Elurra woke to bright shafts of light dancing across her face. She sat up and rubbed her eyes groggily. Her skin felt clammy, and her hair was matted with dew and leaves. Terrin was flopped on his back, wrapped up in the blanket. His hair was all flipped to the right side of his head, and his lips were parted slightly. She couldn’t contain the giggle that escaped her lips as soon as she saw his silly posture.

They had somehow ended up on the ground during the night, although Elurra didn’t recall falling over. Frost decorated the top of the blanket, but Terrin was safe and warm underneath. She smiled and ruffled his hair before standing and stretching her cramped muscles. She rubbed her back and stiffly made her way through the forest to the campsite near the road.

I feel old, she moaned to herself.

She noticed Tristen had taken watch but was fast asleep resting against a rock. Elurra sighed inwardly, glad that no one had come by and robbed them. Despite her annoyance, she couldn’t help but feel grateful she was the first one up. She’d rather not deal with any insinuations the party would make if she emerged from the woods with Terrin.

She rummaged through the packs flung carelessly around their campsite until she found a metal pot. She couldn’t help but notice the assortment of daggers, swords, shields, and axes the men carried, all stashed away within reach.

I do not remember noticing those before, she thought, slightly wary of her well-armored entourage.

She found a rock that fit into the palm of her hand and backed away from the circle of burly seamen. “Wake up!” she screamed, whacking the rock and pot together.

A sound like a brick dropping in a field of metal pierced the air. The impact jarred her bones, but the sound was satisfyingly devastating. Grown men twice her size squealed and sprang off the ground. Axes, knives, and swords appeared from under pillows and were brandished at invisible enemies as the men issued groggy war cries. Elurra clapped the stone and pot together again, and in seconds, everyone was awake and ready to fight an army. Everyone, that was, except Snore. He didn’t even crack an eyelid. After a few moments of confused screaming and threatening swings at each other, the men realized the only danger was a petite girl with a cooking pan. Kai looked up at her, wide-eyed, from his half-crouched position feet away from his bed, where he landed after an initial galvanized leap into the air.

“How dare you awake me in such a manner?” he demanded, his fright melting into fury. He quickly picked himself off the ground and remembered he was talking to an equal. Elurra attempted to hide her amusement as she watched the pirates collect themselves. At that moment, Terrin ran out of the woods, wildly waving a large stick.

“Don’t move!” he yelled, searching in a daze to find the source of the noise.

The pirates snatched the opportunity to pick on him to hide their own embarrassment. “Lookie here! We have another sentry, ready to save us all!” There was gruff laughter from all around as Terrin sheepishly dropped the stick. Plague and Tristen shook Snore awake.

“Good mornin’, Yer Majesty. Nice ta see yer an early riser,” Blade grumbled as he yawned and slowly stretched his cramped limbs.

“Blade, we need to talk,” Elurra replied curtly, ignoring the obvious displeasure in his voice. She gingerly set down the slightly dented cooking pot, and Plague packed it away in one of the travel bags. Aleah retrieved a bucket and headed out to find fresh water. “We need to split up. I truly appreciate all your help, but we need a smaller, faster group. We have to reach the border as quickly as possible,” she elaborated.

To her shock, the large man grinned. “Thank ya kindly, Princess. I’ve been wantin’ ta get back ta me ship, but I didn’t wanna anger that giant sea snake. Who do ya want to leave, and who do ya want ta stay? Ya can take as many as ya want. I ’ave more men waitin’ for me back at me ship.”

She looked over her shoulder to examine the men scampering around the campsite, packing supplies and fixing a hasty meal.

Terrin is a good enough healer, so we will not need Jon, she thought, her eyes flickering from one figure to another. Ahren is a bit spacey. Let’s see… She studied Tristen, Snore, Plague, and Rowan, who were all doing various chores.

Rowan talked too much, Snore was irresponsible, Plague was contagious, and Tristen looked like he was afraid of his own shadow. She really didn’t want to bring any of them along. Before she could say anything, something stopped her. A feeling nagged at the back of her mind, telling her to bring them against her better judgment. She couldn’t fathom what they would possibly be useful for, but she’d learned to trust her instincts.

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“Plague, Rowan, Snore, and Tristen,” she finally answered. Despite her intention to keep her voice down, Terrin and Plague both overheard and spun around in surprise.

“What?” they chorused.

Elurra turned her head and gave them a withering glare before returning her attention to the pirate captain. Blade uttered a low chuckle and clapped her on the back, almost knocking her off her feet.

“They’re all yers, Princess.”

They joined the rest of the men, who were already digging into the morning rations. Kai and Aleah pressed Elurra for her reasoning, but she gave them no explanation. Plague complained loudly when he heard Jon was leaving, but he was begrudgingly satisfied when he learned Terrin was a healer’s son, and Jon handed over the satchel of herbs he used to combat Plague’s various illnesses. Snore gave him a comforting pat on the back. Within a half hour, they had packed up camp, said their goodbyes, and were ready to start moving. Not for the first time, Elurra wished they still had the horses they’d lost at the cave. She watched Blade, Ahren, and Jon vanish back the way they came, headed toward the Dwarf.

Amazingly, the new party’s walk was quiet for nearly an hour, aside from Plague’s occasional cough or sneeze. The sun climbed in the sky, providing light but little heat. She could see her companions, aside from Aleah, shiver from time to time. As expected, Rowan was the first to breach the silence.

“I guess we could still call ourselves tha seven dwarfs,” he said, sounding thoughtful.

Terrin laughed, which made Elurra smile despite herself.

“Why are we still dwarfs?” Terrin pointed out. “We aren’t short, and half of us have never even seen the Dwarf.”

Rowan dismissed the comment with a swish of his hand. “Who cares? It makes us sound all fancy like.” His thick accent slurred the words, making them sound anything but fancy.

He said he was new to the Dwarf, yet he talks like a sailor. He must have come from a seaside village, Elurra thought as she listened to Rowan’s pronunciation.

Elurra had heard sailors’ strange way of speaking occasionally in Tor’ac Roh when she ventured down to the sea. There was no doubt Rowan had spent lots of time around such men.

“There’s eight of us, Rowan,” Aleah pointed out flatly. Her tone made it clear she wanted no part in his nonsense, but Rowan continued unperturbed.

“Obviously, ’er Royal Highness is tha leader of our group, and we’re ’er followers, so she don’t count as a dwarf. We can be called ‘Princess Elurra and tha seven dwarfs!’” he exclaimed, looking proud of himself.

Elurra blushed. “Will you stop calling me Princess? We do not know who is listening. All of you can call me Elurra. Not ‘Your Highness’ or ‘Princess Elurra,’ just Elurra.”

Rowan smiled widely, not a bit bothered by his mistake.

“As ya wish, Yer Highness…er Elurra,” he stumbled, giving a sloppy bow. Elurra sighed and rolled her eyes. “This is gonna be tha start of an epic tale, I’m telling ya. We’ll go down in history as ‘Elurra Isálte and tha seven dwarfs.’” He made a grand sweeping gesture with his hand.

Aleah sighed in annoyance. “Rowan, I think you’re missing a few marbles.”

“My fine lady, even tha most insultin’ of statements from you is ah compliment to me.”

Aleah blushed and looked at the ground.

“Hey, dwarf boy, stop flirting,” Kai growled flatly.

Aleah gave him a sharp look, making the tension in the air sizzle. Elurra cleared her throat and changed the topic before they could start fighting again. Her eyes wandered the group, desperately searching for a conversation starter.

“Snore, what is your real name?”

He was halfway through a yawn when she asked, and it took him a moment to finish before giving her a slow grin. “That’s a secret, My Lady,” he said mysteriously.

She tilted her head and studied him.

“Are you and Plague brothers?”

Plague snorted, and everyone looked at her in shock. Snore’s grin morphed into a smile. “You have a keen eye. He’s my nephew. My oldest brother’s first son.”

Rowan hiccupped in astonishment. “But you two look ta be tha same age!”

Plague made a noise that was half chuckle and half sneeze.

“I’m the youngest of seven, so we are about the same age,” Snore admitted.

“How did you two end up with slavers?” Elurra asked.

He was about to respond when they heard voices around the next bend. Gruff, unfriendly voices. Terrin and Rowan exchanged uneasy glances, and Elurra pulled her headcover tightly around her hair. They reached the bend in the road and tentatively rounded the thickly forested curve to see a group of thugs taking up most of the path—six men in total. Most of them were missing teeth and covered in tattoos. Their muscles were clearly distinguishable, even from a distance. Thick beards and uncombed hair covered their faces; swords and daggers dangled from their hips.

“They lookin’ like they’re here to hornswaggle us,” Rowan muttered darkly.

The Dwarfs huddled closer together and slowed down cautiously. As soon as the bandits spotted them, black-toothed smiles spread across their faces. Hooves reverberated in the distance, and six more ragged men appeared over the crest of the hill on heavily loaded horses.

“Purgatory’s breath,” she heard Terrin curse.

Elurra's heart pounded painfully against her ribcage. She’d heard stories of people being mugged on the main road. Her parents had tried to keep the robberies to a minimum by sending patrols to discourage men like those, but Nitiri had been on the throne for months. Elurra was sure she welcomed the robbers instead of quashing them.

This is bad.