Short Story part 1
Far in the northern wastes, in a forest whose name they did not know, Princess Elysha and her loyal bodyguard, Justine Alexandria rode side by side through the trees on a rough dirt track. They had been on the run from the forces of King Luboslaw the First, the first king of the Northlands, who was Elysha’s betrothed. That was until they had been attacked by supposedly loyal guards and taken captive, then delivered to King Luboslaw. He had cut off Elysha’s long flaxen hair with Justine’s sword in a plot to force Elysha’s father in to concessions that would weaken him and give King Luboslaw more political clout amongst his own forces. They were originally to be held prisoner and tortured for information, but had escaped with the help of Luboslaw’s son, Prince Lawson, who had his own agenda. Alone and lost in an unfriendly country, the women had ridden hard and fast to the south for eight straight days, Justine stealing supplies when needed and protecting her charge at great risk to herself.
Justine looked over at Princess Elysha as she began to nod off in the saddle. The young princess, only 19 years old, still had the light skin of youth and her roughly cut hair poked out from the hood of her traveling cloak. Her bright blue eyes, once full of merriment and joy had become cold and distant over the past few days, as she realized just how dire things had become. Justine reached out and nudged the princess, making the younger woman’s eyes fly open in fear.
“Relax, milady,” Justine said, reining her house to a stop beside Elysha’s. “You were starting to fall asleep. Shall we take a moment to rest?”
Elysha turned to her bodyguard and nodded. They rode to a small clearing just beyond the rode and dismounted the horses. While Justine loosely tied the horse’s reins to a small tree to let them graze on the meager foliage in the area, Elysha lowered herself to the ground with a groan.
“Justine, I don’t know how you can tolerate all this riding.” Elysha said, leaning against a tree and closing her eyes. “I don’t believe my legs have ever hurt as much as they have this week.”
Justine allowed herself one of her slim smiles and dug through the rucksack for a waterskin, which she passed to her companion. “Milady, I thought you enjoyed riding?”
“Oh, I do,” Elysha said after taking a long drink of water. “But, this riding all day and into the night, with only a few hours of rest, I’ve never done such a thing. You seem to be taking it well, have you done this before?”
Justine shook her head. “No, milady. I have ridden for a few days in the course of my duties, but this is the longest I have ever ridden as hard as this.”
Elysha sighed and returned the skin to Justine, and began rubbing her legs. “I suppose I’m as soft as everyone has made me out to be. The pampered princess, as they say.”
Justine turned to face her and put her hands on her hips. “I have been your bodyguard for almost four years, milady. While many of the servants say such things, they do not know you as I do. You have not had to toil as hard as they, true. But, you are strong in your own way. You agreed to marry that bastard Luboslaw to prevent a war, for the safety of your homeland, you have sacrificed a chance for love. The servants may marry whomever they wish, for whatever reason they wish. I doubt many of them would have that kind of steel in them. Especially after looking at the foul face of that monster.” Justine spit on the ground to add weight to her opinion of King Luboslaw.
“Perhaps you are right, Justine. I don’t know. I never did have a choice. My father told me what would happen if I had refused.” Elysha let out a long sigh. “That reminds me, why have you never married, Justine?”
The older woman stiffened at the princess’s question, but her eyes were closed and she did not see her bodyguard’s reaction. “I have not yet found a man worthy of my hand, milady.” She said without turning to face Elysha.
Elysha laughed briefly. Unlike her laugher before her capture, it took the tone of broken glass, without the levity it had held before. “I doubt there any many men or women who are worthy of much in your eyes, Justine. You have always been a hard judge of character. But, I have always thought it was a good thing given your duties. I doubt any assassin would have made an attempt to kill me so long as you were around.”
“Thank you, milady. That has been my goal.”
“You’re very welcome, Justine.” Elysha pulled herself to her feet. “We should move again, before I lose all will to travel for the day.”
Justine nodded and untied the horses, then helped the princess to mount her horse before climbing on her own. They then got back on the dirt road and continued to make their way south.
“Ah, thank you, Justine.” Elysha said, stretching her arms and letting out a small yawn. “I needed that bit of rest.”
“You’re welcome, milady. Ensuring your welfare is my duty.” Justine responded without taking her eyes off of the road.
“It’s always duty with you. Do you ever do anything because you want to?” Elysha asked, starting an old debate between the two.
“I do my duty because I want to, milady. If I did not want to serve you, I would have rejected your offer when you made it all those years ago.”
“Hah! You talk as if it was in the distant past that I picked you to be my bodyguard. I do admit, it was worth it to see the look on the general’s face when I rejected his hand-picked men for you.”
“As you say, milady.” Justine said softly. She remembered the event well. She had been picked for the honor guard that was to escort the six men the general of King’s Guard to the training grounds for the princess’s inspection. The young princess had shocked everyone when she had inspected each member of the Guard there, not just the six she was suppose to. Of course, the general had sealed his own fate when he had told her that she may pick any of those who had been brought before her. After inspecting the first half dozen men, she had then walked up and down the ranks of Guard, looking at each one in turn. When she had stopped before Justine, she noticed she was a woman, not a man, like many others did. She asked the other woman a series of questions, about her service in the Guard, her loyalty to the crown and her dedication to her defense of the nation of Mersa. After Justine had answered all of them, the princess had grabbed her hand and pulled the startled woman before the equally startled king and general. The royal seer, Harold, had laughed with genuine mirth when the princess told them of her choice in the tall, pale woman, with her black hair and sharp green eyes. From that point on, the two had been inspirable, even before the seer had Life-Bonded them. When Justine was told that any injury dealt to the princess would also be dealt to her, she had realized just how serious her new responsibility was. While the princess had at times irritated and frustrated her, she had never once regretted her acceptance of the role of her bodyguard.
Justine shook her head, clearing the memories from her mind. She continued her vigilant check of the area around herself and the princess. She noted the princess herself seemed to be staring into space, a habit she started since they had fled the northern capital. Justine worried about what thoughts she might be having, but had no idea as to how to approach the subject. She was not what Elysha called ‘friendly.’ As Justine looked around, she noted the pine trees in this area where still green, even with the snow that covered the ground between them. The road had been packed down by the other travelers that had passed this way, but the pair had not seen another person moving along the road in almost two days. In had not snowed since then, and the road had stayed clear without wind to blow the snow around. Justine made sure that she could still hear the sounds of birds and animals in the forest around her. Silence, she had been taught, was a sign of men or a predator in the area. While they had not encountered anyone searching for them yet, she knew that they would be pursued all the way to the border. Once they entered the kingdom of Mersa, they were not safe there. Someone had paid the sailors on the ship that had sailed them Luboslaw’s capital to kill all of the royal guards that had traveled with them. Many had been killed in their sleep, thinking the ship’s crew as loyal as they. Only Justine had not let her guard down like the others but she had been stuck from behind as a crewman came out from a secret door in her room. Justine’s face set in a scowl as she recalled her failure. She should have died that night, so she did not have to live with her failure. She knew that even if she returned the princess to her father, her life could still be ended. It would be up to the king if she lived or died, the princess having lost her rank and title along with her hair. Justine clenched her hands in to fist as she held her horse’s reins at the injustice of the old law that required the women of the royal family to grow their hair, never letting it be cut, until after they were married. It wasn’t fair to Elysha, her hair had been cut against her will by the bastard king Luboslaw. But, the law was the law, and Elysha would be cast out of the capital. Perhaps, her children would return to claim the throne or establish a noble house. Justine mused that the princess was lucky in a way; she had not committed a true crime and therefore her blood could not be shed. The law was very clear on that. Too much royal blood had been shed in pointless wars with the other southern kingdoms to let it spill over something as trivial as this.
Justine turned to look at the princess, wondering if she knew what would happen upon their return to her capital. Justine was sure the woman knew, but did she really understand what would happen? Her father had been distant, but still spoiled her immensely. She had wanted for nothing all her life, would she really be able to survive in the world, all on her own? Justine did not know, but feared for her liege.
Elysha noticed her companion’s look and smiled at her. “Is something wrong, Justine?”
Justine turned away from the other woman’s gaze. “No, milady. I was just thinking about how lucky we have been to escape the bastard’s forces for as long as we have. I fear that the longer we avoid them, the worse it will be when we finally do run across them.”
“I’m sure we’ll continue to avoid them. Even if we do not, I have the utmost faith in your skill with the blade.”
Justine grunted in response. “I am glad you have such faith in me and my skill, milady. I just wish that I shared it.”
With that, the pair lapsed in to silence as they continued to ride. It was Elysha’s turn to look at her companion while she was looking the other direction. She sighed inwardly, as not to attract the attention of Justine. She knew her friend, as she thought of the other woman as her best friend, was troubled by what had happened over the past fortnight. Justine had done much for her, and she did not know how to thank her. While she pretended not to notice, Elysha was very much aware of how little Justine was eating and sleeping. While she was still able to ride and keep and eye out, she knew that if she kept up acting like that, it could spell the doom of them both. Elysha didn’t know if she should say anything, as to not offend her friend and to trust her to know what her limits were.
Elysha started looking at the road ahead and found herself replaying the events that lead up her riding down this lonely road. She thought about who would benefit from her losing her rank, aside from King Luboslaw. Surely, he could not have the resources or connections to pay off the crew of the ship that had carried her to his capital? She continued to think who, amongst all the dukes, duchesses, knights, ladies, and others in her own kingdom who would benefit from this betrayal? As well as what members of the other kingdoms in the south who could benefit from this. Perhaps a king was seeking to bring his own kingdom in higher standing by ‘valiantly’ offering the hand of one of his daughters to King Luboslaw so that the agreement made at the end of the Ten Years War could still be kept, while raising the standing of his own kingdom by the gaining favor of King Luboslaw? The politics of royalty and the relationships between the many kingdoms was something Elysha could not avoid, no matter how much she wished.
Her mind continued to wander along these topics until Justine stopped and told her that they should make camp for the night. Elysha could only nod in reply. While her mind had been engaged in the intrigues of court, she had failed to notice how weary she had become. Once her mind was focused on her body again, the pain and exhaustion of the day’s travel had caught up with her all at once. She gladly slid off her horse with Justine’s help. While Justine began searching for firewood, Elysha went through the rucksack of supplies they had. There was not much inside, but she did find some bread and a chunk of cheese that were still in good shape. When Justine returned with the firewood, Elysha stopped her from starting the fire.
“Let me try something.” She told Justine, who turned to look at her then stepped back from the pile of wood.
Elysha closed her eyes and focused her mind. It took her some time, because of her aches and pains, but soon she was able to focus enough to bring forth the sign of ‘Fire’ in her mind. She extended her right arm and pointed her finger at the pile of wood. There was a brief flash and the wood burst into a crackling flames. Justine involuntarily jumped back and put her hand on the grip of her sword. Her wide eyes looked at Elysha who smiled in response.
“Milady, I did not know you had mastered magical arts.” She said, taking her hand from her sword and moved closer to the fire to warm her hands.
“Oh, yes. Harold used to give me lessons when I was a girl. He told me that the royal family had many mages and wizards in the bloodline, but I was the only one in recent memory who held any promise. He always wanted me to continue my studies, but my father forbade it when he found out.”
Justine did not respond to the statement, only cocking her eyebrow at the admission that the king had denied his daughter anything.