Marmalade's Love Potion

Chapter 22 - Battle - Part 1

It took some time for the crowd to settle. After many reassurances from the King, the initial terror gave way to an atmosphere of morbid curiosity.

As an extra precaution, the audience was moved to cluster along the mid and upper level balconies, ushered by Rangers and palace staff.

Eager to find the Sisters amongst the chaos, Penelope moved through the throng with Steph in tow, slowly making their way back downstairs.

Failing to find the Sisters among the crowd moving to the upper level, they wended against the flow of guests until they stood at the lip of the grand staircase leading down to the ballroom floor.

By the time Penelope and Steph arrived on the landing, most of the crowd had jostled into position, staking claims for the best view of what was to come.

The crowd was thick and buzzing with anxious anticipation as Penelope searched for familiar faces. At last, she locked eyes with the Sisters, standing on the mid level balcony running along the left side of the hall, the crowd too dense to join them.

Sister Rosin gave an exuberant wave, bouncing up and down, as Sister Heely smiled with watering eyes. Their relief was palpable even from this distance. Penelope returned their smiles, her gut churning with guilt at having worried them so.

It took longer for Penelope to spy her parents and her younger sister where they stood whispering amongst themselves on the balcony along the right of the hall, overlooking the very centre of the ballroom floor.

The King and Queen of Grimwood, along with their other sons, remained on the throne dais. They looked all the more forbidding, standing beyond the double guard of Rangers and the ghost of a dragon imprisoned in a sphere of crystal.

As Penelope watched, the Queen lifted her chin in their direction and she felt Steph shuffle in place beside her.

"Do you have to go?" Penelope asked.

"Oh no, Princess, you're not getting rid of me now." Steph grinned down at her, a small crooked smile, though his posture was stiff with apprehension.

Penelope grinned back. "I wouldn't dream to try."

Steph made a gesture towards the Queen, a deferential nod and a sheepish sort of wave. The Queen smiled and nodded with what seemed to be playful magnanimity.

The Queen then turned her gaze to Penelope, who struggled not to fidget under her narrow-eyed scrutiny. Penelope breathed a sigh of relief when the Queen at last turned her attention to one of her younger sons.

"She loves you!" Steph beamed and Penelope giggled uncertainly.

Eager to find a place to stand that was less exposed than the open stairway, yet reluctant to navigate the crowds further along the balcony, Penelope moved to rest her elbows atop the platform railing beside the staircase. Penelope felt Steph move to stand at her side, placing a hand on the small of her back.

In silence, they watched Prince Ethan stalk around the pit. He rolled his shoulders like a caged animal, swinging his club in sharp, practised arcs, clearly preparing for battle.

Along the length of his left arm was a sharp, wing-shaped shield made of a smooth black material that gleamed like a beetle's shell. As Ethan flexed his arm upwards, long strips of the rigid material fanned out, articulating like feathers that flared to shield Ethan from head to toe.

Steph's fingers curled into Penelope's back as they watched.

"I have half a mind to march down there and shake Ethan until he comes to his senses," Steph muttered. "What is he thinking?"