The Purple Jade Palace: The Hummingbird's Plan

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Ladet sat cross-legged on the floor of Menelt's tent with Princess Estina, Menelt and Weldlan. A young man also sat beside Princess Estina. Gaunt and with dark shadows under his eyes, Ladet guessed it was Princess Estina's twin brother by the way he was still regally and immaculately dressed in a black buttoned coat with gold buttons. Princess Estina might have left her life behind but her brother hadn't.

Ladet was still in shock.

For the most part, he remembered some of what happened ten years earlier. It was from the perspective of a child however and the memories often came in disjointed and out of sequence images. He remembered the chase through the tents and the climb up the tree. He remembered trying to kill the soldiers who had killed Drean, and forever cemented in his memory, was the impression the mountain men had left on him.

Still, as time had passed, Ladet had often wondered whether his memories of Menelt and his men had been exaggerated in excited childhood fashion. He was pleasantly surprised to see that his memories were true. The mountain men looked as brutish and fearsome as his memories had pictured.

His gaze wandered back and forth between Menelt and Princess Estina. Despite her informal clothes, she still held an elegance and refinement that only royalty could have embedded into her from birth. He wondered at the arrangement between the pair and what had brought them together, and how they were even in Talbec for that matter.

Princess Estina was leading the conversation currently. They were speaking in Keglan and Ladet was struggling to keep up. It had been so long since he had used his native tongue.

"As soon as I saw they were using Ashkin darts," Princess Estina told Ladet. "I knew it was time to retreat. One dart would be fatal for us."

Ladet nodded in agreement, his longbow across his lap. "Teal has a resilience to the poison that we do not," he explained. "When I first met him, he had three darts in his shoulder that merely knocked him out for a couple of hours."

"That's incredible," Princess Estina said. She repeated Teal's name, testing it in her mouth upon hearing it for the first time. "A Lombock," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "I could not believe my eyes when he stood directly in front of me."

She pulled her disheveled hair free and quickly tied it into a non-fuss ponytail to get it out of her face. Ladet tried not to stare. With her long black hair, pale skin, high cheekbones and her bright intense hazel eyes, the Princess was a staggering beauty.

"Your Emperor is a brave man to take such company," she continued.

"The Emperor and his other concubines are very fond of Teal," Ladet responded. He was eager to keep the conversation moving. "How long ago did the battle in the field take place?" he asked.

"About two hours ago," Princess Estina confirmed.

Ladet started to rise to his feet, urgency rushing over him. "Forgive me, but too much time has passed. I need to find Teal."

"That would not be wise," Menelt suddenly spoke for the first time, his deep voice resonating around the inside of the tent.

Ladet slowly lowered himself back to the ground. "Why?"

Princess Estina explained, "Not when they are using darts. We do not have soldier armor so the darts will pierce through our clothes. It would be best to find out where they are taking him first. Once they have stopped moving, then we can come up with an effective plan to free him."

"Why are you even helping the Empire?" Ladet asked.

"Your Emperor allowed for me to hide in Talbec with Menelt," Princess Estina explained. "We are returning to the Keglar Kingdom now to take Old Lake Tehlea Estate as our own. We can also add in a rescue," Princess Estina clarified with a shrug. "It's the least we can do. Prince Yernal has always been an egotistical fool. You are welcome to join us as well to help bring Teal back," she quickly added.