Alenx wasn't in his room for various reasons, so Lasinda got Howard a basic black tunic to wear.
She couldn't help but wonder where he'd gone, and if he'd ever return. Ever since she was a little girl, she had seen him almost every night somewhere in the castle doing some type of activity for her father. He was a hard worker, but she always got the feeling his only mission in life was to marry her and take over the throne.
Several of her sisters liked him, but she knew that Alenx was only interested in her because she was going to inherit the throne someday.
Her father, for various reasons hadn't been able to have male children, and matter how many plants Alenx found for him his luck with fertility didn't change. Instead, he'd had 5 more daughters with three other women before he gave up and decided to make Lasinda the heir to the Great Slavensen Nation.
She sighed and walked back to Howard and walked into her room only to find them laughing on the bed. All her worries went out the window when she saw Howard and her father seemed to have become best friends in the last three minutes.
She immediately blushed and tossed the clothes on the bed before her father put his arm around her and guided her out of the room.
He seemed a tiny bit upset, but she could tell he was mostly happy to have Howard around. After all, in the Great Slavensen Nation, the thing that every father wanted was a strong son-in-law for his daughter. The fact that he was even challenging Howard meant one thing and one thing only, and that was he not only secretly supported their marriage, but was probably going to use the fight to make sure it happened!
"Your father and your little friend here are going to go for a fight. Do you mind telling Alenx to go request me some new armor?" Mernan smiled and patted his daughter on the back. He looked into her eyes and then gazed at her all over. "What… is something wrong? Do you still have a problem with Alenx? Everyone keeps doubting him, but to you realize all he's done for us? Without him, I would've never been able to have those 5 beautiful girls!"
"Father he isn't here." Lasinda shook her head and walked out with her father into the hallway. The golden walls of their palace shimmered with the dazzling light from the moon. She looked a little bit sad and grabbed her father's hand. "However, now that Howard is here, why don't you tell me what you're going to do about the Great Neck Nation? Since you've got your full strength back, are you going to start a fight with them?"
"I just got my strength back. Why would I go all the way there when in two weeks they'll probably come here and make it easy for me to kill their warriors, hahaha!" He leaned down and kissed his daughter on the forehead before Howard walked out in his new attire.
He looked almost strange with the black tunic on. It was actaully quite a fancy outfit, but it was the only thing Lasinda could find that looked loose and comfortable in Alenx' closet.
He was one of those types that only wanted the best of everything, including the best women. His other 5 sisters, she knew, all wanted to date him but he only went after her. Even seeing Howard in his shirt made her somewhat cackle. Howard seemed quite different from Alenx. He looked sort of discontent that she hadn't given him something more casual.
"It will do, but I look like I'm about to go to school," Howard pouted and then punched out, causing the walls around him to somewhat tremble from his fist. He sighed and then spun and kicked a few times in the air. It was better than nothing, but he felt like he was going back to the academy on the surface.
He sighed, and then reached down and tore off the sleeves that were neatly embroidered with jewels and gold. He tossed it onto the floor before he smiled. Before that little maneuver, something just dind't feel right.
"Do-do you know how precious that shirt was?" Lasinda said, walking over to Howard and poking him in the forehead. "Hmph, I-I knew it! I knew you'd do something like that! Why is that I've only known you for three days, and yet I feel like I've known you my entire life at the same time!"
"It's because I'm going to sleep with you tonight!" Howard smiled at Lasinda, which immediately caused her father to look enraged. He couldn't believe it! He really just had no filter, and would say anything that came to mind!
He cracked his knuckles and walked over to Howard before he thrust his arm into his shoulder.
"That's enough. I'll meet you outside in 5 minutes after you write a will. Sound fair?" Mernan sighed and turned his back to Lasinda before he pointed to the room. "However, Lasinda, why don't you prepare where he's going to sleep with you tonight before I fight him. I don't want him to get the idea after all. I need a place for him to rest once he's dead!"
"Ugh, dad. You can't be honest ever can you?" Lasinda grabbed Howard's hand and pulled him back into the bedroom as both her and Howard laughed one more time together in unison. It seemed like they had already determined that Lasinda was going to be his, and it was pissing her off! "Come on, Howard… My father is just saying those things so he can prepare to fight you. I can tell that he's scared."
"I am not scared!"
Bang!
Lasinda shut the door in front of her father's face before his eyebrows trembled. He sighed and then started to walk down the hallway, passed Alenx's room, before he abruptly stopped.
"Sorry Alenx, I imagined you left tonight because you're upset that I'm not giving Lasinda to you. However, in the long run, this will be for the best,' He looked over at the empty bed and shut the door. Alenx could have any of his other daughters, but he just couldn't be king. "You're a little bit too much like me to marry my daughter. Anyways, wherever you are, I hope you think things over and in the morning return refreshed."