Author's Note: Haha, apologizing now for the lack of Mikhos and Nicky in this chapter, but don't worry, they'll be back in the next one. This one is about what's going on back in the main kingdom with our supporting cast while Nicky and Mikhos are off in some Idorian town making out ;) A few secrets may still be revealed in this chapter however huehuehue. 

Munny's PoV

I sat at the end of a long table. The other three Kingsmen sat on either side of me, Gani to my right and Aubin and Sullivan to my left. Advisors to the crown, Orla, and the lords from three other Pecore districts along with Gerner were also present. Orla spoke first.

"We are extremely lucky that the new queen of Idoria was kind enough to return all four of you safely to us." Her gaze swept over the Kingsmen present. I nodded slowly, I truly was grateful that Aasiya had rescued us from Jaasim and let us go but I couldn't help but be left with a nagging suspicion that she had only done it due to the fact that she knew Mikhos had escaped and didn't want to start a war with Pecore. One of the nobles, Allen, unrolled a map, laying it out onto the table.

"Edgar's troops have already captured Shereen and have laid siege to two other small counties and areas. They have their eye on the city of Jesui as well and I think it's safe to assume that he'll be moving there next." Orla gave a small nod before she stood up.

"Obviously we need to fight them off but on top of that we have an even more pressing matter which I'm sure you're all aware of. We need to find prince Mikhos. Without a proper heir to the throne present Edgar will have no trouble claiming legitimacy to rule. If something happens to Mikhos and he is killed before we are able to retrieve him we're doomed. We'll have no choice but to surrender to Edgar for there is no one else with ties to the throne who actually has the means to fight him." Gani spoke now,

"He's with Nicolai, they're both experienced fighters. Together they should be able to protect each other." Orla's mouth tightened into a thin line.

"Nicolai is still inexperienced and honestly, I was against him being a Kingsmen to begin with. If Mikhos hadn't begged me to let him in I never would have selected him. I do not wish to table all my faith on Nicolai, especially after the way he and Mikhos acted towards each other when they were in training." I shook my head now.

"No Orla, Nicky-...err...Nicolai has changed. You weren't there in Idoria, the two of them grew extremely close. The Idorian queen told me before we left that if he hadn't saved Mikhos he would have died." Orla narrowed her eyes.

"That still doesn't change the fact that he's inexperienced. Mikhos will be able to hold his own in a fight but still...he wouldn't be able to kill anyone." Gerner arched a brow,

"Why not?" The other nobles looked to each other nervously. Gani spoke now,

"The other Kingsmen are supposed to protect him, they need to know." He turned to the others. "When Mikhos was eight Edgar tried to sacrifice him." Aubin's mouth hung open.

"WHAT?" Gani nodded.

"To begin this kind of ritual blood magic is required which means they dumped a bucket of human blood on him before they started to try and cut into him. The experience mentally fucked him over and since then he can hardly stand to look at a significant amount of blood before fainting." Orla nodded slowly.

"This is true." She frowned. "He somehow got a bloody nose his second night of Kingsmen training, he claimed he fell but I'm sceptical. He came to my quarters struggling to even stay conscious and I had to bandage him up. So...if he gets separated from Nicolai and has to physically fend for himself I am not too optimistic." Gerner shook his head, an expression of shock still clear on his face.

"He's such an amazing swordsman. Holy shit, what a waste-"
"Don't speak that way about your king," Orla snapped. Gerner bowed his head.

"I'm sorry ma'am." I never realized it but...holy shit Orla acted Mikhos was her own son. Behind her usually emotionless expression I could tell that worry was probably eating up at her, not just due to fear of losing the kingdom to Edgar but fear that something would happen to Mikhos as well.

"Our number one priority right now is to find Mikhos. We'll try to split our resources between finding him and fighting off Edgar's army." I nodded now.

"I've put men in place of watching the docks in case any of them show up there. It might be a good idea to send ships out. I know Mikhos will be trying his best to get back to us and to avoid detection which means he most likely will be traveling on a common ship, thus we might want to send our own ships across the yellow sea to scan for ships that might be carrying him." Orla nodded slowly.

"Alright Kingsmen Munny, you have permission to give the order."

-----

It was late when the meeting finally ended and Gerner and I made our way back to his room. When we arrived he shut the door before sitting down on the bed opposite of me.

"I'm worried." I sat down beside him.

"Me too. But Mikhos his smart, he can fend for himself. He'll make it back to us safely I know it. Besides, he has Nicky with him."

"Nicky can be a complete and total idiot, no offense to him." I shrugged.

"Yeah, but I think his fault is simply that he's too trusting which causes him to be blind to other people's real intentions and ulterior motives."

"But still, he literally has roomed with you for over four months and hasn't ever even suspected that you are a..."
"Pfft that is true. I don't think we have to worry too much though, there's no way Mikhos will let him do anything too stupid. As long as they are paired together so I think between the two of them they'll probably be okay." Gerner's gaze fell to the floor now.

"Munny...I'm so glad you're alright. When I received word that Jaasim had attacked the Kingsmen and that one of you hadn't made it back I was...fuck I was so worried it was you." He leaned forward, his large hand brushing down the side of my face. I stared back at him now, smiling slightly.

"But I did make it back to you." Gerner's eyes shut for a moment.

"When I thought you might have been hurt or...hell even died I was met with the realization that I don't think I can live without you." He shook his head slowly, smiling slightly. "Okay, I get that you had to pretend to be a boy but couldn't you have at least picked an age older than thirteen to masquerade as. The gay thing I could at least have gotten around in public but I don't want to seem like a creep hitting on an underaged boy." I rolled my eyes.

"I had to, then it wouldn't seem as weird that my voice hadn't changed yet." Yeah, so...a little known fact about me...I'm a girl who's been pretending to be a thirteen year old boy for almost a year. Ever since I was little I had wanted to be a Kingsmen but anytime I began to picture myself as one I was painfully reminded of the clear men part of the name. It was stupid that women couldn't dedicate their lives to protect the crown, I had known that I could beat up almost any kid in my village. I decided that I wouldn't give up on my dream and so I began training. When I turned 17 I cut my hair, changed my name and ran away to one of the smaller cities that bordered my village. In one of those cities I competed in the tournament and made it into training to become a Kingsmen. Honestly, I couldn't get over the fact of how stupid it was that they would let a thirteen year old boy become a Kingsmen but not a woman. Gerner had been the first to find out my secret. It happened the day when he was paired with me for the pleasure training assignment. He had definitely been shocked to say the least but he promised me that he would help keep my secret. Mikhos found out fairly quickly as well. We both couldn't use the bathes at the same time as the other trainees and we ended up running into each other one night both trying to bathe. From then on out we arranged a schedule to make sure we wouldn't run into each other while we were trying to bathe again. Mikhos had taken me aside the night he revealed to us who he really was and had pledged to me that he would make sure no one discovered my gender. He also pledged that once he was king he would pull some strings and do some political maneuvering to change the rules to allow women to become Kingsmen so I wouldn't have to keep hiding who I really was. I swallowed hard, I had been so excited that night, there I was starting the life I had dreamed of ever since I was little...and here was my prince promising to help me. I wouldn't let anything happen to Mikhos...I would find him...I had to. Gerner leaned forward now, pressing a gentle kiss to my lips.

"You know what..." Gerner said softly, slowly taking my hand. "I think that if you didn't have to be in hiding I would want to marry you." I shook my hand free, shaking my head.

"I couldn't even if I wanted to Gerner. This is my dream...I belong here. I couldn't give it all up to be a wife and raise kids. I'm sorry..."

"Yeah I know...I just..." he sighed softly. "I wish I could find some way to prove to you how much I love you. I want you to know that I never want to leave your side whether I stand beside you when you're a man or a woman." I smiled at him. Gerner had grown up so much since I had first met him. I could still remember him clearly as the rich boy I had been roomed with...then as the young man I had befriended and then slowly as the Gerner I had somehow managed to fall in love with. He watched me, a brush of dark hair falling over his eyes, his gaze intense.

"There is one thing you can do to prove that to me."

"What is it? I'll do anything."

"Promise me you will help me look for Mikhos...no matter how long it takes and no matter how hopeless our prospects of finding him may seem." He leaned in close to me now, wrapping a large arm around my waist and pulling me into another kiss.

"I promise." I knew he would have done it anyways but still...hearing him say the words made me feel at least slightly more assured that we could get to prince Mikhos before Edgar's men found him. Gerner wrapped an arm around me and I leaned my head against his large shoulder. I had a lost prince and an idiotic (yet somehow heroic) red haired Kingsmen to find.