Liang had pretty much slept for several days without truly waking up, only coming conscious enough to drink from the turtle shell the nice lioness had left near by, and to eat the meats she had supplied. Though just when she had gone out and hunted enough to provide such a large meal, Liang had no idea. She did actually feel kind of bad, not only for just sleeping constantly, but also, she was supposed to be one of the most skilled female warriors of her pride, yet here she was relying on a total stranger, and not only that, but leaving herself entirely vulnerable while the stranger clearly came and went many times.

Finally she had awoken long enough to regain full consciousness and after finishing off the last of yesterday’s meal she had apparently fallen asleep on whilst in the middle of feeding, she gathered her fragile strength and pushed herself to her feet. While she felt weak and kind of unsteady, she was no longer mentally fatigued. Carefully stretching out her sore body she sank into a slow and methodical workout, stretching and flexing to work out the soreness from her half healed wounds. A noise off to one side caught her attention and she stood upright, turning to greet the female she had yet to really meet.

“I need to apologise, and to thank you for saving me.” She said as soon as the pale lioness drew closer. “You have done so much for me, I will be eternally grateful.” The kind female smiled and shook her head, her dark eyes were soft and friendly. Liang could only be relieved that she had ran into this rogue and not someone with more violent tendencies. As she would not have been able to fight, or even run away, with the condition she had been in. It had taken all her focus to just put one paw in front of the other. The pale lioness shook her head, seeming to be amused as Liang’s formal turn of phrase.

“Not at all. Anyone would have done the same. I am glad you are looking better now.” Liang very much doubted the blue female’s words. Yes, her own army would have supported her, and did up until their murder, but a random stranger out here in the roguelands? Liang was doubtful in the extreme. Nevertheless, she never looked a gift in the teeth, and was grateful to this particular stranger for all the care she had given. But before she could reply, the pale lioness spoke again.

“Your wounds seem to be healing, but a few of them aren’t good. I was hoping you might let me have a look? The pale female seemed genuine, her expression sweetly hopeful. It was obvious she wanted to continue her care and Liang was honestly in no position to refuse. Swallowing her pride though was difficult and it took all her willpower to nod. Not that she wasn’t extremely grateful, for she was, so very much, but to admit that she couldn’t even care for her own wounds was painful. But nevertheless, she was not dumb enough to refuse. “That would be very kind of you.” She responded, careful to annunciate her words fully, and trying to push down her accent, which, when she was tired or stressed, grew far heavier and turned even the common tongue into something far too exotic for most rogues to understand.

Obediently she followed the pale rogue lioness away from the tree to a small pool of water a short walk away. Obviously this had been where those turtle shells of water came from. The paw prints around the edge were many and fresh. Settling down on the bank Liang was careful to sink her claws into the damp earth. Her fight reflex had been heightened by her years performing in the arena as a fighting slave, and the last thing she wanted to do was reflexively attack the female who was doing so very much to help her. So, bracing for the pain, she waited for the lioness to get started.

They stayed there a long time, Liang tracking the sun’s movements across the blue dome over head in order to focus on not moving as the other female carefully washed her many wounds, using the shell to lift and tip fresh water over her blood-caked fur. After the first cleaning had been finished the blue lioness started in on the deeper injuries, spending time carefully picking out embedded grit and dirt and releasing the puss. Inevitably this poking started her wounds to bleeding again, but after the first few had been reopened to let the fetid smell escape, Liang already began to feel better, sore, but not in a way that felt like her muscles wanted to melt right off her bones. Instead it was the kind of hurt that felt good, if such a thing was possible. Clearly she had been in worse shape than she had thought.

Eventually the kind lioness finished, rinsing the last of the dirt from the rest of Liang’s crimson-coloured coat. For the first time in a long while Liang felt… Renewed. Yes, her pride had abandoned her, criminalised her, but she was still alive, and with the help of a perfect stranger, she felt stronger than she had since the attack. Standing she carefully eased the stiffness from her limbs. She was a long way from healed, but the process had been begun. Now she could rest, eat and exercise and soon enough, she would be back to a healthy state. Turning she smiled at her rescuer, and for the first time it was a genuine smile, relaxed and familiar rather than tight and formal.

“Thank you, for everything you have done. Let me repay you now…” At the blue female’s quizzical smile, Liang grinned, her jade eyes flashing with a spark of her old self. “I will hunt for you.” Ignoring Ruzena’s protests, gentle as they were, she stretched again, tail curling high and for the first time in a long while, she felt excitement surge though her. She was still weak, but she would become strong again. She was Liang Hongyu. She was the Archduchess of Yang.



(Words = 1,041)