Kyro and I enter the city of Razo, it was filled with people and businesses as far the eye could see. As we rode into the city I tell that everyone respected Kyro, not a single soul dare turn away but bowed in respect.
Kyro immediately jumped off his horse and greeted everyone. They handed him the finest silk and fruits they had to offer, the children handed him hand-drawn pictures and his face lit up with a warm and happy smile.
"You're so pretty!" a loud shout came from below me. I look down to see a small child standing beside Liyua and hop down.
"Oh, thank you but you're much prettier." I smile patting her on the head. "Are you here by yourself?"
"My mommy is over there with the king, I lost her in the crowd," she says with a sad expression. "She told me if I got lost I should find a guard."
"I see," I say holding her hand in mine and looking over at Kyro. "Come with me, we'll find your mom."
I walk through the crowd holding the child's hand in one hand and Liyua reins in the other. Kyro turns around and notices me, he immediately walks over to me ignoring everyone.
"Sakura, what's going on?" he says looking down at the child.
"She got lost Kyro, apparently she got separated from her mother trying to meet you."
"Oh..." Kyro turns his attention to the child getting down to her level. "It's very nice to meet you little one, do you know what your mom is wearing?"
The child hides behind my leg and Kyro is taken by surprise by her reaction.
"I promise I won't hurt you," he says holding out his hand to her. "I just want to help you find her."
The child reaches her out and takes Kyro's hand but doesn't let go of mine. With me standing on one side and Kyro standing on the other, the people gaze at us in silence. I could hear a few whispers in the crowd but I just phased it out.
"Look at that, does that child belong to his majesty?", one man in the ground says.
"And who is that woman? Is she the child's mother, is the king having an affair?", another woman whispers to her friends.
I look over at Kyro worried at the people's words. He simply shuts his eyes and proceeds forward still holding the child's hand. We continue walking through the crowd and the child shouts.
"Mommy!", she says with excitement as we let her hands go and she runs. "We found you!"
She jumps into her mother's arms and begins to cry. Her mother looks over at the king and I before approaching us.
"Your majesty", she bows down respectfully. "I can't thank you enough for finding my daughter, she got excited at the news of you visiting the city people and ran off."
I stand silently as I watch Kyro.
"It's alright, but please keep an eye on her she is still very young", he says understandably. "I'm just glad my guard found her before a stranger did."
The lady looks over at me and grabs my hand looking at me with tears of joy in her eyes.
"T- Thank you", she says happily.
"I was just doing my job", I say holding her hand.
Kyro walks over to where the child is standing to keep us some privacy. The lady looks back at me and I feel her hands get shaky.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"I was very worried about her... she was there one minute and gone the next", she holds down her head. "I wasn't even sure if anyone would even help her, no many people care about the children."
My eyes widen at her words and I notice Kyro gaze back at me.
"And the guards... well they wouldn't help an innocent child", she says hesitantly. "Let alone a girl. I'm actually surprised to see his majesty have a female guard, but in a good way."
"Sakura", Kyro says as he approaches me and holds his hand out. "Shall we continue on?"
"Oh um of course your majesty", I walk away from the lady and take Kyro's hand. "It was nice speaking to you, and you too."
I wave goodbye to them and get back on the horse. As we begin to leave, the child quickly runs up to Liyua and hands a piece of paper to me.
"This for the king, can you please give it to him?"
"Of course I can, as long as you don't run away from your mom okay?"
She nods happily running back to her mother and hold her hand with a big smile. I smile back and we head off riding through the city.
We ride quietly and I decide to open the piece of paper from the child. It was a drawing of Kyro, it seemed like this was a drawing of his coronation.
"What are you looking at?" Kyro asks riding beside me.
"Oh, this is a drawing from that little girl. It seems to be a picture of you actually."
I hand Kyro the picture and he looks carefully at it.
"For a young child she is talented", Kyro says as he folds back the picture and places in his coat. "I imagine she must have been there and seen my coronation."
"Kyro..." I ask hesitantly. "Is what that child's mother say true, that your guards don't care for the children of Razo... mainly the girls?"
Kyro lets out a disappointing sigh.
"I'm not sure if I can answer that", Kyro says looking ahead. "And it's not for the reasons you think, you see I don't really pick the guards."
"You don't?"
"It's usually the head of the guards that do that, being king is complicated enough so there are certain members of the Razo Court that have certain responsibilities", he explains. "I'm not surprised at that lady's words, after what happened to you well, I suspected that it wasn't only you."
"But that doesn't make any sense," I say confused.
"What doesn't? The Razo Court?"
"No it's not that, you said you don't pick the guards but then why did you pick me?"
"Why I picked you huh?" he says with a soft smile and looks over at me. "Well if I'm being honest, the reason I picked you was simply that I like you."
"As a guard?" I ask with a slight chuckle in my voice.
"No Sakura, as a person."