Prince Sua-undern stopped in the hallway leading to his father’s office. A large picture of his late sister hung, her boisterous smile on full display. It had been just over one year since she lost her life, many miles north of Selachi. Sua looked out the large window directly across from her, at the ring of dark clouds on the horizon. Those clouds surrounded his sister’s body, located somewhere in the castle of the Haan kingdom. It had been almost two years since the world had been thrown into the chaos that caused those dark clouds, and Princess Sue-undern’s untimely demise. 

In Sua’s childhood, demon encounters were rare to the point of being childhood stories. A reason adults gave to keep young Selachi children from wandering too far on the mainland. No one could’ve expected the old legends about armies of demons from another world slipping through Gale’s weak barrier of reality to be truly possible, but now it was all anyone could talk about. 

The entirety of Selachi visible above land was a man made island, set far back in the ocean and only connected by a long straight bridge from the shore of the south end of Gale. Luckily, this meant the civilians of Selachi were still able to live relatively peacefully as of now, as the brunt of the demonic invasion was taken entirely by the Selachi infantry. However, the ever-growing mass of dark clouds in the distance were a constant reminder for every citizen that things were only going to get worse. 

In this situation Sua wanted to be on the front lines. His ancestors were nomadic, and the ocean was a dangerous place. It was against the dignity and the tradition of his family to hide away when their people were facing a crisis, and his own sister had given even her life trying to defeat the Demon King Aar’ibith. However, in the modern day, war meant someone had to be at home to deal with the ever growing pile of documents. Monetary and written apologies to bereaved families, reassigning units as more men died and the front line got thinner, compensation to the families of active and injured soldiers,  finding work for soldiers left permanently disabled by battles, handling the procurement and allocation of supplies and necessities for soldiers, the stack never ceased to end. 

Normally, this would be handled by his father, the King. Stricken by grief over the loss of his wife of over 100 years and his oldest daughter to the demonic scourge, all in the span of a year, King Soa-ormn Vode had spent most of the last year since in recovery, bedridden, barely able to keep water down, and coughing up blood. 250 was still relatively young for a strong man like King Vode to be on his deathbed, but those closest to him, Sua included, were expecting the despair to take him to an early grave any day now. As each day went on, everything around Sua only seemed to get worse and worse. Sua felt like he was running as hard as he could, only to move backwards every time he took a step. 

“Sua? Are you here?” A soft voice rang out.

Sua was torn from his thoughts, only to realize he was under his desk, curled into a fetal position. He quickly stood up. In front of him was a beautiful Selachi woman, in a long dark black gown and veil, holding a silver tray with a teapot and pastries. His fiancee, Lady Sau-aina, looked down at him with her head cocked to the side. She looked confused for a moment, but quickly hid it with a bright smile.

“There you are! I’ve just returned from a service for the fallen soldiers in town. It’s late for lunch, but I thought you might be hungry. I hope you don’t mind the intrusion.” She hesitated, and looked down at the tray in her hands awkwardly.

Sua felt uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was spotted, or if it was because Ina was the one who spotted him, or if it was just Ina’s presence in general. Sua realized he was taking a while to respond, and quickly and awkwardly returned her smile. 

“You’re never intruding, Ina! We’ll be wed soon, after all. I was just surprised; I was focused on searching for a pen I dropped on the floor and didn’t hear you come in.” Sua cringed internally, hoping his hasty lie worked. “Um, feel free to set that down on the table over there.”

Ina nodded, her smile never faltering from her face. She set the tray down and poured two cups, setting one in front of the empty chair across from her, before picking the other up. Ina looked at Sua, waiting for him to sit down. He quickly shuffled to the plush chair and took a seat. To Sua’s surprise, a servant quickly brought in two small trays with pastries piled on top. Sua’s posture felt rigid in contrast to the soft cushion beneath him. Ina awkwardly tried to break the silence.

“I hope you like the taste. I wish I could say I brewed it myself, but it was made by Kenixa, the maid I brought back with me from boarding school.” Her smile looked significantly more nervous. “She’s incredibly capable, and although it may be strange to some, I consider her a close friend– ah, I shouldn’t be talking about other people, I’m sorry.” She went quiet, playing with her hands beneath the table. Unsure of what to do, Sua silently took a sip. The tea was fantastic. 

“It’s very good, please thank Miss Kenixa for me. I’m happy you have such a wonderful friend as well.” He set the cup down for a moment and smiled. “I would like to hear about you, though. We’ve barely been able to speak since you’ve arrived. What did you and Miss Kenixa do for fun in boarding school?” 

Sua desperately tried to keep his focus on the tall woman in front of him, and not on everything happening outside the room. He quietly nibbled on a savory fish pastry while listening to Ina’s stories. Maintaining his relationship with his fiancee was one of his duties, and probably the one he had been neglecting the most. It was hard to think of romance when your mind is always on war. Adding to the walls between them, was a good 40 years spent apart while Ina was staying with family far in the ocean to attend school. They were incredibly close as children, but had basically no contact for over twice the time they spent together. At this point, they were practically strangers. Ina continued excitedly talking about her teenage and young adult years. Sua smiled and nodded along. 

From Sua’s perspective, there was nothing wrong with Ina. She was a bright woman loved by those around her. Ina was graceful, polite, and intelligent. She cried for strangers as if they were her own children. She was always ready to lend a helping hand. She was even still seeking out her fiance, who had spent the better part of the past year holed up in his office, ignoring her and everyone else. Sua was barely coming outside, even for meals. Most likely, Ina was here because Sua had skipped both breakfast and lunch. She rushed back, after crying with the people who had lost their own, to make sure her fiance ate at least one meal. Ina paused, and Sua panicked, and quickly swallowed. Sua cleared his throat, almost choking on the food.

“I– um, it sounds like you had a good time in school, I’m glad. I wish you could have come back to better times.” Sua mentally smacked himself. That was the one thing he probably shouldn’t bring up.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Yes, I wish at least your father was in good health. I was unprepared to deal with so much, so soon, especially with no guidance…” Ina trailed off, looking away. “I hope I’m at least helping with the morale of our– your people–”

“With how much you’ve done in the past year, it’s not wrong to consider them your people as well.” Sua suddenly cut her off. He paused for a moment, before looking down. “I’m sorry, it was rude of me to interrupt.” Ina quickly looked back at him, and she was smiling softly.

“No, thank you for saying that.” Her smile widened slightly as they made eye contact. “I’m happy we have a chance to chat now, at least.” Sua returned her smile. Even he was not immune to Ina’s magnetic nature, and his initial discomfort was slowly fading. 

“Me too. I hope that things will change soon. When this calms down, would you like to go on a trip?”

“I think that would be wonderful.” Ina’s smile only lasted for a few more seconds before she hid her face behind her tea cup. “Is there any news from Haan? Or Averi?”

“I received a letter from the Haan Grand Duke recently. It seems they are planning on sending another party to the castle in the next few months. Averi is still safe from the demons, but they sent a second request to send food. Unless we can find a faster route through the mountains, it’s nearly impossible to get them anymore until next month.” Ina’s question nearly opened a floodgate, and he quickly stopped there before he began ranting and revealed how bad things really were. As if she were trying to force it open, Ina continued her interrogation.

“And… How is the army? The group this month was almost twice the size of last month…” Ina began fidgeting with her hands under the table again. The quiet noise of her nails scratching her skin felt like nails on a chalkboard. The pressure on Sua’s shoulders doubled. His palms began to sweat, and he set the tea cup down before it slipped from his hands. 

“I assume you’re looking for an honest answer, not empty comfort?” Sua hesitantly asked.

“Yes, I’d like to know the situation. If I can help in any way, that would be even better.” Ina smiled, in an attempt to be reassuring. Sua smiled at her weakly.

“It’s… bad. We’ve lost a decent chunk of our infantry, and the demons seem to be never-ending, no matter how many they kill.” Sua felt like a failure admitting this. “I truly don’t know what to do, and I don’t want to just keep throwing my men into a fight they can’t win.” 

“You said Haan was preparing a party for a second attempt, right? They must have people to spare, then. Could you request aid?” Ina’s suggestion seemed so obvious once it was mentioned, but somehow the thought of asking for help had never crossed Sua’s mind.

“That’s a wonderful idea, Ina. I should write them now.” Sua intended it as a compliment, but Ina looked disappointed somehow.

“Yes, we’ve been chatting for a while now. I should let you get back to your work.” Ina quietly stood up. “I’ll ask someone to come clean this up. Thank you for making time for me.” Ina stepped towards the door, but suddenly stopped when Sua got up.

“Ina.” Sua looked directly at Ina, and her pale grey cheeks flushed red. Ina looked away. “Thank you, for the tea, your help… and the conversation. If I can get through the documents on my desk by dinner, I’ll come down.” Ina still refused to look at him.

“I’ll see you, then.” She quickly exited the room.

Sua sat down at his desk, and pulled a blank piece of paper and a pen. He began drafting a letter to Grand Duke Racno. After the disaster last year, the Haan nobles had to have reason to try again. He had no reason to be worried to request aid. 

‘The worst thing they could say is no, right?’ Sua thought. 

He tried to politely outline his fathers illness, the current condition of his troops, and express his desire to offer Haan aid in the second subjugation attempt, but make clear the difficulty of leaving the island because of the surrounding demon camps. Sua rewrote the letter several times, as he kept trying to rewrite more and more robotically. Any trace of desperation, emotional appeal, and need had to be eliminated from his words. 

‘It’s for professionalism, not pride.’ Sua told himself as he cringed, re-reading yet another draft. Sua barely got through six lines of his own words before crushing yet another letter in his fists and  tossing it aside.

After quite a few crumbled papers found themselves in the nearby bin, Sua finally signed his name at the end of the finished letter. He folded it, and sealed it in the envelope. He began working through the pile on his desk, trying to read them as fast as he could, while still reading through each document thoroughly. When Sua finally reached the last document, he realized it was just before sunset. He pressed a button on his desk, and after a few minutes, the door opened. A man just a few years older than him quietly entered and stood before his desk.

“Have I missed dinner?” Sua asked. The man quickly shook his head.

“No, your highness. Lady Jesec is still in her room resting. Dinner should be ready before the sun dips below the horizon.” 

Sua nodded affirmatively. He pushed the large stack of envelopes on his desk towards the man.

“Please send these to the appropriate locations. I’ll be returning to my room to prepare for dinner.” Sua got up, and quickly walked down the hall. Sua quickly reached his private quarters, and entered his bedroom. 

Sua sighed as he closed the doors behind him. Sua unbuttoned his shirt, taking it off and laying it across the back of a chair. Finally free from stress and work, at least for an evening, Sua collapsed face-first into his soft bedding. Sua lay there, eyes closed, for a few moments, resting before he got up to change for dinner. Sua had to get up for dinner. Ina was expecting him.

“...that so… okay… must be tired.”

“...sorry. If he…”

“...worries… can do… alone…”

Sua awoke to soft, muffled voices outside his bedroom door. Sua sat up in a panic. His room was cast in an orangey glow. It was sundown. With luck, he hadn’t missed dinner yet. Sua jumped out of bed without thinking, and threw his door open. Ina and one of his butlers were standing outside his bedroom door. The former gasped, and covered her mouth at the sight of Sua. Sua froze, suddenly remembering the shirt he threw off before bed. Before Sua could get a word out, the butler stepped in between them and spoke first.

“Lady Jesec, please head to the dining hall. His Highness is awake, and will be joining you shortly.” He smiled politely at Ina as he spoke, who quietly nodded, still flustered, and hurried away down the hall.

The butler stepped into the room and closed the doors behind him. He silently crossed to the large door leading to Sua’s closet, and pulled out a simple, navy blue suit. Sua undressed, and the butler quickly helped him into the new clothes. Sua stopped to check his reflection in the mirror. Sua looked haggard. He sighed, and turned back towards the butler.

“Thank you. You’re free to go. I’ll make my way to the dining room on my own.” The butler bowed and exited the room. 

Sua sighed again, more dramatically this time. He knew he was being childish, acting like he didn’t want to have dinner. He knew he hadn’t been eating well. Sua knew his physical health was the single most important thing to nearly everyone in this castle, as well. Sua looked at his bed, and thought about what his life would be like if he was in a position where he could forget about everything and go back to sleep right now.

Sua shook his head, and turned towards the door. Sua looked back at his bed one more time. He looked away. He looked back again. He looked away, and put his hand on the door. He looked back one more time, only for a second, before finally leaving his room. Sua headed down the hall, and down the stairs. 

The walk to the dining room was far too long, and allowed too much time to think, Sua thought for a second, before his brain returned to its usual routine of fixating on everything wrong with his life that he wasn’t currently finding a solution to. Finally, Sua reached the double doors leading to the dining room. He pushed them open, and saw Ina already at the table. She was already staring at him the moment Sua walked in. Sua paused just past the doorway, feeling awkward for a moment. 

“You didn’t have to wait.”

“I didn’t wait at all.” Ina smiled tenderly. She gestured to the seat next to her. “Come sit down.”

~