The moon was already climbing in the sky, Hayat Bestel the captain of her guard was complaining out loud. Yes they left Hifadhi, a small village near the border of the kingdom, a bit later then planned. But the leader of the Witch doctors, master Haile Skelnings, had asked them to stay for one last supper. Captain Bestel was already against the idea, but Zeudi had accepted the invitation without a second of thought. The last month they, her personal guard, Lady royal Armana, and herself, had worked their asses off. So it was also their first proper meal in weeks.
"Really, your highness. What were you thinking?" Captain Hayat asked. With a smile she looked towards Armana, who shook her head. Zeudi knew that Armana agreed with the Captain.
"I was thinking that we all deserved that meal, captain." She replied. "It is the first proper meal we had in weeks." The rest of the guard started to voice their agreement, knowing that they would reprimanded for it later. Captain Hayat looked over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed. This was enough to shut his men up. The man was an impressive sight to behold, and often she had wondered why the man wasn't married. With his long brown hair, his deep brown eyes, his exotic sienna skin tone made his handsome look complete. Still that was not something she wanted to voice out loud, because it might inflate his ego. "Captain go easy on them. They have seen more death and suffering, then some soldiers who are serving at the front."
"They knew what they signed up for." He snapped at her, but then he wiggled with his head. "Now that I have said it out loud, maybe not. You are the princess of Cidor, and a lot of the new recruits wouldn't think that besides guarding you, they would face another job. I, for one, didn't when I started to serve your mother." She bowed her head, when all of them started to say.
"May she find rest, in the heavens above."
It was a sign of respect for the late queen, her mother.
"But those it really kill you, if you act like a princess from time to time?" Captain Hayat asked. He meant that she was not traveling inside a carriage, instead she was riding horse back.
"You are mistaken Captain. I would love to travel inside a carriage once in a while. But for one, it will be an extra guarding detail on top of our mission. And it will only slow use down even more." She replied. He again looked over his shoulder to face her.
"You really do have an answer for everything." He said with a big smile on his face and she nodded. That was something that was expected of her as the future queen. People always expect a response, no matter if she had the answer or not. That was something her mother had taught her at a very early age, and it was something that enjoyed the heck out of her father, the Consort. He hated the fact that she went out on missions like this one, instead of looking for a husband. A shiver went to her spine if she thought about it. It wasn't the fact that nobody wanted her, over the course of the last year she had met a lot of men who wanted to be her husband. But all for their own gain, they wanted power, her wealth, the honor that came with the title Consort. And what were they prepared to give her in return for that honor, an heir. Of course an heir was important, but she needed more from a husband. But that was something that those men, including her father didn't seem to get. "No worried, princess. You will find your mister Right, but this kind of thing takes time." Was it that she hadn't spent that much time, no that wasn't it.
"Tell me captain, what do you think of the last dozen men who were aiming high?" She asked him and he sighed.
"Peacocks." He said, which was a slur for men who only dressed as a soldier, but never served. "Every last one of them. And none of them wanted to give you what you needed." She smiled, at least one man was getting it. "What is the thing you said to your father. I want a man who was willing to give me the moon and stars if he could." She nodded, that is indeed what she had said. "I know what you actually meant. You want a man that love you for you, and not what you can give him." She nodded again, that was exactly what she meant by that. Armana, who was riding next to her started to cough. Zeudi looked at her, Armana was maybe her Lady royal, appointed by her father. Never in her life she would have chosen her. That didn't mean that she disliked her, they were simply not compatible. So Zeudi tries to ignore her, which was often the best course of action. She was about to thank Captain Hayat, but he raised his hand. Which meant one thing, he had heard something. She looked around, but saw nothing. Often it meant nothing serious, but that didn't mean that she didn't take the warning serious. She moved closer to the guard behind her, all of them had their hands on their swords, ready for any type of danger. An arrow landed right before her horse's hooves. "Ambush, protect the women!" It was protocol to not say protect the princess, just in case. More than a dozen men, all dressed in black and covered faces, rushed towards them with drawn swords. Her personal guard all jumped off their horses and formed a circle around Armana and her. Drawing their swords, ready to do their duty. Another arrow landed in one of the men's shoulder. He was thrown back by the force of the blow and bumped against her horse. The poor animal was spooked by it, starting to move uncontrollably. Now the men of her guard needed to look out for her as well, which made things even worse. The horse bolted and pranced, throwing her off.
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Idris was not sure why they attacked this small group of people, on horse back. The men were heavily armed, but they didn't have anything of value. At least not as far he could see, maybe there was something of gold and silver in their saddlebags. But it was not worth their lives. Still he was not going against Russom's orders, so he and the rest of the crew started to attack the group of riders.
"Ambush, protect the women!" Screamed the large man. The women? His gaze went over the large group and there were indeed women among them, dressed in a men's clothing. If that large man with the loud voice hadn't said anything he wouldn't have noticed them at all, maybe he would have noticed them when it was already too late. One of their arrows flew towards one of the men that was now surrounding the women. The man in question was blown backwards bumping against a horse who was starting to panic. The woman on it was trying her best to get the animal under control, so that she wouldn't be a problem for the surrounding men. But it didn't help that much, the animal starts to bolt and prance. Throwing her off its back, Idris could see her head bumping against a rock. But instead of laying down and moaning that it hurt, she simply stood up. Grabbing the man who got shot, and pulled him behind the lines. Idris rushed towards the line and started to fight the first man he could find. Ducking and avoiding his sword, the man was very well-trained. He could say without a doubt that they were part of the army. Still the man wouldn't be a match for his sword, he only hoped that he didn't make him suffer too much. He could hear the screaming from other men around him, one of his men had pulled the other woman from her horse.
"Do not hurt her." Idris called to him. Simret nodded, and pulled the woman with him. That one started to scream so loudly, that Idris started to worry about Simret's eardrums. He started to look for the other one, and it wasn't hard to find her. She was attending the man that got shot, while blood was pouring over her head from a wound. The man's face was white as a sheet, which was not surprising. They use poisoned arrows, a poison he himself had made. "Miss, I am sorry to say. But your man here is death." The woman looked at him, anger was burning inside her blue eyes. She grabbed the death man's sword and pointed at him.
"Do not get any closer." She said, it was clearly an empty threat, her hand was shaking like a reed in the wind. This was probably the first time she was holding a sword. But he knew better than to get near her, a cat pushed in a corner makes crazy and dangerous jumps. She maybe never held a sword before, but that didn't mean she wouldn't hurt him, or kill him with it.
"Miss, I mean you no harm." He said quickly, placing his sword back in its scabbard. To show her that he meant it. "My man already escorted your friend away from the battlefield, so that she wouldn't get hurt." The woman looked quickly around her, probably looking for the other woman. "I swear on my sword that she is unharmed, and she will stay that way." He could see that she still didn't believe him.
"Why would I believe you. Your men and your men attacked, me and mine." She snapped at him, and she was right about that. But attacking people and robbing them was his job. He looked up and saw Russom running towards them, blade drawn. Was he going to kill her? The woman had notice that his attention had shifted to something behind her. She turned around, and Russom ran into the sword. Idris rushed over to them, Russom started to fall to the ground. But so was the woman, she also looked at her hand in horror. Yes this was her first time holding a sword, and probably the first time she took someone's life. He grabbed the woman before she fell to the ground, she looked at him. Wait a second, he knew her. Although he didn't know her name or where he had seen her last. "Let me go." Her voice was so soft, he could barely hear it. He shook his head.
"Miss, you are hurt." He said, she shook her head. By the heavens this lady was stubborn, and maybe it would be better if he did what she said. He quickly looked around, but none of her men were still alive. So leaving her here was not an option. He was maybe a thief, but he was an honest one. And now that Russom was dead... He looked at his men, almost all of them were still alive. Simret stood at the edge with the other woman, she was unconscious. Now all of them looked at him. "Miss." He looked down at her, but her eyes were closed.