The One That Got Away

THE TRIAL

Layla and Xander spent a few more days alone in the cabin, engaging in activities of the adult kind. After that much-needed break, they decided it was time to head back to the castle, first and foremost to share the good news and their happiness with their friends and, last but not least, to bring Livia to justice.

Riding a horse was a whole new experience for Layla. It was rather uncomfortable but she could understand now, why the cliché of the knight upon a stallion had remained a cliché that haunted every young girl's dreams over the centuries and in all universes. Even so, she couldn't avoid the guilt that crept in her gut for making the animal carry them both on his back all the way to Anetha.

When they laid eyes upon the walls of the city, a bittersweet excitement overwhelmed Layla. That was her homeland now. The new reality, more palpable now that she was back here, brought mixed feelings to her heart. She would never see her parents again, who would spend the rest of their lives mourning the loss of their only child, unaware of the unbelievable but comforting truth. Lucas and Sofia would spend their first days as newlyweds drowning in guilt, thinking their revelations upset her so much, they resulted in her death. It was true, but it was also true that thanks to them, she found the love of her life again and they would never know how thankful she was.

Then, it was all the little things. The movies she would never see. Her car she wouldn't drive again. All the places she dreamed of traveling, now lost to her. All the fancy restaurants and cozy bars she wanted to go to when she could afford it. The magic world of the internet, filled with knowledge and information and books and music.

But who needs movies when they are the protagonists of their own living, breathing movie? And all the places lost to her were replaced by new ones, packed with lush greenery, unpolluted star-filled skies, and medieval cities that could put the best-preserved places of Europe to shame. Who needs a fancy restaurant when they can eat at the most charming pub, where the food, free of all chemicals and toxins just tastes heavenly? Who needs the magic world of the internet, when they live in a magic world? Where solas stones light up the night and witches live in the woods? Where birds talk and fairies exist?

As they started straddling through the cobbled streets of Anetha gathering looks of awe, admiration, and shock along the way, the man behind her, planted a soft kiss on her cheek.

Who needs anything else when they have that?

Her heart rate sped up when they passed the castle's gates. Xander halted the horse and climbed down. As he raised his arms to help her descend, Layla saw with the corner of her eye people storming outside of the keep to greet them. Cries of shock and cheers of excitement reached her, as she spotted Sofia, Margaret, Christoph, and others, soldiers or maids she didn't know their names, running towards them. The king and the malicious serpent were nowhere to be seen. Yet.

Margaret and Sofia threw themselves in her arms with such force and speed, she almost lost her balance. As she was drowning in their hugs and kisses, she managed to glimpse at Xander who suffered a similar onslaught from his best friend and a few others of his soldiers, clearly happy and relieved their commander had returned.

"The king?" said Xander looking at Sofia.

She laughed. "His pride is deeply hurt. It is safe to say you should expect some kind of retaliation."

Xander snorted. "Retaliation? Let's see what he has to say when Layla describes to him how his beloved Lady of the Court sent her to die at the hands of a black witch."

Everybody's mouths dropped to the ground. Margaret's face turned red.

"I will kill that evil woman, even if 'tis the last thing I do!" She started marching towards the entrance.