The next few days passed without incident. They were indeed safe within the castle, and they made good time in their trek out of the Deepwood. More than anything, Maia felt like the biggest struggle was adapting to Galiena’s presence; she insisted on doing everything herself. All the chores and other nightly duties that they had normally distributed amongst themselves, save for watch duty, she wanted to take over.
They had pushed back at first; they felt uncomfortable making one person do all the work, even if she was asking to do all the work, but Galiena solved that by offering them a deal. It was simple; if there was a slowdown in making camp compared to before, or if it was clear that she was overexerting herself, they would be allowed to step in. If not, then she would carry on doing the work herself. Maia had accepted, assuming that there was no way Galiena could match the work speed of five people.
As it turned out, she could. It wasn’t just that every move was executed with the precision and speed of someone who had done it innumerable times, but Galiena’s own physiology that allowed her to work faster. She often made extra hands of bone, Maia had seen up to six extra hands at once, or used small pieces of bone to imitate tools she was lacking or hold something in place, and she was able to adjust her height as needed, allowing her to tie their supplies up in trees with no effort.
The only thing she had ended up relenting on was gathering firewood, and even then, Maia suspected that she would have done it if she was able to be in two places at once. Galiena felt almost…obsessive about perfection, wanting everything done as optimally as it could be. It wasn’t in a way that she looked disapprovingly on others’ efforts, she never disparaged anyone’s work, always welcomed attempts to learn from her, and actively taught people when asked, but it had still stuck out as odd to Maia.
And yet, even though it was now the night before they expected to be leaving the Deepwood, Maia felt like she hadn’t really gotten even a surface level reading of the woman. She was taciturn and rarely spoke unless she felt she had something to add to a conversation, leaving Maia sort of at a loss with how to treat her.
Maia sighed, standing up from her place beside the fire and walking over to where Galiena was sitting, whittling away at a piece of wood. And, like always, Galiena noticed the moment Maia had reached a point where it was clear she was coming to talk to her, putting away the wood and knife and standing to greet Maia.
“Queen Maia,” she said respectfully, “how may I assist you?”
“Can we…talk?” Maia asked. “Privately?”
Galiena nodded. “Of course. Do you have a location in mind?”
“Just fifty or so feet outside of camp.” Maia said. “It’s not good to stray too far in the Deepwood.”
“Very well.” Galiena replied. “Lead the way.”
Maia led Galiena away from the camp, then sat down on the forest floor. “I don’t know how to begin.” She said uncertainly. “I just…feel like I don’t know you at all, and I want to. You don’t have to answer my questions if you don’t want to, but I just figured I should make an effort, you know?”
Galiena smiled softly. “I understand. Before we being, may I ask why you wanted to have this discussion in private?”
“I just thought it might make you more comfortable.” Maia replied. “And you can sit if you want, though I understand if you don’t like sitting on the ground.”
Galiena sat. “I have sat on far worse.” She said. “Please, ask your questions.”
“Do we make you uncomfortable?” Maia asked. “I can’t tell if you’re being quiet because that’s just who you are or if it’s something else.”
“Ah, that. It is a problem with me.” Galiena said. “You and your group seem like lovely people, I am just…dealing with my own problems. I will not go into details at this moment, but remember that, for me, the events of long ago happened not even a week prior. There is a lot I need to handle.”
“Well, if you need anyone to talk to, I’m always open.” Maia said. “I can’t pretend I’ll understand your struggles, but I’ll lend an ear.”
“I appreciate it, but to be frank, I will not be taking you up on that until I know you better.” Galiena said. “If it becomes a problem, I will speak more about it, but until then, I will deal with it my own way.”
“That’s fine.” Maia replied. “Just figured I’d make the offer. Um…why do you insist on doing everything yourself? It’s no big deal if setting up camp takes a couple minutes longer, we can all pitch in.”
Galiena gave an amused smile. “It is my job.” She said. “This workload is practically nothing compared to some of the things I used to do. But, were we in a different situation, I would not insist on anything save the cooking. However, we are currently in a very precarious situation; we are in constant danger, so it is vital that everyone is as fit as possible if we are attacked.
“That means making the most out of our rests. I am used to war marches, and though your group is clearly tougher than average, you are clearly not professional soldiers. Therefore, it seems prudent to allow you every extra bit of rest I can give.”
“So…outside the Deepwood you’ll let us help, then?”
Galiena gave Maia another amused smile. “I was not referring to the Deepwood.” She said. “We are safer here than most places, I believe.”
“Are you saying we’re going to be attacked by people?” Maia asked nervously.
“Yes, and most likely by somewhat large groups of trained soldiers.”
“How are we supposed to win, then?” Maia asked. “Even the villagers were strengthened enough by the curse to put up a fight, we won’t last a minute against an army.”
“Your village was a special circumstance. Not everyone is equally strengthened by the curse.” Galiena said. “Assuming the individual soldiers are no stronger now than they were in my day, I estimate that our group could comfortably defeat thirty or so standard soldiers. Monster girls are significantly stronger than humans.”
“Thirty?” Maia said dubiously. “That’d be…what, five of them for everyone one of us?”
“Expect them to be similar strength to the villagers you fought. How many were in your village, and how many people did you have working with you?”
“We probably fought a good twenty people, and it was only me, Elise, and Violet.” Maia replied. “But we isolated them and took as few on at once as was possible. I don’t think soldiers will let us do that so easily.”
“You would be surprised.” Galiena replied. “Discipline suffers because of the curse. You are unlikely to get many one-on-one duels, but groups of two or three are easy enough to bait out. You will see.”
“If you say so.” Maia said dubiously. “Um, back on topic…is there anything you’d be willing to tell me about yourself that you haven’t already said?”
Galiena shrugged. “I am a simple woman. Treat me well, and I will respond in kind. Though I display respect to you and your group, please remember that respect is something that is earned and maintained, not something that is a given. Keep acting as you are now, and we will have no issues.”
Galiena paused for a moment. “Except for asking me to not do all the work. Please stop that.” She amended. “Unless we have a significant change in our circumstances, I have made my position clear, and I will stick by it. But…yes, that I think that is all for now.”
Maia sighed. “I’ll tell everyone to let up on it.” She said, standing up and offering a hand to help Galiena up. “It was good talking to you.”
“Likewise.” Galiena replied, accepting the hand. “I have first watch with Steph tonight, so if you need anything during that time, please do not hesitate to ask.”
And with that, they returned to camp, Maia still not totally sure what to make of Galiena. But, even so, she had gleaned a couple of insights, so she decided to call it a win and head to bed on a high note.
“Okay, everyone, I think we’re almost out.” Maia said with relief. “The trees are starting to thin out enough that, if it’s like home, we’re only a mile or so away from the edge of the danger zone.”
“Thank goodness.” Steph said, placing a hand over her heart. “I was on edge the whole time.”
“We should still stay sharp just in case something happens, but I just figured I’d let everyone know.” Maia said. “After this we’ll keep heading east and try to resupply at that port city I saw on the map.”
“Port Mira.” Steph said. “I studied there for some time, under a bishop named Liam. If he’s still alive, I would like to request that we cure him; he knows a great deal and would be an excellent asset for our journey.”
“We’ll see if that’s feasible.” Maia said. “But we’ll try our best.”
“Forgive me for interrupting the mood,” Galiena began, “but we are not out of danger yet. It is highly likely that there will be a group of soldiers waiting for us. If anyone has any injuries, now would be the time to get them healed.”
“Really?” Maia asked. “What makes you say that?”
“Experience.” Galiena replied. “Our enemy is fond of these tactics, and has no issue ordering the cursed to do their bidding. It would be better to be prepared and find nothing than it would be to be unprepared and be ambushed.”
“Fair point.” Emily said. “I’m not hurt, is anyone else hurt?”
No one was, so the group continued their march, unease filling their hearts as they walked. Or, at least, it filled Maia’s heart and those of the people from her village; Maia couldn’t tell if Galiena was nervous or not. Maia knew everyone else well enough to know for a fact that they were nervous, but Galiena seemed…unconcerned, and Maia couldn’t tell if it was just her putting up a strong front or if she was actually confident that they could deal with the situation.
As the trees began to thin, Maia noticed the remnants of a path leading eastward. It was overgrown, but by the looks of the trees, it had once been a logging road. Wood from Deepwood trees was in demand for its resilience, the difficulty in harvesting it, and apparently was even used in some magic studies, so Maia wasn’t particularly surprised to see signs of logging this close to the edge of the Deepwood.
“Hey…can’t we just…go around?” Violet asked suddenly. “Like, head north or south for a while and then take a different exit. Wouldn’t that avoid the ambush?”
Maia turned to Galiena. “She makes a valid point.”
“Usually, yes.” Galiena said. “However, I think you will find that any good exit that is within two days’ travel is likely covered.”
Steph frowned. “That’s a lot of people to mobilize for seemingly no reason.” She pointed out. “Surely they’d run into logistical issues…right?”
“They will have a reason.” Galiena replied. “Whether or not that reason is truthful or even persuasive does not matter; they will follow orders all the same. If those orders come directly from our enemy, no cursed person would even think of disobeying, even if they are completely unaware of our enemy’s existence.
“Furthermore, they will likely have mobilized recently enough that we might be able to catch them in the middle of their preparations, making this an ideal time to strike. I understand you are afraid of your first real battle, but rest assured that unless we are outnumbered twenty to one, I believe we will emerge victorious with no lasting damage on our side.”
“Twenty to one?” Emily asked skeptically. “You’re exaggerating.”
“Perhaps I am exaggerating slightly.” Galiena admitted. “But you have me now. I have been a professional soldier for far longer than these people have lived. Even if much of my former power has been lost, I will still be able to easily defeat the kind of rabble that we will be fighting today. Furthermore, unless the influence of the Deepwood completely drops off once you are past the trees, which I have been told it does not, then we will likely maintain an advantage simply because of the environment.”
“We’re far enough out that it shouldn’t be a big impact on them.” Maia said. “I’d reckon that this is about as far from the truly dangerous part of the Deepwood as our village, so they should be just fine.”
“Unless the curse protects them, or they have been here for several days, they won’t be.” Steph said. “It takes time to acclimate to this environment enough to be fully combat-ready. You don’t feel it because you were born and raised in this sort of place, and that is your normal. I imagine any soldiers waiting for us are feeling unwell at the moment.”
“I’m going to go take a peek.” Violet said. “I’ll be as stealthy as possible so I won’t be spotted by any soldiers, but I think we should at least know what we are up against.”
“Allow me to assist.” Galiena volunteered. “While I may not have the natural stealth of a catkin, I am trained in stealth and assassination. I will not be spotted.”
“Is that okay with you, Violet?” Maia asked.
“Yeah, that’s fine. If there really are soldiers waiting for us, then I won’t say no to assistance.” Violet replied.
“I will follow you.” Galiena said. “Please, lead the way.”
The two women vanished, and the rest fell into an uncomfortable silence, straining to hear any sounds of alarm or even of battle. Fortunately, Galiena and Violet returned just a few minutes later, Violet with a stormy expression and Galiena looking…well, the same as she always did.
“Yeah, there’s twenty or thirty soldiers waiting for us.” Violet said. “They’re in the middle of setting up, it seems; there’s this river that the Deepwood hasn’t fully consumed yet, and they’ve got this wooden palisade with some sort of watch tower set up near a bridge. They only have a couple people on watch, so if we’re going to attack, now’s the time.”
“I concur.” Galiena said. “They will likely attempt to have the supply wagons retreat once they catch wind of us, but it would seem that the horses have been let to roam in a small pen; if we are swift, we might be able to stop them before they can leave.”
Maia took a deep breath. “Right. Let’s go, then.”