ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪᴅᴅᴇɴ ᴍᴀɢᴇ 一 ɢᴇʀᴀʟᴛ ᴏꜰ ʀɪᴠɪᴀ

𝕏𝕏. 𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕝𝕪, 𝕒𝕕𝕕𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕝𝕪 𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘

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ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ

ʙʀɪʟʟɪᴀɴᴛʟʏ, ᴀᴅᴅɪᴄᴛɪɴɢʟʏ ᴇɴᴄʜᴀɴᴛɪɴɢ

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Had anyone ever mentioned how truly difficult it was fighting a dozen and a half guards with a dress on?

       It was one of those rare moments where the sharpness of a blade piercing through Eleanora's delicate skin was much less important than ridding herself of the itchy fabric. Bless Jaskier's heart, but the gown was not meant for battle.

But then again, who would've guessed that a simple wedding feast would soon turn to a blood bath?

       The clashing sound of metal against metal was drowned out by the grunts and groans of the various number of men, and a single woman. Barely taking in her surroundings, Eleanora failed to notice one of the lords reaching out for his dagger and making his way towards the Sarnorin princess. Before he had the chance to slit her throat, Eist harshly bashed a wooden chair over the man, knocking him out cold.

       "The Law of Surprise has been called." Eist declared, head-butting a nearby attacker. "You kill them...kill me."

       And so the fight carried on, with the crimson liquid staining the perfect floors and bruised men leaning against walls. It was unavoidable to be left unscratched, and so Eleanora had cuts and marks of her own.

       But it all seemed to stop when Geralt and Calanthe came face to face, with blades neck on neck. Their eyes screamed with fury...and uncertainty with what was to come next. Eleanora, not so gracefully, dropped the man she kept in a neck-hold, allowing his body to go completely limp with a loud thud. Calanthe's body visibly shook as she took in the scene before her. Before anything could be said, Princess Pavetta ran towards the cursed knight, calling out for him.

       "Duny!" The two embraced one another, which only caused more disgusting looks and mummers to fly around. "I told you to stay away!" Gently lowering his weapon and kneeling before the Lioness, Urcheon cleared his suddenly dry throat before starting.

       "Your Majesty, the witcher speaks the truth. I was cursed as a young boy." Very carefully, the knight arose to his feet, not wanting to startle any of the guards or the lords who still gripped their daggers, ready to attack. "My whole life a living misery until the day that I saved your husband, King Roegner, from certain death. By tradition, I chose the Law of Surprise as payment. Whatever windfall he came home to find... would be mine."

       "Oh, the stupid bastard." Calanthe spat out, venom dripping from her voice. "Better you had let him die!"

       "You knew he'd come," Geralt smirked, realizing the Queen's true intentions. "And you pushed me to kill him."