The rest of the day's travel across the Arorian countryside came and went, and by nightfall, Princess Kate's procession had set up camp inside a recessed cave at the bottom of an imposing cliff face. While a warming fire crackled inside the shallow cavern and dinner sizzled, Kate stood atop a flattened boulder and gazed up at the stars. The sheer scale and beauty struck marvel and gratitude in her heart. Kate offered more than a few unarticulated praises to her Creator as she beheld the constellations sprawled across the blackened sky.

With a contented sigh, Kate hopped down from the rocky platform and onto the moist grass that softly caressed the soles of her bare feet as she strolled back over to the cave. The thud of heavy footsteps behind her reminded her of her chief bodyguard, as silent as he was ever-present.

Kate stepped through the rocky archway that so perfectly suited her height and forced all her fellow travelers to bend over to attain entrance. Her gaze climbed from the pebble-sprinkled floor to the dancing flame that both cooked the party's dinner and lit the cave with a warm glow.

In the illumination of the fire, Kate glanced about the cave before fully entering. Her other three bodyguards had finally removed their helmets, exposing sweaty hair of varying hues and matching beards. One of them stood rather close behind the party's cook, a blonde woman whose smiling mouth and giggling voice contrasted with her tired eyes as she chatted with the guardsman.

Kate averted her gaze from the pair and spotted Manfred and Andre sitting on a smooth log not far from the fire. Both swordsmen held their blades to the flickering light, apparently comparing their qualities. Manfred's longsword stretched a little longer than Andre's, with a slender blade and a hilt to comfortably accommodate two hands. On the other hand, Andre's sword sacrificed a few inches of length for greater width, and its gold-covered handle was of a design to allow both one-handed and two-handed combat.

After taking in another breath, Kate slipped her shoes back on and stepped over to the swordsmen's log. Both men looked up when her shadow descended over their unsheathed blades, and each offered a smile varying in duration.

"There is room for three, if you would only move over, Manfred." Kate remarked playfully. He quickly obliged, allowing the princess to take a seat beside him. "So, what are you two doing? Evaluating who has a better sword?"

Andre laughed. "No, your highness, that debate has already been had and settled long ago. We were only comparing nicks and scratches."

Kate nodded and glanced down at the nearest blade, which was Manfred's. "My goodness, that's a big chip right there." she said, pointing at a sizable nick in the middle of the cutting surface.

"Oh, yeah." Manfred said, "That's been there a while."

"It is little more than a byproduct of his Torlenian training, I'm afraid." Andre remarked. "Restricting oneself to defense in a sword fight will only make your own weapon suffer."

"I don't only defend. You're supposed to use that time to find an opening. Idea's to win the fight in one stroke."

Kate's green eyes widened. "Oh, wow, that's very interesting! I'd never fully understood the differences between the three schools. So Torlenian is conservative, but deadly. Which one do you study, Andre?"

"The Raskan." he said proudly, "It's opposite in nearly every way. The idea with our style is to always press the attack, never letting up until the foe has been vanquished. For a Raskan warrior to stop moving his sword would be a rare sight indeed."

"Ah, I see. Which style is the most effective?"

"That would depend largely on who you ask, your highness." Andre replied with a hearty chuckle, "Every man would have a reason to tell you why his is the superior art."

"Thus dictates human nature, I suppose." Kate remarked pleasantly, "So, how long have you two been studying at Sir Holt's academy?"

"Three years." the two men replied simultaneously before exchanging a glance. Manfred motioned for Andre to speak on.

"We began on the very same day, in fact." Andre continued, "Manfred and I were the academy's first students."

"I see. Was Tom at all disappointed for his academy's first two to be taught by the other instructors?"

Andre shrugged his broad shoulders. "Perhaps somewhat, but it was only a matter of days before his niece showed up, and from there, the number of Halotinian students only grew. They outnumber the rest of us by five to one, I'd say. Doesn't that sound accurate, Manfred?"

Manfred gave a quick nod. "Something like that. Maybe more."

"I guess that would make sense." Kate said, "Isn't the Halotinian the most balanced of the disciplines?"

"Yes, and also the oldest by far. But novelty is no stranger to success."

"Very true. So, excuse my constant spouting of questions, but I know few better ways to acquaint myself with new people."

"A princess should never have to apologize for anything." Andre said while smirking.

"I must dispute that. My royalty hardly excludes me from being bothersome." Kate retorted lightheartedly, "But at any rate, I was going to ask, what pushed you men to pursuing swordsmanship?"

"Well, being the son of Juan Feliz, a renowned knight in his own right, I suppose there is an aspect of continuing his legacy. But mainly, it's because there's far too much evil in this world, and I wish to be the man to stop it all."

"A lofty goal indeed, but an honorable one nonetheless." Kate's attention drifted over to Manfred. "And how about you, Manfred? What motivates you to learn swordsmanship?"

As she'd come to expect by now, Manfred's body tensed upon being called on to speak, and his eyes only made occasional landings on hers, brief in duration. "I...I'd guess part of it is being inspired by tales I've heard. Great heroes of yesterday like my teacher, Trevor Martin, or Tom Holt. I also...my family's always been...not poor, but modest. Hardworking men who build the palaces kings live in and the crowns that go on their heads, so to speak. But when we heard about the great Tom Holt founding a swordsmanship academy a couple days' journey away, I saw an opportunity to pave a new path for the Rickland family."

Kate reassured Manfred with a smile and a pat on the shoulder. "That's truly inspiring!" she exclaimed, "I must admire those who are given little, but make much of that which they do have."

Manfred visibly swallowed. "Yeah."

"With three years of training, I assume you're both at an intermediate level?"

Manfred's head bobbed up and down. "Yeah...that's right."

Kate smirked. "Wait a minute, how old are you two? Neither of you look to be much older than me, but looks can be deceptive."

Andre laughed. "I'm twenty-one years old, your highness."

"And I'm nineteen." Manfred said.

Kate's eyebrows elevated slightly. "So you two began at eighteen and sixteen respectively? Consider me impressed."

"What an honor it is to impress you, Princess." Andre remarked lightheartedly. "You're seventeen yourself, correct?"

Kate shook her head vigorously, mostly undoing the hair bun withholding her dark brown tresses from her face. "I am eighteen, Andre, soon nineteen. Although I suppose I should be flattered to be thought younger."

"An unintended compliment on your appearance, your highness, but one I shall refuse to retract."

Kate's nose wrinkled as she giggled and rose to her feet. "Well, it has been pleasant becoming better acquainted with you two gentlemen. I can quite easily foresee us all developing bonds far stronger than occupational. In case our paths fail to cross the rest of this night, I wish you both a blessed evening."

****

Sleep failed to present itself to Princess Kate's eyelids that night as she tossed and turned in her bedroll. Her mind raced with thoughts as ever-moving as bubbles upon boiling water. And it wasn't even unpleasant thoughts keeping her awake, but joyous ones that made her feel warm and giddy inside.

Shortly after she'd parted from Manfred and Andre earlier in the night, dinner had drawn the three back together, and as they'd eaten the hearty lamb stew with chunks of carrot and parsnip, they'd resumed chatting.

Kate had mentioned a quote she'd read about just how much a swordsman's hilt said about his character, and the two men had promptly presented their swords to her in turn. She'd weighed both weapons in her hands as she examined the handles. Andre's was an absolute beauty to look at, an elegantly contoured shape overlaid with pure gold and further embellished by his signature in a flowing Alcontean cursive.

Manfred's hilt, on the other hand, possessed none of the grandeur Andre's had, but instead felt how Kate thought any weapon should—sturdy and functional. A simple design with wood wrapped in leather and an iron pommel, Kate couldn't help but feel sympathetic dread for any who would come to face the weapon.

And the conversation had branched off from there. Princess Kate's further acquaintance with the two swordsmen birthed more fondness for them. Andre's charming mannerisms, contagious smile, and quick wit tickled the princess' fancy. At the same time, Manfred's unadorned simplicity of mind, disposition to always lend a listening ear, and high aspirations despite his lower social standing also lifted Kate's spirits, albeit in a different way.

As Kate presently wrestled with sleeplessness, her mind brought her back to the true reason of her desire to make this expedition to Innutuk in the first place. She wanted to find a partner soon so her father wouldn't force one on her. So far, she'd only courted soft men who easily bent to her desires merely for being a princess, or even worse, only for her beauty.

But not so with these men. Andre had all the looks and charm she'd seen in a few noblemen, but added to that, he possessed a greater mental resilience. He had come to a civilized disagreement more than once with Kate during the course of their dinner conversation, and she'd found it refreshing how he'd held his ground and retained respect.

Though Manfred lacked refined social skills and let out most his thoughts in a halting speech pattern, he also was no weakling. He certainly didn't go out of his way to make contention, but he never compromised where it really mattered.

Kate found herself puzzled. She'd originally set out to ratify this peace treaty with Innutuk so Monterayne's good men could come home, but now she wondered if she'd already found what she wanted. Clearly, she couldn't turn back now, and neither did she want to. Monterayne's on-edge attitude toward its western neighbor was still a strain on resources and the economy in general that had to be alleviated. But Kate thought it ironic that her mission to bring Monteraynian men home ended up actually taking two away from home, and two rather good men at that.

Princess Kate sighed and turned over again, shutting her eyes once more in an attempt of calming herself to sleep. Since this expedition would keep Andre and Manfred in close proximity for the next two dozen days or so, she realized she'd have plenty of time to get to know them both much better, and perhaps by the time her birthday rolled around, she'd be courting one.

Kate smiled to herself. I believe this whole process will be quite fun.