"And we haven't trained together," Lieutenant Alyn added, looking about the riverbanks in concern, biting at his lip. "I served in the Yethulyn Bears before I Joined the Royal Guard-it took me months to learn the different ways the Royal Guard fight. Understanding of tactics changes from region to region and unit to unit-some men will charge an ambush, others will dismount to fight on foot, others may try to outflank. We're only going to add new militia soldiers as we continue, how can we know how these new additions will behave? To say nothing of this great fruit salad of units we've accumulated."
Tyrun finished chewing a bite of fruit and spat out the pips. "At least you youngsters ask the right questions. Now you need to learn that not every question has an answer. To both of you, I say simply that we do the best we can. M'Lady, I regret to inform you that we are a rabble. No helping it. If we get hit in mid-column on the march, we'll get split. I've instructed ranks along the line to circle and enfold, if any such hit us… but you know the difficulty of anything so rapid in this terrain.
"On the bright side, this is the easy bit. Making this rabble work against thousands of Hadryn and probably Banneryd heavy cavalry, especially if they get wind of us and have time to prepare… that'll be the test."
A man was running along the bank, feet slipping on stones in his haste. Lieutenant Alyn moved to intercept, but Tyrun barked a command and he was let through. "M'Lady!" he said, full of haste and alarm, but no apparent fear. It was not an attack, then. He seemed instead
… bewildered. "M'Lady, we found someone on the road behind, following us. The scout did not know what to do… he thought… he thought perhaps it was best to come to you."
Sasha frowned at him, then looked beyond to where several soldiers were accompanying a somewhat scrawny dussieh pony along the riverbank. Upon the saddle sat a most unmartial figure, small and swathed in an oversized cloak. One soldier led the pony, while others moved alongside, and yet more stopped what they were doing and stared. Sasha began walking, her guard moving with her… and then, with a sickening twist of fear in her stomach, she broke into a run.
The soldier with the pony's halter stopped as she arrived, and another assisted the slim, shivering figure from the saddle, as carefully as handling eggshells. A dress was visible, briefly, beneath the cloak. Sasha grabbed the girl by the shoulders, pulled back the hood and stared disbelievingly at the young, pale, teeth-chattering face within. Sofy.
"Oh no," was all she could think to say. If Koenyg had been inclined to spare her neck before, he certainly wouldn't now.
"Sasha!" Tears filled Sofy's eyes, part exhaustion, part fear, and partly at the sight of her sister's horrified expression. "Sasha, I w
… was scared! K… Koenyg was going to m… make me spend more time with those t… tyrants… and… "
Sasha grabbed Sofy's hands in her own gloved ones and held one to her cheek. "Hells, you're freezing!" She pulled aside the cloak, revealing nothing more than a palace dress beneath, its shiny green fabric muddied about the hem. "You rode all through the night in just this? It gets cold away from your warm fireplaces at night, Sofy, even in summer! What were you thinking?"
"Sasha?" Sofy pleaded. "Sasha, don't be angry with me! I… I didn't know what else to do…!"
Sasha put both hands to her head, half-turning with the strengthening urge to scream, or to break something. More men were clustering about. "Princess Sofy!" she heard them saying urgently, one to the other. It spread through their ranks with concern and surprise. This was just what she needed…
"There… there was a big confusion after the executions…" Sofy continued, her voice shaking, "… men running around, saying… saying there w… was rebellion and that you'd escaped. E… even the gate guards weren't paying attention. Suddenly, there were people rushing everywhere I took the horse from the stable and I just rode! I rode like you showed me, Sasha, those times before! I just… I just had to get out before..
"You're going back!" Sasha rounded on her. Sofy stared at her in shock. "You can't stay here, Sofy! This is an army! People are going to get killed, do you understand that?"
Past her temper, Sasha half-expected Sofy to collapse into helpless tears. "I'm not marrying that pig!" Sofy screamed instead. "I'm not! I won't marry a man who kills serrin children and calls it sport! I'd rather die!"
A hushed, incredulous silence settled over those near, as those further away scrambled to see or hear better. The sisters' stares locked, Sasha completely at a loss, Sofy tear-streaked and desperately furious, her slim shoulders heaving.
"Can't send her back now, M'Lady," said Tyrun in a low voice from Sasha's side. "We'll have northerners in pursuit, scouts skirmishing, village recruits on the trail, no doubt all tangling and making a mess. It's amazing she got this far without challenge. You send her back alone and she's likely dead by mistake. And we can't spare her an escort."
"Oh dear lords," Sasha muttered. Her temper boiled, desperate for release. She was angry at everyone-at every Goeren-yai soldier in the column for plotting without telling her, for expecting so much from her, for thrusting her into such a position without so much as a "Do you mind?". And at Koenyg for being a dangerous fool, at her father for his blind worship, at Kessligh for leaving her, at Sofy for needing her and at herself for… "Oh dear spirits, just stop!" she thought to herself, furiously. There were men watching, men whose lives now depended to no small degree upon the decisions she made. Back in Baerlyn, arguing with Kessligh, she might have been able to afford losing her temper. Here, she could not.
"I can ride," Sofy said in a small voice, fidgeting with some uncharacteristically tangled hair. "I think I'm quite good at it. I didn't fall off even once. I won't get in anyone's way."
"If you ride in this column, Sofy, you are in the way," Sasha retorted. "Everyone's in everyone else's way, that's what riding in formation is."
"She'll be fine," said Andreyis from one side, gallantly. "She can ride with me." Sofy gazed at him. Wiped at her tears, ducking her head shyly.
Sasha gave the young man a harsh look. "And what are you going to wear?" she asked Sofy. "You can't wear that dress… look, no wonder you nearly froze, you must have been riding with it up over your knees! I've a spare shirt and that's it, and I'll bet none of the men have anything your size…"
"M'Lady," volunteered a Black Hammers lieutenant Sasha did not know, "I believe we can find something among the men. We've got a few smaller lads, and even a soldier knows how to tailor in an emergency. If you were to leave the princess in my care, I believe we could find her something suitable."
Andreyis glared at the man. Sasha threw her hands up in exasperation. "Fine," she said, realising that she had no other choice. Which was seeming very much the way of things, lately. "You do that."
The lieutenant gallantly offered Sofy his arm. Sofy took it meekly. "But I could…" Andreyis protested, but Teriyan laid a hand on his shoulder, restraining him. The lieutenant gave the younger, plain-dressed man a cool look over Sofy's head as he led her away. There were other soldiers, mostly officers, practically queuing to be of assistance. Andreyis fumed.
Just wonderful, Sasha thought-the fate of Lenayin in the balance and the young men thought it more important to lock horns like rutting stags in the spring. She spun on her heel and made for her previous place on the bank, her guard moving behind. Teriyan leaped quickly to her side, his stride long, but his footing not quite as precise upon the broken, shifting rocks.