"So, what's your excuse for my continued presence here?" Laura asked the next day as she watched Zenesha look over documents.
"Bodyguard." She said using a stamp on one of the documents in front of her.
"What a prestigious position." Laura said sarcastically. "Don't you have a bunch of those already?"
"You're not just any bodyguard; you're my personal bodyguard." Clarified the woman. "I've yet to choose one in my years of being the Queen."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"There wasn't anyone I could trust on such a… personal degree." She said, a faint blush on her face.
"But you're trusting me?"
"Not really no, but I also know the likelihood of you being a traitor is almost if not zero."
Clutching her heart as she stumbled backwards Laura spoke with a dramatic tone. "Oh, the pain. It hurts that my princess doesn't trust me."
Zenesha just gave her a deadpan look in return. If you asked the dramatic wolf however, she would've sworn she saw the corners of her mouth twitch.
Laura then quickly composed herself before speaking in a serious tone. "So how are we catching this spy?"
"Right now, I need to officially open up an investigation." Zenesha answered. "Whoever the traitor is probably knows we're aware of them at this point so no reason to be sneaky about it."
"True, so about my job, am I just going to start working or are you going to introduce me?"
"I'll need to gather the Condors at the very least. Then I'll make an official announcement." She then turned in her seat and handed Laura a silver griffin insignia. "That rank is reserved for my personal bodyguard, it's similar to my own. But mine is light blue in color." She then pointed at her chest where her own Griffon emblem sat.
"What does this mean?"
"It means you're the highest possible rank one can be, not counting my own."
"Lots of bird themes with the ranking." Laura pointed out as she pinned the emblem to her jacket.
Zenesha frowned, seeing that the medallion looked out of place with Laura's style of clothing. "We're going to need to get you some proper clothing soon."
"Proper clothing? This outfit is great!"
"For a vagabond." The fox retorted, her tail swishing back and forth in amusement.
"If it wasn't for your body reactions being so clear, I would think you didn't feel anything thanks to that stone cold face." Laura said, chuckling.
"Well, your face is cute so it's forgivable." She added with a shrug before patting the fox's head.
"... I'm not cute." Zenesha said returning to her work. She didn't stop Laura from patting her head, however.
She would never admit it, but this casual intimacy was very comforting. Everyone around her was so stiff whenever she was nearby. Even when her mother was alive, she didn't really have many friends.
Her passive face didn't really make her welcoming either, since it made her look as if she was always in a bad mood. She wasn't scary visually, but due to her status people didn't want to upset what they assumed was an already annoyed Zenesha. Honestly, she couldn't relax anywhere anymore.
Which is why the void wolf was so vexing to the Ice Princess. She knew that she was probably a passing fancy to Laura, and she meant nothing to the wolf. Yet she could stop herself from feeling... She tries very hard not to think about it.
Laura continued to pet the cute leader of a militarized country as they worked in silence. After fifteen minutes Zenesha stood from her chair after hitting send on an email on her work computer.
"Let's go, we're meeting with the Condors" Zenesha said walking out of the room.
Laura followed close behind making sure to watch for any danger. She was about half a head shorter than Zenesha. Which Laura found a little annoying since she felt like she should be the taller one, the fox was just much taller than average! Though it did let her stand out a little less in comparison.
Laura watched as everyone they passed hastily gave Zenesha a salute before they noticed her presence and gave her curious glances. Laura didn't say anything to them or even smiled. They weren't important, just Zenesha. Seeing her fairly unwelcoming gaze, they all eventually looked away.
The two of them reached an elevator, pressed the button to call it, and stepped inside when it arrived. Zenesha pressed a button on the panel inside the elevator, letting the doors close and take them to the correct floor. A moment or two they arrived, stepping out of the moving box the moment the doors opened.
They stepped into a long hall that stretched to either side of them, as well as directly in front of them. They took the hall directly ahead, walking down the long empty corridor, with only the occasional door to break up the scenery. Once they reached the door at the end of the hall Zenesha stopped and looked at Laura.
"Technically you're supposed to hold the door open for me."
"But of course my Princess~." Laura said smirking, grabbing the handle before pulling it open.
After Zenesha stepped inside the room, Laura followed, closing the door behind herself. Inside was a rectangular table made of dark brown wood taking up the center of the room. In one corner Laura even saw a water cooler as the only other thing inside.
Sitting at the wooden table were four individuals. A human male of about forty years, with a particularly neat goatee. A woman that didn't look much older than Zenesha with blond hair and blue eyes. Sitting across from those two, was another woman with cat features, though like Zenesha she only had the ears and tail, meaning she was half human. The last person in there was a male elf, his long blond hair twisted into a single braid.
When they entered, the four Condors turned their attention towards their location. They stood and saluted at Zenesha first before staring at Laura behind her. The Queen of Zari, Ice Princess Zenesha, walked over to the head of the table and sat down. Laura silently stood behind her, partially hidden behind the chair.
'This is what bodyguards do right?' She wondered as she presented the most no-nonsense face she could manage.
"Thank you for coming." Zenesha said addressing her top officers. "This meeting will be short, but I figured it would be best if you all met in person."
She then gestured to Laura who stood behind her. "I've selected Laura Underwood here as my personal bodyguard."
Stepping forward Laura imitated the saluting gesture she's been seeing for more than a day now. She placed her right fist over her left shoulder before returning her hands behind her back. She then studied the four people in the room for a few seconds before speaking.
"My name is Laura; it's a pleasure to meet all of you." She spoke. "If you need me for anything I'll mostly be accompanying the Pri- Miss Heart." Laura felt Zenesha kick her under the table and quickly fix her way of address.
"Ma'am do we even know… who they are." The forty-year-old man asked, hesitating when his leader's cold eyes focused on him.
"I know who they are and where they're from." Zenesha answered.
"They could be a spy… ma'am." The blond woman spoke also hesitating under Zenesha's gaze.
"There's no need to worry about that." Zenesha said. "While we do currently have a traitor on our hands I can guarantee she isn't a spy."
"Ma'am-"
"If this is another question about Laura's trustworthiness you will not like the answer." Zenesha said, annoyed as she glared at the elf. "The purpose of this meeting was so you can all get a clear look at her and be aware of their presence. Not for you to question who I choose as my personal bodyguard."
"Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am." The four Condors responded in unison.
"Good, that was all. Make sure you let your own people know of Laura here, I'll send out an official announcement later."
After dismissing the Condors and watching them leave, Zenesha leaned back in her chair with a sigh. "This could've been an email, but I still believe it's better to meet you in person all at once instead of later."
"They don't trust me." Laura noted with amusement.
"Of course not, you're a completely unknown variable during a time we're hunting for a traitor." She responded. "Still, this should make it easier for you to move around."
"I thank you my dear princess~"
"You have to stop calling me that." Zenesha complained despite her body language once more betraying her real feelings. Laura just smirked as she watched the other woman's tail.
"Would honey, or darling be better, perhaps my sweet?" Laura teased creating more and more nicknames.
"I'll freeze you if you don't stop." Zenesha warned glaring at the wolf.
"My little fox is upset, I'm sorry." Laura said, placing her hand atop Zenesha's head.
"You're annoying." She grumbled, despite her tail swaying with satisfaction.
"Sure, sure." Laura responded back. "So, what's next on the agenda boss?"
Zenesha's ears flatten on top of her head hearing Laura use the word boss to refer to her. She didn't notice herself, but Laura did, and her eyes sparked with interest.
"We'll eat lunch then I have more paperwork to finish."
"More paperwork?"
"I was missing for a week." Laura pointed out. "There's a lot of stuff I need to catch up on. Probably be faster if yo-"
"Let's hurry to get lunch. I'm starving; you starving? I'm starving." The wolf woman started retreating towards the exit, not allowing Zenesha to finish her sentence.
"... You lazy dog!" Zenesha shouted at the wolf woman's back.