Strange Bedfellows

Princess Shara -- or Katia as she had disguised herself -- ate the cold chicken and slightly stale bread as if it was a feast, for it was the only food she'd eaten since the morning. Her cheek hurt quite a bit, and even more so as she chewed, but she understood why he'd done it. She'd even thanked him for it, though it did seem strange to thank someone for giving her a large and visible bruise.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye as she ate. He looked like he had passed at least thirty summers, perhaps a bit more. His face had a day's worth of stubble covering a strong jaw. He was muscular, strong, and seemed like a good man. She had been helpless and yet he'd risked displeasing his king to protect her.

"Copper for your thoughts?" He asked.

"Why are you helping me?"

"It's Katia right?"

She nodded, though the new name felt very foreign to her.

"As I said, Illuminar wrote in the Book of Light that a man isn't supposed to bed a woman that he hasn't married."

She nodded, trying to decide if she should ask more.

"Katia." He lowered his chicken to look at her. "I'm going to tell you the same thing I tell my men: speak your mind. Do it respectfully, but make your opinion known. I might take your advice, or I might choose to completely ignore everything you say. You'll never know unless you loosen your tongue."

Shara bit her lip.

She looked at him for a moment and then decided that if he'd wanted to hurt her, he would have done so already.

"I don't understand." She said. "There's nothing you can gain from helping me and you stand to lose the favor of your king, so why do it?"

He got a thoughtful expression on his face as he looked at her, and she somehow felt like he was sizing her up before he spoke. "Let's say you're walking down the street and you see a man in front of you drop a gold coin without knowing it. Would you pick up the coin and keep it, or give it back to the man?"

"I would give it back to the man, obviously." Shara said, trying not to feel offended.

He leaned forward in his chair and said in rather a good imitation of her voice: "I don't understand. There's nothing you can gain from helping him and you stand to lose money if you do, so why do it?"

A small smile appeared on her face as she got his point. "Because it's the right thing to do."

"Exactly."

She cocked her head to one side. "I didn't know there were men like you in King Tyso's army."

"There aren't many of us -- and most of them are in the king's guard for obvious reasons -- but there are some."

"That is good to hear." She nodded. "I must ask, how are my fellow handmaidens? They are wonderful women and I would hate to see them fall victim to others in this army."

"They are safe." He replied. "I installed a good man under my command as interim governor of the city. He moved the noble women, ladies-in-waiting, and handmaidens into some housing near the castle. It likely won't be up to the standard the women are used to, but they will be safe, well-fed, and as comfortable as possible given the circumstances."

Shara breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"I could not sleep at night if I did anything less." He replied and then took another bite.

They both fell silent.

They ate without a word for the next few minutes. She glanced at him occasionally, noting that he was a rather handsome fellow, if somewhat older than she was. He also seemed like a good man, so if she had to be stuck in this dreadful position, she was glad to be stuck with him.

"You're not what I expected." She finally said.

"What were you expecting?"

"Well, King Tyso's army does have a certain reputation." She had never heard anything good about it and the castle gossip made them out to be savages intent on raping and pillaging throughout the whole land. She assumed that was somewhat exaggerated, but also knew there was much truth behind the rumor.

He nodded. "It does, though neither I nor the men in my legion have ever contributed to that reputation."

"I'm afraid that besides a few whispers that you were a capable commander, I've heard nothing of you."

He frowned slightly. "King Tyso has put me in charge of several cities we've captured, and I hoped my dealings with them would've at least softened my reputation."

"Perhaps they did, but not among those who the princess was around."

"What is she like?" Kalus asked. "The princess I mean."

Shara had to resist laughing at the question's irony but decided to answer honestly while being careful to maintain her handmaiden disguise. She purposely hesitated a few moments before speaking and was careful to maintain a slightly 'guarded' tone.

"She's... I think she tries very hard to make her father proud. She loves her father and her country more than almost anything else and wants to be a good princess for them. But she's also..." She hesitated.

"Also?" He prompted.

"She lets her emotions rule her sometimes, though she's often reserved about how she expresses them." She finally replied. "And while I think she usually means well, she can overreact, and that can get her into trouble sometimes. She does love her father and her country though."

"A patriot, I can respect that." He nodded. "What about you?"

"I'm... I'm not so different from her as you might think." She replied.

He made a thoughtful sound but didn't say more.

"You're not going to ask me about the defenses of the king's castle?" She finally said to break the silence.

He shook his head and only spoke when he'd finished chewing. "No. If you're 'not so different' from the princess and she is a patriot, then I wouldn't do you the dishonor nor ask you to betray what you so clearly hold dear."

"You're awfully principled for a man in King Tyso's army."

"You're awfully outspoken for a handmaiden." He countered. "One can sometimes find unlikely people in unlikely places."

She nodded her head in concession.

* * *

Kalus watched the girl as they ate, noting her concern for her fellow handmaidens and that she'd asked about them immediately after learning that there were good men in his army. That spoke well of her character and concern for others. She was a good woman, or at least gave every appearance of being a good woman.

"I would enjoy a bit of entertainment with my meal." Kalus said. "Are you familiar with the game Pente?"

The corners of Katia's mouth edge upwards slightly. "Very."

She clearly was.

The game was played on a leather board with a grid of lines. To win, each player took turns placing colored stones on the grid trying to get five stones in a row either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally while also preventing his opponent from doing the same. However, you could also 'capture' your opponent's pieces if you put two of your pieces on either side of exactly two of your opponent's pieces, and could win by capturing five times.

About midway through their first game -- which was about two minutes in since they usually weren't long games -- he looked at her. "You fight like a woman possessed."

"It's easy." She replied, placing another one of her stones on the board. "I merely imagine that we are dueling armies and I'm fighting for my homeland against an invader." She gave him a challenging look, though there was a hint of reserved playfulness to her tone.

"I can respect that." He nodded, placing one of his stones. "Tria". He said, announcing that he had just gotten three stones in a row, as the rules dictated. The goal wasn't to win by stealth or trickery but by sheer skill. Because of that, you announced "tria" when you had three stones in a row, and "tessera" when you had four in a row.

"Clever." Katia nodded, studying the board for several long moments before not only blocking his tria, but also setting up one of her own. "Tria."

"A good move." He nodded, then placed another stone to make four in a row. "Tessera. This is not the first time that an army from one of our countries has set foot on the other's land. I believe our positions were much reversed a few decades ago."

"A war waged in self-defense is hardly the same." Katia countered as she frowned at the board.

"You can't win." He pointed out. And while he meant the game, it applied to the war too.

"I know." She nodded, then placed one of her pieces to capture two of his, breaking his tessera.

"Tessera." He said, replacing one of the captured pieces on his next move. "Our countries have been trying to conquer each other for centuries. They seem to agree that it's the thing to do."

"That doesn't make it right." She pointed out, then placed another piece to capture two more of his pieces, one of which broke his tessera again."

"Tessera." He said, replacing a piece for the second time. "The ethical question of war; if two countries agree to go to war with one another, is it wrong?"

She frowned, then made her last move, blocking one end of his tessera even though she wouldn't be able to block teh other end. "But my country didn't agree."

"Pente." He said, placing his last piece and winning the game. "Your country implicitly agreed not long ago when they invaded my country in an attempt to conquer."

She frowned as they pulled all their pieces off the board to reset it, then she placed the first piece since the loser always goes first in Pente. "I would rather our countries stopped trying to conquer each other."

He looked up at her and smiled. "As would I. I would prefer that my training blade got more use and my sword was only drawn to oil it. Alas, these are not the times we live in. Your move."

Katia frowned slightly, considered for a moment, and then placed her piece. "A man who desires peace leading an army in war; isn't that contradiction?"

"Yes, but consider that Illuminar commands that we uphold our vows in the Book of Light." He played one of his pieces in response to her move. "I made a vow as a young soldier to serve to the best of my ability; can I do less without standing condemned before the Great God Illuminar?"

She nodded her head in concession, then placed her piece. "Tria."

"I would rather live out my days as a farmer or tradesman, alas the only trade I know well is war." He considered her move for a moment before deciding to counterstrike in his block. "Tria. Perhaps I could teach the sword when the war is finished. How about you? What would you like to do?"

"Beat you at this game." With a smile, she placed her piece between a pair of her pieces and one standing alone. "Tessera."

He looked at the board for a moment; there were no captures available and her tessera wasn't blocked on either end; he couldn't block it. "I concede."

She grinned as they reset the board. "I suppose I wish to be married someday, raise children, and have time to travel and read."

"Oh, what do you like to read?" He asked as he placed his first piece.

"Almost anything except fiction." She replied. "The world is too exciting to waste on reading fantasy stories."

"On the other hand, some like to escape the drudgery of real life with a good story occasionally." He pointed out, then placed a piece. "There is value in a good moral tale, especially for children so they have heroes to aspire to and to emulate. The same is not less true once they are grown."

"I can understand that." She nodded as she took her turn, then made a thoughtful frown. "I never really thought of it like that before." She pursed her lips for several seconds before she spoke again. "Perhaps I shall try fiction again."

He nodded approvingly, glad that she could change her mind about things.

In fact, he found himself tempted to smile or laugh rather a lot, though he restrained that impulse out of habit with his men. He and Katia talked as they played for the better part of an hour and he found her to be an engaging and bright young woman. They covered many a topic and she was knowledgeable about many of them. Even when she didn't know much about a particular topic, she picked things up quickly and was generally clever about her observations. He found himself enjoying her company a lot, and the games with her almost as much.

While he won the majority of the games, he could appreciate her tenacity. She never stopped trying to win, even when there was no hope of doing so. She fought to the very end of every match and never conceded, fighting on even when there was no possible hope of winning. Further, she was a good sport while playing, regardless of whether she won or lost.

She was easily one of the most delightful women he'd ever had the pleasure of speaking with.