General Chedarr sipped his tea as he waited patiently. The room he was in was lavish by every definition of the word, but the out worldly decorations were only to be expected as this was the private manor within the inner castle walls, belonging to no other than Botanus, the King of Bereene himself.

He heard a knock on the door, and soon after, a servant came fourth and bowed before the general.

“This way General Chedarr, his highness is ready to see you.”

“After you.”

Under normal circumstances, if anyone wished for an audience with the king, it would take place at the Silver throne. Even for someone who is as close to the king as Chedarr is, for it to take place anywhere else would be a direct insult to his majesty. And yet, his majesty had granted him an audience in his personal quarters instead.

If there had been some form of manipulation, the culprits would have wanted to keep him as far away from the king as possible. Thus, to allow such an informal meeting could almost certainly indicate that this was not the case.

Despite that, he could not smile, either way this situation brought no peace to his heart.

After his majesty took the throne, there had only been one prior meeting which took place at this very same room, and just the thought of it uneased the general to his core.

“His majesty is awaiting you inside, good general." The servant bowed once more and headed back the way they had come.

He could hear the voices inside, his majesty wasn't alone. The doors felt even heavier than the last time.

“Ah Chedarr, you're finally here.”

Chedarr got on one knee as he greeted his old friend: “Your highness.”

“Please, there’s no need for such formalities when it's only the three of us.”

“His majesty is right, Chedarr, it's been ages since we had the chance to chat like this, get off the floor this instant.”

The man that addressed him was none other than Raimen Shiot, the prime minister of Bereene, an ally and close friend to both the king and himself.

“It truly has been some time now hasn’t it, now look at us, we’ve all become the very same old men that we hated all those years ago, how cruel time has been. Well Chedarr, do join us for some tea.” The king gestured towards the open seat next to him.

His majesty was right, how young they used to be and how often they used to meet up and discuss the matters at hand for a better future of their kingdom. Now they are old men who only meet during times of crisis.

How time has changed indeed.

As Chedarr took his seat beside the king, Raimen placed a cup of tea before him.

“Chedarr, try the tea first before we speak business, I do believe you would appreciate the taste, it's a new blend I’ve invented.”

There was a time and place for everything, but tea had no hold here. He picked up the cup and took a whiff. If he were just twenty years younger he would have flipped the entire table.

There was an aroma of roses and oak, yet there was a tinge of mint mixed within, giving it a refreshing finish.

But how does it taste?

He took a small sip and swished it around to coat each and every one of his taste buds, it was bitter and only bitter, without even a single trace of the fragrance that he had picked up earlier.

“I’ll be honest Raimen, this is terrible, like every other tea I've tasted.”

“Chedarr, you’ve still no taste for the finer things in life.”

“All your damned teas taste the same.”

“And I rest my case.”

His majesty took a long sip and rested his cup with much more force than those of his normal routine: “Well gentlemen, we are certainly not here to discuss your new blend of tea.”

Chedarr could feel the change of tension in the air, as all their old and wary faces took a quick turn.

“Just so, I’ll cut right to the chase, your majesty.”

“Again, away with the formalities Chedarr.”

“So be it. Botanus, why have we broken our peace treaty with Reinocha? What could we possibly achieve by going to war once again.”

His majesty’s face remained cold and unchanged as he took another sip of tea.

“It's about time I told you, Rossber is dead.”

“WHAT?!” Chedarr leaped out of his seat a good second after he shouted, almost as if his body took an extra second to process the news.

“The news has yet to be public,” Raimen followed.

“How did this happen?”

“Two weeks ago, when Ross was hosting his usual masquerade, one of the attendees managed to stab the prince and attempted to flee the scene with his body in tow. She managed to slay four of the royal guards while escaping. It was only with Lichten’s assistance that we were able to track down and capture her.”

“Where were his personal guards during this? How could they have let this happen?”

“They were tasked only to protect the perimeter. Everyone attending the ball were personal friends of Ross, and they’ve all been vetted by him personally over the years.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Chedarr turned and looked at his majesty’s icy expression: “Which means…”

“Yes it means they had planned this out years ago.”

“Have we any clue to their affiliation?”

“Do you really need to ask?” His majesty cut in coldly.

“Of course we had our interrogation team take their time with her, before we came to our conclusion,” Raimen added.

“Could foul play be involved? Could she just have been charmed or controlled by someone else?”

“That is not the case this time, after the interrogations we found the rest of her accomplices and learned that they were planning on taking the body back to Reinocha.”

“So, we know for certain that Reinocha is behind this…”

“We’ve done better than that, we know exactly who was behind this.”

“And who might that be?”

“Tray, Tray Debouf is the one behind this.”

Tray Debouf?

Though brief in all their exchanges on and off the battlefields, Tray did not come off as someone who would go for such underhanded tactics like assasination, especially against royals. However if it had been Tray’s king that asked him to do such a thing he likely wouldn’t refuse, nor would Chedarr—for loyalty trumps all.

“Is that why I was tasked to attack Mercini and kidnap Ashel Debouf?”

“Indeed, and speaking of which, how is it that you failed to bring Ashel before me? Are you not the military genius that we have counted on for all these years? Failing to capture a single woman?”

“A thousand apologies, if I had been informed of her importance, I would have personally gone to capture her. Nevertheless, I sent two dozen men after her and none of them returned to me alive.”

“And yet here I thought my most trusted general and friend could carry out his duty regardless.”

Chedarr looked at his majesty with disbelief.

Raimen brushed his graying beard and took another sip of tea before continuing: “I’ve yet to go through the reports, but for them to take out two dozen of your men… Could they have expected us to make such a move?”

“It would be very likely, they must have received news of our operation and protected their rear, which means—”

“Yes, the invasion,” Botanus finished.

“It's really happening again...”

“Yes my friends, I’ll need your full support once more, to avenge our sons, and your wife Chedarr. Let's settle our grudges in this coming war once and for all.”

Raimen took a sip of tea before he spoke: “We will announce the death of the crowned prince in two hours time. It is then that our armies will be mobilized immediately. Of course, we shall still send a declaration of war, but by the time they get the message we need to have already captured Gloreen—to pave the way further into Reinocha.”

The crowned prince was a man of the people, not only beloved by the common folk but many of nobility as well. It didn't matter which side you sat on, anyone with a sense of morality would be openly supportive of Rossber, the shining beacon for the future of Bereene.

His death will no doubt open the old wounds of the people, and all the hatred and disfavor towards war with Reinocha would vanish.

The old aggressors dare step into their homeland and take away our beloved prince…

He could see it now, the call to arms would receive overwhelming support—the likes this land has never seen before.

Helena… Swizze…

“Raimen is correct, we need to capture Gloreen before they can react properly. Without it their line of defense would be hard pressed to reform in time, and our main offensive will have captured all the outlying fortifications. Therefore I’m once again placing you in command of our combined forces to take Gloreen. Do not disappoint me again Chedarr.”

“Very well, I shall make the appropriate preparations immediately.”

“Raimen, I'll let you handle all the administrative duties from here.”

“And what about the other countries? Noctilune has always been their ally, they won't sit idely and watch if we are winning this war.”

“Raimen.”

“Yes, your majesty. I’ll send emissaries on the double, given our cause of war, it's likely that most would stay out of this conflict.”

“Even if we were to send emissaries, none of them would sit idle. Not to mention the mercenaries of Floruit would no doubt be employed by Reinocha.”

“Well a simple solution to that would be for us to hire them first, Raimen.”

“It is very likely that they have already been employed by Reinocha, but those dogs with no loyalty except to the promise of gold are easily bought again.”

“Very well, what would you be doing? Botanus.”

“There are still personal matters I must attend to, we are to meet again in an hour.”

“Very well, my liege. I shall take my leave.”

“I too shall take my leave.”

The two men bowed in unison and left his majesty to his own preparations.

“May fortune be with you Chedarr.”

“Raimen, wouldn't you say our kingdom needs it far more than I?”

“You are most certainly correct on that one. I shall prepare his majesty’s speech, of course you would have a few lines yourself, so please don't be late.”

“Have I been late now?”

“Every time.”

“Have I—when it comes to a serious matter? Ah the matters which relates to your bloody teas are of no importance.”

“I suppose so.”

The two shared a laugh then parted ways.

Personal matters, his own preparations...

The look in Chedarr’s eyes, he would soon be leading men once again to the front lines of battle. If he were to somehow fall, it would likely lead to the end of Bereene. Perhaps that's the exact outcome Reinocha had hoped for.

Even if we were to come out victorious, could our kingdom really survive?

A kingdom is only as strong as its leaders, and naturally with the death of Rossber, the crown’s succession will be passed on to the second prince. And that oaf of a man is cut from a completely different cloth than his brother and father, a man with only a single virtue of gorging himself with all the lavish things that gold could offer.

If you hand a fool an unbreakable sword, he will still find a way to chip the edges. Under his reign, it wouldn't take long for the kingdom to come to ruins. The second princess however, is more fit to rule than anyone else in the royal family. The only problem was that Bereene had never seen a queen’s rule in all its history, but as unlikely as it may be, it could just bring about change to Bereene.

Perhaps a conversation to be had another day.

Chedarr rode in silence all the way back to his own manor. Lyghen was waiting for him, leaning against the front gate.

“So, how was the meeting?”

“Let's take this conversation inside.”

As they entered, the myriad of maids and servants bowed welcoming their master, one stepped forward with her head still lowered and spoke: “Welcome back my lord, would you like me to prepare some tea for you and our guest?”

“No need, we will be at my study, make sure the area is vacated.”

“Yes, at once my lord.”

“Come with me Lyghen.”

The two men walked in silence, only to be finally broken when the door clicked shut behind them.

Chedarr walked to the window overviewing his estate.

“So, a guest at your place doesn't even get served a drink huh?”

As Chedarr turned to face him, his jovial expression died down in an instant.

“We need to gather everyone by tomorrow.”

“What!? How bad is it?” Lyghen’s expression changed another shade darker.

“Prince Rossber is dead.”

“What!?” Lyghen’s jaw dropped at those words.

“Evidence would suggest that the assassins were sent by Reinocha, but something just doesn't feel right.”

“What?!” Lyghen leaped and had almost the exact same reaction that Chedarr had before, his expressions changed rapidly and with ever ending complexion, who knew he would have such a talent as a jester.

“To assassinate a royal… both our kingdoms are flourishing like never before, it doesn't make any sense. If we go to war on such pretense we might even get support from the other nations.”

“The King and the prime minister are already fully convinced of the fact, they will announce the death of Rossber within the hour, and then the whole kingdom will be fully mobilized for war in a few day's time. Our task will be to lead the elite force and take Gloreen before the bulk of the army is to arrive.”

“So this is it all out war once more, haven't we had enough of this endless bloodshed. Don’t we have enough problems dealing with the monsters constantly assaulting our coasts and those bastards from Alistur?”

“My suspicion lingers regardless. Do you still have your contacts in Reinocha?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good, in that case I need you to head to Reinocha immediately and shine some light on the situation.”

“You believe someone is setting this up?”

“It isn’t out of the question. Speed is of the essence here, you have five days. Perhaps we can still stop it before we cross the point of no return.”

“Very well, I’ll put the word out and head to Reinocha immediately.”

“And I shall make war preparations in the meantime.”

“I'll take that as roger and out.”

“Wait, Lyghen, one more thing before you go, have you seen Swizze?”

“No I haven't, don't believe he even came back for that matter. That boy of yours never sticks around anyways, who knows where he's at now. Don't you think it's about time you made him more appropriate to be the heir of the Kiznkas family?”

“Perhaps it's about time.”

“The sooner the better, there’s a time and place for everything and that time for him is well past due.”

Chedarr furrowed his brow. He had hired the very best tutors of the arts and the swords for his son, to instill in him a proper sense of honor and what it means to be one of nobility. Yet he is out there doing god knows what, the only rumors that surface once in a while would bring nothing but embarrassment to their family’s name.

“Oh come on Chedarr there's no need for that look, they’re all just rumors after all. Knowing you, you can probably get him back on the right track in a day's time. He’s probably still in Reinocha, I’ll look for him when I arrive.”

“Thank you…” He could no longer look at his friend’s face and averted his gaze out to the darkening sky.

“I shall take my leave now.”

“Take care my friend.”

…

Swizze, my son, just what in the world are you up to now?