They had failed.
But then, the troll princess stepped closer to her mother and interrupted their argument. “Mother, I don’t mind fighting someone.”
“You have never been trained how to fight. Step down, child.”
“No. Mother, I want to do this. I want to prove to him and his people that I am a worthy woman for this marriage.”
“What?” The Troll Queen tilted her head to the side and eyed her only child up and down. “What are you saying?”
The creature next to her gasped in shock. Elva lifted a hand and pressed it to her mouth to mimic the surprise of the crowd. Were they really so interested in this? The trolls liked to fight. The queen had said that herself. Why would they care if the princess was the same as the rest of them?
Why wouldn’t they have taught her how to fight?
“I’m not a child anymore, Mother,” the troll princess claimed. She gestured for her maid servant, who brought over a wrapped blade.
Elva was certain it was the one she’d given her. The one that would give her so much false hope, have her jump into battle without realizing she was going to lose.
The troll princess unwrapped the sword and turned toward the crowd with it lifted above her head. All around her, trolls erupted into cries of shock and pleasure. The sword of Nuada was finally theirs. The sword that could bring down an army without ever having to fight.
The Troll Queen stepped forward, her brows furrowed and her hands reaching for the sword. “Where did you get that, my daughter?”
“It doesn’t matter! Don’t you see? I don’t mind fighting anyone who wants to challenge me for his hand. It will hardly be a fight.”
This was her moment. All she had to do was make a grand entrance, and then everything would go back to plan. Elva hesitated a brief moment, letting the Troll Queen think.
The royal woman wasn’t a fool. She knew someone had given her daughter that blade, and she likely didn’t think it was for a good reason. The troll queen was a thinker where the rest of her people were creatures of action.
But Elva couldn’t give her any more time to think.
“I’ll fight you!” she called out, stepping from the crowd and letting her cloak drop to the floor. “Gladly.”
She’d worn her own clothing this time. Leather pants, a leather chest plate that would protect her from human warriors, although not likely from a troll. She’d braided her hair back from her face to make sure it didn’t get into her eyes. The sword at her side tapped her thigh as she walked, a reminder that Scáthach was still with her even now.
The troll princess’s eyes found her. The grin that spread across her face was one of someone who was far too confident. “I’ve been waiting to fight you since the first moment you walked into this kingdom.”
Elva strode forward. If she wanted a fight, then she would get one that would rock her world. The princess wasn’t giving her enough credit. But then again, the princess had never tried to find out who she was.
The queen, however, knew exactly who Elva was. She stepped in front of her daughter and shook her head. “Was this your plan all along then, faerie?”
“What plan?” Elva pretended not to know what the troll asked.
“To fight my daughter? To destroy the bloodline of the trolls and insert yourself here in our kingdom?”
Elva smiled. “I don’t want your kingdom. If I left the Seelie King, if I chose not to be his queen, then what makes you think I’d want this pathetic excuse for a kingdom?”
“How dare you?” The Troll Queen stepped forward menacingly. “You’ve outstayed your welcome, Seelie. I’ll remove you myself.”
She reached down at her side and touched the sword. It had proven to be a good blade thus far, although she was a little concerned a human-made weapon wouldn’t be able to slice through troll flesh. Their skin wasn’t just rocklike in appearance, but as hard as stone as well.
The troll queen would be a difficult person to fight. She had years of experience and wasn’t going to let her win. The queen had likely fought in more battles than Elva could imagine. Their people had always been a warring community in the legends, and this queen had been their ruler for centuries.
Just as the queen stepped forward, her daughter lunged and caught her shoulder. “Mother, no! She’s mine.”
“You don’t know how to use that sword.”
“Yes, I do!” The troll princess pointed it at Elva and said, “I want to fight you.”
“Then we will do so as only Seelie Court fights can be done.” Elva tightened her grip on the sword and widened her stance. “No one else will interfere. Once you agree to fight me, once you step foot on the floor here, then it’s just you and me.”
The Troll Queen shook her daughter off. “I forbid it.”
“Mother!” The troll princess started walking down the stairs. “I am not a child anymore. You cannot control me much longer. This is my decision. And I want to fight.”
Only then did the Troll Queen step back. If Elva didn’t know any better, she would think the creature was actually angry. Not worried, not thinking that her daughter might lose, but truly angry that her child would defy her.
What mother wouldn’t care at all that her child was going to die? And she had to know the troll princess was no match for Elva. Which meant she understood the troll princess was taking her own life in her hands and didn’t care other than her child had disagreed with her.
The troll queen sighed and waved in Elva’s direction. “Fine then. Fight her and see what happens. I can’t teach you everything.”
This felt
