SGE His Guarded Heart (Prequel to His Darkened Heart)

Chapter I The Raven

Chapter I  The Raven

Armor isn't supposed to be so heavy. Or at least that's what the young man thought as he knocked his padded knuckles against his breastplate. He stared at himself in the mirror, checking to be sure that every bit of his uniform was in place.

A young man stared back at him, dark chestnut hair groomed to the side, his green eyes as green and luscious as a forest. He would've been considered extremely handsome if it weren't for the deep, jagged scar running from his temple to the corner of his lip.

On his body, he wore a silver suit of armor embellished with the logo of Altazarra (a flag with a white dove carrying a green olive branch in its beak). It was a symbol for peace and freedom.

Altazarra sure lived up to that symbol. They hadn't had a war in over a hundred years, long before he was ever born.

No wars to fight meant Altazarra soldiers weren't being sent off into battle. They were sent out on special missions sometimes or sent off to deliver messages to other kingdoms.

But there were times an intruder or two would try to sneak into the Altazarra palace, and it was soldiers' duty to guard the palace and arrest intruders. Other times, soldiers were just assigned to personally protect Altazarra royalty and guard the Crown Jewels.

This time, the young man had been assigned to patrol the palace grounds and keep an eye out for suspicious activity. It wasn't the greatest job. He hadn't signed up to patrol the grounds when he'd trained for almost four years in soldier training. He'd been taught of combat skills, of how to use various weapons and had Gone through rigorous obstacles to test his physical and mental ability.

He'd dreamed of serving his kingdom. Of protecting it. But that was back when he was around thirteen years old, just a boy who thought being a soldier was all about fighting enemies and engaging in bloody battles.

Patrolling the palace was the least exciting thing he could do. He longed to use his skills in battle. He longed for some source of excitement.

But unfortunately for him, he served the most peaceful kingdom in all the endless woods.

"Krushem, hurry up!" A voice startled him.

Krushem turned to see a fellow guardsman beckoning him forward. Niko, his name was. He was a short man with barely any muscle, but his quick reflexes and smarts made up for his poor stature.

Niko would be accompanying Krushem on patrol duty that day.

Krushem barely knew Niko much outside their work. He knew Niko had been serving as a guard for a little over three years now and that Niko slept in the guards' tower where all the other royal Altazarra soldiers usually stayed in. But that was mostly all Krushem knew of Niko.

Plus, Niko was all business. He never much spoke of his personal life. As far as Krushem knew, Niko had no other life outside his guard duties.

"You're early," Niko remarked as Krushem exited the changing rooms.

"Well, patrol duty always starts early," Krushem replied pointedly.

Niko grunted in response and walked along. Krushem had no struggle keeping up with him.

The early morning air buffeted Krushem's hair as he strode after Niko. The sky was still dark, and the clouds covered the sky. Shadows stretched across the ground and Krushem and Niko's boots crunched over the fallen leaves strewn across the ground.

Other than the sound of their footsteps, it was mostly quiet. It was far too early for the palace servants to be awake yet. Everybody was inside their homes and in the palace, resting.