Page 13 of Badmouths & Bards

“We understand, Seira,” Casimine said. “I imagine the king won’t have the guards ready just yet?”

The invitation from King Oryin’vel Vyrthsalis meant the kingdom itself would be extending their services to keep the crowds in line when they performed. That was part of the reason why Casimine had agreed to traveling so far at all. People were less likely to cross a line when a ruler was involved. Yet with the sudden change of their travel, they would most likely have to find temporary guards until Seira contacted the king directly.

“Yeah, who are you gonna get to babysit us now, Seira?” Ameriden cheekily asked.

“Just because you both have a few feet on me, doesn’t mean I can’t still box your ears, Ameriden Perzar,” Seira huffed.

“Oh, she used your full name,” Casimine hummed.

“I’m in so much trouble.” Ameriden grinned.

Casimine adored Ameriden’s smile. Sharp and mischievous, as if Ameriden held the secrets of the universe behind it, and it took every ounce of his will not to lean in and kiss him.

Seira rolled her eyes. “If you clever bastards must know, while I was busy making a deal with an arcanist, I also managed to land you chuckle heads a personal bodyguard.”

“Personal?” Casimine questioned.

That was… different. Usually, Seira would arrange for guards to protect them from a distance. Whether they belonged to a ruler or were simple mercenaries, the people who were tasked to protect them had always done so from afar. Casimine didn’t even know who they were, let alone what they looked like.

“Yup,” Seira confirmed. “Didn’t you notice I booked three rooms?”

Ameriden looked surprised, arms dropping to his sides. Unlike his companion, Casimine had noticed. He had simply assumed Seira had done it for privacy.

“So, who is this mysterious bodyguard?” Ameriden asked, folding his arms across his wide chest.

“Well, that’s the funny thing,” Seira let out a small laugh, “I actually don’t know.”

Casimine froze.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Ameriden’s expression turned serious, his dark blue eyes narrow as one of his sharp eyebrows arched.

“Okay, before you have kittens, hear me out.” Seira shifted in her seat, turning toward them. “Ever since the… incident, I’ve been considering getting you two a personal bodyguard. What happened today just confirmed my decision. This wasn’t an impulsive decision either, I’ve actually put in the hours and have researched the best options in Eshorion. The arcanist I spoke to just happened to have a communication channel with the organization I wanted to reach out to. That’s kind of why it took so long to finalize the details of the teleportation spell. I was arranging everything for you two.”

The incident.

Casimine hated that the event had a title, but to refer to it in any other way would have only brought more memories of that awful experience. He wouldn’t say he was proud of it, but Casimine already found himself pushing the memories away. There had been enough tragedy in his short life, and he rather preferred to not think about them at all.

That didn’t mean the emotion didn’t come to the surface.

“I would never insult you, Seira, but what exactly do you know about this organization?” Casimine asked.

“Casi’s right. Like, we trust you, Seira, but we don’t exactly trust strangers,” Ameriden said—he had always been quick to back him up. “Unless they’re hot, of course.”

Oh, Amer. Casimine almost laughed. I can always count on you to think with your cock.

Not that Casimine was any better. He could find beauty in any face as long as it belonged to a person who was interesting enough to talk to. Perhaps that was why he preferred to drink before engaging with some of the people they had laid with in the past.

“For your information, the organization in question happens to be highly regarded in the region,” Seira said with a sniff.

“We aren’t going to believe this organization exists unless you give us a name,” Ameriden smartly retorted.

“Oh, my gods, y’all are worse than a dog with a bone!” Seira exclaimed, waving her arms in frustration. “They’re the Archive of the Valiant Circle, you little shits!”

Casimine thought the name was vaguely familiar, though he couldn’t remember why. Ameriden’s confusion was plain on his face as his eyebrows grew heavy.

“You hired a history teacher to protect us from twenty-thousand fans?”

The thought of that many people would have thrilled Casimine when he was a kid, but now it only made his stomach churn. Seira had started keeping headcounts once they reached the point of overcrowding taverns with their performances. For a while, they had to perform outdoors just to accommodate the crowd.