Future Mistress (2)

She wiped her sword, dusted her cloak, and bit on the bread on the table. There were crunching and munching sounds as she bit into the plain piece of bread on her hand. It wasn't much to be called an inn, but it provided them a place to stay for two days. Even though it has four rooms only, the place could still be considered a heaven for the weary travelers from the South.

She tied up her red hair and noticed that it already reached her waist. "It has gotten longer."

With that, she took out her sword and was about to cut it when...

"Noooooo!"

Larika stumbled on the floor as she ran towards Yllana and pull the sword away from her.

"Your beautiful hair! Don't you know that you are still a noble merchant's daughter? Noblewomen should wear their hair long!"

She tilted her head to the side. She never thought of her status as a noblewoman. She lived as a knight for six years now. And being in the imperial army, she already forgot how she should look or behave as a noblewoman. She didn't even think that the Sabers are noble until the Larika said it now.

"Your Highness, I... I only learned the art of wielding a sword and fighting in battles. I will not have time to polish my look, so-"

"No no no! You should still take care of your image!"

"Your Highness…" she waved her hands nervously.

"Larika, stop it." Midel gave out an exasperated sigh.

Larika narrowed her eyes at Midel and pouted. "Do you always have to suspect me?" She cocked an eyebrow. Will this man always try to contradict her? What did she ever do to him?

"Yes." Midel declared with a smile on his face.

Larika's jaw dropped. 'How shameless!' she thought.

"I'm afraid long silky hair doesn't sound like her character at all, so please stop trying to change her for who she already is. It will also get in the way when it comes to fighting, so it must be kept at a length." He explained.

Schwaaa…

Lumps of red hair fell on the floor while Midel and Larika argued at the corner. She really wanted to cut it at least halfway up her waist. "This length will not interfere much anymore. We should go now."

Midel and Larika continued to argue along the way. When Yllana couldn't take their bantering anymore, she took out a little white rabbit from her space ring. "Sorry for keeping you inside the cage for a long time." She patted the rabbit's head and started to walk away from the inn.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Where did the girl with red hair and red eyes go?" General Rua pointed his sword at a man covered in patched leaves.

The young man was heavily built with sharp eyes. He stood in front of the general with a straight back and snide on his lips. He spat on the ground before eyeing General Rua from head to toe. "No one like that entered the isles, general." There was a tone of disgust as One said the word 'general'.

"Remember why you can only be called by numbers and not names, traitor! Lowly born slaves like you only need to answer your superiors! Pay your respects!" He raised his voice. Veins started popping from his neck and hands. The soldiers behind him also took on a fighting stance pointing their swords at the people in front of them.

One looked at the side. There was someone hiding in the crowd. When the figure saw this, it disappeared within the crowd with a single nod. One faced the general again, his stubbornness did not waver. He even took a step forward and directed his chin at the point of the sword. "Respect is earned, General, not given. We are more than willing to pay our respects to His Highness if only he would admit to the crimes he committed against our clan."

"Crimes? You were born as a citizen of the South Kingdom. Being taken in and trained at the barracks since childhood was never a crime but an honor for serving the kingdom at an early age!"

"I'm afraid we have different meanings of honor then," He unsheathed his sword and swung it against the general's sword. The loud crash of metals rang in the air and in a few minutes, blood spilled at the mouth of the cave.

Bodies soon covered the ground in a colorful array of green and purple clothes splashed with oozing red liquid. Battle cries invaded their ears. Shouts and grunts blended in the sounds of clashing weapons and magic spells. After an hour, the wind whistled. There were no more metals clanging nor spells being chanted. Two purple flags with the sign of a dragon stood erected in front of the cave.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dragon's Eye Cave

"Another cave…" Larika swallowed hard as she studies the mouth of the cave. She bit her lower lip as she looked at her side. She saw Yllana's calm face and her hair tied in a neat bun on the top of her head. It was her that insisted on arranging Ylana's hair so she won't need to cut it any shorter and at the same time would not be a burden for battles.

"Afraid? You should have just gone with Kareem and Vandier." Midel didn't hide the disgust in his tone. When Yllana gave him a warning glance, he shrugged his shoulders and went inside first.

"Never mind what he said. He's just worried that you might get in trouble, Your Highness. So please just stay close." Yllana reassured Larika and patted the empress' shoulder.

For someone like her, Yllana knows that she has lived under the palace with luxury. She might have only had one experience in a close-up battle and that would be when the emperor took her family's lives. But facing a dragon will give one a different kind of fear.

"I…I'm afraid," she whispered. Relief washed all over as she revealed what she really felt inside. She held on to Yllana's sleeve and smiled. "But thank you for letting me stay,"

Yllana clenched Larika's hand and gave her a small smile. When Midel looked back at the two girls, he called out to them to move faster since it was already noon.

~~~~~~~~~~

"This cave was famous since the legends say that the cave was made from the eye socket of the ancient dragon. And that the remaining dragons guarded the cave since its death. That is how it got its name as Dragon's Eye Cave." Midel lowered his tone and lit up a crystal ball. Light already disappeared after a few meters inside the cave. Yllana already hid Laia once again.

"If this is really just the size of its eye, what a colossal dragon it was. I wonder how it died," Yllana also head the same legend when she was a kid. She never knew that one day she would be delving into that cave where the dragons live.

"We just need one dragon eye and then we can get out. It was a pity that the dragon from that previous cave was blind. I think fate is playing tricks on us. It could have saved us time and effort," said Larika.

"We gained weapons, so it's not a complete loss Your Highness," Yllana tried to cheer her up. It really was a pity that a blind dragon was the first thing that they encountered in that cave. Its eyes can't be used for the sight spell.

Midel stopped on his tracks and shushed them. He perked up his ears and listened close to the wall intently. "I could hear people inside," he whispered softly to them. But as he closed his mouth, the chatter also ended. Midel gave Yllana a wary look so Yllana pulled Larika behind her and held on to the hilt of her sword.

There was no sound in her footsteps. She was lithe. She was like air itself when she leaped and thrust her sword forward to point it at the dark figure within the shadows. But what happened next surprised her. Three familiar dark figures simultaneously knelt in front of her.

Her sword hangs in the air as she surveyed the three men. She smelled the air around them. There was something about this scent that she could also smell from Lucien, but not quite as exact as Lucien's scent. It was familiar yet not so familiar to her. When she thought again of the things she realized, she massaged her forehead. IS she turning insane? What was she thinking?

"Mistress," they greeted her in unison. Their voices were all cold. As Midel and Larika rushed to her side, they shined the crystal ball to the three men in front of them. There were deep gashes around their bodies and fresh dark blood oozing out on new wounds. There were also some that have closed already.

"Who are you? Where is Lucien?" Yllana asked with a frown on her face. Mistress? Should she bother herself with this issue again? No. She just shrugged off the suspicious looks on Midel and Larika.

Did she just become someone's wife without them noticing? Wait, the three of them were always together in their journeys. Who would have the audacity to declare her as his wife? That someone would surely have the guts to just grab the title and pin it on her.

"Master sent us to give this to you," The biggest guy with a large gash on his silver mask, who also seemed to be the leader, walked in front of her and presented something wrapped in red cloth. Or was it really red? Yllana took it and felt like two apples were wrapped in the cloth. And it was soaking wet. "We were to wash it before giving it to you, mistress. But you came earlier than we expected." She saw something flash in the man's face. Was it a blush? He was embarrassed to give her something wet? What could be inside that someone gifted her and even sent these three men to get it for her?