Guards and the Guarded, Literal Comprehension

[Renna]

Raj Sahai did not like Robani City. It was dirty and crowded and godless (all right, he amended, it was full of gods; they were simply all false), and quite literally a harlot. And it was cold.

The Minali prince burrowed deeper into the pelt around his shoulders, eyeing the nervous messenger standing before him with an eerily calm gaze. “S-so you see, my Lord, the Emperor wishes to offer you a guard, for your own protection. Your purpose here is more s-significant than winning the hand of a princess, w-which you apparently are n-not going to do n-now?” The Chamberlain’s expression was hopeful—how odd it was, Sahai thought; the man served under a vampire and here he was quivering before a man who could simply take a dangerous shape--- and the Raj answered the look with a sigh. “No. The princess has love for the star-maker, and his feelings for her are equally true. I will not cause her unhappiness for the sake of owning her beauty.” The prince idly tugged at a glove, inwardly cursing the chill winds that made such garb necessary in the middle of spring. The messenger watched his hands as though expecting to see claws and cowered behind his clipboard. “Well, of c-course, but telling the other men that y-you would destroy anyone who so much as attempted to sign the betrothal—I’m afraid it simply isn’t done—“

Sahai’s calm expression never wavered. “It was the Right Thing to Do, and I would have said it had the price been my head instead of a guard to prevent me from doing or saying anything else politically incorrect.” He shrugged. “A guard is not so much to pay.” The prince wiggled his fingers, then frowned and stripped off the glove. It seemed that the fire had finally done its job and thawed out his hands. “…Besides, it is I who have the sakhal, and my people who create it. I am not particularly worried.”

Come to think of it, Sahai didn’t much like his mission, either. But the Chamberlain seemed relieved at the change of subject. “Ah, yes. The black powder that glitters through the air with a magic word, then forms a chain of fire and poison. The emperor is very interested in Sakhal; unfortunately, so are other of a more…unsavory nature. He wishes you to stay here with a guard for your own safety, milord, not because he’s interested in babysitting such a noble and illustrious prince. Who knows what would happen should a thug take you and drag the secrets of sakhal-making from your lips? Haha. Ahhh, the quarters aren’t exactly princely, of course—“

The Raj lifted a sable brow, and the Chamberlain shut up. Sahai’s voice was smooth. “Of course. Please pass my thanks to the Emperor for his gracious concern; it will be well.”

“…It will? o.o Oh! Of course it will! Thank you for your understanding, my lord.”

Sahai did not respond, so after a moment of awkward silence the Chamberlain clapped his hands briskly. “Right then. GUARD! ASSEMBLE!”

There was a sudden flurry of activity, and in a moment Sahai found himself staring at a sea of faces. One in particular stood out—the one in front, a Lieutenant with brilliantly colored hair and noticeable scars, and, the Raj noticed, cat-colored eyes. The Chamberlain prattled on. “This is Lieutenant Jaska and her squadron; your guard. She—“

The Raj’s eyebrows shot up. “A woman?” He couldn’t help it. Sahai’s tone was not one of disgust or disbelief, but rather surprise. Jyotis, he hadn’t even seen it. The pants and the orange hair and the scars said ‘man,’ so he’d missed the fine cheekbones and slender figure and subtle curves. Chamberlain looked between the two in alarm and hastily tried to right the situation. “Yes, a woman, and I a-assure you that Lord Tomas placed you in her care only because he deems her capable. It—he means no offense, I mean.”

Sahai lifted up his hands to halt the man’s quivering. “I’m certain she will do her job admirably; she merely took me by surprise. In my country women do not do such things so I was not expecting this.” The deep voice was quiet. “But I am not offended. I. am not. Offended.” He took care to repeat the sentence slowly to be certain that the overly-nervous Chamberlain got the message, then turned his head to regard Jaska with open curiosity. “Perhaps it would be well, Chamberlain, if you were to tell your master that I am not so hot-tempered and…primitive as he seems to believe? Negotiations will go very slowly if I must keep reassuring everyone that I do not feel like ripping their throats out.” He gave a humorless smile. “Please believe that you will know if I am angry.”

Chamberlain shook. “Er…yes. Lieutenant Jaska, this is His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Raj Hasin Sahai, son of Jyotis and Leader to the Great and Illustrious Minali. You’ll be guarding him.” He turned back to Sahai, plainly eager to leave. “If that will be all then, my lord, I bid you goodnight.” The Raj dismissed him with a nod, his eyes still on Jaska’s face, and after a moment’s hesitation the Chamberlain fled. An awkward quiet filled the barracks after the slamming of the door, a silence shattered only by Sahai shaking himself, pressing his hands together, and giving the assembled group a bow. “Marhaba. You honor me with your service.”

He straightened, golden eyes flicking right back to the Lieutenant. “Please forgive me for my outburst. I did not intend to question your authority in front of your men; it was wrong of me to lose my control.” The prince smiled. “I have no doubt that you know what you’re doing.”

She had to. Tomas wasn’t so stupid to set something like this up as a joke, not while dealing with him. He wouldn’t dare risk offending the Minali by playing such a prank. Anyway, the woman was scarred—more marked from skirmishes than he was. And the men, well, they let her order them around, didn’t they? No, Sahai was sure that she was a very good Lieutenant. What he wanted to know was what manner of woman she was. What would a warrior-woman in trousers be like? He wondered. Very wild, surely; stubborn of course, maybe violent; maybe ruthless. Maybe promiscuous, even; he didn’t know. Did this Jaska feel emotions? Could her hands give a gentle touch? Did she ever cry?

Well, there was only one way to find out, and that was waiting.

[Literal Comprehension]

At the Chamberlain's command, Jaska had immediately come to attention in front of the royal prince, her men immediately standing stiff behind her. She wasn't tall, but she was stern and proud with an expression of complete duty on her face. Her men, too, were some variation of this and stood quiet. A few of them had winced, however, when their subject of protection seemed to be surprised at their lieutenant's gender.

Jaska hadn't reacted(her men were grateful for that)except to raise the corner of her eyebrow at the man's surprise. That was fine. He was royalty, he didn't have a reason to look at women from any other angle than above. She didn't give the Chamberlain such a mild gaze when he went on about the Emperor and her being a woman. Cowardly snob. She could see his knees shaking. She could also feel the smiles slowly seeping into the lips of her squad, knowing only too well that Jaska wanted to say something along the lines of 'strut your chin and push your chest out, you flimsy man'. She held back. She knew he'd give her a day of lecturing if she embarrassed him in front of important people like this prince.

She was a slight bit impressed by the prince's patience with the quivering servant man. This impression didn't last very long, she discarded the thought as the Chamberlain continued on. She gave a slight bow and a nod of her head when introduced. Then she watched the coward leave, closing the door with the look of a pup with his tail between his legs. She turned her focus back on her new client.

"That is fine, Your Radiance," she spoke in such a dull tone. "Better a man who is superior than a soldier straight out of the nest." One of the men behind her was nudged by the one behind him; one of the newer faces in the team. There was a back glance from the lieutenant accompanied by a grunty clearing of the throat. The men straightened themselves out again and she gave the prince another small bow. Her pendants and bracelets tinkled against each other like quiet chimes. Then amber eyes rose to meet his, unafraid and--for a woman--intimidating.

"As the man said, me and my men have been appointed your personal guard during your stay here in the city of Robani. As long as your Radiance is within the walls of this city, we must follow you and protect you like our own Emperor. We are also above rank of most of the law enforcement that patrols the city itself, and as long as our duty to protect and serve stays intact, my authority is highest. For the majority of your stay, my rules will be the rule. Starting from now, you do not walk without us, you do not eat without us, you do not sleep without us. If you can tolerate this, there shouldn't be any problems."

[Renna]

Had his Radiance been a lesser person, Jaska's instructions would have dragged a groan from his lips. But Sahai knew better; a prince couldn't groan and mope about like a six-year-old. Even so his lips pressed into a thin line at the thought of being followed about weeks on end, black brows drawing together in a frown. "Hmmm." The prince didn't sound very pleased. "I like my solitude, but if it must be so..." He shrugged. "Then I won't argue it." Never mind that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself and hated being constantly surrounded. Tomas plainly had his plans in order, and the Raj wasn't foolish enough to disrupt them.

Not yet, anyway.

Sahai shrugged again, then folded his arms inside his sleeves. "If we will be in close quarters for weeks, don't be too surprised if I do--this. Often." The man looked Jaska in the eyes, then melted away in an instant. A six-foot tiger was left sitting proudly on the floor, his tufted tail flicking lightly around his front paws. The tiger was expressionless, of course, but he still managed to project an air of being immensely pleased with himself--nothing lik a 1000-pound predator to extend personal space.

[Literal Comprehension]

Jaska's men seemed to flinch when they saw a giant tiger where there used to be a man. The rookie of the team, especially, just gawked. The amber-eyed lieutenant did not react the same. In fact, it was hard to tell if she had reacted at all. An eyebrow slowly rose up to abbreviate a look of curiosity. She hadn't really been briefed too well as to who or what this prince was. Mostly she only heard that he was a 'Minali', but what that meant other than that they could shift into wild cats, she didn't know.

The woman heard shuffling from her men's feet against the floor. "Men! Stand at ease!" 'If you dare', was added to that order by the way she barked it out. They caught it quite clearly and, although they didn't stand fully at attention, they did stand halfway. They were tense. She was just helping them keep their dignity. They weren't going to enjoy walking around protecting a tiger-changing prince. Who knew what he could or would do?

But Jaska crossed her arms and put herself at ease, a set of earrings dangling from her ears and a pendant or two hanging from her neck. The bracelets at her wrists tinkled lightly against each other. "I won't be. Do that just anywhere, however, and I'll start limiting your freedom to access certain places. You'll cause panic attacks. But I'm sure you can figure that for yourself." Her hands went to her hips, and without looking away from the Raj's fur and eyes, she commanded her soldiers with a softer tone. "At ease, soldiers." Now they relaxed, the unhithered confidence of their leader comforting them somewhat. "So, where to first?"

[Renna]

There was a shimmer, and the tall prince stood again, only to lounge against the wall with arms crossed over his chest. "Where to? It's the middle of the night." Sahai gave her a wry smile. This woman was brave; he would give her that much. "You people are so funny. You live under the command of a vampire; many more like him run your underground and your government. But a Minali will cause a panic attack." Golden eyes glinted warm with sudden humor. "A Minali, who --aside from fish-- are vegetarians. Hah." He chuckled to himself. "My country must be very far away indeed. Oh well." Prince Sahai eased himself down to sit on the floor, crossing his legs gracefully and leaning back so he could look up at the bright-haired lieutenant. "We can go places tomorrow. Tonight I would like to know about you, if you don't mind. I always thought women wanted to be mothers and wives." He frowned thoughtfully. "But perhaps I am wrong. It's not proper for a prince to speak with too much familiarity to females; so I've never really had a chance to ask."

He settled comfortably on the floor, looking around at the guard behind her. "You must do a very good job, for your men listen to you without hesitation. Have you always wanted to be a fighter, Lieutenant?"

[Literal Comprehension]

She squinted her eyes at him, eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion. He wanted to talk to her? She was his guard, nothing more, yet he found interest in her. This sudden change of subject brought her into a slight state of wonder. She was only pulled back out by the registering of her men snickering amongst themselves. She turned her arm-crossed torso around to raise a brow at them. They just grinned back at her. She squinted her amber eyes some more. She was getting a little more confused.

"We're not going anywhere tonight, then?" The rookie had piped up. "No, apparently not," was Jaska's answer. "Uh.. Can we go hit the hammocks then?" Jaska frowned at him, giving the impression that he had done something wrong. She shrugged and dropped her arms to her sides. "Be awake by dawn." The rookie let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding and then went off to find his bed-place before his seniors decided to steal all the good spots. The other guards scrambled after him. Er, with grace.

Jaska didn't bother to answer his first few statements. Cultural and political issues weren't topics that she allowed herself to sink into conversation about. They simply weren't her business. She pulled off the band that had been tying her hair back, allowing the somewhat unkempt hair to fall over her shoulders. She stepped over to sit by the wall a pace apart from the prince while she busied herself with removing her cloak and some of the padding that was her combat armor. Although she was used to wearing her gear all day despite the lack of activity, it was always a relief to be able to remove it. This left her with the more casual part of her uniform once the vest that displayed her rank was added to the neat pile of clothing and protection next to her. Her clothing was skin-fit but comfortable. It made it obvious that she had a petite body, with only subtle curves that were hidden by her lack of practicing them.

"It's useless asking me about women. I've lived most of my life apart from other females." Jaska began to unclasp and slide off her jewelry, piling that on top of her clothes now. "I never actually wanted to be a fighter." She pursed her lips slightly and gave that some thought. "It's just all that I've known. I had a rough childhood which I escaped only because I had a talent for magic." She spread a hand over her mouth as it gaped open to let out a yawn. "But it wasn't enough to become a wizard, so I was given the choice to either become a middle-class scholar or make use of my skills and pursue a life in the military. I instinctively wanted to be stronger, so I guess I picked training over study."

[Renna]

He eyed her curiously, dark head tilted to the side as he thought about Jaska's answer. A rough childhood? Sahai supposed that Jaska must have been an urchin, then--someone very poor. Women didn't have rough childhoods. Maybe they had unhappy ones, but for things to escalate to the point where a girl-child had to learn to fight was just wrong. The only excuse was that this strange lieutenant had been living on the streets, where daily life was a simple matter of survival. The prophet-prince thought on this a moment longer, then made a rumbling noise deep in his throat similar to a growl. "I see." He closed his eyes and tilted his head back to lean it against the wall, the ruby on his turban glittering by the firelight. "When I am Raja, children will have a place to go. It is a sad, wrong thing that any childhood should be hard. Youth is a time to grow and learn and enjoy. And I do not like this woman-fighting thing." At this point the Raj seemed to be speaking to himself, murmuring the words quietly into his robe. "It rubs wrong that such beauty ever gets involved with the ugliness that is violence and war."

He considered a moment longer. "But then...such things always find the innocent anyway, do they not? Perhaps it is better for the ladies to know how to fight. That way they need not be trampled on when men forget their duties."

The golden eyes opened, and Sahai sat up. "Yes. I must think about this--making a class for women at home, so they know how to protect themselves. It might be wisdom."

He stood, then stretched out a body lean and taut with muscle. "Ah well. More thinking times tomorrow." The lieutenant was tired; even that tiny, scarred little body was not capable of keeping back a yawn. "For now, you have my permission to rest. We will be busy in the morning."

Very busy indeed. Here in Robani City, the Raj had resolved to make Women Studies his new project. After all, were they not half the population of his country? And he was so ignorant. It would be well to educate himself on females.

Plus, Jaska would learn right along with him. It was foolproof.