Author's Note: ...God, that last chapter sucked. I accept that.
But this chapter is all about your favorite couple...Duran and Angela! Yay! Enjoi.
The Grand Tournament
Chapter 17
"If we...ever make it to Forcena...I will personally kick your ass..." Angela panted, crawling up the hill with much struggle, "You hear me? I will kill you..."
Flammie had accidentally missed her mark on dropping the pair off at Forcena, and instead dropped the pair off in the middle of the Molebear Highlands. This left the two to hike the bumpy way to Forcena. Duran was faring well, being a native and all...but the royal pain was trudging behind like a lazy Poto.
"Angela, stop being a drama queen and get your fat ass up this hill or..."
"FAT ASS? DIE DURAN, DIE!" And suddenly the Princess wasn't so lethargic anymore...
Finally arriving in the grasslands kingdom, Duran bolted for the castle with a pissed off Magus following loyally. Unfortunately for Duran, luck and grace were not on his side and he tripped while trying to race up the stairs to the castle. It was then that the beast pounced. The screaming ball of two teens scrambling around rolled into the center of the town, setting a spectacle for the whole town.
"WITCH!"
"ASSHOLE!"
"Hey! There are children here..." one concerned citizen spoke out.
"SHUT UP!"
"Oh in the name of all under the Goddess's eyes..." King Richard boomed out, freezing the fight in place. Duran quickly stood and dusted himself off before giving his salute. Angela fussed over her hair instead of paying the king any attention.
"Sir, King Richard sir! I apologize for this...uhm..."
"Public Stupidness." King Richard finished the Swordmaster's statement, and then smiled, "But I suppose that could be overlooked."
"Thank you sir, how generous of you!" Duran beamed and bowed, leaving his head exposed to Angela's staff long enough to earn a new bump on his head.
"Suck up. Uh, Richard sir?" Angela mumbled without a care, sending Duran into a silent fury, "Do you have any showers here? Or, maybe a nice hot spring?"
"Well...we do have a spring here..." the King replied waving his hand towards the east, "But..."
"Oh thank you sir! Your...kinglyness(1) sir oh kingy sir!" Angela squealed and dashed off towards the spring. Duran turned to the king.
"But?"
"It's currently infested with leeches."
Sunset settled over the kingdom, bringing a golden gift to its citizens. Faint screams from the spring were overshadowed by the merriment within the castle. King Richard held a private dinner for Duran's return, and food filled the empty stomach of the traveling mercenary.
"So then, believe it or not sir, Koren DID defeat his opponent! Much to my surprise, sir." Duran retold the stories of the tournament to the King, who was quite fascinated with the enemy's strategies.
"I hope that you took careful note of his movements," the King remarked, sipping his drink, "It will aid you very much when you finally face off with him."
"Yes, your majesty...I expect that it will." Duran replied reluctantly. The monarch raised an eyebrow.
"Duran, do not tell me that you are now soft towards our foe..."
"No sir! I would neve—-"
"Good, because that would mean that you are friendly towards the Altenians, which I absolutely forbid." Richard slammed down his chalice, "They are NOTHING but pesky sorcerers and witches who have absolutely no sense of what's right and..." the King silenced himself, seeing Angela standing at his side with her arms crossed. The princess was fuming with anger, and Richard swore he saw some smoke rise out of her ears.
"Well," the Princess huffed, "If I wasn't welcome here you could have told me so, SIR." She added a hiss to the last word and stormed off, slamming the dining hall doors. The room fell silent and then was filled with hushed whispers. The King was an absolute red.
"...I didn't...mean..." King Richard muttered and then sighed, took his chalice, and stood. "Duran, please follow me."
Out on the balcony, Richard looked out at the sunset before turning to his knight.
"Duran, I will not live this lie any longer." He started, and then took a deep breath. "I was once engaged to the then Princess Valda of Altena."
"What?!?" Duran shouted, but was quickly silenced with a glare from the king. "I mean...sir?"
"Yes...it was long ago when our parents betrothed us to bring peace between Altena and Forcena. We...were very much in love, and swore to each other that we would rule our countries justly and fairly. But one day, Valda began to act differently. She started to hate things she once loved, including myself, and called the marriage off. However..."
"However, sir?" Duran asked, eyes wide with innocent eagerness.
"Valda left bearing a child."
"You mean...that you're Angela's father sir?"
"Yes." The King sighed. "And I have never told her out of fear that she would be disgusted having a Forcenan father. So the secret has been kept all these years with the exception of me and Valda, and now you."
"Sir, Highness, why did you tell me then? Someone as lowly as I is not worthy of..." Duran whispered, and the King chuckled. Richard turned to him bright eyed and smiling.
"Because, Duran, I see how you look at Angela and I know that look. It is the look Loki said I often had in my eyes when I looked at Valda. And so I know that you truly care about her, and should know the truth about her." Richard sipped his drink and sighed once more. "But I warn you never to tell her. The truth might be too much."
"Yes sir. I understand, she might not be too happy with the news. I heard that Queen Valda treats her badly enough." Duran stated and looked up at the now starry sky. "Your majesty?"
"Yes Duran?"
"Could you...tell me more about my father?" Duran mumbled and sent the king reminiscing under the night sky. However, Duran's mind wandered from time to time.
'I can't tell him what happened to my father. The truth that the Dragon Emperor enslaved him would be too much...just like the truth about Angela would hurt her. I guess father will have to remain incognito until we figure something out to say.'
Angela sat at the corner table of the tavern, empty baskets all around her.
'I always had the nasty tendency of binge eating when I'm angry.' She fumed, and uncrossed then recrossed her arms. She glanced over at the other tables where soldiers were looking at her with uncertainty.
"WHAT?!? Stop staring at me!" Angela shouted, making the entire tavern jump then quickly look away. "DAMNIT, I hate this place!"
"Miss..." a waitress pleaded, "Please don't upset the other customers, they're just curious why an Altenian would come to a little ol' town like this." Angela looked up at the girl, probably not any older than she with curly blonde hair and big breasts. Typical waitress.
"I don't understand what being Altenian has to do with being interesting. It's like being Forcenan! I'm just like the rest of you!" The Princess yelled, slamming her fists on the table. The waitress winced, then sat down opposite of Angela.
"Of course you're like us! Y'all are people just like us." The waitress said, smiling. "But whatchuall gotta understand is that we ain't exactly used to seeing people with...uhh...ears like that. Plus, you can't blame these men, they're always looking for a new one-night stand."
"Wow, just like in Altena." Angela giggled, making the girl do the same. "What's your name?"
"Rosette, nice ta' meet cha." She replied, winking. "Oh, and I already know who you are, you're the Princess! Mah goddess, aren't you just pretty." Angela blushed.
"Thanks, how bout you share this basket of chocolates with me?"
"I'd be delighted."
"So tell me why is it that people feel they can judge others? They judge them on who they love or what they look like or what race they are." Angela sighed, biting into a chocolate. "Makes no sense."
"Aw, honey, people just like to feel superior to those who look a bit different. Jus' means that person must be afraid." Rosette replied, fixing her hair ribbon. "We country folk are just a li'l funny, ya know? Different from you city gals, but boy, would I ever love to visit Altena some day and become an actress!"
"Is that what you want to do?" Angela asked.
"Sure is. I gots family in Altena too, I'm a half blood. Ya know," she paused and tilted her head, "part Forcena and part Altena. Gotta be proud of the family ya got though. S'only links you have to this world. And your friends, doesn't matter what people say, if you trust ya friends then ya must be pretty happy."
"...That makes sense Rosette. Maybe...I should be nicer to him..."
"Him who?"
"Oh, his name's Duran, isn't he like famous here or something?" Angela inquired, stuffing three more chocolates in her mouth.
"Sure is. He's the strongest soldier out there in our army. We're pretty fond of our military here, s'all we gots besides our families. Listen hon," she said gently, standing up, "you treat your friends like they treat you and everything will be okay. Now...I gotta get back to tend all these soldiers. Nice talking to ya!" she giggled and waved goodbye.
"Thanks! Good luck as an actress!" Angela replied, and then sighed a little.
'I feel so much better now...I think I'll go talk to Duran and apologize about shouting earlier.' She thought, and put money on the table, plus a big tip, and left.
Duran sat on his bed, looking out the window at the triple moons rising. A gentle knock on the door disturbed him from his relaxed stupor.
"Duran?" Angela asked timidly, gently pushing the door open and walking in. "Hey."
"Hey."
"Duran, I'm so sorry for being really disrespectful to the King and you today. It was very rude of me...and I shouldn't have acted that way, despite how many leeches sucked on me today." The Magus giggled and watched the knight smile.
"It's okay Ange. I know how intense you can get sometimes." Duran replied and turned to the window. "Look at those moons..." Angela smiled and walked over to his bed and sat down next to him. She gazed out the window.
"Absolutely beautiful." Duran commented, and was then silenced with Angela's lips against his. When they pulled apart, Duran looked at her with amazement. "What was that?"
"My apology, only more so." Angela replied and kissed him once more, loving the burning feeling she felt as their mouths met. Duran placed a hand on her hip and wasn't pushed away when he began to stroke her stomach. Angela pulled away and smiled and tugged at Duran's shirt. And together, they both enjoyed the moonlight.
"Duran?"
"Hmm?"
Angela snuggled closer to Duran's naked body, sighing happily. "I really like it here. It's not filled with the smell of gunpowder like Altena is. And the nights are quiet, only filled by crickets chirping."
Duran smiled and snaked his arms around the Magus's slender form. "I'm glad you like it. I missed it a lot." Angela absentmindedly began to twirl his hair.
"What are you going to say to the King about Loki? Are you going to tell him the truth?"
"No." Duran replied quickly and shook his head, "It's like saying that your mother is under Koren's control. It'd be too much of a shock.(2)"
"Yeah...I guess so." Angela replied and kissed Duran's neck. Duran smiled and ran his fingers through her silky hair, stopping at her neck.
"You look so beautiful in this moonlight Angie." Duran whispered and kissed her strongly.
"So do you Duran."
Breakfast the next morning was very quiet for the two warriors, and King Richard sensed some kind of tension between them. Angela kept looking down at her plate, blushing, and Duran absentmindedly stared at the ceiling corners. King Richard smiled to himself and then cleared his throat, bringing everyone's attention to him.
"How did you guys sleep last night?" he asked innocently, and wasn't too surprised by an obviously embarrassed response.
"Uh...Angela slept very well—--I mean!" Duran turned a deep crimson and Angela dropped her clattered her fork against her plate, "I mean...uhm, she was snoring and all so..."
"Snoring?" Angela retorted, "You should talk! I didn't sleep well at all because of you, you talk while you sleep!"
"Do not!"
"Do so! All you could talk about was: 'MM, Hawk...mm...'"
"I NEVER SAID ANYTHING LIKE THAT!"
"YOU DID SO YOU BIG OAF, ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR?!?" As the two bickered, King Richard chuckled to himself and quietly sipped his tea.
"Just like me and Valda...nothing ever changes between two people in love." He said quietly, so low that the two didn't hear him over their yelling.
"FOR SOMEONE WHO'S FREAKED BY MEN WHO LIKE MEN YOU SURE ARE A HYPOCRITE!"
"AM NOT! COME OVER HERE AND SAY THAT!"
"GLADLY YOU JERK!"
"WITCH!"
"ASSHOLE!"
Aww, isn't it cute? They're trying to kill each other!
1) Not the verb. The noun, which probably doesn't exist, but this is Angela we're talking bout.
2) Ha ha, yeah I know. Shut up.
But this chapter is all about your favorite couple...Duran and Angela! Yay! Enjoi.
The Grand Tournament
Chapter 17
"If we...ever make it to Forcena...I will personally kick your ass..." Angela panted, crawling up the hill with much struggle, "You hear me? I will kill you..."
Flammie had accidentally missed her mark on dropping the pair off at Forcena, and instead dropped the pair off in the middle of the Molebear Highlands. This left the two to hike the bumpy way to Forcena. Duran was faring well, being a native and all...but the royal pain was trudging behind like a lazy Poto.
"Angela, stop being a drama queen and get your fat ass up this hill or..."
"FAT ASS? DIE DURAN, DIE!" And suddenly the Princess wasn't so lethargic anymore...
Finally arriving in the grasslands kingdom, Duran bolted for the castle with a pissed off Magus following loyally. Unfortunately for Duran, luck and grace were not on his side and he tripped while trying to race up the stairs to the castle. It was then that the beast pounced. The screaming ball of two teens scrambling around rolled into the center of the town, setting a spectacle for the whole town.
"WITCH!"
"ASSHOLE!"
"Hey! There are children here..." one concerned citizen spoke out.
"SHUT UP!"
"Oh in the name of all under the Goddess's eyes..." King Richard boomed out, freezing the fight in place. Duran quickly stood and dusted himself off before giving his salute. Angela fussed over her hair instead of paying the king any attention.
"Sir, King Richard sir! I apologize for this...uhm..."
"Public Stupidness." King Richard finished the Swordmaster's statement, and then smiled, "But I suppose that could be overlooked."
"Thank you sir, how generous of you!" Duran beamed and bowed, leaving his head exposed to Angela's staff long enough to earn a new bump on his head.
"Suck up. Uh, Richard sir?" Angela mumbled without a care, sending Duran into a silent fury, "Do you have any showers here? Or, maybe a nice hot spring?"
"Well...we do have a spring here..." the King replied waving his hand towards the east, "But..."
"Oh thank you sir! Your...kinglyness(1) sir oh kingy sir!" Angela squealed and dashed off towards the spring. Duran turned to the king.
"But?"
"It's currently infested with leeches."
Sunset settled over the kingdom, bringing a golden gift to its citizens. Faint screams from the spring were overshadowed by the merriment within the castle. King Richard held a private dinner for Duran's return, and food filled the empty stomach of the traveling mercenary.
"So then, believe it or not sir, Koren DID defeat his opponent! Much to my surprise, sir." Duran retold the stories of the tournament to the King, who was quite fascinated with the enemy's strategies.
"I hope that you took careful note of his movements," the King remarked, sipping his drink, "It will aid you very much when you finally face off with him."
"Yes, your majesty...I expect that it will." Duran replied reluctantly. The monarch raised an eyebrow.
"Duran, do not tell me that you are now soft towards our foe..."
"No sir! I would neve—-"
"Good, because that would mean that you are friendly towards the Altenians, which I absolutely forbid." Richard slammed down his chalice, "They are NOTHING but pesky sorcerers and witches who have absolutely no sense of what's right and..." the King silenced himself, seeing Angela standing at his side with her arms crossed. The princess was fuming with anger, and Richard swore he saw some smoke rise out of her ears.
"Well," the Princess huffed, "If I wasn't welcome here you could have told me so, SIR." She added a hiss to the last word and stormed off, slamming the dining hall doors. The room fell silent and then was filled with hushed whispers. The King was an absolute red.
"...I didn't...mean..." King Richard muttered and then sighed, took his chalice, and stood. "Duran, please follow me."
Out on the balcony, Richard looked out at the sunset before turning to his knight.
"Duran, I will not live this lie any longer." He started, and then took a deep breath. "I was once engaged to the then Princess Valda of Altena."
"What?!?" Duran shouted, but was quickly silenced with a glare from the king. "I mean...sir?"
"Yes...it was long ago when our parents betrothed us to bring peace between Altena and Forcena. We...were very much in love, and swore to each other that we would rule our countries justly and fairly. But one day, Valda began to act differently. She started to hate things she once loved, including myself, and called the marriage off. However..."
"However, sir?" Duran asked, eyes wide with innocent eagerness.
"Valda left bearing a child."
"You mean...that you're Angela's father sir?"
"Yes." The King sighed. "And I have never told her out of fear that she would be disgusted having a Forcenan father. So the secret has been kept all these years with the exception of me and Valda, and now you."
"Sir, Highness, why did you tell me then? Someone as lowly as I is not worthy of..." Duran whispered, and the King chuckled. Richard turned to him bright eyed and smiling.
"Because, Duran, I see how you look at Angela and I know that look. It is the look Loki said I often had in my eyes when I looked at Valda. And so I know that you truly care about her, and should know the truth about her." Richard sipped his drink and sighed once more. "But I warn you never to tell her. The truth might be too much."
"Yes sir. I understand, she might not be too happy with the news. I heard that Queen Valda treats her badly enough." Duran stated and looked up at the now starry sky. "Your majesty?"
"Yes Duran?"
"Could you...tell me more about my father?" Duran mumbled and sent the king reminiscing under the night sky. However, Duran's mind wandered from time to time.
'I can't tell him what happened to my father. The truth that the Dragon Emperor enslaved him would be too much...just like the truth about Angela would hurt her. I guess father will have to remain incognito until we figure something out to say.'
Angela sat at the corner table of the tavern, empty baskets all around her.
'I always had the nasty tendency of binge eating when I'm angry.' She fumed, and uncrossed then recrossed her arms. She glanced over at the other tables where soldiers were looking at her with uncertainty.
"WHAT?!? Stop staring at me!" Angela shouted, making the entire tavern jump then quickly look away. "DAMNIT, I hate this place!"
"Miss..." a waitress pleaded, "Please don't upset the other customers, they're just curious why an Altenian would come to a little ol' town like this." Angela looked up at the girl, probably not any older than she with curly blonde hair and big breasts. Typical waitress.
"I don't understand what being Altenian has to do with being interesting. It's like being Forcenan! I'm just like the rest of you!" The Princess yelled, slamming her fists on the table. The waitress winced, then sat down opposite of Angela.
"Of course you're like us! Y'all are people just like us." The waitress said, smiling. "But whatchuall gotta understand is that we ain't exactly used to seeing people with...uhh...ears like that. Plus, you can't blame these men, they're always looking for a new one-night stand."
"Wow, just like in Altena." Angela giggled, making the girl do the same. "What's your name?"
"Rosette, nice ta' meet cha." She replied, winking. "Oh, and I already know who you are, you're the Princess! Mah goddess, aren't you just pretty." Angela blushed.
"Thanks, how bout you share this basket of chocolates with me?"
"I'd be delighted."
"So tell me why is it that people feel they can judge others? They judge them on who they love or what they look like or what race they are." Angela sighed, biting into a chocolate. "Makes no sense."
"Aw, honey, people just like to feel superior to those who look a bit different. Jus' means that person must be afraid." Rosette replied, fixing her hair ribbon. "We country folk are just a li'l funny, ya know? Different from you city gals, but boy, would I ever love to visit Altena some day and become an actress!"
"Is that what you want to do?" Angela asked.
"Sure is. I gots family in Altena too, I'm a half blood. Ya know," she paused and tilted her head, "part Forcena and part Altena. Gotta be proud of the family ya got though. S'only links you have to this world. And your friends, doesn't matter what people say, if you trust ya friends then ya must be pretty happy."
"...That makes sense Rosette. Maybe...I should be nicer to him..."
"Him who?"
"Oh, his name's Duran, isn't he like famous here or something?" Angela inquired, stuffing three more chocolates in her mouth.
"Sure is. He's the strongest soldier out there in our army. We're pretty fond of our military here, s'all we gots besides our families. Listen hon," she said gently, standing up, "you treat your friends like they treat you and everything will be okay. Now...I gotta get back to tend all these soldiers. Nice talking to ya!" she giggled and waved goodbye.
"Thanks! Good luck as an actress!" Angela replied, and then sighed a little.
'I feel so much better now...I think I'll go talk to Duran and apologize about shouting earlier.' She thought, and put money on the table, plus a big tip, and left.
Duran sat on his bed, looking out the window at the triple moons rising. A gentle knock on the door disturbed him from his relaxed stupor.
"Duran?" Angela asked timidly, gently pushing the door open and walking in. "Hey."
"Hey."
"Duran, I'm so sorry for being really disrespectful to the King and you today. It was very rude of me...and I shouldn't have acted that way, despite how many leeches sucked on me today." The Magus giggled and watched the knight smile.
"It's okay Ange. I know how intense you can get sometimes." Duran replied and turned to the window. "Look at those moons..." Angela smiled and walked over to his bed and sat down next to him. She gazed out the window.
"Absolutely beautiful." Duran commented, and was then silenced with Angela's lips against his. When they pulled apart, Duran looked at her with amazement. "What was that?"
"My apology, only more so." Angela replied and kissed him once more, loving the burning feeling she felt as their mouths met. Duran placed a hand on her hip and wasn't pushed away when he began to stroke her stomach. Angela pulled away and smiled and tugged at Duran's shirt. And together, they both enjoyed the moonlight.
"Duran?"
"Hmm?"
Angela snuggled closer to Duran's naked body, sighing happily. "I really like it here. It's not filled with the smell of gunpowder like Altena is. And the nights are quiet, only filled by crickets chirping."
Duran smiled and snaked his arms around the Magus's slender form. "I'm glad you like it. I missed it a lot." Angela absentmindedly began to twirl his hair.
"What are you going to say to the King about Loki? Are you going to tell him the truth?"
"No." Duran replied quickly and shook his head, "It's like saying that your mother is under Koren's control. It'd be too much of a shock.(2)"
"Yeah...I guess so." Angela replied and kissed Duran's neck. Duran smiled and ran his fingers through her silky hair, stopping at her neck.
"You look so beautiful in this moonlight Angie." Duran whispered and kissed her strongly.
"So do you Duran."
Breakfast the next morning was very quiet for the two warriors, and King Richard sensed some kind of tension between them. Angela kept looking down at her plate, blushing, and Duran absentmindedly stared at the ceiling corners. King Richard smiled to himself and then cleared his throat, bringing everyone's attention to him.
"How did you guys sleep last night?" he asked innocently, and wasn't too surprised by an obviously embarrassed response.
"Uh...Angela slept very well—--I mean!" Duran turned a deep crimson and Angela dropped her clattered her fork against her plate, "I mean...uhm, she was snoring and all so..."
"Snoring?" Angela retorted, "You should talk! I didn't sleep well at all because of you, you talk while you sleep!"
"Do not!"
"Do so! All you could talk about was: 'MM, Hawk...mm...'"
"I NEVER SAID ANYTHING LIKE THAT!"
"YOU DID SO YOU BIG OAF, ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR?!?" As the two bickered, King Richard chuckled to himself and quietly sipped his tea.
"Just like me and Valda...nothing ever changes between two people in love." He said quietly, so low that the two didn't hear him over their yelling.
"FOR SOMEONE WHO'S FREAKED BY MEN WHO LIKE MEN YOU SURE ARE A HYPOCRITE!"
"AM NOT! COME OVER HERE AND SAY THAT!"
"GLADLY YOU JERK!"
"WITCH!"
"ASSHOLE!"
Aww, isn't it cute? They're trying to kill each other!
1) Not the verb. The noun, which probably doesn't exist, but this is Angela we're talking bout.
2) Ha ha, yeah I know. Shut up.