The large ornate doors were gilded with gold figurines and expensive gems. They were very pleasant doors; Duo had never seen better, in fact. The only problem was, he had been staring at them for the past half hour. 

He grunted, shifting his slight weight around in the rich and lushly upholstered armchair that he lounged in. Re-crossing his arms, he frowned, staring ahead at the doors again, willing them to open. He'd noticed the monkey on the upper left hand corner missing its eye-gem for the tenth time. He sighed, monotonously. This was so boring. He wished King Juliar would hurry up and end his current audience, so he could get on to more important things; for instance, like getting to know the Prince that he'd be body-guarding for several months.

A red and gold liveried servant bustled through a smaller, plainer set of doors, beside the enormous gilded ones, golden haired locks fitting in perfectly. Her eyes were light with mischief, and merriment abounded in them. 

He shook his head slowly, watching her in rapt fascination. He wished he could be like that again. He truly did. But ever since the Katorikku - Enough! He yelled silently, smothering the memory with a will of iron. I won't think of it now, he told himself, slightly panicky, I won't! I have to have my audience with the King, first. 

The joyous woman, no, girl, really, briskly approached him and stopped right in front of him. "Duo Maxwell?" She inquired in tones of sweetness. 

"Yes." He made himself answer coldly, emotionlessly. He watched almost sadly as she recoiled from his impersonal tone, then, more timidly stated, "The King says he will see you now. Please follow me."

She hurriedly turned about, obviously anxious to get rid of him, after his cool reception to her kindness. With such good looks though, she thought to herself, blushing, it wouldn't matter if he were the rudest man alive; why, all the ladies will simply be all over him.

Duo walked slowly behind her, as she led him through those enchanting doors, through a set of - if possible - even more intricately detailed and carved doors, and finally through a set that was simply too much to describe. Seemingly, every gem in existence had been put to work in the making of the door, and it was obviously a massive thing of great value; it also indicated the apparent opulence of the Kingdom of Juliar.

She stopped before them, dwarfed. "Here you are," She said cheerfully, recovering her good humor by remembering all the gossip she would be able to tell Cook - and everyone else - about this cold but handsome stranger. 

She hurried off in the opposite direction, anxious to get back to her duties so she could tell everyone within hearing range about the prize that King Juliar had hired to play bodyguard to his only son. Duo watched the impassive doors, a small bit nervous. Remember, he told himself fiercely, trying to stifle the small speck of feeling, you are a trained man; you have everything to be proud of - and for the Gods' sake, show no emotion!

Done with his internal dialogue, he lifted the heavy, ruby encrusted knocker and knocked, rapping once or twice. 

After a booming sound issued from the knocker, an unmistakably masculine voice called out, "He may enter," and the doors were slowly pushed open from the inside, admitting Duo. 

He strode into the room that screamed of Wealth, Power, and Importance coldly, putting every ounce of the pain from his last few month's ordeal into his step, making it cool and even, precisely perfect.

He followed the richly embroidered maroon carpet all the way until it led to the dais, where the King and Queen were sitting. There were four other men in the room, and Duo made a quick study of them before returning his eyes to the floor. Of the four men, one had struck him the most. He looked like an ordinary armsman, with his plain clothes and unadorned sword hilt, yet his eyes were the most incredible shade of blue Duo had ever seen, and that wasn't even mentioning the rest of him... 

The other three were almost ordinary, though, however, they appeared to be rather high-ranking personages. The tallest had reddish blond hair, and he wore the robes of a wizard, which put the hackles on Duo's back up. A wizard... Becoming a wizard meant you had to give your starbond 
up... He shivered, internally, hoping he wouldn't have to deal with the man too much.

There was another man, slightly younger and shorter in stature, who had ebony black hair, and wore a warrior's ensemble... The only thing that 
puzzled Duo was the fact that the man's symbol was the Dragon, and in most countries east of Juliar, the Dragon was the symbol of royalty. He had to get a closer look - it might've been the true imperial dragon, or a foolish imitation, which would most likely get the man killed. 

The last one, Duo could tell at once, would be the King and Queen's son.

He was middling in height, and he had the blondest hair he'd ever seen on a human. It almost shone... Every strand was brushed into place, his robes were perfectly unwrinkled and straight, his nails were clean and almost - long. His eyes were warm and friendly, and cerulean blue, the exact color of the Malhari Ocean...He was, in every sense of the word - perfect. 

At least I won't go falling for him, Duo thought. It would be unfortunate to fall in love with the man you had to work for, to say the least. For a brief, fleeting second Duo wondered what the soldier's role in this was, and if *he* loved the Prince, but he made himself stop. 

He'd kept his head bowed for quite some time, and he guessed that the royalty was taking that time to examine their new employee more thoroughly. 

"You may rise, my son," The King spoke, and Duo rose off of the one knee he'd been kneeling on. 

"My King." He said softly, and then bowed. "My Queen." He said with equal inflection and bowed again.

"I am sorry about the circumstances which led you into my employ," The King ventured gravely, with seemingly real sympathy in his eyes. 

Duo was taken aback - quite aback. "Ah...Yes..." He hissed through clenched teeth, trying his damndest not to show any emotion in front of 
these people - it was probably a test. He had to be strong, he had to look like he could pose a threat to anyone who dared lay a finger on the crown prince. He then admonished, calmly: Be emotionless. Emotionless. He let the soothing litany run through his mind until it was clear again.

"I wasn't aware that you knew of my - background." Duo spoke carefully, measuring each word. 

"Why, of course, we had to, because you are going to be our little Heero's main bodyguard, and we have to know these things, yes?" The Queen broke in, with a slight foreign accent, eyes sparkling beautifully. 

"Yes." Duo answered quietly, withdrawing more into himself as he fought down memories of that night...When...when...

---

King Juliar had had to bite back a cry of wonder from escaping his lips when he beheld the beautiful creature that would hold his son's safety 
in his hands. He hadn't been aware that the man was beautiful, as well as deadly. His contact had only told him of the reputation that Duo had 
managed to amass over a few mere months...

He was dressed in a loose black shirt that was tucked into slim waisted pants. The shirt could be concealing a number of deadly weapons, the King noted happily. Aside from the waist, the pants were loose as well, and the same could be said for them. His boots looked to be made of the softest leather, dyed black to match the rest of him. Around his waist was belted a simple short sword, bereft of any gems or scrolling work. A black cloak was pinned around his neck by two brooches, the only things that appeared to be there for the sake of adornment only. 

His face was enough to make the angels sing...His eyes were large, and unusually colored amethyst, his nose was firm and straight, his lips pale but perfect. His hair was somewhat loose, and hung around his face in honey-colored strands, and the rest of it trailed down his back in a loose braid.

He shook his head, then whispered to his Lady Sarantha, "Heero's going to love him." She giggled, and then inclined her head towards him. "I think he's already on his way to it." Heero, indeed, was staring, like the country yokels he often disparaged. 

---

Duo stood patiently, waiting for King Juliar's obviously personal discussion with his wife to end. Wistfully, he wondered what it would be like to be loved... To have someone to always talk to, someone to be with...

"I suppose you've been getting a lot of stares, hm?" The King spoke suddenly, breaking the silence. 

Duo wasn't sure whether to answer or not, so he just stood at attention. As a matter of fact, he had been stared at quite a bit, and he figured that black just wasn't a color worn by the happy citizens of Juliar. He scowled, for a second, begrudging them their happiness, then relented. What did it matter?

"Well, I suppose you did have a rather long journey, Duo - Might I call you Duo?" The Lady of Juliar inquired sweetly, grinning at him. 

He bowed, again, to her, for in his experience, it paid to be polite to royalty. "Whatever M'lady desires," he said, starkly, withdrawing 
into himself even further.

She grinned even wider than before, if possible. "Then, Duo, I'll have Prince Heero escort you to your rooms, then." As Duo nodded in acquiescence, she asked, "Did you bring any belongings - luggage that I could have the guards bring up?" 

"No, M'lady." He stated, then bowed once more, in the farewell style he'd learned from his mentor. 

Turning, Duo noticed the apparent soldier ascending the dais, to give King Juliar a hug, and Lady Juliar a kiss. 

"Run along now, Heero, and show your bodyguard his rooms," Lady Juliar chuckled, then pushed him slowly away.

Duo's mind did a flip-flop. Prince Heero was... the handsome one? Uh-oh... His inner voice told him, then proceeded to chuckle manically. You're in trouble, buddy, big trouble...