Cold was the wind, howling through the night, it bullied the princess. Complicit with the water clung on her clothes, they syphoned the warm from her body. With the help of a tree branch she found on the riverbank, step by step she limped. Her teeth chatted each time the wind came and stole the warm off of her, but Emma guessed in that miserableness still have some silver lining, with the chilling air came a numbness and it had greatly helped her cope with the pain on her leg. The arrow, now haft broken by her struggle with the river’s current, but its head still stuck in her flesh, touch it Emma dare not, for she didn’t know how much worst the pain and bleeding might become if she just recklessly pulled it out.

“CHALLENGER!” –Emma’s tremble voice echoed the riverbank- “CHALLENGER, WHERE ARE YOU!?” -Cried out into the night, the princess look for her companion.

“ANSWER ME CHALLENGER, PLEASE!!!” –in desperate she begged her companion to answer- “Answer me, please don’t die, Challenger, please don’t die.”

The river’s sandy bank soon turned grassy, one foot after another Emma pushed her way forth, how long she had been cried out to her companion, she didn’t know, yet on sore throat she still cried, in hope she would hear his voice answer her. And an answer she did get.

Echoed from far ahead of her, voices answered her call through the night, but of male they were not. The heaven’s light illuminated figures approaching her, Emma hasted her pace for those shadows were not of the lizardmen. Closer, and closer, the figures finally came to clear view.

Two women came to Emma aid to her surprise. Surprised not for the fact she just got help but who the aid came from. In font of Emma was the two Downer women, one was older than the other, clothed in their typical cross-collards robe and with an accented common speech they concerned for Emma’s wellbeing.

“Downers? Why are Downers here in the middle of nowhere in north Bricatia?” –Emma wide eyes in wonderment.

“Miss? Can you speak?” -the older Downer women’s voice snapped Emma back to the situation at hand.

“Help!” Emma begged.

Caught Emma as she was about to collapse, the women lent her their shoulder to stand.

“Oh, you poor thing” –The older Downer woman quickly wrapped her handkerchief on Emma’s wound - “You must be in so much pain now, hand on, don’t worry you safe with us now.”

“Thank you, thank… ouch!” -winced from the pain as the woman bind her wound, Emma expressed her gratitude- “I’m very graceful, my ladies.”

“What’d happened to you, sweetie?” the older woman asked.

“Ah… er… I was travelling with friends and got attacked by bandit and fell down the river, thank the gods that I had meet your ladies” –Emma quickly explained- “Er… one more thing, I had another companion, a young man with blond hair, her fell down the river with me, did you see him?”

“A man? Long hair, blond man with white and blue tunic isn’t it?” the younger one said.

“Yes, yes, that’s him, that my friend” -Emma glad to hear the news.

“We just pulled him out of the river near our camp” –the younger woman pointed her finger to a faint glow of light ahead of them- “Just up ahead over there, come we’ll get you there.”

Thus, they quickly headed to where Samuel had been found. On the riverbank near a small hill, a group of Downers had gathered around an unconscious Upper man, and bearded middle-aged man with hair bun on the back of his head was examining him. The two women uttered some words in their own language calling the men to help them with Emma and quickly a Downer man in amour came near Emma, politely, he interlocked his fingers and bowed, and then carried her in his arms toward the gathering crowd. Listened to those Downers spoke to each other, Emma slowly realized that the language they used was familiar to her ears. She had heard that Downer’s language before when she was accompanied her father to welcome a Downer’s diplomat, but she still couldn’t quite recall the name of that diplomat’s kingdom.

When they came near where the unconscious Upper man was, the horrible state of Samuel shocked Emma. His face and the white tunic was red with blood from a large cut on his forehead.

“Oh no, Challenger!” –Emma agitated seeing her companion’s condition- “By the gods! What’d happened to him, is he alright?”

“Calm down, calm down” –the women reassured Emma- “Don’t worry, Taosih Nam will take care of him.”

Finally done with his examination, the Downer mage spoken something in his tongue and used his magic to heal the wound on Samuel’s forehead. The mage, or as the Downer called them, a “taosih”, conjured his magical power, which they called “Qigun” and then traced his finger on the forehead wound and where ever his finger touch the tissue slowly mended and leaved no trace of the injure, after it was done the rest of the Downer men carried Samuel up the hill to their camp. As the women translated the taosih’s word to Emma, that Samuel had suffered quite a concussion and they have to operate on Samuel shoulder to remove the arrow’s head before heal his wound and the same had to be done for the wound on Emma’s leg.

Drafted a blanket on Emma the soldier carried her up the hill to their camp. As she got closer and closer to the hilltop where the Downer’s camp was, aside from the concern for Samuel’s wellbeing something just dawned on her, that was the language these Downers were talking. She remembered it now, the tonal language they spoke that she’d heard from when accompanied her father to greet Downer’s diplomat. And poked out of the hilltop in front of her, a flag waving in the wind further confirmed he realization. The yellow triangles with red border cloth waved in the wind, on the flag’s edge were red saw tooth-like piece of smaller cloths that made the flag looked like it was on fire, and in the middle was a coiled azure dragon gazing on the sun. It was no mistake to Emma that these Downers was from the kingdom of Aulacia.

With that realization, Emma carefully slipped her white jade ring off of her finger and hid it in her palm without drawn any attention from the Downers. When they came near the camp, they came across a young woman about Emma’s aged, leaned on a tall pillow, on a mat beautifully weaved and painted, with a cup of tea in hand and a small table of sweet treats next to her, she admiring the heavenly spectacle. Twin whirlpool and swastika pattern filled the beautiful silk cross-collards robe she wore, silky chin-length black hair swayed in the wind, her heart-shape face , dotted by a single small mole on her left mouth corner, gazed up to the supernova above the dark pupils inside her slender phoenix eyes sparkled under the heavy’s light like a pair of fine black pearls. That young lady seemed to be an important person as surrounded her were servants. Once she saw Emma she stood up and came near her, the soldier carrying Emma quickly put Emma down and kneeled in greeting as well as every other Aulacians nearby. In that split second of opportunity Emma quickly hid the jade ring in the pouch on her belt.

In Aulacish she spoke something to the two women who found Emma, as that young woman turned toward Emma the women told Emma that, in front of Emma was Her Royal Highness, the second princess of Aulacia kingdom and the head of Aulacia diplomatic convoy, Princess Truk Hi. The red thin lips on her heart-shape face curled up into a warm smile.

“Such unfortunate turns of event, but fear not, you two are in safe hand.” –with a compassionate voice Princess Hi offered- “Now, yours are welcome to stay with us with the servants, until you can get back to your road on your own again.”

“Thanks for your generosity, Highness” –Emma bowed.

Soon after, their wound had been tended to by the Aulacia’s taosih, but Samuel still had yet to regain consciousness. After a change of clothes, Emma sat next to Samuel after the taosih had done all he could for him. Held the hand of the man she barely knew, a man, that for some reason had gave her a helping hand despite all the potential danger might befell him, Emma felt greatly in debt, she wished she could do more than just sat next to him.

“Wake up Samuel, please wake up Samuel,” Emma whispered, “Please wake up, I’m in unfriendly hand right now” –Came to the tent flap, Emma gazed up to the bright hand of Quelas’Airuth on heaven above and prayed the gods to watch over her companions, watch over the one who lied next to her and watch over the one they’d left behind.