The situation was certainly escalating. But what did I want to do about it? Alexander had neither the power, nor the authority to arrest me. Whoever set this up was probably hoping for a confrontation. To what end, I did not know. I was not even sure if we were the target. Maybe someone saw us as a convenient tool to get rid of the prince and engineered that encounter?

“Lucy, let’s try to keep them alive.” I suggested.

The big man frowned, then tried to draw his sword. Before he could reach it Lucy hit him with the back of her spear. He went flying into a tree. That left four guards and the woman, who was probably coerced to be here. The prince really was a pig, maybe it was time that his form reflected that. I smiled as I started a polymorph spell.

Our own escorts simply stood there, uncertain what to do. Alexander’s soldiers overcame their shock and drew their weapons to engage us. I did not even bother to use my own sword. I just dodged an attack and unleashed my spell on the prince.

*Oink*

I turned him into a pig. He tried running but his clothes, now no longer fitting him, tangled his legs. The soldiers stared in horror. While I was performing my magic, Lucy knocked out another one. So only three enemies were still standing. They were not nearly strong enough for this fight. Which just showed how stupid it was for them to start it.

Alexander, the pig, finally managed to free himself and started running. I pointed at him and addressed the soldiers: “Maybe you should catch your prince before he gets hurt. Would be a shame if someone turned him into bacon.”

They looked torn. After a short moment of consideration they ran after him, leaving their two knocked out comrades behind. The woman who was with them also fled, but in a different direction. She was probably a junior officer coerced by Alexander. I would have offered her help but that could make her a target. At least Alexander had other problems right now.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“What shall we do with the unconscious ones?” Lucy asked.

I shrugged. “Leave them for a garbage collector?” I suggested.

“Sure. You know, after this warm up a swim does sound nice.”

“I don’t have a bathing suit.” I reminded her.

“It’s not like you need one.”

“Really?” I pointed at our guards. “I am not going to give them a show. Also, there are other people in the lake.”

“There are not that many, we could find a quiet place. And I am sure our guards will offer us privacy if we ask nicely.”

They were currently talking with each other while pointing at the knocked out soldiers. Maybe we could use this situation. I approached them. “Lucy and myself are going for a swim. You are not invited.”

The commander stiffened. I never bother to learn his name. “We can’t do that my lady. Our instructions are to guard you.”

“You already failed spectacularly at that. Why don’t you do something useful and take care of those soldiers. We will be fine.”

“I cannot disobey my orders,” he insisted.

“So you intend to watch two naked women going for a swim? Maybe I should turn you into a pig as well…” I felt a little bad about the threat. In the end he was in a bad situation.

“Naked? I would never… I mean…” He seemed rather embarrassed.

“You know what? Why don’t we compromise? Any fight with our strength is going to be loud. So you just stay out of sight and assist if you hear explosions.”

“We… we could do that.”

He did not seem happy but he agreed in the end. Perfect. I walked back towards Lucy. “They will stay out of sight. We can look for a quiet place.”

“Excellent. A swim will be wonderful.”

We started walking again. “What do you think about our encounter with Alexander?” I asked.

“I think he is an idiot and hotheaded. We were in the park for some time. He would have struck a lot sooner if he planned an ambush. Someone steered him in our direction I suspect.”

“I had a similar thought. Alexander is dumb enough that it was clear he would provoke us in some way, given the chance. But for what? That did not achieve anything.”

“Who knows?” Lucy shrugged. “We will deal with it when it happens.”

“I suppose. You know, if someone is watching us magically they could see us going for a swim.”

“Can you ward us against scrying?”

“Yes. That is actually the perfect excuse why we are shielded. We would need that anyway if we switch with our doubles later.”

“See? Not having a bathing suit turned out great. Now you can skinny-dip to further our mission!” Lucy teased.

I blushed.