Tale of the Princess

XXXVIII

They were well on their way to Arawn's secret base when Tara entered the ship with General Shivin at her heels. Tara's bright eyes flashed brightly and her nostrils flared, a clear indication that she was angry.

"Princess Tara, we are extremely apologetic about the recent incidents," Shyra began, stepping forward and bowing. "I realize that your trust in us might have faltered, and our reckless behavior without letting you come along with us was-"

Shyra was cut off abruptly as she felt arms circle around her in a crushing grip and panicked for a kshana. Was Tara trying to kill her? Suffocate her? Was this Shivin trying to crush her bones to powder?

Then she heard Tara sniffle close to her ear, and huge sobs followed, wetting her tunic. But Shyra was too stunned to care. Was Princess Tara... crying?

"You all almost got killed," Tara wailed, clutching her even tighter, if it was even possible. "How could you do that to me? Do you know how worried I was, cooped up here and unable to help because of your 'stealth' mission? What would I have done if you died? I can't go back to the Baan without enough power to overthrow Angad and-"

Shyra let out a small choke. "Princess," she gasped, "I'm suffocating here."

"Oh heavens, I'm so sorry," Tara exclaimed, releasing her at once. Shyra bent over and wheezed, her lungs struggling to retain enough oxygen. "Goodness I didn't mean for you to choke! I was just so overwhelmed," Tara cried out.

"It's... it's really fine," Shyra managed to say, her bruised lungs still failing her. "You have quite... quite the strength, Princess."

"Well, your concern is very much appreciated, and you have my thanks, but we really must plan our next move," Arina interrupted, hands on her hips, though Shyra could easily make out that the princess was touched by the gesture.

"Ah yes, of course," Tara said, wiping her tears. "My bad. I'd brought Shivin to help in strategy, but seeing you all..." her voice wavered again, and Hira rushed to grab a tissue and handed it to her.

By now, Shyra had recovered enough to gather her wits about herself. "Alright. We need to first enter the coordinates and find out where Arawn is hiding."

Hira nodded and took Naor with her to the pilot's cabin.

"The rest of us need to gather as much information as possible and develop battle strategies to deal with his armies," Shyra completed, looking everyone in the eye. "This is our final battle, crew. It's imperative we don't mess up."

Arina, Tara and Shivin nodded, and Shyra led them to the dining table, where Arina had brought several books on war strategy and their compiled notes on Rahuketu's army. The rest of the room was austere, with soft white interiors and little by way of color and furniture. It was helpful to have a room devoid of distractions to work in.

"Arawn's army must be similar to the soldiers we encountered in RahuKetu," Arina began, taking a seat and spreading their papers on the pastel hued table. "Including their defensive strategies, positions of power, and such. I would only expect more people of power to be around Arawn, to keep him safe."

"We need to watch out for his advisors as well," Shyra mused, pulling up another chair and settling on a drawing of the Adairs' court members. "Arawn couldn't have gotten this idea alone, or at least implemented it without anyone's help. His right hand being will be as deadly as him, if not more."

Everyone sucked in a breath.

"There would be records of his current court members somewhere," Arina muttured, grabbing a screen and flipping through documents. Tara and Shivin got to work as well, while Shyra flipped through the books on current affairs and tried to catch up on court gossip.