Elya watched the young squire as he followed the other boy, and another as of yet unidentified girl to an overturned wagon. Uninterested in the lot, she wondered why they were not steering clear of it, as such matters were the job of guardsmen, and more capable adults. That squire, though, seemed slightly familiar. She raised her hood again, to cover her head, hoping the squire had never come close enough to be able to recognize her face. Any thought of the issue of identity, or her pride and humility, escaped from her mind, though, as she saw the squire racing back towards his horse. The color drained from her face, as she turned her head to glance over her shoulder. The sight which met her eyes matched the shout of the young squire. Orcs.
Before her thoughts could register, before she had a chance to react, Elya's line of sight was blocked by the approaching Odran Tarus. Her hand rose to her chest, as if to verify that her little scroll was still tucked safely into her bodice. The paper was still there, flimsy, but there. The rough knight noticed, but disregarded this little action. When he spoke, Odran's gruff voice was soft enough only to reach the ears of the young princess.
"Your Grace, this way." She noticed his hand, resting casually on the hilt of his blade, ready to draw at a moment's notice. Her own hand, she realized, had dropped from her chest to grip the hilt of her sword, still hidden in its camouflaged sheath.
The knight led Elya from the crowded caravan, both maneuvering their horses away from the group. Following him, Elya wondered what was in the overturned wagon on the other side of the people, and what was happening to the two who had been standing by it. With another glance over her shoulder, she saw the orcs and goblins coming closer. Having never seen one in person, she reckoned that they were much larger than she had imagined, from what she could discern by the pictures she had seen in her books. Her eyes fixated on the guards abandoning their respective wagons to fight the coming monsters. She did not realize she had slowed her horse until a grunt from Odran brought her attention back.
Elya found that they were now a few spans ahead of the fallen wagon on the path, barely hidden from the view of both the caravan, and the orcs and goblins. Under the cover of scattered rocks, and trees lacking any leaves on their branches, her brown horse seemed as if she would blend into the scenery, from a distance anyways. Odran turned back to face Elya, a stern look on his already stone-like face. If rock could be said to seem foreboding, such was the expression he wore. Realizing she had been unconscious of her own face, her mouth having been gaping open, she snapped her jaw shut, to try to match Odran's eyes.
"My Lady, stay here. We cannot risk- I don't need to explain what you already know. Stay." He added a respectful 'Your Grace' following that final command, before riding back toward the main caravan, to join the other guardsmen against the orcs. His sword flew from its sheath in his hand, gracefully, without a sound, as his horse galloped towards the approaching beasts.
Unhappy with the command she had been given, discontent to simply sit there doing nothing, Elya still waited. She recognized the danger, and realized the uselessness of her doing anything stupid to prove a point. Instead of moving to fight, to disobey the command given to her by her temporary protector, she elected to think. The orcs had come out from the treeline, though her head was swimming from fear so much, throbbing in rhythm with her heartbeat, she had lost all sense of direction, except to know that they were on their way North. A thought occurred to her, but she shoved it out of her mind as soon as it entered-
Did they in fact come from the South? If so, had they passed through the capitol?Shaking her head, Elya drew
her sword out from its sheath. The small blade might not be considered more than a dagger by those who were experienced with broadswords and the like, but in her equally small hands, it seemed suitable. Slightly curved, with only one edge sharpened, it was unlike any swords a knight might carry. Its shape resembled a thorn more than anything else- hence its name. Holding it in her hands, running her thumb along the dulled edge, Elya felt a sense of control. With a weapon, she had something other than another person's will to protect herself.
Eyes averted from the scene ahead, Elya imagined a flame in her mind. Selecting all of her fears, and doubts, and worries, everything that might hinder her, she fed each fleeting thought into the flame, until it grew into a great fire. Without the kindling left, though, the fire burned out, leaving behind only ash, and a void of darkness. This emptiness was calming, even if it was forced, and it gave her the courage to look up again, and view the fight for what it was. Her breathing, which had been ragged and quick, slowed to a better pace, clearing her view, as she watched from the shadow in which she hid.
Nimerya, Elya's horse, seemed antsy, her hoofs brushing the ground hesitantly, kicking up dust and dirt distractedly. Absent minded, not paying any heed to Nimerya's actions, Elya sheathed her sword again, but kept one hand on the hilt. The other she raised, to stroke her horse's mane. Lips closed, Elya hummed something softly, a song to temporarily pacify her horse, while keeping her aware. Nimerya's muscles tensed, and relaxed, as she calmed. The horse's eyes wandered to the horizon, watching the sky where it met the land, as if expecting someone or something to emerge from the crease between the heavens and the earth.