Tyranny of Steel

While the galley pulled into the town of Győr, Honoria assisted in docking as she helped tie the ship off to the dock. In doing so, she felt a great sense of accomplishment. It was a simple and mundane task, yet it was the first time she had done something like this. 

The pretty smile on her face as she assisted the crew in docking the ship brought an atmosphere of optimism and happiness to the people aboard the vessel that they had not felt in some time. After docking in the town, Agnellus approached Honoria and gave her instructions.

"This time, make sure to stay by my side. I don't want a repeat of what happened while we were in Wallachia."

Honoria's smile faded, and she nodded her head with a solemn expression. After doing so, she followed Angellus into the town. Heraclius was flying overhead once more, watching over the girl, this time, the eagle made a mental note not to chase after prey while the princess was wandering about.

Agnellus led Honoria into the town, where they began to shop for supplies. Throughout the time she had spent locked away in the captain's cabin, Honoria had time to think for herself. She realized if she immediately revealed her identity to Berengar, he would likely ship her back to Constantinople.

The man might be a brilliant commander with a powerful army. However, he would not be able to face the pressure of the Empire by himself. Thus she had opted to look for something to disguise her appearance and identity. While she and Agnellus were walking through the town, she noticed a little shop.

This shop sold beauty products to women, and Honoria thought it would be an excellent place to check for something she could use to disguise her appearance. As such, she tugged ahold of Agnellus's arm and spoke to him.

"I want to check out that store; maybe they have something useful for me. Seeing it was a woman's beauty store, Agnellus sighed before tagging along with Honoria.

When Honoria entered the store, she was shocked to find the young woman who was selling the beauty products had sleek white hair that glistened as if it were oiled. She was pretty but in no way compared to the natural beauty that Honoria had. 

Seeing the woman's hair, brows, and lashes as white as snow, Honoria quickly asked the woman how she managed to do such a thing.

"Excuse me? I was wondering, how did you get your hair like that?"

Hearing a pretty young girl like Honoria question her about the fashion trend she was trying to start, the woman smiled before answering Honoria's with a proud expression on her face.

"It is all thanks to this product right here!"

As she said that the woman pulled out a can of pomade manufactured by Berengar's industry. Berengar had long since decided to sell the product for extra profit, and throughout the river trade on the Danube, some of his creations had made their way into Hungary.

After showing off the fine wax-like substance, the woman continued her train of thought.

"I had a brilliant idea to mix the fine white powder with the wax-like substance, and in the end, it created the brilliant snow-white hair you see on my head! It is just a damn shame most women are not interested in this style! Though I would suggest giving it a try, with your natural pale skin and mint green eyes, I am sure it would enhance your beauty!"

Hearing this, Honoria quickly decided to buy a bit of both the fine white starch powder and the pomade. As such, she looked at Agnellus with puppy dog eyes signaling she wanted the items, and the man had no choice but to give in.

Thus, he handed the woman the coins necessary to purchase the products. After doing so, the woman made another offer.

"If you want your hair to be as white as mine for five extra coins, I can help you through the process!"

Hearing this, Honoria instantly agreed, and thus she sat down in a chair where the woman walked her through how to treat her hair so that it was a snow-white color with a silky texture. By the time they had finished treating Honoria's hair, brow, and lashes, she looked like a different person.

Though her face was the same, the vast difference between her previous chocolate-colored hair and her now snow-white hair was substantial. With her ashen skin and mint green eyes, the white hair complimented her natural features better than her natural hair color. 

After witnessing the transformation, Agnellus was shocked; he could not believe the young girl could be even more beautiful than she was prior. Though few people had seen Honoria in her life as a princess, it was still better to be safe than sorry, and thus her new disguise, while simple, had a significant effect. 

Honoria saw the expression on Agnellus's face and smiled with her pretty pink lips before asking the man the question on her mind.

"Well, how do I look?"

The traveling jewelry merchant and sailor struggled to find the words to compliment the young girl in front of him. However, after careful deliberation, he eventually came up with the phrase.

"simply divine"

Hearing such an incredible compliment, Honoria began to blush, her naturally pale skin flushed with a slight pinkish tone, complimenting her new snow-white hair perfectly. The woman who had helped treat Honoria's hair began to pout; her most recent customer had outshone her beauty by a wide margin. 

However, there was hope in her heart that Honoria could inspire her fashion trend, which should not naturally exist in this era. Without Berengar's interference by creating and selling pomade, powdering hair would not come into existence for some time. This was just another effect that Berengar unknowingly had on the timeline. 

After paying the woman for her help, Agnellus and Honoria left the shop and entered the streets. Now that Honoria had a disguise, she no longer cared about covering her appearance, and her beauty attracted many eyes. Despite this, nobody would ever guess that she was the princess of the Byzantine Empire.

Despite the young beauty walking through the streets showing her stunning appearance, not a single man approached her. This was due to Agnellus' escort, he was a tall and strong man by nature and naturally intimidated anyone who thought to interact with the young beauty by his side. Thus she walked through the crowd with a gorgeous smile on her face, attracting the glances of all men and boys alike. 

Of course, Honoria herself was unaware of the lustful gazes that were cast her way and thus continued without a care in the world. Throughout the rest of the day at the town, Honoria followed Agnellus around, where he purchased the necessary supplies for the remainder of the journey. He even sold a few jewelry pieces to some of the local noblewomen, making a bit of a profit. 

Before long, he and Honoria returned to the ship; the crew was still busy venturing through the town going about their business. Well, aside from the many slaves who rowed the vessel, that is, they were bound to the ship. When Honoria was alone with Agnellus, she began to thank him for paying for her disguise.

"Thank you, Agnellus. Not just for paying for the products I wanted, but for everything you have done for me up until this point."

Agents merely scratched the back of his head in embarrassment before responding to the princess.

"It is no problem; after all, you are the princess of the Empire. It is what I should be doing."

However, to this response, Honoria merely shook her head. She had decided to hide her identity, and thus she could no longer have Agnellus referring to her by her real name or her title; therefore, she began to inform the man of her intent.

"I am no longer the princess of the Empire, I ran away from home, and I have no plans on going back. From now on, you should refer to me as Valeria; I think it is best if is use a pseudonym in the future."

Hearing this, Agnellus was shocked and immediately asked the question on his mind.

"What about Count Berengar? Are you not going to reveal your identity when you arrive in Kufstein?"

To this, Honoria responded with a wry smile on her face before revealing her plans for the future.

"If I reveal my identity to Count Berengar immediately, he will most certainly ship me back to Constantinople, or at the very least inform my family that I am in Kufstein and keep me there until they arrive to transport me back to the Palace.

Instead, I will let him believe I am Valeria Zonara, a noblewoman from Antioch. After I have managed to make him fall head over heels for me, I will reveal my true identity. After all, a relationship built upon lies cannot stand for long."

Hearing this, Agnellus was surprised how much the young girl had thought through her future since they departed from Constantinople. He had to say that she was maturing emotionally with each passing day, and that was a good sign. He, too, feared Berengar's response when he found out the runaway princess had fled to his territory.

As such, Agnellus patted the girl on the head and smiled at her before saying the words on his mind.

"I think that is a smart idea; I pray that your dreams come true."

After saying that, Agnellus removed his hand and looked up at the moon in the sky before commenting once more.

"It is getting late; I think you should get some rest. We still have a long ways to go before we reach Kufstein."

Hearing this, Honoria smiled and nodded before leaving towards the allotted quarters. While doing so she made sure to thank Agnellus once more.

"Thanks again! I appreciate it!"

As she said this, Heraclius swept down from the sky and landed on her shoulder, where the two of them departed for their quarters. The eagle was not the least bit surprised that Honoria had changed her hair color and merely cawed at her while nodding his head in approval.

The last thing Agnellus heard the princess say before entering the cabin was the young girl talking to her pet.

"Thanks, Heraclius!"

With this, Agnellus merely shook his head and looked up at the moon once more before saying his thoughts aloud.

"That girl is just too cute..."