Chapter: A new beginning

Raffael had heard of the tournament. But at the thought of the enormous sums of money this spectacle would devour, he was angry with himself. There was an ebb in the imperial-Garetian coffers, so you didn't have to be very knowledgeable about finances. It was enough to look at the city's slums.
As well as regent Emer ruled the country and ensured peace, her judgment was bad when it came to her finance ministers. Rumors kept circulating that they were filling their own pockets, regardless of the population. And this tournament, to which the entire aristocracy of the Middle Kingdom would come, was nothing more than a tactic to settle the disputes among the individual principalities and baronies. There had long been strife between the House of Gareth and the provinces of Almada and Albernia. Especially Duke Jast Gorsam from the great river, whose influence had grown over the years, made life difficult for the imperial regent.This was an open secret and the sparrows whistled it from the rooftops. Bread and games were always good to cover up grievances.
"Oh come on!" said Marie and tugged on Raphael's sleeve. “Let's go and watch!” Her blue eyes shone against the sky.
"I do not want." he growled. “We don't fit in there anyway and we also have some performances to give!” Raffael took her hand and kissed it gently.
Marie pulled her away, pretending to be angry. "Nonsense! I spoke to Fadime and you gave your last performance two days ago! Admit it, you just don't feel like mingling with the nobility!"
Raffael mentally condemned his talkative sister. Marie had been in his ears for days that she wanted to watch the spring tournament and soon he couldn't come up with an excuse not to have to go. The best reason had always been work, and Fadime had now done away with it.He gave a disgruntled growl. Yes, he didn't want to mix with the nobility. To watch them beating their heads in order to get a huge amount of money in the end, which they didn't need anyway and which was missing in every nook and cranny among the people. He really didn't feel like doing that.
Marie gave him a challenging look. She didn't like the long break.
"So how's it going? Can't you think of any more excuses?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No," admitted Raffael angrily. He looked at her angrily for a moment and decided to change his tactics. He let his shoulders hang and put on the best doggy look he had "Do we have to go there? Please, don't make me!" he begged desperately.
Marie hooked up with him. "Yes, we have to. We won't be back in Gareth that soon. And I've always wanted to see a tournament. And once our child is born, I won't have a chance!"She pointed to her rounded stomach.
Raffael smiled when his eyes fell on Marie's lower body. When the escape from Oron had been successful and they had been far enough from this land, after a long search they had found a Peraine consecrated person who had been able to heal the worst disfigurements.
The shattered bones of her face and body had been broken again and she had screamed that Raphael's blood was frozen in her veins, but the judging had been worth it. Her face would always be drawn, but she no longer looked like a monster being pelted with stones in the streets. People had brought this inglorious behavior towards them everywhere they had gone. Her crooked posture had also improved significantly. It was difficult for her to walk far while pregnant, but she never let it go and always refused any help.
Since her own hair did not want to grow back, Marie now wore a wig made from human hair dyed red.It had been expensive and the newly formed circus had to perform for several months to buy it. But it had been worth the effort. The half-length hair looked good on her. In total, it took half a year to restore her appearance to such an extent that she could venture out among people and look at herself in the mirror without crying. And even today, strangers asked Raffael what he thought about this woman and why he had entered into the travia alliance with her. He mostly met with a lack of understanding, because his appearance meant that he could have seen as good as any girl between the ages of sixteen and thirty. But none of these women had shared his fate in the same way as Marie. At first it might have been a sense of guilt that tied him to her, or a desire to make amends. But over time, he couldn't imagine life without her. And appearance only played a subordinate role.She was his family and soon there would be three of them.
Raffael smiled at her, rolled his eyes and surrendered. "All right, we're going there"
A grin spread across Marie's face as she jumped on his neck with an enthusiastic scream.
The witcher was torn down and almost dropped the basket of market purchases. Marie pressed a big kiss on the cheek. The people around the market giggled and some began to whisper.
"Hey! You're still crushing the eggs!" Raffael shouted, gasping for breath, but Marie, in her joy, was not impressed by his objection.