done by them. Stephen left it at that, only speaking again once Miles had finished talking. He had made a good point, he already technically did pay him. “Whatever you want, then”

Stephen couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh at the sight of Miles, sending a wink his way that was meant to scream Got you. Stephen loved playing games, all types of games for that matter. As soon as he had seen a pool table in person he immediately began to learn all he could about the game, quickly persuading someone to let him have a go. “You’ve never played? ever? even I’ve played and that’s saying something” he said to the male, shaking his head lightly. Stephen tapped his chin, as if he was thinking about Miles’ words and didn’t already know what he was going to say in response. “I guess that’ll be doable” he said with a smile on his face, hoping that Miles had already caught on that Stephen was just messing around with him. What could he say, he was a child at heart. “That settles it, then. We will go to a pub, I’ll get some alcohol in my system. We can play some pool, and if the night is still young we can check out a club or two” he said, rubbing his hands together happily as he walked forward. He didn’t even notice the change Miles made, completely oblivious as the gates opened and the people above him muttering apologies to him and other things that he had heard a million times before. He didn’t say anything in response and instead turned back to Miles, nodding towards the now open entry. “Come on, Miles. We have the whole night ahead of us”

Miles gave a small nod of his head at Stephen’s dismissal of his apology. It was probably easier that way. If they weren’t constantly watching what they said around each other than he’d be able to get to know the prince better and figure out how to best serve him. The problem would come when they were around the rest of the royal family or some other important person and he slipped up and spoke to them as he would Stephen or anyone else in his life. He didn’t exactly want to get sacked because he told some duke the truth. “You say that now,” he scrunched up his nose, “but one day you might change your mind about letting me be so frank.” Though, he was still of the mind that it was most likely going to be him that would regret that decision. For now, he let the feeling pass. He had more pressing matters to attend to that didn’t include worrying about the distant future. When he glanced back at Stephen, he found him smiling. He had to look away again almost immediately, finding it near impossible not to return the smile as long as he was looking at him. “Well,” he shrugged, “I’ll only talk to them as much as you want me to. So, if you don’t want me to at all than I’ll excuse myself from their presence and go find you if you’ve wondered off somewhere.” It might have been important to keep all of the family happy with him, but his main focus was Stephen and the last thing he wanted was to make him mad by causing his sisters to break some unwritten rule between all of them.

As they continued to walk to the front of the palace, he could feel Stephen’s eyes on him on occasion. Assessing him, probably, but every so often he had to swallow hard to get his nerves back under control. It wouldn’t do either of them any good if he messed up on the first night because he couldn’t get himself to calm down. The problem with that was that Stephen seemed to like to throw him off kilter. The prince’s explanation had Miles’ feet stopping in their tracks. If it weren’t for the fact that the rest of his body agreed with the movement, he’d have ended up face first on the ground. “Er, thanks?” he offered up, his face contorting into a look of confusion. You’re not exactly ugly. Miles blinked a few times as the words sunk in. Far from it, in fact. He felt the warmth of a blush creep up on him and was thankful that the cool temperature kept it from showing up on his cheeks. It took him a moment longer before he got his feet to cooperate once more and allow him to jog the necessary steps it took to catch up with Stephen. “Rules, right,” he gave a nod of his head as if it all made sense to him as well, “but all your previous body guards were old so… what did it matter? I mean – I’m not… or well, I wouldn’t. Just, uh, wow – it is a nice night out tonight, huh?” Good one. Totally cool. No one would suspect a thing. Double oh seven, who? Move over Bond, there was a new spy in town by the name of Faye. Which was exactly why as soon as he was done speaking, Miles had to close his eyes and try to remember what it was like before he had been given his assignment, back when he knew what he was doing. “Er,” he cleared his throat, “I mean. I won’t sleep with your sisters. I swear.” It was hard for him to refocus and remember what they had been discussing after that. “Whatever I want?” he asked, as if that would clarify everything.

Miles wasn’t one for pouting, but he imagined that if he was he would have started the second Stephen began to laugh at him for nearly falling for his earlier behavior. As it were, he wasn’t, but he did give a shake of his head in response to the wink tossed his way. At the question, though, he shrugged once more. “Never had the chance, I guess.” Which, wasn’t exactly true since he had been to a few pubs before, he just usually had other things on his mind than playing a game of pool while he was there. “Well, if it wasn’t than you could always get someone else to play with you once we arrive,” he sent him a pointed look, “I’m sure there’s plenty of people that won’t care that you have a menacing body guard trailing your every move.” Menacing was pushing it, especially after his earlier blunders, but he wasn’t about to admit to that. “Right.” Although, he wasn’t sure a club or two would be a good idea. “As long as we get back in time for you to get some sleep, I suppose that’ll work.” He’d rather they get back in time for Stephen to get a lot of sleep – it’d help to smooth things over with his parents on Miles’ first day – but he didn’t see that happening. As the gates opened up, Miles stared at them forlornly before he shifted his attention back to Stephen. “After you,” he waved a hand forward, but even as he said it he continued to walk again, never wanting to be more than a step or two behind the prince. Just in case.

“Miles.” Stephen tried the name out as he looked at the other male, a smile still on his face. “Well, Miles Faye, it is a pleasure to meet you” he said, and he completely meant it. He would remember that name and make sure that this Miles stays as his bodyguard no matter what. He would not be losing this bodyguard anytime soon. He looked at his new bodyguard as if he was a prize that Stephen had just won. And in a way he kind of was. It wasn’t everyday that someone like him came around, if that were the case then maybe Stephen would like his life a bit more. But no, sadly for Stephen most people in the palace weren’t real with the royal family, sure it was in their job description to be loyal, nice servants but that didn’t mean they had to be fake and treat them as if they were gods. They were no where near perfect. Stephen was a man of simple things, all he’s really wanted is a life where he could be himself and have people around him that truly was there because they wanted to be with him. Whether Miles really wanted to be there was a completely different story, but the fact that he was here and speaking his mind was the best thing that had happened to Stephen in a while. Perhaps him losing his old body guard wouldn’t be so bad after all. 

“Now that’s what I like to hear, Miles. I mean, I have enough people trying to suck up to me, so your attitude is a warm welcoming” he said, though paused for a moment as he thought about it. “Though, I’d be careful of my sisters if I were you, Mary will immediately want to know everything about you as soon as she sees that smile of yours, and Beatrice likes things done certain ways” he said, mentally wishing his new bodyguard good luck if he ever has to deal with his sisters. They were definitely something, especially when they were in bad moods. “But, just tell them that you are my bodyguard and they should lay off pretty quick, we have sibling rules for these things” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets as he continued to walk, his walk and movement being so laid back he sometimes even questioned how he could be royal. But he was quickly reminded with the image of his parents, his mother that he looked almost exactly like. “Definitely not, Mary told me all about the times Beatrice snuck out. I wouldn’t of believed it but she took a picture of her once, which was a shame because I betted her that Beatrice hadn’t. But my parents? that I seriously doubt. If you ever get proof then show me and I’ll pay you, too” he said, amused of the thought of there being evidence of his parents possibly getting down low or sneaking around. 

Stephen looked over at his bodyguard in mock shock, dramatically placing his hand on his chest. “You hurt me, Miles” he said, attempting to look as serious as possible. But as soon as he heard the laughter and noticed the change within his bodyguard he couldn’t help but let out a laugh of his own, his smile and playful demeanour immediately returning back onto his face. “So, where should we go? I think it’s a bit too early for a club, so maybe a pub? are you good at pool?” he asked as they made their way to the gate that separated them from the outside world, the gate that Stephen hated with a burning passion. It was a visual reminder of how restricted he was in this life, and he would burn it down to the ground if he could. He continued to walk with Miles until they were at the gate, and he called out to the usual guards who were on duty at that time. “Hey, open up the gate, we’re heading out” he called out happily, pointing to Miles to emphasise his words. “And look, I have a new bodyguard! Thanks for not telling me the other one was leaving” 

Miles didn’t take himself for a person that was easily embarrassed or flustered. It took a lot for his cheeks to flush even a slight discoloration of pink. Yet, the second his name left Stephen’s mouth he felt the urge to duck his head down and clear his throat to get back the small semblance of professionalism he needed on his job. “You can just call me Miles. No need for formalities like last names when you’ll be stuck with me for a long while” He said, hand coming up to run through his short dark locks. Though, he had no real clue as to if that were true or not. He could be sacked the next day if his superiors found out he had been a willing participant in Stephen’s escape attempt. They wouldn’t see it as him going along with the inevitable so that the prince wasn’t alone that night even for a second. They’d see it as him making it obvious to Stephen that he could continue to behave as he did with his last body guard. “As long as you don’t’ make it a habit of sneaking off without me,” he added after some thought. The without him wasn’t necessary. Stephen sneaking off at all, even with him, would get still get him into some trouble, but it was better that than have the other male run off on his own and send him into a straight panic as he tried to hunt him down all over the city. Or, all over the world. He imagined it’d be very easy for the prince to hop on a plane and go anywhere he wanted, get as far away from him as he could manage to get in a short time, but he didn’t want to think about any of that right then.

“If you think that’s attitude –“ He swallowed, hard, “Should I apologize in advance? Because that’s nothing.” It wasn’t. Talking back to people that demanded his respect without deserving it was one of his specialties and one of the main reasons he probably should have foregone working in security to do something else with his life. However, the thought of protecting others had always appealed to him more than anything else. He just hadn’t wanted to enlist, which was why he was standing there now, walking behind a prince rather than doing something else. Miles reached up to fix his tie then, loosening it from around his neck until he could pull it through the collar of his shirt and stuff it into his jacket. “I’m sure I can handle them.” He shrugged, “Though, I don’t think I’ll have to all that much. I’m yours. I go anywhere you go. So, the only way I’d be with them is if you request that I be transferred to someone else or we’re at the same event and even then I’ll be hovering around you instead.” He had no plans to talk to anyone else in the castle unless they forced him to. The more he opened his mouth the more likely they’d decide that he wasn’t the right fit for them, after all. “Sibling rules? What kind of sibling rules?” Curious didn’t even begin to describe how he felt then. He purposefully sped up his steps until he fell in line with the other boy and turned his head until he was looking directly at him rather than at the road in front of his feet. Miles shook his head, a soft smile appearing on his features. “You already pay me. So, if I find proof you better think of something else to give me. Otherwise, it might not be worth the effort.” If it ever did happen, chances were he’d find some old magazine articles about it online, but he figured he’d forget about it long before he actually tried to research the royal family.

It took him longer than he cared to admit to realize that the shock and words that came from Stephen wasn’t serious at all. He had let his mouth fall open and was in the middle of trying to apologize when he snapped his mouth back shut and scrunched up his nose instead. “Cry me a river,” he waved a dismissive hand in the air before returning his focus back to the direction they were headed in rather than the other male. The fact that he was forced to think the next second only added to the fact that he should be looking forward. “Er, never played, actually.” Darts had been his game when he had frequented pubs in the past, but that was because it was the only one offered in most places in Ireland. The people there tended to like the drink too much and watched the games on the telly a little too closely to interrupt it by playing around with things like pool. “But – I’m willing to give it a shot as long as you’re willing to be patient with a novice?” The second they reached the gate, Miles began to backtrack on his thoughts of how alright they were going to be. He had forgotten they’d have to pass by other people that worked with him. His boss would know in just a few minutes how badly he had screwed up his first day by letting Stephen out of the grounds, and at night too. He ducked his head down, the embarrassed feeling from earlier coming back once more, and gave a small wave of his hand. “I’ll make sure he stays out of trouble,” he thought to add, but he didn’t know how well the other worker could hear him when he didn’t bother to raise his voice much. Oh well?

It wasn’t a completely normal thing for Peyton to ramble on like this. Okay, it was more frequent than she’d care to admit, but the male standing in front of her could very well hold her job in his hands, she didn’t know. And so this seemed like a perfect time to ramble. If it helped save her ass then it definitely was. It also wasn’t a normal thing for Peyton to completely disregard someone’s question, but in her defense she was on a roll and stopping now would just cause the train to wreck and then he’d really think something was wrong with her. “Wait, what?” Great, she’d done it now. The man thought she was crazy, actually crazy. “I’m not crazy.” Peyton shook her head, her free hand coming to rest on her hip before his first question caught up with her thoughts. Alright? She looked down to her leg, having forgotten about the pain she had felt only moments before. “Oh, um, yeah. My leg’s fine. There’ll be a bruise, probably, but I bruise easily so no surprise there.” She exhaled a deep breath, her eyes coming from the floor to meet his despite the want to remain anonymous. Even if she continued to deny who she was, he’d soon figure it out. There weren’t that many people working here. “Well, I may or may not be this Peyton you’re looking for. I mean if she’s in trouble then it’s definitely the other Peyton you’re looking for, but my name does happen to be hers as well, so shoot,” Peyton said before realizing that probably wasn’t the thing to say to someone working in the castle who was looking for her. “Um, I mean, not literally. Just, um, like what did you want to talk to her or me about? Please don’t shoot me.”

He felt like he had successfully managed to stick his foot in his mouth already. It hadn’t even been a minute since he had met the girl and he had made it seem like her behaviors were pass odd to him, going straight into crazy town. Which, wasn’t true. He had been around plenty of people that began to ramble when they were nervous, but he had never been good at navigating his own mind to say what he meant to say rather than what his brain threw at the other person before he had a chance to process it. “No?” The questioning tone really didn’t help his case, at all. “Are you sure?” he asked, “About the leg, I mean. We could go get you some ice from the kitchen if you think it’s bad—“ No, they really couldn’t. Not when Miles would get them lost trying. GPS. For the castle. He was seriously considering bringing that up at the next meeting. If he made it to it in one piece, that was. He had to blink a few times as he tried to follow along with what she said next. So, he was looking for her. Or, he imagined that’s what all she said meant. It didn’t seem likely to him that there’d be another Peyton that was new to the castle that he needed to be on the lookout for. Plus, she was around Stephen’s age. It’d make more sense if it was her. Miles pocketed his phone and took a step forward before he thought better of it and teetered back to his former spot on the floor. No need to spook her further. “Right, no – I’m not going to shoot you! Why do you keep jumping to such violent conclusions? I’m not American!” Jesus, what was with this girl? She had managed to make him lose his cool exterior in a matter of seconds and he felt no amount of straightening up and fixing the tie that hung too tightly around his neck would help it either. “No, listen. I need to talk to her – erm, you – about last night. You were out with his Royal Highness Stephen last night, right?” Why was he doing this again? He felt anyone else in the castle would have been better suited for this conversation. But, Stephen was in his care –a fact that he didn’t need the fifty reminders that morning to know, but alas that was exactly what he got.

“You know, no one ever has the guts to tell me the truth like that. Not at least in these walls, unless you count my sisters, but they don’t have to treat me nicely” he said, though his body guard had given the king and queen way to much credit. Then again, he didn’t have the choice not to. “Though I’m not sure if I agree, I mean, I’m sure they can wipe their asses just fine. But my parents, outside? I doubt they’d last a second without a body guard” he said as he continued to walk, casually, as if it was normal to talk that way about the king and queen. If anyone else were to do it, hell, they’d be screwed if it was heard by the wrong people. But he simply didn’t care, he was like any other person that would occasionally say something rude about his parents. His just so happened to have a lot of power and could do serious damage if they found out. But he had stopped caring about that a long time ago. 

“Lead the way, your highness.” Gotcha. Stephen heard the change as soon as it arrived, the tone that he gladly greeted. He had a chance. With a smile he continued in the direction he had been going, watching the body guard closely. “Oh, I will alright” he said happily, though he stopped for a moment to look back at the body guard. “But for the love of god, just call me Stephen. I hear your highness enough as it is” 

And there it was. The lecture that came with his always speaking his mind. Although, it was a lot less harsh than he imagined it was going to be. “Yeah, well.” Miles shrugged his shoulders. “Just because you’re a prince doesn’t mean you get a free pass from me.” As much as he tried to be, he failed a lot at being the yes sir or no ma’am kind of person that he needed to be in his line of work. Blame it on his stubborn side, but he did try a lot of the time. A smile made its way onto his face at the next comment. He had no idea if it would be ill advised to speak bad against the king and queen or not to the prince, but he imagined no seeing as he could easily be overheard by someone that happened to walk by them. “You think you’re the only royal that’s snuck out during their teen years? I’m sure your parents have stories about their rebel days that they won’t ever share with you.” He said all of that before he began to tag along with Stephen, staying as close to the other as seemed appropriate to him.

As soon as they headed in the direction of the gate, he felt his attitude slip back into his normal one. The stiff posture and stern look all faded away into a more playful one that would shock his superiors if they saw – well, it would if they bothered to show any emotion other than stoicism. His hand came up to at least try to hide the smile that had made its way onto his face at the request from Stephen. “Maybe if you’re lucky, your highness.” He joked, not even bothering to stifle the laugh that made its way out of him. He’d drop the title soon enough since Stephen requested it. He just needed to get it out of his system one last time.

Stephen peeked outside, gazing around curiously at the scenery in front of him in search of his new guard. They (they being his mother) had decided that for some reason she should get rid of his previous guard and hire a new one. It was annoying, to say the least, though it was probably a smart thing to do for her sake because his old guard would let him do whatever he desired just as long as he paid him. Still, it was bad for Stephen and he could only wonder what the new one would be like. Hopefully they would be as easy to persuade, but just in case they weren’t, Stephen had decided that he would sneak out because who knew when he’d be able to again. So carefully, he closed his curtains before moving to his bed and messing it up, placing pillows underneath the sheets to resemble a body. He then grabbed his black jacket and went out the door to descend out the castle, hoping his usual paid servants would be on duty and would cover for him if his new guard eventually appeared.