Steel Wolf

Stress and Strain

Shoulder to shoulder, covering the entire street, a solid wall of their new elven allies marched along in perfect lockstep. Animals of all types, bears, wolves, badgers, stag, and many others were interspersed among the forest dwellers. The Royal Guard could be seen astride their mounts in a tight group surrounded by the creatures of the forest. Overhead, eagles, owls, ravens...all manner of birds, wheeled and scanned the ground.

Royal Guard Commander Tanaya Paulsdottir dropped her sword, her helm slipping from her fingers also to thud as it landed on the grass at her feet. Her jaw hung open. She glanced to her left to see the others of her squad with their mouths open, too. She bent to pick up her fallen gear, extracted a cloth from a pouch to wipe her sword, then sheath it. She quickly ran the cloth over her helm, tucking it under her arm.

At an unheard signal, the column of elves and animals separated down the middle, each side walking around the perimeter of the park until it was completely surrounded. The birds lit in the high branches of the park's trees. The Royal Guard continued to approach her, led by an armor-clad wolf.

The few citizens in the park appeared almost frantic at the sight of the huge group which enclosed them, seemingly preventing them from leaving. Tanya turned to the four soldiers next to her, instructing them to placate the citizens and help them in any way they could.

The armored wolf walked up to her without fear, licked her gloved hand and lay down at her feet, turning its head toward the dismounting Captain MacNaulty.

"Slag-dammit, Captain! You were instr..." began a fuming Tanaya.

"Commander, I know what our instructions were, ma'am," Rance cut her off. "When I got your message and ordered a detail down here, a certain noble ordered the whole company to assist. Someone told the Tree Elder and he got his people involved...and their friends." He removed his helm. "You might have the balls..er, tits to stand up to the princess, but I don't. She scares me..." The merest hint of a quaver in his voice.

Tanaya raised an eyebrow and looked seriously at Rance, led him a little way away from the group and lowered her voice. Wolf-Serenna started to rise and follow, but thought better of it and stayed put, although watching them intently.

"Captain, are you feeling okay? Do I need to have someone assume your duties for a little while? No shame in asking for a respite. I know we're under a great deal of stress, right now, but can you hold it together until you hit the boat? After that, it should be nothing but a month of lying on the deck, soaking up the sun."

"Tanaya, you know me; after all, I was your superior for almost two years. You know how I handle stress." He inhaled deeply to settle himself, then looked her in the eye, a set to his jaw. "I swear by Helm and Sword that I won't fail you or the Guard, ma'am. I know we all need a break, but Her Highness' safety is why we're here. Unto Death."

She headbutted him and grinned.

"Then, get her royal ass on that boat and go to Pathwood Keep. The rest of us will find a way over land." She handed him the note from the mayor, which he read. She also filled him in on the odd conversation they had.

"Commander, why don't you and a squad take Her Highness to Pathwood Keep, and leave the bulk of the Guard with me to figure out what goes on here? The lieutenant was a good friend. The private was from my squad. I owe them both that much," Rance said, handing back the note.

"They died under my command. I sent them here. That makes me responsible," Tanaya said, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

It was Rance's turn to look at her seriously. He could see the pain and weight of her command in her face. It seemed she'd aged ten years in the month since the attack on the capital city.

"And you say I'm stressed?" Rance ran a hand over his face. "Take a bit of advice from an underling, Commander?"

"That's why I chose you, Captain. Go ahead."

"You need to take it slower. You've been trying to take on most of this all by your little lonesome. Oh, sure, you've been delegating stuff to us, but it's mostly been simple stuff like setting up the camp or posting sentries, crap-jobs you were trained to do in Entry Camp." He gestured at several guards. "They all know how dedicated you are to your job. There's not a soul out there that wouldn't die for you. You've made a big impression on them, to a man."

He pointed to the wolf watching them intently.

"She is the primary reason for your existence, in case you've forgotten. I don't mean simply because she's your wife. I mean because, when the king dies, she's gonna be the very next monarch over these lands. Now, as you're my superior officer, I can't give you a direct order, so I'm advising you to get to Pathwood Keep and request a relief detachment from the King's Guard, ma'am." He smiled slyly. "We've got this one."

"You make a great case, Captain," Tanaya smiled back. Turning, she yelled, "Guard! Form up!"

Within seconds the Royal Guard were standing in formation, the armor-clad wolf standing beside Tanaya, wagging its tail. The monks stood off to one side to watch the proceedings.

"All right, Boys and Girls," Tanaya said loudly. "A few changes of plans. Captain MacNaulty is hereby given a field promotion to the rank of lieutenant commander, and Lieutenant Lauran is hereby promoted to captain. From here on out, they'll be conducting the investigation into the deaths of our comrades. I'm taking a single squad to escort the Princess the rest of the way to Pathwood Keep. Lieutenant Packer! Take two people with you to find Private Quinnel's detail and inform them of our new plans. Stay with them. Make sure he knows that he's still the acting intelligence officer and that you're merely there for advice. I need four guards to join my squad. You all can decide, I'm not picky. Captain Lauran, you're the lieutenant commander's right arm. Let Sergeant Matheny handle the..."

Rance noisily cleared his throat.

Tanaya inhaled deeply to center herself. Rance was right; she was trying to do it all.

"Royal Guard! Move like we have a purpose!" she yelled. "UNTO DEATH!"

"UNTO DEATH!" came the resounding reply.