The floor of the throne room was a work of art itself. Tiny marble tiles spread out before , they were colored red and in the dim light of the throne room, they glowed slightly.
The walls of the throne room rose up, their surfaces adorned with nurous paintings , each a vivid portrayal of the kingdom's history.
The murals depicted the triumphs of the emperor. Scenes of great battles, legendary hunts, and solemn coronations were all depicted in the paintings but I knew I didn't have the ti to stare at them.
I looked away and fixed my gaze on the throne ahead .
At the far end of the chamber, a massive throne stood.
It's seat laid with the an expensive looking velvet cushion embroidered with intricate patterns.
At the top of the throne, two miniature lions, carved from the finest marble, stood sentinel, fixing their fierce gaze on all who approached the emperor.
The emperor sat regally on the throne. He was dressed in a silk robe that had patterns of yellow and green. A single golden necklace hung from his neck and the huge purple pendant matched the central gem on his crown.
Beside him sat the empress, the crown Prince, Damon and the princess.
As I got in front of him, i dropped to a bow.
"Rise". The emperor said. Even though his voice was quiet, it rang through the room like he had a sound amplifier. Perhaps he was amplifying it himself with so magic.
I raised my head slowly.
My eyes flickered to Damon and I noticed he was watching with an amused glint in his eyes.
"I was told of your inventiveness last evening". The emperor said and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
Inventiveness was one way to put it.
I allowed my gaze to wander and my eyes fell upon the princess with a mixture of wonder and longing.
I took in the delicate features of her face, the soft blush of her cheeks, the subtle curve of her lips and my heart began to quicken with a flutter of emotion.
And then, in that mont, our eyes t, and she caught staring. A blush rose to her cheeks, her expression betraying a sudden rush of shyness and embarrassnt.
"We are deeply indebted to you for your service and you deserve a reward. I already arranged with your master to give you a special package, a token of the empire's appreciation". The emperor was saying.
He coughed gently to clear his throat and I didn't fail to note how the empress flinched when did so.
"One rewards is not enough however, considering that you not only helped us here, you helped us in any subsequent battles we face the beast monster army in from now on".
I could feel the stares of tens of people boring into the back of my head.
The emperor raised his hand. "The beast army would have to delay a lot of its planned attacks so they can redo so of their strategy, giving our soldiers a few monts of rest".
"But enough about that. As for your second reward, you're now promoted".
I raised a brow in surprise.
"Being a personal guard to the prince is one of the highest honors for a royal guard and from today the honor is yours". The emperor said.
The crown prince watched the proceedings with a lazy smile on his face, completely unbothered. However, Damon had cocked one of his eyebrows and was now watching his father intently.
He could suspect what direction the conversation was going in and he didn't like the idea.
For so ti now, Damon had been without a person guard as being unsupervised made him freer to partake in various nefarious activities.
Having a guard around made it harder to do so of the illegal things he did so he always kicked strongly against the idea.
Therefore any guard that was assigned to him soon ca to render their resignation.
The thought always worried the emperor but he had not found any guard that stayed beyond two weeks.
He had given up then and let Damon do as his heart pleased. However his desire to have soone watch over him had not waned.
When he heard of Levi's innovation and quick thinking, he had been impressed. Such skills might be considered by so as unimportant but the emperor knew that sotis on the battlefield, what separated winners from losers was their problem solving skills.
How fast can you think outside the box and how well can you effect the solution you thought off?
It imdiately occurred to him that soone of that level of smartness could stand a chance against Damon's cleverness.
It wasn't a guaranteed success but it was worth a try. He trusted Levi to be able to protect Damon if the need arose and to be able to outsmart Damon and his wily tricks.
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That had sealed it and he decided to promote Levi for the job. The chief royal guard had been against the idea since Levi was too young but the emperor had made up his mind and would not be swayed.
He cleared his throat. "From today onwards, you're hereby promoted to the position of personal guard to my younger prince, Damon".
My mouth suddenly felt dry and it hung open in a silent gasp. My eyes were wide with astonishnt.
I don't know why but I had been expecting the crown prince. Even though I was surprised by the idea that I would be out in charge of the crown prince so easily.
It didn't occur to at all that it could be prince Damon.
A quick glance at him told he was surprised as well. Although he didn't seem as surprised as I was.
There was sothing else in his countenance, a slight annoyance.
I frowned as that annoyance lted away slowly and was replaced with a curious smile.
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