Responses:

Abe 44: Lorelei was Duchess of Thavnair since before the story began. just saying. Becker and Bellamy probably has the most loving father-daughter relationship in the series (for now) - Thordan and Lorelei would have to rank lower. If you know where Old Thordan had been, you need not be surprised by his usage of modern lingo. Hopefully the audience could better understand the characters as well.

Abe 45: Sigrun and Bellamy. Hopefully I chose the right moment to express their opinions of each other - maybe again in the remaster? Thordan's (and also your) letter had the opposite effect on the poor kid - I mean, he grew up with Lorelei, who isn't the most sincere of beasts. The boy's used to mixed messages. What would happen to Thordan once he's freed? That's a good question that sadly will not be answered in this chapter...

And now, let the tourney commence!

Four-Sided Circle

FLORET, CROWNLANDS, KINGDOM OF SOUTHSWARD

"From the Kingdom of Parma we have the Crestworth brothers, Sverker and Harald." The crowd cheered as the two otters' names were being called, while Alfyn stood within the tunnels.

This tournament was special for more than one reason. For one, none of the sort was ever held within Southsward before - Triel had more than its share, while tournaments became rare in Parma after King Thordan's modification to the rules. It was also worth noting that more than two foreigners were participating - a big portion of Southsward's nobility lay dead after the war, including many young otters. Placeholders had to be found from elsewhere.

"From our native Southsward we have Haakon Strandsor!" The crowd's reaction was less delightful, but they cheered just the same. The hedgehog announcer had conveniently omitted that Haakon and his family fought against Southsward in the war about a month ago, while the otterlord himself would have taken grave offence for his seat being called part of Southsward.

"Galen Snowpath, also from Southsward!" The crowd had never cheered louder, Alfyn thought, and how his ears buzzed reflected this. This Galen was new. Lorcan said that he and a certain Dirk Tillwaters helped Southsward push back against Triel, and it wasn't hard to see how. Snowpath was tall (though shorter than Alfyn himself, of course), handsome (more so than Alfyn this time) and charismatic. Of all the suitors, he was so far the first to actually respond to the crowd, clapping his paws, earning himself a few squeals from more than a few ottermaids.

"And from the Kingdom of Triel, we have Alfyn Stalwart." The crowd was silent as Alfyn made his modest entrance. Why would they cheer when they had suffered under his paws, and those of his nation? Still, there was no cause for discouragement. He had lost nothing important.

"And finally, the brave fighter who wields his blade for Lady Bellamy is Dirk Tillwaters!" Like his friend Galen, Dirk was tall and fit, though his face was scarred by his many duties as a soldier. His mannerisms were crude, but Alfyn knew better than to underestimate any foe, Southard or not otherwise. The war taught him that.

"The tournament would begin with archery, followed by swimming and javelin throws, and it will end with paw-to-paw combat!" The announcer should have listed the combatant's names first, but this mistake was small in scale. "Points will be added as follows! Twenty points for hitting the target, an additional fifteen points for hitting the inner rings, and an additional twenty for getting an arrow in the centre…"

The hedgehog talked on and on as Alfyn decided to study his opponents. Harald Crestworth seemed boisterous, but he was nothing, while his brother should not have been here at all. Still, better to keep an eye on them.

The Southards were mostly no different, with some names Alfyn had literally never heard of until the announcements. Galen and Dirk were ones to watch out, but anybeast could clinch a victory from another's paws.

Which made Alfyn more determined to win.

Not that he loved Bellamy, of course. She was a beautiful girl and all, but she would expect much of him - too much. Still, he had a kingdom to support, and a brother as well. Perhaps Alfyn was not Bellamy's type because he put duty over his heart. Perhaps. He did not know.

"Now then, let the competition begin!" Alfyn stood up straight as he heard the hedgehog announcer's voice. "May the winner have a happy marriage!"

Sverker smirked at Harald as he looked angry enough to snap his bow in half. Another miss. Three shots his brother had let loose, and one hit the mark, barely clipping the side of the target.

Prancing around enraged was one of Harald's pastimes. Sverker could only hope that he doesn't turn his anger towards Meraholmer - the peace negotiations are not going to end in an eternal calm, even if Harald doesn't get the island lordship from King Thordan's control.

It was not looking good for Sverker as well. Galen had effortlessly put three arrows within the inner ring, and Alfyn Stalwart followed suit. But the highlight was on Dirk, who secured a shot to the bulls-eye.

Sverker himself was gestured forth, as the last of the thirteen. Normally, the champion would have gone last, but Sverker himself let Dirk go before him. The fact that Harald would have to wait until the second last place helped.

"And for the last archer, Sverker Crestworth!" The hedgehog was too lively for Sverker's tastes, but the otterlord stepped forward as he should. Picking up the bow, Sverker carefully affixed the arrow, only to fumble and drop it.

He could hear Harald smirk.

The otterlord hastily picked it up, his face burning with shame. With even more haste, he lined up the shot, and let loose - only for the arrow to soar above the target.

The otter took a very deep breath, then grabbed another arrow. He closed his eyes, and let the shaft fly, closing both eyes as it left the bow. A 'thunk' was needed to tell him that it had hit its mark from his mere luck. He opened his eyes, and sighed in relief. It had just barely clipped the outer ring.

What would Father do? No. What would Niels do?

Within a mere second, he knew the answer to his own question. He would be calm, as cold as ice. Let his emotions be burnt away.

He didn't even feel himself picking up the arrow, lining it up to the ventre, and loosing it.

Thus, when finally opened his eyes and found out the arrow had hit the middle ring, he spared himself a smile.

Haakon took a breath of wonder as he saw Alfyn Stalwart's javelin fly across the stadium, landing itself right across the stadium, poking slightly further than Galen's shaft, though Dirk was able to put his ahead of all others.

Unlike the little bout of archery, every contestant gets a single chance to throw - which raises the stakes by quite a lot. And this just happened to be the part where Haakon was unprepared - the part where accuracy mattered not was irksome, to say the least.

The otterlord's name was called, and Haakon stepped up, wasting no time in grabbing the javelin from the container holding them. Taking care to heft them in one paw, Haakon bolted, pulling the final paw-motion off a bit too early, and just stood there with his mouth agape as the stick landed a few feet away from the others.

He was to be last in this struggle if he did not happen to swim fast enough.

For Bellamy, watching in the stands is a horrible thing. The tension was crackling in the air, and both of her champions, official or not, were solidly in the lead. Alfyn was as well, and somehow Sverker Crestworth was not in last place.

The suitors (and the champion) were not to swim a slight distance, and Bellamy felt fortunate that she could have full control over the events. Swimming would drag down Alfyn's huge and cumbersome body, and somebeast more lightly built would triumph. Bellamy could only hope that somebeast will be to her liking.

"You were wise to pick this event." Lorcan Stalwart complimented. Her father was a fool to invite him to sit next to him - a gesture of respect or intimidation. She could not tell. Now, all the two males did were talk about Alfyn, Bellamy and the tournament's end results. Lord Becker was protecting his legacy, yes, but he could have done so without compromising her happiness.

"She's not stupid, you know." Becker smiled faintly. Since the fighting was over, he had never openly laughed, but he desperately clung on to his smile. It, alongside his daughter and his duty, was amongst the only things he held dear left to him.

"I know that." Lorcan dipped his head in thought. The otters below were preparing to enter the water, diving in one by one. "I don't know who will emerge victorious - not at all."

"That is fully and completely normal, Lord Stalwart." Bellamy could hardly hold in her sarcasm. "I do suppose it is not called a competition for nothing."

"Bellamy." A stern word came from her father's mouth. "Now is not the time to pick a fight."

"I understand, father." The ottermaid nodded. Now was no time to antagonise anyone. "So who had you placed your bets on?"

"I still think my brother will probably be victorious," Lorcan said, blunt as always. "He has been preparing for this for quite some time."

"Don't be so certain, Lord Stalwart." Becker said. "This is a tournament, so anything could happen here."

Lorcan sighed. "You should have stuck to your original plan and got Parma on your side."

"Original plan?" Bellamy asked, stunned. It did not take long until Lorcan's countenance revealed that he said something he should not have.

"I did not use it for a reason, Bells." Becker's voice was rougher than usual.

"To be honest, I am very much curious." Bellamy put a paw upon her chin. "It surely is not that important, is it?"

Becker put his paw up to his face. "It was a bad plan."

"Now I really want to know."

Becker took a deep breath. "My original idea was to marry you to King Niels across the sea."

Bellamy sat still for a few moments before she opened her mouth. "That- that's not too bad. Better than Alfyn. Why did you scrap it?"

"At first I considered. You would make for a good - a great queen, Bells. I never doubted you. His terms were good to - your second born heir will keep the Swalestrom name, and the dowry was not anything significant." Lord Becker sighed. "Then I thought of your mother. What would she think if I married you to an otter twice your age? Then your three brothers…"

"Everything will be fine, Father. All is well. Mother and Garrion and Godred and Bedric will not be happy that you're still mourning. They would want you to smile, and enjoy the tournament."

Wiping off a stray tear or two, Becker forced a smile. "They would. They would indeed."

"I am sure they would." Lorcan added. "I may have never known my parents, but they would have liked to see me happy. The same would apply to you, Lady Bellamy. It is a good thing for you to love your father, marriage or not."

"Thank you." For once, Bellamy offered some semblance of feelings to Lord Lorcan. Why couldn't he be born second? Why had he married, and not his brother?

"Hey look!" Becker pointed a claw at the water. "One of them has climbed out!"

Bellamy squinted, and saw the semblance of an otter emerging from the pool. It was not Alfyn - the figure was too small for him to be a Stalwart.

Sverker Crestworth emerged triumphant, and if he was like the way Bellamy knew him, with a smile on his face.

Four beasts remained, and Dirk was one of them.

Alfyn Stalwart was another. The tall otter had performed well in all three tasks beforepaw, though he had won out in neither of them, it was enough to see him enter the round in which he specialised in - combat. Being the hulking brute that he was, Dirk should have a hard time facing him.

On the other paw, the other contestants did not need to fight for Dirk to know the victor. Sverker Crestworth was not the fittest of fighters, and Galen would see himself pull through without a shadow of a doubt. Bellamy's original betrothed has little chance of gaining her paw.

The champion took to the right side of the ring, while the suitor moved towards the left. The rules were simple - no weapons, no biting or unsheathed claws, no throwing dirt and no attacking of the groin area. The hedgehog also took great pains to announce that even the slightest body part outside the thirty-pace circle shall result in disqualification, and a beast who was unresponsive after ten seconds as well.

Alfyn gave a quick bow, and Dirk saw fit to follow suit. A Trielian's courtesy is not that easily granted, and Dirk thought for a single moment that this one is not so bad. At least he seems to be better than the others.

"Begin!" the hedgehog's paws flapped by his sides, like a beast doing a poor impression of a bird soaring through the skies.

Alfyn moved quickly, charging right into Dirk, fist held up high into the air. But the smaller otter quickly spun away, clipping Alfyn's leg in the process. Undaunted, the otterlord spun around and solidly planted a punch into thin air, Dirk having sped away in the meantime.

The larger otter panted for a split second, and charged right into the fray once more, fist slamming into Dirk's guard as the lithe otter let go. Alfyn's paw pursued - and he immediately lost his balance.

Sensing the opportunity, Dirk swung at Alfyn's face. The otter, taller he might have been, had no chance of blocking the blow, so his muzzle swerved to the right - and connected with the lowborn's fist with a sickening crunch.

Alfyn took a deep breath and steadied himself, only to find that a foot of his was outside the circle. The force of Dirk's blow made him stagger back, and one little loss of balance was enough to tip the scales.

Turning around, Dirk saw Galen and Galen alone standing in the ring. A little turn of the shoulder was enough to observe Sverker being carried away on a stretcher.

The final match commences now, and he had to fight his friend.

"Next!" the hedgehog shouted again, the crowd falling into silence. "Next, we have Galen Snowpath against Dirk Tillwaters, the maiden's champion!"

Galen calmly walked up to the ring as Dirk approached from the other side. He was tired now, Galen was sure of it. Alfyn Stalwart must have given him a tough fight, and his aggressive style did not help matters. Galen, on the other paw, was mostly fresh.

"Now, let it begin!"

"Without any sound, Dirk surged forth, wheeling forward and kicking, only for Galen's paw to block his attempted assault on his side. Still, the elder otter was not attacking - not yet.

Dirk spun back and rebalanced himself, and slammed into his friend's guard once more. This time, Galen could not say that he was unprepared - he had used both paws to stop that blow instead of one. He dared not think about the consequences of a broken defence.

Dirk wheeled backwards again as Galen went into another defensive position. The two otters looked into each other's eyes before Dirk moved.

But this time, he was not the only one.

As Dirk charged forward, he realised too late that Galen was doing the same. The defence was a ruse. Before the Swordbeast could react, Galen's elbow had slammed into his muzzle, and a punch followed. Keeping his balance after that was not a possibility, and soon he was on the ground, the entire left side of his body across the border.

Galen had won, and he knew what to do next.

Sprinting towards the box holding the Swalestroms (alongside one otter Galen had never met), Galen Snowpath knelt.

"Lady Bellamy Swalestrom, I thank you for your patience, wisdom and bravery in the face of danger. You are a pillar of strength and dedication to the beasts close to you, and I am fortunate to be included. You demand nothing of me, but I am indebted to you for your affection which you had given to me. There is much I desire to tell you, though I cannot do so without it sounding false and hollow. I may not give you what you want every single day, but I will give you happiness. Bellamy, could you please marry me?"

Deliberation was in the ottermaid's eyes, while the two next to her were confused - they had not foreseen it. Galen had won the tournament, and he was not the champion - Bellamy had to marry him.

But Galen believed in choices, and he would offer them.

Bellamy slowly rose up from her seat, as elegant as any lady could. Then she smiled.

"Yes. Yes I would."

Chapter 47 (Calling) will be up on 23/24 February!