1 Carriage

"Enumerate and describe the basic magical elements."

Princess Mona paused in her embroidery to arch a delicate honey-colored eyebrow. "Are we going this basic?" She sighed, carefully lodging her needle just under her current working area, and held up her hands.

"What enumeration do you want specifically? I can give you the classical elements," she began, bending back her index finger with her other hand. "Earth, air, water, fire. Spirit, if you want to include that." Moving her count to her second finger, she continued, "Combining them, of course, we get the secondary elements. Poison, ice, acid, metal, sound, lightning, wood, a thousand more if you get overexcited."

Third finger. "We could always move to the more philosophical element lists. Good, evil. Light, darkness. Day. Night. Sun. Moon. Stars. Void."

Fourth finger. "I've even heard reports that some alchemists have started a new classification, besides their usual standbys of gold, silver, and lead: tin, apparently is a pure element, as are charcoal, sulfur, copper, quicksilver, sand - even the air we breathe is apparently full of pure and impure, what they call atomic elements."

It was Tutor Cassandra's turn to arch an eyebrow, though hers was the same tawny orange as the fur covering her face. "Atomic elements?" she asked. "I have never heard of such a thing."

The unspoken question hung heavy in the air between the two young women for a moment, drowning out the sounds of the carriage rattling along the forest road with a weight of curiosity that could have smothered a litter of kittens or a halfcat tutor. Fortunately Princess Mona took pity on her new instructor and went on after letting a grin creep its way onto her face.

"I thought you might find that intriguing," she said, setting her needlepoint in front of the ornamental scabbard that lay behind her. "Master Keegan from the Academy tells me that these alchemists have a theory of indivisible units - these atoms they speak of - of maybe a hundred different types, which are building blocks that combine in different ways to form the composition of - well, everything. They say that by adding or subtracting atoms from a substance, they can change one substance into another."

Tutor Cassandra pursed her lips to one side, considering, before shaking her head slowly.

"I don't know," she said. "It sounds a little far-fetched to me."

"But think about it," Princess Mona pressed her. "If you could have a recipe for gold, like you make bread, or stew." She looked around, then held up the flask from the seat next to her. "Perhaps that could explain why the juice of the grape, over time, becomes something more."

The tutor's fiery brows drew together over a troubled expression. "I don't know," she said slowly. "Perhaps, if you give your father your consent to hire me, I can meet this Master, and-"

She was cut off by a shout from outside, after which the carriage rattled to a stop. The girls looked at each other for a moment before moving as one to the window. The Princess got there first, but the feline tutor seized the curtain before she could pull it aside.

"Let me make sure it's safe," she said. "Were an arrow on the other side, I would be missed less than you."

Princess Mona raised her eyebrow once again at the halfcat's wariness, but relented.

Cassandra pulled back the curtain and peered cautiously out the side of the carriage.

One of the guards on this side of the carriage was on the ground; another was crossing swords valiantly with a bandit wearing tattered clothing; while the third was in the process of getting trounced by a double team. Even as she watched, one of the bandits trapped the guard's sword with his own while the other circled him and clotted him in the back of the head.

"Bandits!" she hissed as the guard fell. The bandits joined their fellow on the third guard, but Cassandra was turning back to see why her announcement was not met with any response.

The door on the opposite side of the carriage was open. A clump of threads ran from the embroidery that was now on the floor to the empty scabbard that lay on top of the hussy.

Of the princess, all she saw was a fluttering of skirts out the door.

"Mrryaaarrrr!" Cassandra spat, her bestial side taking over as she jumped forward and thrust her suddenly extended claws through the wood above the doorway to support her weight as she swung feet-first into the daylight.

When she arrived at the castle this morning, Cassandra had shown the guard captain her small defensive dagger, fully expecting it to be confiscated before she would be allowed to join the princess. But he had merely nodded approvingly when she spoke of being her Royal Highness' last line of defense should there be any trouble on the road. She was glad he had; for trouble there was, and now the last line of defense was playing catch up to the Highness she sought to protect.

The dagger was in her hand before her feet hit the ground. Eyes already adjusted to the daylight from the opposite window, it only took her a moment to assess the situation.

Two guards on the ground.

A bandit, falling, never having seen the sword that had left a spot of spreading red on his back.

One princess, sword already withdrawn from the guard's side, running past him.

Two bandits, looking forward parallel to the carriage.

Their opponent, a guard whose sword was rapidly gaining altitude above his head.

Motion. From an unexpected direction.

Cassandra's head snapped back toward the rear of the carriage where an archer was finishing his draw, his target the threat his buddies were not yet aware of.

"Princess!" Cassandra shouted, running before her feet hit the ground, straining to interpose herself before the arrow reached her young charge.

Princess Mona heard her prospective tutor's warning, but continued running forward anyway, her sword finding its way under the ribs of the closer of the two bandits even as he was turning toward the unexpected shout.

The bandit's fellow was momentarily distracted as well, and the remaining guard took full advantage of the fact, closing in past the bandit's sword to deliver him a punch to the half-turned face.

Seeing this, Princess Mona whipped her head around, black braids whirling around her, to see what had happened with Cassandra.

She paused in shock.

The tutor had an arrow in her mouth, and was whirling to the back of the carriage. Her hand snapped back, and then forward, and some small object left it, spinning in the air until it finally resolved to a dagger that sank into the forehead of an archer that Mona had not previously noticed.

"Nice throw," a voice said next to her: the guard, the last foe dispatched, pausing to share her appreciation before checking on the situation in the other side of the carriage.

But then the situation on the other side of the carriage came to them. Two bandits rounded the back of the carriage, slowing for a moment as they saw three foes waiting for them.

"Two girls," one said.

"Your point being?" the other replied in a voice that matched her bright red ponytail. "Only the human is armed."

They sped up again.

Cassandra took advantage of the pause to negate their reasoning: slipping a toe under a sword that happened to have fallen near her feet, she kicked it up in the air and smoothly caught it by the grip.

The bandit that was approaching her tried to slow, but he was already committed.

Princess Mona took a moment to appreciate the way the halfcat met the bandit's blade - she had clearly held a sword before - as she stepped forward to meet the other bandit.

A thrust, a parry, a slash - Princess Mona met her challenger with a smile on her face even before a third sword threatened her from the side: the last guard had retrieved a new sword from somewhere, and hurriedly inserted himself into the fight.

Two on one definitely made the fight easier. The princess and the guard took turns creating openings for each other and exploiting the openings the other left for them.

Though Princess Mona was definitely the more aggressive of the two; the guard moved cautiously, trying to make sure both of them would outlast the bandit, but his charge had a tendency to rush in and get herself in danger that he had to stretch himself to help her out of.

Cassandra, meanwhile, was showing off the feline grace her race was known for. And it was clear she had used a sword before, as she didn't stumble in her defense too much. But while this natural dexterity and general familiarity saved her from taking hits, it was still obvious that she lacked training, as she had difficulty pressing her advantage and finishing him off.

"Think she can handle it?" the guard asked, nodding toward where Cassandra was starting to get frustrated.

"One way to find out," Princess Mona replied, quickly disengaging to leave the guard alone with the bandit.

The guard's eyes widened at the suddenness of her departure as the bandit squared off with him with a wicked grin.

Princess Mona watched the tutor clash with the other bandit for a moment, gasping in a few quick breaths while getting a feel for the rhythm of their fight.

Cassandra dashed in with a flurry of attacks, which the more experienced bandit barely managed to deflect. But now the scholar had overextended herself, and the bandit launched his own offensive, throwing her off-balance.

The halfcat's natural dexterity ultimately saved her hide as she rolled into her lost balance, dodging attacks that Mona was certain she would not have been able to evade in her place. She ended up on her feet again, just out of the bandit's reach and facing away from the action.

Her opponent started to give chase, but aborted with a spin when he saw the princess throwing herself at him out of the corner of his eye. He managed to keep her sword from his throat, but red bloomed from under his sleeve.

Two swords came at him a moment later, but when he stepped back the princess found her sword accidentally locking with the tutor's.

The bandit grinned and spun completely around to attack Mona from a new direction. The princess would have had plenty of time to get her guard up, but again her sword tangled with Cassandra's and she had to step back.

The bandit wasted no time seizing the advantage and forcing her back a step, then two. Stepping directly between the two women, he swept Mona's sword to the side and bobbed his head to her before turning his back and engaging Cassandra.

Mona hesitated for just a moment at his sudden dismissal before noticing the halfcat's eyes widen.

Realization hit her just a moment before the sword of the bandit behind her did the same.