The Union

"I do" said Timothy "I do" he repeated with pain in his voice.

"So why would he accept a contract to fight against us?"

"I don"t know. I am puzzled as to why he would do this. The last time we saw each other was when he left"

Lucia could see that Timothy was shaken. He was affected by the news that his beloved brother is fighting against him. She dragged her chair closer and sat. She grabbed his hand.

"Escanor could be wrong"

"A man of his caliber is rarely wrong"

"If you don"t want to fight him then let us Vanadians handle them. Just give us a plan"

Timothy fell into a deep silence.

"No" he said after a while "I will fight him and use my Castonians if I have to. I am a King and I have a responsibility to my Kingdom" he looked at her "And to you"

"Even if your heart aches?"

Timothy smiled and nodded. "William was...kind to me. He is a righteous man with n.o.ble ideas. He has pa.s.sion and the capability to match it. I admired him."

Timothy pursed his lips "He left about five years ago. He was discontented by my father"s way of ruling. For him it was shameful for a King to go back on his words. And my father- you know how he is. He was a sly man- breaking oaths and promises left and right. My father was also kind of cruel and a little dishonest- too dishonest for William to bear. One day my brother decided to leave. He kept it secret to everybody except to me. Until now my father is still clueless as to where William is. I never told him because William requested me to keep his secret. And so William took a few thousand of the eastern garrisons and built a mercenary company. He even left his wife because of it. He named the mercenary company Silverback and he changed his name to Silver. Silverback became famous in the East. A reliable mercenary company composed of crack Castonians is hard to come by. During the civil war I even sent him a request for a contract but he never replied. The next thing I know Silverback is here in Vanadis"

"Any chance we could sway him to our side?"

"I don"t think that will happen. Silver is a man of contracts. He would stick to a contract no matter what. So even if William and I would fight against each other, he wouldn"t hesitate to raise his sword against me- because he is contracted to do so"

Lucia understood Timothy"s pain. From the tone of his voice and the choice words he uttered it was apparent that he loves his brother. It was the same situation she had with regards to Arthur but Timothy and William"s bond was stronger and one of them was bound to be destroyed at the end of this.

"So what will you do?"

"I will..." he gripped her hand "Fight him if it comes to that. Like what I said, I am a King and I have a responsibility. And I have you to protect. If anyone dares raise his sword against you, I will make sure that person"s end. Even if it"s William. It"s his fault for accepting the contract anyway"

Just by looking at his face Lucia knew that Timothy still wanted to add something.

"But"

"But? What?" Timothy asked

"A "but" is coming, am I wrong? You will fight him but... I know you too well Tim"

Timothy sighed "Yes. I will fight him but I want to see him first. I want answers. I want to look at him in the eye and ask why in the world is he doing this. I want him to explain everything to me. I cannot just brawl with him without knowing why"

"It will be dangerous"

"I will be"

"And foolish"

"Yes. That is the impression of meeting with your enemy"

"Do it Tim" She put a kiss on his cheek "Though it makes me worried, I want you to be at peace. Just be careful"

He smiled to her and wrapped her in his embrace "You really are spoiling me aren"t you?"

**********

The galley was crowded. There were vomits everywhere. It was disgusting.

Erik couldn"t put a blame on them though. Castonians rarely venture to sea. Many of the people he brought had never even boarded a ship before.

"Your people" Admiral Veno said "They are weak"

"Our people Admiral" Erik made his smirk as annoying as he could "They are your people too. Vanadis and Castonia will soon become one under the heir of the King and the Queen"

"A disgusting vision. Mixing blood with you Castonians is a disgrace"

"Disgrace. Hah. That"s a word you say pertaining to something inferior. We Castonians are not inferior"

"Your pukes are all over the place. That is inferiority"

"And your men will clean our pukes after we disembarked, yes? Tell me Admiral, which among the two is inferior- the puker or the one cleaning the puke?"

"You dare mock us boy? I am twice your age. And I am an Admiral of the great Vanadian navy"

"And I am a Marquis of Castonia. I have power second only to the King. And I am just half your age. I have fought men more powerful than you. I have humiliated them all. Now your status compared to mine deserves mockery"

The Admiral"s face turned red. Clenched fists and a glare met Erik. "You better not regret this"

"Ah so now you"re angry. Frustrating isn"t it? You cannot strike me no matter how much I mock you. That, Admiral, is power. Never again will you look down on my men Admiral. Never. Now I"m tired. I shall go back to my quarters and rest. You.." Erik chuckled "You can go and clean the pukes of my men"

Erik turned around with a smile on his face. People like this Admiral Veno are not worth his time. He walked towards his room below the deck.

But before he could get into the stairs of thee ship, he noticed Sylvie near the edge of the galley. She was looking at the horizon with her hair swaying and arms spread. A mischievous thought entered Erik"s mind. He grinned and snuck up to her, making his steps soft and quiet.

"A n.o.ble sneaking up to a lady. Oh what lecherous designs do you have for me Marquis Erik? I could only imagine the state of myself after you"re done. Please be gentle" She turned her head and raised her eyebrows.

Erik"s grin vanished. He straightened his back. "Can"t you be normal even just once?"

"My reaction is merited my handsome Marquis. I sensed a predator crouching behind and about to pounce on me. Tell me, what could a lady do but beg for the predator to be gentle?"

"You make me sound like a l.u.s.tful old man" Erik went beside her "So, looking at the horizon huh?"

"Looking at the sea. The horizon is boring. The sea is not"

"Are we close?"

"We have entered the bay of hundred islets just this morning. We are close"

"Excited?"

"Not really. Although I miss the city, I have n.o.body to to reunite with"

Erik turned his head towards her. "Your father. We can talk to Lucia about reconsidering the sentence. You once told me that it was an unfair judgement"

"I prefer not. My father is in Wismar anyway. And as I think about it now, I believe the sentence was fair. He did embezzle funds and the merchant who reported him was right"

Erik feasted upon the beautiful waves. A sudden gust of wintry air blew towards them.

"After all is resolved. You know, peace with Wismar and stability in Castonia and Vanadis" Erik leaned closer to her "I will help you reunite with you father. It should be easy with the resources that I have"

"Thank you. And after that?" Her eyes twinkled "What about us?"

"Us?"

Sylvie"s cheeks reddend a bit "When are you going to be serious about me?"

"You really have a talent in teasing me with your jokes" Erik beamed

"What if I"m not teasing? What if I do really like you?"

Everything stopped for Erik. For the first time he saw Sylvie serious about something. He felt numb to the chilly wind or the rocking of the galley. The shouts of mariners didn"t reach his ears. Only Sylvie"s words echoed inside. He doesn"t really know how he felt about her. He was comfortable around Sylvie despite her eccentric behavior. He doesn"t have plans yet but he cannot imagine himself without her around.

"I..."

Before he could say anything Sylvie turned the other way and pointed at something. "We have arrived! That"s Holm"

Erik looked forward and saw a huge city in the horizon with an equally huge harbor. He quickly lost interest and looked at Sylvie instead. Other people would have been amazed. But Erik was too distracted by her to care about the city.