The Union

She stopped and turned towards a painting on the wall. The painting was large- as tall as two full grown men and as wide as the length of a steed. Colorful dyes were used but the prevalence of red was noticeable. The painting was a depiction of the Battle of Uruk Plains, one of the first battles of the Tulosan Civil war sixteen years ago.

"Twelve thousand men lost their lives in this battle" The Princess said with hands tugged behind and chin raised. "As a child I would always look at this painting. They say my father, King Brice the bold, won the Battle of Uruk Plains against the royal army of the old royal family. They say that King Brice, or Earl Brice as what he was known then, implored his men to hold the line against the charge of the royal cavalry. They say it was glorious. But every time I look up on this painting, all I see is blood. All I see is a violent period in the history of Tulosa. There is no glory in it. There is no beauty. War would always be ugly no matter how much the paintings glorify them"

"n.o.body in their right mind wants war Princess. Only fools and madmen wanted violence. I do believe that human hands are crafted not to hold spears and swords but to grasp bouquets of flowers"

"And yet there are more armories and smithies than flower shops. You Castonians are lucky that your civil war lasted mere months. We, the new generation of Tulosans, grew up in a divided land"

"Your father brought an end to the civil war"

"A better way of phrasing it I believe is that King Brice outlived the other claimants to the throne. Five families warred for years just for a seat"

"A throne is not just a seat Princess"

"A throne is worse than a seat. A normal seat at least wouldn"t make people spill barrels of blood"

Erik went closer. He felt the painting with the tip of his fingers.

"Talk Princess. I want to hear it"

"I am not King Brice"s daughter" Princess Emily started "My parents are serfs. My father was a farmer in Brice"s fief. My mother was a beauty. Some say that she was a b.a.s.t.a.r.d of some n.o.ble. It doesn"t matter. Her beauty was her curse. My father and my mother loved each other. Their love bore them a daughter, me. When the civil war broke out, my father was enlisted as a soldier and sent to battle. He was one of the nameless and faceless soldiers who fought for Earl Brice. My mother and I were left alone. Unfortunately, Earl Brice noticed us"

"And he did what evil n.o.bles would often do to their serfs" Erik guessed, forming a deep frown.

"I was there when it happened. I was forced to watch the thing. It was horrifying" Princess Emily closed her eyes "I want to forget it. I want to but the scene is still clear to me until this day. Sometimes I have nightmares. She was my mother. I loved her and that monster did that to her. In the end she died. Brice then took me in as his daughter. He and his wife don"t have a child. If he is to become a King, he also needed to show the people that he has an heir. It so happens that me and that monster looks alike. The official story is that I am his niece and he adopted me as his daughter. They killed my mother and used me to cement their claim to the throne. All my childhood was spent inside the four corners of my room. I only got to meet people on special gatherings"

Princess Emily stepped back from the painting. "One day King Brice admitted a new guard. They say that the new guard is a hardy veteran. His name is Rain. But when I saw his face, I recognized him. He thinks I don"t recognize him but I do. He is my father. How could I forget? For the first time in years I had hope. My father is now close to that monster Brice. I hoped that he would avenge me and my mother. I waited for a scream in the night. But it didn"t come. My father remained subservient to the monster. Can you imagine a worse joke? He is serving the man that killed his wife and took his daughter. He is a coward"

"And what did you do?"

"I realized that there is no one in the world you can trust other than your own self. If you want something, you need to act. So I acted. The first ally that I made was my mentor. He taught me how to read and write. He also taught me how to gain power. Little by little, through gatherings and social events, I made allies. I was good at it. I was good at gathering those who hate King Brice. My power grew. The monster and his wife didn"t even see me as a threat even after I truly became one. To them I would always be that meek child they took from a serf woman. They were wrong. They couldn"t see it but everything was ready for a coup. I was prepared to usurp him. But there is one thing that is in the way"

"The people" Erik said.

"Yes. With another civil war in the horizon with the knights, I postponed the coup. My people cannot suffer both a civil war and a violent change of regime. I sacrificed my chance for revenge for my people"

"And Captain Rain?"

"He is a coward" Princess Emily said stiffly "Although he obeys my orders, I don"t care about him. He can support that monster Brice if he wants to and be destroyed with him"

"Is that what you really feel Princess? You say that but you are sending your men to retrieve him"

The Princess" face flushed surprise for a while. She looked down. "No, I am just grateful to him. He is still my blood. Also Tulosa needs his leadership. It would be a shame to lose..."

"Just stop it. You care. You still do. Anything else to add?" asked Erik.

She was silent but nodded after a while. "Now you know my personal secret Marquis Erik. You know that I don"t have n.o.ble blood, the Captain of the royal guards is my father and I am planning a coup against King Brice, I have a request" The Princess again looked at the painting "I"ve heard rumors about the circ.u.mstances of King Timothy"s birth. The truth of it doesn"t matter. You Castonians would follow King Timothy even if the rumors are true. I, on the other hand, will face rebellion left and right if word of this gets out. I believe our friendship merits your silence regarding this topic"

"I do not own my silence Princess. Even my silence is not for me to decide. I need to report this to my King and to my Queen"

"Loyalty huh?" The Princess produced a smile "Loyalty and Friendship. It must be good to have a subordinate like you. But now that you know the truth, the terrible truth that could ruin me, aren"t you afraid that you"ll find a knife stuck on your back if you don"t remain silent?"

Erik leaned closer to her. He stared directly into her eyes. He heard Henry flinch from behind "Are you sure you want to drop threats against me Princess?"

She maintained an unfaltering look but Erik knew that she was close to breaking. She is young, he thought. She was unfortunate enough to carry the burden of taking care of the Tulosans and at the same time dealing with her personal problems. It must be hard.

"I will tell them about this Princess Emily. Castonia will interfere" Erik said, calm voice but steely stare "And maybe this is for the best"

"For the best?"

"If you think your coup will succeed, then you are a fool. How many n.o.bles are on your side?"

"Enough" she said in a low voice.

"Enough is not enough. You must be certain of success. You need allies. You need Castonia"

"You will help me fight against King Brice? I thought you came here to remain neutral and just protect the people"

"That was the plan, yes. That was what the King and the Queen commanded me to do. But I have seen that just being neutral would drag this conflict longer. We want you to be stable and a friend to Castonia as soon as possible so we will help hasten the process. In exchange, after Tulosa is pacified you will become our ally and help us fight against our enemies. You will send soldiers to attack Calgari, Wismar, Canton, Hadea, and Inkit"

"Done. We have a deal Marquis Erik"

Erik smiled. He shook his head. "Don"t cheer yet. I first need to get King Timothy"s permission. I have two propositons. First I will propose that Castonia will support your claim to the throne and second I will propose that..."

Erik looked at Henry.

"Castonia will support Henry to become the next Grand Master"