"Go away," Inez growled. "Now."

"Come on ladies, don't be so cold," the man chided them. "We already bought the girl for the night, but I don't know that she'll last all twelve of us. You both look a lot riper, and we can make it worth your while."

Inez could see Medya's eyes narrow at the mention of the girl and knew this wasn't going to go well. "How much does he charge for the girl?" Inez wondered.

"Oh? So, you like the girl too? That sounds even better!"

"You should leave. The girl is ours. You ride on. If you stay here, I'll gut you," Inez snarled. At the sound, the other men stood up, staring at the corner, and moving closer. Several even pulled out weapons.

"You picked the wrong group to mess with lassie. You'll take every one of us before we're done with you!" the man snickered, reaching out a hand to grope Inez's breast.

He never made it.

Medya moved like a blur. Before Inez could even draw the short sword, Medya had pinned the man's hand to the table with a dagger that Inez hadn't even seen her draw. His scream was still echoing in the room when the Kittani stood up and then spun to the other men, sinking into a crouch, while watching them carefully. Once Inez was up, the first man tried punching her, only to have Inez keep her word and slice him deep, just above his belt, spilling his innards all over the table. Inez then took two steps around the table to stand next to Medya, ignoring the screaming man behind her.

"You should all run now," Medya said in a raspy purr that made Inez's belly melt with desire. She'd known that her friend was dangerous, but this was much more than she'd expected.

"Fuck you!" yelled one of the other men, drawing a sword. Others soon followed as they saw their comrade sinking to the floor, his hand finally pulling free from the dagger.

Inez readied her sword, but Medya just dropped her hands to her thighs, pulling a pair of enchanted wands out and pointing them at the men. Whispering words one after the other, the thief spat greenish balls of acid from one wand, and those of hot red fire from the other. Each time she pointed a wand, another man was screaming. They were either rolling around on fire, or their chest was being eaten by acid. In under a minute, they were all down. Some were already dead, while others just moaned or screamed. Inez was shocked into silence at the outcome of the quick fight, but quickly gathered her wits and walked over to the bodies strewn about the bar. Working quickly with the sword, she put those that weren't dead out of their misery with quick slices, before rifling through their belongings. They needed items for the road after all, and princess or not their gear was her booty.

Medya strode over to the tavernkeeper, who stood stunned at the scene in front of him. "Magic is illegal!" he sputtered out.

"So, I've been told," Medya scoffed. "Do I look like the kind of person who cares? Do you think I should I have just let those men rape me and my friend?"

"They'll lock you up!"

"They'll do nothing. How much for the girl?" Medya asked.

"Two silver for the night," he offered, seeing a way to make some money.

"No, how much to keep her?" Medya persisted.

Behind her, Inez was done rifling through the men's packs and pouches, coming up with quite a bit of gold and silver as well as some dried jerky that would do them well on the road.

"The girl isn't for sale," the man insisted.

"The girl is coming with us. Now, I can either pay for her, or you can join the others in the afterlife. Give me a price," Medya snarled at the man.

"Fine. Ten gold and you can have her," the man spat out. "I'll go get her."

"No. Don't move. Call her, you're never going to be near her alone again," Medya ordered sharply.

The man broke into a sweat, but finally turned and looked back at the kitchen. "Katja! Get out here!" The young blonde came out, her head downcast. "Go, you belong to these two now."

She looked up at the pair, her eyes hopeful and a small smile on her face. Medya put 10 pieces of gold on the bar. "We're taking six of the men's horses as well, you can keep the rest to do with what you wish. Consider it a bonus."

"What are you going to do with the gold?" Inez asked the man as she examined one of the blades that she took off a bandit's body.

"Well, I guess I better find another slave girl now," the man muttered.

"I figured that would be your reply," Inez countered, then skewered his throat with the bandit's blade. "Slavery is illegal after all."

Medya glanced at Inez, a small smile on her face and inwardly thrilled that she had done that. She hated slaver owners as well, and now there was one less. She slipped the ten gold back into her pouch and then turned to the young girl. "Katja, you can come with us, but you're no longer a slave, you're just our friend. My name is Medya, and this is Inez. We're going to find you a new home, okay?"

"Really?" the girl gasped in surprise, happy tears in her eyes.

"Yes, really," Inez agreed. "Now show us the kitchens, we need to get as much food as we can before we get on the road."

Katja gave each of them a quick hug, and then raced back into the kitchen. Before long, they had several still warm loaves of bread wrapped in towels, a dozen sausages and ten eggs that could make a little breakfast. They also stripped several clean blankets from beds in the rooms upstairs to help keep them warm at night. As a little surprise for the princess, Medya even found the copper tub in the bathroom, and was able to take it as well as some towels and soap. All went into the enchanted backpack for safekeeping, and then they picked out horses to ride.

Before long, they were each on a horse riding eastbound, with three more horses on leads behind them. It hadn't been the visit to town that they had wanted, but they had found plenty of food and mounts to aid their journey. They both wanted baths even more now, but they couldn't risk staying near the inn, and the tent would have to do for sleeping again. Medya just kept smiling under her cowl at the thought of surprising Inez with the tub.

As for Katja, this was a dream come true. She had no memories of a life before the tavern, and to be rescued by two women as she had been, was beyond her imagination. She didn't think she'd stop smiling for a week, or maybe a month!

They travelled until the sun was setting in the west, and Katja looked as though she would fall from the horse, she was so tired. The road was empty, so they just rode a bit off it to keep out of sight of anyone who might come along, and set up their camp near a small pond. It was cold enough that it had ice on it, but Medya cast her fire spheres and melted it quickly to the delight of Katja.

Soon, there was a cheery fire cooking with sausages on a stick, and Medya had the tent up with the furs and blankets to snuggle together in. When she was done, she went behind the tent and set up the tub, filling it with water from the frigid pond. Placing a fire under it, she lit it and let it warm up the water while the three of them enjoyed the sausage on pieces of one of the bread loaves.

"This is the best day of my life," sighed Katja, the grease from a sausage dripping down her chin.

Inez and Medya just shared a smile. Inez always liked it when they ate, because it meant Medya's cowl was down, and she could see more of her beautiful face. She wished a day would come where she didn't have to hide herself, but that might be a long time coming.

Katja suddenly stopped eating, looking at Medya with a tilted head as she took in what she was looking at. "Are you a cat person?"

"We're called Kittani, and yes I am," Medya smiled softly, lowering her hood so Katja could see her ears.

Katja stood up and walked closer to where Medya sat, and softly ran her fingers through her hair, scratching behind her ears. She had a soft smile on her face, as though she had just learned a secret. Which in this case, she had. "I didn't think the day could get any better, but it just did!"

Medya could have made it even better still but keeping Inez's identity a secret was paramount until they were safe. "We are very glad we found you. You didn't deserve to be in that situation."

"Even if it did cost us a bath!" grumped Inez.

"Is a bath worth that much?" Medya teased the princess.

"Yes!" Inez exclaimed.

"What would you give me if I could give you a nice warm bath, right now?" Medya asked, with a sultry smile that made Inez gulp.

Inez felt her whole body go numb, not trusting herself to speak after the smoldering look that Medya had just flashed her. "Any... Anything you want." She finally stammered up.

The thief stood up and walked over to her, holding her hand out for her, and Inez took it, letting her be pulled to her feet. Medya led her around the tent where she was stunned to see a steaming tub of water, with a fire next to it. A towel and bar of soap were on a rock next to it.

"How?" Inez asked, totally at a loss.

"I thought you knew I was a wizard?" Medya whispered up into her ear, causing a shiver to make its way down her spine.

"Yay! A bath!" Katja exclaimed.

"Yes, a bath," confirmed Medya to the young girl. "I think we all could use one."

Inez turned slowly and wrapped her arms around Medya, leaning her head down and kissing her cheek. "You're amazing, you truly are."

"Don't say that. I haven't told you what I want yet," Medya whispered huskily.

Inez may not have known what Medya wanted, but she hoped that the lovely Kittani wanted the same thing that Inez did.