Camp:

Despite the portentous survival of Umara from the den, there was more than one noble of the empire who, upon hearing the news of who commanded the rebel army, decided to take all their valuable belongings and leave Tarmén.
Day after day the caravans left the city to be lost on the horizon, heading west or south and uncertainty and panic began to take over those who still remained in the capital.
To avoid falling for possible assassination plots and other stratagems, Alessios took his wives, his army and went to camp against the enemy five hundred miles from the capital city. Thus the confrontation would take place before the invaders could arrive at it.
Cassandra's army was advancing slowly, because it was made up mostly of infantry and foot soldiers, hence it was estimated that the confrontation between the two armies would take place within three months.
*******
—Should we piss you off then?- Zai muttered.
—Perhaps.-replied Burya despondently.
—Your power is tied to your emotions, sister. Nobody controls their feelings completely.- defended Mem.
—At least you and I if we control our abilities.
—Pretty much, but not quite.- Sarab intervened. -You have it restricted to the tips of your arrows, if you could freeze or burn beyond…
—You say it,you, that to keep you under control they keep you tied with a shackle?- Mem snorted.
—See ya!-I yelled.
They all turned to look at me.
—Your constant chattering will cause my head to explode. Can't you two agree?
They all gave me a grin.
—I know, I know I'm the least likely to talk because I have no idea how my gift works, but if we don't focus on what matters we'll be slaughtered like cows!
We had spent hours in a clearing, close to the camp, each trying to learn to control her gift. All except Sarab, whose anklet was designed to prevent her from using hers.

—Perhaps a warm tea would help calm things down.-Cítiê proposed.
Sarah snorted.
—This situation will not be resolved with a filthy tea, Cítiê.
The little woman pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest.
—Let's practice with a tree.- I proposed.- what do you think, Mem will try to freeze it completely, Zai will burn it, Burya will try to make it rain on it, Cítiê… do you think you could put up a protection that surrounds it completely?
—In the meantime, what are you going to do?- Burya yelled.
—I'll get one of the horses and try to put it to sleep like I did the lions.
********
For two weeks Alessios had been spying on his women each practicing her gift. They were all different from each other but, after the initial disagreement, they had come together in practice. The progress they had achieved was undeniable, only Sarab continued to lag behind the others because she refused to swear that she would not try to assassinate him once she was free of her anklet.

Cítiê's patience compensated for Burya's sharp humor, and the twins' constant jokes softened Sarab's harsh and harsh words, besides, he had noticed that silently and little by little they had all recognized Umara as leader, and she advised them what to do to improve and how much more they had to push themselves in each practice.
Oh, my little nomad… how much more do you have to surprise me?
********

Umara:
—I think that's enough for today.- I commented, watching the snow gently fall over half the forest.
—Yes.- Zai agreed, flexing her muscles. -I'm exhausted.
—So am I.- murmured Mem.
—Good. A tea? - offered Cítiê.
—And cupcakes!- the Russian yelled.
We all began to collect close branches, while Sarab stood guard on a high stone.
On the way back to camp we gathered around the fire in our tent and began to prepare the food that we would eat that night.
—When I was a girl, my father used to take us hunting. Do you remember Zai?
—Yes. Father got it between his eyebrows that because we were women we had to be even stronger and more difficult to defeat than if we were a man.-Mem laughed, spinning the rabbit that she had married and was now roasting on the coals.
—Mother reproached him for the hard training and she was shocked when we began to master hand-to-hand combat techniques.- Zai snorted.- It was lucky that we learned to fight so well, when father died our brother was barely three years old.
—Did you train him?-I asked.
—Of course. Otherwise the boy would have been a pushover. Mother wanted to keep him wrapped in cotton all the time.- Mem protested.
Oh.
—In just a few years our brother was able to outmatch us, even if we attacked him together.-Zai muttered.

Oh. The twins are lethal in combat, I wouldn't want to face their brother then.
—Do you miss him?-Burya asked.
—Sometimes.- Mem confessed, beginning to cut the meat and share it among all of them.
—But Metias is no longer a child, but a king, capable of making his own decisions.-He hasn't needed us for a long time.
A soldier called from the entrance of the tent and Cítiê went to meet him, in minutes the little woman returned to us with a resigned expression.
—Umara.- whispered Cítiê.- the Emperor wants to see you, I have to accompany you to his tent.
I dropped the piece of meat I was eating onto the plate, feeling instantly uncomfortable. None of the girls had dared to ask what happened after the miracle in the pit and was grateful for it, but the news had spread throughout the Palace that I was the new favorite of the emperor.
Apparently the silver-domed room was meant for the favourite, the woman the Emperor supposedly 'loved' more than the rest and yes, he had every intention of making me stay there but I refused.

Releasing a sigh, I abandoned my dinner and followed Cítiê out of our tent. At the entrance there were two soldiers stationed, and as soon as we began to walk through the camp they followed us immediately, being instantly replaced by two other soldiers.
Fortunately, Cítiê kept quiet during the walk and I followed her lead. Arriving at the entrance to the imperial tent, Cítiê had us announced and we entered.
Gathered inside the tent were the five gold army captains who hadn't sided with the enemy, who fell to their knees as soon as I entered.
—Sacred goddess Cimbel, grant us the victory and the satisfaction of seeing the blood of traitors flow.-intoned one of the captains.
—You, who encouraged your husband, the god Kyon, in his battle against the great celestial beasts, give us the strength to face the enemy.- begged another.
I kept silent, stupefied with surprise at these strange prayers. Slowly, one by one of the captains passed me, kneeling to kiss my feet and leaving the tent.
—Citiê.
The little woman had stayed by my side, as perplexed as I was.
—My Lord.- she murmured, snapping out of her reverie.
—Go back to the Lunas´ tent, if I need you I'll have you call.
—Yes, my lord.- she whispered, leaving.