The Union

Baron Marvin had been staring at the letter for a few minutes now. He never thought that the King would do this. The letter, of course, came from a person he hadn"t met before. But if Timothy trusted Lucia Vanadis, then he will also trust her. Marvin knew that Timothy was not a fool. If he trusts somebody, then that person can be trusted.

If what Lucia Vanadis said was the truth, then Timothy is in danger. Marvin leaned on his chair. A second letter from Mathias added to his worries. Mathias won"t help Timothy. His reasoning was simple, it will be better for Leo"s Tear to lose one member rather than two. Marvin doesn"t think of Mathias" reasoning as cowardly. In fact, Marvin believes that it was the right thing to do. It will be suicidal to face the Tulosan army. Cavalry was dangerous in the battlefield.

Lucia Vanadis got one thing wrong. She probably thought that Mathias would help Timothy. But Marvin knew that Mathias was a very pragmatic person.

Marvin stood up and looked outside his window. Well, she got two things wrong. She probably also thought that there was no way for Knightsend to help Timothy. Lucia Vanadis underestimated Timothy"s popularity among the soldiers of Knightsend. They love Timothy so much that they will break any walls just to rescue him. Marvin smiled. It"s time for the lion to wake up from its slumber.

He called for a meeting.

General Marvin gathered all the officers inside the meeting room. There were 40 Centurions, 4 Prefects and General Marvin himself. The most basic unit of the Castonian Military was the Century. One Century was composed of 100 soldiers and was led by a Centurion. Ten Centuries made up a Cohort which was headed by a Prefect. An army, under a general like Marvin, was composed of several Cohorts. The number of Cohorts an army had varies. Of the four western Castonian Armies, the garrison of Knightsend had the least number of Cohorts at four. Knightsend is so far away that the crown can"t handle the logistics to support a larger army.

Marvin looked around. Timothy himself handpicked these men. According to him, every single one of them was capable, loyal and brave.

"I had just received troubling news" Marvin started. He stood in front of them with both his hands tugged behind him. "It seems Prince Timothy is in danger."

Marvin then told them part of the story. He cut some parts of the story like the King"s role in all of this and the Wismarine Prince. He only told them about Timothy"s predicament. After he finished, the officers were in an uproar.

"General.." One of the Centurions stood from his seat "if your information is correct, then Prince Timothy is indeed in danger. We need to do something"

"Should we tell the men of this?" another centurion asked

"You know how much they love Prince Timothy. If they find out we"ve been keeping this a secret from them, they"ll rip us apart!"

" We must first inform the King!" A Prefect exclaimed

"Even if we do, it"s already too late. By now, the Tulosan"s should have already heard of Timothy"s situation and are on the process of cutting off his escape." A Centurion said

"It won"t be treason if we break the siege ourselves and a.s.sist Prince Timothy right?" One Centurion suggested. The officers all stopped talking and looked at him.

" And how do we do that?" the Prefect of the third cohort raised his brows

"Simple" It was Marvin who answered the Prefect"s queries. He smiled " Just tell the men that the rooster prince is in danger and they"ll rip the Tulosans apart."

At midday Marvin gathered all the soldiers at the castle grounds. The sun was at its zenith yet the 4000 men of the garrison stood without saying a word. Luckily, the midday wind started blowing and provided relief. Marvin looked at the men, their postures were firm like rock against a tumultuous sea, their gazes were so powerful candles would melt, their wills were unbreakable like what the men of Castonia should be.

Marvin spoke. His voice was loud and clear. Even though everyone was silent, it will still be hard for his voice to reach all their ears so he ordered the centurions to repeat every sentence he said. He told them of Prince Timothy"s situation. He told them that Timothy needs the men of Knightsend. He told them that the rooster prince they love and respect would perish if they do nothing. He told them that it was time to act. Marvin doesn"t even need to make his speech dramatic. He wasn"t good at giving speeches anyway. It was enough to let the soldiers know of the situation.

Jop gritted his teeth. He never thought that the "Tulosans" would use dirty schemes to win. Killing the messenger, how despicable. Now the rooster prince is in danger. The Tulosans must be fools for thinking they could get away with this. The must be fools for thinking they could just scheme against the prince and for thinking that the garrison of Knightsend would stay idle. Targeting the rooster prince was the worst decision they made. He gripped the hilt of his dagger. He will make them understand that the Rooster Prince was off limits.

Elisar looked at the sky. He remembered the first time he met Prince Timothy. At first Elisar thought that Timothy was just some n.o.ble playing with soldiers. He thought that Timothy must have been bored by his lavish lifestyle at the palace so he went to Knightsend to mess around. The first time Elisar saw the prince personally was that night a year ago. He was sleeping when the centurion wake him up. Apparently the prince commanded the garrison to a.s.semble at the castle grounds. The centurion that time was as confused as he was. An a.s.sembly at night? How absurd. If he wanted to meet them, he should do it in the morning. It was dark and they couldn"t see clearly anyway. Nevertheless, they had no choice but to obey. In the end, the prince gathered them all. He said, "Those who drop or move should then immediately pack their things and leave Knightsend. Castonia doesn"t need weak men". After that he remained silent and stood in front of them the entire evening until dawn. Some people were not able to endure that night and left the castle the next morning. In the end Knightsend lost a few hundred men, but it gained something more valuable- the guidance of Prince Timothy.

The prince gave him the pride and the ident.i.ty of being a soldier. At first he didn"t care about Castonia at all. He became a soldier because he wanted the high salary and impressive retirement benefits. But everything changed after Timothy came. A fire was lit inside his heart. Ever since that night, Elisar was never the same. He became a man of Knightsend, a defender of Castonia.

John could still remember that night when the rooster prince caught him drunk while on watch. The prince was so angry that time he ordered the entire garrison to stand all night. John was a little drunk but he still endured. Honesty he was able to endure because he was challenging the prince that time. After understanding that the prince planned on standing the whole night, he felt challenged. How could a boy, few years younger than him, think that he"s better than him? Just because he"s a royal, he thinks that he"s better? So John didn"t want to move a muscle before Timothy did. He wanted to prove to himself that he was better than the prince. In the end, both of them didn"t move until dawn. It wasn"t just a test of strength but also a test of will. Standing all night was a hard physical task. But most of those who failed did so because they lack discipline. Boredom was painful and standing all night without doing anything rips apart a man"s sanity. Days became weeks and weeks turned to months. Their drills and exercises under Prince Timothy turned more rigorous and tiring. Many people complained at first, but they always shut their mouths whenever they see the Prince struggling like them and not complaining at all. Eventually, the Prince won the admiration of everyone including John. The soldiers started calling him Rooster Prince for his habit of waking up so early in the morning and ordering a march. After a year, the garrison"s loyalty to the prince was absolute.

If John could meet his earlier self, he would give him a slap on the face for being so stupid. By drinking while on watch duty, he endangered the entire garrison. Timothy taught him many lessons. He gave him a sense of purpose. He gave him a reason for existing. He owes the rooster prince so much that only his life would be able to cover his debt.

All the soldiers of the garrison felt the same. Some clenched their hands, others gripped the hilt of their swords. The Tulosans need to pay. If they had forgotten how to be afraid, the garrison of Knightsend will teach them.

The stallion had taunted the lion for so long.

And the Lion"s patience had finally run out.

It"s time to hunt.