<div class="floatleft">(https://data.whicdn.com/images/326888879/original.jpg)</div>The city guard took their duty seriously, well... most of them did. No matter what field you were in there was always bound to be a few that didn't think the rules applied to them and tended to slack off and do their own thing. They knew who those bad apples were and dealt with them the way you would with that one family member that occasionally brought shame on the family name. They were punished and shown how to improve. And yet if something bad ever happened to them you were there to help.<br/><br/>Death was a potential hazard of the job and you were a fool if you thought otherwise. Accidents happen and some people were murdering pricks. Today a member of the city guard was knifed in the gut while attempting to stop a mugging. The attacker had been vicious and that guard had bled out before help could arrive. Taim had been his name and he had been one of the headache causers. That didn't change the fact that he'd been part of the "family". And he wasn't even the only recent death among them.<br/><br/>Along one of the side streets in the Manor District lay the location of a particular tavern that was known to be the prefered place of relaxation for the city guard after their shift. It was the type of tavern that only someone not knowing that it "belonged" to the city guard would enter, their home away from home. On most days (and nights) it was no more loud than you would expect any tavern to be. But not today... today was different.<br/><br/>Standing on a table so that she could see everyone and everyone could see her, Shanira might be a sight to see in some eyes as she speaks to the guards men and women crowded around her. With the way her own were flashing with anger and her cheeks were flushed with it she had them listening to her words. "We all know that Taim could be an asshole in more ways than one but he was<strong><em>our</em></strong>asshole! Gutted like that and left for dead was a bad way to go." She would have to pause as some felt the need to shout out a few other ways for them to get killed on the job.  "We know it comes with the territory and we don't shy away from doing what needs to be done. There was a time when the Throne had a fund set aside for the families of those who have fallen so that they don't end up on the streets, begging for scraps. There was a time we could be<strong><em>proud</em></strong>to protect the citizens of the city in the name of the throne."<br/><br/>Once again she would pause, though this time deliberately. She would cross her arms, creasing the jacket of the city guard's uniform, and make eye contact with each and every one of the others there. Only when they had fallen into silence would she continue.  But not anymore. Not since the king died and the princess took over. When we went to access the funds for the fallen, we were told that it was no longer available. And when we asked why the reply was that<strong><em>She</em></strong>had better uses for it and that if Taim and my<em><strong>father</strong></em>had done a better job they would be alive now. We were<em><strong>told</strong></em>to just shut up and do our jobs! The princess cares nothing about her people, only about her own selfish needs. The king had cared, had understood that when you took care of your people the realm prospered. The city is going to shit despite our best efforts and if the princess won't get off her ass, then it's high time that we find someone who<em><strong>will!</strong></em>"<br/><br/>She had them, at least those guards men and women who were at the tavern at this moment. But the tavern wasn't the only tavern that the city guard frequented and there were many all over the Manor District, not to mention the city. Yes, she had them but this was only the beginning.