Talia stepped in front of Fioria and quickly scanned the hilltop. There was only one rider at the top of the hill, but that did not mean there weren't others nearby. They could not outrun him. There was nowhere to hide and she had no weapon.
"You needn't look so fearful. Your traveling party is saved," the man continued. "The bandits who attacked your caravan were caught by a detachment of our beloved Emperor's personal guard, and all surviving outlaws will be executed. You are perfectly safe now."
"Then... I suppose we shall return to our carriage, thank you," Talia answered.
"No. The Emperor sent his personal guard to determine what kept the Princess from arriving and to see that she was safe," the soldier explained, frowning at both of them. "He will be displeased to learn that our Prince was unable to guard the Empire's prisoner from mere common bandits. The Princess will travel with us to the capitol," he informed them.
Talia frowned and glanced over her shoulder at Fioria, who had remained silent throughout the exchange. The soldier bore the Emperor's colors and crest. He likely spoke the truth. Traveling to the capitol under the Emperor's personal guard would certainly be faster, and she would have welcomed it had they arrived only hours earlier.
Now, however, she felt somewhat uneasy.
"What of my luggage? I have gowns, servants... other things..." she stalled.
"The Princess's traveling party will bring them and hopefully arrive soon after," the soldier shrugged impatiently.
She could see no way around it. She would have to trust in her unnamed allies and her own wits.
Just as Talia opened her mouth to agree, the soldier gave a short, impatient sigh.
"Princess, why do you still delay? I will send riders back to see that your maid is safely returned to your party, but we must leave now. It will take time to gather the men still searching for you!" he insisted.
Talia furrowed her brow as she realized he was not addressing her, but Fioria who stood behind her.
"I am the Princess," she informed him, placing her hands on her hips.
"I have no time for silly games, girl. Princess, will you come, or must I persuade you with harsher means?" the man growled.
"She is NOT the Princess, I say!" Talia repeated, raising her voice, "and how dare you address my maid in so rough a manner!"
"Princess!" the man snapped, still addressing Fioria.
Talia spun to glare at Fioria, silently commanding her to correct the man's mistake. Fioria's face was very pale. She stared back at Talia for a moment, and there was no expression on her face to give away her thoughts.
"I will come, sir," Fioria agreed, stepping past Talia.
Talia snatched her wrist and held fast.
"Stop this now!" she demanded. "This serves no purpose. You will be found out before the Emperor and punished. You cannot go with him!"
"Remove your hands from the Princess, girl, or I shall remove them with my sword!" the man threatened as he jumped down from his horse.
"Please understand that my maid is frightened and trying to protect me," Fioria pleaded, trying to calm the soldier as he approached.
He drew his sword and thrust it at Talia, stopping only an inch from her neck. Talia did not flinch or move, and the man grinned cruelly.
"Frightened, is she?" he sneered. "Not frightened enough! Release the Princess, I said!"
"Please, sir! Please put your sword away," Fioria all but begged him.
Talia scoffed. If the girl was going to pretend to be her, at least she could act the part!
The man flicked his wrist quickly, and Talia felt the sword nick the side of her neck. It did not cut deep. He was only warning her.
With a dark expression, Talia dropped the maid's wrist and held her hands up to show that she would let the girl leave. She had no choice if she wanted to live.
"And you swear that you'll send someone back for my maid to return her safely to our group?" Fioria asked, her tone a bit firmer. "I will need my servant to fix my hair before I meet the Emperor!"
"You have my word, Princess," he agreed, sliding his sword back into its scabbard.
"Very well. Then I shall go with you," Fioria said as she took another step toward him. "But I must leave my purse with my maid. It has a flint and some food in case she must wait long."
The man frowned but nodded his head in agreement.
"You will need to look away for a moment. My purse is beneath my skirts," Fioria explained.
"Very well, be quick about it!" the man snapped as he turned his head to one side.
Fioria watched him for a moment before she bent and lifted her skirts, exposing her leg and and a small leather satchel strapped to her thigh.
She removed it and handed it to Talia with a meaningful glance.
"Let us on be on our way," Fioria said, dropping her skirts and walking toward the horse.
Talia wrapped her hands around the small purse and stood very still as the man helped Fioria onto his horse and mounted behind her.
As the man spurred his mount, Fioria gave one last glance over her shoulder and offered Talia a weak smile, as if telling her not to worry.
Talia scowled.
Stupid girl! Really very stupid! She would not be able to keep up the charade for long. A field soldier was one thing. The Emperor of Unaria would not be fooled, nor would most of his court. Fioria was likely riding to her own execution.
As the horse and its riders descended the other side of the hill and disappeared from her sight, Talia growled in frustration and ripped the satchel open to see what it held.
It was a dagger!
Fioria had been carrying a dagger! Talia smiled slightly despite the anger she still felt. It was not much of a weapon, but it was better than nothing.
Talia turned the small weapon over in her hands as she considered her options. She doubted very much that any riders would be sent back for her, nor did she think it wise to return to the carriage and Ilya. He was the one who had tried to prevent her from reaching that capitol in the first place.
No, he might even be part of Prince Mikhail's plan to send her to Frem, where she could do nothing for Fioria or her people.
In her mind she could see the small scrap of paper the owner of the tavern had given her many days before:
Number 27, Road of the Setting Sun, East River District,Torobirk
She would go to the capitol on her own. Perhaps she could find out who Vezda's new allies were, and if she were very lucky, stop Fioria from meeting with the Emperor and exposing herself.
But first, she would need a horse!
Talia slid the dagger into her boot, and glanced around the mostly barren hilltop. The woods spread out in all directions, and in the distance, she could see a narrow river snaking through the forest.
She glanced at the position of the sun and then back in the direction which she had come from. The road to Torobirk lay that way, but so did Ilya and Prince Mikhail's troops.
The last town their caravan had traveled through, hours earlier, had a river running through it. She remembered the bridge. If she traveled in the opposite direction, following the river, she would likely come to it before dark.
However, even if she managed to steal a horse, she would then have to travel past Sir Ilya to reach Torobirk.
Besides, if Ilya had men looking for her, that is one of the first places they would look. She did not know how many towns lay to the east, but surely, if she followed the river in that direction, there would be many on the road to Torobirk. Thus determined, Talia descended the hill and began walking East.
She walked for many long hours, always keeping the river to her right and where she thought the road might lay to her left. The hard work of trekking hurriedly through the woods was enough to keep her body warm.
It was not as cold near Torobirk as it was in the Highlands, and perhaps her body was adjusting to the Unarian climate.
It was late in the day before she ran into the first searchers.
Two soldiers in Bludston colors rode leisurely near the stream, and she could hear their voices at a distance. She had more than enough time to hide herself under a dense bush, thankful that the simple grey dress blended in so well with the forest floor.
Though she could not hear what they were saying, the timbre of their voices conveyed two men at ease. They were most likely searching for her, but it seemed they did not expect her to be so near.
As luck would have it, they stopped at the stream, quite close to where she lay, to refill their water bottles and water their horses. At last, she could hear their conversation.
"... and still no word from our Prince, from what I've heard," said one.
"Aye. Sir Ilya looks very grave indeed."
"As would I! If the Emperor's guard took any of the men prisoner, they might discover his ruse."
"Yes, what he should do is send men back to the North to find our Prince. Instead, he has us searching the woods for a Vezdan whore!"
"A Vezdan whore the Emperor's guard have likely already found! Why else would they leave so suddenly?"
Talia scowled as she imagined slipping up behind the man and cutting his throat. If there had been only one, she might have! It would be a fast way to gain a horse at the very least, but she doubted her ability to take on two of them with nothing but a dagger.
As the two men settled in near the river to rest, Talia cautiously crawled out from under the bush and hurried on.
Although the reminder that Prince Mikhail was still missing bothered her greatly, she tried to push it far from her thoughts. She had her own troubles, after all.