War

Some hours ago...

In the training camp, arrows kept flying and swords kept clashing as over 50,000 capable men prepared themselves for any upcoming war.

It was the first time most of them had ever been to the camp because some of them were not knights and they had never had the opportunity to train in the camp since they weren't nobles.

An arrow narrowly missed someone's head as he bent down, passing another spot but before he could recover, his counterpart sent another flying.

"Enough! Prince Leon," Matthew said breathlessly. He was huffing for air because he had been trying his best to dodge Leon's countless attacks.

Leon dropped the bow, "You've gotten better," his expression was stoic the whole time and Matthew couldn't believe it. After giving him such a tough time, he was acting so calm and collected.

When Matthew noticed Leon backing him and teaching another knight how to handle his sword, anger bobbed inside his head. Leon never taught him anything calmly and was always putting his life in danger with the claims that he was testing him, yet here he was teaching someone else with tenderness.

He spotted three daggers close to him and without thinking, he picked the three of them, holding two in his left hand and one in his right hand, ready to aim it at Leon and catch him unawares.

If he could train others by endangering their lives, then he should be much better than them. Even if he wasn't, he was partly wearing his armour so it wouldn't cause much damage to him if he didn't miss right?

With that thought, Matthew tossed the dagger straight, aiming at Leon's back and Leon sensed it immediately, quickly pushing himself and the knight he had been tutoring away from where the dagger had come through.

Matthew had no intention of stopping and brought the next dagger to his right hand, launching it at him again, aiming for his shoulder this time but Leon was faster. He held up the knight who was still processing what was happening and shifted to the other side, dodging the second dagger before catching the third dagger that came his way in his left hand. The blade of the dagger was seconds away from piercing his cheek.

Leon looked up to the person who had done the deed with a questioning gaze, wondering if his friend had intentions to assassinate him.

Matthew stood some metres away from Leon in awe, marvelling at how he had precisely eluded the attacks. Leon left the knight he had been tutoring, going to stand beside Matthew.

"You have gotten better with the daggers," he said calmly like he hadn't just been attacked.

"What can I say? I learned from the best," replied Matthew, sending him a subtle glare only he understood. Matthew was already used to Leon's behaviour of suddenly altering his demeanour like he was doing now so the best he could do was flow with it.

Leon laughed when he finally understood why Matthew had attacked him with the dagger.

"The royal blood regard isn't a sham, Matt. Keep that in mind." was all he let out before looking at the sky seeing it was already close to evening.

"I think we need to leave now. I have a court meeting to attend."

"Sure. I would tell Milles to get the horses ready while you unarm," and with that, Matthew left the site, heading for where the horses were kept while Leon took off his armour.

After a while, the two had reached the palace with the remaining servants who had gone along following behind them. They did not waste any time as they dismounted the horse, leaving it to the stablemen.

Matthew saw the prince head in the direction of the courtroom and he didn't ask questions as he followed him. It was obvious Leon didn't want to take a rest or shower so it might only annoy the latter if he decided to ask about it.

They reached the courtroom and were welcomed with the sight of both the former and juvenile chieftains.

The chieftains did the normal bidding of standing up and greeting the prince who usually sat and accepted their greetings before granting them the opportunity to sit with his hand signals.

"I am pleased that you all honoured my impromptu invitation to the courtroom today," he said with evident boldness, not looking unsure like he used to at previous meetings.

"It is our pleasure, Prince Leon." Lord Nicholas was always first to speak.

Leon looked at the messenger who stood not far from him, his eyes asking the young man if there was any news and the man passed some scrolls to Matthew who was standing close to Leon before coming forth and bowing his head then speaking,

"I have news concerning the Kingdom of Vagary. I found out that King Daniel had a large pool of water guiding the front of his kingdom. He also placed guards in different precincts and strategic positions in the kingdom. Since District 12 is closer to his Kingdom, he started his attack from there..." he paused for the information to fill in their heads before concluding,

"I do not fully know his intention of attacking the people at District 12 and he has not sent a reply concerning the call of truce letter we sent to him. It seems obvious that he is looking for war." The messenger finished and noticed the whispers and murmuring of the elites in the room.

Leon put his hand up for them to keep silent before asking,

"What about his family? What information do you have about them?" Leon asked the messenger.

"From what I've heard and confirmed, King Daniel has only one daughter, Princess Dasha," he answered the question and the elites gasped at the info.

"So much for trying to attain ample power," Lord Carvero tsked.

"Princess Dasha..." Leon heard Lord Zuko utter and Lord Maxwell stared at his father who was in deep thought with furrowed eyebrows.

"I have heard of her before, your Highness. I would say that we do not underestimate her." the messenger said again, dying down the ruckus.

"What have you heard of her?" one of the chieftains asked.

"She had been the one conquering greater kingdoms, your highness. She had brought them down to their knees and though she is said to have excellent battle skills, it is still surprising how she leads during war with fearlessness.

Some say her courage for a woman is her deadliest weapon as no one expects a woman to be so courageous. Others assume she simply just catches the other kingdom unaware which is why she always has the upper hand while the rest presume it is just a tale and someone else takes the lead in the battle." he said everything he had heard from people.

"If she catches her victim kingdoms unawares then it best we start preparing fully and catch them unaware as well," Leon said as he stood, staring at one of the scrolls that had a sketch of Vagary's map.

"If there is a large pool blocking their gateway, then it is obvious how they manage to survive during warfare. So if we want to attack, we should find a way to drain out the pool and we can cut the channel of water in our Kingdom to reduce their survival chances," he explained then looked to Lord Zuko.

"I am sure Lord Zuko and Maxwell would be efficient in such areas." he saw the two men nod, looking at each other.

"Fortunately, my coronation will take place the day after tomorrow. So we would have no hindrances in planning our approach to Vagary." Leon concluded his statement and the rest hummed in approval.

He answered to other pressing things in the Kingdom which didn't take much time before he dismissed them all to the various guest rooms then he headed to the royal chambers.