As the two slender figures, dwarfed by the Kyofu and by the massively built Hasanu people themselves, progressed down the main street of the village, the villagers began to bow, the bending bodies and lowered heads moving in succession, resembling wheat yielding before a sudden breeze that sweeps across a field.
'Should we wave or something?' Evanlyn said out of the corner of her mouth. Trained as she was in protocol, this was a situation that her tutors had never envisaged.
'You can. I'm too tired,' Alyss responded. She looked up to the end of the central street of the village, which ran uphill towards the castle. The tall figure of Lord Nimatsu stood waiting for them. As they came closer, he stooped into the lowest possible bow before them.
Alyss and Evanlyn exchanged a glance, then made vague hand gestures and stiff little bobs of the head in response.
'Ariss-san, Ev-an-in-san,' the nobleman said as he straightened once more, 'you have done my people a great service.'
Evanlyn nodded, looked around and gestured at the huge body on the ground.
'Lord Nimatsu, here is your Kyofu. Dead.'
'I can see. I can see,' Nimatsu replied softly. He stepped forward to examine the Kyofu more closely, taking in the terrible injuries that these two slightly built foreigners had inflicted on it.
'You are unharmed?' he asked.
Alyss shrugged. 'I'm sore and battered, and my backside has bruises all over it.'
Evanlyn gave a tired grin. 'And I've had the bejabbers scared out of me. But apart from that, we're fine. You should see the other fellow.' She paused, then added in mock surprise, 'Oh…you can.'
'It's a snow tiger,' Nimatsu said softly. He went down on one knee beside the limp body, reaching out to touch the white fur. 'I've never seen one so big. I thought they had been driven out of these parts years ago.'
'Well, this one decided to hang around,' Alyss told him.
Nimatsu looked up from the dead tiger and met the eyes of the two gaijin girls. In his life, he had seen many brave deeds in battle. Never before had he seen courage to equal that shown by these two. He turned to the gathered Hasanu, now watching silently.
'Hasanu people!' he said, raising his voice so that it carried down the street, where hundreds of faces were upturned to watch. 'The Kyofu is dead!'
It was as if they had been awaiting official confirmation of the fact. There was a giant, wordless roar of triumph from the assembled villagers. Alyss and Evanlyn stood awkwardly, not sure how to respond to the moment. Truth be told, they were both eager to escape from public view and recover from the terrifying night they had spent.
Nimatsu raised his hands and the roar of the crowd slowly died away.
'The Kyofu killed seventeen of our friends and neighbours. Now these girls, these young girls from another country, have ended the Terror!' Alyss raised an eyebrow. He didn't use the word gaijin, she noticed. Literally, it meant foreigner. But the term had developed slightly pejorative overtones in the way it was sometimes used. Obviously, Lord Nimatsu intended that nobody might infer any kind of slur from his words.
'Hasanu people, give thanks to Ev-an-in-san and Ariss-san!'
Now the roar that rose from their throats was deafening. Alyss glanced at Evanlyn, standing beside her. The princess smiled.
'I think we could wave now,' she said.
They acknowledged the cheers of the villagers, then Lord Nimatsu stepped forward to join them.
'Today, you should rest and recover,' he said. 'I'll send out messengers to gather the Hasanu army. By the end of the week, we should be ready to march to the aid of Emperor Shigeru.'
Alyss lay back in the scalding hot bath, feeling the water ease the bruises and aches of her battle with the Kyofu. She could still recall the mind-numbing terror she had felt when the massive beast had stormed out of the night towards her, the mouth-drying fear as she lay curled under the wooden shield, hearing its claws and teeth rip and tear at the wood, feeling it breaking up and knowing that it couldn't withstand the onslaught much longer, then the overwhelming relief as she heard Evanlyn's lead shot begin to pound into the animal's body.
'She's as good as they say,' she muttered to herself.
Reluctantly, she stepped out of the steaming hot water, wrapping herself in a giant, warm robe and groaning slightly as pain twinged in her back muscles. Yet the pain was much less than it had been before the bath, she knew. There was a light tap at the door frame.
'Come in,' she called. The door slid open and Evanlyn entered. She had bathed as well. She wore a wrap-around robe and her short blonde hair was still wet.
'How are you feeling?' Evanlyn asked.
Alyss made her way to a low stool and sat, groaning slightly once more, and indicated for Evanlyn to sit beside her.
'I'll live,' she said, with a wry smile. 'That hot water certainly does wonders. What doesn't parboil me makes me stronger,' she said, misquoting the old proverb. The smile faded and she regarded Evanlyn for a few seconds.
'It occurs to me,' she said, 'that in all the terror and excitement and cheering, I never said thank you.'
'Thank me?' said Evanlyn, her tone incredulous. 'I have never witnessed anything to match what you did last night! That was the most courageous act I have ever seen! Where on earth did you get the idea?'
Alyss coloured a little, although, with her face already flushed from the heat of the bath, it was difficult to notice.
'Something Selethen told us when we were in Toscana. He said one of the tribes to the south of Arrida hunts lions that way. They let the lions knock them over, then lie under their shields and stab upwards at them. It struck me that might be the way to deal with the Kyofu. Of course,' she said, smiling, 'they don't have the benefit of a friend hurling great chunks of lead at the lion as they do it. You have no idea how relieved I was when you came to the rescue.'
She looked seriously at the smaller girl now. Everyone had made a great fuss about Alyss's willingness to act as bait in the forest. Only Alyss realised that when Evanlyn had come to her aid, she had done so without any protection at all. If her sling shots hadn't been as accurate as they were, she would have been left facing an enraged beast at close quarters, without shield, armour or defensive weapon of any kind.
If Alyss had risked her life to defeat the Kyofu, Evanlyn had done no less. She wondered if the princess realised that and she felt a deep regard for the other girl, not just for her skill with the sling, but for her readiness to put herself in danger to save a companion.
If only…Alyss resolutely pushed the unworthy thought aside. But Evanlyn seemed to be thinking along similar lines.
'Alyss,' she said uncertainly, 'one day I'll be queen. And I'm going to want people around me who are courageous and dedicated and imaginative.'
'That's as it should be,' Alyss said.
'Frankly, I'd like quite a few of those people to be women. I think women have a different perspective on things, as your mentor has proven time and time again. I'd like you to be one of my inner circle, Alyss, professionally and personally. I think that we could work very well together.'
Alyss made a half bow from her sitting position and winced as the back muscles stretched again.
'I'll always be happy to serve my queen and my country in any way I can,' she said politely.
Evanlyn spread her hands in exasperation. 'Why do you have to be so formal, Alyss? Why can't I get through to you? I respect you. I admire you. I like you! I want to be your friend! My father has shown that having good friends as advisers is the best way to rule. Halt, Crowley, Baron Arald. They're not just advisers. They've been his friends for years. And friends will tell you when you're wrong. I want that!'