Sasha

she said quietly. 'I'm a spoilt, self-centred brat.'

Andreyis grinned. 'Aye, you are.' Sasha laughed. Silly of her to have expected any other reply. 'But you care for people. And you don't think yourself better than others, despite your talents. Lord Krayliss did neither. Which is why they follow you, and not him.'

Sixteen

At dawn they came to the Varysh River, which marked the boundary between Baen-Tar and Valhanan. Water levels were low, typical of late summer, and Sasha rode to the far bank with barely a splash to wet her boots. Soldiers dismounted along both banks to lead their horses over the rocks and gravel of the exposed riverbed to drink.

Sasha was relieved to find that men had rations, for she had none. Her vanguard shared some bread and fruit with her as she stood and flexed her legs, watching Peg graze amidst the thick bushes that overgrew the riverbank. Birds chorused against the pale overcast sky, as hooves clattered on rock and men conversed in various tongues, weapons and armour clinking as they sat and ate, or briefly washed.

Finishing her breakfast, Sasha walked to a better vantage on the water's edge. So many men and horses. They lined the river as far as she could see to the upstream and downstream bends. Line company men, Lenayin's best equipped and most fearsome warriors. Not necessarily the best trained, nor even the highest standard, given the lifelong training that even simple farmers received. But these were the men she needed, more than common villagers. These men had horses.

Still, she reflected, she would have to get someone to count heads, just for certainty, and see if the number came anywhere near the two thousand of her earlier estimation. Lieutenant Alyn and the vanguard had followed her to the water's edge, she saw. They made a rough, informal line, separating her from the surrounding men and horses. It made her uncomfortable, as did many of the looks that came her way from the surrounding, mostly Goerenyai soldiers. Some gazed in amazement, others in simple curiosity. Yet others were unreadable. Men of Lenayin were not easily impressed, she knew. And Kessligh had told her often that respect, in Lenayin, was no one's birthright. She took some comfort in Andreyis's words the previous night and yet she remained unconvinced. Many of these men needed no convincing of the rightness of their cause, but it would take plenty more than a pretty speech to convince many of them of her, no matter who her uman.

Some men performed taka-dans-as all soldiers would try to do them at least once a day, under any circumstances. Sasha settled for her stretching regimen-taka-dans could wait for a little more privacy. A soldier in Falcon Guard uniform approached, hair braided and ears ringed. He gained permission from Lieutenant Alyn, then squatted before Sasha, who sat upon a flattish rock with legs splayed, grasping one boot with both hands.

'Another thirty-five have joined from neighbouring villages, M'Lady,' he told her. 'Others are spreading the word, there is talk of hundreds more arriving shortly. It would be many more, but for the shortage of horses. Some are saying they will walk to the valley.'

'And arrive ten days late,' Sasha replied. 'If they can find us, so can our enemies. It calls for watchful scouts, we don't want to mistake one for the other.'

'Aye, M'Lady, we have men who know the region well. They are watchful.'

He left, replaced by Tyrun and Lieutenant Alyn as she finished her stretching. 'Advice,' she asked the sharp- featured captain as they stood by the flowing water. 'How do we stop this formation from turning into a rabble? Already we're becoming strung out across entire folds. If we simply keep adding new arrivals to the rear, they'll become easy pickings for ambush or charge from behind. These new arrivals are just villagers, they may be formidable warriors alone, but their equipment is not so good and their understanding of mass tactics even less.'

'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