General Zhànshì and his men mounted their horses. The skirmish wasn’t as treacherous as he had feared it would be. He was grateful for it to be over so he could hurry back to the princess and the others. 

 As they spurned their horses just past the entrance to the forest, he saw the lieutenant and the carriage racing toward him. When he noticed several of the soldiers missing, he became concerned.

 “General!” called out Lieutenant Chéng when he saw the rest of their group emerge from the forest trail.

 He kicked his horse faster to reach them before the carriage so he could prepare the general before he saw the girl. He reined his horse in beside General Zhànshì’s horse and grabbed his arm before he could ride forward.

 “It was an ambush,” he said. “It was Duìzhăng Gŏu. He was after the princess to take her back to her father for the bribe.”

 General Zhànshì became infuriated at the act against his wife and the mention of the men behind it. He tried to pull away from the grasp the lieutenant still had on his arm. He stopped when his friend continued talking.

 “She saved us, Zhàn,” Lieutenant Chéng addressed his friend. The solemnity of his tone worried the general. “He tried to make her kill one of us. He told her if she didn’t, he would kill us all and make her suffer. She took the knife he gave her and stabbed him through the throat.”

 General Zhànshì and the soldiers who hadn’t been there stared in surprise.

 “We were able to take down what was left of his men, but the shock of what she did devastated her,” the lieutenant continued. “She's been unconscious since we left the area.”

 General Zhànshì took several deep breaths and looked around at the men he had left to protect her. They were covered in wounds and had been beaten by the bandits. He nodded and took a final deep breath as he dismounted. He started to walk to the carriage as it stopped several feet on the road in front of him.

 “Prepare yourself,” Lieutenant Chéng cautioned. “Just remember, it isn't her blood.”

 The general turned and looked at the lieutenant. Just as he started to hurry again to the carriage, they heard another of her chilling screams. He ran and pulled himself onto the driver’s seat and quickly pulled the curtain aside to go to her. He froze at the doorway as she sat on the floor screaming and ripping at her blood-soaked clothes.

 Princess Mĕilì Xīng woke to the sounds of men talking. She lay shaken and disoriented only for a moment before the sticky red substance covering her brought everything back. She screamed and tried wiping the blood from her face and hair, her hand and even her doll. She continued crying loudly and began tearing at her right sleeve to remove the blood from her arm.

 The carriage shook and she looked up to see a terrifying figure glaring at her with cold dark eyes. She screamed louder and wrapped her arms around herself in defense against the creature trying to enter the carriage. Was this the beast of justice coming to execute her for what she had done?

 It took General Zhànshì a moment to see through the fog the initial shock had caused in his mind. There was so much blood and she stared at him as if he were a demon trying to take her soul. He grumbled angrily at his carelessness and quickly removed his helmet. In his eagerness to get to her, he had forgotten it on. It was a specially crafted helmet with an attachment that covered the bottom half of his face in the shape of a tiger’s growling mouth.

 “It’s me, your highness,” he said as he threw the helmet onto the ground behind him. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

 She continued to scream until she realized what she had seen. She looked at the scar across his eye and listened to his voice. Her screaming was replaced by loud crying, and she placed her hands in front of her face in shame for what she had done.

 He leaned away from the door and called to a nearby soldier, “Take us to the riverbank.”

 He went inside as the soldier leapt onto the carriage to do as told.

 “Shhh…” General Zhànshì said softly as he slowly neared her. “Everything is all right. We’ll go to the river so you can wash yourself off and change clothes.” He stopped approaching her when she screamed through clenched teeth. “I won’t hurt you, angel. I’m here to help, remember?”

 Princess Mĕilì Xīng stared at him and could see the softness in his eyes as he spoke to her in a soothing voice. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to calm herself. He was trying to help, something she had never experienced. She wanted to remain cautious so she wouldn’t fall into a trap later, but she needed compassion so badly. He wasn’t her father. She had to remember he was sent by her uncle to save her.

 General Zhànshì watched her carefully as her crying turned into quieter sobs. She was shaking uncontrollably and still holding tightly to her doll, which was covered in just as much blood as the girl. He felt the carriage rumble over a part of the trail he knew would take them to the river. He had to get the blood off of her so the bandits couldn’t track them.

 “I heard what you did,” he said and shook his head as her expression grew fearful again. “You did well,” he continued to her surprise. “I know it wasn’t easy, but you saved their lives and your own. There’s nothing wrong with that. You were brave and my men are alive because of you. Thank you.”

 She sniffed a few times and wiped her face with her sleeve, forgetting about the blood. He swallowed hard seeing more of it spread across her cheeks.

 “We’re here, General,” came the call from the driver as the carriage stopped.

 “Take my hand, angel,” General Zhànshì instructed softly.

 He extended his hand to her, and she stared at it a moment before reaching out to hold it. He gently pulled her to follow him out of the carriage. As soon as she was through the curtain, he lifted her into his arms.

 She gasped and held her doll tighter. She curled up against him and gripped his armor the best she could in fear of falling.

 “Lieutenant,” he called out, and Lieutenant Chéng hurried to his side. “Find a clean set of clothes from her trunk and bring them to me.”

 “Yes, General,” the lieutenant replied with a quick bow of his head before hurrying to do as told.

 As the general carried her down the slope to the edge of the water, the soldiers stared and gasped at her appearance. It was difficult for any of them to understand the enormity of what they had been told until they saw it for themselves.

 General Zhànshì carried her to a part of the embankment well concealed by the lush bushes and low hanging trees. He set her down on a log and helped her out of her shoes. He stopped before he went further and looked up at her worrying expression.

 “I know this isn’t the time and certainly not the place…” He looked around and struggled to find the right words to excuse what he was about to do.

 Before he could continue, she set the doll down and loosened her belt, then pulled away the top robe that covered her undergarments. She covered herself with her arms as though she wore nothing at all.

 He smiled sympathetically at her. She was trying to help him help her.

 “I have her clothes, General,” came the lieutenant’s voice from the small incline on the other side of the bushes.

 “Toss them over,” General Zhànshì called out and lifted his arms to catch the clothes as they soared over the branches.

 “Before you ask, that’s all there was,” Lieutenant Chéng answered the unasked question. “There’s, also, a set of underclothes but no outerwear.”

 “We’ll make do, Lieutenant,” General Zhànshì responded.

 Princess Mĕilì Xīng watched as he set her clean bedclothes on the other end of the log. She paid close attention as he knelt before her again. She wanted the bloody clothes off of her, but she couldn’t bring herself to be nude in the open with men only a few yards away.

 “I know this is difficult,” he said as he watched the anxiety growing on her face.

 She started chewing her lip again and looking around trying to decide how to respond to what was happening.

 “Let’s do this, angel,” he said with an idea he hoped she would accept. “I’ll help you into the water and you can remove your dirty clothes beneath the surface. I’ll turn around so you can wash yourself.”

 She took a deep breath and looked at the water. She had never been in anything deeper than a bathtub.

 “Are you afraid of the water?” he asked when she stared at the gently moving currents. When she nodded, he took her hands in his and smiled when she quickly looked at him for the action. “It isn’t deep, I promise. The deeper end is a long way from here where the currents run faster. Right here, you can walk in and only be covered just above your knees. You can get down low and still be safe.”

 She looked down at his hands as he spoke. They were bloodied and scratched from fighting after he had left the caravan. Still, he was tending to her before looking after himself. He was kinder than anyone she knew, maybe even her uncle. She looked into his concerned eyes and nodded softly that she would accept his offer.

 He smiled at her and stood. He helped her to the edge of the water and held her hands as she gingerly stepped in. When she was certain he was correct about the depth, she let go and sunk down just enough to remove her clothes beneath the privacy of the dark green water.

 He turned around as she began untying her undershirt. He heard a wet plop beside him and looked down in time to see her bundled underpants landing on top of her piled up undershirt. He listened as she sputtered from the river water as she washed the blood from her hair and body. He glanced back only a little to watch her from the corner of his eye so he would be ready to help her walk back up.

 When she started to step onto the slippery rocks, he saw her start to fall. He turned just in time to catch her. She landed across his arm with her arms modestly across her chest. She was facing downward so her back was completely exposed for him to see the years of torture and abuse disfiguring her gaunt body.

 She gasped at landing in his arms and tried to move away. When he held her in place and brushed her hair from her back, she started to cry.

 “Please, don’t hurt me,” she begged in a soft whimper.

 Her body shook in fear of what he was planning, and he held her closer.

 “I’ll never hurt you, angel,” he whispered, barely able to speak over the rage at what he was seeing.

 There were new scars on top of old ones and fresh bruises on top of fading ones. Some looked as if they came from a strap, others from a thick paddle. Some of the bruises were from a fist and others looked as if she’d been kicked. Not all the marks were on her back. He could see them on her arms, as well, and at her hips barely peeking out from the water.

 She chewed her lip and focused on the water flowing around them as his hand glided across her skin. She removed her arms from her chest and wrapped them around his arm that held her. He responded by wrapping both arms around her and holding her snugly against him.

 “He’ll never touch you again,” he told her determinedly. He patted her arm as her body began to shake from silent crying. “Let’s get you dressed, angel,” he said softly.

 She covered herself again with her arms as he pulled her up to rest on the grass. He quickly retrieved her clothes from the log and laid them beside her.

 “I’ll face the road so you can have privacy,” he told her as he turned away.

 She looked around and saw that no one had come to spy on her. She pulled on the clean bedclothes and started to look for her doll. As she passed where he was standing, he noticed she was looking for something.

 “If you’re looking for your clothes, I gave them to Lieutenant Chéng,” he informed her.

 She stared at him a moment before hurrying up the short hill to find the rabbit. He followed closely until they reached the road. Just as they stepped out among the awaiting soldiers, she noticed a fire blazing in the middle of the dirt path a few feet away.

 “Nooooo!” she screamed as a soldier tossed the doll into the flames.

 She ran as quickly as she could and would have thrown herself into the small bonfire, but the general was too fast. He pulled her back to safety as she fought and screamed.

 “Mother!” she cried loudly as she watched the rabbit burn away. “Mother! Mother!”

 Lieutenant Chéng quickly hurried to her side and explained to General Zhànshì. “It was a gift from her mother.”

 The general swore under his breath and continued to hold her tightly as she kicked and screamed to save the rabbit. It had quickly become nothing more than scraps and ash.

 The soldier who had thrown it in stared at the young princess and then at his commanding officer.

 “General, I … I didn’t know,” he stammered. “The blood…”

 “It’s all right,” General Zhànshì replied. “I understand.”

 He stroked her hair away from her face as she began to calm down. She sobbed as she watched the flames through pouring tears.

 “The bandits that watch this forest use dogs for hunting travelers,” he explained in hopes she would understand what had to be done. “They would have picked up the scent of the blood and ambushed us again.”

 Princess Mĕilì Xīng grew quiet as she listened. She sniffed back her tears as her body still trembled from all she’d been through. She leaned back against him and rested her head on his armored chest. She held onto his arm in place of her doll and shut her eyes to everyone watching and mumbling around her.

 “We need to leave right away,” General Zhànshì commanded the men. “I’ll ride in the carriage with her. Move as fast as we can through this forest and don’t stop when we reach the gates. Continue on to my manor and be wary of everyone we pass.”

 “Yes, General,” they all replied.

 He stood with her and hurried her along to the carriage. He helped her inside and climbed in after her.

 “I’ll make certain she’s secure,” he told the driver as the soldier took his seat. “Keep up with the others.”

 “Yes, General,” the driver replied, and he slapped the reins as soon as the general was inside.