Roxana almost failed to sleep. Through her half-sleep, she saw the girl who had just lost her innocence return to the tent, settled herself at the door, and tossed and turned for a long time and sighed happily. Then she fell asleep, and Roxana lay like that, now flying away into visions, now returning to reality. She only fell asleep in the morning, shortly before Riva woke her.

“Get up, you’ll skip breakfast,” the woman shook her shoulder.

“Give it to those in need,” snapped the girl, sleepy and annoyed.

- Are you always so angry in the morning?

“And my sister said,” came Micah’s clear voice next to her, “that a woman needs a man at night to be cheerful in the morning.”

Riva laughed:

“Did you say that?”

- Well yes. What for? Without it, a woman freezes, right?

Roxana also giggled involuntarily. It was impossible to get mad at Mick.

Had to get up, dress, wash, braid hair. Micah coped with her scythe herself, and again ate two servings. However, with her thinness, the cooks themselves were happy to feed the child. By the fire, Roxanne saw a girl who was in love at night with one of the warriors of Dagor. She smiled, and looked toward the men training.

The first half of the day flew almost the same as yesterday, only Roxana spent time at the herbalist, picking up the herbs. Micah demonstrated her poor knowledge, and she, too, was entrusted with the work. The princess felt pride in the abilities of her ward, and decided that it was necessary to take care of her, secure, train. The girl felt affection for her, and the soul ached from the decision to leave her. She began to think about how to grab Mika with her. But how, here it is almost impossible to slip away, and only with a child ... and what will Dagor do? He will be very angry if he catches it. Okay, Roxana herself, she is ready to answer for her decisions. But Mika really didn’t want to substitute. The girl will be fine here ... In the end, her father can break the army of Dagor, and then she will find Mika, and take her.

Today was the last day to escape. The girl felt that if Dagor had time to return and again drag her into her tent, she would remain there, on his humiliating conditions. No matter how angry she was at it, it had to be admitted. She missed him, could not throw out of thoughts.

It was already afternoon when the news ran through the camp: a foreign squad was seen, there was a skirmish, it was necessary to strengthen the guard. Roxana gritted her teeth when she had to return to the tent. Warriors were running around, saddling and driving horses, putting on boiled leather armor with embroidered hoofs of horses and cows.

The women set about mending their clothes. Roxanne was also handed a shirt, needle and thread, which she almost gave to Mika, but thought about it in time. Biting her lip, she began to sew.

Clothing, of course, she never darned. But embroidered for many years, so that the seams were very smooth and neat. With an indifferent look, showing Riva's work, and without becoming listen to the praise, the girl pulled out thin pants with a hole in her knee from the pile. Then the jacket ...

She rolled up the pants and shirt and covered it with a jacket, showed Riva’s sleeve sleeve:

- Here is a stain, I will wash it.

Since Roxana podgadal moment when the woman was busy, she only shook her head, go, they say. Roxana took one last look at Mika, who was sitting next to a giggling teenage girl, and went behind the tent.

All kind of demonstrating that she was going to wash, but trying not to wet her clothes, Roxanne walked along the river bank to the bushes. There she dressed, tore off the hem of her own dress to bandage her breasts. Baggy clothes perfectly hid the figure, and the hat - hair. The girl's face was artistically smeared with soot, hiding subtle features.

It was scary. Now these people do not touch her, but who knows what will happen if they catch? Maybe they have the right to punish her themselves.Or maybe since she escaped herself, she would be caught in the forest, abused, and slaughtered, and Dagora would be told that they had not been caught. But Roxana was not going to stay. Her pride and freedom were at stake. Mika is a pity, probably, she will miss the girl ... But she is not bad there ... "I will think about it later," Roxana decided, now I need to focus on the escape.

The camp was agitated, and no one paid attention to it. Roxana even managed to take the horse, just in case - not the most catchy. She was mistaken for a boy, and it was boys who were engaged in horses.

Trying to hold back her trembling fingers, Roxana untied the horse, and headed in the same direction as the rest.

At the border of the camp, a gray-haired warrior swore with a group of very young guys, almost boys, with swords or axes on the hips.

- I said that you will not go into battle, and I do not care that you spoke to your girlfriends there!

“We are already adults,” one of the boys argued in a breaking voice, “we were taught to wield a sword!” You can not hold us!

- Well, be silent! I will blow it up, and I will set up the soup, until you wise up!

The prospect scared off the guys, the resolve subsided a bit.

- You! - the warrior pointed his finger at one of them, - yesterday, after training, you were even too lazy to clean a sword, and today you are going to fight? And you, - the finger pointed at the next one, - found the arrows, which you fired by the target? You!

His finger went to Roxana. She shuddered, having decided that she was revealed.

“Why don't I know you?” Did you bring Dagor's order?

- Yeah, - mumbled girl, nodding.

- Well, go from here, what are you standing, - he switched to the next one. Roxana led the horse further. Sentinels with grins watched the scene of youth being scolded, they saw that they missed it, and no additional questions were asked. Roxana sat in the saddle, and kicked the sides of the horse with his heels.

My heart pounded as deafeningly as a horse’s hooves. The wind hit in the face, and Roxana held her hat with her hand. Before it stretched the steppe, behind it - covered with hills of the forest, and then - the plundered capital. But she was not there, she was further to the mountains, a few days drive to the castle, in which her brother and father had disappeared.

However, they go for it. A detachment who wants to attack the detachment of Dagor. She jumps to her father, to freedom, security! She broke free! The camp was distant enough that it was not heard from there, and almost invisible.

Laughing loudly, Roxana stretched out her arms and let out a scream, but then she bent down and grabbed the horse's neck: she hadn’t ridden in the men's saddle before, and had difficulty keeping her legs.

In an ecstatic mood, the princess rode into the forest. It became immediately noticeable that evening had come. It was not a well-groomed, tidy woods in the park, on which the ladies and gentlemen rode on horseback and in wheelchairs. Here the crowns closed over her head, the path now and then disappeared among protruding roots. Soon, Roxanne had to get off the saddle, and lead the horse over. In the grass every now and then someone smygal, once a large beast was on the sidelines. Birds flew overhead and sometimes birds began to scream. And at the same time, there was a feeling of silence and loneliness.

Even before dark, the girl realized that the idea of ​​running away without taking food was not very clever. She was afraid of picking berries, not knowing exactly which of them were edible - most she saw on a dish, cleaned. It was possible to identify only strawberries found in the meadow, and several edible, but tasteless roots, shown by the herbalist. The girl drank plenty of water from the stream, and decided that fasting is generally good for health.

At night, Roxana settled down right in the meadow. There was nothing to make a bonfire, very blithely she hit the road. With difficulty, the girl managed to lay a horse on the ground, and pressed her back to her warm side. The chill of the night outweighed the worry about how she would smell tomorrow.

The same cold and dews woke her at dawn. The horse rose to its feet, Roxana, too. After yesterday's jumps, my legs hurt and did not want to bend; the butt on the sensations was a solid bruise. Having washed with cold water and tucked her hair under her hat, Roxanne tried to feel cheerful.

“It's so romantic,” the girl explained through her teeth ...