“Ha!”, Eccart shouted and his words were dripping with sarcasm. “Are you volunteering yourself, old man? One last venture outside before you’re pushing up the daisies? That must be a lot of fun!”
The high priest responded with a chuckle: “Haha, no laddie, not me! My bones are already cracking, my hands too wrinkled. My face is a map in itself, I have had enough adventures in my life! No, my idea is that EACH one of us selects a suitable companion for our young Angel Elven Queen. It could be a guard, a spy, a ranger, … anyone who can keep up with our Queen and guarantee her safety. Someone with experience in the best case. Someone who is willing to die for her in the worst. But the final decision lies in the hands of dear Crystalline: she will choose her fighter after meeting them all! Any objections?”
“Hahahha! No, not at all!”, Lyanne laughed ecstatically. “What a wonderful idea! We could start a contest: who will be by Crystalline’s side? Whose champion will it be? Ohhh, the people are absolutely going to love this! Great PR indeed!”
Eccart smiled and crossed his big arms. “Finally, an idea that is more to my taste. Be sure that I’ll send you my best man!”
Dimir agreed: “Interesting proposal! My agents have never acted as personal travel companions before! Yet I know that they will do an excellent job… After all, they learnt from their master.”
“Ooohh… that will be expensive!”, Richie lamented and scratched his bald head. “The whole application process, the preparation, the event and the whole journey itself…”
But of course, the one who was happiest of them all, was Crystalline herself. “Yes!”, she giggled and threw her hands up in the air. “I am all in! Let me choose my champion!”
Finally! A journey was awaiting her and she did not have to do it all alone. Not only would she receive support, she would also have the opportunity to get to know someone new. Exciting!
After the initial firework of joy in her heart, Crystalline remembered something: Örlög. Was now the best time to mention it? In front of the whole court?
“Great! So that’s settled!”, the high priest said with a heartfelt smile and looked around in appreciation. “Is there anything you would like to know from me, my Queen? Any questions?” It almost felt as if he had read her mind and knew exactly what Crystalline was thinking about.
“Yes. Can you explain to me what Örlög is, please?”, she asked and hoped that no one noticed the begging in her voice. “I need to understand what happened to me.”
© Miriam Laschenko 2024-06-11