Grand Duchy of Ludendorf

Near Reilow

“I remember this city had nice food back in the day,” Albert said, as Amelie followed him out of the car. Today was a monumental day, as the Putscists finally acquiesced to a negotiated withdrawal. Her older brother came into the negotiations, alongside her, the Archduchess, and William. She looked up at the ruined city, the rubble, and battles that had raged on it clear on the bullet-ridden walls of whatever was left of it. “Didn’t imagine I’d see the day of it being turned to this.”

“This battle was costly,” Amelie said in response, following him with controlled steps. The area was definitely not cleared of debris, and a wrong step could easily result in an injury. “And so close to the capital as well. We really got lucky you all arrived in time.”

“I’m of the different opinion, Amelie.” Albert stopped, looking back at her. “The way I see it, we, the rest of Orland, got lucky that you held out long enough for us to arrive.”

The morning rays of the sun were warm, almost in contrast to the cold nights she had endured during the siege. The guards around them, she could not see their faces, as William had always kept the 16th with a uniform that left them almost incognito. But all of it, all of them, Albert, William, the inner circle of Her Majesty’s Government, and her family…after that siege.

They were alive, much like her. She didn’t expect she’d see this day when the bombs dropped from the skies. Now, the sky was clear for them to walk around without much fear. Sure, the fear lingered, but…another Royalist Zapper passed above. She surmised that the control of the air wasn’t just going to result in using the air as a force of arms against their enemies, but a symbol of control and security for those below. The troops who fought for her, the civilians they all protected, and her, the ruler of this Kingdom.

Somehow, today, she felt secure in her position. For once. Were they lucky that the relief force won and arrived? Or were they lucky she and the Royalist cause survived? For now, she allowed the question to hang in the air.

“I see then. Well, I’m still glad that our long-lost friends arrived at last. You all sure took your sweet time in the seas.”

“Heh, it’s a long way to Halia, is all I can say.”

The Putschist delegation was already assembled on the lone train carriage on a railway in the vicinity of Reilow. It was a heavily forested area, and there was almost no one, except for the guards of both sides. There wasn’t food, or beverages, or any of the sort inside. Just a mere table, the few assembled officers of the Putschist State, or the Federal Republic, as they likened to call themselves nowadays, and her delegation.

We really did push them back. She thought to herself, just as everyone entered. William, who represented JTF-Ludendorf and the Army sat on his seat, followed by Albert, who represented the Navy and the 2nd Fleet. Then Pristina, who represented the Royal Guard present in the Grand Duchy gave a scoffing nod at the Putschist officials, all while she, the Queen, who represented all of the Orlish Armed Forces, and the Kingdom of Orland itself, sat to face the rebels they had defeated for now.

Yet, even with this, it was but a mere temporary victory, she knew. These men still had much fight left in their eyes. Nay, she could even see confidence and a scathing look from them, almost as if they were looking down on her for her temporary luck. She could see it in the face of one of their Generals, General Oswald Kluge, who was in the center of their group.

You should count your luck before it runs out. She could almost make out from his brief smirk. You haven’t beaten us. This is just the start.

But even then, to win the campaign for the Royal Capital, was massive. The Royalist cause held on to their symbol, and the heart of Orland itself. One may call it petty, but she had the urge to rub such a fact on their self-satisfied faces. They lost today, and she wanted to make that clear. And so, she dropped the document of the terms on the table while crossing her arms, glaring down at him.

“General Oswald Kluge, traitor to the Kingdom…you lost.”

“A temporary embarrassment, more like, Your Majesty.” He smirked back. “We’ll get back at you, we assure you that. But alright, for now, let’s talk of ceasefire and peace, shall we?”

“You’d do well to speak with more respect, General.” Pristina sharply warned. “The Queen herself is in front of you. Do you not recognize that?”

“And? We do not recognize her nor your government as our authority. Only the Federal Government in Eirhow and the President is who we will respect.”

“And that doesn’t matter, rebel scum,” Amelie said. “Or are you forgetting that you’re here to save the skins of your troops who would be massacred on this side of the river should we press on?”

He shook his head. “You grew a spine after all that, huh? Seems like whatever peace negotiations would be difficult between us.”

“And that would be yours, and your fellow rebel’s fault. Traitor.”

“And we’re proud rebels, Miss Tyrant. You will never crush us.” He leaned back. “What are your terms?”

“No heavy equipment will be allowed to cross the river. You will evacuate only with the lives of your men. We’re allowing you all an honorable way out, for the kindness and mercy of the Kingdom I rule will be enforced, but make no mistake. We won’t let the armies you sent here get out ready to fight again.”

Amelie didn’t really want to antagonize them further, as the offensive still had to chew through kilometers of trench lines that would result in tens of thousands more casualties should they not allow a withdrawal, but this time, she wasn’t going to let him and these rebels insult her like some spineless rag. No, this time, she was taking the hardline against them. She would be merciful, but she would not be a fang-less feline for them to toy with.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Of course, there was also the problem of the fact that the Putschists had, already, technically evacuated much of their heavy equipment. Tanks, LSS Mechs, Artillery, everything that they needed for an offensive action had been placed on their side of the Ludendorf River. All that was left was the few hundred that they used to support the nearly two hundred thousand Putschist troops still in the trench lines, holding out as the rearguard for the rest to escape.

A rearguard that, at the moment, was causing heavy casualties to her troops attempting to chase them off and cut them off. It was a pointless fight, as they would evacuate and retreat anyway, which was why she wanted to end it already. They already won, they were just bleeding troops and materiel for no reason.

But dammit, these rebels sure are insufferable. But what did she expect, that these men would be polite to her, and to the Kingdom they wanted to burn down? Even in defeat, they are difficult to deal with.

“Harsh eh?”

“But, I see no point in it getting harsher. General, please, I beseech you. Let’s reduce the deaths together.”

“Whatever deaths we prevent today would not change the deaths tomorrow.” He almost looked down at Amelie for her naivety, yet Amelie stood firm with her stance. “After this, we would return to the frontlines, and fight another day after the ceasefire. Then the day after that. Then some more, till the end, until only one of us is standing. Don’t you know that?”

“That may be so, General. But you do not know the future. Would you not make a precedent to ensure that each step, each battle, we would always reduce the deaths? Would that not cool things down slowly? Isn’t that the point of the rules of war?” She paused. “To set rules that would be followed consistently to reduce the costs of it? Yes, we’ll fight on, you men sure as hell would not go down without a fight, and neither would we. But should we not make an effort at each step?”

“Rules of war…” He scoffed. “That’s for you women. When it’s us that fight–”

“I know what happened in the Great War, General. But this war would be different. Surely, you would want the war for your revolution to be honorable, instead of a mindless slaughter to the top?”

His jaw almost slackened, and Amelie smirked. They had used indiscriminate bombings and chemical weaponry, and she knew that their troops had been doing countless war crimes behind the lines.

And she knew that most men found that fact distasteful. Like him. That their fight for their freedom was turning into a dirty affair, all because of their desperation. She wanted to rid them of that desperation. To remove that cornered rat effect. Because if there was anything a cornered rat despaired at, it was to turn into the same monster as the villain it perceived as its enemy.

No, in fact, she wanted to end it. They should not be the villain, and neither should her side. How would a war between brothers and sisters end when each side perceived the other as the villain? The cycle would only end when that notion was eliminated. The less they perceived themselves as desperate monsters, the less likely those crimes would happen. Lend a thirsty man some water, and perhaps, he would stop rampaging to kill for it.

“I see then.” General Oswald Kluge said as he took the document into his hands. Silently, he read it to himself, giving it to his fellow officers for them to see the Royalist terms. The Grand Duchy Campaign had perhaps been the bloodiest affair in Orlish History till now. How many died, how many suffered, and its economic and political fallout was still yet to be known. Unlike the First Orlish Civil War three hundred years ago, during the Arcane Wars, the sheer scale of the Battle of Halia dwarfed everything in Orlish History. Never before had such a battle been fought in Orlish soil.

And no one would have predicted that it would be between brothers and sisters. Were they in the same place three years ago, and someone told an Orlishman or Orlishwoman about such a military campaign on Orlish soil, they would refuse to believe it was possible unless it was an all-out Larissan invasion of Orland.

Yet it happened nonetheless. And Amelie feared that the sheer scale of destruction and blood in Orlish soil was only beginning. Yet, for now, perhaps, there would be a temporary conclusion to the bloody siege she had witnessed.

A reprieve in the storm.

General Oswald Kluge placed down the documents, and he removed his gloves, picking up the pen in front of him. Amelie and the rebel General locked eyes for a moment, and she could almost see a tinge of respect from his near-dead eyes.

He then placed his pen on the document and signed it. And thus, the Battle of Halia ended today. The ceasefire was in effect.

At last.

+++

When she stepped out of the lone carriage, immediately, the skies darkened, and it began to rain. She found the sudden shift of the weather almost disconcerting. Albert himself fished an umbrella, and opened it for her, shielding her from the pouring rain. Even on this victorious day, it suddenly seemed cold.

“Hmm…seems like the weather really is worsening,” remarked Albert. “It’s almost winter too.”

“I can’t imagine how hard it would be in the next passing months,” Amelie said. “Rain and mud is hard, but winter…”

“Well, so long as we can keep the troops well-supplied, it shouldn’t be too bad. After all, they also evacuated Heiflitz yesterday. With our fronts reconnected, the logistical issues should cease.”

“I didn’t know you also knew a thing or two about land warfare, Albert.”

“Oh, trust me. When you’re at sea, logistics becomes even more important.”

The Putschist delegation left the carriage after them. None of them bothered to shield themselves from the rain with umbrellas, their guards awaiting them outside with raincoats instead. Amelie eyed General Oswald Kluge as he removed his officer cap, which became wet rather quickly under the rain. He placed it on the side of his waist and faced her.

“Until next time, Queen.” He said, and the chilly wind that carried raindrops grew faster. “Perhaps, you women do know how to fight. I’ll give you all that.”

She held her tongue, refusing to bite back and fall to his bait. She merely nodded as she glared at him. The General himself merely gave her one last nod, before he turned away, alongside the guards with him.

The documents, the temporary Armistice that they had signed, it was sealed inside a plastic container, to prevent it from being wet. Amelie looked down on it, her signature and General Kluge’s signature both written below the terms of the Armistice.

Yet, it wasn’t a peace treaty. Just a cold pause for the next battle to be fought. Indeed, there was no warmth to this victory…it was truly just a reprieve from the storm.

Their vehicles soon disappeared as the rain poured harder, obscuring the road ahead. She sighed, turning back to her convoy, preparing to leave and return to the Ivory Palace.

And as she walked back, a single thought left her mind.

It’s still a long way from victory…