KGWrites

Alyx

The Tide Road, Autumn District, Kingdom of Aldiron

The Tide Road was set against the city’s outer wall, running from the north facing gate to the docks in Aldiron Bay. Like the rest of the Autumn district the buildings were all built out of stone and actually looked as if they might hold some warmth within their walls. Alyx knew that, at least on the Tide Road, they did.

The Tide Road was the city’s sailors’ paradise, full of taverns with warm beds and good food and drink, along with outposts for traders and plenty of sailors looking to sign on with crews for work.

The sun was still in the sky, it was only about mid-afternoon, but Alyx knew that her target would be open for business, the advantage of the Tide Road being near the docks was that sailors could easily find board there, no matter when their ships arrived and left. And all the other businesses they could wish for as well. The road basically never slept. For Alyx, it was ideal, she did technically work a form of night shift herself after all.  She made her way purposefully down the long streets, passing taverns where the smell of cooked meats made her stomach ache and growl. Some had people sitting outside in the sun, enjoying drinks and swapping stories with grins and laughter. On another night, if James had been with her, Alyx might have approached them, heard some of their stories and imagined herself and her brother out at sea, working the ships and living that life of adventure. But she knew it was a fantasy, two half starved gutter rats with no experience on a ship would hardly be a worthwhile investment for the crews. So, she kept walking, with a particular destination in mind.

More specifically, Alyx had a particular worker within that destination in mind.

Her eyes locked onto her target the second it came into view and she cut a straight line towards it, weaving through a half drunk group of sailors almost completely unnoticed. The building was made to look far richer than it truly was, a marble façade with tall pillars made it look almost like a temple nestled among the inns and warehouses. A short set of steps led up to a single wooden door that held a brass plate displaying the establishment’s name: The Ocean Pearl Bathhouse. Alyx pushed the door open and was hit instantly by the wave of incense and perfumes that filled the building. It was overwhelming, making Alyx fight to keep her head from spinning. She’d adjust, given time, but at first it nearly floored anyone who entered.

Inside, Alyx found a small waiting area, complete with fancy tall plants and flowers that wound their way up latticework walls, the floor was formed of marble tiles that once were black and white, but the black had faded to grey over time and the clean white had darkened to cream. The air was thick with damp steam. Alyx could hear the sounds of gentle chatter coming from behind a series of separating walls that hid the main body of the bathhouse from the front door, meaning she wasn’t totally alone. Which was fine, she’d already been planning on dropping a couple of extra falcons to get a private bath anyway.

Walking down into the waiting area, Alyx found herself standing in front of a small booth on the wall, looking into a little office. Inside was a woman, her back turned to Alyx as she wrote something in a ledger. Alyx chuckled softly to herself, not surprised to find that Pearl herself was behind the desk, she liked to keep an eye on how her establishment ran, and there was no better place to do it from. Hearing the sound, the woman in the office turned, showing a sun darkened face that was older than Alyx by at least a couple of decades, if not more. Wrinkles were beginning to show, and her once raven black hair was slowly turning a steely grey, a development that seemed to progress further every time Alyx returned. Pearl walked over to Alyx at the desk, smiling broadly, already lifting a crisp set of towels from a shelf, wordlessly placing it next to her on the desk. Alyx smiled and nodded in thanks and when the woman reached out across the bar for a hug Alyx gladly returned it. Despite her age making her body look frail, Pearl still had the strength of her many years as a sailor and delivered hugs that felt as if they could crack bones.

“Alyx my dear, it’s been too long! Too long!” Pearl grinned broadly as she released Alyx from her constrictor like hug. Alyx smiled apologetically and nodded. Though she immediately spotted Pearl looking behind her and up towards the door.

“I know Pearl, I’m sorry. I haven’t been able to get enough to come down here and see you until now. Hopefully it should be easier now spring has come.” Pearl nodded in understanding, while not a thief like Alyx or James, she was no stranger to having to struggle through hardship to earn enough money to live. She gently placed a wrinkled hand on Alyx’s shoulder and squeeze. Her eyes again flickered over Alyx’s shoulder.  

“And no sign of your brother today? He didn’t seem up for joining you in rolling in… whatever that is your covered in?” Pearl said with a laugh, though her nose did wrinkle slightly as she spoke, her eyes tracing Alyx up and down. Alyx shook her head.

“Not today, James wasn’t part of… the last job I took on.” Alyx sheepishly ran her hand through her hair. She knew Pearl was as like as James was to lecture her on unnecessary risks. But instead, Pearl redirected the conversation.

“Ah, a shame. I do love the talks we have on his visits. But if you’re alone, perhaps there’s a certain bath, and perhaps a certain assistant, that you may want to hire, hmm?” Pearl smiled knowingly, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Alyx lowered her head, feeling a blush rise in her cheeks and ran her hand through her hair again, trying to push an annoying lock of hair that refused to stay with the rest of her hair back into place. Was she that easy to read?

“I mean, only if she’s not busy? I don’t want to be a bother.” She said, the earlier familiarity and confidence fading into a bashful, quiet voice. Pearl laughed and laid her hand on Alyx’s shoulder.

“My dear, if Samantha knows that you’rehere she’s never busy.” She said, looking into Alyx’s eyes with a smile. Alyx knew it was a lie of course, that there were plenty of clients like her that Samantha would happily work with. She knew Samantha only really saw her as a friend at most, and it was only because she paid that she even entertained any time with Alyx. But a friend was at least a start, and try as she might, even knowing that Samantha only really wanted the coin in her purse, Alyx couldn’t help but be smitten with the woman. She looked down with a blush again, a wistful smile playing at her lips and silently raised the coin purse James had given her to place it on the desk.

Wordlessly Pearl took the purse, counted out some coin and placed the remainder on top of the towels before sliding them over to Alyx, nodding her head to one of the freestanding dividers in the room.

Taking the towels, Alyx walked behind the divider and stripped out of her dirty clothes, leaving them in a crumpled pile. She carefully hid the coin purse within the folds of her cloak and ensured her dagger was safely stored. Taking the opportunity, she looked at herself in a freestanding mirror in a corner.

The hunger of winter had left her thin, able to see the lower part of her ribs through her tawny brown skin. Her hair was longer than it should be, and mud and damp had matted it together in places, in desperate need of a wash, a brush and probably a cut. She spotted bruising around her right shoulder; she must have hit herself harder in her fall the night before than she’d thought. Still, it’s been a lot worse before, she thought, looking at the pale scar that crossed the flattened bridge of her nose. That had been a particularly bad break a few years back. A few bruises and being a little thinner than she’d like had little weight compared to that hit.

Satisfied that she didn’t look too awful, Alyx wrapped one of the towels around her torso and walked into the bathhouse. Behind her, she heard Pearl quickly hurry around to the changing area and grab her clothes and rolled her eyes with a smile. She knew the older woman would have them washed, dried and perfectly folded by the time she emerged from the baths. Sometimes Pearl just couldn’t help herself.

Within the bathhouse itself was a wide pool and a few smaller ones off to the side. A few sailors and workers moved and lounged around the area, relaxing in the steam and warm water.

Alyx moved past all of them though, heading through one of the smaller doors at the back of the room, into a much smaller chamber. Plants lined the walls and someone had already started burning incense in the space. Steam rose from the round bath in the centre of the floor, and it was all lit entirely by warm, flickering candlelight from a series of small candle groupings scattered around the space. But there was only one thing in the room that dominated Alyx’s attention.

A tall woman, with skin as pale as the purest white marble, unspoiled by the heat of the bathhouse, stood by the bath. She had straw blonde hair tied in a long braid and tossed over one shoulder. She was dressed in a white toga that made her practically glow in the soft candlelight. To Alyx, Samantha was a gift from the gods of The Village themselves.

As Alyx entered the room and let the door close behind her, Samantha’s flawless features split into a glowing smile. Alyx barely had time to put her spare towels down on a bench at the side of the room before she was scooped into a tight hug by the woman which she eagerly returned, basking in the scent of Samantha’s distinctive lavender perfume, a smell she had missed desperately.

She was snapped out of her blissful stupor when she felt Samantha’s hand tangle itself through her short hair and pull her in to kiss her. Alyx eagerly returned the kiss, holding on as long as she could, as if she were afraid that if she let go, Samantha would disappear. After what seemed like an eternity, they pulled apart and Alyx smiled broadly.

“I missed you.” She said simply and Samantha chuckled, a sound that sounded to Alyx more beautiful than any song from The Minstrel themselves.

“I missed you too.” She replied before she released Alyx from her hug and moved her hand to grip her waist instead, already guiding her towards the warmth of the bath. Letting her lead, Alyx quickly removed the towel she was wrapped in and stepped down into the warm water, already feeling her tense muscles relaxing.

Sitting down, Alyx tilted her head back and closed her eyes, sighing contentedly as the water washed over her. There was a gentle clinking sound as Samantha laid something down at the side of the bath and Alyx recognised the sound of a decanter pouring wine into a clay goblet. Following the sound, Alyx lifted the drink to her mouth and took a sip, savouring the sweet warmth of the wine.

A quiet sloshing sound came from somewhere in front of Alyx and she felt soft, perfect hands run across her shoulders as Samantha stepped down into the bath. A gentle kiss brushed her lips and her heart jumped in her chest.

She felt a hand grip her arm and then a sponge began working across her skin as she felt the water shift as Samantha moved to sit across her lap. Slowly Samantha’s touches moved to the bruising she’d spotted earlier.

“Now this is definitely new. Has my thief got a new story to tell me?” The sing song voice that haunted Alyx’s most private thoughts cooed and Alyx smiled. My thief, the words made her heart beat like a drum in her chest.

She took another sip of wine and opened her eyes. At that moment she’d easily have traded everything for that to be the sight that greeted her every time. Alright, so I’m definitely a sucker for a pretty face and pale skin. But Gods, is it worth it.

Iona

The Tide Road, Autumn District, Kingdom of Aldiron – Two Hours Later

Iona was very, ridiculously lost. She had always prided herself on her knowledge of Aldiron’s streets, having spent hours of boring lessons pouring over maps but apparently, she hadn’t taken them in as well as she thought.

Aldiron city was set on a hill, with the Winter and Autumn Districts built in a sprawl at the flat land around the foot of the hill. Only three roads connected them to the Spring and Summer Districts which were built upon the hill itself and separated from them by a second, inner wall. The Spring District covered the lower part of the hill, with a steep downwards slope to its western side that went down to the richer docks in Aldiron bay. It had always struck Iona as odd, and a little sad, that the wall dividing the richer and poorer districts extended into the bay a way, so that there were two separate dock areas created. One for the tradesmen and privateers, what people at the palace would call common folk, in the Autumn District. And a second for visiting lords and the richer tradesmen set in the Cliffside face of the upper districts. Further up the hill from Spring lay Summer, where many of the highest lords lived. And set at the top of it all, atop the cliff like a giant, inescapable sentinel was the Palace. It was a truly amazing spectacle of a building, even from so far away as Iona was now. Although she much preferred her current view to being any closer.

When she had left The Village, Iona hadn’t really had a plan, just to get away. She had spent the morning putting distance between herself and her guards, quickly heading downhill. Eventually she had slipped through the western most gate in the inner wall and moved down the Spring Stair into the Autumn District. But this had marked the first time she had been through that gate on one of her little “excursions” and she had quickly gotten turned around on the maze-like streets of the Autumn District and lost her way.

Iona gritted her teeth in frustration and looked around. She was clearly in a trade hub of some sort, taverns and tradehouses lined the street, aside from a few warehouses and one particularly ostentatious looking bathhouse. On any other day Iona would be tempted to go in to one of the taverns and see what was on offer, maybe have a drink with someone who didn’t constantly have to agree with her and find her the most interesting person they’d ever spoken to just because she was named Ravellan. But today, she was more concerned about the look of some of the patrons. Most of the men were either burly sailors or members of some street gang or another, but it seemed all of them had one thing in common. They were all drunk. And more than a few of them had their snakelike eyes tracing Iona, watching her moves, and her coin purse. She gently laid her hand on the hilt of her dagger and quickened her pace, heading towards the docks.

It wasn’t long though until a group decided to try their luck, appearing on all sides of Iona in an instant. A man, more fat than muscle, with ugly blotches covering his clammy pale skin, stepped up in front of her, uncomfortably close.

“Where’s you going in such a hurry darlin’? Nowhere of interest for one as finely dressed as you down that way.” He stepped in close, and she could smell sweet rum on his breath, she pulled away, stepping back. But she hit resistance. Turning she saw a second man, but this one was far different to his friend. He seemed to be a slab of pure muscle, even larger than some of her guards and his lopsided grin mixed with cold, unfeeling eyes made Iona sick to the pit of her stomach. Then she felt something grip her wrist, pulling her around. The fat man had gripped her arm and was grinning at her.

“Why don’t you pass us that there purse? Maybe be so kind as to buy me and my mates a drink?” He said, laughing as he reached around to her belt to grope for the coin purse.

Thinking fast, surrounded as she was, Iona only saw one solution. And she slammed her knee up between the man’s legs into his own “coin purse”. Hard.

The man’s hold slackened instantly as he cried out in pain, clutching at his injured “jewels”. Iona tore herself away and shoved past him, she knew she wouldn’t be able to outrun them though. So, she spun around and hauled the fat man up, tearing her dagger from her belt and pressing it to his throat.

“Back off!” She snarled at the man’s companions, she could now clearly see that as well as the muscled man, there were two wiry, rat faced men and a woman with a shaved head and an incredible number of piercings. The muscled man looked at his companions and together they all began to laugh.

“Or what?” Rat Face One asked.

“I’ll cut his throat.” Iona responded, trying hard to keep her voice level and strong. Especially while she was confused at their sudden amusement. This made them all laugh even harder. Lady Piercings nearly doubled over laughing hysterically.

“What? With a dagger what’s still in the scabbard?” She asked through fits of laughter. Iona’s eyes flicked down to the blade of her weapon, and she groaned. It was indeed still in its scabbard. In her hurry to tear it from her belt she must have taken the whole thing. Ahead of her the muscled man nodded to his companions who all started forwards, making to grab her from both sides. Iona cursed as she realised that any hope of escape was long gone, no way that she could fight them, and no way she’d be able to outrun them. Rat Face One came up one her right, his laugh a mad hyena’s cackle.

Then that cackle suddenly became a screech of agony.

Everyone stopped as the man dropped, writhing as he clutched his leg which gushed crimson blood from behind his knee. Standing above him, holding a bloody dagger was a tall young woman, with pale brown skin and short, messily cut brown hair. Her hazel eyes flashed to Iona and seemed to bore into her for a second, then she grinned at her.

“I’d start running.” She suggested. Iona took a second to process what had just happened, her mouth moving to respond before her brain caught up and she nodded, shoved the fat man down to the ground and took off sprinting. She looked back in time to see her saviour dodge nimbly around Lady Piercings’ attempt to tackle her and slash her dagger up Rat Face Two’s cheek, sending him stumbling. Then the brown-haired girl took off after Iona, slamming a kick into the fat man’s face on the way past for good measure. Behind her the muscled man had also taken off running, sprinting after them, Lady Piercings close behind. The brown-haired girl soon caught up to Iona and gave her that cocky grin again before wrapping Iona’s hand in her own and pulling her along.

“Through here, quickly.” She said, dragging Iona into an alley between two buildings. As they ran, her saviour pulled piles of crates down, forcing their pursuers to pick their way around them. Then the girl pulled Iona right and they turned into a second alley. They barged between two men conducting some sort of illicit trade deal, prompting angry shouts that followed them as they sprinted. Looking ahead, Iona saw that they were sprinting straight at a wooden door. Only she saw a problem.

“It’s still closed!” She yelled as she ran, her lungs burning for air. Beside her the woman laughed.

“Tuck your head down, shoulder first, right above the handle.” She called out. It took Iona a moment to realise what she meant but then she quickly did as she had been told. Without stopping or even slowing, the pair charged straight at the wooden panel.

With a crash the door burst open and they tumbled inside. Iona’s saviour tucked into a roll that brought her back to her feet and allowed her to turn and slam the door back into its frame, before she quickly grabbed and dragged a crate across to block it. Iona’s arrival was somewhat less graceful, she bounced off the door and fell face first into the building’s wooden floor, feeling her lip burst and tasting coppery blood. Groaning, she picked herself up and looked around the building. Surrounding them, stacked floor to ceiling, were wooden crates. Iona guessed they must be in one of the warehouses on the dockside.

A crash from behind her made Iona spin and face the door. Their pursuers must have reached the other side and were trying to beat it down, only the crate the other woman had moved into place holding it closed. The woman in question was looking at the crate sceptically, shifting her jaw from side to side as she thought.

“Won’t hold them for long.” She decided eventually and turned to Iona. “And we would only keep this chase going if we ran out now.” Iona widened her eyes in shock as she thought that the woman was seriously about to suggest fighting them. But her saviour pointed up at the stacked crates.

“Can you climb?”

A minute later the door flew open, and Lady Piercings and the slab of muscle walked in. They looked around for a moment before sprinting out of the door at the far side of the warehouse. From her position crouched behind a crate at the top of the stacks, Iona watched them leave before she breathed a sigh of relief and slid down to sit next to the other woman who was panting heavily, trying to get her breath back. Eventually the woman began to chuckle and leaned back against the crate, looking up into the rafters with a strange faraway smile.

“Damn. We left your dagger.” She said after a moment. Iona looked down at her belt, she hadn’t felt herself lose it during the chaos. She cursed lightly, but eventually she too began to chuckle, although she winced as smiling pulled at her split lip. They sat like that for a moment, just laughing to themselves and catching their breath, before Iona turned to her saviour.

“Thank you, I don’t know what I’d have done without you back there.” She said earnestly. The woman gave her a cheery grin.

“Don’t worry, I just gave those bastards some long overdue justice.” She held out her hand. “Name’s Alyx, Alyx Cobalt.” Iona grabbed the offered hand and shook it firmly.

“Iona.” She said simply, the less Alyx knew, the better. Alyx tilted her head, curiosity flashing in her eyes.

“Oh, like the Princess?” She asked, Iona breathed an internal sigh of relief and gave her a grin.

“Yeah, I guess I was named after her or something.” Iona replied with a shrug, feigning indifference. Alyx looked her up and down slowly.

“Nice clothes, not exactly Autumn or Winter material.” She observed, gesturing to herself to back up her claim. Iona took a proper look at her, she didn’t look old, somewhere in her early twenties maybe, and her clothing was indeed not as fine as Iona’s. It was clean, in fact so clean it looked almost freshly cleaned. Though it was still a patchwork of stitched up tears and new patches and it didn’t escape Iona’s notice that the clothing was all dark colours, blues, greys and blacks. Her dark brown hair seemed to have been choppily cut with a knife to keep it short. Despite its messy appearance, it was clean and seemed to fall into graceful waves, despite the roughness of the treatment it must endure. Apart from a single dark lock that kept falling from her fringe across her forehead. Whenever it did Alyx would blow at it and flick her head to try to return it to its position. Her light brown skin was rosy from the chase, and there was a short pink scar that crossed the flattened bridge of her nose, she must have badly broken it in the past.

When Iona didn’t respond to her, Alyx carried on regardless.

“You Spring then?” She asked and Iona nodded quickly, probably too quickly. Alyx chuckled.

“Ah, you must get to the Oasis pretty often up there then.” She stated, as if it were an obvious fact. Iona had never heard of the Oasis, but she figured it must be a tavern of some description in the Spring district, so she nodded. A flicker of something crossed Alyx’s face, her eyes narrowed, and the corner of her mouth turned up in a smirk. A second later it was gone, leaving Iona unsure whether she had imagined it.

They sat in silence for a moment before Iona tasted copper seeping between her teeth from her lip and she spat blood onto the crate next to her. Alyx looked at her in concern and made to tear off a strip of her sleeve to help her mop up the blood, but Iona smiled and shook her head before reaching up and untying her hair, letting it spill out across her shoulders as she used the strip of silver dress to clean the blood from her chin. Next to her, Iona heard Alyx’s breath hitch as she watched Iona’s mane of fiery orange hair fall from the ponytail to fall across her shoulders. Then Alyx sat back and watched a Pigeon as it flitted through the rafters above them, lost in her thoughts. Eventually she began to laugh again, and she shook her head to herself.

“What?” Iona asked, curious. Alyx looked at her for a second, still chuckling.

“Just thinking about what my brother would say if he’d been here. I mean, I cut that guy’s tendons in his knee, he’ll probably never walk properly again. And I cut up his friend’s face pretty well too, he’ll not look in a mirror without thinking of me ever again.” Despite the grimness of the topic, Alyx seemed not only unfazed but possibly even upbeat about the whole situation. Iona could slightly understand why, she wasn’t exactly going to lose sleep over those two, considering what they would have done to her.

“He’d tell me off for taking such a risk with a gang like them, that there could be more of them that might want revenge.” She drew herself up taller, straightening her back and putting on an exaggerated frown. “Alyxandra, you should have thought it through before throwing yourself into danger like that.” She said in a deeper voice, clearly doing an impression.

“He sounds like some of the people from my part of town.” Iona laughed, her mind trailing back to the overly serious Sir Junice. Alyx waved a hand dismissively.

“He’s just looking out for me is all. He’s been like that since we were children. I’m sure he’d still have helped out today.”

They sat together like that for a few moments, to make sure that their pursuers hadn’t turned around, before they climbed back down the stacked crates to the ground and made their way out to the street. The warehouse was on the ocean front, and Iona shivered as the wind from the bay seemed to cut through her clothing as if it wasn’t there. The air was full of the wailing cries of seagulls and the gruff shouts of sailors as they loaded or unloaded their cargo. However, the cold sea breeze wasn’t the biggest problem.

The two of them had practically just walked into a squad of guards, all bearing shields showing the silver falcon of Aldiron flying across a forest green field. City watch, Iona recognised the armoured uniforms. The first couple of soldiers stepped around them, thinking them nothing more than the usual commoners of Aldiron and Iona closed her eyes, taking Alyx’s hand in hers. Daring to hope that the rest of them would pass thinking the same.

But it was not to be.

“Iona?” She recognised the voice instantly and on any other day she’d have been glad to see its owner after being lost in the streets so long. On any other day. But she had just started having fun again. She forced herself to smile.

“Lord Captain Haster, good to see you.” She said, keeping her tone as neutral as she could. The man before her was tall and athletically built, with dark brown skin and hair cropped close to his head. He wore armour made from steel plates, joined with chainmail and leather. A shield was slung over his back and a spear was held in his right hand. A sword was strapped at his side. He smiled back and bowed to her, his armour seeming not to hinder his movement at all. But Iona caught a hint of something else in his eyes. Concern.

Next to Iona, Alyx shifted uncomfortably, keeping her head lowered and her eyes fixed on the cobbles, clearly disliking that she was surrounded by armoured guards. Absent mindedly, Iona began to suck her bottom lip, as she always did when she was nervous. Only this time she was met with a sudden stinging pain and copper taste. She suddenly realised what had made Haster so concerned as felt more blood weep from her lip.

“Are you alright Princess? What, happened to you?” He asked, but even before she could respond, he had turned an accusing gaze on Alyx, who took a step back in fear.

“You. How did this happen? Did you see? Did you do this?” Haster barked out quickly and Alyx stepped back again, her mouth moving but struggling to find any words. Angrily, Iona lashed her hand out and grabbed Haster’s outstretched arm at the wrist. Pulling him towards her so she could fix his steel grey eyes with a withering glare. Iona’s gaze was the stuff of legends within the palace and its servants, and Haster had encountered the princess enough over her years to know not to push the matter when faced with it. But still she made a point of almost throwing his arm back down to his side.

“Stand down Lord Captain! You’ll not accuse her of anything further. If it wasn’t for her, I’d probably have a lot worse than a split lip right now. She saved me from those who looked to harm me, so I’ll not have you treat her like a criminal. Am I understood?” Her glare did not falter in the slightest as she spoke, and even a guard commander as experienced as Haster bowed his head under the onslaught.

“Of course, your majesty. My apologies good lady, I let my emotions get the better of me. It’s been a… trying morning.” He turned a look to Iona that left her in little doubt as to the origins of the trials he spoke of. It would seem Violet had been right about how much trouble yet another runaway day would get her into. Then he turned back to Alyx.

“It would seem we have you to thank for keeping the Princess safe.” He offered Alyx an apologetic smile and extended his hand. For her part, Alyx’s eyes still said to Iona that she was fighting the temptation to bolt, but after a second she regained the rest of her outward composure. She gave Haster a strange salute, tipping her hand away from her brow and grinning at him.

“You’re welcome sir, as is the King of course.” She replied. Haster laughed and nodded.

“I’ll be sure to tell him.” He replied and Alyx nodded once, smiling. Then she turned to face Iona and gave her another of those grins that the Princess was already coming to enjoy.

“And with the Princess in your capable hands, I will take my leave.” She bowed to Iona, slightly shakily and nowhere near as gracefully as Haster had. Alyx’s hazel eyes locked with Iona’s own and the princess saw the fear fade briefly into thanks as Alyx smiled at her, a genuine smile.

“Your Highness. An honour to have met you, and of course, saving your life was my pleasure.” Then she spun on her heel and moved out from amongst the guards into the bustling crowd of the docklands.

“Alyx!” Iona called after her, making the woman turn, a quizzical look in her eyes. Iona reached down and took a silver ring from her index finger on her left hand before tossing it to the young woman, who caught it expertly, never taking her eyes off the shining metal. She looked down at the metal in her hand like it was something from a dream before looking up to Iona in clear bewilderment.

“Thank you, for saving me.” Iona explained and she could swear that even from as far away as Alyx now was, she could see the rosy blush rise into her cheeks. Then the crowd shifted, and Alyx became just another figure, moving quickly away.

As she stared after Alyx, it dawned on Iona that her identity as the Princess had been revealed and the girl had shown no surprise. She knew exactly who I was Iona realised with a bemused laugh, of course she did.

Then she suddenly became aware that she was lacking a bit of weight on the back of her belt and with a gasp, moved her hand to her coin purse.

Gone.

Clever little thief. Iona began laughing, prompting confused looks from the guards around her. And with that, the Princess turned and fell into step beside Lord Captain Haster as he and his men marched her back through the city toward the palace.

Iona was glad of the walk, she wasn’t exactly looking forward to talking with her father after this little excursion.