The Hathway Kingdom (Book 2)

Six.

~Six. ~

The day of the duel finally came, and Larissa wanted nothing more than for it to be over and done with. She had refused proper armour, much to everyone's displeasure and was wearing her training outfit instead. Though she had asked for an armoured corset, like the one that she had worn in her meeting with the bandit leaders. Her sword was strapped to her waist and Elissa was braiding her hair in silence. Larissa heard and felt her sigh and she glanced at her maid's reflection in the mirror.

"Don't give me that look, Elissa..." she said as she looked down again with a sigh of her own.

"What look, Your Majesty?" she asked as she continued to braid Larissa's hair.

"That look. I know what I'm doing," she said as she looked back up at her reflection in the mirror. She then looked towards the window of her room as they heard trumpets sound in the distance. Elissa quickly finished the braid and Larissa got to her feet.

"Let's go," she said as she headed for the door to her room, Elissa following her.

As they left the palace and made their way towards Scaler's Bay, Larissa paused when she reached the edge of the barrier and saw a group of people lingering around the edge. She frowned and glanced back at Elissa before she began to walk forward again, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword this time before she drew it. As she and Elissa got closer to the group, Larissa's grip loosened slightly on her sword as she recognised who was standing at the edge of the barrier. She lowered her sword before she sheathed it as she came to a stop in front of the group that had gathered.

"So. You decided then?" she asked as she looked Julius in the eye as she stopped just inside the barrier.

"We did," Julius replied as he looked at his companions, who all nodded their heads.

"What made up your mind?" she asked him, genuinely curious as to what had persuaded them to join her.

"Mostly the fact that we're getting an actual wage fighting for you. But what this bloke said, really changed everything," he said, and Larissa frowned before she saw the group of bandits part and someone stepped forward. She watched them all carefully before she looked at the person as they walked forward before her eyes widened. Before Elissa could stop her, she ran over and through the barrier, embracing the person as she reached them tightly. They chuckled and embraced her in return, holding her close to them.

"It is good to see you too," they said as they held her before she moved back and looked at them as they held her at arm's length.

"What are you doing here, Romulus?" Larissa asked as she looked up at him, his hands enveloping hers as he held them.

"Professor Strickland wrote to me and asked for me to come. We came as quickly as we could," he said, and Larissa frowned as she heard his choice of wording.

"We?" she asked him before her eyes fell on Lizbeth as she stepped into view. Larissa sighed and shook her head as Romulus moved to the side so that the two could see one another. Lizbeth hurried over and she hugged Larissa close as Theodoras stepped into view as well, giving her a sad smile and nod of his head in greeting. When Lizbeth pulled back, Larissa looked at the trio each in turn.

"What are you all doing here?" she asked as she looked at them, her eyes falling on Lizbeth as she spoke up.

"We came because we heard that you were going to fight Isidore and we had to make sure he played fair," Lizbeth replied, and Larissa shook her head.