"Get out. It is not worth risking your life."

Lyla could tell. That voice belongs to Hiro. She thinks that it sounded like he was very close, no it was more like voice in her mind, but she is concerned more about what he had said.

"Get out of there."

Again, Hiro's voice in her mind.

Telepathy? Impossible. That's what she believes.

The state isn’t safe but King Cailan and Prime minister Loghain Mac Tir have already unsheathed their sword. Their postures look like they require no protection. Meanwhile, the old Margrave Blare is trembling.

It is like an instinct. A wild one, maybe. Lyla doesn’t know what it is, but it is a feeling that something bad… Danger is incoming. That much she understands. It feels like cold needles piercing her spine. The bad taste in her mouth she got when she noticed an enemy’s trap in the battlefield. The target’s on them.

Who knows where the attack will be coming from? She has to do anything she could to intercept it.

At the same time, with a sundering whiz, a beam of light flies in. Grazing the very edge of her sword, it is slightly derails. The arrow that meant to strike the King has struck right in front of Lyla instead… When an explosion erupts. A pillar of flames roars.

***

Brita, Selene, Hanabi are watching the scenes projected on the wall with me. 

There is still a crowd. Most of them are looking at the stage. King Cailan Theirin covers his mouth and raises his hand high, to announce that they aren’t hurt.

Cheers erupts. The knights are looking up, too, surprised. However, I am most worried about Lyla. She seemed like she was close to the explosion when it hit… The parade seems to have reached near the river. Some soldiers on guard are spreading the crowd, bring back buckets of water.

There she is. Lyla. She is crouching down next to the three men.

Her armour has several tiny dents on it. She seems conscious, as she is speaking to King, but Lyla herself is bleeding enough to stain a part of the armour red. I could only hope that none of her wounds her deep enough to damage any organs. If she hadn’t been wearing her full ceremonial armour, she wouldn’t have gotten off so easily.

Margrave Blare looks around restlessly, while King is waving his hand to the cheering crowd. Walking slowly, Margrave Blare approaches Lyla. Lyla looks up at him, and is filled with relief. 

I have Ivanna and Irijina guard the ground floor, the two exit doors of the church, where the sniper would escape out of the church. If we could capture that sniper, he can be used against House of Lambert. Even if we can’t take him alive, it is too risky to let him get out of here alive.

"His Majesty is unhurt! Huzzah!"

Lubreo's voice just below the stage on his horse, triggers a storm of cheers. It is a clear, resonating voice. A familiar one, at that, but the man I recognize wouldn’t say something like that genuinely. He would, however, repeat it a thousand times if that’s what needs to be done.

"Hiro, something is off. Look at Lyla!" Selene grabs my shoulder and points at the projected image. Selene adjusts the view so that we can close in to the four persons on the stage only.

Lyla’s expression is now that of a child. Her eyes are lacking any gleam of free will, so does her face… . Keeping her dreamy expression, Lyla moves. The world falls silent. Her blade penetrates Margrave Blare's abdomen. That is the enchanted long sword that Lubreo had bought it, and given it to Lyla on the spot…

They had set a trap within Lyla, too. Truth be told, I had never expected them to be so brazen… To use Lyla, who is the personal knight of Lubreo Lambert. House of Lambert’s… No  Lubreo’s… Gratina’s final trap is Layla.

A distant scream.

***

King and Prime minister turns to Lyla with swords raised. 

She produced no killing intent but she stands beside Margrave Blare's corpse with a long sword at her left hand. 

Loghain Mac Tir looks at her posture and is reminded of a man who he fought before.

"His majesty. Let me go first." 

Loghain advances a step and swing his broad sword horizontally but she steps forward. Before his swing connects to her small back, it is blocked by long sword held by both of her hands. The momentum from Loghain's hit pushes Lyla towards him. 

As his sword is much heavier, he is unable to retract it on time. 

Lyla slashes him. She skillfully strikes the slight opening between Loghain's body armour. The cut is deep.

Loghain Mac Tir kneels down.

Lyla immediately leaps to King Cailan Theirin. 

"Beware. That girl fights like David Lassic!" Loghain Mac Tir shouts as loud as he could and blood rushes out from his wound.

"But David Lassic uses giant sword." King Cailan jokingly retorts while blocking her attack. 

Cailan's body is as sturdy as Loghain Mac Tir or David Lassic. He easily blocks the slash from her thin arm. 

But that was just the first of combination attacks. 

Lyla closes in to Cailan. Like his father in law, Cailan is unable to retract his large sword on time. 

He releases his grip on the large sword and tried to bear hug the much smaller Lyla with his large body. He crouches to level his height to the short Lyla. 

Shockingly, she hit his nose with her right elbow. 

It is so painful and his nose is broken that he almost closes his eyes. But as a strong warrior himself, Cailan forces his eyes open. 

He sees Lyla rotates to behind him slashes three knights from Lambert who climbs into the stage.

Now, he is facing the back of that fearsome girl. Cailan takes that chance to grab his sword and swing towards her back. 

She makes three slashes in zig zag direction.

It slashes his wrist, necks and thighs. 

He kneels down and Lyla jumps.

She light body flies above his head and smashes his head with the handle of her sword before her foots land on his wide shoulders. 

She steps on the shoulders hard and jumps as far as she could off the stage. 

She lands in the middle of Lambert knights and slashes them.

In a brief moment, she had defeated two of the top fighters in Ferelden and escapes.

***