The wind gently brushed against the leaves of the grey trees, unlike before in their way those were not crooked and hollow trees, so deep north they were full of live and adorned in a layer of green leaves or red or yellow, though the imperials still called this the south, she have never been past Asaroth to the north, never been to the red marshes, she only heard her grandfather tales of gold, silver and iron mines and ploughed fields, she longed for it even through her travels, she been to the far east in the sea faring Tatarians at the snakes harbor, she traveled far west into the free land of the Torag and walked amongst their idols in the city of the gods where all mortals were equal and she saw the southern sea, the calmest sea in Osward yet the one where all ships seemed to disappear.

  "This is not the north." Lieutenant Hemacus joked as he heard the banter from some of the marshes true born who rode alongside them as they passed by. "Up further past the great houses of Steel and Frostbane and Ironheart, the snowfall isles, the true north, winter is your wife and lad don't she fuck you hard."

  Yemna could never imagine, further into the red marshes they left the gentle wind behind, here the nip in the air was enough to have her shudder, it was a shallow and cold breeze, empty of life and not too cold but enough to make her uncomfortable, she did not like it, not anymore than she liked the sights she seen, they passed a gold mine and there were bodies of Gahrak and men burnt on bonfires and reeked of burning skin and metal, the mud under them was both crisp from fire and blood and those passing by had to cover their noses else their bowels would twist until they vomit on the scarred ground who bore witness to the recent battling.

  They had to halt as the warden went to say his prayers whilst lieutenant Hemacus spared some of his men and the host followers in hopes of reviving the mine, after a day the mine was back to work and imperial sentries were stationed, replacing those that had died in the fighting, she wondered if it was the source of the Gahrak who attacked the fort, if so, then how come there was this many casualties here, the bodies decayed form made it hard to tell if it were imperials soldiers or red marsh colonists, truth be told it was all the same for her, no matter who rise or fall in this war, it would only mean one less enemy for her if she so desires to retake the marshes, a dream far beyond her reach for now.

  "Gods have mercy... " One said behind her and she turned to look at her following, all disturbed and in shock, murmuring their prayers and desperate pleas of mercy to their gods as the warden said his in silent, she knew that witnessing a carnage right after surviving one was a blow to their morale, at times she pitied them, they were weak and foolish and naive, the gods will not help them no more than they could, and what happens then, they would blame the gods for their own weakness, but she said nothing, she only watched through her veiled bone helm.

  Soon enough the warden returned, his swords clanking against one another with each step he took until he climbed into the saddle of his hyena, he was becoming more of an Asarothian by the day, the way he walked, observed and stood but the smell of the north was still on him, grim and shabby and cold.

  "Your prayers will do them no good." She told him as the following began moving once more up the dry path.

  "I did not pray for them." He confessed. "I prayed for us."

  She only glanced at him quickly then looked ahead, perhaps not all of them are fools, they may stand a chance to see this task through, they passed through a few other mines, riding and walking and camping along their journey, almost a week of traveling which could have been done in a day or two if it were not for the numbers behind her, with each day they gained more followers consisting of those who survived other attacks and those who abandoned their homes in fear of being next, stories spread of the desperate defense she led, the folk she declared to herself as enemies came to her with gifts of silver and food and prayer, if anyone would have told her she would accompany imperials instead of shedding their blood a few months ago, she might have put them to the sword for mocking her, yet here she was, living in a different reality than the one she expected.

  She was sore after being on the saddle for so long but was relieved to finally glimpse the castle from the distance, the soil began to turn softer and the road was slightly paved with cobblestones here and there and small fences along the road under a long stream of hanging trees that provided shade over the road, the sun’s light spilled through the leaves and into the road merging it's golden ray with the gentle dusty brown-red dirt and cracked stones.

  Finally they made it to the crossroads the castle stood on their west, castle Kruger, it was not too grand unlike what she had heard from her host exaggerations but not too small, a watch tower on each corner of the battlements, wooden doors behind iron gates chained to the walls, sentries standing watch over the walls, however those imperial guards were different, much shallow and cruel in their faces, and unlike the soldiers who accompanied Hemacus, those were well cladded in chainmail and half helms or full helms, spears and shields and the imperial arming sword, surcoats of the empire ruling house sigil, the red rose surrounded by thorns over a wooden shield, those were not from the red marshes nor any other secondary imperial province, those were from the province of Sorren, pure blooded imperials.

  The host halted a bit up the crossroads as Yemna, Lucas and the lieutenant dismounted their rides and continued their way on foot, a swift wind howled against their backs pushing them forwards until they reached the two guards standing at the gates, one taller than the other, and uglier than the other, uneven shoulders, crooked noses, twitchy eyes and hollow lids, starving hounds was what they reminded her of, but she kept her remarks to herself and stood by the warden as Hemacus walked up to the guards with a parchment.

  "Hail, imperials. Lieutenant Hemacus." He greeted them and handed the taller one the parchment. "Here on the order of the emperor and by the decree of prince Gaius Maximus "

  The pair of guards eyed him suspiciously, the taller one gave the parchment a long look as he squinted his eyes then handed it to the other one, the shorter man flipped it upside down and began looking through it as he poked at the sealed wax on the corner of the paper whilst his shady brown eyebrows danced over his eyes.

  "You may enter." exclaimed the short man, snorting and handing the parchment back to Hemacus. "Not them though."

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  "What?" The lieutenant clinched the parchment and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

  "I said you and every imperial soldier may enter." The shorter man repeated. "The rest can scarry away."

  "Are you mad? " The lieutenant argued. "Those are the emperor's guests and allies, a warden and an Asarothian princess sent by prince Valerius himself and asked for by his majesty’s brother Cassius, the rest are refugees fleeing from their ravaged homes, you want to turn them away?"

  "Listen here, lieutenant." The taller man barked, his crooked nose hanging over his lips but not generous enough to hide his hideous yellow teeth from the world. "I don't care who sent those... Things up here from their caves in the desert, but his lordship Gaius Maximus gave clear orders not to let anyone pass besides imperial soldiers. "

  Yemna smiled in response as her hand twitched, he called her and her guards things, she felt her palm creeping to the hilt of her bone sword but her elbow was grabbed by Lucas, the warden gave her a short stare and shook his head before she pulled her hand away, he had no right to stop her, she told herself, although eventually she calmed down and avoided a blood bath she could have easily caused in her rage.

  "So you're not mad but clearly stupid." Hemacus sarcastically noted and crossed his arms.

  "Hey don't call me stupid." Said the tall one with a voice cracking the same as his lips.

  "Yeah! Don't call him stupid." Said the shorter one with a sharp voice and sharper eyes.

  "Fine, call your commander then, I'll speak to him." Hemacus demanded.

  "No. "

  "What did you say?" The lieutenant's eyes narrowed.

  "I said no. " The tall man repeated, his tone turning bitter and his face darkening. "He told us that he doesn't want to be bothered by anyone at any time. "

  Hemacus took a deep breath as he mumbled under his helm, he reached for the strap under his chin and clicked it open before sliding the helm off and revealing his scarred face and with it a very unpleasant gaze that made the guards gulp as his voice rose. "I've been stationed at every border in the imperium and seen all manners of monsters and beasts and men and scum, but you two, you take the cake of being the most irritating, most disgustingly greasy cunts I ever met."

  The pair was baffled at first whilst the warden held back a laugh behind his facade and the princess covered her mouth and laughed silently, for all the flaws of the imperials and all the hatred she carried for them, at least Hemacus gave her a laugh or two, at the expense of other imperials, a victory twice fold for her.

  "Don't blame me... " The tall man uttered, he was staring at her as she laughed silently and added to his words. "I'm just doing my job... Doing it gladly though. "

  Once again, he referred to her but this time she would not grab her sword, she spat on the side and murmured loud enough for him to hear her, him and his dwarf of a companion. "Your heads would look good on a spike, if it wasn't a waste of a spike. "

  His eyes widened and so did the other guard, teeth gritting against one another and hands clenching against their spears as the shorter one shouted. "What did you say, hyena? "

  She was going to respond but not with words, rather with steel as it was the only thing fools would understand for they had the thickest of skulls and slowest of tongues but her hand did not reach her sword as she heard heavy metal clanking behind her, the heaviest she had ever heard, she swore the ground shook with each clank, not even her father bone molded armor made such steps, she turned and saw him, she knew who he was right away, there was no doubt, red hair, crimson blood eyes, undeniably gorgeous, almost similar to the prince they hosted at her father's city, but far more gorgeous, tall as a tree and wide as a beast, chiseled with meat under a colossal armor of black and crimson meteriod steel imbedded with the rose of house Maximus, his long scarlet hair rested gently on his shoulders, his slick jaw adjusting as he raised his eyebrow over his bloodied eyes, his nose was long but broad and imposing same as his posture, and by his side he held what seemed to be a helm in the shape of a tiger.

  "You heard her." He said as he walked past them and made his way to the guards. "She said your head would look great on a spike... I happen to agree, and don't use that vulgar tongue again, else you would lose it. "

  The men, including the warden and lieutenant went to their knees in his presence, startled she stepped back, those kneelers were so fast she could not keep up, then she turned and saw that most of her following were also kneeling even from afar except for her own Asarothians guards.

  "Your highness." Said Hemacus.

  "Lord Tiberius." The road warden greeted, she had heard the name before, the lion killer they called him, bastard prince of the empire known for his prowess and his uncanny beauty.

  Tiberius glanced down towards Hemacus and the warden and gestured for them to stand, as they obliged he turned his gaze to Yemna and said. "Princess Yemna... That would be you, correct? "

  "Yes, and you are? " She answered and asked out of courtesy of introductions.

  "Tiberius Mountain. " He responded. "You may know me as one of the nine bastards of Julius."

  "I... No?" She blurted, he caught her off guard, she did not expect him to wear such a notion with pride, or perhaps he was testing her, imperials loved their games of words and senseless tests and riddles.

  "Well, it doesn't matter." He admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "I heard you led the defense in the siege of fort Aculus, you and Lieutenant Hemacus and warden Lucas, a great effort, we opened another supply line to that outpost with some reinforcements as well."

  At least her efforts did not pass blindly, she told herself as she listened to the bastard prince.

  "You. " Tiberius spoke, his tone heavy as he stared at the pair of guards.

  "Me? " The taller one uttered, shaking in his boots and half helm.

  "Is there anyone else?" Tiberius shouted. "Yes, you. Have we so many laborers in a time of war that you deny refugees entry to the center of our command?"

  The shorter one refrained from talking, if he had a tail it would have been tucked in between his legs, the taller one was pale, she did not blame him, she heard stories of Tiberius Mountain, bastard prince of the emperor, many stories and many traits, merciful was not one of them.

  "O-o-o-orders m-m-mlord." The guard forced his words out of his throat, coughing and choking.

  "Open the damn gates." The prince ordered them. "See to it that any person who takes refugees and is not injured tends to their craft or trade and carry their weight even with the smallest of labours, we welcome refugees but no freeloaders... What are you looking at?! Open the gates! "

  The chains clanked and the gates came undone as the doors behind them opened, revealing the inside of the castle, she had came far from the south and now she was here surrounded by the so called allies who gave her nothing but stares, she did not feel at home nor did she feel comfortable with her back towards them, but to say she was not swayed with interest regarding what will come of the red marshes, she would be lying, she was very interested, in the marshes and the affairs of the imperials and what would come of the Gahrak, she was witnessing history and she did not plan to be singular page in that history, she vowed to make her grandfather proud.