Chapter 375: Noble And Captain.

Chapter 375: Chapter 375: Noble And Captain.

One of the unfortunately things about being born into obscene wealth is that it’s easy to take for granted that’s just the way things are and the way they will always be.

All his life Rogard has been surrounded by expensive things and expensive people, and he has grown accustomed to being able to quite effortlessly afford them.

It had never even crossed his mind that there might come a day when that would change; a day when the gold would dry up and he would suddenly find himself caught up worrying about something as trivial as money.

​But things change. The rivers of gold that have flowed easily and freely his whole life ran dry on the day he’d walked on on his father, leaving him with nothing but the loose change in his pockets and the clothes on his back.

And there hadn’t been a lot of change in his pockets, and not much left of those clothes by the time his father had been taken into custody.

​So really, Rogard had left with nothing.

Nothing but his pride, that is. And while that was worth more than all the finery in the world, in reality it actually paid for very little, and as grateful as he is for the mismatched assortment of borrowed clothes hanging in the wardrobe he now shares with Drogger, he refuses to wear ill-fitting hand-me-downs forever.

​Hence the new uniform.

​(Well, it’s not the only reason, but it certainly helps that the pay isn’t too bad.)

​He hadn’t exactly planned for it –honestly, until Drogger had sat him down and told him that he’d been recommended (and approved ) to join the ranks of the guard the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind –but to hear some of the soldiers talk you’d think he got down on his knees and begged for it.

And those are the kinder rumours.

There have been whispers have been circulating for a while now; as he always knew they would. Most of them are the kind he expected; he’d always known not everyone in the castle was going to approve of his... involvement with Drogger, because even though he was a Captain there were still a lot of people who even after all this time, still saw him as a commoner.

And while his father had been one of the loudest voices in the room when it came to expressing his opinions of commoners, he had never been the only one.

​But the kinds of people who cared about that were exactly the kinds of people he wanted to leave behind. It was none of their business, after all, who he chose to spend his time with.

​Thankfully, for the most part the soldiers didn’t really seem to care –progressive, considering how they were still noble-born, the lot of them –but when word had broke upon the training grounds that he was the newest member of the castle guard, that had gotten rumours stirring.

​He tries not to let that bother him; he knows Drogger would never offer him preferential treatment.

They should know that. Drogger’s built his entire reputation around being a man of principle –to think that he would fast track or unfairly favour him just because he’s romantically involved with them is pretty insulting, especially coming from men who have served him over the years much more dilligently than Rogard has.

They probably wouldn’t believe it, but it had actually been Bongo that put forward the recommendation in the first place; Drogger had been just as surprised as Rogard to learn about it.

​(Honestly Rogard’s a little offended that Loac didn’t recommend him sooner. Maybe he’s forgotten that’s something he can do; Drogger doesn’t often get into the specifics of his Captainly duties but he certainly gets into the specifics of all the parts Loac should probably be doing but never has.)

​And because he doesn’t want to make trouble for Drogger he tries , but the reality is that it does bother him.

If he’d been appointed before news broke of his relationship with Drogger, most of them probably wouldn’t have batted an eye.

After all, the castle guard are the elite soldiers of the kingdom; hand picked by the Captains to serve and protect, and Rogard may be a little biased but he thinks he more than deserves to be counted amongst them.

​Anyone who thinks that otherwise can tell him that to his face, and he’ll be more than happy to prove to each and every one of them exactly why he does.

​...

​It’s the first time they’ve gone down into the town together. It had been Xena’s suggestion, actually, since it was a nice day out and hadn’t snowed enough the night before to leave too much mud.

She could have summoned a palanquin to carry her down into the city as was proper for a lady of her status, but she had refused her father’s polite –if strained –suggestion, telling him that she would much rather they walk together.

And while it’s a little slippery out, she doesn’t seem to mind taking his arm as they wander down along the cobblestone streets.

Men and women stop and stare, and then dip their heads when they remember themselves –it isn’t every day their princess leaves her castle to wander into their presence –and Xena smiles at them all in turn, dipping her head right back.

​She’d apologised for not dressing up more for the occasion, telling him that her prettiest dresses just weren’t suited for being outside in this kind of weather.

Montrel really doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She always looks great, and it’s pretty clear from the common folk’s reactions as they pass by –a mixtures of gasps, gawks, and starry eyes –that they’re in agreement.

And if Montrel thought having Vogrid chaperoning his outings with Xena was terrifying, having Loac in his place is a thousand times worse.

He gets why he’s armed, really he does –Crown Princesses need to be protected, after all –but intentional or not, there’s something really sinister about the way he’s been hovering all day with one hand on his sword.

​He supposes he should probably be grateful, in a way.

Under normal circumstances there would be an entire entourage of guards out here with him –maybe even more, since this is their first public outing and Gurdet can be kinda scary when it comes to his daughter.

And as it is Montrel gets more than enough grief from his fellow guards; he doesn’t think he could stomach having them right there with him.

Vogrid disapproves of pretty much everything he says and does, but at least he doesn’t openly make fun of him. He’d bet an awful lot of gold that his friends wouldn’t be quite so generous; on duty or not.

They’re a bunch of assholes, the lot of them.

​And Montrel loves them all dearly.

The sole reason there aren’t a dozen guards out here with them is because Loac’s worth twice as many as that.

Rogard of course is just as talented but he...kind of invited himself along. To keep Loac company, he’d said, and Xena had seemed to like the sound of that.

Montrel seriously doubts that there would be anyone stupid enough to try something –just the ominous weight of Loac’s presence, some half a block behind him is enough to set him on edge, and they spend time together almost on the daily.