Berserker who doesn't remember what happened last night or how that fire got started.
Lunaeris sat bolt upright with a start.
"Where am I, where's that FUCKER-"
"Relax Lunaeris, you're safe." Her paladin said. "You blacked out. Mana exhaustion. Do you remember?"
Lunaeris tried to calm her breathing as she looked around the room. She was back in the healer's ward, someone must have brought her there after-
She held a hand to her head. Her recollection was foggy, but-
"The demon king." She croaked, her voice hoarse. "He's here, we-"
"I know."
"You know?"
Kallixenia cleared her throat.
"Your father was here, he relayed... his version, of events."
Lunaeris huffed.
"I know. But I assume from what he told me that the demon king is here posing as the hero of prophecy?"
"Yes." Lunaeris said, nodding and getting out of her bed.
"And you... melted the throne room?" The knight asked, hesitantly.
Lunaeris swallowed. "I... vaguely recall... melting some of the floor, yes."
"You scared his majesty quite a bit. I understand he has some harsh words for your teacher."
She shrugged.
"I was distraught. You know me, I'm emotional." She said, a mocking emphasis on the final word. "We need to do something, help me plan."
"We don't need a plan. I'm dueling him tomorrow." Kallixenia said, and Lunaeris spun on her before she could elaborate.
"No you fucking aren't, Kallie." She hissed.
"I am. It was the king's idea-"
"Oh, OH-" Lunaeris threw her hands in the air. "We're taking ideas from the king now!? He doesn't even-"
"I know."
"-he probably just-"
"He expects me to lose so you'll shut up, yes."
"Aargggh!" The princess growled. "He really said that?"
"Well, not in those exact words, Lunaeris." Kallixenia said sheepishly. "I interpreted."
"Gods damn it!" Lunaeris cursed. "And so what, your plan is just to win?"
"More or less."
"Need I remind you of your own injuries?" She whined.
"I'll be fine, Lunaeris. I've had the best healers in the kingdom attending to me."
Lunaeris groaned. "Not for long enough, you haven't!"
"I'm fine." The paladin insisted. "Just a little sore."
Lunaeris opened her mouth to protest, and then closed it and her eyes. She exhaled slowly through her nose.
"Fine" She sighed, opening her eyes. She dipped down to kiss her knight, and then walked away. "You rest up for your big fight, you wonderful oaf. But I'm making backup plans."
Kallixenia moved to get out of her bed.
"Ah! Nuh-uh! You want to have your idiotic duel, you fucking rest." Lunaeris said, jutting a finger at her. "But be warned, if I feel the need to intervene I don't want to hear any moaning about honour."
"By all means my beloved, cheat to your hearts content." Kallixenia said, raising her hands in surrender and laying her head back down on her pillow.
Lunaeris was tired, and grumpy, and had no new plans as she sat with her father to watch the duel.
Well, she had one plan, if you could call "burn the son of a bitch to ash if he comes anywhere near you" a plan. At least being tired and grumpy would fuel that.
A small crowd of spectators had gathered in the stands to watch the duel. It was mostly members of the royal guard, but the sage she had spoken to months ago had also come to see how his prophecy would play out.
"Hello your highness. Princess." He said, bowing to them both.
Lunaeris grunted.
"Hello, esteemed sage." The king said. "Don't mind my daughter, she's still taking things quite hard."
"Ah, no need to worry." The sage said, sitting next to her father. "The threads of fate can wind in the most vexing ways. Even I get nervous sometimes, wondering how things will come to pass."
Oh, she was vexed alright. Stupid fucking prophecy.
Kallixenia loomed over the demon king, her suit of armor making her look much more invulnerable than she felt.
The healers had focused their efforts on the immediate threats to her life. Heart, lungs, stitched back together as if nothing had happened. But the muscle had received less attention. Training that morning she had been unable to balance her wings, and blows to her shield reverberated through her arm and into her scar.
She wasn't at her best, but what else could she do? They were out of time. If the prophecy held true, she would succeed.
"I must say, I'd hoped to avoid fighting you." The demon said, not loud enough for any of the spectators to hear. "Would've been much easier if you just went for my advances."
"Advances?" Kallixenia asked, as the duel began and the two slowly circled each other.
"Yes, I was the handmaiden, remember?" The demon said, testing her with an easily evaded thrust.
"I recall." Kallixenia answered, rushing in to slash at him. He evaded, dancing to her weak side. In peak condition she would have been able to twist to follow him with a wingbeat, but she lagged behind.
"And I kept flirting with you, and you never went for it." The demon said, kicking her shield and sending a jolt of pain through her back muscles.
"That I do not recall. We spoke, a few times." She flapped her wings, creating distance between them. The finer maneuvers were shot, but she could still move, if a touch skewed.
"C'mon, I was practically throwing myself at you!" He said, closing in on her weak side in a circle. "You didn't even notice?"
"Nope." She said, smirking under her helmet as she kept pivoting to face him. "Only have eyes for the princess. You understand."
"Ugh, so much fuss over one insignificant elf. She's barely worth using as a stepping stone to my ascension." He said, coming in for another stab that Kallixenia deflected with her own blade. "I'd have given up on her ages ago, but ~prophecies~."
"Believe me," Kallixenia said, slashing at him from her right before flapping her good wing to shift into a spin from the left, catching the demon off guard and nicking him as he reacted just slightly too slow. "We're not happy about it either."
"Ooh, good hit." The sage said.
"Very stylish." Agreed the king.
Lunaeris couldn't agree. She had seen Kallie fight, this wasn't close to how she should be performing. She was ahead now, but her shield arm was only going to get worse as old wounds reopened. Her left wing seemed sluggish too, it was throwing her off.
She had to do something, but what?
It was so incredibly frustrating. All the puzzle pieces were here; The princess, the hero, the sword, the demon, she just didn't know how to put them together.
The demon king sheared off the tip of Kallixenia's bad wing with an overhead slash. She should have been able to dodge that. She fucking knew this was a bad idea.
"Wow, look at it start to regenerate." Cooed the king. "Those paladins are really something."
"And what an impressive strike!" The sage said. "I dare say the princess will be in good hands regardless of who wins."
Lunaeris grumbled.
If only she had any good ideas to intervene with.
"You know, you can give up at any time." The demon king taunted, landing another kick to the paladin's shield. "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to sap all that divine power out of you, but I don't need to. Just the princess."
Kallixenia gritted her teeth, her torn muscle screaming at her with every hit her shield took. "I truly cannot." She hissed, tossing it aside.
"Ooh! Who needs to block, I like it!" He said, the two of them clashing blades.
Healthy or not, she was a giant. She gripped high on her blade with her gauntleted offhand and just pushed the demon over, forcing through his guard by sheer mass alone. She followed up with a slash that cut deep into his left shoulder as he tried to roll away.
He grunted as he sprang back to his feet. "Well, now both of us have a fucked arm. I hope you're happy."
"I've had worse days." She said.
"Well, I can fix that." The demon sneered, and with a snap of his fingers her wings were engulfed in flames.
Lunaeris' heart ached as her knight cried out in pain. She had to do something, but what?
"Oh! I didn't know he was a mage!" The sage said.
"Perhaps he can teach you to better control your pyromancy, Lunaeris? Have something in common?" The king suggested.
Lunaeris felt bile rise in her throat.
"I would rather die." She said flatly.
"Oh my!" Said the sage, eyes wide.
"Lunaeris..." The king grumbled.
"What did he do?" The sage asked.
"Nothing." Her father said, confident in his ignorance. "She just doesn't want to get married."
This conversation was going nowhere. What was she missing? Was this not her moment of need? Did she need to be in danger somehow? But she couldn't be in danger while Kallixenia still kept her oath. So what could count as her moment of need?
Kallixenia's breath was ragged. She didn't need wings. She didn't need a shield. She had faith. Not only in her gods, but in Lunaeris. She had made her a hero, she would succeed in her duty.
But she was losing steam. She was strong, her armor sturdy, but she couldn't keep up with the demon anymore. He danced around her, evading her blows with ease and striking back past her guard.
His blade didn't make it through her armor, but he would strike true eventually. This called for a new strategy.
The demon king lunged at her, and instead of dodging she moved into his attack, dropping her sword and grabbing his arm as his blade pierced her abdomen.
The hero didn't need to use the sword, only have it. When all else failed she was still very big. She brought him to the ground and braced her arm against his neck, putting her weight on him.
He writhed on the ground, struggling for air. Twisted and contorted his body until he could brace his foot against her bad shoulder and kick with all his might.
She sucked in a breath as pain shot through her and her vision went hazy. She just had to hold out and he would suffocate, he wasn't strong enough to push her off.
Another kick, this one accompanied with a searing blast of heat.
It hurt, it hurt so much, but all she had to do was bear it a little longer.
Another fiery kick, and her arm buckled. She fell beside the demon and he crawled away, wheezing.
She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. Everything was pain, hot and wet as blood oozed from her abdomen and her reopened stab wound.
This was it. She had failed Lunaeris again. She would die for her, for real this time. She could hear the demon struggling to his feet behind her.
She pried her helmet off and spat blood on the dirt, it wouldn't do her any good now anyway.
At least Lunaeris would be okay. The real hero would show up, and save her, and maybe even make her happy eventually.
It was okay.
This was her duty.
Lunaeris paced, at her wit's end. She was missing something, she had to be missing something. She refused to accept that Kallixenia wasn't the hero, something about the situation had to be wrong, but what?
"Now, your highness, I don't mean to be rude." The sage said. "But that seems an excessive response for just not wanting to marry."
Ugh, these two were still talking? She was trying to think, for fuck's sake.
"I know." Said the king, shrugging. "But it's true. You know I try to be accommodating, I'm willing to put up with her scaring away suitors, but this is a matter of destiny."
Fuck destiny honestly, putting her in this situation in the first place. Making her watch her beloved knight get hurt because she hadn't figured the puzzle out in time. Kallie had wrestled the demon to the ground now, but things were looking desperate.
"Oh, Princess, if that's all you're worried about it's truly not so bad!" The sage said.
She was actually worried about the scene unfolding in front of her, but sure. Not so bad.
"You don't have to marry one of them right away you know, you could do it in a year, or in ten years-"
For the love of the gods this wasn't important right now, even if he wasn't the fucking demon king here to kill her.
"Hell, you could marry one right now if you liked, the time doesn't matter at all."
...
"What?" Lunaeris hissed.
"The time doesn't matter, you can marry the hero whenever you feel ready!"
"Don't bother, she'll never be happy with it, just leave her be." Her father said, because he was an ass.
"What do you mean I can marry them right now?" Lunaeris asked, brow furrowed. "The prophecy says-"
"The prophecy says they'll slay the demon king and marry you, it implies the marriage is afterwards-"
"-but doesn't explicitly state it, son of a BITCH-" Lunaeris exclaimed, climbing up on the railing of the stands.
"KALLIXENIA, PALADIN OF THE SEVENTH MONASTERY!"
Kallixenia looked up towards the stands, her vision blurry. Lunaeris was perched on the edge of them, calling out to her.
"DO YOU TAKE ME TO BE YOUR WIFE?"
Kallixenia smiled.
"Of course, Princess." She croaked out, as loudly as she could.
"THEN BY ROYAL DECREE, I DECLARE US WED!"
It was a good effort, to the end. It didn't work, Kallixenia's body still felt just as weak.
But her heart was full.
She passed out, smile still on her lips.
Lunaeris couldn't actually hear Kallie's reply. Whatever. It would work. It had to.
"THEN BY ROYAL DECREE, I DECLARE US WED!" She yelled.
It was so obvious now, it was so painfully fucking obvious. Fucking vague-ass prophecies.
She reached into the aether. She hated doing this, it made her stomach turn, but there were bigger things to worry about. She focused, and in the blink of an eye she was in the arena next to Kallie. With shaking hands, she lifted her wife's sword and faced the demon king.
"Long live Kallixenia, Princess of Elves."
