Wind blew through the meadow, making the flowers and grasses ripple in a wave. Stathis raised her wooden sword in time to block an attack, the blades clacking together. She pushed back with the blade, unbalancing the squire and using her shield to shove back, feeling it connect. She managed to strike him across the shoulder and he dropped down, pretending to be dead.

Then another strike impacted against her arm, faster than she could block, a solid strike numbing her arm.

‘A good block, but you need to be faster, Stathis.’

‘Ow! Yes, Mother.’

‘You’re getting better. Drink this.’ She handed over a healing potion, Stathis drinking off some, feeling the numbness in her arm healing, before she reached down and hauled the squire to his feet, giving him the rest of the bottle. ‘Fighting against multiple attackers is a bitch. The best solution…’

‘…is to make damn sure that it doesn’t haven’t and to have allies?’

Mother chuckled. ‘Damn straight. If you’re fighting alone, you’ve fucked up. Heroism is all well and good, but it’s a bad plan and a bad way to make it through the day. How are you getting on with the tutor?’

Stathis winced. ‘He seems better than the previous one?’

‘You mean he’s not scared of you? Although I hear that you’re not always where you should be?’

‘Lessons are boring! It’s more fun training with the squires.’

‘Most of whom, I note, you can already beat.’ She smiled at Stathis. ‘Impressive, given they all have more experience than you. I’ll have to get some armour measured for you. It probably won’t last long, between growth spurts and getting hit all the time, but you can start getting used to moving in harness. But there is a lot more you need to learn than how to hit people with swords. I have a lot of other people that can do that – they might not be as good, but there’s a lot of them, and there’s only one of you. So you need to tend to your studies, just as much as you tend to your swordsmanship.’

An explosion cracked the air, fragments of earth falling back to the ground, a brown smear of bare soil visible where the plants had been stripped away. Carissia was wreathed in a shimmering aura of power, one hand bent into a prayer position.

‘It seems as though Carissia’s prayers and studies are paying off.’

More fragments of earth cascaded to the ground, a few of the nearby soldiers raising their shields to protect themselves, sods and stones falling against helmets, shield and armour.

‘Now, what are your thoughts on the current Cormontara border issues?’ Stathis made a sound of disgust. ‘You do have holdings nearby, this may affect you personally.’

‘The place seems to a mess. Lots of trade, but the Duke doesn’t have the control to properly tax or control those coming through.’ She flicked her sword through the air before sliding it into her belt, the wooden sword not needing a sheath. ‘You’ve got enough people in the area to keep the borders under control, but the Duke has enough control that there’s no hope of pushing them out and expanding control to include them. So it’s a bit of a mess, really. You’re hoping for something to happen to get an opening, but that may or may ever happen.’

‘You are paying at least some attention, then. Good.’

A horseman rode up, horse lathered up, several solders moving to intercept, before Mother waved them aside. They made a trotting dismount, jumping off the horse, a message scroll in their hand.

‘The perils of state, it seems. Go and have an explore, or entertain yourself. Try to refrain from beating up too many of the guards! And we’ll talk more later. Don’t wince, or I’ll assign you another tutor to take up the time that currently use to sneak off to the training grounds every week. And yes, I know about that. Good initiative on filling your time though.’

Stathis sighed. Another tutor? That would mean even less time for the stuff she actually enjoyed! So she met her mother’s eyes and smiled back, showing off her skills at diplomacy. Hopefully. Mother nodded at her, giving her permission to leave.

As soon as she walked away, she felt an arm slide against hers and a hand took hers. Dorothea smiled at her. She was dressed in a long skirt, of fine material but hard-wearing, with sturdy boots visible beneath the material. She pressed tightly against Stathis, her clothing and body soft.

‘All done? There’s meant to be some interesting ruins nearby, and I could do with an escort in case of any monsters.’

‘The army will probably have cleared them out. They get to do all the fun stuff!’

‘Having to fight monsters doesn’t sound that fun. Brave, I suppose, but I’d rather not risk getting hurt.’ She rapped a knuckle against Stathis’ breastplate. ‘Not all of us get to be wrapped up in metal. Although are you still growing?’ She had to look up to talk to Stathis. ‘You must be almost as tall as the commander.’

‘Quite close. Although you’re, uh, growing as well. Just in… other places.’ Dorothea’s top was quite tight, enough that it sometimes drew attention from the other squires, making them get very red in the face, especially if she started to touch them at all. It was nice being close to her, but there didn’t seem to be any reason to get weird about her! She did smell nice though and was a lot less annoying than some of the courtiers and visitors, that were always annoying and far too touchy.

‘So, are you going to escort me to these ruins? They’re meant to be from about Genallian Dynasty, I think.’

‘They were the ones with the dragons, right? Conquered some places, before the dragons got pissed off with their end of the deal and everything kinda got set on fire a bit.’

‘A brief summary. But it’s about correct. They had one of their temples somewhere around here. At least before it got probably melted. But there might be some cool ruins around here, and some hot springs as well. There was that quake a while back as well, which might have shaken something interesting free. So, why don’t we go have an adventure?’ There was another earth-cracking kaboom, lumps of sod showering back down. ‘Before your sister brings the mountain down. I’m not sure her learning explosive spells was really such a good idea.’

‘She wants to join an adventuring company.’

‘Makes sense, if she wants to get out and travel somewhat, and get more practical experience. Must be a bit stifling. Although I don’t know how many companies would put up with her for long, she’s very…’ Whatever Dorothea said was impossible to hear over another explosion.

‘Shall we get away from here? Might make it easier to talk at least. Looks like there’s a canyon over there, let’s go explore.’

‘You can be my knight, leading the way!’ Dorothea pulled herself closer to Stathis. ‘I’ve got a knife as well. Just in case.’ She reached into her wide bely and pulled out a gleaming metal spike. Stathis looked at it with a critical eye – it had a basket guard to protect the user’s hand, but was otherwise entirely a weapon for attacking with, a simple spike to thrust with, ideally from stealth, without much capacity to block or defend with. Well, Dorothea wasn’t much of a fighter, but it might be useful if there was a wolf or something.

They walked away from the small encampment towards the crevasse. Despite being a temporary stop, it still had wooden walls, and guard posts, with far too many people around. It was impossible to ever get any time alone! There was always someone!

The crevasse was sharp-edged, as though cut from the plateau with a massive sword, mossy rock suddenly cut from the meadow. Stathis looked down, to see the stream winding its way through the rocks. Stathis scrabbled down, the rock worn and craggy so that it was easy to find handholds. She looked up, just in time to see Dorothea jumping downwards, barely able to catch her before she hit the ground.

She smiled up at Stathis, before sliding out of her arms. ‘You could just have flown us down here, you know.’

‘I’d rather not draw attention like that!’

‘You’re the Iristari heir, you draw attention whatever you do! Flying in with the glory of the dawn would definitely make a statement.’

‘Yeah, and make everything think I’m strange! I didn’t ask for any of this.’

‘I suppose you are under a lot of pressure, but you are getting trained for high rank. One day, all this will be yours! And I can be your spy-master. Or spy-mistress, I suppose. That seems a lot more fun than being on the frontlines and all that violence. And knowing everyone’s dirty little secrets sounds fun.’

‘That sort of thing shouldn’t be needed! It’s a lot better to talk things out, rather than all the dodgy sneaking around and blackmailing and stuff. If people were just not dicks to each other, then it wouldn’t be needed.’

‘Unfortunately, people do have a tendency to be dicks to each other, as you so eloquently summarise diplomacy. Well, you can just leave it to me. Don’t worry, I’m sure you can shine in the field and I can persuade anyone else to do the right thing. One way or another.’ She fluttered her eyelashes, some cosmetics making them longer than normal.

‘Mother says you’ve been distracting the squires lately.’

‘They are very easily distracted. Although not all that much fun. Although I’ve got you looking a few times as well. It’s nice to be looked at, at least when I want to be. And you look pretty nice in dress armour yourself. Shame it never seems to last.’

‘Hey, that wasn’t my fault! Those demon-cattle were just there, and battered the metal so hard it couldn’t be repaired.’

‘Well, you looked very heroic when you dove in and rescued Prince Jiteran. And he was very thankful, although needs to work on his poetry a bit. Some of those rhymes were tenuous, to say the least!’

‘You read it?!’ Stathis had gotten halfway through before chucking the things into the fire.

‘What sort of spy would I be if I let messages get through to my future ruler without reading them first? Besides, they could have enchanted or poisoned, so they needed testing first. And who would you rather trust, me or a random member of the intelligence corps? Don’t worry, his terrible poetry will be our secret.’

The stream was narrow, with a grassy bank on either side. Signs of the recent quake were obvious, where parts of the ravine walls had fallen down, gouging out chunks of grass and moss. There were some signs that there had once been construction here, with some constructed walls just about visible beneath the growth.

Dorothea continued to speak. ‘I’m surprised you’ve not got any engagements arranged yet. For a royal, at least in everything but title, you’re practically geriatric. Jiteran’s had eight, and he’s younger than you.’

Stathis shook Dorothea off and drew her sword, feeling that she should be armed and ready, just in case something attacked. ‘I’d rather not. I’m not sure if I even want to get married! There should be a ruling council or something, not just Mother. Or, well, me. I don’t want all that responsibility! And Mother thinks that my, uh, lover will kill me or something. So I can’t go around kissing all the boys, like you.’

‘Not just the boys! Why limit myself?’ Dorothea twisted her belt around, emphasizing her slender waist, sliding her dagger away so the hilt appeared to be an overly ornate decoration on her wide belt.

Stathis coughed and tried not to blush. ‘Well, just be careful. I heard you getting chewed out for something with a diplomat’s son.’

‘He broke the “never tell” rule. Well, there’s always others to have fun with. Hey, what’s that?’ She pointed at a crack in the wall, surrounded on either side by eroded bricks of rock.

‘And where are you two going?’

A sudden shadow blocked out the sun, a figure floating down from above them, robes fluttering as Carissia descended, some magic slowing her descent. Her clerical robes were dirty, splattered with earth and mud from the explosions she had been unleashing. A mace, looking more ornamental than practical, hung from her waist, and a bandolier of prayer scrolls criss-crossed between her breasts.

Dorothea curtseyed. ‘We were going to explore and see if we could find any ruins.’

‘I think I’ll join you. Just in case something attacks, there is strength in numbers.’ She tapped the mace which shone with a flare of power, and a clod of moss exploded in dirt and spores. ‘Stathis can take point, are you able to scout, Dorothea? I saw that you had signed up for some of the Academy classes in stealth.’

‘I prefer urban environments, but I will try. Shall we have an adventure?’

She smiled at Stathis, who smiled back. It would have been nicer without Carissia around, and they probably wouldn’t find anything other than some empty caves or ruins, but it was more interesting than sparring again, or having to spend time with a tutor.

Stathis moved through the narrow gap, having to turn sideways to make it through, the air chilling as she moved into the internal space. It opened up into a larger cavern, which looked like it had been sealed away, with most of the rock bare of moss. There were a few small rents in the ceiling, likely caused by the quake as well.

A dragon’s head growled at her, and she swung her sword, feeling a shock from the impact, her sword bouncing off stone. Dorothea came through behind her, then patted her hand against massive fanged and horned thing and making a nervous laugh.

‘Quite a detailed carving, isn’t it? And probably about life-size.’

Stathis rapped a knuckle against it – it was definitely stone, and there was no body, the neck running into the bare rock. It was carved mid-snarl, the mouth open and showing large fangs of blunted stone.

‘Yeah, just a carving.’ Stathis hoped her nervousness didn’t show in her voice. Stepping out and seeing the thing had been a surprise! But there was no sign of any spellcraft on the thing, no glowing runes or enchanted gemstones, so it looked as though it was genuinely just a statue, and no body, so the thing probably couldn’t come alive to attack them.

Carissia came through, then looked at the carving with an overly-dramatic shudder, her white-gold hair flicking about. ‘Hmmm. Purely mundane?’

Dorothea pulled a leather glove on and carefully touched it, then more confidently, feeling the eyes, the teeth, then reaching into the mouth.

‘It seems entirely normal, and I can’t find any traps. I don’t think it moves or anything, it just looks scary. It would have been a lot worse if this place were dark, with just a fire going somewhere behind it. The Genallian Dynasty did build shrines and temples to their dragons, I suppose this was one of them? Maybe we’ll find some treasure? Not that either of you two need it.’

‘Dorothea, your parents are aristocrats, you’re not exactually poor yourself.’

Carissia nodded. ‘While I am sworn to poverty. At least until I can change to a better patron deity.’

Stathis didn’t want to point out that Carissia didn’t need to own anything herself, when she could just ask for it and have it bought out, but this didn’t seem to be the time. Instead, she gestured ahead. ‘There’s only one way to go. Let’s see what we can find.’