Prologue:

Time Will Kill us After all

Andrew

The only sound to fill the long marble hallway was hurried footsteps crossing the expensive floor. A few feet behind me Cerelia walked with her head down, gripping her folder with a blank expression. Her hair, which was usually tucked neatly in a pin-up, hung loosely around her face in an attempt to conceal her apprehension; her dress swept the floor behind her as it tried desperately to keep up the pace. We rounded a corner and were met with two awaiting soldiers from the East Kingdom. They both bowed to my wife and I, smiling kindly as they opened the doors for us. I appreciated their smiles, though they did not do much to calm my nerves.

I set my own folder down on the conference table before pulling out a chair for Cerelia, fronting a forced grin. She thanked me and took her seat to my right, her hands shaking slightly as she tried to organize herself. I laid a few pages of notes before me, reached into my coat pocket, and fingered for a cigarette. A soldier popped the latch on the window, and I nodded to him before taking a long drag. Cerelia watched me blow a ring of smoke, her eyes shimmering with worry that was palpable in the stagnate air between us.

Gerard and Julia entered the room next, conversing quietly with one another about something I didn’t pay much attention to. Gerard politely kissed Cerelia’s cheek, then patted my shoulder before he and his wife sat across from us. It was obvious they wanted to make conversation, but I was thankful they chose not to. Either Cerelia and I looked worse than I thought, or maybe they, too, were as worried as we were, and did not want to entertain meaningless exchanges. Adelaide and Ethan were the last to arrive, and both had deep bags set under their eyes as they waved weakly to the four of us. Julia greeted the couple warmly as they flopped into two open spots, sighing to themselves. “Well, that’s everyone,” Gerard said as his soldiers shut the meeting room doors, standing guard outside the room to limit interruptions.

“Shall we begin?” Ethan mumbled, opening his binder with fingers that quivered violently.

“You two look like you’ve been hit by trains; are you feeling all right?” Cerelia asked.

Adelaide had been staring wide eyed at the ceiling, so Cerelia’s question made her flinch before she came back to reality. “Oh, we’re fine… I suppose. Once again Joshua has given us a run for our money, but our soldiers held their own well enough. I thank God Serena is such an excellent commander…” Her frown deepened, “I don’t know what we would do without her.”

“What happened this time?” I stiffly pressed.

Ethan scoffed, and lit his own cigarette. He puffed three identical clouds of smoke, but made sure to brush them away from his wife’s face so she wouldn’t complain. “He tried to burn down one of our main processing plants. Thankfully, the workers contacted us in time. Serena left as soon as she could, and lead around three hundred men down there. They quickly finished the job, and scared off or killed as many as they could.”

“Your daughter never ceases to amaze me,” Julia joked.

Ethan’s elongated stare fixed on the open window, “Can we change the subject, please?”

Gerard sat up straighter and cleared his throat, “Yes, of course. As long as all is well, that’s what matters.” He waited a beat before gesturing to the formal documents in the middle of the table, which I had missed upon my arrival. “Today, we are here to discuss our picks for the Five Cavalry. We all know how crucial this time is for our kingdoms; I hope you have had enough time to make the right choices.”

“It’s a necessity to find the time, isn’t it? Lord knows England will set ablaze if we don’t take this seriously.” Cerelia snorted, trying to ease the tension, but it didn’t necessarily work.

Gerard’s mouth lifted a little at her comment, but not enough to front a smile. “I would rather get this over with quickly, especially since I need to prepare my countries’ academy tonight. When it is your kingdom’s turn, please announce your five choices, and what kingdom they are from. We shall begin…” He explained, pulling his papers out with careful gestures, “From The East: Samantha Tudor and Cassidy Campbell. From The South: Jack Lennox and Christopher D’Clare. From The North: Fiona Rutherford.”

“Fiona is good, very good. We almost picked her as well,” Ethan commented.

“Jack and Cassidy will work well together; both are equally skilled swordsmen, and scored similarly on their entrance exams,” I added.

“Glad you all agree. Adelaide, you next.” Gerard declared boredly before setting his long arms on the table, much like he did as a child.

Adelaide cleared her throat, then began tiredly reading the page, “From The South: Percy Porter and Liam Coleman. From The North: Justin St. Clair and Miles Wraith. From The East: Poppy Pennington.” Her tone was dejected, but confident at the very least. Ethan didn’t even bother to pick his head up; he just tapped his fingers on the underside of the table to keep himself awake.

Julia lifted her head curiously and asked, “Only one girl?”

“Not many girls caught our eye, and the one who did you two already stole,” Adelaide sneered to us, which made Cerelia and I chuckle.

“We get first pick in our country?” I reminded her. She stuck her tongue out as I pulled my list free, my heart thudding wildly. Cerelia set a steady hand on my forearm, trying to help me relax, though her gesture didn’t do much. My siblings watched me take a slow breath before I began to speak. “From The North: Michael Long, Stefan Brown, and Gwenevere Lee…”

“I wanted Gwenevere so bad!” Ethan moaned, which made everyone giggle.

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“From The South: Martha Worthington…” I paused, my throat so thick I could barely force the words through my lips, “And from the East... Dmitri, Mortimer…” I stammered.

Gasps echoed through the room from The South rulers; I hid my face in my arms as I awaited the backlash. “Dmitri!?” Adelaide barked, “Andrew, are you dense!?”

“Now, now, we all agreed when this whole mess began that we would give him a chance…?” Cerelia began, attempting to subdue a huge fight, “He swore to us that he would properly train for a spot, and we said that if he did well we would consider...?”

Ethan shook his head rapidly, his eyes darting around as he tried to find a break in our choice, “Look, I get it. He’s a wicked good swordsman, with a boatload of potential, but I think you’re missing the big picture here!?”

I forced myself to sit taller, and lowered my tone to help front my confidence better. “We are well aware that our choice is a dangerous one, Ethan, but the boy has done everything we have asked of him. He kept his head down and studied until he could study no more. His grades are impeccable, and his physical strength is exponentially higher than that of his classmates. It would be a huge waste to not give him a shot.”

“That’s because he was trained by a murderer!” Adelaide snapped. She realized what she said and smacked a hand to her mouth, her eyes bugging in horror at her own words. “I… I'm sorry… That was uncalled for.”

“We understand your worries…” Cerelia pressed, “Truly, we do, but if Dmitri was going to betray us, he surely would have done so by now. He has lived a very quiet life these past few years, and even Gerard has admitted that Dmitri has caused no trouble for he and Julia. We told him to prove his worth, and he has.”

“But, Andrew… he is Alexei’s brother. How the bloody hell are you going to trust a child that was raised by that tyrant in your home?” Ethan groaned, shaking my arm as if to snap me out of my decision.

“The same way I have,” Gerard interjected, cutting Ethan a glare that made him drop my arm. “You seem to forget that the boy lives in my kingdom currently, and has had ample chance to turn against us.”

I sighed through my nose, loud enough to gain their attention, “At the end of the day, this will go one of two ways. One is obvious; he betrays us and tells Alexei and Joshua everything he has learned while away from the West, which will lead to, potentially, our demise. But the second option; he turns out to be a huge asset to the war. Because he trained with Joshua, he takes his knowledge and makes it positive. He leads us to victory and brings peace to England once more.” I tried to keep my tone even to convince The South, but the firm glares they wore were not all that understanding.

“Is it a risk we’re all willing to take, though? This is a very fifty-fifty situation. The boy isn’t exactly, well, how do I put this…?” Ethan tried as he lit his third cigarette in a row. Adelaide stole the pack from his pocket at this point, which made him roll his eyes at her.

“Yes, he is… rough around the edges to say the least,” Gerard awkwardly attempted, “but he has a kind heart. He’s just… disturbed, I suppose. He keeps to himself, and that’s how he likes it. He is very serious about joining the army and has made his plans clear to everyone. Even with the background he has, he’s been very patient with his classmates. I cannot recall an incident where someone was injured during a spar with him. Julia and I have spent ample time with him, and he’s warmed up to us well. It’s very enjoyable to have his company, and I believe he is worth the trouble.” He lovingly said, enough that I had to smile secretly.

“And why didn’t you two pick him?” Adelaide sniffed.

Gerard was growing more agitated with her condescending tone, as was I, but this was usually how Adelaide reacted to our decisions to begin with. “He wants to be in The North, so we’re very begrudgingly allowing him to do so. If it were up to us we would absolutely take him, but he is dead set on Andrew’s kingdom.”

“Why?” She continued suspiciously, still eyeing Cerelia and I dangerously.

“Andrew’s army is the largest and holds the most physical strength. It’s also the strictest, and Dmitri feels he has to have firm reinforcement to keep his head level. I suppose I understand; he grew up in a very disciplined environment, so he finds comfort with being kept in line.” Gerard replied with a shrug.

“I think letting him have a chance is a good idea. I would hope at this point you all would trust our judgement, since we are advocating for him as well. If it’s all for show, he puts on a good one. I agree with Cerelia; if we keep being pessimistic, it just gives Joshua more time to toy with us. We are running out of both options and soldiers, and we need all the help we can get.” Julia said with a slightly sour frown at Adelaide and Ethan.

“What of his alias? Is he going to drop it when he becomes a Cavalry?” Gerard asked, turning his attention to me while averting Adelaide’s ferocious glaring.

The hesitation in my voice was obvious, but I attempted to keep my tone as level as I could, “I plan on it, yes. He spent five years unable to be himself and I want that to end. Hopefully, our other four will be kind and willing to accept him. I believe if I instill confidence and trust in them that they will warm up to the idea.”

“I still think this is risky…” Ethan groaned, scratching at his neck intensely.

Adelaide snatched his hand, her eyes narrowed with annoyance, “I told you to stop doing that,” she barked, which made everyone chuckle as he apologized with an embarrassed blush.

“Do you trust us enough to make this decision?” Cerelia begged.

Gerard rolled his lips loudly, then folded his arms and kicked his legs up on the table. His head fell onto the back of the chair, his long black hair hanging loosely behind him. Julia watched him curiously as he stared at the ceiling, biting his lip as he pondered his thoughts. “You know you have our support, but then again, we should call out the elephant in the room…” he began stiffly, “I suppose we don’t have much say anyway. It’s your kingdom in jeopardy if things go poorly. Then again, I did allow him to live in our kingdom for quite some time, so I suppose he could turn on us as well. The only person safe in this situation is Adelaide, but if we go down, she surely will follow…”

“Gerard…?” Adelaide worriedly tried.

He held up a hand, silencing her. He was quiet a minute longer before he flopped forward, his legs sliding off the table and smacking to the floor with a thud. He clasped his hands and set them down loudly before smiling at Cerelia and me. “I’ve always trusted your judgment for the most part, Andrew, and I shall do so now as well. I’ve considered Dmitri innocent until proven guilty during his residency in The East, and I can continue to do so a little while longer.”

“Thank you, Gerard,” I chimed, then looked to my sister, “And you, Adelaide…?”

She moaned loudly before swishing her hand at me, “Fine, fine, you win. I don’t have the patience to argue with you two any longer. But Andrew, I'm warning you…” she sneered, her words like daggers that I could feel piercing my chest as she spoke, “If this boy does one thing, one thing, that results in any kind of problem for us, you better do something about it immediately, or I will.” Her hazel eyes were full of absolute seriousness, and I knew to heed her warning.

I scoffed childishly in response, “I'm not as dense as you think, Adelaide.”

“I beg to differ,” she joked before finally smiling for me.