Turn Me Back!

Episode 13 - A Proper Princess

So once again I find myself running through the forest, escaping from something distasteful. This time I sprint for a good while until all sounds of pursuit have faded into the distance. I chose a different direction to the one where the prince and princess are hiding. When I'm sure I've lost the bandits, I'll circle around to find my way back to them.

Then I hear the sound of hoofbeats. Damn it! There were horses in the camp. The bandits must have saddled up a few and are now coming after me. I start running again, but it's futile to think I can outrun horses. I need a place to hide. I stop again and look around, searching for a good spot.

And that's when I hear more hoofbeats, this time ahead of me. My breath freezes in my lungs. Am I already surrounded?

In the darkness ahead, the rhythmic drumming is accompanied by grunting and crashing, as if an enormous and very angry beast is forcing its way through the undergrowth. The sounds get louder and louder. I stand transfixed, unable to run or hide, peering into the darkness. The animal is only yards away now, it's nearly upon me, it's...

It's Billy!

I make out the three-pointed prong of his horns as he lowers his head and charges past me. A few moments later, screams of pain, horses neighing and a general commotion floats through the darkness. I wait a few moments until I've properly caught my breath and then amble after Billy to see whether he needs any help finishing my pursuers off. Under the circumstances, with him rescuing me and all, perhaps I could forgive him his earlier crimes.

I don't have to go far. The corpses of the bandits who were chasing me are uncomfortably close. A few more minutes and they'd have had me. Now they're goat fodder. At least their clothes are. I walk around, listening for more pursuers as Billy delicately munches on his meal.

"What have you found there, Billy?" A voice comes through the trees. It's a very familiar throaty voice. A figure moves lithely through the undergrowth, revealing itself to be the very woman I'd feared dead.

"Kayla!" I exclaim in delight. "You're not dead!"

She squints in my direction. "Willa?" I move forward into a patch of moonlight so she can see me better. "It is you," she cries. "Where is Princess Isla? Did you keep her safe?" As the light falls on me her mouth drops open. "Never mind that. What have you done to your hair?"

"Oh, that." I run a hand through my shorn locks. It's very short on top and long straggly bits hang down at the sides. Imagining how it must look, I cringe inwardly and reply, "It was necessary in the moment." With quick sentences I summarise what's happened since the doomed wedding. Kayla stands next to Billy, absently petting his coat while she listens. "What about you and the guards in the chapel?" I ask her.

She shakes her head gravely. "Overwhelmed. A few of us escaped, but most were captured. I believe they're keeping everyone in the camp. At least, we've heard screaming..."

"I know what you've heard." I wince at the memory. "So what's the plan now?" Despite my joy at finding her alive, the situation seems dauntingly tricky.

Her brow furrows. "Hard to say. I've sent messengers to discreetly gather reinforcements and bring them back here. I'm hoping with more force, we'll be able to take back the camp and rescue the hostages. But those reinforcements will take a while to arrive and every day I fear some bandit guard will get fed up with the noise and... You know."

"You didn't inform the palace in Druinberg about what's happened?"

She shakes her head furiously. "And let panic ravage the kingdom? Absolutely not! That kind of chaos could lead to riots, coup attempts, all manner of unrest. I assumed you had the royals safe?"