“Guests, dancers, partygoers, servants and guards. Thank you all for attending tonight. Yes, some of you are being paid to be here, but that does not preclude you from thanks. Tonight has already been eventful! A duel! Gods above, let’s not keep that pace up, shall we?” Krisnaal said with a wry smile.

A ripple of laughter washed over the party. Long tables had been brought out and set up on the edges of the dance floor. All was bare for now, but Kat had explained the meals would be brought out once the speech was over.

“Like I said earlier, tonight is really a debut celebration for Annita and Rosalyn, who you should now all be very well familiar with. I’ve not known her much besides the reports I’ve received, that being said, she seems to be a good sort with a sharp tongue. Careful if you catch her eye.”

Another wave of laughter.

“Now let us give thanks to the Gods for our bounty,” Krisnaal declared, raising a glass. “To Voltid, for the bounty of the earth! Metals and precious stones provide all we have here. They are our trade and the lifeblood of Korvas! To Illdall, he who protects, whom we pray to in times of trouble. May he bless our halls and city with safety. To Qu’Sella, from whom knowledge and magic flow. May the two as one grant us wisdom! Finally, to Orenous. Goddess of Love and Connection. May she bring us together in friendship and harmony for many years to come. And lastly, but most importantly, thanks to the many Gods and Goddesses of the land, whose harvest we enjoy tonight. Praise be!”

“Praise be!” the hall returned, lifting their cups before drinking.

Ann did the same, though she almost said amen at the end, barely catching herself. Once the drink was taken, the prayer was ended.

“Now eat! Drink! Be merry! Bring us the food!” Krisnaal cried, throwing her arms wide. After a dramatic moment, she sat back down.

“I don’t think I’ve heard a prayer so wide reaching,” Ann said, leaning forward to see Krisnaal past Kat. “Everyone I know tends to go for one specific God.”

“Nights like these need more,” Krisnaal said, taking a deep drink. “More food, more wine, more people, more prayers. Hopefully less fighting, but that’s a given when you bring this many people with so much history together. I’m honestly impressed how you handled Sir Biagio. He would have destroyed you in a real fight.”

“I’m takin’ credit fer that,” Kat gloated. “Totally me plan.”

“Yeah, but I pulled it off,” Ann shot back. “Should have seen his face when he saw the eyes.”

“Been meaning to ask you about that, actually,” Krisnaal cut in. “An illusion skill?”

“Yup. It’s minor and can’t do much more than what I’d call party tricks, but if I use it right, I guess it can be pretty spooky,” Ann lied. Better that for now until she could fully explain herself to the kingdom officially. That day couldn’t come soon enough. “I really think Biagio got in his own head and made me more of a monster than I am. Even after he tore a chunk of my hair out. Still mad about that.”

“It’ll grow back, love,” Rosalyn said, patting her shoulder. “You have so much other hair it’s barely noticeable.”

“Yeah, but I can feel it, and it’s weird,” Ann whined.

“Your assumption,” Krisnaal said, “is likely correct. Biagio had a traumatic incident in his early years with a Twinwolf. He’s been scared of wolves and dogs since. He was already locked into the duel, and I think your illusions only reminded him more of the things he’s scared of.”

“I… shit. I think I should go apologise to him,” Ann said, cringing. Yeah, she’d wanted to scare him, but not exploit something already terrifying.

“Might be a good idea,” Rosalyn nodded. “It looks like he’s still over there, so after we eat?”

“Yeah. Might as well not keep enemies over a misunderstanding. Maybe he’ll listen to us about Bren, too,” Ann said.

Plates arrived carried by servants dressed in stylish blacks and blues. Ann was presented with a small roast bird with four wings, a smattering of vegetables, and a thick gravy poured over the whole thing. Two choices, a white and red wine, were presented.

“I’m really not sure. Which would you go for?” Ann asked the servant woman.

“The red, ma’am. It pairs well with the bird,” the servant said, pouring a glass, then walking away.

“Thanks!”

“My pleasure,” the servant called back.

“Ugh, I’m gonna need more than this tae fill up,” Kat grumbled, pulling the bird apart with her fork. “This thing’s barely a mouthful.”

“Katlyn,” Junia said down the table. “Courses, dear. There’s more to come.”

“Oh, right,” Kat chuckled with chagrin. “That’ll do it.”

The hall fell into that strange silence that only happens when everyone is eating. Light conversation murmured beneath the clink of cutlery on plates as everyone enjoyed their meals. Slowly, the voices picked up as everyone finished their meals.

Wiping her lips with a napkin, Ann looked up to actually see Sir Biagio approaching them. He looked nervous and kept looking back at his table as he approached. With an air of propriety, he greeted Junia first, then Krisnaal, before turning to Ann.

“My lady…”

“I want to say I’m sorry first, if that’s alright?” Ann cut him off. “I really didn’t know you had a fear of dogs, and I laid it on really thick there. If I’d known…”

“It was not your fault,” Biagio said, raising a hand to stop her. “My fears lost me this day, and that is my shortcoming. A mighty fine illusion, as well. Normally, I am able to see through such trickery, but not yours. I speak now to offer a hand in peace. The duel is done, and the victor’s right has been claimed. I see no further reason to bear ill will. Is that amenable?”

“Yeah, we’re cool,” Ann said, standing and shaking Biagio’s hand over the table. “Still think Bren’s a slaving piece of shit?”

“I am willing to listen without being incensed by a crowd,” Biagio said. “May I pull up a chair?”

Ann glanced towards Krisnaal, who gave her the ok.

Biagio dragged a seat over, and sat before Kat, Ann and Rosalyn. Bren and Lucia filtered over, informed by Junia that the conversation had turned to them.

“So, I want to start by making it clear,” Ann said. “If Bren had actually wanted to get into this thing for slavery purposes I’d not be here.”

“Me neither,” Rosalyn agreed. “Slavery is kinda up there with murder on the ‘things not to do’ list for me. The biggest danger sign for a person you can get.”

“I understand,” Biagio nodded. “Accusations have caused great damage to everyone’s pride. Still, Bren and Lucia have entered a Life Debt, no?”

“Yes,” Lucia said. “I started. Insisted. Bren saved my life. I owe him this.”

“How did that happen?” Biagio asked, giving Lucia his full attention.

Lucia, in her truncated manner, recounted the events in the Seed and how Bren had been the one to intervene at the last second before her death. Biagio listened closely, interrupting only where he needed the Thrundol to use more than a couple words to describe a situation.

“May I read your arm?” Biagio asked, gesturing to Lucia’s left arm, patterned with the oath Bren had sworn.

Lucia nodded and offered the limb. Biagio read, twisting his head as he read the curling text. He made humming noises as he did so, mouthing the words as he went.

“And you’ve had a priest ordain these oaths?” he asked.

“Yes. High Priest of Bryltia.”

“I am a damned fool,” Biagio sighed, letting Lucia’s hand go. “I deserved to lose that duel. My words and actions were hasty and out of place. I offer my apologies to you and Bren, Lady Simorgh.”

“Not ok,” Lucia grumbled. “Made us angry. Don’t like you.”

Biagio’s shoulders slumped at the words. Ann was surprised how expressive the man was, and seemingly simple for his flowery language. He definitely wore his heart on his sleeve.

“Sir Biagio, question,” Ann said, cutting in. “What does your family do? I’ve been studying for quite a while, but I haven’t run across your name yet.”

“Not surprising,” Biagio sighed. “We are a smaller family in the grand scheme of things. I hail from Thalten, and my family owns several farms. Wheat, for the most part, is our product. I was honestly surprised to receive an invitation to tonight’s festivities.”

“Then how’d you earn the title of Sir?” Ann asked. This wasn’t something she’d gotten into with her studies, and hadn’t asked if knight was a political thing or an earned title. The only other knight she’d run into was Arthur, and she wasn’t getting information from him.

“Ah, it’s,” Kat started, but Ann subtly grabbed her hand, giving her a look that said she wanted to hear Biagio describe it. Kat smiled, nodded, and sat back.

“That was a while ago, I must admit. Are you familiar with how this kingdom handles such titles, Lady Kronforst?”

“Nope! We didn’t have anything like that where I lived, so it was always up for debate,” Ann said, hedging her experience behind her backstory. “Was it some mighty deed? Maybe a great contribution to the kingdom? From what you’ve said so far, I doubt it is due to political gains.”

“You are correct on the last part,” Biagio laughed. “My family does not hold nearly enough power to exert the influence to have its youngest son awarded the title. No, I was merely lucky. Being the youngest son afforded me more freedom than my brothers. With it, I chose to lead a rather rambunctious life of privilege. Many a night drinking and pursuing the skirts of ladies. With my natural brawn, mother says we have some Bultrong in our line, I wasn’t entirely unsuccessful. I was young at the time, so it was all innocent. Alas, this also led me to trouble when some of those women’s families or friends took issue.”

“Here, here,” Kat laughed, raising her glass.

“Your pursuits were anything but innocent, Kat,” Bren pointed out.

“Eh, details,” the princess shrugged.

“Verily,” Biagio returned with his own cup. “Well, I had my derriere handed to me several times, and decided it was time to learn defence. I will skip the arduous details of my extreme soreness for several years. I came out confident in my own skills and was able to defend myself adequately the next time I was caught in a scuffle. Father noticed this and suggested I try my hand at duelling as an outlet for what he saw as an overabundance of energy. I signed up for my first official duelling tournament shortly after and achieved a high placing. Despite not reaching victory, I found a love for the art, and focused entirely upon it. I am not close to the monsters like Remmi Mulsfardottr, nor Polaris, but I reached a rank of renown. This is what earned me the title of Knight.”

“And not yer ability tae fight Warped?” Kat chuckled.

Biagio cringed, then hung his head. “A fault that haunts me to this day. I grew overconfident, and in my early years attempted a hunt on my own. This proved a dire mistake, and it is by Illdall’s grace I survived. I have avoided the practice since.”

“Might be time tae get that fixed, with a Swarm on our doorsteps,” Kat pointed out. “Gonna need every capable fighter.”

“There are plenty of other places he could do good,” Rosalyn pointed out. “The city will still need guards and other people to keep order. With soldiers being pulled out to defend large areas, I’m sure there could be jobs?”

“Nobility has a bit more leeway in that decision,” Bren explained. “Even minor nobility. I imagine your station has been discussed prior to this, Sir?”

“Correct,” Biagio nodded. “I will be assisting with the more banal details of keeping our lands safe. My brothers will be coordinating the larger picture, but I am more than capable of supervising soldiery and mercenaries. As long as a Twinwolf does not rear its fetid face within my vision, I believe I should be able to assist in combat as well. You received a very poor showing of my actual skill, Lady Kronforst. Maybe some other time I can give you a proper display?”

Kat and Rosalyn gave Biagio a deadly glare, but Ann waved them off. She felt that flirting was just a default to the man, and he didn’t actually mean anything.

“To defend you from my girlfriends, I’m going to interpret that as an actual offer to spar, yeah?”

“But of course! I did not mean to offend such beautiful women. My deepest apologies. If the princess would care to join, I would be happy to invite you over?”

Yup, does it by habit,

Ann thought with a smile.

“Sure, dude. We’ve got a pretty busy schedule for a bit, but once that dies down, we can absolutely have a real duel. I know I’ll get my ass handed to me, but that’s all that Remmi does to teach me.”

“Oh, yes, I remember hearing the complaints that Lady Mulsfardottr took an apprentice. My congratulations to you for achieving such a feat.”

“Was she really that standofish? She kinda just asked me to punch something really hard and then started punching me really hard.”

“Remmi has a past,” Kat said. “She might tell ye one of these days, but that’s something fer her tae tell, aye?” Kat glanced at Biagio.

“Absolutely correct, Your Highness,” Biagio nodded. “I am a hopeless gossip when it comes to duellists and their history. Some call it uncouth, but someone has to keep track of who these people actually are, not just their records in the books! What good is a sword without a history?”

“Gods, ye’re one of those,” Kat groaned.

“Hey, history is a fine pursuit,” Bren shot back. “Even if it is somewhat… romanticised in this case.”

“I mean, stories are fun to read. It’s a lot of what I did when I didn’t have anything else to do in the woods,” Rosalyn said. “All sorts of knights and princesses. Warriors fighting for justice and honour!” The druid got a bit of a misty look. “The terrible monsters and their fiendish ways. Such horrid bodies with great strength.”

“Riiight,” Ann cut her off before she could get hornier. “But yeah, I agree with the stories part. It’s a way to pass down history, and if it’s entertaining? That totally works.”

“Also, did I hear you right calling me ‘dude’?” Biagio asked. “I’m afraid I’m not familiar with the term.”

“Something we used as kids up north? Just refers to a person. Guy, girl, whatever in between, doesn’t matter. It’s really informal, so apologies if it was offensive.”

“Patter is constantly adapting to the times. Think nothing of it, Lady Kronforst,” Biagio belly laughed. “Dude is a very new one, though. Perhaps I shall try it out with some close associates.”

Ann had a brief mental image of men in black waistcoats and monocles standing around with wine glasses. The leader spoke through a bristled moustache. “My dudes, welcome to my abode.” She tried, but a laugh escaped, then escalated. Before she knew it, she was keeled over on the table, giggling helplessly.

“Ann, are you ok?” Rosalyn asked, putting a hand on her back. “What’s so funny?”

“Lady Dude,” Ann wheezed. “Sir Dude of Dudeington. Oh, Gods, what have I done?”

“Prithee, dude, is it that poor a choice of words?” Biagio asked, innocently confused.

Ann’s laughter intensified. He kept trying to use the word, but never in the right way, and she couldn’t stop laughing. Every time she calmed down a little, he’d try again and send her right back into fits.

Ann couldn’t hear anything over her laughter but caught Rosalyn starting to laugh with her, but Kat and Bren just looked utterly baffled. She’d explain it to them later.

“Please,” Ann gasped. “Just… holy shit, man. Have mercy.”

“Verily, Lady Kronforst,” Biagio said with a smile. “Well, now seems about as good a time as any. I must return to my friends and discuss what I have learned. My thanks for allowing my apology, and not holding this misstep against me. May our paths cross once more on the road of fate, ladies.”

With that, Sir Biagio turned with a flourish of his chair, and strode off back to his table.

“Ok, like little better,” Lucia grumbled. “He’s a Plufkin.”

“A what?” Ann asked.

“Plufkin. Small bird. Fluffs feathers when threatened. Make seem big. Not really big. Biagio is Plufkin.”

“About sums it up fer me too,” Kat agreed. “At least he had the decency tae learn from his mistake.”

“Mayhap by the end of the night we will be on the receiving end of fewer death glares,” Bren said.

Looking around, Ann did see that they were still the focus of a lot of less than happy looks. A duel diffused the immediate issue, but winning over the hearts of the people and getting their names cleared would be a much bigger task.

“The second course, ladies and gentleman,” a servant declared. “Please return to your seats.”

“Finally,” Ann smiled, her stomach growling.