Lady Toria had not expected to be removed from the safety of the carriage. Or, have her practice of ignoring the world within details and lace be so violently ended. Yet, here she walked down a dirt path with her greatest fear surrounding her: death.
Her second fear of ruining a perfectly planned outfit continued, and she could only scowl at seeing the stains forming upon the edges of Princess Amnicity's meticulously planned outfit. However, these concerns became secondary to the smell of rotting flesh that filled her nostrils.
The knowledge of what now filled her lungs caused a hand to rise to her mouth and nose. Her etiquette training had not provided a way to deal with this. Instead, she relied upon human instinct while watching a lady scrub blood from the side of a building. Lady Toria knew that no amount of cloth could create the outfits required to mourn this scene properly.
She glanced to Lady Elry in hopes of finding some shared shock and found solace in her friend's face.
"We are trying to rebuild as best we can," Besden provided, motioning towards the lady.
Amnicity nodded her head, smiling at the lady before turning to the rest of the town.
Each building had a lady scrubbing the blood from the walls. If no lady scrubbed the walls, then a man repaired a window or door.
"Water?" a young girl asked, holding out a spoon to one of the workers.
When the man shook his head, and the young girl moved on to the next person.
"This is a great testament to the power of our people," Amnicity sighed.
"People joining together after a tragedy is nothing that should cause amazement," Padden scoffed. "We are trying to survive."
As they entered the center of Tillen, Lady Elry pressed her lips together to force down the distress. People scurried about in efforts to rebuild the town, as children provided water or collected scraps.
"How many orphans are there?" Lady Elry asked.
"Too many to care for," Din sighed.
"We lost about ten families, and many of the parents died protecting their children," Besden supplied. "I think there are about fifteen, plus the simple boy."
"The simple boy?" Amnicity asked, sharing a glance with Lady Elry.
"Yeah, tragic accident as a child with his brother. He used was a little slow to start, but the accident made him truly simple. Hasn't learned much else. His brother usually watches him. Our families were neighbors," Din explained. "Parents got killed in the raid. I don't know how they're going to survive. No one can find a use for the simple one, and the older one can't work if the simple one isn't watched."
Amnicity met Lady Elry's gaze, and she provided the princess a small nod.
"Send for the boys," Amnicity ordered. "We will take them back to the palace."
"What?" Padden exclaimed as Din's face broke into a huge smile.
"I will go get them," Din volunteered.
"Thank you," Amnicity smiled. "My ladies will accompany you to help prepare the boys."
The party disappeared, leaving Padden staring at Amnicity in shock. Princesses do not act like this.
On entering the center of town, Amnicity stopped, letting Ade pass with the carriage.
"We should begin distributing the food," Amnicity stated. "Has there been a system for rations?"
YOU ARE READING
The Dragonfly and The Sword
Historical FictionBook 1 in the Eirlund series Princess Amnicity of Vetus is to debut on her 18th birthday. Her grand ideals are dashed when representatives from the royal families of Preena and Jude attend. The tension between Vetus and Jude has risen since the ra...
