A Battle? Everyone stared at Hazel, they did not know how to respond, they were wondering if she was joking. She was a woman, but Chris was relatively thin and weak, so they couldn’t even venture a guess on who would win if they fought.

“Nonsense! Ridiculous!” Chris was livid. “How could such an important matter be decided by fighting? What do you think this is, a tournament?”

“You misunderstood.” Hazel shrugged helplessly. “If it was a real fight, then I would clearly be ...