Queen Zezanna

Queen Zezanna - Chapter 26

We return to Tzeeru and the others before the sun goes down.

"Hey, Zezanna!" Hailie shouts. "Staying out of trouble?"

"Of course!" I lie, holding a knocked out Ysana in my arms.

"Ok, we just heard something about a fight near the abandoned buildings, so we're just a bit worried about you. We wouldn't want you to get hurt when we're so close to our destination." She tells me.

"Don't worry, we'll be sure to be careful." I promise her.

"And if we fail that, we're always here to keep her safe." Emma adds.

"Tomorrow morning we're heading out to Iva Merra, so be sure to be up early. Also, be sure to stay out of trouble. My father doesn't have as many allies there as he does elsewhere, so we can't afford to get into any kind of trouble."

"We don't mean to get into any trouble, so we're sorry if we've caused you any." I tell her.

"No, no, don't apologize. Dad knew what he was getting himself into, and the rest of us are happy to make sure you guys get back to the throne. Just try to limit the trouble you get yourselves in, especially in Ive Merra."

"Alright, you got it." I tell her.

"Awesome. Oh, by the way, I'm about to go have a few drinks really quick. Emma, do you wanna join me?"

"Huh? Just me?"

"Yeah. I mean, if you want to."

"Sure, by why don't Zezanna and the others come with us?"

"They can if they want." Hailie shrugs. "I was kind of hoping for... Oh, nevermind. We can all just go together."

Emma hesitates, then agrees to go with her.

"Are you guys going to be coming, too?" She asks.

Ysana is literally passed out in my arms right now, so she has to pass.

"I better go make sure Ysana gets home safe." I tell her. "Maybe next time?"

"I have something to discuss with Brokk." Heroth tells her.

"Oh. That's fine then." Emma says.

"Be sure to get back safe!" We shout back to her as we head off.

"So, what do you need to talk to Brokk about?" I ask Heroth as we walk into the inn.

He scoffs. "Please! It's clear that Hailie wanted some alone time! I'm just going to go to bed."

"Think Emma will be ok alone?" I ask.

"She can take care of herself if she runs into any trouble."

"I meant with the date."

"Oh. I don't think she's realized she's even on a date yet."

"I can't wait to hear about this in the morning."

Tzeeru has already paid for the rooms, so the innkeep just hands us the keys, and we head up to our rooms. Our two rooms are right next to Tzeeru's, and everyone else's is on the same floor.

Around 2 A.M., I can hear Emma slipping quietly into one of the nearby rooms. I can't tell if it was Heroth's or Hailie's, but I'm sure I'll find out all about it in the morning.

Sure enough, in the morning, I head down to the docks, and find Emma there.

"So, how did last night go?" I ask.

"Well, uh... I didn't quite realize that I was on a date. Why didn't you guys tell me that?"

"I'm sure you found out eventually."

"Yeah, when she leaned in for a kiss, it became pretty obvious."

"Oh? What happened after that?"

"Well... I kinda freaked out for a second and spilled some ale on her."

"I hope that didn't ruin the night."

"Nah, the bar was about to close anyhow. She was taking things slow. She seemed pretty hesitant and shy about it all. It took her all night to gather the courage to do that."

"Oh, so you two didn't kiss?"

She's blushing a bit. "No, we did. We went back to her room so she could get out of her wet clothes, then talked for a bit. There was a ton of stumbling on words, but after an hour of talking, she did give me a kiss on the cheek. I slept on the spare bed in her room."

"Nice."

"I guess? Love is kinda... Not my area of expertise. Doesn't seem like it's hers either."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it." I tell her.

"Yeah. She's super nice. Actually, she told me about something in the next town that you might be interested in. It seems that there's going to be a tournament at their coliseum. If Ysana has enough energy to disguise you guys, then you, Heroth, and Brokk can all join it."

"What's the grand prize?"

"Land. Farmland. The farmer fell behind on their payments, so the bank and coliseum have come up with this in an attempt to make their money up."

"That's interesting. I'm sure the competition will be tough, but we'll be sure to win that land back for the farmer."

"That's the plan." She nods her head.

We finish packing everything on the ship, and wait for everyone to return. Once everyone is there, Tzeeru sails off.

A few days later, we arrive in the port town of Lionsgate.

"The tournament is still a few days away," Tzeeru tells us, "So take this time to practice, rest, or do whatever you need to do. We're going to be moving plenty of stuff around, but don't worry about helping us. We're going to take it slow and relax plenty."

Of course we still offer to give him help. Ysana spends most of her time resting, and I train under the deck with Heroth, Brokk, and Emma. The less time we spend above deck, the less time Ysana needs to cast the disguises on us.

We do make sure to check out the town, though. We see the land that is up for grabs, the arena we're fighting at, and scope out a few competitors around town. Most of them are spending their time at the training arena or the tavern. They size us up too, but they don't seem too worried.

"Those guys look tough." I tell everyone when we return.

"It's expected." Brokk shrugs.

"At least killing is against the rules in the tournament." Emma says.

"True. We're gonna be in for a hell of a fight."

"I've fought worse. Still, it's important never to underestimate your opponent." Heroth reminds us.

Eventually, the time for the tournament comes. Ysana and Hailie walk in with the others to cheer us on, while Emma, Heroth, Brokk, and I walk in through the competitor's doors. It's amazing to see all those people crammed into the seats, cheering loudly as the competitors walk around, showing off before the fight.

Eventually, the announcer walks to the center, and asks us all to calm down so he can tells us the rules.

"First, there has been a change of rules that is important to note. Victory by death is now legal. If you are a wimp, leave now."

What the fuck.