TWO HEADS TWO SPIKES (The Pearl of Wisdom Saga) by Jason Paul Rice Read Free Book Online Page A

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    Leimur Leluc’s lavender eyes flashed open. The braying sounds of a dying horse had awakened her. The Princess wiped the sleep from her weary eyes. She always slept in armor, and even though her suit weighed much less than most of the men’s protection, it caused sleep to be extremely uncomfortable. However, once Leimur awakened, all she needed to gather was her sword belt and daggers. Her handmaiden, Tolaya, offered the Princess a cup of steaming morning water. The Princess eagerly drank the desperately needed liquid. Since taking co-command of the eastern army with General Rigby, sleep had become more and more elusive as the days passed. The tent felt chilly, but the Princess was sweating.
    I must have been dreaming that dream again .
    The Princess of Goldenfield, Leimur Leluc, had just turned twenty. She possessed short black hair with straight bangs across her forehead and haunting amethyst eyes. She stood tall for a woman and was in peak physical condition. Her skin glowed like a mix of gold and bronze and she had a jagged scar on her left forearm. Leimur concentrated on battle, but natural beauty shone through her rugged looks.
    Dark aubergine lips rippled as she said, “Tolaya, I am off to the front line. Please be ready to send word to my father when I return later today.”
    “Yes, my Princess. Be careful, my brave Princess,” responded Tolaya with a shy smile.
    Tolaya pulled open the tent flaps and the Princess emerged into a new day. Either it wasn’t as cold as it should have been, or she was still perspiring from her dream. Tolaya fastened the red cape around Leimur’s neck. It featured a golden tiger in the center. The cape seemed to wave goodbye to Tolaya, aided by the early harvest wind gusts. The Princess walked toward her strong, obsidian destrier. She had named the horse Marius in honor of her great-great grandfather, Marius Leluc. The charger wore a black saddle and light battle armor. Black linen lined the horse’s body with a giant, soaring eagle proudly embroidered on the outside. It only took a few minutes for her to arrive at the front. The lined-up soldiers looked like waves from a sea of humanity as the Princess galloped along the perimeter. Thousands of men chattered and the drums rumbled through the morning air.
    Boom, baba ba, boom, boom, boom. Boom, baba ba, boom, boom, boom .
    These songs were the sounds the Princess heard on a daily basis now and she’d learned to enjoy the racket. The soldiers were ever prepared for an attack even though it seemed highly improbably given the current situation. The Donegal soldiers had claimed the high ground, forcing Goldenfield to wait to attack. But Donegal didn’t want to fight Goldenfield on even ground so the two month standoff waged on.
    Never get caught with your pants down , her father used to say. It was one of the few things Leimur remembered from his almighty ramblings. She pulled back on the reins once she spotted General Rigby. The smell of shit, piss and puke permeated the air. But the malodor of dead bodies and rotting horses from the battle six months ago still lingered and overpowered it. Princess Leimur couldn’t decide which stench was worse but she knew one thing; she preferred that to the rank perfumes the highborn wore. For someone reared in a palace she oddly felt right at home on the putrid battlefields.
    Death is part of life .
    Leimur approached General Rigby and shouted, “Nothing still?”
    “We are still at a standoff, my Princess,” the General responded.
    “Let’s convene in the strategy pavilion in an hour’s time. Please alert Captain Salina and Tetine and Sir Pierre as well,” the Princess returned.
    “Very well, highness,” said the General.
    She loathed being called ‘highness’. At times she even wished she was lowborn.
    Power should be earned, not inherited.
    Out of nowhere, a giant pot of purple fire flew through the air. It blasted into a large tree about ten feet from the Princess, instantly