Go for your morning ride

Leaving by the back gate of the castle allows you to avoid the crowds of people in the streets and the square. You have elected to take but one of your Kingsguard with you, and note with a wry smile that Lady Trina has drawn this duty – not by accident, you are sure, as she is the swiftest rider and the only one who would have a chance of catching up if you decided to try and give your guard the slip. You recall that many on your council disagreed with the notion of appointing a woman to the Guard, but you saw her fight with your own eyes and refused to allow her sex to blind you to her skill with the blade.

Your wisdom was verified when Lady Trina saved your life from a would-be assassin; it had been four years past, and your assailant was a crazed and obsessed young woman who had sworn that if she could not have you for her own, no other woman would (dealing with such was certainly one of the drawbacks to being King!). Her expertly-hurled dagger would have caught you in the throat had not Trina knocked it away with her sword before any of your other guard even thought to draw. While the men had seen her only as a pretty girl with silly dreams of being Queen, Trina alone recognized the danger she presented. After that, no one questioned Trina’s rightful place among the guard – at least, not to you. The unfortunate young lady was spared the headsman’s axe at your command, as the poor girl was obviously out of her head and not truly responsible for her actions. Instead, she was exiled to a convent to live out her days. You wonder sometimes what became of her.

In any event, you have second thoughts about giving Trina the slip during the morning ride; at the very least, you’ll spare her the indignity of galloping off right out of the gate. The two of you ride side by side at a good pace along the well-beaten path leading into the woods, and once the castle is out of sight you rein up and slow Steelheart to a trot.

“It is a beautiful day, Sire,” Trina says to you. Normally the Kingsguard are silent when on duty, but you usually converse with your guard while riding. You have always felt that it is important for them to know you as a person, not just as a King; it is the least you can offer those who are sworn to lay down their lives for your protection.

“We could not have asked for better,” you agree. The woods are surprisingly quiet; with so many visitors about, you half-expected to see dozens of other riders under the trees. It occurs to you that your guard have likely placed your usual riding course off-limits to the people, and for that you are grateful; you really don’t feel like dealing with fawning subjects at the moment. Even your riding outfit is simple; well-made and of fine quality, but still more befitting a commoner than a King.

Still, there is one piece of royal business you wished to discuss. “Lady Trina, I have not had the report from Captain Navarre… has the forest been cleared of outlaws? It would not do to have our guests set upon by bandits.”

“As you commanded, Sire, we have put our reserve forces to work rooting out thieves and others hiding among the trees. The word has been spread that you offer a general amnesty for past crimes for the length of the celebrations, so long as those crimes were limited to petty theft and not . As a result, many came out of the forest of their own accord and will be joining the festival.”

“Perhaps they will even choose to stay,” you consider. It was your hope that at least some of the younger outlaws in the woods, those who had not yet settled into such a life, would give it up and become law-abiding subjects in the wake of the anniversary. “But, Lady Trina, you are uncharacteristically devious.”

“Sire?”

“You have not answered my question. Do outlaws remain in the forest?”

“Of course, we can never be certain that we have them all.” You are about to remind her that you need straight answers, when she continues, “and, the Vixen remains at large, Sire.”

The news is unwelcome, though unsurprising. For at least three years, a mysterious young woman has made herself the scourge of the forest, setting upon unwary travelers with swift arrows which never miss their mark and making off with their valuables. She has yet to actually strike flesh with an arrow, but leaves no doubt that she could – each shot flies from the trees to cut a decorative feather from a hat or to snip a coin purse from a belt, making it abundantly clear that her obsidian-tipped shafts strike exactly where she intends them, never a hairsbreadth to either side. No one has ever had a clear look at her face, but it is said that she is a maid of almost unreal beauty; with hypnotic green eyes, skin as pale as ice, and hair like spun gold. And, despite your best efforts, she has yet to be captured or even sighted by any of your patrols. She was called “the Vixen” by a bard in the tavern who sang a song of her, and the name has stuck - something you’re not entirely pleased about, as the rumors and stories about her only serve to endear her to the people as a local legend, and the fact remains that she is a thief who needs to be apprehended. Still, you can’t help but admire her skill and tenacity, and as long as she never hurts or kills anyone, your standing orders are to take her alive and unharmed.

“I suppose it was too much to hope that this might be the day we finally capture her,” you say in resignation. “Still, her methods generally involve singling out her target, and with the roads so active, perhaps the Vixen will remain in her den for now.”

"For that matter, she may have mingled with the visitors from other lands," Trina points out. "We have no real idea what she looks like; any of the Guard or the City Watch could pass her in the street, exchange pleasantries, and never known it was the Vixen to whom they spoke."

You come around a bend in the road, beneath a pair of towering evergreens, and the path is long and straight ahead. Steelheart could take you to the next bend and then to a triple-fork in the road before Trina’s horse could catch up enough to see which way you went. If you feel like leaving your guard behind for a bit, now would be the time to do it!