The Union

"Cheers!" Timothy also raised his cup and faked a smile. This man, he thought, this man is dangerous.

Both of them drank from their respective cups at the same. After Timothy lowered his cup, he looked intently at the Magistrate.

They were victorious, another victory under his belt. But they failed to destroy the Tulosans. Although General Rickard lost half of his cavalry, most of the Tulosans and their mercenaries escaped- all because of Magistrate Chen.

Since the Inkish, Hadean and Cantonese forces in the left flank failed to surround the cavalry in their side, the said cavalry were able to escape. Since thousands of Tulosan cavalry escaped, Timothy cannot order an all-out chase of the fleeing Tulosans for fear that his cavalry will be overwhelmed. While his cavalry did captured hundreds of fleeing mercenaries, the numbers were just too small.

Magistrate Chen, Marquis Sachi and Marquis Qilo all expressed their apologies for their failure. They said that the Tulosans were just too fast. But Timothy and Lucia doubt that claim. Their dear allies just don"t want to help.

"He"s testing you" Lucia whispered "He"s gauging your personality by your reactions to his mockery. Fake your expressions"

Timothy looked at her and realized that she was right. Magistrate Chen was probably testing the waters. He just maintained a placid expression.

The officers were all celebrating inside a large tent. The soldiers in the camp were also given booze and meat. This was Timothy"s way of thanking his men for the job well done.

Timothy and Lucia were seated together in a high table while the other officers were drinking and eating in front of them. It was a lively atmosphere with the officers conversing merrily about the events of the battle.

Erik, although still grieving for his father, was talking and laughing with Bisham and Henry. They were discussing on how the three forces they led surrounded the enemy cavalry in the right flank.

General Hoover was pestering the serious General Bourgis while drinking what looks to be mead.

General Marvin was not eating though. He was busy scribbling some words on paper. If Timothy was to guess, it was another song celebrating their victory in the plains.

Suddenly, King Edmund pounded his cup on the table. The chattering was silenced and all eyes were locked on the Vanadian King.

King Edmund rose and faced Timothy. His flushed face betrayed the fact that he was slightly drunk.

"We have been celebrating for hours but I haven"t heard a single thanks to the pair who brought us victory."

King Edmund jabbed his cup towards them, spilling some of its contents.

"My Lucia sure has grown a lot. We should thank her for her smart thinking. I am proud of my daughter. I am happy to be remembered in history as the father of Lucia Vanadis!"

His declaration was met with cheers for Lucia. King Edmund raised his hand to silence the crowd.

"And King Timothy! Oh what a brilliant mind. He is my son now, or soon to be. Not that it matters. He will soon wed my daughter and their matrimony will link Castonia and Vanadis. But as early as now I declare- King Timothy is my son! My son is a great man eh? The greatest son in the world!"

"Aye!" the crowd shouted and cheered. They were loud and their shouts remained for long.

"Oh he"s your son now!?" Arthur who was sitting beside King Edmund shouted. His shout silenced the cheers. Timothy could see that the Prince was not pleased. "Great! Oh how great. I now have a brother. I must be honored."

Arthur rose and looked around. "Why are you being silent? Aren"t you cheering for him!? Aren"t you shouting his name as if he"s a G.o.d of sorts? Even my father, my father whom I grew up with, was so amazed. It must be great to have a son like Timothy. A great son he calls him. The greatest in the whole d.a.m.n world!"

n.o.body uttered a word. The tent was as silent as the grave. Arthur must have already noticed what he had done so he laughed.

"I"m sorry" he said while laughing. "I was merely acting out a play I once saw. Pardon this foolish prince for disrupting your celebration"

Arthur grabbed his cup and limply exited the tent.

"I... I should follow him. I"m sorry for the commotion he caused. He"s a little drunk you see. Just continue." King Edmund said. The King then followed Arthur outside.

**********

Arthur was sitting on a boulder in the darkness. It was cold. His shivering flesh was exposed.

He didn"t mind though. This was better than going back to that tent. At least here he wouldn"t hear his father"s praises for Lucia and that b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

"You shouldn"t have done that Arthur." Somebody said from behind. He knew it was his father.

His father sat on the gra.s.s beside the boulder. "I"m sorry if I hurt your feelings Arthur. I was a little drunk. I blabber things when I"m drunk. It"s just. I don"t know how to put it. Timothy did a marvelous thing. We need to praise him because of that. I praised your good deeds in the past didn"t I?"

"A couple of times"

"See? Then you understand. Let"s go back eh? When I went outside that tent, they have already resumed their celebrations so you don"t have to worry about the awkward atmosphere." his father said while smiling.

Arthur did not agree. He was hurt. He already knew that Lucia was better than him in all aspects. She was talented, smart and the people loves her. All his life he had always been compared to Lucia by everybody. The commoners even wanted Lucia to become the heir instead of him. All he had was his gender. He is a son, the only son of King Edmund Vanadis.

But now Timothy stole that from him. He felt like a subst.i.tute. He had nothing.

"Is he better than me?" Arthur asked.

"That"s... not really the case. You have your strong points Arthur and Timothy had his. You are better in some aspects"

"Like what?" Arthur looked at his father"s eyes.

"Like ah, like..."

"I already know so stop it." Arthur started to tear. "He is the son you have always wanted me to be. Smart, kind, charismatic, talented. Well I"m sorry father. I"m sorry if I"m not smart enough. I"m sorry if I"m not kind. I"m sorry if the d.a.m.n people don"t love me! But this is who I am okay?! This is Arthur Vanadis, your son!"

His father embraced him. "Shhhhh. I know Arthur. I know. But no matter what, please know that I love you. You are my son"

Arthur pushed his father away. "You love me? No! Over the years it"s only Lucia that you loved. Only her! And now Timothy. Hah! What a cruel joke."

Arthur ran away. He didn"t want to look at that old man. He was angry at the world.

Why!? he shouted in his heart. Why am I inferior?

**********

The earlier cheerfulness of the people inside the tent was reduced to a forced one. Arthur"s tantrum had strained the mood.

Lucia sighed. She did not expect that Arthur would do that. Well she couldn"t really blame him. It must have been painful for Arthur too. At the very least though, Arthur shouldn"t have soured the mood. Now people would gossip about their family. The pain he felt was n.o.body"s fault anyway.

"I know how he felt" Timothy said "I know because King Leopold had always favored Ivan and William. In fact my father even did extreme things" he winked, a playful reminder to Lucia that King Leopold tried to kill him several times.

Lucia laughed. "And you didn"t embarra.s.s the Castonia family in front of many people. Not even once?"

Timothy drank from his cup. "Nope. I think I don"t even hate him. I tried hating him but I just couldn"t. He"s my enemy- our enemy. But If he was currently in front of me, I think I couldn"t even shout at him. I loved him. And I still do despite what he did. Love makes people do strange things. Even if the rumors are true that I am indeed not his son, I would still treat him as my father. I hope he will live at the end. He needs to pay for his crimes but I wouldn"t execute him or something."

Lucia leaned her head on his shoulder. The difference between Arthur and Timothy lies not just in their ability but also in their heart. Timothy still loves King Leopold despite everything. Arthur on the other hand... She pursed her lips and just hoped that Arthur would change.

James then ran towards them and whispered something on Timothy"s ear. Lucia lifted her head and examined Tim"s expression.

After James" whisper, Timothy smiled at Lucia. It was not a smile of joy but bitter smile.

"Our situation just got more complicated." Timothy said. "The scouts say that King Leopold is near. And..."

"And what?" Lucia asked

"And he"s doing something dangerous"