Informing Christiansen of his various flaws was quickly becoming one of Caitlin’s most beloved pastimes, but he knew his place and when to shut his mouth. That counted for something.

Malcot continued to trek through the forest, and he hadn’t brought up their earlier conversation by the stream. Obviously, her intellect far surpassed his, but Caitlin wasn’t in the mood to justify saying she enjoyed his company. It was a conundrum she was trying to reconcile. After all, Christiansen was an annoying, oafish, cowardly buffoon. How did any rational person tolerate his existence?

“Okay, that’s too harsh,” she thought to herself. The knight wasn’t as insufferable as the Godfreys or any other royal idiots Caitlin had been forcibly acquainted with over the years. He was a great fighter, an excellent pillow, gentle and caring but unafraid to protect those he loved, and understood her sense of humor. As far as ‘sensitive and sickeningly sweet’ types went, one could do far worse than Christiansen. It wasn’t ridiculous to imagine some doe-eyed, giggly maiden becoming smitten with his ‘inexpensive imitation of Prince Charming’ demeanor. He was a mother-in-law’s dream made tangible, and that included the Queen.

Then again, Christiansen wasn’t a descendent of a noble family, nor was he heir to a massive fortune. Not that Caitlin held that against him, but she wasn’t sure if Mother approved of her or Lilith dating someone far beneath their social standing. Mother always said she wanted them to be happy, but...

Just then, as Malcot sidestepped a large boulder, an insidious thought creeped its way into Caitlin’s mind.

Was Lilith the mystery woman?

Was Christiansen in love with her sister?

With all the available information, the mystery woman’s identity was still, fittingly, a mystery, but Lilith was a prime suspect; rich, graceful, intelligent, kind, beloved by the people, and, as Christiansen directly acknowledged, beautiful. She could have any man she desired with a snap of her fingers, and Christiansen was, in his own way, a man.

Lilith was also, at least in her opinion, better looking. Not that Caitlin put that much focus on anyone else’s physical appearance or resented her sister, but it was true. She was also far more genial and wouldn’t verbally assault Christiansen everytime he made a mistake. After all, who didn’t love constantly being mocked and derided? It was a method formally recognized by history as the perfect way to endear oneself to a person.

Although, Caitlin was Christiansen’s favorite princess. Not just in Amorado, but out of every princess throughout the entire world. Callum stated it as a well established fact and he made no attempt to dispute their claim. And if she told Lilith what they’d been through, Caitlin knew she wouldn’t interfere. That conversation could only take place in a world where she felt anything for Christiansen beyond dispassionate contempt.

Arakhum on High, he agravated her without even opening his big, stupid mouth! Didn’t Christiansen understand the turmoil he put her through? Caitlin didn’t deserve this anguish because of his obliviousness!

“Tell me, Christiansen,” Caitlin said, shifting her weight on Malcot’s saddle to make sure she had a slightly better view of his face. “Is my sister the mystery woman?”

His cheeks burned like ripe tomatoes. “No. Princess Lilith is very beautiful, that is true, but she’s not her. The mystery woman isn’t her, is what I’m trying to say.”

Caitlin hadn’t expected such a definitive response from Christiansen. He didn’t stutter or trip over his words. Did he anticipate her asking that? Regardless, she was pleased with the answer. Lilith was confirmedly not the object of his affection.

That didn’t mean Caitlin was going to let his transgressions pass.

“So she’s not your mystery woman, but you think she’s beautiful,” Caitlin mused. “How so?”

“Uh, what do you mean? Why do I think Princess Lilith is beautiful?”

“Yes. Give me reasons why, and be as detailed as possible.”

“Well, uh, I think she has nice clothes, very beautiful dresses and jewelry,” he swallowed. “She has pretty eyes. I’ve never spoken with her, but from what I’ve been told, Princess Lilith is very kind and considerate to friends and strangers. Those are all things I find beautiful in a woman.”

Ordinarily, Caitlin brushed off this type of vacuous sweet-talk as an attempt to get on her good side, but she knew Christiansen was being honest.

“I suppose most of that is because she’s the daughter of the King and Queen.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, well, uh, the Queen is a beautiful woman, and the King is a handsome man, so if you combine the two,” he laughed. “You get someone who is beautiful.”

Caitlin stopped listening to whatever Christiansen was saying, as she made an incredible discovery: his cheeks dimpled! Her stomach fluttered with joy seeing the joyful young man he’d once been and still was in his heart; before he let himself be consumed by fear.

“It’s okay, Christiansen,” Caitlin said, trying not to give away just how h guilt. Had he never done it in her presence prior to now? It didn’t matter, because she wanted appy she was to see her knight‘s brighter side. “I’m forced to repeat myself yet again, but I’m only teasing you. I believe you when you say that Lilith isn’t your mystery woman and I don’t actually want to make you miserable.”

“If you don’t want me to be miserable, will you stop asking about the mystery woman?”

“My tolerance of you doesn’t go that far.”

He shrugged. “It was worth trying.”

Not only was teasing him enjoyable by itself, but it came with the added benefit of bringing out a more open side of her companion. Mairead was correct that getting Christiansen out of his shell was difficult, but the rewards were so, so worth the struggle. He might try to deny it, but he enjoyed their playful squabbling. And, increasingly, so did she.

“Fine, Christiansen. If you answer one more question about your mystery woman, I will consider relenting.”

“I don’t think I’m going to like answering this one, but if it will stop the questions, go ahead.” Caitlin’s truce was almost certainly another trick, but it was his best chance at an escape.

“I said I’ll consider backing off, Christiansen,” she clarified. “When did you first meet her?”

“Five years ago. Or, it will be five years ago in a month.”

“You remember the exact date? She must’ve left quite an impression on you.”

“I saw her shortly before I started training to become a knight. I was at work,” she didn’t need to see Christiansen’s face to determine this was a treasured memory. “I worked in my grandparents shop at the time.”

“Mairead mentioned they owned a bakery,” assuming their store remained in business, Caitlin felt she should stop by and sample some product when this was over.

“So, I was standing around eating, minding my own business, and there she is,” he said wistfully. “The most stunningly beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. She orders, pays for her food, and leaves.”

She waited patiently for more details, wondering if Christiansen was too lost in the memory to continue speaking. “That’s all?”

“She ordered and greatly overpaid for a strawberry pastry. I asked her if she meant to pay that much for it, but she let me keep the money,” he stated. “I saw her a few times after that, but we didn’t speak much. I was too busy training and she was too busy, uh. Doing her work. She has a very important public position and it doesn’t leave much time to talk with ordinary people.”

While that was likely a decent approximation of the story, Caitlin knew he was being evasive. There had to be more. To fall for someone that hard, and for the crush to foster for so many years, Christiansen excised some key details from his story. He needed to pay for trying to deceive her yet again.

“Master knight!” a high voice shouted. “Master knight! Over here!”

The two quickly dismounted Malcot to meet a young girl sprinting through the trees. Her hair and breath ragged, dirt covering her face and hands, Caitlin knew she fled from a horrible situation, one that they probably had to make right.

“Hey, slow down, you’re safe,” Christiansen said, taking a knee to meet her height. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“The village, they attacked the village,” she explained. “They’re looking for Princess Caitlin. They’re going to kill my parents!”

“Who attacked? How did you manage to get away?”

She breathed deeply to try and center herself. “I don’t know. There were a lot of them and they had weapons. I was at Miss Martin’s home when they attacked. They took my mother and father, and I thought I could get away, I could find some help, maybe warn someone.”

Caitlin threw down her hood and knelt beside Christiansen. “What’s your name?”

“Caimal.”

She put a reassuring hand on the young girl’s shoulder. “You’re incredibly brave, Caimal. Not many people would have the courage to do what you did. I’m Caitlin and this is my friend, Sir Christiansen. We’re going to help save your village.”

The girl’s eyes narrowed in recognition. “You’re the princess? But you look so different!”

“Come on; your village needs us and we need you to lead us there.”

Christiansen remained on Malcot, but Caitlin decided to walk beside Caimal.

“Do you have any more knights following you?” she asked. “I don’t know if Sir Christiansen will be enough to fight them all. There were a lot of them.”

The Princess chuckled, louder than necessary to make sure he heard. “Fortunately, Sir Christiansen is the only knight following me. You’re correct that his abilities aren’t sufficient enough to face them, which is why he’ll be assisting me.”

“Did the King and Queen teach you to fight? Miss Martin told me they’re great fighters.”

“Yes they did. They taught me everything I knew, including how to fight off brigands. What does Miss Martin teach you?”

“She’s very smart. She knows all about history, and speaks three languages, and has beautiful handwriting. She teaches all the other boys and girls how to read and write.”

Towards the horizon, they found a row of pristine thatch-roofed cottages with a clock tower rising above; it was the village of Eldaroon.

Trouble was, it was almost totally abandoned. No shopkeepers moving inventory by horseback, no carefree child running with her puppy, not even a bothersome merchant. In the middle of a bright afternoon with cool, crisp weather and plenty of sunshine.

“I’ll go ahead and see what we’re up against. Wait here.”

Chrisitansen dismounted his horse. “Caitlin, wait, why don’t I scout ahead?”

“Nonsense. You make too much noise and Caimal needs to look after you,” she winked at their new companion. “And did you forget that I snuck up on you?”

He clearly wanted to make another objection, but wisely gave in to her command. “Okay, but promise me you’ll be cautious and call out if you need help.”

“You sound like my mother,” she turned and moved on, leaving them behind.

As Caitlin disappeared into the trees, Jamie felt his heart pound as the usual anxieties reemerged. What if she got hurt? What if one of those animals knew she was coming? Were they already waiting for her? She was a fierce, brilliantly trained warrior, determined and prepared for anything, but just the thought of her being in danger filled him with intolerable dread.

“Do you like Princess Caitlin?”

His eyes darted to Caimal. “Wha...What?”

“Do you think she’s a good warrior? Will she be okay by herself?”

“Uh,” he swallowed, looking away. “Of course. She’ll be fine.”

“Old lady was right about them in the woods by the stream, ambushin’ Birke and them. Ya’ really think she’s a wizard or somethin’? Ya’ think she can see the future?”

“Don’t really matter what she is. Amount of money she’s bettin’ on this, she wants this girl bad. Soon as Her Majesty Princess Faraday appears, we make her surrender, or all her father’s subjects are gonna get fed to the dogs.”

Caitlin knew there were too many to face head on, so they needed a plan of attack. She found a wooden crate next to a cottage, used it to boost herself to the roof, and flattened herself once on top. She crawled forward, just poking her head over the plateau to assess the situation. Gruff men and wiry women with swords, bows and spears, each wearing tunics with the same distinct symbol etched into the shoulders. They chortled and socialized, all the while captured villagers spread around the village looked on in terror. A young couple held on to one another as their home was ransacked.

As predicted, it was the White Hand. Somehow, they again managed to intercept her, and now Eldaroon paid the price. Caitlin promised right then that not a single innocent would be harmed today. Their terrorizing and plundering ended here. She carefully lowered herself off the roof and crept back to her companions.

“There’s at least ten of them and they have hostages,” she reported to Christiansen. “I have an idea, but I doubt you’re going to approve.”

“When has that ever stopped you?”

“Unhand me this instant, you treasonous snake! My father will hear about this, and he’ll have you trashed and thrown in a dungeon!”

“Quiet, your holiness, or I’ll make you be quiet.”

Jamie shoved Caitlin forward as they made their entrance to Eldaroon’s town square. As intended, their arrival immediately drew the White Hand’s attention.

“Hail!” he shouted. “There’s no need to harm these people, for I believe we can come to an arrangement.”

After exchanging amused glances with one another, the White Hand slowly abandoned their positions and faced the traitorous knight. The villagers could only look on in horror as their only source of salvation had betrayed them.

“Well, what’s this? Looks like the boyfriend’s a spurned lover,” a man with a bow and black eyes balked at Jamie. “She finally tell you to piss off?”

“You think he’s got a chance with her?” a woman said. “He’s probably too stupid to realize she’s got eyes on some rich prince.”

Caitlin grunted, wriggling to try and break out of her makeshift bonds. “You’re all going to pay for this. The King and Queen will have your heads on pikes!”

“One more word about them and I’ll smack you again,” Jamie stuck a finger in her face. “Wouldn’t you believe it, being a knight doesn’t pay very well. I hoped helping the Princess would get me a pay increase, but it turns out she’s as cheap as her parents. I figure I could bring her to you, and you could give me a cut of the bounty.”

“Shame! Shame!” a villager shouted. “A curse on your bloodline for betraying your oaths! May Arakhum strike you dead!”

“You’ve done well, Sir Knight. I am Valdon Derkez,” a tall man said, totally ignoring the villager. He inspected their captive as Caitlin unleashed her best scowl. “But what of your vows? To always protecting the innocent?”

“Nothing but words, as hollow and empty as the princess’s heart. We live in squalor while her family throws parties and balls,” Jamie said. “And don’t forget who we’re dealing with. She’s as vile as her grandfather.”

“True enough. The history of her family has been written in blood, and the story ends here,” he said.

“What about our brothers?” a mercenary shouted. “You promised us payback for what she did!”

“We’ll take our vengeance, but first we need to get paid,” Valdon said. “Let’s get moving. Finish up here and our newest recruit will follow us to the old woman.”

“No,” Jamie blurted out, nearly destroying the illusion. “They stay.”

The White Hand were momentarily confused by his newfound compassion for strangers. He could feel Caitlin giving him the side eye; he just knew she’d have some snarky comment about that later.

“Think about it,” Jamie paused, still trying to conjure an explanation. “What have they done to deserve this? So many people have suffered because of her family, why should she inflict more misery?”

“Lad raises a good point,” a lesser mercenary commented. “These fools ain’t gonna get us paid any more than we already are. Why waste the energy on em’?”

Valdon thought it over for a moment before his face brightened. “Well, you’re right. We won’t bother with them anymore.”

Jamie felt a shot of joy erupt through his body that was quickly doused when the leader walked up a young couple and hoisted them to their feet.

As they moved to the edge of the village, Jamie kept his eyes on the White Hand, looking for any that might have figured him out;

Then, one of the mercenaries, a thin woman with fiery red hair, pulled out a knife and directed it at Caitlin.

“I can’t take this anymore!” she shouted. “I’ve been here as long as any of you! I’ve earned my ounce of meat!”

“What are you doing?” Jamie asked. “What about our gold?

“Oh we’re gonna get that, but first, we gotta get some payback.”

“Yeah, she killed three of our mates in the woods yesterday.”

“The lass and Birke were good mates, that means she gets the first cut.”

“That wasn’t part of the agreement, what if the old woman doesn’t like that? She wants the princess alive., Jamie looked to Valdon to quell the situation.

He shrugged. “She’s giving us so much, it won’t matter if the old broad cuts a little off the price,” he said, smirking at the double entendre.

Jamie felt so pleased they gave him permission to end the charade. “I’ve had enough of this,” the knight snapped. “You have one chance to surrender.”

“What is he on about?” the red-haired woman asked, preparing to press the knife to Caitlin’s cheek. The Princess’ fist shot forward, connecting with her nose and sending the knife into the air. She caught it mid-descent and flung it at Verdon. The White Hand exploded into action to avenge their comrade.

“The fuckin’ kid is loose! Get her!”

“Traitor! You’re dead!” a mercenary with a spear went straight for Jamie’s chest, but the knight parried the blow and cracked him in the head with his shield. Another swiftly followed. The knight deflected the stream of frantic cuts, shifted to the side, and let him swipe at the air. Jamie learned early on in his training that letting anger control you often left you wide open, and he taught his assailant that lesson.

Caitlin fired another volley of arrows into the White Hand when one threw his arms around her, hosting her up.

“I got the brat! Kill her already!”

The red haired woman, having recovered her knife, slithered forth to fulfill the request. “That ain’t gonna help at all, stupid girl. Give up and stop squirming.”

Caitlin wrenched out a dagger hidden in her cloak and drove it into her captors’ side. She smacked the woman in the head with her bow and finished her with an arrow.

“Didn’t have to worry about you at all, I guess,” Jamie thought to himself. He had little time to admire her skills. A White Hand had his bow trained on Caitlin as she dashed around the battlefield. Jamie threw himself forward and tackled the man to the ground. The knight’s gauntlet landed two punches on his face before the White Hand shoved him off. He was on Jamie a moment later, plunging a dagger at his face. Jamie caught him by the wrists, wrenched him to the left, then the right, and jabbed the White Hand in the face with the end of the dagger. They each leapt for the dropped weapon, but Jamie got their first.

Another White Hand let out a thunderous war cry and charged at Caitlin. She could’ve silenced him in her sleep, but another was moving to sneak up on her.

“Behind you!” Jamie shouted, prompting Caitlin to whirl around and kick her assailant on the chin.

When no foul smelling mercenaries flew at him, Jamie scanned the silent battlefield; it appeared to be a decisive victory for them, with very little collateral damage. “I’ll admit I wasn’t sure that was going to work,” he said to Caitlin. “They managed to intercept us twice, I didn’t think we could deceive them like that.”

“An oaf like you is taught to use his weapons, not his mind,” the Princess said with her usual air of sarcastic satisfaction. “But combining my superior intellect, aim and tactical genius with your brute strength, you can rise above your meager abilities. What would you have done without me to lead the way?”

Wood crunched as Valdon Derkez emerged from behind a cart. Despite his bloodsoaked tunic and ragged hair, he looked ready for another fight.

“You know,” Jamie said. “My offer for surrender still stands.”

“Those were my friends you just killed,” he explained, scraping short axes together. “So after I kill you both and collect the reward, I’m heading straight for my favorite tavern back in Calchu. I’ll buy something expensive for everyone there; we’ll drink to your deaths!”

He charged straight for Jamie, swinging and shifting his frame with shocking dexterity to keep them both at bay. An axe shot forward, but a quick slide saved Jamie’s life. Two glistening edges descended upon him, but Caitlin leapt between them and caught them with her bow. Valdon’s boot shot forward and kicked the Princess in the stomach, sending her colliding into Jamie.

“Foolish girl,” he chortled, scraping the axes together. “Should’ve stayed in your castle.”

Caitlin fired another arrow, which Valdon easily dodged. She fired two more as he sprinted forth, but Jamie cut the length of his back, putting him on his knees. He scrambled to his feet, but Caitlin hit him with a ferocious uppercut.

“I think it’s fair to say all offers for clemency have expired,” Caitlin mocked, standing over their defeated, bloodied foe.

“Yeah, you wish, princess” he laughed and snorted, causing more blood to spill out of his nose. “But whoever the bloody hell hired us, she wants you bad. And she’s gonna get you no matter what!”

His arm shot up, brandishing a blue, oval gem in his palm. When the jewel failed to annihilate them, he looked at it like he just came home to find his family business burned to ashes by a vengeful deity. “Bloody idiot! I let her fool around with the first thing I ever stole! She said it was my key to victory!”

The gem trembled and shook, then shot forward, ripping through his tunic and embedding itself in his chest. He sucked in a gasping breath as his fingers clutched at it, desperate to find purchase. Jamie ducked down to try and assist, but the man’s ragged breathing abruptly stopped.

“He’s dead,” he announced. “I don't know what he had planned with this, but it killed him.”

Jamie reached for the gem, only for the recently deceased man to erupt back to life with a growl. His arms pulsated and elongated as he cried in agony, the pitch of his voice had plummeted. He thrashed and snarled, his mighty fists slamming and crushing the Earth as his tunic ripped into tatters.