In front of the whole court, a lone Kamilite Sister stood there panting. The usual calm demeanor of such a woman was gone entirely, as was her court manners. All the guests looked upon her with shock and curiosity at the sudden intrusion in the midst of the room. Whispers circled around the court. Even the jesters were at a loss for witty remarks.

Saladin, King of Mahjur, jolted in his throne as the woman barged in. In a loud, thundering voice, he addressed the woman, “Daughter of Mahjur, why have you behaved so rudely in my court? What is the reason for this sudden interruption?”

The woman replied through her erratic breaths, “The Princess of Lucium is in Mahjur.”

He stood up from his throne with a worried look on his face. “What? Why is a member of Lucium’s royal family in my realm?”

“The Princess is traveling with three others.” She began to regain her composure, and her breathing became steadier. “They have sustained serious injuries. One of them is almost dead. Before I left, the other Sisters agreed to help them. I was sent as soon as we discovered the Princess’s identity.”

Saladin sat back down and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You said one of them is almost dead?”

The woman nodded. “I don’t know their exact injuries, certainly not all the injuries of that man, but he was not even conscious when we found them.”

“Hmm. I thank you on behalf of all of Mahjur for bringing this to my attention.” He looked over his right shoulder. “Laylaa.”

She glanced over at him. “Yes, brother?”

“I want you to go to wherever these Sisters are keeping the Princess, and speak on my behalf. Help to heal these strangers if you can, and bring the Princess to me. It is far too dangerous for her to wander about in the desert.”

“There is a problem, sire,” the woman interjected.

“What sort of problem?”

“It seems that none of them know our language, but that one of them knows some of the Ancient Language.”

He sighed. “I suppose that should’ve been obvious… What languages do they know?”

“I’m not sure, but most likely just their native tongue, aside from the one who spoke bits of the Ancient Language.”

Saladin snapped his fingers. “Aurelian.”

The man standing to his left turned and bowed. “What is it, sire?”

“Accompany Laylaa. You have learned our language well enough to merit being a translator. I can think of no other man qualified for this task.”

“I shall do my best, sire.”

“Daughter of Mahjur, I hate to send you back on your journey without a day of rest, but time is of the essence. And so I must ask you to make haste back to your fellow Sisters, and to take these two with you as legates in my stead.”

The woman gave a profound bow. “It is the will of Hikma, so I shall not refuse.”

“Good. Hikma guide you. And may his Watchers be as beacons of light when you travel the dunes.”

Lucullus laid in his bed and stared at the wall on the far side of the tent. His mind wandered from memory to memory. His daring escape from the Avarus Wall, and the perilous journey he took through the blizzard. He thought of Tiberius, and wondered if he was in a cell somewhere. From one thought to the next, his mind seemed to go from one place to the other, aimlessly wandering. His unbroken stream of thoughts was interrupted by flap of his tent suddenly being flung open.

Two people walked in, with Olivia trailing close behind them.

“Olivia, who are these two?”

“They are from Saladin’s court.”

“Saladin?”

Olivia nodded. “They know of my title, so it was only a matter of time before the King of Mahjur himself would take an interest in us.”

“His people travel with great speed.”

“When the Princess of Lucium is lost in his land, my liege wastes no time in retrieving her,” responded one of the two. He was a muscular man, and as tall as Lucullus. Such a stature was common for men of his race, far from being an anomaly like it is for the Altum.

“It’s nice to have someone I can understand.”

“That is precisely why I was sent with Lady Laylaa. We were informed of the communication difficulties present.”

“Were you just sent here to translate?”

He pointed to himself. “For me, yes. But Milady was sent here to retrieve the Princess, and to provide any necessary healing as a sign of my liege’s good will. For she is here to speak on his behalf.”

“These Dayiran women have been trying to heal me for probably ten days. I still have at least four before I can even stand up from this bed. Or so they have said. If there is any way she can lessen my time in this bed, I would be eternally grateful. Being confined to this space has worn away at my mind.”

After the man translated for Laylaa, she spoke, and he translated to Lucullus, “Milady has spoken: ‘I shall spend the rest of this day in this camp, and I will heal you as I am able. But when the sun shall rise tomorrow, I must take the Princess to Saladin.’”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“I refuse to leave without him,” Olivia protested.

The man turned to her. “My liege did not command that we take anyone else.”

“Without this man, I would not be here, but instead in a cage guarded by Chaodites in Immergrun!”

“Our priority is you.”

“My father sent him to find me. He is greatly important to my father’s court. I would be a dishonorable wretch to abandon a man who risked everything to ensure my safety.”

The man sighed. “Then you shall have to explain that to my liege when we arrive. I and Lady Laylaa certainly will not be at fault for the delay.”

Laylaa said something in a low voice, and the man translated. “Milady assures both of you that her healing abilities are unmatched, and that this man will be healed.”

“I never questioned her abilities,” Olivia countered.

“She can hear anxiety in your tone, though she doesn’t know what you said.”

“Tell her that I refuse to leave without Lucullus.”

As instructed, the man relayed the message, and turned back with Laylaa’s reply. “Milady has declared that, if it is Hikma’s will for us to return to Saladin, then this man shall be healed. Whatever day it shall be good in His judgment. For he is wisdom.”

Lucullus shrugged. “As soon as I can stand, I will accompany the Princess, and my other two companions shall join us. They deserve as much credit as I do for this, if not more.”

“If they are able to travel, then they are welcome to join us. Regardless, Lady Laylaa and I shall remain in your tent while she works to heal you. If any of your companions should enter this tent, it is Milady’s wish that they do not disturb her while she works.”

Soon after the conversation had finished, Laylaa began her rituals of prayers, kneeling by Lucullus’s bed and occasionally lowering her head whenever she uttered the name of Hikma. After two hours of intense concentration, she stood up and excused herself to take a rest.

Lucullus relaxed, putting his hands behind his head. “It was more pleasant than those other women during the first few days.”

“Perhaps it was just your extreme injuries in the beginning,” Olivia speculated.

He shrugged. “You might be right, but it felt a bit different. I guess a better way to describe it is that it didn’t feel like anything.”

“Lady Laylaa has spent many years to hone her skills and concentration. She is famous in Mahjur for more than just being the sister of Saladin.”

“I don’t think you ever properly introduced yourself,” Lucullus noted. “I know you’re supposed to be the translator, but I’ve yet to learn your name.”

“My name is Aurelian.”

“Are you a Lucium native?”

He shook his head. “I lived there long enough to blend in with the locals, but I was born up north in Septentrio.”

“I’m very curious how a man born in Septentrio ends up as the translator in the royal court of Mahjur.”

“It’s a long tale.”

“For the time being, I do have the time. I’m certainly not going anywhere.”

Aurelian pulled up a stool. “I suppose we can exchange stories. Though I do find it more interesting how you ended up the way you did in Mahjur.”

“If you’re referring to my injuries, that was thanks to a vicious storm. Our ship was caught in it sometime late in the night, and the next morning we were scattered along the shores. Other than that, I don’t have an explanation as to why I was in such a miserable condition.”

“Princess, you mentioned Immergrun earlier. That was where you were held?”

She nodded. “It was terrible. Being suspended in a cage in some disgusting sewer was the most horrid thing I had experienced in my life since the plagues that ravaged Lucium years ago. The fact that my captors were Chaodites made things even worse.”

“How did Chaodites in Immergrun capture you?”

She pulled up a stool and slouched as she sat down. “I received a letter from House Avarus, but it never said who sent it, so I went to House Avarus to find out who it was. My father was against it, and if I remember correctly, even the sender didn’t want me to go.”

Lucullus looked over to her with deep confusion. “I’ve been stubborn plenty of times before, but that is a bit too reckless.”

“The letter was full of riddles. I felt I had to seek out this person.”

“Do you have any idea who this person was?” Aurelian asked.

“I can’t be certain, but I suspected Tatiana. That or it was a forgery in her style.”

“Tatiana?” Aurelian thought for a moment. “Isn’t she one of Sabina’s children.”

She nodded. “We were very close, and I think that may have been used against me. It could have been that my enemies knew I would come after her.”

“It seems things worsened after I fled Lucium.”

Olivia perked up. “Fled? What do you mean by that?”

“It’s exactly as it sounds.”

“What made you flee Lucium?”

He sat in silence for while. “It was because of some work I was doing for my former employer.”

Lucullus chimed in, “You were a mercenary?”

“Yea. And this man I worked for ended up becoming a good friend to me. I guess I was becoming soft for a mercenary. I started to do things for him without demanding pay. He knew how to take care of his people.” He chuckled. “There was this investigation he was on. He told me, on this last job, that he was going to meet someone. It was a mysterious sender from House Avarus—” His eyes went wide. “House Avarus…”

“Could it be the same sender?” Olivia pondered.

“It’s possible, but I’m not sure… Back to what I was saying. He gave me a copy of his will, and something to give to Saladin. I guess he knew someone in the royal court or something like that. He told me to wait for him in Admare, but to leave for Mahjur if he wasn’t back in a certain amount of time. I knew that if he was too afraid to send anyone but himself to meet this mystery sender, then it was serious. And I knew that if he was giving me a copy of his will, whatever was after him would be after me. I never doubted the danger if he said it was dangerous, so I boarded a ship as soon as I could.”

“Who was your employer?” Lucullus asked.

“He was a moderately wealthy man. His name was Decimus.”

Lucullus’s heart skipped a beat. “D-Decimus?”

“You knew him, too?”

Lucullus nodded. Tears began to well up in his eyes, but he fought to keep them back. “Trying to bring his murderer, a Chaodite, to justice is how I ended up on this path.”

“Were you close to him like I was?”

“Yea. But the one thing he never gave me any details about was that investigation. I always wondered why he never told me. I spent many nights in the Avarus Wall thinking about it.”

“Probably because he didn’t want you to get— wait, the Avarus Wall? How did you end up there?”

“False charges. A disgraceful trial.” He gritted his teeth. “Tullius.”

“Who is Tullius?”