An hour was plenty of time for me to shower, ridding myself of the sweat and ill feelings that came with all of today's events. At least, on the surface it was enough to get me clean. I knew that I would lie awake tonight, staring at the ornate ceiling, wondering if someone was lurking outside, waiting to kill me. Would there be gunshots as soon as I fell asleep? I had never heard the sound before, but after today I was sure that it would be seared into my mind forever. They would haunt my dreams, so would the images of my people fleeing, running away from a danger that I couldn't save them from.

But, after my shower, it was easy enough to convince myself that this was all a dream. A really awful, granted, but harmless. I told myself that I had just woken up after a disgusting nightmare and I would carry out this day as if it were any other. That meant that my hair was pulled into a tight bun on the top of my head and my body was covered up conservatively in a pebble grey blazer and skirt. As I swiped on my black mascara my gaze landed on vibrant red lipstick and I felt the familiar pull in my heart of wanting something more than sheer gloss and nude pantyhose.

But today was not the day to stand out. It had already almost gotten me killed. Blending in was my best defense now.

My shiny lips were neatly pressed into a straight line as I strutted down the empty hallway. Though I was conscious enough to keep my hand unclenched at my sides I was beginning to notice the spans of time that I was without a guard. They seemed extensive. Had they always been this bad? Was I just being paranoid? Were they distracted with other things right now? Having meetings and regrouping perhaps.

Finally, I saw the guard from earlier approaching me, I shot her a curt smile. She fell into step beside me.

"What can you tell me about this Canadian?" I asked.

"Well, we have confirmed that he is an active member in CSIS. They were delighted to hear that he had done such a wonderful job and even offered him to us on loan, should we feel we need his expertise," she rambled on. "You know how the Canadians are, always so willing to share."

Right, because I needed some overly polite Canadian to strengthen my team. I would be happy enough to get some basic information from him and send him off to finish his vacation that probably consisted of him finding maple syrup in foreign countries. He was just at the right place at the right time. It had been luck.

"What else is there?"

"Well, his brother was involved in a scandal a while ago. He committed treason and fell in love with a woman running a million-dollar company in Canada. That has since been straightened out, but for our Canadian in particular, I'm afraid there isn't much. All we know is that he's good. Very good."

"Perfect, then this will be a very fast meeting."

Once I was in the Great Hall with Edmund seated at my right, I asked for the Canadian to be brought in.

I expected someone that would fit the stereotype. Someone with light hair and buck teeth and a goofy personality. I was going to mentally give myself bonus points if he apologized, mentioned hockey, or maple syrup.

But the man who entered my Great Hall did not fit my vision.

The first thing that I noticed about this man was his size. He filled up a doorway. He towered over my own guards, the people who were supposed to protect me. And even if he hadn't been that large of a man, he would've felt big. Shoulders back, eyes sharp, and a thick mop of dark hair, he looked positively lethal and had one hell of a presence. Had they maybe gotten the kind man who saved me mixed up with the man who had tried to kill me?

"Are you alright, Zara?" Edmund asked.

It was then that I noticed I was gripping the arms of my chair like a life line. My fingers automatically released and I clasped my hands in my lap instead.

"Princess Zelda," the man murmured, dropping into a theatrical, sweeping bow.

It took all of my restraint not to let my eyebrows shoot up and my teeth clench against each other. Instead, I let out an even breath to calm down. I told myself that he wasn't from here, he didn't know any better and he had potentially saved my life. I allowed him one free pass, if nothing else.

But, when he rose, I saw the way his eyes flashed. No, his mouth didn't quirk up with amusement, but I saw the gleam. I knew. This man was too smart, too educated, and too aware to not know who I was.

He was toying with me.

But, before I could consider my options on how to deal with the disrespect, Edmund swooped in. "She is the queen and her name is Zara. You should know, you were at the coronation parade."

The man shrugged his large shoulders. His clothing was so out of place here, a vintage teeshirt and a pair of jeans with a worn hole over one knee. But the way he commanded attention and the confidence he had made him feel like he fit right in among the suits, skirts, and tapestries.

"I don't make a habit of mingling in other country's politic," he said.

"Stopping someone from killing a monarch will certainly get you tangled in politics," I mused. "Tell me your name."

"My name is Jasper. I would've saved anyone, queen or not. It was just inconvenient for me to save someone of importance because now I'm here instead of in a tea house, drinking something way too expensive."

"Well, we won't waste anymore of your time," I said, feeling my temper start to get the better of me. Never in my life had I been so disrespected to my face. Sure, people wrote awful things in magazines, but this was beyond that. "I would like to formally thank you for your service and give you our highest award for saving my life."

"Oh God, please no more awards," he groaned.

For a moment I could only blink. Was he really denying such an honour? This man was utterly unbelievable.

"Well, what would you like then?" I asked. "I'll give you anything I'm entitled to then you can be on your way with no more delays."

"The only think I want from you is to realize how awful your own security team is. Had I not been there that man would've gotten away and I didn't have a gun or a bullet proof vest or even a radio. And had your men not been there I would've brought back that man alive and you would've been able to pester him with questions instead of me. Now all you'll have is the autopsy report and assumptions."

It took all my control to keep my jaw from flopping open and angry words from pouring out of my mouth. But I couldn't stop my eyes from narrowing into slits and my hands from tightening their grip on each other.

"Are you insulting my team?" I demanded.

"Yes. And I trust that like any good leader, you've done your digging on me. You know that I am a very capable man. So, believe me when I tell you that you would be safer dunked naked into a lion's den covered in lamb chops. Your team would've left you to get killed. Your team is also the reason that you won't ever know why that man shot at you."

"Bold statement," I said, cocking my head to one side. "So you think that you are more capable than my entire team?"

"Yes."

"Well that is terribly convenient," I purred. This minor blip in his travel plans was no longer going to be a petty annoyance. "You're right, I did my research. And when the Canadian government was contacted, they were so thrilled with your success and so pleased to hear from my staff that they actually offered to lend you to us."

I watched Jasper with a sharp gaze. He seemed to be just as good at hiding emotions as I was. But we all had our ticks. And his shoulders moved ever so slightly, a tiny flinch. I had hit my mark. I had found an aching spot, something sensitive. I wasn't going to push until it hurt. I was going to press down until he begged for mercy.

"Zara, that is completely unnecessary," Edmund whispered. "He insulted you. He insulted all of us. I'm sure we can reinstate some kind of training plan here."

The denial from my future husband only pushed me further. And, this man hadn't lied yet. He had stopped the man who had been shooting at me. There were many accounts of that. And, he was right, my team fully admitted to shooting the man. If Jasper had taken him down singlehandedly, I would've been able to ask a living breathing man why he had done it. And if there were more coming.

"I think now would be a wonderful time to up security," I announced, smiling a grin that was so genuine despite my cruel intentions. "If you don't want an award the only other honour I can bestow upon you is allowing you to become my personal guard. Do you have any reason to deny such an honour?"

Jasper's fingers curled for a fraction of a second, like he wanted to ball his hands into fists. He thought better of it and his fingers remained loose at his sides.

"No, Queen Zara."

"Wonderful. Edmund, please see that our lovely guest gets settled into the guards' quarters and have him a custom suit made as well."