Suddenly, Ren collided with Lyana.
Lyana hadn't noticed her. She was talking to Mara when she felt a sudden push – a small body crashing into her from behind. She would have fallen if Mara hadn't grabbed her arm.
Lena moved like lightning. In an instant, she was between Ren and Lyana, her right hand close to her pocket where she hid her small knife. She looked at Ren with sharp eyes, ready for anything.
But Lyana placed her hand on Lena's shoulder gently. She said: "Calm down, Lena. She's just a child."
Lena stepped back, but her eyes never left Ren for a moment.
Ren was on the ground, trembling. She looked at Lyana. Her green eyes were wide, frightened, but there was something else in them: desperation.
Ren said in a hoarse, fast, frightened voice:
"Please... please... you have to come with me..."
Lyana knelt before Ren. She looked into her dark honey eyes. She said in a quiet voice:
"Calm down. Who are you? What happened?"
Ren trembled. She looked around at the guards. She was afraid of them too. She looked at Lena, who was still staring at her with sharp eyes.
She whispered:
"My name... my name is Ren. Ella... Ella is in danger. Her stepfather... hurts her. Every night. I hear her crying... I see the bruises..."
She stopped. Breathed with difficulty.
She looked at Lyana. Her eyes glistened with tears.
"You... Please... help her."
Lyana stood up slowly. She looked at Mara. She looked at Lena. She looked at the guards.
She knew her father – the king – would be angry if he found out. He knew she visited "The Back" in secret, but he hadn't stopped her.
She should have returned as soon as possible, but now...
But she looked into Ren's small, frightened eyes. And she remembered Ella's face – the girl she hadn't seen yet, but who was suffering at this very moment.
She said in a firm voice that brooked no argument:
"Take us there."
Lena stepped forward quickly. She whispered angrily, her voice low but sharp:
"My lady... we cannot go there. This is not your place. These people..."
Lyana cut her off:
"These people are suffering, Lena. And I am going."
Lena looked at Lyana for a moment. Her grey eyes carried real fear – not for herself, but for the princess. Then she sighed. She knew she couldn't stop her. She never could.
Lena said in a quiet, resigned voice:
"Then... I will go with you. As I always have."
Lyana smiled a small smile. "I know that, Lena."
Then she turned to the guard commander, Sorin, who stood in silence. She said:
"Sorin, you and your men will come with me. But no one draws a sword unless I see the danger myself. Understood?"
Sorin nodded. His scarred face showed nothing, but his eyes were sharp, ready.
Lyana turned to Ren. She said:
"Show us the way."
Ren stood up quickly. She looked at Lyana for a moment, as if she couldn't believe this was happening.
Then she started running, with the guards, Lyana, Mara, and Lena behind her.
Ren ran through the narrow alleys, barefoot, knowing every corner, every passage, every slanted wall. Behind her, Lyana could barely keep up – she wasn't used to running on muddy ground.
Lena was beside her, sometimes grabbing her arm to keep her from falling. She knew how to walk on muddy ground better than the princess. Mara was on the other side.
Lena kept whispering to Lyana: "Watch your feet... don't run so fast... if you fall..."
But she was also watching Ren with her eyes. She scanned the path, the alleys, the windows, the rooftops. Her right hand never left her pocket.
Lyana asked as she ran: "How much farther?"
Ren answered without looking back: "Close. Two more alleys."
Then she stopped suddenly.
Ren whispered: "Here."
They were in front of a house whose entrance was shattered , the door was completely destroyed. What Eleanor saw inside made her scream,
"Stop!"