The Union

"Stop talking nonsense Silver. This is a jest right? A bad jest" He looked around and gave a chuckle "But n.o.body is laughing anymore. Your humor has soured brother. Let"s just go and meet the other mercenaries. Let"s go Silver"

"My name is not Silver" William"s voice was unshaken "I am William Castonia, second son of Leopold Castonia and brother to His Majesty Timothy Castonia. As a prince I command you all to fight for our King"

"Have you lost your mind? King!? That boy is not my King. You should have been my King but you refused. We would have followed you to death Silver. But you refused us. That is alright. We could understand your refusal. But to call a b.a.s.t.a.r.d boy many years younger than you my King? Until my a.r.s.e bleeds diamonds, he will not be my King!"

"Insults to his Majesty will not be tolerated. Another wrongful accusation of his birthright will be deemed treason. I implore you, King Timothy needs us"

His second-in-command shook his head, slowly and with weight "He has lost his mind lads. Silver has lost his mind! Put him in chains!"

The men of Silverback looked at each other. Some then started to approach William. Their aim was to subdue him.

William unsheathed his sword. "I am William, a prince of Castionia! If you have any shed of honor left defend me. I am the one who led you for years. I am also the one who elevated you to veterans. My leadership saved your lives many times in the past. Defend your Capatain!"

His shout shook many of his men into action. Some drew their swords and formed a cordon around him. Silverback was now divided into two. On one side were William and his loyalists and on the other were his second-in-command and most of his men. He felt saddened that there were more opposing him compared to those who are defending him. The two sides were destined to meet- and with clangs of swords they did.

**********

Screams and cries of pain were behind them. Many of his men were burning.

The Captain of Moon was running away from their original position. It turned out that the smell was the dreaded h.e.l.lfire. They had been standing on snow drenched in the unholy Vanadian liquid.

After the hors.e.m.e.n threw the lamps, fires erupted from below. The flame spread rapidly like a wave in the ocean. The snow burned hot. Even the soil was torched. h.e.l.lfire was truly deserving of its name.

Many of his men were burning from behind. The mercenaries from other companies were also running away. Who wouldn"t run, he thought. Only suicidal maniacs and idiots would stay.

But they were able to survive. His leg was burned and the pain was unbearable. The skin of his leg merged with his trousers. But he survived with most of Moon. Pain and injuries would vanish in time. Death, on the other hand, was permanent.

He stopped and panted to catch his breath. Smoke from the fire blew towards them. Even the smoke of the unholy liquid was painful to the lungs. He took the opportunity to estimate their losses.

He lost less than a hundred from his company. The other companies had it worse. But the fire didn"t annihilate them. They could still fight and return the injury they suffered.

But as he looked at the faces of his men, he understood the real purpose of the fire. It wasn"t to cull their numbers but to shake their courage. His men were pale. Some were vomiting. The others were shaking not from cold, but from fear. Such would be the case if one sees the snow burst into flame.

The fire dragged their morale into an all-time low. His lads were on the brink of routing. As the Captain, he must say something- a speech or a gesture of courage to keep them from running away.

With a long and deep sigh he rose in his feet. He cracked his knuckles and prepared his words of encouragement. He opened his mouth.

And then the sound of boots crunching in the snow was heard. It was a march. From the simultaneous sound of their marching he knew that the ones marching were disciplined soldiers. There was no question about it.

"Silverback!" One of his senior officers exclaimed "It must be Silverback! Rise up lads, leave it to Silverback!"

It was a possibility he thought- and the only possibility with the information given to them. Only Silverback could march like that. Not even the Moon company could do that.

He also began to get hopeful. If Silverback arrives, then they were saved. Nothing would raise his men"s morale more than seeing the stern face of those Castonians clad in armor. Those Castonians were their last hope.

And soon the smile on his face vanished. The flags the newcomers fly were not of Silverback. They were Vanadians. And when he saw the rest of them, his heart sunk to the bottom. Another flag waved in the air. It was Castonia"s.

But that was not the end of his nightmare. Another look towards the coat of arms of the Castonians confirmed that they were done for. It was over whether Silverback joins them or not.

"Sir" The person beside him had a trembling voice "Isn"t that…"

"Yes it is" He cut off. The coat of arms of the Castonians was clear as day. The danger it represented was beaming. It was the Rooster. He was scared. He hoped they would at least offer them a chance to surrender.

**********

Erik was on top of his horse. Seeing the pale faces of the mercenaries almost made him laugh. Who wouldn"t be afraid when presented with the coat of arms of the Rooster legion?

It felt cheating though. Most of the Castonians he brought from Greenwater were just from the city watch of the city. Some belonged to his personal guards. Only a few dozen of them truly belonged to the Rooster. But technicalities were not his thing. At least he was not completely lying to their enemies. The important thing is that he was able to scare them.

He looked towards the new Vanadian legion. They were not bad. Actually they were good considering Timothy just started training them a week ago. They were green and untested. But their willingness to join the battle was commendable. Erik mused on the name the Vanadians chose for their legion. They called it Snow.

He returned his look towards the pale faces of the mercenaries. Now he must offer them surrender. Having the enemies surrender would always be better than fighting.

He clucked his horse forward. "Surrender. Only death awaits to those who will resist. The Rooster and Snow legions demand that you lower your weapons. The King and the Queen…."

Before he could finish his demand for surrender, the mercenaries already dropped their weapons. Erik couldn"t believe his eyes. Thousands were surrendering right in front of him. He thought that there would at least be a few who will resist. But all of the mercenaries surrendered at once.

His men took the captives one by one. There were so many that the weapons and armors they confiscated piled up high. But he noticed that one mercenary company was missing.

"Where is Silverback?" he asked a chained mercenary from the top of his horse.

The man flinched and showed a nervous expression "Sir, Silverback didn"t join us"

"Didn"t join? Where are they?"

"I don"t know sir. I truly don"t know. We were supposed to meet before we reach the walls of Holm. But they didn"t show"

Erik frowned. The reason why Timothy entrusted him with the bulk of their forces is because of Silverback. Now they were missing. He had seen Timothy wait all day for Prince William"s reply but it never arrived. So they just a.s.sumed that they would have to fight Silverback today. But what if the Prince was doing things on his own again? What if he… Erik stopped his thoughts and just moved.

"Everyone with a horse on me!" He shouted as loud as he could. His men on horseback came riding towards him.

"Scour the forest!" Erik shouted "Not a single tree unchecked. Not a single rock unturned. Find Prince William or any signs of battle. Go. With haste go!"

**********

Arthur was sitting in the garden. The gra.s.s p.r.i.c.ked his bottom.

"They will come right?" He asked his mother beside him.

"They will. Trust them Arthur"

"But they will be filthy and they will smell"

"Of course they will. It"s the sewer they waddled in after all.This is not the time to be fussy Arthur. Those people are doing dirty things like going into the sewer just to make you King"

"To make me a puppet you mean"

His mother didn"t speak back. She just frowned while shaking her head.

Footsteps approached them. His mother"s eyes showed confidence.

"They"re here" She said with glee.

But the people who emerged from the darkness were neither filthy nor smelly. They wore clean clothes topped with armor. They were royal guards of both Vanadis and Castonia. The leading person was a giant who could squash a skull with one hand. Arthur was once threatened by this giant.

His mother rose abruptly. "What are you doing here!?"

"Shouldn"t we be here?" Abraham replied. He looked at Arthur "Prince Arthur, everything is ready"

"Arthur what is he saying?" His mother asked.

Arthur didn"t mind her. "Take my mother to the her quarters and guard her"

Two guards moved to hold his mother.

"Arthur what are you doing!?"

"My responsibility mother. Every citizen of Vanadis has a responsibility to defend the Queen."

"Defend the...You have betrayed us!?" Her eyes were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with rage.

Arthur turned his head to her one last time before going with Abraham and the rest of the royal guards.

"Arthur answer me! You cannot do this to me! Arthur!" Those were her last shouts as she was dragged away.

Arthur sighed. His posture was firm but his hand was shaking.

"Are you nervous sire?" Abraham asked

"Can my armor shield me against a sword?"

"You"re wearing plate with mail doublet underneath. You"ll be fine sire"

Arthur shook his head and smiled "I am a coward aren"t I?"

Abraham patted his back. The force of the pat almost made him cough his lungs out. "I was a coward once. I watched a little boy killed and did nothing. You, on the other hand, volunteered to join us. You are not a coward"

"Thank you" Arthur said. His heart was still beating fast and his hands were still shaking. But his body was moving towards the sewers.

He let out a silent curse and just gritted his teeth.