The night was chilly but Rickard was sweating under his armor. The hooting of the owls was loud, but he could only hear the sound of his own heartbeat.

The five of them were seated around torches staked on the ground. The two Marquises were toasting on Hadean wine, trying to act nonchalant but their occasional grunts betrayed their unease. The Magistrate and the Prince were both silent with Chen looking at the flames and Skall shaking his foot.

"We should have received news by now" Marquis Qilo said, putting the leather canteen away.

"We should have. And yet not a single messenger. Not even a shout or a scream in the Castonian camp. I wonder why" Marquis Sachi said

"I told you, we shouldn't have targeted Lucia" Skall voiced in a shaky tone "Timothy must be grinding the bones of the men we sent as we speak"

"Gentlemen, please. Be at ease. Those men are the best. Isn't that right General Rickard?" Chen asked his confirmation.

"They are"

"Then there's nothing to worry about. One of Princess Lucia's guards is my spy so it would be easy for Arthur"

"If they haven't discovered our plot beforehand that is" Skall butted in and the four of them looked at the prince.

"Yes…" Magistrate Chen said with gritted teeth "If they haven't discovered our plot"

"And if they have?" Skall pushed

Magistrate Chen slammed a loud sigh "Your Highness… could you be a little optimistic? We have done everything in our power to increase the success chance of this"

"It's a risky plan nonetheless."

"Risky, yes. But we are desperate aren't we? King Timothy put all of us in a position that we can't remain idle. We need to do everything we can to prevent him from getting stronger"

"But kidnapping Lucia Vanadis is not doing everything we can. I told you, no more half measures. We should have declared an alliance. The five of us. Include King Leopold if you have to."

"And be destroyed diplomatically?"

"If that's the cost, then yes"

The two treated each other with hostile gazes until Rickard cleared his throat. "But we have already decided. We have already sent the men. We have already prepared the poison. We have already told Prince Arthur about our plan. And the ball is already rolling. All we can do now is to wait for the result. Magistrate, what's the worst that could happen?"

"The worst that could happen…" Magistrate Chen looked at the ground dimly lit by the torches "They capture the Tulosans and you lose your best men. Even if Arthur rats the three of us, we could just deny our involvement. Rumors will spread but that's the end of it."

Rickard then heard the neighing of a horse. He looked for a rider and saw one a few hundred paces from the forest. The rider dismounted after reaching the forest, tied the horse to a tree and ran towards them.

Rickard pulled one of the torches from the ground and illuminated the approaching soldier. The man was wearing the golden cloak of the Vanadian royal guards. On his chest hung a solid breastplate with mail doublet underneath. The soldier hurried to Magistrate Chen and whispered something.

Chen's face paled. His eyes squinted with his eyelids quivering. "Are you certain boy?"

"Yes" the Vanadian replied

"What happened?" Rickard asked

"We… need to go back" Magistrate Chen looked at the four of them. "Our plan failed"

Qilo, Sachi and Skall muttered grunts of disappointment. Rickard, however, fixed his eyes on Chen. The Magistrate's face paints that there was an even bigger problem- worse than their plan failing.

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"And?" Rickard asked, pushing Chen to reveal the worst news.

Magistrate Chen met eyes with him. He blinked in rapid succession and looked down.

"And… Lucia is Queen"

**********

The top of a small hill was blanketed with hundreds of torches, illuminating the dark and starless night. Around the hill were the few hundred Vanadians who were kneeling, puffing their chest into a proud show of elan. The Castonians and the mercenaries surrounded the Vanadians, keeping silent as respect to this sacred event.

Chen clenched his fist as he watched from horseback. This night will be remembered throughout history, he should be honored. But Chen doesn't feel honored. He was afraid, shaking on the inevitable aftershocks of this night.

There were two figures on top of the hill. King Edmund Vanadis, one of the wealthiest men in the world, was on his maroon cloak. Gems and specks of gold decorated the cloak, highlighting the wealth of Vanadis.

Lucia Vanadis, meanwhile, was kneeling in front of her father. Her golden cloak, ornamented with the same luxuries as that of King Edmund, served to make her look majestic and exalted- the very image of a Queen.

King Edmund lifted his crown and positioned it on top of Lucia's head. Lucia closed her eyes as King Edmund put the crown on her head. As the crown touched her braided hair, the Vanadians slammed their balled hands on their chests.

And then came the deafening cries of the Vanadians. It was incomprehensible at first but their cries slowly took the form of a cheer.

"All hail the Queen" they shouted repeatedly, on top of their lungs and with glee.

Terrifying – yes it was. Chen never expected that one day he would fear Vanadian soldiers. Never had it crossed his mind that the people who were viewed as merely merchants and swindlers and money-grubbers – the people whose land army they mocked – would show virility matching those of the Castonians.

Amidst the shouts of the Vanadians, Chen saw a vision. Burning. The Great Hall of Inkit was burning. Soldiers bearing the flags of Vanadis and Castonia marched the streets of the capital.

A union between Castonia and Vanadis must be stopped. He will do everything to stop such a bleak future. Power must be shared for peace to last. Strength must be balanced between nations. The union will break that balance. Chen vowed, deeply in his heart, that he will do anything to prevent the union.

"Such a wonderful sight Magistrate Chen" a voice said beside him.

He turned and the first thing he noticed was the crown. The second was the large bulky guard beside the man with the crown. The third was more like a feeling- it was a feeling of being suffocated by a person's authority. He felt like an insect standing next to a lion.

"All hail the Queen" King Tmothy said, looking proudly at the hill "The best monarch of Vanadis to date. Smart, beloved and has so much potential. Plus she has Castonia behind her. I will support her until the end."

"Yes" Chen couldn't do anything but agree albeit with trembling mouth.

"And you just tried to poison and take her hostage. Such a wonderful deed for an ally" King Timothy smiled

Chen's body froze. He knew that they would find out but he never expected that King Timothy would directly confront him about it. He opened his mouth but the King cut him off.

"No debts shall remain unpaid Chen. No injury shall be unavenged. The time of reckoning will come for you. She is innocent and yet you schemed against her, used her as a weapon against me." Timothy glared at him with fury "The Queen may forgive you but I won't. The Queen may forget but I will remember. We treated you as allies and you treated us as enemies. If I were you Chen… I would use this night to defect to King Leopold. And I would rack my brain in finding ways to prevent the union from forming. Do your best Chen"

King Timothy inched his horse forward and put a hand on Chen's shoulder "The next time we meet will be at the battlefield. I hope you're prepared to pay for your sins against my beloved."

********

With the rising sun at his back, Timothy flapped the tent open. Lucia was sitting on a chair with the table and another chair in front of her.

"You shouldn't have waited for me" Timothy said and sat on the empty chair.

The table was filled with food, breakfast for the two monarchs.

"I cannot do that. We eat together" She showed a thin smile "Are they really gone?"

"They are. I have just confirmed it. The Inkish, Cantonese and Hadean have defected before dawn. Their betrayal benefited us somehow. Now we don't have to worry about getting stabbed from behind and can just focus in winning this war"

"Good" She nodded.

Timothy noticed that she was looking down so he reached for her hand and held it.

"I know what you are worried about. And yes, your father made the right choice to give you the crown. Do not doubt yourself. Never. You will be the best monarch in the history of Vanadis"

"I just wanted to become yours." She said, still looking down "A simple life with you would have been enough for me"

"And yet that didn't happen. I am the King of Western Castonia and you are the Queen of Vanadis. We are now both shackled by our responsibility to our subjects. All we can do is to see this through."

"See this through" Lucia repeated. She nodded and finally looked at Timothy "We will end the war"

"Yes. The final battle of the civil war is upon us. We must prepare"

Lucia took her crown and put in on the table. "Together?"

Timothy smiled and also did the same. "Together"

The crowns of Vanadis and Castonia met. The gems from both glittered in the morning sun. But more than the glittering gems and the frames laden with gold, both of them understood a deeper meaning behind the two crowns.

There are tons of challenges ahead. The road to peace is paved with thorns. But they must trudge onward.

Together