“We've got company!” called out Captain Tamwell, sitting up in his saddle.

     Beside him, Captain Brailsford also sat up, shading his eyes with his free hand, and so did most of the rest of the column. Princess Ardria couldn't see anything at first, but then she saw a column of dust on the horizon, bending away to the south as it rose into a layer of high altitude wind. Horsemen, she realised. Quite a lot of them, and coming in their direction.

     “Everyone hold up your white flags,” She called out. “Nobody under any circumstance draw a weapon.”

     “You think it’s cavalry?” asked Teena from the back of Geoffham’s horse. “Carrow cavalry?"

     “We've gotten much further than I ever expected to without seeing them,” replied the Princess. “Without seeing much of anything, for that matter, except dust.” She slapped at her gown, causing a cloud of dust to lift up from it, revealing a trace of the original sky blue. It was in her hair too, and all over her skin. She must look a fright! The sooner they came across a place with enough water for her to have a good wash, the better.

     The whole country seemed to be parched. They'd seen crops withering in the fields and the only cattle had been the occasional goat nibbling on straw coloured clumps of grass, one of which the soldiers had butchered two days ago to supplement their trail rations. Every farm they came across had been abandoned, some quite recently, and their wells had contained only a few inches of dirty water, just enough for them to refill their water bottles. Every member of the Princess’s retinue had stared in horror at the withered countryside. This had, once, been the best farmland that Carrow had left, the remnant of the lush, fertile Tweenlands that they’d managed to hold onto after the rest had seceded to Helberion, and Ardria was struck by the comparison with what they’d seen on the other side of the border. Helberion had seen bumper harvests for two years now, and yet it was only a few days travel across flat, featureless lands from the devastating sights they were seeing now.

     “I estimate about a hundred men,” said Tamwell, looking through a small pair of binoculars he'd pulled from a pouch on his belt. “And I see glints of sunlight, probably reflected from weapons. They're definitely coming this way. They've probably seen our dust already.”

     “We'll wait for them here,” said Ardria. “Everyone dismount.”

     The Princess herself remained in the saddle, though. She knew the importance of creating the right first impression. She had to give the impression of casual, assured authority, even though they were all carrying flags of truce and trying to make themselves look as harmless and unthreatening as possible. She beckoned Teena over to join her, then guided her horse to the front of the column so that the approaching men would be focused on her, rather than the armed men behind her.

     It seemed to take a long time for the Carrowmen to reach them, but gradually the tiny, dark forms of mounted men could be seen at the base of the column of dust. “Carrow home guard,” said Brailsford. He had moved his men directly behind the Princess and positioned them so that their Kelvon uniforms would be clearly visible. “The old. The infirm. The only just declared human, but they have five times our numbers and there’ll be nothing wrong with their weapons. If things turn nasty, we're finished.”

     “Then let’s make sure things don’t turn nasty,” replied the Princess.

     As the riders approached they spread out, forming a line that stretched across the horizon ahead of them. “Everybody remain calm,” said Tamwell as the Carrowmen drew their swords. “There will be no fighting today.”

     We hope, the Princess silently prayed. We haven't come all this way to die now.

     “What do we do if they attack?” asked Corporal Naeve nervously.

     “They won't," Tamwell replied. "They won't risk war with Kelvon.”

     “But if they do?”

     “Then we surrender.”

     “We can't! Our duty is to protect the Princess!”

     “If fighting starts, she might be hit by a stray bullet. If they attack, we surrender and they take us to Tibre. Hopefully, we’ll be able to persuade their CO to let us continue on to Charnox.”

     “As prisoners of war! And the Princess captive! A hostage to use against King Leothan!”

     “What's important is that she gets there, not how she gets there. If I order a surrender, lay down your arms immediately, and make sure the men do the same.”

     “Our men will obey. They won't like it but they'll do it. I can't speak for Brailsford's men, though.”

     “I've already spoken to him. He knows what's at stake here.”

     Ahead of them the Carrowmen had stopped, and their commander was speaking with one of his men. Princess Ardria walked slowly forward, holding her white flag high, Tamwell and Brailsford beside her. “Parlay!” she called out in her high, clear voice. “We wish to Parlay!”

     “Stop where you are!” their commander called back. He dismounted and walked forward with two of his men. They were quite elderly, they saw. Grey haired, slightly stooped. Their leader had a neatly trimmed grey beard and wore the uniform of a Major. Ardria took that as a hopeful sign. A younger man might have been fired up with bloodlust, keen for a piece of the action, but an older man might be more prone to think before doing anything rash.

     They came to a halt several yards from each other, midway between their two forces. “I am Princess Ardria of Helberion, daughter of King Leothan of Helberion. This is Captain Tamwell of Helberion and Captain Brailsford of the Kelvon Empire. We are here with the permission of King Nilon and are on our way to Charnox to negotiate an end to hostilities between our two countries. We would be grateful if you could detail some men to escort us there.”

     “My name is Major Vellor. This is Captain Nox and Sergeant Purley. I know nothing of the mission you describe. My commanding officer, Colonel Hemdall, has said nothing to me about it. You will order your men to disarm immediately.”

     “We will not disarm,” said Brailsford. “My orders are to ensure that the Princess reaches Charnox safely. Anyone who interferes with my men risks the wrath of Kelvon.”

     Major Vellor stared at him. “Captain, Brailsford was it? You are trespassing upon Carrow soil. Being citizens of the empire does not give you the right to violate our borders. I will detail some men to escort you back to the border, where you may depart in peace. The Helberians, meanwhile, will disarm and surrender.”

     Ardria took another step closer to him. The two men standing beside him tensed up, their hands reaching for their weapons, but the Major gestured for them to stand easy. The Princess reached into her gown and produced two letters. The letter from King Leothan, addressed to King Nilon, and the letter that Captain Leese had written for them.

     “We crossed the border quite openly,” she said. “We were allowed to pass by the Captain commanding that stretch of the border. He wrote this letter, in which he states that we have his leave to be here.”

     The Major stared in astonishment. He took the Captain’s letter, tore it open and read it. “He had no authority to do this,” he said angrily. “This man has committed a serious error in judgement.”

     “The point is,” the Princess pressed on, “that it proves we crossed the border openly. We are not here to spy or sabotage. We are here to speak with your King. He us expecting us, and these men are here to ensure that I arrive safely.”

     “Then they are no longer necessary. My men will escort you the rest of the way. The Kelvon troopers will go back the way they came, and the Helberians will disarm and surrender.”

     “I would prefer that these men come with me. All of them.”

     “Impossible. Tell them to disarm or I will order my men to take them by force.”

     Captain Brailsford stepped forward to stand beside the Princess. “I and my men have a very specific reason for being here,” he said. “Princess Ardria and her men have the protection of the Kelvon Empire. Emperor Tyron himself has personally guaranteed her safety, and your King has agreed to our presence, for the purpose of facilitating a rapid end to this war. Your duty is to escort us, all of us, to Charnox, so that King Nilon and Princess Ardria can begin negotiations.”

     “I know nothing of this...”

     “You do now. Escort us to Tibre. Let Colonel Hemdall make the decision. That way, it will be his responsibility, not yours.”

     The Major took a few moments to consider his words. He stroked his beard while he studied the people facing him, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. “Very well,” he said at last. “We will all go to Tibre. Your men may keep their weapons for the moment, but any man who draws a weapon will be instantly executed, and whatever happens after that will be on your heads. I hope that is understood.”

     “It is,” replied Ardria with great relief. “Lead on then, Major.”

     Major Vellor studied her for a few moments longer, then nodded and returned to his men.

     “It feels as though we're playing a game of Hetin Roulette,” said the Princess, wiping sweat from her brow with a silk handkerchief as they also returned to their own column, “but with three bullets in the revolver, not just one. Every time we come upon Carrow soldiers we put the gun to our heads and pull the trigger. How long before there's a bullet under the hammer?”

     “Hopefully, we only have to pull the trigger one more time,” said Tamwell. “When we find out what kind of man this Colonel Hemdall is. Hopefully, he'll do what Vellor did. Dodge the responsibility by passing it up the chain of command.”

     “Who is next up the chain of command?”

     “General Hull, but the last I heard he’s based in Charnox, in the palace itself. If Hemdall sends us there, we’ll have made it. Nilon himself will come to see you.”

     “And that’s when the fun really starts,” muttered the Princess under her breath.

☆☆☆

     Princess Ardria rode with six Helberion rangers around her, three on either side, spaced so that there was no gap between them through which a Carrow bullet might find its way. Ardria felt that it made her look weak, afraid. She thought it would have looked better if she'd ridden openly, with nothing but empty air between her and the enemy weapons. It would have shown confidence, which itself might have made any trouble less likely to break out. She also thought that the human shield was unnecessary. No Carrow soldier would have the courage or the confidence to shoot at her on his own initiative, but it made the men feel better. It made them feel that they were doing their job, protecting the Princess, when the Major might change his mind and give the order to massacre them all at any moment. She endured it, therefore, and rode with her back straight and her chin up. Every inch a Princess on her way to conduct the important business of government.

     It took them most of the rest of the day to reach Tibre, and the sun was setting ahead of them when they saw its granite grey walls ahead of them. Fifteen feet tall, just as thick at the base and with cannon emplacements along its top, keeping watch over the empty plains that surrounded it. Plains from which every tree and building that might provide cover for an approaching enemy had long since been removed. Major Vellor had sent a rider ahead, to inform Colonel Hemdall of the situation, and as they approached the main gates, made of entire oaken treetrunks bound together with thick straps of steel, they opened to reveal another rider dressed in the uniform of a Corporal who rode out to meet the Major. The column halted as the two men spoke, and then the Major rode back to where the Princess and her two Captains were waiting.

     “The Colonel has given orders that none of your men will enter the city,” he told them. “They will wait outside, under guard, while Princess Ardria and two men, who may retain their weapons, enter to speak with him. Your men may make camp over there.” He pointed to a spot half a mile from the city walls, where the river that flowed from it made a U-turn, surrounding it on three sides.

     “Very good,” replied Ardria. Tamwell and Brailsford both looked unhappy, but they’d never really expected to be allowed to bring an armed force of men into an enemy military base, no matter how outnumbered they’d be. They could only hope that the very presence of Kelvon troops would be enough to deter the Carrowmen from doing anything drastic.

     Corporal Naeve took the rest of the men to the spur of land beside the river, therefore, where they began erecting tents and building cooking fires, while Major Vellor took his three guests in through the massive city gates. Inside, the city consisted almost entirely of barrack blocks, each of which looked as though it would normally hold twenty or thirty men. There were larger buildings as well, most of which were up against the outer wall. Administration buildings. Storerooms. Housing for the officers. A hospital block and so on, while the centre of the city was a single open area two hundred yards across that presumably served as a parade ground. Ardria presumed that there were also parts of the city set aside for the civilian population, along with shops, schools and so forth, but they weren't evident from this part of the city.