Unlike the people in the forest, those in Liman would be a lot angrier about having an Ishini in their midst and so, as they neared the walled port town, Rina cast an illusion on Isiah to make him look more like her. She wasn't sure how long she could hold it and to make things easier, got Isiah to put his hood up and hide his hands for as long as necessary.
Liman was surrounded by a massive stone wall, guards patrolling across the top of it. She'd never been there, despite it being Minisia's main port town. Any time she'd gone over the ocean, she'd left from Ziya, which had a small port mostly used by the nobles and the royal family. It had been in her plans to travel there one day. If only it had been under better circumstances.
She didn't bother casting the illusion until they were closer, in order to save her energy. Both of them doubted that the illusion would last long, but if they could explain what was going on before it dropped, then maybe it would be alright. The illusion was only there to stop them from being attacked in the streets.
Surely, whoever ran the town would allow them to use a boat. She was the Crown Princess, any order she gave had to be followed, but even so, she couldn't help but feel nervous as they walked slowly towards the town.
It would be a while before they headed for what they suspected was Teremtys' Sanctum. They still had to wait for Emrick, wherever he was. He had to show up soon, or they would run out of time. She had no idea how close the army was, or how long they had to get the final stone and do what was needed.
"Do you think they'll let us in?" Isiah asked next to her.
She barely spared him a glance. "They should," she replied. The guards on the walls would have to listen to her. Beyond them, she couldn't see much, just the occasional tops of buildings and grey stone towers of the stronghold. Past the town was the crisp blue ocean, calm for once despite the angry clouds in the sky above.
Isiah didn't look convinced. "And if your illusion fails?"
"You are under my care. They won't do anything to you unless I say so," she replied and crossed her arms over her chest. "If I need to, I can say you're my prisoner and I'm taking you to my father."
"I don't know how well that would work, Rina," he said.
"It's a last resort. Hopefully, it won't come to that. Now, stand still," she ordered and turned him to face her. Not all illusions were complicated, but changing even one detail in someone's face took a lot of concentration. She wasn't changing much, just the colour of his skin and hair.
Isiah looked strange as an Askari, probably as strange as she did as an Ishini. It didn't suit him, but he wouldn't be wearing the fake face for very long. "How do I look?" he asked, giving her a small smile.
"Wrong," she answered and they shared a second of laughter.
Another few minutes down the shovelled path in the thinning snow and they had almost reached the tall wooden gates of Liman. The guards had been watching them for some time but didn't tell them to stop until they had almost reached the entrance. Hand in hand, Isiah and Rina stood, waiting for whatever the guards had to say.
"Who are you?" one of them yelled down from the parapet. They sounded panicked and for good reason. She doubted there had been many visitors since the war started.
There was only one right way to answer them. "Crown Princess Sharina Nishinaron! This is my escort, Isiah!" she yelled, straightening her back and raising her eyebrows at the group that had formed above them.
They looked at each and the faint sound of whispering drifted down to the ground. Isiah's eyebrows were furrowed in concern when he looked at her and she tried to give him a reassuring smile.
"The Princess is missing!" the guard eventually yelled back. "Presumed dead! Is there anyone here who can vouch for your identity?"
Rina froze, anxiety welling in her gut. How was she supposed to know the answer to that? "I don't know! Surely whoever is in charge of you would be able to vouch for me?" she suggested with a shrug. If a village girl had been able to recognise her, surely someone in charge of either Liman or the battalion of soldiers within its walls would as well.
Isiah looked as if he wanted to speak, but they had agreed that he was to play mute until she could explain what was happening. She couldn't even explain what was going on with the guards, not without giving away the fact that he didn't know their language and wasn't one of them.
"We're running from the army! Even if I'm not who I say I am, wouldn't you allow sanctuary from those hiding from people trying to kill us?" she cried, biting down on her lip when silence followed.
She tensed as one of the guards disappeared from the wall and the others continued to stare at her and Isiah without a word. The illusion was holding steady, but it wouldn't be long before she began to grow tired. They had to get into Liman quickly so they could find a quiet place for her to recover her powers.
With a loud creak, the gate opened and Isiah let out a loud sigh of relief next to her. A guard stood on the other side of it, gesturing for them to come through. Without a word, they followed the instruction and stopped before the guard, their hands shaking with nervousness.
"This way," the guard said with barely a look at them and turned to walk down the dirt road ahead of them.
Liman smelled like the ocean but was almost silent. It was easy to imagine what it was supposed to be like: bustling streets and busy marketplaces, people yelling and calling to each other in the hopes that money would be spent. Instead, the streets were almost abandoned, except for the guards and a few brave souls who gave Rina and Isiah fearful looks. The war kept them all inside the homes while they waited for it to be over. They wouldn't have to wait much longer.
Occasionally, down the streets that led east, she got a glimpse of the beach and the bright ocean beyond. The guard was leading them south towards the double towered stronghold, heading up a gradual incline. The buildings were nice, not as nice as the ones in Ziya, but they weren't falling apart like the ones she'd seen in the border towns.
Other guards stood outside the stronghold and the man leading her and Isiah nodded as they passed. She didn't mind having the eyes on her, but having Isiah next to her made her nervous. Her illusion would eventually fail, she could feel it happening, the tiredness seeping into her bones. They needed to reach whoever was leading the guards and explain everything as soon as possible.
As per her instructions, Isiah said nothing, but she could tell he wanted to. Eventually, he would be able to, but not until she explained everything and whoever they were going to speak to accepted it. If they did. They could get unlucky again. They were due for it. Somehow, most of the people they spoke to were more than willing to help them, bar the people from Huton of course.
Holding an arm out, the guard stopped them in front of a tall wooden door. "Wait here," he said and walked in with a short knock.
Rina took the chance to drop her illusion on Isiah for a moment. There was no one around them to see and she needed to conserve her energy. The stronghold was nice enough, but it looked exactly as she had expected. Banners hung on the walls, sconces and tall windows with views of the ocean between them. If it hadn't been for Isiah, she had no doubt that it would be cold. Her people had yet to master how to build homes that kept out the cold.
"What's going on?" Isiah asked, whispering the words in her ear.
"They're taking us to see their leader so that they can vouch for my identity," she answered.
Isiah hissed in a breath. "They didn't believe us?"
"Not yet."
The doorknob rattled and as quickly as she could, she cast her illusion again. She never should have dropped it, but she needed to rest. Partway open, the door stopped and the guard that had been escorting them called out to someone behind him. It gave Rina more than enough time to finish her work, making sure to change Isiah's face to the exact same shade as before.
The guard opened the door fully and gestured for them to follow. "Come."
The room beyond was brightly lit by the large arch window that ran the height of one wall. A desk sat before it, littered with papers but empty of people. The inhabitants of the room stood before a table on a deep blue and purple rug, as still as the portraits on the walls behind them. The table was decorated with the little statues of the Askari and Ishini army and it was obvious from a single glimpse who was winning. They stood in a war room.
The man who stepped towards them was one she recognised instantly. A Warrior of Ziya, one of the four leaders of the strong battalion and the man who had trained her. Sir Cillian Vergot. Rina bit down hard on her lip as he stepped forward and held out her hand. Instead of shaking it like she wanted, he pressed a kiss to the back of it and ignored the sneer on her face.
"Your Highness, it is good to see you alive and well," he said, a smile on his weathered face. His grey hair had grown out, short strands that touched the top of his ears instead of the near bald scalp they were usually supposed to have. His grey eyes were piercing. She'd never liked them, feeling as though they were mocking every she did.
Despite her feelings, there was a level of politeness that she had to uphold. "It is good to see you as well, Sir Cillian," she replied and dropped her hand to gesture at Isiah. "This is my escort, Isiah."
"He is not noble-born," Sir Cillian replied and turned to her friend. It was obvious that it was the truth, Isiah didn't have a last name. "Why are you with the Crown Princess?"
Panic took over Isiah's features and Rina was quick to interject. "He's mute," she said and her old teacher nodded in understanding. "He saved my life so I asked him to come with me. It was better than being alone."
That seemed to be a good enough answer for Cillian, who nodded and stepped towards the guard who had brought her and Isiah in. "This is Princess Sharina Nishinaron. I vouch for her identity."
The guard bowed and left the room, giving Rina a chance to look at the other people in the room. She didn't know who any of them were but it was easy to guess that one might be the leader of Liman and the other were either their followers or captains of the army waiting for battle. They watched her with wide eyes as if they never expected to be in her presence. In the chaos of the war, she had almost forgotten how important she was to Minisia.
When the guard was gone, Sir Cillian turned back to her, a frown on his face and his hands on his hips. "Why have you come here, Princess? You should be in Ziya with your family," he said.
"Not all of my family is in Ziya. Benj is in Maeve," she replied before she could stop herself. Cillian was always someone she had found it easy to argue with.
"Benj is a Warrior, you are not," Cillian said as if he was taunting her. He was the reason she didn't know the advanced moves, the reason why she wasn't a Warrior herself. "Why did you come here?"
She took a deep breath, unsure if any of the people before her would believe her. "I have a way of stopping the war and we needed to come here to get it," she explained.
A woman burst from the small group, bowing quickly before she spoke. "What solution have you found, Your Highness?" she asked.
"This is Lady Hyla of Liman, Your Highness, she has allowed us to station part of the army here," Cillian explained before raising an eyebrow at her. "I, too, would like to know of your solution."
"I have the Beast that was Promised," she said. There was a high chance that the people before her had no idea what she was talking about.
From the frown on Cillian's face, she had been right. "The what?"
"The Beast that was Promised is the saviour of the followers of the Old Gods, but he's real," she explained and gestured to the man next to her. "It's Isiah. He has powers like no one else in the realm. It's his duty to stop King Harudan."
It took less than a second for Cillian to start laughing at her and two more for everyone else in the room to start. "Your Highness, that is merely an old tale from a religion that barely exists, it's not true. Has your time in Brenmar really affected you so badly?" he asked, a hint of mocking in his voice. Instead of replying, all she did was nod to Isiah and bring down the illusion she had cast, glaring when the laughter finally cut off. Cillian's amused sneer turned to one of anger in an instant. "You dare bring an Ishini into Liman in the middle of a war? What is wrong with you?"
She said nothing to him, but turned to Isiah and quickly translated everything that had happened. The more she spoke, the more irritated he looked. "You dare insult your Crown Princess?" he asked, glaring at Cillian, but she didn't translate, not wanting to start a fight.
"When she has been swayed by the lies of an Ishini, yes," Sir Cillian answered in the Ishini language. Apparently, he spoke both languages, which made everything a whole lot easier for them.
She went to speak, to defend both her and Isiah from a man she'd rather not talk to, but Isiah's enraged voice stopped her. "Does this look like a lie to you?" he yelled and with a whoosh, a wall of flame erupted between them. It was a terrible idea. It only made Isiah look more dangerous to the people around them, but he was still speaking. "I am a follower of the Old Gods. If you know anything about us, you know that I will not hurt you."
Over the top of the flames, Cillian and the others were shaking with fear and a small part of her liked the expression on his face, but it was time to stop. She put a hand on Isiah's wrist. "You can stop now," she said in a soft voice and the flames disappeared. Nothing was burnt, not even the floor, it was almost as if the flames had never existed in the first place.
"What- What are you?" Cillian asked in a quiet voice, his mouth opened wide with shock.
"The Beast that was Promised," Isiah answered, crossing his arms over his chest. It was a side of him that she had barely seen before, but she liked it. He had confidence, knew who he was and what he was doing. Somehow, the war and being the Beast had changed him for the better.
Cillian let out an incredulous laugh. "Your Highness, explain everything," he said and gestured for her to sit at the table. So she did and the words spilt out like a fountain until the sun was beginning its descent towards the horizon and those at the table grew tired from the overwhelming information. She couldn't stop, wouldn't stop, until those around her understood.