“I don’t like it,” Emilie said.

The three women were watching the bridge from the forest clearing. There was no one in sight. No sound could be heard. It was just like when they first crossed it.

“Maybe they gave up,” Astrid said.

“I don’t think someone who kidnaps the princess of a kingdom would just give up that easily.”

“Well, no use waiting here. Let me go first.”

Astrid got outside the forest, alert to defend against any hidden attack but nothing happened. She made a signal with her hand and Emilie and Sonia followed her. They crossed the bridge being careful, Astrid walking ahead and Emilie taking Sonia’s hand and helping her. The princess had a terrified look as she stared the height they were, so Emilie had to calm her down.

Once they got to the other side, they started to walk again.

Sonia was now walking by herself since the ground below their feet was easier to walk than the one at the forest. But she still looked tired and sometimes complained out loud.

At a moment, Astrid turned to the two women with a smile on her face.

“You know, we’re close to that lake,” she said to Emilie.

“You’re right. How about it, princess?” Emilie said turning to Sonia. “Would you like to relax with a good bath?”

With the princess agreeing excited since she only had that small bathroom in the tower for some time now, they headed to the lake to take a bath, the three of them.

Sonia didn’t seem to mind taking off her clothes, probably because she was among women. Her body had more curves than Emilie, even though they were similar. Astrid, with her face full red, couldn’t stop to admire the naked beauty in front of her. The princess’ long hair spreading through the lake made it even prettier.

Realizing the gaze on her body, Sonia giggled and swam to where Astrid was.

“How about it?” she said with a seductive voice. “Want to feel your future wife?” Sonia grabbed Astrid’s hand and pulled it close to her body.

In a hurry, Astrid pulled her hand back, leaving Sonia grabbing the air.

“W-We shouldn’t!” Astrid said with a startled tone.

“Will you two stop acting like you’re alone,” Emilie said, swimming close to the two women.

With a smile, Sonia swam to Emilie and hugged her side.

“Don’t be jealous. You’re also very pretty,” Sonia pinched Emilie’s butt from below the water.

“Hey!” Emilie swam away from Sonia and close to Astrid. “Are we sure this woman is really a royalty?”

“So, because I’m a princess, I’m not allowed to have fun?”

That way, the three women spent their time bathing playing in the water. They laughed after joking or after throwing water at each other. Playing carefree in the water as if they had no worries at all.

When Astrid went to survey around, Sonia and Emilie waited sitting at the rocks close to the lake. They were waiting for their bodies to dry before wearing their clothes back.

Watching Sonia’s satisfied smile, Emilie tapped her tight.

“It doesn’t look like you were in distress just yesterday.”

“Hey, let me enjoy my rare time of freedom. As soon as I get back home, it’s time to be in a different kind of prison. But well, I’m sure you know that better than anyone.”

“I didn’t,” Emilie shook her head. “I grew up thinking that wasn’t a prison. I really believed that was my only path to happiness. And if I hadn’t met Astrid, I would probably still believe that.”

“How come you decided to run away, anyway?”

Emilie gave another tap at the other woman’s tight. She let out a smile while her mind reminded back the day she made the biggest decision in her life.

***

Emilie was seventeen. That day she rushed to meet Astrid with her heart almost jumping through her mouth. She was used to telling everything to her friend, who she considered now her best friend. And what she had to tell then was too important to wait.

Astrid waited for her at the same place as usual. Emilie was relieved to see the bright red of her hairs. Although her semblance was too serious. When Astrid realized her friend coming, she let out a smile.

“I thought you wouldn’t come today. You’re late.”

“Astrid! I’m so nervous right now. I don’t know what to do!” Saying that Emilie held Astrid’s hands. Her own hands were shaking.

“C-Calm down,” Astrid said worriedly. “What is going on?”

“I’m meeting a man today. He could be my future husband. I don’t know what to do!”

“Oh. Isn’t that supposed to be something good?”

“Yes. At least, I think so. But,” Emilie started to play with her own fingers trying to calm down. “What if he doesn’t like me? What if I do something wrong? If I make a serious mistake, the news will spread and I might never marry anyone. What if…”

“Calm down,” this time Astrid was the one to held Emilie’s hands. She stared into her friend’s brown eyes and let out a smile. “You’re amazing, Emilie. Only a crazy man would refuse you.”

“But…”

Astrid squeezed her friend’s hand.

“But…”

“I’m not saying this because I’m your friend. And I do like women just like men do. I believe any man should be crazy for you.”

“Is that so?” a sarcastic look crossed Emilie’s face. “And yet, you would rather have a princess,” but her smile made it clear it was a joke. “Thanks, Astrid. I do feel better. I’m really happy we became friends. And if I do end up marrying him, I want you to be in the ceremony as well. It’ll be at the church, so…”

“I appreciate, Emilie,” Astrid said before Emilie could finish her words. “I really do but that won’t be possible.”

“Why? Because of my family? I’m sure if my marriage is a success, they’ll…”

“No, it’s not that. Actually, I also have something to tell you today. Today I finished my training with Ken.”

“Oh. So you graduated from Sir Hibbert’s school?”

“Well, Ken said I’m not worthy of being called his apprentice and there’s nothing else he can teach me, so I guess it was a failure,” when Emilie opened her mouth to console her friend, Astrid smiled. “But he said I’m good enough with a sword to make it my work. He suggested becoming a mercenary. And that’s why I’m going to the capital tonight.”

“So, you’re leaving?” Emilie made a sad face.

“Yes. There’s a merchant in town today and he’s leaving tonight. Ken spoke to him and he agreed to give me a ride. I’m finally going out on adventures just like I dreamed.”

“You’re leaving me,” Emilie approached Astrid and hugged her. She had tears on her eyes.

“Sorry,” Astrid said, caressing her friend’s long blonde hair. Emilie shook her head.

“Don’t say sorry. Knowing I won’t be able to see you every day makes me sad but I want you to be happy while following your dream.”

“Thanks. I’ll try to visit sometimes,” Astrid gently pushed Emilie away and looked at her face wet by tears. “And I’ll be praying for your happiness even while I’m away.”

“Thanks.”

Astrid looked at Emilie in silence. Tears were starting to well up in her own eyes.

“To tell the truth, I still can’t understand why you would choose it. But I hope that makes you happy.”

The two girls used the rest of their time together to give each other their sad goodbyes. As Emilie left Astrid and went home to get ready to see her suitor, she had no doubts in her mind about her choices.

However, as she was in her room while brushing her hair, her eyes fell to the pretty pink dress her mother gave her. On the desk in front of her, she had a lot of makeup spread. She remembered trying to put some on Astrid. While her friend was surprisingly worried about her looks when she wasn’t training, she couldn’t understand makeup. She had said her face wasn’t made for it. And yet she loved to wear some of Emilie’s frilly dresses sometimes. Emilie even took some hidden from her mother to give her friend.

Knowing she wouldn’t be able to see Astrid anymore made tears well up on her eyes again. She tried to comfort herself imagining her future life with her husband and children. That’s what she lived for until then.

But the more she thought about it, the more it made her upset. The thought of living for her husband and children’s well being was a noble objective she was taught since she was a child. And yet, compared to the adventures Astrid would be having alone, that looked silly. Astrid who would be able to visit new places. See new people. While she would be locked up in her home.

And above all. Being with Astrid looked way more appealing and fun than being with a man she didn’t even know.

Emilie heard chatters inside the house and a shiver ran through her back as she heard steps climbing the stars and a knock on her door.

When she opened it, her mother was behind it with a serious face.

“He’s here with his family. Get ready fast and come down. We don’t want to leave them waiting.”

When her mother left, Emilie ran to the window of her room instead. She could see through it the cart belonging to the merchant who worked in the capital stopped close to the village’s entrance. Astrid was still in the village.

A crazy thought crossed her mind. She left her room and walked to her parents' room. She opened the closet and found her father’s clothes. Undressing of her vests, she took a shirt and pants and wore it. She also stole one of his pair of shoes. Back to her own room, she looked herself at the mirror with her long blonde hair behind her back. She opened the drawer of her desk and took a pair of scissors.

At first, she hesitated, raising the scissors at the height of her nape. Then she started to cut her hair, without worrying about doing it right, just making the strings fall to the ground. She didn’t cry or even care. Only one thing was on her mind. She had to be fast because the cart would leave soon.

She could jump through the window and run away in secret. But if she wanted to be by her friend’s side, she wanted to be as brave as her. She left her room and started walking down the stairs. When she got to the bottom, she saw her mother throw a horrified look at her. Ignoring it, Emillie walked to the young man in the middle of the room and made a curtsy with an invisible skirt.

“My name is Emilie Stacks. And I’m sorry to disappoint you. I know you were excited about this meeting but I realized I can’t be your wife, after all. I hope you find someone worthy of your in the future.”

She walked through the door and got out of her home, ignoring the desperate voices calling her back from inside.

She gave a deep breath and started to run. It was cold and the wind was hurting her face but she didn’t slow down. When she saw the cart, the driver was about to leave. She screamed as loud as she could.

“Astrid!”

She saw Astrid sitting behind the cart giving the driver a signal and he stopped. At first, Astrid had a smile, probably thinking Emilie was there to say goodbye one last time. When she saw the girl with short hair and wearing men’s clothes in front of her, she let out an expression of surprise.

“Emilie? What did you do to your hair?”

Ignoring her friend’s question, Emilie grabbed her hand. She looked inside her friend’s eyes with an intense stare.

“Astrid. I’m not strong like you, neither I am brave. I have no experiences in life outside the reclused life I had in my home. I have no money on me right now and my family won’t give me any. So maybe I would be a burden. But I have read lots of books. I do have some knowledge about the world, at least on a theoretical level. I think I could be of some use. So,” Emilie paused. She felt her mouth dry as if it was difficult to make the next question. But she did her best, keeping her intense stare.” Would you take me with you?”

For a moment both girls just stood there looking at each other. It was Astrid who smiled first.

“Are you joking? Is that a prank?”

“Does this look like a joke to you?” She asked, putting her hand on her hair. Then she threw a look to her back. “Look, if you’ll say no, just say it. Soon my family will probably come after me, so…”

“Of course I’ll take you! If you’re telling the truth, of course, I’m happy to travel with you! I’m just a little confused right now.”

“So let me hop on and we’ll talk about it on the way.”

Astrid nodded and helped Emilie to get on the cart. The cart started to move again just as Emilie saw her mother running in their direction coming from her house’s way. She still felt bad about leaving them behind, so she made a soft wave with her hand in her direction, keeping a bitter smile.

***

“Are we really going to cross this?” Sonia said looking at the goblin’s cave entrance.

After hearing Emillie’s story, she had walked the whole way from the lake until there and now she was ahead of them with Emilie and Astrid at each of her sides.

“Well, of course,” Emilie said. “Unless we go across the mountains and take months to get to the castle.”

“But, goblins…”

“You don’t need to worry. I traced a safe route and we could cross avoiding all the creatures. If you follow my lead, we…”

Astrid put herself in front of Sonia and offered her hand. The princess grabbed it with hesitation.

“Don’t worry,” the red-haired woman said. “I’ll protect you if anything happens.”

Nodding with her head, but with little conviction, Sonia followed them inside. The first scene they saw was just a dark cave that looked empty. All the monsters lurked deeper inside, after all. Emilie was fast to guide them to the cliff when Astrid stopped in the middle of the way.

Emilie stopped and Sonia beside her. They looked at Astrid who was staring at the bifurcation going deeper on the other side of the cave.

“Astrid!” Emilie called, trying to control her voice. “What are you doing?”

“Listen,” Astrid said.

The three women stood in silence and soon they realized what was troubling Astrid. There was a faint cry coming from deeper the cave in the direction she was looking. It was unmistakably a kid’s crying.

“Maybe they kidnapped a villager’s child,” Emilie said, following Astrid’s gaze.

“I’ll go get them,” Astrid said and walked in that direction. But Sonia ran in her way and grabbed her hand.

“Don’t be stupid! You’ll abandon me here in the middle of these monsters?” The princess said with fear in her face.

The look Astrid gave her was a mix of surprise and disappointment. She squeezed the princess’ hand and gave her a reassuring smile.

“The kid is also your subject, princess. I’m rescuing it for your sake, too.”

“Take me home and I’ll send soldiers to rescue them. That’s my responsibility, not yours.”

“Then it’ll be too late, princess.”

“So what?” Sonia took her hands away from Astrid and made a majestic gesture with her right arm. “Isn’t my life more important as the princess of this kingdom? Am I not the woman you love?”

Astrid stared in silence at the princess who kept a face that was a mix of arrogance and fear. She opened her mouth to say something but Emilie reached to them and grabbed Astrid’s hand.

“Are you sure?” She asked, looking inside Astrid’s eyes with a serious face. “I must say this is crazy and irresponsible.”

“I know,” Astrid said with a nod. “But I must go.”

Emilie smiled and gave a gentle tap at her partner’s cheek.

“So go there, hero. I know I can’t stop you. Leave the princess’ safety to me.”

With a smile back at the woman in front of her and without waiting for any other word, Astrid ran in the direction the sound of crying was coming from. With a horrified face, Sonia walked to Emilie’s side and hugged her arm. Emilie threw a reassuring smile in her direction.

“Don’t worry. I might not be as strong as her, but I can take you out this cave in safety.”

She guided the princess to the cliff, climbing it first and then offering her hand to help Sonia to get up after her. They started to walk the same way Emilie and Astrid used the first time, with the torches still lit on their way.

It didn’t take much time until the goblins started to appear below and they soon realized the two women walking up in the cliffs. Sonia threw a fearful look in their direction. Emilie grabbed her hand and made a signal for her to be silent while they resumed the crossing. They walked quietly and with ease until they got to the gap Emilie and Astrid crossed before.

“H-How we,” the princess said, looking scared.

“Don’t worry,” Emilie said and threw her bag to the other side. “I’ll jump first. Then you come after me and I’ll help you.”

“I don’t know if I can…”

“Princess,” Emilie took Sonia’s hand and smiled at her. “I won’t let you get hurt. Trust me.”

Sonia nodded, still nervous. Emilie was the first. She took a deep breath, took her distance, ran and jumped. She landed on the other side safely. Turning to the other side of the gap, she gave another reassuring smile to the princess. But the dress the princess was wearing was making her worried.

“Come on,” she said, reaching her hand.

The princess stared below. All the ferocious creatures were jumping trying to reach her. She looked again at Emilie on the other side, but the other woman was still smiling at her, trying to give her courage. The princess gave a deep breath herself, took distance. She threatened to run but stopped. She gave another deep breath with her eyes closed.

Then she ran and jumped.

She landed on the other side, but her foot slipped and she fell.

“Princess!” Emilie shouted as she reached and grabbed Sonia’s hand.

Sonia was hanging holding Emilie’s hand and the creatures were jumping after her. She was at their reach with tears in her eyes.

“Don’t let me fall,” Sonia screamed. “Don’t let them get me.”

“I won’t!”

But it was impossible for Emilie to pull Sonia by herself while she was hanging.

“Princess! Put your foot on the cliff. I’ll help pull you up.”

The princess swung her body. Some goblins below her were starting to climb the side of the cliff. They couldn’t find ground to reach the top, but they could reach where the princess was. She swung her body again and put her foot against the side of the cliff.

“Good! I’ll pull you up!”

Emilie started to pull Sonia’s body while her feet climbed the cliff. When her body was at reach, Emilie grabbed her bottom to help her to up. That’s when she saw one of the creatures jumping to her reach and felt a sharp pain in her hand. But she kept pulling the princess’ body and managed to get her safely to the top of the cliff.

The princess dragged her body forward and sat on the ground, her back against the wall. She was gasping and her hand was pressed against her chest.

“Thanks so much!” She cried. “Thanks so much. If you hadn’t…”

She stopped. Sonia saw the bottom of her dress, at her ankles height, dyed red. Scared, she pulled her dress up, looking for the blood.

“D-Don’t worry,” Emilie said with a faint voice. “It was me. They got to me.”

Sonia looked at Emilie and gasped. She first put her hand over her mouth but then leaned towards the other woman. Emilie’s left hand was completely red with her blood.

“They bite you? They…”

With a bitter smile, Emilie raised her hand to a horrified Sonia. It was missing her ring finger, with a lot of blood flowing from the place where it was supposed to be.

The princess was speechless. She stared astonished as Emilie stood up from her place and opened her bag.

Even though the pain was strong, Emilie managed to open her bag by herself and take something out of it. A knife. Holding it in her right hand, she walked to the closest torch.

“What are you doing?” Sonia asked, going after her.

Emilie let the blade of the knife turn red from being exposed directly to the fire.

“If I keep bleeding, I’ll die,” she said. She took the knife with the hot blade and pressed against the cut on her hand. She groaned with the sharp pain.

“Y-Your finger. What…” the princess said with a desperate voice. “If you do that, your finger will... Why…” Emilie let out a laugh.

“My finger? What do you expect? Should we kill the monster, get it from its stomach and sew it back?”

She placed the hot blade against the cut again. This time she pressed her lips and closed her eyes. She couldn’t control the tears running through it because of the pain. But the bleeding was stopping.

Emilie looked mesmerized at her left hand. Just a thought crossed her mind at that moment. Had she chose marriage years ago, she would probably have a ring there now instead. It made her laugh.

“Are you alright?” Sonia asked. “Can I do something for you?”

“Just let me rest for some minutes,” Emilie said, sitting with her back against the wall. She stared at the shadows made by the fire and at her finger. Surprisingly, that wasn’t making her as sad as she should be. She was just happy the both of them were safe and alive.

The princess sat quietly beside her. She had a worried face. Dirty had been stuck on her face because of her tears. Her blonde hair also was full of dirty and she didn’t look like the woman bathing at the lake just hours before.

“You look terrible,” Emilie said and laughed. Sonia just stared at her in confusion.

After what was probably a little more than ten minutes, Emilie stood up, cleaning her bottom with her hands.

“Well, shall we go?”

“Already?” Sonia said, standing up after her.

“I want to get there before Astrid.”

Emilie grabbed her bag and the two women started walking again. Sonia had a worried face the whole way.

“If Astrid hadn’t gone away,” she said at a point. Without looking at her, Emilie shook her head.

“That was my mistake. She has nothing to do with it.”

When they got at the end of the cliff, just as expected, not globin had followed them there. First Emilie got down, so she reached her right hand to help Sonia after her. The princess looked embarrassed for needing the help of someone who was injured so badly.

The two women walked in the light’s direction and when Sonia realized it was the exit, she ran ahead, excited to get out. Emilie realized too late and tried to stop her, but the princess disappeared outside it. Emilie followed her just to realize her worries were right.

Outside they were surrounded by dozens of men. Sonia was standing in her place, not knowing what to do while all heavily armed mercenaries stared at them. An armored tall man with a robust body and black hair walked in their direction with the mercenaries making way for him to pass.

“Sir Corwin,” Emilie said with a calm voice. She stood in front of Sonia, covering her.

“Well, well, look what I found,” the man said with a sarcastic tone. “A lost princess in a cave,” his eyes focused on Emilie and on his surroundings. “But where is the courageous knight who came for her rescue? Don’t tell me you were the one who killed a dragon.”

“So you were waiting to ambush us,” Emilie said with a serious face. “As I thought.”

“Yes, of course. I heard about my dragon dying and how no one crossed the main bridge. It wasn’t hard to guess the rest. Through here, I could ambush you no matter the route you took,” he walked one step closer to the women. Emilie raised her arms, trying to cover for the princess. “Oh, what a brave girl. But you know, while the princess’ safety is essential, we don’t need to worry about some random little girl who got caught in all this. We can have some fun playing with you until your last breath.”

The knight raised his hand in Emilie’s direction. She examined her surroundings, looking somewhere where she could run to. But it looked like they had no way to escape. All she could do was save time.

“What was your objective?” She asked. “Why keep the princess locked up and not ask for anything?”

The man let out a smile, showing his white teeth. His face had a hint of a sneer.

“Because I didn’t want anything. At least nothing the king could give me. I have everything I want as one of the greatest knights in this kingdom. Everything except for one thing. There is just one man who ever defeated me in a fight. A man who holds a title that should be mine.”

“Sir Hibbert…”

“That’s right. Kennard Hibbert. The man who walked away without giving me a chance to restore my pride. I looked for him everywhere, but he never showed up. While at least his corpse isn’t found, I’ll always be number two.”

Suddenly, it all made sense. About that kidnapping that seemed reasonless.

“You wanted to smoke out Sir Hibbert…”

“But of course,” the man’s face twitched with a smile. “The only other man who could kill a dragon beside me in this kingdom. If that man still had any honor, he would come himself to stop these senseless deaths.”

“You threw everything away and killed that much people just because of that?”

“I don’t expect a woman to understand honor. But now,” he started to walk in their direction again. “Maybe the screams of a little girl will call that bastard faster.”

Emilie felt her hand shaking. She felt the fear building up inside her and didn’t know what to do. They could run inside, but all those mercenaries would probably catch up to them since the princess wasn’t as fast. Her heart was beating fast.

“Stop,” Sonia screamed and jumped in front of Emilie, covering her instead. “Take me back. I’ll go with you but don’t hurt her.”

“Princess, princess,” Sir Gray smiled. Then he gave a slap that threw Sonia on the ground. “Shut up for a minute. I won’t do anything extreme to you, but I can do enough to put you in your place. Just sit there in the dirt where you belong while I take care of this girl.”

“Don’t you dare to hurt her,” a voice came from inside the cave. A voice that made Emilie’s heart pound with excitement instead of fear.

Astrid walked outside the cave holding the hand of a crying little boy. She ordered the little boy to go with Emilie. With her hands-free, the red-headed gave a look at all the mercenaries, at Sir Gray looking with a curious stare at her and finally at Emilie, as if questioning what was going on.

“This is Sir Gray,” Emilie explained. “He did all this because he wants to fight Sir Hibbert again.”

“He wants to fight Ken?” Astrid asked with curiosity and looked at the knight.

Emilie helped Sonia to stand up and brought her closer to the cave’s entrance, trying to be out of Astrid’s way. The princess had a red face and looked in pain.

“Ken?” Corwin gave a surprised look at Astrid and his mouth twisted in a smile. “Ken is Kennard Hibbert?”

“Yes, master Ken.”

“Master Ken? Wait a minute. Are you his pupil?”

“I’m not worthy to be called his apprentice,” Astrid said giving one step forward. “But he did teach me how to fight.”

It took a moment, then the knight started to laugh out loud. Everyone waited with curiosity while the big man laughed until tears came out of his eyes.

“I see, I see. His pupil. You… That man is a joke,” Corwin stopped laughing after some struggles, erected his body and looked at Astrid. “So, where is he now?”

“I don’t know,” Astrid shrugged. “It has been years since I last saw him.”

“Is that so? So, who killed my dragon?”

“That was me,” Astrid said with a serious voice. Not trying to brag or looking nervous.

Sir Corwin Gray at first looked at her as if she was lying. Slowly he started to nod with his head and kicking the earth with his feet.

“I see. I see. A woman, Sir Kennard Hibbert’s pupil and a little girl, killed my dragon.”

He wielded his sword. Astrid did the same.

“No one is allowed to get in our way!” He shouted. “If I can’t kill this girl, no way I would win against that man!”

“Stop!” Emilie screamed. She turned to Astrid. “You can’t fight him. You won’t win!”

“Sorry, Emilie,” Astrid said with a smile. “I don’t think I have a choice.”

The first to attack was Sir Gray. He invested with his sword and Astrid defended and counter-attacked. He defended against her blowback. The two started to clash swords against each other in a balanced fight. At first fight, it didn’t look like any of them had the advantage, but Emilie realized the truth.

Sir Gray could easily defend himself against Astrid’s blows. But even though she did the same, it was clearly harder on her side. The male knight was stronger, after all. If the fight kept going in that rhythm, Astrid would become tired way before he.

“Your movements do resemble that man,” Sir Gray said and invested a blow so strong that Astrid had to jump back. “But you’re still a little girl.”

Astrid was keeping up with the knight, but Emilie knew that wouldn’t last. She started to survey around looking for any chance to run away. It was their only chance to live through. But it wouldn’t be easy taking the princess and the kid with them.

“Wait, what is she doing?” Sonia said suddenly.

Emilie turned her attention to the fight again. Astrid wasn’t trying to attack anymore. She was just defending against Sir Gray’s blows. Emilie was worried her partner was already too tired, but Astrid’s face looked just the same. Sir Gray, on the other side, looked confused. His blows were getting stronger and Astrid wasn’t trying to counter anymore.

Then he made it. His blow connected against Astrid’s shoulder, breaking the armor she was wearing and splashing blood on the ground. Emilie was about to scream to her partner when Sir Gray let out a groan himself.

“Y-You…” he said. His voice coming out with difficulty. “Y-You...bastard…”

He fell to the ground. Astrid’s sword bathed in blood. Emilie hadn’t seen when she stabbed the knight because she got too worried when Astrid was hit. She probably stabbed him at almost the same time.

“You...let me...hit...you…” Sir Gray said, blood coming out of his mouth. “This is not...his style…There’s not… honor...” He let out a laugh but coughed on his own blood. “You’re really...not worthy…”

His voice silenced. His breathing stopped. A silence made in front of the cave.

Astrid raised her sword against the other mercenaries.

“Anyone else?”

One of them sneered. He sheathed his sword.

“You know you can’t win against us all. However, without anyone to pay us, there’s no need to take more blood.”

He turned and walked away, followed by the other men. Astrid sighed relieved.

She walked to Emilie with a smile on her face and her partner threw herself in her arms.

“I’m so happy you’re alive,” Emilie said with a crying voice. “I thought I would lose you.”

The two girls hugged each other in a tight embrace. Sonia, holding the kid’s hand, looking at them with a smile on her face.

When they stopped hugging, Astrid took Emilie’s hands. That’s when she realized it and made a startled face.

“Your finger…”

“Ah,” Emilie tried to shrug it off with a smile. “Just an accident with some goblins.”

“I’m sorry,” Astrid gently held Emilie’s left hand.

“Don’t be. It was just a finger. You saved a life. Or three lives.”

The princess and the little boy approached them. She avoided looking at the dead knight spread on the ground and stared at the two women in silence.

“What about your shoulder?” Emilie said, touching Astrid’s armor.

“It’s fine. It wasn’t so deep.”

“Let’s take the kid home. Let’s treat you there, hire some horses and finally take the princess back,” Emilie looked at Sonia with a smile. “Then you can finally rest from all this craziness.”

Emilie, Sonia, and the boy walked away. Before following them, Astrid threw a last look at the knight dead on the ground. She had an emotionless face as she said: “There’re way more important things in this life than honor, you know.”

She left, following her partner.