The Union

He was doomed. His career was over. His dream of reforming the Knights into a better organization was now but a dream. His mission to erase the idea of chivalry had failed.

He had expected that King Leopold would win. Or if Timothy would win, then at least his army could sweep in and destroy the wounded Castonians.

But the old King had a change of hearts. Admirable, touching- but foolish. If King Leopold just grabbed the opportunity to kill Timothy, then the old fart would have become the King of all Castonia once more. Now King Leopold had lost his crown and would possibly be imprisoned for his crimes.

Leopold"s decision also destroyed Rickard"s dreams. With the Castonians now united, his army would lose for sure. Even if he runs to Knightsend, what then? He would survive for a few more months but he can no longer escape. He cannot retreat back to Tulosa because King Brice would surely execute him. He was alone- and defeated.

Rickard leaned on his chair. The aches on his back had worsen over the years. He turned his head towards the table and grabbed a bottle of cheap wine. He popped the cork with his thumb and drank directly from the bottle. The strong flavor of the cheap wine filled his mouth. After he had his fill he lowered the bottle and grimaced.

"I too hate the taste of cheap brothel wine. The aftertaste is just too bitter for my tongue" a chilly voice said.

Rickard sprang his head towards the direction of the voice. There was a man sitting on his bed. The lighting in the tent was dim but he could see the man clearly. The man had a strange outfit. Black coat with white clothing underneath. The man"s hat was too big to be of fashion. And the cane on his hand- It was the smoothest and most beautiful cane Rickard had ever seen.

His first reaction was to scream for help. But before he could open his mouth the man talked first.

"I"m not here to hurt you Rickard. If I were, then your back would already have a knife buried in it."

Rickard fixed his gaze on the man. His heart was pounding like a steed on full charge. "Who are you?"

"Not a fan of small talks are we? I feel you. Small talks are dumb sometimes. Well let me quench your curiosity a little about my ident.i.ty."

The man crossed his legs, leaned forward and smiled at Rickard "We are many Rickard. And we have been watching all your little games. You are not worthy to hear my name so just call me the Spectator for I am watching- always"

"Spectator?" Rickard frowned "Did Timothy sent you? Are you his ally?"

"Hoooh. Worried? Well to answer your question, I am and at the same time I am not. Although King Timothy had already earned my personal favor, we can"t be called allies yet"

"Then why are you here?"

"To help you and Timothy" The Spectator"s answer was immediate "You see Rickard, I don"t want King Timothy to waste time on this war. He had won and you lost. I could kill you but King Timothy wouldn"t like that. So I"m here to convince you to surrender"

"Surrender!?" Rickard roared with gritted teeth.

"And change your heart if I am able" the Spectator said with a shrug "What I"m going to do is a waste of our power. You are not worthy of our power but if it"s for King Timothy then why not. Enjoy this gift from us Rickard."

The next thing Rickard knew, he was outside a house. It was a small brick house that gives off a familiar feeling. He looked around and saw a potato field. And then it occurred to him that this was their old house.

Arms wrapped around him and he smelled a familiar scent. With a turn of his head, he saw Cecile hugging him. She was wearing a green dress- her favorite dress which he bought for her with his first salary as a Knight.

"Rickard" She cried "I"ve missed you. I"ve missed you so much"

Rickard stared at her. She was Cecile, he was sure of it. The Cecile he loved with all his heart. His eyes started to wet. And then two small pair of arms embraced him from the other side. He looked and saw Marco and Veni embracing his waist.

Rickard was overwhelmed. He was still confused but he doesn"t care about details. The three most important people in his life were around him.

Rickard wrapped his two arms around the three of them. He cried. It had been so long that he had forgotten about their faces. But now they were here. If this was a dream, he doesn"t want to wake up. He wanted to stay here with Cecile and his boys.

"I"m sorry" Rickard sobbed "I couldn"t protect you. But I promise... I promise that I will avenge you from their false ideas. You died because I was deceived by the knights in believing in goodness. I swear that I will destroy those ideas. I will uproot them even if it costs me everything"

"No Rickard" Cecile looked at him and put a palm on his cheek "We don"t want that. It has been revealed to us what you did- what you have become. Righteousness is not a sin Rickard. We died because of evil people, not because you did the right thing. There is still a chance for you to repent my love. Do it. Let go of us. Let go of the past and be free."

"What are you saying Cecile? I spent my entire life changing the outdated ideas of the Knights"

"And you wasted your life Rickard. You have become evil. It hurts us. We don"t have much time. They can"t maintain this for long. So please change your mind now"

"Cecile..."

The scene slowly faded from Rickard"s eyes. Cecile said something but he didn"t hear about it. From her lips, he could read that she was saying "We love you"

And then Rickard was back inside his tent. Tears were still falling from his eyes. The Spectator was now standing in front of him.

"You heard her Rickard. The decision is yours. Will you let go of hate or will you keep being swallowed by it?"

**********

Timothy opened his eyes and gasped for air. He had the same dream again involving the woman.

His loud gasping awakened Lucia. She supported him and patted his back.

"Same dream again?" Lucia asked.

Timothy nodded, still gasping.

Lucia peeled the blanket away, stood from the bed and went to the table. When she came back she was holding a cup of water.

Timothy drank the water and his heart was calmed.

"Thank you" he said

Lucia hugged him. "Don"t worry about it. I"m here"

"You"re not jealous?" Timothy gave a small smirk.

"A little" Lucia grinned "We are about to get married and you"re still dreaming of other women. I swear, she should just go to her Mat and leave my Timothy alone"

She was just too cute to ignore. Timothy wanted to bite her lips. With one move of his head, he shortened the distance between their lips. But before they could kiss, the tent flapped open and light from the outside blinded him.

"Tim!" Erik"s voice called

Timothy squinted and looked with annoyance at Erik. The moment was perfect and yet Erik destroyed it.

"What is it?" Timothy asked coldly and Lucia giggled.

But Erik"s face remained serious.

**********

With his hand intertwined with Lucia"s, Timothy hurried outside. Erik just informed them that General Rickard and his Knights surrendered.

There were already thousands of soldiers surrounding the Tulosans when they arrived. General Rickard was kneeling at the very front. The General was clad in armor and was just a few paces away from Timothy.

"So you surrender General Rickard?" Timothy asked while his guards surround the General.

"Yes. I just realized that my ways are evil and I was in the wrong. Give me your judgement King Timothy"

Timothy still couldn"t believe it. He thought that he would need to waste thousands more lives just to make General Rickard yield. This was totally unexpected that he wasn"t sure what to do. He turned his head towards Lucia.

"What do you think?" he asked silently

Lucia was looking at General Rickard. "I think we should.... Tim!"

Lucia shouted and shielded him with her body. Timothy looked forward. General Rickard and a few of his men were sprinting towards them with daggers in hand.