The both of them took their positions in the centre of the room, away from any furniture that they could accidentally damage.

“Go!” Belinda yelled and they both charged at each other, broom held with both hands.

Somehow, they managed to poke and smack each other multiple times throughout the 'match' and finally stopped when Taylor had her broom poking into Belinda's chest, the other broom on the other side of the room.

Smiling proudly, Taylor backed away. “That was a good match,” she said, going to retrieve the other broom, “You are quite good at sparring. I did not expect to such levels of skill,” she admitted.

Belinda frowned. “I learnt it as self-defence. But you, you are infinitely better than me. Where did you learn it? I thought Kelone did not teach its women defending skills because the women there are simply so valued that anyone harming them would be severely punished? Isn’t only the royal family allowed to learn these arts there?” she asked.

Taylor nodded her head, trying to remain calm as she lied her way out. “Of course not. In Kelone, the women are given more power than the men. That’s why being the Queen is the biggest honour there. But, not all parts of Kelone are completely safe and some of us need to learn these techniques to defend ourselves from rogue thieves lurking around the neighbourhood,” she replied.

Belinda nodded, seeming to accept Taylor's lies. Again.

Taylor felt bad doing it, but she needed to ensure that she did not get caught. If anything, at least not this soon.

“Well, whatever your reason is, I am glad you are so good at this. I’ll inform the Prince in the evening,” Belinda said, taking the broom from Taylor’s hands and sweeping up the mess they created.

“The Prince?” Taylor repeated, panicked. “Why would you tell the Prince about me? I didn’t do anything wrong,” she demanded.

Belinda shrugged. “I never said you did anything wrong. I was simply going to recommend you.”

“Recommend me?”

“Yes, of course. Your defending skills are extremely good. I want to recommend you to the Prince to be one of the two additional protectors of Princess Helga,” she said.

“The princess? And me? You must be mistaken. I am not qualified to protect anyone. You won’t do it, will you?” Taylor asked, shocked.

“Well, why not? You will be protecting the Princess; that is such a great honour. You don’t have to be scared. Princess Helga is lovely. She would not be cruel to you simply because you are from Kelone. Also, you can use this opportunity to prove that you are loyal to this castle,” Belinda stated.

Taylor frowned. She knew what that meant. In simple terms, this was a warning that if she didn’t agree, she would be labelled as a spy.

Although she had no good excuse to get out of this mess, Taylor also clearly remembered what Jasmine had repeatedly reminded her, to not catch the eye of anyone in the staff. Yet, now, she had no choice but to go along with whatever Belinda was asking her to do, even if it meant she would be more easily caught.

At least this gave her the opportunity to dig deeper about the prince. Being around his sister meant she would be around him more too. After all, if he loved his sister as much as he seemed to, he would definitely come closer in contact with Taylor. Then, she would use that to gain leverage over him and his precious kingdom.

Princess Helga. She was going to be the ticket to Taylor's success in Mazian.

---

Belinda discreetly looked around her, ensuring no one saw her as she climbed up to the east wing of the castle in the middle of the night. Tiptoeing her way up to stairways, she reached the fourth storey and poked her head out to find if there were any loitering staff hanging around.

Once the coast was clear, she took soft, quick steps towards the large, oaken doors in the middle of the corridor, her breath catching in her throat as she knocked on it.

The doors opened inwards by the guards standing in the room and Belinda rushed in, closing it behind her quickly so that no one could glimpse her entering the Prince’s study. He sat at his long mahogany desk, a quill in hand as he hid behind a mountain of papers.

“Your Royal Highness,” she addressed, bowing her head to him.

“Belinda,” he said in his deep voice, recognising her quickly. “I did not expect you to be here this late at night. You were supposed to send me the name by this evening.”

Belinda nodded her head, even though it was still bowed and she could not see the confusion in his eyes. “Yes, your Royal Highness. Unfortunately, Ms Kira, the head of castle staff, did not let me go off early to report to you. She was not aware of this job I had to do and so, unknowingly, obstructed it. I apologise for it,” she replied, trying to be a formal and professional as possible.

Despite working for them for years, talking to the members of royalty always made Belinda anxious and uncomfortable. It was a wonder how she was even standing straight at the moment with the pressure she was feeling.

“That’s alright. Do you have a name for me?” the Prince inquired.

“Yes, your Highness. Gwen Chaser. She would be brilliant at protecting the Princess,” Belinda admitted.

The Prince frowned. “The girl who came in the group from Kelone yesterday? The one who seems confused by almost everything?” he asked.

Belinda nodded. It was not hard to realize that Gwen was definitely not accustomed to working as a maid, let alone in a castle. Why Ms Kira still let her hang around was a wonder to everyone who realised that same fact as Belinda.

The Prince clenched his hand tightly. “That girl, Gwen, I don’t trust her. She seems familiar and she is from Kelone, which means she is definitely whoever she says she is. I want you to stick with her wherever she goes and find out why she is truly here. The two of you can be Helga's protectors but you cannot leave Helga in the room alone with her. Whatever this Gwen is here for, I want you to figure it out before this month ends,” he ordered.

Belinda nodded her head, understanding that this was his way of dismissing her.

That night, she contemplated what she needed to do. She had only three weeks to find out the truth. It did not seem like enough time but it had to make do. After all, it was the Prince’s orders. And Belinda knew a lot better than to refuse her future King.