11. Our Princess Has Marked You.
When the youth went outside, he was surprised that he wasn't alone. The whole village was awake. He sought his friends and found that they, too, have the same wound as he had.
"You, too?" asked somebody. The youth nodded, and people began washing and dressing his wound.
"How many did she wound?" asked the youth.
"Everybody."
"Everybody?" asked the youth, incredilous.
"Everybody." the answer was firm.
Then a sound of horse riding came along. The Captain of the Cavalry of Hidden Valley along with 50 horsemen were looking for the princess. He has visited many villages, looking for her. It took some time before he came to her trail, and some more time before he figured out what she wanted to do. He disapprove of this, of course, but the princess was headstrong. Yet, inexperienced. What if she fell into an enemy trap? Quickly, the Captain went from one village after another, seeking her.
The Captain and his horsemen came into the village finally. "Excuse me good people," the captain greeted the villager, "but I am looking for a traveller. A fair young woman on a horse, who ... but ah! I see our princess has marked you!" The captain saw that a group of young men were huddling together with their hand bandage identically.
The villagers were surprised. "A princess!? Here in this village?"
"Indeed." confirmed the Captain. "Where did she go, if I may ask?"
The villages looked around themselves. Finally, the youth pointed to his hut. "She's still here."
The Captain was relieved. Finally, he found her! So, he rode toward the hut, dismounted, and carefully entered the hut.
Inside, he found a very unexpected scene. The princess was crying on a old woman's shoulder.
"Princess?" the Captain said, "Your father is looking for you."
The old woman was surprised. "Are you really a princess?"
The princess nodded.
"Why? Why come here yourself?"
"I was trying to dissuade you from joining the Queen. I failed." said the princess.
"It can't be helped. These youth nowadays." said the old woman, comforting her.
"If only I can delay it a few more days, then it won't matter."
"Why not?"
"Because then the prophesied child will be born, and peace will come throughout the lands." said the princess.
The Captain was not so convinced. Peace may indeed come, but it won't be easy. The princess was just learning that fact.
"Come princess." he implored, "You did what you can. Those youths won't be joining the Queen anytime soon. That is enough. Your father is worried about you. Let's go back soon."
The princess nodded and disengaged from the old woman. "May you live in peace. I wish I can help you, but we do not come from rich kingdom. And our kingdom is so far away. Advice is given freely, but I fear we cannot give you food like the Queen can."
The old woman nodded her understanding. "How does the Queen do it?"
"By taking food from the rich kingdom, and spread it among the poor." The princess replied. "But there are more poor kingdoms than not, so in effect, it causes everybody to be poor." The princess continued, "Since not many people wants to be poor, corruption is rampant, and that will cause even more sufferings."
The old woman understood this too well. The princess continued. "We have a different way of helping. We will gladly share our farming and hunting techniques so that you can farm and hunt better, and raise yourself up. Then you won't be so poor anymore." The old woman was listening. "But it does take time to learn the skills. Time that not many people seems to want to spare.
"Yet, in the time that it takes for you to learn how to fight, you can easily learn how to farm, or how to hunt. It's just the difference between whether you want to do it yourself, or to want others to make the decisions for you."
"We have been told what to do for many years." said the old woman.
The princess nodded. "It's not so bad when you have good leaders." agreed the princess, "but bad things happen when you have corrupt leaders. And the Queen, from what I hear, is quick to punish, and does not listen to advice but her own. She's not a good leader."
The old woman said nothing. The princess said nothing. There was nothing anybody can do about it. The Captain waited patiently, and finally, the princess looked at the Captain. "Let's go." she said. They left the old woman alone to her fate.
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