HAPPY BIRTHDAY THATSUPERHOTSEXYBOOKWORM!

Okay, like, two weeks late. But here's the story. I can't find the original request, but it was about Hylla and Kinzie either platonically or not and so ta-dah! Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own the following characters or the world in which they're interacting.

Dedication: ThatSuperHotSexyBookWorm

Lucky

"If you succeed on your quest to free Thanatos, for instance-"

"-then Otrera wouldn't come back if she were killed," Hazel said. "You'd only have to defeat her… umm, every night until we succeed."

The queen nodded grimly. "It seems we both have impossible tasks ahead of us."

-Hylla and Hazel, p. 334, The Son of Neptune

The First Duel

"The good news is that Otrera is so pissed about the prisoners escaping, she might get sloppy," Kinzie said to be encouraging.

"No," Hylla said shaking her head. "It's not her style."

"We can always hope," Kinzie pointed out.

"We can. But we can't always depend on what we hope for," Hylla said. She knotted her fingers in her hair- they were long and graceful like a pianist's, but calloused by her five years of endless fighting and criss-crossed with scars from her brief but intensive stay with the pirates. They really weren't kidding when they said that watching a child of Bellona fight made war an art. "I might be able to defeat her tonight. But three times?"

"I've seen you fight," Kinzie said. "I think you can do it. The battle in which you ripped the throne from Queen Anne the Terrible will go down in history. You can do it."

"With a lot of luck," Hylla said. The queen's eyebrows were creased. Hylla was a realist, as confident as the odds should make her- and she was good at calculating odds. But right now she was intimidated by the sudden turn that most of the Amazons had taken in favour of Otrera, troubled by the chaos ripping apart the mythological world, and the news from her sister was unsettling her.

The queen sighed and got up and back to dressing.

She put her thumbs behind her ears and they glided through her hair, assembling a ponytail and compacting the mass of black locks into a ponytail. She put it up in a bun to keep it out of Otrera's hands in the upcoming duel, keeping it out of her long, graceful neck. Everything about Hylla was long and graceful. Kinzie had felt like an giant as a child because of her height, but she could lay her head against Hylla's shoulder easily if she wished to.

Hylla zipped up her hoody and laced up her boots. She slipped on her greaves, snapped her breast plate into place and started working on her gauntlets.

"Wait," Kinzie said.

Hylla looked up. Her dark eyes made Kinzie think of wells- as deep as they were dark, as mysterious as they were intriguing, as objectively beautiful as possible.

"My mother was a nymph, but my father was a son of Fortuna," Kinzie said. "Even if it's on the paternal side, I'm lucky."

"Then by all means," Hylla said extending her arms. Kinzie's stomach fluttered as she grabbed the laces and got working on those knots.

The Second Duel

Hylla's faith had grown and a few more of her counsellors were in the dressing room now, helping her prepare for her duel. The clock had just stroked 11:00 PM. One hour to go until the duel began. Forty-five minutes until the contestants had to be present in the arena.

"Otrera will be wearing armour this evening according to our sources," Camilla said, as per usual walking around with a clipboard and a Bluetooth whose constant humming had gotten her into a habit of talking very loudly. She was sweet anyways.

"She's not like you," Kinzie said quietly. "Yesterday she didn't wear it to be prideful, she doesn't think practically. Now she knows what you're capable of."

"That's good, right?" Daisy said. "She's spooked of you, Hylla."

"Fear will only increase the adrenaline in her veins," Hylla said solemnly.

"You mustn't underestimate yourself," Kinzie said.

"You mustn't overestimate what I'm capable of," Hylla replied. "I think I'll need twice the luck tonight."

"I can lace your boots," Kinzie offered.

Hylla smiled –a smile that curved her gorgeous lips and crinkled her dark eyes- and held her legs out. Kinzie knelt in front of her and happily got working on the laces, praying that her genetics would hold out.

The Third Duel

Hylla's eyes were closed.

Kinzie didn't know what she was doing. It was unlike her and alarming to think that Hylla may be praying before a fight. She generally preferred to fight via her own skill and not the strength of the gods- another admirable quality in her. Meditation wasn't something that Hylla was ever into and now seemed like a bad time to start.

She looked pale. Maybe she was trying to calm herself down? Last night's fight had resulted in her victory, but as the Royal Council had predicted- Otrera had been stronger. She'd been armed to the teeth and better armoured after seeing what Hylla could do, energised by her supporters, and Kinzie was ready to bet her life on the fact that Otrera's patron -that nasty earth goddess- was helping out the old queen. In fact, an ugly cut remained on the Queen's cheek and her back had been black and blue last time a healer had had a look.

Kinzie swallowed. Now she knew what was up. Hylla was scared.

"Hylla?" Kinzie asked.

"Yes," the queen replied.

"I don't think you should be scared of your duel," Kinzie said. "At all. I think… You're usually so fearless… It hurts to see that go. But you're still brave, and driven, and ambitious and strong, and you always do what's best for the kingdom. So there's not a doubt in my mind that you would win this duel for us too. Without even needing my luck."

Hylla turned to look at Kinzie and she blinked. She bit her lip.

"May I have it anyways?" Hylla asked.

Kinzie nodded and knelt in front of Hylla's chair as she spun around. Kinzie laced up her boots, her gauntlets…

"Don't I always gets one level up every duel?" Hylla asked. It was a tease, of course. Plus even if it wasn't, Hylla would probably expect Kinzie to tie her scabbard or secure her helmet or whatnot. But Kinzie wasn't exactly thinking it through when she kissed the Queen of the Amazons.

She probably wasn't thinking at all, to be honest, given the complete stupidity of the whole thing.

But Hylla didn't look mad when Kinzie pulled away. In fact, she smiled. Oh, and she kissed Kinzie again- that was another pretty good indicator. She was so used to seeing Hylla strong and fierce and straight to the point, it was odd that the kiss was so soft and delicate.

Hylla pulled away and smiled again.

"My Queen, I think we may have lied to the Levesque girl when we told her we liked men," Kinzie said.

Hylla's smile etched further up her cheeks. That was another thing about her- she had high, strong cheekbones. Goodness, if Kinzie went back and documented every good thing about Hylla she'd spend her life doing it.

"Not completely. I, for one, like men too," Hylla said. "They're just not lucky."