Xavier went back to his father, ignoring his unhappy look. The prince shouldn't jump over the tiltyard with a carefree reindeer, the king of the Central Lands thought so, and his son fell off the throne every time someone was in danger. Perhaps it is worth talking to Charles about it again, otherwise he will think after each blow that he has to run and save, and after all, there are five challenges ahead, and it is not over yet...
Everything was ready for the final battle. The prince of the Central Lands was sitting on his needles, he had enough of two victims for today - more than, and here it was necessary to watch the hardest fight ... Young Xavier bit his lip, watching as riders climb into the saddle.
According to King Wade, it was impossible to say that he was wearing armor - all his defense was a suit of dense and well-dressed leather, it seems it would be difficult to break through with a sword and an arrow, but how much defense saved from falling? King Anthony, on the other hand, was wearing his perfect armor, and it seems that they could have saved him from any misfortune, and the more interesting it was for the audience to see the fight of these participants. And the scarier he was for Charles, whose sympathies were on the side of the fiery lord.
They got together for the first time - and Xavier frowned, unable to stand it, he heard only a deaf blow, and when he opened his eyes, King Wade was already lying on the sand. He stood up without much difficulty, allowing the heir to breathe out of the Central Lands. By Stark's pose, it was clear that he already considered himself a winner.
And what was the surprise of King Anthony, when in the second collision, he himself flew out of the saddle from the exact blow to the shield, he just had no chance to stay on the horse - so confidently and aptly got on his defense of the King of the Fiery Lands. Stark fell into the sand with the ringing of armor, of course, and got up instantly, indignant at what had happened, not expecting such a turn of events.
And here they are for the third time on different sides of the barrier... Prince Charles held his breath away, realizing for the first time that right now his fate was beginning to decide where he would go when the Tournament ended. In the prince's head it all looked like a huge scale with seven bowls, and, even if it was impossible, the young Xavier saw quite clearly how easy it was to bend any of them down. And now the first of the six balls prepared for weight in these bowls has stopped.
The stomach of the hooves, a little sandy, the ringing of armor, seemed to reach the prince, they were getting closer, closer and closer, and...
And a metal ball with a ringing fell into the bowl, on which Xavier's mind was depicted erupting volcanoes.
King Wade made a circle on the tiltyard, like Prince Jamie, who had won the first victory here, and then approached the thrones, one of which was already empty - yes, the prince had already risen to his feet, not hiding his smile, holding in his fingers a prize for the first test - a coin with the number of the lord of fire. For each of the stages of the Tournament, seven such coins were created so that the participants could keep their winnings - a symbol of their strength.
- Congratulations, Your Majesty, - Prince Charles felt a blush again on his cheeks, because the King of Fiery Lands not only took the coin but also kissed the fingers of the one who handed it to him. - You won the first test.
***
Every evening in the palace of the King of the Central Lands now turned into a ball - with treats, small talk, and dancing, of course, because seven high-ranking guests simply could not come to the table without their entourage, at least some - exactly. However, Xavier was ready for it, so that the Central Länder received the kings with dignity, good, and had no shortage of anything.
The break between the first and the second test lasted: the two participants of the Tournament had to come to their senses to continue their participation. Prince Eric recovered quickly enough, his injury was uncritical, and the healers of the Central Lands put the northern guest on his feet two days later, but so far he had been forbidden to remain upright without a special support bandage around the neck of the northerner.
Lenscherre's movements were a bit embarrassing, so he couldn't dance, but he was comforted by the fact that Prince Charles also preferred to avoid this kind of entertainment. Young Prince stood almost always on the sidelines, being polite and modest, which was quite surprising for a northerner who was used to thinking of Junior Xavier as a walking volcano that could explode at any time.