The Union

Sewer water splashed onto his boots, some even touching his feet. It was damp, slimy and cold.

But Pod didn"t mind the sewer water. The worst was the smell. The putrid scent of the decaying refuse of the city was unbearable. A certain sourness rose through his throat. He gagged, almost flushing his lunch.

But the smell and the cold and the slimy liquid couldn"t stop Pod. Trivial things, he thought. He was determined in seeing this through- for he had decided.

A huge rat, almost stygian in color ran not far from him. Pod screamed a scream of both shock and fear. He had always hated rats.

Nevertheless Pod trudged forward, withstanding his fear. He must see this through for he had decided, Pod repeated in his heart.

After a few hundred paces of waddling trough the sewers, Pod found the place. It was a small dry portion of the sewers directly below the n.o.ble district of Holm. n.o.ble houses were spa.r.s.ely distributed unlike those of commoners. The sewer below the n.o.ble district was dryer and more... accommodating for their purpose today.

There were already a few dozen people talking amidst the dim illumination of torches. Some of them wore commoner clothes while a select few wore expensive coats made with beaver fur.

"Ave, comrades" Pod greeted. The few dozen people all turned their heads towards him.

"Late. Aren"t we Pod?" An old man wearing beaver fur coat said. If Pod was not mistaken, the old man was a silk merchant.

"I got lost. I"m sorry" Pod bowed a little "Apologies are enough I hope?"

The merchant chanted something under his breath. If Pod was to guess, it was a curse of sorts.

The merchant then opened his palm towards Pod "We have wasted enough time. Do you have it?"

Pod stepped forward. His boots sc.r.a.ping against the dry but still sticky floor of the sewer.

He sheathed his hand inside the pocket of his woolly coat and pulled a folded piece of paper. Parchment was a better word to describe the thing as it was tough and durable.

He examined the faces of the several dozen people and raised the parchment level to his head.

"Before I give this, I would like to remind the lot of you that this is treason. The Queen..." Pod paused and shook his head a little "As merciful as she is, will not be kind to traitors. We could all hang just by meeting like this"

"Are you having second thoughts now boy?" The merchant bellowed with a hint of mockery.

"Nothing of sorts. My determination remains as it is. Just reminding you of the gravity of your actions"

"Hush now boy. Give us the map and let us be done with this"

Pod clicked his tongue once. He handed the merchant the folded parchment.

The merchant unfolded the parchment with a smile- a smirk if examined more closely. But the smirk soon turned into frown and the frown turned into a glare.

"This is not the map of the palace. All there is are words and names"

"I know" Pod put both hands inside his pocket. "I know" he repeated a second time before clearing his throat and straightening his posture.

"Those are your names and that is your arrest warrant"

Pod snapped his fingers and some of the people in the group revealed their weapons hidden inside their coats. Like him, they were loyal Royal Guards tasked to defend the Union from people of little vision like the merchant and his lot.

Seeing the royal guards the would be rebels all flinched.

"What is the meaning of this Pod!?" the merchant roared a confused question.

"With the power vested in me by Her Majesty, Queen Lucia Vanadis, I, Pod Fickle, Royal Guard, do hereby order your arrest for the crimes of conspiracy, sedition and treason. With the Omniscient as witness, I accuse ye, traitors to the Union. Surrender and you will be judged by law. Resist and we will take all measures necessary"

The silk merchant took a single step backwards. The other rebels huddled near the him.

"You are a betrayer!" The merchant shouted to Pod.

"I betrayed no one" Pod said with calmness "I was, am and always will be loyal to Her Majesty"

"To Her Majesty!? That harlot sold our nation to the Castonians! She betrayed us. Opening her legs to a foreign King in exchange for what? I bet she only wants a warm splutter inside her belly. A wench I tell you. And you still follow her. You are a disgrace!"

"Do not insult Her Majesty. You are the disgrace. Too close-minded and blind to see that cooperation with Castonia is the future. Surrender now!"

The merchant smiled "No. We shall fight. Weapons!" he shouted and the rebels revealed their weapons. Some were carrying clubs while others had daggers.

"You choose death then?"

"No boy. I choose freedom" the merchant said with a smile and a sigh.

Pod unsheathed a short sword fastened on his waist. He raised and held it firm. Blood will flow with sewer water today. He must defend the Union and Her Majesty.

"For the Union!"

**********

Anthapis, Eastern Castonia

Ivan was riding his horse at full speed. Snow was falling onto his face. The coat he brought when he escaped from Nirvana was now soiled.

He looked behind. Six other people were riding with him. He brought nearly thirty from Nirvana but there were only six of them now. The worst part? They were all Wismarines. None of the Castonians joined him.

"I think we lost them Your Highness" one of the Wismarines said.

"Majesty" Ivan corrected harshly with gritted teeth. "I am no prince. I am the King of Castonia. The true King! You should remember that"

"Of course" the Wismarine said "Pardon my mistake Your Majesty Ivan"

Ivan didn"t talk after that. He fixed his eyes on the dark road. He bit his lips so hard that the iron taste of blood filled his palate.

He failed. Again.

Ever since he escaped Nirvana, he had been gathering support in the eastern regions. He was the rightful heir after all. That usurper Timothy wasn"t even of royal blood.

But inciting a rebellion wasn"t as easy as he expected. He thought thousands would raise their banners for him. Timothy successfully gained support in Solon in just under a week when he started the civil war. Ivan should also be capable of doing that.

He, afterall, is the rightful King.

But it was difficult. Although some n.o.bles entertained him, all they wanted was to gather some royal favor. He was willing to reward them after he gains the throne but he had already promised his allegiance to Wismar. There was no room for ambitious n.o.bles in his camp.

The common people were harder to convince. Ivan once stood in the city center of Anthapis once and gave a speech. He reasoned with them that Timothy doesn"t have the right to rule as he was just a b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

They threw insults and rotten things at him. Some even moved to attack him. Luckily his Wismarine guards saved him that time.

But his life had become significantly harder lately. It seemed Timothy had planted spies and traitors everywhere. Just this evening, he met with a Baron. The meeting turned out to be a trap. Soldiers rushed towards them and he lost another six of the Wismarines. He escaped but with this failure he had no choice but to retreat to Wismar in shame. He was a King without his Kingdom.

"How far are we from the border of Wismar and Castonia?" Ivan asked the Wismarines

"Three days if we rush King Ivan. But considering the state of our horses, I think we should slow down. We cannot afford to lose the horses"

"Right" Ivan said with a nod "After we pa.s.s the Ashir mountains we will go directly to the capital. I need to request an army from your King and take back what is mine as soon as possible"

"As you wish Your Majesty"

In the darkness in front of him Ivan spotted a figure of a man. The horse saw the person first and halted with a neigh.

"Swords!" Ivan shouted, shaking and fearing for his life.

The Wismarines trotted their horses forward and surrounded Ivan. They were holding their swords tightly.

"Identify yourself or feel the kiss of our blade!" one of the Wismarines shouted.

There was a momentary silence. Both parties froze in place. Ivan was sweating despite the snowfall.

"You wouldn"t want to do that" The man finally said and walked forward. His steps were slow and heavy.

"Trust me. You don"t" The man"s face was now revealed by the faint illumination of the moon.

The man"s face clearly displayed his old age. He was wearing an ordinary coat and thick trouser. On his neck hung a medallion half the size of a person"s palm. His face was unremarkable. If Ivan was to guess, the man was of the northern descent.

"Identify yourself then!" Ivan shouted. He was also gripping his sword.

"Ident.i.ty? Names then" The man shook his head "No, you don"t have to know my name. That is if I even have one. What"s important is whether I"m a friend or a foe"

"Answer that then! Are you my ally or my enemy?"

"Friend. For now that is" The man said "It was painful watching you fail over and over again. Pitiful little creature you are. Well since we have a common enemy, we should help each other."

"You mean... Timothy?"

"And his wife the Queen too. You want to know how he bested you Ivan? He had help"

The man stepped forward, not giving a care to the Wismarine guards. He then offered Ivan his hand.

"It"s also right for you to have help don"t you think?"