At last the victorious party entered the gates. They were weary from their journey. Thanks to all their prisoners, they were also an entire day later than expected. Brinn contemplated bringing Mairwen home ahead of the group, but hoped that all the extra people would stunt the anger of the Empress. Mairwen would not have gone with her anyway. She wanted to ensure the troops made it safely into Valiant.
The Empress, clothed in all her splendor, looked over those entering. Her troops saluted her, proud to see their leader. The prisoners bowed their heads before her fierce gaze, knowing that their fates were in her powerful hands. Aurora was only partially paying attention to those who entered. While her face showed strength, her eyes searched relentlessly for the person she was aching to see.
Finally, Mairwen rode proudly through the gate and dismounted. Her long dark hair framed her delicate face, and Aurora struggled to think of a time when she had ever seen a sight so beautiful. The girl spotted her mother almost instantly, and ran to her at full speed. The impact of Mairwen's hug nearly re-broke the Empress's healing ribs, but she did not care one bit.
"I am so glad you are safe," Aurora said as she fought her tears. In front of the crowd, she needed to remain in control of her emotions. The princess had no such restrictions. She sobbed softly into her mother's shoulder.
"I am so sorry. I should not have run away. I will never be so foolish again." Mairwen poured out her regret.
"There is time for all that later." The Empress squeezed the girl tightly. As Aurora looked up, she noticed a young boy staring at them. His handsome face was a mix of sadness and relief. By his attire, he was clearly not a soldier nor was he a prisoner. When he realized that he had been spotted, he looked away and tried to busy himself with the satchel at his side. The Empress had been searching for the reason that Brinn would take Mairwen to the garrison at all. Her motherly intuition recognized that this boy was the key. 'One problem at a time,' she thought to herself. "Go and get cleaned up, my love. Cook has made all your favorite foods to welcome you. We can discuss everything when you are fed and rested."
Mairwen nodded. She released her mother as the Princess's ladies-in-waiting came and whisked her away. Aurora's gaze turned back to the gate. Unless she had disguised herself, the spymaster had not entered the passage. "Brinn is avoiding me," the Empress muttered to herself.
"She is afraid of what you are going to say," a voice from behind her responded quietly.
Aurora did not flinch or turn around. The Empress frowned as she answered, "So instead of using the gate, the spymaster came over the wall to hide from me like a coward…is that about right?"
Brinn strode forward next to Aurora and bowed. "Yes..You see, I…"
"Not now," the Empress stopped her. "I will not have it out with you in front of all these people. We cannot appear weak." Her voice was cool and distant.
The elf straightened her body and took her place to survey the incoming prisoners. The last of them came in covered in something pink and powdery.
"What is that pink stuff?" Aurora asked casually.
Brinn tried not to smirk. "The scientist made these little packets that will stick enemies in their places. When those pirates tried to run, they ended up plastered to the ground instead. It took chisels and pickaxes to get them out."
The Empress's lips formed a hard line at the mention of the scientist. "Ah yes, Renat. We will need to discuss him as well. Get cleaned up and meet in my office in an hour, no two hours. I want to speak to Caleb and Mund first."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Brinn felt a hint of anger at the Empress's standoffish behavior, but then she remembered that she almost got the princess killed. She began to back off quietly.
"Brinn," Aurora called, causing the elf to flinch.
The spymaster looked sheepishly at the Empress. "Yes, Your Majesty?"
"I am glad you are safe."
—————
The mood two hours later was very heavy. Having heard the full report from both Captain Caleb and Lieutenant Mund, Aurora was prepared to deal with the spymaster.
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Brinn stood in the Empress's office looking contrite. Mund, Caleb and Chief Zan were positioned behind her along the back wall. The Chief was usually present during such hearings as a witness, and the latter two were there at Brinn's request. For his part, Caleb was quickly regretting that he had asked to stay.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Aurora asked looking Brinn directly in the eyes. This was not an issue of friendship. This was an issue of imperial safety.
"I made a mistake." Brinn stated simply.
"A mistake that nearly got the Princess of Valiant killed!" Aurora punctuated each word.
"I am sorry for that. It was not my intention. I had no way of knowing that the fort would be attacked. I needed to complete a mission that you requested before the princess left, and I figured we could pick up an escort for the return trip. It was supposed to be safer." The elf stared at the ground.
"A safe adventure for the princess," Aurora mused.
Brinn nodded. "Mairwen was supposed to get a small taste of the outside world and come back satisfied that she had seen it. I had hoped it would keep her home from now on." The elf had not intended to explain herself so fully. But Aurora deserved to know the truth.
"Well you accomplished that last part. Mairwen seems positively shaken." The Empress rubbed her forehead. The sight of her daughter's tearful face flashed through her mind.
"I am very sorry." the spymaster, who never apologized, repeated.
Captain Caleb could take it no longer. "The spymaster is right. She had no way of knowing that the garrison would be attacked." Brinn was surprised that he came to her defense. She gave him a questioning look, but he just shrugged.
The Empress cut her eyes at the Captain of the Guard. "She would not have needed to know such things if she had come back here directly as she was commanded."
Lieutenant Mund also chimed in, "But without the spymaster and princess, I am not sure I would be standing here. The Spymaster was an army all her own and took down more foes than ten normal soldiers combined. And Princess Mairwen tamed a large swath of the enemy with her bow."
Aurora's eyes flashed with anger. "That brings me to my next point. You let the princess fight in a battle. How could you?!"
The door to the office flung wide as Mairwen came barreling in the room. Nurlan gave an apologetic bow to the Empress before shutting the door again. "Do not blame Brinn for allowing me to fight. I would have done so even without her permission. Brinn and Eira kept me close and safe," Mairwen stated matter-of-factly.
"You are too young and not trained," Aurora argued.
"You will let your subjects enlist when they finish school at fourteen, and they can become full soldiers by sixteen. Why am I excused from service when the need arises? And as for training: I am not an expert swordswoman, but I would rival anyone with a bow. I saved more than one life that would have otherwise been cut down. Our presence at the garrison, though ill timed, was Fate-sent." Mairwen placed her hands on her hips, daring her mother to argue further.
Aurora sighed. "My daughter, I wish I had not given you so many words so that you could use them against me." She turned to Brinn. "The princess, Captain Caleb and Lieutenant Mund have all spoken on your behalf. Now all of you, leave Brinn and I alone for a moment."
The room cleared and Aurora stood from her seat. Just as Brinn thought perhaps the Empress might strike her, the dark-haired woman threw her arms around the elf's neck. "For the record, as your friend, I forgave you before you ever set foot inside the gate." Aurora cried as she spoke into Brinn's hair. "I know you had your reasons, as misguided as they were. We all make mistakes. The Fates know I have made more than my share."
"Thank you." Brinn felt tears run down her face as she hugged her friend. "I will make this up to you, if you will let me." The ladies regained their composure. "Do what you need to do, Your Majesty." Instantly they were back to Spymater and Empress.
"Call back Chief Zan and Mairwen. I am ready to make my official verdict." Aurora ordered as she sat back behind her desk. As the two entered, Aurora cleared her throat. "I do not condone the reckless behavior of my spymaster regarding Princess Mairwen. She put my daughter's life in mortal peril. But she has also saved the Princess's life more than once, and I must take that into consideration. In addition, Brinn is the princess of the elven kingdom. Harsh punishment could result in retaliation from the elves that we are not prepared to handle. As an elf, you are technically not one of my subjects, Spymaster. It seems my hands are tied. I cannot let the story that I lost control of my daughter and spymaster get out. Confidence in my rule is already shaky after Alaron. We will let the story of the 'Warrior Princess and Brave Spymaster taking on an entire army' continue to spread. You both are already becoming legends." Aurora glanced at the two ladies. She was proud of how they had held their own even if it had been stupid.
Just when they thought that the Empress was finished, she went on, "But Spymaster, you are on house arrest for the time being. You will not leave the palace grounds without my knowledge and consent. And you will not speak to the princess without a witness. Eira will be repeating your conversations to me. Perhaps this will help you think before you act."
"You are treating me like a child! Do you know how much older than you I am?!" Brinn was 177 years old, and very used to the freedom that the last decade had brought her.
"You are not even eighteen in human years. I am not sure you have even reached your full height. If I need to mother you, I will." Aurora raised her eyebrows at the elf's obvious distaste for her verdict. The Empress's lips curled slightly upwards. "I had another solution, if you would prefer. I considered sending you to see your parents so you could clear your head. I have the letter for them right here." The Empress picked up a piece of paper from her desk and glanced at it.
"They would lock me up and never let me return. It is the equivalent of banishment!" There was clear panic in the she-elf's eyes.
"The choice is yours." Aurora tapped the letter gently with her finger.
"Fine! I choose house arrest at the Castle Valiant and being nanny-goated by Eira." Brinn puffed her cheeks. She did not like this side of Aurora.
"Zan?" Aurora nodded to the Chief.
"The verdict is so rendered," Zan confirmed.
"Splendid. Now let us go meet this boy..." The Empress's tone became almost playful.
"Who?" Mairwen and Brinn asked innocently.
"Do not play games with me. I have had eyes on him since he entered. I want to speak to Renat myself." Looking hard at the Princess's face, Aurora could see the sparkle in the girl's eyes.
"Please be nice to him!" Mairwen begged.
"I will be exactly what I need to be: your mother and the Empress. Now I will meet you outside in a moment." Aurora's voice was firm. The two ladies filed out quietly, leaving Zan and the Empress alone.
"That went about as well as could be expected," Aurora said with a sigh. "Did I do the right thing?"
"You did what you believed best, Your Majesty. I will make sure that the 'tale of the Warrior Princess' is the one that prevails. I do have one question. That paper you picked up: the letter to Brinn's parents. Correct me if I am wrong, but it was actually the menu for tonight's dinner, was it not?"
Aurora grinned. "You are very perceptive, Chief Zan. Those two want to play games? I play better and smarter. Now, let us go meet this scientist. That is, if you want to join me."
Zan smiled so that all his teeth shone. "Oh, I don't want to miss this!"