“You mean your children,” retorted Alastasia. “You’re the older one. You should get married first. I will observe how happy it makes you before I decide if I want to.”
“Have you ever thought about it?” Princess Alahara asked seriously. “Getting married and starting a family, I mean?”
“I used to,” admitted Alastasia, “but that was when I was MistyTrail. The Sakovans were like one big happy family. I don’t get the same feeling here, although I know it will take time.”
“I never thought about it until I met Rejji,” confided Alahara as they reached the edge of the forest and found the trail to Florentia.
“Do you still miss him?” asked Alastasia.
“I do,” Alahara nodded. “Rejji treated me nice when no one else cared about me. We became very close.”
“And now you are heir to the elven throne,” Alastasia pointed out. “I doubt the elves would take kindly to you marrying a human.”
“Maybe that is why Kaltara blessed me with a sister?” grinned Alahara. “You could become Queen of Elvangar.”
“Do you think the humans would accept an elf as Queen of Fakara?” frowned Princess Alastasia. “Don’t forget that Rejji is now the king.”
“I hadn’t thought about that,” frowned Alahara as the princesses made their way along the forest trail. “Why must everything be so complicated? I don’t want to be the queen of either country.”
“I don’t care much for the idea either,” shrugged Princess Alastasia. “Mother almost never leaves the palace. I would go mad living like that.”
The princesses lapsed into silence as they walked along the forest trail, each lost in thoughts of their future. It was that silence that saved their lives.
Alastasia heard something rustle along the trail ahead. Her arm automatically snaked out and gently caught Alahara’s hand. Alahara needed no verbal command to stop. The two princesses halted in the middle of the trail, their ears straining for sounds that were foreign to the forest. They heard a hushed voice, but the words were inaudible. The princesses looked at each other and nodded with suspicion. Normal travelers would have no need to speak in hushed tones.
Alahara silently moved to the right side of the trail and slipped into the forest. Alastasia went to the left and slid behind the trees. They both remained frozen for several minutes as they waited for another noise. They heard nothing. Finally, Alastasia wove an air tunnel to Alahara.
“I want you to create an air tunnel on the trail behind us,” Alastasia instructed. “Talk normally into it as if you are lecturing me on something. Walk the air tunnel along the trail until it passes us by. I will create another air tunnel to listen up ahead. Let’s see if we can find out who is up there and what they want.”
Alastasia did not need to hear a reply from her sister. She knew that Alahara would already be weaving the air tunnel. She changed the pressure in her own air tunnel and moved it forward along the trail. She listened intently as she moved the air tunnel around, trying to gauge the location of the hidden voices.
“Quiet,” a voice whispered. “Someone is coming.”
“Are they coming for the cart?” asked another voice.
“I said to be quiet,” reprimanded the first voice. “Just get your bows ready, and keep your mouth shut. Fire on my command.”
Alastasia frowned as she listened to the male voices. She heard Mistake’s voice pass along the trail near her and keep going. She waited patiently.
“Where are they?” asked a frantic voice. “I just heard them pass, but I did not see anyone.”
“Quiet!” urged the first voice.
“Quiet yourself,” said a third voice. “I am getting out of here. I think they are invisible.”
The third person turned and ran noisily. A moment later, the first voice cursed and also fled, followed shortly by another person. Alastasia still waited patiently as she tried to follow the noise of the retreating ambushers. Eventually, she lost the sound of them retreating. She redirected the air tunnel towards Alahara.
“I think they have all left,” she told her sister. “I am going to go forward along the trail, but I want you to move forward through the forest. Be ready for anything.”
Alahara nodded and waved to her sister. Alastasia stepped onto the trail and moved slowly forward. As she rounded a bend in the trail, she saw the broken cart, one of its wheels resting at an odd angle. The horse appeared to be sleeping. Alastasia walked very slowly, her eyes scanning both sides of the trail. She reached the cart and knelt beside it. The wheel had come off the axle, but it did not appear to be broken. Alastasia waved to her sister to help her. Alahara exited the woods.
“There is no one in the woods,” remarked Princess Alahara. “What happened?”
“You walked your voice right past them,” explained Princess Alastasia. “That spooked them. There were three of them, but they fled because they thought we were invisible. Help me raise the cart so I can put the wheel back on.”
“Who were they?” asked Alahara as she lifted the cart. “What did they want?”
“There were three males,” answered Alastasia as she maneuvered the wheel. “They had planned to ambush us with bows.”
“With bows?” echoed Alahara. “Do you mean they were going to kill us?”
“That is what it sounded like,” nodded Alastasia as she pushed the wheel onto the axle. “I do not know if it was particularly us that they were waiting for, but they planned to ambush whoever came for the cart.”
“Bandits?” frowned Alahara as she let the cart down. “I wonder if they stole anything from the cart?”
Alastasia rose and brushed her hands off. She shrugged and peered into the back of the cart at the chests and packs piled there. Frowning, she climbed onto the cart and tried to open one of the chests.
“It’s locked,” Alastasia reported. “It doesn’t look like anyone tried to pry it open.”
“This makes no sense,” frowned Alahara. “If they were bandits, why not just take the cart and be done with it?”
“Maybe they weren’t smart enough to fix the wheel?” shrugged Princess Alastasia. “I don’t mind pondering on this, but I am loathe to do it here. Let’s get this cart into the city and worry about the ambushers later.”
“I agree, “ nodded Princess Alahara. “You take the cart for a while. I want to shadow you from behind. When we enter the city, I will catch up.”
“I am on my way,” declared Princess Alastasia as she grabbed the reins and woke the horse.
The horse started and began moving along the trail. Alastasia reached into her pouch and extracted a Sakovan star. She held the star in one hand as she led the horse with the other. When they reached the city of Morada, Alahara moved forward and walked alongside her sister.
“Would you recognize their voices again?” asked Princess Alahara.
“I think so,” nodded Alastasia. “The first voice I would definitely recognize. The other two did not say much, but I still might know them if I heard them again.”
“So,” pondered Alahara, “were the bandits poised to kill Aunt Kanis, or us? Or did they not care as long as they killed someone?”
“I don’t know,” Alastasia shook her head. “I do not know how bandits work in Elvangar. Maybe we should ask Avalar?”
“I am hesitant to mention it to our father,” frowned Princess Alahara. “He might think that we sound disrespectful to Aunt Kanis. Let’s ask Tamar.”
“Alright,” agreed Alastasia.
Neither sister spoke for the rest of the trip to the Royal Tree. When they reached the lift, they unhitched the horse. One of the guards took the horse and led it away while two of the other guards pushed the cart onto the lift. Alahara and Alastasia got on the lift and rode it upward. The lift stopped halfway up, and two guards pulled the cart off. The princesses stayed on and rode the lift to the top. They started walking to their chambers when they heard the shouting from the throne room. They looked at each other curiously. Without a word spoken, both sisters turned and crept along the corridor towards the throne room. They halted before entering the room as they heard their father’s voice.