Here She Rules: The Chronicles of Erla: Book 1 (32 page)

“How did you come to be here?” Cassie queried.

Mika looked at her and replied for them. “We could not be still and wait, Mistress. We had to try to find you. None of us are willing to live our lives without you. So, we took some of your gold, bought supplies, and rode north. We stayed at an inn, and that was where we learned about the Ambrian caravan which had passed through recently. It was the only good lead we had, so we decided to travel to Ambria to see if we could discover you there. My Lady, I beg you not to be angry with us for our impertinence in coming. If you must issue a punishment, then let me take it for my brothers,” he solemnly spoke, bowing his head before her.

Cassie and Nera sat open-mouthed, looking at him . . . at all of them. It was then that their appearances sank in, and she saw the bruises marring their beloved faces. “What happened to you all?!” Cassie exclaimed, worry tingeing her voice.

“We were in a fight,” Arn replied with a shamefaced grin.

“A fight?! A fight? Where?” Cassie was thunderstruck. “Who did this to you? I will kill them!”

“It was at the Inn, Mistress. Some men were hurting a girl, and when we asked them to stop, they attacked us,” Aidan chimed in.

“You mean to tell me you were involved in a bar fight?” Laughter burbled out of her mouth, and she was joined by Nera. The women dissolved into hysterics as the stress and fear of the past few weeks overwhelmed them. The men worriedly watched as they rolled around on the ground. Eventually, their laughing fit subsided, and they composed themselves—sitting back up and wiping their eyes.

“We won the fight, Mistress!” Kai said proudly, smiling at her. Cassie and Nera started giggling again at his words.

“I am so sorry I was not there to protect you, but it is good to know you can take care of yourselves,” Cassie gurgled. “My own little warriors!” she said, looking upon them fondly.

“Mistress, we are so happy to have you back! We never want to be without you again. The world outside Erla is not one in we wish to live,” Mika said.

“I cannot wait to go home either, my loves. Believe me!” The women yawned, and the men rose to set out the sleeping furs. They made one bed for all of them and put the women in the middle covering them with the furs.
 

They efficiently packed things up and put out the fire, joining the women in the cave. Nera pulled Arn between her and Cassie and the others spread themselves between the women, with Taylyn taking his spot nearest to the opening of the cave. Cassie sighed and wiggled as close to Mika as possible, letting his loving arms envelope her as Aidan wrapped around her from behind. Their combined warmth sent Cassie straight into a deep sleep.

Dawn was breaking when Cassie next awoke. She was delightfully warm and relaxed and she woke up refreshed for the first time in weeks. When she opened her eyes to see Aidan smiling at her, she sighed happily and held him close.
 

She felt Mika shift behind her, her movements having woke him up. Soon, Taylyn and Aidan were sitting up on the other side of Garen and smiling happily at their Mistress.
 

Cassie threw back the furs and stood, shivering slightly in the morning chill as her men groaned at the cold. She quickly threw on her parka and boots and went out to answer nature’s call. As she was making her way back, Nera passed her and smiled as she went to take care of the same thing.

While she had been gone, the men had started a fire and were preparing food and a comfortingly hot tea. They insisted Cassie sit while they finished making breakfast and prepared the equipment for travel. When Nera came back, breakfast was ready and the rest all sat down to eat.

“How far are we from the village you stopped at, Mika?” Cassie asked.

“Less than a day’s travel, Mistress,” he replied.

“You said Lady Kara had taken a force out to search for us. Do you know in what direction she went?” Cassie then asked.

“Mistress, Lady Kara did not share her plans with me. I am sorry.” His dark head lowered and then lifted. “The Kings of Serlenn and Destia joined forces with the Lady Kara, so it would be difficult to say how they proceeded.”

“Cassandra, if my guess is correct, Nyles would search north. This is his land we are in now. Kara most likely would go to the East or West. I cannot say what direction Darien would take,” Nera said.

“Well, I say we head directly to Erla. Once there, we can send riders out to let them know we are safely at home,” Cassie replied, and the entire group smiled at the word “home.”

“I agree, and it will be very good to be home again,” Nera said. The rest of them agreed wholeheartedly.
 

The men tidied up after breakfast and packed the bags onto the horses. It was decided that Cassie would share a horse with Mika, and Nera would share one with Arn.
 

When Cassie went to mount, Mika put his hand on her sleeve, stopping her. She looked at him curiously, and he handed her the sword he had been carrying. She took it and kissed him softly on the lips.
 

“I never wish to wield a weapon again, My Lady, unless it is in your defense,” he said.

Cassie caressed his face and replied, “I hope I shall always be near enough to protect you, Mika.” She kissed him again and swung into the saddle, holding down her hand to help him mount. “I imagine you have learned to ride quite well by now. Haven’t you, sweetheart?”
 

She turned and grinned at him. He grimaced slightly and said, “I hope all this time astride will not affect your pleasure, My Lady.”
 

They both laughed as Mika slid his arm around her waist and molded his body to her back.
 

Cassie looked over and saw Arn give his sword to Nera and then mount behind her as well. At a signal from their Queen, they set off at a gallop.

They flew through the forest kicking up snow. The farther they went, the warmer the temperature became, and after several hours, Cassie called a halt and jumped off of her horse to remove her parka. The rest followed suit. The snow was sparse now, and they could see the smoke rising from the village in the distance.

“We are close now, Mistress . . . Your Highness. We should be there within half of an hour,” Taylyn said as he brought a skin of water to them. The women nodded and thanked him, and then they walked about the clearing, stretching their tight muscles.
 

They soon mounted up again and headed towards the village. When they came within a mile of the place, they abruptly reined in their horses as they saw what approached. Ahead, to the east, the vanguard of a great army thundered towards them.
 

Nera and Cassie drew their swords. A sinking feeling formed in their bellies at the enormity of the force which approached. They looked at each other and nodded. The men drew their weapons awkwardly—more than willing to fight with their Mistress.
 

Cassie handed Mika her dagger and braced herself for whatever was to come. She could only imagine it was Ston’s battalions returning to Ambria. Nevertheless, they fanned their horses out and into a line, and then they held themselves ready for what seemed would be certain death.

A rider broke free from the front line and galloped towards them full tilt. It was then that they saw the banners of Erla streaming from the formation, and Cassie let out a yell.
 

“Kara!” Cassie yelled as she spurred her horse into a gallop. Mika grabbed her waist frantically, trying to avoid falling off. Cassie rode headlong towards her friend, laughing, crying, and shouting her name.

Nera appeared next to her as they covered the ground separating them. When they pulled their horses to a stop, Cassie flew from the saddle and the two women caught each other up in a fierce embrace. Seconds later, they were joined by Nera and laughter erupted from their lips in their joy at each other’s safety.

“Praise be to the gods that you are safe!” Kara breathed before quickly sobering. “Your Highness, I have grave news. I have failed in my duty to keep Erla safe. When I took Erla’s Army to find you, I left Erla unprotected, and it has been captured by the Ambrian King.” Kara’s words came out in a rush as she bowed her head in shame.

“What?! Erla has been taken? Cassandra, what shall we do?” Nera asked, pale with shock.

“I will tell you what
I
will do. I am heading for Erla, and once there, I will relieve that bastard of his head!” Cassie ground out.
 

Just then, the main force of the Army reached them, and Nyles, Darien, and Nall rode up and leapt from their mounts. Pushing decorum aside, they embraced the women and welcomed them, relief plain on their features.

“I presume Lady Kara explained what has occurred, and I must offer my apologies, Queen Nera. I should have been a better advisor to her. Through my error, I have failed our alliance,” King Nyles said with a bow.

“As have I, My Lady,” Darien put in.

“I will be very glad the kick all of you in the ass later, but for now, we must liberate Erla!” Cassie exclaimed. “This talk will accomplish nothing when I have two men to kill.” She turned and stalked towards her horse, but Darien’s words stopped her.

“Lady Cassandra, I am thrilled to see you have not lost your edge . . .” Darien’s hot eyes skimmed her body with a smile, “or any of your other wonderful attributes.” Cassie glared at him.

“My Lord Darien, this is no time for your idiocy. I only hope you come prepared to fight,” she snarled at him. To her surprise, he laughed.

“Is there room in a wagon for my slaves? I would have them out of danger,” Cassie asked, looking at Kara.
 

Kara’s face twisted. She had not noticed Cassandra’s slaves until that moment.

“How did your slaves come to be with you?” she asked in confusion.

“They decided to save us,” Cassie replied with a grin, and the group turned to look at her slaves in amazement.
 

Kara shook her head and called for a warrior to go to the provision wagons and find room for them. Cassie turned and told them to go with the warrior. She wanted them out of the way during the battle to come, and they reluctantly obeyed.

It was mutually decided that they would make camp close, but not too nearby—not wanting to alert Ston to their advancing forces.
 

Kara sent guards out to patrol the perimeters of the camp, and they established a Command Tent and sat down to make battle plans.
 

It was all Nera could do to keep Cassie and Kara in their seats. They were so eager to ride immediately to take back the city. Kara wanted badly to make up for her mistake and redeem herself, even though she felt certain she would lose her position over her failure.

“Kara,” Nera said finally, “make no mistake. I
am
unhappy over what has happened . . .” Kara lowered her head dejectedly as the Queen continued, “but you could not have foreseen this, and the size of the army that overtook Erla was not something which you could have defended against even if you had left several units behind. It would have required our entire force to save the city.”

Kara nodded and looked up, relieved to see that there was no condemnation in Nera’s eyes. She was reticent to look at Cassie; she couldn’t bear to see disappointment or anger in her Commander’s eyes—in her
friend’s
eyes.
 

When she finally mustered her courage, Cassie’s eyes held no reproof nor any anger—only understanding and compassion. It cost Kara all of her remaining control not to break down in relief.

They talked for hours over battle plans and strategies, and the men gained even more respect for these women as they spoke. They were smart, cunning, and when talk turned to planning the attack, the men were decidedly glad that these women were on
their
side.
 

Cassie finally rose and stated that she would take a contingent to scout close to Erla and test the waters. Kara volunteered immediately to go along, and Cassie very nearly told her to stay behind and rest. Something in her friend’s face stopped her from doing so, however. She sensed that Kara needed some one-on-one time, and she didn’t want her to think she was being punished.

Cassie found her men and quickly changed into a leather outfit which would blend in with the forest. The sleeveless vest and leather pants were a bit loose, but it could not be helped as they were given by one of her warriors.
 

They mounted and rode past the village into the forest bordering Erla, riding as soundlessly as possible across the moss-covered ground. Stopping halfway through the forest, they meant to continue on foot when they heard the rumble of approaching horsemen.
 

Cassie, Kara, and their accompanying warriors melted into the underbrush to watch as the riders approached, and they could see it was a detail of Ambrian men.
 

There were a dozen of them. They rode at a slow and steady pace, expecting no trouble from the vanquished and not expecting the Erlan Army to have returned. Cassie’s women silently split up at her command. Half went to the front and half circled around to the back of the Ambrians.