The small village was exactly where the young scout had said, and the ragged group filed into the town in the darkness of the night. The sleepy village had not quite settled down, and as news of the coup spread, lights in every window were lit while the occupants spilled into the streets.
The mayor came out to greet Devrim and bowed. "Your Majesty," he said. "I am most distressed by the news that we have received from your scout." Realizing who was in their presence, the townspeople bowed as well. They waited to see if what they had just heard was accurate. Did they have a new ruler?
Devrim confirmed their suspicions. "It is true. We are on the run from my son. I understand if you do not want to take us in. But if you will house and feed us, we will leave you at first light. We do not want to bring trouble on your town," the grey-eyed man spoke graciously.
The mayor only seemed half-listening, which Devrim at first thought was rude. The man's round eyes were searching the crowd when he realized that the Emperor was waiting for a response. The mayor cleared his throat. "Of course we will help you. But if I may ask, is the princess with you?"
The grey-eyed man was suddenly suspicious. He had not wanted to reveal his identity, but the mayor recognized him on sight. Apparently the mayor had come to make a request of the Empress a year ago and was granted an audience. Mairwen was protected from the public eye as a general rule, so few outside the castle knew what she looked like. Devrim did not want to put his daughter in danger by giving her the limelight. "Why do you want to know if Mairwen is with me?" Devrim asked at last.
The mayor looked embarrassed. "An entertainer came through town this week and told of the Princess's heroism at the battle of the Western Garrison. The performer said that Princess Mairwen's archery defies logic. We are eager to meet such a skilled warrior."
The townspeople pushed in to hear Devrim's answer. They were gently cheering the girl's name. Mairwen blushed heavily at the praise. The soldiers, sensing there might be a mob, huddled around the princess to shield her from the crowd. Although it was instinctually right to protect her, the suddenly motion drew the people's attention.
"What are you hiding?" someone asked, causing more and more onlookers to question the troops. The men anxiously fingered their swords, unsure of what to do.
"We are not hiding anything," Devrim tried to call them back, but the tide was too strong. The tension was mounting.
Coming to a decision, Mairwen took a deep breath and emerged from the soldiers. "I am the Princess," she announced. "My troops were only trying to protect me."
The princess strode quickly to her father's side. The mayor seemed overjoyed at the sight before him. "Look!" he said to his wife. "It's the warrior princess! Did you really shoot the enemies archers as they crested the horizon?"
Mairwen smiled shyly, unsure of how to correct the man's confusion. His question spurred dozens of others.
"Did you shoot a magical arrow of billowing smoke and confuse the enemy?"
"Even when the enemy was on top of you, did you block their sword strikes with one hand and use your other hand and teeth to continue to fire your bow?"
'What a vivid imagination these people have!' Mairwen thought with amusement as more and more questions poured in.
Finally the crowd fell silent. "They are expecting you to speak," Devrim whispered.
Mairwen sighed. "Do I tell the truth or let them believe all that nonsense?" She asked her father honestly.
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"I trust you. Speak from your heart." Devrim responded. The truth would likely disappoint the people, but it was also not good to perpetuate the lie. He knew the princess would do the right thing.
Mairwen nodded with determination before addressing the crowd. "Good people," the girl began. "You give me too much credit. I was at that battle, but the trained soldiers fought much harder and more bravely than I ever could. You are looking at the wrong person for a hero. If you should praise anyone, praise General Beadu, who gave his life that I and the others might escape the horrible ambush."
The people were impressed by her humble speech, and their admiration only grew. Before long, a chant grew "All hail Princess Mairwen, first daughter of the Empire!" It did not matter how much she tried to quiet them, the people joined in adulation.
Junayd was enjoying the scene, but something inside the seasoned warrior made his hair stand on end. He scanned the perimeter and spotted a flash of metal off in the woods. He motioned to Eira and she hurried over.
"There is something in the woods. Alert the Emperor and protect the princess. I will take a few of the troops to investigate," Junayd spoke quietly. The general called an archer and two swordsmen to his side. After advising them on the situation, the four fanned out to surround the area where Junayd had seen the flash.
Compared to the village, the forest was very quiet. Although the light was very low, Junayd was able to use his hearing to pinpoint an unnatural rustling among the trees. Rather than draw his long sword, the general pulled out a knife as he crept up behind the lurker.
The intruder was crouched low to the ground. He was gathering as much information as he could before returning to Xander and Alaron with his findings. He was far too busy watching the jubilant scene in the town to notice he was being watched until the cold steel touched the back of his neck.
"It was unwise of you to follow us, pirate," Junayd said in his most menacing tone. "How many others have made that same mistake?" The general took the man's curved sword from his side with an uncomfortable wince, and tossed it away from them.
"You cannot threaten me. I work for the new Emperor," the pirate with long tangled hair and breath that smelled of death responded.
Junayd pressed the blade slightly harder into the man's neck. "There is only one Emperor, and you will never serve him. Now answer my question. Who else is with you?"
"You will die before ever knowing, but I can tell you that I am not alone. It could be one pirate or one thousand. You will just have to ponder that mystery in the grave. Just like the rest of your pathetic group. I--" the pirate stopped as something whizzed by them at an alarming speed.
Junayd turned to see a shadow looming over him with his sword drawn. Before the general could attack, the second pirate fell to one side with an arrow sticking out between two ribs.
"Your help is dead, while mine seems to be alive and well," Junayd mocked. The words angered the man with the tangled mop of hair, and he pulled a knife from his boot. The pirate lunged at the soldier, and the two began a dangerous life-and-death tussle for the upper hand. The archer, who had shot the second pirate, watched helplessly with his bow drawn in case any other pirates were hidden in the shadows.
Junayd's shoulder screamed in pain. Of all the days for him to be injured, it had to be the one where he would also need to crash a boat, swim, and wrestle a pirate. The general lamented his fate. The pirate rolled Junayd mercilessly onto his back by punching him in the weakened shoulder. He lifted his knife to make the killing blow, but a dull thud took the life from his eyes. The archer had found his mark a second time.
The archer ran towards him, and finally the other two swordsmen came upon the scene. They heaved the dead pirate off of the general. "Thank you, Okan," Junayd said to the marksman. "You saved my life. But how did you know that he was the one on top in this dull light?"
The archer smiled, "You do not posses his luscious locks, General Junayd. He cut quite the dashing figure against the skyline." For once, Junayd was very glad for his close-cropped hair. It had kept him from being the one with an arrow in his back.
"You are as good as the Warrior Princess," Junayd joked as he regained his humor.
"No one is as good as the Warrior Princess," Okan argued. "Not even the Warrior Princess herself."
Junayd stroked his chin. "Legends have a way of getting out of hand, but I do think Mairwen will live up to every bit of the praise." The general then gave orders for the men to grab other soldiers and search the woods for pirates. He approached the Devrim, who was working with the mayor to find suitable places for all the people to sleep. The Emperor left the mayor to finish the task alone.
"There were two pirates watching us from the woods. They met the wrong side of Okan's arrow." Junayd apprised his leader of the situation.
"Do you think there are more?" Devrim asked. His eyes began to scan the darkness of the tree line.
"Unless they were the only ones to survive the crash, I doubt they came alone." The general responded. "Though thankfully they did not seem to have any archers. Not a lot of need for those on the sea. As long as we keep a vigilant watch tonight, we should be fine. Tomorrow we will have to work extra hard to put some distance between us and our enemy."
"I agree." Devrim trusted his personal guard wholeheartedly.
Junayd nodded. "Good. I will set up a schedule for the watch."
Devrim stopped the burly man from leaving. "Let Eira, Okan or anyone else set up the watch. You go see the healer. She has already checked out Bella and attended a couple of the others. The healer is waiting for you before she can go to sleep. Do not keep her waiting," the Emperor warned.
"I don't need a healer," Junayd protested.
Devrim lay a firm hand on the general's left shoulder, causing the man to crumple to the ground in pain.
"Yes, you do," the grey-eyed man asserted.
Junayd had no response. He wandered off slowly in the direction Devrim indicated. The Emperor turned his gaze back to Mairwen. She had to be exhausted, yet she was smiling confidently at a young mother as they both admired her new baby boy. Before that the princess was listening to an old lady tell of her dear departed son. The blue-eyed girl seemed indefatigable.
"You are a miracle to behold," Devrim said to Mairwen, though she was far too far away to hear. "I wish Aurora could see this. You truly are a Warrior Princess."