The Union

Lucia opened her eyes. The camp was already awake. Some soldiers were fixing the tents while others were cooking breakfast. The soldiers don"t usually cook breakfast. They would usually eat the leftovers of last night"s dinner. Sunlight was a precious commodity and the soldiers would rather use the time to march, scout or build something rather than cook. But the soldiers were too embarra.s.sed to make the second princess eat leftovers. She was not just a princess, she was a princess of the rich merchant kingdom of Vanadis.

Lucia told them that it"s alright, they were in a hurry anyway so they couldn"t afford to waste time on cooking. The longer they stay on the road, the larger the chance of accidents. But the captain of the guards a.s.sured Lucia that they will not let anything happen to her. It was their duty to escort her to Nirvana and they shall fulfill that duty. So every day, the soldiers cook breakfast for her. Every morning, she had meat, fresh bread, porridge and fruits.

Lucia fixed herself and went to find the Captain. They should arrive today in Nirvana, at least according to her estimates. She found the captain beside his tent, sharpening his sword.

"Good morning Captain Bisham" Lucia gave a radiant smile to the Captain "we will arrive at Nirvana before sunset right?"

Captain Bisham was an old man in his sixties. He first joined the navy 40 years ago and he was at the battle of Salam where the Vanadian navy decimated the pirates of Ghoul Island. Now, he was the captain of the Vanadian Royal Guards. The Royal Guards were different from the Palace Guards of Holm. These men were veterans chosen from the navy. There were only about a hundred of them and 20 were transferred in Lucia"s retinue.

"Earlier than that Your Highness" the Captain confirmed. He sheathed his sword and put the whetstone away "we should arrive by midday"

Lucia nodded and then looked to the direction of Nirvana. She was silent for a while until she questioned the Captain "Captain, you"ve been to Nirvana right?"

" Yes, several times in fact" Captain Bisham grabbed a bowl of porridge and handed it to Lucia to which she gave a silent thank you. "my father lived in Ledega so I frequented the City when I was your age. Since Nirvana was nearby, I also got to see the capital" he explained

Lucia ate the porridge. The warm food satiated her hunger. "So what are the people like?"

"Are you nervous Your Highness? Don"t be " the Captain chuckled. He paused for a while " You know the legend of the two brothers right?"

Of course Lucia knew the Legend. Almost everyone does.

Once there were two brothers who led a ma.s.s migration into the land which now encompa.s.ses the combined Castonia and Vanadis. The high priest once prophesized that the new kingdom the brothers will build will conquer the world. The migration attracted people from all over the land. But after they arrived, the two brothers had an argument on where to build their first city. One of the brothers was a warrior and the other a merchant. The warrior favored the rich mines of what is now today the location of Nirvana. He argued that for a Kingdom to conquer the world, it needs warriors. Warriors need weapons so a mineral-rich founding city would be the best. The merchant argued otherwise. He said that only a rich Kingdom could maintain a large standing army. Metals were useless if you can"t pay your army. For him the location of Holm, which was conducive to trade, would be the best choice. So the brothers consulted the priest.

In order to solve the disagreement, the priest begged the G.o.ds for guidance. The priest decided to throw a small rock randomly and where it lands would be related to the answer of the G.o.ds. The priest must have thrown the rock too hard that it shattered into two upon impact. One piece of the rock landed on a sword while the other landed on a bag of coins. The two brothers interpreted this differently. Since a piece landed on a sword, the warrior believed that the G.o.ds favored his idea. The merchant also believed the he was the one favored by the G.o.ds since a piece landed on a bag of coins. The argument was not resolved and in the end, the two brothers went on separate ways. The Merchant founded the Kingdom of Vanadis while the warrior built the Kingdom of Castonia.

" It"s maybe not a legend." Lucia looked at Captain Bisham "Some parts of it must be true. "

" I also think so." The Captain agreed "The thing about the rock splitting and the priest could have been purely nonsense, but it is possible that the two brothers really existed. " He smiled

Lucia just nodded at the Captain

"The brothers in the story had a disagreement, but their goals were the same" Captain Bisham explained "If Vanadians descended from the merchant and Castonians came from the warrior, then we are cousins with the Castonians" he pick up a rock "Take this rock for example. We are in Castonia right now but the soil, the rocks, the trees, they are the same back home. A rock in Vanadis is still a rock in Castonia, a tree is still a tree."

"So what you"re saying is" Lucia thought for a while "Vanadians and Castonians are almost the same?" asked Lucia

The Captain smiled "Exactly" he stressed "There was no such thing as an evil people or good people in this world. It"s always a mixture of both. Culture, tradition and other factors makes a certain race what it is, but in the end a human is a human. The Vanadians love you, not because of your lineage, but because you are yourself. I"m sure that the Castonians will also love you"

Lucia really needed the Captains words. After the wedding, she will become a princess of both Vanadis and Castonia. She will have another ident.i.ty. As long as the alliance stands, she won"t lose this new ident.i.ty. If she was to become a Castonian royalty, she needed the support of the people.

" Thank you captain" thanked Lucia wholeheartedly

At midday, the party arrived at the gates of Nirvana. The first thing Lucia noticed was the walls. She was mesmerized by these walls. The walls of Nirvana were almost twice as tall as those of Holm and also twice as thick. These walls were well maintained too, shining like shields of a giant. And the gates, the gates of Nirvana were made of steel as thick as a man"s arm. Every now and then, patrols of soldiers pa.s.s their party. Their march was strong, radiating an aura unique to seasoned soldiers. Castonia really was a nation of warriors, she thought. Lucia was very impressed.

After entering the city, a busy bazaar greeted her. Lucia was not actually unfamiliar with such environment since bazaars were common in Holm. Who said Castonians don"t know how to trade? Hundreds of merchants were selling their goods on the street. There were unique goods from faraway places. Holm was of course busier, but Nirvana wasn"t far behind. The primary produce of Nirvana were gems and gold. The warrior must have been a fool for thinking that he could build a militaristic city here. Gems and gold can"t be used to make weapons.

Along the way, Lucia was spotted by a Vanadian merchant who recognized her. The merchant left his stall to greet her.

"Princess Lucia" the merchant bowed and knelt in front of her

" Rise merchant." Lucia gestured for him to stand up. They were gathering too much attention " What is your name?"

" Escanor your highness." Escanor stood up. He was a short man in his thirties. " You may not remember me, but you"ve helped my wife give birth nearly a year ago"

" I see" Lucia doesn"t really remember him. But judging from his appearance and merchandize, his story seems real "Where is your wife now Escanor? Is she well?"

" She and my son are well your highness. They are staying back home." Escanor smiled. But then his expression became serious " Your highness, this is a foreign city. The n.o.bles are more powerful here and they"re more p.r.o.ne to scheme. Be careful your highness. If you need help, I"ll try my best to a.s.sist you. " he said with a hushed voice.

What Escanor said was true. Nirvana was a foreign city and a foreign environment for Lucia. She remembered what the Captain told her earlier. Humans are humans. Yes, most of the people were inherently good. But there were some who would go beyond the line. Lucia needs all the help she could get. She doesn"t trust Escanor yet, but he will be of great help. Merchants can act as spies or messengers for her , after all it wasn"t strange for a merchant to be in a strange place. Merchants always seek profit so no one will suspect them even if they went to dangerous places. Lucia needs to increase her connections especially with merchants.

" Thank you Escanor." Lucia thanked him. She was very fortunate to have met the merchant. After chatting with Escanor for a bit and finding ways to contact him in the future, Lucia went to the palace.

The guards at the palace first confirmed her ident.i.ty before accepting her inside. Lucia was impressed by this. Back in Holm, palace guards rarely checked the ident.i.ty of visitors. Lucia had always been worried by this lax att.i.tude. When she gets back to Holm, she will convince her father to do the same with the palace guards. The safety of the King and the royal family must be taken seriously.

Compared to the Vanadian Palace, the Castonian palace was…different. It seems that the palace was built to suit the needs of the Kingdom. Since Castonia had gone through dozens of invasions before, it couldn"t afford to waste its funds on decorations. Furthermore, the walls of Nirvana were magnificent enough that one could overlook the plainness of the Palace.

After announcing her party"s arrival, the guard escorted them to the throne room. As common courtesy, she must inform the King of their arrival. Upon entering the room, she saw the King. He was older than his father and had a colder expression. The man in front of Lucia will soon become her father-in-law.

"Your Majesty, I am Lucia Vanadis, second princess of the Kingdom of Vannadis." Lucia bowed like a lady

" Welcome to Nirvana Lucia Vanadis. I hope that your arrival strengthens the bond between our two Kingdoms"

" Thank you your Majesty." Lucia gave a youthful smile "I also do hope so"

"How was your journey?" The King asked

"Long" Lucia admitted "And tiring. But the roads were safe"

The King gave Lucia a friendly laugh "You must be tired then. We"ll soon have a ball in celebration of your arrival and your imminent marriage to my son. But for now you should rest. I"ll order the maids to escort you to your chambers" said the King

" Thank you, your Majesty. Then, we shall take our leave." Lucia bowed and then turned to leave the room but before she could, someone entered the room. He was a man about the same age as her. From the looks of it, he must be Timothy Castonia.