Her gaze was fixed on the knife that was spinning. The young woman was sending it up to catch the handle with dexterity when it fell back to the ground. She wanted to play with the dagger to deceive her boredom, but the sound of the sliding wooden door froze her from movement.

'How long do you expect to stay here watching through the window their arrival, my dear child?'

The King's deep voice didn't please his daughter. His reprimand was felt and she knew it would be the beginning of an argument as they had been hundreds of them. Since the death of the King's wife during the battle of Mertar ten years ago, the man in his fifties was harder on his daughter. Leah knew that he loved her, but he had a hard time to show that emotion towards her. Especially when her mother wasn't there anymore. She was the link between them, and it was broken.

When Leah turned to face her father, she saw the dark circles on her lower eyelid as the wrinkles grew on her forehead. The King had left his crown in the throne room, leaving his hair in chaos. Each gray wick followed a new direction without being in agreement with the others. And worse was his badly kept beard that cut his face and maintained his bad complexion.

'I'm just watching, Father,' Leah whispered knowing that he was in a bad mental state. 'Don't you think they're going to attack us?'

'I do not think anything. I am on my guard. And I see that you are too, but maybe too much. And put away this dagger. I do not want you to get hurt like you were a few days ago.'

Leah sighed before putting the knife away in a leather pouch on her belt. She always wandered with this tool even if the danger was not present.

'When they come, what will you do?' Leah asked, curious.

'These strangers will be considered as guests. I do not wish to speak to them as an enemy,' answered the King.

'But you still strengthened the security of the castle by putting more guards on my person.'

'Precautionary measure. They must not take the sword that has killed dozens of men... If the legend says true, you would hold the weapon capable of killing in a trench. And I could observe what you did during the last battle when you were little... The battle of Mertar,' he repeated like he didn't believe it. 'I'm sure it's the legendary sword that you held in your hands, Angurvddel.'

Leah shrugged nonchalantly, not showing any emotion. She did not want to think back to this day both terrible and wonderful. She had lost friends but had found a special sword. After her dance with the wind during the battle, she lost consciousness for multiple suns and moons. When she came back from her long and dreamless sleep, she was treated like a hero. The hero of the battle of Mertar. They even give the name of their kingdom to this fight. An attack where she lost her mother forever.

'It disappears and appears in unexpected places. I do not control it, Father. If it wants to show itself in front of this other King. It will do it with or without my agreement.'

'Maybe... But once he wakes up, we'll all see his power unfold. We'll all feel it,' said the King with a gleam of joy in his eyes.

Leah smiled at her father's enthusiasm but did not share his opinion. Instead of repeating the words she had been uttering for ten long years about the sleeping state of the sword, she turned her face to the open window. Her father kept the sword in a closed place, but the next day it will disappear without an explication. Sometimes, it appeared in her room, some other time in the throne room.

This situation did not worry Leah. She knew why the sword was disappearing like this. She was like him. Being locked in a room was unbearable. So she knew what her father made him live every day. Leah didn't say anything and remained motionless as she heard the door slam.

'You heard?' asked the woman to the wind, as she used to do.

'Of course. But the reinforcement of security makes me puzzled. The guards put themselves in a defensive position as soon as they hear my footsteps. I know that I am discreet, but they could recognize me since the time that I am here! A real shame!'

Leah laughs after listening to the speech of her childhood friend and faithful bodyguard. He took care of her protection, even if in most cases he had nothing to do. The young woman had a good fighting master. An art that was not usually taught to women because they needed to be protected. But since the man knew Leah, he wanted to teach her how to cope with danger. And especially in front of men.

'Do you really think they're barbarians? That they rape women and loot housing? That they kill without distinction women, old men and children?'

The question of the young woman remained unanswered for several seconds. She thought he had not heard her so she turned to the man wearing a blindfold on his eyelids. It was said that the eyes displayed the truth. So Vald covered them so that nobody would know who he really was.

Even Leah couldn't see his pupils. She had tried to lift the black banner, but she failed every attempt. However, the man with the appearance of a thirty-year-old always noticed her before she could touch the blindfold.

'When I was your age, I had the opportunity to meet the people of Hesdrarg; they have a culture different from ours, but are not ruffians or bandits. They are warriors.'

'You respect them,' said Leah with surprise.

'Greatly,' Vald answered with obviousness in his voice.

The young woman's head turned to the side. She was reluctant to learn more about them through her friend's stories. She still preferred to know these people once she would be before them so she stayed silent and admired again the expanse of forest that surrounded the fortress of Mortar.

Suddenly, she saw horses coming out of the woods. Dozens of adventurers contrasted with the greenery of the plains. She smiled at their appearance.

'They are here.'

When she wanted to look at Vald, she found no one. He was already out of the room. Leah was beginning to sense when he appeared but was still struggling to know when he was leaving. Vald's footsteps had always been as light as wind when he had more muscle mass than his father. She sighed before opening the bedroom door. It was time to talk with these barbarians.