The Princess and the Blade

[Emora Deen]

Ease up, Laurius muttered. He's just a kid.

He wanted to snap at the boy and tell him he only smelled like smoke because they'd burned down his house and set him on fire and killed most everyone he had any connection to, but instead he said, "Good, they came through here. I'm taking your mare. If you try to stop me, I'll..." He hesitated in his threat. He wasn't a killer. He wasn't. Arken hadn't made him a killer while he was in the Citadel, and he would not be made into one now... He made weapons. He wouldn't become one. "I'll end you."

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi didn't buy the 'just a kid' argument one bit, but he felt the man's will like grease coating his grip on his mind. He decided to ease off the boy to avoid being shut out completely.

"Did your own troop abandon you, the same as they abandoned my Pa?" the boy snarled, turning and spitting on him the second he had the space to do so.

"Clifford!" The woman stumbled backward, her hands raised in a placating gesture. "I'll get you the mare. I'll get it, so please!"

"Barley don't stand a chance of catching up to your friends," the boy snarled. I hope she pulls up lame on you as soon as she realizes Hops ain't with her.

"Clifford, you stupid boy," the woman groaned.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius was in control of the hand that squeezed around the boys throat now. "Your mom's trying to do you a favor, you little shit. Shut the fuck up. I am barely tethered right now, got it? They stole two people I care about, and I'm taking your horse, and I'm getting them back." He looked to the mother. "The horse. Now."

[Soran Nightblade]

"You're lying," the boy wheezed, glaring up at him. There was a spark of doubt in his eyes this time as he said it.

His mother turned and fled toward their homestead. It wasn't long before she returned, bareback, on a chestnut mare who wasn't much to look at. Barley wore only a rope halter. "We can't afford no tack, and that's the god's-honest truth," she said. She was red-faced from running as she slid from the mare's back.

"I'm going with you, the boy glowered."

"Like hell you will!" his mother scolded.

"She's my mare!" the boy growled. "Pa gave her to me, so she's mine. This bastard will never return her unless I go with him myself.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius tilted his face towards the sky with an exasperated growl rumbling in his chest. "Boy, if you have a desire to die, then by all means, follow. If the cold doesn't kill you, starvation will because I don't even have enough food for myself." He shoved the boy down to put distance between them and turned for the horse. "I don't have time for this! I'm too far behind already and each second I argue with you is a second more they're being tormented by those snakes!"

[Soran Nightblade]

The boy and his mother both looked at Laurius strangely. This time, they both looked unsure of his identity. It made no sense for him to argue in defense of the boy's health, or to carry on with such a tale when he had what he needed from them. The mother looked him up and down. "Cliff, show him the crevasse. Then turn tail and come on home."

"Ma! What if he's-"

"You saw him move earlier. If he's real to his words, this arse has a far better shot at doin' in those devils than you do. Your balls ain't even dropped, and ye think ye're off to war? May as well be a tyke with a slingshot, fuckin' with random folks travelin' the road!"

The boy turned beet red, sufficiently cowed by the lecture. "Come," he mumbled. "I'll show ye the fuckin' shortcut.

"Fuckin language, Clifford!"

"Sorry."

[Emora Deen]

Laurius felt his exhausted mind must have misheard them. Shortcut? He stowed Havitharon's sword back in his belt.

"Where does the shortcut put us out at? How long does it take to get there?" he asked, mounting the mare's back with less grace than he would have liked. She was small, but it was still hard pulling himself up without the saddle.

If the shortcut put them out a head, maybe they could set traps. If it put them out behind, they could catch them faster. But if it took too long to get there it would be impossible to tell if they were ahead of them or not. If he waited, thinking he was ahead of them and they were really moving miles in front of him...

He couldn't think. He spent too much time thinking. "Explain on the way." The mare didn't look like it could handle much more weight, but the boy was young. Light. Laruius hesitated and then held his hand down to the boy.

[Soran Nightblade]

The boy froze at first, frowning at the offered hand like it was a mousetrap. He finally remembered his pride and grabbed Laurius's arm, swinging up behind him and grabbing onto his shirt for dear life.

"D-don't take the road. Go there," he pointed. One of the border's countless peaks could be seen through the trees in the distance, an impassible obstacle. "Where those two birches meet the rock." The landmark he pointed out was easily a half hour's ride from the proper road, and the menacing mountain was certainly not something any sane person would attempt to cross. "I live here," he argued, as if sensing his skepticism.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius mulled over the directions, eyeing the mountain darkly. "Fuck," he said, and steered the mare toward the mountain. I hope this kid knows what he's talking about.

[Soran Nightblade]

The boy held tight to his shirt as they rode. It was a bumpy ride, not only because the mare had a terrible gait but also because of the uncleared terrain. Several times, the boy had to slip down and cut through brush with his pocket knife to get them through. After nearly an hour's effort, they came to what appeared to be a dead end. The earth rose up into the sky at an angle only a goat would consider hiking.

"Now we go around, Clifford said, turning to follow the base of the cliff. Havi began muttering a slew of curses in Laurius's head. But then, they stopped, and Clifford slid down. He pulled aside a log that had strategically hidden what looked like a pothole. It was about ten feet deep, but there was light coming from somewhere below.

It's only underground for a bit at the start and end. It will take you between the peaks. Saves at least a day's travel. Go East when ye get out, if ye mean to find the road again." He reached out nervously for Barley's lead. "It's narrow and steep in parts. She can't go with ye."

[Emora Deen]

Laurius eyed the hole. A shortcut through the mountain—literally through it. His eyes watered and he hated how strong the surge of relief was. It was too soon to feel this. They still had to get them back—infiltrate a camp, fight off soldiers or the Black Sisters. "Thank you," Laurius replied, his voice cracking as he adjusted the pack on his shoulders and approached the shortcut's entrance.

The sun was beginning to set in the distance, and the forest was growing ever darker. He hated the thought of Ren and Tenara spending another night in Arken's hands, but he couldn't think much more of it. If he did, he'd spiral. He'd crack. He'd become useless.

"Get home," he said to the boy, and jumped into the hole.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi felt carefully around them as they walked/climbed through the narrow passage. The brief cracks in the rock above them let tendrils of sunlight drift in around them. He could find no signs of an ambush or other life sharing the tunnel. Apparently they truly were alone. *If we really can somehow come out in front of them, what do you propose?* It wasn't lost on Havi that getting into their proximity didn't mean an easy fight. Especially with hostages involved, one unimaginative threat was all it would take to stop them in their tracks.

At least, he suspected Laurius would prioritize Tenara and Artisuren. Truthfully, he wasn't 100% sure of Laurius's intentions. But if push came to shove, he was pretty confident he could subvert the man's will temporarily... though not without a cost.

-------

"Eat something," Narissa ordered. "We're back to riding soon.

Artisuren looked uneasily at the bowl he'd been handed while the caravan took a break. The princess had warned him not to accept their offerings easily, but disobeying a female made his skin want to crawl off.

"He won't do it for you," Milandra teased, dangling her arms around her sister's shoulders to peer at their pet. I'm the one holding his leash right now."

"Well, make him eat. I don't want the rest of him to turn as weak and useless as his dick."

Milandra sighed and and leaned her head on her sister's shoulder so she could peer at Tenara sitting opposite their pet at the fire. "You. Feed my puppy," she ordered the princess, sneering as if she'd invented a clever humiliation for the royal.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius shook his head, trudging along through the narrow passage. “I’d rather be ahead of them than behind them, but how do we tell? What if we go the wrong way?”

—-

Tenara glanced up from the fire, her bloodied eye a stark difference to the pale white of her unhurt one. Her gaze shifted from Milandra to Ren. She said nothing, but shifted up from her seat in the snow, biting back a groan. She limped around the fire and knelt slowly next to Ren. She was too tired to be mindful of the food and, truth be told, she was only concerned about what the poison master offered.

Her good hand reached out, pinching bread between her fingers and moving it to his lips. “He doesn’t require food,” she said to Narissa. “At least, not like we do. He can eat—will eat—for the enjoyment of it or if asked. Perhaps try being nice.”

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi struggled to thinking of an answer for the man. How could they get their bearings? He thought back to the signs he'd noticed back at the estate and along the way on the path. Blood smeared on bark, damaged branches, dragging footsteps. He'd originally feared the worst, that one or both of them were so badly injured they were being half-dragged through the forest.

But after enough clues, he'd finally caught on. They were trying to help them. *If they've been that way already, they will leave us a sign. At least, we have to have faith they will.*

------------------

Ren accepted the food Tenara fed him, unable to meet her eyes. Seeing her lower herself to serve him felt worse than whatever consequences there could be for eating it himself. He chewed the food carefully before tearing free a piece of the share he'd been handed. He wished he could ask the princess how she was feeling. Did she have enough food? Was her hand still set properly, or did that man last night dislodge the splint? What else had that man damaged? The thought nauseated him, and he dropped his food back into the bowl.

"I need a place to study," he said dully.

"Fine," Narissa sighed. "We'll get you one of the carriages, but you'd better have a breakthrough by the time we stop for the night."

Ren chewed his lip. "I need her, also," he gestured toward Tenara.

Narissa grabbed one of Havi's horns and wrenched it upward to face her as she stood over him. He winced, but was reflexively still. "You aren't playing games with your new masters, are you, pet?"

Ren couldn't shake his head while his horn was in her vice-grip. "I cannot think straight while he's hurting her," he grimaced. It was the truth.

"I'm jealous, pet. What if someone was hurting me?"

He looked up at Milandra, his eyes confused for a moment. Then they softened. "No. I could not stomach that either."

Milandra blinked, taken aback by his response. "What a coy thing you are. You expect me to believe such pandering lies?

"I did not lie," he said dimly.

"Shut up. Come and get in the wagon. You too," she snipped at Tenara.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius nodded. “Alright,” he said. “We’ll follow the clues. If we’re lucky, they will be frequent enough that we can get our bearings after a short walk in either direction.”

—-

Tenara hesitated. If she were inside the wagon, she couldn’t leave the breadcrumbs she’d been dropping since setting off that morning. But Ren needed her in the wagon, and she had been thinking the whole ride what they could do to help themselves…

She rose again, wincing as she did, and followed behind them to the wagon. Milandra threw open the door and motioned for them to climb inside. Tenara eyed the short ladder and landing and looked down at her arm in the sling. She moved past Narissa and grabbed hold of a steel handle jutting from the door and used it to help keep her balance as she climbed gingerly inside the narrow space.

There was a little bed, and a wall of books, and a small writing desk with a chair bolted to the floor, and a single window with wooden shudders along the wall. She could drop her breadcrumbs out the window…