12 Preparations Ensue

"Ah, what a nice refreshing walk that was."

The slender young male that stood before the broad and shirtless man stumbled a bit by the sudden sparking of conversation, feeling his hand instinctively going to push up his glasses which he had long since removed.

The elder man before him gave him a warm smile and cocked his head playfully, "Wouldn't you agree my friend?"

"Ah.....yes my lord!"

The elder man laughed deeply while slapping his old friend in the back, causing him to stumble even more. "You are too stiff my friend, all that extra office work has left you unappreciative to the beauty of nature we are offered each day of our lives."

After collecting his bearings the slender male cleared his throat, "F-forgive me, my lord. However, I find myself much more at ease in the comforts of my home than to be in the streets of the Ember Domain."

The man gave him an amused grin, "Oh? And why is that?"

He felt a blush of embarrassment stretch across his face for a second, "It is not because I am uncomfortable to be in your presence my lord, nor is it that I doubt your skills and physical strength...but as leader of the Dragon Clan there are many among our leagues that wish to take your head. It is too dangerous for us to be so diligently ignoring such blatant threats and-"

He was cut off when said leader was laughing, laughing even louder than he did before. For a second he paled, worried he had finally done it, and said something that would get his tongue slipped out of his mouth by the next morning.

The man gently tapped his shoulder in reassurance, "Forgive me, my friend, I do not mean to mock you for your concerns." His grip tightened as he brought him closer. "But you and I have been allies for many years even during our childhood days. I had suspected you were already aware but it would appear I was wrong to think that our time together would further your faith in me."

After caressing his head he let the poor man go and continued on with his walk with great strides. "It is true that there are many of those who would wish to see my head up upon a stick, but just remember," his eyes glistened in what could only be described as battle lust, "They are only a small fraction of those who have already tried and failed." He looked at him, "and a warning to those who wish to attempt so in the future."

He reached his hand out, and just in that exact moment, a spear-like object that had been heading straight in the direction of the younger one's head was caught tightly in his grip. The tip of the weapon barely scratched the slender male's ear and he swore he could feel certain dampness dripping from the cool metallic object pressed against his cheek.

At that moment he was at a loss for words. Once again his life barely escaped him by the thread of hair at this great man's shoulders. If he had failed to catch such a thing it would have pierced through the both of them in no time at the rate and speed to which it was flying. It made it almost impossible to believe it had been someone else who had thrown it in the first place.

Despite trying to collect himself and still his pounding heart he looked at the man before with an expression of expectation, only to be shocked when the look in his eyes was nothing more than disappointment instead of relief.

"What a cretin," he tsked to himself, staring at the long weapon shamefully while twirling it between his fingers. "To think such a person would attempt to pierce this thing through you just to reach me because they believed it would help keep the weapon hidden outside from my line of sight."

He grinned, that familiar grin he made right when he was about to take someone's life, and threw the spear back at just the same type of speed in some random direction. not too long the sound of a pained groan, a body thumping the floor, and the all too familiar scent of blood waft the air. The younger boy needeth not to turn around to see the face of their victim and knew better to keep his eyes up front at the expense of having a peaceful day of rest await him.

And yet all that laid on his Lord's face was pure satisfaction.

"The weak do not have a place in my nation to exist," he spat, hinting at their conversation from earlier, "and those who cower in the bushes rather than confront their foes face to face are the weakest of them all."

Without a care in the world, he cleaned the small proportion of blood on the younger lad's face with a soft smile. "Come on, best be moving. The clothes that our assassin wore are familiar to me, they belonged to a village not too far from here. I would like to pay them a visit and teach their people a lesson as to how to better control their men."

It had happened so soon he could barely process it all. The feeling rushing through his was somewhat equivalent to fear and another sensation he couldn't describe. To think he was seconds away from death and the person he had been most grateful to because of it was the person he had feared the most.

He clenched his palms and turned his head away, hearing the sound of heavy footsteps crunching into the red dirt ahead of him as he tried to calm down the wave of trembling coursing through him. He turned his head away from the bleeding corpse behind him and continued on with his languid stroll.

"Yes, my lord."

-

The gentle knocking on blue wooden doors echoes faintly in a dimly lit room. One the outside of the door there stood the Queen, with a solemn look on her face. With no response from the inside, she gently opened the door and peeked in through the crack, staring at the sleeping figure on the bed.

"Bunny?" she whispered and watch the small lump underneath the blanket shift. The person underneath simply made a sleepy sound in acknowledgment but did little to nothing to actually wake up.

She widens the door far enough to step through and shuts it softly behind her. She treaded her way to the side of the bed, tucking her dress beneath her while sitting down softly, pulling the blanket back till the face of a small child was revealed.

He was a young boy, just only around the age of eight, with very little hair on his head and the darkest chocolate skin anyone could find. Right now his eyes were closed and rigged puffs of air escaped his trembling lips, breathe reeking of sleep.

"Bunny...wake up," she cooed softly, holding her hand underneath the child's head and turning him around to face her. The little boy groans, adjusting his position and revealing his doe blue. He looks up at Daphne with a yawn and blinks slowly, eyes adjusting through the thick darkness in order to see who it was that had interrupted him from such a rest.

Finally, when his vision settled he smiled brightly with a giggle, "Good morning mommy!"

Daphne felt her heartache as she smiled back, choosing not to correct him on his misinterpretation of time. "Morning sweetheart, sleep well? How are you feeling?"

The boy sits up and coughs slightly, giving his mother a reassuring look, "I slept well, but my head kind of hurts."

She pressed a hand to his forehead and one to her own, frowning at the major temperature difference. "I'm sorry to hear that bunny, do you want me to bring you some medicine."

The boy shook his head, "No thank you, mommy, the people in the funny suits already gave me some yesterday." He stretched out his limbs and let out a yawn, "It made me really sleepy, though."

One of the many difficulties that came with a poorly established trading partnership with the Gaean Empire was not only a major decline in food but also a decline in medicinal herbs. While the Neo's often held themselves in pride with their own makeshift prescription their remedies were nothing in comparison to what the Efflorians could produce.

It was hard making good medicine when there were no good crops.

Not only that but her son's condition was a strange one indeed. A consistent fever, a loss of appetite, and an occasional headache that brought severe nausea and intolerable pain (from how he describe it). Although some of the symptoms were common there was no specific identified cause or reasoning for his sudden illness.

The 'medicine' that the 'people in the funny suits', otherwise known as their maidservants, must have provided him were probably just sleeping pills, so he at least wouldn't be awake to endure this tremendous strain.

It hurt the mother in her soul to know her baby was suffering and there was nothing she could do about it. But like she had promised Adrien, she was willing to be patient. For as long as it was needed for him to seek the favor of the high council and finally come into promising ties with their neighboring countries she and her son would wait for the rest of their lives if that is what it would take.

Hence her disfavor towards the mentality of war, it was not only risky but uncalled for to go to battle with another nation while his very own son laid on his deathbed every single day of his life. She would pray he would be able to reach the same conclusion as her and simply turn down Cryus's offers immediately.

It should be his top priority first to at least ensure things would be able to manage on their own while he was away than to pack his bags and swords and simply head out anyway.

She petted the top of his muzzled hair, shaved off after several complaints of how hot it had made him, "That's good to hear. I'm happy you're getting some rest."

The boy blushed and giggled at the display of affection, before all too suddenly his face fell and a worried look took over. For a second Daphne grew concerned, wondering if it was another wave of aching pangs again.

"Mommy...these walls are too thin," he complained quietly.

"Is the noise outside troubling you? I can ask for our services to quiet down when near your room?"

He shook his head, "It's because I heard the people in the funny suits outside say something a while ago. I woke up a bit and they were talking about you and daddy a lot."

Daphne chuckled, expecting him to have heard some negative rumors that were whispered off the lips of hateful services. It was common among a house of riches for their maids and butlers to hold some resentment towards the royal family, so it didn't bother her at all if they gossiped to each other.

"I'm sorry about that bunny, what did you hear?"

"They said daddy wanted to go to war."

Her face fell.

The pit of worry in her stomach grew, suddenly feeling the urge to hunt down those gossiping gods and have them removed at once.

"You told me war is where people go to die right? I don't want daddy to die."

Without thought she embraced her son as softly as she could, rubbing his back and rocking herself back and forth. "I never said it's a place where people go to die, I said it's a place where people who can't agree with each other fight one another to prove a point."

It felt bitter lying like that, but she reassured herself it was for due cause.

"What point is daddy trying to prove?"

"..."

She thought about it for a second. If her husband truly did decide to go to war what would he be fighting in the name of?

His country, for starters.

His people, as well.

The love-sick bastard would probable even manage to slip her name in the long list of reasons he would have mapped out in his head. The thought alone almost made her smile.

But there must always be a main reason for everything. Out of all of those options, which one would he prioritize the most?

"He would be," she started, "proving that the Neo Empire-"

Her son giggled, cutting her off. He pulled away from her and smiled at her confused face.

"It's okay mommy, you don't need to explain. I already know."

With that, the child continued laughing his woes away while snuggling even further into his mother's embrace. Goddesses above she even knew what makeshift reason he had in his head compared to hers, and wondered which one out of the two of them whose belief was the most accurate?

Though confused she felt relieved, and held his hands softly, "Okay."

That's right, it didn't matter anyway, because it would all be okay.

Just like she promised him.

And just like he promised her.

It would all be...

Okay.

-

It was currently a very boring lazy day for Maya.

The chill in her body was slowly simmering away while her frosty fingers gripped gently at the warm mug of water in her hands. She snuggled in deeper to the soft fur blanket laid neatly on a bed and felt her bare toes curl into the similar texture carpet beneath her.

In case you couldn't tell, she was at her friend Maria's house.

After spending about an hour wandering around in the library they had finally managed to find a stairwell that brought them back outside, although in an abandoned old shack instead. It baffled her just how large that secret chamber was and made her wonder if it could spread across the entire nation.

It was quite large, and it did take them a long time to manage an exit so it would make sense.

But for the time being, they were just content they had managed to find a more convenient way to get back other than falling through a random hole in the floor (or having to explain the unjustified mess of the bookshelves they no doubt left behind during their little adventures together) in their community library.

Now that they had finally returned and were allowed a day to sleep on it they decided to continue the discussion of their discoveries back over at Maria's house, mainly because her family hated Maria's and there was no way they would be allowed even the shred of privacy to talk if they went to hers.

Maria's parents, although strict sometimes, were nothing in comparison to hers. They let her have friends come over regardless if she had done her chores and even offered her a spot on the dinner table. The warm welcome, although something she wasn't used to, was greatly appreciated.

The atmosphere here was much nicer too. This is what it was like to live in the room of someone who is spoiled. Maya wouldn't be able to relate, those days ended for her long after her brother was born.

Maria loudly barged into her own room, the stolen library book in her wet hands.

Maya scrunched up her nose in disgust, "Ew, you took the book with you?"

At first, Maria looked confused, before catching onto Maya's words and sharing the same expression as her. "Are you dense? I grabbed the book AFTER I finished using the bathroom." She slammed the door behind her and Maya flinched.

She made her way to her bed and flopped against it, feet dangling off the side. She opened the book in front of her and began rereading the pages. "On the very last page is a map to the inside of the castle, and each of the floors." She appreciated how straightforward she was about the whole thing. "I tried to decipher the clue but it seems it's somehow connected to the first one, which is all the more reason why we've got to find our way inside."

Maya sat there, patiently waiting for the cup of water to cool down while blowing on it, "So I assume you have a plan as to how to get in?"

Maria huffed, "No."

Ah.

"It seems whoever hid the blessing really did intend for only the royal family to find it," Maya acknowledges, "Perhaps we should just return the book and hope that this current King gets lucky."

Maria scowls, "I can't accept that. Here we are, a lifetime opportunity to save our nation, and now we have to keep waiting? We've been waiting forever, and so have others. If the Kings before us didn't manage to find it then how is the one now supposed to?"

"You have to remember King Adrian was only recently throned, he still has a few more years ahead of himself."

"Yeah, he does, we don't. Half of us are dying out here Maya, we're not living in our own luxury where we can exercise that type of patience anymore."

Maya sassily took a sip from her cup while observing the absolute high-class quality lifestyle her friend got to live in, "Speak for yourself."

Maria gave her a look, "You're drinking hot water instead of hot chocolate Maya, don't come for me like that."

"You're the one that offered it!" Maya scowled, "It's not like your family doesn't have hot cocoa, you just choose to be stingy."

"That's because my brother only brings us a box every other month! And even then we always finish it by the end of the week because of how cold it gets-" suddenly a lightbulb went off in Maria's head, her mouth agape as the brightest idea just came to her.

Maya was confused, and for a second concerned, "Are...you alright? I didn't mean to offend you if I did-"

"Maya you're a genius!"

It took a lot of skill for Maya to receive a bone-crushing hug all while receiving praise from Maria for the first time in her life, and spontaneously prevent the boiling water in her hands from spilling all over the place. Her hands just stopped bruising and she'd be damned if they were to get red all over again.

"What-?"

"My brother!" Maria shouted, looking as though she had just found the solution to world hunger, and considering their situation she most likely did.

Just for a little background information, Maria's elder brother was one of the few soldiers who worked under the name of His Majesty, and because of the profits a military man could receive he was able to send a small portion of his extra funds back to his family, hence why their living conditions were better than most, and also why Maya's family despised them so.

'Spoiled'. That was all there was to it, they would say.

Suddenly whatever clicked in Maria's head clicked in Maya's as well.

"You're going to use your brother," Maya trailed off, "to get access inside the castle? How?"

"It's simple!" Maria leaned forward and grabbed a random sheet of paper and pencil. "Every month we write to him, and to do that there's this mail dropoff that the people can put in a request if they wish to speak to any royal officials. The castle is guarded by three different levels of security, two on the outside and those patrolling on the inside."

Maya was definitely catching on, "So you want us to follow the mailman and sneak out way past the first level in hopes of slipping through the second? I'm pretty sure that's illegal, Maria."

Maria rolled her eyes, "Obviously there's more to it than that, Maya. I'll write a letter to my brother telling him that we're both outside and need to speak to the King. He'll meet us halfway through and help us sneak inside past the rest of the guards. He's cool like that so he definitely won't get mad."

"Even so how would we find our way around?"

Maria rolled her eyes and pointed back at the book, "Silly Maya, forgetful as always."

Ah, there she was. The old, insulative Maria that Maya had come to know and love.

"The mailman usually comes every Wednesday to the main drop-off center, so that leaves us with only tomorrow to act out our plan in time."

"How am I supposed to convince my parents to let me out for that long?" Maya quipped. "We don't know how far the castle even is, or how long it'll take us to sneak inside. Chances are it could take us all night, they'll grow suspicious eventually."

Maria scoffed, as though the answer was the simplest thing to exist, "Just lie to them."

Lying.

Hmm.

"I choose life, no thank you."

Out of all the bad things Maya has done lying is not one of them. She's never told a lie for her entire life, and if she did she doesn't remember it. She's read stories of trolls who turn green when they lie and puppets that get hanged for hiding the truth. She's seen lies destroy people and others around them, and she's known for long and well that if the truth hurts then just don't say anything at all.

She'd rather cause her parents to worry than lie to them about where she was. Because if something bad did actually happen to her they'd be the first ones to know rather than thinking she was actually somewhere safe and sound.

The fact that Maria was even making the suggestion of lying to her parents goes to show just how loose the iron grip her family has on her was. If she lied to her parents, getting away with it or not, she would have been eaten alive by the guilt before the hunger could eat away at her soul.

There's just no way she would do such a thing.

...

....but with Maria's consistent whining it might actually compel her to, just to keep the squealing girl quiet for just a second.

"Oh come oooooooooonnnnn!"

-

A day had passed, that bled into two.

Adrien wasn't the type to waste his week away in fear because of his anxiety. Despite the answer, he knew he had to give he was still outweighing the chances and considering his options. His mind often functioned best when his hands were occupied, so he engrossed even more time into paperwork. Although he could barely pay attention to any of it as his mind would wander off in contemplation while he carelessly signed papers that he knew better he should roughly read.

His brows furrowed in fatigue and stomach crept each time he heard heavy footsteps by his door, expecting an impatient Cyrus to barge right into his private office, door guards are damned and demand a response right then and there with the threat of his return hanging loosely on a thread.

He is grateful his wife encouraged him to rest when he could, now such a thing doesn't even seem like it exists for him anymore.

He will admit, having the watchful eye of a chief from a rivalry nation has put him on edge for quite some time. He has this compulsive need to make himself look hardworking and constantly occupied, not that he wasn't before but he wishes for there to be an even clearer emphasis on the duration of their guest visitation. Some may call it competitiveness in a sense, but what average day male around his age wouldn't behave the same in those circumstances?

He sighed and rubbed his forehead, ink-covered his thumb as it messily spread across his brow. He felt a childlike whine coming up the back of his throat and he knew at that moment he looked nothing remotely close to a king at all.

Honestly, what was he even doing?

Stalling for time? Is that it?

Truth be told he had long decided his answer to Cyrus's question, he knew what he was most required to do long before Cyrus had even asked.

Because it was a question he had asked himself from the day he was selected to the throne.

The age at which a person can become an official ruler in the Neo Empire runs at a minimum of eighteen with no maximum limitations. His father passed when he was sixteen, which put the kingdom in a kingless situation for two years.

When something of value breaks beyond recovery it is natural for you to want a replacement. When you receive the replacement you often compare it to the original product, and when there is a noticeable difference there is also noticeable dissatisfaction.

Adrian's father, good in some aspects and terrible in others, was a people pleaser. Beyond Adrien's knowledge at the time most of the kingdom's fundings actually came from investments made from heavily support politicians, who obviously resided in the Wealthy district. (This was how he met Deborah in the first place).

When living in the Neo Empire you only have two woe's each day: The Nations Economy and the Nations Military. Those of the wealthy district were often already financially stabilized enough to the point where if the nation suddenly went through bankruptcy for a couple of days they'd somehow manage to get by. So naturally, all their concerns were directed towards the military.

By appealing to the military more than to the people the Neo empire was guaranteed to be a safe place and investments would often increase which, ironically, help support those of the impoverished district even more despite the fact they felt as though the kingdom could care less if they rot.

It was a backwashed broken cycle Adrian had failed to notice when he was young and his father had failed to inform him while still alive. He saw his father as a cold-hearted man with no sympathy for others beneath him and swore when he became king he would be nothing like him.

Obviously, that plan backfired.

When the king passed everyone was anxious for Adrien's enthronement. Because of the sudden abrupt disappearance of the previous king people had expected Adrian to continue pursuing his late ideals before branching out and becoming unique in his own way. They were more than dissatisfied to see he was in no way shape or form a resemblance of his father at all.

Investments decrease, respect nowhere to be found and people often diminished him for his naive personality, (Goddesses help him so, he was just a lad. How was he supposed to know any better?). Ironically by trying to tend to the needs of the people he made their situation worse and lost any relationship the high council had shared with the Neo Empire in the past.

When learning of this he knew it was too late to diminish the way people thought of him, and he refused to stand away from his ideals. If the financial situation continues going down the path it is right now then the Neo Empire would not last for long.

No matter the solution he thought of it all came down to falling onto the Emberians shoulders. He knew sooner than later that at some point of pure desperation he would declare war against them for the sake of his people. A war he had hoped to be non-violent, yet would prepare for bloodshed if to ever occur.

A demand for war was a small voice in the back of his head he knew he would no longer be able to put aside, and all Cyrus did was bring it to the front of his brain.

He had his answer from the minute he became King.

With one last sigh, he sits his head up and cleans his still ink-splattered forehead.

"Guards."

After a minute or two, the soft click of the door opening was heard and one of the guards peak his head in curiously. "Yes, your majesty?"

"Fetch for Cyrus and tell him to come to meet back in my chambers. Inform him that I have my answer prepared."

The guard nodded his head understandingly, "Shall I send for Her Majesty as well?"

Adrian stared at his hands in disapproval, "No." Even though she already told him she would support him regardless of his decision he would have to prepare himself to meet her more than upsetting gaze upon realizing his answer.

"I wish to speak with him in private...for now."