Tale of the Princess

XXX

The baan palace was exactly how Shyra pictured it. Built on a gigantic banyan tree, it looked more like a treehouse than the typical palace with stone and turrets. Huge ropes of vine snaked their way from the branches to the ground, and the baan wove them as ladders to climb to the top.

Shyra, Arina and Hira followed their escorts through a ladder, much to their complaining arms and legs. Shyra had always believed that she was in tip-top shape, but by the time they reached the top, her limbs were shaking with exhaustion.

Angad cast a worried look at them, but they managed to pull themselves together and follow him on a brief tour of the palace, which was even more magnificent on the inside.

Tall planks of wood formed the walls, which were lined with artifacts from ancient times. Shyra even spotted Hanuman's legendary mace. The dense leaves formed a protective canopy that occasionally shifted to let in beams of light. She wondered how they managed when it rained.

Angad led them through a labyrinth of corridors that seemed to snake along their free will. Shyra couldn't understand the order in which they were built, and the chaotically organized architecture fascinated her. Before she could ask Angad about it, though, he led them to a royal room draped in purple.

"Please be seated. I'll have my guards bring you refreshments very soon," Angad said with a warm smile and left the room. Arina and Hira collapsed on the sofa at once, and Shyra wanted to join them, but a niggling feeling at the back of her mind prevented her from relaxing.

She didn't know whether it was the continuous stress they'd been through, or a plain old gut feeling, but something felt off about Angad. She couldn't put a finger to it, though, and couldn't even explain her concern, so she decided to ignore her tension and take a break.

A long while passed in this manner without any contact from the baan. Shyra began to grow restless, and Hira and Arina soon joined in her worry.

"Something is really off," Hira said, fiddling with her ring. "It shouldn't take them this long to get refreshments. And besides, Angad should have joined us for negotiations."

"Speaking of Angad," Shyra said. "He doesn't give me a good feeling. I thought I was overreacting, since nothing has been this easy, but I fear something has gone wrong."

"Then let's get out of her and search for him," Arina said, standing up and dusting her hands. "Sitting coyly makes me jittery, and me being jittery is never a good idea."

For once, Shyra was glad for her abruptness in taking decisions. She didn't want to second guess her worries, and it seemed like a better idea to explore the palace and find out about the baan army.

Arina led the way and opened the door. Or tried to open the door, that it. The heavy wooden blocks refused to move from its position. Arina frowned and pulled at it vigorously, but they remained jammed. Almost as if...

"Have they locked us in?" Shyra asked, dread creeping up her throat. Arina's shoulders tightened in anger as she gave the doors a final pull. When it became certain that they were locked in, Shyra head swam with questions. In foresight, they'd been too naive to blindly trust Angad and follow him into his palace, but there wasn't time to wallow in regret.

Shyra massaged her forehead and glanced around the room, hunting for solutions, when her eyes landed on a heavy set of chairs. It sparked an idea in her head, albeit a rather dangerous one.

"Guys, I think I know what to do," she said, drawing their attention. "I don't know if it will work. I don't know the consequences of my plan failing, but if you're ready to try it out, here's the plan."

Minutes later, all of them gathered around a heavy sofa and lifted it together. With Shyra taking the lead, they shuffled toward the door with the sofa between them.

"On the count of three," Shyra hefted the sofa. "One... two... three!"

They covered the remaining steps to the door at a run and rammed the sofa into the wood. The impact caused no visible harm to the door, and caused them to stagger back.

"Again," Shyra yelled, and they kept bashing the door until cracks began to form. One last bash was required, but Shyra heard someone trying to call them.

"Psst," the voice said as quietly as it dared. Shyra held her hand up at once, pausing Arina and Hira in their tracks. The voice called to them again, and Shyra glanced around the room until she spotted a face peeking at them from the window.

It gave her quite the fright, and she instructed the others to put the sofa down and ran to the window with them at her heels. It was another baan, but a woman this time. She had the facial structure of a typical baan, with bright black eyes that glittered amongst the tree branches she was using as a stand.

"You're Empress Shyra, Empress Hira and Princess Arina, right?" she asked. Shyra merely gave a nod, and the woman grinned in satisfaction. She gripped the edges of the window and hoisted herself in. Their hands moved towards their weapons at once, drawing and pointing them at the newcomer.

"Who are you, and how do you know our names?" Arina demanded, keeping her scythe trained at her.

"Where did you get that blade?" Shyra asked, unable to keep the question in her mind. Arina glanced at her in shock, but muttered 'my father,' and turned her attention to the possible enemy.

Her father... he was the ruler who'd been abducted. He was the reason Arina was in on this ride. Shyra felt a sudden wave of sympathy for the hot-headed princess, but forced herself to focus on the newcomer.

"Okay, since you're kinda jumpy now, I'll just make my introductions," the woman said, holding her hands in the air. "My name is Tara, and I'm the princess of the baan."