Crimson and Gold

“Oppia is afraid of losing the job at the Palace, but I’m not sure it’s good for her to stay here,” Saria said to Lysandra when they left the servant quarters.

Dolores was watching over the girl, so there was no need for her or the Princess to stay. It was even better for the latter to leave, seeing as Oppia had a hard time relaxing with her around.

“It’s not,” Lysandra agreed with a heavy sigh. “If Doran noticed her, he won’t be satisfied with assaulting her just once.”

This was something she had the misfortune to confirm multiple times. Once he chose one of the girls as his target, the harassment and assaults would become routine.

Assigning them to more remote jobs or confining them to kitchen duties did little to stop Doran. If he didn’t stumble upon his prey, he would simply search the whole Palace to find her.

“What should we do then?” Saria asked.

Lysandra stopped and pondered in silence for a moment. “Do you trust me?” she asked, biting her lip.

Saria walked over to her and took her hands in hers. “You’re the only one I trust.”

The Princess smiled, her heart feeling much lighter upon hearing the answer. At this point in their relationship, it was obvious that both trusted one another with their lives. But sometimes, hearing the obvious still had its charm.

“Once the sun sets, take your equipment and wait at the small gate,” she said, interlocking their fingers together.

Saria tilted her head. “What will I be waiting for?”

“I’ll need you to escort Oppia somewhere. The carriage driver will know what to do. I only need you to make sure everything goes smoothly,” Lysandra said. She squeezed Saria’s hands and looked her deeply in the eye. “I’m sorry. I can’t explain more right now, but I promise you that I will tell you everything once the time is right.”

Despite the curiosity nagging in the back of her head, Saria agreed to Lysandra’s demand without hesitation.

If the Princess said it wasn’t the right time, then it wasn’t the right time. She had to have her reasons for the secrecy. Whatever they were.

“I’ll make sure that Oppia and everyone are safe. You have my word,” Saria declared and sealed the promise with a kiss on Lysandra’s palm.

***

At dusk, Saria put on her assassin armor and headed to the small gate as per Lysandra’s instructions.

The carriage arrived shortly after. It was a small, inconspicuous wagon, used most often by the Palace’s supervisors when running errands outside of Aervelis.

Inside, Oppia was already waiting for her.

“You don’t look surprised,” Saria said, sitting across from the girl.

“Her Highness already explained the situation to me,” she said calmly. “Thank you for doing this. I do feel safer with you here.”

Saria patted her hand. “Don’t worry, everything is going to be alright.”

Upon confirming that everyone was aboard, the carriage driver urged the horses to move.

They were riding for around forty minutes, and most of that time passed on an idle, inconsequential chatter.

The carriage’s destination was a fringe of a small forest.

Saria got out first, then helped Oppia with her luggage. The girl didn’t have much to begin with, so after some additional traveling resources prepared by Dolores, the whole thing amounted to one linen bag.

“Take the path until you see a twin birch tree, from there head west off trail. You’re going to meet our people in a meadow. You’ll know when you see it.” The carriage driver gave Saria the instructions, then urged the horse to move. “I’ll be waiting in the bushes over there.”

Following his instructions, Saria and Oppia walked into the forest.

The path was easy, even after leaving the trail. The moon was in full bloom, illuminating the road ahead as if guiding them.

Shortly after they arrived at the designated meadow.

Right before entering, Saria gestured at Oppia to wait.

On the other side of the meadow, she detected three other heartbeats. Three women. Two were young—eighteen, maybe twenty years old—one was older, middle-aged.

They were hidden in the shadows, waiting.

Saria trusted Lysandra. She knew that the Princess wouldn’t put her or Oppia in danger. Nevertheless, this couldn’t be said about their enemies. And there were quite a few of those.

Caution wasn’t an overreaction. It was necessary in their circumstances.

That’s why, even though Saria suspected that the three women ahead were the people she was supposed to meet, she decided to wait.

She had no doubts that they had already noticed them, so—if they wanted to meet them—they had to be the first to expose themselves.

After a couple of minutes, it looked like the other group finally realized Saria’s intention as they entered the meadows.

A familiar figure emerged from the shadows. “How long are you planning to stand in those bushes?”

“Mira?” Saria’s eyes widened in surprise. She almost didn’t recognize her. Instead of the usual pain dress and a worn-out apron, the woman was clad in a lightweight leather armor, with a sharp scimitar secured by her waist, looking like a proper, battle-hardened mercenary.

Seeing her so many times at the bookstore playing the role of a defenseless shopkeeper, Saria almost forgot that Mira was also one of the highest-ranking spies serving Lysandra.

The woman nodded impatiently. “Long time no see. Can you come out now? I feel stupid talking to a tree.”

Saria chuckled lightly and guided Oppia out of their hiding spot into the meadow to meet with Mira.

“This must be Oppia?” the woman asked, folding her arms behind her. “Her Highness explained everything to you, I believe?”

Oppia nodded. “She did. I only packed the most necessary items.”

“Good. Girls, take Oppia to the carriage. I need to chat with Saria for a moment.”

The two women accompanying Mira moved in unison. One took the bag from Oppia and threw it over her shoulder, while the other took the girl’s hand to help her cross the thick bushes.

Before she disappeared among the forest’s flora, Oppia looked over her shoulder to cast one last glance at Saria.

It was dark, but she could still see the gratitude in the girl’s eyes.

Saria responded to Oppia with a smile before turning her gaze back to Mira.

“I understand you have a lot of questions,” Mira said.

“Seeing how well organized everything is, I’m guessing it’s not the first time you and Lysandra are doing this?”

“It’s not.”

Saria nodded in silence.

Judging by what Oppia said about other servants being sent away and the fact that it took Lysandra only a couple of hours to prepare everything, Saria had already had an idea what was going on.

The only question that remained was why the Princess was keeping it a secret from her.

“Can you at least tell me where you are taking her?”

“To Keros.”

“Keros?” Saria didn’t hide her surprise. “That’s all the way at the coast. At least two or three days on the road. That’s quite a trip to make for one person.”

Mira sighed. “Believe me, I know,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Truth be told, she wasn’t the biggest enthusiast of this kind of trip. For that reason, it was mostly Drusus who was in charge of them. However, since he was away on another business, it was up to Mira to take his place.

“She’ll be safe there, I can promise you that,” she said, forcing herself not to think about the discomforts of the journey ahead.

Saria listened to everything without a word.

Worried that she might be having doubts over being left out in the cold, Mira patted her shoulder. “Her Highness has her reasons for keeping this operation a secret. Once she can, she will explain everything to you in detail.”

“Alright. I won’t keep you any longer. You still have a long way ahead. Travel safely.” Saria said.

They parted their ways, and Saria made her way back to the carriage.

Walking alone, she crossed the distance even faster this time.

“Back to the Palace?” the driver asked, once he saw her emerging from among the trees.

Saria looked at the moon hanging high in the night sky. It wasn’t even midnight.

After a moment of contemplation, she shook her head. “No. Drop me off at the gate. I have something to take care of.”