The next day, the weather was clear, and the group set out in good time.  The scout ahead had reported that the aid caravan had also started to move, and was expected to reach the provincial capital by late afternoon.  As before, all members of the party were dressed casually, disguising the status of the royal amongst them.

The scenery en route was picturesque, and Li Ming Yue had rolled up the curtains of the carriage to look at the dense forest on either side of them.  The leaves on the trees were a vivid green, and the sunlight trickled through the branches as they rustled lightly.  She breathed deeply and inhaled the fresh scent of grass and dew in the air.

The track they were on was relatively narrow and bumpy, but she didn't mind the discomfort.  Instead, she replayed last night's interaction with the prince in her mind.  She couldn't help but think about what would have happened if Luo Jian hadn't arrived at that moment.  She shook her head to stop her thoughts from wandering. "Idiot!" she muttered, under her breath.  She started to turn her head back to talk to Bai Mi, but then a movement in the trees caught her attention.

It was a shape.  No, a figure.  It was definitely a person.  And they were moving stealthily.  No person with good intentions would move through the forest in this way.  Then she spotted another, and another.  She leaned forward slightly to look out of the window at the men around her, only to see that their attention was fixed firmly on the road ahead.  She thought for a moment, then decided she had no choice but to act.

Moving forward, she jumped gracefully from the moving carriage, surprising Eunuch Wang in the process, and walked quickly on foot towards the prince and Luo Jian at the front of the group, trying not to alert their pursuers in case it prompted an attack.  Ming Yue put one hand on the prince's bridle and looked up at him.

"Don't turn around now, and you may have already noticed, but there are men in the woods, on either side of us.  At least fifteen of them I would say, and the way they are moving suggests they know martial arts.  Unless they are your men, I would think this means trouble."

Zhao Weisheng looked down at her serious expression.  He didn't ask why she had drawn this conclusion, even though he wanted to.  That was a question for another time.  Instead, he turned to Luo Jian, not doubting Ming Yue's words for an instant.

"Luo Jian, move back amongst the men.  Pretend you are instructing them where we will stop for a meal, but instead tell them quietly to move into a more defensive formation.  Tell Eunuch Wang to get the men's shields ready – they are stored in the carriage for emergencies.  I will speed up the pace gradually, and they should follow my lead."

Luo Jian nodded and turned his horse around immediately.

Ming Yue went to return to the carriage but suddenly found a strong hand circling her waist, pulling her up on to the horse.  Zhao Weisheng placed her in front of him.

"You had better stay here," he whispered.  "It may look suspicious if you go back now."

She nodded, even though she didn't really understand the man's logic.  Feeling the prince's presence against her back was disconcerting to say the least but, she reasoned, the closer she was to him the easier it would be to protect him if anything did happen.  She cursed her lack of a sword and kept a close eye on the forest to her left and right.

The prince took the reins in one hand and left the other around Ming Yue's waist in a firm hold.  If there was danger, he wanted her close to him.  Any thought of propriety was irrelevant.  He urged his horse to start moving forward again, gradually quickening the pace, and was surprised to feel the woman responding easily to the horse's movements.

He had expected her to be tense, rigid perhaps, but she seemed more relaxed than anything else, despite the danger they currently faced.  He saw her reach out a hand and pat the animal's neck, and mentally filed the incident away as one more question mark about his maidservant.  He then tried to focus his attention on the danger around them, but it was not an easy task with the woman who occupied his thoughts so often in recent times sitting virtually in his lap.

After a few minutes, Ming Yue spoke. 

"Your Highness," she murmured under her breath, turning her head slightly towards him so she could be sure that he heard her.

"I studied the map of our route, and I know that the end of the forest is not far ahead.  If these men decide to attack us, it will have to be soon."

Zhao Weisheng tightened his hold on her, and his jaw clenched almost imperceptibly.

"Don't worry," he said.  "Nothing will happen to you."

Ming Yue was startled.

"I didn't mean that!  At least, I mean I am not afraid.  It's just that we need to be ready.  Don't worry about me.  I can defend myself."

Their eyes locked as she moved her gaze to meet his, and once again Zhao Weisheng felt a strange pulling sensation, drawing him towards her.

Suddenly a whooshing sound rang out, and both of them ducked instinctively.  They raised their heads to see an arrow embedded in the tree to their right.  All pretence at ignorance now disappeared.

"Ambush!" shouted Weisheng.  "Circle the carriage and retrieve your shields!"

The royal guards dismounted and moved quickly and efficiently.  Weisheng rode back towards the carriage and pushed Ming Yue off his horse and onto the seat at the front of the wooden structure.

"Get inside", he said.  "It will be safer.  I will stay close to you"

Ming Yue began to protest but stopped when she saw Weisheng's expression.  This was not the time to argue.  Ducking inside, she handed out the last few remaining shields to the royal guards and told Eunuch Wang and Bai Mi to get down on the floor, below the windows.

Arrows were now starting to rain down, as men dressed in the colours of the forest ran out of the woods towards them.  From inside the carriage, the two women and the eunuch could hear the clanging sounds of steel against steel as the two groups of men fought furiously outside.

Without warning, an arrow came flying through the carriage window and thunked into the wood just above Bai Mi's head.  The maid was already terrified, and this sudden close call sent her into a state of blind panic.

"It's not safe. It's not safe," she kept repeating.  "I need to get away.  I have to run away."

Catching the others completely unawares, she got up and darted out of the carriage.

"Bai Mi, no!" Ming Yue shouted.  "You mustn't go out there!"

She jumped up and followed her, determined to bring the woman back, and away from the fighting.  Eunuch Wang watched them both leave, frozen in horror.

Meanwhile, the prince had his hands full battling the bandits, and without realising it he was being drawn further and further away from the carriage.  Whilst he and his men were superior in martial arts, their attackers had strength in numbers, and most of the royal guards were fighting two enemies at a time.

As his sword took down another opponent, he saw a flash of light blue out of the corner of his eye.   He turned his head and saw Bai Mi dash headlong out of the carriage screaming and crying.  He watched in horror as Ming Yue exited the carriage soon after, desperately trying to reach the panicking woman.

Turning on his heel, the prince tried to push his way through to where the two women were, but the fighting was too intense.  Weisheng's sword moved almost of its own accord, slicing through his attackers in arcs and parrying blows from all directions.  He lost sight of his goal for a few moments, and when the two were once again in sight, his heart almost stopped at what confronted him.

***

Ming Yue had left the carriage with no thought other than getting Bai Mi back to a safe place behind the royal guards.  Her own safety was far from her mind at that moment, but the other maid was vulnerable and unable to protect herself.  An arrow grazed against her leg as she leapt down from the carriage, missing embedding itself in her calf by mere millimetres and, deeming the injury painful but irrelevant, she almost smiled at the lucky escape.

As she quickly moved forward, a figure appeared to her right.  She deftly side-stepped, spun around, and aimed a kick at his back, propelling him into the dense undergrowth.  She picked up his dropped sword, deriving some comfort from feeling the hilt in her hand, and continued on.

Miraculously, Bai Mi was still unharmed, but was stumbling forward, her eyes almost unseeing of the danger in front of her.

Another figure appeared on Ming Yue's left, and she spun to meet the challenge.  Her attacker was large, but his size meant that he was not fast.  He swung his sword heavily, but she was easily able to meet the blows and counter quickly.  She momentarily lost concentration when she heard Bai Mi's voice cry out as if in pain, and her opponent brought his fist down on her sword arm painfully.

She was relieved not to hear the bone crack, and immediately switched the weapon to her left hand.  This change in angle of attack disorientated the man, and she was able to dispatch him relatively swiftly with a sword thrust to the abdomen.  As he fell, she turned immediately to where she last saw Bai Mi.

And stopped.

Her eyes opened wide, and the sword fell from her hand.  She dropped to the ground.