The maids came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs,their faces grew bitter. A tall, well built man with chocolate skin stood in the doorway blocking their path. He leaned with one arm against the frame. He had a cocky smile on his face, his dark brown, almost black hair, twisted into long dreads, was pulled into a messy bun. “If you’ll excuse us, we’re going on his walk.” Liyette spat, glaring at the intimidating man.

The man’s face grew curious, “Oh, where are you going today?” upon hearing his voice, Ledus looked up. He smiled hopefully at the soldier.

“Is it really any of your concern?” Kara cut in. He smirked boastfully at the maids.

“Yeah, it is. The prince has just assigned me to Ledus as a personal guard. He wants him ‘perfect’ to meet the guest. That means I must protect Ledus from any and all harm, including emotional.” He pushed the maids aside and took Ledus from their grasps, wrapping an arm around the boy’s shoulder. “So, Ledus, where were you going?” Ledus smiled nervously at Tyel.

“To the Oasis.” his voice came out more like a question than an answer. Tyel raised one eyebrow as he looked at the boy. Ledus clutched at his cloak and looked away from Tyel’s prying gaze.

“Very well, the Oasis it is.” Ledus smiled brightly, he was overjoyed that Tyel would let him go. They walked along the corridor chatting happily, the maids sulking bitterly, following behind them.

Tyel was one of the few people in the palace that truly cared about Ledus. Whenever he was around, Ledus knew he would be safe. Now, Tyel was going to be with him as his personal guard, most likely for a week, this thought filled Ledus with an overwhelming sense of joy.

When they got to the carriage Tyel turned to the maids, “Oh, sorry girls. It looks like they prepared the wrong one, this is way too small to fit you two. If you want to come, you can ride some horses.” Tyel helped Ledus into the carriage then lay an extra blanket over his legs. He closed the door and took up the reins. “Hey, we’ll go ahead, you can catch up.” he flicked the reins and the horses took off.

Ledus watched the world zoom past his window. Kara and Liyette rarely took him out of the palace so he was always excited to see the town. He wished he could explore it but every time he had asked, prince Jarin would forbid it, “It’s too dirty, you’ll be tainted, they don’t deserve to see you.” were usually the excuses he gave to Ledus. Although he longed to be in the town, he knew not to look past what he had. Just being able to go to the oasis was more than enough to make him happy. “I should never wish for more than I’m given.” With this thought in mind, he was better able to just watch the town pass by.