"Verano, look out!" Shouted Arnaud Jr with both hands around his lips. His brother faced a stampeding buffalo-bear. The animal ran through purple vineyard to tackle Verano in the chest.

"Yeah, he won't survive this one..." Smirked a peasant crossing his arms. "Prince Arnaud, start looking for the coins for my payout."

A mob watched the scene like a spectacle. Young damsels in colorful dresses observed with hands covering their mouths.

"Time to try this again..." Verano ran against the animal and jumped. He thrusted his legs and fists downwards. Blazes left each of his limps and propelled him over the animal. "I got it, Arnaud!" Said Verano as he grasped the animal's fur with both arms. "Woah-"

The animal contorted to shake the boy off its backs.

"5 seconds, brother!” Counted Arnaud. “5 seconds and we get a new record-"

The buffalo-bear rose its backs and threw Verano off its backs. His body fell onto Arnaud and they both hit the dirt.

"Nice try, Prince Arnaud!" Said a young man taking a purse of coins from the ground. "Your bad luck never fails. Hahaha!"

The crowd dispersed away from the vineyard. 

"Sorry, Arnaud," frowned Verano pulling his body away from his brother's. "You needed that gold, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but not for what you're thinking," faltered Arnaud. "You know what day is tomorrow, right, bro?"

"What is it?"

"Your 17th birthday!" Exclaimed Arnaud arching his left arm his brother. "You're a man now and I just wanted to us to celebrate like men, you know? You'd to the same for me."

"Right…" Grinned Verano glancing at the animal that almost crushed him. “I would.”

"But now the coins are all gone..." Bemoaned Arnaud shoving the mud off his vests. "I keep messing everything, I'm a disastro."

The voices of three females echoed across the vineyard:

"Poor little princes!"

"What?" Recoiled Verano.

"Look at you! So brave for facing a strong animal," said two young damsel in red and blue dresses while embracing the boy's arms.

"And you, Prince Arnaud?" Asked the third woman rubbing the tip of a finger over his chest. "Such a brave and caring fraternal heart. Not many men have those."

"Yeah..." Blushed Arnaud. "The hardest part was watching him face so much danger What a relief that my brother is fine--."

"Hey, you three!" Yelled Marzia at the three ladies. Over time, her cheeks had gained color, and her long curly hair had gained luster. No matter how she tried to hide it, the beauty the lady of the Middle Sea was for just everyone to see. Her cheeks had colored, her long curly hair had gained luster with the time and her beauty of a lady of the Middle Sea showed despite her attempts to hide. She had blossomed. "These two are virtuous penitent princes of the highest esteem and they won't fall for your plots, you skanks!"

"Argh, whatever." 

The women exchanged sights and strolled away from the boys.

"Wait, wait! I wanna fall for a plot or two!" Bargained Arnaud Jr with his arm stretched as the ladies disappeared from his reach. "Damn it, Marzia, why do you always gotta ruin the fun?"

"We have an important visit tonight," she replied, "and you two look like you went wrestling with pig-skunks again. Go take a bath!"

She pushed their backs towards the castello in the horizon.

The leaves of the vineyards danced as the wind from the nearby coast breezed through the coast. 

"Wait, Marzia," faltered Verano. "Who is visiting?"

 Bells ringed from all the land's towers. The floor trembled with steps.

"7 ballads..." Faltered Verano. "That means--"

"It's him, it's him!" Yelled peasants running from outside the vineyard. "The King of Aarchen is here!"

Verano, Marzia and Arnaud Jr approached the sun-basked roads of the Duchy to find a column of red mantles marching over the streets. Young faces smiled and rose the banners of their clans. Yet the flags of King Heinrich of Aarchen hanged above all else.

"The red salmon mantkes..." Remarked Arnaud with his eyes brightening.

"It's the symbol of Aarchen.” Explained Marzia. “Come, dad will need us in the castello and Giulia needs you two in the bath!"

"Anything you ask, mom..." Smiled Verano as the girl pushed her brothers back into their home.

Duke Arnaud de Sforza watched the troops march from his balcony as he drank wine. Mario stood by his side.

"They are all so young, brother," frowned Mario. "You're the King's Marshall. Any idea about why King Heinrich is raising such young soldiers?"

"A couple days in the north will be enough for them to age years," the Duke frowned. "I predict more children will be thrown away to protect a kingdom that cannot even stand on its own legs."

"Is that Alba that you're talking about?" Faltered Mario. He referred to the half of rainy island that the former Emperor of the Holy Flame had conquered to punish the Northmen sea raiders sacking the Empire's shore. "Wasn't there where you got your scar?"

The Duke looked away and left his balcony. He walked through the hallways of his castle and the voice of Duchess Livia echoed across the building.

"Everything has to be perfect!" She said with enthusiasm. "The tables, the dishes, the food, Marzia, everything! He'll come to dine with us!"

Verano listened to his mother's remarks as he approached the bath. He entered the warm water and reflected upon his relationship with Marzia. She knew him better than he did himself. The thought of watching her marry a man whom she barely knew tightened his heart.

"Verano, brother?" Asked Arnaud approaching his brother's bath. He noticed the firewood warming the bathtub was long gone. "Are you alright there? We're late already."

"Yeah…” He swung his head hoping the thought of Marzia would fall off his mind. “Let's go."

They walked towards the mead hall and noticed that red poppies from the west littered the ground.

"Gift from the King, isn't he perfect?" Asked Duchess Livia as she faced her sons. "He’s young, faithful, strong and has respect for our lineage! I do hope he's come to propose to Marzia!"

The woman smiled like a child. Yet her daughter looked as if she witnessed a burial. Verano frowned as he wondered what roamed in his sister’s head.

"Hey, kids," Duchess Livia rose her voice. "Don't you dare to show scowls to the King of Aarchen and future Emperor of the Fire Peoples. He'll come at any time--"

"That's a precise assessment," Replied a youthful self-assertive voice from the gates of the mead hall. A tall man with long blonde hair and eyes bright as the sea in a sunny day walked towards his seat. A curtain of eyes rose to face him yet he himself only laid sights on Marzia. "I came, I saw," he pulled a rose and gently threw the flower at the girl. "And I liked.” He glanced at Duchess Livia. Specially with an older sister like this.”

Duchess Livia passed out on her seat with her cheeks reddened like strawberries.

"H-Have I said something wrong?" Asked Heinrich.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"Maybe." Remarked Verano as he noticed that Marzia retreated and felt uncomfortable ahead of the king's advances.

"And who are you, mister…" the King stared at Verano from feet to head. The talisman with words written in the eastern Kamaritan language bothered him. A mask of disgust covered his face. "Mister who does not salute?"

Duchess Livia whispered for only Verano to hear:

"Bow! Now!"

Verano sighed in disgust and made a reverence to the King so that he would not shame his mother.

"He's Verano de Sforza, sir," Marzia rose her voice. "Pardon his manners. You must've heard of him."

"The desert child who could bend fire?" Asked Heinrich. "I'm impressed. I hope we can forget this awkward introduction and build a prosperous relationship for the future. I'd hate to have you as an enemy of my future empire.”

Duke Arnaud hit his bottle of wine with a spoon. All eyes turned towards him.

"May you inform the topic of this meeting, your majesty?" Asked the Duke without much interest.

"As a man of your intelligence and martial experience could see, I've been rallying a host among my vassals. Young soldiers who need experience and are thirsty for adventures." He explained as he drank from a plate of soup. "I'm planning an expedition to the island of Alba in order to assist the Kingdom in the protection of the Penitents from the vicious Northmen barbarians."

"In other words, you're sending more men to fight Waterbenders over a worthless rainy island in the north so that the King of Alba becomes dependent on our troops and votes you as the new emperor?

"And this is why I've made you my Marshall, Lord de Sforza," smiled Heinrich. "Even at a dinner table, you think like a strategist."

"I don't understand," faltered Arnaud. "Why does King Heinrich needs the approval of someone else to be Emperor? He's awesome already."

"Arnaud!" Marzia groaned. "You'll be the Duke someday! You should really look more into politics! The Empire of the Holy Flame is a huge union between four Elector-Princes, many duchies and countless baronies of Fire Knights. For a Knight to become Emperor, he needs the majority of votes among the four elector kingdoms: Alba, Aachen, Badajoz and Litvia. But that hasn't happened yet ever since Emperor Lettow died. Every kingdom is now too busy with their own problems to crow an Emperor."

"Your daughter sure is smart, Duchess Livia," commented Heinrich flashing a smile towards Marzia. She looked away in discomfort. "But I'm afraid you are all seeing this situation through cynical glasses." He cleaned his mouth and prepared to speak: "My grandfather was Emperor Lettow himself and he fought for our people until his last breath. Once he died, it was up to us, his descendants, to keep his flame alive. And this is what this campaign is about," Heinrich glances at Verano and Arnaud. "We'll travel to the north, meet many allies on the way, repel the disorganized and weak Waterbending hordes, give peace to our Penitent brothers in Alba and be back home before the first snow. This will be a rite of passage and a chance of training and discovery like no other. So," he narrowed his eyes at both brothers with even greater intensity. "Would you like to join in your first grand adventure?"

"Yes, of course, your majesty!" Arnaud spoke with excitement. "How will we burn those eastern hordes if we can't even target practice with some Northmen savage? I'm all for it!" He crossed his arms and imitated the political speech from the Duke and his father.

"That's a fair argument, Prince Arnaud. You’ll make a great Fire Knight someday.”

“Thank you, your majesty; I don’t deserve your most excellently magnanimous appreciation!”

Marzia glanced at Arnaud’s blind admiration for the King.

“He sure will be a great knight.” She sipped her drink.

Arnaud glanced at Verano and rose his voice:

"And you, brother? You've always wanted to get away from dad and live our own adventure. This is our chance!"

"I-I..." Verano faltered. He had his eyes aimed at Marzia.

“We’ll travel through many lands,” explained the King. “You two do not even imagine the word that exists outside of this peninsula.”

“I do want to see it all, but not without Mar…”

"No!" Shouted Marzia as she rose from her sit and mauled both hands at the table.

“There goes all my hopes and dreams…” Sobbed Duchess Livia as she covered her eyes.

Marzia continued:

"Verano and Arnaud are not going!" 

She grasped her brothers' shoulders with all her strength. They could feel the warmth, power and sincerity in her gesture.

"Well, my bella of the south, there is no reason to rush with this decision," remarked King Heinrich as he stood from the table and cleaned his mouth with a towel. "My host departs by the dawn tomorrow. I'll leave you until then to decide and I do hope your perspectives are taken in consideration. You’re Princess Marzia, right?”

She remained with her lips sealed. King Heinrich chuckled and saluted the Duke and Livia.

“Farewell and thank you for the most excellent hospitality."

He turned around and left the Castle along with a wall of armored guards. 

Duchess Livia sprung off her sit as soon as he left her sights:

"Marzia, what was that?" Protested Duchess Marzia. "You may have ruined all your chances with King Heinrich!"

"Screw him!" Said Marzia running away from the mead hall. 

"Wait, Marzia!" Faltered Verano as he followed her.

The Duchess frowned upon Arnaud Jr who just kept eating.

"You're not gonna do anything?"

"Me?" he filled himself with the Middle Sea’s delicacies as if nothing had happened. "Why would I? Those two are like that," he referred to Verano and Marzia. "Give 10 minutes and he'll convince her that this was the best idea ever."

"You're just like your dad."

Uncle Mario leaned his head towards the Duke de Sforza:

"I thought the King's levies already occupied Alba. You're his Marshall, can you tell me why is he bringing in more troops there? What happened to the stationed troops? Is the situation with the water tribes really that bad?"

The Duke sipped his wine and grinned.

"If only you knew how bad things really were." He replied.

"Wait," Uncle Mario recoiled. "You say that and you're just letting your sons go?"

"I'm the Marshall and a Duke," He narrowed his eyes at Mario's. "If I don't put faith in my lord and send my sons in his campaign, who will?"

"Now I get why you drink so much." Sighed Mario sipping a bottle of wine.

Verano followed Marzia to the balcony of the castello. He followed the trail of tears that she left behind as she flew from the mead hall.

"Marzia?" Asked Verano pulling the curtain sealing the balcony. She faced the sunset of the Middle Sea.

"What?" She sobbed as the waves crashed down against the warm beach. The encampments from King Heinrich's host littered the wilderness and colored them red.

"You don't want me to go explore the north?" Faltered Verano. "But Marzia, that is what I've always wanted--"

"It's dangerous!"

"Everywhere is dangerous. And that's why they exist--" He pointed at the encampments. "So that one day our descendants will rest without fear that they'll wake up with savages on their doorsteps. You already know all that. What's wrong with you?"

"It's just--" She frowned, "I don't really have any friends. You and Arnaud are everything I have. Everyone else thinks I'm a bore, even my mother. She wants to marry me but can't find a poor soul who'll be interested after five minutes of talk."

"That's not true, you're awesome, Marzia. Everyone would love someone like you..."

"Who is everyone?" She inquired.

"Well, the..." Verano blushed. "Well, uh..." He frowned. His heart tightened as he saw the Sun reflecting off Marzia's neck and lightening her nut-brown hairs. "Oh, yes, the King! King Heinrich seemed interested."

"The King?" She swung her head. "He's an egotistical dimwit. I don't like that type of person."

"So..." Verano frowned. "What's your type?"

She narrowed her eyes at him and replied:

"Shy, selfless, humble, silly..." Marzia wrapped her arms around his chest and spoke while she rested her head on his shoulder. "Naive. A bit vulnerable so I can help him once in a while."

Verano felt his heart and hers beating louder and faster like in a symphony. Yet he could not find words to say. The 17 years that they had lived together robbed him of his voice. She was his family and that was all that she could ever be. Yet the girl dared to tempt him. She embraced him tighter and confessed as tears weighed in her eyes:

"I love you."

The waves crashing against the beach and the Middle Sea's warm breeze lost sound. All that Verano heard was the melodious echo of Marzia's voice repeating those three words without silencing. His heart begged him to borrow his own voice to her words yet he knew that he could not.

"I can't." Resigned Verano clenching his fists.

"I know..." She gently pushed him away. "So you promise me that you'll write? And that you'll come back for me to see you again?"

"I promise." He replied as he looked aside. Verano wanted to promise her the world. His young idealistic mind dreamed of finding a paradise far away from everyone and fleeing there with Marzia. Yet all he could hope in reality was that he found someone whom he loved as much as he loved Marzia.

"I want you to have this..." Faltered the girl. She took a sheathed sword off the ground and pulled down the sheathe. The letters "MAV" were carved onto the metal. "It means Marzia, Arnaud and Verano," she explained. "I did not forget your birthday. I hope this servers you as an amulet."

"Thank you."

"So you're going tomorrow, aren't you?" She rested her elbows on the balcony.

"And I'll come back to you before the first snow. With Arnaud."

"I hope so," she said with a smile. "Or I'll personally go there to take you two stupidos back home."

The Sun his beneath the horizon and rose from the sea once again.

Arnaud Jr and Verano walked along with a column of young commoners to join King Heinrich's ranks. They wore the red mantle.

"So," smiled the young King as he faced his new soldiers. "You've accepted my offer. And you've even brought your own weapons."

"I brought way more than this." Replied Verano tightening his grip on the MAV (the sword)'s sheathe. He looked back to the Castello and saw his mother and Mario crying of pride; his father had his arms crossed. The boy searched for Marzia but she was not there to witness his departure.

"Prince Verano," a guard walked to Verano and delivered him a piece of papyrus. "Princess Marzia told me to give you this. She felt emotionally undisposed to see you and your brother go away."

"Thanks..." Said Verano as he opened the papyrus and noticed that the map was the one that he, Verano and Marzia had found in father's basement many years ago. She painted an arrow over the Duchy of Sforza and a couple words hanged over the territory. "Just so you'll never forget where your home is. Your beloved, Marzia."

"Ready to kick some waterbending ass, brother?" Asked Arnaud Jr arching his right arm around Verano's shoulder. "Wait, are you crying, Verano? Let the crying for the girls," he glanced at the damsels who drowned in tears as they watched both brothers leave the Duchy. "We’re gonna fight. We gotta be strong!"

"It's nothing." Said Verano hiding the map in his sleeve. He faced the mountains separating the peninsula from the heart of the Wild Lands. "Stick by my side, okay, Arnaud?

"Always! We're in this together and no reason to worry. We'll be back before they miss us, you'll see--"

"Arnaud!" Duke Arnaud rose his voice at his heir and all eyes turned towards him, confused. "Don't get yourself killed too fast."

"Yes, father, of course!" Arnaud Jr bowed down and glanced at Verano. "That's his way to say that he loves me. I'm gonna cry now!"

Mario glanced at the Duke who frowned as his sons disappeared among the ranks of King Heinrich's host.

"You seem worried," remarked the trainer. "That's rare of you."

"They are too naive," asserted Duke Arnaud. "They’re walking down the road to hell with smiles on their faces.