The Fourth What?

“Now that we are away from the town and nobody can listen in why don’t we address the elephant in the room?” Bastian asked suddenly, while steering the wagon.

“What’s for dinner?” Sophia replied innocently.

“Uh, I want rabbit stew!” Victoria exclaimed.

“Then you better shoot one,” Bastian said. “and no, that’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean then?” Sophia asked and gave Kieran a worried look.

“Who are you really, Miss Silvia and Sir Karl, if that’s even your real name?”

“What do you mean? You heard it yesterday. I’m a biologist researcher from the academy and he is my bodyguard.”

“A biologist, huh? I didn’t know that they teach how to burn someone’s face off from afar and how to stop crossbow bolts mid-flight in biology now.”

“I did some martial classes at the academy as well. It came in handy, I would say…”

“That it did… but even if that’s true… how do you explain that there is no one called Silvia currently employed at the biology institute?”

“How do you know that?”

“Let’s just say a birdy told me.”

“Was it perhaps a crow?” interjected Kieran.

Bastian turned around furrowed his brows and gave him a long look.

“Perhaps it was…” he said hesitantly. “And you Sir Bodyguard are even more mysterious than the young lady. I’ve never seen someone fight like you and with your… abilities. You just vanished right out of my grip… I ask again, who are you two really?”

“Maybe before asking us for the truth, you could tell it yourself? I could ask you the same questions, Sir Bastian and Miss Victoria.”

“My real name is Valeria von Vonnoch, fourth princess of the Empire of List… This grumbly old fart here really is called Bastian, and he is my bodyguard.” Victoria, or rather Valeria, said very nonchalantly.

Bastian rubbed his face with the palm of his hand.

“You’re really the princess?” Sophia asked perplexed.

“The fourth one… but who is counting…” Valerian said and pulled out a necklace from under her clothes, “See? That’s the royal seal. Only members of the royal family have that.”

Sophia looked at the ring on the necklace. It had indeed the Griffon insignia of the royal family on it.

“What did I tell you about revealing your true identity, Girl?” Bastian grumbled between his fingers.

“Only to people we can trust… and we can trust them.”

“Huh? We don’t even know who they are!”

“This is where you’re wrong dear old man. You don’t know who they are… I on the other hand do!”

Valeria tilted up her head in a very smug expression while blowing air out of her nose.

“And how do you know that?” Bastian asked visibly annoyed.

“Because I’m smart and not stupid like you said I was!” Valeria pouted.

“Right… and will you tell us what you think you know?”

“I don’t think I know, I know! And no… not until you admit, that I’m smart!”

Bastian rubbed his temples and breathed in deeply a few times.

“You’re a smart princess, Lady Valeria…” he said calmly, “…sometimes.”

Valeria looked at him and smiled.

“That last part was unnecessary, but I’ll allow it,” she said triumphantly and then turned towards Sophia. “You’re Baronet Sophia Schwerdtfeger von Oed and you’re a Inquisitor, correct?”

“That’s… correct.” Sophia said, surprised and confused. “How did you know?”

“I was bored one time and read through a report on newly appointed Inquisitors. You’re the youngest one to achieve this rank since the old hag. I found that very impressive.”

Sophia turned her head towards Kieran and flashed him a cheeky smile.

“And who is he?” Bastian asked and pointed towards Kieran.

“No clue,” replied Valeria in her nonchalant way.

“I am Sophia’s bodyguard,” said Kieran.

Valeria and Bastian looked at him.

“And your name is truly Karl?” she asked.

Kieran looked at Sophia. She nodded slightly.

“No, it’s not…” Kieran admitted slowly. “It’s Kieran.”

Bastian and Valeria’s eyes widened.

“Oh, like that infamous Mage Murderer?” she then asked slightly exited.

“Yeah… I get that often,” Kieran said with a slight smile.

“I can see why you’re hesitant to tell your true name…” Bastian remarked. “Your parents must be quite the jokesters to give you a name with such baggage.”

“Couldn’t tell you. I don’t remember them. They died when I was a child.”

“I’m sorry to hear that and excuse that remark just now…”

“It’s okay.”

Bastian looked back on the road, Just in time to steer the horses around a huge pothole, dodging it with the cart.

“So, where did you learn how to fight like that?” he asked after his maneuver.

“I picked some things up, trying to survive.” Kieran replied.

“Nobody who can fight like you just picks it up… You’re with the Inquisition as well?”

“In a sense…”

“What do you mean by that? If you’re part of the Inquisition, you would have to have come up through the magical academy or through the military, and someone with your level of skill must have made an impact… yet I never heard about you.”

“He… uhm is part of a special unit within the Inquisition and he… uhm… went through a secret training program… that’s why you probably haven’t heard of him,” Sophia nervously tried to help out.”

Bastian slowly turned towards her.

“A special, secret unit, huh?” he asked, raisng his eyebrow in disbelief. “That sounds fishy.”

“Good enough for me! We can trust them” Valeria suddenly exclaimed.

Bastian turned towards her in surprise.

“It is?” he asked perplexed. “How?”

“I don’t know. He looks like a good guy… call it a woman’s intuition.”

“I’d rather call it a stupid, naïve little girl’s whim…”

“I am a fully grown woman you old oaf!”

“You’re a scrawny little runt…”

Valeria opened her mouth to say something in return but then jerked her head around and looked to the side of the road, onto the adjacent field of grass.

“Dinner!” she exclaimed excitedly and got up in her seat.

“Dinner?” Sophia asked confused and surprised at the same time.

Valeria did not respond but took the bow from behind the seat and nocked an arrow. She took aim, pulled the string back and released it in one fluid motion. The arrow flew in a shallow arc until it vanished into the high grass.

“Gotcha!” she yelled happily and jumped of the cart and ran onto the field.

Bastian cursed and stopped the horses. He sighed and shook his head, while watching Valeria run farther into the field.

“Well… I guess if it’s good enough for her, it is good enough for me as well,” Bastian said and slowly turned his head towards Kieran. “But I’ll keep my eyes on you. If you ever pose a threat to the princess, I won’t hesitate.”

“Can someone explain what just happened?” Sophia asked, still confused.

“Dinner!” Valeria suddenly yelled next to the cart.

Everybody turned towards her and saw her proudly holding up a dead rabbit.

“Now we can make rabbit stew!” she said with a beaming smile.

“Ladies and gentlemen… the fourth princess of List… running through the field, with dirty clothes and holding a dead rabbit…” Bastian said shook his head, but Kieran noticed the faint and proud smile.