Princess Anara wrinkled her nose and turned away. "We will look for an eatery outside this inn."
Laasya tried to say something but seeing the determined expression on her mistress's face, she swallowed back her words. She knew it was useless to try and change the princess's obstinate mind once set.
This small village was the last civil settlement before the military occupied area started, going all the way upto the top of Nildiri hills, which was the highest mountain peak in this entire continent.
Not only was this the harshest place to survive in, it was also the area which stationed the strongest army troop in Mandhaar, the Northern platoon under the commandment of General Chandraveer.
He was currently commanding a troop of 80,000 soldiers, who were responsible for defending a 100kms long borderline. The hills were a natural dividing line between Mandhaar and a cluster of foreign countries on the other side of the mountain.
Since Mandhaar was the first defense between those foreigners and all the other kingdoms on this side, this particular post was highly critical and advantageous to the one who stood on it.
General Chandraveer had come up the ranks over the years defending this particular area, just like his ancestors before him.
"Miss, I don't like the people around here. They are too scary looking. Why don't we go back to the inn? I will bring the food to your room from the dining area. Let's just go back," said Laasya nervously.
The two petite and pretty maidens were attracting a lot of attention from the people around. Females seemed to be in scarcity here, since they were yet to see even one of the same gender till now.
Before Princess Anara could respond, someone else from the milling crowd spoke up. "What are such pretty girls like yourselves doing all the way here in these mountains? Haven't you heard of wild wolves who especially like the soft meat of little princesses!"
A broad shouldered man with a scar running down his right eye and dirty clothes had come to stand in front of them. He seemed to be unsteady on his feet, and was probably under the influence of alcohol.
Princess Anara chose to ignore him and made a move to go past him.
"Don't be in such a hurry, darlin'! Let us brothers help you. Are you here to set-up the promised brothel? I didn't know that the old man would actually agree to our request and set the ball rolling so soon. I guess I will have to send a bottle of rum to him to express the gratitude on behalf of us folks," said another guy with a leering voice.
He was dressed in rough woolen clothes with no cloak or jacket. But he didn't seem to be feeling the chill. His rough hands were filled with calluses and his nails were grimy. In all probability, he was a blacksmith.
"You have admitted the wrong person. We are here on official business with the military," Laasya said nervously and clamped her trembling fingers on her mistress's arm, trying to tug her away.
Her words only caused the two men to guffaw loudly. It seemed that both of them were really drunk.
"Move away!" Princess Anara finally raised her voice and looked at the man blocking her path.
"Haa... such a domineering attitude looks absolutely perfect on this beauty. Makes me want to take you straight to bed, my wild kitten. In fact, if you like, I can give you a taste of my strength right here and now," his crude words had attracted the attention of the sparse population which had started to gather around.
To begin with, this was not a large village. Hence the smallest action could attract the attention of the people who were out on their errands.
Even though Princess Anara continued to maintain her stern facade, she had started to become worried. Her hand curled inwards to reach the hidden blade under her sleeve.
She was confident of her skills but taking stock of the situation, she wasn't sure of being able to overcome both the men, if they decided to overpower her together.
The man with the scar closed the distance between them and was about to lay his hand on Princess Anara's shoulder when a gust of wind pushed his meaty paw away.
"Huh?" The man blinked and looked at the tall, young man who came and stood in front of him.
The newcomer's face was hidden behind a leather mask, covering the upper part of his face, except the eyes.
"Move back ten steps," said the young guy in a deceptively soft voice.
At the same time, five guys dressed in all black came and surrounded them, with their swords drawn.
"Punish us for being late, P… my lady," said the leader, with his eyes on the crowd surrounding them.
The leader had tried to hold back and not announce his presence till the last minute. His instructions from Eunuch Vartak included his strict admonition to not reveal their presence in front of the princess and more importantly, not give away the princess's identity in front of others under any circumstance.
This is why he had not intervened immediately as soon as those rowdy men approached her. By the time he and his men did reach the princess, another person had beaten them to it.
Princess Anara relaxed her sweaty grip on the blade. Now was not the time to wonder about the presence of her guards. She was just thankful that they were here.
Unfortunately the two men were really inebriated to not realise the real threat in front of them.
"Hey… who the f%ck are you guys? This is the turf of us brothers. All these people and this place belongs to us. Do you think a few of you puny boys will be able to defeat the entire village, hehe!" The guy with calluses on his hand was the one who laid the brave claim.
Hearing his words, the people who had gathered around looked at one another. It was true that this village was really under the rule of these blacksmith brothers, at this juncture.
So far removed from the rest of the civilisation, it was mainly this duo who was the revenue-puller from the army people stationed above in the hills.
Since the military men visited the village mainly to get repair work from them, other shops like daily necessities and small food stalls had also flourished. Many lieutenants were familiar with the brothers and one of them had even promised to ask the general's permission for arranging a brothel here for everyone's entertainment last time after the brothers did a good job at repairing the weapons, saddles and more.
After that the blacksmiths had become even more sure of their 'importance' in the eyes of the military.
Hence, this brazen attitude!