The first night, as we rode though the forest, towards the evening, I felt a group of people ahead of us.
When I told the captain, he smiled and said that we were nearly at our camp site. I was amazed when we entered a dell in the forest and found a large group of people preparing a feast, especially for us.
Late into the night we were entertained and fed, guests of the mayor of Pilbin, one of the cities we had stayed at on our way out.
The high command might not fully appreciate us, he said, but they were in total awe of what we had achieved, and they wanted to show us their appreciation.
In the mountains we had eaten good food, but it had been very monotonous, and this feast was the best we had eaten since going into the mountains. It was certainly the best food I'd ever eaten.
On the third day, we passed through the forest where I had first gone topless, and in memory of that pleasant afternoon's ride, I wore an outfit I had not worn before.
It hadn't been warm enough since that day, and I had forgotten it until I saw it while I was packing up. It was a shame that I had never been able to wear it, but I knew that Scar would approve thoroughly if I wore it then.
I had bought it as a joke in that short shopping trip with the captain all those months ago, and I don't think he even noticed it when I got it.
It was made from strips of leather and chains, that covered my nipples and my slit, but not anything else, like my patch, for instance.
Just the image that daring adventuresses are supposed to have, which is why I bought it, though I'm pretty sure no one would actually wear it. Other than me.
I put it on while no one was looking and covered it with my long coat, since it was still cold early in the morning.
By the time we passed Lani and Edina's village — which was empty — it was warm enough, and I took my coat off. Scar noticed immediately. "Only now you wear it!" he exclaimed. That got all the guys to look, and they let me know their appreciation loudly.
I wore it all day, earning myself some rather intense stares from the few passers by that we saw. One poor farmer even fell of his horse he spent so long staring at me instead of looking where he was going.
But I regretted it at the end of the day. We had ridden hard, particularly that day. I wasn't sure why the captain was pushing us so hard until I felt someone ahead waiting for us.
I looked at the captain and lifted one finger. He nodded in return, as if he had known there was someone there. As we rode around a corner and they came into view I knew why he had known.
Ahead of us was a truly beautiful lady on a glorious horse. She was easily the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. When she saw us her face lit up and she rode quickly toward us.
Every movement was graceful and elegant yet she simultaneously radiated enthusiasm and happiness. So, this was Holly. Suddenly I felt ugly and uncouth, and turned to throw my coat over my revealing outfit.
But Scar reached out his hand and held me back. Well, if that's how he wanted me, I'd be proud to wear it.
Holly brought her horse to a halt beside the captain and leapt into his arms. It was a pretty impressive piece of riding.
After they kissed, they dismounted and he introduced her and the squad. Last of all, the captain introduced me, and when I went to put my face to the ground before her, she would have none of it. She grabbed my hands and gave me a hug, as if we were equals.
"Oh", she cried, "I've heard so much about you, and how you saved my man. And I can see that not one word was wrong, you are the sexiest of all."
Yes, I did regret wearing that outfit, this wasn't how I wanted to be known. But that night, as we sat around the fire, dressed in my normal outfit, I got to know Holly better, and I could see that I could trust her. I was very impressed.
Although she was a high princess and well informed of events at the court, she was also a nice girl who wanted to talk about everyday girl things with me, and oh, how I had missed that.
She seemed to appreciate how lonely I had been for other girls, and gave up precious time with the captain to spend with me.
She told us that the King had sacked her father from being Army commander. She didn't care, the only thing that mattered was that Ulf had come back to her.
She didn't even mind that I had slept with him. She shrugged and told me that she had to be a virgin till they were married, so she knew he would, but that if he did it after they were married she'd kill him herself.
Not that he would want to, she laughed, and with her beauty and joy for life, I believed it. Very quietly she told me that although she was still a virgin, the captain had been given good evidence that he was in for the ride of his life, and later she'd want to learn from me so she could make true on that promise.
I could see why the captain was so in love with Holly. Holly spent the night in the captains arms, and then rode away before dawn.
On the last night, the captain spoke to me about what was to happen the next day. He told me that he wanted to keep my magic a secret. The main reason was to protect me from all the attention I would get if the true nature of my power was known.
Not all of that attention would be friendly. This would mean that I might not get as much recognition as I deserved, but he knew, and every one of the squad as well, just exactly who it was that saved the country, and they wouldn't forget. I didn't care.
I had almost all of what I wanted. The only thing I wanted was for the King to let me go free instead of serving the last few weeks of my sentence. The captain assured me that there'd be trouble right in front of the King if he didn't.
Finally we presented ourselves at the Tower of Obost at dawn on the appointed day. From there we were escorted into the city by the King's guard, the Black Bulls.
It was a truly amazing experience. Here we were, with long wild hair, unkempt after months in the wilderness - I had wanted to trim mine, but the captain wouldn't hear of it, though he did let me brush it — and our tough mountain clothes, making our way into the city led by the Bulls in their shining black armour, but the cheers and the flowers from the crowd were very definitely for us.
We walked tall and proud. We had come through paths cold and dark to serve, for the people and the land. And once again, the golden boy had delivered.
This was his third such parade, he told us, and the King and his commanders would've done all that they could do to avoid another one, but after what we had done, they had no choice.
By the time we reached the main square, I was riding high on a wave of euphoria coming off the crowd. Today was a wonderful day, and nothing would go wrong.
The King was waiting for us, on the same spot as the slave trader had been when I last passed through the square. I had never seen the King before, he was older than I expected, but he stood tall and looked every bit like I thought a King should.
At last we came to a halt at the foot of the stairs to his platform. I looked around and everywhere I could see the square and the buildings around it were filled to the brim with people. Trumpets blared and then the square was filled with complete silence.
A herald came forth and proclaimed in a poetic form an odyssey, the story of our mission. I was glad to hear that I was mentioned a few times in the story — for healing Drowsy, for killing the assassin, and for co-ordinating the final battle.
I looked around as he was telling the story, and found Holly, as part of the King's court. I also spotted the old healer who had prepared me for the trip, amongst a group who were quite obviously the families — they were waving to the men, and the wives were holding the small children back.
How cruel, but King's and their ceremonies must come first. It gave me a real thrill to know that there was someone waiting for me, even if I had no family.
At last the herald finished his odyssey, and the awards began. The King started with awards for each of the men that had died, and spoke of their achievements.
Then he gave each of the squad a Hero Badge, the highest award that could be given. It made me so proud when Scar went up and the King shook his hand. It made me realise how far I had come in my new life.
Finally it was the captain's turn. There was no badge for him, he had already received it before. He knelt before the King, who simply said that he had once again saved the land, and thanked him on behalf of the people.
The captain turned and spoke to the people. He praised each of the men on his squad, both the living and the dead, and even me, and thanked us for serving with him.
Then he repeated the speech that he gave us on the pass, the one that had stirred us so. Although it wasn't quite the same, it was still completely amazing, and when every single person in the square joined in the final refrain I felt the hair down my backbone shiver.
He finished with an appeal, now that the enemy was choosing a new King, for us to pull back and try to make peace with the enemy before a new enemy king that didn't make the same mistakes as the old one destroyed us in battle. There was a sudden hush. I could see that this was very unpopular, particularly with the King.
The captain ignored this. He summoned me to the stage, and introduced me to the King. I put my face to the ground before him, and when I stood, he took my hands.
The captain spoke loudly, so that all could hear. He very quickly told my story, how he had taken me from prison to serve, how I'd saved their lives by healing them, and looked after them, killed the assassin, and co-ordinated the battle.
Nothing that the herald hadn't already said except for my background. Finally, he asked that the King dismiss my remaining sentence and let me go free.
Suddenly I was even more nervous. The King's views on the sex and seed trade, though hypocritical, were widely shared.
And female healers weren't always popular either, many people thought that only men could do it properly.
The King looked at me, sizing me up.
Very quietly he spoke, so that only the captain and I could hear. "Were you a prostitute to these men?"
I looked him in the eyes and replied quietly. "I looked after them. If they needed it, I gave them all that I had. But I took nothing for it, nor will I accept anything now".
He smiled. I appeared to have passed a test. "And I believe that it's really your magic that saved my kingdom?"
Startled, I looked at the captain, standing next to me, who nodded. I turned back to the King and nodded, "I did what I had to. I hope I am never that desperate again."
He stood back from me. He gestured to a Lord standing near him, and spoke loudly. "Lord Eastland, what was this woman's sentence?"
He answered immediately. "Six months in jail, and a tattoo on her forehead, my Lord."
The tattoo — I'd forgotten about that. My heart fell.
"I take it that you'd rather not have the tattoo now?" the King asked me.