Thayet, Princess of Exile

Lioness Rampant told through the eyes of a young princess, destined to be a great queen.

Prologue

The First Daughter looked at the two girls in front of her sadly. "I hope you understand what this means to us."

The tall, stunning, regal girl shook her head. "I am doing what I think is right. I do not want to endanger this place which has been my home for the past year."

 "I am worried for your safety, Highness," she attempted again subtly to convince the young princess to stay.

"Do not be," Thayet said, holding her head high. "I have Buriram," she looked at the girl on her right, "and the guard my father sent."

The First Daughter sighed. "I know. And you promise to take the children?"

"Of course," the Princess said. "They are no more safe here than we are."

The First Daughter doubted this severely, but she knew well of Thayet's humbleness. "My thanks-"

"Are not necessary," Thayet interjected. She nodded to the man behind her, the captain of her guard. "We must be going. Thank you, Daughter, for your help."

The Daughter curtsied, and when she rose, tears were in her eyes. "Please be careful, Highness, Buriram," she nodded at the short, stocky girl next to the Princess.

"We will," Buri promised. "Come on, Thayet. They know we're here."

Thayet nodded once more to the First Daughter, turned, and followed her servant and guard out into the cold early morning. Waiting was the rest of her guard and party – two teenaged girls, a ten year old girl, and two ten year old boys, plus six armed men, all waiting her signal to depart. Thayet mounted her black mare, Buri her dark stallion, and the children sat in the wagon bearing their food, while the oldest of the girls, who was fifteen, sat atop a donkey with its saddlebags stuffed with food. The guard split up, three in front and three in back. No one spoke as the rode quickly out of the city and into the dark woods.

Thayet allowed her thoughts to wander for the first time since her father had sent word thatzshir Anduo's army was coming, nearly a week ago. She had packed quickly, agreed to take the rest of the children staying in the shelter of the convent, and now there they were, with a great army only a few towns beyond them. She sighed deeply, wondering when life would be good again, and Buri, riding at her side, glanced knowingly at her. However, it would be many more hours before anyone spoke. They set up camp in the dull light of late dusk, in a secluded patch of bushes. Thayet made sure everyone was fed before herself, and did the same with putting everyone to sleep. She was crossing to her bedroll when someone caught her ankle. She bit back a shriek of surprise and looked into the dark face of Buri, whom she had known since the little K'mir was born.

Buri sat up and watched as Thayet took her soft leather boots off and put them where she could reach them, in case they needed to move quickly.

"Thayet?"

"Mmmh?"

"Do you really think we should head to Raicha?"

"Of course," Thayet said with slight surprise, looking into her friends black eyes. "The Daughters there can take care of the children."

"Yes, but where will we go?"

Thayet sighed deeply. "I don't know, Buri. I don't know. We'll think about it when it comes, all right? We just need to make sure that the children are safe."

Buri shook her head, once again wondering how Thayet had such a big heart after all that had happened to her. She decided to ponder it in the long hours on the road ahead, but now, she needed sleep.

Thayet allowed a small smile to pass over her lips, before settling down herself and taking out her leather-bound journal, which she wrote faithfully in every night. After writing, she put away her journal, quill, and ink, and went to sleep.

*

Their days began to pattern, sleeping in secret by night, riding hard during the day. After they had done this for four days, something happened to change most of their plans.

Thayet was riding ahead, accompanied by one of her guards, when she suddenly halted. "D'you smell that?"

"It smells like smoke, my lady," the guard replied, also sniffing the air. They spotted a light in a clearing ahead, and Thayet spurred her horse on.

"Princess, be careful- Great Merciful Mother," the guard breathed, his normally dark face pale. Thayet swallowed with difficulty. A small village lay before them, and not one building was in one piece – everything was burnt to the ground.

"Soldiers?" Buri whispered as she wheeled up next to her.

"Looks like another of zhir Anduo's legions," the head guard said, also deathly pale. The rest of the guard, all on foot, looked on with open mouths at the wreckage.   

"My family!" one cried, his eyes wild with terror. "They're in danger if zhir Aduo's heading that way!"

Thayet didn't bother to pause and think. She dismounted and gave the man her reins. "Take Nilo and go to them. They need you."

The guard looked at her with wide eyes. "Thank you, Highness."

The other guards looked tense and pale, watching him gallop off down the road. Suddenly, as one, the other mounted guards tore off after him, the head guard yelling, "I must save mine too! Good luck, Princess!"

Buri dismounted and grudgingly handed one of the two foot soldiers her reins. "Go save your family too."

"Yes, and you can take the one pulling the wagon," Thayet said to the last man. Seconds later, both were gone, leaving a nineteen year old, and a seventeen year old in charge of six.

Thayet was the first to recover. She walked briskly over to the wagon. "Children, you need to get out. We cannot take this wagon."

"Thayet," Buri protested, "the food's in there! And the weapons!"

"Buri, we can carry it all. What would we do with a wagon without horses? No," Thayet said as she helped the trembling thirteen year old down, forcing her tone to be cheerful, "this will be much easier. Just us, traveling without horses and all that bother. And we do have our donkey, remember!" she pointed to the dun-colored donkey.

Once the children were down, Thayet sent them to loading as much as they could onto the donkey with Buri supervising, as she walked through the town, looking for survivors, her crossbow armed and ready. She was beginning to think no one had survived, and the smell of burnt flesh was making her stomach roll, when something screaming caught her ears. It sounded like a baby…she followed the noise, entering the only house that was mostly standing, and gasped. In the far room, which was almost perfectly intact, a woman was lying over a cradle, clearly dead. The wound from an arrow was bleeding freely, on the left side of her chest. Carefully Thayet hauled the underfed woman to the bed, where she lay her down and shut her anguished eyes. Then the Princess turned quickly back to the cradle, where the baby was wailing inconsolably.

Thayet picked it up and pulled it's diaper down quickly – the infant was a male. "Shh," she cooed, looking around the room for other cloths. She would be taking him, of course, and would need things to change him with. She found a stack of baby cloths, and made her way out of the destroyed village quickly. By the time she found her group, the baby, lulled by her brisk walking, was asleep. He looked rather charming asleep, she thought, but Buri didn't find him charming at all.

"Thayet, what?"

"I found him, Buri," Thayet said, handing him to the delighted fifteen year old carefully. She and the girls giggled over him, and even the little boys seemed interested. Buri drew her away a few paces, and said lowly,

"Thayet, we can't keep him."

"We can. I found him, he's the only survivor, I can't leave him to die."

"Princess, we haven't enough food!" Buri exclaimed. "Not even for all six of us, let alone a baby!"

"We're taking him," Thayet said with determination. "Now, if you'll excuse me, we should start setting up camp. Dawn's fast approaching."

Buri groaned and followed her. This was getting worse and worse every day.

*

Buri found, to her dismay, that she was rather fond of the chubby, temper-tantrum-throwing boy over a few days. Thayet and the girls adored him, and even the boys had held him at least once. They decided not to name him, therefore, he was "the baby" most of the time. But, as she had suspected, food soon became scarce. Buri and the girls, without telling Thayet, had begun to say they weren't hungry, to save the food for the younger children. Buri's duty was to protect the Princess, and she didn't want Thayet to start starving herself too. But soon it became an unspoken pact between the four older girls to save the food for the children.

It was seriously low as they stopped one night. A ridge was above them, and a stream next to them. Thayet drank deeply, hoping that somehow the water would fill her aching stomach, but it was to no avail. 

"We need to hunt for game," Buri said, coming up behind Thayet. "I think it won't be as sparse here."

Thayet nodded, and picked up her crossbow. She instructed the oldest girl to start dinner, just in case they didn't find anything, and Buri and Thayet disappeared into the woods.

"Shh!" Thayet hissed suddenly. Buri stopped in her tracks. They both heard voices above, on the ridge. Swiftly they changed their direction to the left and started up a hill. Right on the ridge was a big man with bright red hair. He was with a companion – a woman, Thayet thought. Both were looking over the edge at the group, and both were armed with swords.

To their left was another man, barely visible. Just then the big man with red hair gestured to the woman, who had the same copper locks, to cover. She looked slightly angry, but obeyed.

"I got these two," Buri muttered, a scowl on her face. She ducked around a tree and was gone. Thayet crept silent to the left, around a patch of bushes and waited, the man's back to her.

She heard voices up on the ridge, and jumped out with her bow raised. The man turned, saw her, and swore.