The Union

"Tim" James tugged his sleeves "Look!" James pointed at the forest.

Timothy squinted and saw several moving figures among the trees. The figures were small at first, like dots, but soon their features became more apparent. It was Erik and the cavalry detachment.

The soldiers also saw the approaching figures and stood up. They then cheered after seeing that it was the cavalry. They rejoiced and shouted.

Erik dismounted his horse and went to Timothy. His face was still black from the smoke and his armor was dirty. He then saluted and knelt in front of Timothy.

"Your Highness, we have accomplished your orders."

"Rise Erik Connel" Timothy gestured for Erik to stand up "Castonia is grateful to you and the Connel family."

Erik stood up. "It"s my honor to do my duty to your highness" he bowed

"The honor is mine" Timothy smiled. He then turned to the soldiers who were silently watching their exchange "Although he gave the Tulosans a free bonfire to warm their nights"

The soldiers laughed. Timothy then slowly raised his hand to silence them. "Erik Connel and the Cavalry detachment"s heroic deeds bought us a few days of time." He then pointed at the muddy and haggard soldiers of the cavalry detachment "For that we must thank them. But this isn"t over yet" he paused to let his words sink in.

"I know that these last few days had been hard. We marched all day, stopping only to sleep for a few hours. Our food was bad, our water dirty and our bodies weak from exhaustion. But this isn"t over. Tomorrow we will march again, tomorrow we will eat stale food again, tomorrow me must satisfy our thirst with dirty water again. But at least we have tomorrow. Our living conditions are bad, but at least we are alive. And as long as we are alive, as long as we are breathing, a tomorrow is an opportunity, an opportunity to make things better."

"So grab your rucksacks, eat your stale bread, drink your dirty water and look forward for tomorrow. We will face tomorrow together with grim determination. Don"t look back to the past, yearn for the future, yearn for a better life. Because I a.s.sure you, we will live! We will survive! And tomorrow will come!" Timothy raised his fist into the air. The deafening cheers of the soldiers shook the earth. Their living condition these past days was abysmal.

Timothy suffered with them. He knew how they feel because sometimes even he felt giving up. But he banished these thoughts. He will survive and live on. Tough days were ahead, but he"s still alive. Being alive meant having the power and opportunity to change one"s fate.

Also every time he was about to give up, the thought Lucia gave him courage to go on. He hadn"t decided yet on who to trust between Lucia and his father. But if Lucia was telling the truth, then he owed her his life. She had done so much to ensure his survival. He needs to get back to her. He needs to live so that her efforts would not go to waste. Also, he wants to see her again, he wants to live by her side. Timothy smiled and ridiculed himself. He vowed to remain neutral between Lucia and his father but it seems his heart had been inching closer toward Lucia"s side.

The soldiers camped for the night and left the next morning. Just as what Timothy said, they carried their rucksacks, ate their stale bread and drank their dirty water. But this time, the did so with conviction.

At noon the next day, Erik informed Timothy of great news.

"What?" Timothy looked at Erik in disbelief "The garrison of Knightsend are coming to reinforce us? But Knightsend is.."

"They broke the siege by themselves Tim!" Erik excitedly declared. "It"s better to ask the messenger directly"

"Tell him to come here immediately" Timothy ordered. Erik then left and came back with the messenger.

"John? You"re John right?" Timothy asked. He recognized him. He really was a soldier of Knighstend. He remembered John as the soldier he caught drunk while on guard duty about a year ago. There was now a dry wound that runs across his cheek, but Timothy still recognized him.

John dismounted his horse, knelt and saluted to Tim "It brings me joy that His Highness still recognizes me." He said happily "Centurion John Wilkin at your command sire"

"Centurion?" Timothy raised his brows. John was not an officer when he was still at Knightsend. Even though John was capable, Timothy was reluctant in promoting him. His record of being drunk on duty made Timothy worry of the promotion"s effects on the soldiers.

"General Marvin promoted me your highness" John shyly scratched his head and avoided Timothy"s eyes "But I can relinquish my command if you desire"

"No need for that Centurion" Timothy smiled "You deserve your promotion. By the way, address me as sir, not your highness. Let"s not be so formal. Now, tell me about General Marvin"s message"

" We have broken the siege sir. 3000 men are coming to reinforce you. We also captured many horses and supplies"

Timothy was delighted. This was certainly, without a doubt, good news. Horses! Supplies! And experienced soldiers from Knightsend! This also meant that they don"t need to break the siege anymore.

"Good!" Timothy exclaimed "But you must be crazy to sally forth and attack the Tulosans"

"It was dangerous sir. In fact our left flank was charged by the Knights from behind. The rest of their cavalry also attacked the left flank. I was there. We were outnumbered and many brothers died. But we did not rout sir! Any other army would have routed but we stood up and fought. It was hard at first, but Castonian strength prevailed. We made them pay." John proudly said.

Timothy was also proud. What they did was dangerous, but in the end their training and courage saved them. These are the soldiers he had always wanted to have.

"And I believe your deeds in that battle were the reason for your promotion" Timothy commented

"Yes sir" John refused to look at him again "But it wasn"t just me. Many of the brothers also fought ferociously. After knowing that you were in danger, we were enraged. We wanted to break the siege as soon as possible and fight for you"

Timothy was so touched that words failed to escape his mouth. The soldiers of Knightsend were not just strong and brave, they were also loyal to him. His earlier prediction was correct. If the garrison knew of his situation, they would break the siege themselves.

"Thank you for your loyalty. But how did you know of my situation?"

"General Marvin told us sir. He said that a letter came from Lucia Vanadis that warned him of your situation. If I"m not mistaken, Lucia Vanadis is the Princess of Vanadis and your betrothed so we believed her. "

Lucia. Timothy closed his eyes. She must have used the seal he gave her. Lucia saved him again. Now, he"s almost certain on who to trust between Lucia and his father. If Lucia wanted to harm him, she wouldn"t inform Marvin of his situation. She had done so much for him and he doubted her. Doubting her was actually the logical thing to do, their time together was short and trust blooms with time. But he still felt guilty for doubting her. She must have done so much just to increase his chances of survival. She didn"t have connections in Castonia but she still found a way to help him anyway. Lucia was smart and capable. He didn"t deserve her. She was too good. He wants to hug her right now and thank her. He also wanted to apologize for doubting her at first.

But that can wait. It"s his turn now to impress her. With the help of Knightsend"s garrison, he now had the strength to destroy the Tulosans. He will annihilate them. He is Timothy Castonia, third prince of the Kingdom of Castonia and he will show the Tulosans how dreadful he is. He will win, for Castonia, for the soldiers who trust him, for himself, and for Lucia.

"Erik, tell the men of the good news" he smiled "Also, tell them that I changed my mind after receiving this news. Tell them that the Western Region will soon become red with Tulosan blood"