"I would have suggested we stop kidding around and begin immediately. But alas, we are not animals to start without introductions." Chen suggested. He grabbed one of the torches and illuminated the faces of the newcomers. "You must be Rickard. An honor to meet a Master of the Knights. And you… I don't really care to be honest. A squire of sorts?"

"Prefect Luther of the Whistler Cohort. Glad to meet you" the young man offered his hand.

Chen didn't bother and pointed the torch towards the Wismarine. "His highness Skall. Rumors say that it was actually you who tried to assassinate Lucia Vanadis. If that's true, then you are the most powerful man among us. You just caused a damn civil war that threw our Kingdoms into a mess" Chen said without warmth in the tone of his voice.

If it was true that this Skall Wismar is the true cause of this civil war, then it was him who propelled Timothy into a position of great power. If not for this prince, Chen would have been relaxing his butt in Inkit. Instead he was here, fighting a war all the while preventing Timothy from getting more powerful.

"I wouldn't deny it neither would I confirm it." Skall evaded.

Chen grunted. Not that he cares. He planted the torch in front of him. "I am Magistrate Chen of the great Republic of Inkit."

"And I am Marquis Sachi of the Kingdom of Canton" Sachi said who was on his right.

"And I am Marquis Qilo of Hadea" Qilo said on his left.

"Nice to meet you gentlemen. Then I will begin with an offer of alliance to the four of you" Rickard said

"That would be great" Skall replied. "I am in fact authorized to break my alliance with King Leopold and ally with you instead. And I suggest we make haste. Timothy Castonia is getting powerful by the minute"

Chen was surprised by the willingness of the Wismarine to break alliances. He was disappointed in Skall Wismar. It seemed the prince was a little foolish.

"No" Chen dropped his absolute answer "We will not be allies. An alliance would benefit only Tulosa while the four of us will be destroyed diplomatically. We are not even friends. We only share a common enemy, a great power we must prevent from forming"

"I agree" Marquis Qilo voiced "In fact I don't think we should even be doing this. If King Leopold and King Timothy finds out about our secret meeting, I don't know what will happen to us."

"Yes. Maybe we should just end our discussions here. My own King would kill me if he finds out." Sachi said

There was then a silence as all sides gauged each other. Chen already had a solid grasp on the willingness of all sides. Skall and Rickard were bent on destroying Timothy at all cost with Skall even willing to ruin his nation's diplomacy. Qilo and Sachi were both reluctant to betray Timothy but they see that letting Timothy grow more powerful is not a good idea. Chen was actually at the middle. He wasn't willing to ruin the name of Inkit but he will do almost anything to weaken Timothy Castonia.

"I say you need to reconsider oh fine noblemen" the young Prefect beside Rickard said. "You don't know how powerful he is because you haven't faced him in battle. If you have known, you would have bet everything you have to destroy him."

The Prefect paused as if recalling a terrifying distant memory. He continued with a shaking voice "I have fought him three times and three times I've tasted defeat. The first one I lost half of my cohort while he didn't lose anything. And that's just his subordinate. The next defeat was at Knightsend and my cohort was the only one that got away. I lost my uncle. The third was just recently" he looked at Chen "And if not for your dallying, I would have been dead. We are doing the continent a great favor by eliminating Timothy. He is tamed now but who knows what will happen in the future when he had tasted power. Maybe he will crave for more and by that time even the combined forces of Inkit, Canton, Hadea, Wismar, Tulosa and even Calgari wouldn't be enough to stop him."

There was another silence as Chen, Qilo and Sachi looked at each other. Chen could see that the two were frightened.

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It was true though. King Timothy's greatest sin was getting powerful. If history teaches one thing it's that powerful people are the banes of peace. It is the difference in power that causes war. For peace to reign there must be a balance of power between nations. Timothy Castonia and Lucia Vanadis will break that balance. That was the sin Chen couldn't forgive.

"I'm sorry but we still don't want an alliance. The price to pay is just too steep. But we are committed in our partnership. We will do anything in our power to help you in secret" Chen said

"Fine. Then we must postpone our alliance for now. But what's our plan? Assassination? A knife to the back? I would be disappointed if you'll just spy for me." Rickard said.

"I say we send a cutthroat" Skall suggested

"A cutthroat? Have you seen his guard? That big man who is a head taller than everybody? That guard is fanatically loyal to King Timothy and stays by his side all the time. Assassination wouldn't work." Qilo said

"Sabotage then?"

"Sabotage.." Rickard shook his head "That wouldn't be enough. Even if we destroy all their food, those Castonians would eat grass if they have to!"

"Please lower your voice Rickard"

"No, I'm tired of all of this. If you are not committed enough then just leave. For all I know, you could even be working for him!"

They argued loudly and emotions ran high. Chen was silent all along- thinking.

"A hostage" Chen said and all of them turned their gaze towards him.

"A hostage?" Sachi asked

"Yes. If we can't assassinate him, then we should just threaten him and make him do what we want. Of course Inkit, Hadea and Canton would be out of it. Either Rickard of Skall would take the hostage." Chen said

"And who are you going to take hostage?" Skall asked

"Lucia Vanadis" It was Rickard who answered. He smiled towards Chen as if giving his praise.

"That would be the best course of action" Chen explained "Since we can't touch King TImothy then we go for the Princess. It would still be hard but it will be easier. Plus with her, we also hold both King Edmund and King Timothy as hostage."

There was another reason though and Chen didn't tell them about it. It's because he deemed Lucia Vanadis as someone equally dangerous. That Princess looked harmless but Chen could see that Timothy's success was partly because of her.

"I.. don't think that would be a good idea" Skall said

"You have a history with her?"

"No. I mean yes. Not that it matters. But I'll admit it now. I was the one who ordered her assassination. And look where it led. She's smart and we can't take her that easily and even if we do, Timothy would burn the entire western region just to get her back."

"Nonsense" Rickard said "You were alone that time. But all five of us are currently united. I say we capture Lucia Vanadis. Do you have something in mind on how we can do that?" he threw the question to Chen

Chen pondered for a while. "Yes. As a matter of fact I have"

**********

In a dark corner of the camp, two figures were talking in hushed voice. Arthur was constantly looking around in fear that somebody will hear them. Although Magistrate Chen assured him that it was safe, he was still afraid.

"Will she be hurt?" Arthur asked, adjusting his cloak to cover his face.

"No. The Tulosans will not hurt her. They would only take her to force King Timothy to lower his sword and end this war. General Rickard is willing to sign a peace agreement with the Castonians as long as Timothy is defeated. If King Leopold agrees that is. Apparently parading Timothy in the streets of Bivon is enough for General Rickard. They will then return Lucia to you safe. Isn't that great? An end to this war with King Timothy as the only casualty." Magistrate Chen answered

"I don't want her to be hurt" Arthur said, pleading for the assurance that Lucia will not be harmed. Even though he was angry at her and he was going to betray her, she was still his sister.

"I told you, the Tulosans will not harm her. They wouldn't dare harm a princess"

Arthur thought hard about Magistrate Chen's offer. He was still not sure about it. He was afraid that something would happen to Lucia. He hated her but his conscience would not take it if something happens to her.

But he was angry. Timothy and Lucia had taken everything from him. He was supposed to be the heir to Vanadis, but they treated him like a child. Timothy even taught him lessons. While he found Timothy's lessons to be useful, he was insulted. He was older and just a few months ago, they were both princes. And yet Timothy was treating him like a younger brother. He wanted to show Timothy that he was also powerful. With one move, he could destroy Timothy.

People should show respect to him. He couldn't take it anymore. Although his father would get angry, he would eventually forgive Arthur. Besides, the people of Vanadis should thank him for ending this war. That's right. He, Arthur Vanadis, will drag Vanadis out of this mess. They had bled enough. Their coffers had bled enough. Magistrate Chen promised him that they would return Lucia once Timothy was defeated. With the defeat of Timothy and Lucia's return, Vanadis would be out of the war. Nobody will be hurt except probably Timothy. Serves him right, Arthur thought. It was Timothy who dragged Vanadis into this war.

"Alright. I'll do my best" Arthur said

"Good. Now remember Arthur, do not include us in this. We did not talk today. If you get caught, tell them that it was General Rickard who ordered you. Not that you could prove our involvement anyway. It will be your word against ours. But just don't. Do you understand?"

"Yes" Arthur nodded and agreed.