The Princess Who Went to War

Chapter 9 - In A Giorem's Tracks

[Calysta]

I mull over the events that transpire as Gwen leaves me in our quarters to check on what's happening. I slam the wall right beside my bed in frustration. If I had been there. 

But then, what would I have done? A Giorem is the reason I can barely walk in the first place. 

Two Giorems near our borders in span of a week? There really must be something going on. I turn my attention to the door when it opens. 

Gwen comes inside, "The injuries are bad. They were barely able to escape." She tells me. I bite my lower lip in frustration. 

I have to get better as soon as I can, and figure out where all these monsters are coming from, or who is sending them in the first place. 

"I need to write to Atticus." I say out loud as I start to get out of bed. Gwen tries to help as I make my way to the table right in the corner of the room. 

I take a quill and piece of paper and start writing to Atticus, asking him how the correspondence to the other sorceresses. 

I try to make it casual, even telling him how I am — of course, not including the fact that I was injured. I make sure that he does not read a hint of worry or urgency in my question, as that would make him suspicious. 

I fold the paper neatly and seal it with red wax, the Royal Family's cover and imprint our sigil, the letter "R" with a dragon perched upon it.

I place it inside an envelope and ask Gwen to help me out. Once we are right outside the quarters, I ask Gwen to fetch a messenger raven from the shed. 

I stand there as I wait for her to return, watching people go by. From afar, I can see healers running in and out of the infirmary. I sigh at this sight. 

"Your Highness?" I look behind me to see Ser Elwood coming out from the quarters. He steps closer towards me.

"Do you know how they are?" I ask him, referring to the injured soldiers. 

"They just lost two more." He tells me regretfully. I take a deep breath at this news. 

Gwen arrives with a raven perched on her forearm. I hand the letter to the raven and it immediately receives it with its beak. 

I look back to see Ser Elwood staring at at the raven, not saying anything. 

"I'm sending a message to my brother." I tell him, as I felt that he was curious.

"Urgent?" He says, referring to how I'm choosing to send it by raven instead of with a party going on their way to the Capital. 

"Yes." I reply as I take the sparrow in my hands. I focus all my energy towards the raven, as a sigil of my magic is imprinted on its wings. 

"There will only be clear skies ahead of you." I whisper as I let it go and it finally flies upwards and into the skies. 

"You can do that too?" Ser Elwood asks, most likely referring how I can imprint the sigil on the raven. 

"Only a few sorceress can, ones with specific kinds of magic." I tell him. He looks at me, like he doesn't understand. 

"I can imprint my sigil on animals and humans, to make sure the weather along their way is always favorable." I tell him.

"Or not." Gwen adds, chuckling. 

"Quite useful. It ensures that the journey is smooth." I say. Ser Elwood nods, finally understanding. 

"We must head back in." Gwen says to me. I nod. 

We both head in as Ser Elwood also continues walking out towards where he was going to go. 

A few days pass and I receive a reply from Atticus, saying that the sorceresses are yet to reply to his message. I bite my nails in worry. 

They should be worried with the rumors. They know full well what it means that there could be a sorcerer leading the monsters. 

I am fully well now and can walk and run without assistance. The soldiers who were badly injured are healing well in the infirmary. 

Meanwhile, the other able soldiers continue to go on clearing missions. This time, in smaller groups so that it is hard to attract the attention of Giorems that may be lurking under the ground. 

They find their victims through vibrations in the ground, which is why it is easier for them to find larger groups of people. 

Right now, I am in the training grounds as I try to get back on track. I was out of the game for a good few days, I wouldn't want to get back on the field unprepared. It is a bit after breakfast and the sun is already high up.

I am in the middle of sparring with Ulysses when Ser Remnand approaches us both, causing us to stop. 

"Your Highness." He says as he bows. 

"What is it?" I ask him. 

"There has been a Giorem sighting. I know you have just recovered but—"

"I'll go." I immediately reply, determined. Ser Remnand looks stunned. 

"Gwen." I call out to Gwen who is currently sparring with Randall. They both stop as Gwen turns to me. 

I gesture towards the command room with my head. She immediately receives my message and walks towards me. 

Once we get inside the command room, we immediately approach the table that holds the map. Ser Remnand points and encircles an area with his index finger, northwest from where we are. 

"A tracker was on a solo mission scoping out the area. He was atop a tree when he felt ground movement. He said there were clear tracks of the Giorem as it travelled near the surface." Ser Remnand informs us. 

"It is deeply insolent of me to ask you to do this mission, Your Highness, given that you have just recovered and Giorems are one of the most dangerous monsters." Ser Remnand says, looking completely apologetic. 

"This is why I am here, Ser Remnand. I saw what one Giorem did to one team. It has the ability to badly injure and take lives. When it comes to them, I may be your best shot." I reply, determined to clear this Giorem out and hopefully find out what Giorems are doing so far from their habitat. 

"As for the team you will be working with—"

"May it be Ser Elwood's?" Gwen says, cutting off Ser Remnand. We look at her.

"I mean, they are a small team, and I thought that Her Highness would prefer working with people she's familiar with." Gwen adds. I nod in agreement.

"Ser Elwood's soldiers are also quite impressive in terms of battle skills." I tell Ser Remnand.

"Well, if that is who you prefer." Ser Remnand says as he calls for a squire to summon Ser Elwood and his team. 

In just a few minutes, the command room's doors open and Ser Elwood and his whole team enter. Ser Remnand briefs them of the situation just as he did with Gwen and I. 

"How do you plan on tackling this?" Ser Remnand asks, looking at Ser Elwood and I.

"With Giorems, it's important to get a clean shot of their eye. I could do that if it were distracted." I tell them. 

"We'll distract the Giorem." Ser Elwood says. 

"It would help if you could somehow put me directly in its line of vision." I add. Ser Elwood nods slowly, as if in thought.

"A scattered position would be better. We'd have to stand far from each other and make little movement to avoid detection." Ulwid comments. 

"But we'll have to lure it out at some point." I point out. They all look at each other before looking at Ulwid.

"I'll be able to tell if we're close enough. When that point comes, I'll inform the group." Ulwid tells us. 

"Three people can stand close together and jump at once, getting the Giorem's attention. Once it's out of the ground, the priority would be allowing the Princess to get a clear shot." Ser Elwood says. 

"Ulysses, Ulwid and I can do that." Randall immediately volunteers. 

"That's too dangerous." I tell them, worried that they are risking themselves, "I can use my winds to get the Giorem's attention. You don't have to do that." I add.

"Would wind be heavy enough?" Ser Remnand asks, quite confused. He does not know of the force I've recently discovered that my winds can have. Ser Elwood looks at me, waiting for my answer.

"It can work." I simply reply.

"Get your weapons and gear ready. We'll head out in 20 minutes." Ser Elwood tells his men. They all bow and quickly leave the command room to get ready. 

Gwen and I do not leave, as we're already fully geared. Gwen, being a Royal Guard, is always trained to be fully geared no matter what she is tasked to do for the day. I picked up this habit as well as we live in the same quarters.

I start to bite my nails as I stare at the map in worry as Ayu's words echo in my head. The last Giorem has somehow found exactly where I am standing twice. What if it was really not just a coincidence?

"I'll have to make sure I get it as soon as possible." I tell myself as I stop biting my nails and sigh.

I look up to see Ser Elwood looking at me. He does not say anything, but instead looks away. He always seems like he has something to say, but never says it.

A few moments later, Gwen and the soldiers arrive. We all head out to the gate. Ser Remnand sees us off as we go into the forest in a line, but further away from each other. 

As usual, I clear up the fog from around us so that we can walk through the forest with ease. 

We slowly follow Ulwid, who every now and then, kneels to place the palm of his hand on the ground, feeling for vibrations. 

We continue to walk in the general direction of where Ser Remnand has pointed in the map, making sure that we move slowly and quietly as there may also be other monsters in the area. 

That would be a completely different problem on its own and make this mission a lot more harder. 

We halt to a stop when Ulwid raises his hand. He points at bulging tracks on the ground, looking like something has slithered from underneath it. 

We go towards its direction and start feeling the vibrations beneath the ground. As we move closer, the vibrations caused by the Giorem's movement only become stronger. 

Suddenly, we all come to a stop as UIwid looks back at us and says, "Here."

And, with bit of fear, I take a deep breath as I get myself ready. I really, really hope that this mission ends well.