74 Parallels (2/2)

Before her confusion could morph into contempt, Leal went on, ”Please continue to observe the situation -- from higher ground, if you can, but try to stay close by. As soon as things take the slightest turn for the worst, alert us.” He paused in order to put weight on his next words. ”Use your own judgment again in this. Call us in when you think there's no other choice.”

The soldier nodded solemnly and wasted no time setting to her task.

”I did not get to ask for her permission,” Hilde said under her breath. She touched the lower part of her borrowed armor absently as she watched the soldier's figure diminishing towards the long alley's well-lit end.

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”I did not get to ask for her name,” Leal echoed, rectifying that at once by turning to his remaining escorts to ask for all of theirs.

Under the steel covering it, Hilde's stomach clenched and contracted in the oddest manner. She glanced down at it with a frown and thought, 'I must be monstrously hungry again.'

They were doomed to once again do nothing but wait. This time, there was no relaxing for any of them. One way or another, things would soon come to a head.

However, while even the youngest among the Prince's Guards seem experienced with this kind of sustained, high-tension state, Leal was neither a soldier nor an ordinary man.

Sitting opposite him, Hilde drew her knees against her chest and hugged them. She then said, ”Won't you continue what you were telling before?”

Everyone else who'd heard her raised their brows; she saw from the corner of her eyes how dubiously they were glancing at her.

”Right now, Princess?” asked Leal, voicing what the others thought.

Although she couldn't distinguish the color of his complexion, his features had been looking painfully tense since the female soldier left.

In those moments, for the first time, it fully sank in with her that the foreign prince and his lords had been thrown into a place whose landscape they were unfamiliar with. But while the older men might have the advantage of age and experience, this was likely the first time Leal was dealing with something of this scale. He was also doing his level best to navigate the unforeseen twists and turns, but in the end, he also wasn't certain of his every action and decision. He also didn't have all the answers.

'Come to think of it, I don't believe anyone does.'

She put on a slightly sheepish smile, allowing tension to show in her eyes as well before answering, ”Do excuse me, I'm in need of a little distraction.”

That seemed to get through to Leal. Some of the knots in his forehead began to ease.

”I see...” he said with a distracted nod. ”So it's that...”

While he collected himself and perhaps rearranged his thoughts, Hilde's expression also eased into a more relaxed and natural state.

'Not really...' she thought, settling down to actually pay attention to what he might impart. 'Or rather, not just me -- it isn't just me who needs distracting.'