"Good sir, do you mean to rob us?" Devrim asked carefully. He hoped the words would sink into Jarog's thick, drunken skull.

"Lay off, Jarog!" someone from Jarog's table called. "Tell them you were joking." Aurora noticed the friend would only confront the large inebriated man from a distance.

"I would listen to your friend," Junayd said with an easy smile. He, like Nurlan, had his hand at his belt.

Jarog realized his error. He squinted hard to clear his vision and laughed. "You men cannot take a joke." He laughed again awkwardly then abruptly stopped as no one was laughing with him. Another curiosity struck him. He turned to the figure whose face was shrouded in a dark hood. "What's with your friend there? Can he not talk?"

Aurora sat up straight, but sunk her face deeper into the cowl. He could not have seen her face either way, but it could not hurt to be safe. Devrim spoke up for her, "Our friend is quiet. Is that a crime?" He was obviously referring to the attempted robbery from a moment before, but Jarog missed it.

He swayed unsteadily and asked a different question. "Why does he hide his face? Is he deformed or just ugly? Hey, you! Are you ugly?" Jarog's voice was in unnecessarily loud. 'I am not deaf,' Aurora thought angrily.

"Go back to your table," Devrim said with no pleasantness left in his voice. Nurlan and Junayd lifted slightly from their chairs. Aurora held up her hands to steady them. They sat back lightly in their seats.

Jarog missed the exchange. "Let us see what you look like, boy!" Jarog lunged and took hold of the Guardian cloak's hood. A shock of energy ran up Jarog's arm, forcing him to release the hood and fall to the ground. Aurora was also surprised by the hood's reaction, and she fell from her chair hitting her head against the wall. Her hood fell from her face as she scrambled to stand.

"Hey! She's no boy. She's a lady!" One of the men from Jarog's table exclaimed. Everyone else turned to stare.

Jarog got to his feet in time to look at the beautiful woman. Her dark eyes and hair were lovely, and Jarog was sure that she needed a man like him. "Hello, gorgeous girl! You do not need men like this to keep you all locked up. Come with me and have a real man on your side." He pursed his lips and blew toward her. His gaze swept across her hungrily.

Aurora's insides clenched. A gaze like that could only mean one thing, and for a moment the Empress was paralyzed by fear. But she could not let fear control her. She gathered all her strength and forced a smile on her face. She flicked her gaze to the men at her table and shook her head. There would be no bloodshed if she could help it.

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Like lightning, Aurora retrieved a knife from her mysterious cloak and aimed it toward the drunken fool. He had not seen her move. While she was not an expert by any means, Aurora had learned how to adequately protect herself with a blade. The room became silent. Aurora's smile was bigger now, but it did not reach her eyes. "A real man? What makes you think you qualify?" She spun the knife low in the air to indicate his possible deficiencies. There was a ripple of laughter in the room.

"Come on missy; put down that glorified sewing needle, and I will make a real woman out of you." Jarog barely finished his sentence before a fist appeared and hit him squarely across the jaw. Jarog crumpled to the ground, leaving a now standing Devrim shaking his hand in the air to release the tension in his fingers. Nurlan and Junayd clapped enthusiastically. They only wished they had had the courage to defy the Empress so blatantly.

Aurora eyed him coolly, "I do not think I needed that."

"You did not. I did. He is lucky I did not try to run him through. You deserve respect." Devrim was unapologetic. His words filled Aurora with intense happiness. She decided not to scold him any further.

It was at this moment that Gerald descended the stairs and looked, horrified, at the scene before him. His gaze moved from Aurora to the three men with her and finally to Jarog, who was beginning to stir on the floor. As an intelligent man, he had a pretty good guess of what had happened. The innkeeper went over to the bar and retrieved a large club from behind the counter. He hefted it over his shoulder. When Devrim and the soldiers reached for their knives, Gerald waved them off with a friendly gesture. He was not coming for them. Gerald kicked his toe at Jarog's chest. "I think you have had enough. I am kicking you out for the night."

Jarog was suddenly awake and on his feet, "You can't do that!" He swayed wildly and took a swing at Gerald, which the latter easily dodged.

"Get him home, boys." The innkeeper said to the table where Jarog had been. "Or I will cut all of you off for a month."

The threat galvanized the men into action and two of them took each of Jarog's arms. "I will be back for you," the brute yelled at Devrim, "and your pretty little lady. Do not go anywhere!" As the door swung open and the sot went into the street, the rest of the patrons went back to minding their own business. Gerald motioned his four guests to come close to him.

"That idiot is gone for now, but he has got seven idiot brothers just as burly and brainless as he is. When he gets home and tells them whatever ridiculous story he thinks happened, they will gather up and come over for revenge." Gerald was upset and angry. "I am afraid you cannot stay here. I am sorry, but it is not safe. You will likely be wanting your money back."

Devrim shook his head, "You could have kept us here to gain favor with Jarog and his lot. We thank you for the warning. Could you possibly pretend to kick us out and then allow us to sleep in your barn? We would leave before sunrise so that Jarog would be none the wiser."

Gerald thought for a moment. "Works for me," he said with a wink. In a louder voice he called out, "Sorry but you cannot stay here! I do not need your kind of trouble." He made a shooing motion.

The four took the cue and headed for the door. "We would not stay here if you begged us." Devrim spat over his shoulder.

Back in the barn, the men divvied out the available space along one wall and quietly discussed who would keep watch first. They gave Aurora a wide berth along the opposite side of the stable where she chose to bed down beside her horse, Berry. Although it was still summer, the rain brought with it some cool autumn breezes, and Berry's body along with the hay provided some welcome warmth. "At least it is warm and dry," she said to Berry softly, "And it smells far better than Jarog's breath." Berry snorted, as if to say that was not hard to do. Aurora stroked the horse's soft black coat. It had been quite a day.

The Empress was glad to have passed her first small test. Sure there would be a new obstacle soon, but at the first sign of trouble, she had stood her ground. 'Take things one day at a time,' she reminded herself. The sound of the rain was soothing now, and soon the Empress felt herself slipping into sleep. She closed her eyes and dreamt of herself as a heroine in one of the stories Nanny used to tell her.