Anais is on her way to her arranged marriage when her family is attacked and their carriage set alight with them trapped inside. In theory, Anais should have been burnt to cinder like the rest of her family, but instead she walked from the flames.
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"It's an honour to finally meet you ." The man she did not recognise spoke, rising his head to look at her, though he still knelt. "You are cold! Bring her a cloak, Mirm, and a blanket!" He instructed of the woman.
The woman muttered under her breath as she walked off at his orders, leaving Anais standing, stunned, before the kneeling men. Soon the one called Mirm returned and helped her into a thick fur hide cloak and laid another thick hide blanket about her, which Anais gripped gratefully. Her teeth stopped chattering, allowing her to speak coherently.
"You don't speak as they do." She managed to say at last to the man.
He smiled, revealing a set of straight, even white teeth. "I speak your language better than they do, yes."
"My language?"
He glanced to his men. "If we may rise, Princess, perhaps I can explain?"
Anais nodded in agreement, though she had no idea why she had too or why they were calling her 'Princess'. She certainly didn't look like one wearing these crude furs.
"Sit, Princess. Mirm, if you could be as kind as to bring us wine and food? I believe the Princess has many questions for us."
Anais warily took a seat on a log by the fire, selecting one with her back to the Caravan as to be furthest from the bitter winds - but also one furthest from the fire itself, her eyes darting to it warily. The others spread out on their own logs, the well-spoken man facing her across the flames. She appraised him while they waited for Mirm to return with food and drink.
Like his men, he had long facial hair, but his wasn't long enough to braid and appeared to be only months old, scruffy but not matted. His dark blonde hair which, although brushed his shoulders it was well groomed, bound at the nape of his neck neatly. It was still far too long to be considered socially acceptable however – or proper. Tall and broad in width like his men, he was a lot younger than they, perhaps a few years older than she was.
He offered another smile and she frowned at it, not sure if she trusted it or not. If she trusted him. When Mirm returned with water skins filled with blackberry wine for them all, Anais only sipped hers while the others drank deeply, watching as Mirm set about three rabbit carcasses on spits over the fire.
As the meat spit and sizzled, only then did the man speak.
"I apologise for the way you were brought to us, Princess, but my men explained they had little choice. You were quite in shock, and with reason."
Anais glared at the men in question who were silently watching the man speak and felt unease creep down her spine.
"And what reason would that be?" She asked.
"I heard what happened to your family. May I offer my deepest condolences."
She winced at the words, at the almost finality of hearing it from someone else. She swallowed a mouthful of wine to keep her tears at bay.
