"How are the barricades holding up?" Felixin asked his wife in a low voice, not wanting Kiana to hear. The tall wolf wore a worried expression on his face, his red cloak with black trim looking wrinkled and ruffled, much like his simple white shirt and brown trousers. His ears were perked up, listening. The grey bunny woman before him sighed heavily.

"Well, they've been reinforced, and we've set up a watch, along with a signal system. If the bandits do anything, we'll know about it," she said, rubbing the baby bump on her stomach worriedly. "The real problem is their numbers. Early warning or not, this tribe is huge, they're experienced fighters, and they've got some decent equipment distributed among their ranks. At least based on what you've shown me while scrying. Have you contacted the Duke?"

Felixin winced, but nodded. "I did. The usual methods weren't working, so I suspect that they've got a spellcaster or two working with them trying to block out any magical communications to the rest of the territory. The problem is that while reinforcements are on their way, they're at least two days away."

Pumala cursed and rubbed her belly again. She was in her green cloak, in her blue shirt and trousers, per the full uniform, her golden badge prominently on full display on her chest. She then looked around their kitchen, smiling faintly at the far wall, the wood looking newer than the other walls in a large section. "Where is Kiana?"

Felixin smiled a bit. "I just checked on her before you returned. She's playing with her dollies. I decided not to tell her that our town is under seige. Children deserve to remain innocent of such things." Pumala nodded at that.

In her room, the little bunny, currently dressed in a bright green sundress with a big bow tied around the back, matching the bows at the ends of her long ears, which were perked, alert with excitement. Using her dolls and their houses, she had built a tiny replica of the town of Starlight Rose. Her dollies and stuffed animals representing the locations of the townspeople and the barricades, and the tribe of bandits that had cut off the only route out of the valley.

"Alright, Mr. Wolfy. From what I've seen when I've been able to slip away, the bandits number around two hundred. Based on what I managed to overhear, they're all remnants of other bandit tribes that had been mostly wiped out by adventurers or soldiers, some remnants of groups of mercenaries, and other such dregs." Kiana turned to look at the plush wolf sitting on her bed, facing her and her little model and staring with his black button eyes. She picked up the stuffed friend and gave him a hug.

"The townspeople have built up barricades with old broken carts and the like, incorporating the natural rocky terrain hemming in both sides of the road. Maybe if they'd had more time, they could've shorn them up more. As it stands, they're probably not going to last long." She motioned to the three spots on her model with toy carts marking the locations of all three barricades that came before the bridge. The town entrance was also barricaded, left open for now for those manning the external ones to fall back to if need be.

"The smart thing to do would be to destroy the bridge, which I think the mayor has already ordered the woodcutters to start doing. We can always rebuild it... but the bandits have a lot of lumber with them. More than likely, they've anticipated the bridge being destroyed and will simply build their own..." Kiana frowned and hugged Mr. Wolfy tighter. She had been very reluctant to actually play with toys given to her, internally citing that she was really an adult and had no need for such childish things. But... at some point, she started to enjoy her new second childhood. All the energy, the curiosity, being taken care of and loved... Kiana hadn't known just how much she had craved that until it had started being showered upon her. Now, at age seven, she smiled as she nuzzled the plush wolf and proceeded to walk to her bedroom window. Looking out at her town under a late afternoon sun, she could see someone, Mr. Stoneeater, sprinting towards the front door.

"Well that doesn't bode well, Mr. Wolfy," she said, kissing her wolf and focusing on listening. Her ears twitched as she heard the red-bearded dwarf come barging in without knocking.

"The bandits are movin' in!" Kiana could hear the dwarf say, his voice deep and grave. "And the first barricade's already fallen!"

"Dammit!" Pumala cursed, making Kiana wince. Her mother did not curse unless things were very serious. "Alright, all the children need to be evacuated to the caves. Lucian," Kiana recognized Mr. Stoneeater's first name, "go inform Lizbet that she needs to start collecting the children now." Kiana heard the dwarf's heavy and rapid footfalls fade away out the door.

"Shall I begin whipping up some spells to burn the bridge?" Felixin asked his wife.

"Not yet. Mrs. Barkson said that the trees have whispered that the bandits brought lots of lumber. More than likely, they're gunna just make their own bridge once ours is destroyed. Probably already have large segments of it done, just waiting to be assembled."

"Then I will rain fire down on their bridge!" Felixin roared.

"Dearest, you said it yourself that they probably have a magic user of some sort with them. They're probably going to try and protect their bridge."

Felixin sighed heavily. "I know, my love, but I'm still going to give it my all!"

Kiana had heard enough. She loved her Mama and Papa. She loved her friends from school. She loved her town and all the people in it. Growling a little, she slid open her bedroom window and scrambled out, Mr. Wolfy in tow.

"Princess?" Felixin said as he opened her bedroom door, just after she had hit the ground running. "Princess, now's not the time for hide and seek... or rather, it is, but for a new version." Felixin started to search the room for his little girl, smiling at the arranged toys. But then he frowned, the layout of the toys looking familiar. His eyes went wide as he came to a realization that all the dollies and toy carts and toy houses were arranged to look like the map he himself had drawn earlier that day with the plans for the town's defenses.

"Oh no!"

The large grey wolf ran to the window. "Kiana!" he called out, truly frightened.

At the town gates, Pumala stood, her hand resting on her trusted cutlass strapped to her hip. She looked grim as her friends and neighbors were running back across the bridge and through the town gates. Several were already injured; old Mr. Clayton, the halfling tailor, was wincing, with a crossbow bolt sticking through his shoulder. By the time she had arrived at the gate, the second barricade had already fallen. So far, they'd been lucky with no casualties. But the sheriff feared that that was going to change. Then she watched as the last group of villagers manning the final barricade came running, with smoke starting to rise through the copse of trees where they had been stationed.

"When the last person is through, seal the gates!" Guildmaster Graval shouted, his war axe slung over his shoulder. In addition to the villagers, numerous adventurers had also joined in the town's defenses. Unfortunately, those not in attendance were holding out for more money than what Mayor Carcora had offered. Disgusted at the actions of their fellow guildmembers, those that had volunteered had refused payment altogether. They and some woodcutters were at the ready, to strike at the main beams supporting the bridge, which ran just under the town gate.

The last group, led by Fir Meadows, the giant tree-person, whose leafy green beard reached down to his bark belt, were already crossing the bridge. Fir was clutching his right arm, which was leaking sap.

"They're on their way," he rumbled in his deep voice that sounded like an odd combination of tumbling rocks and wind singing through the branches of a tree.

Graval nodded, and the massive solid iron gate was closed, with two massive iron bars settled across it. No one had noticed the little blur that darted out to the bridge at the last second. Pumala breathed a small sigh of relief, even though she knew full well that this siege was only just beginning. She looked down from the platform up next to the wall at the villagers who had been injured, already being attended to by the healers. She looked back to the bridge, her breath hitching in her throat as her heart skipped several beats. Standing there, on the center of the bridge was little Kiana. She looked so innocent and small in her little dress and bows, hugging her plush wolf. And then, the bandits appeared on the other side of the bridge.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Pumala froze as a large, scarred orc strode forward. Gold rings glinted on his tusks, his red eyes a stark contrast to his forest green skin. He wore black leather armor with a red hatchet painted over the heart.

"Well now, look what we have here," his voice easily carried over the bridge to Pumala's ears. "It seems that taking this town will be much easier than we had expected, now that we've got ourselves such a cute little hostage." There were raucous laughs from the bandits behind him as he came to a stop right before the little bunny, towering over her. Kiana looked up at him coolly, focusing and tapping into her inner power. Just as he started to reach for her, Kiana's eyes began to glow a bright blue.

She leapt and spun, her right foot connecting with the side of his head. In one swift kick... the orc's head had been kicked clean off his body. The head went over the bridge and down the falls, while the blood spurting corpse fell over. Kiana landed on her feet, taking a fighting stance. The villagers, many of whom had climbed up onto different platforms to see what was happening, looked on in stunned silence, as did the bandits across from them on the other side of the bridge.

Seeing their leader, now a headless corpse, one bandit roared, a human man with a thick blonde beard and a shaved head, and sprinted towards the bridge with two whirling scimitars drawn. While the villagers saw a blur of blades, Kiana saw a man moving as if he were encased in molasses. She dodged the first two strikes with little effort. Seeing an opening, she jumped up a little and slammed her fist into the center of his chest. The man went flying back almost all the way to his allies. He lay there, blood running out of his mouth. His chest cavity was caved in, despite his thick leather armor. Kiana stood there, staring at the bandits, tucking Mr. Wolfy into a pocket.

Whatever plans and cohesion the bandits had went out the window right there. As one, they started to charge the bridge. It was wide enough for ten of them to walk abreast, but Kiana didn't seem remotely fazed by their superior numbers. Crossbow bolts and throwing hatchets were loosed on her, and she simply dodged them, or plucked them out of the air and sent them flying back to their owners, each one hitting its intended target. She caught a sword in mid slice with her bare paw, and broke the tip of the blade off, her palm uncut. Using it, she danced in between her enemies, stabbing their inner thighs, slicing Achillie's tendons, jumping to stab and slice throats and eyes, all while easily dodging their, to her, sluggish attacks.

"GET THE GATE OPEN, NOW!" Pumala screamed at Graval, finally spurred into action. She wasn't sure just how it could be that her daughter was so deadly a warrior already, but that didn't matter, the bandits' numbers were still too great. Graval watched as Kiana had grabbed one felled bandit by his ankles, and was easily swinging the limp, groaning body around like a weapon, knocking several bandits off the bridge to be smashed against the rocks at the base of the falls below. He smiled, a little worried himself, and got to work with several others.

The metal beams barring the gates were heavy, and it took a combined effort to lift the lower of the two, and then the higher one. Tossed aside, the massive gates were pulled open, with Pumala running out already, cutlass drawn. She stopped as she saw Kiana standing around a large group of bodies, broken and bleeding and twisted. Gone were all but three of the bandits who, seeing the most recent of their brethren fall at the hands of the tiny monster bunny, all turned to flee. Cold and calculating, Kiana grabbed up two throwing knives and a throwing hatchet from the nearby corpses.

With a moment to aim and take a deep breath, she flicked her wrist three times, each time sending a deadly projectile flying. All three struck where she had intended, right in the center of all three of the backs of their necks, right into the spine. The fleeing bandits fell, and the now blood and gore-drenched bunny girl stood there. The bridge had deep gouges and even entire chunks missing from it, due to the pure force of Kiana's punches and kicks. Kiana's ears twitched as she heard some grunts coming from behind some trees, which swiftly became some colorful curses... and then screams of pain. Smoke began to float up from behind the foliage, with bright purple flames licking up.

"KIANA ELIZABETH LUNA!!!" Kiana froze, knowing full well that the real reason parents gave their children a middle name was so that they could subtly let them know that they were in trouble. Her ears drooping, she turned and saw her mother and father. Pumala was looking amazed, while Felixin was frowning hard and striding right towards where she was standing, taking no notice of the bodies and blood he was stepping around. Soon, he was standing before her, with his arms crossed, his foot tapping.

"You are in a lot of trouble, young lady!" he said. "You run off and go and put yourself in so much danger, you practically destroy the bridge, you made your mother and myself and the entire village worry about you and risk their own safety by opening the gates again to rescue you, and you've gone and ruined the pretty little dress your grandma sent for your birthday!"

"U-uh..." Kiana said, worried about how much trouble she was in, "they were gunna destroy the bridge anyway."

"That's not the point," Felixin said, his voice softening. He leaned down and scooped her up into his arms, not caring about the blood he was getting on his cloak. "You could've gotten seriously hurt, Princess. Why, I had to go and face off against that sorcerer hiding in the trees over there just to make sure you didn't get struck by their spells. Thankfully they fell for my just reflecting their own curse back onto them trick."

"I-I..." Kiana suddenly felt guilty about how much she must've made her papa and mama worry. She hung her head and sniffed. "I'm sorry, Papa."

Felixin sighed, but smiled a little, and planted a kiss on a clean spot of her forehead. "Well, I appreciate you admitting that, sweetie. Now, let's go home, get you a bath, and then start your punishment."

Kiana winced at that. "What's my punishment?"

"A time-out... for five minutes." Felixin's voice held a note of finality.

"FIVE WHOLE MINUTES?!" Kiana whined. Pumala watched this exchange, smiling to herself. She didn't know how her little girl could be so strong, but she was grateful to whatever deities could be responsible. Her daughter would be tough, and she would need to be in such a world as theirs. Pumala looked around at all the death that had been wrought, grateful that no one from the village was counted amongst the slain. Yet, the very fact that an entire tribe of bandits, simple bandits, had banded together to take an entire town... that gave her a deep sense of disquiet. Pumala turned and headed back towards the gates.

She would have them closed and barred again and set up a watch until the soldiers arrived, as a precaution. Things went smoothly, as everyone had already been organized, it didn't take Pumala too long to return home. She smiled seeing Kiana, still extra fluffy from drying off from her bath, wearing a sky blue checkered dress, sitting on a stool facing a corner in the living room. The little bunny was pouting, but obediently sitting there. Just before Pumala said anything, Felixin entered the room, now dressed in his spare red cloak.

"Alright, princess, it's been five minutes." The sentence was barely finished before Kiana had hopped down and sprinted over to Pumala, leaping into her arms. The older rabbit woman hugged her baby close, smiling even wider upon feeling her husband's arms encircle them.

"I made contact with the Captain leading the platoons," the wolf wizard said; his tail wagging, "with that spellcaster gone, I had no difficulty. Anyway, I informed them that the bandits seem to have all been killed, although there's a possibility that there may be more in the area."

"Good," Pumala said as their hug broke apart, and she shifted Kiana in her arms, looking down at her. "Sweetie, where did you learn how to... fight like that?"

"Well, clearly our little princess is a wizarding prodigy!" Felixin said, his tail wagging.

"Honey, Kiana didn't appear to be casting any spells. She looked like one of those dragon monks that came to town a few years ago."

Felixin waved a dismissive paw. "Well, prodigy or not, I think it's clear that that group of ruffians were clearly all just bluster. I mean, being defeated so easily by a sweet little girl." Kiana rolled her eyes for the thousandth time at her father's blind-spot in regards to her abilities.

"Feli," Pumala sighed, for she had already taken notice of Kiana's raw strength long ago "they appeared to largely be experienced fighters."

"Well, they couldn't be that experienced if something this cute," he said, picking and holding up Kiana who was sporting a mildly annoyed look, "could trounce them so soundly. Just you wait and see, when the soldiers arrive and we can start investigating, we'll probably find that we went and made a mountain out of a molehill."

Three Weeks Later...

Felixin looked nervously about the grand dining room. He was dressed in his finest cloak and suit. Pumala was wearing a splendid thin strapped violet dress. Standing between them was Kiana, who was dressed identically to her mother. The key difference, however, was the large shining golden medal depicting a majestic eagle in flight carrying a sword in its talons, framed with an ornate deep blue and white ribbon tied in a bow, hanging from her neck. He, just like his wife, had been surprised and delighted to learn that the Duke had invited them all to a banquet at his manor in the city of Ghostflower, a major trading hub just past the mountains encircling Starlight Rose. They had been granted an armed escort, after the bridge had been completely rebuilt, having been deemed too damaged to repair.

After arriving in the big city, Kiana had been excited to look around and almost wandered off a few times, until Felixin had tied a rope around her waist. The family had done a little sightseeing before the ceremony, performed in the city square, where Duke Everheart, a towering and friendly golden dracofian, a dragon-man, had bestowed upon Kiana the Medal of Bravery to a massive audience, with many different public officials and nobles in attendance, many of whom were already seated at the banquet. Felixin was well aware of the eyes on him, and gulped. Pumala gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Kiana was too distracted, staring wide-eyed at all the deserts on a large beautifully carved oak table near the center of the room.

Oh yeah, I am SO becoming a hero when I grow up again! Kiana thought to herself, just as the family was introduced to the room by one of the many servants of the manor. Barely paying attention, Kiana curtseyed, never taking her eyes off of all the delicious-looking sweets. Her ears twitched at some chuckles and a few nobleladies cooing at how cute she was. There were even some hushed conversations of disbelief at her accomplishment. She payed it no mind. In time, word of her deeds and adventures will spread, and all would know of the great and powerful Warrior Bunny, Kiana.

Name: Kiana

Species: Beasta (Rabbit-Kin)

Age: 7

Skills: (Reluctant) Tea Party, Puppy-Dog Eyes, Advanced Martial Arts, Brawling, Sarcasm Level 4, Eyerolling Mastery

Class: Second Grade, (Unofficial) Master-Level Dragon Monk

Str: 130

Int: 12

Dex: 126

Cha: 12

Wis: 10

Con: 150

Languages: Common