If Kune could have anticipated any reaction, this was not it. Božena might as well have struck him down with teeth and hooves with the pain her sharp words caused him. Kune took a step back, his ears twisting in confusion as he witnessed the indignation and rage on her face. In that moment, he hardly recognized her. This was not the Božena he knew.

Right then, he wanted nothing more than to turn and leave.

His expression wearing his wounds for all to see, Kune’s mind scrambled to recall his Strážce training. Finally he ducked his head so that his dark forelock hid his face, and kept his eyes trained on the mud beneath their hooves. When he spoke, the words tumbled from his mouth in a quick, low mumble. “Prosím, Božena... Odpusť mi. Zklamal jsem tě, ale jsem tvůj Strážce. Nebudu odpočívat, dokud nebudete svobodní.”

(Translation: Please, Božena... Forgive me. I failed you, but I am your Strážce. I will not rest until you are free.)

Then a fierce cry from directly behind them split the air, and Kune whirled around to stand instinctively in front of Božena, his dark eyes wide in alarm. There he was: the stallion that had humiliated Kune and taken Božena from him. Kune pressed his lips together in a firm line and hardened his heart. He had not come here to fight, but if he had to, he would gladly fight until he was dead.

Though Drika remained silent, Božena spoke up then. Without tearing his gaze from the palomino stallion, Kune twisted an ear back to listen, but Božena walked past him to put herself between them all. Kune jerked his head up as she spoke to the stallion, and while he could only understand a few words, he thought he understood her general meaning. His heart raced and his blood sang with frustration. She shamed him by doing this. Was he not her Strážce?

His time to grovel was over. With a harsh snort, Kune trotted forward to stand beside Božena as her equal, his head high and proud. Though his eyes were locked on the palomino stallion, his words were directed at her, in a tone he had never before used with her. “Božena, jednáš pošetile. Vaše není jediná sázená svoboda. Přišli jsme vyjednávat o vašem propuštění, stejně jako o propuštění Drikiny matky, Merete. Řekni mu to.”

(Translation: Božena, you act foolishly. Yours is not the only freedom at stake. We have come to bargain for your release, as well as that of Drika's mother, Merete. Tell him this.)