The celebration was held in the overly opulent ballroom of Florfana’s palace. Even if the king had lost the bet, he seemed determined to show off his wealth. Ruena didn't care either way, so long as he held up his end of the bargain. From what she had seen so far, he would try to find some loophole to wiggle through. Her rescuing the hostages, for instance. It turned out that she wasn’t that far off.

  Even if Ruena couldn’t hear thoughts, she could hear the rush of whispers as soon as she entered the room. From the way they were looking at her, it was clear that whatever rumor was spreading was not a nice one. One glance in Soral’s direction showed that he was glaring right at the king of Florfana. So he was the source after all. Luckily there were those who were bold enough to confront her about them.

  “Is it true that you forced the king of Florfana to make a deal over this match to take all of the protectors for yourself?”

  “The protectors? What am I meant to be doing with them once I have them?” Ruena asked in return.

  “What else? You will have them join your Warriors to make them the strongest force in Althaedor,” the curious noble replied as if the answer was clearly obvious.

  It wasn’t a bad idea in theory, but considering that protectors were controlled by the hostages she was not capable of controlling them. Speaking of the hostages, she really needed to figure out what she could do with them. Sending them back to Florfana would be a terrible mistake. That would put them right back where they started.

  “I certainly won’t stop any who wish to join,” Ruena confirmed, “but my main intention is to set them free. Alodan has always had ties with the Cats and protectors. It pains me to see them suffer, being sold like mere commodities."

  The murmuring around her increased. Whether they believed her or not didn’t really matter, but at least she said her piece. This party was sure to be incredibly annoying. She could already feel the energy Soral had lent her draining away. It wasn’t long until her next challenger arrived, driven by the rumors.

  “Marx,” Ruena greeted, “How can I help you?”

  “Did you really take them?” Marx demanded, “Where are they? Where is my brother?!”

  He grabbed her rather roughly by the shoulders causing her injuries from the earlier battle to sting. Was he still being affected by the catnip or was this a more natural emotional frenzy?

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  “I am not sure who your brother is, but I am sure they are all safe,” Ruena promised, “Would you like to see them once this is over?”

  Her words must have put him at ease at least a little as his grip slowly loosened. “If it is safe,” Marx relented, “What do you intend to do with us now?”

  “Exactly as I stated before,” Ruena replied, “I intend to set the protectors free. You have just as much right to live your lives as anyone else. Whether you choose to live quietly in a village or go to the battlefront to risk your life should be your decision to make, not someone else’s.”

  “And you are certain the one currently holding the hostages feels the same way?” Marx checked.

  “He will agree with whatever I say,” Ruena answered with confidence. Whether it was Soral or either of his cousins they always followed her words well. Her meetings with Mr. Mischief had been a bit overwhelming, but he had never gone against her words before.

  “If you are confident then I will leave it in your hands for now,” Marx relented, “but I expect to be able to see them just as you promised.”

  “Of course,” Ruena promised again.

  Marx finally headed on his way. To her surprise he went to greet Sabre. It seemed like he was not under any threat from the warlord. In fact, they seemed rather close. No wonder Sabre had not been concerned about what would happen if she won. If this was what Marx truly wanted to do, she had no reason to stop him. There were plenty of other foolish ways to get on the bad side of a powerful warlord.

  The mingling came to an immediate close as the announcement of Ruena’s official award ceremony was made. As the one with the most authority present, Densooth would be presenting her with both title and badge belonging to the Weaponsmaster. While Velcorna looked none too pleased with the end result, Ruena couldn’t help but notice how her eyes kept focusing on her injuries. Was that worry in her gaze? No. There was no way that woman would be capable of such a gentle emotion.

  After the ceremony ended, the party continued in earnest. Ruena participated for as long as she could to keep a strong image, but still ended up having to leave before the party came to a close. She got the feeling that it would have never ended at all if she hadn’t left. Now that she was alone she should be planning for the next step, but both her body and mind felt like mush after such a long and intense day. Still, at the very least she should figure out what to do with the hostages before she fell asleep.

  While it was obvious they couldn’t return to Florfana, leaving them in Mr. Mischief’s care was equally as dangerous. Taking them in through Alodan or the Warriors would only intensify the rumors that a certain king had worked so hard to start. She could always leave the choice up to them, but many of them likely wouldn’t know what to do either.

  Leaving their options open was probably for the best. She could think about what to do if they needed a sanctuary later. Soral would probably have some ideas too. Or would it be Mr. Mischief? Since their paths couldn’t cross, Ruena would only be meeting one of them when she went to visit the hostages.