“Isn’t that the same carriage that passed by us a few moments ago?” Muttered Kinari as they slowly made their way down the road and now approached the carriage she mentioned. It was a large, ornate thing and very hard to miss. Glossy black with silver decorations around the edges and the door, pulled by two strong horses that were equally impressive and well taken care of. The horses, and therefore the carriage, were stopped on the side of the road and the curtains on the carriage were drawn shut, making it impossible to see inside.

“I wouldn’t be able to tell, I’m afraid,” said Demian with a small smile.

“Ugh, I… I keep forgetting,” said Kinari, her cheeks gaining a red tint in contrast with her green skin. “Sorry.”

“What’s this about a carriage though?” He asked, keeping his voice low. They were still some distance behind it, but Kinari lowered her voice too.

“It’s real fancy looking,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “No group of soldiers protecting it though, which means not noble. But dunno what it’s doing on the side of the road.”

“Does it look like they’re in trouble?”

Kinari glanced at the thick forest on both sides of the road, casting long shadows on the dirt road they were walking on, then back at the carriage stopped on the side, which they were slowly approaching while walking down the road.

“Don’t see anything broken, or on the way of the carriage, and it might be a nice spot for an ambush, but I don’t see any signs of violence or bandits.”

“Anything special about this carriage?”

“Hm. There’s someone in the front seat.” Kinari sniggered. “Probably the fancy one inside the carriage stopped to take a piss in the woods.”

“But if it looks like they need help -” Demian started speaking, before being cut off by Kinari.

“... Then we’re still walking by,” she said firmly. “We’re in no position to help fancy people like that anyway. Might still be someone important. So we keep away.” She said the last words even lower because they were now walking by the carriage.

It was even more impressive at close distance, with glass windows on the outside and beige curtains on the inside. Its wheels were reinforced with iron and the exterior had silver fittings. The driver sat on a seat in the front, on the outside, and watched them as they passed by. He was a well-dressed and well-groomed man in a long, blue coat and a black hat to protect from the sun and the rain. He looked down as they passed by and did not take his eyes off them. Kinari glared back at him.

“Huh,” she muttered after they had passed by the carriage. “What’s he looking at- ”

She was interrupted by the sound of the carriage door opening abruptly, followed by a shout.

“Oi! You two! Look here!”

They stopped and turned towards the carriage, where the one who had shouted was waving at them, half her body still inside the carriage. But Kinari saw the long, brown hair, styled into curls and covered by a small and cute white hat with a flower pinned to the bonnet. She saw the expensive looking dress with frills on the short sleeves, revealing a pale arm that waved at them. And she saw the face of the woman waving at them, young, no more than twenty, but already used to commanding others, and confident. All of it screamed two things: money and power.

When Kinari and Demian stopped, two other men jumped from behind the trees and pointed their weapons at them. They were tall and both wore the same kind of longcoat as the driver, along with heavy leather boots and hats. But what drew Kinari’s attention were the gunpowder muskets pointed at them.

They were both beautifully engraved weapons with swirling patterns around the muzzle and their grips were made of polished wood and steel. These were no ordinary, rusty old highwayman’s rifle, that much was certain. They looked well-kept, well-built, and were now pointing at them from little more than a feet away. Gunpowder rifles were notoriously inaccurate, but at such a short distance that would not matter.

“None of you move a fucking inch!” Shouted one of the man.

“Stop right there!” Shouted another, almost at the same time.

“You two!” Shouted the woman. “Don’t move or try naught if your value your lives, hear?”

“Wait, what?” Asked Demian, turning around with a confused face. “What’s going on?”

“Don’t know...” Kinari grunted back, glaring at the men holding them hostage. Then her eyes fell on their ears, just below the hats, and realized they were completely covered by cloth. “Shit! They have their ears covered! Fuck!”

She tried moving protectively over Demian, but an aggressive gesture from the rifleman pointing at her made her stop. The other was aiming straight at Demian, who was now frowning and squeezing her hand tightly.

“Just stop there for a bit, yeah? If there’s no trouble then you can be on your way. And sorry about the guns, they’re for protection, you see?” said the woman as she got off the coach and slowly approached them. There was a petticoat under her dress that allowed her to walk with the hem barely above the ground and she walked with confident steps, stopping about twelve feet away from them.

“You there, short boy! Turn and take that cloak off your face! Let me get a good look at you!” She commanded.

“Umm… Are you talking to me?” Asked Demian. “Because my name is Vladimir, and I’m just -”

“Don’t care!” Announced her loudly. “But if you don’t turn and face me quick-like my boy there will blow a new breathing hole on your fucking face. And pardon if my bodyguards are not talkative at the moment, only their ears are covered so they can’t hear naught, see?”

She stood there with her hands on her hips, smiling triumphantly while somehow looking down on them despite being as tall as Demian and more than a foot shorter than Kinari, who’s eyes were now darting around as she hunched, ready to react. The driver had remained on the seat, but now watched the action from a distance with keen interest.

Demian reluctantly turned to fully face her and, after a moment of hesitation, removed his hood.

Her lips turned in a confident smirk. “You’re that royal runaway, aren’t you? The one they’ve put a reward for. They got the whole kingdom looking for you, you know?”

Demian smiled, eyes closed. “What makes you think that?” He asked, almost timidly. “Is it because I’m blind?”

“Not just that, it’s also your features,” she said, chuckling. “They match to a T. The newsies talk about little else these past few days, and even my gazette mentioned you! They had a sketch and everything!”

“The what now?” Kinari frowned, bringing the attention of the other lady.

“And you must be his servant, huh? Odd, to have a half-breed for a servant, and for a royal of all people! Now that must be quite a story! Plenty of speculation there too, there was!”

She eyed both of them with a hungry look, hands still on her hips.

“And who the fuck might you be?” Growled Kinari. Her whole body was tense and ready to burst into violence, and the other gunmen noticed it and tensed as well, their fingers hovering over the triggers.

“Kinari… Can you let me speak with her?”

She looked down to see him smiling in her direction. It was his usual polite smile that - she was quickly realizing - he wore as a mask over his real emotions. But the pleading tone sounded real, and he squeezed her hand for emphasis. She looked away and grunted. “Right. Sure.”

His smile widened, before he turned to the lady from the carriage and said, “I’m sorry, but you seem to have us at a disadvantage, madam? You seem to know us, but we are not aware of who you are.”

“I am Heidi the second, daughter of Tilman the fourth, that’s who I am,” she announced, chest thrust forward in pride. She brushed a stray hair from her face and added, “you’ve heard of us, maybe?”

Kinari only gave back a blank look, but Demian put a thoughtful expression and then nodded.

“Ah, I… I think I might have. Yes, word of your family might have reached me, even back in Viridia.”

“Hah, I knew it!” She said, and her composure broke for a moment as she jumped in celebration and grinned with open glee. “Hah, I told Ella! I knew we were famous! I mean, we’re the biggest musket makers in the kingdom! It’s obvious even the royals of the enemy country would know about us!”

“Ah. Of course we do,” said Demian, smiling. “And if you wanted, you could have reported us to the nearest soldier and later collected the reward… But instead we are having this little chat. Interesting.”

She put her hands back on her hips and looked at them while taking a deep breath. Gathering her courage.

“You’re right. I could have done that. But instead, I have a proposal for you,” she said,lowering her voice. The confident smirk was gone from her face. “I won’t hand you two over to the soldiers. But in exchange, you two will stay with me and do as I say! You will come to my mansion and work for me. No ifs or buts! If you do that, I will protect you both and keep you nice and tidy. But if you refuse… Then it’s either the bullet or the soldiers with you! Pretty generous deal, isn’t it?”

“Hold on… You want to, to… Hire a fucking Viridian royal? At gunpoint?” Hissed Kinari, looking again at the musket pointed at her head.

Heidi the II stomped her foot on the ground, her composed air melting quickly into a tantrum.

“So what if I am?” She shouted. “It’s a golden opportunity, it is! You guys have no choice but to come with me. Otherwise it’s bullets with you!”

“I’m sorry, you said ‘work for you’?” Asked Demian. “I… What do you mean by that?”

“Think about it!” She said, gesturing with her hands out of excitement, her previous anger vanishing as quickly as it came. “The whole country is looking for you, all proper and serious! The chances of you escaping and returning to your kingdom are not looking too bright, right? So why not take this chance then? I can hide you and your servant while the soldiers look! I can keep you safe, I can!” She hesitated, before adding, “and besides, I do have the upper hand here! So you have to do as I say! Nice and easy, eh?”

Kinari frowned at the sudden whiplash as the lady went from begging Demian to threatening him, but if Demian was bothered by it, he did not show it.

“And why would you shelter us? You mentioned we would… work for you?”

“Yes!” And she was now smiling excitedly as she explained. “You can do some small things for me, trifles really, with that royal voice of yours! And in exchange I can keep you safe from the soldiers looking for you! Isn’t that a great deal or what?”

Kinari was looking increasingly confused during her proposal, so she was caught by surprise when Demian, after a moment of deliberation, said, “very well. You make a compelling argument. If we go with you, you promise not to hurt us and treat us well?”

“Of course, of course!” She said, her face lighting up. “So you’ll do it? You’ll come to my house with me? Oh, fucking brilliant!”

She gestured at the men holding the muskets, which they lowered reluctantly, after which she proceeded to run all the way back to the chariot while beckoning them.

“Are we really going along with this dumb shit?” Grunted Kinari, her voice low. The two bodyguards still had their ears covered, and were now standing at a distance, but still eyeing the two of them suspiciously. But neither could hear her question, or Demian’s reply:

“For now, it’s our best choice, isn’t it?” His voice was also low. “She doesn’t sound too dangerous anyway.”

“Two guards. You say the word, I can try fighting them. Going to be hard, but we could do it with your voice...” She kept her stance relaxed and her face neutral as she said this. Demian frowned.

“No. No more bloodshed if we can help it, please,” he said. He turned to her and squeezed her hand gently. “You promised, remember? Please?”

The fancy lady was now by the chariot, and the driver had opened the door. “Oi!” She shouted at them while waving her arms. “Over here!”

“Bad idea… But fine.” Muttered Kinari. “I guess if she’s as competent in keeping us captive as she is at negotiating, then we’re pretty safe.”

Their carriage ride was an uncomfortable one. The carriage itself was well furnished with cushions on the seats and curtains covering the windows, allowing the interior to be pleasantly cool even in the middle of a sunny day. But both Kinari and Demian were accompanied by the bodyguards, still with their ears covered and sullen expressions as they held their muskets, not quite pointing them at the two prisoners, but with the threat that they could be pointing at them and merely chose not to at the moment.

Not that it would be very effective if they did, Kinari noticed. They were all in confined close quarters, and while they were two and she was only one they still would not be able to use their muskets effectively in a cramped environment like this. To say nothing that all she had to do was uncover their ears and they could be subdued in but a few words.

This was a shitty method to escort prisoners and she figured even their guards realized it, hence the tension inside the carriage. The lady had decided to ride outside with the driver on the front seat, which she made sound like a wild adventure full of discomfort she would force herself to endure.

In a way, the well-dressed lady resembled Kinari’s idea of what a noble was a lot more than Demian ever did. Kinari looked beside her to see the young prince calmly sitting down, hands on his knees. His clothes were still scruffy rags, but at least he was now clean, and still smiling faintly like he usually did. It didn’t take an experienced face reader to realize his smile right now was nothing but a mask.

And so they rode in silence, the carriage rocking back and forth as it made its way across the small dirt path and around dilapidated farms, before making a turn into a road that was actually paved with stone. This all led them, eventually, to some very impressive-looking metal gates which two servants opened and let the carriage ride through.

Kinari peeked through the curtains and noticed they were now in an estate. Surrounded by a stone wall on one side and a small forest on the other, they drove on a road with decorative trees on either side until they reached an impressively large manor. There were a cluster of smaller buildings surrounding it, such as the stables, the coops and what looked like a house for servants, but the manor towered over them all both in size and grandeur, three floors high and impressively wide. It even had a tower, and some of its architecture resembled a castle’s, although far more ornamental and on a smaller scale. There was even a fountain at the entrance, where a group of servants waited for the carriage to finally come to a stop.

“Wenzel! An important opportunity came by! Quickly…!” They heard the lady’s voice, quickly fading as she rushed down from the chariot. Kinari tried to peek at what was going on, but one of their guards forcefully closed the curtain and glared at her. Yes, she noticed, they were really on edge. She could see the sweat dripping from where the excess cloth covered their ears and head.

The carriage drove onward after a short stop, and she noticed that what little sun shone through the curtains was blocked as they entered another building and everything went darker inside the carriage. A stable of some sort. When it stopped Demian could hear the sound of people walking around them, but no voices, and it lasted for some time. Nobody inside the carriage spoke either.

When the door finally opened Kinari glanced outside and saw the rich lady that had abducted them, grinning her confident smirk as she took a step back.

“Welcome to the Tilman family manor,” she said. Behind her, three or four men raised their muskets and pointed it at the carriage. “Please come out slowly and do not try anything. I have more guards ready to shoot, if you try to escape. But don’t fret your head, Your Majesty. You’re very welcomed here.”

“Oh good,” said Demian, smiling. “That’s a comforting fact to know.”

Kinari, however, did not feel very welcome.

She was separated from Demian, to which he voiced his first concern since being kidnapped but was quickly reassured and overruled, after which they took her through a trapdoor on the floor and down a ladder into what looked like a wine cellar, one side of the wall covered with large barrels of wine turned sideways while their insides slowly transformed sour grape juice into fancy wine. They closed the trapdoor behind them, leaving Kinari in the damp, chilly darkness.

After her eyes got used to what little light there was and she explored her current prison, she was disappointed, although not for the reasons one might expect.

Yes, no effort had been made to turn this wine cellar into a place where they held someone captive. No chamberpots, nor a bed of any kind. But the place also made for a terrible holding cell. The ladder down would make it hard for someone to escape, but would also make it easy for anyone coming down to be at the mercy of the prisoner, and although they had the good sense to take away her mace, that was negated by her discovery of a loose cobblestone as well as an old, discarded tankard in the corner. There was also another large door at one of the walls, which she confirmed was locked, but which seemed to lead outside the manor, which meant there were two exits to this prison cell.

She grimaced. It was not a question of if she would make an escape attempt, but when. Rifles were still scary - a shot to the head would put her out of commission for at least a day - but she was sure a good opportunity would appear if she was patient.

So she sat on the stone floor and waited, while wondering what was happening right now to Demian. She quietly decided to herself that she would not wait here for long.