Chapter Forty-Three
"Some souls are connected by an ancient calling beyond worlds"
…
"Sir Ulrich Von Lichenstein defeats Sir Ponce De Leon, two lances to one!" the shout of the herald through the overlarge bronze trumpet echoed all over the stadium causing a symphony of sounds to emanate from the upcoming audience as winners and losers of different bets react to the result of the second tilt of the two knights.
Atop the highest dais where two elegant seats are placed, one is occupied. Elsa frowns as the rather dizzy looking Spanish knight prepares to accept the lance for the final tilt where his only hope of winning against the English champion is unseating him. Judging from the groggy movements he is doing though, Elsa bets that the likelihood of such an outcome is somewhere close to null. He'd be lucky to remain atop his horse after this.
For the life of her, Elsa doesn't see the appeal of such games of strength, blood and fighting. She doesn't like violence, period. However as soon to be ruling monarch of Arendelle, it is Elsa's duty to supervise and watch the fights to at least show an interest on it, especially the elimination jousting, which is one of the first and main events of the tourney.
Apparently the tourney ground is divided into three fields with different knights jousting at each field with the winners moving up in rank till one can be decried champion. With so many attendees, the knights are particularly busy trying to throw each other off their horses to be eliminated. The favourite so far and most likely to win is Sir Ulrich of England who managed to unseat the Spanish champion quite easily resulting to the boisterous laughter of the English king much to the chagrin of the Spaniards.
Elsa once more turns to look at the empty seat of Silvanna's throne at her side. She wonders where the Knightess currently is. Silvanna hadn't appeared at their bed last night, Elsa noticed. Of course while she was used to Silvanna sharing their bed, Elsa was also used of the times when Silvanna missed it. It was mostly times when the Knightess had to deal with something that requires her attention. Elsa of course understands her despite her not liking it at all. She has seen with her own eyes the rigor of ruling a kingdom thanks to Silvanna. Personally, she is not to keen of the day that she would be the one doing it. Silvanna however simply glides through most of it and tends to miss their bed space at important occasions in order to catch up with the paperwork. Seeing that this tourney is apparently the largest that the world had ever seen, Elsa truly understood if Silvanna once more retired on some part of the castle to deal with her duties.
Elsa has full faith on Silvanna and she knows that the Knightess prefers not to waste time on useless things. Still, Elsa wishes that she is here atop her dais. It is getting tiring watching full grown men poke one another with sticks. Besides it is not as if Silvanna is doing something nefarious right? Right?
…
Said Knightess groans as she stretches inside her outfit. Every inch of her is tired and sore. Things have escalated quickly last night between her, Siora and Amelia once she goes with the flow and the two have taken liberties with her to the fullest once they are locked quiet within one of the guest rooms of the Coliseum. Now here she is stretching out the kinks out of her muscles as she puts on the last touches of her attire making sure to hide the bite marks that the two left all over her body. Overpleasured or not, Silvanna still has a duty to attend today and needs to make an appearance alongside Elsa as host of the event. Thankfully Siora had gone ahead since some of her countrymen were planning to enter the events. Silvanna would be even more late if the native queen chose to remain. Siora had an unhealthy attraction to Silvanna being naked.
"My, my, my lady; you're acting like an old woman with how gingerly your movements are," the amused voice of Amelia sounds at the side door heading to an in-built spring making Silvanna scowl at the young woman who is looking amused at her current state. The former squire is now garbed in dark leathers that is form fitting with a rapier strapped at her leg and her hair tied to a ponytail like that of Silvanna's.
"If not for two enthusiastic unexpected visitors last night, I would not be in this state," scowls Silvanna feeling rather squeamish as some parts of her outfit glues to her skin. Amelia and Siora had not been picky where to let their lips wander last night.
"I seem to recall that you enjoy the ministrations of said unexpected visitors," replies Amelia with a Cheshire grin as she steps to the couch where Silvanna sits trying to put on her heeled boots.
"My, my Silvanna, I didn't know you're being daring these days,"
"What? What do you mean?" asks Silvanna confused at her former squire whose eyes seem to be glued to her chest area. Blushing a bit at the rather unabashed staring, Silvanna follows her eye line and groans unhappily at the cause.
Too engrossed is she on putting on her clothes to reduce her lateness that Silvanna managed to skip putting on her brassiere beneath her clothes. She's kinda blessed in the chest department and without her brassiere, her chest area is rather pronounced than usual through her outfit. Grumbling beneath her breath, Silvanna decides to forego changing all over again as she simply puts on the tailored white jacket over herself growling a bit as it fails to fully cover her normally pressed down chest.
"Daring?" teases Amelia following her as Silvanna picks up her spear from a nearby stand.
"Amelia," Silvanna simply growls causing the Russian beauty to bark out in laughter much to Silvanna's exasperation.
…
"YOU ARE WHAT?!" Alucard mentally thanks the foresight of his to make sure that this meeting between him and Anna is within one of the more soundproof and secure guestrooms.
Last night he had mysteriously found a letter from Anna left beneath his door asking him to visit her privately "for important purposes," He had to put a stamp over the rather male dominant part of his brain from wandering too much. Drunk as he was before, he can still remember what happened last time he and Anna got together in a private setting. Suffice it to say that it is both a memorable and pleasurable experience for him at least. Anna is beautiful in her own right though not to the level of Lady Silvanna and Princess Elsa. The two are as frigid however as light and winter whereas Anna is a ray of sunshine. The innocence in her despite everything she had suffered through had always remained and Alucard if he's going to be honest with himself finds it attractive.
Still though…..
"Are you sure?" he can't help but nervously ask looking at the downed face of Anna who nods in affirmation wordlessly.
"Damn it!" he mentally cursed as he stands up from where he is sitting and starts to pace back and forth in the room.
This is a shit storm that Alucard admits he is not ready. He'll also bet his fighting hand that Anna like him is also not prepared for this kind of bombshell in their life. She is only seventeen for heaven's sake. That's not adding the elephant on the room that Anna is royalty and whatever child that comes out of her loins would be an heir of this nation. He shivers at that thought. Somehow he's got a feeling that the current Steward of Arendelle would be less than pleased once she gets word of another added result between his and Anna's little tryst. She's pissed off enough as it is.
"You're not planning to leave me are you?" Anna asks out of the blue nearly making Alucard walk head first to the wall in surprise. Whatever he has expected to come out of Anna; that is not it.
"No, no of course not," he answers with a heavy sigh as he composes himself in silence for a few seconds before sitting down beside Anna taking her hand with his. Somehow the little gesture feels warm and comforting to the blizzard of worries that their actions might have caused. "The two of us are together in this. We will face it together,"
Anna only wordlessly nods as the two of them sits there in companionable silence, very much aware of the gravity of such an occurrence.
"Silvanna is not gonna like this will she?" asks Anna making Alucard gulp before nodding.
"Who do you think she would be madder at, you or me?" she says more in thought making the former bounty hunter wince. He's got a nagging feeling that somehow it would be him facing the tip of the spear.
….
"Silvie? Who is she?" Silvanna winced at the rather confused tone with a hint of jealousy of Elsa as she enters the raised dais overlooking the entirety of the Coliseum below.
"This is Lady Amelia, half-sister of Lord Viktor and the first Dame of Arendelle," introduces Silvanna. "She as my squire and my protector during the War against Nogrod," she finishes.
When Elsa however is still blinking at her owlishly, Silvanna winced inside fearing that the young princess might be suspecting that there is "something" between her and Amelia (which there is, thank you very much).
"She has applied as my personal guard since she is not welcome anywhere at the moment. I've said yes,"
"I see," Elsa replies, her icy demeanour vanishing like the shift of weather as she smiles softly at the Russian beauty. "Hello Lady Amelia, I am glad that someone like you is watching Silvanna's back. She can be a bit of a handful sometimes,"
"I only wish to serve my teacher in whatever pleasures that she deems your highness," Amelia curtsies making Silvanna glare at her from the side as she obviously put a bit of emphasis on the word: "Pleasure".
Elsa however is oblivious to it as she turns her attention back to Silvanna expectantly. The heart of the Knightess clenches like a kicked puppy however as she can literally see the perfect trust on those eyes staring at her. If not for the fact that saying the truth that surrounds things between her and Amelia would result to less than a stellar reaction from Elsa (understatement of the century), Silvanna would have happily told her about her tryst between Amelia and Siora. As it is though, she takes the coward's decision of saying nothing about it (at the moment at least).
Taking the throne beside Elsa wordlessly, Silvanna suppressed the wince that is attempting to show on her face. Her delicate rear unfortunately felt extra sore due to the tender mercies it had been subjected to last night. Siora and Amelia had taken turns on it with energetic enthusiasm after all.
"Are you alright Silvie? You look quite….sick?" the concerned voice of Elsa asks at her side making Silvanna smile (more like grimace) as she readjusts herself on her throne to a less stressful position.
"I'm alright Elsa. I'm just a little sore from all the sitting I've been doing last night entertaining the nobles. You have no idea how tiring it is listening to them bicker,"Silvanna lies through her teeth while putting a lid on the screaming conscience of hers who disagrees greatly at her lying to the one she loves. She purposefully ignores the small snort of amusement that sounds from Amelia behind her.
"Is that why you're late?" Elsa's voice is a little concerned now as her angelic visage is one of purposeful worry. "If you would want Silvie, you can rest for today. I can handle the first day of the tourney by myself. You had been working non-stop ever since you declared the tourney,"
Silvanna can't help but snort at her words. "And subject you to the tender mercies of our so-called participants?" she gestures to the faces of knights and warriors down below trying and failing to take a peek at them both. "No, but I'm staying right here. I don't want any of them attempting to make a scene declaring that they will win this tournament for you,"
"Protective are we?" a rather mischievous smirk appears at Elsa's face making Silvanna remember that Elsa can be all sassy if she feels like it.
"It's more like I'm a selfish person when it comes to things that I want," she replies saucily in return making sure to let her fingers graze the edge of Elsa's shapely hip who bites her lip as her slender finger trace the line through the dress.
"We are in accord then," replies Elsa with a lip bite giving her a teasing look that promises good things in the future.
The moment however is rudely broken as the sound of a horn below brings the two back to the reality that they are supposed to hosting a tourney. Giving Elsa a more realistic smile and quite glad that her attention had been taken away from her aching backside, Silvanna focuses her attention on the event that she had been heavily invested in for weeks.
She can't help the smile that adorned her face as she recognizes the English knight clashing his lance against the groggy Spanish one sending the Spaniard flying out of his saddle unto the ground. Raising his lance up his head, his victory is heralded by the cheering of the crowds amid the booing one of the Spanish contingent. There are actually no surprises there at the result. The kingdom of England after all other than their navy is infamous for their cavalry and knight orders. Silvanna can't help but wonder how the Winged Hussars would fare against them. While tested and proven in battle against Nogrod, the heavy cavalrymen of Arendelle haven't faced against fellow knights yet. She lets a small smirk wondering if Captain Matthias would be able to reach the finals for the jousting part of the tourney. It would be him against Sir Ulrich of England. Too bad the finals for the jousts will be at the end of the week once the small fries are fully eliminated. Silvanna believes she just has to wait and see.
The rest of the elimination part of the joust goes on smoothly for everyone. Seeing the obscene number of knights present, the Coliseum administrators divided the area of the grounds to four different groups, each capable for two knights to joust with an official to take record. Silvanna personally takes great amusement watching the heavyset warriors drive one another to the ground. While most of the knights do not have the skills of jousting more than a simple cavalryman would. Some do have the skills indeed to master the art of fighting with a lance to a form. Others are so bad like the Greeks and Romans who seldom rely on horses that it take their representatives all their skill to simply remain on their horses and not get blown off by their opponents strike lest they shame their nations by being thrown off their horses. Majority of the good ones at the joust however belongs mostly to the knights of France whose representatives give even Sir Ulrich of England a run for his money. Sadly even with their best efforts at unseating the English champion, they failed spectacularly. Soon the joust session ends and the Coliseum is once more rearranged to host the other sports events like track and field, wrestling, strength and speed competitions, art competitions and such that requires the skill of mind and strength. All in all it is everything that Silvanna had prepared for. Soon it is night time and the first day of the tourney ends finally with tomorrow continuing till the end of the week.
"I have to admit that I enjoyed today," Silvanna turns to Elsa as both of them retreats to their personal suites with Amelia saying farewell to both of them as she also goes back to her own room. Currently the two of them are shedding their clothes with Elsa favouring a transparent light night gown with Silvanna simply falling back to her trademark crop top showing her navel and shorts.
"Really?" Silvanna can't help but beam at Elsa. She did not miss the flinches that Elsa made during the joust and the bash and mash events. Apparently Elsa does not like violence at all, something that she already knows though it is always nice to have confirmation of your doubts.
"Yes," Elsa replies lying down on the soft bed beside Silvanna, her long hair intermingling with that of Silvanna down in the sheets. "I particularly liked the quiz participations and the presentations of art. It reminds me of my father who loved to collect paintings. You've seen them Silvie before they are destroyed during the Debacle,"
"Yeah, I remember them," Silvanna can't help the purr of pleasure from her lips as Elsa's hand caressed her bare navel pulling her slender boy to her. For someone who doesn't want to touch anything before; Elsa is rather touchy of her bare skin when the two of them are alone.
"You are so beautiful Silvie," the rather surprise comment catches Silvanna off guard as Elsa's hand caresses the bare skin at her midsection. "I know you have heard it many times but I really am glad that you are in my life,"
Despite the softening of her feelings for the blossoming woman, Silvanna can't help the clenching in her chest as she remembers the secrets she kept from her lovely interest. She buries it deep inside the recess of her brain as she pressed herself closer to Elsa giving the young princess liberty to let her hands wander on the entirety of her midsection. Her hands wander to the shapely hips of Elsa stroking them also gently.
"Good night Elsa,"
…..
Author's Note:
Yeah, so this is shorter than my previous chapter but I am planning the tourney arc into three chapters and I kinda lost ideas on how to kick start it. Anyway hope ya enjoy this despite it being brief.
