So be it!

"So be it," you tell him.

"Then name your champion, and let him choose the means by which I shall take his life!"

You turn about, looking first to Sir Magnus; he would be the natural choice, as he is the most formidable swordsman in all Elyssia. Katyana told you not to say a name... but it's impossible to see how you might delay the matter any further!

"I am waiting, Coward-King," Velimir says.

"I will stand for you, Sire," Navarre whispers quietly.

"As will I," Trina says.

Magnus spurs his horse slightly, and the huge animal trots forward, stopping a short distance away. He slides off its back...

And from behind him emerges a slim, blonde woman who you last saw sobbing in her dungeon cell... but her eyes now blaze with barely-contained fury as they behold the black-armored man before her. "I will champion King Xavier," she says.

Velimir's mouth actually drops open with shock. "You!" he whispers.

"We duel with hunting bows," says Liesel von Ingolstadt, Princess of Bavaria, Vixen of the Elyssian woods. "We will each take a bow and quiver, and at a distance of twenty yards, we loose our arrows until none are left... or until one of us is dead."

"This is madness!" Velimir cries.

Suddenly, faster than the eye can follow, Liesel whips an arrow from her quiver, nocks it against her bowstring, draws and fires. The missile slices through the air past Velimir to strike its target behind him. Velimir's archer drops his own bow to the ground, clutching at his hand.

All around, you hear the murmuring which started when Liesel revealed herself grow louder, as people begin to understand both who and what she is... the legendary Vixen, there in the flesh.

"That man has lost a finger," Liesel says calmly. "The next of your men who attempts to pull back his bowstring will lose his life, and yours will follow, Warlord. Sir Magnus carries two hunting bows - choose your weapon, and I shall take the other. I also have eleven arrows remaining. You may take ten of them... I need only one."

"Princess Liesel von Ingolstadt shall be my champion, Lord Velimir," you say to him, "and of course, I will abide by your terms if she should miss her shot."

"She has missed before," Velimir says, though his voice carries none of true conviction it did a moment ago.

"My arrow did not miss," she counters. "King Xavier stepped in front of it. If you believe that any one of your men will be willing to sacrifice his own life for yours, then perhaps you have nothing to fear."

Velimir turns back to Katyana. "Is that what this is about?" he asks her quietly. "You cling to him because he took an arrow for you?"

"Challenge has been made and accepted!" Liesel insists. "The time for talk is done! Choose your bow or stand down, Warlord!"

For just a moment, Velimir looks as though he means to step forward... and then, almost casually, he returns his sword to its scabbard. "I came here to face a King, not a little girl," he says. "Katyana is no longer my blood; I wash my hands of her."

The Warlord shows his back, returns to his horse, and mounts to ride away.

"Warlord!" Liesel shouts after him. "Do not think that we are done here! I am Liesel von Ingolstadt, daughter of Luther and Seraphina, both murdered by your hand... but it is the Vixen who will take her vengeance. For the sake of the King who offered compassion, and for Lady Katyana who offered forgiveness, I have today given you the chance of an honorable ****. I will make no such offer again! I am coming for you, Velimir of Reznik... and you will never know which tree I hide behind, what dark corner from which I might emerge, or which passing commoner hides my face beneath her hood. Neither shield nor armor nor watchful guardsmen will protect you. The last sound you hear in this world will be the shot from my bow which pierces your flesh; and the first sound you hear in the next world will be your own screams as you burn in eternal Hellfire. I have spoken!"

Velimir of Reznik hesitates only for a moment, turns his head back to look at you, Katyana, and the others gathered about you. "Truly," he says, "we are not done here."

Then, he gestures with his hand, and he and his men charge back into the woods from whence they came.

A great cheer goes up from the wedding guests behind you, echoed in the further distance as you people and the visitors to the festival understand that a great victory has been won, but unfortunately you cannot share in the revelry. "Sanjay, quickly!" you call out as you run toward the place where Duncan has fallen. Carefully, you turn the old man over, and his lips let out a rasping breath.

"S-sire..." he whispers. The damage to the side of his face is sickening to behold; the blow landed upon his right eye, and it is clear from his injuries that he will never see anything through it again. The skull itself seems partially crushed as well.

"Hold fast to life, Duncan!" you say to him. "Help is coming."

"****... comes to us all..." he strains.

"But you will not die this day," you tell him. "By order of the King, you shall live, Duncan! See to it at once!"

"Yes... Sire..."

"Forgive me Sire, I must work without interference," Sanjay says as he reaches Duncan's side. "Please, send me two strong men with a flat board both long and wide enough to hold Lord Duncan, I will need to take him back to the castle."

"Will Lord Duncan see another sunrise?" Katyana asks, tears dropping down both cheeks.

"He may," Sanjay says. "That is all I can say for now."

You lead Katyana away, and Master Sanjay begins work with the potions and tools which he carries with him at all times. "Duncan is strong for his age," you say to her. "He will be all right."

"All of my plan worked exactly as I had hoped... save for this," she says. "I thought I had prepared for everything, but it never occurred to me that Lord Duncan of all people might try to take matters into his own hands!"

"It should have occurred to me," you say. "Duncan has always tried to protect me from the challenges he did not feel I was ready for... the man who you no longer recognize as your father is gone, but a man I should have recognized as my own father, in name if not in blood, has paid the price. And though it twists my heart to say it... the price was worth it, if it saves Elyssia."

It is near midnight when you step to the balcony overlooking the city square, where hundreds of people await among lit torches.

"My people!" you shout out to them. "You wait to hear word of the First Advisor's fate! I tell you now with great gladness in my heart, Lord Duncan will live!"

A cheer erupts from the people in the square, and you try to show the good spirits which you claim to feel as you wave to them. That Duncan will survive is certainly news to be grateful for, but it remains to be seen what quality he may enjoy in his life. A blow to the head can cause damage to the mind in unpredictable ways, you know this - and though Master Sanjay seems optimistic in that Duncan recognized you and spoke lucidly on the field after it had happened, there is still some question about whether all of his wits have survived along with him. You know better than anyone how terrible it would be for one such as Duncan to lose a part of his mind; it is all that makes him who he is.

You had more to say, but instead you indicate that Magnus should tell the people to return to their homes; now does not seem the time for it. Instead, you return to the castle, and to your parlor, where you find Katyana waiting. Of course... this is also her parlor, now.

"Our wedding was interrupted before it could be quite finished," she says without preamble. "You have yet to kiss your bride, Xavier."

"Yes, that is true," you say with a nod, approaching her slowly, but she puts up a hand.

"Xavier, the purpose which was to be served by our marriage is fulfilled," she says. "My father... he who was my father is essentially defeated. He has been humiliated in front of his most trusted captains, **** to retreat from a slender young girl with a bow and arrow. You, who rule through love and compassion, could survive such a setback if it came to it; indeed, your people would simply assume that you did not wish to do harm to one such as Princess Liesel. But to the Warlord, who rules through fear, it is a mortal blow. Word of what happened here today will spread like a wildfire through his camps, through all of his men down to the lowliest squire; and to the last of them, he will lose their respect. I have little doubt that he will survive, but he will only be able to save his life; his power is forfeit. With all the enemies he has made, his only chance to live will be to go into distant exile, into the southern continent or the lands of the Arabs, perhaps even further. Princess Liesel will return to Bavaria and she will find many who rally to her cause, allowing her to resume her rightful place and become Queen. She need not hunt down my father as she promised; the threat alone, unanswered, was enough to destroy him. And if she does choose to do so... it was a condition of the agreement I made with her that I would as soon not know about it."

"Your plan was both brilliant and compassionate, Katyana," you tell her, "and most effective. I know that your father will suffer for it, but much greater suffering will not come to pass, because of you. Elyssia will know that their new Queen has saved them all, I promise you."

"I am not the Queen," she says softly. "As I have said, the wedding was interrupted. I have told you how I feel about you, Xavier... that has not changed, and never will. But I do not wish to be someone you settle for, nor do I want you to feel that you are bound by honor to follow through on a marriage which is no longer necessary to save your kingdom. I will release you from your vows, return this ring, and... leave you to find love with another, if that is what you will."

After a moment, you turn and walk to the window, where the light from the Moon illuminates the city and the valley below... your Kingdom, which you know now will live to see another day, and another after that, and surely many more to come. Katyana comes up and touches your arm, a puzzled look in her eyes.

"Xavier?" she says, her voice trembling slightly.

You turn to look at her, smiling, and then take her in your arms. "I am looking out at the world," you tell her, "because I want to be sure that I remember everything I can about this moment... every last detail."

And then you kiss her.