The Sword Saints

11. The Royal Shield

(Yuna)

"Standing to up one's enemies is challenging, but certainly something that can come easily. Standing up to one's friends and loved ones, that is the mart of a truly brave soul. Sometimes it can be the hardest thing one can do, but it must be done."

- The Book of Bravery: Ch. 4: verse 1-2.

Yuna was unconscious for a long time, but she didn't meet her end, at least she didn't think that was the case. She was in the darkness of her subconscious mind and if that was death – just eternal darkness – then that was far more terrifying than any form of hell that anyone had ever conceived of. But that was not the case. She was not dead.

She was moving, that much was certain. She could feel her body move and jerk with every small bump and it was clear that she was in a carriage. Her eyes fluttered and her face flinched. She caught a glimpse of light. It was day. Her body wanted to stretch but she didn't move a muscle, remembering that she had been knocked unconscious under very dangerous circumstances.

Easing open her eyes, she was met by immediate pain: in her head, leg, and ribs, and she recalled the injuries she'd sustained during her struggle. But there didn't seem to be anything new, so she thanked the Virtues for that. Yuna opened her eyes all the way and found that she was indeed in a carriage, an old worn wood one that she couldn't imagined had seen significant upkeep in a good long while.

No one sat next her on the seat, but she sensed that she wasn't alone. She was careful to stay perfectly still. She found that she was wrapped up in a thick wool blanket that made her feel comfortably warm. A bandage was wrapped around her forehead and thickly around her wounded leg. Yuna doubted that the men would have gone through the courtesy of helping her, not after she had killed two of them.

She had killed two men.

That fact slammed into her, blunt and harsh. She ended two lives and she felt... good. She didn't feel remorse or regret. She killed them, and they deserved what they got. Yuna didn't care if that wasn't what Peace and Sympathy taught, it's how she felt. This was a turning point within her. She was sure of that.

"Thank goodness, you're awake," said a voice, a very familiar voice. She jumped at the words. Someone, right across from her, though she hadn't even bothered to look up and observe her small surroundings.

Sitting there was her closest friend in the world and her personal bodyguard, Padrick Chelwyn. "Padrick," she wheezed. She threw off the wool blanket and, ignoring the immediate pain of her sudden movement, threw herself at her friend and wrapped him in an embrace. Tears pooled in her sapphire eyes and threatened to spill.

"It's okay, princess. You're safe now," he whispered into her hair. She ran her fingers through his soft cropped sandy hair. He was solid and strong and for the first time in days, she felt truly safe.

"I thought I was done for."

He pulled away from her embrace and held her out in front of him. He gestured for her to sit and she did so, then his deep brown eyes peered into hers. "I arrived right when you were struck unconscious. I would have arrived sooner, but you led us on quite the chase. Good thinking, by the way."

Yuna blushed and was at a loss for words. She couldn't believe that he had found her and that brought up a lot of questions, chief of which was, "How did you find me?" She asked it nothing more than a faint whisper.