Dragon Blood [Alonia's Queenslayer #2]

11

//Heyo, remember to vote to support this series! :)

Eli couldn't see very well. She couldn't hear very well, either. Or move, for that matter.

Every inch of her body was covered by thick metal plating, painted completely black. Eli had never seen such dark armor before. And such heavy armor, too. It weighed her down so much that her usually calculated and purposeful steps were now slow, clumsy, and heavy. A helmet was encasing her face, and although her visor was lifted, her peripheral vision was all but gone. To make matters even worse, she wasn't given a sword; instead, there was a shield clasped at her back, unreasonably thick and unreasonably large. It seemed to hang onto her by some strange force, very likely magic, so Eli could easily take it on and off, but using both hands. The shield reached over her shoulders and was incredibly heavy; how was she supposed to fight with it?

"Eli, come on, don't be so glum," the princess said, moving freely in her freeing, leader-y clothes. Eli scoffed.

"Ah, yes, I'm very exited to weight two tonnes and have a sheet of metal as my weapon," she said, craning her neck away from the princess and towards the mirror. She held the shield with both hands and gave it a practice swing. Her muscles screamed in effort as she swung the thick metal object, and the momentum combined the weight of her armor almost knocked her off her feet.

Eli's self-sympathizing was interrupted by a series of quick knocks at the door. Before either her or the princess could open their mouths, the door swung open, and in waltzed their servant accompanied by Rileigh, Helios, and Blaed.

That was when Eli burst into laughter, doubling over under the weight of the armor. Blaed was bristling in anger, arms crossed before him as the most ridiculous outfit Eli had ever seen hugged his body.

"I told you she'd laugh!" Blaed barked, probably at Helios. The princess herself wa barely keeping a straight face, and Ril had a grin on his, turning away from Blaed so he wouldn't notice.

Blaed's clothes on just anyone would've probably looked fine. But Blaed was a noble, and Eli had only ever seen him wearing either expensive garments or expensive armor. But now, as the navigator, his getup was a lot less lavish... He had been given an unreasonably tight light brown short-sleeved shirt, and a pair of pants which only reached up to his knees. The rest of his legs were covered by knee-length boots. He had a belt filled with tools, though; Eli saw a rolled-up map, a compass, and a pouch.

"You don't get you laugh, you- you troll! A troll is what you look like, you look enormous!" Blaed retorted once Eli had finished laughing.

"Oh, trust me, I know," Eli agreed, feeling her shoulders already burning from the strain. She glanced over Ril, and a mage get-up really suited him. He was wearing some fancy purple robes with strange symbols sewed into it with golden thread. He also had a tool belt, and he had two red elixirs and a small book strapped to it.

"That does look heavy," Ril commented, and took a step towards her. He attempted to take the shield from her back, but it wouldn't budge. "This is held in place by magic. That's... fascinating, actually. I guess only you can get it off."

"I didn't even known magic could do something like that," Helios said. Helios was dressed similarly to the princess; he had been given a good pair pants, a shirt, and a jacket, but he also carried a backpack.

Eli took the shield from her back and handed it to Ril. Although he was undoubtedly stronger than her, the weight of the shield surprised him, and Eli could see the strain on his face as he lifted it.

"This is almost impossible to use!" He exclaimed, returning the shield to Eli with a worried glance. "I'm not sure what they were thinking when they designed the equipment for the warrior..."