The Unwanted Princess

The Mighty have Fallen

Tobias stalked through the streets of Gallen, his blue cape trailing behind him. A pair of lieutenants followed at his side, but he left most with the main body of the army outside the city walls. It was too crowded to bring them in. He passed through the square in front of the Ancestors' temple, remembering that repairs had long ago been completed using Avery's cementing potion. The walls stood firm, unblemished by the swell of refugees that prayed inside.

Sapiens scurried out of his way, bowing respectfully and sending him blessings. In happier times he would have returned their greetings, stopping to pat younglings on the head, and shake hands with the ancients. But these were not those times. These were days of war.

Tobias approached the gate to section of the city that had been cordoned off for humans. He had urged Safira to set it up, telling her that the humans would be too vulnerable mixed in the general population. Now they had a community within the city, affectionately known as Smalltown. Food was delivered every day, surgeons set up clinics, and the humans were protected by high walls and gates. Once the war was over Tobias was looking forward to integrating humans into Gallen, much like Corinth. He wanted to reintroduce populations all over Gallen. It made his heart lighter to think of saving this species from extinction.

A guard was inspecting a wagon loaded with fruits and vegetables being delivered to the gated community. He looked up from his paperwork and seeing the beta prime marching down the street quickly ushered the wagon through. The sapien was missing an eye, covered it with a patch of Gallenese blue. It was likely why he was assigned to protect Smalltown, as he was unfit to join the regular armed forces. Tobias saw wrinkles on his face and white hair peeking out from under his cap. He guessed the old male likely had little magic to prevent ageing.

"Prime Tobias. An honour to have you visit Smalltown," he saluted.

Tobias returned the salute but skipped the pleasantries. "Are they inside?"

"In the main office." The male looked annoyed but nodded. "I asked them to wait but they seemed impatient."

He hesitated.

"What?" Tobias demanded.

"There's a faunid with her."

An invisible weight settled on Tobias' chest and he pushed past the guard without another word. This was going to be painful to watch.

Children dressed in ill-fitting clothes raced through the streets. Donations from Gallenese sapiens had been distributed, but human bodies failed to fill out the clothes. Above him laundry hung from lines stretched between balconies and small cook fires burned in the alleys where families slept in makeshift shelters. Smalltown was overcrowded, but there was no place else to go.

Tobias stepped into the main office and found Niamh and Roedin leaning over a desk, flipping through ledgers. The Registrar stood with his back to the wall, his arms crossed on his chest, like he couldn't distance himself enough from the pair. He saw Tobias and practically melted with relief.

"Prime Tobias, they said they had permission from the alpha--"

Tobias raised a hand to cut him off and approached the desk himself.

"Anything?" he asked.

Roedin didn't look up but kept flipping the pages, scanning the names.

"Damien gave us a few other names to look for, in case others made it but she didn't," Niamh said. "He kept detailed records of names and lineage so that--" She bit her lip and glanced up at Roedin. "Surnames are their birthplace, not a family name. Humans are deeply connected to the land so they trace their lineage based on that," she added instead.