Princess in Trouble (complete)

1 - Vondra

Gathering the well-worn, forest-green, travel-stained, velvet cloak and lifting it with both hands, Vondra rose from her knees.

She had prayed, or rather, pleaded, repeating the same words over and over, "God, please help me. Give me a reason to live, please. Help me or I cannot continue in this life. Give me something to hope for, or I'm lost." Tears trickled down her cheeks before she remembered her grandmother's plea that she became the young woman that God wanted her to be.

"It is feminine to weep," the grandmother had told her. "Always remember, first of all, you are female. You're not the male heir that your father and your grandfather wanted you to be; but God made you just the way you are for a reason, a purpose."

Leaning into the high stone wall so she would be hidden in its shadow, she whispered, "And, Grandfather, if you knew where I am now and how much I've done to get here, you would tell me again, 'You're a weapon and weapons don't weep.' Grandmother and you were so different. Dear Grandfather, you had the most influence on me. You were the one who taught me how to become a weapon while Grandmother so wanted me to be a woman. I'm like a stronghold with flowers around me that are all dead as you both are — and now, I'm alone."

Like a bolt in her mind, a voice, soft but deep, spoke, "You are never alone my child." It was so real that she shivered before looking around to make sure no one was there.

The voice spoke again, "I am here, all the time, you need to keep praying to me. I am alive and real. I don't force you to ask, but I like to hear your voice. Remember, I'm always here."

She felt as though she was torn in two.

Unable to prevent herself, Vondra dropped to her knees and wept. Curling herself into the warm cloak, she wept until exhaustion consumed her. "I'm not strong right now; I feel tired... so very tired..."

She dozed, not caring about anything anymore.

It dawned on her in the midst of her sadness, she was free and no longer under the tyranny of those who had controlled her. Every minute of every day, she had been dictated to. Nothing she wore, ate or said was permitted unless it was by instruction of her minders, not to mention HIM — the horrible one from whom she had escaped... so far...

Her eyes flickered open and she knew she must go further, much further. Further from THEM - they would have trackers not far behind her. She had given her horse away at a crossroads to a man who confronted her. He was taking a path in an opposite direction but away from where she had come and it seemed more of a positive thing to do than a negative thing. He had turned and spied her ride up. Vondra reined the horse in. It was not her horse, but an Arab, one of the most resilient breeds. She calculated he had carried her over a hundred miles the first day and now, she was about 50 miles from her kingdom's border. The horse had done himself proud.

"Get off!" the traveling miscreant had screamed at her, waving a dagger in one hand and a more lethal weapon in his other— a short double-edged sword. Vondra could have evaded him and ridden off, or crippled him with a few moves. Foul odors wafted from his breath and body; wine mixed with perspiration. His matted hair hung in dread-locks, his leather outfit smelt foul.

Snatching and wrenching a bundle she had attached to the saddle, she sprung from the horse and bolted into the trees, hoping the man would choose the horse and not her. 

Climbing up to sit in the saddle, he urged the horse into a canter, taking his pre-planned path.

Hoping that if her enemies searched this far for her, they would find the thief with the horse she had ridden, she walked on and on. Enjoyment of the sound of bird-song in the sweet-smelling forest was intertwined from the smell of her own body-odor. She would bathe in the nearest deep stream, she decided.

Feelings of renewal and refreshment soothed her while merging with the reviving feel of the silver liquid, soothing away the trial of travel. The small round of soap she had put in the bundle bag proved to be a worthy companion now.

Having dried herself in the soft lining of the cloak, and plaited her hair into one long braid, she must continue her journey, her path to freedom. To hide herself somewhere far away but in 'plain view' was her aim.

Again, the sense that she needed help caused a prayer to escape her lips, "Please, God, if you are real, and really here, help me... give me a safe place, a safe identity, anything, God, anything." Swallowing and disliking herself for feeling weak, she added, "I won't forget it; I promise."

Memories of her grandmother's faith comforted her and she told herself, "I must work at making Grandmother proud as well as Grandfather, it will give me a reason to live. Not so much the weapon but more the woman." This idea made her smile as she thought, Perhaps I shall be the Woman Warrior.

Vondra found a safe place to sleep in a broken, abandoned lean-to hut near a creek where she drank of the cool, fresh water. She had left the leather water flask with the horse, among other useful things such as a bag of meal, a round of cheese and some dried chewy meat that soldiers ate when on a long journey. The bundle she carried had small, square, sweet cookie-like morsels, durable and nourishing. She had decided to eat two a day and when they were gone she would have to use a coin to buy food.

Passing numerous farmers' settlements and tiny villages, Vondra was both surprised and pleased not to be confronted or questioned. People just stared at her. Others, riders, drivers of horse-drawn carts, even carriages, all to which she stood aside and gave way, left her alone. If the road grew wider, she chose a narrower path or road at the first junction.

Near to, or central of, most small settlements, there was a communal well and at one of these she was successful in purchasing a soft leather flask with a copper coin, pleased that the vendor was a woman and did not ask any questions but nodded and smiled widely as if pleased with the one shining copper coin.

She purchased a new thick leather flask full of goats milk, dried meat, cheese, bread and fruit at a farmlet where a stall had been set up outside the barn. "Y' c'n stay in our barn if y' get tired. A young w'man like you shouldn't be out in this countryside traveling alone. It 'ain't safe," a young man told her." Ignoring his censure she walked off, wondering why his eyes lit up when she took a copper coin from her bag and gave it to him.

At the next bend in the narrow road, she glanced behind and saw that another young man walked with him. Increasing the length of her strides, she chose a path leading up a steep hill. At the top, she turned to look down through the thick but low undergrowth. They stood at the bottom watching her before turning away to return the way they had come. Showing my bag of coins must have been why he chose to follow, she thought. I will keep a coin separate from the bag from now on. Surely this is the lowest coin of all? He must have desired more, but why didn't he ask?

She chose to keep to the valleys, seeking well-traveled roads but sometimes climbing over ridges and down the other side, keeping her focus on moving southwards. Anywhere, off the road or path, beneath dry bushes or in the cleft of a cliff was where she chose to sleep, always surrounded by the dark green cloak which was her source of camouflage, warmth and comfort.

Guessing her direction south from the sun each day, only twice had she climbed high ridges and had managed to discern her whereabouts. By now, her kingdom was far to the North; she felt sure it would be over two hundred miles away. Perhaps in the next week or so, she would find that safe place where she could 'hide in plain sight'.

'Maybe a farmlet, one with a kind farmer's wife or extensive family with a grandmother and grandfather,' she mused.

Three more days passed, the same as those before. When and where she would find her 'place' she had no idea, nor did she feel it was something to be in a hurry to find. Every mile gave her further feelings of freedom and with the lack of company, she thanked God aloud for still being with her and keeping her safe this far.