Mila was still running when she saw that things were about to get out of hand. One of the guards had drawn his weapon and had begun to step forward. She called out to the eagle she knew was following her from high above. Friend! Is there something you can do to stall them? I might not make it in time!

I will take care of it.

The large bird of prey tucked in its wings and plummeted at high speed toward the two guards. At the last possible second, it opened its large wings directly in front of them, bringing itself to a hover while simultaneously creating powerful swirls of air. The terrified guards shielded their faces as they stepped away from the imposing bird's dagger-like talons. Satisfied that he'd been effective, the eagle took off and kept an eye on them from above. Mila thanked her lucky stars for the bird's actions. They managed to buy her just enough time.

"STOP… HALT! PUT DOWN…YOUR WEAPONS AT…ONCE!"

A rather breathless, red-haired princess had finally managed to come up on the scene, and placed herself squarely between the two parties before hunching over and bracing her hands on her lap as she fought to catch her breath. Both set of men looked on curiously at her, alarmed at her appearance for different reasons. The castle guards were taken aback by her barefoot and disheveled state, and the delegates from Orientalis were astonished by her unique features.

"Greetings, Princess. With all due respect, we must take these impostors into custody. They could be a threat to the kingdom."

Mila straightened back up, feeling that she had recovered sufficiently enough to speak once more.

"What proof do you have they they're impostors?"

The two guards looked at each other for a split second before turning to face the Princess once more. The guard to her immediate left spoke first.

"Well, uh…they say they're from Orientalis…but they don't look like people from Orientalis."

Mila placed her hands on her hips. "And how do you know that? Have you ever even seen someone from Orientalis before?"

"Um…no…but we figured that we should take them into custody as a safety precaution."

Mila rubbed the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes and groaned. This is ridiculous. I'm going to have to have a very serious talk with Viktor about the guards he's keeping around the castle these days. These guys are a joke.

"Well, I am here to assure you…they are the real thing. They are not impostors and they came for an urgent message for King Nikiforov."

Mila removed the slip of paper from her cloak pocket and pointed to the eagle soaring directly above them. "Their messenger bird brought this message to my room this morning and warned me of your impending fight. I came down here as quickly as I could, before anything unseemly happened that perhaps caused any discord between the two most powerful nations in the world." She hoped the words she'd emphasized would get the message through to the foolish guards.

After seeing the actual message in her hand and the large bird in the sky, they finally seemed to grasp the scope of the situation. They looked at each other with great uncertainty for a bit before one of the guards finally spoke.

"So…what shall we do now? The King left on an expedition this morning. He won't be able to receive that message until he returns."

Mila turned her body to fully face the guards.

"I, Princess Mila Babicheva of Kyaltaesi, officially take command of the situation involving the emissaries from Orientalis and getting their urgent message delivered to the King."

At the mention of her title, the two men from Orientalis went down on one knee and bowed low at the woman before them. The older-looking man was the first to address the monarch.

"We thank you for your assistance Princess Sama. I am Hibiki Fujimoto, Royal Guard to Emperor Katsuki of Orientalis. My colleague here is Kenjiro Minami, personal servant and guard to the Emperor. We are pleased to make your acquaintance, madam."

Mila blushed lightly and got a bit flustered at the high level of formality. Geez, I don't even merit being called a princess right now. I'm barefoot, dirty, sweaty, and still in my night gown. This really isn't how I imagined making a first impression on foreign delegates would go!

"Aaa-aah, please rise gentlemen. I am also pleased to make your acquaintance. Please forgive my unkempt appearance. I was woken quite abruptly this morning by your messenger bird and didn't have much time to make myself presentable. My sincerest apologies."

The two foreign men looked absolutely shocked as the Princess attempted to apologize to them.

The one named Fujimoto spoke once more.

"There is nothing to be sorry about, fair lady. We are very grateful that you placed such great importance on our situation."

The two castle guards watched the exchange with great curiosity. One guard turned to whisper to the other.

"Their names are weird and they talk all funny."

"What did you expect? They're from a foreign land. I doubt Anglicus is their mother tongue. We all probably sound pretty funny to them."

Mila turned to the guards once more.

"Are there any objections to my declaration? Time is of the essence here!"

The two guards looked at each other once more and shook their heads before bowing to her.

"No, Princess."

"Good. You will seek out my servant Lilia and inform her that I have had to go on an emergency expedition. She is to be in charge of receiving any messages in my stead. You are dismissed."

The guards saluted the Princess before turning on their heels and heading back to the castle.

Mila turned back to the two men from Orientalis.

"Mr. Fujimoto is it? How do you prefer to be addressed?"

The royal guard stood up and so did the younger man behind him.

"Just Fujimoto is fine, Princess Sama. This one here goes by Minami."

"I see. Fujimoto, I know you've just arrived, but we must leave immediately. Can your ship be ready to sail again soon?"

"Yes, Princess Sama. We have with us four Lignum Magi. We are only able to use two of them, since the other two have used up their magic getting us here and must rest."

"Worry not Fujimoto, I will help with the ship's propulsion."

The royal guard seemed a bit surprised at the Princess' revelation.

"You are also Lignum Magi?"

Mila smiled secretively at the man in front of her. "No, I'm a whisperer."

Fujimoto and Minami looked at each other and shrugged, not knowing what 'whisperer' was.

Mila covered her mouth as she giggled. "Don't worry, you'll see soon."

The three headed back to the shore and boarded Emperor Katsuki's ship. The two Lignum Magi helped push them off and steer them safely out to the deep sea. Mila took a deep breath and reached out to the animals in the sea. Minami and Fujimoto both watched with curious fascination as the Princess' eyes began to change color.

Large friends of the sea, I need your help. We must make it to the nameless island…Mumei No Shima as quickly as possible. Please, help push our vessel as far as you can. I will reward you by leading you to a delicious feast.

Mila heard two voices replying to her call.

I will assist you, woman. I require food.

I can also help you. It is interesting that you can speak to us.

Thank you, thank you friends. Please don't overexert yourselves. Just take me as far as you can. I will reach out to others when we get to that point.

The two men from Orientalis watched as the foreign Princess seemed locked in some kind of trance.

/"…"/ denotes Iaponica speech

/"Fujimoto San, what do you think she's doing? I have never seen this kind of magic before. Her eyes have changed color!"/

/"I do not yet know, Minami. Let us wait and see."/

Two jets of water, one on each side of the ship, burst forth from the water as two large whales fell into formation behind them. The ship lurched forward as the animals connected with the stern and began pushing it forward as they swam. The ship picked up considerable speed and cut lithely across the smooth sea.

Minami was in absolute awe. He was so incredibly excited that protocol went out the window and he addressed the Princess directly.

"Princess Sama, you are amazing! You can talk to animals?"

"Minami!"

Realizing his mistake, Minami immediately threw himself down in front of Fujimoto, ready to beg for forgiveness.

The Princess' voice cut in however, before he could even start."

"I am not fond of official royal protocols and decorum. Both of you may speak to me and ask me any questions you desire. Fujimoto, please do not punish Minami."

Fujimoto eyed the exotic woman appreciatively. He was rather impressed by this foreign Princess. She seemed strong-willed and fair.

"As you wish, Princess Sama."

"Minami?"

Kenjiro took an apprehensive step toward the Princess.

"Y-y-yes, Princess Sama?"

"You are correct, I can communicate with animals. That is what being a 'whisperer' means. I was woken from my slumber this morning by your messenger bird…Ah-zah-me…is it?"

Minami nodded enthusiastically.

"That's right! His name is Azami! He told you that himself?"

"Yes, he did. He was desperate to deliver your Emperor's message and to stop the conflict that was about to take place at the harbor."

"Wow! That really is amazing! I always knew he could understand what we said…I never knew there was magic that would allow someone to hear an animal's thoughts."

"It is a skill quite common among my people. I inherited my skills from my father."

"Who are your people, Princess Sama?", Fujimoto inquired

"My people are elves. Have you ever heard of us?"

Fujimoto shook his head. "I have not. You are the first of your kind that I have ever met."

Mila blushed slightly at the revelation. "Ah, sorry your first ever experience has you dealing with the mess that I probably resemble right now. I usually look much more dignified."

Minami cut in with a big goofy grin on his face.

"Princess Sama has very striking features! Princess Sama's hair is like a fiery sunset, and has very beautiful ears! Minami thinks that Princess Sama could choose to wear grain sacks and still not have her grace affected at all!"

Fujimoto shook his head and groaned. Minami had such a strange way with words.

Mila laughed heartily at the adorable young man. That was the first time anyone had used wearing grain sacks as a means to compliment her allure.

"Minami, you are so cute! Thank you for your flattery."

Minami's face burned bright red as he awkwardly fidgeted with his sash.

"Thank you, Princess Sama."

Fujimoto turned and said something to Minami in their native tongue and the young man nodded enthusiastically before excusing himself and running off to go below deck. He then turned to the Princess and motioned for her to go below deck as well.

"Princess Sama, we shall prepare a bath and a fresh change of clothes for you. There will also be some fresh food for you below deck. Please follow me."

Mila shook her head.

"I greatly thank you for your hospitality and concern, Fujimoto. But as long as the animals are assisting us, I must stay up here and keep my connection with them open. They will simply leave if they cannot feel me or hear me anymore. I want to make sure that we make up as much distance as possible, so that we are not so far behind the King's ship. They have a two-hour head start, at least. We have to narrow that gap if we are to have any chance of getting to them before something goes terribly wrong."

Fujimoto understood and nodded solemnly.

"Won't keeping the connection open be a drain on your magic, Princess Sama?"

Mila nodded. "Yes, but we don't have many other options available to us right now. I promise to stop and rest once they have taken us as far as they can and before calling out for the second pair."

"If I may be so bold, Princess Sama. Why do you believe conflict is so inevitable?"

"A party of three was sent to the same island you currently occupy about 4 days ago. A pair of assassins and a young and very...stubborn...archer. Last night we received word that the young archer had been separated from the other two and that his whereabouts were unaccounted for."

"Ah, the golden-haired one that was found poisoned in the forest near our camp."

"Correct. He is the King's ward and as such...is a very important and valuable member of the court. The King left at dawn this morning to personally search for his ward, and so did not receive the message from your Emperor in time. This may lead to massive misunderstanding as they might assume that he has been taken prisoner. Our clans have never met before. There's likely to be a lot of suspicion and mistrust on both sides. If things go badly, it could result in great conflict."

Fujimoto's eyes grew wide as he realized that this situation had the potential to quickly get out of hand.

"We must prevent this outcome at all costs."

Mila nodded quietly as her eyes roved the vast sea around them.