The Union

"Look at those horses!" Erik exclaimed "Big, muscular and I think they are fast too!"

"So we are cheering for the enemy now?" Timothy joked as he caressed the rough surface of the walls. After hearing of the news that their guests had arrived, he, Erik and General Marvin went up the walls and observed the Tulosans.

Suddenly, General Marvin started to sing "The Horse and the Castle Wall". It was a song mocking the failed first invasion of Tulosa.

"And the Knights charged,

But three times they failed.

For a horse can"t jump over the walls.

They fought,

they trot,

and injuries they got.

For a horse can"t jump over the walls"

"Nice voice General" Erik commented

"Thank you. But my voice has degraded over the years. When I was still your age, I swooned dozens of n.o.ble ladies with my voice"

"Don"t make Erik envious, General. He"s not good with women" Timothy quipped.

"Shut up Tim. You"re not either. You just got lucky. I don"t have a lover because I don"t have time for such things." Erik said back.

"Reasons. I remember you tried to woo Freya many years ago. She was so confused because you gave her a soldier figurine as a gift" Timothy snorted at first but it turned into a full-blown laugher after recalling Freya"s confused face.

"I was young and stupid that time okay? I didn"t know that courting can be so complicated" Erik defended.

"Well you just have to find your style Erik. Every man has his quality. My voice is good so I used it. I"m sure you have your qualities too." General Marvin said with a serious face. "And don"t give women soldier figurines" the General couldn"t hold his laugh anymore and his serious face faded. He joined Timothy in laughter. "Did he really do that? What was the reaction of Baron Hall"s daughter?" Marvin asked Timothy between laughs.

"She was so confused. She thought that Erik wanted to play with her. Erik spent the entire week inside his room" Timothy guffawed. The two of them laughed heartily.

"Oi! Shut up. In a few years I"m going to marry somebody. The two of you will drop your jaws." Erik declared

All of a sudden, the three of them heard the heavy footsteps of soldiers. Timothy and General Marvin stopped laughing and returned to their usual serious state.

Timothy turned towards the footsteps. It was General Bourgis flanked by two guards.

"Your Highness, I received the information too late. My squire was drunk so he failed to inform me. Don"t worry, I already punished him. Nevertheless I apologize." General Bourgis knelt. His body was stiff and powerful.

Timothy could see that General Bourgis was a very traditional Castonian. He was very strict not just to the soldiers, but also to himself. He was the sort of person who will punish every single mistake of his subordinates.

But he was too strict. Being a disciplinarian must be coupled with charisma because the purpose of being strict was to gain respect, not hate. Timothy heard that General Bourgis was too strict when he was at Thespelae. That was the reason why most of the soldiers from Thespelae hated him.

"It"s alright General." Timothy comforted "We can"t fully control the performance of our subordinates."

"Thank you Prince Timothy for your leniency towards my shortcomings." General Bourgis stood up and fixed his clothes. "So, what should we do about the Tulosans Your Highness?"

"I"m sending an envoy" Timothy smiled

"An envoy?" General Bourgis had a surprised expression. "For what?"

"A parley of course."

"But you said that we will crush them. Why do you want a parley? The battle will begin soon. Isn"t it too late for a parley?"

"We will General, we will. But we need a parley first. Also, you"re wrong General" Timothy approached the General and smiled. He wanted to dispel General Bourgis" concerns. "The battle had already begun"

****************************************************************************

Sigurd was seated at the center of the table. Beside him were his Prefects and other high-ranking officers. On the other side of the table sat five Castonians.

"What do you want to talk about?" Sigurd"s voice was firm and unfriendly. He never thought that the Castonians would send an envoy requesting for a parley. He wanted to refuse them first, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Peace" The envoy replied "By the way, call me Adrian"

"Peace!" Sigurd spitted. "You burn our food and you request peace?!"

"You invaded us, laid siege to our castles and killed our people" Adrian"s voice was shaking "You are right, you don"t deserve peace. But our Prince offered you peace anyway."

Sigurd was taken aback by Adrian"s anger. He himself was a violent person, but the envoy"s anger was something else.

He stroked his beard. He always stroke his beard whenever he was confused about something. Why would the Castonians send a peace offer at a time like this? It was too late for peace. His soldiers were already starving and they already killed many of the people who once lived in the villages around Solon. Also why would they want peace? They had the upper hand. Sigurd doesn"t believe that Prince Timothy was stupid. The Prince bested him twice already so he must be planning something.

"So what do you want in return?" Sigurd tested the envoy

"Nothing. I told you, we only want peace. We Castonians are peace-loving people unlike you" Adrian"s words were sharp and they drew frowns from the officers.

Sigurd himself felt annoyed by the Andrian"s tone. Doesn"t he realize that his life was in danger? One word from Sigurd and he will die.

Sigurd calmed himself. He had anger issues, but the envoy"s insults meant nothing to him. He was just an envoy so Sigurd should not lower himself and be annoyed by a lowlife.

"So you will let us go back to Tulosa? You will not hara.s.s our rear, is that it?"

"Yes. In return, you should pack your things and get out of our sight. Your dirty images are revolting"

Sigurd again calmed himself. Dealing with this sharp-tongued envoy really tests his patience, patience he didn"t have in the first place. But this will be the last time.

"That will be your final insult, understand?" Sigurd gave the envoy a menacing look. "Or else I would personally cut your tongue!"

Sigurd expected that the envoy would tremble in fear. But he was wrong. The envoy nodded, but his face showed no signs of fear. Sigurd was impressed. Most people would have already cowered after hearing his threats, but the envoy didn"t.

"Let"s continue" Sigurd said "Why? Why do you want peace? You have the castle and we are starving."

"Because we don"t want to lose more men. We are tired of this. Prince Timothy is tired."

Sigurd smiled inwardly. He was lying, the envoy was lying. Sigurd detected the slight hesitation in the envoy"s answer.

"Oh? Prince Timothy doesn"t want to lose men." Sigurd mocked. But then his expression turned serious. "You"re lying."

"I wasn"t!" the envoy panicked. It was satisfying seeing a sharp-tongued man panic. "Prince Timothy really wants peace!"

Sigurd unsheathed his sword and pointed its tip towards the envoy"s throat. The officers and the guards also grabbed their weapons.

"Tell me the reason why Prince Timothy doesn"t want to fight!" Sigurd shouted

The envoy"s eyes were now slightly wet. So it was an act after all, Sigurd thought. The earlier tough stance of the envoy was no more.

"Harming envoys is a war crime" The envoy tried to act tough one last time, but it was apparent from his voice that he was afraid.

"Do you think I"m afraid of war crimes? We just butchered civilians so we are already criminals. So please be careful with your words next time."

The envoy nodded. But this time, Sigurd can see that he was afraid. Finally, Sigurd could savor the fear in the envoy"s eyes.

"The gates are broken" the envoy finally revealed while lowering his head.

"Adrian!" one of the Castonians shouted. "Don"t betray us!" The Castonian tried to attack Adrian, but Sigurd"s guards stopped him.

"They will kill us if we don"t tell them. I don"t want to die!" Adrian shouted back

"What do you mean?" Sigurd asked Adrian. Does that mean, they can just enter the castle?

"It"s broken. The last battle damaged the front gate. That"s why we don"t want to fight. Actually, Prince Timothy sent me here to buy time. The soldiers should be fixing the gates by now." The envoy revealed.

Sigurd can"t believe it. The gates of Knightsend are broken! His army could march inside. If he remembered correctly, the Castonians kept the front gate open even after they camped outside of the castle. At first Sigurd though that the Castonians were just mocking them by not closing the gates.

Sigurd ran outside. He then squinted and examined the front gate of the castle. It was open. His army could enter the castle!

Sigurd ran back inside the tent. He should not waste time.

"Get to your cohorts! We attack now!"