The hunting festival

On the next day. On the hunting festival.

"Ladys and Gentlman, the royal princess Ruby Lunasol!" A man shouted into a horn that spread his words all across the people who were present at the hunting festival.

Ruby stepped on a slightly elevated stage. She wore a blue dress that was bestoned with white jewels. Her hair hangs in a braid over her shoulder.

"I welcome everyone to the hunting festival on the first day of our beautiful one-week ceremony. I hope that you enjoy it, and today I have some special guests with me. Sir Amon Halon, together with his wife Roxanne Halon."

Ruby pointed with her hand at the two of them, who stood in a luxurious tent not so far from her own. The two of them bow down, and Ruby continues,

"The contest will start in 45 minutes. For the men who want to participate in it, please be ready in time with your preferred weapon and armor."

Ruby gets a huge applause and walks down from her little stage.

After Ruby's performance, Amon and Roxanne sit in their tent.

"I have to make myself ready. Roxanne, take care of yourself and enjoy your time here." Amon said this while leaving the tent. Roxanne nodded one last time and then, five minutes later, walked out of the tent. She wants to spend time doing something else; she was bored when Amon was not around her. She knew nobody was here, and then she saw how Ruby waved for her to come to her and talk to her. She was not a noble, but she knew all their secret codes or signs.

She walked towards her and curtsied.

"Lady Roxanne I wanted to talk to you together with these ladies." Ruby pointed at a few noble ladies. The first wore a red dress, the second a blue dress, and the third a green dress.

Roxanne curtsied again, and the three women returned that gesture. But the three women were not the ones who caught her attention; the one who caught her attention was a woman with an oriental look who had a kantana on her waist and wore a samurai kimono. She had black hair, and her body trait was not really very visible. But Roxanne thought that it was probably the eyes of the woman; her ires were divided into two different collors. There were two circles: the inner ring was yellow, and the second outer ring was green.

But Roxanne looked away and switched her attention back to the three laydies and Ruby when she saw that the woman with the samurai kimono caught her attention.

"Lady Halon, you are the wife of Sir Amon, right?" The woman with the blue dress asked.

Yes, he is. I inherited his family name after our wedding. I really love this last name."

Roxanne had a beautiful smile on her face, and Ruby could no longer wonder why Amon fell for her. A woman with such a beautiful smile—there are no men out here who would not fall for her.

"Oh, then what was your family name before?" The woman with the red dress asked with glowing eyes.

"You don't need to know that. It is not important anymore."

'And you would probably hunt me at this festival if I told you.'

---

5 minutes before the hunting contest starts.

Amon sat on a brown horse, ready like he had never been before in his life, and slowly walked together with the other ones in a line.

"Oh, what are this suit, that suit, and that coat your husband is wearing?" Ruby pointed at Amon with her eyes full of curiosity.

"It is the official uniform of the guildmaster of Spellbander. It got torn apart, which is why he could not wear it during the New Year's event. But he always wears it when he is fighting."

Roxanne was so happy that she could no longer hold herself back. When she saw the black coat with the sharp fether of a demon and the fether of an angel on the back of the coat, she thought about the time when he made the first of these coats himself. He learned to sew for months just for this and remembers how happy he looked when he did it himself, and this coat still exists today.

"Lady Roxanne, may I ask you a question about what managed to tear this coat apart? It is an item of its own and should not get damaged that badly. I fear whatever did that."

Ruby felt a shiver down her spine when she thought about a monster who could have done this.

"It was Cedric. The tenth coat of arms." Roxanne held back from grinning while saying that.

"They sparred, and there it happened. It is common for the coats of arms to train with each other, and so my husband does it."

Now it was out—her creepy smile, a smile for which she was known. It was a thing about the two blessed witches. If she smiles with a face like that. Then you had to be careful what you said, and when the circle in her eyes glowed together with that smile, run for your dear life.

Ruby and the three other women thought that she was angry. However, she wasn't; she was excited. She was happy back then when the two of them fought against each other. Amon had such a happy smile on his face that she wanted to see it again in this contest.

"The hunting contest begins. Ready, set, go!" A man sounded a horn, and in the moment, everybody heard that the men who stood in the line rode proudly and in a rush into the forest.

It almost looked like they were an army going to war together, and they would only come back with the heads of dozens of monsters in order to give them to their love. Amon once again wanted to show Roxanne how much he loved her and that they would be together even if they died.