-William-
I was beginning to suspect that the princess was more complex than she initially seemed. Perhaps she wasn’t just the spoiled brat who always got her way. She had even apologized to me—not just for playing with the stone, which wasn’t a toy, but also for my being sent to the North.
She had no involvement in that decision. It was her father who had enlisted men from smaller towns with promises of money, titles, and, most enticingly, glory—temptations that few could resist. Yet I was puzzled when she asked why I was here. Hadn’t I already made it clear? I was her personal guard, shadowing her every move.
“What do you mean?” I inquired.
“I mean, why are you here?”
“I thought I already told you.”
“Yes, yes, land and title. I heard you,” she said. “But you don’t seem like someon
