The Union

Wine. Cheap wine, but wine nonetheless. Even though the taste was nothing compared to the aromatic Hadean wines, it will do.

He swirled the liquid inside his mouth and savored the strong taste. He grunted and felt warm in his belly. He was about to put the lid back when he felt that the Prince riding beside him was staring at the canteen.

Timothy extended his arm and handed the canteen to Prince Arthur. The Prince just looked at it with suspicion written all over his face.

"I a.s.sure you, this is not poison. You just saw me drink from it. I know you want to have a sip."

The Prince continued his stare. He then slowly took the canteen from Timothy"s hand and drank from it.

Timothy saw the moment Arthur grimaced. His facial muscles contracted and he spitted the wine out from his mouth. He brushed the remaining liquid from his tongue using the cloth of his coat.

"This is not wine!"

Timothy frowned and grabbed the canteen from Arthur"s hand. He again took a mouthful of the liquid.

"What are you talking about. It is wine." Timothy refuted. And then it occurred to him that Prince Arthur was the son of the King Edmund. Cheap wines must have been unfamiliar to him.

Timothy closed the lid of the canteen and put the thing aside. "My bad. I may have desecrated your divine tongue with cheap liquor. We just ran out of Hadean yesterday so you have no choice but to fill your palate with the taste of good ol" cheap wine."

Arthur did not say anything and just looked ahead. Even though the Prince had stopped being discourteous, it would still be a long time before they become close. Timothy wanted to be friends with Arthur despite their earlier sour encounter. He is still Lucia"s brother and the future King of Vanadis.

"It seems you have some left-over resentment towards me, Arthur. Want to share your burdens with your future brother-in-law?" Timothy nudged his horse towards the Prince and the distance between them became shorter.

"Nothing of that sort Your Majesty. I"m just tired, that"s all."

"Tired." He shook his head and smiled. "You are lying Arthur"

Timothy looked up to the twinkling stars and savored the fresh country air. "Well, if you don"t want to share your thoughts then I"ll just guess. You are grumpy because you don"t want to be here. You want to be with your father but instead I dragged you here. Isn"t that right?"

Arthur finally looked him in the eye. And just as Timothy thought, there was resentment in those eyes.

"Yes" Arthur said. "I don"t get it. I did what you told me to do. I zipped my mouth and did nothing. I let you make the decisions and didn"t challenge your authority. Also, I have been nice to Lucia ever since that day. But why are you punishing me? This is dangerous. I could die. I am a prince you know."

"And I am a King. Yet here I am, leading a small force of cavalry."

"Then don"t.." Arthur was about to say something when he stopped. Timothy could see that the Prince was being careful with his words, afraid that he will suffer Timothy"s wrath.

"You may speak freely" Timothy smiled. "I won"t hold it against you"

Arthur was silent as if considering Timothy"s offer. But with the prince"s mouth, Timothy believed that Arthur wouldn"t pa.s.s on the offer to finally reveal his bottled resentment.

"Then don"t include me in your madness. If you are what they say you are, then you don"t need me anyway." Arthur"s voice had no trace of friendliness in it.

But Timothy was a little relieved that the two of them are conversing. Even though Arthur was just venting his feelings, at least they are talking with each other. Conversation is the first step in forging bonds.

"Because I want to teach you Arthur. I already told your father about this and he agreed. You are the next King of Vanadis. If I win this war, then our two Kingdoms will become allies in the future. This may be blunt but I don"t want a weak ally."

Arthur grunted after Timothy said the word, weak. Timothy understood him. Being called weak was an insult. It damages one"s pride. But Arthur needed guidance more than his petty pride. Being a leader sometimes requires sacrifices. In the case of Arthur, the prince must accept that he is weak and learn from Timothy"s guidance.

"Did my words hurt your feelings?" Timothy asked.

Arthur nodded. He was frowning. "Yes. And I am not weak."

"Alright, if you are not weak then tell me why I avoided my brother. Why won"t I accept his invitation of battle? This has nothing to do with war strategies. Even your father knows the reason for my actions."

Arthur showed signs of interest after given a chance to prove his wisdom. He looked at Timothy with a smug face. "Because you are luring him into a trap. You want him to think that you are weak"

Timothy"s head hurt a little after hearing Arthur"s answer. While it is true that he may spring a trap of two, he wasn"t playing weak.

"I am not trying to make him think that I"m weak Arthur, because he already knows about that. That"s why he attacked us in the first place. He sensed weakness because we are weak at the moment. I am avoiding battle because I know that he will beat me if I give him a battle."

Timothy paused and thought for the best words that can teach Arthur. "Sometimes we must accept that we are weak. We must think of what"s real and question our own perception, Arthur. We must know our strengths and our weaknesses. Only then can we gauge the chance of success. If chances of victory are slim, then we must reset and try to gain more advantages. Except for a few circ.u.mstances, only fight battles you can win."

Timothy saw that Arthur"s frown vanished. "Tell me King Timothy, what are our chances of winning this war?"

It was Timothy"s turn to grimace. "Slim. My forces are weaker compared to that of my father"s. Although my soldiers are loyal and professional, I don"t have the resources. That"s why we are trying to squeeze every bit of advantage. But don"t worry, we will win."

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a scout. The scout saluted. It was dark and Timothy did not recognize the man immediately.

"Centurion John" Timothy called the scout"s name. "You are still on scouting duty?"

"My own volition Your Majesty. But if you want, I will return to my Century immediately" Centurion John said with worry in his voice.

While there was an unwritten rule that a Centurion should be with his Century at all times, Timothy doesn"t want to lecture Centurion John at the moment.

"For now report to me Centurion." Timothy ordered.

Centurion John straightened his back. "We have spotted five supply caravans Your Majesty. The number of soldiers defending the caravans varies. The most heavily-guarded caravan has two hundred guards."

Timothy nodded as a silent confirmation to the Centurion that he had heard the report. After leaving the mercenaries under the care of King Edmund, he led his cavalry directly behind Ivan"s army. Such was the advantage of cavalry. Their mobility allowed them to evade the Ivan"s large army and go wherever they wanted.

The most obvious weak point of an army is its supply lines. Before the battle of Knightsend, Timothy had cut General Sigurd"s supply lines and that was how he forced the General to a.s.sault the castle. Now, he will do the same to Ivan. He will cut off his supply line from Nirvana. Timothy turned his head towards Prince Arthur who was listening to their conversation. He put his hand on the Prince"s shoulder.

"Do you want another lesson? Because may I have another lesson for you tonight."

"Can I say no?" Arthur said grumpily.

"No, you can"t." Timothy smiled.

"Then I don"t have a choice. It will be my pleasure Your Majesty"

His response was unenthusiastic and had a hint of mockery. But Timothy doesn"t mind. At least the Prince was willing to learn.

Timothy again took the canteen from his side and drank a mouthful of wine. Contrary to Arthur"s exaggerated reaction earlier, the wine wasn"t really that bad.

He swallowed and said a single word to Arthur. It was both a command and an offer that will kick off the lesson for the night.

"Watch"