Thudding softly against the dusty dirt road, the sounds of the horses' hooves were the only sounds breaking the oppressive silence of the rocky highway. With a sigh, the lone passenger of the carriage closed the curtains. 'It's just so... boring, here. Where are all the people? Does Mysidia not have an immense population?' She then folded her hands in her lap, and tried to block out the logical answer her brain provided, and failed. Mysidians, of course, lived in the southern expanses of their country, leaving the large, roaming plains in the north for the immense population of the famous Mysidian horses. Bah... She hadn't even seen a fly yet, much less a horse. A soft groan of utter boredom escaped Kara's lips, unfortunately drifting out of the cabin of the carriage, and reaching the driver. Turning his head to look through the window at his charge, the tall, lanky gray-haired man called back to her, "Are you alright, Madam? We have plenty of time to stop and rest if you are feeling unwell." Sitting up quickly with a slight rustling of her dress, the young Lady Guarde replied to her manservant, "Oh, no, that's won't be at all necessary. In fact, could you please speed up? I would like to get there before tea time, that I might dine with Her Majesty for tea." Chuckling softly, the driver sped the horses' pace slightly. "Which means, My Lady, that you are bored to tears during this trip, and are trying to disguise the fact by practicing your high-court manner of speech on me." With a faint blush, Kara brushed a stray bit of pale brown hair from her forehead. "Is it quite that obvious, Jark?" "Yes, Lady, it is, but only to those of us who have known and cared for you your entire life. I'm absolutely sure that you'll be a smashing success at court." She sighed, and clasped her hands together. "I hope so. I don't want to betray Papa's trust in me..." "You most certainly won't. You're an excellent diplomat, top of your generation." The old gentleman then paused in his words for a moment. Slowly, he continued, "In fact, much better than your father was at your age, if I remember correctly." Kara poked her head out of the cabin, and into the driver's seat. There, she frowned and said, "But, I thought Papa was the very best of his class?" "Well, he was. Unfortunately, that was only after hours upon hours of studying on diplomatic tactics up in his room. Your father had to work very hard for his talents." Beaming at his young Mistress, the long-standing servant of the Guarde family ruffled her hair. "But, you, on the other hand, My Lady Kara, have it naturally. I've never seen you study a bit, and yet you've surpassed even Lord Dumas!" Giggling, she moved away from her attacker's hand, and blushed. "Lord Dumas! I can only dream to have the smallest bit of his intelligence. You really have too high an opinion on me, Jark." "Hah! More like you humble yourself. After all, your skillfulness have led you to be chosen for this mission, has it not?" Now looking like an over-ripe tomato, the diplomat's daughter recalled exactly why she got the task. She specifically asked for it. As soon as she heard that the job was open to members of the higher class, Kara raced home to ask her father to place her up for the job. It required a female, preferably of noble birth, with excellent diplomatic skills and was discreet. She fit the job requirements perfectly. Not only that, but it gave her the chance to go and live in Mysidia for a time, depending upon how long the job was needed, as a Lady of the Court. It didn't take much pleading on her part to convince her father into allowing her the job, as he was thinking about asking her if she might like to take it, anyway. However, being her father, he made one condition. "If I send you to Mysidia, you'll fall behind in your studies. You must have a tutor to teach you during your stay in La Fay. In fact, I have the perfect candidate..." And so it was not quite skill, but rather her father's influence that had gotten her the job. Kara couldn't say that, of course, so the light-haired brunette ducked back into the cabin of the carriage. She sighed. 'And now I feel guilty about it. If I hadn't asked Papa to give the job to me, they could have given the job to someone older and more experienced, like Lady Halo." Another sigh, 'And, yet, this is the only change I may have to actually meet Sam again.' Now smiling gently, Kara pulled a letter from her bodice. It was her latest letter from her childhood friend, telling how he had been promoted from a simple stablehand to a Royal Groom. He was now caring for the high-caliber horses of Queen Cid, and her children, Prince Abyss and Princess Witch of the Highwind Family. Kara and Sam had been the best of friends back when she and her father had still lived in Mysidia, about ten years ago. She blushed. Sometime after her thirteenth birthday, she'd been at a sleepover with her friends. The subject of boys came up, and they started talking about the cutest boys in their school. Then, out of the blue, the thought came to her, 'I bet Sam's cuter than any boy at school.' After that night, Sam's crush easily came out, as she began noticing other things, such as her lack of any real interest in the other boys at school, and how very much she looked forwards to every letter from Sam. Simple, friendly things alone, but when she put them together in her mind... She definitely had a crush on him. "My lady?" Startled from her most pleasant, and private, thoughts, it took a moment for her to collect herself. Jark kept talking, though. "It seems we have a companion on the road. There's a horseman following behind us. I don't wish to worry you unnecessarily, but, he may be some sort of brigand." The old gentleman looked back into the carriage, worry lining both his face, and his voice. "Stay in here, no matter what you hear. I'll knock on this shutter three times fast, then three times slow, if all's clear." He paused. "Please lock this after I close it, and all the windows and the door as well." Without waiting to see her nod of compliance, he shut the panel quickly. She was shocked. A bandit? What was a bandit doing down on the northern road? From what she knew, they raided the prosperous South Mysidia, and only came to the north to steal horses... or to capture powerful political hostages and hold them for ransom. She gasped. What that why they were out here? To capture her? Quickly, she jammed the deadbolts locking the panel and the door in place. The inner shutters of the windows were next, and the young diplomat to be quickly locked them as well. With this done, however, all the outside light was shut off, and Kara was left to sit down and wait. It seemed like hours and hours that she waited anxiously for something to happen. 'I do hope Jark's okay... He may not be that old, but what can a single unarmed man do against a killer thief?' Worriedly, she nibbled the end of one of her bangs. The image of a slain Jark, lying facedown on the ground, as a villainous, evil-looking man hacked away at the door to the carriage came unbidden to her frightened mind. She shuddered. 'I wish Papa was here... he'd know what to do.' From outside, a shout reached her ears. It didn't sound like her guardian, so it had to be the rider hailing the carriage. Her fear temporarily abated by a nagging curiosity to know what was happening, Kara pressed her ear against one of the window shutters. Faintly, very faintly, she could hear the sound of the rider's horse's hoofbeats. However, they quickly became clearer as he, or she, as Kara quickly corrected herself, came up along the side of the carriage. Any minute now, she mused, Jark would probably spur the horses to a full-out gallop, probably hoping to lose the pursuit, or to get help from some passing by traveler. She abandoned her spot at the shutter just as the voices of her guardian and the bandit started exchanging words, their voices a mere murmur. Hopping into her silky, cushioned seat, she braced herself for the rough takeoff of the horses, the force of which would, she knew, send her tumbling backwards into the cushion. ...And she promptly fell forwards in a jumble with a surprised scream as the carriage came to a sudden, jerking, halt. Slowly, groaning more than a bit, Kara picked herself up off the carriage floor. "What was that?" She gingerly touched the large bump on her head, breathing in sharply with a hiss. 'Ow ow ow ow ow... That... hurt... But why did he stop? It makes absolutely no sense. Unless...' She gasped. Aloud, she said, "Did the bandit..." With a shudder, she fell silent. There was no need, nor was there any want, to finish that thought. For a moment, nothing happened, and there was no sound but that of her own steady breathing. The scented wax candle, set firmly in its holder by a screw, still flickered in the darkness. It illuminated eerily her disheveled face, her hair out of its customary do with hair falling across her face. Automatically, she brushed it away. 'Did.... Did they go away?' Boom! Boom! Boom! Three times, a heavy fist pounded upon the door, ruining the strange calm that had held her world for those few moments. Terror returned tenfold to her, and the young lady screamed shrilly and scrambled hastily back against the other side of the carriage. Voices, still little more than murmurs though they were such a close distance, raised ever so slightly on the outside. Her mind raced. 'There's more than one!? Oh no, oh no oh no oh no oh no...' Some of the most horrific tales of injuries and grievances to women happened during highway robberies. The mere mention of such occasions could send most duchesses into a swoon. Kara did no such thing. Instead, with the sort of reckless bravery born of anxiety and despair, she searched for something she could use to attack her attacker. 'I'm NOT going to let anything happen to me without a fight. There must be something... Ah hah!' Hazel brown eyes alighted upon a jewel encrusted dagger, meant as a gift from the King to Princess Witch, a maiden warrior who could fight twice as well as any man, yet was just as fair as Princess Ryo of Damcyan. Kara was certain that nobody would mind if she used it to defend herself. After all, if she failed, the dagger, along with the rest of the gifts from her father to the royal family of Mysidia, would fall into the hands of the accursed, lawless bandits. She crawled over to the small weapon, and seized it. Just in time, too. The handle to the door began to turn, with a high pitched squeak. Though her mind told her to flee, to run, to hide, the emboldened Lady crept to the door, crouched and ready to pounce upon her assailant. The handle seemed to stop for a moment, and the world go silent but for the loud, continuous thumping of her heart. Adrenaline rushed through her veins. The young lady's last coherent thought was, "I wish, just once, that I had gotten to see Sam again.' Then, with a simple click, the door was pulled open from the outside. With a yell, she hurled herself out into the sunlight. Blinded by the sudden, intense burst of light after being so long in the candlelit darkness, she was almost more surprised than the great big man in armor she tackled was. Shocked by her attack, he fell backwards. The wind was promptly knocked out of him as the small heroine tripped over his armored leg and fell on top of him. She was dazed for a moment, but it quickly passed. Before the armored man could catch his breath, she had the dagger tickling his throat. Looking down, she found herself gazing into the deepest brown eyes she had ever seen. Kara blushed. Her 'assailant' laughed. His eyes twinkled as he merrily grinned up at her. With the slightest hint of amusement and humor gracing his voice, the knight, which he was, said, "How... pleasant to meet you, considering the circumstances in which we have met." A nod. "I am Neet Riht, also known as Sir Bard to many. And, depending upon whether you slay me or not, your tutor." Author's Notes: Heh. This is my first attempt at shoujo-ai, so I hope it goes well. ^-^; In fact, the next chapter has a nice scene... Heh. Please review if you're just read this, and thanks to the people who've helped me edit up all the mistakes!
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