“Cessi, stay right where you are, okay?”
“D-don’t k-kill them, T-Tessa,” said Cessilia, visibly worried. “We c-can’t k-kill people here...”
“I know,” said her cousin with a smile. “After all, it’s our first day here, it wouldn’t be very... courteous.”
Just like that, Tessa didn’t wait one more second and jumped on the men ahead, incredibly fast.
Naptunie was worried but before she could panic even more, a hand appeared to cover her eyes.
“It will b-be over soon,” gently muttered Cessilia’s voice.
Nana grabbed her hand for comfort but didn’t push it away. She couldn’t see, but she could hear some of what was going on. Indeed, things were going extremely fast in that little alley. Following Cessi’s instruction, Tessa was careful not to kill those men, although she knew those ruffians wouldn’t have this much restraint toward her. Still, this was an easy fight for her. Using the flat part of Darsan’s blades, she quickly made sure to knock the men out, or send them flying toward the wall opposite her cousin. She grimaced when the second man’s skull made a sickening sound.
“I forgot their walls are made of harder stones...” she grimaced.
She didn’t have time to check if he was alive or dead. The four men on the roof jumped down and Tessa moved to be ready to welcome them, glancing to the side to check the rest of her surroundings. As promised, the triplets were doing a decent job of protecting Cessilia, Nana, and the cart. At the rear of their group, Sabael was just as impressive. His style was definitely a bit stiffer, and following some precise movements, Tessa could have learned just from observing him, but he was doing a great job against those inexperienced men. She smiled, a bit enticed by the sweat on his biceps, his serious expression, and his sharp attacks.
Sadly, she didn’t have much time to gaze at Sabael’s superb figure during this fight; a fraction of a second later, another sword was thrown at her, and she had to focus to block it.
“You guys are ruining our first date,” she hissed at them.
Pissed, she was even more dangerous and faster too. Tessa perfectly balanced her fighting style between the two swords of her cousin, while keeping a feminine elegance to her moves, flying and spinning around as if it was a deadly dance. In fact, Cessilia noted with amusement what her cousin missed: the couple of times Sabael glanced her way, probably more impressed than he’d be willing to admit. More enemies had appeared in front, and since he was supported by one of the triplets, his fights were over before Tessa’s. That allowed him a few seconds to observe her perfect twin-swords fighting skills before she finished, not a graze on her, and all her enemies knocked out on the ground. Tessa slowly caught her breath and removed some of her hair from her cheeks, where they were stuck by sweat. She glanced back up, watching out for more thieves on the roof, but everything seemed quiet.
“I think it’s over,” she said to Nana and Cessilia. “Those idiots... To think they’d be able to attack us. If one of my cousins had been here, they’d be dead!”
Cessilia lowered her hand and Naptunie dared to look around, still a bit afraid. She wasn’t used to violence at all; in fact, it scared her a lot just watching her older brother train. She was thankful Cessilia had covered her eyes in time. She took several deep breaths while the Princess walked over to the men, looking at their unconscious bodies.
“T-Tessa, you used a lot of s-strength,” she noted, glancing at the one knocked out against the wall.
“It’s Darsan’s swords,” grimaced Tessa. “They are heavier than I’m used to, I need to use more strength to wield them, and without thinking I... Oh, well. At least we managed not to kill them... I think. What do you want to do, handsome? Shall we tie them up and bring them to your post or whatever?”
“No need,” Sabael shook his head. “We don’t arrest people here, we just... try to stop them like this.”
“...Excuse me, they tried to rob us,” protested Tessa. “Isn’t there some sort of judgment that’s supposed to happen? Are all your prisons full or something? If it was the Dragon Empire, they would not just get to walk away like that! ...When they wake up that is. Cessi, can you check if that guy is alive? I’m freaking out a little...”
Cessillia chuckled, but walked to the man to check if he was still breathing. He would have a very serious headache at the very least... Sabael sighed.
“We’re in the Outer Capital, there isn’t much we can do here. If we had been on the other side of the wall, sure, but... there are just too many criminals here. We don’t arrest them anymore, since we discovered some people got arrested on purpose to get to the other side. Normally, we kill them right on the spot if they really are dangerous and citizens are encouraged to... defend themselves by any means too. Since we knocked them out, though, I don’t think we should kill them now... I think they are mere thieves, lured by the Princess’ gold.”
“Wow. That sure saves some paperwork...” scoffed Tessa, putting her blades back. “If I had known, I would have cut their hands off, or at least a finger or two. It’s the usual judgment in the Dragon Empire.”
“You guys are barbaric...” muttered Sabael.
“And you’re lazy,” retorted Tessa.
While the two of them bickered some more, Cessilia smiled, amused by their banter. All these men were alive and would survive this. She sighed. In fact, she didn’t feel too good about what had happened. Those men had attacked them although they couldn’t have missed the presence of a dragon nearby. They had to be really desperate for money... and lured more by the gold than their own lives’ values. She knew her home country wasn’t responsible for this Kingdom’s misery, but they sure hadn’t done anything to help, either. Cessilia stood back up and walked back to their little group, one less gold ring in her hair.
“We should head back quickly before something else happens,” said Sabael, glancing around with a frown. “I wouldn’t be surprised if more people noticed your presence here.”
They all agreed to hurry back with the cart to the gates. Cessilia noticed how Nana stayed close to her, instead of her older brother, all this time. In fact, Sabael had some blood on his armor, as his fight had been messier than Tessa’s. He wasn’t injured but certainly didn’t look as well put together as previously.
Luckily, with the passes from the Dorosef Tribe and Sabael vouching for them, they had no issues crossing the gates to get back inside. The Royal Guards didn’t even dare go through the Princess’ belongings as soon as Nupia stepped up to forbid them from it. It seemed like a Royal Servant’s words could outweigh a Royal Guard’s authority... Once they stepped on the bridge and were on the way back to the Greater Capital, Nana looked a bit more relaxed and smiled again. It seemed like the fight from before had really frightened her, but now, she felt safe enough to glance up at the sky, as if she was hoping to spot a dragon flying.
“Nana,” said Cessilia. “C-can you show me around your favorite b-boutiques later? I really like your b-bracelets.”
“Oh, of course! I can show you the best ones in town and even where to get the prettiest dresses, jewelry, and shoes! One of my cousins also just began her collection of shell boxes, they are so pretty! I’m sure you will love it!”
“We need to drop by the castle to put all that in our room,” sighed Tessa, pointing at their cart, “and I guess we need to send the cart back to your family.”
“If you stay within the Inner Capital,” said Nupia. “My younger siblings can take it back to the castle for you, ladies. Is the Royal Guard going to stay with us...?”
She glanced at Sabael, strongly hinting that he should. Tessa jumped on the occasion to get next to Sabael with a bright smile.
“Of course, he will! Two guides are better than one, right?”
“I don’t know,” he muttered, trying to step away from Tessa. “I had hoped to train today...”
“You can train as a princess’ bodyguard,” she retorted. “From what I saw earlier, you could get better at it and it’s not like we will be completely safe in the Inner Capital without a proper escort, right?”
Sabael blushed, but despite his pride being a bit hurt by her words, he had nothing to answer to that. In fact, he felt a bit defeated that Tessa’s fighting skills were obviously better than his and he couldn’t beat a girl against ruffians after all he had said previously. Hence, he decided not to answer and just nodded, a frown between his eyebrows.
“It’s settled, then!” said Tessa, obviously the happiest about his decision. “By the way, can you get me a room too? I get Cessilia’s place is grand but I only saw one bed, and I could use some privacy too. Like, without you three around.”
“I understand,” said Nupia, visibly impervious to Tessa’s snarky remarks. “We will make sure the closest room to the Princess is ready for you.”
Then, they separated from two of the triplets, who left on their own to get back more quickly to the castle. While they weren’t yet at the Inner Gate, Nana had begged them to make a detour by another of her cousin’s shops for food again. While they walked up to the said spot, Cessilia discreetly got closer to her cousin.
“D-didn’t you p-plan to st-tay with me?” she asked in a whisper.
