The Union

The Centurion of the third Century of the Tulosan Knights was kneeling in front of the painting. The man in the painting had deep brown eyes with s.h.a.ggy dark hair. It was the great General Rickard.

Now General Rickard is dead. The Centurion had heard that the General was killed in a duel by the Marquis of Castonia. He may be dead but his ideas were still alive. His few remaining men that garrisoned Knightsend were loyal their idea.

Chivalry is dead. Chivalry must remain dead. Only strength could make a person happy. Only might could give life. They were the last remaining knights who believed in this. But their ideas will not die. The teachings of General Rickard will again flourish. In time it will.

The Centurion gave a salute to the painting. He rose and snuffed the candles.

"You will not be forgotten Master Rickard" He said before going outside.

As he opened the door, the chilly early spring wind blew onto him. His men were busy maintaining the castle. Some were cleaning the stables. The others were drying the puddles.

"We have spotted them Centurion" A soldier greeted with an information.

"How far?"

"Not more than an hour"

"How many?"

"She brought a few thousand. Most of them are royal guards"

"Good" The Centurion nodded "We need those royal guards if we are to defend this castle from the evil King of Castonia. a.s.semble the men for her arrival. Groom them well and make them presentable to her highness"

Less than an hour later and the gate of Knightsend was opened. About two thousand soldiers came marching in neat order. The last thing that entered the castle was a carriage adorned with the colors of the royal family of Tulosa.

The door of the carriage swung open and a woman stepped out. She wore a crimson dress overlapped with a white coat. Her jewelries were shining and her smile was radiant.

"Welcome to Knightsend Princess Emily. How was your journey?"

"Not good. It was a b.u.mpy ride from Bivon"

"That is so. Still, we welcome your presence here Your Highness. Although General Rickard is dead, me and my lads have decided to fight to the death if the Castonians dare take this castle from us. The reinforcements you brought will help. But may I ask, where is the rest of the army Your Highness? We can"t conquer Castonia with too little men"

Princess Emily stepped closer to him. "General Rickard brought the Tulosan army in Castonia last autumn. He lost and the Tulosan army is also lost"

"Surely Princess..." The Centurion shook his head "The King, your father, was able to raise another one. We have been sitting here for months without news from home. Also the order of the knights still has thousands in their ranks"

The newcomers then started to move. They were subtle but his trained eyes noticed their movements. They were surrounding his men slowly. He looked at the Princess. She smiled and stepped back a few steps.

Princess Emily raised her hand. "Chain the traitors"

The soldiers then started wrestling his men. They were violent. Some of his men were pinned on the ground. Some were beaten. He himself was. .h.i.t in the belly with the blunt end of the spear. He lost strength. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground with his hands tied. His sword and armor were gone. Many of his men lie dead. The rest were incapacitated.

"Princess Emily! What are you doing!?"

The Princess walked towards him. She squatted and gripped his chin. There was furry on her eyes. Her sweet smile earlier was no more.

"My job. You lads are traitors and you are all fools!"

She rose and turned around. She faced one of her people.

"Prepare a diplomatic party at once. We will leave in an hour" She looked at him and the rest of his men "Haul them with us. Drag them, force them, carry them, I don"t care. Just bring all of them. I hope these fools are enough to appease King Timothy"

**********

All the snow already melted when Timothy reached Nirvana. At the distance the city"s defenses were still as marvelous as he remembered. Trade in the city was not as prosperous as before. Merchants from Inkit, Hadea, Wismar and Canton were now gone after all.

But the capital city of Castonia maintains a closer bond to Holm than ever before. This is apparent not just in trade but also in the transfer of armies and weapons across the two cities. Along the road, they have met hundreds of carriages going back and forth between Holm and Nirvana.

"Ah this is a city!" The hairy man shouted. He raised his chained hands and pointed at Nirvana "Big walls, st.u.r.dy defenses and stern men. Hah such a glorious show of strength" He spitted "Unlike that puny city you call Holm. I p.i.s.s on that one"

"Your Majesty how many teeth shall he lose for such vile words in your presence?" Asked Abraham

"If he loses teeth, how can he bite the Wismarines into oblivion? Order him to shut his mouth"

Abraham yanked the Bear"s chains "Shut your mouth savage"

"As you wish sir Abraham" The Bear lowered his head into submission.

Timothy enjoyed the silence with Lucia on their way to the city. At the gate, they were greeted with Henry and the rest of the legions. They were lined in a neat formation in the streets with their backs straightened and in full armor. The citizens of the city also greeted them with howling cheers. Some of them poured outside of the gate and the royal guards had a hard time containing the crowd.

Directly below the gate was Henry on his steed along with his father and Braun. The three welcomed them with the flags of Castonia and Vanadis.

Timothy clucked his mount into a halt a few steps from his father. Both of them dismounted and greeted with a warm embrace. He had heard the crazy things his father had done in the east. He had heard the famous march of Leopold Castonia across the Meander Plains which was now etched in history as a daring but genius move. He even heard they are going to make a play out of it.

"How is your knees?"

"Never better. The Queen"s medicine works"

Timothy patted his father"s arm "And have you received my letter?"

He smiled "Yes. How is he?"

"He is enjoying the amenities of Holm. He is doing great. Are you planning on visiting him?"

"I"m planning to visit Holm perhaps a few weeks from now. That old man Edmund should be also happy to see me"

"That"s good" Timothy looked around "I want to see him"

"Now? It might be stressful to talk to him. On our way home I had to gag that big mouth of his. But if you insist, Ivan is in the dungeon along with the b.a.s.t.a.r.d Skall and the other hostages"

Timothy looked back at Lucia "You can go ahead. I need to visit someone first"

"Alright. Be quick"

Timothy went with his father to the dungeon. He was accompanied by Abraham and other royal guards. Lucia and the rest went to the palace to take their rest.

The dungeon of Nirvana was not as cramped as that of Holm. It should be cramped as they had thousands of prisoners from the battles in the west during the civil war. But those prisoners were put into work in the mines around Solon. As a result, only important prisoners were detained here.

Underground, the cells were lined. A few moments of walking in the damp floor of the dungeon and Timothy spotted familiar faces. Magistrate Chen, Marquis Qilo, Marquis Sachi, Skall Wismar and Ivan were inside their own cells.

"h.e.l.lo old friends" Timothy greeted

"Tim! Let me out of here. I am no pig to be treated this way. I am the King!" shouted Ivan.

"Please be silent Ivan" Skall said in an exhausted voice

Marquis Qilo and Marquis Sachi just looked at Timothy with blank expressions.

On the other hand, Magistrate Chen rose. Surprisingly, he bowed. "A pleasure to meet the white lion. The guards would always gossip about your exploits in Holm. They say you stopped a coup without even raising your finger. Impressive"

"All thanks to the Queen"

"Ah yes. The Queen. Is she with a child?"

The question drew a frown from Timothy. Magistrate Chen doesn"t mean to mock but talking about the topic would always leave him irritated.

"None of your concern Magistrate. Now I am here to bring you good news. Except Ivan, all of you will go with me. I need you as hostage for the upcoming war"

"Bargaining chips" Magistrate Chen said

"That"s right. We will leave in a couple of days. I"ll send servants to clean you up and feed you. I..."

Fast footsteps sounded. Timothy looked behind and saw that it was Lucia.

"I thought you are at the palace?"

"I was" She eyed the prisoners "We need to talk alone. I have news"

Timothy approached her and they stepped away from the others.

"What happened?" He whispered

She produced a letter "This just arrived. At first I thought nothing of it but turns out it is important"

"What is it?"

Lucia looked at him with a serious face "Princess Emily from Tulosa is coming and she offers truce"