Tolin sighed. He was going to go rocky with boredom. He’d get visitors during the day and Merton would talk with him. But in the evening, when Crito was there, it was a different story. He liked the guard well enough. He was a dedicated soldier and a decent guy. But he wasn’t much of a talker. He preferred to listen and watch others. He wasn’t much company. Then Chapado stormed in. “What do you think you were doing?” She demanded of Crito. “Chapado, I’m on duty,” Crito insisted. “So?” “So I can’t talk now.” “You can’t?” She turned to Tolin. “Is he not allowed to talk while on duty?” Tolin shook his head. “I wasn’t aware of such a rule.” “You just barged into the prince’s healing room,” Crito pointed out. Chapado frowned. “I’m sorry. I should have knocked.” “No harm done.” Tolin did his best to smile. “What’s the trouble? What did Crito do to upset you?” He was quite curious. Crito was one of the more considerate soldiers. Usually, if he upset someone, it was because he insisted he do his duty, even if they didn’t like it. “There were armed men at the gate and he went up there unarmed and without armor.” Tolin turned to Crito for an explanation. “Well?” “Prince-general Remtani needed to get a message to Princess Ann. I wasn’t on duty yet so I wasn’t in my uniform. I figured I’d be less imposing because of that.” Tolin didn’t ask why Crito was involved. He’d served under Tolin when he’d been general. Being a soldier was the man’s life. He was always on duty. He didn’t think twice about stepping in to help anytime. It wasn’t a matter of if he was on duty. It was a matter of if he was getting paid. And Crito never asked for extra pay. He’d protested when Tolin had tried to pay him for the extra time. Tolin gave up trying to pay the man and just set up a trust fund that he put the extra money in. Remtani had continued the practice. Crito had more money than most soldiers and he didn’t know or care. “You were almost shot,” Chapado protested. “But I wasn’t. Princess Ann was shielding them.” “You were lucky. Those bullets aren’t normally stopped by a shield like that.” “She’s a strong mage and Sir Nim worked with her extensively on shields.” “Chapado, you won’t win,” Tolin warned. “Being a soldier is in his bones.” “I just worry,” she relented. The comment and the way she looked at the guard surprised Tolin. This wasn’t another of her lovers. She cared about Crito. When did this start? He was going to have to talk with Shunati or Rejenn. Both love to gossip and Shunati was Crito’s closest friend. He might have to talk to Crito too and make sure he was aware of her feelings. “Why don’t you tell me everything that happened,” Tolin requested. Crito complied with Chapado adding what she’d seen. She’d been watching in the gate for most of the time, stopped from coming through by Ann’s shield. “If Ann hadn’t shifted her shield like that, you would have been killed,” Chapado said at one point. “Chapado, I’m a soldier. Death is part of the job. I told you that. I am going to die one of these days. It will probably be while on duty. If you can’t handle that, find someone else to sleep with.” “Crito, that was uncalled for,” Tolin scolded. “She can worry if you take risks. Nambi worries about me. Having someone to come home to gives us a reason to try harder to come home. It gives us a reason to try harder to succeed.” Crito nodded. “What about these men? What happened with them?” Tolin asked. Crito told what he knew and Chapado added what she’d heard. “It appears they weren’t here in an official capacity, just a father and his friends looking for his daughter. They all agreed the story was too crazy to go through the proper channels. Curt called Steve who threatened to sue and Amelia threatened to make them look like they’d gone mad. I don’t believe they’ll cause trouble.” “Chapado, it’s getting late. His highness does need to sleep. Perhaps you can keep him company tomorrow,” Crito suggested. Chapado nodded. “Of course. And you’ll come and see me tomorrow too?” Crito nodded. Tolin saw the look in the guard’s eyes. He wasn’t thinking of sleeping with her this time. He wasn’t done with the conversation. Chapado bid them both goodnight and left. Tolin drifted off to sleep. w