Chương 36: A Search for a Queen

Oscar sat upon the throne, an expression of boredom on his face, his chin resting on one hand. Before him stood a neatly ordered line of women from every corner of the kingdom, all summoned as potential future wives and future queens. A blonde young woman stepped forward and bowed deeply.

"Your Majesty, I come from the White Valleys. I belong to House Dove, daughter of-". Oscar yawned openly.

"Next". The young woman froze, hurt and confused. She bowed once more and quietly stepped away. Another woman came forward, then another, and another still. Impeccable introductions, noble bloodlines, carefully practiced smiles. When the last one left the hall, silence settled over the throne room. Teresa slowly approached her son.

"You rejected seventy-two girls. Seventy-two", she said, her voice calm but heavy with disapproval.

"They were all beautiful and came from great noble houses. They would have made excellent queens. Why did you turn them away?" Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Oscar sighed.

"Boring, Mother. All of them were boring. Too generic, too…feminine. I want a strong woman at my side". Teresa stared at him.

"A woman can be feminine and strong, my son". Oscar rose from the throne, walked over to her, and kissed her on the cheek.

"You're the exception, Mother". Then he left, leaving Teresa alone in the throne room. Leah launched herself at Felicity. Her strikes had changed: faster, more decisive, more stable. Each swing carried less hesitation than before. Felicity parried effortlessly and then struck Leah in the stomach. This time, however, Leah did not collapse to her knees. She gritted her teeth and counterattacked. Felicity was surprised. A blow brushed past her head, missing by less than a centimeter.

"Almost got you", Leah said with a faint smile.

"Don't get ahead of yourself", Felicity replied, smiling back. At that moment, Xia's eyes widened.

"Virelia". Leah spun around immediately.

"Virelia? The capital?"

"Yes", Xia replied.

"The legendary sword is there". Ethan walked toward the center of the camp and served himself a large portion of stew. Just as he was about to leave, an elf stepped up beside him.

"Oh…it's gone. What a shame", he said, staring at the empty pot. Ethan hesitated for a moment, then held out his bowl.

"Wait. You can have mine". The elf looked at him in surprise.

"Are you sure, human?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it". The elf smiled as he took the bowl.

"You're my favorite human, you know that, friend?" Ethan smiled back and headed toward his tent. From a distance, Renlin watched him. Another female elf, with black hair and red eyes, nudged her lightly in the side.

"You really like that human. You never stop looking at him".

"What are you talking about? That's not true", Renlin replied irritably.

"Oh sure, Renlin. Sure". Renlin huffed and looked at him again.