Agro walked up to the Captain of the Kings Own Guard. "One of your men attacked me in the basement. I killed him."

The Captain blanched. "Sir?"

"You heard me. One of your men attacked me. I killed him."

Captain Bellis stood up out of his chair. "Do you know who it was, sir?" he asked.

Agro shook his head. "Don't ask me stupid questions. I need to know why he attacked me. Immediately!" he insisted.

The Captain reached into his drawer and withdrew a long wooden whistle. He blew two quick blasts. Several men came running into the room. As they came into the room, each one stopped and saluted to the Captain. He issued orders to eight of the soldiers that entered. "Search the basement immediately for any intruders. While you are there, you will find a body. Bring it to me."

"You six," he shouted, "Go stand by the King. Don't let anyone near him, for any reason." They saluted and ran off towards the throne room.

"If it matters to you, the King is in the South Dining Room," added Agro.

The Captain stared at him for a few moments. "And how, pray tell, do you know this?"

"Oh, shut up man," declared Agro hotly. "I'm not the guilty party here. I know he is there, because I am meeting him there in a quarter of an hour. And everyone knows he loves his food. I assume he is there, getting a head start on the meal, you might say."

The Captain visibly relaxed. "There is that," he said. And then he chuckled quietly.

This scene repeated itself several times as groups of soldiers ran into the Captain's office, received directions to protect some important person or other, saluted and then ran off to do their duty.

After several minutes of this commotion, Grand Duke Agro grew somewhat impatient by the spectacle. "Captain," he said, "can we return to the issue at hand?"

"The King's safety is always the issue at hand," the captain said stiffly.

"Of course," agreed Agro in a condescending tone, "and now that it is taken care of, can we return to the other issue at hand.
One of your men viciously attacked me. I do not feel safe here and shall be returning to my Duchy shortly. I insist you allow one of my guards to stay and work with you as you deal with the issue of the attack on my body."

"Sir, the King's Own is a special unit. Only the King has the authority to place men in our unit," said the Captain.

"Yes, yes, I'm quite sure that is the case. But I'm not asking to have a man in the Guard," he said. Then he looked directly in the eyes of the Captain. "I'm telling you that one of my men will work with you to solve this crime. I am the next in the line of succession. An attack on me, is an attack on the throne. And I will have my man Tishtan Brevis involved in the investigation. Until the mystery is solved, I expect you to give any pertinent information to him."

"Sir," said the Captain noncommittally.

Agro pointed his finger at the captain. "If I believe you aren't up to the task, then I shall take this to the King myself? Is this what I need to do?" he asked the captain.

"No, sir," answered the Captain. "I will work with your man Tishtan and give him regular updates. But under no circumstances is he to assume he is an official part of the King's Own."

"He would never presume such," said Agro. "If there is nothing else, I'm leaving for my dinner with the King." And without waiting for a reply, he turned heel and walked out of the room without another word. A small smile flickered across his face as he left. His father had always taught him that a strong offense was the best defense. In most cases, he found this bit of wisdom to be one of the few true things his father had taught him.

The Captain shook his head with frustration. He sat down and tapped his right foot impatiently as he awaited news from his men.

The Black Oak Sword

Chapter 1: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Chapter 2: Part 1 , Part 2
Chapter 3: Part 1 , Part 2,Part 3
Chapter 4:Part 1,Part 2
Chapter 5: Part 1
Chapter 6: Part 1, Part 2
Chapter 7: Part 1, Part 2
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10

© 2017, Stone Golem Publishing, All rights reserved--no part of this may be used without express written consent.

**All pictures used are labeled for reuse. They come from Pixabay

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