APPLICANT #14

the mercenary bodyguard, hu mingyu

 

The weather is nice and his mission is going well. He can even see the bright light of the sun through the thin blindfold covering his eyes. He feels the slow and regular movement of the horse under him and his hand finds its mane to pet it slowly. When the enemies arrive, though, he is ready to act. They come out of nowhere, surprising the little troop of mercenaries protecting the caravan. The boy is quick to act, orders are shouted out to those around him and he sets foot on the ground, his sword out. The enemies are surprised at the quick formation but they keep coming. He frowns, but a smirk starts to appear on his face. Longwei fights by himself but as soon as he is done, he turns to help his little brother but he soon sees that the young adult does not need his help. When his brother watches him move, he knows there is something different about him. His eyes widen when he sees the black blindfold fall on the ground, cut by an enemy’s dagger – bright green eyes shining under the sun are the first thing Longwei notices in him. His brother is fighting, protected by a Goddess, and the older man cannot fight his proud smile at the sight of the green-eyed berserker. Both know that today is the day he found himself.

 

The streets were noisy and filled with people – so much it was almost impossible to move. Mingyu watched through his blindfold as guards of the capital hailed the people to be more careful of the incoming caravans. A scoff brushed past his lips when he saw the curious eyes of the inhabitants of the citadel. It was the first time a group with no banner entered the city and they were quick to whisper about those Free Folks. The young man’s hands clenched on his horse’s reins as murmurs of ‘barbarians’ and ‘savages’ reached him. A green light illuminated his eyes before he held them close and sighed.

 

They do not know who you are.

“Stop it,” he hissed, catching the attention of his brother, who was walking in front of him.

The boy his horse to look at him with worried eyes, “Are you alright, Mingyu?”

 

The younger male nodded simply and focused on his horse. They had arrived in Lucia only minutes prior and he already wanted to leave. If not for this nobleman, he would still be training in the middle of his clan, and not walking through this sickeningly white city. He eyed the castle, towering above the city and scoffed at the obvious display of power. He had heard a lot about the royals of Luce being kind and close to their people but it was definitely not showing. They were all the same, corrupted, craving power and riches. Not one of them was worth anything.

 

After a few more minutes, they finally reached the gates of the upper city. They all stopped and got down of their horses, waiting for new instructions to come from the merchant who had bought their services. His family and members of the Hu clan surrounded the caravans to protect it from thieves, as they had been instructed to do. Mingyu was not surprised to see his brother walk to him immediately, catching him in a headlock.

 

“So, little brother, what do you think of this beautiful city? It has been a while since we have seen such a sight, right?”

“It is too white,” Mingyu groaned as he got out of his brother’s hold. “Do they think having such white walls help to erase the filth of their corrupted officials?”

“Come on, do not be so uptight!” Longwei joked. “At least, gambling is legal in some establishments of the lower city, we will have some fun before leaving.”

 

A small smile found its way on Mingyu at the prospect of ripping some nobles off their riches. The siblings turned their heads to their father only to see him discussing with the merchant. Both seemed to look over the clan until both their eyes landed on the two Hu brothers. They saw their father nod and straightened themselves as the leader of the clan approached them.

 

“Father,” Longwi greeted, “Is something going on?”

“Nothing very important, I saw this coming,” their father started as his wife and daughter approached them, “The guards of Lucia are not allowed to let all of us enter since they do not want to many mercenaries inside the castle.”

“Which is understandable, considering we are not allies of this Kingdom,” Mingzhu, their mother, stated.

Weizhe nodded, “Exactly. One of us will accompany the merchant in the castle to keep an eye on his merchandises until the end of the wedding. We have been allowed to remain within the city so as to wait for the member of our clan.”

“It is generous,” Longwei frowned, surprised.

“Generous, but not surprising coming from the Prince, from what I have heard,” his sister Daiyu mentioned.

“Who will go, then?” Mingyu asked. “Have you thought of anyone, Father?”

 

His father exchanged a gaze with his wife and sighed.

 

“We cannot afford to have a leader inside the castle or if anything was to happen within the castle, our clan would have to face the ire of the royals, which we do not want. Sending your mother would also represent a threat to peace because of her nature,” he turned to his wife who nodded, “Therefore, we need to send someone who is strong enough to take care of any problem arising, but without a leader-like status inside the clan.”

 

There was a pause, before Mingyu realized what his father was saying.

 

“Are you kidding me? I will not set a foot inside this castle! Why not send Jin then?”

“Because he is not a fighter like you are.”

“But— “

“Mingyu, this is an order.”

 

Mingyu closed his eyes and nodded reluctantly. Spending weeks in a castle full of officials? He could already sense the headache coming.

 

 

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