27
"Absolutely not! The snake will betray us all," The sandy haired man answered. His face was even more redder than before which nobody had thought was possible.
"Now, now, no need to be hasty in judgements," The Princess positioned herself between her prisoner and the Gordioners unconsciously.
"Of course, your highness, anything you want but this turncoat should not be allowed near weapons much less you," Their redhead companion's jaw was clenched at the thought of the enemy protecting their Princess.
"Obviously leaving her at the mercy of a bunch incompetents is the perfect solution," Tarquin couldn't help but needle the easily provoked group. Jza's hand landed squarely on the injured man's newly clothed chest asking him to stand down but his body remained tense. The prisoner now wore truly prisoner garb since staying unclothed would only expose him further to the elements. They had raided the prison closet to find him appropriate garb.
"If there's anyone who needs a weapon right now, it's me. I would like to take that quiver if you please," Jza interrupted any further bickering with a firm glare at the participants. She was handed her weapon of choice immediately which she hung on her left while the infirmary bag hung on her right.
"Have I seen you somewhere before?" A dark bushy, bearded man asked abruptly and for a tense moment the Princess felt herself lose the calmness she had been radiating. She could explain the presence of an unnamed Somerlian in many ways. Her mind had already found a few explainations if she was pressed for more details but expecting them to accept the company of Lord Tarquin was just too much. She would not blame the crowd for beating their enemy to a pulp. He was the cause of all their woes after all.
"Perhaps he has cleaned your stalls now and then," Jza answered carelessly. She picked up a pair of discarded daggers and handed them to Tarquin. He wordlessly hid them in his newly acquired ensemble.
"There is no time to be lost. Dawn is upon us. We will lose the advantage if we stand here squabbling. Bring me my ride."
"Am I to go with you?" Tarquin asked and was met with silence and a sea of stubborn faces who were assembling together one by one. They could hear the horses outside being herded.
"I will not share my horse with you," The large gardener answered without any show of mercy. He would have spit on the Somelian if he could although the Lord shared the same setiments. Obviously he had never considered sharing a horse with anyone else but her.
"He rides with me. He is my responsibility and I will take care of him," Jza answered with a sigh. Of course she would be left minding Tarquin since everyone else were loathe to tolerate his presence.
"Your highness!"
"I will not argue any longer," She pulled her damp hair back in a knot as she spoke. They had all taken turns refreshing themselves in the prison outhouse when the men had been out completing their errands. She had hoped she would feel more alive but alas fresh water was no solution for the lack of sleep.
The Princess walked out of the prison rooms with the crowd parting for both her and her Somerlian companion. She found the sky lightening and gave them orders to hasten their flight. She was given a black horse which she mounted easily. Her loose and flowy skirts had enough give to allow her a comfortable seat on the pillion saddle.
"What are you waiting for? Behind me," Jza ordered as she found Tarquin's pale face eyeing their ride stonily. Sensing his hesitation she leaned in and chastised, "Do not argue for your words fall on deaf ears. Please, there is no time!"
Tarquin gave his companion another freezing look before jumping up on their ride barely jostling the horse. Jza felt him settle behind and tensed up as he put a hand on her waist, "Hanging on for dear life since I have no wish to be thrown off."
"You are in safe hands. I am a much better rider than you assume," Jza pulled the large hand off her with a pinching grip.
The Goridians handed out the resources for the stragglers while they waited for the scouts to return. The Princess kept her back straight as she tried to ignore her prisoner's presence. The man hardly fidgeted but she could feel every inch of movement he was so close. Even his shallow breathing caught her attention hypnotically.
"The cowards have abandoned their posts!" One of the stable boys rode back looking elated to have returned alive, "We should have no trouble passing the gates."
"They may have chosen to lay a trap," Jza asked pensively but she had no choice. They must move forward. This was the best time. With a troubled sigh she ordered them forward. The sprightly, more experienced horsemen were asked to take up the rear and front. Weapons out they marched forward. Even though Jza had tried she had firmly been relegated to the middle.
The castle's exit was hidden behind a curve in the path lined with large oak trees and the group was taken aback to find that there was no ambush waiting for them. The archway was truly abandoned. Tarquin hissed what seemed to be Somerlian profanities in Jza's ear. The incompetence of his soldiers was rankling him.
As they continued through the forest Jza kept an eye open for movement but there was nothing beyond the rustling of the leaves in the cool morning breeze. Her heart sank as the view of the village nearest to the castle loomed in a distance. They had no intention of entering it but it seemed to be abandoned and torn apart.
From the corner of her eye Jza spied a shadow moving out from the undergrowth. Her hands went straight for her bow and arrow.
A sun burnt man walked out with his hands raised. He had an oddly cheerful smile as he faced the large procession as if they were a balm for his weary eyes. With his hands now clasped he approached them cautiously.
"What is it do you want?" The Princess asked as her horse came to a halt right in front of the man.
"Some food my lady. We have been displaced by the war," The stranger's accent was mixed. He could be of any nation and they would not be any wiser to his origins.
Jza loathed to go ahead without helping all those in trouble but there was something about the situation that unsettled her. The expressions on the man's face, where his eyes lingered, how he spoke and especially how well fed he looked did not add to the story.
The bow and arrow in her hand were not aiming for the man but they were still tense with anticipation. She was waiting for a sign to prove her instincts right.
The man's hand inched backwards towards something lodged in the waistband of his trousers. Jza's narrowed eyes thought it could be a weapon but when he muttered something in somerlian she knew their lives were in grave danger. In lesser than a second her arrow had disembarked onto the mission and stabbed the man on his shoulder. She was alarmed to see a dagger already embedded in the man's neck.
She was further surprised as her already bloody skirtd were splashed with more blood that came from another source. Another man gurgled foward from thick growth of the trees with a matching dagger protuding out of his neck. Both strangers fell to the ground leaving behind rising dust in their wake.
"Your highness?" The gardener who had taken up the mantle as the voice of the group gasped and for a heartbeat she worried they had ended an innocent man's life.
Tarquin dismoutned and watched the bodies on the floor dispassionately. He pulled out his daggers from their blood sodden bodies in one calculated move. He has acted at the same time as she had so perhaps her actions were not unfounded. It was an odd situation to be in but she trusted the man's killer instincts at least.
The other men also dismounted and turned the bodies around looking for further clues. They found weapons concelaed in their trousers. The strange men were obviously not as helpless as they had implied.
"I knew he meant to attack us. The way he moved his hand towards his back. And obviously the use of Somerlian indicated he was hiding something from us," Jza explained to the gaping crowd.
"My, my, you're learning fast," Tarquin gave her an approving grin as his eyes lingered over her solemn face.
"Perhps being near a blood thirsty killer might be the cause," Jza muttered back.
"You went two steps ahead of me so I could not have been influcing you at all," Tarquin voice increased in volume as he explained, "I merely understood what he said to his companion. And he had no friendly feelings for us at all. It was a call for a surprise attack. There were other men hiding behind us."
Some of their audience started in alarm. They took stances preparing for another attack while two swordsmen bravely inched near the forest edge in search for the accomplices.
"They've run off already. No point wasting our time on cowardly ruffians," Tarquin said loudly although his eyes were fixed on the Princess. She understood his meaning and called everyone back. They were wasting precious time.
Jza made the mistake of glancing down at the blank expression on the robber's face before mounting her horse. Her hands shook on the reins and for a second she wanted to be sick. What had she done? She may not have been the one to kill him but she had played her part. It was her arrow stuck in bloody flesh. To her dismay Tarquin pulled the wooden arrow covered in sticky blood effortlessly. After examining it he deemed it worth being used again and handed it back to her. She placed it in her quiver in a hurry.
"We could pause our journey for now. There would be no harm done if you want to rest," His voice whispered from behind her as Tarquin joined her on the horse. Jza closed her eyes trying to dispell the image of blank eyes. She had harmed enough people in her time in captivity to know she would have gladly completed the act of murder to protect herself and her sisters. It was just the starkness of the end result that disturbed her.
"No, we will take a break around noon as planned. Rest the horses, replenish our sleep we lost and begin our journey right before the sun starts falling," The Princess repeated what she had told her audience before they began the journey. She had wished someone with a wiser head on their shoulders could guide her but even Tarquin had accepted her plan silently. Perhaps he approved which she could only hope. He had the experience leading an army not her.
"I had nightmares for weeks after I helped a friend kill my first man," Tarquin voice contained an edge of sympathy she did not need.
"You were a child," Jza bit out remembering the account of his first kill, "I am a grown woman leading a group of men towards freedom. I cannot afford to be weak."
"No one will view you differently."
"But I would," The Princess whispered almost to herself and began the journey once again
