“The barbarian rejected the tribute?” asked Leaf

“One of my servant girls foolishly wanted to be the Barbarians mistress.  She told me she would love to be taken by such a powerful man.  I offered to switch places with her as none of the escorts knew who I was it was easy to pull off the ruse.  I simply wore the clothes of a handmaiden and my servant girl wore my finest clothes and jewelry.  I naively thought the barbarian would gladly take someone such as myself for a wife and would let her keep her hand maidens on.  The poor girl who took my place imagined it would be quite wonderful indeed to be loved by a barbarian.  The thought of it repulsed me so I was happy to become a handmaiden.  When our caravan arrived at the Barbarian camp they accepted our gold and then the emperors trusted council introduced my hand maiden as the Niece of the emperor.  The barbarians laughed as the young woman exited the carriage and presented herself courteously to the Barbarian king.  He said you are my tribute dear?  Why would the emperor think I would be satisfied with his Niece when I can have his wife?  At this all the men in the room began laughing and taunting the girl they thought was me.  The Counselor to the emperor spoke up and asked if this was not fair tribute for a peace offering.  The barbarian King said how am I to know if it is worth it without sampling the tribute.  It was awful from there I cannot go on.”

“This Barbarian king is an evil man” said leaf

“No he is worse than evil.  After he had his way with the poor girl right in the middle of the room He killed all the escorts the emperor had sent with our party except for one young soldier.  He handed that soldier the head of the Counselor and told him to deliver a message to the emperor.  He said he appreciated the niece but that she was only an appetizer and he would dine on the emperor’s wife and feed his children to the dogs.  He then beheaded the girl who had worn my clothes and gave the soldier that head to carry back as well.  I and the other nine hand maidens were each sent to different captains in the barbarian’s army.  I was being transported by a unit and these three men to his captain in the scouting army now invading our lands.  I had a chance to escape when the unit decided to attack a small village and left me in the care of that idiot you killed over there.  I would have certainly escaped from him, I had tricked him and gotten him completely lost in the woods but the sergeant from the unit and this man lying under the horse somehow  found him and then the three of them must have found my trail.  They had just caught up to me when you two happened along.”

“It is very lucky for you that we happened along” Said Leaf completely forgetting his original plan of continuing on with his mission and leaving the barbarians to their catch.

Silent Leaf looked upon the woman who stood before him and he yearned to speak.  But truth be told had he not been under a vow of silence he still could not have found words he would be happy with speaking to a beauty such as this.  Her silky black hair disheveled draping over her shoulder touching her skin where the dress had torn.  The pearl white skin was marred by a single cut stretching the length of a hand extending from the nape of her neck to the center of her shoulder.  A slight trickle of blood ran down from where her neck rested upon her shoulder and disappeared under her handmaiden dress.  The Dress was made of fine silk and embroidered with Chrysanthemum flowers.  Silent Tongue thought it odd that she wore the Chrysanthemum the symbol of Joviality when she was being traded to barbarians.