I entered the great hall and saw four men, each one tall, muscle-bound, clad in armor that had never seen a dent or known the strike of a blade. Their over-polished breastplates, helmets, and scabbards reflected the numerous flickering flames from the candles on the wall mounts and chandeliers. The red capes that hung from their backs were of perfect velvet. Their sandals were thick leather. And their faces were shorn down to the skin, without one trace of a hair or whisker. These men were elite. Officers and a captain, maybe. And the young silk and jewel ensconced blonde woman standing just on the other side of them, near the far side of the hall, facing away from me, had to be...
“Princess Mistra,” I said, walking closer.
She turned. Her eyes grew wide at the site of my naked body. “Yo
