Life in Alora
Sara woke in a dark, damp place to the sound of men beating Ishikawa with long sticks.
Opening her bleary eyes against drowsiness, she met Ishikawa’s gaze. He hung by handcuffs from a tall wooden rafter, and three masked men rained blows across his belly without mercy.
Seeing her awake, he smiled. “They beat me to prevent me from regaining my strength. They know that–”
The largest slammed the butt of his stick into Ishikawa’s solar plexus. “Save your exposition for the morning! You can talk all you want when the master arrives!”
He bit his teeth against the blow. Exhaling, he continued, “I am afraid there has been no sight of Fang.”
Another savage hit to his back. “That’s right! Ran home with his tail between his legs! Even morons like you should know better than to trust a Winter Wolf. Come to think of it, know better than to rely on dung-for-brains Ashen Scales either!”
That’s not true! Sara thought. Ishikawa is the smartest person I’ve ever met, and Fang the most loyal! They’re my friends!
Fang would come for them!
“Ah, my arm’s getting tired,” one masked man complained. “Let’s knock off for an hour.”
They stuffed a heavy cotton gag in Ishikawa’s mouth and slammed shut the door to this tiny prison cell.
Leaving Sara to wait and dread the morning.
Fang will come.
Just before dawn, a piercing howl shook the walls. Wild and fearsome, the wolf called for the hunt!
She heard men outside, shouting for nets and bows. She heard them call for fire to burn the wolf out of the brush, and she shivered with fear.
Fang, there’s too many for you alone!
A moment later, the door to the cell exploded – hurled backwards with rose thorns like vampire stakes driven deep into the wood. A young woman in a wooden breastplate and with a rose blooming behind her left ear stepped over the groaning bodies of two jailors. She glanced at the duo and raised a hand in welcome.
“Hold tight.”
Quickly, the woman found the keys and released Ishikawa from his shackles. He toppled to the ground with a groan, and she offered a whisper of encouragement. Then she kneeled beside Sara.
“Yer swords wood?” the girl mumbled. “Howssat gonna work?”
“Quite well, thank you,” the woman answered, pulling a sharp thorn from her pack. “Excuse me.”
The woman jabbed Sara in the side with the blasted thing!
All the sensation rushed back into Sara’s brain. The girl drew in a sharp breath. “What. The. F-?!”
“Would you deign to be ma petite cherie?” the woman interrupted, hand to Sara’s cheek.
The pain and the oddly familiar words threw Sara back to sleepy classes as her teacher droned on about how to find the toilet and the train station. Belatedly, she answered, “O-oui?”
“Wonderful.”
A verdant warmth rushed through Sara, filling her body with energy and her head with the scent of flowers. Rubbing at her side, she found that the thorn had not left a mark.
“I am Rynn, Tia’s knight protector and a Rose Thorn. We must hurry. Your Wolf friend has led these fools on a merry chase, but let us not tarry.”
Sara shook her head. “Ishikawa’s in no condition to walk!”
“I’ll carry him. Hurry now, ma petite cherie!”
The Path warriors reunited in the wilderness soon enough, and Sara heard the full story.
“I have been tracking your party since Bern, but it is hard to keep up with a Whistler caravan with a mind to move. Worse, I wasn’t the only one. Certain clans would be delighted to ransom the Crown Princess Selene Astra Mikoto Celestia Alora back to her own mother, and I fear you fell afoul of their machinations. Luckily for us, they grew impatient. They should have known better than to impersonate the Royal Inspectors!”
Rynn patted her bulging pack.
“With your testimony and this evidence, they will regret their temerity.”
Ishikawa nudged Fang at the words “crown princess”.
Fang grumbled, fishing for coins in his belt. “I was hoping you’d forget that part.”
The Wolf handed over a month’s pay.
“What about Tia? That is, the C-crown Princess?” Sara asked. “Is she okay?”
Rynn smirked. “Never worry, ma petite Cherie. We’re both tougher than Tia looks.”
Her tone pleasant but final.
No reunion today then.
“Well…what about us?”
Rynn assessed the dirty, tired girl carefully. “You want my opinion?”
“Of course! I have to get home!”
The Rose Thorn nodded. “Go to Flora and speak to the Rose Queens. You will find what you seek there. I can feel it in my roots.”