"Even if I was to be up at night, I certainly wouldn't need to be babysat." Hendrix just raised an eyebrow at him. It required no response from him. He was being paid to guard this man, he would guard this man how he saw fit.

"It's a very risky gamble." He repeated quietly, committing the phrase memory. He would likely write it down later as a note. He watched the Prince go through a pained memory.

Hendrix followed Cade through the layout, noting windows, doors, large furniture and any out of door view spots. He opened the main bath door and other unused rooms to note them as well.

A cleared throat brought his gaze back to Cade. He stepped closer to Cade, it would be a problem if he didn't know the basics of the room. He side glanced at the door.

"Draw me the outline of thee windows and doors in the room. It is locked?" He questioned, watching the unspoken grief on Cades face.

Hendrix watched the man walk away towards the bathroom. He entered Martin's old room. He would use this for the mean time. He used the passage to go and grab his own items from the room he was given in the security barracks, returning to the Prince's quarter. He set the bags on the bed and returned to the parlour. He wandered the room and took a set that overlooked the room with a good view out the window. Likely a spot Martin had spent some time in. Hendrix rolled up the sleeves to his elbows and undid a couple of the buttons on the Henley, relaxing back into the chair with a foot resting on his opposite knee. He listened to the shower run, watching the sun begin to set outside over the beautiful gardens. It felt nice to feel the cooling warmth on his face.

Cade hurried to the bathroom, stripping off his shirt as he went. He closed the door quickly, eliciting a loud bang, but he ignored it, trying to keep himself calm. He flicked the water on, and let it just run for a second, curling himself into a ball on the floor, getting his emotions under control. Cade only let himself hesitate for a second there, and then finished changing, and slipped into the shower. The hot water slid across his skin, and he closed his eyes, letting himself be lonely, and letting his mind wander.

The new bodyguard didn't seem too bad. He seemed sort of blank, but that was usual for people out of the military, Cade had found. The only annoying thing about the man was that he seemed to be trying to get the prince to open up. That was highly unlikely, and would just end in them both getting frustrated. He sighed, and leaned against the side of the shower.

He wondered briefly what Beau would've thought of the new bodyguard. He probably would've thought that he needed to laugh more, needed to smile more. Though he would've said the same thing about Cade if he could've seen him then. A shudder ran down his spine, and he bit his lip. Would his best friend really say that? Probably. He'd been a lot different then, with constant smiles, longer hair, brighter eyes, and a sarcastically amused personality.

He pushed away the thoughts, and finished his shower, stepping out of the shower and shivering at the blast of cold air. He wrapped himself into a soft green towel, and walked to his room, the towel low on his hips. Cade hurried into his closet, looking for a hoodie, but couldn't find one, and scowled, yanking a tight black t-shirt off a hanger, and pulling it over his head. He found soft grey sweatpants, and paused in front of the mirror. The shirt hugged his torso, showing off the muscles on his chest, and the hard lines on his stomach, and he sighed. Not really what he'd been going for.

Stepping back out into the room, he found a piece of paper, and vaguely drew the room he'd forbidden the bodyguard from going in, and bit his lip. He didn't really want to take it to the man, but he also didn't want to be so alone, so he took the paper to the bodyguard with a brief explanation of where the furniture was, and stepped back out into the second parlour, staring at the other door, hesitating for a moment, but only a moment, and stepped inside the room, leaving the door half open behind him.

Black shirt pulling taught across his lean body as he entered the room, the Prince could definitely take command of a room. Hendrix tilted his head so that he could watch Cade approach him, sheet of paper in hand. He listened intently to Cade, hearing the hints of painful hesitation in his voice. He wouldn't push the boundaries with this room, it obviously held a lot of pain to the Prince.

Hendrix lightly traced the unsteady lines with a finger as Cade started to walk away.

"Hey," he called softly just before the Prince exited the room, Hendrix gestured to the paper, "thanks."

He was unsure whether the prince had eaten or not but his food would be brought to him much later as he had requested. He would eat in his rooms before he settled in for the night.

Standing a short while later, Hendrix crossed to the second parlour after the blonde man. He ran a hand through his hair, stretching the arm above his head. He was starting to feel the long day in his head, body primed to keep going should he require it.

"Dinner." He grunted as topic of this conversation, "eaten, here or going down?"

Cade gave him a tense look.

"I'm not hungry. I'll be fine."

He had been sitting on the couch, his legs stretched to the small coffee table in the middle, letting his mind wander. A sudden thought struck him.

"Oh. Do you have to eat? Martin usually ate earlier, when it wasn't his shift..."

Cade was confused. Why was the guy asking him about food? He wasn't supposed to have to make sure they both ate, was he? He felt a beat of awkward silence pass, and he sighed.

"This isn't one of my parents weird ideas, is it? God, it had better not be. They're always trying to fix my life." The words were harsh and bitter, and Cade stood up.

"I'm sure you can find food in the kitchens if you want some, and haven't sort that all out yet. Have a nice evening, Mr. Sawyer."

He turned, and left the room through the side door, exiting into a hallway. Cade easily made his way through the darkening hallways, used to the lack of light. He ducked into a small ballroom, and went out the side door, onto a large veranda, steadying his breathing, and staring at the dark lawns.

Hendrix simply raised an eyebrow, watching the Prince act like a petulant child. He had a short temper it seemed. A quick question of why was Hendrix asking would've eased his concerns but oh well. Not like Hendrix had anything better to do than make sure his charge stayed alive, including not starving to death.

He followed the grumpy man at a distance where he would be less noticed. He wasn't going to push where he wasn't welcomed. Hendrix stood back in the ballroom, not hidden but well out of the way to avoid sullying the Prince's moment alone. He felt a strong need to roll his eyes looking back on that interaction but he used whatever bit of logic he could to see it from the other man's view. He could understand the overbearing parents for sure. His might've been loving but that didn't mean they didn't try to meddle in every single thing.

Hendrix waited patiently, eyeing the surrounds and what little he could see of the gardens from here. It was unlikely to be a safety issue for the prince but he wouldn't risk it either way. He stood still, in a way that a predator would wait before muscles bunched into a leap after prey.

Cade continued through the grounds once he'd caught his breath, striding across the damp lawn. He wandered through a small garden, and across the terrace, walking to the rose garden on the other side of the grounds.

It was more of a maze, the high rose bushes towering above his head, and forming small pathways. Cade didn't hesitate, walking in to the dark rows. He knew the paths by heart, they hadn't changed since he was small. Deep in his heart, he wished that the bodyguard wouldn't follow him, but he knew it was the guys job.

Taking turn after turn, hs watched the sky darken to the point where he could barely see. He pulled out his phone, flicking on the flashlight. He'd been walking for close to 20 minutes, and if he'd been wearing any other pants, the hem would've been soaked by the dewy grass.

He stopped at what looked like a solid wall of roses, and reached out, finding the small opening, and slipped through. The thorns tore at his bare arms, and small rivulets of blood trickled down his pale skin, but he barely noticed, instead taking a deep breath, and glancing at what was in the middle. A small veranda with a swing and small table and chairs were there, slightly dirty, and nearly overrun with flowers.

Cade brushed off the swing, and sat down, moving his feet so the swing moved a tiny bit. He hummed a song, and stared at the sky, keeping himself relaxed and calm.

Hendrix tailed after Cade, almost losing him multiple times in the maze. Thankfully, good hearing, directional skills and a strong stroke of luck left him victoriously still on track behind Cade, just in time to watch him crawl through the hedge.

Hendrix growled, he knew the Prince just wanted some time alone but goddammit, not in an unfamiliar-to-him maze at night. He stopped at the spot where Cade went through, listening quietly for steps. He heard none but a quiet humming assuring him Cade hadn't completely run off.

Looking around, he tried to decide on the next course of action. He wouldn't fit through the hedge and also didn't want to have the Prince blow up again for personal space invasion. He growled lowly under his breath, hating this but took a step to the other side of the maze aisle, he folded down into a seemingly casual seated position. He leaned back, one hand behind him, back brushing against the hedge. He stretched both legs out in front before bending one up and resting his free arm on his knee. He let his head hang back, eyes closed and listened to the distantly quiet humming.

It was Hendrix's plan to get out of sight as soon as he heard Cade move back towards the entrance but he lightly dozed almost immediately, still hearing every sound and twitching awake at unfamiliar, unknown sounds. The Prince's humming was very relaxing and disarming, even if the situation was irritating.

(Its fine, mine are also short because I'm at work 😫)

Hendrix twitched in a half aware state, hearing Cade move toward him. Only, the touch had completely started him and he grabbed the hand touching him, preventing it from touching anymore. He hadn't been touched in so long, it felt entirely foreign. Even nights he spent with a one night stand, it was all about the release and there was minimal touching involved, certainly no intimacy. He was all beast during those moments.

Hendrix growled, his chest vibrating lowly as his eyes flicked open to look up into blue/green ones. He immediately took in the state of the Prince, the trails of blood on his arms, his dirty knees, messy hair. Nothing that required medical attention. He released a breath, letting go of the Prince's hand and taking a moment to look up at the dark starry night and breathe out the adrenaline spiking his body. He refocused on the face above him.

Gods above, the whole royal family was beautiful. He mused in his head, lip creasing in slight amusement and he took the Princes offered hand to get up. He gave a short nod and took some steps back down the way they had come. Around two corners here, then a left at a T section. He pulled the directions he walked from his memory, backtracking them towards the entrance of the maze. He glanced back to make sure the Prince was following with him. His food would be in his room by now. Likely cold but Hendrix had eaten far worse things than cold chef-prepped deliciousness.
Hendrix brushed off the back of his pants and ran a hand through his hair to straighten it, only to make it worse. He stretched above his head, twisting his torso back and forth to get blood moving to warm his chilled body.

"I liked your humming." He gruffly tried to compliment to Prince, not entirely sure if it was an appropriate thing to do. He glanced at the Prince to gauge his reaction.